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HOM. XV. decked their own houses so gorgeously, and despised the house of God their Lord. It is sin and shame to see so many churches so ruinous, and so foully decayed, almost in every corner. If a man's private house, wherein he dwelleth, be decayed, he will never cease till it be restored up again. Yea, if his barn, where he keepeth his corn, be out of reparations, what diligence useth he to make it in perfect state again! If his stable for his horse, yea, the sty for his swine, be not able to hold out water and wind, how careful is he to do cost thereon! And shall we be so mindful of our common base houses, deputed to so vile employment, and be forgetful towards the house of God; wherein be treated the words for our eternal salvation, wherein be ministered the sacraments and mysteries of our redemption? The fountain of our regeneration is there presented unto us; the partaking of the body and blood of our Saviour Christ is there offered unto us; and shall we not esteem the place where so heavenly things are handled? Wherefore, if ye have any reverence to the service of God, if ye have any common honesty, if ye have any conscience in keeping of necessary and godly ordinances, keep your churches in good repair; whereby ye shall not only please God and deserve his manifold blessings, but also deserve the good report of all godly people.

The second point, which appertaineth to the maintenance of God's house, is to have it well adorned, and comely and clean kept; which things may be the more easily performed, when the church is well repaired. For like as men are well refreshed and comforted, when they find their houses having all things in good order, and all corners clean and sweet; so when God's house, the church, is well adorned, with places convenient to sit in, with the pulpit for the Preacher, with the Lord's table for the ministration of his holy supper, with the font to christen in, and also is kept clean, comely, and sweetly, the people are more desirous and the more comforted to resort thither, and to

tarry there the whole time appointed them. With нOм. XV. what earnestness, with what vehement zeal, did our Saviour Christ drive the buyers and sellers out Matt. xxi. of the temple of God, and hurled down the tables of the changers of money, and the seats of the dovesellers, and could not abide that any man should carry a vessel through the temple! He told them, that they had made his Father's house a den of thieves; partly through their superstition, hypocrisy, false worship, false doctrine, and insatiable covetousness; and partly through contempt, abusing that place with walking and talking, with worldly matters, without all fear of God, and due reverence to that place. What dens of thieves the churches of England have been made by the blasphemous buying and selling the most precious body and blood of Christ in the Mass -as the world was made to believe at Diriges, at Months' Minds, at Trentalls, in Abbeys and Chantries, beside other horrible abuses-God's holy name be blessed for ever-we now see and understand. All these abominations, they that supply the room of Christ, have cleansed and purged the churches of England of; taking away all such fulsomeness and filthiness as through blind devotion and ignorance hath crept into the church these many hundred years. Wherefore, O ye good Christian people, ye dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, ye that glory not in worldly and vain religion, in fantastical adorning and decking, but rejoice in heart to see the glory of God truly set forth, and the churches restored to their ancient and godly use, render your most hearty thanks to the goodness of Almighty God, who hath in our days stirred up the hearts, not only of his godly Preachers and Ministers, but also of his faithful and Most Christian Magistrates and Governors, to bring such godly things to pass.

And forasmuch as your churches are scoured and swept from the sinful and superstitious filthiness, wherewith they were defiled and disfigured, do ye your parts, good people, to keep your churches comely and clean; suffer them not to be defiled

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HOM. XV. with rain and weather, with dung of doves and owls, stares and choughs, and other filthiness, as it is foul and lamentable to behold in many places of this country. It is the house of prayer, not the house of talking, of walking, of brawling, of minstrelsy, of hawks, and dogs. Provoke not the displeasure and plagues of God, for despising and abusing his holy house, as the wicked Jews did. But have God in your heart; be obedient to his blessed will; bind yourselves, every man and woman to your power, toward the reparations and clean keeping of the church, to the intent that ye may be partakers of God's manifold blessings, and that ye may be the better encouraged to resort to your parish-church, there to learn your duty towards God and your neighbour, there to be present and partakers of Christ's holy Sacraments, there to render thanks to your heavenly Father for the manifold benefits which he daily poureth upon you, there to pray together, and to call upon God's holy name; which be blessed world without end. Amen.

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THE life which we live in this world, good Chris- HOM. XVI. tian people, is of the free benefit of God lent us; yet not to use it at our pleasure, after our own fleshly will, but to trade over the same in those works which are beseeming them, that are become new creatures in Christ. These works the Apostle calleth good works, saying, We are God's workman- Eph. ii. ship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk in them.

And yet his meaning is not by these words to induce us to have any affiance, or to put any confidence, in our works, as by the merit and deserving of them to purchase to ourselves and others remission of sin, and so consequently everlasting life; for that were mere blasphemy against God's mercy, and great derogation to the blood-shedding of our Saviour Jesus Christ. For it is of the free grace and mercy of God, by the mediation of the blood of his Son Jesus Christ, without merit or deserving on

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HOM. XVI. Our part, that our sins are forgiven us, that we are reconciled and brought again into his favour, and are made heirs of his heavenly kingdom. Grace, saith St. Augustine, belongeth to God, who doth call us; and then hath he good works, whosoever receiveth grace. Good works then bring not forth grace, but are brought forth by grace. The wheel, saith he, turneth round, not to the end. that it may be made round; but, because it is first made round, therefore it turneth round. So no man doth good works, to receive grace by his good works; but, because he hath first received grace, therefore conseAug. de Fide. quently be doth good works. And in another place et Operibus. he saith, Good works go not before in him which

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shall afterward be justified; but good works do follow after, when a man is first justified. St. Paul therefore teacheth, that we must do good works for divers respects: First, to shew ourselves obedient children unto our heavenly Father, who hath or dained them, that we should walk in them: Secondly, for that they are good declarations and testimonies of our Justification: Thirdly, that others, seeing our good works, may the rather by them be stirred up and excited to glorify our Father which

is in heaven.

Let us not therefore be slack to do good works, seeing it is the will of God that we should walk in them; assuring ourselves that at the last day every man shall receive of God, for his labour done in true faith, a greater reward than his works have deserved.

And because somewhat shall now be spoken of one particular good work, whose commendation is both in the Law and in the Gospel, thus much is said in the beginning generally of all good works? First, to remove out of the way of the simple and unlearned this dangerous stumbling-block, that any man should go about to purchase or buy heaven with his works: Secondly, to take away, so much as may be, from envious minds and slanderous tongues, all just occasion of slanderous speaking, as though good works were rejected.

This good work, which now shall be treated of,

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