place After this will I poure out my spirite saieth Ioel vpon all fleshe and your sonnes and daughters shal prophecie your olde mâ—n shal dreame dreames and your yonge men shall se visions Yea in those dayes I wil poure out my spirite vpon maidens and seruauÌ„tes ct Nowe therefore seynge that S Peter affirmeth after the Prophete Esay that al fleshe is grasse and al y e glorye of maÌ„ is as y e floure of grasse the grasse withereth and the flower falleth a waye but the worde of oure God abydeth for euer I woulde exhorte in you ryght worshippefull syr all men frome the hygheste to the loweste to cleaue faste to the word of god For it wyl come to passe that who soeuâ—r calleth vpon the name of the Lorde shall be saued Who eeuer defende you Amen ☞ Your humble and fayethful at your commaundement Phillip Nicolles ¶ Here foloweth the copie of a letter writtyn to master Chrispyn chanone of Excester concernynge thre questians put furth in hys sermon wherby he entended to declare all them heretickes that would Gods word to be the touch stone IT chaunced me worshipful maister Chrispen to be at your sermoÌ„ preached at Marledon the .xxiiii. Daye of marche laste paste at the monethes mynde of maister Otes Gylberd In whiche sermon amonge other thynges I remembre you enuied Luther verie sore onelye because he woulde haue the scripture to be the touch stone or triall of al other doctrines And calling Luther as it were into disputacions wyth al his disciples you put furth three questians whyche be these Fyrst if ther rose any heresies or dissentions before the Gospel was written as ther dyd in dede betwene SimoÌ„ Magus and SimoÌ„ Peter and ouer the circumsicion aske Luther hys disciples whoe nowe shall discusse the matter and whoe shoulde be the touche stone to trie the mattier The Gospell can not for it was not then wrytten The second questian is If one shoulde denye Mathewes Gospel or say Mathewe wrote it not how can it be proued by scripture It can not you say for scripture speaketh not of it The thyrd questiaÌ„ dyd deceiue the ignorante people which haue litle or no knowledge which is If ther be dissension or strife aboute the vnderstandeynge of the scriptures and both alledge scripture as the Areans dyd whoe brought to places of scripture for y e defence of theire errour in suche case you aske whoe shal be iudge or by whoÌ„ shall this be determined Or rather to vse your veri wordes wher is Luthers touch ston The scripture can not be touche stone you saye for boeth bringe forth scripture Wherefore ther must nedes be an other touch stone Where is Luthers now quoth you What answer can be made to these questians For Luthers touch ston wyll not serue Your answer was ther fore that Luther must gyue place and saye wyth you that it is the holye gost that must be touchston Thus you triumphed vpon Luther and hys disciples meaneinge by Luthers disciples suche I suppose as holde thys opinion as though you had ouer come theÌ„ that they coulde answere nothing Thys is easye to do when a maÌ„ hath all the talke hym selfe But for as muche as you wyshed Luther there at your sermon or some of his disciples to answere to your questians I thynke verelye you wylbe contented to heare a pore man answere though yet but simplye But I do you to wyt that I am none of Luthers disciples for I knowe not Luther But that I thynke hym to be a man as you be and therefore of hym selfe a lyer But if Luther spake the truth I woulde beleue him as sone as you or any other that speake the truth For the trueth by the whiche I meane gods worde can not be spoken wyth out holye gooste if it be spokeÌ„ to the glorye of God But in dede you or any other maye wyckedlye alledge the scripture of your selfe wythout the spirite to the defaceinge of the glorie of god and hinderaunce of hys worde as the deuyll dyd to Christe Mathe. iiii But I wyl resorte to the questians â–ª wyth thys protestacion that if I haue by any meanes mysse reported your wordes or other wyse vnderstanded them then you ment I hertelye desire you that you wyll charitably infourme me what were your questians what ye ment in them and howe you lyke thys my rude answere In so doinge â–ª I wyll be confirmable to your counsayle or else I wyll shewe you my mynde why I ought not Nowe to your fyrste questian whyche is thys If ther arose any dissention of heresie before the gospell was writen as it happened in dede betwene SimoÌ„ Magus and Simon Peter Also ouer the circumsicion where had ben then the touche stone To this questiaÌ„ by your leaue mayster Chripyne I wyll in this maner answer wyth Luther and say the scripture must be the touch stone If you saye it was not written I answer The worde was in the begyninge You wyl saye that Christe came accordynge to the scripture to finishe a newe testament whiche he coÌ„firmed and sealed wyth his bloude and when the newe was come the olde vanished awaye as Saynte Paule affirmeth to the Hebrues And you wyll saye peraduenture that Luther also meaneth the newe testa mente whiche was not written when the questian of circumsicion was moued wherefore it coulde not be the touche stone To make many wordes about this questian in my coÌ„ceyt wer but losse of time But I aske you Maister Chrispine what difference is betwene scripture written and scripture spoken if boeth be scripture You wyl graunte I am sure that Peter Paul and Iames wordes wer scripture when they preached or taughte the Gospell Then if anie man had asked for scripture it mought haue ben answerd Go to Peter Paul Iohn wyth thother Apostles For theyr preaching and couÌ„sayle was scripture So lacked not at that tyme Luthers tuchestone for the Apostles wryttinges and preachinges agreed and all was scripture Wherefore thys questian is sufficientlye answered to the worthynesse of it To your second questian which is It any man should denye Mathwes Gospell you aske howe it coulde be proued by scripture that Mathew wrote it To this I answere that if it be agreinge to the other scriptures and dissent in nothinge from it what daynger is it to call it Mathewes Gospell who so euer wrote it And though you coulde denye Mathewes Gospell to be Scripture yet there is Scripture For Marke Luke and Iohns Gospell Peter Paule and Iohns Epistles be scripture But I doubt not you wyll grauÌ„t Mathewes Gospel to be scripture But you wil aske me how I know it I answere by the reporte of the elders holye fathers mother holye churche Howe saye you nowe Haue I answered you wel Doth not thys answere please you I thynke yes But if I shoulde are the turkes howe they knowe that Mahomete was an holye prophet whoe deuised and caused to be deuised the Alcaron what
