All sin is forbidden alike, if it let God's house.

makes them to restore all again. But we can defend ten at the hundred to be charitable and godly. Surely, if they could not keep it, but were compelled to restore it again, it was theft and robbery so to get it, or yet to keep it: for he is as well a thief that keeps that which is evil got, as he that got it or took it. And if they did make restitution, taking but one at the hundred; I see no cause why our usurers should not be compelled by authority to restore that which was so gotten by ten or sixteen at the hundred. This was our gospelling in England, when we should have builded God's house, as they should have done here.

The prophet speaks here of building houses namely', but under that one sin he rebukes all such like: as when we say, "give us our daily bread," we desire under the name of bread as well drink and cloth, as all other things necesDrunkards. sary to live withal. And he saith as well to the drunkards,

Amos vi.

Pollers.

Is it time for you to drink until ye be thriftless and witless, Isai. v. and God's house lie unbuilded? It is written by the prophet, "Woe be to you that rise early in the morning to drink, and to follow drinking till it be evening!" He saith likeSluggards. wise to the dainty sluggard, that lies wallowing in his costly beds and soft pillows: Is it time for you to lie slovening in your couches night and day, and God's house unbuilded? Is it not written, "Woe be unto you which sleep in your costly beds, and play the wantons in your couches?" And he saith likewise to the greedy carle and prowling poller, that is never filled, but always heaping together: Is it time for you that ye scrape and scratch together all ye can lay your hands on, and God's house lie unbuilded? Do ye not know it to be written, "Woe be to you which join house to house, and land to land, and never cease?" Thus must every man think that God speaks to him still by this his Ambitious. prophet, and says to the ambitious prelate: Is it time for thee, which should chiefly build my house, to gape for promotion, to join benefice to benefice, prebend to deanery, &c., and my house lie unbuilt? Remember thou not Paul's say1 Tim. vi. ing, "If we have meat, drink, and clothes, let us be content therewith"? Thou that chiefly should further this work, dost hinder and pull down my house, as much as in thee is. See note, p. 34. ED.]

Isai. v.

Let the merchant, that spares not to sail through all jeopar- Merchants. dies on the sea and travail by land, so that he get much gains, think that God says to him still: "Is it time for thee

to run and ride, buy and sell, and my house lie unbuilt?" Let the unthrift think that God speaks to him, saying: "Is Unthrifts. it time for thee to hawk and hunt, card and dice, and follow whores, and God's house lie unbuilt?" Think not it is enough to say, I am a gentleman; what should I do but take my pleasure? it becometh not me to take such pains. Yes, truly; for God hath no more allowed thee to waste God allows unthriftily thy goods, nor to misspend thy time, than the nothing poor man. For like as thou hast the same baptism, faith, Lord, God, and Father in heaven with him, and hopest for Ephes. iv. the same kingdom that the poor man doth; so hast thou the same law given thee to live after, and by the same shall we all be judged.

the rich

more to misuse than the poor.

Why, will no excuse serve, but that every man must lay his helping hand to the building of God's house? No, verily : remember them which were called to the feast, and one excused himself, saying, "I have bought a farm;" another, "I Luke xiv. have bought five yoke of oxen;" and both said, "I pray thee hold me excused :" and the third had married a wife, making no excuse, but flatly denying he could not come. But it skills not whether he make excuse or not: all were shut out, and had no part of the feast.

allowed in

God's

And so shall all that build not God's house, though they No excuse is seem to themselves to have good excuses: God allows none at not building all. Why, they were forbidden by the king to build any more, house. as appears in Esdras, and must they not obey? they should Ezra iv. have run in the king's displeasure, been in jeopardy to have lost life, land, and goods: should they have been rebels and traitors to the king? No, surely; this is not treason to kings to do that which God commands. When Daniel did pray Daniel vi. thrice a day to God contrary to the king's commandment, and the apostles did preach contrary to the wills and com- Acts iv. mandments of the rulers, it was neither treason nor rebellion. So must we do always that which God commands: and if God is the rage of the rulers go so far as to kill or cast us into be obeyed lions' dens, as Daniel was, or whip and scourge us, as the apostles were; we must suffer with Daniel, and say with the

rather to

than man.

Luke xiv.

Matt. v.

apostles, "We must rather obey God in doing our duty, than man forbidding the same;" knowing always, that God hath ever ways enough to deliver us out of their dangers, if he will, as he did Daniel and the apostles; or else will strengthen us to die in his quarrel, whether soever shall be more for his glory and the edifying of his church. If the sheriff should bid thee one thing, and the king command thee another, wilt thou obey the lower officer afore the higher? So is the king God's under officer, and not to be obeyed before him.

