A GODLY AND FRVITEFULL Sermon, made upon the 20. & 21. verses of the 14. Chapter of the book of Genesis: Wherein there is taught, what provision ought to be made for the minister.  
Very necessary to be learned of all Christians.  
By Eusebius Paget  
VBIQVE FLORET.  
LONDON Imprinted by john Wolf for, Thomas Man, dwelling in Paternoster row, at the sign of the Talbot, 1583.   
Genesis. 14. 
20 Abram gave him Tithe of all.  
21 Then the King of Sodom said to Abram. Give me the persons, take the goods to thyself.  
THE last time beloved that I was in this place, which was the fourth day of this last week, you heard that this third and last part of this chapter, 
The repetition  containeth the triumph of Abram after the victory: In whose return from the battle he was met of 2. Kings, the one King of Sodom, the other was the King of Salem. Wherein we considered first, the dealings of Abram & the king of Sodom in the first part: secondly, the dealings between Abram and Melchisedech in the second part. In the first part whereas the King of Sodom came forth to meet Abram: We did note, that adversity teacheth many good lessons, which men in prosperity will never learn: namely, the King of Sodom who before this time would neither pity Abram being a stranger, nor reverence him for his religion which he professed every where, and set up badges and Ensigns of the same in every place where he came, but in his prosperity had his whole delight in wantonness and pride, and is now by adverssite taught humility: and he cometh forth to meet and salute Abram. Secondly, that this king now saw what profit he got by pride, and what the way of wickedness had brought him unto, and that the estate of Abram, how troublesome, mad, and foolish soever it seemed to him, yet to be far better and more glorious than his, so, there is not so wicked a man but that he once acknowledgeth his own estate to be miserable, and the estate of God's children to be most happy and blessed. Next the history of Melchizedech followed, inserted as in a parenthesis, Wherein we considered. First what he was, 2. what he did, 3. what he said. Out of the first part, which is at large described in the seventh to the Hebrews, we considered first his name, to wit Melchizedech, which signifieth righteousness, and that he was king of Salem, that is peace, wherein the holy ghost noteth the righteousness is king of peace. & that righteousness governeth in the kingdom of peace, & no peace where unrighteousness reigneth, as the prophet Isa. 57.21. saith, there is no peace saith my God to the wicked. secondly, in that first part we noted that he was without Father and Mother. For that the holy Ghost doth make no mention of them. Wherein I showed how vainly they deal, that would have him to be either Shem, or an Angel, or the son of God, and brought forth reasons to confute those fancies. Thirdly, we considered that he was King and Priest, noting in all these things that he was a figure of Christ. First in his name, for that Christ is righteousness itself, reigning in men's consciences, & bringing peace to the soul: secondly in his parents Christ is without father in respect of his manhood, & without mother in respect of his godhead: Thirdly in his offices, Christ is a King to reign, and a priest to offer up sacrifice to God his father for ever. Then we considered the deeds of Melchizedech, which was the bringing forth of bread and wine to relieve the wearied army of Abram: where in I confuted the fancy of the Papists, that would have this bread and wine of Melchizedech, to be a figure of their Mass: First, showing that if there had been any such matter in it, the holy Ghost would have noted it in the 7. to the Hebrews, where he describeth him so largely. For if it had figured so great a mystery as they account their mass to be, the holy Ghost would not have set so light by it, as to have said never a word of it. Melchizedech brought forth bread, but they deny their sacrifice to be bread, but the body of christ: In denying their wafar cake to be bread, they say truly, for it is a paltry thing, not moving the senses of the receivers to that consideration it should: Besides that, it hath been made as many wright, of bad confections, as dog's grease. And some of their ancestors before time made their stuff with infant's blood, and some with more filthy & abominable things than are here to be named. Melchizedech brought forth bread and wine to refresh the feeble soldiers, wherein was noted, that the Lord doth always provide for those that travail in his business, and take pains to deliver the oppressed, as Abram adventuring to deliver his brother Lot, receiveth comfort by a stranger. Melchizedech blessed Abram from the lord, in which his words were noted, that blessings came from God, & that they are the lords blessings, and not man's that stand, and his curses that take effect. Next they that comfort the afflicted are blessed of God, and they that grieve the spirit of GOD in his children, by adding afflictions to afflictions, are cursed of God: coming from that to the title wherein he called him possessor of Heaven, and Earth. I noted he gave God these titles, being only possessor of Heaven, and that the Pope can not open and shut it with his pardons at his pleasure, for heaven is the Lords: and next in that he nameth him possessor