able to defend it that he hadde preached whye shoulde he feare to wryte to the defence of the same Wherfore seinge he hath receyued my letter kepeth it and wyl not write agayne and yet blameth and fyndeth diuers fautes in it why shoulde he be greued wyth me for spreadeynge a broode myne owne doynges to vtter myne owne secretes And where as he was offēded wyth me although I haue not nor wyll laye anye such priuate communicacion to anye mans charge specially of myne owne seekynge yet I saye I muste declare my meaneinge more playnely in those thynges whyche he is so muche offended wythall to thentente that no stublynge stocke be purposely layed in my brothers waye that he shoulde not vnderstande the trueth and prayse God For although I found mayster Chrispyne verye gentle and charitable to talke wythal for y t which thynge I haue and wyll gyue him prayse yet disputeth he subtlelye and especially when he thynketh to haue yonge scholars in handelynge as he dyd wyth me For in thys he put me to my trumpe because I asked him in my letter what difference was betwene scripture wrytten and scripture spoken Nowe truth it is that accordyng to the Etimologie of the word which cometh of Scribo and so to Scriptura it can not be called Scripture vnlesse it be written And so euerye thynge written maye be called scripture And in that sentence we shall fynde no difference betwene the bible and Robyn hod by this name scripture for both maye be called scripture I saye after the verie nature of y e word Lo heare haue you an exāple of sophistri Let yong scholars take hede by me howe they meddell wyth thē For whereas I mente symply after the commone vsage and phrase of ourespeache meaneinge by Scripture written and spokē the prophecie of y e olde and newe testament the doctrine of Christe euen the verie worde of God as well beynge opened by the mouth of the Apostles vnto the heares in those dayes as written wyth theyr owne handes and reade vnto vs nowe in our time he nowe takeinge hys aduauntage at y e nature of y e latine word Scriptura out of whiche this englishe worde scripture is diriued denieth that it maye be called scripture vnlesse it be written What other thynge is thys then a mere sophisticall cauillacion The scribes and pharises in Christes tyme by lyke had not learned their sophistrie or els thei wer not so curiouse as our mē be For if thei had thei mought haue asked Christ whē he bad thē serch the scriptures what scripture he mēt But Paule therfore preuēting such subtile disputīg calleth it holy scriptur geuen by inspiracion Thus you se a mā had nede as the prouerbe goeth to haue a long spone y t shal eate w t y e deuill It is no maruaile though master Chrispin in his lessō not long sēce dyd so much cōmēd distinctions proued thē so necessarie y t we could not be wtout thē For he that shal haue to do w t such sophisters had nede to make diffiniciōs premeditat his words before pretacion For the prophecie was neuer brought in by the wyll of man but y e holy mē of god spake as they were moued of the holye gost Nowe if I shoulde aske S. Peter what he meaneth by scripture here I thynke he woulde say the word of god But it is the word of god writtine would you say yet doth s Peter say it of the same written worde y e the holye men of God spake as they were moued by y e holy goste But trulye I thinke it but a vaine thing and euen a losse of tyme to trifle in suche questians which can no waye edifye especially seynge S. Paule doth so often diswade Timoth frome such foleishe questians exhorteth him to cleaue faste to the word of God If anye man sayth he teache other wyse and agreeth not to the holesome wordes of our lord Iesus Christ and to the doctrine of godlinesse he is puffed vp and knoweth no-nothing but wasteth his braines about questians and striueing of words wherof sprīgeth enuie c. After a like maner also he toke me vp how be it more ernestlye for that I sayde the worde was in the beginning and for alledging Christes wordes I am that I say vnto you Or euen y e same thinge that I speake vnto you As thoughe I wente aboute to proue y t Christe was but a voice only or a writtē letter in paper Thus he dalyed w t me was in w t his distīctiōs whether I mēt bi y e word y e voice y e breath or the writtē word with manie double doubtes For mi words he saied as they stode in my letter were heresie But I told him y t I mēt it by y e same word y t the lord Iesus christ taught as Christ hym selfe wittnesseth I am euen the very same thinge y t I speake vnto you He saied that the words were not as I alledged them them For the latyne hath saied he Ego sum qui loquor vobis Now as for the alledgeinge of those wordes I folow the English translatours whose lerneynge I can not correcte If he can amende theyr doinges he shal haue good leaue for me Notwythstanding seinge that he maketh my wordes to dayngerouse I cānot but say more in it although they can not be spokē in my cōceyt more playne to be vnderstād thē they be alredi writtē For. s ▪ Iohn sayeth The worde was in y e beginning the word was w t god and God was the worde Nowe to denye that Christe is the worde of God by whiche all thinges were made I say is anheresie in dead Therfore it must nedes be graūted that Christe was and is the worde of God Thy worde Lorde sayeth the prophete is a lanterne to my fet and a light to my pathes Again he sayeth When thy worde goeth forth it geueth lyght and vnderstandeynge euen to babes Nowe what meaneth he by this worde that geueth thys lyghte Christe sayth I am come a light into y e world that who so euer be leueth in me should not abyd in darknes By these many other it wyll appeare Christe to be the true worde of God But nowe wyll they graunte that Christe is the worde that came from the father the lyghte of the worlde the life of the worlde as Moyses saith set your hertes on y e words that I testifie sayeth he for it is no vayne worde but your lyfe I am sure I say they wyl graūt Christe to be the worde but not the worde wryttyn whyche we reade in the boke In dede to say that Christe maye be written in paper or that the letters whiche be made of incke paper should be Christe were a fonde opinion and suche as I neuer harde of But the wordes written in the boke which we cal the scripture As the prophetes from Moyses to Christ and the doctrine of the apostles which is written we
muche that euen the verie elect if it were possible should be brought into errowre And saint Paule sayth you shal come with lieinge signes and wonders and wyth al deceyueablenesse of vnrightuousnesse And to Timoth he sayeth you shall forbyde mariage and meates So playne is it in al the scripture that thei that read it must neades vnderstand it Most euident and playne it is that ye be euen of the same sinful sinagoge For trulye the spouse of Christe is obedient to hir bridgrome The disciples of Christe herken to theyr Maister And doubtles we can not be Christes verie disciples vnlesse we continue in his doctrine He y t is of God heareth goddes worde and he that kepeeth thys worde shall neuer se deathe Moyses sayeth You shall put nothinge to the worde whiche I commaunde you neyther take ought ther from etc. Agayne You shall turne neyther to the ryght hande neither to the lefte but in the waye which your lord god cōmaundeth shal ye walke What more playne cōmaundemēt can ther before the establishment of the authoritie of y e word of god Moises had the childrē of Israel shoulde write them vpon the postes of ther dores bynde them vpon theyr hādes to teach their children He sayeth they be oure lyfe And Christe sayth his wordes be spirit and life Saint Peter saith we haue a sure word of prophecie ye do well to take hede ther vnto as vnto the light that shineth in a darcke place c If this worde were not wrytten that we myght knowe whyther to resorte for al thys what should it auaile al these wordes What were we the nere for all these testimonies if the sume of Christes doctrine were not writtē and the certaynetie vnkowē Whoe should be certayne of hys fayeth if we had not a prescripte and certayne doctryne whereunto wee moughte resorte to haue thys