IF GOD ALMOST BY MIRA­cle hath cast so terrible lightnin­ges vpon Calece, as make, ether al mennes eares to glow, & tingle, or their hertes to tremble, & quake, that heare how sore that toune is sodainly plaged, what maiest thou loke for, ô England, whose most detestable, and most abominable horrible vices, so far excede the vices of Cale­ce, as Sodome euer passed Siō in vilainous tragical actes. For to considre this mat­ter thoroughly, and to beginne with the cheifest, the gouernor of Calece did beare in dede with idolatrie, and false religion, & therefore is iustly brought in to a captiues wretched state. But thy ruler England with raging madnes, and open tyrannie at hir first entraunce restored in hast idolatrie and false popish religion, being before luc­kely beaten dounne, thorough out the hole realme, and now continueth a shameles aduancer, and bloodie mainteiner of the sa­me. The gouernor of Calece ioied not to see the people defile them selues with vile poperie, with idolatrious masse hea­ring, with crouching to domme stockes, & stones, with kissing of canferd crosses, with [Page] sprincling of enchaunted and exchaunted waters vpon their forloren bodies, with ea­ting of charmed bread, in stede of Christes holie sacrament: Thy ruler cōpelleth al men to those, and manie other like horri­ble abominations, with thondring threates, and most violent flames of fier. The gouernor of Calece ernestly bewailed in his herte, the decaie of sound doctrine grati­ously renued and repared in the daies of holie king Edwarde. Thy ruler reioiseth, and triumpheth in treading, and stamping it vndre hir fete. The gouernor of Cale­ce reuerently spake, and thought of true religion. Thy ruler most blasphemously raileth vpon it, and most dedly hateth it. The gouernor of Calece kepte his handes pure from shedding of innocent blood. Thy ruler hath bathed hir selfe, and swim­meth in the holie blood of most innocent, vertuous, and excellent personages. Let the bloodie bodie of the courteous, mo­dest, godlie, wise, and wel lerned Ladie Ia­ne, and of the gilteles lord Giltford com­me forth for witnesses. In noble Tho­mas Wiat perchaūce, and his companie thy ruler maie haue some pretence, and yet that [Page] valiaunt capitaine, & right vertuous man, with the rest of that band, without doubte put on armour, and rose vp in defence of their countree, which than begāne to be be­traied. And the like maie be saide of the good duke of Suffolke, and of that worthie man my lorde Thomas Graie his brother.

Of whom if anie thing were don amisse, thy ruler was the verie autor, headspring, and principal cause of it, and therefore stained hir selfe with blood in killīg them, who­se faulte, if there were anie, she hir selfe caused, bred vp, & brought forth. But what color, or cloke can she haue, if I cal for the burnt bones & asshes, of the sobre lerned, and holie martyr Thomas grammer arch­bishop of Cāterburie? of the excellent, wise godlie, and skilful man Nicolas Ridleie bishop of London, of sondrie other vertu­ous and lerned bishoppes, and ministers of goddes worde, and of a nombre of good, simple, verie innocent, harmles, and right godlie men, and wemen, whom she hath most cruelly rosted, and fried in flames for mainteining the open truth, and keping of their conscience vpright before god. So that if thou compare hir with the old perse­quutors [Page] of goddes truth Nero, Decius, Di­ocletian, Domitian, Maximine, and such o­ther thou shalt perceaue, that she hath mat­ched the outragious crueltie of them, & that hir extreme tyrannie hath dured lōger thā the tyrannie of the most parte of thother, & in some pointes is gonne farther. For no­ne of those persequuted the bones, & ashes of ded men, nor sought the further affliction, and famishment of such as by them we­re alreadie driuen out of their natiue coun­trees, as this, furious tyrannesse hath don most gredely vnnaturally, and vnmerciful­ly. But to procede in our former comparison, whereby thy state shalbe better know­en, the gouernor of Calece neuer condem­ned anie, whose cause he had not heard be­fore, and perfectly vndrestanded. Thy ruler hath cast in to raging fiers more than three hundred vertuous, innocent, godlie mē, whose cause she neuer heard, neuer vn­drestode, neuer labored to know thorough­ly. Yea lest hir conscience shuld condemne hir of most horrible murder, and lest hir bloodie desire might be dulled, she obstinately refuseth once to loke vpō the bokes of excellent good men, which plainly proue, [Page] that only the open truth hath ben the mat­ter, for which so manie holie personages must suffre most cruel death. The gouernor of Calece mainteined an honest fami­lie, godlie seruantes both men, & women.

