The second tome of homilies of such matters as were promised, and entitled in…The second tome of homilees of such matters as were promised, and intituled in…

Oh consider this example ye unbelieving & faithless covetous persons, who discredit Gods word, and think his power diminished. This poor woman, in the time of an extreme & long dearth, had but one handful of meal and a little cruse of oil, her only son was ready to perish before ⟨p. 335⟩her face for hunger, and she her self like to pine away: and yet when the poor prophet came and asked part, she was so mindful of mercifulness, that she forgot her own misery, and rather then she would omit the occasion given to give alms, & work a work of righteousness, she was content presently to hazard her own and her sons life. And you who have great plenty of meats and drinks, great store of moth-eaten apparel, yea, many of you great heaps of gold & silver, and he that hath least, hath more then sufficient, now in this time, when (thanks be to God) no great famine doth oppress you, your children being well clothed and well fed, & no danger of death for famine to be feared: will rather cast doubts & perils of unlikely penury, then you will part with any piece of your superfluities, to help to feed and succour the poor, hungry, & naked Christ, that cometh to your doors a begging. This poor and silly widow never cast doubts in all her misery what want she her self should have, she never distrusted the promise that god made to her by the prophet, but straightway went about to relieve the hungry prophet of god, yea preferring his necessity before her own. But we, like unbelieving wretches, before we will give one mite, we will cast a thousand doubts of danger, whether that will stand us in any stead that we give to the poor, whether we should not have need of it at any other time, and whether here it would not have ben more profitably bestowed. So that it is more hard to wrench a strong nail (as the proverb saith) out of a ⟨p. 336⟩post, then to wring a farthing out of our fingers. There is neither the fear nor the love of God before our eyes, we will more esteem a mite, then we either desire gods kingdom, or fear the devils dungeon. Hearken therefore ye merciless misers, what will be the end of this your unmerciful dealing. As certainly as God nourished this poor widow in the time of famine, and increased her little store, so that she had enough, and felt no penury when other pined away:

Oh consider this example ye vnbeleuing & faithles couetous persons, who discredit Gods word, and think his power diminished. This poore woman, in the time of an extreame & long dearth, had but one handfull of meale and a litle cruse of oyle, her onlye sonne was redy to perishe before