in fallible veritye Howe shoulde we knowe these false prophetes to come in shipes clothing outwardly inwardly be rauenynge woulfes if we had not a sure touche stone to trye theyr doctrine wyth all If anye man preache vnto you sayeth Paul other then y e which is preached alredye althoughe it were an angell frome heauen let it be accurssed What be we y e nere of these wordes if we be in doubte wher to fynde this Gospell But I testifie vnto euerie man sayth saynte Iohn that heareth the wordes of prophesie of thys boke If any man shal adde vnto these thynges God shall ad vnto hym the plages that are wrytten in thys boke And if anye man shal mynishe of y e wordes of the boke of thys prophesie God shall take a waye his parte out of the boke of lyfe etc. To conclude therfore I saye playnelye that to denye the scripture the Prophetes and Apostles whose prophesies are wrytten in the Byble to be a sufficiente doctryne and enstruction necessarye for oure saluacion or to saye that it oughte not to be the touche stonne and trial of al other doctrines aboue all other doctrines of anye other men aboue theyr lawes decres and customes or ceremonies beside thys boke whether it be of men or angelles it is not only heresie but also a diuellishe and damnable doctrine Nowe to our bulwarcke ¶ The bulwarke for defence THis is chiefly to be noted y t gods worde is neuer spred abrode wythout contencion strife and much troble as Christe himselfe affirmeth sayeynge Thinke you not that I come to sende peace but a sworde For I am come to set variance betwene the father and the sonne the mothere and the daughter etc. For what agrement can there be betwene a beleuinge sonne and vnbeleueinge father and so contrarye Nowe sayeth Christ He that loueth father and mother more then me is not mete for me etc. He y t findeth his lyfe shall lose it And he y t loseth his life for my sake shall find it Marcke thys also y t by no thyng do these false deceiuers be gilde y e simplicite of y e multitude so muche as by the name of our fathers by custome longe continuaunce of tyme by whyche thynges they confirme their church For loke what hath bene done of our elders and forfathers that is theyr gospell To breake these tradicions and customes is to breake theyr whole religion The scribes and phariseis axed Christe why walke not thy disciples after the tradicions of the elders but eate breade wyth vnwashen handes c. Lykewyse these Hypocrites when they se anye man breake an olde custom thoughe it be but eateyng of an egge vpon a frydaye howe greouslye take they the mattier But euen as Christe answered the phariseis and scribes so may I ryghte well answere these fathers sayinge Full wel hath Esai prophecied of you Hypocrites as it is written marke here that Christe goeth to the scripture Thys people drawe nere me with theyr lippes but theyr herte is fare frome me But in vayne do they serue me whylse they teache suche doctrines as are nothynge but the commaundementes of men Ye leaue the commaundement of god kepe the tradiciōs of men In the stead of washing of cuppes cruses what a sort of ceremonies haue we what is holye breade what is holye water What be holye candeles What are holye bowes Touche not the water in the fonte handle not the chalise nor the corporace Good lorde what a sorte of suche commaundementes haue we of oure fore fatheres Oh howe goodlye haue you caste asyde the commaundementes of God to maynetayne your owne tradicions I besech the good christiā reader marke how vehemente the Lorde Iesus is hym selfe agaynste the beggarly tradicions of men to bringe vs to the wyll and commaundemente of God What can the grateste doctour of thē all say vnto this Is it not open and manifeste to all the worlde that for breakeing of these triflinge and foleishe tradicions thei haue punished men greuouselye euen wyth death And haue we not sene the breakars of goodes commaundementes vnpunished at all As swerars drunckardes whoredome and auoutrie with all the reste Beholde all christendome knoweth that thys is no lye My truste is therfore that the magistrates wyll nowe loke vpon this gear For these felowes neuer go about any suche thynge But because they blinde the ignoraunt soules wyth holye doctours holy fathers and holye churche from Christes tyme hytherto you shal se what the holye doctours say euē such as be most auncient and best learned as they them selues will graunte Augustine in an epistle to Fortunatus hath these wordes We ought not to regarde and esteme the disputacions of any thoughe they be neuer so catholyke and well praysed as cannonicall scripture but that we may saueing the reuerēce that ought to be geuen vnto suche men reproue and spue out agayne any thynge in theyr wryttynges if perchaunce we fynde that they vnderstande ought in theyr writinges otherwyse then the truth hath whiche is
doctours saye they and beleue the catholyke churche whiche hath continued frome Christes tyme hitherto we can shewe say they bi auncient writers from tyme to tyme sence Christs ascention But what can these men shewe Be not these writters whiche I haue rehersed of the chieffest of theÌ„ And al thes agre that their wrytinges must be tried by the scripture and if that allowe theÌ„ not they would not in any wise that we should beleue them This is a wonderfull thynge y t they would haue vs geue such credite to the doctours whiche thynge the docters them selues forbyd But they haue alwayes this sayeinge of Augustine in their mouthes I would not beleue the gospel except the authoritie of the câ—urch did moue me Nowe as sone as they haue caught thys in theyr sermons thei triumph Lo say they what authorite did this gâ—eat doctour attribute to y e church in so much that y e gospel is and must be iudged by y e church For wtout the church he would not beleue christes gospel manye wordes haue they which I caÌ„ not remembre But me think these meÌ„ mought be answered out of Augustines owne wordes before rehersed For he wil geue no such credit to any mans writtinges what so euer he be as he doth to the scripture neither would he y t any maÌ„ woulde he that any man should so esteme his writtynges For al hys wryttynges dooe not please hym Therefore if they wil haue me beleue Augustines wordes they muste proue them true bye the scripture or else by some other probable and sure reasone that dissenteth not frome the truethe else maye not I beleue Austens wordes For thys he counselleth hym selfe But admytte Austens wordes to be true wythout anye contradicion What moughte then be sayed to it These be Augustines wordes I shoulde not beleue the Gospell onlesse the authoritye of the churche moued me Nowe I aske you what the authority of the churche is What cal you y e authorite of y e church Is it long continuance of time TheÌ„ was christes doctrine doubtful For the scribes and phariseis had that on theyr syde Or is it the greater number With lyke reasone we maye refuse Christes Gospell For many be called sayeth he and fewe elected Or else was it the consent of learned wise men All thys had the great byshopes and high pristes in christes time For they were great learned and wyse men But saynt Paule axeth wher be the wyse Wher are the scribes where are the disputers of the worlde Hath not god made the wysdome of the worlde foleishenesse Therfore let them declare vnto me the verie true authoritye of the churche And I make heare