of earth: I noted that he will take account of us whether we use it as he hath directed us, or abuse it contrary to his will, and therein we see what a happy and blessed thing it is for God's children, whose kingdom and inheritance is not upon the earth but in heaven, where no tyrannous oppressors can trouble and annoy: on the other side what a woeful change shall these oppressing tyrants make, which say, now the earth is theirs to serve their lusts, and then they must answer to the professor of it, and must flit to hell from the earth for their abusing it. So Melchizedech ended his speech with thanksgiving and yielding the glory of that triumph unto God for the victory as to him was due, and these were the Principal notes which I gave then as I remember. Now it resteth before we enter into the history of the king of Sodom, that we consider what Abram did to Melchizedech: The holy Ghost saith, Abram gave him Tithe of all, wherein he giveth us to consider that Abram being lightened by God's spirit, saw in Melchizedech some more excellent thing than is ordinarily found in men, and therefore he gave him an extraordinary entertainment, and presented him with such a present, as we read not of in the Scriptures, until we come to this place therefore that we may the better understand it, let us observe. First, what it is that is given, namely Tithes. Secondly, to whom it was given, to Melchizedech. Thirdly by whom they were given, by Abram, and Fourthly, whereof these Tithes were, which are set down by the holy Ghost in the epistle to the Hebrews 7. to be of the spoils which Abram had gotten in the Wars, as appeareth in the fourth verse. Tithes were a portion which the Lord reserved to himself to be paid to himself, by them to whom he gave the possession of the earth, and the enjoying of Earthly blessings, so Moses saith Levit. 27.30. The tith is the Lords, it is holy to the Lord. So jacob said, Gene. 28.22. Of all thou shalt give me, I will give the tenth to thee, which thing was yielded as a testimony of their grateful & thankful minds to him that bestowed those benefits upon them, and as an acknowledgement that all they had was the Lords, and they held the same of him in chief. For the second part to whom it was given, it is here noted that it was to Melchizedech, an axcellent person, a figure of Christ, the son of God, a choice man placed by the Lord, as it were in his own room, to take homage of Abram for the Lords right, and thus the Lord hath dealt in sundry places of the scripture, appointing divers sons of men to be his deputies, to receive relief of those outward signs of the inward honour due unto himself, of which sorts there be principally four. First, the Levites appointed to teach God's people, who being first cursed by jacob for the bloodiness of the hands of Levi, and left without any tribe or inheritance, but to be divided in jacob, and scattered in Israel. Gen. 49.7. their hands were after sanctified of the Lord for showing their love & zeal to the Lord, in killing the idolaters which had worshipped the calf. The curse of dividing & scattering, the Lord applied as a means that his law might be taught in every corner of Israel, and the loss of their inheritance he recompensed by feeding them with his own portion, and promising them that he himself would be their lot and their inheritance. Nomb. 18.20. The second sort are the poor, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Deut. 26.12. The third sort are kings, whom the Lord hath placed in his own room, to guide and govern his people, as Samuel said when the people would needs have a King, he will take the tenth of your seed and of your fields and give it to his eunuchs and to his servants. 1. Sam. 8.15. The fourth sort, were the children of the Prophets trained up at school at Rama, and such other places as Universities, that they might be the apt for the matters of the Lord, as may be gathered by sundry places of the scripture. Next cometh to be considered, who paid Tithes: namely Abram: wherein the author to the Hebrews, noteth what an excellent man Melchizedech was, to whom Abram the Patriarch paid tithes: but far more excellent is the Kingdom and Priesthood of Christ, figured by Melchizedech: he also doth teach us that the end and abolishing of the priesthood of Levi was figured in this, that Levi in the loins of Abraham paid Tithes to Melchizedech. This also was figured in that the priests, & Levites paid tithes (of those Tithes which were brought them) to the high priest (who was also a figure of Christ) Num. 18.26. Lastly in this text we are to note whereof he paid tithes, which the holy Ghost to the Heb. 7.4. answereth to be of the spoils gotten by his hands. There were sundry sorts of Tithes paid, as of the fruits of the ground, of the gains of their hands, & of the increase of their cattle, whereby we see the great care that God had for the Levites in providing, for them that had no inheritance of their own: so that as the people of Israel had increase of any fruits, the Levites attending upon religion, had their portion of the same. As these tithes were of divers sorts, so were they diversly paid, of some they paid the first fruits, of some the third, of some the tenth: some were paid in money, & some otherwise, whereby we see that the holy ghost speaking of tithes is not always to