Thy ruler hath aboute hir raueners, snat­chers, flatterers, effoeminate Ganimedes, Alcinoes youth, and amonge hir women verie strompettes, and to wel knowen bau­des, and witches. The gouernor of Cale­ce what so euer is now forged to cloke the quenes trecherie, and to bleare the peoples eyes, bare a singular loue to the toune, and procured the welth of it to his power. Thy ruler not only being warned of imminent daunger left that toune purposely spoiled of good soldiars, and warlike strōge men, to make a waie to hir lust in meaning to gi­ue it vp to another, but hath also studied these 4. yeres to betraie the ô Englande in to the handes of a straunger, and of a nati­on most defamed in al the world for pride, and crueltie. She hath sought meanes to make the fight against thy selfe▪ whereby being enfeebled and weakened, thou migh­test be lesse able to resist the force of the spaniard. She beganne warre with a mightie [Page] king, where peace was sought, and desi­red, only to satisfie hir wilful head, to en­crease the force of the spaniard, & to maimme the of thi best capitaines, & soldiars. She hath spoiled the of thy artillarie, of thy treasure, and iuels sent in to a foraine coūtree, I thinke no more, for the loue of the straunger, thā for the hate, that she beareth agaīst thy people. For bicause she hath begon­ne a thing nawghtely vpon hir awne head, she wil now procede wickedly without staie and extremely hateth al them, as ether like not hir doinges, or by them stand in daun­ger of destruction. And she is so bereft of witte, that she thincketh it better, to do madly, and nawghtely stil a pease, than to seme to haue don madly, and nawghtely at the beginninge thorow wilful desire, & she is now sunke so far in follie, that she wee­neth, that she maie wype awaie the blotte of hir first madnes with continual pursuite of the same Finally the gouernor of Calece, his cloking, and dissembling of goddes truth excepte, was a good man, gentle, lo­uing, curteous, harmeles, plaine, temperate sobre, honest, and vertuous. Thy ruler is thoroughly spotted with papistrie, & idolatrie, [Page] a stocke worshipper, a cakeworship­per, a bold blasphemer of the true Christ, whose blessed bodie is gloriously placed in heauen, and not pinde in popes pixes. Thy ruler is disdainful, and so proude, that to be the wife of an emperors sonne, & for hope that she shal once be called my ladie emperesse, she is contente not only to ma­ke the as bare as a birdes taile, but also vnnaturally to betraie the hir natiue countree, & make the subiecte to a popish proude, vn­merciful, and vngodlie nation. She is despiteful, cruel, bloodie, wilful, furious, gileful, stuffed with painted processes, with simulation, & dissimulatiō, void of honestie, void of vpright dealinge, voide of al seme­lie vertues. I speake not this of hatred god I cal to recorde, nor for anie luste to recompte others lothesome euils, but only to cal hir to spedie repentaunce, by the vg­le sight of hir most horrible sinnes. I iud­ge surely that of al other I ought most to lamente hir, as the most vnfortunate womā, that euer was. For whereas besides the­se detestable open, and wel knowen vices, and other more secrete fowle sores, she is giltie of the blood, & damnation of al tho­se [Page] that haue perished, daily perish and shal perish thorough the most abominable grosse idolatrie, and false religion, that she hath sette vp, and thorough wante of the true knowlege of Christ, which she hath by al meanes possible quenched, and oppres­sed, yet she hath not one that wil warne hir, of the most miserable, and most terrible state that she standeth in. Wherefore sith al hir frendes, and louers, shauelinges, and other slaues of the poleshorē swarme with silence, and closed lippes, see hir runne hed­lōg in to the lake, that burneth with vnquenchable fier, I thought it my dutie to do good for euil, and by opening, and laying corro­sies to hir piteful festred sores, to prepare them to a farther cure, that she perish not euerlastingly. And I beseche god most hertely to bring my desire to effecte, which is surely none other, but that hir sowle, thorough the great mercies of god, and hir hū ­ble knowleging, hating, and