TAke vnto you wordes. The eternal god bestow­ed many benefites vpon the Israelites, euen with both the handes: but they were as vntamed horses. When they [Page] were fatted, they lifted vp their héeles against his Maiestie, and would not be reclaimed by his most pleasaunt voyce. The Lord perceiuing the Israelites to resemble the Aethiopian, which retay­neth his blacknesse, though he be wa­shed an hundred times: and the Catt of mountaine, which is not cléere of spots though hir skinne be taken from hir: the lord, I say, dealt more sharply with them, and to knotty woodde applied a wedge of Iron. Amongst these light­nings, and as it were, thunderboltes of Gods iudgementes, least the faithfull which had forgotten themselues should be discouraged, and thinke that no hope of pardon remained, he speaketh vnto them (as a naturall father to his chil­dren) moste louingly, by his Prophete, Take vnto you wordes, as if he shoulde say, albéeit you haue infected the earth and aire with the stench of your wic­kednes, albéeit you are more filthy than the dunghilles, hange not downe your heades, vnlesse you be set to wallow stil in the mire of your sinnes. You shal ap­peasse Gods anger, not if you bring into [Page] his presence great store of golde and sil­uer, heapes of frankinsence, droues of Oxen, and flockes of Shéepe, but if you present vnto him wordes which may easily be come by. The Prophet Hoseas speaketh not of fained wordes, which cunning and holow hypocrites are wel acquainted with. Gen. 3.4. Esay. 58.3. Matt. 22.16. Iere. 41.6. Such were the wor­des of the serpent vnto Eue: of the hy­pocrites which fasted in Esaies time: of the Herodians and Pharisées disci­ples, that they might snare Christ in his spéech: of vngracious Ismael to the godly men of Sichem and Samaria, when he shed Crocodyles teares before he ca­ried them to the slaughter: and of many now a dayes, whose wordes are bredde and borne in their lippes. Dissembling words are the greatest plague that can be, they smell of an euil conscience, they are sure arguments of hypocrisie, and doe them which vse them the greatest harme: for they are like to a broken shielde, which cannot abide y ^e least prick of a weapon. The prophet Hoseas did not giue the Israelites in charge to put of the grosse contempt of God, & to cloth [Page] themselues with hipocrisy: that had ben the next way to haue marred all, and of euill men to make them diuels: he ra­ther commaunded them to testifie god­lily in holy & sounde wordes, that which they had conceiued most holily in their mindes. There must not be a diuorce betwene the heart and the lippes: they must resemble Hippocrates twinnes, which do laugh together, and wéepe to­gether. The minde must beget godly wordes, & the lippes bring them forth. This is a golden broode, & highly plea­seth almighty God. Such was the prai­er of the Primatiue Church for Peter, Actes. 12.5. Iames. 5.17. Mat. 27.46. 2. Cor. 12.8. when Herode Agrippa had imprisoned him: of Helias, which y ^e Apostle Iames remembreth: of Christ hanging on the crosse: and of the Apostle Paule when the Angell of Satan did buffet him. Such a praier would the Prophet Ho­seas haue the Israelites to vse in this place, that Gods anger by this beauti­full consent of the heart and lips, might be appeased. Such a praier must ours be, vnlesse we will be like to Barge or Whirimen, which row one way, & loke [Page] another. Demosthenes and Cicero were famous Orators, y ^e one in Athens the other in Rome. I confesse they were able to worke great masteries by their eloquence. Their orations were great­ly accompted of in Rome and Athens, and are in good credite with vs. But if they be compared with the broken and vnperfect spéeches of a truly repentant sinner, Demosthenes wordes must stād behind the dore, and Ciceroes are with out life, and are as farre excéeded, as the Pibble stone of the costly Diamonde. The sacrifices of God are a contrite spi­rite: Psal. 51.17. a contrite and a broken heart.