be understood of tenths some do take it, but these Tithes were of the fruits gotten by Abram his hands. Thus have you heard the sum of this text. But now it is convenient (this being the first time that we find the mat-of Tithes, spoken of since we began this book of Genesis) that we should enter deeper into these words and learn somewhat out of them for ourselves. Which matter I would gladly pass over for the avoiding of false surmises & sinister reports, but that our Saviour in that commission given in the latter end of the 28. after Matthew, giveth commandment, saying: Teach them to do all that I have commanded you: And the Apostle Paul in the Act. 20. cap. 26. & 27. verses protesteth that he is free from the blood of all men, for that he kept nothing back, but had showed them all the counsel of God: the minister therefore must teach all that Christ hath commanded, even all the counsels of God revealed in his word, and he that keepeth them back, shall be found guilty both of the breach of the commandment of Christ, and also of the blood of his flock. The Pastor must teach threefore, and you must learn not only to know the duty of a Minister to his people, but also of the people towards their minister. Howsoever therefore the doctrine delivered, shall be mistaken or wrested, yet the truth must be delivered, let men take it as they will, the Lord will give it such success as he shall think best. Some peradventure will ask what this matter of tithes appertaineth to the ministery now? and will (to save their goods) say, that these were ceremonial laws, and so were abrogated by Christ's coming. To whom I answer, that the Lord (of that portion reserved unto himself) appointed some part to the Levites for the maintenance of the ministry about the Lords work. and some part of them for the sacrifices of meat offerings, drink offerings, sin offerings, trespass offerings, and peace offerings: this last part for the sacrifices was ceremonial, and so Christ the body being come, the shadows are ended. But this, that homage be done to the King of all Kings, and that the mynystrye be maintained for the setting forth of the true worship of GOD, and suppressing of all false worships, is not ceremonial but moral, and shall so long continue as any face of a Church or religion shall be upon the earth. He therefore that shall say that this is altogether ceremonial and ended by Christ, saith the Christ is a hinderer, and less careful for the ministry of the Gospel, than he was for the exercise of figures & shadows under the law. But many of these men which so willingly would have this law for the maintenance of the ministry to be disannulled as ceremonial, and yet do like enough, & to much of other ceremonies, not only Jewish, but Antichristian and Popish, even taken from the heathen, do hereby declare that it is not the ceremony, which they would have buried, but the preaching of the Gospel that they can not abide, for that it rippeth up their conscience, it rubbeth just where they are galled, and discovereth their sins: It is not a ceremony, it is this that grieveth them. On the other side, satan (seeking to bring the ministers either to slack their diligence in God's matters, and to get their bread by other means, or by poverty to run into debt, contempt and shame) hath raised up a sort of covetous men, which pull from the ministers what they can, and will as willingly have their guts drawn out of their belly, as they will part from any of their goods for the maintenance of the ministers. And these men will seem to have scripture for their purpose, yea they have this at their finger's end out of Mat. 10. 8. Freely ye have received, freely give, so far they have learned, but no further, for that it served not their purpose: For our Saviour left not his Apostles without their provision in this their painful journey, but in the same chapter appointed in every city where they should come, that they should be received into the houses of them that were worthy. and that provision should be set before them for their maintenance, but if they found not places fit for that peace they brought, they should shake the dust from their feet to be a witness of greater vengeance to that place, then that which light upon Sodom and Gomorrhe: But few are those houses that such men hold and keep, where the minister may be received with his wife and children, & have maintenance set before them with joy: yea few they are in deed where the sincere minister may eat his meat with joy, but that the abundance of sin shall make him think his bread to be as gravel between his teeth, and his drink to be as wormwood to his taste, and so with grief they would soon make the minister with shame to go & beg his bread. But as our Saviour that gave that former particular charge, to give freely, and to take neither bag nor scrip nor money, so afterwards in the 22. of Luke 35. he doth ask his Apostles whether they wanted any thing or no, when he thus sent them forth and added therewithal, now he that hath a scrip, let him possess it, and he that hath not a sword let him sell his coat and buy one, that is, the world will grow to such misery, and the ministry to such affliction, that every one will be ready to scratch & pull from you. Therefore use ye the means that are lawful in the fear of the lord for your maintenance.  
That this matter may be the plainer laid open, and made more manifest to the capacity of our understanding. Let us consider, first whether there be any stipend appointed for the ministry or no? 2. How the same should be paid? 3. to whom it should be paid? For the first, the law of nature taught it them that had not the law of God to direct them, sundry godly kings have executed it, the Fathers directed by God's spirit before the law was written used it, God by his law established it, Christ hath ratified it unto us in the new testament, and the Apostles have in sundry places taught it, & because the Apostle Paul made a large discourse of this matter, and used sundry reasons to prove the same, let us leave all other, and rip up those in the 1. Cor. 9 where he useth four principal reasons to confirm the same. The first gathered of the example of the Apostles, The second by comparison. The third of the law written, the fourth of the authority of Christ. First he saith it is lawful, yea the other Apostles have power to take maintenance of you for them and their wives, and may not I and Barnabas have it? His reason of comparison he followeth thus. The soldier hath his costs borne in his warfare, the husbandman eateth of the fruits of his labours, the shepherd feedeth of the milk of his flock. The Ox hath his mouth open to feed of the corn he treadeth out. They that waited of the altar were fed of the same, we the ministers are the soldiers and ensign bearers in your christian wars, we are Gods husbandmen, you are God's husbandry, we are the shepherds, you are the sheep, we tread you out & divide unto you the bread of life, the word of God, we minister not unto you figures and shadows as the Levites did, but the gospel, the power of God to salvation, why should not we then be maintained as soldiers? why reap we not of our labours as husbandmen? why are we not fed as shepherds? Why have we not the liberty of Oxen? Why live we not of our calling as the Levites did? Is our calling more vile than any other occupation? Are not our labours worthy meat and drink? Yes, yes, your gain is great by exchange with us, for dross you have gold, for carnal things, spiritual. And for earthly things, heavenly. Yea further, you can find nothing in the world to be laid in equal balance to weigh against the word of God: from reasoning thus by comparison, he proceedeth to his argument of authority of the law written, & therein he standeth not long, for he said it is sufficient, his word is a reason of force, and his will is a perfect rule of righteousness. Then he goeth forward to his 4. argument, and proveth that Christ allowed & ratified the same in the gospel, ordaining that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. And the Apostle to the Gal. 6.6.7. useth the same reason used before in the law, for there the Lord challenged it as a law due unto himself, & here he saith, that he which defraudeth the minister, deceiveth himself, & mocketh God: for as he was king before the law, & in the law before the coming of Christ in the flesh, so is he king still, the preaching of the gospel is the sceptre of his kingdom, the ministers are his sceptre bearers, & therefore he showeth by the Apostle. 1. Tim. 5.17. that they which labour in the word & doctrine, are worthy of double honour, that is, a liberal allowance of the maintenance of him and his. For the second part, how the same should be paid, or whereof raised, the holy Ghost hath not appointed, therefore to say that the tenths belong to the ministers as commanded by the Lord, we have no warrant for it, neither dare I say that the magistrate may not appoint the tenths for the maintenance of the ministry, except I saw the same forbidden by the lord. As kings have received their kingdoms & sceptres from the Lord, so must they endeavour that the kingdom of God may have place in their dominions, that he may rule amongst them by his word, & that the ministers be sufficiently provided for, as they will answer for it to the king of kings, of whom they hold their crowns in chief: but it is left at liberty to them to raise it, either by tenths of fruits of the earth, or of cattle, or of money, or by what means they shall in their godly wisdom think most convenient, & the more certain they make this portion, the more mischiefs they do prevent, for the leaving of it uncertain, doth often cause the minister, either to make merchandise of the word, or for gain to flatter the wealthy, or with shame for want to beg, or for need to starve, all which subtle practices Satan daily putteth in execution, seeking thereby either to overthrow the ministry, or to make it by such blemishes to lose the force and beauty of the same. But though magistrates should be careless in these matters, yet the people of God must be careful to do their duty in this respect. There was no king of Canaan that be law compelled Abram to pay these tithes, neither was there any Christian prince in the primative Church, that by law appointed maintenance for the ministers, yet Abram paid, & the Apostles & bishops after them were provided for. But to come nearer to see how they must be paid. This must be paid religiously, readily and liberally: religiously as to God for the enlarging of his kingdom, the defence of the truth, and maintenance of his true worship. It must be done readily in time convenient, & of a willing mind. It must be done liberally, that the minister be not driven to slack his calling and to employ his time in other things, thereby to get his living: by this liberality I mean not that they should be glutted up with dainties & maintained