THe Gospell of this daye (deare frendes) declareth that our sauiour Christ whan he was here conuersant amōges vs for our redemption sake, before he wold do or speake any notable thing (as the holy Chryso­stom. doctour Chrysostom sayth) called & chase vnto him, his Apostles, to thintent nothing might be hid from them of Chrystes wordes and dedes, but that they might afterward boldely affirme & say. We can not but speake the thinges whych we haue sene & hard. [Page] As Christ therfor walked by the see side, he saw two brethren germanes, the name of the one was Simō whiche also was called Peter, the name of the other was Andrew, whose memorie we do this day solem­nize. But what were these two, whom our Sauiour Christe chase to be his apostles? Were they greate worldly Clerkes, were they philosophers, were they pharisees or scribes, were they great rich persones, or men of high power and authoritie? no verily, they were none of al these, they were but pore & vnlerned fishermen. And why did he chose these? Uerily (saith saynt Austine) if Christ had chosen great lerned mē S. Aust­ine. or men of estimatiō, they might peraduenture haue sayd that they had deserued to be chosen bycause of their lerning or wisdom. But our lord Iesus Christ going about to breake the neckꝭ of the prowd, [...]hase men of no lerning ne reputation, which he dyd also Erasmꝰ in para­phrasi. for this purpose, that the glorie of the gospel might not be diminished nor shadowed with worldely suc­cours and helpes. So here Christe doth manifestly declare vnto vs in what kinde of people he most de­lyteth, euen in the humble and contempte persones of the world and in such as be simple and as it were babes in worldly wisdom, as in an other place he al so testifieth, sayng. I confesse and giue thankes vn­to the o father, lord of heuen & of erth, bicause thou Mat. xi. hast hyd these thinges from the wise & prudent per­sones, and haste diselo [...]ed them vnto babes. A [...]d ye shal marke, that Christ calleth babes here thē which laying a syde al worldly wisdom, receiue gods word without al deliberatiō, and which preferre not their owne iugemēt afore gods word but submitte them­selues [Page i] vnto it in all thinges. He called therfore two simple fyshers, and when did he calle them? Uerely euen when they were in the myddes of theyr worke, Chryso­stom. meaning herby (as Chrysostom saith) that we ought to preferre the folowyng of Christ afore al other oc­cupations in the world. For they were casting their nettes into the See, and this fishing was a shadow of the newe fishynge, whereby they shulde not take wyth material nettes fishes for the fode of the bely, but wherby they shulde with the nette of godꝭ word catche men (whiche be browned wyth earthly cares) vnto the desyre of the heuenly life. Wherfore where as they were busyed and toyling about their body­ly lyuing (which neuertheles was then their vocati­on or callinge according to gods commaundement Gen. ii [...] whyche byddeth vs that in the sweate of oure face we shulde eate our bread) from this general calling I saye he plucked them to a special calling whyche was to preach his holy gospel. And verely his word of callynge had in it a wonderfull vertue, for it so wrought in theire hartes, that they forthwyth lefte altogither, & folowed him. A [...]d here we haue a nota ble exemple of obediēce in these apostles for vs to fo lowe. Chryste had not so sone called them, but anou they folowed. For he that loueth father, or mother, wife or children more then he loueth the Sauioure Mat. [...] Iesu Christ, is no mete mā for Christ, that is to say, he maye wel cal himselfe a Christen man, but Christ wol surely refuse hym for one of his men and disci­ples when the terrible daye of Dome shall comme, what tyme he shall descende in Maiestie to iudge both the lyuynge and the deade.

[Page]Christe thā called these two brethern Peter and An­drew and also the other two Ihō & Iames, to what purpose? to folow him only by the heles whether so euer he shulde goe ydelly? No truly. But to teache & instructe thē in such wyse as they might in tyme cō ­myng be made hys apostles, hys legates, hys Ora­tours, hys preachers. He chase them beyng yonge, rude, simple, vnlerned, & nothing but playne fisher­men, and therfore they were the more apte and mete to receiue his heauenly, swete, and pure doctrine, by­cause they were not as yet infected with the sower le uē of the pharisees. But ere they departed frō hym, he replenished them wyth such wonderfull wysdom and wyth such diuine doctrine, that they were hable to cōfoūde the great and witty clerkes of the world. Of fishe catchers and bodily fyshers he made them men fyshers and catchers of sowles. So God long Iere. 16. before promysed by hys prophete Hieremye, saynge I wyll sende you fyshers and they shall fyshe you. Such a worthy fysher of men sowles was thys no­ble Apostle saint Andrew. He spared for no persecu­tion of tyrantes to execute and fulfyll hys maysters commission whiche was to preache the Gospell and glad tydynges of mans redemption by Christe. He preached it purely and syncerely euen accordinge to hys commission. Yea for the feithfull executynge and witnessing herof he shranke not to suffre a very cruel death. Let vs therfore folow him in feith that we maye also folowe hym to euerlastynge blesse by Christ oure Lorde, who be praysed worlde wythout ende.

Amen.

IN this gospel (good people) many thinges are to be considered. First, how that our sauiour Christ the sonne of god wold for the greate loue he bare to [Page] mankinde be borne the sōne of Dauid, that is, wold take mās nature vpon hym to succour and help vs The cause of Christes incarna­tion. which were in flesh condēned & to pourge our spot­ted and synful byrth. And verily this is the final in­tent of Christꝭ incarnatiō, as it is wel declared in the epistle to the Hebrues, where it is writen, that foras­moch Hebr. 2. as the sonne of god vouchsaued to call godly persones his brethren, sayng by the prophet Dauid I will declare thy name to my brethren, and other­whiles psal. 2 [...]. also he calleth them the children, as in Esay. Lo here am I & the children, whom god hath giuen Esai. 8. me: and bicause these children and these his brethrē be men made of fleshe and bloude: it pleased hym to be parttaker of the same wyth thē, that by his death he might wipe out him whiche had lordshippe ouer death that is to say the deuyl, and deliuer thē which through feare of death were al their life time subdu­ed vnto bondage. For he toke not vpon him angels but the sede of Abraham. Wherfore in al thinges it becam hym to be made like to hys brethren, that he might be merciful & a feithful high prest in thinges towchinge God to thintent to pourge the synnes of the people. Now wheras Christ is called here the sōne of Dauid: ye must vnderstand it that he descē ­deth lineally from Dauid according to the flesh, as saint Paul declareth in the beginning of his epistle Rom. i. to the Romaines, lest we rūne into y ^• errours of cer­taine heretikꝭ which say that Christe was nothynge elles but a mā & not the son of God, but merely the sōne of Dauid. Which errour Christ himself discus­sed, Mat. 22. where he propowned this question to the phari­sees. What thynke ye of Christe, whose sonne is he▪ [Page iiij] And when they answered, the sōne of Dauid, he as­ked them, why thā did Dauid in spirite cal him lord psal. no. sayng, the lord said to my lord, syt on my right hāde Meaning hereby, that Christe was aboue Dauid & not only a man but also god. So that ye muste vn­derstand him to be the sōne or issue of Dauid accor­ding to the flesh, and not accordinge to his godhed. And ye shal also marke, that he is called the sōne of Dauid after the maner of speaking of the Hebrues, bycause he cam of the ryght line of Dauyd. For the Two lig nagies in scrip­ture. Hebrues do calle al lineal nephues & nieces (be they neuer so long of) sonnes and daughters. Uerely the hole petigrue of Christe, is here so drawen and con­ueyed from his auncestours, that they only be put which were ꝑttakers of y ^• promise which was made of Christ. Ye must therfore marke two maner lines of men, whiche beinge well marked doth discerne of whom Christ wold be borne and was borne. For al­beit the promise of Chryste was made to Adam: yet from Cain his sōne the petigrue of Christ is not cō ­ueyed. So that one line there is whyche deriueth Christꝭ petigree from the mēbres of the true church, that is to wite, frō the holy fathers which were parttakers of y ^e ꝓmise. And an other line there is which cōteyneth the childrē that grew out of kinde not fo­lowing their fathers steppes & therfor no ꝑttakers of the ꝓmise, which two lines if ye diligently marke through out the old testament ye shal se that Christ proceded of the feithful stocke, & not of that whiche grew out of kinde, as Cain Esau and their ofspring were. And verily it becam Christ the hed of y ^e church to come of the membres of the true churche.

[Page]Seconde, ye shall vnderstande that oure Sauiour Christ wolde be borne accordinge to the fleshe of the royal bloude of kinges, to declare that he shuld be a kynge, no worldly kynge, but a spirituall kynge for the rulyng and guyding of mens consciencies. And forasmuch as kinges were also annointed after the maner of prestes: therfore Christ also wold be borne of kinges to shew himselfe an annoynted king, that is to say, both a king and a prest, a king to rule and defende, a prest to make intercession and prayer for vs accordyng as saynt Paule sayth of him. Which Rom 8. also maketh intercessiō for vs. And the prophet [...]ie­remie sayth. He shall do the office of a kinge and ca­pitayne. Hiere. 11 But for the eschuing of errours, ye muste know, that Dauid whose sonne Christ is according to the fleshe, administred here hys kyngdome in the erth: and therfore it is not to be thought that after that Christ is nowe ascended vp to heuen, he exerci­seth nomore hys kyngly officies but that he sytteth ydelly in heuen leauyng behind him, hys deputie or vicare in erth the bishop of Rome. Uerily Christes kingdom is perpetuall, and so is his presthode, ac­cording to the sayng of the prophet. Tu es sacerdo [...] Psal. 109 inaeternum secūdum ordinem Melchisedec. Thou art an euerlastinge prest, accordynge to the order of Melchisedec. Thirdly, ye shall vnderstande that albeit Christe and also our Ladye hys mother (whose memory we solemnize this day) & Ioseph her husband, cam of the right & blessed line or stocke, and not of the croked & cursed lyne, as I haue aforede­clared: yet many of the persons aswel men as wom [...] of this blessed stocke were synners and therfore here [Page v] in their genealogie is mencion made also of synfull personnes. For who were so wicked as kynge Ma­nasses and his sonne Amon, whiche be here rekened in Christes petigree. Iudas also cōmitted fornicati­on with Thamar. Salmon maryed Raab an har­lot. What shall I speake of Bethsabea, wyth whom king Dauid cōmitted greuouse aduowtrie. And yet of this Bethsabea whiche was the wyfe of Urie dyd king Dauid begette Salomō. So that if a mā wol throughly consider the thinge, he shall fynde almost more euell men then good amōges the auncestours of Christ, and all the women whiche be here named be none of the holy women, as saynt Hierom sayth, S. Hie­rom. but suche as the scripture disproueth. What other thinge meaneth thys, but that the holy ghost wolde signifie, that like as Christ cam of synners: so he al­so cam into this world for sinners. He wold be borne Hierom (sayeth thys noble clerc saynt Hierom) of synners, y ^t he myght wipe awey the synnes of all. Yea Christ Mat. [...]. hymselfe sayeth, that he cam not to calle the rightu­ouse, but synners to repentaūce. If then he cam for synners, why shuldest thou o mā despaire for cause of thy synnes? Nay rather take harte vnto the and repent. For then shal the grace and fauour of Christ be powred more plētifully vpō the, in that thou hast the more offended according to the sentence of saint Paule. Furthermore we may lerne also here Exēple of mo­destic. a moderatiō of mynd and demurenes, that we hitte noman in the teeth of his auncestours or kynsfolke. For yf our Sauiour Christ had amonges his aun­cestours very tyrantes, harlottes & wicked ꝑsonnes, who is he that hath not amonges hys auncestours [Page] and kinsfolke both good and badde? Fourthly, ye shall marke that saynt Mattheu here doth calle Ioseph the husband of Marie, so that it is certaine, that betwene Ioseph and Marye was a iust & law­full matrimonie, vnder which, not without a singu­ler cause, Christ wold be borne, to shewe that matri­monie is the state whiche pleaseth God, and on the other side, to liue in aduowtrye and fornication is a kynoe of life abominable afore God and man. Of a virgine verily Christ wolde be borne, but yet vnder lawfull wedlocke. A virgine to hys mother becam hym that was God, but in that she was maryed, is setforth vnto vs the cōmendation of wedlocke. Uir­ginitie I say becam her which by secrete inspiratiō of the holy ghost being herselfe pure and vndefiled, conceiued and brought forth him which was moost pure & cleane, but yet Ioseph was oure blessed La­dies husbande. Doth not thys thynge then setforth vnto vs the honour of matrimonie, and condemne these wicked heretiques which say that matrimonie [...]. Tim. 4 is a thynge fylthy & vnpure, of whom saynt Paule speaketh, callynge them spirites of errours, and de­uelish teachers. For if Christ had wolde, he myght haue been borne before Marye his mother was be­trowthed to Ioseph. If matrimonie also were a fowle thing and discōmended of god, as some here­tikes haue said, why went our Sauiour Christ to a wedding & wrought there the first miracle that euer he did, by turnyng water into wyne? So y ^e thoughe [...]. [...]. virginitie be a highe thyng & mete for such as be of high ꝑfection: yet matrimonie is an honest state. Last of all thys Gospell doth condemne those here­tikes [Page vi] which denye y ^t Christ toke fleshe of the blessed virgine & say either that he brought a spiritual flesh with him from heuen, or that the word so was made fleshe, that Christ is only of one nature & not of two natures. For thys heresie hathe been longe sithens condemned of Christes churche. And euen with one text in this gospel it is ouerthrowne where it is said, that Iacob begatte Ioseph the husband of Marie, of whom was borne Iesus, whiche is called Christ. If of Marye Christe was borne: then it must nedes folow that he toke flesh of her. The Gospel of Luke Luc. [...]. also proueth the same, where the angel sayth to Ma rye. Thou shalt conceiue in thy wombe, and beare a childe.. And Elizabeth saith to our Lady. Blessed is the frute of thy wombe. But howe can she conceyue Luc. [...]. Christ or howe can Christe be called the frute of her wombe, yf he toke no parte of her? Finally Paule is Rom. [...]. playne in this mater which sayeth that Christe was borne of the sede of Dauid concernynge the fleshe. What cā be spokē more plainly? So ye se according also to the flesh the great nobilitie of Christes bloud For he wold be not only according to the spirite but also according to the flesh the noblest of al mē. Accor The nobili­tie of Christ both spiritu­ally and carnally ding to the spirite he descēded frō god hys father w ^t out begynning, so that he is the eternal sonne of the eternal god. What is higher thā this nobilitie? And as to the fleshe he is descended of most holy patriar­ches, moost myghty Kinges, and Dukes. In al the worlde was neuer founde lignage, kynred, ne house of more nobilitie then this lignage was wherof our Sauiour Christ descended accordinge to the fleshe. But his spirituall lignage is without cōparison.

[Page]This haue I therfor set out, that Christē men shuld The no­bilitie of chri­sten mē. knowe their owne nobilitie. For they that beleue in Christe, be made by feith the brethren & ioyntheires with Christe, accordinge to the text before rehersed, where Christ sayth. I wil shew thy name to my bre­thren. psal. 23. And in an other place he sayth. These be my brethren which heare the word of god & do it. Saint Paul also sayth. The spirite witnesseth togither w ^e our spirite that we be the sonnes of god, if sonnes, ergo heires, heires of God, and felawe heires wyth Christ. Nowe also with Christ we be made by feyth one bodye, that we maye be his membres. What is lefte then, but that also we be made parttakers of Christes nobilitie? And therfor we be called Christi­ans why we be cal­led chri stians. which by interpretation signifie kingly, that is to say, of a kinges house and nobilitie by Christ our king. But wherfore is this so greate nobilitie to be taken of vs? for vayn glorye & to despice our neigh­bour? No truely. For as Christe the nobler he was both in spirite and also in flesh, the hūbler and [...]ow­lyer he made himselfe: So let vs also folow Christꝭ exemple, and the more noble we be made by Christ, so moch let vs beare our selfes y ^• more lowly. Now­beit otherwhiles it is not only lawfull but also ne­cessarie, to loke alofte and beare our selfes hyghe of our nobilitie, not against men, but agaynst Satan. For it is a great villany and shame for a noble per­sonage, to subiect himself to vile seruices. For what be more vile or fylthy occupations, then the workes of the deuyl, which be synnes. Here then let vs loke on high in Christ, and be ashamed for our nobilitie sake, to hūble our selfes to the fylth of synnes. Now [Page vij] ye haue the lignage of Christ according to the fleshe and the nobilitie of him and of al Christians. It re­mayneth therfore, y ^t we also shulde knowlege Christ by feith and garnishe our nobilitie wyth good wor­kes by Iesus Christ our lorde, which togither wyth the father & holy ghost be praised foreuer.

Amen.

THis Gospell (deare frendes) declareth vnto vs the historie of saynt Thomas, howe he wolde not beleue Christes resurrection til he had seen him, and felt him with his hādes. For as the historie tel­leth, Christe had appeared to the rest of hys felawes Luc. 24. Iohn. 20 when he was awey, and when they shewed him of it [Page] with one hole voice and consent: yet he said he wold not beleue it, tyl he had sene the prynte of the nayles in Christes handes, and felte his woundes. Uerely S. Gre­gorie. (as saint Gregory saith) this was not done by casu­altie, y ^e saynt Thomas the chosen disciple of Christ, was not then present. For the high clemencie of god wrought this thinge, y ^e the doubtyng disciple whyle in his maister he gropeth the woundes of the fleshe, ☞ might heale in vs the woūdes of infidelitie. For the infidelitie of saynte Thomas profyted more to the Christen feith, then did the feith of the beleuing dis­ciples. For while he by gropyng, is brought againe to the feith: our mynde is (all doubt set apart) stabli­shed in the feith. Thre thynges then are here to be considered in thys historie. First the hardnes of be­lefe in saynt Thomas, whiche albeit he was one of the electe disciples of Christe and longe conuersant wyth hym, and continually instructed of his risyng againe, yet he doubteth. Seconde, the goodnes and tendre mercie of Christ, which wolde not thus leaue him. Thyrdly, the constancie of thys blessed Apostle in the feith ouer after euen til his lifes ende. It was doubtles a very grosse infidelitie and hardnes of be leue in saint Thomas, that after so longe cōpaning with our Sauiour Christ and hearynge him often­times afore his passion say he shuld rise agayne yet he wolde not beleue his resurrection, n [...] not whē his felawes so cōstantly had shewed hym how they saw him wyth their eyen & what he said vnto them. Hys felawes verily were grosse til they had receyued the holy ghost, for they wold skant beleue his resurrec­tion Chryso stom. til they had seen him. But saynt Thomas was [Page viij] grosser thā they all. For he said he wold not beleue y ^• resurrectiō, tyl he had seen the prynt of the nayles in Christes hādes, & yet this was not ynough to make ☜ him beleue, but he wolde also fele hys woūdes with his owne handes. And here we haue a lyuely image of the nature & disposition of the fleshe. For the flesh can not be brought to beleue but by sensible signes & tokens. Neither was thys carnalitie in Thomas only, but it is in al mē, for we be made of one mowld Rom. 3. and god hath cōcluded all mē vnder infidelitie that he might haue mercie of all. Consider therfore the Chryso stom. tender mercie of our lorde, howe for one of his disci­ples sake he shewed himselfe hauing woundes, & he dyd it not forthwyth, but after. viii. daies, to the in­tent he being amōges his felawes & certified of thē, might be kyndled vnto a greater desire, and that he might be made the more feithfull in tyme cōmyng. Our Sauiour Christe therfore eight daies after he had appeared to his felawes, cā where as they were gathered togither, & Thomas with them. He entred in vnto them, the dores being shutte, & wyth hys ac­customed salutation greteth them, sayng. Peace be amonges you. And forthwyth turnyng hymselfe to Thomas, whose infidelitie could not be hidde from him, whiche bicause he ꝑceiued proceded not of ma­lice but of weaknes: he vouch saued to heale. He had him behold his hādes, and grope his side. Thomas according as Christ had bidde him, beheld the print of the nailes, and thurst his hand into his side. And forthwyth wyth an exclamation cryed, my lorde my God. Thus from a grosse and stubburne infidelitie was he brought to a fast and constant feith.

[Page]So Paule at the beginning was a very fierce per­secutour Act. 9. of y ^• church, but afterward he becā a right feithful Apostle and teacher of the people. For these wonderful iugementes of god be for this cause de­scribed forth vnto vs, that we shuld lerne to knowe the exceding goodnes of god which turneth euil in­to good. My lord and my god sayth saint Thomas Uerily he y ^t confesseth god to be his god, hath renoū ced al y ^e be his, & possessed those y ^e be gods. The erth psal. 23. is the lordꝭ, & al that is therin. We be the lordes & the lord is ours. Wherfor al the goodes of god be ours through feyth in oure sauioure Iesu Christe. This high confession of saint Thomas truly our sauiour commended, but yet he sūwhat towched him for his hardnes of beleue saing. Thomas bicause thou hast seen me thou hast beleued, blessed are they y ^• haue not seen and yet haue beleued. Saint Thomas saw one thing & beleued an other, he saw mā & confessed god He saw Christ in flesh, he felt him after his resurrec­tion, which was a great furtherāce to his feith. But blessed be they y ^t neuer saw Christ in flesh, & yet haue beleued on him. Certainly this kynd of people be we Gentils as many of vs as reteyne Christ in mynde whō we haue not seen in flesh, as writeth saint Gre­gorie, if so be yet that we folow & prosecute our feith Grego­rie. with good workes. For that ꝑsone doth truly & vn­feynedly beleue which practizeth in working y ^e thing that he beleueth. Such a true & ernest beleuer was this blessed man saynt Thomas. Let vs then take exemple of him, that we may haue the rewarde that he hath, euerlastinge ioy, by Christe oure lorde, who be praysed for euer.

Amen.

WHen the purification daye was comme (good people) that is to wite the. xlij. daye from the birth of our sauiour Christ, at which day y ^e old law of Moses cōmaunded, y ^• if it were a man chyld that was born, it shuld be presented to the lorde, & for the purifieng of the childwife and also of the childe sū ­what [Page] shuld be offered: the most pure virgine Mary wold fulfylle the lawe also in this poynt though in her child byrth she knew was nothing after the ma­ner of other womens byrthes contaminate or spot­ted, but al was ful of heuenly puritie and holynes. For what spotte of vnclennes could she haue which by the worke of the holy ghoste conceyued wythout mans knowlege only by imbracement of the heuen­ly power? She goeth therfore with Ioseph, who as yet was thought to haue bene father to Ie­sus, vnto Hierusalem, bearing the childe with them that they might present him in y ^• temple in the sight A figure of the olde lawe. of the lord to whom he was consecrate, not but that al be the lordes, but that we shuld be taught by this mystical figure, that those mindes be most accepta­ble to God, whiche with a manly strength of spirite haue conquered the lustes of y ^e fleshe & so do auaūce to thinges heuenly and euerlasting. Moses law in­tending Omne masculi num. this, had commaunded the Iues that eue­ry male so sone as by the openinge of the mothers wombe it was brought to lyght, shulde be taken as holy to the lord, whether it were of mankynde or of brute beastes, that herby also the first frutes might go to the prestes, so yet that the first begotten of the mankinde shuld be redemed out of the prestes han­des, onles the childe were of y ^• Leuitical tribe. Now surely the selfe law openly deliuereth our Lady frō the bonde of it, where it sayth in the leuiticall boke: Mulier si suscep to semi­ne pepe [...]erit ma sculū. The wife whiche receiuing sede shal bringe forth a māchild. For the blessed virgine our Lady was nei­ther mulier, that is to say such woman as haue lyen with man, neither receiued she mans sede. And as towching the opening of y ^e matrice, surely this hea­uenly [Page xi] child did in no maner violate the chastitie of of y ^e virgins wombe but rather preserued & halowed it from al spot of vnclennes during her life. He then was presented in y ^• temple as subiect to y ^• law, which was lord of al thingꝭ both heuenly & erthly. He was redemed with a smal price, which cam to redeme the hole world w ^t the price of his bloude. For y ^e law had appointed y ^e Iues to redeme their first begottē son with a lambe of one yeare olde, which was giuen in sacrifice. And thā shuld be added a doue or a turtyll for y ^• purifienge of al spot or vnclēnes which might happē to be cōmitted in y ^• begetting of y ^• child, or af­ter, to thintent y ^• that whiche shuld be offered to the lord might be throughly pure. Howbeit if they were not of abilitie to giue a lambe, the law suffred them to giue in stede therof a turtil doue or a pigeō for y ^• redemptiō of y ^e child. The other bird was offe­red for the purging of the sinne. Our Lady therfore and Ioseph offered the pore mens oblatiō, and it is not to be doubted, but they wold haue made a richer gift if theire pouertie hadde not letted them. Allbeit theyre minde was rich in godlynes, and to giue vs an exēple, y ^e professiō of pouertie was more profita­ble. But lo, there was at this self time in Hierusalē one Simeō a iuste mā & such one as stode in awe of god, & surelye he might wel be called a iust mā, for he Am­brose. sought not his own but y ^e peoples weale, he awaited for him y ^t shuld redeme out of bōdage not him only, but al mākind And bicause he was endowed w ^t this iustice & godlines, the holy ghost was in him & had inspired him that he shulde not dye, till he had sene with his fleshely eyen him that he longe before had espyed wyth the eyen of feyth.

[Page]As Mary therfore and Ioseph were bringinge the child into the temple, this Simeon also cam by the guiding of the holy gost into the temple & toke Ie­sus Origen. in his armes. And here sayth Origene an aun­cient doctour of the church, if thou Christen person wilt in like wise hold Iesus and imbrace him in thy handꝭ, thou must with al labour attempt that thou maist haue the holy ghost to thy guide and so come to y ^• temple of god, as this holy Simeō did. Thou must be a iust person, a fearer of god, religiouse, de­uout & godly, as he was. But what did Simeon ha uing this most blessed child in his armes? He blessed and praysed god, sayeng. Now, o lorde, thou dost li­cence thy seruāt to depart in peace out of this world according to thy worde. For myne eyen haue nowe salutare tuum. seen him, by whō it hath plesed the, to saue mākind, whom I say thou hast prepared and ordeined in the face of al peoples to be, vnto y ^• hethē persons & Pa­nyms (which hitherunto for defalt of true knowlege haue worshiped false godꝭ) a light for to lightē them & to disclose thy trouth vnto them, & againe to thyn own people y ^• Israelites a cause of most high glorie This in effect spake Symeon in his maner.

Let vs therfore (good people) for our ꝑte also blesse & praise god, that wheras we y ^• inhabitantes of this Realme were before y ^• cōming of Christ wicked Pa­nims & ydolaters we now by y ^• disclosing of his gos­pel [...]ee his people. Let vs labour to be iust and ho­ly persons pore in spirite & rich in godlines. Let vs desire to be led w ^t the holy spirite of God. So shall we at last depart this world in true peace, by Christ our lorde. To whom be prayse for euer.

Amen.

Bycause our sauiour Christ (good people) what tyme he was conuersant here in earth amonge the Iues, hadde vpbrayded them for theire misbe­leue, declaring vnto them that the Hethen persones were redyer to receyue hym then they, at which wor­des some were offended: therfore he aunswereth to theire thoughtes in thys wyse. I confesse (that is) I do thanke & prayse the O father, bycause thou hast Cōfessio inqt. August. nō est soli­us pec­catoris sed ali­quando etiā lau­datorio, kept close this heauenly doctrine from the wise and prudent men in their owne opinions, such as be the scribes and pharisees, and haste opened the same to fooles and babes after the iugement of the worlde, euen to rude vnformed and rusticall persones. And here (sayth Chrysostomus) we be taught vtterly to pluck down our high stomakꝭ, & to folow humilitie. And truly (sayth he) these wordes whiche our Lorde [Page] spake to his disciples, occasioned them to be moche more diligent and lowly in hert. For bycause it was likely that they stode moch in their owne conceytes for that they did cast out deuiles, therfore with these wordes he abateth their courage & represseth them. For the thing that was done vnto them was a reue lation, that is to say a disclosing and opening from god, and not their owne propre studie and laboure. And therefore the scribes and pharisees estemynge themselfes to be wise & prudent fell from the know­lege of godes mysteries bycause of theire pryde and swelling myndes. Wherfore if the secrete mysteries of god were hyd from them bycause of thys: se then that we be vnder feare and awe, & let vs continewe as babes, for this surely made the apostles of christ to enioy this secrete knowledge. For lyke as wha [...] Paule saith, tradidit illos deus in reprobū sensū, Rom. i. that is, god gaue them vp into a disalowed mynde, he speaketh not this, inducing god as doyng thys, ☞ but them whiche gaue the cause: so we must vnder­stande in like wise this text where Christ sayth, that hys father hath hyd this knowlegde from the wyse scribes and pharisees. And why were they hid from them? Herken what Paule sayth, bycause goyng a­bout to stably she theire owne iustice, they were not subiecte to the iustice of god.

Al be deliuered vnto me (sayth Christe) from my fa­ther. This he spake, les any thing shuld be thought to be les in hym than that whiche is in god. For as S. Aug. contra Maxi­mum. saynt Austin sayth, if our sauiour Iesus Christ the sonne of god hath any thing les in poure then hath god the father, then surely all be not his that the fa­ther [Page xii] hath, for by begettinge did the father gyue the power to hys sonne, lyke as all that he hath in hys substance did he by begettynge ▪gyue to him whom he begatte of his substance.

Furthermore in the interchaungeable or mutuall Hilariꝰ. knowledge of the father and sonne, it is done vs to wyte, that none other thinge was in god the sonne, then was in God the father. For it foloweth in the text, and no man knoweth the sonne but the father, nor noman knoweth the father but the sonne. For Chry­sostom. surely by this that he onely knoweth the father, he doth vs to vnderstande that he is of the selfe same substance that the father is of. As if he shulde saye vnto vs. What meruayle▪ I praye you is it, if I be very Lord of all, sith there is yet a greater thing in me, euen the knowlege of the father of heuen, & that I am of y ^• same substance y ^• he is of? Thus by these wordꝭ Christ our sauiour declareth himself to be not man only but also god & egal in powre w ^t his father. And where he sayeth that none knoweth the father but the son: he meaneth not y ^• al men be vtterly igno­rant of him, but this he meaneth, that by that know­ledge that he knoweth his heauenly father, noman ells knoweth him. In so moche that that knowlege that men haue either of the father or of the son they haue it by y ^• sons disclosing. So y ^e the son discloseth not only his father but also himself vnto vs. For as the holy doctour saint Austin saith. The word doth not only open y ^• thing that is declared by the word, Austin [...] but also it declareth it self. But how doth y ^• son dis­close his fathers wil & pleasure vnto vs? Surely by his most cōfortable word which is called his gospel. [Page] Come therfore, sayth Christ, vnto me al ye that tra­uayle and I shall set you at rest. He sayth not come he and he, but come to me all ye that be in cares, in Chryso­stom. heuynes and in synnes, not that I myght take pu­nishement of you but that I myght losen your sin­nes. Come, not that I nede to be glorified of you, but that I desyre your helth and saluation. Come, he sayth, not wyth fete, but wyth maners, not wyth body, but wyth feyth. For this is the spirituall com­ming wherby one approcheth to god. And if ye thus come, I shal set you at rest, he sayth not I shal saue you, but that more is I shal set you in al quyet and reste. Take my yoke vpon you. What is Christes Theo­philactꝰ yoke? Surely his Gospel which as Theophilactus saith, sheweth vs glad newes, forgiuenes of sinnes, iustification, commynge to heauen, and that we be made the children of god. O how swete, how pleasāt and easy is this yoke? Only let vs put frō vs pryde of hert and the care of worldely vanities & learne of Christe to be meke & lowly, lyke as the holy Apostle Mathias folowynge hys maisters steppes (whose memory we celebrate this day) left vs exemple. So shall we inioye that heauenly rest voyde of all gre­uance and replenyshed wyth all solace whyche here is promysed vnto vs. By Christ our lorde. To whō be all glorie.

Amen.

IF a Gospell (deare people) signifieth a gladde ty­dynges, what Gospel can be compared with this gospell which sheweth to the blessed virgine Mary yea & vnto vs all, the gladdest tydinges that coulde [Page] come to mankynd, that is that she shulde beare the moost blessed kyng of kinges and Sauiour of mā ­kynde. Let vs then procede to the declaraciō of this so ioyful gospel. In the sixt moneth was sent to the blessed virgine Mary no cōmon angel but Gabriel the Archangel. For to this so highe and solempne a message it was mete that an highe angell shulde be sent which shulde bringe tydynges of him that was highest of all. Whiche aungel (as Origen sayth) is Origen. therfore expressed by hys propre name to thintent it might be signified by the same what he is in opera­tion. For Gabriell he sayth betokeneth the strength of God. Wherfore by hym that was the strength of God it was cōuenient that he shulde be vttered and proclaimed whiche being the Lorde of powers and mighty in batell came to conquere & vanquishe the wicked powers of the ayer. And what saith this Ar­changell Gabriel vnto her? Haile ful of grace. Tru­ly, Hierō. in ser­mo. de assūp. saith saynt Hierom, she is wel called ful of grace. For to other grace is giuen by partes, but vpon the virgine Mary dyd the fulnes of grace altogether infunde it selfe. She mighte well be cleped full of grace by whome euery creature is w ^t a large showre of the holyghost ouersprede. Yea already was he w ^t the virgine whiche sent the angell to the virgine, I say our Lorde went before his messanger. And ther­fore it foloweth. The Lorde is with the. He is in thy harte, he is nowe also in thy wombe, he replenisheth thy mynde, he replenisheth also thy body. And here Ambro se. (saith Ambrose) lerne a virgine of her shamefastnes for she was abashed. It is the propertie of true vir­gines to tremble, & at al approchinges of man vnto [Page xiiij] them to blushe, & with a reuerent feare to eschue fa­miliar talkyng with man.

Lerne y ^u virgine thā to eschue al wantonnes of wor des. The virgine Mary feared euen the greting of the angell. Yea she wondered at this strange maner of gretinge, wherof the lyke was neuer herde before in any place, this was reserued only for the virgine For (as Origen noteth) if she had wyst y ^• the like sa­lutation Origen had euer been made to any other in al y ^• bi­ble (for she had the knowlege of the lawe) thys gre­tynge shulde neuer haue troubled ne dismayed her. But albeit she was troubled & abashed at the sodē ­nes of this so strāge a thing: yet seyng she had deser Chryso stom. ued such grace with God, she had no cause to feare. And therfore the angel saith vnto her. Feare not O Mary, for thou hast founde fauour & grace w ^t god. But how foūd she this grace? Surely (saith the ho­ly doctoure Chrysostomus) through her humilitie. And so must al we fynde it. For as holy writ sayeth, God giueth grace to the hūble persōs, And lo▪ sayth the angel, y ^u shalt cōceiue in thy wōbe & be deliuered of a son whō y ^u shalt name Iesus. Iesus by interpre tatiō betokeneth a Sauiour. And in dede our lorde is a right Sauiour to so many as cleaue vnto hym by feith. Yea ther is none other Sauiour but he. He is y ^• only great one & is cleped y ^e son of y ^e highest. For albeit it was spoken by Ihon Baptist y ^e he shuld be Ambro se. great, yet, as S. Ambrose saith, he was called great as a greate man wheras Christe is as greate God. Thys Christ therfore shall reigne in y ^• house of Ia­cob for euermore. He called y ^• house of Iacob not on ly y ^• outward Israelitꝭ but the hole church of Christ [Page] be they Iues or Gentils which beleue vpō him. For as saynt Paule sayth. Not al they whiche be of Is­raell be Israelites, but suche as be the chyldern of Rom. ix. the promise, be counted the sede. For, sayeth he, they that be the chyldren of the fleshe, be not the chyldren of God. Now Mary to thintent she wold be yet fur ther instructed of thys mystery, asketh howe thys shulde come to pas, she doubted not of the aungels wordes. Only she desireth to know by what meane it shulde be brought about that she shulde be a mo­ther that neuer lay with man. The angel answereth The holy goost shall come vpon the, as who shulde say. Seke not a natural ordre where the thyng pas­seth Chrxso­stom. nature. Thou askest how this shalbe, thou not knowyng man. Nay thys thynge happeth vnto the euen bicause thou hast not assayed wedloke. For yf thou haddest, thou shuldest not haue been thoughte worthy to this mystery, not y ^• wedlok is a prophane ☞ thing, but bycause virginitie is better. For it becam the cōmon Lorde of all, both to be pertaker with vs in byrth and also to varye from vs in it. In that he shulde be borne of the wombe, he taketh parte wyth vs, but in that he shulde be borne wythout carnall knowledge of man, he is declared to be no man but god. Mary fully satisfied with his answere sayth in moost humble wise, beholde the handmayde of oure Lorde, be it to me as thou hast said. Let vs then my frendes folow the humilitie of thys blessed virgine. Let vs imbrace Christ like feythful Christians that we maye be of the nombre of his chosen people, and inherite hys kyngdome. To whom be all honoure

Amen.

TO thintēt (welbeloued christē people) we shuld throughly vnderstand, how litle daūger shuld hange ouer our heddes, in case we wolde feythfully abide in the holy felawship and churche of Christ, & on the contrary side in howe great perill and daun­ger we be, if like false christē people & hypocrites we shrynke and swarue from that most holy leage and testament, whiche our Sauiour Christe made with vs what tyme he was here cōuersant amonges vs: our said Sauiour in this Gospell bryngeth forth a tyght goodly & mete parable or similitude to paynt as it were before our eyen aswell the commoditie of [Page] the one, as the incōmoditie & daunger of the other, sayng in this wyse. I am the true vine & my father Ego sū vi [...]is ve­ra. is the husbandmam. As who shulde say. I am as it were the roote or stocke of the vine, you are my mē ­bres, and as who shulde say the bowghes growyng out of the stocke. My father of heuē hath plāted me, for he it is only that begatte me. From him therfore as it were from the husbandmā is the stocke come, but you be come of the stocke, that is to witte of me. To the father as to the fountaigne and hed springe redoundeth the thanke of the hole benefite, whiche what soeuer he giueth and bestoweth vpon you, he giueth through me and his holy spirite. The sappe and iuise of the stocke which giueth also to the braū ches lyfe and power of bearynge of frute is the spi­rite whiche is cōmon to the father and to me. Thys spirite both knytteth me to the father: and also co [...] ­pleth you to me. Euery braūch therfore which clea­uyng to me and liuynge by my spirite, shall brynge forth frute accordyngly: hym woll my father purge, cuttyng of frō him the superfluouse & voyde lustes, to thintent he may bryng forth more plēteouse & al­so more gentle frute. But on the other side, he y ^• clea ueth vnto me by the outward name of a christē persō or by an outward profession of feith, wheras in dede he bringeth forth no frute of the christē charitie: this person wol my father cutte of frō the vine, as an vn profitable & voyde mēbre of the same. For in vayne is he in the vine which hath no frute but leaues on­ly, y ^• is to say, he is a vayne & no true christen person which bosteth himselfe of y ^• christē feith, & expresseth not the same w ^t good workꝭ mete for a christen man. [Page xvi] Now, saith Christ, ye be cleane for the worde that I Vos mü di estis. haue spokē vnto you. Suerly (deare frēdes) we are purged and made cleane by Gods worde wherunto we haue giuen feith but we are styll to be purged, to thintent we may yet bring forth more plētiful frute. For who is he (as sayth saynte Augustine) so cleane S. Au­gustine. in this life, which is not yet more & more to be made cleane? Christe therfore cleāseth those that be cleane that they maye be yet more frutefull. But why saith he not, ye be cleane by baptisme? Uerely, sayth thys holy doctour, bicause in the water also it is the word that cleanseth. For plucke awey the word, and what is the water but water? But let the worde come to the water and so is made a sacrament. Let vs than take hede, that we abide in Christ, that he also maye worke in vs hangynge vpon hym. For lyke as the braunche, yf it be plucked from the vine, can bringe forth no frute, no more can we bryng forth the frute of any good worke, onles we cleaue to Christe by feith and charitie, from whens cōmeth whatsoeuer maketh to the true and euerlastyng helth. I say, let vs loke that we be continually knitte and ioyned to Christ, as we haue exemple of thys holy man whose memoriall we halowe this daye, whiche was an vn­doubted liuely braunche of thys vine, and brought forth in the sighte of the worlde moost pleasant and acceptable frute to god. He remained [...]nyt to Christ, and therfore Christe was ioyned to hym, wherby he both wanne euerlastinge saluation to himselfe, and procured vnto god (for whose sake he did al thinges) glorie amōges men. For without Christ (as Christe him selfe here saith) vndoubtedly we cā do nothing. [Page] Surely yf any braunche, by hys owne fault plucke hymselfe awey from the true vine: not only he brin­geth forth no frute, but as an vnprofitable bowghe being cutte of wyth the knyfe wythereth awey, and anon after is gathered w ^t the other baren bowghes & thrown into the fyer to be burned, and thus being destitute and voide of the liuely moysture & spirite of Christ, he dyeth in the mynde, thoughe he yet liue in bodye, and after this life being seperated & pared awey from the vine without recouerie, he is cast in to euerlastynge fyer, alweys there to brenne for hys punishement bycause he wolde not styll remayne in the vine as a good braūch hereafter to haue brought Et verb a mea in vobis māserit. forth and inioyed the frute of euerlastyng ioye. And verely we shal abide in Christ, if so be that his wor­des be beleued of vs, if the thinges that we haue be leued we kepe styl in mynd, & fulfyl the same in our dedes. If we do thys, there be no worldly stormes that we nede to feare, for Christe shalbe with vs, the father of heauen shalbe w ^t vs, the holy goost shalbe with vs, & what thinge so euer we shal aske, we shal w ^tout doubt obteine it. For as Austine saith, if Chri Augu­stine. stes wordes remayne fresh in our mouthes or in our memories & be not founde in our life (y ^• is yf we liue not according to the gospel) we be not coūted as brā ches in the vine, bicause we drawe not life out of the ro [...]e. Let vs thā (good people) be right braunches of this vine and bringe forth worthy frute, to thintent we may remayne in Christ in this world, and in the nexte inherite the euerlastynge ioye, by Christe oure Lorde. To whom with the father and holy ghost be prayse and glorie euerlastyngly.

Amen.

Bicause our lord had sayde before to Peter. that Chyso­stome. whether he went he could not folowe now, but he shuld folow afterward, lest y ^• other disciples shuld [Page] thinke that this promisse was giuen only to Peter, our sauiour now to cōfort them sayth. Be not trou­bled, but beleue stedfastly. In my fathers house be many mansions, that is, the selfe same Region shal receiue you that shal receiue Peter. For there is gre­ate plentie there of mansions, and ye shall not nede to say that it is necessary, that they were made redy for you, albeit if I go & prepare you a place, yet wil I com againe & take you with me. Here my frendes ye wol aske, how can Christ go & prepare vs a place, sith there be alredy many māsions in heuen? Saint Austin answereth to this doubt in this wise. Trouth S. Au­gustine. it is, that there be many māsions, but they be not yet as they are to be prepared. For the self same mansi­ons which Christ prepared before in predestinating, he prepareth now in working. In predestinatiō ther­fore they be alredy. Els he wold haue said, I wil go and prepare, that is, I wil predestinate, but bicause they be not yet in operation, he said. If I go & pre­pare you a place. And surely he now prepareth mā ­sions by preparing tenantes for the mansions. For where he saith, in my fathers house be many mansi­ons, what thinke we is the house of God, but the tē ­ple i. Cor. iij templū dei sāc­tum est quod estis vos of god, of which the apostle saith. The temple of god is holy, which temple be you. This house of god therfore is yet in building, is yet in preparinge. But what is that whiche to prepare he goeth away, if he prepare our selfes, whiche how can he do if he leaue vs? Surely (sayeth this holy Doctour) he meaneth this, that to the preparinge of these mansions, the Rom. i. Abac. 2 rightuouse man ought to lyue by feythe. But if he shuld see, it were no feith, Christ therfore goeth awey [Page xviij] that he may not be seen, he withdraweth himself frō vs, that he may be beleued. For then is a place pre­pared for vs, if we liue by feith. This is the wey that our sauiour Christe here speaketh of.

Yea Christ himselfe (if we beleue in him) is the very wey for vs to heuen, he is y ^• trouth, he is the life. Let vs not then be troubled (good people) in our hartes For he that is the way, wil not surely leade vs a wil­som Hilariꝰ. wey if we stik vnto him, neither will he deceiue vs and put vs in foles paradise, sith he is the selfe trouth, neither yet wol he leaue vs in the erroure of death sith he is the self life. And therfore Christ say­eth further, that no man can come to the father but by him, & he sayth, that he that knoweth him, know­eth also the father, forasmoche as the father and he be one. Yea, sayth Christ, ye that be my disciples do also know my father and ye haue seen him. Undou­tedly my freendes, the disciples of Christe sawe god the father after a certayne maner in Christe, com­maundynge the wyndes and the sees, commaūding deuilles, driuinge out diseases wyth a worde were they neuer so incurable, raisinge wyth a worde the deade to life agayn. Howbeit y ^• noueltie of Christes wordes dyd sumwhat trouble the Apostle Philip (whose memory togyther wyth hys felowe saynte Iacob the churche doth thys daye solemnize) as it troubled also the reste of the Apostles. Wherfore saynt Philip more gready than the other to learne, desyreth Christ to shew to them the father and they shuld be satisfied. But what saith Christ to them a­gayn? Haue I been so long with you & do ye not yet know me? Philip, he y ^• seeth me, seeth also the father. [Page] Surely if the father of heauen shulde haue spoken vnto his Apostles, he shuld haue spoken none other thing thā that Christ spake, if the father shuld haue wrought, he shuld haue wrought the same y ^• Christe did worke. The same mind is in them both, the same wyll▪ the same power and nature. If we beleue this, though the corporall presence of Christe as he was here cōuersant amongꝭ his disciples be taken from vs, yet we shal se him absent moch better w ^t the eyen of feith then y ^• misbeleuing Iues saw him presently with their fleshly eyen. Thus dyd these two holy A­postles Philip & Iacob see him after he was ascen­ded vp to his father, & therfore the thingꝭ that they saw y ^• father worke by him, the same by him did they bicause they cleaued fast vnto hym by feith & chari­tie. Yea Christ vttred also more clearely the power of his godhed after he w ^tdrew his corporal presence from them. Insomoch whosoeuer ioyneth himselfe to Christ by y ^• Euāgelical feith shal by Christ worke also as great thinges yea or greater thā Christe him self did worke whā so euer the glorie of god shal re­quire Saynt Austine. a miracle. The Apostles therfore healed disea ses euen with their shadowes, they conuerted to the feith not a fewe persons as Christ did when he was here in earth, but hole nations, but yet they did this by Chryste, or rather Chryste dyd these thinges in them. Lette vs then haue in vs this stronge feith, and this brenning charitie, and than wythout fayle what so euer we shal desyre in Christes name, he woll perfourme it. To whom with the father and holy ghoste be rendred thankes and praysynges for euer and euer.

Amen.

GOod people the church this day doth solēnize the birth of saint Ihon Baptist, whō god had ordeyned to be a messanger to make ready the waye against the cōming of our sauiour Christ. This ho­ly prophetes mother named Elizabeth was thought to haue bene baren. But it pleased god so to worke with her to set forth his owne glorie and power. He [Page] sent to her therfore nowe in her old age this blessed child to take the reproche of barennes from her. He prolonged for this intent her child bearing, that the Chry so­stom. ioy herof might be the greater, and she be made the more renowined and notoriouse. For all her neigh­bours & kynsfolke which before had knowne her ba rennes, were nowe made witnesses of the heauenly grace wherw ^t God had endowed her. For none that saw the child, departed w ^t silence, but blessed & pray­sed god which vnloked for had sēt this blessed child vnto her being of this age. The eight day therfore they went to circumcise the child according to Mo­ses lawe. And bicause Zacharie his father was by gods prouision made dūme and spechles, they sup­posing Luc. i. that the father wold so haue bene best ct̄en▪ ted named him Zacharie by his fathers name. But Elizabeth his mother said he shuld not be so called, but Ihon shulde be his name, whiche name she had lerned not of her husbande whiche at this time was Bede. S. Am­brose. Origen. become spechles, but by inspiratiō of the holy ghost, signifieng that he that was born shuld be the bedel or messanger of the new law, which shuld abrogate the old traditions & turne the carnall worshyp into a spiritual grace. For Zacharias betokeneth in He­brue a remēbrer of god, & Ihon is named the grace of God. The iustice of the lawe stode in appoynted ☞ workes: the iustice of the gospell standeth by faythe through grace & fauour. Howbeit, the kinsfolk wold not be ruled by the mother to giue him this straūge name, bicause there was none in al their kindred so called, but they wolde in any wyfe haue hym called Zacharie by his fathers name. And yet at this day [Page xx] there be some better pleased w ^t the name of Zacha­rie, Erasmꝰ in para­phra. then w ^t the name of Ihon, these be they that can not yet suffre that the ceremonies of y ^• old law shuld be abolished, so that in effect they crye we wil none of this new name of Ihon, but we wil haue stil the old Zacharie. wherfore for asmoch as the childwife & the cousins could not agree in the name, it was ne­cessarie that the authoritie of the father shuld come betwene to breake the strife. But he had not as yet the vse of his tong, where now neded speche. Wyth signes therfore they signified vnto him what name wold pleace him that his child shulde haue. He vn­derstanding y ^• mater required writing tables to de­clare that thinge by dombe letters whiche by liuely voice he could not bring forth. The tables brought he wrote in this wise, Ihon is his name. Now cam the time, that Moses law shuld speake, which before had after a fashiō described w ^t figures the grace of the gospel. The time now was com, that the mouth S. Am­brose. Luc. i. which vnfeithfulnes had locked, shuld now through feyth be opened. He had not therfore so sone writen, but y ^• bond of his tong was loused. Neyther did he beginne hys speach with any other thing, than with the praysinge of God, by whose goodnes so greate ioyes were heped vpon hym. Let vs in like maner S. Am­brose. (good people) beleue, as saynte Ambrose exhorteth vs, to thintent our tonge which is bounde wyth the bandes of vnfeithfulnes may be loused. And surely Exasmꝰ. onles the Iuishe tonge be putte to silence, whyche preacheth carnal obseruations, the tong of the gos­pell can not speake whyche preacheth grace, feythe, and charitie.

[Page]Al these thingꝭ of y ^• olde childwife, of the noueltie of the name, of the son born by y ^• promise of the angel, of the father made first of a speaker dombe & again of dombe a speaker: were blown abrode not only in the neighbours & cousins mouthꝭ but also through out al the hylly countrey of Iewry, so that they did not only wonder, but also were astonyed & agast at the strangnes of the thing, sayeng w ^tin themselfes. What maner of ꝑson shal this childe be? None of al y ^• prophetes was so wōderfully born, which thinges declare, that this is done by gods power which is w ^t the child beīg ordeined for high purposes. And they thought not thus w ^tout cause. For in dede gods hād had vttred his heuenly vertue in the childe. And to thintent al thinges might be ful of miracles & reple nished w ^t ioy, Zacharie also Ihons father being in­spired w ^t the holy ghost brasted forth into this song Blessed be y ^• lord god of Israell, for he hath visitted & redemed his people of Israell. Doubtles, god vi­sited Chryso­stom. his people of Israel both wayes, whether we vnderstande the material Israelites, for he cam to the lost shepe of the house of Israel, or the spiritual Mat. xv Ro. ix. Bede. Israelites, that is, the feithful persons, which were worthy of this visitation. He visited thē which were now by long sicknes cōsumed, he redemed them be­ing sold vnder sinne, w ^t the bloud of his only begot­ten son. He called them his people not bicause at his cōming he found them his, but bicause by visitting he made them his. Let vs then praise almighty god that he vouchsaued to make of vs whiche were not Osec. ij his people, his people. Let vs imbrace y ^• iustice not of y ^• Iuish law, but of y ^• gospel of Christ. Who be &c.

THis Gospell (my frendes) declareth how oure Sauiour Christ after he was com into y ^e par­ties of Cesarea Philippi, wolde proue, how moche his disciples had profeted by so many hys sermons and miracles whyche they had now herde and seen, and whether they thought any higher thing of him then the comon people did. He demaundeth therfore of them sayeng. Whom say men that I am? They answered. Some saye thou arte Iohn the baptiste (for so thoughte the Herodians) other say thou arte the prophete Helias, (bicause he was rauished vp & therfore they thought now that he appeared accor­dynge Origen. [Page] to the prophecie of Malachie) other some say, Malach iiij. y ^u art Hierimie (bycause he bare the figure of Christ and bycause vpon him it was said. Lo I haue cōsti­tuted Hiere. i. the this day ouer peoples & kynges, that thou shuldest plucke vp, disseuer, build, and plante, which thingꝭ in very dede were to be accōplished in Christ. Iesus hearing this, to thintent he wold wrynge out yet a more certaine and hygher cōfession of his disci ples who ought best to haue knowne him, asked thē saynge, But who saye you that I am? Then saynte Vo [...] au­tē quē me esse dicitis? Peter made answere for him & his felowes (for of al them was the question asked) and sayd. Thou arte Christ the son of the lyuinge god. Iesus answered. Blessed art thou Simon the son of Iona, for flesh & bloud hath not opened this vnto the, but my heuēly Bar Io­na. father. And I saye agayne to the, thou art Peter (or Cephas in the Hebrue that is to say a rocke) & vpon this rocke shall I buyld my churche, that is to saye, vpon this rocke of thy confession I shall buylde my church. For this cōfession conteineth the sūme of the christē feith, accordyng to the Apostle Paule, sayng. Rom. x. If thou confesse wyth thy mouth our lorde Iesus & with thy hart beleue, that god raysed h [...] frō death to life, thou shalt be saued. So the christē church is buylt, not vpō the person of Peter, but vpō the feith, Chryso stom. as Chrysostome sayth. And this is the confession of feith? Thou art Christ the sonne of the lyuyng god. Wherfore Peter (as saint Augustine affirmeth) doth Aug. libro. i. retract. cap. xi. here represēt the hole church to whō the keyes were deliuered. For yf we wold say the church were buylt vpō the person of Peter, we shuld put an other foū ­dation of the church then Christ, whiche is agaynst [Page xxij] Paul. For he sayth none may put any other funda­tion but that which is put alredy Christe Iesu. For Austine men wylling to be buylt vpon men sayde. I hold of Paule, I holde of Apollo, another sayde I holde of Cephas which is Peter. But other which wold not be built vpō Peter but vpō the rocke said, I hold of Christ. Wherfore sayth Erasmus I do muche mer­uaile Erasmꝰ in anno ta. of some which do wrest this text to the byshop of Rome, sith it is ment not vpon hym but vpon all Christen persons, which thynge, Origen the aunci­ent Origi­nes ho­milia prima. Doctour doth excellently declare saing. If ther­fore we in lyke wyse (by the reuelynge of the father which is in heuen for in heuen is our conuersation) woll cōfesse that Iesus Christ is the sonne of the ly­uyng god: it shalbe also said vnto vs. Thou art Pe ter &c. For euery one that is a folower of Christ is a Peter that is to say a rocke. But there be some men which can be contented with nothing, onles it be vn measurable. Christe therfore did cal him Peter, that is to saye a sure stone or rocke, whiche wauereth not hither & thither, wyth [...]ondry opinions, & vpon thys rock of thy cōfession, saith Christ, woll I buylde my church, y ^t is to wit, my house & palace, whiche I wyl so establishe vpō a sure & immouable fundatiō, y ^e no force nor power of the Helly kingdō shalbe hable to cōquere it. The deuyl layth sege to vs w ^t many en­gyns, he laboureth to brynge agaynste vs the hole rowte of wycked spirites, but by Christes helpe his church shall stand, let vs only take hede this cōfessi­on remayne wyth vs. The heuenly kingdom is the church, the kingdom of the deuil is the world, which noman nedeth to be aferde of, so he be a Peter.

[Page]And for this thy confession, saith Christ, I wyl giue the the keyes of the kingdom of heuē. Behold (saith Origen) how great power the rocke hath vpō which Origen. Christes churche is buylt, that also her iugementes shall remayne sure euen as God him selfe iugynge by the same. Let him therfore be faultles which shal bynde or lose an other, that he maye be founde wor­thy to bynde and to louse in heuen. And that Christ gaue this authoritie aswel to other as to the person of Peter: it is very playne by other places of scrip­ture, Iohn xx. and namely in the. xx. chapter of Ihon, where the euening after his resurrection he sayd to all his disciples. As my father hath sent me: so I send you. And after he had so said, he breathed vpō thē sayng. Whose synnes so euer ye shall forgiue, be forgiuen, and whose synnes ye shal retayne be reteyned. And in like maner before his death, he sayde to them all. What so euer ye shal bynd vpon erth, shalbe bound Math. xviij. in heauen, and what so euer ye shal louse vpon erth shalbe loosed in heuē. Let vs not thā attribute that to one which was spokē to many. Let vs not buyld Christes church vpon the person of any mortall mā Mat. vij (which is to buyld it vpō the sande) but let vs build it vpon the sure rocke, that is to witte vpon the cō ­fession of feith, that these holy Apostles saynt Peter and Paule made & preached, whose memorie we so­lemnize this day. Let vs confesse with our mouth & beleue with our harte that God raised Christe from Rom. x. death to life, & y ^• he is the true Messias & Sauiour. And no doubt we shall enioy the heuēly enheritaūce prepared for vs before the making of the worlde, by Christ our lord, to whō be praise euerlastingly.

THe gospel red in the church this day (good peo Grego­rius Ni­cenus. ple) is right cōfortable to all christē men & wo­mē & cōteineth a very holsom doctrine. For the most part of them which iustifie thēselfes be puffed vp w ^t a vayne opiniō of godlynes before they haue attey­ned to the true iugemēt, separatyng thēselfes as lā ­bes frō gootes, not vouchesauing ones to be cōuer­sant in the same house nor yet to eate the same mea­tes with other, but abhorring al which be not of like perfection as they thinke thēselfes to be of. Saynte Luke therfore a phisiciō more of the soule thā of the bodye, sheweth vs here, howe Christe our Sauiour most tenderly did visite other. He entred therfore in to a pharisees house, not so much to take bodily su­stenaūce of the pharisee, as to giue goostly fode and instructiō to the pharisee, & to heale him of his vain opiniō wherby he iustified himselfe. For lo, as he sat at meate w ^t the pharisee, Mary Magdalen (for that Augusti nus de concor­dan. E­uangel. was her name after the mynde of aunciēt doctours) being at y ^• tyme a notable synful woman hearyng y ^• Christ (which of his moost tēdre mercy was ready to receiue al synners) was there, cam moost penitently thither into the house, to bewayle her synful life & to heare some cōfort of her saluatiō. She had already herd of the great miracles y ^t he did, & specially howe merciful he was to al repentant synners. She ther­fore [Page xxiiij] moued w ^t thys fame, came & wyth great humi­litie stāding behind him at his feet wept so plētiful­ly that euen w ^t the teares whiche fel frō her eyen she washed Christes feet, which she wiped agayn, not w ^t any cloth, but with the very heare of her heade, & she thought not this ynough, but she also kyssed them & anoynted thē w ^t a very preciouse oyntmēt, which she brought w ^t her. The pharisee seinge thys, despiceth this dede, & in his harte reproueth not only the syn­ful womā, but also our lorde which suffred her thus to do. Sayng w ^tin him selfe, yf thys mā were a pro­phet, doubtles he shulde haue knowne, what maner womā this is, for she is a notable synner. By like yf Grego­rius in homilia she had come thus to the pharisees feet, he wold vi­olētly haue spurned her awey with his feete. And in like maner, it is to be feared (sayth saynt Gregory) y ^• some persōs which be indowed w ^t the office of prest­hod, yf they haue doon any thing in outward appa­raūce iustly, anone they despice their vnderlinges, & haue great skorn & indignatiō at al y ^• cōmon sinners in the world. Howbeit not only the religious persōs & suche as haue diuided thēselfes frō the cōmon sort of people haue been infected w ^t this vice, but also ge Mat. vij nerally euery mā is readier to espye a mote in his bro thers eye, thā a beame in his owne. Thus he despi­ced y ^• miserable synner which was infected him selfe Erasmꝰ in para­phrasi. w ^t enuye, w ^t presūptiō, w ^t the sicknes of bacbyting & sklādering of other & was so much y ^• more incurable y ^• he acknowleged not hys disease. For it cōmeth cō ­monly so to pas, y ^• mē be soner cōuerted frō notable & open vices as aduowtry ydolatry & such like than frō such as cloke thēselfes vnder y ^• colour of holines. [Page] Our Lorde therfore not hearing the pharisees wor des, but espyeng his inward thoughtes, answereth him & sheweth himselfe to be lorde of the prophetes. He asketh y ^• pharisee, whē a creditour forgiueth two dettours the one a greater sūme y ^• other a les, whe­ther of thē welloue him best? He answered, he y ^t hath more forgiuē him. Thā said Christe, seest y ^u this wo­man? Thou baddest me home to thy house, water to my fete y ^u gauest me none, this woman hath washed thē w ^t teares & dryed thē agayne w ^t her heare. She neuer ceased kyssinge of them syns I came into thy house. Yea & moreouer she hathe anoynted them w ^t oyntmēt. Wherfore I tel the, many synnes be forgi­uē her, bicause she hath loued much, & speaking this, he turned him to the woman & said, thy feith hath sa ued the, go in peace. Oh howe cōfortable is this ex­emple to all synners? Christe came to cal synners to Mat. ix. repētance, & not those that thought thēselfes holy & iust. So here in the person of the pharisee may very S. Am­brose. Eras­mus in para­phrasi. wel be figured the people of the Iues, whiche loked for Christ & whā he came, of presūption they wolde not know him. But in Mary Magdalē, maye be fi­gured the synful Gentils▪ whiche vnloked for of thē louingly receiued him. Let vs then good people fo­low thys holy woman and not dispaire thoughe we be neuer so greate synners. Only lette vs come to Christ & wyth strong feith desire forgiuenes lamen­tynge and wailynge our offences, brastynge out in­to workes of loue and charitie as she dyd, and no doubt we shalbe forgiuen as she was and at last en ioye euerlastynge blesse by Christe our Lorde, who be praysed.

Amen.

FReendes, the gospell of this day declareth vnto vs how the mother of saynt Iames and saynte Ihon (which were called the sōnes of Zebedee) cam to Christ to aske a certayne petition of him. Saynt Marke the Euangeliste telleth the tale, as though the sonnes themselues asked the peticion. And in dede it was theyr petition and sute to Christ, but to August. de con­cordan­tia Euā ­gel. thintent they myght the soner obteyne it, they toke theyre mother wyth them and had set her to speake for them, as appeareth well by Christes answere. This womans name was Salome which by inter­pretation betokeneth peacefull, and truly she begat the children of peace. And a great praise of this wo­man is gathered out of this text as sayeth C [...]ryso­stom. Chryso stomus. sup Ma [...] thaeum. For not only her sonnes had left theyr father but she also dyd leaue her husband to folow Christ. For he w ^tout her might liue, but she without Christ [Page] could not be saued, oules perchaūce a man wil say, that betwene the time of the calling of these two A­postles & the passion of Christ, Zebedee her husband dyed, & so she beinge a lone woman, & aged, folowed the steppꝭ of Christ, which is also moch to her praise and cōmendation. For feith neuer waxeth olde, and deuotion feleth no werines. She cōmeth therfore to Christ w ^t her two sōnes. They had herd Christe say Mat. 19. a litle before, that they which wold folow him in the new byrth, whā he shuld sit in y ^e seate of his maiestie shuld also sitte vpon xij. seates iuging the xij. tribes of Israel. And that al they which had left house, or brethren & susters, father or mother, wife or children or their landes for his name sake, shulde receyue an hundred times as moch, & shulde enioy euerlasting life. They therfore being as yet imꝑfect, & hauinge litle vnderstandinge of the spirituall kingdom, but thinking rather that Christes kingdom shulde be a worldly & temporal reigne, cam w ^t their mother, be­seching him, that the one of them might sitte on the right hand of him in his kingdom, and the other on the left, meaning, that they might be in some highe authoritie w ^t him. For sith in a worldely kingdome Origen. they do seme to be in honour, which sit w ^t the king, it was no meruayle, though a woman being led w ^t a womans simplicitie or ignoraunce, thought, that such thinges ought to be demaūded, and her sōnes also thinkinge yet nothinge highly vpon Christes kingdom, ymagined such thinges of thē that shuld sitte with Christ. Then oure lord the knower of hyd Chryso stom. thinges, answered not to the wordes of the woman which was made peticioner, but to the counsailes of [Page xxvi] her sōues which had set her to do this. Surely our lord Iesus Christ oftentimes suffred hys disciples both to do, speake & thinke many thinges vnright­ly, to thintent that by their ouersight and blame, he might finde occasion, to expowne the rule of godli­nes, knowing ful wel that theire errour hurted not, so long as he was present with thē, but the doctrine and instruction of the same was profitable both for that time present & also for time comming. He saith ☜ therfore vnto them, ye wot not what ye aske, as who shuld say. I haue called you from the left side vnto the right, & ye by your counsayle wil rūne to the left side againe. And happily y ^• thing was therfore done by a woman. For the deuil gatt him to his wont ar­mours Gen iis. of women, that as Adam was spoyled by a woman: so he might also separate & destroy these by their mother. But now destruction coulde not entre by a woman into saintes, sithens frō a woman pro­ceded the saluation of al men. The auauncement of honour delited them, but first it behoued them to ex­ercise the way of labour. And therfore he sayth vnto them. Can ye drinke of y ^• cuppe that I must drinke of? As who shulde say, if ye wil deserue the swete, ye must also tast of y ^• sowre. If ye wil haue pleasure w ^t me in my kingdom, ye must take ꝑte of my payne, & passion. The crowne of rightuousnes is giuen not 1. Cor. 9. to al but to them that rūne in the course, and whiche do vse themselfes in such sort, that they may obteine the maistrye. If then he that proueth maistryes in worldly games, kepeth himselfe sobre & absteyneth frō al thinges▪ to thintēt to get a crown y ^e perisheth, what ought they be, y ^• seke for an euerlasting crowne [Page] Truly (as sayth Chrysostom) our Lorde knew▪ that Chryso stom. they coulde folowe his passion, but he asketh them this, to thintent all we might heare and know, that none can reygne wyth Christe, onles he folowe hys passiō. For a preciouse thing is not gotten but with a preciouse price. We call the passion of the Lorde, ☞ not only the persecuting of the Hethen, but also all violence whyche we suffre stryuyng agaynst synne. This passion and crosse we be all bounde to abyde, if we wyll be counted to be of Christes flocke. Yea and when the glorie of Christ requireth, we must al­so not refuse to suffre corporall deathe for hys sake. Thus dyd the hooly Apostle saynte Iames (whose memorie we do thys daye celebrate) folowe hym, for he was beheded of Herode for preaching and execu­tynge of hys maisters commission. And therfore it is no doubt of him, but according to Christes owne Mat. 19. promisse, he hath receyued an hundered tymes as moch, and doth now enioye the euerlasting life, and that he is one of them, that the kyngdom of heauen is prepared for. Wherfore (good people) lette vs fo­lowe thys blessed Apostle, and as he dyd, so let vs, leue the loue of all worldly vanities, and folow our Sauiour Christe, to thintent we maye be heyres of god and ioynt heyres wyth Christe. For if we suffre with him (saith Paule) we shal also be glorified with Rom. 8. i. Timo ij. hym and reygne togither with hym. If we dye with him, we shal also liue with him and enioy the crown of euerlastinge blysse by him, to whom wyth the fa­ther and holy ghoste be glorie and prayse for euer and euer.