And turne to the Lord. To deserue well of other, is not the least of the due­ties of this life. To helpe euery man as he nedeth help, is a very singuler thing. He that relieueth the poore, doeth well: he that deliuereth them out of prison which are in fetters there, doth better: but he that leadeth them which are, as it were, past grace, out of the shadow of death into the light of life, deserueth best of all. Aegypt was barren when Nilus did not ouerflow it: Mount Sion was [Page] barren when it was not watered with dew from Heauen: but without godly admonition, which is like to a precious and swéete smelling ointment, men do rot in wickednes, and do cal a thousand euils to themselues. Hoseas least the Israelites which had giuen Gods glory a gréeuous blow, should euer be at war with the eternal God, and at the length be stricken through with Gods sworde as they deserued, calleth them to repen­tance, Turne to the Lord, as if he should say, you are the sonnes of Abraham: albéeit you haue forgotten your selues, and haue wrastled with the Lorde, cast from you the weapons of monstrous wickednes, neither continue battaile with him, which with an iron rodd can breake wilde beastes in péeces, and doth with stretched out armes imbrace re­pentant sinners. The Prophet Esay when he had dealte sharpely with the Iewes for running in their distresse to Aegypt, and so casting themselues head long to hell: least they should still be pri­soners to Sathan, who is a wily Fox, and did mightely bestirre himselfe to [Page] bar them of all hope of pardon, the Pro­phet Esay, I say, calleth them to repen­tance. Esay. 31.6. Turne againe O ye children of Is­rael, in as much as ye are sunken deepe in rebellion. Ieremie when he had liue­ly, & in Orient colours set out the mad­nesse of the Israelites touching Idola­trie, and had grieuously complayned that they had broken their faith with God, like vnto filthie strompets: least they should euer runne awrie, if they did sée the gates of Gods mercie shut a­gainst them, he cried alowde in Gods name, that pardon was readie for them: Thou disobedient Israel, Iere. 3.12.14. returne, saith the Lord: and a litle after: O ye disobe­dient children, turne againe saith y ^e Lord for I am your husband. The spirite of God hauing roundly taken vp the An­gell of the Church of Ephesus, because He had left his first loue, before he will put any punishment in execution, he commandeth him to repent: Reuel. 2.5. Remember from whence thou art fallen and repent, and do the first works: or else I wil come against thee shortly, and wil remoue thy candlestick out of his place, except thou [Page] amend. We must treade in the steppes of Esay, Ieremie, Hoseas: when we will caste downe the rotten walles of sinne, we must in any wise remember to call greeuous sinners vnto repen­tance. When the sinner is amended we must deale louingly with him: Luke. 10.34. 2. Cor. 2.10.11. we must vse oyle with the Samaritane, & with S. Paul which gaue especiall charge to them of Corinth, to receiue againe into the bosome of their Church the ex­communicate Corinthian, after his a­mendment. They which take not this course, that is to say, they whiche deale hardly and roughly with them whiche are wounded with the feeling of sinne, doe them as much good, as smoake doth the eyes, and as the East winde doeth the fruites of the earth, and are hipo­crites though they thunder a thousand times in the pulpits. And because they know not what it is to féele the heauie hand of God, howsoeuer they haue the countenance of Cato, they doe in déede resemble Ismael and Nero. I speak not this, that sinne which is too too rise shold more increase, but because I would [Page] haue the ministers trie euerie way be­fore they condemne other to hell, and barre against them the doore of Gods mercie with Acesius, Socrat. lib. 1. Cap. 10. which was one of wicked Nouatus his schollers. The eternall God is verie gratious, if we de­sire his fauour: he giueth to the repen­tant milke, as it were, out of his brests. He that found his