renouncing of hir sinnes in time, maie be saued from hel­fier. It maie wel be that for this my war­ning, she wil seke my death, but she shal su­rely seke the death of him, that loueth hir better, and wold do more for hir perpetu­al [Page] safetie, than al the fatte fed preistes, and papistes ether in the courte, or in the coun­tree. And if she knew asmuch as I do she wold be gladder of the woundes that I ha­ue giuen hir, thā of al the kisses that euer she had in al hir life, first, or last. For what shuld it auaile hir, if with the losse of hir sowle for euer, she might a while possesse in this world al the ioies together, that ar con­teined therein. Nothing erthlie wold be bought with euerlastīg torment, which shal as certainly comme vpon hir, as god liueth, and is true of his worde, onles before corporal death she repente hir of these most detestable abominat [...]s, that I haue now laied forth, and turne [...] time from the false pope, & patched poperie to the true Christ, and tru religion, & be purged, and sancti­fied, not by coniured waters, and mennes phantastical deuises, but by the holie spirite of god. Which grace if god of his infinite goodnes shal graunte hir, I wil seke no greater rewarde of my trauail. But lette vs procede in our consideration, and comme now to the counsel of Calece, one of the cheifest whereof, the greatest sembler, & dissembler, the subtilest flatterer that liueth, [Page] called to another office in the courte by the death of a vile nonnish papist, was absent at the subduyng of the toune. That Vlysses I saie, the deuiser of mischeife was absent, not to auoid, but to runne in to a more horrible plage, onles he preuente it with spedie repentance. This is he who in king Ed­wardes time putte on a maske, and visor of a protestant, and with his melie mouth, and flering lookes crepte in to good mennes bosomes. This is he, who thorough crafti­nes of witte, and by the helpe of a mad calfe begiled the good lord wentworth, & drue him from a better purpose, and so was the occasion of al the mischeife, and miseries, that haue ensued sit [...]ns. Besides this fal­se traitor to god, to his srendes, and to his countree, who as I saide, was awaie at the ruine of the tounne, the rest of the coūsel of Calece, were not notoriously nawghtie men. In the most parte of them, a man colde desire nothinge, saue more zeale to the truth, that thei knew, more strenghth of minde, more feare of god than of a womā. For this in dede was a commune faulte a­monge them al, & worthie manie deathes, and vttre destruction, that thei stode not to the [Page] knowen truth, but for feare, and to satisfie the wil of an ignorant wilful woman, suf­fred them selues to be defiled with abomi­nable masse idolatrie, and were contente with grudge of conscience to seme to drincke in againe al the popes filthie dregges. Certaine of them were papistes to, I wote wel, and yet thei retained some ciuilite, and outwarde honestie. Turne thyne eyes now to thy coūsel England, how fierce ty­gres, how cruel wolues, how rauening bea­res, how lecherous goates how wilie foxes, or to speake plainly without figure, what periured traitors to god, and to the, what murderers, what oppressors of the poore, what voluptuous Sardanapales, what adul­terers, how vile flatterers shalt thou finde amonge them? It were a smal faulte, and a verie peccaduliā in them to dissemble the truth of religion. Thei raile vpon it, they tosse it with scoffes & mockes, thei bloode­ly, & tyrānously persequute it. It might be wicked at, if thei toke bribes, ōly to oppresse the cause of a few poore mē, thei take bribes to betraie the hole realme. It might be pas­sed ouer with silence if thei had murdered but one mā a peece, the blood of innumerable sainctes crieth vp to heauen agaīst them [Page] & the groninges of manie thousandes op­pressed ar heard euerie where. It might perchaunce be perdoned, if they spent but some weekes in pleasures, they wallow continually in vile voluptuousnes, and wantō daliance, and waste al their vnhappie daies in beastlie delites, nether can chaūge of wo­men, nor women only satisfie their filthie abominable desires. Breifely there be no vices in the