It is written, that "if any man come to Christ, and hate not father and mother, wife and children, brother and sister, yea, even his own life," rather than forsake and offend God, "he can be none of Christ's scholars." Christ takes all excuses from us when he saith: "If thy right eye let thee, pull it out; if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; for it is better to go into life with one eye and one hand, than to be cast into hell with both thine eyes and hands." In the ninth of Luke, when Christ called two disciples to follow him, the one said, "Let me go and bid them farewell at home;" and the other said, “Let me go and bury my father, and then I will come." But our Saviour Christ would suffer neither of them both to go to do so little things and honest, as reason would judge, but saith: "Let the dead bury the dead; and he that puts his hand to the plough and looks back, is not meet for the kingLuke xvii. dom of God." "Remember," he saith, "Lot's wife," how she for looking back was turned into a pillar of salt. Therefore there is no excuses admitted in not building God's house, and that earnestly.

Princes may have houses

gree, so they

house first.

Yet is not this so spoken of the prophet, that it is unto their de- lawful for noblemen to have costly houses, so it be not above build God's their degree, nor built with oppressing the poor, or that they take not more pleasure and pains in building their own houses than God's; but that they should study and take more pains 2 Sam. vii. to build God's house than their own. For David, Salomon, and other good kings, had gorgeous houses according to their estate but when David had builded him a goodly house, he sat down, looked on it, and remembered how the ark of God, and the treasures that God had given them, were but in tents covered with sackcloth, made of goat's hair; he was sorry, Psal. cxxxii. sware an oath, and made a vow to the God of Jacob, that he

would not go into his house nor his bed, and that he would neither nap nor sleep, nor take rest, until he had a place for the Lord to dwell in, and builded his house. Such a desire have all good men to the building of God's house in all ages, that they will prefer God's matters and the common profit of many afore their own.

But here in this people, as among us also, the rich men would not, the poor could not; the priests had forgotten the law, and followed their own fantasies; the unlearned knew not how to do it; young men were given to pastimes, old men to greediness, noblemen greedily to get', and unprofitable to spend it; the common sort, as men without guides, followed their own wills: summer was too hot, and winter was too cold: so that no sort of men nor time was given to the building of God's house; but every man followed his own will, and either they could not, would not, or durst not go about the building of God's house. Thus we in England, while we have lien following our own fantasies, and seeking vain excuses under pretence of religion, have destroyed religion; and in pulling away superstition did seek our own profit and promotion. To pull down abbeys, colleges, chantries, and such dens of thieves, we are ready enough, because we hoped to vain exhave part of the spoil ourselves; but to maintain schools and building hospitals was not for our profit: to take away masses, idols, be not unpreaching prelates, we durst not, sometime for fear of the king's displeasure, sometime for rebellion or insurrections of the commons; otherwhiles, to bear with the weakness of the people, or for loss of life or goods, or some such like excuse, we would not.

cuses in not

God's house

allowed.

But Salomon, to pull away all fond, feigned excuses, teaches divers good lessons and worthy to be noted. To Fearful. the sluggish fearful man, that feareth and casteth perils to

do that which God commandeth him, he saith, mocking and Prov. xxii. rebuking him thus: "There is a lion in the way, saith the slothful man (when he is willed to do his duty), and he will worry me if I go:" which is as much to say, Cast no perils in serving God; go diligently about to do thy duty; and God will defend thee, though thou go through lions, wolves, bears, bishops, and all wild beasts: and that we should more [The first edition reads, noblemen to ambition, and→ ED.]

Slothful.

boldly do our duties to God without fear of man, St John in his Revelation, xxi., saw: "The fearful, unbelievers, abominable, murderers, &c., shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Prov. xxvi. To the slothful delicate man, which will not forego his pleasures, he saith: "As the door is turned in and out upon the hinges and gins, so is the sluggard rolled about in his bed from one side to another :" as though he should say, As the door when it is opened or shut, it stirs in and out, but it stirs not out of its place, but is on the hinges still; and the sluggard that rolls himself from one side of the bed to another, is a sloven still, and lies slovening in his bed, taking no pains to do good: so they that be given to any kind of pleasure, if they stir to any thing, it is so little that it doeth no good; they roll but from one side to another, from one pleasure to another, to seek where they may find most ease.

They move as the snail doth, always creeping and never the Worldlings. further. Unto them that seek excuses, that either they dare Eccles. xi. not or cannot, he saith: "He that watches the winds doth not sow, and he that marks the clouds shall never mow:" as if he should say, As he that waits for a good wind to sow in, or whether any clouds arise betokening rain, or there be none at all but great drought towards, that he may mow, shall never sow nor mow: for either blows the north wind, and that is too cold; or the south, and that is too hot; or the east, and that is too dry; or the west, and that is too wet; and the wind is ever in one of these corners, and ever is it drought or clouds like to rain when the wind is so so he that waits when he may build God's house, and have the world with him without displeasure of the rulers, the people, the clergy, or the laity, shall never do his duty; for ever the gospel hath some enemies. Therefore he concludes, sayEccles. xi. ing: "Sow thy seed in the morning and in the evening, and let not thine hand cease;" meaning, that evening and morning, early and late, fair weather and foul, with favour or with The gospel displeasure, we should not cease to build God's house. Do ye not know that God and the world are enemies; and he that will please the one shall displease the other; and impossible it is to please both? Never look to have the world. to favour thee, when thou goest about to serve God and if

is never without enemies.

Matt. vi.

: