way euery maÌ his wayes One iudgeth this best an other that to be best Now is worldly witte nothyng els but craft sutletie to obteine that which we iudge falsly to be best As I erre in my witte so erre I in my wil. WheÌ I iudge that to be euill which in dede is good then hate I that which is good And when I suppose that good whiche is euill in deede then loue I euil As if I be persuaded and borne in haÌd that my most frende is myne enemy then hate I my best frend and if I be brought in belefe that my most enemy is my frend TheÌ loue I my most enemy Now when we say euery man hath his free wil to do what him lusteth I say verely that men do what they lust Notwithstandyng to folow lustes is not fredome but captiuitie bondage If God opeÌ any mans wittes to make him feele in his hart that lustes and appetites are damnable and geue hym power to hate and resiste them then is he free euen with the fredome wherewith Christ maketh free and hath power to do the will of God Thou mayst hereby perceaue that all that is done in the world before the spirite of God come geueth vs light is damnable sinne and the more glorious the more damnable so that that which the world counteth most glorious is more damnable in the sight of GOD then that which the whore the thefe and the murderer do With blind reasons of worldly wisedome mayst thou chaunge y e myndes of youth and make them geue them selues to what thou wilt either for feare for prayse or for profite and yet doest but chauÌge theÌ from one vice to an other As the persuasions of her frendes made Lucrece chast Lucrece beleued if she were a good huswife and chast that she should be most glorious that all the world would geue her honour prayse her She sought her own glory in her chastitie and not gods When she had lost her chastitie then counted she her selfe most abhominable in the sight of all men and for very payne and thought which she had not that she had displeased God but that she had lost her honour slew her selfe Looke how great her paine and sorrow was for the losse of her chastitie so great was her glorie and reioysing therein and so much despised she them that were otherwise and pitied them not Which pride God more abhorreth theÌ the whoredome of any whore Of like pride are all y e morall vertues of Aristotle Plato and Socrates and all the doctrine of the Philosophers the very Gods of our schole men In like maner is it for the most part of our most holy Religion For they of lyke imagination do thynges whiche they of Bedlem may see that they are but madnes They looke on the miracles which God did by the Saintes to moue the vnbeleuyng vnto the fayth and to confirme the trouth of his promises in Christ whereby all that beleue are made Saintes as thou seest in the last Chapter of Marke They preached sayth he euery where the Lord workyng with them and confirmyng their preachyng with miracles that folowed And in the fourth of the Actes the Disciples prayed that God would stretch forth his handes to doe miracles and wonders in the name of Iesus And Paul i. Corin. xiiij sayth that the miracle of speakyng with diuers tounges is but a signe for vnbeleuers and not for them that beleue These miracles turne they vnto an other purpose saying in their blynde hartes See what miracles God hath shewed for this Saint he must be verely great with GOD. And at once turne them selues from Gods word and put their trust and confidence in the Saint and his merites and make an Aduocate or rather a GOD of the Saint and of their blind imagination make a TestameÌt or bond betwene the Saint and them the Testament of Christes bloud cleane forgotten They looke on the Saintes garmentes and lyues or rather lyes which men lye on the Saintes and this wise imagine in their hartes saying the Saint for wearyng such a garmeÌt and for such dedes is become so glorious in heauen If I do likewise so shall I be also They see not the fayth and trust whiche the Saintes had in Christ neither the the word of God whiche the Saintes preached neither the entent of the Saintes how that the Saintes dyd such thynges to tame their bodies and to be an ensample to the world and to teach that such thynges are to be despised which the world most wondreth at and magnifieth They see not also that some landes are so whote that a man can neither drinke wyne nor eate fleshe therein neither consider they the complexion of the Saintes and a thousand lyke thynges see they not So wheÌ they haue killed their bodies and brought them in that case that scarce with any restauratiue they can recouer their health agayne yet had they leuer dye then to eate fleshe Why for they thinke I haue now this xx xxx or xl yeares eaten no flesh and haue obteined I doubt not by this tyme as hye a rowme as the best of them should I now loose that nay I had leuer dye and as Lucretia had leuer haue bene flayne if he had not bene to strong for her then to haue lost her glorie euen so had these They ascribe heauen vnto their imaginations and mad inuentions and receaue it not of the liberalitie of God by the merites and deseruynges of Christ He now that is renewed in Christ kepeth the law without any law written or compulsion of any ruler or officer saue by the ledyng of the spirite onely but the naturall man is entised and moued to keepe the law carnally with carnall reasons and worldly persuasions as for glorie