before-hand, whereby your prudence and diligence in your office may appear, so that your people may have cause to glorify God for you, and be the readier to embrace your labours, to your better commendation, to the discharge of your confciences, and their own. N. B. The latter part of the foregoing Admonition, relating to the Change of Leffons, in certain cafes, at the difcretion of the Minifter, is now entirely fuperfeded by the Act of Uniformity, 14 Car. II. Cap. iv. Sect. 2. & 24. by which "all Minifters are bound" (under the penalties enacted by the Statute 1 Elix. Cap. ii. Sect. 4—8.) " to say " and use the Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Celebra"tion and Administration of both the Sacraments, and all "other the public and common Prayer, in fuch order and "form as is mentioned in the faid Book annexed and "joined to this prefent Act, intituled The Book of Com66 mon Prayer" &c. &c. of which Book The Order how the reft of the Holy Scripture is to be read, the Tables of Leffons, and the Calendar, as well as the Rubrics, are evidently a part. THE TABLE OF HOMILIES ENSUING. 1. OF the Right Use of the Church. 2. Against Peril of Idolatry. 3. For repairing and keeping clean the Church. 4. Of good Works; and firft of Fafting. 5. Against Gluttony and Drunkenness. 6. Against Excefs of Apparel. 7. An Homily of Prayer. 8. Of the Place and Time of Prayer. 9. Of Common Prayer and Sacraments. 10. An Information for them which take Offence at certain places of holy Scripture. 11. Of Alms-deeds. 12. Of the Nativity. 13. Of the Paffion, for Good-Friday. 14. Of the Refurrection, for Eafter-day. 15. Of the worthy Receiving of the Sacrament. 16. An Homily concerning the coming down of the Holy Ghoft, for Whitfunday. 17. An Homily for Rogation-Week. 18. Of the State of Matrimony. 19. Against Idleness. 20. Of Repentance, and true Reconciliation unto God. 21. An Homily against Difobedience and wilful Rebellion. AN HOMILY OF THE Right Ufe of the Church or Temple of God, and of the Reverence due unto the fame. THE FIRST PART. WHEREAS there appeareth in these days great flacknefs and negligence of a great fort of people, in reforting to the Church, there to ferve God their heavenly Father, according to their most bounden duty, as alfo much uncomely and unreverent behaviour of many perfons in the fame, when they be there affembled, and thereby may just fear arife of the wrath of God, and his dreadful plagues hanging over our heads for our grievous offences in this behalf, amongst other many and great fins which we daily and hourly commit before the Lord: therefore, for the difcharge of all our confciences, and the avoiding of the common peril and plague hanging over us, let us confider what may be faid out of God's holy Book concerning this matter, whereunto I pray you give good audience, for that it is of great weight, and concerneth you all. Although the eternal and incomprehenfible Majefty of God, the Lord of heaven and earth, whofe feat is heaven, and the earth his footstool, cannot be inclosed in temples or houses made with man's A&ts vii. hand, as in dwelling-places able to receive or contain his Majefty, according as is evidently declared of the Prophet Ifaiah, and by the doctrine of St. Stephen and St. Ifa. Ixvii. Paul in the Acts of the Apoftles. And where king Solo- Afts vii. mon (who builded unto the Lord the most glorious tem K 2 ple xvii. 1 Kings viii. and vi. ple that ever was made) faith, Who shall be able to build 2 Chron. ii. a meet or worthy houfe for him? If heaven, and the heaven above all heavens, cannot contain him, how much less can that which I have builded? And further confeffeth, What am I, that I should be able to build thee an houfe, O Lord? But yet for this purpose only it is made, that thou mayeft regard the prayer of thy fervant, and his humble fupplication. Much lefs then be our churches meet dwelling-places to receive the incomprehenfible Majefty of God. And indeed the chief and special temples of God, wherein he hath greateft pleasure, and moft delighteth to dwell and continue in, are the bodies and minds of true Chriftians, and the chofen people of God, according to the doctrine of the holy Scripture, declared in the firft Epiftle to the Corin1 Cor. iii. thians: Know ye not, faith St. Paul, that ye be the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him will God deftroy. For the temple of God is holy, which ye are. And again in the 1 Cor. vi. fame Epiftle: Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghoft dwelling in you, whom ye have given you of God, and that ye be not your own? For ye are dearly bought. Glorify ye now therefore God in your body and in your Spirit, which are God's. And therefore, as our Saviour Chrift teacheth in the Gofpel of St. John, they that worship God the Father in fpirit and truth, in what place foever they do it, worship him aright: for fuch worshippers doth God the Father look for. For God is a Spirit; and those which worship him muft worship him in fpirit and truth, faith our Saviour Chrift. Yet all this notwithstanding, the material church or temple is a place appointed, as well by the usage and continual example expreffed in the Old Teftament, as in the New, for the people of God to refort together unto, there to hear God's holy word, to call upon his holy name, to give him thanks for his innumerable and unspeakable benefits bestowed upon us, and duly and truly to celebrate his holy Sacraments; (in the unfeigned doing and accomplishing of the which ftandeth that true and right worthipping of God afore mentioned ;) and the fame church or temple is by the Scriptures, both of the Old Teftament and the New, called the Houfe and Temple of the Lord, for the peculiar service there done to his Majefty by his people, and for the effectuous prefence of his heavenly grace, wherewith he, by his faid holy word, endueth his people fo there affembled. And to the faid Houfe or Temple of God, at all times, by common order appointed, are all people that be godly indeed bound with John iv. all |