distinctioÌ„ of churches For Christe and the Apostles haue prophicied that theyr shal come false prophetes in Christes name and shal rise euen froÌ„ amonge our selues shall speake peruerse doctryne These men come in Christes name and saye they be christes chruch But I am assured they be not Christes true spouse For Lira writinge vpon Mathe sayth The church standeth not in men by the reason of spirituall powre or secular dignitie For many princes and many popes and other inferiour persones haue swarued frome the fayth Wherfore the church doth stande in those persones in whom is y e true knowledge and coÌ„fession of fayth and veritie Therefore it must nedes by Lira his wordes consiste in the scriptures For the gyfte of fayeth and vnderstandeynge the veritye is the worckeynge of the holye spirite that confortour which the Lorde promised to those that beleue hys worde But because they alledge me Austens wordes I wyl answere theÌ„ with Austen him selfe wrytinge vpon the .lvii. Psal Wee speake true thynges sayth he which haue heard true thinges that the lorde sayth not that maÌ„ sayth It may be that man may lie it can not be that god should lye By the worde of trueth do I knowe Christe the same verie trueth By the worde of trueth do I knowe the church to be partaker of the trueth Nowe lette them scan these wordes and tell me where the true touchestonne is Then alledge they these wordes of Christe I haue yet muche to saye vnto you but you can not nowe beare it a waye Nowe be it when the spirite of the trueth commeth he shall leade you into all trueth etc. And agayne Manye other tokens dyd Iesus before hys his disciples Which are not writen in this boke Here staye they and go no farder for it foloweth But these are written that you shoulde beleue etc. But seynge we haue begone wyth Saynte Augustine we wyll ende wyth him He wryteth vpon this same place of Iohn and sayeth They were chosen and pycked out as many as were thought necessarie and sufficient for the saluacion of the faythfull Cirillus also affirmeth the same and sayeth more ouer that althynges that the wrytters thought sufficient boeth for the fayeth and beleue and also for y e coÌ„uersacioÌ„ of men that wee myghte shyne wyth a ryghte and perfecte fayeth and wyth true workes and vertues and so come to the Kyngdome of heauen thorowe oure Lorde Christe be wryten sayeth he and therefore it is a newelye inuented in y e diuilles shop to saye that all the articles of oure christian fayeth can not be proued by scripture and mens tradicions bysyde the scripture be goode workes and please God These be Cyrillus workes And therefore sayeth Saynte Ambros in hys fourth boke of virgines All newe thynges that Christe hath not tought we lawfully condemne For vnto faythful men sayeth he Christe is the waye If Christe therefore haue not taught that we teache sayeth he we iudge it to be detestable Nowe let these holye fathers turne and tosse these olde holye doctours and let them fynde me out a touchston some other wher For these doctours say playnely the worde of God the holy scripture the word of truth is y e rule wherby Christes true church is ordered gouerned enstructed For whosoeuer sercheth findeth The holy gost faileth not such as seke him ther but to seke him in anye other place is no promise made As for theyr general counsayles that they sticke so muche vnto is but a weake foundacion For saynt Austine writtynge agaynst the donatistes sayeth Who is it that knoweth not the holy canonical scriptures boeth of the olde and newe testamente to be conteined within certayne limettes and bouÌ„des And that they be so put before al the wrytinges of bishopes y t shal come afterward that it can not be doubted at all neyther can we be deceyued of the whether it be true or whether it be ryght and good or not what soeuer is knowen to be writen in them But al other wrytynges of byshopes or else which either haue writteÌ„ or shal write after the confirmacion of the cananicall wrytynges maye be reprehended both by the wordes or wyse senteÌ„ce of some more knoweynge man in that matter as well as by the sage authorite
answere suppose you they coulde make I thynke none other but as I haue made you before That is we knowe it by oure elders or holye prophetes and fathers before vs. Nowe I wyll aske you a questian whiche shall not be impossible nor verie vnlyke If it pleased God to moue the herte of a Iewe whiche wer neither christian nor turke to seke in the worlde here the moste perfecte religion He goeth to the Turkes and cometh to the christians Wherwyth woulde you perswad hym to thys perfect religion Woulde you preache to hym constitutions coūselles and customes of the elders He mought then as well beleue the turkes as you For they haue many thynges in their lawe that seme to be verie godlye And they re authoritie wythout authoritie of scripture is euen as good as yours But I knowe you wyl saye what so euer you thinke that you woulde preache the Gospell vnto hym Then must you nedes graunte that the scripture is of greater efficacie and strength them oure fathers elleders and counsayles If you wyll yet wyth your questians affirme that the fathers whyche descended frome tyme to tyme frome the Apostles hither to haue greater authoritye then the scripture I wyl axe you an other questian The Apostles of Christ forsoke the ceremonies customes and constitutions of theyr elders forefathers and of as holye mother holye churche in the iudgemente of the worlde at that tyme as yours is w t the world at thys houre and of as longe continuaunce of tyme. Yet folowed they Christes doctrine who was named of those holye fathers a sediciouse felowe a newe tidinges bringer and an heretike Answere me nowe what touchstone had they to trye Christes doctrine wyth that they so ernestlye folowed hym and refused theyr forefathers olde holye doctours proceadynge from Moyses to Christ Ther were at that tyme auncient fathers which had great learneing both byshopes and priestes The tradions ordinaunces and ceremonies whiche they vsed receyued they of theyr elders lyke as you woulde haue vs to receiue the constitucions of oure elders Tell me nowe how can you excuse the Apostles They were but pore fisher men and net makers they wer not brought vp in the scholes they hadde not the leisure toturne and tosse those greate volumes to be made doctours of deuinitie nor law And yet within a whyle they toke vpon them to teach the great doctours and what mought those holye fathers haue sayed to these fishers Take hede to your fysheynge What haue you to do wyth the scripture It is not mete for euerie coblarde to be talkeynge of scripture Howe were these men so lyghtlye perswaded What touchestone I saye had they But seynge you woulde so fayne haue the name of the holye fathers and holye churche I axe you thys questian Those Apostles and Disciples of Christe whyche were in hys tyme wyth hym presente whyche preached and wrote the scripture were holy fathers and of the perfecte true churche If the fathers syeth theyr tyme haue dissented frome them in doctryne maners custome lawes or in anye thynge partayneynge to Christes relygion whyche fathers woulde you folowe If you denye that the fathers haue dessented as is a fore sayed I refer the proue of it tyll a tyme of more leasure Partely because I thynke you wyll not denye it but chiefelye because my letter woulde be to longe