lost sheepe, laide it vp­on his shoulders, and was a glad man. The woman when she had found her lost grote, was as ioyfull as might be. The prodigall young man by riot and dissolute behauiour beeing brought to a verie lowe ebbe, returned with greate humilitie to his father. Did the olde man entertain him as Gregorie the se­uenth did Henrie y ^e Emperor? Benno Cardi. if he had, he had marred the fashion of his sonne which was mightily gréeued: but let vs heare what the Euangelist Luke saith: When he was yet a great way of, Luke. 15.20.21.22.23.24. his Fa­ther sawe him, and had compassion, and ranne and fell on his necke, He did not treade on his sonnes necke as Alexan­der the thirde did vpon the Emperour Frederikes, And kissed him, not as [Page] Ioab did Amasa, and Iudas Christe. When the father hearde this spéech of his sonne, Father I haue sinned against heauen and before thee, & am no more worthie to be called thy sonne, He did not reuile his sonne, or cast in his dishe his former vnthriftinesse, but, saide to his seruantes: bring forth the best robe not such a one as Dianeira is saide to haue giuen to her husbande Hercules, imbrued in the bloud of the Centaure: And put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, not such a one as bloudie Gyges had, and bring, not an Italian fig, y ^t is, poison in a golden cup, but the fat calf & & kil him, and let vs eate & be merry, for this my sonne was dead, and is aliue a­gaine: and he was lost, but he is found. If the earthly father did so fréely pardon a riotous and gracelesse vnthrifte, and in steede of his ragges, clothe him in ex­cellent sorte, we may assure our selues that God will burie our sinnes, and fur­nish vs againe with those good giftes which for our naughtinesse he did strip vs of. The great goodnesse of God, if it he compared with the earthly Fathers, [Page] doeth as farre passe it, as the maine sea doth a de [...]p of water: Esay. 65.24. Yea before they call, I will answere, saith the Lorde. And say to him, take away all iniquitie. Hose­as dealt before with the Israelites, To take wordes vnto them and to turne vn­to the Lorde, If a word more had not passed from him, the Israelites had bene greatly in his debt: but when he ope­neth his heart vnto them, and teacheth them what wordes they should vse, to winne Gods fauour, they owe no lesse then themselues to the Prophet. As Hoseas, so did Dauid, Ioel, Christ. Da­uid when he had highly commended Ie­rusalem, for that it was a bond of holie vnitie, a barborough of the Church, and the seate of the kingdome: that that ci­tie béeing, watred with Gods blessing as with pleasaunt streames, might euer flourish like the palme trée: he teacheth y ^e godly how to pray for y ^e happie estate of the holy citie: Psal. 122.6. Pray for the peace of Ie­rusalē, let them prosper that loue thee. The Prophet Ioel, least the Assirians army should (as a great stood) swallow vp the tribe of Iuda, plagued before of [Page] God by famine for their sinnes, calleth them earnestly to fasting and teares: & least they shold be dumbe in this excellēt action, he giueth the priestes in charge to pray thus vnto the maiestie of God. Spare thy people O Lorde, Ioel. 2.16.17. and giue not thy heritage into reproch, that the hea­then should rule ouer them. Our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ, least his dis­ciples in praying should fall into the vaine repetitions, and much babling of the heathen, deliuered to them a shorte, but yet an excellent forme of praier in these wordes, Our Father which art in Heauen &c. As Dauid, Ioel, Christ, and Hoseas did, so must we. If we shal haue to do with them which are contrite and broken in spirite, it is not inough to speake thus vnto them, pray to the lord, pray to the lorde, pray to the lorde, but we must teach them with what words they may procure his fauour. So shall we heale a wounded conscience, and it will easily appéere, that we haue appli­ed our plaister aright with the skilfull Surgian, and our medicine aright with the learned Phisician.

