The trumpet of the soul, sounding to judgementThe trumpet of the soule, sounding to iudgement

Whilst the thief stealeth, the hemp groweth, and the hook is covered within the bait, we sit down to eat and rise up to play, and from play to sleep: and a hundred years is counted little enough to sin in, but how many sins thou hast set on the score, so many kinds of punishments shall be provided for thee: how many ⟨image 4⟩years of pleasure thou hast taken, so many years of pain: how many drams of delight, so many pounds of dolour: when iniquity hath plaid her part, vengeance leaps upon the stage: the Comedy is short, but the Tragedy is longer: the black guard shall attend upon you, you shall eat at the table of sorrow, and the crown of death shall be upon your heads, many glistering faces looking on you, and this is the fear of sinners: when the devil hath enticed them to sin, he presumeth like the old Prophet in the book of Kings, who when he had enticed the young prophet contrary to the commandment of God, to turn home with him and to eat and drink, he cursed him for his labour, because he disobeyed the commandment of the Lord, and so a Lyon devoured him by the way. The foolish Virgins think that their oil will never be spent: so Dinah straggled abroad whilst she was deflowered: what a thing is this to say rejoice, and then repent: what a blank to say take thy pleasure, and then thou ⟨image 5⟩shalt come to judgement: it is as if he should say, steal and be hanged: steal and thou darest, strangle sin in thy cradle, for all the wisdom in the world will not help thee else: but thou shalt be in admiration like dreamers which dream strange things and know not how they come: he saith Remember Judgment, if thou remember this always, then thou shalt have little list to sin: if thou remember this, then thou shalt have little list to fall down to the devil, though he would give thee all the world, and the glory thereof: Solomon saith, the weed groweth from a weed to a cockle, from a cockle, to a bramble, from a bramble to a brier, from a brier to a thorn: Lying breeds perjury, perjury breeds haughtiness of hart, haughtiness of hart breeds contempt, contempt breeds obstinacy, and brings forth much evil. And this is the whole progress of sin: he groweth from a liar to a thief, from a thief to a murderer, and never leaveth until he hath searched all the roome• in hell, and yet he ⟨image 5⟩