Archive for November 18th, 2009
Redeemed souls perishing:
1) As for example of ryche men, loke at the merchauntes of London, and ye shall see, when as by their honest vocacion, and trade of marchandise god hath endowed them with great abundaunce of ryches, then can they not be content with the prosperous welth of that vocacion to satisfye theym selues, and to helpe other, but their riches muste abrode in the countrey to bie fermes [farms] out of the handes of worshypfull gentlemen, honeste yeomen, and pore lahorynge husbandes. Yea nowe also to bye personages, and benefices, where as they do not onelye bye landes and goodes, but also lyues and soules of men, from God and the comen wealth, vnto the deuyll and theim selues. A myscheuouse marte of merchandrie is this, and yet nowe so comenly vsed, that therby shepeheardes be turned to theues, dogges into wolues, and the poore flocke of Christ, redemed wyth his precious bloud, moste miserablye pylled, and spoyled, yea cruelly deuoured. Be thou marchaunt of the citye, or be thou gentleman in the contrey, be thou lawer, be you courtear, or what maner of man soeuer thou be, that can not, yea yf thou be mailer doctor of diuinitie, that wyl not do thy duety, it is not lawfull (or the to haue personage, benefice, or any suche liuyng, excepte thou do fede the flocke spiritually wyth goddes worde, and bodelye wyth honeste hospitalitye. I wyll touch diuerse kyndes of ryche men and rulers, that ye maye se what harme some of theim do wyth theyr ryches and authoritye. And especiallye I wyll begynne wyth. theym that be best learned, for they seme belyke to do moste good wyth ryches and authoritie unto theim committed. If I therefore beynge a yonge simple scholer myghte be so bolde, I wolde alke an auncient, wyse, and well learned doctor of diuinitie, whych cometh not at hys benefice, whether he were bounde to fede hys flocke in teachynge of goddes worde, and kepyng hospitalitie or no? He wold answere and saye: syr my curate supplieth my roume in teachynge, and my farmer in kepynge of house. Yea but master doctor by your leaue, both these more for your vauntage then for the paryshe conforte: and therfore the mo suche seruauntes that ye kepe there, the more harme is it for your paryshe, and the more synne and shame for you. Ye may thynke that I am sumwhat saucye to laye synne and shame to a doctor of diuinitie in thys solemne audience, for some of theim vse to excuse the matter, and saye: Those whych I leaue in myne absence do farre better then I shoulde do, yf I taryed there my selfe. Thomas Lever, Sermons, (London: Bloomsbury,1871), 29-30. [Original spelling retained; italics original; some bracketed words inserted; and underlining mine; the archaic font character for “s” substituted with the modern s.]
2) The filthye gredye puttockes, wylde haukes, and rauenyng kytes be fupersticious papistes, carnall gospellers, and sedicious rebelles, which as ye haue seene, by late experience, haue moil cruelly caught, spoyled, and deuoured the lambes, the chekynnes, the chyldren of God, redemed and boughte with Christes bloude. Wherfore as Christ in his owne persone dyd once lament and bewayle Ierusalem, so dothe he nowe many tymes in the persons of his propheticall Preachers, lament and bewayl Englande, saying: O England, howe ofte wolde I haue gathered thy chyldren, as a hen gathereth her chikens vnder her wynges, and thou woldest not. Euen with the same affeccion that the shepherde cryeth, seeyng the wolfe le[e]ryng towardes the shepe, and with the same affeccion that the hen clocketh and calleth, spyeng the kyte houeryng ouer her chekyns: with the same affeccion it behoueth the minister and preacher of God, seeyng vntollerable vengeaunce hangynge ouer Englande, to aye, to call, and to geue warnyng vnto the people, saying as [it] is written In the first of Esay: If ye willyngly wyl heare and obeye, ye shall eate the good comfortable frutes of the earthe: but if ye wyll not, and prouoke me vnto angre, the swoorde shall deuoure you: Quia os Domini locutum.1 For it is the mouth of the lord that hath spoken.
Now your reuerende maiestie, most gracious kyng, and you honourable wyse godly counsellers, you are the chiefe shepherdes, you are the most reuerende fathers in Christe, hauynge the wynges of power and authoritie, to shadow, saue, and keepe these lambes of god, these [the] chekens of Christ, and these chyldren of the heauenly father, redemed with Christes bloude, and committed vnto your handes, to be saued, kepte, and prouyded for.