is consecrate is the body and bloud of Christ. Marke further of the goodly doctrine of your Romish doctors in this point Clemens that they will call the Apostles fellow sayth Let no Mise dung be founde among the fragments or peeces of the Lords portion meaning the Sacrament if Clemens said so then he did not it to be the body of Christ. For the glorious body of Christ is not nor will bée where such filth is The Glose also saith that the bodye of Christ may be vomitted vp againe O horrible wordes not méet to be named or once thought though y e priests Christs body of their owne making may be vomitted vp yet we are sure that the body of Christ which is in heauen will suffer no such absurditie And as this their doctrine is absurd wicked concerning their transubstantiation of the bread into y e body of Christ so is the doings superstitious ceremonies of the Priest in saying of the Masse and celebrating as they call it of their said body of Christ as fond and ridiculous as may appeare by their duckings turnings crossing lycking and feyned sléeping with many other such toyes with the childish and ridiculous garments and attire that he then weares drest more like a player than a Priest But Doctor Durand sets out the Priest then as though hée were in his complete harneys Who sayeth as followeth His Amys is his heade peece his Albe is his coate of male his Girdle is his bowe his Subcingle is his quiuer his stoale is his Speere his manyple is his Club his Chyseble is his target and in the ende he sayth these be the peeces wherwith the Bishoppe or Priest must bee harneyssed that will fight agaynst Spirituall wickednesse Muste not thys bée bothe a holye and strong harneys the Diuell dare not come néere hym that hath all thys on his backe If the Diuell wyll bée afrayde it must néedes make him flye awaye for feare I remember that Saint Paul telles vs of a harneys for vs to weare to resiste our spirituall enemye and the fyrie Dartes of the Diuell but among all hys harneys hée names not one iotte of the Priestes harneys that hée weares at Masse Whose wordes are these For this cause sayeth he take vnto you the armour of GOD that ye maye bee able to resiste in the euyll daye and stand perfect in all thinges Stande therefore your loynes gyrte aboute with veritie hauyng on the breast plate of righteousnesse and shodde with shooes prepared vnto the Gospell of peace aboue all take to you the shielde of faythe wherewyth yee maye quenche all the fyrie Dartes of the wycked And take the Helmette of saluation and the sworde of the Spirite whiche is the word of GOD. And praye alwaye wyth all manner of prayer and supplication and that in the Spirite c. Loe here is not one worde of Doctor Durands harneys therfore if it be so good a harneys as he makes it to be I muche muse that S. Paule did leaue it out and spake not of it belike either S Paule knew not of it or he had forgot it or else did mislike it but bicause we are assured that the armour that S. Paule speakes of is an olde auncient harneys and is an armour of proofe and this Doctor Durands harneys is but some couÌ„terfeit new made harneys therfore y e Popes Priestes were best to throwe awaye Doctor Durands harneys and to take S. Paules sure armour of prooffe Marke I beséeche you to what streites the Popes Doctors are driuen for the prouing of this their transubstantiation and changing of the bread into the body of Christe and yet it will not be nay they are vanquished with their owne argumentes For they saye that the body of Christ in the sacrament hath neither forme nor proportion nor limitation of place nor distinction of partes and is neithâ—r highe nor lowe long nor short thicke nor thyn and yet for all this saying many of you beléeue firmely that it is the very body of Christ truely if it be so it is the strangest body that euer I hard of if they make Christ body such a body but for maners sake he were as good haue neuer a bodye This your Christes body is such a body by their saying that none can sée it féele it heare it nor perceiue it and so within a whyle they will make I hope that not none will beléeue it and when none beléeues it then farewell the Masse the flowre of your follio I haue heard diuerse of you say y t they would desire no better iudge than S. Augustine well I am content S. Augustine shall be iudge but when you haue heard hym speake I feare you will not like his iudgement But if S. Augustine or any other shoulde say that the body of Christ may be without shape proportion qualitie quantitie or be without place I would saye then that neither he nor they were worthy to be counted to be