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and his duty; that it will not let the corn grow in the field and increase, it will not suffer the meat and drink to feed thee, but it shall go through thee unprofitably as through a sink (which as it avoids one filth, is ready gaping to receive more); it doth not quench, but rather increase thy appetite. God will not bless any thing thou goest about; thy clothes will not keep thee warm, nor thy money will abide in thy purse, but shall waste away, thou not weeting how nor when, as if there were a hole in the bottom. To a good man every thing shall serve and prosper; but to an evil man nothing shall do good. What a wonderful thing is this, that the more a man eats and drinks, the more he shall desire and not be filled; the more clothes he putteth on, the colder he is; yea, if he have never so warm a fire nor soft feather bed, he shall be more grieved with cold, than they which fare coarsely, be homely apparelled, and lie hard! Let every man judge how true this saying of God is. These fine-fingered rufflers with their sables about their necks, their fine furred gowns, corked slippers, trimmed buskins, and warm mittens, they chill for cold and tremble when they come abroad; they cannot abide the wind to blow on them; yea, and always the more tenderly they keep themselves, hurting or not helping the poor, by the just punishment of God the more are they pierced with cold themselves: contrariwise, the labouring man can abide in the field all the long day, when the north wind blows, with few clothes on him, and never grieved with cold: he hath his health, feeds savourly on brown bread, thin drink, and a poor supper: yea, many poor beggars run from door to door with few clothes on them and torn, dining with a piece of bread under a hedge when they can get it, and at night lapping themselves in a little straw, not once in a week filling their bellies; yet they look more lusty, healthful, strong, than thou which hast thy cieled chamber, furred stomacher, long gown, and good cheer. And what can be the cause of this, but that God blessed the one which is content with his poor kind of life, and thanks God for it, thinking it better than he is worthy; and the other, which thinks so highly of him- Costly apself, that nothing is good enough for him, taking no care above their but how to cherish himself most tenderly, God doth not bless

parel, and degrees.

him, nor those things on which his pleasure is set? The Deut. xxix. Israelites in wilderness desiring flesh had quails great plenty

given them; but when the meat was in their mouths, the Exod. xvi. plague fell on them: and after repenting, they were so blessed of God, that their shoes and clothes lasted them forty years; and those clothes which the fathers had worn, the children were content to use afterward. But these tender pernels must have one gown for the day, another for the night; one long, another short; one for winter, another for summer; one furred through, another but faced; one for the work day, another for the holy day; one of this colour, and another of that; one of cloth, another of silk or damask; change of apparel, one afore dinner, another after, one of Spanish fashion, another Turkey; and to be brief, never content with enough, but always devising new fashions and strange yea, a ruffian will have more in a ruff and his hose than he should spend in a year. I read of a painter that would paint every country man in his accustomed apparel, the Dutch, the Spaniard, the Italian, the Frenchman; but when he came to the Englishman, he painted him naked, and gave him clothe, and bad him make it himself, for he changed his fashion so often, that he knew not how to make it such be our fickle and unstable heads, ever devising and desiring new toys.

English apparel.

Matt. X.

But what? would ye have all apparel alike? There be divers degrees of authority, and so better apparel for them. I do not wish all alike, but every one according to his degree. Give a king cloth of gold and silver, a duke velvet and silk, a marquis satin and damask; then an earl, a lord, a baron, a knight, an esquire, a gentleman, a yeoman, according to their degrees; and see whether those shall not be compelled to go in a russet coat, which now spend as much on apparel for him and his wife, as his father would have kept a good house with.

God grant every one might be brought to his degree! Our Saviour Christ bad his disciples, they should not have two coats: but we, because we will be most unlike his scholars, have our presses so full of apparel, that many know

[Pernels: pimpernel, a flower that always "shuts up its blossoms before rain." ED.]

not how many sorts and change of raiment they have. We are in the number of those rich men, to whom St James saith, "Woe," because they had so great plenty of apparel, James v. that the moths did eat them, and their poor neighbours went cold and naked, wanting them.