Wherfore I wyl come to your thyrde question whyche in dede includeth the matter of all the reste whiche is thys If ther aryse anye contention in vnderstandeynge the Scriptures wherein boeth the parties bringe scripture for them whoe shall nowe discusse the matter Where is nowe the toucheston The scriptures can not For boeth bring scripture And the scripture you meane causeth y e cōtrouersye But I aske you whether the scriptures be deuided or no If they be deuided then accordinge to Christes worde they muste be confounded But that is an incōuenience and I knowe well you wyll not graunt that If the scriptures be not deuided but agre in one as they do in deede for one place cannot be repugnaunte to an other thoughe it so seme then haue not boeth parties scripture for them but y e one partie must nedes falsely alledge scripture But you will aske me who shal geue sentence or by whom the cōtrouersye shal be appeased and where is Luthers touchstone In dede at your sermō no man made answer Wherefore you made answere and sayde the holye gooste must be tuchstone As who should saye Luthers answere were not the very same When he sayeth gods worde must be the touchston as you reporte of hym And I praye you maister Chrispyn what difference is betwene gods worde and godes spirite Is not goddes worde the breath of gods mouthe And call you not that the holye goste Howe be it it is easilye perceyued what ye meane Ye put in the holye gost for a cloke to deceiue vs wyth albeit ye meane nothing lesse then the holye gooste If you aske me how I proue it I answer thus I proue it Wythout fayeth it is not possible to please God but fayeth cometh by the word of god Ergo wythout the worde of God nothyng can please God But you exclude the word of God from the spirite of God and in stead of that ioyne vnto it fathers counsayles and oure mother holy churche for you saye the worde of God can not be touchston ▪ but onelie beare wytnesse but the holye gooste is the touch stone whoe was and is in the holye fathers that haue alwayes gathered counsayles by whyche all thynges muste be iudged and dermined To proue thys ye alledge these wordes Where so euer two or three be gathered together c. These holye fathers you affirme to be the byshopes and prelates But thus to include the holye gooste into byshopes you exclude y e word of god If this be not to be disceiued sure I am deceyued But it were necessarie for you to proue the chur that you speake of to be the true-holye and catholyke churche before you perswade men so ernestye to belyeue and stycke vnto it But I saye the churche that taketh awaye the authoritye of goddes worde or diminisheth it by anye meanes is not of Christe But you mayster Chrispyne graunte youre selfe to be of thys churche Ergo etc. And in myne opinion you do naught to say that all holy fathers frō Christ to thys time wer of the same opinion that you be of concernynge goddes worde For I dare saye Augustine whome you admytte to be of the verye holye church wyll not hold wyth you in thys matter But if he woulde the authoritye of Christe is greater Whoe is it that wyll not suspecte your churche seynge you set it so high in Lucifers place aboue Christe and separate the hollye goste from Christe where as Christe sayeth I am that I say vnto you What is y t he spake vnto vs Is it not his word He saith moreouer the wordes y t I speake are spirite lyfe I
praye you master Chrispine what spirite ment Christe here What lyfe speaketh he of Can ther any man bring out of hys breast either by writting preachinge or otherwise teacheinge or speakeinge the sentence of the holie spirite wythout goddes worde Is not the sentence or worde of the holye gooste the worde of God Is it not to be vnsterstand of the lyueynge fayth that the holy goste worketh in the soule of man in beleuing the word Is not the scriptur called the two edged sworde Is it not also called the sworde of the spirite Maye ye separate the spirite from the wordes seynge he calleth them spirit and lyfe I thynke not ▪ No more than heate can be separated from fire Why then in the name of the holye gooste do you vndermine Christe The churche you saye must be iudge and the scripture muste be wytnesse onlye So must Christe be inferioure to mē For I am sure you wyll not denye but these holye fathers which you cal the church were be men And those you saye must be the iudges And Christe to be the worde and promise of the father he hymselfe wytnesseth sayeinge I am that I saye vnto you and hym you make but a witnesse or iudge Therefore I saye your churche is to be suspected As toucheynge the true spose and catholyke churche of Christe which are verye membres of hys bodye and he the head this churche hath so muche authoritie as the scripture geueth them and take vpon them no more for the scripture and they are one and for the scripture they ieoparde theyr liues as many haue done whome you and your forfathers bishopes and prelates haue alwayes put to dath Who persecuted y e prophets and put them to death Who procured Christe to the crosse Whoe the Apostles wyth manye othere holy men Were they not byshops and prelates of the churche Howe manye godlye preachers wyth other good soules hath the byshop of Rome put to death by the helpe of prelates in diuers contries syth he came to the supremitye and beareynge a rule ouer kynges and emperours Hath there not ben some put to death here in Englād wythin these .xx. yeres for speakeynge agaynste the Pops pardons and pylgrymages wyth suche lyke abuses Was not the Pope chiefe of these holye fathers whom you cal holye churche and woulde haue them iudges But I knowe what you meane You would perswad the multitude that you and youre churche be the verye true churche and haue the holye gooste and that what so euer you do is well But whereby do ye perswad thē By olde custome for you haue nothynge else and longe continuaunce of tyme the whyche if you coulde beate in to the heades of the communaltye your reformacion of thynges that are amysse shoulde be as you luste But maister Chrispyne if you were not in darckenesse you coulde not refuse the light Christ sayth if you cōtinue in my worde then are you mi verye Disciples and ye may know the trueth and the trueth shall make you fre But he that refuseth me and receyueth not my wordes hath one alredye that iudgeth hym the worde that I haue spoken shall iudge hym in the laste daye Beholde Christe sayeth hys worde shal be iudge All that be of Christ heare Christes wordes Mayster Chrispyne my lettere is longer then I thoughe it should haue ben howe it shal lyke you I can not tell but hertily desire you if you loue the truth and desire the glorye of God answere wyth the trueth and defende the trueth and do not wyllfully resist the truth But defend it not with the authoritye of men but wyth the power of God and that wyth charitie For if I haue by any meanes spoken any thynge in this letter more rigorously then charitye requireth whereby you myght be offended at me iustlye I am redie in such case wyth all myne herte to be reformed Wherfore I eftsones desire you to answere me as it becometh a true preacher for quietynge of my conscience And so doynge I comitte you to Christ and hys worde Amen ¶ Yours lokinge for an answer Philip Nicolles Written xxiii of Aprile MDxlvii HEre haste thou my letter gentle reader euen worde for worde as it was deliuered to mayster Chrispyne