honour riches and dignitie But the last remedy of all when all other fayle is feare Beate one the rest will absteine for feare as Moyses euer putteth in remembraunce saying kill stone burne So shall thou put euill from thee and all Israell shal heare and feare and shall no more do so If feare helpe not then will God that they be taken out of this life Kynges were ordeined then as I before sayd and the sword put in their handes to take vengeaunce of euill doers that other might feare and were not ordeined to fight one against an other or to rise agaynst the Emperour to defende the false authoritie of the Pope that very Antechrist Byshops they onely can minister the temporall sword their office the preachyng of Gods word layd a part which the wil neither do nor suffer any maÌ to do but slay with the temporall sword whiche they haue gotten out of the hand of all Princes them that would The preachyng of Gods word is hatefull and contrary vnto them Why For it is impossible to preach Christ except thou preach agaynst Antichrist that is to say
all in all thinges woorketh a mans iustifiyng saluation and health yea poureth fayth belefe lust to loue Gods will strength to fulfill the same into vs euen as water is poured into a vessell and that of his good will and purpose and not of our deseruynges and merites Gods mercy in promising and truth in fulfilling his promises saueth vs and not we ourselues and therfore is al laude prayse glory to be geuen vnto God for his mercy and truth and not vnto vs for our merites and deseruynges After that he stretcheth hys example out agaynst all other good workes of the law and coÌcludeth that the Iewes can not be Arahams heyres because of bloud and kinred onely and much lesse by the workes of the law but must inherite Abrahams fayth if they wil be the right heyres of Abraham for as much as Abraham before the law both of Moses also of Circumcision was through faith made righteous and called the father of all them that beleue not of them that worke Moreouer the law causeth wrath in as much as no maÌ can fulfill it with loue and lust and as longe as such grudgyng hate and indignation agaynst the law remayneth in the hart and is not takeÌ away by the sprite that commeth by fayth so long no doubt the workes of the law declare euideÌtly that the wrath of god is vpon vs and not fauour wherfore fayth only receyueth the grace promised vnto Abraham And these ensamples were not written for Abrahams sake onely sayth he but for oures also to whom if we beleue fayth shall be reckened lykewise for ryghteousnesse as he sayth in the end of the chapter In the 5. chapter he commendeth the fruit and workes of faith as are peace reioycing in the conscience inwarde loue to God and maÌ moreouer boldnesse trust confidence and a strong a lusty mynd and stedfast hope in tribulation and suffering For all such follow where the right fayth is for the aboundant graces sake and giftes of the sprite which god hath geuen vs in Christ in that he suffred hym to die for vs yet his enemies Now haue we then that fayth only before all workes iustifieth and that it followeth not yet therfore that a man should do no good workes but that y t right shapeÌ workes abide not behind but accompany fayth euen as brightnesse doth the sunne and are called of Paul the fruites of the sprite Where y t spirite is there it is alwayes sommer and there are alwayes good fruites that is to say good workes This is Paules order that good works spring of the sprite y e spirit commeth by fayth and faythe commeth by hearyng the worde of God when the glad tidings and promises which God hath made vnto vs in Christ are preached truely and receiued in the ground of the hart with out waueryng or doubâing after that the law hath passed vpon vs and hath damned our consciences Where the worde of God is preached purely and receiued in the hart there is faith the spirit of God there are also good workes of necessitie whensoeuer occasioÌ is geueÌ Where Gods word is not purely preached but mens dreames traditions imaginations inuentioÌs ceremonies superstition there is no fayth and consequently no spirite that commeth of GOD and where Gods spirite is not there can bee no good workes euen as where an apple tree is not there can grow no apples but there is vnbeliefe the diuels sprite and euill workes Of this Gods sprite and hys fruites haue our holy hipocrites not once knowen neither yet tasted how swete they are though they fayne many good workes of their own imaginatioÌ to be iustified withal in which is not one cromme of true fayth or spiritual loue or of inward ioy peace and quietnes of conscience for as much as they haue not the worde of GOD for them that such workes please GOD but they are euen the rotten fruites of a rotten tree After that he breaketh forth and runneth at large sheweth whence both sinne and righteousnesse death and life come And he compareth Adam and Christ together thus wise reasonyng and disputyng that Christ must nedes come as a seconde Adam to make vs heyres of his righteousnesse through a new spiritual birth without our deseruinges Euen as the first Adam made vs heyres of synne through the bodily generation without oure deseruyng Wherby it is euidently knowne and proued to the vttermost that no man can bryng himselfe out of synne vnto righteousnesse no more then he could haue withstaÌd