AN HOMILY

FOR THE

DAYS OF ROGATION WEEK.

THAT ALL GOOD THINGS COMETH FROM GOD.

I AM purposed this day, good devout Christian people, to declare unto you the most deserved praise and commendation of Almighty God; not only in consideration of the marvellous creation of this world, or for the conservation and governance thereof, wherein his great power and wisdom might excellently appear, to move us to honour and dread him; but most specially in consideration of his liberal and large goodness, which he daily bestoweth on us his reasonable creatures, for whose sake he made this whole universal world with all the commodities and goods therein: which his singular goodness, well and diligently remembered on our part, should move us, as duty is again, with hearty affection to love him, and with word and deed to praise him and serve him all the days of our life. And to this matter, being so worthy to entreat of, and so profitable for you to hear, I trust I shall not need with much circumstance of words to stir you to give your attendance, to hear what shall be said. Only I would wish your affection inflamed in secret wise within yourself to raise up some motion of thanksgiving to the goodness of Almighty God in every such point as shall be opened by my declaration particularly unto you. For else what

shall it avail us to hear and know the great goodness of God towards us, to know that whatsoever is good proceedeth from him, as from the principal fountain and the only author, or to know that whatsoever is sent from him must needs be good and wholesome, if the hearing of such matter moveth us no further but to know it only? What availed it the wise men of the world to have a knowledge of the power and divinity of God by the Rom.i. 19–32. secret inspiration of him, where they did not honour and glorify him in their knowledges as God? What praise was it to them, by the consideration of the creation of the world to behold his goodness, and yet were not thankful to him again for his creatures? What other thing deserved this blindness and forgetfulness of them at God's hands, but utter forsaking of him? And so forsaken of God they could not but fall into extreme ignorance and error. And, although they much esteemed themselves in their wits and knowledge, and gloried in their wisdom, yet vanished they away blindly in their thoughts, became fools, and perished in their folly. There can be none other end of such as draweth nigh to God by knowledge, and yet depart from him in unthankfulness, but utter destruction. This experience saw David in his days. For in his Psalm he saith, Behold, they which withdraw themselves from thee Ps. Ixxiii. 27. shall perish; for thou hast destroyed them all that are strayed from thee. This experience was perceived to be true of that holy Prophet Hieremy. O Lord, Jer. xvii. 13. saith he, whatsoever they be that forsake thee shall be confounded; they that depart from thee shall be written in the earth, and soon forgotten. It profiteth not, good people, to hear the goodness of God declared unto us, if our hearts be not inflamed thereby to honour and thank him. It profited not the Jews, which were God's elect people, to hear much of God, seeing that he was not received in their hearts by faith, nor thanked for his benefits bestowed upon them. Their unthankfulness was the cause of their destruction. Let us eschew the

Prov. viii. 31. Scripture, It is my delight to be with the children of men. It is his goodness that moveth him to call us unto him, to offer us his friendship and presence. It is his goodness that patiently suf fereth our straying from him, and suffereth us long, to win us to repentance. It is of his goodness that we be created reasonable creatures, where else he might have made us brute beasts. It was his mercy to have us born among the number of Christian people, and thereby in a much more nighness to salvation, where we might have been born (if his goodness had not been) among the paynims, clean void from God and the hope of everlasting life. And what other thing doth his loving and gentle voice, spoken in his word, where he calleth us to his presence and friendship, but declare his goodness only, without regard of our worthiness? And what other thing doth stir him to call us to him when we be strayed from him, to suffer us patiently, to win us to repentance, but only his singular goodness, no whit of our deserving?

Ps. C. 3.

Ps. cxv. 1.

