Setting up candles,* gilding, and painting, building of churches, giving ornaments, going on pilgrimage, making highways, and such others, are called voluntary works, which works are of themselves good, and proper to be done. Necessary works, and works of mercy are called commandments; and works of mercy consist in relieving and visiting thy poor neighbours. Now then, if men are so foolish that they will bestow the most part of their goods in voluntary works, which they are not bound to keep, but willingly and by their devotion; and leave the necessary works undone, which they are bound to do, they and all their voluntary works are like to go unto everlasting damnation. And I promise you, if you build a hundred churches, give as much as you can make to the gilding of saints, and honouring of the church, and offer candles as great as oaks,* if thou leave the works of mercy and the commandments undone, these works shall not avail thee. No doubt the voluntary works are good, and ought to be done; but yet they must be so done, that by the occasion the necessary works and the works of mercy are not decayed and forgotten-if you will build a glorious church unto God, see first yourselves to be in charity with your neighbours, and suffer not them to be offended by your works. Then when you come into your parish church, you bring with you the temple of God; as St. Paul saith, "You yourselves are the very holy temples of God:" and Christ saith by his prophet, "In you will I rest, and intend to make my mansion and abiding place:" again, if you gild and paint Christ in your churches, and honour him in vestments,† see that the poor people die not for lack of meat, drink, and clothing. Then you deck the very true temple of God, and honour him with rich vestures, that will never be worn out. Do use yourselves according unto the commandments; and then finally set up your ⚫ candles, and they will report what a glorious light remains in your hearts, for it is not fitting to see a dead man‡ light candles! Then, I say, go your pilgrimages, build your churches, do all your voluntary works, and they will then represent unto God, and testify with you, that you have

*It is customary in popish countries to offer large wax tapers, or other lights, to be burned before the image of a saint. See note p. 13.

+ Images were not yet put away, but Latimer ventures to show that works of charity were to be preferred to them.

+ One who is spiritually dead.

provided him a glorious place in your hearts. But beware, I say again, that you do not run so far into your voluntary works, that you quite forget your necessary works of mercy, which you are bound to keep: you must ever have a good respect unto the best and worthiest works towards God, to be done first and with most efficacy, and the other to be done secondarily. Thus if you do, with the other that I have spoken of before, you may come according to the tenour of your cards, and offer your oblations and prayers to our Lord Jesus Christ, who will both hear and accept them to your everlasting joy and glory, to which may he bring us, and all those whom he suffered death for. Amen.

THE SERMON OF THE PLOUGH,

Preached in the Shrouds* at Paul's Church in London, on the 18th day of January, anno 1548-9.

ROMANS XV." All things which are written, are written for our erudition and knowledge. All things that are written in God's book, in the Bible book, in the book of the Holy Scripture, are written to be our doctrine." I told you

in my first sermon,† honourable audience, that I purposed to declare unto you two things, the one, what seed should be sown in God's field, in God's plough land; and the other, who should be the sowers.

That is to say, what doctrine is to be taught in Christ's church and congregation, and what men should be the teachers and preachers of it. The first part I have told you in the three sermons past, in which I have assayed to set forth my plough, to prove what I could do. And now I shall tell you who are the ploughers; for God's word is seed to be sown in God's field, that is, the faithful congregation, and the preacher is the sower. And it is said in the gospel; "He that soweth, the husbandman, the ploughman, went forth to sow his seed." So that a preacher is compared to a ploughman, as it is in another place; "No man that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is apt for the kingdom of God." (Luke ix.) That is to say, let no preacher be negligent in doing his office. This is one of the places that has been racked,‡ as I told you of racking Scriptures, and I have been one of them myself that have racked it, I cry God mercy for it; and have been one of them that have believed, and have expounded it against religious persons that would forsake their order which they had professed, and would go out of their cloister: whereas indeed it relates not to monkery, nor makes

*The Shrouds were a covered place on the north side of the Cathedral where a congregation could be sheltered, when the severity of the weather prevented them from standing in the open air at Paul's Cross.

†The sermon here mentioned has not been preserved. Wrested or perverted.

at all for any such matter; but it is directly spoken of diligent preaching of the word of God. For preaching of the gospel is one of God's plough-works, and the preacher is one of God's ploughmen.

For

Be not offended with my similitude, in that I compare preaching to the labour and work of ploughing, and the preacher to a ploughman: ye may not be offended with this my similitude, though I have been unjustly slandered by some persons for such things. . . . . . But as preachers must be wary and circumspect, that they give not any just occasion to be slandered and ill-spoken of by the hearers, so the auditors must not be offended without cause. heaven is in the gospel likened unto a mustard-seed: it is compared also to a piece of leaven; and Christ saith, that at the last day he will come like a thief; and what dishonour is this to God? Or what derogation is this to heaven? You should not then, I say, be offended with my similitude, because I liken preaching to a ploughman's labour, and a prelate to a ploughman. But now you will ask me, whom I call a prelate? A prelate is that man, whatsoever he is, that has a flock to be taught by him; whosoever has any spiritual charge in the faithful congregation, and whosoever he is that has a cure of souls.

Well may the preacher and the ploughman be likened together: first, for their labour at all seasons of the year; for there is no time of the year in which the ploughman has not some special work to do; as in my country in Leicestershire, the ploughman has a time to set forth, and to assay his plough, and other times for other necessary works to be done. And they also may be likened together for the diversity of works, and variety of offices that they have to do. For as the ploughman first sets forth his plough, and then tills the land, and breaks it in furrows, and sometime ridges it up again; and at another time harrows it and clotteth it, and sometimes dungs it and hedges it, digs it and weeds it, and makes it clean; so the prelate, the preacher, has many diverse offices to do. He has first a busy work to bring his parishioners to a right faith, as Paul calleth it; and not a swerving† faith, but to a faith that embraces Christ, and trusts to his merits; a lively faith, a justifying faith; a faith that makes a man righteous, without respect of works: as you have it very well declared and set forth in the Homily. He has then a * Breaks the clods. + Wandering, changing.

busy work, I say, to bring his flock to a right faith, and then to confirm them in the same faith. Now casting them down with the law, and with threatenings of God for sin; now ridging them up again with the gospel, and with the promises of God's favour. Now weeding them, by telling them their faults, and making them forsake sin; now clotting them, by breaking their stony hearts, and by making them supple-hearted, and making them to have hearts of flesh; that is, soft hearts, and apt for doctrine to enter in. Now teaching to know God rightly, and to know their duty to God and their neighbours. Now exhorting them when they know their duty, that they do it, and be diligent in it; so that they have a continual work to do. Great is their business, and therefore great should be their hire. They have great labours, and therefore they ought to have good livings, that they may commodiously feed their flock; for the preaching of the word of God unto the people, is called meat: Scripture calls it meat; not strawberries, that come but once a year, and tarry not long, but are soon gone: but it is meat, it is not dainties. The people must have meat, that is familiar and continual, and daily given unto them to feed upon. Many make a strawberry of it, ministering it but once a year; but such do not the office of good prelates. For Christ saith, "Who think you is a wise and a faithful servant? He that giveth meat in due time." So that he must at all times convenient preach diligently therefore saith he, "Who think ye is a faithful servant?" He speaks as though it were a rare thing to find such a one, and as though he should say, there are but few of them to be found in the world. And how few of them there are throughout this realm that give meat to their flock as they should do, the visiters can best tell. Too few, too few, the more is the pity, and never so few

as now.

By this then it appears that a prelate, or any that has the cure of souls, must diligently and substantially work and labour. Therefore, saith Paul to Timothy, "He that desireth to have the office of a bishop, or a prelate, that man desireth a good work." Then if it is a good work, it is work; you can make but a work of it. It is God's work, God's plough, and that plough God would have still going. Such then as loiter and live idly, are not good prelates, or ministers. And of such as do not preach and teach, and do their duties, God saith by his prophet Jeremy, "Cursed