that he was borne bodily And y t is proued herewith for as much as y t very law of God which of right should haue helped if any thyng could haue holpeÌ not onely came and brought no helpe with her but also encreased synne because that the euil and poisoned nature is offeÌded and vtterly displeased with the law and y t more she is forbid by the lawe the more is she prouoked and set a fyre to fulfill satisfie her lustes By the law then we see clearely that we must needes haue Christ to iustify vs with his grace to helpe nature In the vi he setteth forthe the chiefe and principall worke of fayth the battayle of the sprite agaynst the fleshe how the sprite laboureth and enforceth to kyll the remnaunt of sinne and lust which remayne in the fleshe after our iustifiyng And this chapiter teacheth vs that we are not so free from sinne through fayth that we should henceforth go vp and down idle carelesse sure of our selues as thoughe there were now no more synne in vs. Yes there is sinne remayning in vs but it is not reckoned because of fayth and of the sprite which fyght agaynste it Wherefore we haue inough to doe all our lyues long to tame our bodies and to compell the members to obey the sprite and not the appetites that therby we myght be like vnto christes death and resurrection and might fulfill our baptisme which signifieth the mortifiyng of sinnes and the new lyfe of grace For this battayle ceaseth not in vs vntill the last breath and vntyll that sinne be vtterly slayne by the deth of the body This thyng I meane to tame the body and so forth we are able to doe sayth he seyng we are vnder grace not vnder the lawe What it is not to be vnder the lawe he himselfe expoundeth For not to be vnder the lawe is not so to be vnderstand that euery maÌ may do what hym lusteth But not to be vnder the law is to haue a fre hart renewed with the sprite so that thou hast lust inwardly of thine owne accorde to do that which the lawe commaundeth without compulsion yea though there were no law For grace that is to say gods fauour bringeth vs the sprite maketh vs loue the lawe so is there now no more sinne neither is the law now any more
conclusion not to bee doubted of that there must be first in the hart of a man before he do any good worke a greater and a preciouser thyng then all the good workes in the world to reconcile him to God to bryng the loue and fauour of God to him to make him loue God agayne to make him righteous and good in the sight of God to do a way his sinne to deliuer him and lose him out of that captiuitie where in he was conceaued and borne in whiche he could neither loue God neither the will of God Or els how can he worke any good woorke that should please God if there were not some supernaturall goodnes in him giuen of GOD freely where of the good worke must spryng euen as a sicke man must first be healed or made whole yer he can do the dedes of an whole man and as the blind man must first haue sight geuen him yer he can see and he that hath his feete in fetters giues or stockes must first be loosed or he can go walke or runne and euen as they whiche thou readest of in the Gospel that they were possessed of the deuils could not laude God till the deuils were cast out That precious thing which must be in the hart yer a man can worke any good worke is y â word of God which in the Gospell preacheth profereth bryngeth vnto all that repent and beleue the fauour of God in Christ Who soeuer heareth the word and beleueth it the same is thereby righteous and thereby is geuen hym the spirite of God which leadeth him vnto all that is the will of God and is loosed from the captiuitie and bondage of the deuill and his hart is free to loue God and hath lust to do the will of GOD. Therfore it is called the word of lyfe the word of grace the word of health the word of redemption the word of forgiuenes and the word of peace he that heareth it not or beleueth it not caÌ by no meanes be made righteous before God This confirmeth Peter in the xv of the Actes seyng that GOD through fayth doth purifie the hartes For of what nature so euer the word of God is of the same nature must the hartes be whiche beleue thereon and cleaue thereunto Now is the word liuyng pure righteous and true euen so maketh it the hartes of them that beleue theron IF it be sayd that Paul when he saith in the iij. to the Romaines no fleshe shal be or can be iustified by the deedes of the law meaneth it of the ceremonies or sacrifices it is an vntrue saying For it foloweth immediatly by the law commeth the knowledge of sinne Now are they not the ceremonies that vtter sinne but the law of coÌmaundementes In the iiij he sayth the law causeth wrath whiche can not bee vnderstand of the ceremonies for they were geuen to reconcile the people to God agayne after they had sinned If as they say the ceremonies which were geuen to purge sinne and to reconcile iustifie not neither blesse but temporally onely much more the law of commaundementes iustifieth not For that whiche proueth a man sick health him not neither doth the cause of wrath bring to fauour neither can that whiche damneth saue a man When the mother commaundeth her childe but euen to rocke the cradle it grudgeth the commaundement doth but vtter the poyson that lay hid and setteth him at bate with hys mother and maketh hym beleue shee loueth him not These