Take away all iniquitie. This is an [Page] excellent prayer, and consistes of two parts. In the first, the Israelits confesse y ^t thei dranke iniquitie as water: in the second part thei desire pardon. The first part is conteined in these wordes, all in­iquitie: the seconde, in these wordes, take away. Cōcerning the first, the Israelits dealt very Christianly when they gaue sentence against thēselues & spared not thēselues y ^e the Lord might spare them. If they had pleaded not guiltie, and had impudently cried that they had not of­fended the maiestie of God, they had lost their labour, & had reached him an iron rod to beate them in péeces with. Nota­ble therfore is that spéech of the prophet Dauid: Psal. 32.5. I said, I will confesse against my selfe my wickednes vnto the Lord. The Israelites being dispersed vnder the ti­rāt Antiochus, vsed this spéech vnto the Lord: Psal. 106.6. We haue sinned with our fathers, we haue committed iniquitie and done wickedly. Ezra, Iob, Nehemias, and the Publicane did the like. So must we do, euen fréely and from the heart. Con­fession of our faultes must be our medi­cine when we haue done amisse, as it was to the Israelites. We hate those [Page] impudent fellowes, which are either dainty, or refuse to confesse those things which are in euery mans eyes & mouth. Gods eies cannot be dazeled: vnlesse we confesse our sinnes, we deceaue not the Lord, but our selues: we hide our selues with Adam amongst the trées, and with Figge leaues we do cloath our selues. The Israelites in this excellent petici­on, take away all iniquitie, do not onely giue out that thei are guilty of one falt, but that their wickednes (like a great flood) ouerfloweth them. Ezra, when the Israelites after their returne from captiuitie in Babylon, had ioyned in mariage with the daughters of the Ca­naanites, Ammonites, Egyptians, is not cōtent to remember only y ^e strange sinne which the lord God hated deadly, but spreading out his hands to the lord he burst into these words: Ezra. 9.5.6. Our iniqui­ties are increased ouer our heade, & our trespasse is growen vp vnto the heauen. Dauid when he was touched in consci­ence for the vniust slaughter of Vrias, and for betraying the Lords armie, did not only crush that Byle, but confesseth himselfe to be further plunged in wic­kednes: [Page] Deliuer me from bloud, Psal. 51.14. O God &c. They that haue offended God by a­ny notable sinne, if they will seriously call the rest of their life to a reckoning, it wil be cléere vnto them, that their sins cannot be told on their fingers, or trus­sed vp in a fardel: and therfore thei must cry with the prophet Dauid: Psal. 11.12. Who can vnderstand his faultes: cleanse me from my secrete faultes. I could if I listed, ta­ry longer in this argument, but bicause I desire to be bréefe, and yet to haue va­rietie, I will remember in a worde or two, that the Israelits after the confes­sion of their sinnes, desired pardon. The confession of our sinnes sauoureth of a good and godly minde: but vnlesse desire of pardon be ioyned with it, we saile in a shipp that hath a hole in the bottome. Cain, after that he had murdered his brother Abel, gaue out this spéech: My sinne is greater then can be pardoned. Gen. 4.13. Iudas after y ^t he had betrayed his ma­ster Christ, Mat. 27.4. said: I haue sinned betraying the innocent blood. But bicause Cain & Iudas did here, as it were, ride at an anchor, they made shipwracke of euer­lasting life. The Israelites, of whom [Page] Hoseas speaketh, were not of the same parish y ^t Cain & Iudas were: thei desire pardon. It profiteth not the wounded man to looke on his woundes, vnlesse he call for a Surgian, neither the sick man to know his disease, vnlesse he cal for the Phisician: I will add a third thing, nei­ther doth the hatred of sinne profite the sicke & wounded sinner, vnlesse he craue for mercy at the hands of God, the most skilfull both Phisician & Surgian. Da­uid when the staffe of his sinnes had so galled his heart, that he felt, as it were, a gréeuous hell within him, both hum­bly and earnestly desireth pardon: Psal. 51.1.2.7 9.14. Haue mercy vpō me, O God, according to thy louing kindnes: according to the multi­tude of thy compassions put away mine iniquities. Wash me throughly from mine iniquitie, & cleanse me frō my sin. Purge me with Hisop, & I shalbe cleane: wash me and I shalbe whiter than snow, hide thy face from my sinnes, and put a­way all mine iniquities. Deliuer me frō blood O God &c: Daniel when the Is­raelites had béen longe in captiuitie at Babylon, desireth pardon of his & their sinnes, and that it would please the ma­iestie [Page] of God to perform his promise for their return frō Babilon: O Lord heare O Lord forgiue, Daniel. 