pompously, for that is as great a mischief on the other side. For when Satan can not stop the preaching of the gospel by penury & scarcity, than he trieth to choke & smother it with the glory of the world, and this way alas he doth too much prevail. But though there be some either made slow of speech, or altogether tongue-tied by this God Mammon & so bewitched, that they can like better of ministers that live as Atheists, drunkards, wantoness & old doting priests, than they do of painful & sincere preachers, yet it is a wonder to see with what cursing & swearing, how slackly & slowly, & with what pinching and sparing the rest have their portions, unless they had all conspired to overthrow the ministry. Abram was rich & yet paid tithes: the rich now a days that should give most liberally, will for the most part take tithes, there are very few of them that will pay any. The ministers are driven to live of that they can have of the poorest, which are oft times so scraped, that they are more meet to take alms then to pay tithes. In the book of Nehem. 13.4. there is a story recorded how Tobiah the Ammonite kinsman to Eliashib the priest had gotten by his favour into the chamber made for the provision of the house of God and of the Levites, so that they fled to their land, & left the house of God void, but when Nehemiah heard of it, he obtained liberty of king Artahshasht, & came to jerusalem with grief, he found the same to be true, he cast out all Tobiah his stuff, and resorted those things to their former use. If that our noble prince would now send forth some godly & zealous Nehemiah, to look to these matters now, he might find a number of Tobiah'ss entered into the chambers, appointed for the provision of the ministry. First he should find that the Abbeys (kinsmen to the high priest of Rome) began to make this spoil, & got into their hands the best benefices by impropriating them, they are overthrown, these spoils are not restored, but many men live of that they stole from the ministry. Secondly he should find a number of bishops equal in this sin, with Eliashih, or with that high priest of Rome, for they have spoiled many benefices by confirming leases to their kinsmen by power, or by blood, or by the purse, yea I know one bishop in this realm, that hath confirmed I think near 20. of the best benefices in his diocese, some to his children, some to his kinsmen, some to his officers, some for money to divers that are as bad as Ammonites in religion, Thirdly he shall find a number of patrons that will be so nigh kinsmen to the ministers, that they will have all the house and profits, & allow them scraps with the serving men, when they have waited on their patrons trencher, or they will cousin them of the house and glebe, it is part of their inheritance, it standeth as conveniently for them, as Nabothes vineyard did for Ahab, let our cousins the pield priests dwell in some bad cottages, these houses are meeter for gentle men: or they will for cozenage have the tith corn for provision for their house, & leave their poor cousin tithe goose and tith calf, with the eggs at Easter, at least they will have their own tithes. Never a chaplain of them all shall put them besides it. Some what there must be given to the mistress their wives, or to find a child at School. Fourthly, he shall find many wealthy and mighty men to be so near kinsmen to the ministers, that they will pay either nothing, or very little, they will pleasure them some other way. But if they may not have it as they list, they will be neither their cousins nor friends, the preacher nor gospeler must not harbour there, he were better to be many a mile from them. To be short, I am not able to reckon up the practices that this good commissioner should find devised by satan and put in execution by men, for the cosining & spoil of the ministry, profane men have dealt better with their idle priests than we with our ministers. Pharaoh that heathenish king, in whom was no religion, took this order when the great famine was in Egypt, as appeareth in Gen. 47.22 that his idol priests were maintained of his own charge. jezabel that Qeeene so full of wickedness, maintained Baal's priests at her own table 1. King. 18.17. & Michah as it is in the book of judges 17.5.10. made him an Idol, got him a priest, and provided for him his handful, to wit, very liberally: equal with Pharaoh, with jezabel, and with Michah, were our forerunners in the time of popery, who crammed both the bellies & the purses of Satan's hirelings, the chapplaines of Antichrist who could do nothing but say a Mass or mumble up a matins, but now in the time of the Gospel to get any thing for the maintenance of the ministry of the same, is as I said before, as grievous to them as the pulling of their bowels out of their bellies, yea, they seek to put away even that which is less. Here I might take occasion to show both how religion & justice, godliness and honesty are made shipwreck of by the spoil of the ministry: for thereby eight commandments of the ten are broken. For neither the knowledge of God, nor the true estimation and love of him commanded in the first commandment: nor the avoiding of idolatry, and setting forth of the true worship of God, prescribed in the second commandment, nor the reverence of the name of God set forth in the third, nor the observation of the sabbath, established in the 4. Nor the honour of the ministry appointed in the fift. Nor the avoiding of bloudguiltines & preservation of life given in charge in the 6. Nor the giving to every man his right required in the 8. Nor the having of a contented heart without any motion, coveting or desiring that which is another man's, straightly exacted of us in the tenth, are any whit at all regarded, so that by violating all the commandments in the first table, it showeth that there wanteth godliness in him that spoileth the ministry: & by breaking 4. commandments of the second table, it declareth the honesty hath suffered a very dangerous shipwreck: At a word it giveth an evideth testimony that there remaineth in the man a very small remnant, either of religion, or else of righteousness. Now we are to consider, to whom these tithes, stipends, or maintenance (call them as you please) are to be paid. They are to be paid to such as are ensign bearers in the Lords wars: they that preach the gospel must live of the gospel. Abram paid tithes to Melchizedech, who had applied himself to comfort Abram, to give thanks to God to preach & show forth the praises of God. Our saviour commands that the hire should be paid to the labourers, & the Apostle appointeth the double honour to them that travel in the word & doctrine, and he commandeth 2. Thes. 3.10. that if there were any which would not work that they should not eat, so that the mass men, the idle shepherds, the dumb dogs, the blind & sleepy watchmen, the wine prophets, the foolish ignorant shepherds, the idle loiterers, & the slowbellies, have no part of this allowance allotted unto them, either by the law, the prophets, our saviour, or his Apostles, their allowance is woe, the price of blood for the guiltiness of the people of god Yet these the preach least, fleece most, and if they procure a quarter sermon for their people, this must be one principal caveat to the preacher, the people are slack in paying their tithes, they must be stirred up to feed the idle flatterer, and some preachers are so simple as to serve the greedy chaplains humour for his Noble. Lord in thy good time remove these loiterers, scraping sléecers, & time servers, and place in their room such painful labourers as will bear the weight of the burdens, and abide the brunt and heat of the day, & be esteemed worthy to that honour thou hast appointed for them. Now it resteth that we proceed with the history of the king of Sodom, wherein is set down, first the supplication which the king of Sodom made to Abram expressed in the 21. ver. next the answer of Abram to the same, which followeth in the 3. last verses. In the king of Sodoms' supplication. Give me the persons, take the goods to thyself: is showed great equity & charity, equity towards Abram, in that he would take neither men nor money without Abraham's leave, for that by his painful travels, & endangering his own life, he had gotten them as spoils in the wars, & craving the men he desireth not the goods, but is willing to leave them with him: on the other side, he showeth great charity & pity fowardes his subjects, in that he sueth so earnestly to have them set at liberty. This surely is a notable supplication, and a very rare example of a singular suit. If we consider all circumstances. First he is very poor, than his country is spoiled, next his goods are carried away, he is left very bare, why doth he not rather in respect of himself, seek the riches and ask the goods, then crave the men. Why doth he not consider that he hath nothing to keep them on, no not for himself. All these considerations are swallowed by the love he beareth to his subjects, his mercy to his men full of miseries & calamities, causeth him to regard none of those things, but he saith, Give me the persons, take the goods to thyself. This example is seldom followed (to the shame I speak it of the miserable worldlings that live in these days) that this profane king not professing God, dwelling at the vile place Sodom, showed more mercy towards men, than many called christians, dwelling in the body of Christian realms, do to their Christian brethren. Few are those masters that tender not their beasts more than their servants, few are the Landlords that regard not the goods more than men, as the oppressing of the poor, by rackings of rents, by excessive fines, by extraordinary payments, gnawing from them the bread gotten with painful hands, before it can come into the children's bellies, and the unharbouring of the harbourless, when they have scraped them to the bones doth witness, and the cry of the same doth come to the ears of the Lord of hosts, by the pitiful complaints of men, women, and children, widows, & Orphans, yea, the fatherless infants, are driven to wail, because that merciless Landlords crave the goods & have no compassion upon christians. To be short, few are those ministers the care more for the souls, then for the stipends & tithes, as the covetous heaping up of many benefices together the number of none residentes, the careless setting over of souls, to journey men and hirelings that will serve best cheap, the greedy scraping for tithes, the seldom preaching yea many great rabbins which would be counted jolly preachers, will preach no oftener than shame, law, or injunction compel them. Yea some that should spur others forward, may be presented in their several charges for default of their quarter Sermons. This testifieth that they seek not the souls but the goods. Thus in these few words we see the course of the world in general, which is to be condemned by this example of the king of Sodom, & I fear it will not be amended till God consume us & our corruptions with fire, as he did the Sodomites. The time is past, the answer of Abram I defer to the 4. day of this week. Let us pray that we may profit by that we have now heard.  
FINIS.