commaundements also thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house thou shalt not lust desire or wishe after thy neighbours wife seruaunt mayde oxe or asse or what soeuer pertaineth vnto thy neyghbour geue me not power so to doe but vtter the poyson that is in me and damne me because I can not so do and proue that God is wrath with me seing that his wil and mine are so contrary Therefore sayth Paul Gal. iij. If there had ben geuen such a law that could haue geuen lyfe then no doubt righteousnes had come by the law but the Scripture concluded all vnder sinne sayth he that the promise might bee geuen vnto them that beleue through the fayth that is in Iesus Christ The promises when they are beleued are they that iustifie for they bring the spirite whiche looseth the hart giueth lust to the law and certifieth vs of y t good will of God vnto vs ward If we submit our selues vnto God desire him to heale vs he wil do it and will in the meane tyme because of the consent of y â hart vnto y â law count vs for full whole wil no more hate vs but pitie vs cherish vs be tender harted to vs loue vs as he doth Christ him selfe Christ is our redemer Sauiour peace attonement and satisfactioÌ and hath made amendes or satisfaction to Godward for all the sinne whiche they that repeÌt consentyng to the law and beleuyng the promises do haue done or shal do So that if through fragilitie we fall a thousand tymes in a day yet if we do repent agayne we haue alway mercy layd vp for vs in store in Iesus Christ our Lord. WHat shall we say then to those Scriptures whiche go so sore vpoÌ good workes As we read Math. xxv I was an hungred and ye gaue me meate c. And such like Whiche all sound as though we should be iustified and accepted vnto the fauour of God in Christ through good workes To this I aunswere Many there are which wheÌ they heare or read of fayth at once they coÌsent therunto and haue a certaine imagination or opinion of fayth as when a man telleth a story or a thyng done in a straunge lande that pertayneth not to theÌ at all Which yet they heleue and tell as a true thyng And this imagination or opinion they call faith They thinke no further then that fayth is a thyng which standeth in their own power to haue as do other naturall workes whiche men worke but they feele no maner workyng of the spirite neither the terrible sentence of the law the fearefull iudgements of God the horrible damnation and captiuitie vnder Sathan Therefore as soone as they haue this opinion or imaginatioÌ in there hartes that sayth verely this doctrine semeth true I beleue it is eueÌ so Then they thinke that the right fayth is there But afterward when they feele in them selues and also see in other that there is none alteration and that the workes folow not but that they are altogether eueÌ as before and abide in their old estate then thinke they y t faith is not sufficient but that it must be some greater thing then fayth that should iustifie a man So faule they away from fayth agayne and crye saying fayth onely iustifieth not a man and maketh him acceptable to GOD. If thou aske them wherfore They auÌswere see how many there are that beleue and yet do no more
then they did before These are they whiche Iudas in his Epistle calleth dreamers which deceaue themselues with their owne fantasies For what other thing is their imagination which they call fayth then a dreamyng of the fayth and an opinion of their owne imagination wrought without the grace of God These must nedes be worse at the latter end theÌ at the begynnyng These are the old vessels that rent when new wyne is poured into them Math. ix that is they heare Gods word but hold it not and therfore waxe worse then they were before But the right fayth spryngeth not of mans fantasie neither is it in any maÌs power to obtaine it but is all together the pure gift of God poured into vs freely without all maner doyng of vs without deseruing and merites yea and without sekyng for of vs. And is as sayth Paul in the second to the Ephesians euen Gods gift and grace purchased through Christ Therfore is it mighty in operation full of vertue and euer working which also renueth a man and begetteth him a fresh altereth him chaungeth hym and turneth him altogether into a new nature and conuersation so that a man feeleth hys hart all together altered chaunged and farre otherwise disposed then before hath power to loue that whiche before he could not but hate and deliteth in that which before he abhorred and hateth that which before he could not but loue And it setteth the soule at libertie and maketh her free to folow the will of God and doth to the soule euen as health doth vnto the body after that a man is pined and wasted away with a long sokyng disease the legges cannot beare hym he cannot lift vp his handes to helpe hymself his taste is corrupt suger is bitter in hys mouth his stomacke abhorreth longyng after slibbersause and swashe at which a whole stomacke is readye to cast hys gorge When helth commeth she changeth and altereth hym cleane geueth hym strength in all hys members lust to do of his owne accord that which before he could not do neither could suffer that any maÌ exhorted hym to do and hath now lust in holesome thynges and hys members are free and at libertie and haue power to do of their owne accorde all thinges which belong to an whole man