9.19. O Lord consider & do it, deferr not for thine owne sake, O my God. The Publicane in the Gospel, al­béeit he durst not lift vp his eies to hea­uen, yet he smote his brest, & desired for­giuenesse of his sinnes: Luke. 18.13. O God be mer­ciful to me a sinner. We our selues gro­ning vnder y ^e burden of our sinnes, must hunger and thirst for the grace of God, & therefore craue pardon of our sinnes. Almightie God is not such a one as Mi­nos or Rhadamanthus was: he is not a iudge that will not be intreated: He is therefore mercifull bicause he is God. The lawes of Draco the Atheniā were written with blood: Aristot. pol. 2. nothing in them is worthy of remembrance but extremitie of punishment. But Gods lawes are written with milke. Psal. 130.4. Mercy is with God that he may be feared. Aske and it shal be giuen you, Matt. 7.7. seeke and ye shall finde, knock, saith Christ, and it shalbe opened vnto you. If any plain dealing mā shold giue out to his debters y ^t he would for­giue thē their debt, would they so much as thinke of paying that creditor? if god [Page] hath set it downe in his worde, that he will pardon repentant sinners, do we thinke that he wil not kéepe touch with them? Nomb. 23.19. God is not as man that he should lie, neither as the sonne of man that he should repent: hath he saide and shall he not do it, & hath he spoken and shal not he accomplish it? as it is in Balaams parable to Balak, the Kinge of Moab. Though your sinnes were as crymsin, Esay. 1.18. they shalbe made white as snow: though they were red like scarlet, they shalbe as wooll, saith the lord. Much more might be fetched out of the rich storehouse of Gods booke, but I haue done with this argument, when I haue added these swéet and cōfortable spéeches, Mich. 7.19. Psal. 32.1. that God doeth not remember our sinnes, that he castes thē into the botom of the sea, y ^t he layeth them not to our charge, but doth couer thē. August. in Psal. 52. If therfore God hath couered sinnes, he would not cast his eye vpon them: if he would not cast his eie vpon them, he would not throughly consider of them: if he would not throughly con­sider of them, he woulde not punishe them: he would not know them, but had rather pardon them.

And receiue vs graciously. The va­lew of good things is better knowne by the want, then by the continuall hauing of them. Helth is swéeter to them which are recouered after gréeuous sicknesse, then to them which were neuer sicke. Riches are more pleasant to poore men which were somtimes wealthy, then to th [...] which neuer knewe what wante meaned. The Israelites when they were plagued with want & beggery for their manifolde transgressions, after pardon craued for their sinnes, do hum­bly & earnestly desire at the lords hands that he would deale gratiously with thē: that is to say, that he would reach his hand to them and water the withered Israelites with the streams of his libe­ralitie. Iob. 8.11. Can a rush grow without myne, or can the grasse grow without water? as Bildad said to Iob. Vnlesse almigh­tie God do make the riuers of his good­nesse passe vnto vs, we are like to a par­ched bladder. If God blesse not our la­bours, our early risings will not serue the turne: for the heauen shalbe as iron, and the earth as an armed souldiour to execute Gods iudgements, and he that [Page] earneth wages, shall put it in a broken purse. But when God doth fauour vs, it goeth well with vs, we haue welth at will, & in a ground, as it were, barren, faire corne, & a beautifull Vine cōmeth vp. Moses, lest the Israelites whom he cōmended for their godlines, should ei­ther reuolte or wax faint in the midst of their race, doth singularly harten them: God will loue thee, Deut. 7.13. and blesse thee and multiply thee: he wil also blesse the fruit of thy wombe, and the fruit of thy land, thy corne, and thy wine, and thy oyle.