world whereof you maie not see great buddes, or rather great bounnies, and bunches in them. Here I maie not let­te scape the pristes of Calece, a foule broo­de of thy henne. Papistes they were and verie furies of hel. But if thei be compared to thy prelates and preistes, thei were but demipapistes, and demidiuels. For he that wold discouer the fowle inwarde par­tes of thy shauelinges, and filthie smered flocke, shuld seme to rake vp the botome of hel, yea he that wold shew the outwarde partes of them naked, shuld shew the fowlest sight, that euer was sene in the world. For what idolatrie, what pride, what couetous­nes, what crueltie, what lecherie, what sodo­mitrie, was euer heard of in anie age, that thei haue not far exceded? Thou canst [Page] not name a bishoppe, but thou shalt see his toūge swollen with blasphemie, his fingers dropping with the blood of innocentes, his bodie spotted with most filthie villanie, & the rest of thy AEgyptian shauelinges, stri­ue which shal passe other farthiest in al kin­des of beastlie abomination. And to speake as I thinke, amonge them, Weston, who hath worne, and weried himselfe in whoredom, these twentie yeres, and now for his late chast behauior is iudged to leese his stones, maie be compted an honest man. So manifolde, so execrable, so outragious is their filthines, and wickednes. Who can thinke on that bloodie beast Bonner, but a most grislie, vgle, & horrible monstre shal­be presented before his eyes, such a one as no Polyphemus in boisteousnes, no furies of hel with their snakie heares in al poin­tes of mischeife, no Cerberus in blasphe­mous roaring, no find in raging, in tearing, and in deuouring innocentes, cā ouermat­che. But I wil leaue that botomeles sea, of most filthie stincking vices, & passe farther. The commons of Calece consisted partely of papistes, and partely of men reformed in religion. The papistes were there, as [Page] they be euerie where, murmurers against god gredie scrapers, enuious, lecherous, ful of secrete vices, but they were few in nom­bre, and lesse besprincled with innocent blood. The Christianes were weaklinges, dissemblers, quenepleasers, worldlinges, riotous, wanton, & giuen to al fleshlie lus­tes for the most parte. I comme now to thy commons England, of which some be gentle men, & those ether papistes, or pro­testantes. The papistical gentle men ar slaues to poleshorne preistes, to exequute their boucherie, folowing therein parte of thy nobilitee, in bloodie crueltie worse than Shythians, in oppressing the poore Neroes hellish ofspringe, in greedie con­uetousnes verie Harpyes, in malice, and enuie yonge diuels, traitors to their countree, open deceauers, vile flatterers, filthie le­chers, herteles cowardes, shameles brag­gers, godles Epicures. The gentle men ptotestantes for the most parte differ from thother in knowlege only, and not in life, in wordes, and not in worckes. The life conuetousnes, the like malice, and enuie, the like craftines, the like cowardise, and vnfaithfulnes in defending their countree, the [Page] like flatterie, the like lecherie, the like dronc­kennes in fleshlie pleasures, the like liynge is found in both sortes. And the commu­ne people to be shorte so countrefaite the beastlie, and abominable maners of theyr superiors, that they maie be compted their awne children, their awne brode aswel as their coūtremen, I speake of the great multitude. For I know that in euerie sorte, and condition of men, there be some that truly feare god. But in the ordre of thy nobi­litee al the godlie maie be grauen in one ringe. Amonge thy prelates, and preistes I know not one, and yet I exclude not al of that most filthie swinestie. Amonge thy gentlemen there be so few, that wold god the tithes, yea the twentithes, yea the hūdrethes might be sanctified to god, as men endued with some litle sparcke of feare towardes him. Amonge the commune peo­ple vndoubtedly there be more, but thei ar oppressed, and drouned in the huge multi­tude, & infinite swarmes of nawghtie wic­ked men. Sith than that beiond nombre, and measure thou excedest Calece in ou­tragiousnes, and multitude of most mischeuous factes, & horrible vices, what thought [Page] canst thou