IT was not without an vrgēt cause (louyng frendes) that our sauiour Christ preachīg his excellent Sermonin the mount to his disciples,Math. vii Luk. vi, and .xiiii. did knitte vp the same wyth the symilitude of a wise & folish builder. The one buil­ding vpon the rocke, the other vpon the sand: The one buylding remay­ning, the other vtterlye decaied, by the impetuous rage of raine, wynde and floudes. wherin it behoueth vs, to consider principally .iii. thinges. First, that the beginning of Christiā religion, consisteth in diligent buil­ding, and not in idle liuing. Second­ly, the cause why we must builde, is to the entent, that in tyme of nede, we may haue a strong castel, and in­uincible fortresse, to flie vnto, in all our necessities, therby the better to be preserued from the power, tiran­ny, and sodaine inuasion of all our [Page] enemies. Thirdly, in this similitude, we are admonished, that as vereli as we haue built our tower, & that as verely as it stādeth: so certeinly shal therain descend, the wyndes blow, & the flouds arise against it, to trye the strength and situacion thereof.

VVe the Christiā flock of Englād (brethrē) bi the merciful prouidence of God, for the space of .vi. or .vii. yeres haue enioied a wōderful calm & quiet time to build out tower (god his name be praised therfore) much like the Halciō dares, when the Haltion birdes do hatche & bring forth their yong ones, voide of al stormy tēpestes. For so hath God ben accu­stomed to deale with his Churche, namely to nourish the mēbers ther­of, during their infancie, in a wōderful calme and quietnes, till they be growen vp into perfect men: able to receiue strong meates, and thā doth he alter their diet, from swetenes to towernes, from pleasure to paine. & from quietnes to aduersitie. Suche was the securitie & quietnes of the church of God,Gene. vi. while the Arke was in building, in the daies of Noe: but [Page] immediatelye after, there folowed such a tempest, as ouerwhelmed the whole race of the earth.ii. Para. v Suche was also the quietnes amongst the Isra­elites, while the temple was in buil­dyng, in the dayes of Salomon: but immediatelye after, there folowed suche a diuision, as subuerted the whole lād. Such also was the calmenes and quietnes of the church, du­ring the presence of Christe, in the fleshe: in so much that his disciples wanted no maner of thing,Math. ix. neyther could thei mone or wepe, while the bridgrom was with thē, but after he was ascēded, their plēti war turned into scarciti, & their mirth into mutning. Suche hath bene the calmenes of other realmes, wheras the gospel frō time to time hath ben preached, as Germani. & other places, & namely of this realme of Englande, that a greater hath not bene heard of, nor knowē: wherin no enemi durst apear without rebuke, to hinder our forti­ficaciō in the same. Wherfore let vs not now meruel, nor yet be abashed if our heauenlye father deale wyth vs his chyldren, as he hathe dealte [Page] with our predecessoures, from the beginning: That is, after a calme, to stirre vp a tempest, after quietnesse, trouble: and after securitie, & ease, trauaile and paine, to trye our buil­ding withal,Math. vii whether it be situated vpon the rocke Christ, in the puritie of his gospel, through perfect faith and godly life, to remain euermore: or els vpō the sand of the vanitie of this world, in the decres, cōstitutiōs and pleasures of men, through hy­pocrisie, forth with to be ouerthro­wen. Fot as S. Paule saieth: a tyme wyl come,i. Cor. iii. wherin the fire of tribu­lation, shal try eueri mans building, whether he haue buylded gold, sil­uer, or precious stone: eyther straw, haye, or timber. And me thinke bre­thren, I se the same time appeare, as it were Helias his cloude, rising out of the sea,iii. Regu. xviii, being as yet no bigger thā an hand: but forthwith I feare me, it wil spread ouer al this land. wher fore with the prophet, let vs gird vp our loines, and runne in tyme to our tower, before the storme descende: and therin, if the same be buylded vpon the rocke Christ, we shall not [Page] only find consolation, but also pre­seruation. And for this purpose,ii. Tim. ii. we ar called in the scriptures wariours, and souldiours. wherfore now that the battaile approcheth, wherwith