to do which afore they had no power to do but were in captiuitie and bondage So likewise in all thyng doth right fayth to the soule The sprite of God accompanieth fayth bringeth with her light wherwith a man beholdeth hymselfe in the lawe of God and seeth his miserable bondage and captiuitie and humbleth himselfe and abhorreth himselfe she bringeth Gods promises of all good thinges in Christ God worketh with his worde and in his worde And as his worde is preached fayth rooteth her selfe in the hartes of the elect and as faith entreth and the worde of God is beleued the power of God looseth the hart from the captiuitie and bondage vnder sinne and knitteth and coupleth him to God and to the wyll of God altereth hym chaungeth hym cleane fashioneth and forgeth hym a new geueth hym power to loue and to doe that whiche before was vnpossible for hym eyther to loue or do and turneth hym into a new nature so y t he loueth that which he before hated and hateth that which he before loued and is cleane altered chaunged and contrary disposed and is knit and coupled fast to Gods will and naturally bringeth forthe good workes that is to say that which God commaundeth to do and not thinges of hys owne imagination And that doth he of hys owne accorde as a tree bringeth forth fruit of her own accord And as thou needest not to bid a tree to bryng forth fruite so is there no law put vnto hym that beleueth and is iustified through fayth as sayth Paul in the first Epistle to Timothie the fyrst chapter Neither is it nedeful for the law of god is written graued in his harte and his pleasure is therein And as without commaundement but eueÌ of hys owne nature he eateth drincketh seeth heareth talketh goeth eueÌ so of his owne nature without coaction or compulsion of y t law bringeth he forth good workes And as a whole man when he is a thurst tarieth but for drinke and when he hungreth abideth but for meate and then drinketh and eateth naturally eueÌ so is y e faithfull euer a thurst an hungred after the will of God and tarieth but for occasion And whensoeuer an occasion is geuen he worketh naturally the wyll of God For this blessing is geuen to all them that trust in Christes bloud that they thrust and hunger to do gods wyll He that hath not this fayth is but an vnprofitable babler of faith and workes and wotteth neither what he bableth nor what he meaneth or wherunto his wordes pertayne For he feeleth not the power of faith nor y e working of the spirite in his hart but enterpreteth the scriptures which speake of fayth and workes after hys owne blynd reason folish fantasies not of any feeling that he hath in his hart as a man rehearseth a tale of an other mans mouth and wotteth not whether it be so or no as he sayth nor hath any experience of y t thing it selfe Now doth the scripture ascribe both fayth workes not to vs but to God only to whom they belong onely and to whoÌ they are appropriate whose gifte they are and the proper worke of his spirit Is it not a frowarde and peruerse blindnes to teach how a man can do nothing of his owne selfe and yet presumptuously take vpoÌ them the greatest and hyest worke of God euen to make fayth in themselues of their own power and of their owne false imagination and thoughtes Therfore I say we must dispayre of our selues pray God as christes apostles did to geue vs fayth to encrease our fayth When we haue that we neede no other thing more For she bringeth the spirite with her and he not onely teacheth vs all thinges but worketh them also mightely in vs and carieth vs through aduersitie persecution death and hel vnto heauen and euerlasting lyfe MArke diligently therfore seing we are come to answer The Scripture because of such dreames and fayned faythes sake vseth such manner of speakinges of workes not that a man should therby be made good to Godwarde or iustified but to declare vnto other and to take of other the differeÌce betwene false fayned fayth and ryght fayth For where right fayth is there bringeth she forthe good workes if there followe not good workes it is no doubt but a dreame and an opinion or fained fayth Wherfore looke as the fruit maketh not the tree good but declareth and testifieth outwardlye that the tree is good as Christ sayeth euery tree is knowen by his fruite euen so shall ye know the right fayth by her fruite Take for an
do no good worke freely without respect of some profit either in this world or in the world to come neither coulde we haue spirituall ioye in oure hartes in time of affliction and mortifiyng of the flesh Good workes are called the fruites of the spirite Gal. 5. for the sprite worketh them in vs and sometyme fruites of righteousnes as in the second Epistle to the Cor. and 9. chapter before all workes therfore we must haue a righteousnes within the hart the mother of all workes froÌ wheÌce they spring The righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises of them that haue y â spirite of this world is y t glorious shew outward shining of workes But Christ sayth to vs Mar. 5. except your righteousnes exceede the righteousnes of the scribes Pharises ye caÌnot enter into the kingdome of heauen It is righteousnes in y t world if a maÌ kyl not But a Christen perceiueth righteousnesse if he loue his enemy euen when he suffreth persecution and torment of him and the paines of death and mourneth more for his