haue to escape the present drad­ful vengeance of god, which thou hast so manie waies deserued, and daily prouokest to be powred vpon the. For thou art not so witles, and starcke mad, as to thincke that welth, artillarie, or force of men can driue backe the vehement tempestes of plages, that hast to hurle the doune. For what power can staie god, whan he wil strike, or anie thinge at al draw backe his heauie han­de. And besides that, though riches, and force might helpe, as thei can not, yet thou art altogether vnfurnished. For thou art brought to verie beggerie. Thy best ordinance is lost, giuen, or conueighed a­waie. Thy capitaines ar purposely mur­dered, or pined awaie thorough thought of thy ruine. Thy noble men ar ether starcke cowardes, or starcke fooles for the most parte, and more meete for their effe­minatenes to handle a spindle, than to bea­re a speare, Thy commune people tho­rough pouertie, and continual miserie ar hertles more readie to beare burthens, and packes on their wretched shulders, thā har­nesse on their manlie backes. What re­maineth than ô most miserable countree? [Page] Cā anie other thinge be looked for, but wasting of fruteful fildes, burnīg of cities, & tounes, slawghter vpō slawghter, murdering of infātes in their mothers wōbes, death before life, deflowrīg of virgines rauishīg of wiues, a worse life than death it selfe in them that shal remaine vnmurdered, haling, harr [...]yng, & tugging hither, and thither by the heare of the head, miserable captiuitee, vile slauerie, and al kindes of extreme, and most intolerable oppressions. O yet notwith­standing the infinite heape of thy detesta­ble desertes, heare what thy god saieth. For thus he speaketh vnto the, vnto the I saie, if thou wilt yet giue eare by the mouth of his holie prophete Ieremie in 3. chap. Returne thou backe slidden Israel, & I wil not make myn anger to fal vpon the. So­me times thou wast goddes Israel, goddes holie congregation, and sanctified people. For the pure worde of god soūded euerie where in the, his sacramentes were rightly administred, image seruice, superstition, & al pilde pestilent poperie was clearely ba­nished, newnes of life, and the goodlie fair blosomes of goddes spirite in manie were wel seen. But now thou art slidden, and hast [Page] taken a fowle fal. For in stede of goddes worde thou hast now mennes doting dreames, in stede of Christes swete gospel the popes sower draffe, instede of Christes re­uerende supper, the popes toiy shapes plaie and monkisshe munming masse, in stede of goddes true seruice, thou hast stocke seruice, bone seruice, and wafer seruice. For right holines of spirite, thou hast a countrefaite popeholines, that stādeth in butter forbea­ring, in fish feasting, in flesh fliyng, with mouth, not with minde, in wymple wea­ring, in graie coate gatting, in lowring, in whimpering, in howling, in prating to painted postes, in biyng of blasphemous bulles, breifely for al vertues, thou hast embraced al vices. The wittie poetes faine, that Ix­ion wold adulterously haue laine with Iu­no, which thing Iuppiter hir husband per­ceauing turned a cloude in to hir likenes, which cloude Ixion hasted with great fond ioie, to embrase in stede of his peramour.

Hath not the like, or a thing far worse happened vnto the? Hast not thou catched after clowdes, and vaine shadowes in stede of the truth not only whereby thou hast made thy selfe a lawghīg stocke to al the world [Page] as Ixiō, but also most furiously pulled vpō the, the heauie indignation of almightie god. Thou hast in dede gon a whoring and committed adulterie with stockes and stones, & thinne weerisch bread, while thou woldest seme to folow the true spouse, & to seke his spiritual embrasinges, and, the­reby thou hast deserued confusion, and e­uerlasting damnation. And yet for al this thy god, and most louing husband, biddeth the turne againe to him, and he wil staie his iust indignation. O refuse not, as a despe­rate mad woman, to heare his swete cōfor­table, and gratious voice. Repente, and deteste thy vnkindnes, thy filthines, & beastlie abomination, Awaie with thy wafer­goddes, with thy masking masses, with thy latine mumbling, with thy lost liplabor.

