;

have enough: they will have no good exercise, but gape, and think God will fend meat into their mouths; and these are far wide: they must work: he bad the fishers work. Our Saviour Chrift bid Peter work and he that faid fo to them, faith the fame to us, every man in his art. "The bleffing of God makes "a man rich. He lets his fun fhine upon the wicked "as well as the good; he fends riches both to good " and bad." But this bleffing turneth to them into malediction, and a curfe, it increaseth their damnation. St Paul, writing to the Theffalonians, did put an order how every man fhould work in his vocation, as though he had faid, "When I was among 66 you, I made this ordinance, that whofoever would "not do the work of his vocation, fhould have no "meat." It was a good ordinance in a commonwealth, that every man should be set to work, every man in his vocation. Let him have no meat:" Now he faith furthermore. "I hear fay, there be "fome among you that live inordinately." What is that word inordinately? Idly, giving themselves to no occupation for their living. Curious men, given to curiofity, to fearching what other men do. St Paul faith, he heard fay," he could not tell whether it were fo or no. But he took occafion of hearing fay, to fet out a good and wholesome doctrine; "We command, and defire you for the re"verence of God, if there be any fuch, that they

will do the works of their vocation, and go quick"ly to their occupation, and so eat their own bread:" elfe it is not their own, it is other mens meat. Our Saviour Chrift, before he began his preaching, lived of his occupation, he was a Carpenter, and got his living with great labour.

Therefore let no man difdain, or think scorn to follow him, in a mean living, a mean vocation, or a common calling and occupation. For as he bleffed our nature with taking upon him the fhape,

of

arts.

of man, fo in his doing he blessed all occupations and This is a notable example to fignify, that he abhors all idleness. When he was a Carpenter, then he went and did the work of his calling; and when he was a Preacher, he did the work of that calling. He was no unpreaching Prelate. The Bishop of Rome fhould have learned that of him. And thefe gainers with falfe arts, what be they? They are never content with that they have, though it be -never fo much. And they that are true dealers, are fatisfied with what God fends, though it be never .fo little. "Godliness is great gain, it is lucre "enough to be content with that, that God fend"eth." The faithful cannot lack, the unfaithful is ever lacking, though he have never fo much.

I will now make an end. Let us all labour. Christ teacheth us to labour, yea, the Bishop of Rome himself, he teacheth him to labour, rather than to be head of the Church. Let us put our truft in God, "Caft thy care upon the Lord, and "he will nourish thee and feed thee." Again, the Prophet David faith, "I never faw the righ"teous man forfaken, nor his feed to feek his "bread." It is infidelity, that mars all toge

ther.

Well, to my text: "Becaufe thou eateft the "labours of thy hands, that God fendeth thee "of thy labour." Every man muft labour, yea, though he be a King, yet he muft labour: for I know no man hath a greater labour than a King. What is his labour? to ftudy God's book, to fee that there be no unpreaching Prelates in his realm, nor bribing Judges; to fee to all his ef tates; to provide for the poor; to fee victuals be good and cheap. Is not this a labour think ye? Thus if thou doft labour, exercifing the works of thy vocation, thou eatest the meat that God fends thee; and then follows, "Thou art a "bleffed man in God's favour," and it fhall go

"well

well with thee in this world, both in body and foul, for God provideth for both. How fhalt thou provide for thy foul? Go hear Sermons. How for the body? Labour in thy vocation, and then fhall it be well with thee, both here and in the world to come, through the faith and merits of our Saviour Jefus Chrift: to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, be praised for ever and ever, world without end.

Amen.

SERMON

Dd

N° 9.

SERMON XI.

By the Reverend Father in Chrift Mafter HUGH LATIMER Bishop of Worcester.

Ecing the feventh Sermon Preached before King Edward VI. April the nineteenth.

ROMANS xv. 4.

All things that are written, they are written to be our doctrine.

Y occafion of this text, moft honourable audience, I have walked this * Lent in the broad field of fcripture, and used my liberty, and intreated of fuch matters as I thought meet for this auditory. I have had to do with many estates, even with the higheft of all. I have intreated of the duty of Kings, of the duty of Magiftrates and Judges, of the duty of Prelates; and allowing that that is good, and difallowing the contrary. I have

taught

Where

*Pope Evariftus, towards the conclufion of the fecond century after the birth of Chrift, firft inftituted this folemn feafon, in commemoration of Chrift's temptation in the wildernefs, where our Lord fafted forty days and forty nights, Matt. iv. 1, 2. fore the chriftian church doth observe it as a fet time of fafting and abftinence for forty days before Eafter. It did not obtain in England till the time of Ercombert, the feventh King of Kent, in the year 662.

taught, that we are all finners: I think there is none of us all, neither preacher nor hearer; but we may be amended, and redrefs our lives: We may all say, all the pack of us, "We have offended and finned " with our forefathers," there is none of us all, but have in fundry things grievously offended almighty God. I here intreated of many faults, and rebuked many kinds of fins. I intend to day by God's grace to fhew you the remedy of fin. We be in the place of repentance, now is the time to call for mercy, whilft we be in this world: we be all finners, even the best of us all. Therefore it is good to hear the remedy of fin.

This day is commonly called Good-friday, although every day ought to be with us Good-friday, yet this day we are accustomed efpecially to have a commemoration and remembrance of the paffion of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. This day we have in memory his bitter paffion and death, the remedy of our fin. Therefore I intend to intreat of a piece of the story of his paffion, I am not able to intreat of all. That I may do this the better, and that it may be to the honour of God, and the edification of your fouls, and mine both, I fhall defire you to pray, &c. In this prayer I will defire you to remember the fouls departed, with lauds and praise to almighty God, that he did vouchfafe to affift them at the hour of their death: In fo doing you fhall be put in remembrance to pray for yourselves, that it may please God to affift and comfort you in the agonies and pains of death.

The place that I will intreat of, is the twenty fixth chapter of St Matthew. Howbeit, as I intreat of it, I will borrow part of St Mark, and St Luke: for Dd 2

they

Mafter Latimer here conforms as near as poffible to the old Romish fuperftition, of praying for and to departed fouls.