AN EXTEMPORE SERMON Preached at the Request of two Scholars (by a Lover of ALE) out of a Hollow Tree.

Beloved,

LET me Crave your Attention; for I am a little Man, come at a short Warning, to Preach a brief Sermon, upon a small Subject, to a thin Congregation, in an unworthy Pulpit.

And now Beloved my Text is MALT.

Which I cannot divide into Sentences because it is none; nor into Words, it being but one; nor into Syllables, because (upon the whole Matter) it is but a Monosyllable; therefore I must (as necessity enforces me) divide it into Let­ters; which I find in my Text, to be only these four, MALT, Malt,
M (My Beloved,) is Moral.
A is Allegorical.
L is Literal, and
T is Theological.

The Moral is well set forth to teach you Drunkards good Manners, Wherefore,
M My Masters,
A All of you,
L Listen,
T To my Text.

The Allegorical is, when one thing is spoken of, and another thing is meant. Now the thing spoken of is bare MALT, but the thing meant is strong Beer, which you Rusticks make
M Meat,
A Apparel,
L Liberty, &
T Treasure.

The Literal is according to the Letter;
M Much,
A Ale,
L Little,
T Thrift.

Much Ale, Little Thrift.

The Theological is according to the Effects which it works; which I find in my Text, to be of two kinds, 1. In this World; 2. in the World to come, In this World the Effects which it works are, In some, M, Murder, In others, A, Adultery,
In some, L, Loosness of Life; In others, T, Treason.

In the World to come.
In some, M, Misery, In others, A, Anguish,
In some, L, Languishing, In others, T, Torment.

Wherefore my first Use shall be Exhortation.
M, My Masters, A, All of you,
L, Leave, T, Tipling.

Or else, Secondly by way of Commination I say,
M, my Masters, A, All of you,
L, Look for, T. Torment.

So much for this Time and Text, only by way of Caution, take this, a Drunk­ard is an Annoyance of Modesty, the trouble of Civility, the spoyl of Wealth, the Destruction of Reason, the Brewers Agent, the Ale-Houses Benefactor, the Beggars Companion, the Constables Trouble, his Wives Woe, his Childrens Sorrow, his Neighbours Scoff, his own Shame, a Waking-swill-tub, the Picture of a Beast, and the Monster of a man.

Say[?] well and Doe well end both with a Letter, ⟨June [...] : 1680⟩

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this EEBO-TCP Phase II text, in whole or in part.