learned or at the least wel learned Nowe let vs heare what S. Augustine saith in this case These are his wordes Spatia locorum tolle corporibus nusquam erunt quia nusquam erunt nec erunt c. Take away sayth he from bodyes limitation of place and the bodyes will be no where and bicause they be no where they wil be nothing Take awaye from bodyes the qualities of bodyes there will be no place for them to be in And therefore the same bodyes must needes be no bodyes at al. And now bycause that which you call the bodie of Christ hath neither quantitie qualitie nor place neither proportion of a body Therefore by Saint Augustines iudgement it is no body And if it be no bodye then it muste be bread or else it must néedes be nothing but I truste you wil not say that it is nothing y t the Priest doth consecrate or that it is nothing that he doth holde ouer his head Therefore you were beste to take and vse it as Christe by his Gospell hath appointed and as he himselfe did vse it and so you shall haue it thoughe not Christes very bodye yet a worthye something that is a holye Sacrament a pretious pledge a singular seale a soueraigne signe and a most comfortable remembraunce of our redemption and saluation by the passion and death of our Sauiour Iesus Christe the sonne of God Marke I beséech you how wide they wander that walke in a wrong way Was there euer any thinke you did so grossely so fondly so vnlearnedly and so vntruely applye the sacred Scriptures as Maister Harding one of the Captaines of your crue hath done for the prouing of this your Transubstantiation or changing of the bread into the body of Christe I thinke but a fewe For he saith That the sonne of man came not to destroy but to saue That is He tooke breade and wine and turned them into his bodie and bloude aduauncing these creatures of breade and
Steward tolde him that hys Phisition had forbidden any Porke to be serued vnto him then the holye Father burst out in a great rage and sayde bring me my Porke fleshe in the despight of God A man woulde thinke that these were rather the wordes of Pluto the prince of darkenesse than of an earthly prelate especially of Christes deputie or Uicar At an other time this same patient Pope sitting at dinner pointing to a Peacocke vppon his table which he had not touched kéepe sayde he this colde Peacocke for me against Supper and let me suppe in the Garden for I shall haue guestes So when Supper came among other hotte Peacocks he saw not the colde Peacock brought to the table the Pope after his wonted manner most horribly blasphemyng God fâ—ll into an extreame rage c. wherevppon one of his Cardinals sitting by desired him saying let not your holynesse I pray you be so moued with a matter of so small weyght then this Iulius the Pope aunsweared againe what if God was so angry for one Apple that he cast our first parentes out of Paradise for the same why maye not I being his Uicar be angry theÌ„ for a Peacock sithence a Peacock is a greater matter than an Apple you may sée that the Pope is a good and vertuous scholler he can learne of God to be angry but he cannot learne at Christ to be patient What a blasphemous wretche was this that would make his mans disobeying of him for not bringing y e Peacocke which he bad to be a greater offence than Adams disobeying of God in eating of the Apple whiâ—h God forbod and thus he would teach vs that it is a greater offence to make the Pope angry than to prouoke Gods wrathe But hereof we may be sure that by offending God we deserue our damnation but by displeasing the Pope wée maye get our saluation for if we embrace the Gospell we displease the Pope and please God and thereby shall attaine to bée saued but if wée forsake the Gospell wée shall please the Pope and displease God and thereby get our damnation Marke here by this Pope y e holynesse of their holy chaire at Rome the sitters wherein being Popes can not erre say they neither can say or do amisse say or do what they wyll but hereof I am sure that the Popes before mentioned eyther dyd neuer sitte in that blessed chaire or else that chaire hath no such vertue in it as they wold make vs beleue And though this Pope and the reste were rather to be abhorred than honored yet this wicked and blasphemous Pope Iulius dying in Quéene Maâ—ies time was had here in such reuerence and estimation that commaundement was giuen that Hearses Dirges and funâ—rals shoulde be had and celebrated for him in all Churches But marke y e blindnesse folly of many then if he could haue pardoned al other of their sinnes he might then haue pardoned himself and so néeded neither Dirges nor