Seven godly and learned sermons preachedSeuen godly and learned sermons preached

Thus (good brethren) let us weigh and consider, what profit we had in times past of those things, of which we are now ashamed. And let us consider how much we are beholden to god, that ⟨image 46⟩now may see and know our own folly and ignorance, and so be ashamed. But herein, good brethren, there needs not many words: for there is no man so blind, but may well see, no man so deaf, but may well hear, no man so dull, but may well perceive and understand, the great error, the great blindness, the great darkness, that we have been in. And therefore let us all now give God thanks, that he hath restored his light unto us, and taken that great error and darkness from us. Loth I am here to speak of those things whereof we may be ashamed: loth and sorry I am to repeat that unto you, whereof we are now ashamed: but this place now requireth the same, this time and place willeth me somewhat to speak thereof. The time hath been, that we have put our trust in pardons, in Bulls of the Popes, in vain scrolls, and writings of his; yea, and in them we have had greater hope and affiance, than in the death of Christ, and merits of his passion. We have fallen down before images, before stocks, and stones, such as had eyes, and saw ⟨image 46⟩not, ears, and heard not: before them we prayed, before them we kneeled, and stack up candles. But now we are ashamed of them, we all are, I think, now sorry and ashamed of this our folly: but what profit had we then of all these things. Sometime we prayed in a strange tongue, in a tongue that we understood not: we prayed contrary to the use that was in the Patriarchs times, in the Prophets times, in the Apostles times: but then what profit had we of those prayers, whereof we are now ashamed? We have seen lawful marriage forbidden, and mens lawful wives taken from them: and yet the use of a concubine granted, as though God were displeased with marriage, & pleased with whoredom: but what profit had ye then of that thing, of which ye are now ashamed? We had Baptism, but we understood not the principles of our faith: & even as the Prophet spake of his time, Qualis populus, ¹talis Sacerdos, the Priest is become like the people: so might we well have said of our own time; blind were they both, and therefore ⟨image 47⟩