Amen.

Ye shal finde this Gospell and the sermon vpon it before, on the conception day of our Lady. fol. v.

THe Gospell red thys daye in the churche (good people) sheweth vnto vs, how the blessed Apo­stle saynte Matheu was called of oure Sauioure Christe from a customer to be his disciple & Apostle, and how ready he was at his callyng to folow him, whiche readynes of mynde as it is hyghlye for hys prayse and cōmendation, so it is also set forth, as an exemple for vs to folow. Let vs then brefely cōsider the maner of this thynge. As our Sauiour Christe passed by the custome house, he sawe thys Matheu whiche was otherwise called Leui the sonne of Al­pheus sitte there, for he was at that tyme one of the custome house, whiche persones be called in latine [Page] publicani. And surely this kind of mē, bycause they what be pub­licans. did exercise an occupation or office of fylthy gaines and of violent rapacitie, were many ways infamed noted and euyl spokē of, and specially amonges the Iewes. But our Sauiour Iesus Christ, which had called a lytle before vnto him Simō and Andrewe, Ihō & Iames frō a base (though yet not vnlawful) kynde of lyuyng, to thintent he wold openly declare vnto the worlde, that he abhorred no sorte of men at al, so they wold conuert themselfes to better: he cal­leth this Mattheu vnto hym, and cōmaunded hym to folowe hym. Mattheu castynge no perilles or at Remi­gius. lest wey despising al perilles whiche myght happen of Rulers forthwyth without delay, leauing his ac­comptes vnperfite, and leauing his gaynfull office, beganne to folowe Iesus, beinge sodenly made of a publicane a disciple. And bycause he forsoke earthly gaynes, he was ryghtly made a stuard of the Lordꝭ talentes. Truly the very brightnes and maiestie of Hiero­nimus. the hidde godhed of our Sauiour Christ, which al­so glystered in his humane face, had power to pluck vnto him with the first syght those that beheld him. For yf the Magnes stone hathe (as they saye) suche Christe is like­ned to a Mag­nes sto­ne. vertue & efficacie in it, that it cā draw vp yron vnto it: howe much more could he that is the Lorde of al creatures, drawe vnto hym whom he wolde? And it happened afterward, that this Matheu, being now called to be Christꝭ disciple, desired him that he wold vouchesaue to take a repast wyth him at his house. Our Lorde neyther disdayned to do thys thynge at hys new disciples request, to thintent he wold gyue vs instruction, that the company and felawshyp of [Page xxxij] wicked ꝑsons ought not to be eschued of preachers and holy men, yf there be any hope that by their cō ­pany Chryso stom. they woll amende there nawghty lyfe. Mat­theu therfore beyng honored by Christes commyng into hys house, made vnto hys maister a great and sumptuouse feast, wherunto he also had byddē ma­ny men of his ordre and facultie, that is to wit, euen a bourde full of customers, publicans, and synners, whom by hys exemple and wordes he had allured and drawen into admiration & loue of Iesus. The pharisees therfore whiche were euer huntynge and seking occasions how to sklaunder & trappe Christ, espyeng hym nowe wyth hys disciples, syttyng and eatyng wyth these synful sorte of men, durst not yet rebuke Christe to hys face, lest he shulde peraduen­ture taunt them againe as he had oftentymes doon before, but went about to drawe and trayne his dis­ciples from him. Wherfore they come to them & say. Why doth your maister eate wyth these publicans and synful persons? Trouth it is (good people) that the euil talkes of euyl men do corrupt the good ma­ners i. Cor. [...]5 Corrum pūt mo res bo­nos col­lo quia mala. of good mē. But Christes cōmunication wyth these euil men, was not to catche the euil māners of them, but by his heuēly medicine to plucke the euyl māners frō thē. He cam to cal the shepe y ^t were lost & strayed out of the right pathe of godlines being se­duced & led out therof by suche hypocrites & phari­sees as these were which were here offēded w ^t Christ These be they that Paule speaketh of, which glori­eng in the lawe, do disworship god by the trāgressiō Rom. ij. of the lawe, vaynly reputynge themselfes to be the guydes of y ^• blind, & the light of thē y ^e be in darknes. [Page] Our Sauiour therfore hearing the pharisees thus disputing wyth his disciples which as yet were but weake, he defēdeth them in this wise. The hole nede Esay. 4. i. Pet. ij. no phisician, but the sicke. Christe calleth him selfe a phisician, whiche by a wonderfull kynde of surgery was woūded for our iniquities that he myght heale the woundes of oure synnes. He calleth them hole, which wyllyng to stablyshe there owne iustice were Rom. 4. not subiect to the true iustice of God. And he calleth them sicke and diseased whiche beynge ouercome in their cōscience do acknowlege their frailtie, and espi yng howe by the lawe they be not iustifyed, do sub­mitte themselfes by penaunce to the grace of God. But go your weys (sayeth Christe) and learne what thys sentence of the prophete Osee meaneth, where Osee. vi God sayeth. I require mercye and not sacrifice, as who shulde saye, Why accuse ye me, when I releue Chryso stom. and correcte synners? Why do ye not rather accuse God the father of heauen which speaketh thys sen­tence by his prophet? He admonisheth vs than, that by workes of mercie, we shulde gette vs the reward of the heuenly mercy, and not that despising the ne­cessities of the pore & nedye we shuld trust to please God by the oblation of sacrifices. Wherfore (good people) lette vs folowe thys blessed Apostle saynte Matheu, let vs leaue al fylthy gaynes and come to Christ, when he calleth vs by the preachynge of hys word. Let vs be charitable & do the workes of mer­cie, as Christe teacheth vs, that we maye be of the Ma [...]. 24. nombre of those which shall inheritie the kingdome of heuen prepared frō the beginnyng of the worlde by the father of heuen, to whom be al prayse.

Amen.

What time our sauiour Christ walked here vpon erth w ^t his disciples, which leauing the cares of earthly thinges gaue themselues only and holly to the gospel, it chaūced so, that he entred into a cer­tain village. In this village there dwelled two wo­men the name of the one was Martha, the others name was Mary, whiche women ioyfully receyued Christ and his disciples into their house. The loue and zeale of either of them towardes the lorde was egal, but their fourme & maner of lyfe was diuerse, i. Co [...]. [...] like as in one body be sundry vses of the partes and membres of the same, & as also in the bodie of Iesus which is the church be diuerse & sundry giftes of the spirite. For Mary making as it were holyday from al busynes of the house now at Christes comming, sat her downe at his fete, hearing his wordes, wher­with she was so rauished, that forgettinge all other thinges, she coulde not be plucked thens. Contrary [Page] wise, Martha being carefull for the purueaunce of the feast, ranne about hither & thether al busye, that nothing at al shuld lacke, that perteined to the wel­cōming & feasting of such a gest. Wherfor not being sufficient of her selfe alone, to do al y ^e she wold haue done & made ready, & seing her suster vnoccupied sit­ting at Iesus fete, she thought it lost labour to chide her suster, whō she knew could not be plucked awey but she sūwhat blamed our sauiour whych held her wyth hys wordꝭ from the necessarie busynes as she thought. Lord, sayth she, hast no regard y ^e my sustre suffreth me to do al alone? Cōmaund her therfore y ^e she rise & help me. Our lorde being moch delyted in the zeale & affection of either of these women, discō ­mendeth not the diligent sturring about the house of Martha, neyther doth he chyde her for murmu­ring at her suster, but he gently excuseth Mary, sai­eng Martha Martha, veryly thou arte troubled & vexed about many thinges. But there is one thyng most nedeful, which is alweys to be done if it may be, as who shuld say. Do thou thy fūction & office what soeuer the purueiance be. But Mary hath chosen a farre bettre parte whych forgettinge the thinges of the body, is holly vusied in the thinges of the mind. It is not mete that she shuld be called awey frō the bettre thinges whiche she hath chosen & be thurst to lower & vyler seruices. Thy loue & zeale is thākfull vnto me in that thou preparest a repast for the time for me & mine, but I am more swetely repasted of thē whyche conuey my wordes into the bowels of theyr sowles that they may be saued. For this is y ^• meate whyche doth singularly fede me thys is the drynke Ihō. iiij. [Page xxviij] which doth singularly refresh me. He that regardeth the thinges of y ^e body is distracted into sūdry cares, and of these officies there shalbe then an ende, when immortalitie appearing y ^• necessities of mortal per­sons shal cease wher w ^t the weaknes of humane na­ture is now accombred. But he goeth the nerest wey i. Cor. 1 [...] to worke which casting awey al such cares is altogi­ther rauished vnto heuenly thinges, setling himself to one only thing, but which one is bettre thā al the other thinges, the felicitie wherof shal not be taken awey but augmented, when that thing shalbe aboli­shed which is imperfect & that opened which is per­fecte. Neither ought we to murmure againste them as though they were ydle personnes, which haue se­questred themselfes from corporal ministeries & do for the same purpose attend and giue themselues to heuenly doctrine folowing and ensuing the steppes of Christ, lerning the thing that they may teache o­thers, & throughly transposing into the intrailes of the mynde the thinges that they may instructe their euen christen, to thintent they may profette the moo to the winning of euerlasting saluation. And yet in the meane season they shall not lacke their rewarde which with a godly zeale do releue (according to the exemple of this Martha) the bodily necessities of the preachers of gods word, whyche feade the hungry, clooth the naked, viset the sicke and prisoners, har­brough & receiue the nedy, for in that they do this to Mat. [...]. their euenchrist [...], they do it to Christ himself. And he that geueth but a drawght of colde water to a pro­phet, y ^• is to say to a precher in y ^• name of a prophet, shal haue the same reward that the prophete hath.

[Page]Wherfor (as [...]aint Austine saith) our lord rebuketh S. Au­gustine. not the worke & corporal seruice of Martha, but [...]e distinct [...]th y ^• office, sayng, Mary hath chosē the best ꝑte which shal not be taken from her, as if he shuld say. Thou Martha hast not chosen an euil ꝑte, but she hath chosē a better, & why a bettre? bicause it shal not be taken from her, but from the shalbe ones ta­ken the burthen of necessitie. For when thou cōmest to the heuēly countrey thou shalt fynd there no gest ne straunger to receyue by hospitalitie, but for thy [...]pfette it shalbe taken from the, to thintent the thing that is better might be giuen vnto the, labour shal­be taken from the, that rest might be giuen vnto the in the stede. Thou sailest in y ^• midde sees, she resteth in the hauen or port. For the swetnes of y ^• trouth is euerlastig, yet in this life it is augmēted, but in that life to com it shalbe accōplished & shal neuer be takē awey. Now surely there was neuerwomā, no noryet man that euer atteined here in this world to y ^• high perfection & heuenly kind of liuing, as did the most blessed virgine Mary y ^• mother of Christ, who was Luc. i. replenished with al graces most plentuously as also testified Gabriel gods angel. Mary which was this Marthas suster in dede was moch to be cōmended, but nothing to be cōpared w ^t the perpetual virgine Mary Christes mother. Wherfore as she was here in erth replenished with al vertues, so is she now in heuen replenished with al ioyes. Let vs then folow the diuine contemplatiō & godly meditatiō of these Maries, that we maye also enioye that blesse that shall neuer be taken from vs through Christe oure lord. To whom be al praise and honoure.

Amen.

FOrasmuch as our Sauiour Christ at his maū ­dy or supper before his passion had made menti­on of the kingdom of God, his disciples which were at that tyme sumwhat weake & not throughly spiri­tual, but smellyng yet a lytle of the fleshe, fel at con­tention and variaunce amonges themselfes, which of them shuld after his departure haue the primacie or hed rule in the kyngdō of god. For in the hole bu­synes of the blessed sacramēt & mystery of hys maū ­dy, he semed to take them al as egal not preferryng one aboue an other, sayng vnto thē. Take & deuide Luc. 22. amonges you. But Iesus albeit at diuerse other tymes he had chalenged them for thys affection, yet at hys departure vpon thys occasion he specially,

[Page] [...]reth to plucke it cleane from them, cōmaūding them that they shulde not ymagen any such thinge in the kyngdom of heauen as they sawe in worldly kyng­doms. For this is a farre other maner thing, it stan­deth in benefites and not in force, it is obteyned and also mainteyned w ^e ghostly garrisons and not with violence, and is enlarged by persuasion and not by compulsion. The princes of this worlde do practice Lordlines ouer such as be vnder thē, they persuade not their subiectes to loue honestie, but by feare of punyshemēt they fraye them frō wronges, and they compell men to honour them, though they haue ne­uer so euill deserued it. Yea the nerer they approche to tyranny, the more wol they be honored of the peo­ple with hygh tytles. Uerily such is for moost parte the kyngdome of seculare and worldly rulers. But amonges the clergie, the disciples of Christ, & prea­chers of his gospell, to whom he bequethed hys spi­rituall kyngdom, ought to be an other fashion of li­uyuge. The greater one be among them, the les vi­olent power or glorye he oughte to chalenge to hym selfe. Wherfore (sayeth Basilius that auncient doc­tour Basilius magnus of the churche) lette not the dignitie extolle the prelate of the church, lest he falle frō the blesse of hu­militie. But let him▪ rather know thys, that true hu­militie is seruaunte of very many. For lyke as he whiche ministreth to many wounded persons and wypeth awey the fylth of euery wounde, taketh not this office vpō him to extolle and vawnte hym selfe therupon: so moch rather he to whom is committed the cure and charge of maladies and diseases of his goostly brethren and susters ought to caste, and be [Page xxxiij] carefull wyth himselfe as the minister of all whiche muste render accomptes for all. Neyther is it to be feared (saith he) that the purpose of humilitie shulde be broken of the subiecte, whyle hys better serueth hym. Let prestes therfore & the prelates of Christes churche not be ashamed to shewe that sobrenes and modestie to the worlde which Christ tawght hys A­postles to vse. And the more Apostolicall that men wol be counted and vicares of Christes churche: so much the more ought they to folow Christe and his Apostles in lowlynes & sobrietie. It is not ynoughe truely to be called by a vayne tytle of name the ser­uant of God, or the seruant of seruauntes, & in dede to practise all Lordilnes, skant vouchsauyng y ^• men shulde kysse there feete. If there be any of this sorte, surely they be no vicares of Ch [...]ist, but of Antichrist, they be not apostolical, but diabolical, no good herd­men, Ioh. x. but false hyrelynges, no feaders of Christes flocke, but deuourers, no buylders but destroyers, no pyllers of his church but pollers. If they wol ne­des be coūted for mē apostolical, let thē folow the ex­emple & steppes of Peter & Paule & resemble thē in dede of whom they woll be counted the vicares. Let Tit. 2. 1. Tim. 3 thē be irreprehenlible, sobre, chast, modest, louers of hospitalitie, ful of holsom doctrine, no drunkerdes, no warryours, no louers of fylthy marchandise, no bruers of gods word, but pure prechers. Let thē at­tende Act. 20 2. Pet 5. to y ^• hole flocke, & (as Peter cōmaūdeth) fede it as much as in thē [...]s, takinge charge of it, w ^eout de­sire of fylthy lucre, vsinge thēselfes, as they may be estemed ministers of Christ and feithful stuardes of y ^• heuēly mysteries of god, as Peter & Paule were. [...]. Cor. [...]

[Page]You (sayeth Christe to hys disciples) be they whiche haue abode with me in my tētations, as who shuld say. He that begynneth to be pacient and anone lea­ueth of, is not rewarded wyth the crowne of glorye, but he that holdeth on to the ende. For (as Bede say­eth) Bede. perseueraunce whiche is called a constancie or strongnes of mynde, is full well cleped the pyller of all vertues. The son of God therfore leadeth wyth him to his euerlastinge kyngdom such as stycke by him and be no starters awey frō hym at euery puffe of winde. For if we by planted in him and be parta­kers wyth hym of hys death, doubtles we shal also be pertakers and companions of his resurrection. Christ saith here that he hath disposed or bequethed to his disciples the kingdō, which his heuēly father ordeined & disposed to him. The kingdom of Christ Ioh 18. surely, is not of this worlde. Neyther is there any e­qualitie to the lorde, but only an emulation of like­nes, Ambro­se. For only Christ is the ful image of God, wher­as the iust mā is accordinge to the likenes or image of God, yf accordynge to the same, he despiceth thys world, and for this cause also we do eate the blessed bodye of Christ, that we may be pertakers of the he­uēly life. Such a sticker by Christ in al his tempta­tions was thys holy Apostle saynte Bartilmew, he was a true prelate of Christes Church, neither was he a minister or seruaunt of other in name and tytle only, but in dede, he preached truely and syncerely not his owne cōstitutions and decrees, but Christes gospel, hym let vs folow, that we also may be made pertakers of that heuenly ioye by Christ our lorde▪ To whom be rendred al thākes and prayses.

[Page] NOt without great cause and considera­tion (good people) the churche hath ap­poynted a certaine daye in the yeare for the solemnization of saint Michael the Archangel and by him of al the angels of heuen, sith in them is put no small cōfort in earth to al good and deuout persons. First therfore by the help of god we intende sum what to intreate of their nature and office, which done, we wil brefely declare the gospel of this day. Wherfore ye shal vnderstād A diui­sion of angels. that there be two sortes of angels, some be good, and some badde. The good angells do continually mi­nistre vnto god and serue for our behouf, and their delite is to do men good, bicause they themselfes be good of nature, and theire office is to execute gods busynes and to take charge and cure of vs mortall men. They defende and protect I say al good folke from the assaultes and violence of the deuyll, they nourish concord, peace, vertues, good studies, artes, sciencies, polecie, cōmon welthes, discipline, & short­ly to speake, mans helth and salfgard. That these be the properties and offices of good angells, appea­reth very playnly by innumerable places of hooly writte, wheare the good fathers were holpen and be nefited of them, as in the olde testament were Abra­ham, Gen. 3 [...]. Exo. 14. Tob. v. Daniel. iij. Iacob, Loth, Tobie, the children of Israel be­ing in the wildernes, the three children whiche were cast into a hote furna [...]e, Eleas, Elizeus, and many others. In the newe testament saynte Peter whiche was led out of prison by an angel, also saint Paule Act. 12. whyche was certifyed of the shypwrake and of sal­uation, and diuerse other. But lette vs marke how [Page xxxiiij] great their power and vertue is. One angell in one Exod. [...] night strake all the firstbegotten of the countrie of Egipt. One angel in one night strake down the hole 4. Regū xix. armie of Sennacherib as appeareth in the fourthe boke of the kinges. One angell in a plage of pesti­lence destroyed thousandes of men, as appeareth in 2. Regū, xxiiij. the seconde boke of kinges. I let pas the visions of the prophetes Esaye, Elie, Elizeus, Ezechiel, Dani­el and the rest, where the Lorde by hys angells dyd speake and teach thinges whiche were to be done & taught. Also the reuelacions of saynt Ihon setforth in the boke of the Apocalipse. Furthermore when so euer almighty god wold set out any singulare thing to mankind, he shewed it afore by his angels, as for exemple, of Sampson, of Iohn Baptist, yea and of Christ himself to be borne. The angels were present at Christes byrth, at his death, at hys resurrection, and at sundry other tymes. Ye shal morouer vnder­stand, that there be angels and also archāgels that is to saye, chiefe or principall angels, and they haue distincte officies and seueral functions wherby god almyghty exerciseth hys wonders. The Apostell Paul therfore teacheth, that there be powers, domi­natiōs, vertues. And according to their officies and properties they haue names, as saynte Michaell (whose memorie the church doth this day celebrate) as Gabriel, as Raphael, whiche for their high kind of ministration be called Archangels. For lyke as a king hath vnder him princes, dukes, capitans lieutenantes, cōstables and other officers to defend men from iniuries, to kepe the peace, to brydell and punishe▪ [...]auenours and euil disposed persons, euen [Page] so hath god (who is king of kinges) his angels vn­der him of diuerse officies for mans sauegarde and defense against noysom spirites. The angels I say of god, whether they be sene or not▪ sene be alweyes ready and assistent to good personnes and be theyr kepers, which thing the ladder that Iacob saw rea­ching vp to heauen, by whiche ladder the angels of Gen. 28. god ascended & descended, doth manifestly declare. But here peraduenture ye woll aske thys question, A pue­stion. why angels do not so often nowe appeare, as they did in old tyme? To this questiō the apostle maketh answere in the first chapter of the Epistle to the He­brues, The so­lution. where he sayeth, that the lorde in times paste spake to y ^• fathers by his angels, but to vs he haue spoken by his only begotten sonne, whom the father cōmaundeth vs to heare, whose cōmaundementes and teachinges be set forth vnto vs by the foure E­uangelistes, Mathew, Marke, Luke & Ihon. How­beit an other cause also why the angels appeare not as often to vs, as they did in olde time to the aunci­ent fathers, may be very wel forbicause the world is now set all in naughtines & men be commonly no­thinge so pure, so bertuouse, nor so deuout, as they were in times passed. Yet it is manifest & playne by Christes own wordes in the gospel of this day, that euery good person hath his angel whych beholdeth the face of god the father in heuen. Such an angell no doubt had Paule whom he called his angell, as Act. 1 [...]. appeareth in the Actes of the Apostles. Such pecu­liare angels had the good auncient fathers, and fi­nally such angels haue al good men and women at this day appoynted vnto them of almyghty god.

