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his house, now and then I walk in the garden, looking in my book, as I can do but little good at it. But something I must needs do to satisfy this place. I am no sooner in the garden and have read awhile, but by and by cometh there some one or other knocking at the gate. Anon cometh my man, and saith, Sir, there is one at the gate would speak with you. When I

come there, then is it some one or other that desireth me I will speak that his matter might he heard, and that he hath lain this long at great costs and charges, and cannot once have his matter come to the hearing. But among all other, one specially moved me at this time to speak. This it is, Sir.

A gentlewoman came to me and told me, that a great man keepeth certain lands of hers from her, and will be her tenant in the spite of her teeth; and that in a whole twelvemonth, she could not get but one day for the hearing of her matter; and the same day when the matter should be heard, the great man brought on his side a great sight of lawyers for his counsel; the gentlewoman had but one man of law; and the great man shakes him so, that he cannot tell what to do; so that when the matter came to the point, the judge was a mean to the gentlewoman, that she would let the great man have a quietness in her land.

I beseech your grace that ye will look to these matters. Hear them yourself. View your judges, and hear poor men's causes. And you, proud judges, hearken what God saith in his holy book: "Audite illos, ita parvum ut magnum;" Hear them, saith he, the small as well as the great, the poor as well as the rich. Regard no person; fear no man. Why? “Quia Domini judicium est," The judgment is God's. Mark this saying, thou proud judge. The devil will bring this sentence at the day of doom. Hell will be full of these judges, if they repent not and amend. They are worse than the wicked judge that Christ speaketh of, that neither feared God, nor the world.

There was a certain widow that was a suitor to a judge, and she met him in every corner of the street, crying, "I pray you hear me, I beseech you hear me, I ask nothing but right." When the judge saw her so importunate, "Though I fear neither God, saith he, nor the world, yet because of her importunateness, I will grant her request." (Luke xviii.) But our judges are worse than this judge was, for they will neither hear men for God's sake, nor fear of the world, nor importunateness, nor any thing else. Yea, some of them will command them to ward, if they be importúnate.

I heard say, that when a suitor came to one

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of them, he said, What fellow is it that giveth these folk counsel to be so importunate? He would be punished and committed to ward. Marry, sir, punish me then; it is even I that gave them counsel; I would gladly be punished in such a cause. And if ye amend not, I

will cause them to cry out upon you still, even as long as I live. I will do it indeed: but I have troubled you long. As I began with this sentence, "Quæcunque scripta sunt," &c., All things that are written, &c., So I will end now with this text, "Beati qui audiunt verbum Dei, et custodiunt illud," Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

There was another suit, and I had almost forgotten it. There is a poor woman that lieth in the Fleet, and cannot come, by any means that she can make, to her answer, and would fain be bailed, offering to put in sureties worth a thousand pound; and yet she cannot be heard. Methinks this is a reasonable cause, it is a great pity that such things should so be. I beseech God that he will grant, that all that is amiss may be amended, that we may hear his word and keep it, that we may come to the eternal bliss, to the which bliss I beseech God to bring both you and me. Amen.

THE

THIRD SERMON

PREACHED BEFORE KING EDWARD,

MARCH 22d.

ROMANS xv. 4.

Quæcunque scripta sunt, ad nostram doctrinam scripta sunt. All things that are written, are written to be our doctrine.

In the popish mass-time, there was no gainsaying; all things seemed to be in peace, in a concord, in a quiet agreement. So long as we had in adoration, in admiration, the popish mass, we were then without gainsaying. What was that? The same that Christ speaketh of, "Cum fortis armatus custodierit atrium," &c. When satan, the devil, hath the guiding of the house, he keepeth all in peace that is in his possession. When satan ruleth, and beareth dominion in open religion, as he did with us when we preached pardon matters, purgatory

matters, and pilgrimage matters, all was quiet. He is ware enough, he is wily, and circumspect for stirring up any sedition. When he keepeth his territory, all is in peace. If there were any man that preached in England in times past, in the pope's times, (as peradventure there was two or three,) straightways he was taken and nipped in the head with the title of a heretic. When he hath the religion in possession, he stirreth up no sedition, I warrant you.

How many dissensions have we heard of in Turkey? But a few, I warrant you. He busieth himself there with no dissension. For he hath there dominion in the open religion, and needeth not to trouble himself any further.

There is a certain man, that shortly after my first sermon, being asked if he had been at the sermon that day, answered, Yea. "I pray you," said he, "how liked you him?" "Marry," said he, " even as I liked him always; a seditious fellow." Oh Lord, he pinched me there indeed; nay, he had rather a full bite at me. Yet I comfort myself with that, that Christ himself was noted to be a stirrer up of the people against the emperor, and was contented to be called seditious. It becometh me to take it in good worth; I am not better than he was. In the king's days that dead is,