And trueth it is I wrote it inmediately after my retoune frome hys sermon euen whyle it was hotte For it greued me that it had not been lawful for me to haue answered him euen incontinente before all the audience For he perswaded them al for the mooste parte that nothynge coulde be sayde to the contrarie Which greued me to heare Not wythstandynge when I hadde written my letter I dyd not sēde it furth w t but paused a whyle partelye seeinge ther was suche a greate audience to se whether any man of woship or some better learned then I woulde take the mattier in hande But after I had rested vpō thys a moneth or .vi. weakes and perceiued that no man busied hym selfe in it al though ther were present men of worship pretēding to haue knowledg I sent furth my letter the laste daie of Apriel or nere there aboute And because the mesenger dyd not in all thynges fulfyl my request I wrote agayne to maister Chrispyne desireinge hym to sende me an answere by the sayede bearer of my letter to whō he gaue thys answer That he would not writ but cōmune wyth me him selfe I lefte him not thus but wtin a while after he cam to a benefice y t he hath called Herbertō besyd Totnes and preached there y e sūday after corpus Christi day as they cal it y e mūdaie in the morning I wente to him and communed w t hym and spent wel most y e whole day In which cōmunicaciō we swarued not frō these .iii. questiās I I resorted vnto him againe not long after y e and had much talke w t him al which cōmunicaciō I haue not nor wyll babble out al thought it be reported y t I came to him for non other purpose but to haue matter to talk of and to accuse him But yet they be to blame so to reporte of me For if Maister Chrispine or other y t be more busie peraduēture in talking then he him selfe can say ▪ y t I haue accused him of any such priuat cōmunicatiō let thē lay it to my charge else let thē for shame hold theyr peace and say y e thing they knowe As for the wordes that he or any other shal speake in a pulpyt or any suche like audiēce I am sure they wil be cōtēted to heare of thē againe If not let thē hēce forth desire their audience to kepe coūsel or else truly if I be presente heare any thing spoken againste god or my prince especially agaynste the doctrine of Christe I muste needes disclose it If they wyll blame me for this I am cōtented to beare it howe be it vn worthye in my owne conceyte let other iudge But if he were
cal it the Gospel we call it the scriptures we cal it y e newe testament and the olde these wordes written in a boke beinge reade vnto the people to enstruction edifying of y e cōgregatiō is the word of god yea Christ y e breade of life which came frō heauē so y e whoso eateth therof shal liue euer The words that Moyses dyd testifie vnto the children of Israell and sayed vnto them it is no vayne word but your life be they not writtē And be they not our life as wel as theyrs But what life cā thei be vnto vs if thei be kept frō vs so that we know thē not Dyd Moyses hyde them away and say they would make mē heretykes But all suche as do euil hate the lyght and come not to it that theyr dedes should not be reproued but he that doeth the trueth cometh to the lyght that his workes maye be knowen for they be done in God Agayne I am the lyghte of the world sayeth Christe Whye shoulde these men refuse goddes word to be their light if they wer of god whie should they feare to saye y e Christes worde is Christe the worde of the father the light that lyghneth al men that come vnto hym Esaye sayth If anye man want light let him loke vpon the lawe and testimonies What meaneth he by the lawe and testimonies meaneth he not the scripture or written word of God shall we not ther fynde the lighte I woulde aske these disputers of the worlde Whether the Gospell be written or no I thyncke they wyll graunte that it is written Well Saynct Paulle sayth he is not a shamed of y e Gospell of Christe for it is the powre of God whiche saueth all that beleue Nowe is this gospel written for our learneing saueth as many as beleue Marke wel the beleuers are not saued because it is writtē but they be saued because they beleue y e which is writē I aske these philosophers whether y e wordes that Christe speake be written or no I trowe the Euangelistes haue written the moste necessarye thynges yea the verie secretes hyd thynges If Christes wordes which he spake be writtē then the word y t is written shal iudge these vnbeleauers in the laste daye For thus sayth Christe He y t refuseth me and receyueth not my wordes hath one alredye y t iudgeth hym The word sayth he that I haue spoken shal iudge him in the last day Vnderstād nowe gentle reader y t these fathers would vnder colours plucke a waye the great authoritie of the scriptures and diminishe thorowe subtyle disputinge y e efficatie and strength of the gospell Whether they do of hatred to gods word or blindnes and ignoraunce in the same or else for lucers sake I can not tell But to far wander they out of the waye But I exhorte the though they be to far on the left hand rune not y u to far on y e rigt hande Enter in at the strayte gate for wyde is the gate and brode is the way that leadeth to destructiō many ther be y e go in ther at But strayte is y e gate and narrowe is the waye that leadeth vnto lyfe and fewe therbe y e fynd it Thys is therfore the sume of thys disputaciō y t Christ is the word and wisedome of the father in whom who so beleueth hath euerlasteinge lyfe Thys same word did he him self preach and sayeth If you abyde in me any my wordes abyde in you ye shall axe what you wyll and it shal be done vnto you Beholde wheras he sayde before If you continue in my wordes nowe he sayeth If you byd in me and my wordes abid in you By this it is euident that Christe is the worde euen that worde whiche was preached frō the beginning is preached nowe and shal be to the ende And although Christe be not as is sayde incke and paper or a worde closed in a boke as thought we mought saye looe here in thys boke is Christe or in that boke is Christe yet was it the wyll of God that thys heauenly doctrine shoulde be written and that it shoulde remaine wyth vs and also that these wordes written beinge reade vnto vs shoulde be vnto vs euē that same worde that Christe spake when he sayed He that is of god heareth gods worde And euen the verie same to them that beleue that he speaketh of sayeing If anye man kepe my worde he shal neuer se death And to them that beleue not the same that he sayeth shall iudge the vnbeleuers in the last daye Now marke well I besech the and consider wyth thy selfe the mischiefe of these subtyle sophisters They make it wounderfull dayngerouse to call the scriptur Christe They be verye carefull to haue the true worship of god preserued and kepte And they feeare leaste we wyll fall to worshipynge of the verie boke wherin the testimonies of Christe be wrytten And therfore do they withdrawe all men from readeinge and heareing it as much as they can But alas why be they not so ware and dayngerous in theyr laye mens bokes as they cal them whiche al the scripturs crie out vpon euen from the begininge of the olde testament to the later ende of the new By the which bokes or rather abominable Idoles it is open and manifest that muche Idolatrie hath ben cōmitted yea wil be stil so longe as ther is one left standing in the temples The word of god