Masses For if his pardons were good then no doubte he pardoned himselfe and so the Masses and Dirges for him were néedlesse And if he had néed of Masses Dirges after his death then it is manifest that the pardons that he gaue vs in his life time were nothing worth And as hereby all ye that are wise may plainly iudge that the Popes pardoÌ„s are nothing worthe Euen so his Masses and Dirges which likewise came from the Popes and not from Christe are as little worth Yet for all that there were Hearses set vp for him and Dyrges sung for him in diuers places At which time there chaunced a womaÌ„ to come into Saint Magnus Church at the Bridge foote in London who séeing there a Hearse and other preparation asked what it meant to whom other that stoode by sayde that it was for the Pope and that shée must praye for him nay quoth she that will I not for he néedeth not my prayers for séeyng he coulde forgiue vs all our sinnes I am sure he is cleare himselfe therefore I néede not to pray for him Thus you may perceiue that God did not onely open the eyes of a simple woman to sée howe men were deceyued and shutte the eyes of Princes and greate men that they coulde not sée howe they were deceyued but also gaue hir courage and boldnesse in that daungerous time to vtter the truth Pope Stephen tooke vp Pope Formosus body hys predecessour chopte off hys forefingers cutte off hys head and threw his naked carcasse into y e Riuer of Tyber The Pope neuer learned this of Toby for Toby buried theÌ„ that were vnburied but this Pope vnburyed them that were buryed And whereas Toby did burie men in the earth this Pope did burie one in the water Vrbanus the first thrust fiue Cardinals into sackes and threw them into the Sea The godly Christians vse to burie dead men in y e earth but this holy Pope did bury quicke men in the sea Is not here a goodly rabble of holy and vertuous Popes are they not méete posts and pillers for you to take holde on woulde you haue thoughte that they that make themselues Christes Uickars had bene suche followers of the Féende and suche seruauntes of Sathan you maye thynke that they were not the Disciples of the Diuel but I am sure they were not the Children of God And bycause some of you saye that the Popes cannot erre beholde well what trueth and good religion was in these Popes that followe Pope Leo was an Arian Heretike Pope Celestinus was a Nestorian Heretike Pope Liberius was an Arian Heretike Pope Marcellinus offered sacrifice to Idols and was a Nestorian Heretike Pope Honorius was a Mononethelite Heretike Pope Iohn the two and twentith was an Heretike and Anastasius was an Arian Heretike Nowe if such horrible Heretickes as these be cannot erre or goe wrong then surely I wil say with you that the Pope cannot erre but if Heretikes Schismatikes Apostatas Simoniackes Idolatours Coniurers Blasphemers Murtherers Sacrificers to Diuelles and fylthie Fornicatours maye erre then the Popes haue moste shamefullye and falselye erred lyed and gone cleane wrong Petrarchus sayeth that Rome is a Sanctuarie of all Heresies And Lyra sayeth that manye Popes haue fallen into Heresies If so manye Popes haue bene Heretikes and if Heretikes erre or are in the wrong waye then the Popes haue erred and haue bene foulye out of the right way as is before sayde Therefore that the POPES can not erre is a common lye onelye vsed to make fooles beléeue that all is true that the Pope saith And bycause manye of you haue thoughte that the Byshopricke of Rome is the holyest Bishopricke in all the worlde assure your selues that no Sea or Bishopricke in al the world that euer was reade or hearde of hath had so manye Idolatours Necromancers Heretikes Aduouterers Church robbers periured persons Murtherers MoÌ„sters Blasphemers and tirants as Rome hath had and yet they woulde make vs beléeue as they
according vnto Christes teaching in their vulgare tongue or whiche they vnderstande if they aske in faith they shall be sure to haue that they lacke But nowe if euerye one that prayes in a knowne tong and knowes what they aske do not aske in faith and therfore obtaine not their desire nor haue that they lacke then all they that pray in the Latine tong and know not what they say or aske can not praye in faith and therefore muste néedes goe without that they lacke And so your prayers in the Latine tong which you vnderstand not must néedes bée a most friuolous and vaine prayer whereby you bothe anger God and deceiue your selues therfore if you would haue God to graunt your prayer then you muste knowe what you say to God and wherefore you make your prayer If one shoulde come to a Noble