be the authors of. Sometime by such craft and deceit be committed great disorders and riots in the challenge of their lands, yea sometimes murders and bloodshed, whereof thou art guilty, whosoever thou be that givest the occasion thereof. This covetous practising therefore with thy neighbour's lands and goods is hateful to Almighty God. Let no man subtilly compass or defraud his neighbour, biddeth St. Paul, in any manner of cause. For God, saith he, is a revenger of all such. 1 Thess. iv. God is the God of all equity and righteousness, and therefore forbiddeth all such deceit and subtilty in his law, by these words: Ye shall not deal unjustly in judgment, in line, in weight, or measure. Ye shall have just balances, true weights, and true measures. Levit. xix. False balances, saith Solomon, are an abomination unto the Lord. Prov. xx. Remember what St. Paul saith, God is the revenger of all wrong and injustice, as we see by daily experience, however it thriveth ungraciously which is gotten by falsehood and craft. We be taught by experience, how Almighty God never suffereth the third heir to enjoy his father's wrong possessions, yea, many a time they are taken from himself in his own life-time. God is not bound to defend such possessions as are gotten by the devil and his counsel. God will defend all such men's goods and possessions, which by him are obtained and possessed, and will defend them against the violent oppressor. So witnesseth Solomon, The Lord will destroy the house of the proud man: but he will stablish the borders of the widow. Prov. xxv. No doubt of it, saith David, better is a little truly gotten to the righteous man, than the innumerable riches of the wrongful man. Psalm xxxvii. Let us flee therefore, good people, all wrong practices in getting, maintaining, and defending our possessions, lands, and livelihoods, our bounds and liberties, remembering that such possessions be all under God's revengeance. But what do

Ye have

we speak of house and land? Nay, it is said in the Scripture, that God in his ire doth root up whole kingdoms for wrongs and oppressions, and doth translate kingdoms from one nation to another, for unrighteous dealing, for wrongs and riches gotten by deceit. This is the practice of the Holy One, saith Daniel, to the intent that living men may know, that the Most High hath power over the kingdoms of men, and giveth them to whomsoever he will. Dan, iv. Furthermore, what is the cause of penury and scarceness of dearth and famine? Is it any other thing but a token of God's ire, revenging our wrongs and injuries done one to another? sown much (upbraideth God by his Prophet Haggai,) and yet bring in little; ye eat, but ye be not satis fied; ye drink, but ye be not filled; ye clothe yourselves, but ye be not warm; and he that earneth his wages, putteth it into a bottomless purse: ye looked for much increase, but lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, (into your barns,) I did blow it away, saith the Lord. Haggai i. O consider therefore the ire of God against gleaners, gatherers, and encroachers upon other men's lands and possessions! It is lamentable to see in some places, how greedy men use to plough and grate upon their neighbour's land that lieth next them: how covetous men nowa-days plough up so nigh the common balks and walks, which good men beforetime made the greater and broader, partly for the commodious walk of his neighbour, partly for the better shack in harvesttime, to the more comfort of his poor neighbour's cattle. It is a shame to behold the insatiableness of some covetous persons in their doings: that where their ancestors left of their land a broad and sufficient bier-halk to carry the corpse to the Christian sepulture, how men pinch at such bier-balks, which by long use and custom ought to be inviolably kept for that purpose: and now they either quite ear them up, and turn the dead body to be borne farther

about in the high-streets; or else, if they leave any such meer, it is too strait for two to walk on.

These strange encroachments, good neighbours, should be looked upon. These should be considered in these days of our perambulations; and afterward the parties admonished, and charitably reformed, who be the doers of such private gaining, to the slander of the township and the hindrance of the poor. Your highways should be considered in your walks, to understand where to bestow your days' works, according to the good statutes provided for the same. It is a good deed of mercy, to amend the dangerous and noisome ways, whereby thy poor neighbour sitting on his silly weak beast, foundereth not in the deep thereof, and so the market the worse served, for discouraging of poor victuallers to resort thither for the same cause. If now therefore ye will have your prayers heard before Almighty God, for the increase of your corn and cattle, and for the defence thereof from unseasonable mists and blasts, from hail and other such tempests, love equity and righteousness, ensue mercy and charity, which God most requireth at our hands. Which Almighty Godrespected chiefly in making his civil laws for his people the Israelites, in charging the owners not to gather up their corn too nigh at harvest season, nor the grapes and olives in gathering time, but to leave behind some ears of corn for the poor gleaners. Levit. xix. Deut. xxiv. 1 Cor. ix. By this he meant to induce them to pity the poor, to relieve the needy, to shew mercy and kindness. It cannot be lost, which for his sake is distributed to the poor. For he which ministereth seed to the sower, and bread to the hungry, which sendeth down the early and the latter rain upon your fields, so to fill up the barns with corn, and the wine presses with wine and oil; Joel ii. he, I say, who recompenseth all kind of benefits in the resurrection of the just, he will as suredly recompense all merciful deeds shewed to the

needy, howsoever unable the poor is upon whom it is bestowed. O, saith Solomon, let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck, saith he, and write them on the table of thy heart; so shalt thou find favour at God's hand. Prov. iii.

Thus honour thou the Lord with thy riches, and with the first-fruits of thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with abundance, and thy presses shall burst with new wine: nay, God hath promised to open the windows of heaven upon the liberal righte ous man, that he shall want nothing. He will repress the devouring caterpillar, which would devour your fruits. He will give you peace and quiet to gather in your provision, that ye may sit every man under his own vine quietly, without fear of the foreign enemies to invade you. He will give you not only food to feed on, but stomachs and good appetites to take comfort of your fruits, whereby in all things ye may have sufficiency. Finally, he will bless you with all manner of abundance in this transitory life, and endue you with all manner of benediction in the next world, in the kingdom of heaven, through the merits of our Lord and Saviour: to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour everlasting. Amen.

AN

HOMILY

OF

The State of Matrimony.

THE word of Almighty God doth testify and declare whence the original beginning of matrimony cometh, and why it is ordained. It is instituted of

God, to the intent that man and woman should live lawfully in a perpetual friendly fellowship, to bring forth fruit, and to avoid fornication. By which means a good conscience might be preserved on both parties, in bridling the corrupt inclinations of the flesh within the limits of honesty; for God hath straitly forbidden all whoredom and uncleanness, and hath from time to time taken grievous punishment of this inordinate lust, as all stories and ages have declared. Furthermore, it is also ordained, that the Church of God and his kingdom might by this kind of life be conserved and enlarged, not only in that God giveth children by his blessing, but also in that they be brought up by the parents godly, in the knowledge of God's word, that thus the knowledge of God and true religion might be delivered by succession from one to another, that finally many might enjoy that everlasting immortality. Wherefore, forasmuch as matrimony serveth as well to avoid sin and offence, as to increase the kingdom of God; you, as all other which enter that state, must acknowledge this benefit of God, with pure and thankful minds, for that he hath so ruled your hearts, that ye