[Page xxv]Wherfore the more fuller and replenished a man be wyth feyth and godly awe, the more often & also the nerer be the angels to him, for accordinge to the cō ­mon prouerbe, lyke delyteth in the lyke. And on the Simile simili gaudet. contrary side, know we for certaine they be offended with fylthynes, wyth vnclennes wyth malice & wic­kednes, and for thys cause forthwyth they departe from the persons who soeuer they be which be spot­ted with the same. If we be then pure & good, doubt we not, but god hath giuen commaundement to his angels ouer vs, that they shuld kepe vs in all oure Psal. 90. wayes. Herunto also do the aūcient doctours of the church ful wel agree. Saynt Hierom, writing vpon Hierom the gospel of Matheu, sayth. The worthines surely of soules is great, forasmoch as euery one hath his angel appointed vnto him for his keper euen from Orige­nes ho­mil. 71. his byrth. The noble clerke Drigen also sayth, there is at hand to euery one of vs yea euen to the least of vs al which be in the church of god, a good angell the lordes messanger, to direct vs, to rule vs, to mo­nish vs, to gouerne vs, which seeth daily the face of the heuenly father for the correcting of our doinges and obteyning of mercie for vs. Neither doth saint Gregorie disagre from this, which writeth, that eue­ry Grego rie. one of vs haue a propre and peculiar angell ap­poynted to the keping of him, and one euil angel to his exercise. Also saynt Bernard exhorteth vs to be Bar­narde. deuout▪ louing and kynde to so worthy kepers.

Hithersito, my frendes, we haue spoken of the good angels. Now wol we intreate sumwhat of the euyll of euyll angels. angels, to the intent we maye the bettre espye, what great cōmodities and benefites our lord doth giue [Page] vnto vs by his good angels, whan on the contrary side we shal behold the incommoditie and mischiefe that commeth of the badde angells. For how can a man so well knowe what a good thinge peace is, as when it is compared with batel which is the contra ry? They be therfore called badde angells, bycause they bring to pas nothing that is good, & they haue sundry names, otherwhile in scripture they be called euill spirites, Satan, Deui [...]les, cacodemones, and Satan. feendes. Satan in the Hebrue betokeneth an aduer sarie, bicause he is agaynst god, against his worde, Diabo­lus. and against our helth and [...]aluatiō. Diabolus, that is to say, deuil betokeneth a sklaunderer and an ac­cusour, forasmoch as he accuseth vs and doth euyil interprete al thinges be they done neuer so wel and godly. Cacodemon signifieth a crafty knower and Caco­daemō. full of suttelcie and deceipt al set on mischief. They be also called by a resemblan̄ce of properties, roring lyons, dragons, serpentes, Leuiathan, wolues euill beastes, theues and such like, of their euil properties Also spirites of the ayer flyeng about, bounde wyth the chaynes of darknes vntyl the day of iugement condemned to euerlastinge damnation. They caste suche men as be wythout the feare and thought of god into al kindes of vices, some into couetise, some into pride, lechery, intemperance, crafte, deceipt, infi­delitie, contēpt of god, rechlesnes, dispayre, dissolute and loose liuing, dronkennes, glotony, surfettinges aduowtries, blasphemies, they raise dissentions, se­ditions, warres, debates, and all vnhappynes. Yea and vnder the visour of angels of lyght and vnder the clooke of religion and of godlines they induce [...]. Cor. 2. [Page xxxix] idolatry, mens dreames, sectes, heresies and al false doctrines, they deuise and driue into mens heddes inchauntmentes, euil affections, nawghty opinions and wicked counsailes, as they did to Dauid in his aduowtry, in the slaughter of Urias & in nombring of the people, and as they dyd to Czechiell, whan he disclosed the treasure to the Babylonians. To be 4. Reg. xx. short, they do labour al they can, to bring vs to vt­tre shame and destruction. And this we se by open testimonies signes and deades, how myghtyly they Ephe. 2▪ reygne (as Paule saith) vpon the children of disobe­dience and vpon such as wol not beleue gods word nor feare the lorde. They confirme therfore the vn­godly in theire vngodlynes wyth signes and won­ders whiche they shew by their lymmes and ympes Exod. iiij. v. the false prophetes, as appeareth in the. xxiiij. chap­ter of Mathew, or by inchaunters and [...]uglers, for it is not impossible but the deuil may by art Magik and sorcery worke many wonders and maystres. For surely if witchcraftes sorceries and inchaunte­mentes were not made ne coulde not be done, God wolde neuer haue forbydden them. Thus these euil spirites lye contynually in awayt of mankind, theyre propertye is to speake deceypte and lyes, for Ihon. [...]. that is (as Christe sayth) theyr owne and they be fa­thers therof, they falsifye and corrupte gods worde wyth wycked doctrine, as appeareth by the parable of the sower of good sede and of the deuyll whyche Mat 13. Mat. 4. 1. Cor. 1 [...] soweth among it darnel, they wreste and allege ho­ly scripture wronge, they transfigure themselfes in­to angells of lyght, fynally they seke to syfte vs as men wolde fyfte wheate.

[Page]And veryly good people y ^• the wycked spirites haue these effectes powers and operations, it is playne & manifest also by the witnes of holy doctours of the church. First the excellent clerke saynt Augustine in The wordes of saint Austine hys sermons writeth in thys wise. All the euilles of the worlde be wrought by the falshode of the deuill, whiche hath sette warre in heauen, and in paradise deceipt, hatred amonges the first brethern, and in al Lactā ­tius lib. 3. diui. instit. our workes hath sowne darnelles. Lactantius also that noble writer is not behind with his recorde, sa­yng. There is a certayne wicked and deceiptful spi­rite, which is enemye to man, and foe of iustice, thys spirite lyeth in awayte of al mankinde. And such as knowe not God them doth he entangle and wrappe in errous, he drowneth them in foly, and shadoweth them in darknes. Also saynt Gregorie writeth▪ that S. Gre­gorie. the wille of Satan is alway wicked, but his power is neuer vnrightuouse or vnleful, for of himselfe he hath his wille, but his power he hath of God. Wher fore (good christen people) sith we stand in this state and condition, that yf we be euill and voyde of ver­tue and of the true feare of God, we be in daūger of these so noysom and wicked spirites, and agayne yf we loue and serue God, we be protected and fensed w ^t the good angelles, whose benefites I haue here­tofore brefely remembred: it shalbe our partes euer­more to serue God and to stande in awe of hym, lest by any meanes we might offend and displease him, and so through our fault it shulde come to pas that we myght be depriued of these good angelles & the euill shulde haue power vpon vs. But now let vs procede to the declaration of our gospell. First ther­fore [Page xxxvij] ye shall vnderstande that an exemple of the na­turall An exē ­ple of mans in firmitie ignoraunce blindnes and infirmitie of man­kind is here set forth in the disciples of Christ, which as yet measured the kingdom of heuen after the fa­shon of the kyngdome of the worlde. The disciples come therfore to Christ & aske him, who is the grea­ter man in the kyngdō of heuen? Surely according Chryso stom. Hierom to the mynde of auncient doctours, thys was a cer­tayne humane affection, whiche crept into the Apo­stles mindes and as it were a pricke of enuie and of ambition. They had herd of the kyngdom of heuen, they had seen. iij. Apostles led aparte with Christ in Mat. 17. Luc ix. to the mountayne that is to wit, Peter, Iames and Ihon, they had herde, how the keys of the kingdom of heuen were giuen to Peter, and howe it was said Mat 16. Mar. 8. Luc. ix. to him. Blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Iona, and I say to the, thou art Peter and vpō this rocke wol I buylde my churche, they espyed Peter also to talke more familiarly & more boldly wyth the lorde, Mat. 17. & lately also they sawe hym preferred before the rest of the Apostles in paynge of the tribute and in ma­ner matched with Christ. For these and suche other thynges whiche as yet they dyd no perfectly vnder­stande, they had a lytle preuye grudge and enuie at Peter syth to hym as they thought the principalitie of the kingdō of heuen was appointed wher neuer­theles they perceiued he was yonger in yeares then they. They came therfore as I sayde to Iesus and asketh hym, who shall haue the chief authoritie in the kyngdome of heauen. For it coulde not be yet dreuen out of their heddes, but that there shulde be such like dignities and powers in the heauenly and [Page] spiritual kyngdom, as they sawe in princes courtes of this world. Our sauiour Christ therfore, to thin­tent he wold cleane banish this carnal affection and vtterly expel the same out of their myndes, calleth a certayne chyld vnto him, whō he setteth in the myd­des of his disciples, the chyld being yet very tendre of age and [...]ut a babe, voyde of all affections ether of ambition or of enuie, simple, pure, innocent, and liuynge by the only guyde and conducte of nature. Thys chylde beynge thus sette amonges them, our Sauiour sayeth in this wise vnto them. Uerily, on­les ye be cōuerted and be made as childern: it is not possible for you to come into the kingdom of heuen. For declaration of thys texte, ye shall vnderstande, Hierom that Christ did not here cōmaūde the Apostles, that they shulde haue the age of chyldrē but the innocen­cie, and the thing that the childrē do possesse bicause of their chyldhod, they shulde possesse by their indu­strie, so that in malice they might be chyldrē, but not in wisdom, as who shulde saye, lyke as this child, of whom I giue you an exemple, doth not continew in angre, neyther thynketh he one thyng and speaketh an other: so you also, onles ye haue such innocencie and purenes of mynd, ye cā not entre into the king­dom of heauen. Wherfore my frendes by Christes owne wordes here we may be right wel assured, that onles we cease frō all malice and rancour towardes our Christē brothern and susters and become Chri­sten mē not in name only, but also in dede & worke, beyng made as it were new men and newly regene­rate Ihon. 3. not fleshly but spiritually, vtterly casting awey as muche as maye be al carnal and worldly affecti­ons, [Page xxxviij] and be trāsformed into the hauour and simpli­citie of yong chyldern, we shall neuer be receyued in to the kyngdom of heauen. Let vs hūble and abase our selues & make vs like to these litle babes whom we se cleane voide of malice and of ambitiō. For he that thus woll humble and lowly hym selfe, shalbe Mat. 23. Luc. 14. doubtles auaūced, & shalbe called great in the king­dome of heauen. Who so euer verily is by modestie and buksomnes the lest: the same person is through vertue the greatest. Trouth it is, that worldly Em­perours kyngꝭ and princes do for most partes loue such as be lyke to thēselfes, and amōges them such be in most price and reputation, which can shyft out other and set forth themselfes. Christe in semblable wyse delyteth in such persons as resemble him, who what tyme he was here conuersant amonges vs in Phili. 2. earth humbled hymselfe and became obedient vnto the death, euen the death of the crosse. Whan he was reuiled, he reuiled not agayn, he suffred to be boūde to be bobbed, to be spitted at, to be strikē, to be scour­ged, & finally to be cruc [...]fied being himselfe without spotte of sinne to thintēt to purge vs of our synnes. Wherfore for his humilitie he hath receiued auaun­ment and most high exaltation, for his obedience he hath receiued most highe honour to haue a name a­boue al names, for his pacience & sufferinge he hath receyued power ouer all, for hys infinite charitie he hath receiued praise glorie and thākes of al. Let vs Mat. [...]. lerne therfore of Christ to be meke & humble in hart Let vs remēbre what y ^• prophete Dauid sayth. The lorde is nere to thē y ^• be of cōtrite hart, & he wol saue such as be hūble in spirite & which fear his wordes. Psal. 32 [...] ▪ [Page] Truly (good people) those that be lowly & meke in spirite be most highly auaūced, protected & tendred of almighty god. He throweth down the mighty frō Luc .i. their prowd seates & exalteth the hūble, he filleth the hungry w ^t good thinges, & letteth the rych departe i. Pe .iij. emptye. He resisteth the prowd, & giueth his graces to the lowly persons. Let vs then be hūbled vnder Iac .ij. the mighty hand of the lord. For (as saynte Iames sayth) hath not god chosen the pore? Certaynly the pore in spirite & lowly persons be they, whom God hath in his special fauour & grace. For like as in the great mens courtes of this worlde, y ^• prince or great man taketh the vyllanye or displeasure as done to himselfe, when one doth a displeasure to one of hys great lordes or special seruaūtes, & againe taketh a good turne & benefite as done to himself, when it is bestowed vpon them, euen so the great king of kin­ges & lord of lordes god almyghty doth so tendre & loue his hūble and meke seruauntes though in the face of the world they seme as persons despised and not regarded, that who so euer receyueth one of thē in Christes name he coūteth the thing done to him­self, & as though the partie had receiued Christ him­self. And on the other side, he that offendeth any one of these simple and base persons which truste vpon the lord & which depend hole vpon him, shalbe more greuously punished, then if a mylstone were hanged about his necke & he cast into the depe see. For what a more shameful & wicked parte can be shewed, than to greue and hurt them which wil noman no hurte, which enuye noman, which preferre themselfes be­fore noman, whiche loue al persones indifferently?

[Page xxxix]Wo be to the worlde therfore for greuynge of suche ones. Howbeit the malice of men is so greate, that these greues must nedes be. Wherfore who soeuer coueteth to come to heauen, let him beware howe he hurte them, yea let hym take hede he hurte not hym selfe. Let no affection be so deare to vs but let it be forthwyth karued and cut awey, yf it shulde hindre vs in our iourney to heauenwarde. Our hande, our fote, our eye be necessarye membres, yet rather then they shulde hindre vs, Christe byddeth vs cast them awey. For were it not better sayth he to go to heuen maymed or lame, or wyth one eye, thā with hole mē ­bres to be cast into hel fyer? But sayng this he ment Hierom Chryso stom. not, that any membre of the body shuld be cut awey but he wolde haue the affections cut of, whiche calle vs awey from the studie of eternal saluation. For a frende which a mā can skant want is as it were hys one hande. Thy father whom thou dost truste on, is thy fote. Thy wyfe or sonne whom thou tenderly lo­uest is thyne eye. And as there is nothynge so preci­ouse that ought to plucke vs from heauen: so nomā be he neuer so lowe & pore ought to be despised but rather holpen. Let vs then offend none of those litle ones, namely sith there angelles which haue charge ouer thē do cōtinually beholde the face of almighty god in heuen, so y ^t by this we may know in what re­putatiō they be w ^t god, seing he hath giuen thē such kepers & cōductours. Let vs thā endeuour our self [...] to be suche lowly & hūble persons as our Sauiour Christ here speaketh of, y ^t we may haue such aūgels to cōducte, leade, defend, & kepe vs in al our weyes, by Christ our lord, who be praised & glorified.

SAint Luke (god people) whose memory y ^• church doth this day solemnize, though he was none of the .xii. Aposteles of Christ nor of the coūtrey of the Iues but a Grecian, borne at Antioche, and at the beginninge of Christes preaching in Iurye not be­inge Luc. 1. with Christ, as he himself witnesseth in the pre­face of hys Gospell: yet after he had ones tasted of Lege Theo­phylac­tū in ar­gumen­to suo super E uāgeliū Lucae. Christes heuenly doctrine, he forsoke al worldly va­nities, and gaue hym selfe holly to the preachinge & setting forth of Christes Gospel, in so much that di­uerse of the auncient fathers be in opinion that he was one of the seuentie Apostes which oure Saui­our Christ sent forth into the coūtres to preache. By reason wherof he hath inerited to be called an Euā ­gelist [Page xl] of Christ in more excellent wise then the most parte of his felawes be, consideryng that he hath so much holpē the Christē feith not only wyth his pre­thingꝭ, but also wyth his large writinges. The gos­pel therfore of thys daye is of the sendynge forth of these seuentie prechers & of the cōmissiō and charge that Christ gaue them. In the chapter before thys gospel it is writen, that our Lorde sent forth .xij. A­postles into Galilee to preach the glad tydynges of the kyngdome of God, and to cōfirme it with mira­cles. But now whē he cam out of Galilee into Iew­ry and perceyued the greate desyre of the people to heare the gospel, beside the .xii. apostles he chase out of al the nūbre of his disciples threscore and .x. more whom he sendeth forth to preach. Let vs heare ther­fore with what cōmissions, and with what preroga­tiues these threscore & .x. were sent to the executynge The nū ­bre of 70. amō ­ge the Iues. of this busines. After this (saith saynt Luke) did the Lorde appoynt also other seuentie. Truely in the e­lection of the numbre both of the Apostles, and also of the seuentie preachers Christ obserued the solēpe vsage of his coūtrey people. For amōges the Iues not only the numbre of .xii. but also the nūbre of se­uentie was as who shuld say halowed appropred & consecrate to a publike authoritie, which thyng had his cōmencement and original beginnyng either of that, that Iacob wyth seuentie sowles (as the scrip­ture speaketh) went into Egypte, or of that that se­uentie elders of al the tribes were chosē which with Num. [...] Moises shuld gouerne the people of Israell. Christ sendeth therfore seuentie, not seuerally but two and two together, for one mā alone, were as noman, and [Page] of no strēgth nor authoritie in the law which cōmaū deth y ^t in the mouth of two or thre, all witnes shulde stande. And he addeth a reason why he sent forth so many, sayng. The haruest is great, but the laborers are fewe. Praye therfore the Lorde of the haruest to send forth laborers into his haruest. Certainly these be few wordes, but many thinges in them com here to be marked. Firste the multitude of them whiche desire the Gospel is here expressed with a very hād­som resemblaūce by the name of haruest. For in hus­bandry be certaine due seasons & goinges forwarde tyl at laste the corne waxe ripe, and the haruest is at hand. First of al the grounde is broken vp with the plough, thā it is sowed, after that the sede springeth vp into grasse, and shoteth vp into blades & stalkes, and at last the frute ripeth, is cut downe, & brought into the barne. In semblable wise the tyllage of the Lordes ground hath his certaine tymes, hys proce­dinges and growinges. At the begynnynge Moses brake vp the Lordes grounde wyth the ploughe of the lawe. Then cam the prophetes and did sowe the sede. After that in the tyme of Ihon Baptist appea­red the blades. And at last whā Christ cam and sent forth his Apostles cam also the haruest, & the weate beganne to be conueyed into the barne of God. Of this haruest Christ in an other place precheth to his Apostles sayng. Lyft vp your eyen and be holde the Ioh. iiij coūtreis, for they be white alredy vnto haruest. And he that reapeth, receiueth a rewarde and gathereth frute into euerlastinge lyfe, so that both he that so­weth may be glad & also he that reapeth. For herein is the worde true, that there is one that soweth and [Page xli] an other that reapeth. I haue sent you to reape that which ye haue not labored. Other haue labored, and ye haue entred into their labours. For this purpose also maketh that which Ihon the baptist preacheth sayeng that a fanne is in Christes hand and he shal make cleane hys floore, & gather hys corne into the Mat. 3. barne, but the chaffe he shal burne w ^t fyre vnquen­chable. Wherfore syth the tyme that the gospell of Iesu Chryste is preached is the tyme of harueste, it must be seen, what the corne is that is brought into the barne of god. The corne therfore is partely the ☜ men thēselfes which by the preaching of the gospel be gathered into y ^• barne of Christꝭ churche, partely it is the riches which men by feyth do gather of the gospel. This ryches is no worldly goodes, but spi­ritual goodes. It is first of al, rightuousnes before god and mā, wherof the one is wrought by feith in Christ (for the rightuouse man liueth through feith) Abac. [...]. Rom. 1. the other is gotten by obedience and the frutes of feyth. Finally it is euerlasting life and heuenly ioy. These be the goodes, riches, and corne which be ga­thered of the spirituall haruest. But lyke as in the corporal haruest, the corne is not gathered into the barnes w ^t out great sweat & laboure, so who soeuer wil gather the gostly corne must abide many aduer­sities. And y ^• more we labour & suffre aduersitie, the more corne shal we gather into our barnes. Wherfor (deare frendes) while it is now the tyme of our har­uest, let vs not playe, let vs not trifle, but with glad myndes let vs take the labours of the harueste. He that gathereth (sayth Salomō) in the haruest is the Salomō childe of wisdom, but he that slepeth in somer, is the [Page] child of confusion. Go (sayth Christ) lo I send you as lambes amonges wolues. Uerily wolues be na­turally disposed to hurt & vex shepe, & shepe against y ^• crueltie of wolues be altogither vnarmed. Wher­fore when Christ saith. I send you as lābes amongꝭ wolues, it is asmoche to say, as I sende you vtterly vnarmed amonges most cruell & hurtfull enemies. What peace, what rest, what helth, can one loke for Obiec­tion. amongꝭ such enemies? But ye wil say, this is not to cōfort his disciples, but rather to discourage them from imbrasing the gospel. Trouth it is that this is a very hard word, I send you as lambes in middes of wolues, but yet it was a word necessary to be spo ken vnto the apostles & disciples to monish them of the troubles & persecutiōs that they shuld suffre, lest they shulde dreame; that the kyngdom of Christe in erth shuld be a corporal thinge. For if the kyngdom of Christ had bene of this worlde, he wold not haue sent forth his disciples as shepe amōgꝭ wolues, but rather he wold haue brought to pas, that they shuld haue bene receiued of al men with high reuerence & honour, wheras now he layth them out to exceding daungers and perilles. They shal (sayth he) deliuer Mat. [...]0. you vp vnto councelles, and in their assembles they shal scourge you, yea and ye shalbe led vnto princes and kinges for my sake, for a witnes to them and to the Gentils. And in an other place he sayeth. The Ihon. 16 tyme is cōminge, that who soeuer kylleth you, woll thynke he hath done hygh seruice to God.