the enemies purposeth to beseage our fortresse: let vs not as Cowards waxe faint harted, running awai before the blowes, but rather as men, tepleate with an inuincible courage and boldnes, let vs stand to our tak­ling, in holding fast the ploughe of our profession, whereunto we haue put to handes: & thus not in confy­dence of our own strength, which is nothing, but in the force & strength of our captaine, vnder whose ban­ner we haue promised to fight, whiche was neuer ouercome, beaten downe, not put to flight: but by suf­fering hath subdued al his enemies, and by a crosse, vanquished his ad­uersaries. And as he our head, hath gone before, the straight pathe, and narrow way vnto eternall lyfe: euen so must we his members folowe the same race, if we wil in herit his kingdome. And for this purpose, saieth S. Paule,Rom. viii are we facioned vnto the [Page] shape of the sonne of God, not only to raigne with him in glory, but also to suffer with him in miserie. For as he saith in another place: Yf we die with him,li. Tim. ii. we shal also liue with him if we be patiēt, we shal also raigne with him. But if we shal deni hi, he shal also deni vs. For the afflicciōs of this life, ar not compatable to the glori of the life to come. This is the only wai brethren, that the church of god obtaineth victorie bi, not as worldli princes do bi subduing, but bi suffering: not bi drawing out the swerd with Peter, but bi hauing our heads striken of with the same: not bi imprisoning, & binding of other, but bi being imprisoned & boūd one selues. For as Christes kingdom was not of this world, as he himself wit­nesseth, no more is out force, strēgth & inheritance here. For our porcion in this life, is but as shepe apointed to the slaughter, & as pilgrims, tra­ueling through mani tribulaciōs, ne­cessities & miseris,Psa. xliiii i. Pete. ii. towards the land of promise, being compassed about with enemies on eueri side. But thei with al their malice, shal not anoye vs, nor yet hinder our iourney, if we [Page] cōtinue faithfull, but rather further the same. Yea, the lord wil neuer forsake vs, but bi day go before vs, in a cloude. & by night in a piller of fire. And although Moses for our vnworthines be taken frō vs:Exo. xiiii yet will the Lord stir vp a Iosuah, to lead vs in­to our inhentaunce, in throwing out our enemyes before our faces. Here is set furth (brethren) the tragedi of our liues. Let vs be contented with­al, & aboue al thinges, let vs auoy de murmutatiōs against the higher po­wers, who are Gods instruments, to worke his will: whether it be life, or death, good or euil, least we perishe with the rebellious Israelites in the desert. Furthermore,Nu. xiiii. and .xvi. if we do depe­li cōsider the great vtilitie that the crosse brīgeth to the church of god, we haue rather occasiō to wish for it, & to reioyce whē it cōmeth, thē to repine & murmur. For bi it our foūdaciō is tried, our faith confirmed, our knowledge encreased, cōtinuāce in praier exercised, being frō the wic­ked & hipocrites separated, wherby the drosse & corruption of our life is beatē of, as the rust of irō with a hā ­mer. [Page] For if we lye still as rustye yronne, & be not brought vnder the hāmer of aduersiti, we consume away, and serue to no vse. For gold is not puri­fied, but by fyre. wherfore if we de­sire to be pure, let vs not thē despise that fyre, wherby we at made pure. For hitherto we haue experienced a christian life, as Children practise the feates of warre, by sygnes and shewes without any bloudy battail, in triumphing before the victori: but victorye is not optained wyth losse and daunger. Christ our heade, lost his humayne lyfe, to optaine victo­rye for vs, and to triumph ouer oure ennemies: and do we thincke to op­taine the same, by sytting in securiti and ease at home in our houses? passing our tyme in pleasures, ease and ioye, with our wyues, children and frendes, enuironed with our ryches, lands, and possessions, without cō ­ming to the battail without hasar­ding our lyues. without for sakyng our countryes, without passyng the seas? No truli. For as S. Paule saith. no mā that warreth;ii. Tim. ii entangleth him selfe with worldly busines, & that [Page] he maye the better please him, that hath chosen him to be a souldiour.

