PAUL'S CHURCH IN LONDON, ON THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF JANUARY, ANNO 1548.
Quaeunque scripta sunt ad nostram doctrinam scripta sunt.--Rom.xv.4.
"All things which are written, are written for our erudition andknowledge.All things that are written in God's book, in the Bible book, in the book of the holy scripture, are written to be our doctrine."I told you in my first sermon, honourable audience, that I purposed to declare unto you two things.The one, what seed should be sown in God's field, in God's plough land; and the other, who should be the sowers: that is to say, what doctrine is to be taught in Christ's church and congregation, and what men should be the teachers and preachers of it.The first part I have told you in the three sermons past, in which I have assayed to set forth my plough, to prove what I could do.And now I shall tell you who be the ploughers: for God's word is a seed to be sown in God's field, that is, the faithful congregation, and the preacher is the sower.And it is in the gospel: Exivit qui seminat seminare semen suum; "He that soweth, the husbandman, the ploughman, went forth to sow his seed." So that a preacher is resembled to a ploughman, as it is in another place: Nemo admota aratro manu, et a tergo respiciens, aptus est regno Dei."No man that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is apt for the kingdom of God." That is to say, let no preacher be negligent in doing his office.Albeit this is one of the places that hath been racked, as I told you of racking scriptures.And I have been one of them myself that hath racked it, I cry God mercy for it; and have been one of them that have believed and expounded it against religious persons thatwould forsake their order which they had professed, and would go out of their cloister: whereas indeed it toucheth not monkery, nor maketh any thing at all for any such matter; but it is directly spoken of diligent preaching of the word of God.