Truly this that Christ speaketh to his Apostels, he speaketh to al right christen men & women. For they also muste entre into the kyngdom of god by many [Page xlij] afflictions. Let vs goe then eueryone in his calling armed with the only protection of Christ. The euyll disposed personnes wol fume and chafe against the pure doctrine of Christ, but with these doth Chryste couple vs vnarmed and naked. He sendeth vs not to hurt any man, but like simple and harmeles per­sonnes to helpe al men. He commaundeth his prea­chers and disciples not to seke succours of men to defende them against the violence of wicked persōs nor yet to be carefull for their lyuynge. He byddeth them goe light and vncombred to the office of prea­ching, ☜ bearing with them neither wallet nor scrippe that is, nothynge that perteyneth to the necessitie of nature, for al thinges shalbe caste vnto them. Ney­ther to care for theire harbroughe, for there shall be euer some to receyue them into their howses, only let them do their duties, and shewe themselfes true preachers of his worde. And into what citie or place so euer they entre, he byddeth them first desire peace who is the son of pea [...] to the hole familie. And if the child of peace be there that is to say, a meke man and desirouse of the hea­uenly doctrine, then shal their prayer do him good, Questiō if not it shall returne to them agayne. But here ye wil aske, why Christ cōmaunded his disciples to sa­lute noman in the way? Ye shall vnderstand, that in the fourthe boke of kynges, the prophete Elizeus 4. Reg. iiij. gaue lyke commaundement to his seruaunte Giezi sending hym on an hasty message. Christe therfore meaneth by thys, that he wolde not that hys prea­chers Cyril­lus. Am­brose shuld vnder pretence of greting and intertei­ning of their carnal freendes, be by any meanes hindered from the executing of their office.

[Page]But what were these seuentie disciples cōmaunded to preache? that the kingdō of god drew nigh. Why (ye wil say) is it inough for to know this? No verily for the deuyl also knew this, & yet is damned. What then? This is necessary to be preched, that we might be warned to repent, & so atteyne to the kingdom of Christ. Wherfore, go we to, let vs imbrase this gos­pel by feith, let vs repent, that when Christ shal com in Maiestie: we may reigne w ^t him whiche with the father & holy gost is to be glorifyed for euer

Amen.

[Page lxv]OUr Sauiour Christ (deare frendes) giueth vs here a speciall cōmaundement, that we shulde loue one an other. First, bicause he by so many ways hath declared his loue towardes vs. Secōd bicause in the worlde, if we be true folowers and louers of him, we shal haue none that wil hartely loue vs, but rather the world woll surely hate vs. And why woll the world hate vs? bicause the veritie of the gospell is brought vnto vs out of an other world into thys world by Christe, and Christ as a straunger cam in­to this world. Wherfore it is no meruayle, thoughe he hath many haters and despicers. For a straūger amonges straungers can not easely fynd freendes. Besydes thys, whatsoeuer is in thys worlde, it is nawght elles but luste of the fleshe, luste of the eyen and pryde of lyfe, as saynte Ihon wryteth. Yea the 1. Ihō. 2. chief renownes of this world (as carnal iustice, car­nall wisdom, carnall power) be starke nawght. For the Iues were rightuouse in flesh, but seking to sta­blish their own ryghtuousnes they were not subiect to the rightuousnes of god. The Grekes were este­med Rom. 2. the wisest men of the worlde, but the wisdom of this worlde was foly before god. Christ by his gos­pel repreueth the worlde of synne, & vtterly reiecteth the wisdom, iustice, & power of this worlde teaching them to be falshode and no trouthes, and he setteth vp an other kynde of iustice that muste be obteyned by feythe, an other kynde of wysdom to be lerned of gods worde, and an other kinde of power to be got­ten by trouble, crosse, affliction and suffraunce. The worldly men therfore not abydyng their thinges to be eyther repreued or reiected do hate Christe, they [Page] persecutel his gospel and stampe against his word. And loke how moch the worlde hateth Christ & hys gospel: & euen so moch they hate so many as purely and syncerely do eyther preache or set forth by any meanes the same. They persecute them they kyll them. And for this cause Christe armeth al his true preachers and disciples by hys owne exemple that they shrynke not, when they be persecuted troubled or vexed, sayng. If the world hateth you, knowe ye that it hated me first ere it hated you, as who shulde say. Let it not seme straunge that ye be hated of the world, for the seruant is not in better ease than hys Mat. 20. maister, they hated me first, wherfor how shuld they not but hate you also? Uerely al that be the true fo­lowers of Christe be not of the worlde first bycause Christe hath plucked them aweye by feyth from the ma [...]ers of this worlde and hath clothed them wyth the newe heauenly man, and secondly bycause they allowe not the thynges of the worlde but counte all worldly thinges mere folies and vanities, and (as Paule saith) the world is crucified to them and they to the worlde. The worlde therfore can not but hate them, but persecute them, but exclude them out of theire companyes, yea, and if they can, put them to death. And al these thynges (sayth Christe) shal they do vnto you for my names sake. But what is thys to say, for my names sake? Surely sayth saynt Au­stine, Saynte Austin. Christe here meaneth, that they woll hate hym in hys disciples and true folowers, they woll perse­cute him in them, and wol not folowe nor kepe their worde bicause it is his worde. Wherfore sayth thys holy doctoure, so moche the more wretched be they [Page xliiij] whiche do these thinges forbicause of this name, as they be the more blessed whyche suffre these thinges for this names sake. Howbeit the euil do these thin­ges to the euyl but both be wretched, aswell the do­ers as the suffrers. And why wol they do these thin­ges in spite of Christes name? Ueryly (saith Christ) bicause they haue not knowne god the father of he­uen whyche sente me. For if they had knowne God th [...] father which sent Christ, they shuld haue known Christ to haue preached by the cōmaundement and authoritie of hys father a farre other iustice then was preached or practysed of the world. If Chryste had not comme and spoken to the worlde, it shulde haue had no synne. It is the preachinge of the gos­pell veryly that discloseth all vngodlynes and the vnrightuousnes of the worlde, and whiche also set­teth open the iustice of god. Lette vs not then my freendes be ashamed of the gospell of Chryste. For as (the Apostle sayeth) it is the power of God to the Rom. [...]. helth and saluatiō of al that beleueth. For the righ­tuousnes of God is by it opened out of feyth into feyth. Now therfore sith the gospel is preached vn­to vs whyche discloseth synne, we haue no excuse no clooke to hyde our synne wyth. We know god, and yet we do not glorifie ne worship him as god, we be not thankfull vnto hym for the great & inestimable benefites which from time to time we haue receiued at his handes. We be called by the ministres of his holy word, but we wol giue no eare. We be tawght, and we wil not attende. Wherfore it is moche to be feared that like as we haue not regarded to knowe god: so god wil giue vs vp into a disalowed minde. [Page] If a mā wold hate him that he knew not, he might peraduenture seme worthy of pardon and forgiue­nes, bycause he can not finde in his harte to fauour him whom he neuer sawe. But we haue sene Christ and haue harde him thoughe not personally as the Iues sawe him and hard him, yet by the preachyng of the gospell we knowe his power and ryghtuous­nes, and we espye our infirmitie and vnrightuous­nes. I say in his worde we se him and heare him as wel and as perfectly as the Iues did. We haue seen his great benefites, we haue hard of his wonderful dedes, & yet I feare lest there be many worldly per­sons amonges vs which do hate Christ & hys word in very dede thoughe they pretende neuer so muche to loue hym, and they hate hym and his worde euen for the same thinges, for whiche they ought to loue him and the preachers of his word. For in that they hate the preachers of his worde, they hate his word, and in that they hate his worde, they hate hym. And verily who so euer hateth Christ and hys preachers or his word, doth hate also in very dede god the fa­ther by whose authoritie and speciall cōmaundemēt al is doon. Wherfore thys very thynge doth heape damnation vpō such worldly persons bycause they abuse so lewdly and so stubbernly the offred & open goodnes of God. If Christ by the preachyng of his mooste holy worde had not vttered amonges them suche miracles and wonders as none of all the pro­phetes euer vttered, whether we woll consider the greatnes or the multitude of them, they shulde not haue been in daunger of so heynouse a synne. But nowe haue they both herde and seen the trouth, and [Page xlv] the more they haue herde & seen, the more they haue hated both it and the preachers therof. So that the Psal. 35. and. 69. saynge of God by his prophete is in them fulfylled, where it is written, they haue hated me wythout cause. It might be borne yf one did hate one beinge sturred and prouoked by displeasure and vnkynd­nes shewed vnto him to hate him. It myght be per­doned yf a mā wold hate one he knewe not: but how can it be borne, that one shulde hate hym whom he knoweth and which studyeth to do him all the good he can for hys sauegarde and soule health? In thys sort did our sauiour Christ eōforte his Apostles and by them vs all, to suffre tribulation and hatred for hys sake. Let vs then folowe them and namely the blessed Apostles Simon and Iude whose memorye we do thys daye celebrate, whiche had experience of these counfortes in their crosse whiche they bare for Christes sake, neyther wolde they suffre themselfes to be plucked awey from the trouth of Gods worde for al the hatred malice and trouble that the worlde could practise against them. If by their exemple we do the same, we shal vndoubtedly with thē be crow­ned eternally by Iesus Christ our Lorde whiche to­gither with the father and holy ghost is world with out ende to be praysed.

Amen.

THis daye (good people) is called all ha­lowe daye & is instituted of the Church of Christ, that there myght be some cer­tayne tyme to celebrate the memorye of all holy persones or sayntes, whiche in this life liued a godly and perfecte life, and therfore do nowe enioye eternall blysse in heauen, accordyng as in this Gospell is promised vnto them and vnto vs al which wol do the same by our sauiour Christ. Let vs then se what thys Gospel speaketh. Ye shall therfore vnderstande, that our Sauiour Christ Ie­sus, when he was walkyng here in earthe amonges vs, and espyed the people more and more to gather about him of al sortes of mē, he withdrew hym selfe [Page xlvi] as it were frō a low place, and goyng vp to an high hylle, beganne there to sette abroche hys heauenly Chryso stom. Hierom doctrine, declarynge by the very heigth of the place that he wolde teache no low ne cōmon thyng but al highe and heuenly thynges. His disciples whom he had specially chosen, folowed vp wyth hym, but so yet that the cōmon sort of people were not forbyden to folowe, yf any amonges them had so great affec­tion and grace. When he was come to the toppe of the hylle, he satte him down not as wery but as go­yng about to teache high & seriouse thynges, which wolde requyre diligent hearers. Hys disciples ther­fore perceyuyng that, beganne to drawe nerer vnto hym, that nothynge of hys heuenly doctrine myght fall to grownde. Begynnyng then to teache hys di­uine and most holsom lernyng, not out of the proud pulpit of the philosophers neyther out of the arro­gāt chaire of y ^• phar [...]sees, but out of a seate of grasse he did cast his eyen vpon his disciples, and opening hys moost holy mouth, vttred the Euangelical doc­trine cōcerning the felicitie of mā, as yet vnknowne to the worlde and altogither disagreing from the o­pinion of all them which thought themselfes moost wyse in the worlde. Thys doctrine his disciples yea and al holy men and women imbrased and so obtei­ned the eternall blysse and beatitude here promysed vnto them. Let vs therfore heare also thys doctrine (fo [...] to vs also he spake) that we also maye be made blessed. All the synnes of the lyfe do sprynge of false opinions and persuasions. Aboue all thinges ther­fore we must studye to plucke these out by the harde [...]ootes, if we woll be his true people.

[Page]Bicause the most poysoned & noysom sicknes of the mynd is pride and arrogance which is a let to man that he can not receyue the true doctrine, or rather it is the fountaigne of all hed vices: our Sauiour first healeth this disease, sayeng. Blessed be the pore Beati paupe­res spi­ritu. in spirite, for the realme of heauens is theirs. Assu­redly the slender liuing, the lownes of byrth, the ob­scuritye of estate, the aduersitye of fortune maketh many men abiecte, lowly, & to set no stoore by them­selues. And veryly these be y ^• nerer to the blesse that the gospel speaketh of, if they folow in mynd thither as fortune hath called them. But this lownes & hu­militie of spirite that is here commended, stādeth in Obiec­tion. the affection, and not in outwarde thinges. Ye woll say, how can these men raigne which take nothinge vpon them, which giue place to al, which set nought by themselues, which suffre themselues to be troden vnder fote, & finally whom noman setteth by, but al men despice? I answere, that it is yet true that the Aun­swere. selfe trouthe hath spoken, the kyngdom perteyneth only to them, the kingdō I say of heuen. For thinke ye y ^• these wilde fyerse & cruel personnes do raigne? Nay they serue a seruitude, they be very villaines & bondmen, they suffre many lordes & tyrantes ouer them. They be tormented & crucifyed with couetise, with ire, with enuye, wyth lust of vengeaunce, wyth feare, with hope. They skant liue, they raigne not. But the holy person, the saynt, the godly & deuoute man or woman steyng himself vpon his innocencie, vpon god, & vpon the reward [...] of the world to com, is free & voyd of all these cares & troubles, for wyth a quyet hart he despiseth the thinges of this world, [Page xlvij] and foloweth the heuēly goodes. Doth not I praye you this man obteyne a reigne or a kyngdom farre more goodly and more excellente, then is the reygne of tyrantes? He is not vnder the cōmaundemēt and rule of the lust nor of couetise neither of none of the other moost noysom pestilencies of the mynde. But this holy person being armed with feith, as oftē as the case requireth, doth lay his cōmaundement vpō diseases and they flee awey, he cōmaūdeth the sees, and they be styll, he cōmaundeth deuilles and they departe. Of thys force and power is the kyngdome of that harte whiche is godly and setteth nought by it selfe, distrusting al humane helpes and socours, & depending holly of God. The wordly kyngdom is gottē by violence & defended by hygh courage. But this kingdom is gotten by modestie, & stablished by humilitie. The world iugeth none mete to a lorship or raigne but such as be of hault and high courage. But god calleth those chiefly to his kingdom, which do moost of al hūble and deiecte themselfes.

Iesus goeth forth and addeth a nother lessō lyke to thys, sayng. Blessed be the meke, for they shall inhe­rite Beati mites. the earth. Who be meke? whiche inforce noman, which beyng wronged do easely pardon the wrong, whiche had rather loose a thynge then stryue for it, which set more by cōcorde & quietnes of mynd, then great & large possessiōs, whiche chouse rather a qui­et pouertie then troublesom riches. But this sort of mē be cōmonly for their pacience by one or other di­sturbed and wyped of that they haue. Uerily it is trouth, but this is a new maner of enlarging posses­sions. The vnpitiful & cruell lorde possesseth no not [Page] that which he hath, wheras the mylde & gentle per­son, whiche had rather departe wyth hys right, then cōtende for it hath land in so many places as he fin­deth louers of the Gospell of Christe, & if he findeth none in thys world: yet is he sure of the possession of the heuēly land, out of which he cānot be excluded. The worlde bewaileth them as vnhappy whiche be briuē out of their coūtrey & cōpelled to liue in strāge places, but Christ calleth them happy, which be ba­nished for the Gospels sake, beyng made citizens of heuen. They be driuen frō the fraūchise of one citie, & expulsed out of one countrey, but to true disciples Phil. iij. Hebr. [...]3 of Christ the hole worlde is their countrey, & to such as be godly ꝑsons heuē is their home. The death of frendes is miserable to the cōmon sorte of people in so moch that some when they haue been depriued of their wifes, fathers, mothers, husbandes, chyldren haue kylled thēselfes. And for thys cause men come vnto them to aswage the bytternes of their sorowe Beati qui lu­gent. wyth wordes of comfort. But blessed be they which mourne for the loue of the Gospell, whiche be also plucked awey from their affections, whiche se their moost dearly beloued troubled for the iustice of the gospel, which despising the pleasures of this world passe their life in weping, watching, fasting, giuing almoise, prayng, visiting the poore, & in such like oc­cupations. For with such woll that heauenly spirite ve present, secretly cōfortyng & rewardyng the short mournyng with in estimable ioye of mynde, & tran­slatinge thē to euerlasting blesse. Mans coūfortyng oftētymes increaseth the grefe while it laboureth to swage it. But the holy ghost the true cōforter so che­reth [Page xlviij] the godly mynd, that in moost bytter afflictiōs Beati qui [...]e su­riunt. of the bodie it reioyseth. By the common opinion of al men, hungre is a peynful thing, and nedy pouer­tie is the thyng that euery man eschueth, neyther is there any man but coūteth them happy which haue augmented their liuyng & so established their thyn­ges as they may now liue in hygh welth and abun­daunce. But assuredly it is not the heapynge vp of goodes which satisfyeth the mynde, nor the welth of man is not to be mesured by the fylling of the bely. Whom doth Christ then in this kynd calle blessed? Blessed (sayth he) be they which be hūgrye & thursty after rightuousnes. The thynges wherwith the bo­dy is fedde, ought but lyghtly to be desired, and yet in caring for them, the people be moost vexed, & ma­ny times whē they haue gottē thē w ^t moch traueile, they be most disquieted. But the godly ꝑsons which be contented with litle & seke not carefully for thin­ges, lacke nothing, God so ꝓuideth for them which fedeth also the sparows & the lylies. Happy be they then which translate thys bodily hungre and thurst to the hungryng and thurstynge after the iustice of the Gospell, where they shall euer fynde sumwhat to be hungrye, and thursty of, where is a blessed fyl­lynge and satisfyeng, yea and it is a greate parte of [...]on. 6. the Christian mans blesse and felicitie is to hungre after that breade of the mynd wherof the eater shall lyue euerlastynglye, and to thurst after that lyuely [...]on. 4. drinke, of which the drinker shal haue in him a foū ­taigne of water springynge vp to euerlastyng lyfe. Wherfore my deare frendes thys breade let vs spe­cially hungre for, and this drinke let vs thurst for.

[Page]The people also estemeth thē happy whych be pro­moted and holpē by other mens liberalitie and they reioyse rather at them that be holpen, then at them Beati miseri­cordes. that helpe. But I (sayth Christ) do pronounce them happy which be merciful, and whiche of a Christian charitie do thinke an other mans miserye to be their miserye, whiche be sorowfull for the hurtes of their neighbour, which wepe for other mens myshappes, whiche of their owne cost do fede the hungrie, cloth the naked, monish the straper, teach the ignorāt, par­don the offender, and shortly to speake, which do be­stowe al the talentes and gyftes that God hath lent them vpon the soucouring and releuyng of others. For they that thus do, be no loosers but gayners, for asmuch as who so euer is merciful and benefici­al to hys neighbour, shall fele god much more mer­cifull & much more beneficial to him agayne. Thou hast forgiuē thy neighbour a certayne light offense, god shal forgiue the al thy synnes. Thou hast relea­sed to thy brother a temporal punishement, god shal release vnto the, euerlasting peyne. Thou hast rele­ued wyth thy money thy brothers nede, god shal rē ­der vnto the, his heuenly riches. Amonges men the pitifull personnes perchaunce do waxe poore, while by giuing to the nedy they waste their riches, but w ^t God they waxe riche, while by empting their cofers they fylle and garnyshe their sowle wyth the frutes of godlynes.

The cōmon sorte of people do calle them vnhappy whiche be depriued of their eye syght, and they that Beati mūdo corde. lacke thys mooste deare sense do counte themselfes halfe deade and to walke in darkenes. So swete a [Page xlix] thing it semeth with the eyen to se light, and to con­template thys moost goodly syghtes of the worlde. Wherfore if it semeth a thyng so pleasaūt to behold the Sunne with bodily eyen, howe moch more bles­sed is it, with the eyen of the mynde to beholde God the maker of the Sunne and of all thynges? We se how ioyful they be whiche haue been in daunger of losing their sight and haue recouered it agayne, we se how highly they reioyse euē as though they were returned out of hel. But moch more happy be they, frō whom the blindnes of the mynde is taken awey and haue nowe the grace inwardly to se God welle of al ioye, whom to se is moost highe welth and feli­citie. That thing that the Sūne is vnto pure eyen, the same is god vnto pure myndes. That matter or gūme is to the eyen, that is synne to the soule. Bles­sed be they than whose hart is pure & w ^tout wemme and spotte of al fylthynes. For to these shalbe graū ­ted the thing whiche surmounteth all worldly plea­sures. And what is that? Uerily to se God. But how be mens hartꝭ made cleane? verily by feith in Christ August. in pri­mo de trinita­te. as holy scripture witnesseth. Thys syghte therfore (sayth saynt Austine) is the rewarde of feith, as it is writen in the Actes of the Apostles, purifyeng the hartes by feith. For it is not to be thought, that god which is most cleane, wol be seen but of cleane hratꝭ as writeth saynt Hierom, for the temple of god may Hierom Beati pacifici not be polluted. The worlde iugeth them happy, which setting all their thynges in a stey accordynge to their mynde, do liue in [...]uyet and rest hauing no­man to put them to trouble and busynes. But them both Christe calle happy & blessed, whiche after they [Page] themselues haue ones compressed in their mynd the Hierom rebellion of all their lustes: do apply themselfes to sette vnitie, concorde and peace betwen their euen­christē, not only hauing no purpose to reuenge, whē any man dothe them displeasures, but also of their Chry so stomus. owne swynge and mere motion sturring and exhor­tyng other men to peace, of whom they haue sustey­ned displeasures. If thys shall seme an hard thyng to any man, let him heare the rewarde, suche shalbe called (sayth our Sauiour Christ) the sōnes of god. What is more honorable then thys cōmendation? Nay what is more blessed? For it is no vayne tytle. He that is the sōne of god: must nedes be also heire. But the vnlykenes of maners and conditions doth Augu­stinus. vtter and bewrey a bastarde chylde, and on the con­trary syde, resemblaunce of manners and of condi­tions doth declare the true naturall sonne. God fre­ly pardonynge all our synnes doth allure vs all, of whom he hath been offeded, to peace and amitie. Of hys owne bountie & mere goodnes he sheweth hym selfe mercifull to all whiche do repent them. Wher­fore he wol knowlege none for his chyldrē, but those that shewe themselfes suche to their brethern, as he hath shewed himselfe towardes al uniuersally. Car­nall fathers do disherite suche chyldren as wyll not agre wyth the rest of their brethrē, so in lykewise the heuenly father woll refuse for his chyldern suche as be haters of peace & makers of debate. And bycause the more parte of men and women be naughtyly di­sposed: peace can not frame wyth all persōnes onles it be by suffraūce of wrōges. It is the parte of them that be good, to apply themselfes by all the meanes [Page l] they can possible, that they haue variaunce wyth no maner personnes whether they be good or bad, yea they must prouoke al as nere as they cā to loue and concorde by gentlenes, by softnes, by doyng good turnes and benefites. But there be some so froward and so vngraciouse, that with good turnes they be the more kyndled to mischief, and whiche for plea­sures do men displeasures agayne, they rage vpon their well wyllers, and count them for extreme ene­myes whiche labour to saue them. If peace can not here take holde on bothe sydes, yet neuertheles they shalbe blessed euē for their desire and study of peace, when the wycked do persecute and trouble them for none other cause, but for the iustice sake of the Gos­pell, whiche hurteth none, and helpeth all. For euen thys selfe thynge sturreth vp their hatred for which they oughte to haue shewed their loue, neyther for any other cause do they rendre wronge, then for the whiche they ought to haue giuen thankes. Christe sayeth not, blessed be they that suffre persecution of the Hethen people. For thoughe a man suffre perse­cution Chryso­stom. (as the holy Doctour Chrysostō sayth) of he retikes or of mē of power whiche seme and be called christians, he is blessed w ^t saint Thō Baptist & with innumerable other holy martyres. For yf it be true ☜ that the prophetes be martyrs, which were stayne of their owne natiō, w ^tout doubt, he y ^t for gods cause, suffreth any thing, though he suffre of his owne na­tion, hath the reward of martyrdō. And therfore the scripture hath not put the ꝑsons of y ^• ꝑsecuters, but the cause only of the persecution, that we shulde not loke, who it is that psecuteth, but for what cause.