man aboute a sute and make a babbling to him with his tong neyther knowing himself what he saith neither y e noble man vnderstandeth what he woulde haue do you thinke he were like to spéed of his sute at the Noble mans hands Nay would not the Noble man thinke he were mad and therefore bid him go out of hys sight yes certainely euen so when you come thus babbling to God not knowing what you say or aske do you thinke to obtaine any thing at Gods hand No I warrant you but he wil be angry with you for misusing his Maiestie in such an vndecent maner and bycause you pray not in that order to him as Christe appointed you But haply you wil say the comparisons are not like for though the Noble man doth not know our mind yet God knoweth our meaning I know well y e God both knowes oure mindes and our harts But what if you know not certainely your own meanyng would you haue God to grant your vncertaine meanyng As I said before God doth not grant to euery one y t they aske though they know what they aske and do you thinke then he wil graunt you that knows not what you aske Elias prayed vnto God for a widowes son that was deade whose prayer God hearde for God restored him his life but Elias did not only knowe what he askt but also he prayed with a feruent faith Iudith when she prayed to God for the deliuering of the Bethulians she prayed not in Latine but in hir own tong that she vnderstoode spake with hir mouth y t she ment in hir hart wherby she obtained hir petition at Gods hands so must all true Christians know what they say require of God that would obtaine y t they aske of God Truely if Christe would haue had vs pray in any one tong and bound vs to one language he would then haue rather commanded vs to pray in the Hebrew tong y t was his natural spéeche and mother tong than in the Latine tong but he regardes not the tong but the prayer that is made with the tong not the babling of the tong but the feruent prayer that is pronounced with the tong Yet maister Harding sayth Some fruite there is alwayes had euen by secrete and vnknowne prayer whom maister Iewel aunsweareth thus But what fruite or how muche or how ye know it or can assure it ye tel vs not Yet Saint Augustine sayth what profit is there in speeche be it neuer so perfect if the vnderstanding of the hearer can not attayne vnto it for there is no cause why we should speake at al if they vnderstande not what wee speake for whose sake wee speake that they may vnderstand And again he sayeth my minde is without fruite this the Apostle Saint Paule saith when the thing that is spoken is not perceiued And again set apart the vnderstāding of thy mind no mā hath fruit or profit of that thing he perceiueth not And againe what needeth vs to sing if we vnderstand not what we sing or to sing with our voyce and not with our hart for vnderstanding is the sound or voyce of the hart Yet maister Harding telleth vs sadly that the deuout people is edified by the latine prayer though he vnderstand not one word that is spokē But S Au. saith by that thing that he vnderstādeth not no man is edified Maister Harding sayeth there is alwayes some fruit euen by secrete and vnknown prayer But S. Au. sayth there is no fruite in speeche be it neuer so perfecte if the vnderstanding of the hart can not attaine it so properly S. Au. and M. Harding agrées togither thus much sayth M. Iewel but bycause S. Au. is both antienter and of better credite we were best to sticke to his iudgement therein let M. Hardings goe But if one maye be edified by the latine prayer though he vnderstand neuer a word that he speaks then the créede or beléefe may profit one y t can say y e words though he vnderstande them not so by this meanes the Popingey of Cardinal Ascanius that was taught to saye could say al the Articles of the Créede from the beginning to the ende had some profit or was edified by hir vttering or speaking of the same But I thinke few are so foolish as to beléeue it No more are they that prayes in y e latine tōg that vnderstand not what they say S. Au. sayeth It is possible that a man pronounce the whole words of the Creede and yet not to haue the right faith Now if they that cā pronounce their whole Créede and knowe what they saye and yet may not haue the right faith then howe can they haue the right fayth that say the Créede in a strange tong and knowes neuer a word what they say thus you maye sée what a pretious kinde of praying your latine prayers are that the Pope doth allow you But yet you shall sée further how he hath and doth delude you in your prayers and how far he hath wrested your praying from the prayers and