goods never

And although those be wonderful and strange kinds of plagues that God laid upon them for their sins, that neither the corn nor the fruit of the earth could increase, their meat would not feed them, nor drink fill them, nor their clothes keep them warm; yet this is most marvellous, that the money which they had in their purses, would not abide with them, but wasted away, they could not tell how, not profiting them, but even as though it had fallen out at the bottom of their purses, or that their purses had been torn so fast, it went from them as they gat it, they did not thrive by it. But such is the wisdom of God, that which way we think to enrich ourselves, displeasing him, the same is turned to our own hurt, and we be catched in our own snares. A man would think his money sure enough when it were in his purse but lay it where thou wilt, under lock and key, yea, in stone houses Evil gotten if thou wilt; if it be wrongfully gotten, or niggardly laid up, thrive. and not bestowed to relieve the need of other, as occasion requires, rather than thou shalt enjoy that wicked mammon, the rust and canker shall eat it, thieves shall steal it, or fire shall come from heaven, if it cannot some other ways, and destroy thee and it, rather than thou shalt continue wealthy contrary to God's will, disobeying him. It is with money as in corn and other fruits: for as he that sows much, and that in good ground, reaps much, so he that liberally bestows much of his truly gotten goods on the needy members of Jesus Christ, shall be enriched much of Christ: for the poor are the good ground that brings thee forth much increase by the blessing of God. "I have seen," saith Salo- Prov. xi. mon, "some give their own goods, and they waxed richer: other scrape that which is not their own, and are ever in need." So he that will thrive, must first get it righteously, and after spend it liberally: for that which is evil gotten, though it be after dealt in alms, displeases God. When Tob. ii. blind father Toby heard a kid blea in his house, he bids them take heed that it be not stolen. He saith also to his

Tob. iv.

Jer. vi.

goods waste

is truly come by.

son:

"Of thine own substance give alms" (but that which is evil gotten, is not thine own), "and if thou have much, give much; and if thou have but a little, yet give it willingly." These men whom the prophet here rebukes, did none of all these things: for neither it was well gotten, nor liberally spent. What marvel was it then, though it fell out of the purse bottom, and consumed away they wist not how, nor yet did them any good?

This greediness was so far grown into all sorts of men, that the poor labouring man, which wrought for his day's wage, was not content to work a true day's work, but would loiter and be idle, make his work subtle and full of craft and deceit, have a greater wage than his work was worth. It was true now also, that Jeremy complained on in his time, saying: "From the highest to the lowest, from the Evil gotten prophet to the priest, all study for covetousness and deceits.” that which But I would wish all such greedy guts to mark this similitude of Chrysostom, where he compares a penny evil gotten, and laid amongst the other silver which is truly come by, to a worm that lies at the heart of an apple. For as she first corrupts the heart of the apple, and that once being rotten, it rots the next piece unto him, and so forth every piece that which is next unto him, until the whole apple be rotten (though for a great space it seem on the outside to be a fair hard apple and sound); so that evil gotten penny, saith Chrysostom, shall infect that which lies next him, and so forth every one his fellow, until all be wasted. Thus the plague being general, that all sorts of men were punished, and nothing did go forward with any kind of men, because generally all sorts had sinned; and God requiring generally of all sorts that his house should be built; it proves that every one had a portion to do in the building of God's house, and that none could be excused from this work.

So we in England all be guilty, all have been punished, because every sort of men should have laid his helping hand to the building of God's house, reforming his religion, restoring and maintaining his gospel, which none or very few have earnestly done and therefore all these plagues have fallen upon us that these people felt, yea, and more too; for all that would hold fast their profession, either were cast into

the fire or banished. No country has more belly cheer than we, and we eat as though we were hungry still. None has more store of apparel, and yet we be a-cold. How our money has wasted, if I seek but only of the sundry falls of money, many can remember, and yet feel the smart of it; though I trust much good shall follow on it. The Lord for his mercy open our eyes, that we may see and consider the cause of these plagues which he hath laid on us so long, and speedily turn us to amend those faults for which we be punished! For even from the highest unto the poor labouring man we have all sinned, and one plagued another: yea, servants have sought to wax wealthy by great wages taking and little working: but, as this prophet saith, their wages was put into a bottomless purse, and they have not thriven by it. What hath been the end of ambitious and covetous men, from the highest to the lowest, which never being content with enough desired more; he which is not blind may see it more among us than all Christendom.

v. 7. Thus saith the God of hosts: consider in your hearts The Text. your own ways.

8. Go up to the hill, and bring home timber, build this

house; and I will have delight in it, and I will be glo- Targ. dwell rified, saith the Lord.

in it with glory.

The prophet hath never done enough in beating' in the authority and majesty of his God that sent him with his commission to his people, and never speaks things in his own name; but in the beginning and ending of these short verses addeth the glorious name of God JEHOVA, calling him the Lord of hosts, at whose commandment all creatures be, and who will arm all his creatures to fight against all such as either do not build his house and hinder his glory, or else stop them which would further it. With such words of fear and power must all stubborn stomachs be pulled down and they which will not be overcome by gentleness to do their duty, must be feared with authority. Thus must preachers An example learn to temper their tongues, never to speak but that which ers. they find in God's book: and where the people be hard

[Second edition, bearing. See p. 84, repeat and beat in. ED.]

for preach

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