[Page]But ye wol say: who can loue such as for pleasures rēore agayne displeasures, hatred, and euel turnes? It is an harde thinge I graunt, but the rewarde is greate. And what is the reward? not a garlande of flowres or bay leaues, not an oxe or a goote, but the kyngdom of heuen. Unto thys turnament we must prepare our selfes so many as woll be Christes dis­ciples, if we desire to wynne the crowne of the Euā ­gelicall felicitie. Mans crueltie is nothyng y ^t ought to fraye vs from it. Noman can hurte vs, yf we cleaue to iustice. The persecution of the euill shall not plucke awey oure innocencie, but it shall rather increase our blesse. Yea in the mydde stormes of the persecution we shalbe blessed. Let vs call to mynde (my frendes) the valiant martyrs and holy both mē women & children which haue been before our time, the memorie of all whom, the church doth this daye solemnize, how cōstantly how paciently they suffred B [...]ati es tis▪ quū. al vilanouse wordes, al mockes, skornes, vnworthy punishementes yea and many of them death for the trouthes sake. When men cursed them wyth bytter curses, when men assawted them wyth all kynde of mischief, when men falsely accused them and layd to their charge all the crymes they coulde, bycause they were true folowers & disciples of Christe: they bewayled not thēselfes as vnhappy and miserable, but rather they reioysed and triumphed therin, for­asmuche as the more their enemies and ꝑsecutours did rage agaynst them, the more dyd their rewarde increase in heuen. Their hurte God turned to their good. The damage that they suffred of men, he tur­ned to their lucre. The reproche, he turned into euer [Page li] lastynge and true glorie. The crimes and vpbray­dynges whych men brought falsly against them, he turned into the titles and triumphes of true godli­nes, mens cursinges he turned into prayses and re­ioysinges, not only afore God (whom to please they thought it ynough▪ though they displeased the hole worlde besides forth) but also afore men. For of wic­ked and vngodly men to be dispraised for godlines is to be praysed: and to be tormented of the haters of god, is to be crowned. Prayse and glory amōges men they sought not for, and yet neuertheles it fo­lowed the true vertue of the owne accord. Thus the holy prophetes whyche haue bene afore vs, thus the blessed martyres, the confes­sours, the virgines, the deuoute wy­dowes, and (brefely to speake) all the halowes and godly perso­nagies before oure tyme, be rewarded & crow­ned nowe with the crowne of immortalitie. Let vs therfore (dearly beloued frcendes) folow them in liuing that we may also folow them thither, where they now be in perpetual ioy, with the father sonne and holy gost three persons and one god, who be praysed fore­uer

Amen.

Forasmoch as (welbiloued audiēce in our Sauiour Iesu Christ) we be assembled at this present tune for the solemnizatiō of matrimonie betwen these two persōs in the face of the churche, accordinge to the laudable custome and rites of the same: I intēd with your fauours first ere I expownd this gospel brefely to declare y ^• first institutiō & ordinaūce of ma­trimonie, to thintēt not only these two ꝑsōs here cou The first institu­tion of mari­age pled togither, but also al other which be here gathe­red togither, aswel maried as to be maried, maye be admonished & instructed of their office & dutie herin. First therfor ye shal vnderstand, that almighty god what time he first made & created man in paradice, consydering of his botomles wisdom, how necessa­ry, mete and conuenient it was, to couple man and womā togither in wedlok, both for the comfort, aide and helpe of one an other, and for the multiplicatiō [Page lij] and meyntenaunce of mankinde in lawful successiō and also to thintent that therby generation of issue might after mans fall be continually from tyme to time maynteined vntyll the ende of the world with­out synne or offêse towardes god: did not only euen than at the beginning and in paradice knytte Adam and Eue togyther in matrimonye, and dyd ordeyne and blesse the same by his holy worde, but also dyd declare and set forth the vertue and strength therof S. Au­stine. by the mouth of Adā, for he being inspired (as saint Austine and other holy doctours say) wyth the holy Gen. [...]. ghost, when he was by almighty god whiche made him, knytte and coupled in lawfull mariage wyth Eue his wife, spake as a prophet these wordꝭ folow yng. Loo now these bones of Eue my wyfe be four­med of my bones and this her flesh of my flesh. She shalbe called a woman bycause she is taken forth of the man. And for this cause shall man leaue his fa­ther and his mother, and cleaue fast vnto his wyfe, and they tweyne shalbe one flesh. By which wordes it is ment, that by the strength and vertue of mary­age ryghtly made, the man and wyfe whiche before were two bodies, be now made one bodye, durynge their liues, so that herafter the husbande (as saynte i. Cor. v Paule sayth) hath not power ouer his owne bodye, to vse it as him lusteth, but it is hys wiues, neyther hath the wyfe power of her owne bodye, but her bo­dy is her husbandes body and wyth hym only may she vse the acte of matrimony. And therfor they two so knytte & conioyned by gods ordenaunce, may in no wise [...]e deuided for any affection either to father or mother, or for any earthly thynge in the worlde.

[Page]Secondly deare frendes, ye shall vnderstande that god renewed his sayd ordinaūce of matrimony and sanctifyed it wyth hys holy worde immediatly after Noes floude. At which tyme being al y ^• people of the world destroyed with the said floude (except Noe his childrē and their wifes) god callyng them out of the arke said vnto them. Crescite & multiplicamini, et Gen. ix. replete terram. that is th say. Encrease & be ye mul­tiplied and fulfyll you the earth agayne. And albeit this law and cōmaundement of matrimonie giuen agayne to Noe and to his chyldren was a sufficient instruction vnto them and to all their ofspring how to vse it in all clennes and puritie: yet god ꝑceiuing mans naturall inclination to synne and malice, dyd afterwarde further stablish and declare the same by hys other lawes written more at large shewyng the degrees of cōsanguinitie and of affinitie which na­ture abhorred to marie in, as appeareth in the boke of Leuiticus the. xviij. &. xx. chapters. Which lawes of prohibition al we christen men and womē be von­den to obserue and kepe. For who so euer marieth wythin the degrees there expressed and prohibited of God in the said boke, be cursed by Gods mouth, and their mariage is of no force ne strength neither afore God ne man, but detestable, abhominable, de­uelishe, and damnable. And on the contrary syde all mariages made betwene kynsfolke or alyes that be not wythin the degrees whiche be in that boke for­bydden of God (though the bishoppe of Rome hath neuer so moch forbiddē them) be without any dispē ­sation of man good, holy, godly, and approued not only of God, but also authorized by acte of parlimēt [Page liii] made in the .xxxij. yeare of the reigne of oure mooste drad Soueraigne lorde the kyng that now is Hen­ry the eight.

Thyrdly ye shall vnderstand, that this coniunction betwene mā and wife in matrimonie was ordeined, that therby also myghte be represented vnto vs not only the perfecte & indissoluble vnion of the nature of God with the nature of man (whiche was fulfyl­led, when the second person in trin [...]tie toke vpō him the fourme and substāce of oure nature) but also the lyke cōiunction in perfecte loue betwene Christ and his churche, as the holy apostle Paule witnesseth in Ephe. 5. his epistle to the Ephesians, where goyng about to proue, that al womē which be maried, ought to loue and to be subiecte vnto their husbandes in all thyn­ges, euen as the churche is subiecte to Christ, & like­wise that al husbādes be bound to loue their wiues, euen as Christ loueth the church hys spouse: he brin geth in the first ordinance of matrimonie: as it was ordeyned by god in paradice, and the wordes before rehersed, wheruppon he inferreth & sayth, that thys cō [...]unction of man and woman in mariage wherby they are knitte and made one flesh and one bodye is the sacrament, that is to saye, the figure, the signifi­catiō, the mysterye, or the prophecieng before of that great and meruelouse cōiunction which is betwene Christ and his churche. For like as by the vertue of thys first ordinaunce of matrimonye, the man and wife be made as one body wherof the mā is the hed: euen so the excedinge loue of Christe towardes hys spouse the church knytteth and maketh Christe and hys church to be but one bodie, wherof Christ is the [Page] hedde. And lyke as the woman was fourmed of the rybbe of man: so of Christe sprang forth the churche ☞ whiche is purified by water and bloude. The rybbe is the harder part of the body, & the husbande is the strength of the wife, & euen so is Christ the strength of the churche. Out of the rybbe and myddes of the bodye was the wife brought forth: and euē so Christ toke fleshe of our substaunce, borne of the vndefiled virgine, made like vnto vs in al thynges, synne on­ly excepted. Wherfore we be called the membres of one bodie of hys flesh & of hys bones, mēbres I say, not accordyng to the nature of the euerlasting diui­nitie, S. Hie­rom. but accordinge to that he vouchsaued to take, mans nature vpon hym. Howbeit thys coniuncton may not be takē carnally but spiritually. For albeit Christe toke our real fleshe: yet we be hys spirituall S. Am­brose. membres. For we be one bodie, bicause we be parta­kers of one spirite. And forasmuche as there is so great a cōiunction betwene Christ and his churche: we ought for his sake to leaue the dearest thingꝭ we haue, if they wold plucke vs awey frō Christ whose spouse we be. For we muste cleaue to hym without seueraunce, syth we be one bodye, & one fleshe wyth him. And verely this is a greate sacrament, myste­rie, and secrecie, which if it be rightly pōdered, pluc­keth vp our mindes into moost highe and heauenly ioyes. Hitherunto we haue brefely spokē of the first ordinaūce of mariage, now let vs come to the decla­ration of this present Gospell.

The pharisees which amōngꝭ y ^• Iues were takē for mē of great holynes, and therfore ought best to haue magnified Christ and his doctrine, were euer moost [Page liiij] busye agaynst him, inuēting al they could, to trippe hym in his wordes, that they myght haue some pre­tence to accuse hym, & put him downe. For they had no litle enuie at him, ꝑtly bicause he shadowed their estimation, & ꝑtly bicause he disclosed their hypocri­sie. They cam therfore on a time and craftely did set vpon him, taking occasiō of the wordes he had spo­ken cōcerning that a mā ought not to put awey his wife. They propounde a suttil sophisme, whether it were lawfull for euery cause for a man, to put awey his wife. For if he shulde answere, it were lawful, he S. Hie­ronimꝰ. shuld seme to be agaynst himselfe, where he tawght dyuorses not be lawfull. If he shulde denye it, he shuld seme to be against Moses law, which suffreth Deut. 24. a man for any maner cause to gyue her a libel of di­uorcement and to let her goe. But Iesus so tempe­reth hys answere, that neyther he diminisheth the authoritie of Moses, neither recāteth his owne tea­chinge, & wyth the authoritie of the law he stoppeth the pharisees mouthes whyche were lawyers. Haue Gen. ij. ye not redde (sayth Chryste) that when God created the worlde he formed the man and women, that by there cōioynyng, mankynd shuld be cōtynued? And forthwith expressing the vnpartable couple of them added. For thys loues sake, shal man leaue father & mother and stycke to hys wyfe. And thys knotte is so straight y ^e of two be but one person. So y ^e it is as moch agaynst nature, that the one shuld be plucked frō the other, as it is for one part of y ^e body to be se­uered frō an othher. Wherfor y ^e God hath thus cou­pled, let not mā seuer. Meaning herby, y ^e it is both a Chrysostom. gainst nature & also y ^e law a mā to cast vp hys wife. [Page] Here the pharisees thinking that they had now got­ten a good quarell against oure sauiour Christ Ie­sus to snach him vp said vnto him. If it be thus as obiecti­on. thou sayst that god wold haue wedlocke so inuiola­bely kept: why then dyd Moises make it lawfull to the husbande, for any maner cause to put from him Deut. 24 his wife, so that he giue her a libel of diuorcement? as who shuld say, how durst Moses be so bold to li­cence that thing which god wold not haue done. To this obiection our sauiour aunswered. Moses dyd The so­lutiō of Christe. not permitte ne licence this thing vnto you, bicause the thing of the owne nature was honest and right­fulle but forasmoch as he knew the stubbornenes & hardnes of your hartes: therfore he graunted vnto you the lesser & lyghter inconuenience that ye shuld not committe the greuouser offence. For assuredly Moses did not allow al kindꝭ of diuorces, in that he had leuer y ^• the same were suffred or rather winked at, then murder shuld ensue & be cōmitted. Neither did the libel of diuorcement amōges the croked Iu­es whyche Moses theire lawmaker inacted that it shuld be giuen to the womā, make the diuorce good and lawful, but rather that same libel was a witnes and testimonie of the hard harte of the Iues, which for euery light cause and tri [...]le, wold put away their wiues, & for this cause the law of moses gaue com­maundement, that such stubburne & hard husbandꝭ whyche wolde nedes for such light occasions put a­wey their wyues or els do worse & committe further inconuenience, to gyue them the sayde libelle of di­uorcement for a certayne recorde & witnesse that she is nowe free from his yoke and at her libertie.

[Page lv]But at the begynnyng (sayth Christ to these phari­sees) Ab ins­tio au­tem nō fuit sic. when as yet the malice of m [...] was not growen into such an excesse, nor as yet mās nature was not infected with so many vices (for the hatred was not so feruent, that either poysoning or murdering was feared) there was no such licence of diuorces. Wher­fore neither now is the same licence to be suffred a­monges christen men, after that the doctrine of the gospell hath brought agayn the christen man to his former state and perfection of nature by regenera­tion or new byrth. And no doubt (my freendes) Mo­ses amonges the Iues wished in his hart the same perfecte loue and fast knot in wedlocke to be obser­ued and kept, that our sauiour Christ hath tawght vs, but (as I haue declared) the corrupt & nawghty maners of the Iues, whyche for euery lyght grefe were ready to cōmitte murder and all mischief, fea­red him that he durst not requyre that of them. So that our sauiour Christ did not abrogate the aunci­ent lawe of Moses, but he made it more clere & per­fect, declaring vnto the froward Iues, that it was vnlawful both for them & for al other and againste the minde of god and the wille of Moses their law­maker, that they shuld for euery lyght occasion put away their wiues whom they ought to loue & to im­brace as their own bodies and their owne flesh. For ☜ a thing that a man doth, is not forthwith lawful for him to do bicause he is not punished in this worlde for the same. For there be many thynges abomina­ble and stinkyng afore the face of god, which be not punished by mans lawes. Hitherto haue we intrea­ted the gospell of this day. Now we woll sum what [Page] towche the officies aswell of the wife towardes her The of­fice of the wife husband as of the husband towardes his wife, and so make an end. Ye wifes (sayth saint Paule) be ye subiect to your owne propre husbandes as vnto the Lorde. For the man is hed of the wyfe, euen as Ephe. 5. Christ is the hed of the churche, and it is he whiche giueth helth to the body, Wherfor like as the church is subiecte to Christe: so let the wifes be subiecte to their husbandes in al thinges. Likewise saint Peter i. Pe. iij. in his first epistle cōmaundeth christen wiues to be in subiectiō to their husbandꝭ, to thintent that euen they which obey not gods worde, maye without the worde be wonne by the conuersation of the wyues, when they behold their chaste conuersation ioyned with reuerence. Whose outward apparell he wolde not shuld be gorgeouse nor moch glysteringe to the eye, but rather he wold haue them inwardly garni­shed in the hart, being there ful of al clēnes & w ^tout corruption, in such sort as they may haue a gentle & quyet spirite, which spirite he sayth in gods eye is a thing most gorgeouse & sumptuouse. For after this maner in olde tyme (sayeth this holy Apostle saynte Peter) did the holy women, which trusted in god, at­tyre themselues, and were obedient to their husbādꝭ euen as Sara obeyed Abraham her husbād, calling Gen. 16. him lorde, whose daughters al ye be, as longe as ye do wel. Saint Paule also sayth, that the woman is 1. Cor. 11 the glory of the man. For the [...]nā cam not of the wo­man, but the woman of the man. Neyther was the man created for the womans sake: but the woman for the mans sake. Womē therfore ought to imploy their diligence vpon the vertuouse bringinge vp of [Page lvj] their children & to loke wel to their housholde. Yea they shalbe (sayth saynt Paule) saued by bearing of i. timo. [...] children & bringing them vp in feith, loue of god, & in holines. For this is their office, thys is their fūc­tion & calling wherin they ought to pleaee god, & to atteine euerlasting blesse. They ought to be no tāg­lers, no disputers, no teachers in cōmon assembles but herers, but lerners & kepers of silence w ^t al sub­iection. These be the officies & duties of christen wi­ues. Ephe. 5. The office of the husband (as Paul saith) is to loue his wife euen as Christ loued the church. He is bounden to loue her, as his owne body. He that lo­ueth (sayth he) his wife loueth himselfe. For noman euer yet hated hys owne fleshe, but nowrisheth and cheris [...]eth it, euen as the lorde doth the churche. He must dwel (saith saint Peter) w ^t his wife, according 1. Pet. 3. to knowlege giuing honoure vnto her, as vnto the weker vessel, & as vnto her which is heire also of the grace of lyfe. He may not be bytter to hys wyfe, but Coloss. 3 gentle, courteouse, and louing. Yea finally he must so in [...]i [...]rly loue her y ^t god cōmaundeth him to leaue Gen. 2. Mat. 19. al other his affectiōs, yea euen his owne father and mother, and cleaue to hys wyfe. But let man and wife take hede, that god couple them togither & not the deuil. Let them be coupled for procreatiō of chil­dren, 1. Cor. 7 for auoyding of fornicatiō, in al tēperancie ho­lines & godly shamefastnes. Let thē not ioyne either for ryches, for bewtye, for great aliaūce or (which is more fylthy) only for the lust of the body, lest they be greuous [...]ly punyshed for their intemperauncie, as it chaū [...]ed to y ^• seuen husbādꝭ of Sara before she ma­ried Tob. 6. and. 7. w ^t Thobie the yonger & to innumerable other. [Page] Wherfore my deare frendes let euery man and wo­man take hede they ioyne in holy wedlocke by gods coupling with al humble reuerēce and godly feare. So doinge, they shalbe blessed of gods holy hande, they shal increase and multiplye, they shal replenish the erth and haue it subiecte vnto them, accordinge to the saynge of scripture. If they feare the Lorde Gen. 1. and walke togither in his wayes, god shalle surely blesse them, prosper, and further them in al their do­inges. psal. 127 Wherfor thou mā which art hed of thy wife, so loue, maynteyne, cherishe & tender thy wyfe, euen as Christe hath loued and moste tendrely imbrased his spouse, the church. If thou so do, thou shalt eate the labours of thy hād (as the prophet writeth) thou shalt be happy and it shalbe wel with the. Thy wife ☞ shalbe as a plentifull vine tree vpon the walles of thy house. Thy chyldren as oliue braunches rownd about thy table. Loo (sayth he) thus shal the man be blessed whiche feareth the lorde. This is gods insti­tution of mariage, these be the officies of maryed persons. In these if ye walke like feithful and right christian persons, though through the malice of the worlde ye suffre affliction here: ye shalbe sure af­ter thys frayle lyfe perpetually to raygne wyth Christe oure lorde, whyche wyth the father and holy goost thre per sons and one god is to be glorifyed and prai­sed worlde without ende

Amen.