Now brethren, if ther be a battail towards, as we suppose, let vs shew our selues worthy souldiours, con­sidering the worthines of our Cap­taine, whom we serue, who did not let to abandō his incomparable glorye, and to clothe him self with our miserable humanitie, for our com­modities: therin optaining victory, not for him, but for vs. So likewise, let ther be no worldli thing so dear vnto vs, as may once retorte, or strai vs, from faithful seruing of our lord and prince, whose seruauntes we ar by profession (and I trust by elecci­on) without any mutacion,Rom. viii continu­ing in probation, the ende whereof is glorificacion. VVhat is he bre­thren, that would not be contented to haue the seede of tribulation so­wen in hys lyfe, when it bryngeth furth such plentye of good fruite, as pacience, experience, & hope which shall neuer be confounded. These are the vtilities, profites and com­modities, that aduersitie bryngeth to the church of God, with a greate [Page] deale more, which I am not able to recyte, for wāt of experience, in that behalfe. wherfore let vs not despice the crosse, when it cōmeth, considering the benefites therof: but rather obey the councell of the wise man, wher he saith:Eccle. ii. My sōne, if thou wilt come into the seruice of God, stand fast in righteousnes, & fear, & arme thi selfe to suffer temtaciō. Settle thine hart, & be pacient, & shrincke not awaye, when thou art entised. Read for your cōsolation the hole chapter, for therin is briefly descri­bed, what ought to be the life of a Christian, & wherunto he must pre­pare himselfe, euen to the crosse of tribulation, as to the only souerigne medicine to cure al our festered dis­eases. On the other syde brethren, for our farther cōfort, in the dayes of our trouble, let vs often cal to re­membraūce, not onely the great lo­uing kindnes of our euerlasting god & father, wherwith he hath alwaies loued vs: but also his omnipotencie, & mighti hād, wherbi he onli ruleth & gouerneth al his creatures, euerie where: So that nothing is, or can be [Page] don against his prouidence, purpose & will. For all thing serue him at a becke,Esaye. xxxiiii. yea he putteth a bridel in the mouth of tirants, so that although they pretende to make a long race, yet doth he stop them sodenly, as it apeareth by Senacherib, when he purposed to destroy Hierusalem in the time of king Ezechias. For the wicked & the vngodly, are nothing els, but the instruments of god, wher by he worketh his pleasure: As wit­nesseth the prophet Esaias,Esaye. x. calling them Axes, Sawes, Rods, & Staues which can procede no further, then it pleaseth their owner to vse them to his glory. Sathan could not mo­lest Iob, til he had licence, no.Iob. i. ii. The deuil could not so much,Mat. viii. as enter in­to the poore Hog, without the com­maundement of Christe. And shall then his wicked members, anoye & hurt vs, the children of god, without the leaue and licence of our father? No truly. wherefore let vs comfort our selues, for we ar dear vnto him, [...]acha. ii. Math. x. as the Apple of his eye. The heares of oure headdes are nombred, and the race of our lyfe is lymyted. [Page] So that, yf all the world wolde cō ­spire, to abbridge the same, they shall not be able, til our hour come. And when it cometh, it is the finall ende of all oure sorowe, miserie, calamitie, & payne: and the begyn­ning of all oure ioyes, felicities, and pleasures. For duryng the time of this lyfe, Christe promiseth vs no­thing,Iohn. xv. and .xvi. but afflictiōs, sorow, & wee­ping: But he biddeth vs be of good cheare, sayīg, that oure sorow shall be turned into Ioye: what nede we fear,Mark. iiii Luk. viii. as long as we haue Christ with vs in oure bote? although stormes & tēpestes do arise able to ouerwhel­me vs? And if he, during the calme time, do fal a sleape in oure heartes. by ouer greate securitie, and confy­dence in oure owne strength, yet in the time of oure aduersitye, yf we ernestly call vpon him, he wil suerly awake, and helpe vs: not only in re­buking the windes, and sees our en­nimies, but also bringing vs to a qui­et harboure, euen the kingdome of his father, purchased for vs thorou­gh hys bloudde.

And thus I ende, beeyng bolde to [Page] touble you with this my long letter, wherin are contayned many words, but fewe sentences: But as it is, take it in woorthe, and according to my rudenes, I haue supplyed youre ho­nest request, in perfourming my pro­mise. And where there is no better, be content to accepte a lyttle water from the handes of your frende, to quenche your thurst wyth al, instede of good wyne.

The Lorde blesse you, prosper and encrease you in knowledge, wis­dome and vnderstanding, preseruyng you fayth­ful vnto the end. Amen.

The spirite of Christ be with you and comfort you al, to his glorye. Amen.