“For thus I taught openly:  ’He that should hear you, should hear me; he that should despise you, should despise me.’  I gave you also keys, not earthly keys, but heavenly.  I left my goods that I have evermore most highly esteemed, that is, my word and sacraments, to be dispensed of you.  These benefits I gave you, and do you give me these thanks?  Can you find in your hearts thus to abuse my goodness, my benignity, my gentleness?  Have you thus deceived me?  No, no, ye have not deceived me, but yourselves.  My gifts and benefits towards you shall be to your greater damnation.  Because you have contemned the lenity and clemency of the master of the house, ye have right well deserved to abide the rigour and severity of the judge.  Come forth then, let us see an account of your stewardship.  An horrible and fearful sentence:  Ye may have no longer my goods in your hands.  A voice to weep at, and to make men tremble!”

You see, brethren, you see, what evil the evil stewards must come to.  Your labour is paid for, if ye can so take heed, that no such sentence be spoken to you; nay, we must all take heed lest these threatenings one day take place in us.  But lest the length of my sermon offend you too sore, I will leave the rest of the parable and take me to the handling of the end of it; that is, I will declare unto you how the children of this world be more witty, crafty, and subtle, than are the children of the light in their generation.  Which sentence would God it lay in my poor tongue to explicate with such light of words, that I might seem rather to have painted it before your eyes, than to have spoken it; and that you might rather seem to see the thing, than to hear it!  But I confess plainly this thing to be far above my power.  Therefore this being only left to me, I wish for that I have not, and am sorry that that is not in me which I would so gladly have, that is, power so to handle the thing that I have in hand, that all that I say may turn to the glory of God, your souls’ health, and the edifying of Christ’s body.  Wherefore I pray you all to pray with me unto God, and that in your petition you desire, that these two things he vouchsafe to grant us, first, a mouth for me to speak rightly; next, ears for you, that in hearing me ye may take profit at my hand:  and that this may come to effect, you shall desire him, unto whom our master Christ bad we should pray, saying even the same prayer that he himself did institute.  Wherein ye shall pray for our most gracious sovereign lord the king, chief and supreme head of the church of England under Christ, and for the most excellent, gracious, and virtuous lady queen Jane, his most lawful wife, and for all his, whether they be of the clergy or laity, whether they be of the nobility, or else other his grace’s subjects, not forgetting those that being departed out of this transitory life, and now sleep in the sleep of peace, and rest from their labours in quietness and peaceable sleep, faithfully, lovingly, and patiently looking for that that they clearly shall see when God shall be so pleased.  For all these, and for grace necessary, ye shall say unto God God’s prayer, Pater-noster.