manner of praying that Christ hath taught you Christe willed his Apostles not onely to praye in theyr own vulgar tongue but also he taught them a prayer and to whom they should pray Which was that they shoulde only praye vnto God our Heauenlye father but the Pope not contented with the doctrine of Christe but thinkes he can teach and set out a better forme of prayer than he hathe taught you that you muste praye in none other tong but in the latine tongue thoughe you vnderstande neuer a worde thereof besides he doth teach you to praye vnto Saintes and to Marie the virgin and mother of Christe yea and to deade Images of stockes and stones that can neyther sée you heare you nor graunte you that you require It may be that some of you wil say that as you like not praying to Images so you mislike not to praye vnto oure Lady or vnto Saints that they maye praye vnto God for you for if one would speake with a King or
with a greate man it is no harme to speake to his Chamberlaine or to one that is next vnto him that he may shewe y e king of vs which vaine reason Saint Ambrose answers very wel saying we are broughte vnto the Princes of Kings by Lordes and officers bycause the king is a man and knoweth not to whom he may committe his Realme But to obtaine Gods fauour from whome nothing is secrete as knowing what euerie man is meete to haue we neede no spokes man but a deuoute minde wheresoeuer suche a one speaketh vnto God God wil aunswere him Thus hath that learned Doctour aunswered this foolish and vaine obiection wherby it plainely appeares that there wer some of your opinion in his days and that he was of the same opinion that we are in these dayes But if Saint Ambrose Saint Augustine and a thousande moe of learned men shoulde write that we ought to praye vnto the Uirgin Marie and to the Saintes yet we oughte not to beléeue them for as muche as Christ hath taught vs contrarie who biddes vs to make our prayers onelye to GOD oure Heauenlye Father But as long as the Doctoures and Fathers doe agrée with the Gospell we wil allowe them but if they do not we wil reiect them But whatsoeuer Christ sayth y e Pope saith otherwise now marke wel herein the holy doctrine of the Church of Rome which allows wils you to pray vnto y e blessed Uirgine thus Let him know thee to be his mother commaund thy sonne vse thy motherlye authoritie ouer him Is not this a trim kind of prayer you shal not finde this in al the Lordes prayer that Christ taught to his Disciples if you say y t this is but a spiritual dallying as M. Harding said to maister Iewel then I wil answere you as M. Iewel answered M. Harding this must néedes be a blessed kinde of Diuinitie that can turne praying to dallying This kinde of prayer was vsed vniuersally saith M. Iewel throughout all the Church of Rome that men women and children learned and vnlearned were taught and forced thus to praye Thou art the Queene of heauen Thou art the Lady of Angels cōmaunde thy sonne shew thy selfe to be the mother Cardinal Bembus sometimes the Popes secretarie calleth the Virgine Mary Lady and goddesse Ambrosius Catharinus in the late Chapter at Trydent calleth hir goddes fellow by these words fidelissima eius Socia that is Gods moste faithful fellow Nicholaus Cusanus a Cardinal of Rome saith This thing turneth to the praise of God and the Virgin Marie the mother of Christ that she was neuer at any time vnder the Princehoode of the author of death That Virgin neded no deliuerer that should redeeme hir from the sentence pronounced against Adam and his posteritie Mary was neued raced out of the booke of death for she was neuer written in it Here we are taught that Marie the Virgin is our Lady and goddesse that she is Gods fellow and that she had no neede to be saued by the death of Christ nay your church of Rome teacheth to pray vnto hir thus Saue thou al thē that glorifie thee and this also is in Lipomanus beholde howe mighty is the mother of God and how no mā may be saued but by hir What is blasphemie if this be not blasphemie yet this is the religion of your holy church of Rome would you haue thought y t either they had writtē thus or durst be so bold to write thus there was none that euer came of the séede of Adam but they haue néede to be saued by the death of Christ. These Bookes that containe these things you ought to burne and not the holy Scriptures wherin you can spie no such faultes Your Church of Rome calles the Uirgin Marie which is the mother of Christ the Quéene of Heauen but it mistakes hir as it doth many other things for she is not the Quéene of Heauen but hir Sonne Christ is the King heauen