aduersaries blindnesse then for his owne payne and prayeth God to open his eyes and to forgeue hym his sinnes as dyd Steuen in the Actes of the Apostles the vij Chapter and Christ Luke xxiij A Christen considereth him selfe in the law of GOD and there putteth of him all maner righteousnes For the law suffereth no merites no deseruynges no righteousnes neither any maÌ to be iustified in the sight of God The law is spirituall and requireth y t hart and commaundements to be fulfilled with such loue and obedience as was in Christ If any fulfill all that is the will of God with such loue and obedience the same may be bold to sell pardons of his merites and els not A Christen therfore when he beholdeth hym selfe in the law putteth of all maner righteousnes deseruinges and merites and mekely and vnfaynedly knowledgeth his sinne miserie his captiuitie and bondage in the flesh his trespasse and gilte and is thereby blessed with the poure in spirite Math. v. Chap. Then he morneth in his hart because he is in such bondage that he can not do the will of God and is an hungred and a thyrst after righteousnes For righteousnesse I meane which springeth out of christes bloud for strength to do the wil of God And turneth him selfe to the promises of God desireth him for his great mercy and truth and for the bloud of hys sonne Christ to fulfill his promises to geue him streÌgth And thus his spirit euer prayeth within him He fasteth also not one day for a weke or a Lent for an whole yeare but professeth in his hart a perpetuall sobernes to tame the flesh and to subdue the body to the spirite vntil he waxe strong in the spirite and grow ripe into a full righteousnes after the fulnes of Christ And because this fulnes happeneth not till the body be slayne by death a Christen is euer a sinner in the law and therfore fasteth and prayeth to God in the spirite the world seyng it not Yet in y â promises he is euer righteous thorough fayth in Christ and is sure that he is heire of all Gods promises the spirite which he hath receaued in earnest bearyng him witnes his hart also and his dedes testifying the same Marke this then To see inwardly that y t law of God is so spirituall that no flesh can fulfill it And then for to morne and sorrow and to desire yea to hunger and thyrst after strength to do the wil of God from the ground of the hart and notwithstandyng all the sutlety of the deuil weakenes and feblenes of the flesh and wondryng of the world to cleaue yet to y t promises of God and to beleue that for Christes bloud sake thou art receaued to the inheritauÌce of eternall lyfe is a wonderfull thyng and a thyng that the world knoweth not of but who soeuer feleth that though he fall a thousand tymes in a day doth yet rise agayne a thousand tymes and is sure that the mercy of God is vpon hym IF ye forgeue othermen their trespasses your heaueÌly father shal forgeue you yours Mat. in the vj. Chap. if I forgeue God shall forgeue me not for my dedes sake but for his promises sake for his mercy truth and for the bloud of hys son Christ our Lord. And my forgeuing certifieth my spirite that God shal forgeue me yea y t he hath forgeueÌ me already For if I consent to y t will of God in my hart though thorough infirmitie and weakenes I can not do the will of GOD at all tymes moreouer though I can not do the wil of God so purely as the law requireth it of me yet if I see my faulte mekely knowledge my sinne wepyng in myne hart because I caÌ not do the will of God and thyrst after streÌgth I am sure that y t sprite of God is in me his fauour vpon me For the world lusteth not to do the will of God neither soroweth because he can not though he sorrow some tyme for feare of y â paine that he beleueth shall folow He that hath the spirite of this world can not forgeue without amendes makyng or a greater vauntage If I forgeue now how coÌmeth it veryly because I feele the mercy of God in me For as a man feeleth God to him selfe so is he to his neighbour I know by mine owne experience that all flesh is in bondage vnder sinne and caÌ not but sinne therfore am I mercyfull and desire God to loose the bondes of sinne euen in mine enemy GAther not treasure together in earth c. Math. vj. But gather you treasure in heauen c. Let not youâ hartes be glued to worldly thynges studie not to heape treasure vpon treasure and riches vpon riches but study to bestow well that whiche is gotten already and let your abundaunce succour the lacke and neede of the power which haue not Haue an eye to good workes to which if ye haue lust and also power to do them then are ye sure that the spirite of God is in you and ye in Christ elect to the reward of eternal life which foloweth good workes But looke that thine eye be single and robbe not Christ of his honour ascribe not that to y t deseruyng of thy workes which is geuen the freely by the merites of his bloud In Christ we are sonnes In Christ we are heires In Christ god chose vs and elected vs before the begynning of the world created vs a new by the word of the Gospell and put his spirite in vs for because we should do good workes A ChristeÌ man worketh because it is the will of his father onely If we do no good worke nor be mercyfull how is our lust therin If we haue no lust to do good workes how is Gods spirite in vs If the spirite of God