The Prophet Ioel, that the tribe of Iuda béeing now turned to the Lorde might put off the mourning wéede, pro­miseth them frō the Lords mouth great store of temporall blessings. Ioel. 2.24. The barnes shal be full of wheate, & the presses shal abound with wine & oyle. Hoseas, that the Israelites might assure themselues of Gods fauour, deliuereth the Lordes minde verie comfortably to them, I wil breake the bowe and the sworde, Hoseas. 2.18.21.22. & the battel out of the earth, and will make them to sleepe safely: and in that day I wil heare, saith the Lord, I wil heare the heauens, and they shall heare the earth, [Page] & the earth shal heare the corne, and the wine, and the oyle, and they shall heare Izreel. And that these swéet promises might take déep roote in the harts of the Israelites, y ^e Prophet Hoseas, or rather the Lord by the prophete handleth the same argument in the last Chapter of that prophecie: I will loue them freely: I wil be as the deawe vnto Israel, Hoseas. 14.5.6.7.8. he shal growe as the lillie, & fasten his rootes as the trees of Lebanon his branches shall spread, and his beawtie shall be as the o­liue tree, and his smel as Lebanon. They y ^t dwel vnder his shadowe, shal returne: they shall reuiue as the corne and florish as the vine: the sente thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. When Almightie God hath put away our sins as a cloud, and hath made the beautifull sonne of his grace to shine vnto vs, he féedeth the hungrie, clotheth the naked, healeth our diseases blesseth our studies, & doth lade vs with heaps of benefits. God is neuer wearie with doing vs good. His store­house cannot be emptied and his foun­taine can neuer be dried vp.

And we wil render the calues of our lips.

A good turne must be remembred, and [Page] we must be thankful to him that hath deserued wel of vs. If any haue done vs good, either by preferring vs, or deliue­ring vs from daunger, we may not for­get the pleasure done vnto vs, and it is in euerie mans mouth that we must i­mitate the fruitful fieldes, which bring forth more corn then they receiued. The eternal God did powre infinit blessings vpon the Israelites, as it were with a full horne: he planted thē a noble vine: when they brought forth wilde grapes, the Lorde did prune and cut the vine. When they caste them selues headlong to all vngodlines, he pulled them often back with the bridle of his feare: he for­gaue them infinite sins and laded them with externall benefits. The Israelites hauing receiued large measure of Gods blessinges, giue out y ^t they wil be hum­bly thankfull to his Maiestie: We will render, saide they, the calues of our lips, as if they should say, in the time of the lawe they offered calues when they ac­complished their vowes: but in stéede of offering calues, we will render the calues of our lips, that is to say, we wil praise & commend the goodnes of God. [Page] The prophete Dauid, when the Lord had turned his mourning into ioy, & his sackecloth into gladnes, Psal. 30.11.12. giueth out that he was therfore gratiously dealt with, that he might be alwayes a trompet of the praises of God. And in another place after that he had tasted or rather dronk déeply of gods singular goodnes, he brust out into these wordes. Psal▪ 69.30.31. I wil prayse the name of God with a song, and magnifie him with thankesgiuing: this also shall please the Lord better then a yong bul­locke that hath hornes and hoofes. Whē Ioel prophecied, the grassehoppers, the canker wormes & the caterpillers were the Lords armie to destroy all the Isra­elites increase. The Israelites were for a time shrewdly pinched, & hungerbit­ten: but the Lord at the length had mer­cie on them. And when he had made the earth verie fruiteful, the Israelites are called on to be thankful to his Maiestie You shal prayse the name of the Lorde your god y ^t hath dealt maruelously with you. Ioel. 2.26. But let vs leaue the Israelites, & a little while examine our selues. The e­ternall God hath ben verie gratious, & good to the vniuersitie of Cambridge, his [Page] pleasure