the doctrine of Christe whiche he and his Aposteles so ernestlye taught exhorted cōmaunded to harken vnto to beleaue and folowe almost al the bible is nothing else this I say they cānot suffer any man to haue to do with al. Thei haue burned it frō tyme to tyme they burned the readars of it as al the worlde can testifie It is manifeste that they beare little good wyll to it vnto thys daye But these mahomets puppetes veri Idolles which haue not one word in al scriptur for them but contrarie to the vtter abolishinge of them these they can suffer to be called Christe saynte sauioure saynte Sundaye the holye trinitie oure ladye of Pitye our ladye of grace oure ladye I can not tell wherof Alhallowes wyth a thousād like names Yea they can abyde that the people should worship those stil for they neuer preach agaynste them but rather defende them to kepe the vnlerned in their blindnesse styl Alas to open is your doynge nowe O you catholyke fathers euerye chylde maye perceyue your blinde doctrine Yet wyl not you cease to exalt this false church cōgregaciō of deceyceyuers euē aboue god him selfe For God was the worde and aboue the rule of thys worde sete ye your owne tradicions in the name of Christes church Thus dyd Christe prophecie that you shoulde come that you shoulde dooe miracles and wonders In so
etc. Therefore sayeth he neither of our forefathers nor of our elders is the erroure to be folowed but the authoritie of the scripture and the cōmaundemente of God which teacheth vs. The same Ierome vpon Ezechiel sayth also y t we maye sinne as muche whē we think in our owne opinion y t we do wel as whē we willinglye do naught He writeth vpon y e prophet Nahum sayth y t against the cōing of Christ y e people shall fle to the scripture their studie shal be allowed because they shal not find anye to teach them and the slouthfulnesse of their teachchars shal be rebuked Marcke wel thys propheci for suerelye it byteth He writeth vpon Math. and sayth Anye thing that hath not authoritie of y e scriptur may as sone be reiected despiced as approued and alowed Againe to Ctesiphō he sayth What soeuer we affirme we must do it by the testimonies of holie scripture What soeuer is done without these bokes is in nowyse to be receyued Do these doctours set so little by the authoritie of goddes worde as oure men woulde perswade vs Do they not rather attribute al together to the scripture Ambrose also in the boke of paradise vpon this that Eue added to the wordes of the Lorde Neythere shall ye touche the trye We do learne by this present lessone sayeth he that wee ought to ad nothynge to the worde of God no thoughe wee do of it good intent or warines For if thou either ad any thing or take ought frome it thou semeste to be a trangressour of the commaundemente Heare haue you Ambrose also which can not in any wyse suffer the wysdome of man to be equale with y e scripture but that in all thynges we should leane to that For though our meaneing be neuer so good yet muste we not truste oure owne wyttes Thus he writeth vpon these wordes of the Epistle to the Romaynes be ye all of one mynde thys may be by God sayeth he but by mans wysdome can it neuer be And vpon the beginnynge of the fyrste Epistle to the Corhinthyans he sayth that the philosophers whē they first began to preach Christ they preached hym by the wysdome of the worlde and reiected the lawe and prophetes And agayne writing to Gratianus Augustus he sayeth that y e Arrians gate all the colour of theyr wyckednesse out of philosopheie Yet woulde oure diuines perswade vs that they gote it by readyng of scripture and expoundeinge it after theyr owne sence And therefore ther was no remedy to ouer come them but wyth some other learneinge for they were perfecte in the scriptures Notwithstandinge Gregorie wryttynge vpon Iob sayeth This canonicall scripture passeth all science all doctrine wythout comparisone Thys onely preacheth the trueth calleth to the heauen lye contrey it entiseth the herte of y e reader frō earthly desires to heauenly thinges Beholde gentle reader they boast them selues of the old holy doctours frō Christes tyme hythereto and yet the doctoures thē selues make cleane agaynste them Originne wryttinge vpon the prophet Ieremy sayeth It is nedfull necessary for vs to cal y e holy scriptures to witnes For our sēses our expositions sayth he wtout these witnesses are not to beleued After this sorte also he expoūdeth this saying vnder .ii. or iii. witnesses vnder .ii y t is the newe old testamēt vnder thre y t is y e gospel the prophetes apostles Againe vpon y e Ro. he sayth Paul gaue the doctours an ensāple to speake no thyng but they could proue it by the scripture For if he beinge so great such an apostle did not beleue his sayinges sufficiently except he taught it to be writtē in the law prophetes y t he speake how much more ought we which be far inferiours to him to obseue these thinges y t we do not bringe forth our owne doctrine whē we preache sayth he but y e sētence of y e holy gost Here haue you also the mind of Origen agreat clark whō they alledge verie oftē Cypriā writeth to one Cecilius noting vpon these wordes of Christ If ye do y t I cōmaūd you thē are ye my frēdes And y e Christ onely ought to be harde y e father witnesseth frō heauē saying This is my welbeloued son in whō I am wel pleased heare him Wherfor if onely Christ must be heard we ought not take hed what ani mā hath thought good to be done before vs but what christ hath first done which was before al mē Neither ought we to folow y e custom of mā but y e truth of god Seing god spaketh bi his prophet Esa sayth Thei worship me in vaine teaching y e cōmaūdemētes preceptes of mē And againe in the gospel Ye cast away y e cōmaūdementes of god y t ye mought establishe your owne tradiciōs And therfore deare brother If any of our fathers other by ignoraūce or simplicitie haue not obserued this kept y t y e lord hath taught vs to do by his example and gouernaunce pardone and forgeuenesse thorowe the goodnesse of the Lorde maye be graunted to theyr simplisitie But vnto vs it can not be so graunted which be admonished and enstructed of the Lorde c. He that lusteth to se more of thys let hym loke the place and reade farther and he shall fynde lyke wordes in hys thyrde treatise of the simplicitie of prelates And whereas men be so muche addycte to theyr customes y e same Ciprian sayth Nether y e custome whiche hath crept in among some ought to be a let whereby the trueth shoulde not preuayle and ouercome For the custome wythout the truth is an old errour Therfore let vs leaue the erroure and folow the truth All the doctours agree wholelye in thys that the scripture is the touchstone a recoursse for al christen men to seke vnto to be sure of theyr fayeth and to haue quietnes of cōscience And what exhortacions Chrisostom geueth to all men for the studye of holye scriptures appeareth in hys thred sermon De Lazaro And vpon Iohn the .xvi. Homelye in the end Also vpon Iohn the .iii. Homelie and .iiii. Chapi and in diuers other places Nothinge doeth he so ernestlye beate into oure heades as the study of scripture And I thynke there is no doctoure that writeth vpon the scripture that doeth not lykewise and geueth it euen suche a rowme and preheminence that all other doctrines muste geue place Ireneus sayeth To go about wyth y e diuine scriptures whiche is the vndoubted trueth is to build an house vpon a strōg rocke but all other doctryne what so euer it be is to builde a weake house vpon an vncertaine place of quicke sand which wil be lightli ouer throwē Now if these authorities be not sufficient to stope theyr mouthes I thynke they wyll neuer be answered For where as the scripture is so hard to be vnderstand and therefore loke vpon the