Therfore the Church of Rome doth most wickedly to worship hir as they doe Wherevpon Epiphanius sayth Let no man eate of this errour touching S. Marie for though the tree be faire yet is not the fruite to be eaten although Marie be beautiful holye and honorable yet is she not to be adored But these women worshipping S. Marie renue againe the sacrifice of wyne mingled in the honor of the goddesse Fortuna and prepare a table for the Diuell and not for God as it is written in the Scriptures They are fedde with meate and wickednesse And againe Their women boult flowre and their children gather stickes to make fine cakes in the honour of the Queene of Heauen Therfore let such women be rebuked by the Prophet Hieremie and let them no more trouble the worlde and let them not say we worship the Queene of Heauen Thus much writeth that auncient Father Epiphanius against the fonde and vnchristianly exalting and honouring of the Uirgin Marie for the Quéene of Heauen Marke also what a blasphemous prayer y e holy Church of Rome doth teache you to pray whereby it appeares that they that belonge to that Churche néede not the bloud of Christ to saue them for the bloud of Thomas Becket which was once a traitour to his King here in England is sufficient for they say thus in their Mattins O Christ make vs to ascend vnto heauen whether Thomas is ascended euen by the bloud of Thomas that he shed for thy sake Is not this Church of Rome thinke you the true Churche of God that blots out the blessed bloud of Christ without which there is no saluation puts in the bloud of a sinfull wretch to climbe to heauē by but I thinke they mistake y e words perhaps the meaning of them is thus make vs to descende into hell whether Thomas is descended euen by the bloud of Thomas y t he shed for the Popes sake for surely if Thomas Becket did pray to ascēd by the bloud of any but of Christ as these of the Churche of Rome doe by his I beléeue that this your holye Saint Thomas a Saint of the Popes making is rather in hell than in heauen Can the children of God or they that are Christians bée content to abide in this blasphemous Church of Rome that vseth suche a kinde of praying as desires to climbe to heauen by the bloud of a vile wretched sinner and refuseth the bloud of that immaculate lambe Iesus Christ the sonne of God Surely if I were as déepely drowned in that detestable Papistrie as any of you are or euer was hearing but halfe this that I haue written I should not onely with al spéede detest that abhominable Religion of the Pope but also flie vnto Christ and take holde on his holy Gospell as I doe not doubt but assuredly trust that many of you will And as this Romish Church hath with hir most wicked prayer blotted out the pure and perfecte order of praying
the thurstie to drinke of the well of lyfe for nothing not for his owne workes or desertes Origen sayth most truly forasmuch as all men are shut vp and closed vnder sinne now the saluation of man standeth not in mans merites but in Gods mercie And many such like haue the learned fathers written only to beate vs downe from our owne works to lay hold on Gods mercies and the merites of Christ. S. Bernard writeth excellently hereof my merite saith he is the mercie of God so long as God is not poore of mercie so long can not I be poore of merite if his mercies be great then am I great in merites This is the whole merite of man if he put his whole affiance in the Lorde This same is the Protestants Religion to trust with S. Barnarde in the merites of Christ and mercies of God But they of that wicked Romish religion do trust to their owne workes for belyke they are so holy they néede not Christes merites For they can deserue the kingdome of Heauen by their owne workes which is a most detestable and Diuelish doctrine For marke this well all the déedes and good workes that you can doe are but worldly workes and if you looke to be rewarded for doing of them yet a heauenly rewarde is to good for an earthly worke and a heauenly wages is to much for an earthly seruice It is inough if God gyue you a worldly rewarde for your worldly workes Nay is your worldly workes and seruice that you saie you doo vnto God worthie of the earthly giftes and rewardes that God dayly giues you no I warrant you if a man might aske you that saies you may deserue Heauen by your owne merits what seruice do you or can you do that God stands néede off he is a heauenly King and therefore hath heauenly seruants to wayte vpon him to do his will and to serue him who obeye him in al things offende him in nothing but you are earthly creatures both vnworthie vnable to