Let them all come together that be now glorified in heaven, and let us hear what answer they will make in these points afore rehearsed, whether their first creation was of God's goodness or of themselves. Forsooth David would make answer for them all, and say, Know ye for surety, even the Lord is God; he hath made us, and not we ourselves. If they were asked again, who should be thanked for their regeneration, for their justification, and for their salvation, whether their deserts or God's goodness only; although in this point every one confess sufficiently the truth of this matter in his own person, yet let David answer by the mouth of them all at this time; who cannot choose but say, Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy Name give all the thank for thy loving mercy and for thy truth's sake. If we should ask again, from whence came their glorious works and deeds, which they wrought in their lives, wherewith God was so highly pleased

16.

and worshipped by them, let some other witness. be brought in to testify this matter, that in the Matt, xviii. mouth of two or three may the truth be known. Verily that holy Prophet Esay beareth record, and saith, O Lord, it is thou of thy goodness that hast 18. xxvi 12. wrought all our works in us, not we of ourselves. And, to uphold the truth of this matter against all justiciaries and hypocrites, which rob Almighty God of this honour, and ascribe it to themselves,

St. Paul bringeth in his belief. We be not, saith 2 Cor. iii. 5: he, sufficient of ourselves, as of ourselves, once to think Acts xvii. 29. any thing, but all our ableness is of God's goodness. For he it is in whom we have all our being, our living, and moving. If ye will know furthermore where they had their gifts and sacrifices, which they offered continually in their lives to Almighty God, they cannot but agree with David, where he saith, Of thy liberal hand, O Lord, we have received that Chron xxix we gave unto thee.

If this holy company therefore confesseth so constantly, that all the goods and graces wherewith they were indued in soul came of the goodness of God only, what more can be said to prove that all that is good cometh from Almighty God? Is it meet to think that all spiritual goodness cometh from God above only, and that other good things, either of nature or of fortune (as we call them), cometh of any other cause? Doth God of his goodness adorn the soul with all the powers thereof, as it is? and cometh the gifts of the body, wherewith it is indued, from any other? If he doeth the more, cannot he do the less? To justify a sinner, to new create him from a wicked person to a righteous man, is a greater act, saith St. Augustine, than to make such a new heaven and earth as is already made. We must needs agree, that whatsoever good thing is in us, of grace, of nature, of fortune, is of God only, as the only Author and Worker.

And yet it is not to be thought that God hath created all this whole universal world as it is, and,

14.

Heb. i. 3;

iii. 4.

thus once made, hath given it up to be ruled and used after our own wits and device, and so take no more charge therefore: as we see the shipwright, after he hath brought his ship to a perfect end, then delivereth he it to the mariners, and take no more cure thereof. Nay, God hath not so created the world, that he is careless of it; but he still preserveth it by his goodness, he still stayeth it in his creation for else, without his special goodness, it could not stand long in his condition. And therefore St. Paul saith, that he preserveth all things and beareth them up still in his word, lest they should fall without him to their nothing again, whereof they were made. If his special goodness were not every where present, every creature should be out of order, and no creature should have his property, wherein he was first created. He is therefore invisibly every where Jer. xxii. 24. and in every creature, and fulfilleth both heaven and earth with his presence; in the fire, to give heat; in the water, to give moisture; in the earth, to give fruit; in the heart, to give his strength; yea, in our bread and drink he is, to give us nourishment; where without him the bread and drink cannot give sustenance, nor the herb health, as the Wise Man plainly confesseth Wisd. xvi. 26. it, saying, It is not the increase of fruits that feedeth men, but it is thy word, O Lord, which preserveth them that trust in thee. And Moses agreeth to the Deut. viii. 3. same, when he saith, Man's life resteth not in bread only, but in every word which proceedeth out of God's Wisd. xvi, 12. mouth. It is neither the herb nor the plaster that giveth health of themselves, but thy word, O Lord, saith the Wise Man, which healeth all things. It is not therefore the power of the creatures which worketh their effects, but the goodness of God which worketh in them. In his word truly doth all things consist. By that same word that heaven and earth were made, by the same are they upholden, maintained, and kept in order, 2 Pet. iii. 7. saith St. Peter, and shall be till Almighty God