24The third part of the Homily against Disobedience and Willful Rebellion.

As I have in the first part of this treatise showed unto you the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures, as concerning the obedience of true subjects to their princes, even as well to such as be evil, as unto the good, and in the second part of the same treaty confirmed the same doctrine by notable examples, likewise taken out of the Holy Scriptures: so remains now that I partly do declare unto you in this third part, what an abominable sin against God and man rebellion is, and how dreadfully the wrath of God is kindled and inflamed against all rebels, and what horrible plagues, punishments, and deaths, and finally eternal damnation doeth hang over their heads: as how on the contrary part, good and obedient subjects are in God's favor, and be partakers of peace, quietness, and security, with other God's manifold blessings in this world, and by his mercy through our Savior Christ, of life everlasting also in the world to come. How horrible a sin against God and man rebellion is, cannot possibly be expressed according unto the greatness thereof. For he that names rebellion, names not a singular or one only sin, as is theft, robbery, murder, and such like, but he names the whole puddle and sink of all sins against God and man, against his Prince, his country, his countrymen, his parents, his children, his kinfolks, his friends, and against all men universally, all sins I say against God and all men heaped together names he that names rebellion. For concerning the offence of God's Majesty, who sees not that rebellion rises first by contempt of God and of his holy ordinances and laws, wherein he so straightly commands obedience, forbids disobedience and rebellion? And besides the dishonor done by rebels unto God's holy name, by their breaking of their oath made to their Prince, with the attestation of God's name, and calling of his Majesty to witness: who hear not the horrible oaths and blasphemies of God's holy name, that are used daily amongst rebels, that is either amongst them, or hear the truth of their behaviour? Who knows not that rebels do not only themselves leave all works necessary to be done upon workdays, undone, whiles they accomplish their abominable worst of rebellion, and to compel others that would gladly be well occupied, to do the same: but also how rebels do not only leave the Sabbath day of the Lord unsanctified, the Temple and Church of the Lord unresorted unto, but also do by their works of wickedness most horribly profane and pollute the Sabbath day, serving Satan, and by doing of his work, making it the devils day, instead of the Lords day? Besides that, they compel good men that would gladly serve the Lord assembling in his Temple and Church upon his day, as becomes the Lords servants, to assemble and meet armed in the field, to resist the fury of such rebels. Yea, and many rebels, lest they should leave any part of God's commandments in the first table of his Law unbroken, or any sin against God undone, do make rebellion for the maintenance of their images and idols, and of their idolatry committed, or to be committed by them: and in despite of God, cut and tear in sunder his holy word, and tread it under their feet, as of late you know was done.

25As concerning the second table of God's Law, and all sins that may be committed against man, who sees not that they be contained in rebellion? For first the rebels do not only dishonor their Prince,

the parent of their country, but also do dishonor and shame their natural parents, if they have any, do shame their kindred and friends, do disinherit and undo for ever their children and heirs. Thefts, robberies, and murders, which of all sins are most loathed of most men, are in no

men so much nor so perniciously and mischievously, as in rebels. For the most arrant thieves, cruellest murderers that ever were, so long as they refrain from rebellion, as they are not many in number, so spreads their wickedness and damnation unto a few, they spoil but a few, they shed the blood but of a few in comparison. But rebels are the cause of infinite robberies, and murders of great multitudes, and of those also whom they should defend from the spoil and violence of other: and as rebels are many in number, so doeth their wickedness and damnation spread itself unto many. And if whoredom and adultery amongst

such persons as are agreeable to such wickedness, are (as they indeed be most damnable) what are the forcible oppressions of matrons and men's wives, and the violating and deflowering of virgins and maids, which are most rife with rebels? How horrible and damnable think you are they? Now besides that, rebels by breach of their faith given,

and the oath made to their Prince, be guilty of most damnable perjury: it is wondrous to see what false colors and feigned causes, by slanderous lies made upon their Prince, and the counselors, rebels will devise to cloak their rebellion withal, which is the worst and most damnable of all false witness bearing that may be possible. For what should I speak of coveting or desiring of other men's wives, houses, lands, goods and

servants in rebels, who by their wills would leave unto no man any thing of his own?

26Thus you see that all good laws are by rebels violated and broken, and that all sins possible to be committed against God or man, be contained in rebellion: which sins if a man list to name by the accustomed names of the seven capital or deadly sins, as pride, envy, wrath, covetousness, sloth, gluttony, and lechery, he shall find them all in rebellion, and amongst rebels. For first, as ambition and desire to be aloft, which is and that property of pride, stirs up many men's minds to rebellion, so comes it of a Luciferian pride and presumption, that a few rebellious subjects should set themselves up against the majesty of their Prince, against the wisdom of the counselors, against the power and force of all nobility, and the faithful subjects and people of the whole realm. As for envy, wrath, murder, and desire of blood, and covetousness of other men's goods, lands and livings, they are the inseparable accidents of all rebels, and peculiar properties that do usually stir up wicked men unto rebellion.

27Now such as by riotousness, gluttony, drunkenness, excess of apparel, and unthrifty games, have wasted their own goods unthriftily, the same are most apt unto, and most desirous of rebellion, whereby they trust to come by other men's goods unlawfully and violently. And where other gluttons and drunkards take too much of such meats and drinks as are served to tables, rebels waste and consume in short space, all corn in barns, fields, or Elsewhere, whole garners, whole storehouses, whole cellars, devour whole flocks of sheep, whole droves of oxen and kine. And as rebels that are married, leaving their own wives at home, do most ungraciously: so much more do unmarried men, worse then any stallions or horses (being now by rebellion set at liberty from correction of laws which bridled them before) abuse by force other men's wives, and daughters, and ravish virgins and maidens, most shamefully, abominably, and damnably.

28Thus all sins, by all names that sins may be named, and by all means that sins may be committed and wrought, do all wholly upon heaps follow rebellion, and are to be found altogether amongst rebels. Now whereas pestilence, famine, and war, are by the Holy

Scriptures declared to be the greatest worldly plagues and miseries that likely can be, it is evident, that all the miseries that all these plagues have in them, do wholly altogether follow rebellion, wherein, as all their miseries be, so is there much more mischief then in them all.

29For it is known that in the resorting of great companies of men together, which in rebellion happens both upon the part of true subjects, and of the rebels, by their close lying together, and corruption of the air and place where they do lie, with ordure and much filth, in the hot weather, and by unwholesome lodging, and lying often upon the ground, specially in cold and wet weather in winter, by their unwholesome diet, and feeding at all times, and often by famine and lack of meat and drink in due time, and again by taking too much at other times: It is well known, I say, that as well plagues and pestilences, as all other kinds of sickness and maladies by these means grow up and spring amongst men, whereby more men are consumed at the length, then are by dint of sword suddenly slain in the field. So that not only pestilences, but also all other sickness, diseases, and maladies, do follow rebellion, which are much more horrible then plagues, pestilences, and diseases sent directly from God, as hereafter shall appear more plainly.

30And as for hunger and famine, they are the peculiar companions of rebellion: for while rebels do in short time spoil and consume all corn and necessary provision, which men with their labors had gotten and appointed upon, for their finding the whole year after, and also do let all other men, husbandmen and others, from their husbandry, and other necessary works, whereby provision should be made for times to come, who see not that extreme famine and hunger must needs shortly ensue and follow rebellion? Now whereas the wise King and godly Prophet David judged war to be worse then either famine or pestilence, for that these two are often suffered by God, for mans amendment, and be not

sins of themselves: but wars have always the sins and mischief of men upon the one side or other joined with them, and therefore is war the greatest of these worldly mischief: but of all wars, civil war is the worst, and far more abominable yet is rebellion then any civil war, being unworthy the name of any war, so far it exceeds all wars in all naughtinesses, in all mischief, and in all abomination. And therefore our Savior Christ denounces desolation and destruction to

that realm, that by sedition and rebellion is divided in itself.

31Now as I have showed before, that pestilence and famine, so is it yet more evident that all the calamities, miseries, and mischief of war, be more grievous and do more follow rebellion, then any other war, as being far worse then all other wars. For not only those ordinary and usual mischief and miseries of other wars, do follow rebellion, as corn, and other things, necessary to mans use to be spoiled, houses, villages, towns, cities, to be taken, sacked, burned, and destroyed, not only many very wealthy men, but whole countries to be impoverished, and utterly beggared, many thousands of men to be slain and murdered, women and maids to be violated and deflowered: which things when they are done by foreign enemies, we do much mourn, as we have great causes, yet are all these miseries without any wickedness wrought by any of our own countrymen. But when this mischief is wrought in rebellion by them that should be friends, by countrymen, by kinsmen, by those that should defend their country, and countrymen from such miseries, the misery is nothing so great, as is the mischief and wickedness when the subjects unnaturally do rebel against their Prince, whose honor and life they should defend, though it were with the loss of their own lives: countrymen to disturb the public peace and quietness of their country, for defense of whose quietness they should spend their lives: the brother to seek, and often to work the death of his brother, the son of the father, the father to seek or procure the death of his sons, being at mans age, and by their faults to disinherit their innocent children and kinsmen their heirs for ever, for whom they might purchase linings and lands, as natural parents do take care and pains, and to be at great costs and charges: and universally instead of all quietness, joy, and felicity, which do follow blessed peace and due obedience, to bring in all trouble, sorrow, disquietness of minds and bodies and all mischief and calamity, to turn all good order upside down, to bring all good laws in contempt, and to tread them under feet, to oppress all virtue and honesty, and all virtuous and honest persons, and to set all vice and wickedness, and all vicious and wicked men at liberty, to work their wicked wills, which were before bridled by wholesome laws, to weaken, to overthrow, and to consume the strength of the realm their natural country, as well by the spending and wasting of money and treasure of the Prince and realm, as by murdering the people of the same, their own countrymen, who should defend the honor of their Prince, and liberty of their country, against