of their bishopes and by the prudence and learneinge of learned teachers and by counsayles if bi chaunce anye thynge be strayed from the trueth And those counselles sayeth he that be done in euerie prouince or region ought to geue place without any doubtes to the authoritie of the full counsayles whiche are done of the whole companie of Christian men And those generall counsayles that go before maye often tymes be amended by those that folowe after when soeuer anye thynge shall appere by anye experience whiche was before shet vp when so euer anye thynge is knowen that before was hyde wythout anye coloure of false holy pryde wythout anyeÌ„ puffed vp spice of Arrogancie without anye â–ª condemnacion of enuye or malice wyth pure humilitye wyth vniuersall peace and quietnes and wyth Christian charitie These be Augustines worde whiche beinge charitably vnderstande are surelye goode and profitable For the fyrste he setteth goddes worde euen the canonicall scriptures to be the very perfect and vndoubted touchstone As it were an euerlasting trueth agaynste the whiche no man maye repyne or stande Then of mens writtinges he declareth what the nature is and howe they ought to be vsed After that of generall counsayles to whyche thoughe he attribute much yet layeth he ther no suer foundacion but they maye conclude vpon matters that maye be afterwarde reformed But aalas when was ther any suche generall counsayle as Saynte Augustine here speaketh of But what shoulde we doubt of suche perilouse tymes spoken of in so manye places of the scripture to be euen nowe wherein that aduersarye is opened Whyche hath so longe tyme sate in the steade of God aboue all that is called God or goddes seruice The abhominacion of desolacion stode in the holye place That gallaÌ„t whore trimmed w t purpel hath ben drunke with the bloude of the Sayntes but the Lord hath shortened those daies for hys electedes sake and hath destroyed this wycked wyth the bryghtnesse of his comeing with the spirite of hys mouth For the Gospell is preached Blessed are they which are called to the lambes supper Among so manye fine and captiouse wyttes among so many swifte and diuers iudgmentes of men as are nowe regninge in the worlde harde shall it be for a right wel learned maÌ„ to please the multitude of them that be learned Wherefore I maye not nor wyl not loke for it But vnto you dearlie beloued brethern which onely desyre the glorie of God and the lorde Iesus and in the same lorde the must charitable reformacion and retourne of his elect froÌ„ blindnes errour vnto the perfite knoweledge of y e lordes heauenly doctrine to you bretherne I saye I make thys declaraion concerninge this my simple labour in thys wyse As touchynge my letter I dyd it God is my wytnes euen of a feruente zeale knowyng for a suretye that thought Maister Chripyne be learned and a greate sorte more which haue do hold the same opinion that he doeth yet am I certen that none of them is able to defend it either by scripture or doctours As coÌ„cerneing y e authoritye of the doctours I take them euen as thei y t selues desier That is If they expouÌ„de anye place of scripture declareynge to be so wyth the helpe of other manyfeste places of scripture or wyth a sure and probable reasone whiche is not contrarye to anye places of the scripture then I accepte it and prayse God for hys gyftes in them If not I let them passe as I fynde them For I haue not alledged them here to thentente that anye man shoulde thynke that the scripture is the more established thorow theyr learnenyge For all men are vayne and cursed is he that putteth hys trust in them But because these meÌ„ sticke so muche to them that in thys poynte are theyr enimies If they thinke I haue ben to quicke wyth them in any thinge let them knowe that the Lorde hath opened his wysdome euen vnto babes And in those thynges we maye not nor wyll geue place to such wyse and prudente from whome they be hyd If they can finde in their hertes to geue place to the infallible veritye of Christes doctrine If they can be contented to caste awaye the hye estimacioÌ„ that thei haue in theyr muche readynge and longe continuance of tyme wyth the titles of honoure geue them by men If they can thorowe pure charitye and desyre of vnitie caste them selues into suche an humilitie as to thynke that God hath opened that vnto simple men whiche thorowe theyr hante mynde is kept from them If they woulde I saye haue theyr whole respecte to the laste wyll and testamente of the lorde Iesus Christe in so muche that if it were an asse that speake vnto them any of those wordes they woulde yet here hyr and regarde the wordes for hys sake who so they be if they were thus minded I would wyshe to speÌ„d a greate parte of my lyfe wyth them I woulde reuerence theyr learneinge and geue them as much honoure as appartayneth vnto suche men But beinge other wyse puft vp contrarye to ryght charitye and in a wronge estimacion of them selues and despyceing Christes simplicitie the Lorde cut ther combes And therfor I hertely exhort al faithfull bretherne to lyfte vp theyr hertes wyth me vnto the lyueinge God in pure fayeth geueing hym most ernest hertie and humble thankes for that he of his tender mercie hath geuen vs so towardelie a yonge kynge so graciouse a gouernour so vertuouse a counsayle by whose meanes all cruell tirannye and murderinge of innocentes is banished pure christian charitye put in vre and practise the lordes doctrine brought in agayne into the seate a poynted strauÌ„ge learneinge banished and put awaye the true worship and seruice of God fouÌ„de out the Idole seruice and false worshippynge driuen out of the church of God Thys waye shall the filthy and vncleane conuersacion of men be purified and y e vncharitable and vnfayethfull dealynge of neyghbours shal be reduced into vnitye fayethfulnes and immutable loue whiche alwayes shal continue in the lyueynge God throughe Iesus Christe Whose name be magnified praysed and exalted for euer Amen ☞ Written the .vii. of Nouembre Anno Domini M.D.xlvii P. N Imprinted at London by Iohn Day and Wyllyam Seres dwellynge in Sepulchres Parish at the signe of the Resurrection a litle aboue Holbourne Conduite Cum gratia priuilegio ad imprimendum solum Esai xxix Ioel. ii i. Pet. â— Esaie xi ii Tim. iii. i. Ti. vt Iohn i. Iohn viii Psal Cxviii Idem Cxiii Deute xxxii Io. vi Iohn iii. Esai viii Rom. i Iohn xii Math. vii Ioh. viii Iohn xv Iohn xâ— ii 〈◊〉 ii Math. xxiiii ii These ii i. Timoth. iiii Deut. iiii Iosue i. Deut. vi xxxii Iohn vi Math. vii Galath 1. Apoc. xxii Math. x. Math. vii Esai xxix Colos. ii Epist clxxxxviii Libr. iii. Fol. clxi Libro ii Cap. xxiii Tractatu postorum Augustinus in prologo tertu lib. De Trinitate Idem ad Vincentium Epist xlviii Austinus super Ssal cxlxii Libr. vi Cap xiiii Tomo v. Capit. xlv Tomo xi Ca. pite iii. Capit. xxiii Capt. i. De fide ca. v. Libr. iii. Epist iii. Libr. i. Cap. l vi Corh i. Math. xix Math. xx Iohn xx Tractatu xlix Capit. ix Supâ—r Iohn Capit. xii Capi. iii.