Awaie with thy lies, and false sacrificing for the quicke & the ded, the greatest abomina­tion before god that euer was deuised. A­waie with thy coniured water, and charmed bread. Awaie with thy proud pompous pope, and al his pestiferous poperie.

Awaie with thy stincking lecherie, bocher­lie crueltie, greedie catching, wretched sparing. Awaie with thy pride ha­tred, [Page] enuie, and malice, that masse of a mischiefe, that hangeth on thy flesh, & turne at the last to thy most gratious husband whose fauor is as the due in the morning to drie withered herbes, whose displeasure is most doleful death. Dimnes, & darcknes desperation, and anguish, al horrible miseries, and calamities, death and destruction draw fast on, which al thou maiest yet auoi­de, if thou wilt turne at the louing calling of thy most merciful lorde. Calece was called, and wold not heare, and therefore is beaten low, and sore pressed with goddes plage, and shalt thou escape, if thou despi­ce the like calling, in so great apparance of destruction. For there was no such like­lihode of miserie hāging ouer Calece, whan she was called, as there is now a ful sight of vttre ruine hasting towardes the. Thou art now warned by me, and wast longe si­thens warned by the notable prophete of god master Latimer, and thou art most liuely warned by the terrible oppression of Calece. The cuppe thā must nedes be double mixte, that thou shalt drincke vp dregges and al, and in comparison of thy miserie the beating of Calece shal seme a benifite.

Loke vpon stories, and thou shalt finde, that those realmes haue euer ben sorest plaged that were most warned, and wold not repente Nether the criynges of the pro­phetes, nor the ruine of Samaria, cold cal Ierusalem to repentance. Wherefore the plages, sorowes, and miseries that rained doune by heapes vpon Ierusalem, were in­comparable, and excedingly passed the ca­calamities of Samaria. Thou than ô Englād, if thou haue anie pitie on thy selfe, on thy grave headded fathers, on thy gra­ue matrones, on thy swete children, on thy semelie maidens, and towardlie youth, shake of al sluggischnes, seke no vaine shiftes flatter not thy selfe in thy wickednes, heare not the blasphemous blustering of those helhoundes, that impute the losse of Cale­ce to the neglecting of poperie, as the hea­then in S. Augustines times affirmed, that the forsaking, and despicyng of theyr old goddes, and goddesses, was the cause of the decaie, and ruine of the empire. Which theyr shameles, and abominable affirma­tion, god incontinently reuenged, with the ouerthrow, sacking, and burning of Rome the imperial citie. The like talke now [Page] I wotte wel streameth out of the fowle mouthes of thy babilonical prelates. For where as thei thorough their trecherie haue, euer wrought the destruction & vttre rui­ne of tounes cities, & countrees, as the losse of al Asia, and of a great parte of Africa, & Europe doeth ouermuch testifie, they yet please them selues in their outragious mis­cheife, and wil rather fight against god, & ascribe the miseries of the world to god­des faulte, thā that thei wil acknowlege the verie cause of al plages in dede, namely their awne extreme horrible wickednes.