the invasion of foreign enemies: and so finally, to make their country thus by their mischief weakened, ready to be a pray and spoil to all outward enemies that will invade it, to the utter and perpetual captivity, slavery, and destruction of all their countrymen, their children, their friends, their kinsfolk left alive, whom by their wicked rebellion they procure to be delivered into the hands of the foreign enemies, as much as in them doeth lie.

32In foreign wars our countrymen in obtaining the victory win the praise of valiantness, yea and though they were overcome and slain, yet win they an honest commendation in this world, and die in a good conscience for serving God, their Prince, and their country, and be children of eternal salvation: but the rebellion how desperate and strong soever they be, yet win they shame here in fighting against God, their Prince and country, and therefore justly do fall headlong into hell if they die, and live in shame and fearful conscience, though they escape.

33But commonly they be rewarded with shameful deaths, their hands and carcasses set upon poles, and hanged in chains, eaten with kites and crows, judged unworthy the honor of burial, and so their souls, if they repent not (as commonly they do not) the devil hurries them into hell, in the midst of their mischief. For which dreadful execution Saint Paul shows the cause of obedience, not only for fear of death, but also in conscience to God-ward, for fear of eternal damnation in

the world to come.

34Wherefore good people, let us, as the children of obedience, fear, the dreadful execution of God, and live in quiet obedience, to be the children of everlasting salvation. For as Heaven is the place of good obedient subjects, and hell the prison and dungeon of rebels against God and their Prince: so is that realm happy where most obedience of subjects doth appear, being the very figure of heaven: and contrariwise where most rebellions and rebels be, there is the express similitude of hell, and the rebels themselves are the very figures of fiends and devils, and their captain the ungracious pattern of Lucifer and Satan, the prince of darkness, of whose rebellion as they be followers, so shall they of his damnation in hell undoubtedly be partakers, and as undoubtedly children of peace the inheritors of heaven with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: to whom be all honor and glory for ever and ever, Amen.

35Thus have you heard the third part of this Homily, now good people let us pray.

36The prayer as in that time it was published.

37O Most mighty GOD, the Lord of hosts, the Governor of all creatures, the only giver of all victories, and who alone art able to strengthen the weak against the mighty, and to vanquish infinite multitudes of thine enemies with the countenance of a few of thy servants calling upon thy Name, and trusting in them: defend, O Lord, thy servant and our Governor under the, our Queen Elizabeth, and all thy people committed to her charge: O Lord withstand the cruelty of all those which be common enemies as well to the truth of thy eternal Word, as to their own natural Prince and country, and manifestly to this crown and realm of England which thou hast of thy divine providence assigned in these our days to the government of thy servant, our sovereign and gracious Queen, O most merciful Father, (if it be thy holy will) make soft and tender the stony hearts of all those that exalt themselves against thy Truth and seek either to trouble the quiet of this realm of England, or to oppress the crown of the same, and convert them to the knowledge of thy Son the only Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, that we and they may jointly glorify thy mercy. Lighten we beseech the their ignorant hearts, to embrace the truth of thy word, or else so abate their cruelty (O most mighty Lord) that this our Christian realm with others that confess thy Holy Gospel, may obtain by thine aid and strength, surety from all enemies, without shedding of Christian blood, whereby all they which be oppressed with their tyranny, may be relieved, and they which be in fear of their cruelty, may be comforted: and finally that all Christian realms, and specially this realm of England, may by thy defense and protection continue in the truth of the Gospel and enjoy perfect peace, quietness, and security: and that we for these thy mercy, jointly altogether with one consonant heart and voice, may thankfully render to the all laud and praise, that we knit in one godly concord and unity amongst our selves, may continually magnify thy glorious Name, who with thy son our Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, art one Eternal, Almighty, and most merciful God: to whom be all laud and praise world without end. Amen.