The Preaching Bishop Reproving, Part 5
Part of the Third Sermon of Mr. Hugh Latimer, preached before King Edward.
A Preacher hath two Offices. 1 To Teach true Doctrine; 2 To confute Gainsayers.—
VVhy you will say, will any body gainsay true Doctrine?—
VVas there ever yet Preachers, but there were Gainsayers.—
Ieremy was the Minister of the true VVord of God.—
Elias had Baals Priests supported by Iezebel, to speak against him.—
Iohn Baptist, and our Saviour Christ.—
The Apostles had Gainsayers, Acts 28. 22. This Sect is every where spoken against.—
In the Popish Masse time there was no gainsaying.—
So long as we had in adoration, the Popish Masse we were then without gainsaying.—
VVhen Sathan the Devil hath the guiding of the House he keepeth all in peace.—
VVhen he hath the Religion in possession, he stirreth up no sedition, I warrant you.
How many dissentions have we heard of in Turky,—look whether ye hear of any Heresies among the Jews.—
And if ever concord should have been in Religion, when should it have been, but when Christ was here? Ye find fault with Preachers, and say, they cause sedition:Note. VVe are noted to be rash, and indiscreet in our preaching: yet as discreet as Christ was, there was diversity.—
There was never Prophet to be compared to him, and yet there was never more dissention, then when he was, and preached himself.—
This day I must do somewhat in the second Office.—
But first, I will make a short rehearsall to put you in memory.—
The peevish people in this Realm, have nothing but the King, the King in their mouths, when it maketh for their purpose. As there was a Doctor that preached, the Kings Majesty hath his Holy water, he creepeth to the Cross; and then they have nothing but the King, the King in their mouths. These be they my good people that must have their mouths stopt: but if a man tell them of the Kings proceedings, now they have their shifts and their put ofts, saying we may not go before a Law: we may break no order. These be the wicked Preachers, their mouths must be stopt, these be the gainsayers.—
Now to my confutation.
There is a certain man that shortly after my first Sermon, being ask't, if he had been at the Sermon that day? Answered, yea. I pray you said he, how liked you him? Marry, said he, as I liked him alwayes, a seditious Fellow Oh Lord, he pinched me there indeed nay,Note. he rather had a full bit at me Yet I comfort my self with that, that Christ was noted to be a Stirrer up of the People.—
It becometh me to take it in good part, I am not better then He was. In the Kings dayes that dead is, a many of us were called together before him, to say our minds in certain matters. In the end, one kneeled me down, and accused me of sedition, that I had preached seditious Doctrine. A heavy salutation, and a hard point of such a mans doing, as if I should name him, ye would not think it. The King turned to me, and said, what say you to that Sir? Then I kneeled down, and turned me first to mine accuser, and required him; Sir, what form of preaching would you appoint me to preach before a King; would you have me to preach nothing,Note. as concerning a King in the Kings Sermon? have you any Commission to appoint me what I shall preach? Besides this, I asked him divers other questions, and he would make no answer. Then I turned me to the King, and submitted my self to his Grace, and said I never thought my self worthy, nor ever sued to be a Preacher before your Grace, but I was called to it, and would be willing (if you mislike me) to give place to my betters. For I grant there be a great many more worthy of the Room then I am; and if it be your Graces pleasure so to allow them for Preachers, I could be content to bear their books after them.
But if your Grace allow me for a Preacher, I would desire your Grace to give me leave to discharge my conscience.Note. Give me leave to frame my Doctrine according to my Audience, I had been a very dolt to have preached so at the borders of your Realm, as I preached before your Grace. And I thank Almighty God, which hath alwayes been my Remedy, that my sayings were well accepted of the King, for like a gracious Lord he turned into another communication: it is even as the Scripture saith: Cor Regis in manu Domini, the Lord directeth the Kings ….
Certain of my Friends came to me with tears in their Eyes, and told me they looked I should have been in the Tower the same night.
Thus I have been ever more burdened with the word of sedition.
I have offended God grievously,Note. transgressing his Law, and but for this remedy and his mercy,Confession of sin. I would not look to be saved.
As for sedition, for ought that I know, methinks, I should not need Christ, if I might say so. But if I be clear in any thing, I am clear in this, so far as I know mine own heart, there is no man farther from sedition then I; which I have declared in all my doings, and yet it hath been ever laid to me.Note.
Another, when I gave over mine Office, I should have received a pentecostal, it came to the summe of fifty and five pound, I set my Commissary to gather it, but he could not be suffer'd, for it was said a sedition would rise upon it.
Thus they burdened me ever with sedition.
So this Gentleman, cometh up now with sedition: and wot ye what? I chanced in my last Sermon to speak a merry word of the new shilling (to refresh my Auditory) how I was like to put away my new shilling for an old groat, I was herein noted to speak seditiously—When I was in trouble, it was objected to me that I was singular, that I took a way contrary to all. Marry Sir, this was sore thunderbolts, I thought it was possible it might not be true he told me.—
I have gotten one Fellow a Companion of sedition; and wot you who is my Fellow? Esai the Prophet. I spake but of a little pretty shilling, but he speaketh to Ierusalem after another sort, Esai. 1. 21, 22, 23. and was so bold to meddle with their coin.—
Ah seditious wretch, what had he to do with the mint.—
Was not this a seditious Harlot, to tell them this to their beards? to their face.—
I am content to bear the title of sedition with Esai. Thanks be to God I am not alone.—
In the latter end of my Sermon, I rehearsed a parable of a wicked Judge.
Belike good Judges were rare at that time; and trow ye, the Devil hath been asleep ever since? No, no,—
The common manner of wicked Judge, is neither to fear God or Man. He considereth what a man he is, and therefore careth not for man; He seemeth to be in a protection t well shall he escape? Ho, ho, Est Deus in coelo. There is a God in Heaven, He accepteth no persons, He will punish them.—
Cambises was a great Emperour, such another as our Master is—
It chanced, he had under him in one of his Dominions, a Briber, a Gifttaker, a Gratifier of rich men, a Handmaker in his Office, to make his Son a great man (as the old saying is, Happy is the Child whose Father goeth to the Devil) the cry of the poor Widdow came to the Emperours ear, which caused him to slay the Iudge quick, and laid his skin in the Chair of judgment, that all Iudges that should give judgment afterwards should sit in the same skin.
Surely it was a goodly Sign, a goodly Monument, the Sign of the Judges Skin; I pray God we may once see the Sign of the Skin in England.—I do it charitably, for the love I bear to my Country. God saith, Ego visitabo. I will visit. God hath two Visitations: the first is, when he revealed his Word by Preachers, and where the first is accepted, the second cometh not; the second Visitation is Vengeance. He went to Visitation, when he brought the Judges skin over his ears.—
Germany was visited twenty years with Gods Word, but they did not earnestly embrace it, and in life follow it, but made a mingle mangle and a hotch potch of it.
I cannot tell what, partly Popery, partly true Religion mingled together.
They say in my Country when they call their Hogs to the Swine-trough, come to thy mingle mangle, compyr, compyr; even so they made mingle mangle of it; they could clatter and prate of the Gospel, but when all cometh to all,Note. they joyned Popery so with it, that they marred all together.
We have now a first Visitation in England; let us beware of a second. We have the Ministration of his word, we are yet well; but the House is not clean swept yet.Note. God hath sent us a Noble King in this his Visitation, let us beware, let us not be unthankful and unkind, let us beware of by-walking and contemning of Gods Word.—