WElbeloued people in our sauiour Christ, this gospel is right comfortable to al feithful and true christian folke. For in it is conteyned the glad and swere tydinges to al vnfeyned Christians, that is to wit, how Christ is our resurrectiō and our life, if we beleue vnfeynedly vpon him. and verely this is one of the chiefest articles of our religiō, to beleue that though we dye here bodily for a tyme or rather slepe, for so the scripture calleth it: yet we shal rise a­gaine and lyue euerlastingly wyth God in heauen, through Christ, in case we haue had stedfast feith in him, and be founde cladde and adourned wyth the Mat. [...]. wedding garment at the day of the great Solemp­nitie, that is to say, at the generall resurrectiō of the chosen people of god when Christ the sonne of God shalbe in full & most perfite wise knitte & conioyned Chryso stom. in mariage to his louing espouse the church or con­gregation [Page] of the feithful persons. But ye wol aske, what thys weddynge garment is? Ueryly after the minde of saint Gregorie, it is charitie. And that per Grego­rie. sone entreth to the maryage but wythout the wed­ding garment whych being in the church, hath feith but lacketh charitie. Truly thys mans feith is not the true and liuely feith, but it is a feyned feith, and a deade feith, as saint Iames calleth it, bicause it is Ia. 1 [...]. wythout workes. For what auaileth it o my brethrē (sayth thys holy Apostle Saynte Iames) if a man wold say he had feith, and hath no workes. Trowe you that this feith shal saue him? if your christē bro­ther or suster be naked and lacking dayly sustenāce, and one of you wolde say vnto them. Go your way in peace, warme your selues and fylle your belyes: and yet neuertheles ye gyue them not the thynges necessarye for the body, what wol this helpe? So al­so feith if it hath not deades it is of it self dead. By these wordes of saynt Iames we may lerne (my fre­endes) that it is not inough for a christē man or wo­mā to say he beleue in Christ, but he must also shew vs his feyth (as saynt Iames sayeth) by his dedes and workes. Wherfore the weddinge wede that we must be cladde with, is not bare fayth, but it is cha­ritie whyche is the frute of feyth, or if ye wol nedes haue it feyth, let it be that liuely f [...]yth which is gar­nished wyth this charitie, that is to wit, wyth suche zeale loue and affection whiche ye beare to god that for his sake ye freely aide & releue your euen christē accordinge to youre power. And verely these be the workes that almyghty God requyreth of vs, if we wol be counted his children and the inheritours of [Page lviij] euerlasting blesse. He commaundeth that our lyght Mat. 5. shuld shyne afore men, that they maye se our good workes, and glorifye the father of heauen. Finally the doers (of these as hymselfe doth wytnes) shalbe Mat. 25. called the blessed children of his father at the gene­ral resurrection, and shalbe [...]ydden to come and en­tre into the vnspeakable ioyes of heuen which were prepared for thē sithens the beginning of the world. The [...] ­terpre­tation of saynt Hierom Neither doth the most excellent clerke saint Hierom disagree from this interpretation, saynge, that the wedding garment may very wel be called the com­maundementes of the lorde and the workes whiche be accomplyshed and fulfilled at the bidding of the law and gospell, and he sayth that these workes do in a christen persone make the garment of the newe man, whych garment verily who soeuer in the drad full day of iugement, shalbe found vnder a christen name not to haue, shalbe forthwith taken and caste into vtter [...]arknes, where according to the sentence of Christ shalbe weping & gnashing of teethe. This by occasiō (deare freēdes) haue I spoken of the wed­dyng garment, wher w ^t must that sowle be cladde & adourned, which at y ^e general resurrectiō & vprising again of al mankinde in flesh according to y ^• article of our beleue shal by Christ liue euerlastingly. But yet for the better & more cleare vnderstāding of this gospel, I thinke it very expediēt to repete & declare vnto you the very begynning of the historie whiche is red in this gospel, accordyng as saynte Ihon the Euangelist doth report it in the begynninge of the xi. chapter namely sith in it is conteined the most cō ­fortable & chefest article of the christen mans beleue. [Page] The historie is this. As our Sauiour Christ abode at Iordan, it chaunced that in a towne named Be­thania, a certayne man called Lazarus laye sycke. This towne was the natyue place & countrey both of the sycke man, and of his two susters Mary and Martha. Uerely this Mary was she, which wyth a notable record of loue towardes our sauiour Christ had annoynted hys hed as he sate at meate wyth a right preciouse oyntment & with her heare had wy­ped hys feete whyche she had washed with the very teares that ranne downe from her eyen. By reason wherof we may very wel vnderstāde, that there was a singular and a right special amitie and frendship betwene this familie and our sauiour Christ. Wher Chryso stom. fore when Lazarus was in great paryll of deathe, his susters, for the familiaritie which they had with Iesus, sent worde vnto him, how his freend Laza­rus was sore sycke, they nothing doubting, but that he of his wonderful humanitie whyche he bare to­wardes al men, wold helpe his freend being in such daūger. Lo, say they, he whom thou louest is sycke. They thought it ynough only to gyue hym know­lege of his freendes sickenes, and therfor they adde no praiers to desyre his helpe. To whom Iesus ma keth answere in this wise. Ueryly this syckenes is not deadly, but it is therfore chaūced vnto him, that by occasiō therof gods glory might be set out, to the intēt that whā by his vertue the disease shal be driue awey, the sōne of god might also be glorified. A like answere did Chryste make to hys disciples of him y ^• Ihon. 9. was borne blynde, sayng y ^e it was not his offēse y ^• he was so, but y ^e godꝭ workes shuld be shewed in hym. [Page lix] Certes our sauiour Christ loued very entierly Mar tha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus & yet not withstāding his great loue, he suffred him to fal in­to sicknes yea and into death, to thintent we shulde Chryso stom. not counte it an vnworthy and heuye case i [...] [...] any time the vertuouse and good persons & s [...]s be imbracers of true godlines & the freendess [...] be otherwhyle assaulted wyth the troubles & [...]s of this worlde, god wynking at the mater, e [...]er bi­cause it is so expedient for them that suffre the same or bycause it is so auaylable to the settinge forth of gods glorie, not that god with mans euilles procu­reth his owne glorie, but that for mans cause he is wonte to turne the euylles whiche do chaunce vnto vs, either to our soule helth, or vnto his glorie. He knew full wel that his freend was sycke, yea before it was tolde him, but for a playne declaration of the greatnes of the miracle which he went about to vt­ter, it was requysite to haue hys disciples myndes prepared. After then that tidinges was brought vn to Iesu of his freendes death, he went not forth w ^t, but in the self same place he taryed styl for the space of two dayes, not that he regarded not the daunger of his frende, but bicause he awayted a more conue­nient and plentifull occasion of vtteringe the mira­cle, and also that he himself whose time was almost comme to dye for mankynde, myght herby rayse vp the myndes of his disciples whiche as yet were but weake to the hope of the rysyng againe herafter. But his disciples for feare, holding their peace, by­cause their maister Christ had but a litle before esca ped out of the Iues handes and therfore thinkinge [Page] hym to be in more sauetye in wyldernes, where he now was, Iesus sayd vnto them. Let vs goe again into the countrey of Iewry. The disciples hearinge mention made of Iurye, and calling to their remē ­braunce the deadly hatred which the pharisies bare against Christ, and also how ofte they had taken vp stones to cast at him and went about to lay handes [...]n him, feared not only their maister, but also them­selfes. For they had not as yet receiued y ^• holy ghost and they folowed Iesus yet but with a certaine hu­mane affection, themselfes also abhorring death bi­cause of their frayltie and weaknes. Wherfore they labouring all that they could to dissuade him from returning again to Iurye, said vnto him. Lord hast thou forgottē how that a few dayes passed, the Iu­es thy mortal enemyes wold haue stoned y ^• to death if thou haddest not the soner wythdrawen thy selfe from their fury? And again wolt thou now goe thi­ther, and cast thy selfe in an open daunger? But Ie­sus counforted them, putting away their feare with ☞ a certaine diffuse parable signifieng, that such per­sons ought nothinge to feare, whyche cleaue fast to Christe, who is the lyght of the worlde. For it is the Ihon. i. night which bringeth with it the vayne feares. The day knoweth them not. Hath not the day (sayth he) twelue howers? The night shal not come before the time appoynted. In the meane season, who soeuer walketh in the day, stombleth not, forasmoch as the Sunne, which he beholdeth, maketh him to se, and by seing to beware the occasion of stomblynge. But who soeuer, whan the Sunne is wythdrawen from him, walketh in the nyght, he stūbleth, and why? ve­rily [Page lx] bicause he lacketh light. This dyd our sauiour Christe speak meaninge, that he is the lyght of the Ihon. [...]. world (as saynt Ihon in the begynning of his gos­pel doth testifie) & therfore it behoued hys disciples to folow his guiding, and not to go before the light S. Au­stine. neither yet to feare before the tyme come, for so long as they haue Chryst to shew them lyght, there is no danger. But when he must be taken from them, thē cōmeth nyght vpon them, then let them feare. So Erasmꝰ in āno­ta. that according to the exposition of some Doctours, the twelue houres of the day do betokē the appoin­ted tyme of his life, as like wise he answered to thē which cam from Herode, and counsailed hym to sle, Theo­philactꝰ bicause king Herod sought to slee him. It behoueth me (sayth he) this day and to morowe, and the nexte Luc. 12. day to walke about, for it is not possible that a pro­phete shuld perysh in any other place but in Hieru­salem. And the time of his passiō he calleth the pow­er of darknes and the houre of the wicked persons. As though Christ shuld heresay to his disciples. Ye nede not to feare my going into Iurye now at this present tyme, for I certifie you, that the tyme of my death and passion for mankynde is not yet comme. The day verily hath her due houres appoynted her of almyghty god, whych we at our owne choise and pleasure, can neyther make shorter, nor yet longer: so I also haue my time prescribed & appointed vnto me of my heuēly father, wherin I must accōplish the busynes, y ^• I com for, which is to redeme the world. This time cā not be shortned, ne yet preu [...]ted by the malice of y ^• Iues. Wherforye haue no cause to feare my goynge at this tyme into the partes of Iewry.

[Page]Wyth these wordes after that our Sauiour Christ had mitigated the feare of hys Apostles, he openeth the cause of his goyng. Lazarus (saith he) our frend The deth of godlye persons is but a slepe▪ slepeth. But I go to awake him out of his slepe. Ue rily my frēdes thys is a new preaching neuer ere o­pēly herd of in the world, y ^t death is no death, but ra­ther a slepe. For without doubt by the goodnes and benefite of Christ death is nowe made but a slepe to al feithful Christen men and women▪ for Christ our redemer by his death hath va [...]nquyshed death and made it but a slepe vnto vs. And if it be but a slepe, why do we thus bewayle the slepe of oure deare frē ­des? why do we feare it our selues? Nay why do we not rather desire it for the quyetnes therin? Why do we not count them happy & wel at ease whiche haue gotten it? And with this Gospel, do also the wordes of saynt Paule whiche be redde in the epistle of this i. Tessa. iii [...]. day agree whiche he wrote to hys Christen brethern the Thessalonians, sayng. I wold not (brethrē) haue you ignorant as concerning them which be fallen a slepe, that ye mourne not as the rest of mē do, which haue no hope. For if we beleue, that Iesus dyed and rose againe: euen so wil god bring againe with him them also which slepe by Iesus.

But Christes disciples beyng troubled with feare & suspecting that Iesus spake not of the bodily death in dede which after a new maner of speaking he cal­led a slepe, but rather of the common maner of sle­ping, answered and said. Lord if he slepe, he shall do well ynoughe. Uerily the disciples were yet styll a­frayd to resort agayne to Iurye & therfore asmuche as they coulde, they cut of the causes of goyng thi­ther. [Page lxi] But Iesus by litle & litle prepared their myn­des to the beholdyng of the miracle which he wolde shewe. For first of all he had rather calle him a slepe than dead, that according to the maner of holy scrip ture he myghte shewe the hope of resurrection. For they slepe, rather then be dead, which lye in rest, and shal liue agayn. For it is not so easy for any of vs to S. Au­stine. raise him that slepeth, as it is for Christ to calle the dead agayne to lyfe. The disciples therfore not vn­derstandyng that he spake of slepe and of wakynge agayne, to thintent they myght perceiue y ^t he knewe al thinges, said openly vnto them after the cōmon maner of speakyng▪ Lazarus is dead, & I am glad Lazarꝰ mortuꝰ est. for your sakes that I was not there, bicause ye may beleue. Neuertheles lette vs goe vnto hym. Christe doth not here tell hys disciples that he wolde rayse him againe, for he had rather haue it signified than expressed, and he had rather perfourme it, then pro­mise it, in this behalfe also giuing vs an exemple of Exem­plū mo­destie. demurenes and to flee vayne glorie. And he sayeth that he is glad for their sakes that he was not ther. Why so? For if he had been present at hys freendes Chryso stomꝰ. departure and had forthwyth retorned hym to lyfe, the pharisees and other whiche were euer ready to sklaunder al that Christe did, wolde haue sayd that he was not dead in dede, but in a traūce for a tyme, as by diuerse sickenesses it hathe chaunced to many one. But now, he being so long dead yea and bury­ed in hys graue, they could not make that cauillati­on. Christ therfore was glad for hys disciples sake, that they myghte beleue. But what shulde they be­leue? Vt [...]re­datis. First, that Christ was the true Sauiour of the [Page] worlde, whiche raiseth the dead out of their graues, yea and out of euerlasting dānation and helle, if he had not dyed for vs. Second, that he is ready euen in the middes of our troubles to helpe vs, and careth for our sauetie, as we haue exemple in Laza­rus, which was sicke, yea and dyed, he felt not Chri­stes helpe & yet Christ cared for hym, & his care was not vayne. For he raised him agayne frō deth. Tho­mas therfore which in the Greke is called didymus & in Englishe a twyn, one of Christ [...] Apostles ꝑcey­uing that Christ wold nedes goe into Iurye agayn amonges his enemyes, sayd to hys felawes. Let vs goe to, that we may dye with him, as who shuld say, sith our maister woll nedes [...]eopard himselfe amon­ges the pharisees which seke his death, let it not be said, that we wol leaue our maister, let vs dye wyth Chryso▪ [...]tomꝰ. him. Uerily thys exhortation of Thomas hath in it more rashenes, than feith. For albeit he is now rea­dy to dye with Christ, yet he wold not beleue hys re­surrection, if he had not seen in his hādes the printe of the nayles. So also Peter boldly ꝓmised that he Ihō ▪ xx▪ wolde dye with Christ, but it was not feithfully and truely, & therfore forthwyth he denyed hys maister. But afterwarde both saynt Thomas and also saint Luc. 22. Mat. ix. Mat. 29. Peter were two of the strōgest and surest af all their felawes in their feith, as appeareth by their actes. And here we haue exemple, that saintes and the cho sen people of God do otherwhiles fall by gods suf­fraunce into frayeltie, wherfore let not vs despaire, though we haue been wretched sinners, yea though we haue denyed Christ with Peter. Only lette vs playe Peters parte, and by repentaūce rise agayne, [Page lxij] & no doubt, god wol take vs agayn vnto his grace. But to our Gospell. Christ with his disciples goeth forth & fyndeth, that Lazarus had lyen in his graue foure dayes alredy. And Bethanye, where Lazarus & his susters dwelt, was nighe vnto Hierusalem, a­bout. xv. furlōges of, and many of the Iues cam to Martha & Marye, to cōfort thē ouer their brother. Truly, it is the worke of charitie, to cōfort the heuy and troubled persōs, yea it is the worke of the holy ghost, and for thys cause is the holy ghost called in scripture a coūforter, bycause in aduersitie he cōfor­teth the beleuers & feithful christen ꝑsons. And ther­fore Gala. v. the Apostle Paule doth nūbre gentlenes, good­nes & kyndnes towardes the neyghbour amonges the workes of y ^• spirite. And albeit it may be, that the worke of cōforting other▪ in wyelted & vngodly per­sons, doth not ꝓcede of the holy spirite of the lorde, but rather of a curtesy, neighberhode, or neren [...]s of bloud, as appeareth in these Iues, which cam to cō ­fort the two su [...]ters Martha & Marye, & as also the loue & charitie of Hethē ꝑsons, wherby they imbrace Mat. vi. their welwillers, cōmeth of a carnal affection: yet in the godly ꝑsons it cōmeth of feyth & true charitie & is the worke of the holy ghost, & not of the flesh. Fr [...] thermore we do se here, that many Iues cam to cō ­fort these two susters not without the great ꝓuidēce of god, y ^t many might be witnesses of the great mira cle of raising Lazarus frō deth. For this is y ^• cast of of gods work [...], y ^t they shew [...] farre otherface in y ^• be­gynning, ☜ thā in y ^• ende. Many of y ^• Iues were gathe­red to cōforte these susters, & loo beside their loking for, they be made witnesses of Lazarus resurrectiō, [Page] Martha assone as she herde that Iesus was com­myng, went and met him, but Mary sate styl in the howse. Martha therfore so sone as she cam into Ie­sus sight, sayd vnto him. Lord if thou haddest bene here, my brother had not dyed. But now I knowe, that what soeuer thou askest of god: god wol surely giue it the. Uerily this Martha beleued in Christe Chryso stom. but not as it behoued her to beleue. For she knewe not yet that he was god▪ & that he wrought hys mi­racles by his owne propre power and vertue as ap­peareth by that she putteth to, but now also I know that whatsoeuer thou askest of god, he woll gyue it the. So that she toke Christ but for a prophete and a very vertuouse and holy man. Christ therfore an­swereth her. Thy brother shal rise agayne. I wote, ꝙ Martha, that he shall rise againe in the resurrec­tion at the last day. Here we se that Martha was a good woman and beleued the general resurrection. Wherfore our sauiour Christ to thintent he myght yet augment the womans feith & opinion in him, & that he might declare that he coulde not only as an holy man & prophet obteyne of god life to the dead, but also that he himself is the fountaigne and giuer of life to al men, and that no death is to be feared of them which put their trust and hope in him, bicause that although death cōmeth yet it can not hurt him that beleueth on him which is fountaigne of al life, he answered Martha in thys wyse. I am the resur­rection Fgo sū resur­rectio et vita. and the lyfe. Ueryly my freendes this is the gospel▪ this is the Euangel, this is the glad & ioyful tydinges most pleasaunt & cōfortable to al Christen men and women. In this word Christ openeth him­selfe [Page lxiij] vnto vs, & giueth vs resurrection & life which be the greatest & best gyftes that cā be giuen to mā ­kynd. But wherby is Christe made vnto vs our re­surrectiō and our lyfe? Uerily by feith. And therfore he goeth further and sayth. He that beleueth in me, althoughe he be deade, yet shall he lyue. By feith doubtles the deade man liueth, & by feith the quicke mā neuer dyeth. For ye may not thinke, that Christ spake this only of Lazarus. But who so euer he be that beleueth, and hath the lyuely & vnfeyned feith in Christ which in the begynnyng of this sermon▪ I spake of, he shall neuer dye, albeit that the bodye for a tyme shall slepe. This I say is the Gospell, wher­with in the straightes of deth ours cōsciencies must be fensed and made stronge agaynst al the gates of hell and of death. For agaynst this sure feith, thys Mat. 16. rocke, wherupon Christes church is buylt, not al the gates of hell (as Christ himselfe promiseth) can pre­uaile. And to thintent we shulde beleue this the bet­ter that Christe is oure resurrection, he confirmed it with the raisyng of Lazarus frō death to life, he cō ­firmed it also with hys owne resurrection. Why do we then mourne the deth of oure freendes? Harken what Christ sayth. I am the resurrection. What do we fear thingꝭ we wote not what in an other world? Let vs beleue in Christ which saith. I am the lyfe. Truly he giueth himselfe hole vnto vs by this gos­pell, only let vs take hede lest by our vnfeithfulnes we put frō vs so highe & excellent a gyfte. If Christ had neuer been made man: we could haue hoped of no risyng agayne. By our first father Adā we were al made thral vnto death, accordyng to gods worde [Page] in Genesis vnto Adā. What day so euer thou shalt Gen. ij. eate of the tree of knowlege of good and euill, thou shalt surely dye a death. By Adam verily as witnes­seth saynt Paule death entred first, and agayne by Christe cam resurrection and lyfe. Wherfore truly these wordes of our Sauiour Christe haue a ryght great comforte in them vnto all christen men, foras­much as they declare moost high vertue and power to be in Christe▪ that is to witte, that by hym chaun­ceth to mākind the vertue and power to rise againe into euerlastyng lyfe. Both the good and bad shall ryse againe, but not a like, for the good shal rise vn­to To whō Christe is a re­surrecti­on. life▪ and the badde shal rise vnto iugement and e­uerlasting death, and therfore Christe to them is no resurrection. For whiche they be that shalbe made pertakers of euerlastynge lyfe, he sheweth when he goeth on and sayeth in thys wyse. He that beleueth in me, shal lyue, that is to say, he shall not dye the se­cond death. We haue therfore (good people) two ma­ners two sor­tes of re­surrecti­on. of risynge agayne, for first we rise agayne here by grace, out of the doungeon of synne, when we [...]e renewed into a new life, and be regenerate by Christ as it is declared in the thyrde chapter of Ihon. And Ihon. 3. who soeuer after thys sorte doth ryse agayne out of synne here in thys lyfe▪ shall neuer tast of the second death, which is euerlastyng damnation, but shalbe pertaker of the seconde resurrection through Christ at the day of iugemēt, which shalbe lyfe euerlasting and endles ioye. Thys in effecte were Christes wor­des to Martha, and after he had thus opened hym­self vnto her, he asked her whether she beleued this? Wherunto she answered and said. Yea Lorde I be­leue [Page lxiiij] that thou art Christe the sonne of God, whiche hast come into the worlde. Uerily thys confession of feith that this blessed woman Martha maketh here of Christe, semeth to be lyke vnto that, whiche saynt Peter and the rest of thapostles made, when Christ asked them, whom they said that he was, and saynt Peter in al their names answered. Thou art Christ Mat. 16 Mat. 8. Luc. ix. the sonne of the liuyng god, that is to say, thou arte the Messias or Sauiour of the worlde whiche was so long before promised by the prophetes and loked for of the fathers. And lyke as fleshe and bloud dis­closed not thys feith to saynt Peter, but the heuenly father: so thys lyke confession that Martha made, ꝓceded not of any carnal loue, but of the holy ghost But what do these wordes betokē, thou art Christ? Uerily to be Christ, is to be the lorde and cōquerour ☜ ouer synne, afflictions, death and helle. And for this cause was he promised, euen to vanquish al the ad­uerse powers in heuēly thyngꝭ. I say he is that sede of the woman which shulde breake the serpētes hed, that is to wit, the power of the deuill. For the deuill Gen. 3. ruleth in the worlde through Gods permission and sufferaunce by synne, afflictions, death, and helle. But all these thynges in the feithfull persons be o­uercome and vanquished through Christ. Christ is Gal. iij. psal. 1 [...] Hier. ij. i. Pe. ij. Coll. ij. Ihon. x. Ihō. [...]4. i, Cor. [...]5 our mediatour & our peace. He is the hed, & founda­tiō of the church, he is our prest, our byshop to make sute to his father for v [...], and to saue vs hys people from our synnes. Yea there is none other lucy to he­uen but by him for he is the doore. He is our lucy, he is the trouth, he is the lyfe, for lyke as all were dead by Adam, so by Christ must they he reuiu [...].

[Page]This haue I spoken concerning the declaration of thys present Gospell. Now deare frēdes, accordyng to the instruction whiche we haue rehersed here out of holy scripture, let vs not feare nor lamēt this bo­dily death, but rather the spiritual deth of the soule, both in this worlde and in the next. And on the con­trary, as often as we fall into synne, let vs by due repentaunce, rise againe here in thys lyfe, let vs be­leue stedfastly, that Christe is our resurrection and lyfe, and no doubt, after thys slepe of the bodye, we shal rise agayne at the general rising into lyfe euer­lastyng, by Christ our lorde. Which with the father and holy ghost thre persons and one god be glorifi­ed and lauded for euer and euer.

Amen.