ye should be more afraid of the poor widow, than of a nobleman, with all the friends and power that he can make.

But now-a-days. the judges be afraid to hear a poor man against the rich, insomuch they will either pronounce against him, or so drive off the poor man's suit, that he shall not be able to go through with it. The greatest man in a realm, cannot so hurt a judge as the poor widow; such a shrewd turn she can do him. And with what armour I pray you? She can bring the judge's skin over his ears, and never lay hands upon him.

And how is that? Lachryma miserorum descendunt ad maxillas, “The tears of the poor fall down upon their cheeks," et ascendunt ad cælum, " and go up to heaven," and cry for vengeance, before God, the judge of widows, the father of widows and orphans. Poor people be oppressed even by laws. Væ iis qui condunt leges iniquas, "Wo worth to them that make evil laws against the poor! what shall be to them that hinder and mar good laws?" Quid facietis in die ultionis, "What will ye do in the day of great vengeance, when God shall visit you?" He saith, he will hear the tears of poor women when he goeth on visitation. For their sake he will hurt the judge, be he never so high. Deus transfert regna. He will, for widows' sakes change realms, bring them into temptation, pluck the judges' skins over their heads.

Cambyses was a great emperor, such another as our master is, he had many lord deputies, lord presidents, and lieutenants under him. It is a great while ago since I read the history. It chanced he had under him in one of his dominions, a briber, a gift-taker, a gratifier of rich men, he followed gifts as fast as he that followed the pudding, a hand-maker in his office, to make his son a great man; as the old saying is, Happy is the child, whose father goeth to the devil. The cry of the poor widow came to the emperor's ear, and caused him to flay the judge quick, and laid his skin in his chair of judgment, that all judges that should give judgment afterward, should sit in the

* Cambyses, king of Persia, succeeded his father, in the year of the world, 3506. The only act of his life that does credit to his memory was that of punishing the unjust judge Sisamnes, in the manner here described, and placing his son Otanes upon the tribunal, with a warning that if he followed his father's example, he should experience the same judgment.

same skin. Surely it was a goodly sign, a goodly monument, the sign of the judge's skin: I pray God we may once see the sign of the skin in England.

Ye will say peradventure, that this is cruelly and uncharitably spoken: No, no; I do it charitably, for a love I bear my country, God saith, Ego visitabo, "I will visit." God hath two visitations: the first is, when he revealeth his word. by preachers, and where the first is accepted the second cometh not. The second visitation is vengeance. He went a visitation when he brought the judge's skin over his ears. If his word be despised he cometh with his second visitation with vengeance.

Noah preached God's word a hundred years, and was laughed to scorn, and called an old doting fool. Because they would not accept this first visitation, God visited them the second time, he poured down showers of rain, till all the world was drowned. Lot was a visitor of Sodom and Gomorrah; but because they regarded not his preaching, God visited them the second time and burnt them all up with brimstone, saving Lot. Moses came first a visitation into Egypt with God's word, and because they would not hear him, God visited them again, and drowned them in the Red Sea. God likewise with his first visitation, visited the Israelites by his prophets, but because they would not hear his prophets, he visited them the second time, and dispersed them in Assyria and Babylon. John Baptist likewise, and our Saviour Christ visited them afterward, declaring to them God's will; and because they despised these visitors, he destroyed Jerusalem by Titus and Vespasian. Germany was visited twenty years with God's word, but they did not earnestly embrace it, and in life follow it, but made a mingle mangle, and a hotch-potch of it: I cannot tell what, partly popery, partly true religion, mingled together. They say in my country, when they call their hogs to the swine-trough: Come to thy mingle-mangle, come pur, come pur: even so they made mingle mangle of it. They could clatter and prate of the gospel, but when all cometh to all, they joined popery so with it, that they marred all toge ther they scratched and scraped all the livings of the church, and under a colour of religion, turned it to their own proper gain and lucre. God seeing that they would not come unto his word, now he visiteth them in the second time of his visitation,

:

with his wrath for the taking away of God's word, is a manifest token of his wrath.

We have now a first visitation in England, let us beware of the second. We have the ministration of his word; we are yet well but the house is not clean swept yet. God hath sent us a noble king in this his visitation; let us not provoke him against us; let us beware, let us not displease him, let us not be unthankful and unkind, let us beware of by-walking and contemning of God's word, let us pray diligently for our king, let us receive with all obedience and prayer the word of God.

A word or two more, and I commit you to God. I will monish you of a thing; I hear say ye walk inordinately, ye talk unseemly, otherwise than it becometh Christian subjects: ye take upon you to judge the judgments of judges.

I will not make the king a pope; for the pope will have all things that he doth taken for an article of our faith. I will not say but that the king and his council may err; the parliament houses, both the high and low, may err; I pray daily that they may not err.