And it is no meruail, if they wold haue the professing, and preaching of the gospel to seme the cause of the realmes shame, losse and decaie. For they hate no poison in the world so much, as they hate, and abhor­re goddes word, and his truth. For that bewraieth their hypocrisie, their idolatrie, their false doctrine, their fine deuises their traitorous counsels, breifely al their secre­te abominations. That vndermineth their popes throne, pulleth their mitres frō their heades, breaketh their crociars▪ chaseth them not only out of kinges counsels, whe­re they occupie the cheife places, the aunci­aūt [Page] nobilitee beinge hoisted out, but also from house, and home, and maketh them detestable to al the world. And therefo­re they care not by what meanes thei defa­me it. But heare not thou their blasphe­mous bellowing, and hellishe roaring, con­sidre rather thy woful state, and measure thy selfe with thine awne fote, looke vpon thy faultes with thine awne eyes, and not with their false spectacles, acknowlege as the truth is iuste causes of al miserie to be in thy selfe, not for receauing, but for lea­uing true doctrine once plainly preached vnto the, not for renouncyng of vile pope­rie, but for eating of it in eftsones, whan thou haddest once cast it vp, not for thy swimming out of the myre of filthie vices, but for thy returning, and wallowing in to the same againe. Heape not sinne vpon sinne with shameles shifting. Nether yet for al this let thy ruler falle to desperatiō, whā she shal see no color of excuse, no star­ting hoale in so great a multitude of furi­es meeting hir in euerie corner. Let hir not saie in hir herte, who shal wasche my bloodie handes? Who shal clense my sowle ful of leprosie? Who shal wipe awaie [Page] the spottes of my idolatrie, witchcraft, sor­cerie, traitorous deuises, proud thoughtes, filthie desires, longe continued hatred, ma­lice, and enuie? How shal I escape the vengeance to comme, how shal I abide the face and presence of god, whose sainctes I haue partely burnt to ashes, partely tormented in prisons, partely robbed of their landes, and goodes, & sondrie wise cruelly afflic­ted, whose spirite I haue dotingly accused of heresie, whose word I haue defamed, & railed vpon, as new doctrine, & chased out of al churches, whose people generally I ha­ue defrauded and spoiled of the bread of life, and haue caused them to be miserably fed with the popes sluttisch vnsauerie sop­pes, with stincking mingle mangle, and dedlie dregges. Let not thy nobilitee, & commons saie, our sinnes ar greater than that thei maie be forgeuen. Let thy ruler set­te kinge Manasse before hir eyes, of whom it is first written that he builded vp chapelles of idolatrie, that he caused his awne sonne to passe thorough fier, that he maintei­ned sorcerers, witches, and enchaunters, that he filled al the corners of Ierusalem with innocent blood, and neuertheles afterward [Page] this foloweth of him in the 33. cha. of the 2. boke of chro. Whan Manasse was in dis­tresse, he entreated the face of the lord his god, and humbled him selfe exceedingly in the sight of the god of his fathers. And whan he praied to him, he was entreated, & appeased, and he heard his praier, and restored him to his kingdom, & Manasse acknowleged, that Iehoua was god. Lette this ex­emple cōforte the sinful herte of thy ruler.

Let thy nobilitee, and commons remem­bre the Niniuites, which were al heathen, al idolatres, and therefore al wicked men, and yet repentinge vpon the preaching of Ionas thei escaped the imminent plages of god, and present destruction. If thy preistes and prelates, or anie other haue persequu­ted the knowen truth, of verie malice, and despite against god, and so sinned against the holie gost, let them die in their sinnes, & perish euerlastingly. Let the rest thincke this spoken vnto them: thou hast commit­ted whoredom with manie companions, but turne vnto me, saieth the lorde. Tur­ne vnto me backe slidden children, and I wil be your lorde, I wil receaue you, and bring you to Sion. Let them than with al spedi­nes, [Page] and humilitee of herte fal dounne flat­te before the lord, holde vp their handes to heauen, aske mercie, and turne to their lo­uing lord to the true Christ, who calleth them not out of a cankerd brasen boxe, or out of a peece of foistie starche, but from his glorious celestial palace, lette them embra­se his goodnes gratiously offred. Lette them kysse the sonne of god, louingly comming towardes them, and after their vnna­tural behauior, after their exceding great vnkindnes, after their longe continued ad­ulteries, bending doune his heauenlie head, and offring his swete diuine mouthe vnto them. Lette them reuerently receaue him, lette them reuerently receaue him, I saie, lest his anger shortely kendle, and thei perish, be stricken with lightninges frō hea­uen, and confounded for euer.