Wisd. 7.

Isa. 40.

Job 14.

Gen. 6.

Gen. 7.

Jer. 22.

thereby they might declare to the whole world, what an
humble and lowly estimation they had of themselves, and
how well they remembered their name and title aforesaid,
their vile, corrupt, frail nature, dust, earth, and ashes.
The book of Wisdom also, willing to pull down our proud
stomachs, moveth us diligently to remember our mortal
and earthly generation, which we have all of him that was
first made: and that all men, as well kings as subjects,
come into this world, and go out of the same, in like sort:
that is, as of ourselves, full miserable, as we may daily
see. And Almighty God commanded his prophet Esay
to make a proclamation, and cry to the whole world: and
Esay asking, What shall I cry? the Lord answered, Cry,
that all flesh is grass, and that all the glory thereofa is but
as the flower of the field: when the grass is withered, the
flower falleth away, when the wind of the Lord bloweth
upon it. The people surely is grass, the which drieth up,
and the flower fadeth away. And the holy man b Job, hav-
ing in himself great experience of the miserable and sinful
estate of man, doth open the same to the world in these
words: Man, saith he, that is born of a woman, living but
a short time, is full of manifold miseries: he springeth up
like a flower, and fadeth again; vanisheth away as it were
a shadow, and never continueth in one state. And dost thou
judge it meet, O Lord, to open thine eyes upon such a one,
and to bring him to judgment with thee? Who can make
him clean, that is conceived of an unclean seed? And all
men of their evilness, and natural proneness, bed so uni-
versally given to sin, that, as the scripture saith, God re-
pented that ever he made man. And by sin his indignation
was so much provoked against the world, that he drowned
all the world with Noe's flood, except Noe himself, and
his little household. It is not without great cause that
the scripture of God doth so many times call all men here
in this world by this word, earth: O thou earth, earth,
earth, saith Jeremy, hear the word of the Lord. This
our right name, calling, and title, earth, earth, earth, pro-
nounced by the prophet, sheweth what we be indeed, by
whatsoever other style, title, or dignity, men do call us.
Thus he plainly named us, who knoweth best, both what
we be, and what we ought of right to be called. And
thus he setteth us forth, speaking by his faithful apostle

a

glory thereof] glory of man thereof A. B.

bman] prophet A. B. C.

vanisheth] vanishing A. B. C.

B.

с

d be] were A.

calling] vocation A. B.

f setteth us forth] describeth us A.

St. Paul: All men, Jews and Gentiles, are under sin: there Rom. 3. is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God: they are all gone out of the way, they are all unprofitable; there is none that doth good, no not one: Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used craft and deceit, the poison of serpents is under their lips, their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and wretchedness are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God be fore their eyes. And in another place St. Paul writeth Rom. 11. thus, God hath wrapped all nations in unbelief, that he might have mercy on all. The scripture shutteth upa all Gal. 3. under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ should be given unto them that believe. St. Paul in many places painteth us out in our colours, calling us the chil- Ephes. 2. dren of the wrath of God, when we be born: saying also, that we cannot think a good thought of ourselves, much less can we say b well, or do well of ourselves. And the wise. man saith in the book of Proverbs, The just man falleth Prov. 24. seven times a day. The most tried and approved man Job feared all his works. St. John the Baptist being sanctified Luke 1. in his mother's womb, and praised before he was born, being called an angel, and great before the Lord, filledd even from his birth with the Holy Ghost, the preparer of the way for our saviour Christ, and commended of our saviour Christ to be more than a prophet, and the greatest that ever was born of a woman: yet he plainly granteth, that he had need to be washed of Christ: he worthily extolleth and glorifieth his lord and master Christ, and Matth. 3. humbleth himself as unworthy to unbuckle his shoes, and giveth all honour and glory to God. So doth St. Paul both oft and evidently confess himself, that he was of himself, ever giving (as a most faithful servant) all praise to his master and saviour. So doth blessed St. John the evangelist, in the name of himself, and of all other holy men, (be they never so just,) make this open confession: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth 1 John 1. is not in us: if we acknowledge our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Wherefore the wise that he was] what he was A. B.

b

shutteth up] concludeth A. B.

can we say] we can say A.

being called] called A.

filled] replenishedA. B.

C.

f acknowledge] knowledge A. B. C.
s to forgive us] to forgive D.

Eccles. 7.
Psalm 51.

man, in the book called Ecclesiastes, maketh this true and general confession, There is not one just man upon the earth, that doth good, and sinneth not. And Davida is ashamed of his sin, but not to confess his sin. How oft, how earnestly, and lamentably doth he desire God's great mercy for his great offences, and that God should not Psalm 143. enter into judgment with him? And again, how well weigheth this holy man his sins, when he confesseth, that they be so many in number, and so hid, and hard to understand, that it is in a manner b unpossible to know, utter, or Psalm 19. number them? Wherefore, he having a true, earnest, and deep contemplation and consideration of his sins, and yet not coming to the bottom of them, he maketh supplication to God to forgive him his privy, secret, hid sins: to the knowledge of which ched cannot attain unto. He weigheth rightly his sins from the original root and spring-head, perceiving inclinations, provocations, stirrings, stingings, buds, branches, dregs, infections, tastes, feelings, and scents of them to continue in him still. Wherefore he Psalm 51. saith, Mark, and behold, I was conceived in sins: he saith not sin, but in the plural number, sins, forasmuch as out of one, as a fountain, springeth all the rest. Our saviourf Christ saith, There is none good but God: and that we can Luke 18. do nothing that is good without him, nor no man can come to the Father but by him. He commandeth us also g to say, that we be unprofitable servants, when we have done all that we can do. He preferreth the penitent publican before the proud, holy, and glorious Pharisee. He calleth himself a physician, but not to them that be whole, but to them that be sick, and have need of his salve for their sore. He teacheth us in our prayers to reknowledge ourselves sinners, and to ask righteousnessh, and deliverance from all evils, at our heavenly Father's hand. He declareth that the sins of our own hearts do defile our own selves. He teacheth that an evil word or thought deserveth condemnation, affirming, that we shall give account for every idle word. He saith, He came not to save, but the sheep that were utterly lost and cast away. Therefore few of the proud, just, learned, wise, perfect, and holy Pharisees were saved by him, because they justified themselves by

Mark 10.

John 14.

Luke 17.

Luke 18.
Matt. 9.

Matt. 12.
Matt. 15.

David] saint David A. B. C.

b in a manner] in manner A. B. C.
e of which] of the which A. B. C.
d he] we D.

as a fountain] as fountain A. B. C.
f Our saviour] And our saviour A.

B.

s also] all A. B. C.

h righteousness] forgiveness A.
i give account] give an account A.

B. C.

their counterfeit holiness before men. Wherefore, good people, let us beware of such hypocrisy, vain-glory, and justifying of ourselves.a

The Second Part of the Sermon of the Misery of
Man.

FORASMUCH as the true knowledge of ourselves is
very necessary to come to the right knowledge of God;
ye have heard in the last reading, how humbly all godly
men always have thought of themselves; and so to think
and judge of themselves, are taught of God their creator,
by his holy word. For of ourselves d we be crab-trees,
that can bring forth no apples. We be of ourselves of
such earth, as can bring forth but weeds, nettles, bram-
bles, briers, cockle, and darnel. Our fruits be declared in
the fifth chapter to the Galatians. We have neither faith, Gal. 5.
charity, hope, patience, chastity, nor any thing else that
good is, but of God; and therefore these virtues be called
there the fruits of the Holy Ghost, and not the fruits of
man. Let us therefore acknowledge ourselves before God
(as we be indeed) miserable and wretched sinners. And
let us earnestly repent, and humble ourselves heartily, and
cry to God for mercy. Let us all confess with mouth and
heart, that we be full of imperfections: let us know our
own works, of what imperfection they be, and then we
shall not stand foolishly and arrogantly in our own con-
ceits, nor challenge any part of justification by our me-
rits or works. For truly there bee imperfections in our
best works: we do not love God so much as we are bound
to do, with all our heart, mind, and power: we do not
fear God so much as we ought to do: we do not pray to
God, but with great and many imperfections: we give,
forgive, believe, live, and hope unperfectly: we speak,
think, and do unperfectlyf: we fight against the devil, the
world, and the flesh unperfectlys: let us therefore not be
ashamed to confess plainly our state of imperfection: yea,
let us not be ashamed to confess imperfection, even in all

The following sentence is added in A. Let us look down upon our feet, and then, down peacock's feathers, down prond heart, down vile clay, frail and brittle vessels.

The second part] The homily is not divided in A.

e Forasmuch as-by his holy word]
omitted A.

For of ourselves] Of ourselves A.
there be] there is A.
funperfectly] imperfectly D.
unperfectly] imperfectly D.

Luke 5.

Luke 15.

our best works a. Let none of us be ashamed to say with holy saint Peter, I am a sinful man. Let us all say b Psalm 106. with the holy prophet David, We have sinned with our fathers; we have done amiss, and dealt wickedly. Let us all make open confession with the prodigal son, to our Father, and say with him, We have sinned against heaven, and before thee, O Father: we are not worthy to be called Baruch 2. thy sons. Let us all say with holy Baruch, O Lord our God, to us is worthily ascribed shame and confusion, and to thee righteousness: we have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have behaved ourselves ungodly in all thy righteousness. Let us all say with the holy prophet Daniel, O Lord, righteousness belongeth to thee, unto us belongeth confusion. We have sinned, we have been naughty, we have offended, we have fled from thee, we have gone back from all thy precepts and judgments. So we learn of all good men in holy scriptures, to humble ourselves, and to exalt, extol, praise, magnify, and glorify God.

Dan. 9.

:

Thus we have heard how evil we be of ourselves, how of ourselves, and by ourselves, we have no goodness, help, nor salvation; but contrariwise, sin, damnation, and death everlasting which if we deeply weigh and consider, we shall the better understand the great mercy of God, and 2 Cor. 3. how our salvation cometh only by Christ. For in ourselves (as of ourselves) we find nothing, whereby we may be delivered from this miserable captivity, into the which we were cast, through the envy of the devil, by breakingd Psalm 49. of God's commandment in our first parent Adam. We

1 Pet, 3.

are all become unclean; but we all are not able to clean ourselves, nor to make one another of us clean. We are Ephes. 2. by nature the children of God's wrath: but we are not able to make ourselves the children and inheritors of God's glory. We are sheep that run astray: but we cannot of our own power come again to the sheepfold, so great is our imperfection and weakness. In ourselves therefore may we note glory, which, of ourselves, are nothing but sinful: neither may wef rejoice in any works that we do, which all be so unperfect and unpure, that they are not able to stand before the righteous judgmentPsalm 144. seats of God, as the holy prophet David saith, Enter not

our best works] our own best
works A. B. C.

b Let us all say] Let us say D.
e scriptures] scripture A. B.
breaking] transgressing A. B.

may we not] may not we A. B. C. f neither may we] neither we may A. B. C.

judgment-seat]throne A. B.