It becometh us, whatsoever they decree, to stand unto it, and receive it obediently, as far forth as it is not manifest wicked, and directly against the word of God. It pertaineth unto us to think the best, though we cannot render a cause for the doing of every thing; for, Charitas omnia credit, omnia sperat, "Charity doth believe and trust all things." We ought to expound to the best all things, although we cannot yield a reason.

Therefore I exhort you, good people, pronounce in good part, all the facts and deeds of the magistrates and judges. Charity judgeth the best of all men, and specially of magistrates. St. Paul saith, Nolite judicare ante tempus donec Dominus advenerit, “Judge not before the time of the Lord's coming." Pravum cor hominis, Man's heart is unsearchable; it is a ragged piece of work; no man knoweth his own heart; and therefore David prayeth, and saith, Ab occultis meis menda me, " Deliver me from my unknown faults: I am a further offender than I can see." (Ps. xix.) A man shall be blinded in love of himself, and cannot see so much in himself as in other men. Let us not therefore judge judges; we are accountable to God, and so be they: let them alone, they have their accounts to

make. If we have charity in us, we shall do this; for, Charitas operatur, "Charity worketh," what worketh it? marry, omnia credere, omnia sperare, "to accept all things in good part." Nolite judicare ante tempus, "Judge not before the Lord's coming." In this we learn to know Antichrist, which doth elevate himself in the church, and judgeth at his pleasure before the time. His canonizations, and judging of men before the Lord's judgment, be a manifest token of Antichrist. How can he know saints? he knoweth not his own heart. he cannot know them by miracles, for some miracle-workers shall go to the devil.

And

I will tell you what I remembered yester-night in my bed; a marvellous tale to perceive how inscrutable a man's heart is. I was once at Oxford, (for I had occasion to come that way, when I was in my office;) they told me it was a gairer way, and a fairer way, and by that occasion I lay there a night. Being there I heard of an execution that was done upon one that suffered for treason: It was, as ye know, a dangerous world, for it might soon cost a man his life for a word speaking. I cannot tell what the matter was, but the judge set it so out that the man was condemned, the twelve men came in and said, Guilty; and upon that he was judged to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. When the rope was about his neck, no man could persuade him that he was in any fault; and stood there a great while in the protestation of his innocency: They hanged him, and cut him down somewhat too soon, afore he was clean dead; then they drew him to the fire, and he revived; and then he coming to his remembrance, confessed his fault, and said he was guilty. O, a wonderful example; it may well be said, Pravum cor hominis et inscrutabile, "A crabbed piece of work, and unsearchable."

I will leave here, for I think you know what I mean well enough. I shall not need to apply this example any further. As I began ever with this saying, Quæcunque scripta sunt, like a truant, so I have a common-place to the end, if my memory fail not, Beati qui audiunt verbum Dei, et custodiunt illud, "Blessed be they that hear the word of God, and keep it." it must be kept in memory, in living, and in our conversation and if we so do, we shall come to the blessedness which God prepared for us through his son Jesus Christ, to the which may he bring us all.-Amen.

THE

FOURTH SERMON

PREACHED BEFORE KING EDWARD,

MARCH 29th

ROMANS xv. 4.

Quæcunque scripta sunt; ad nostram doctrinam, &c.

All things that are written, are written to be our doctrine.

THE parable that I took to begin with, most honourable audience, is written in the eighteenth chapter of St. Luke; and there is a certain remnant of it behind yet. The parable is this, "There was a certain judge in a city that feared neither God nor man: And in the same city there was a widow that required justice at his hands; but he would not hear her, but put her off, and delayed the matter. In process the judge, seeing her importunity, said, Though I fear neither God nor man, yet for the importunity of the woman I will hear her; lest she rail upon me, and molest me with exclamations and outcries, I will hear her matter, I will make an end of it."-Our Saviour Christ added more unto this, and said, Audite, quid judex dicat, &c. "Hear you," said Christ, "what the wicked judge said? And shall not God revenge his elect, that cry upon him day and night? Although he tarry, and defer them, I say unto you, he will revenge them, and that shortly. But when the Son of Man shall come, shall he find faith in the earth?" That I have may grace so to the remnant of this paraopen ble, that it may be to the glory of God, and edifying of your souls, I shall desire you to pray, in the which prayer, &c.

I shewed you the last day, most honourable audience, the cause why our Saviour Christ rather used the example of a wicked judge, than of a good. And the cause was, for that in those days there was great plenty of wicked judges, so that he might borrow an example among them well enough; for there was much scarcity of good judges. I did excuse the widow also, for coming to the judge against her adversary; because she did it not of malice, she did it not for appetite of