was & is, to haue it an orcharde of most precious fruite, a temple of reli­gion, and a chappel of godlines. Are we thankeful to God for his singular good­nes? If we will be truely thankfull, we may not burie the Lordes treasure in y ^e earth, & hide his light vnder a bushel, & like the harper Aspendius plaie and sing onely to our selues. If we will be truly thankful, if any in our Colledges be suspected of Poperie, we must teach them Gods trueth, if they be willing to learne it: if they refuse to be taught, we must expell them. If we will be truely thankfull, we must make much of poore mens sonns which are toward & godly, & we must take héed, that Colledge pre­ferments be giuē fréely to the worthiest, & be not chopped or changed for monie. If we will be truely thankfull, we may not preferre bolde and idle fukes which are fitter for y ^e cart, then for their books, & neuer knew what good learning ment we may not, I say, set them ouer the painefull Bées in the vniuersitie, and Colledge hiues, vnlesse we will deale strangely, which God forbid, with the Church and common wealth. For as the [Page] couer is for the shielde, and the sheath, for the sword, Lib. 2. De nat. De. as Chrisippus said: so V­niuersitie Coledges were built for men of learning & towardnesse. Lastly if we wil be truly thankful, we may not haue any liking of such as are well schooled & taught to flatter, which can ducke like Friers & kisse the ground w ^t their knées which haue teares at commandement, which can counterfet & liuely expresse y ^e countenance and spéech of others, & can dissemble verie cunningly. These men are the worst, & the veriest dishclouts of all other, they are like to the Cameleon. Though they be born in England, they are but bastard Englishmen, wheresoe­uer and whosoeuer they be, they are vn­worthie of the lowest place. But I haue spoken to muche of these gracelesse fel­lowes whom I should not haue honou­red so much as to remēber them though to their discommendation. I doe fréely confesse that there is in our Vniuersitie a goodly nomber of excellent wittes: if I shold not, I might by mē be iustly char­ged with & conuinced of a lye, and by Al­mightie God of vnthankfulnes. I do not enuie the good estate of the Vniuersitie: [Page] thankes be to God for this worthie in­crease, and I doe humbly pray his Ma­iestie that this happie haruest may be more plentiful then euen now it is. And because I haue gone thus farre in the mention of sharpe wittes, I am verie earnestly to intreate you which are set ouer the Colledges of our Vniuersitie, that you will account of thē which haue shewed singular proofe of learning, reli­gion and vertue in our Colledges & V­niuersitie as of your deare brethren, and your owne bowels: and that you will make much of those young men & schol­lers of lower place but yet of excellent hope. So shal our Colledges (as the ap­ple trée of Persia) budde, blossome, and beare fruite all times of the yeare, The Church of England shall be better fur­nished then it is, & y ^e glorie of God more brightly shine amongst vs. As for you (my welbeloued brethren) giue your selues wholy to learning and godlines, neither take it grieuously, if you be for­gotten a time, when prefermentes are bestowed. Liue in peace and the God of peace shall be with you. If ye put in practise these thinges whiche I haue in [Page] godly sorte deliuered: whether wee be Masters, fellowes or Schollers of Col­ledges, it will easily appeare, that wée haue rendred to God, The calues of our lippes, that is to say, that we haue very humbly both in worde and déede, giuen thankes to his Maiestie. My meaning is to reserue y ^e next verse vntill another time: here therfore I wil make an end. The eternal God and mercifull father giue vs grace, vnfaignedly to turne vn­to him, earnestly to pray to his maiesty, & to obtaine at his hands that we pray for, lastly, for his infinite benefites to prayse w ^tout ceassing the infinite good­nes of God the Father, to whome with the Sonne, and the holie Ghoste, be all prayse, honour, and glorie for euer.

A­men.