serue such a king that obeyes him in nothing and offendes him in all things Therefore if you be his seruauntes you are but simple seruantes and serue him but slenderly and as Christ cals you vnprofitable seruants Yet for all that marke the great goodnesse of God though we neither obey him nor are able to serue him yet he vseth vs rather like Sonnes then seruants Hath he not created vs to his owne likenesse that is our soules to the Image of God and our bodies to the likenesse of Christ and doth not he giue vs meate dayly to féede vs clothes to couer vs all things on the earth to maintaine helpe vs now weigh with your selues what seruice doe wée to God or are hable to do vnto him that can deserue al these earthly benefits that he doth dayly bestowe vpon vs No the greatest seruice that wée can do to God is farre vnworthie of the least benefite that God hath done to vs therfore we can not iustly say that we serue God in any point but rather that God doth serue our turne in euery point For if we do him any seruice it is only to serue our owne turne for whē we pray vnto God wherin we say we serue God do we then serue pleasure or help him in any thing no it is to helpe our selues to pleasure our selues and to profite our selues For by our praier to God we craue of him those things that we haue néede of and do not proffer him any thing that he stands in néede of Therefore though we saie we serue God when we praie we might more truly say that we serue our selues whē we pray And thus wheras you claime heauen as a due reward for your seruing of God it séemes you claime Heauen for seruing your selues wherein I must néedes saie that you are without all reason or honestie For if I should come to my Prince pray hir humbly vpon my knées that she would giue me a farme to dwel in and then she of hir goodnesse should graunt me my request might not I be thought to be most impudent shameles and without all reason if I should then clayme for knéeling to hir for the farme which she gaue me the inheritance of all hir kingdome yes and well worthie yea and therefore to be quite thrust out of hir kingdome Euen so they that claymes the kingdome of Heauen for their praying and knéelyng to God for their owne profite and commoditie are not onely most impudent shamelesse and vnreasonable but also are well worthie to be thrust out of the kingdome of Heauen Now if our worldly seruing of God if we do serue him can not deserue the worldly benefites that hée doth dayly bestowe vpon vs then our worldly seruing of him can by no meanes deserue the kingdome of Heauen the ioyes wherof are without comparison and euerlasting If a King by chaunce let his gloue fall out of a window should he that takes it vp thinke that he hath deserued therfore that the King shoulde make him heyre of his crowne and kingdome euery one might thinke that he were to sawsie presumptuous and to déere a seruant that woulde clayme such a great gift for such a small seruice a worse rewarde might serue well inough many woulde bée content to do a great deale more for a great deale lesse Nowe if this worldly rewarde is a great deale to much for suche a seruice wherof the King stoode néede then the euerlasting kingdome of Heauen is a wonderfull deale to much for our worldly workes whereof God stands no néede nay which perhappes he mislikes Therefore reuoke this Diuelish doctrine of the Romishe Churche whiche teacheth you that you may deserue the kingdome of Heauen by your owne workes and merites for as it is sufficiently proued before our owne merites deserues the kingdome of Hell and Christes merites onely deserues for vs the kingdome of Heauen And bragge not of your vayne and sinfull workes for the better you estéeme them the worse doth God lyke them and do what you can for your life yet thinke your selues vnprofitable seruauntes For the more you thinke you deserue at Gods hande the lesse I am sure you shall haue at his hande The proude Pharisey and the humble and repentant Publicane may be a sufficient example to you for the proude presumptuous Pharisey thought he had deserued much of God for his workes but the humble Publican thought he deserued Gods wrath for his sinnes Now whiche of these two got more at Gods hands and was the better estéemed of God forsoth the Pharisey that boasted bragged of his good workes displeased God and went away vniustified And the humble Publicane that disabled his owne workes and trusted not to them pleased God and went awaie pardoned So that in any wise refuse your owne merites and trust to the mercie of God and the merites of Christ for if your workes be no better than the