Fifty Godly and Learned Sermons (The Decades)

And the Lord verily doeth not require us men to be without all sense and feeling of those pleasures which he of his grace hath given us to enjoy, neither would he have us to be all together benumbed like blocks and stocks and senseless stones. For he himself hath grafted in us all the sense and feeling of good and evil, of sweet and sour. And the same our God & maker hath of his eternal goodness and wisdom, ordained a certain natural excellency in his creatures, and hath adorned them and made them so delectable, that we may delight in and desire them, yea and that more is, our God hath planted in them a nourishing force and virtue to cherish us men, and to keep our bodies in fair and good liking. For David saith, And (he maketh grow out of the earth) wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make him have a cheerful countenance, and bread to strengthen mans hart. The trees of the Lord also are full of sap, wherein the birds make their nests and sing. &c. Moreover it is reported that Jacob the Patriarch did drink to drunkenness, and of Joseph and his brethren the Scripture saith: ¹and in drinking with him they were made drunken with wine. Now no man will take this drunkenness of theirs for that excessive bibbing, which the holy scripture doth every where condemn, but for a certain sweet and pleasant measure in drinking, wherewith being once satisfied, they were made the merrier. For that mad kind of drunkenness bereaves the senses and is so far from causing men to be jocund and merry, that clean contrariwise it maketh them wayward, uncivil, out of order, beastly, swinelike and filthy. A like phrase of speech useth Haggeus the Prophet where he saith: Consider your own ways in your harts, ye sow much, but ye bring little in, ye eat, but ye have not enough, ye drink, but not unto drunkenness: that is, not unto sweet and pleasant sufficiency, that being filled and jocund therewith, ye need desire no more, but for that plenty give thanks to the Lord your good benefactor for bestowing it on you. This do I somewhat more largely declare, because of the Anabaptists and certain senseless Stoics, and other new sprung up hypocrites the Carthusian Monks, who as they go about to make men mere blocks, so do they with most tragical outcries, condemn utterly all allowable pleasure and lawful delights.

And the Lord verily doeth not require vs men to be without all sense and féeling of those pleasures which hee of his grace hath giuen vs to enioy, neither would he haue vs to be al together benummed like blockes and stockes and senselesse stones. For he himselfe hath graffed in vs al ye sense and féeling of good and euill, of swéete and sowre. And the same our God & maker hath of his eternall goodnesse and wisedome, ordeyned a certaine natural excellencie in his creatures, and hath adourned them and made them so delectable, that wee may delight in and desire them, yea and that more is, our God hath plāted in them a nourishing force and vertue to cherish vs men, and to kéepe oure bodies in fayre and good liking. For Dauid sayth, And (he maketh grow out of the earth) wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oyle to make him haue a chearefull countenance, and bread to strengthen mans hart. The trees of the Lord also are ful of sapp, wherein the birdes make their nestes and sing. &c. Moreouer it is reported that Iacob the Patriarch did drincke to drunkennesse, and of Ioseph and his brethrene the Scripture sayth: