hath any spiritual charge in the faithful congregation, and whosoever he be that hath cure of souls.  And well may the preacher and the ploughman be likened together:  first, for their labour of all seasons of the year; for there is no time of the year in which the ploughman hath not some special work to do:  as in my country in Leicestershire, the ploughman hath a time to set forth, and to assay his plough, and other times for other necessary works to be done.  And then they also maybe likened together for the diversity of works and variety of offices that they have to do.  For as the ploughman first setteth forth his plough, and then tilleth his land, and breaketh it in furrows, and sometime ridgeth it up again; and at another time harroweth it and clotteth it, and sometime dungeth it and hedgeth it, diggeth it and weedeth it, purgeth and maketh it clean:  so the prelate, the preacher, hath many diverse offices to do.  He hath first a busy work to bring his parishioners to a right faith, as Paul calleth it, and not a swerving faith; but to a faith that embraceth Christ, and trusteth to his merits; a lively faith, a justifying faith; a faith that maketh a man righteous, without respect of works:  as ye have it very well declared and set forth in the Homily.  He hath then a busy work, I say, to bring his flock to a right faith, and then to confirm them in the same faith:  now casting them down with the law, and with threatenings of God for sin; now ridging them up again with the gospel, and with the promises of God’s favour:  now weeding them, by telling them their faults, and making them forsake sin; now clotting them, by breaking their stony hearts, and by making them supplehearted, and making them to have hearts of flesh; that is, soft hearts, and apt for doctrine to enter in:  now teaching to know God rightly, and to know their duty to God and their neighbours:  now exhorting them, when they know their duty, that they do it, and be diligent in it; so that they have a continual work to do.  Great is their business, and therefore great should be their hire.  They have great labours, and therefore they ought to have good livings, that they may commodiously feed their flock; for the preaching of the word of God unto the people is called meat:  scripture calleth it meat; not strawberries, that come but once a year, and tarry not long, but are soon gone:  but it is meat, it is no dainties.  The people must have meat that must be familiar and continual, and daily given unto them to feed upon.  Many make a strawberry of it, ministering it but once a year; but such do not the office of good prelates.  For Christ saith, Quis putas est servus prudens et fidelis? Qui dat cibum in tempore.  “Who think you is a wise and faithful servant?  He that giveth meat in due time.”  So that he must at all times convenient preach diligently:  therefore saith he, “Who trow ye is a faithful servant?” He speaketh it as though it were a rare thing to find such a one, and as though he should say, there be but a few of them to find in the world.  And how few of them there be throughout this realm that give meat to their flock as they should do, the Visitors can best tell.  Too few, too few; the more is the pity, and never so few as now.