be not in vs how are we his sonnes How are we his heyres heyres annexed with Christ of the eternal life which is promised to all them that beleue in hym Now do our workes testifie and witnes what we are and what treasure is layd vp for vs in heauen so that our eye be single and looke vpon the commaundement without respect of any thing saue because it is Gods wil and that God desireth it of vs and Christ hath deserued that we do it Math. vij Not all they that say vnto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kyngdome of heauen but he that doth the will of my father which is in heauen Though thou canst lande God with thy lippes and call Christ Lord and canst bable and talke of the scripture and knowest all the stories of the Bible Yet shalt thou thereby neuer know thyne election or whether thy fayth be right But if thou feele lust in thyne hart to the will of God and bringest forth the frutes therof then hast thou confidence and hope and thy dedes and also the spirite whence thy deedes spryng certifie thyne hart that thou shal enter yea art already entred into the kyngdome of heauen For it foloweth he that heareth the word and doth it buildeth his house vpoÌ a rock and no tempest of temptations can ouerthrow it For the spirite of God is in his hart and comforteth him holdeth him fast to the rocke of the merites of Christes bloud in whom he is elect Nothyng is able to plucke hym out of the handes of God god is stroÌger then all things And contrarywise he that heareth the word doth it not buildeth on the sande of his own imagination euery tempest ouerthroweth his buildyng The cause is he hath not Gods spirite in him and therfore vnderstandeth it not a right neither worketh a right For no maÌ knoweth the thyngs of God sayeth Paul in the i. Epistle to the Corinthians in the second Chapter saue the spirite of God as no man knoweth what is in a maÌ but a maÌs spirite which is in him So then if the spirite be not in a man he worketh not the wil of GOD neither vnderstandeth it though he bable neuer so much of the scriptures Neuerthelesse such a maÌ may worke after his owne imagination but Gods wil can he not woorke he may offer sacrifice but to do mercy knoweth he not It is easy to say vnto christ Lord Lord but therby shalt thou neuer feele or be sure of the kyngdome of heauen But and if thou do the will of God theÌ art thou sure that Christ is thy Lord in dede that thou in him art also a Lord in y â thou felest thy selfe loosed and free froÌ the bondage of sinne and lusty and of power to do the will of God Where the spirite is there is feelyng For y t spirite maketh vs feele all thinges Where the spirite is not there is no feelyng but a vayne opinion or imagination A Phisitian serueth but for sicke men and that for such sicke meÌ as feele their sicknesses morne therfore and long for health Christ lykewise serueth but for sinners onely as feele there sinne and that for such sinners that sorrow and morne in theyr hartes for health Health is power or strength to fulfill the law or to keepe the commaundementes Now he that longeth for that health that is to say for to do the law of God is blessed in Christ and hath a promise that his lust shal be fulfilled that he shal be made whole Math. v. blessed are they which hunger thurst for righteousnes sake that is to fulfill the law for their lust shal be fulfilled This loÌgyng and consent of the hart vnto the law of God is the woorkyng of the spirite whiche God hath poured into thine hart in earnest that y â mightest be sure y â God will fulfil all his promises that he hath made thee It is also the seale marke which God putteth on all men that he choseth vnto euerlastyng life So long as thou seest thy sinne and mornest conseÌtest to the law longest though thou be neuer so weake yet the spirite shal kepe thee in all temptatioÌs from desperatioÌ and certifie thyne hart that God for his trouth shall deliuer thee and saue thee yea by thy good dedes shalt thou be saued not whiche thou hast done but whiche Christ hath done for thee For Christ is thine and all his dedes are thy dedes Christ is in thee and thou in him knit together inseparably Neither canst thou be damned except Christ be daÌned with thee Neither can Christ be saued except thou be saued with him Moreouer thy hart is good right holy and iust For thy hart is no enemy to the law but a frend a louer The law and thy hart are agreed and at one and therfore is God at one with thee The consent of the hart vnto the law is vnite and peace betwene God and man For he is not myne enemy whiche would fayne do me pleasure and morneth because he hath not wherewith Now he that opened thy disease vnto thee and made thee long for health shall as he hath promised heale thee and he that hath loosed thy hart shall at hys godly laysure lose thy members He that hath not the spirite hath no felyng neither lusteth or longeth after power to fulfil the law neither abhorreth the pleasures of sinne neither hath any more certainetie of the promises of God theÌ I haue of a tale of Robinhode or of some iest that a man telleth me was done at Rome An other man may lightly make me doubt or beleue the contrary seyng I haue no experience therof my selfe So is it of them that feele not the workyng of the spirite therfore in tyme of temptatioÌ the buildynges of their imaginations fall MAth x. He that receaueth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet that is because he is a Prophet shall receaue the reward of a Prophet he y t geueth one of these litleones a cup of cold water to drinke in the name of a Disciple shall not lose hys reward Note this that a Prophet signifieth as well him that enterpreteth y e hard places of Scripture as him that prophesieth thyngs to come Now he that receaueth a Prophet a iust man or a Disciple shall haue the same or lyke reward that is to say shal haue the same eternall lyfe whiche is appointed for theÌ in Christes bloud merites For except thou were elect to y t same eternall lyfe haddest the same fayth and trust in God and the same spirite thou couldest neuer consent to their deedes and helpe them But thy dedes testifie what thou art certifie thy conscience that thou art receaued to mercy and sanctified in Christes passions and sufferynges and shalt hereafter with all them that folow God receaue the reward of eternall lyfe Of thy wordes
working of the spirit of God in them Last of al exhorteth he to vnitie peace and sobernes to auoyde braulinges sectes opinions disputing and arguing about wordes and to walke in the plaine and single fayth and feeling of the spirite and to loue one an other after the ensample of Christ euen as Christ loued vs and to be thankefull and to walke worthy of the Gospell and as it becommeth Christ and with the ensample of pure liuing to draw all to Christ Christ is Lord ouer all and euery ChristiaÌ is heyre annexed with Christ and therefore Lord of all euery one Lord of whatsoeuer an other hath If thy brother or neighbour therfore nede and thou haue to helpe hym and yet shewest not mercy but withdrawest thy handes froÌ him then robbest thou hym of his owne and art a thiefe A Christian man hath Christes spirite Now is Christ a mercifull thing if therefore thou be not mercifull after y â ensample of Christ then hast thou not his spirite If thou haue not Christes spirite theÌ art thou none of his Ro. 8. nor hast any part wyth hym Moreouer though thou shew mercy vnto thy neighbour yet if thou do it not with such burning loue as Christ did vnto thee so must y â knowledge thy sinne desire mercy in Christ A Christian man hath nought to reioyce in concerning his deedes His reioycing is that Christ dyed for hym and that he is washed in Christes bloude Of his deedes reioyceth he not neither counteth his merites neither geueth pardons of them neither seeketh an hyer place in heauen of them neither maketh himselfe a sauiour of other men thorough his good workes But geueth all honour to God and in his greatest deedes of mercy knowledgeth himselfe a sinner vnfainedly and is aboundauntly content with y â place that is prepared for him of Christ and his good deedes are to him a signe onely that Christes spirite is in him and he in Christ and thorow Christ elect to eternall life The order of loue or charitie which some dreame the Gospell of Christ knoweth not of that a man should beginne at himselfe and serue him selfe first and then discend I wot not by what steppes Loue seketh not her own profite ij Cor. xij but maketh a man to forget him selfe and to turne his profite to an other man as Christ sought not him selfe or his owne profite but ours This terme my selfe is not in the Gospell neither yet father mother sister brother kinsman that one should be preferred in loue aboue an other But christ is all in all things Euery Christen man to an other is Christ him selfe and thy neighbours nede hath as good right in thy goods as hath Christ him selfe which is heâre and Lord ouer all And looke what thou owest to Christ that thou owest to thy neighbours nede To thy neighbour owest thou thine hart thy selfe all that thou hast canst do The loue that springeth out of Christ excludeth no man neither putteth difference betwene one and an other In Christ we are al of one degree without respect of persous Notwithstandyng though a Christen mans hart be open to all meÌ and receaueth all men yet because that his habilitie of goodes extendeth not so farre this prouision is made that euery man shall care for his owne houshold as father and mother and thine elders that haue holpen thee wife children and seruauntes If thou shouldest not care prouide for thyne houshold then were thou an infidele seyng thou hast taken on thee so to do and for as much as that is thy part committed to thee of the congregation When thou hast done thy dutie to thyne houshold and yet hast further aboundance of the blessyng of GOD that owest thou to the poore that caÌ not labour or would labour can get no worke and are destitute of freÌdes to the poore I meane which thou knowest to them of thyne owne parish For that prouision ought to be had in the coÌgregation that euery parish care for there poore If thy neighbours whiche thou knowest be serued and thou yet haue superfluitie and hearest necessitie to be among the brethren a thousand myle of to theÌ art thou detter Yea to y â very infidels we be detters if they nede as farforth as we maynteine theÌ not agaynst Christ or to blaspheme Christ Thus is euery man that nedeth thy helpe thy father mother sister and brother in Christ euen as euery man that doth the will of the father is father mother sister and brother vnto Christ Moreouer if any be an infidele and a false Christen and forsake his household his wife childreÌ and such as can not helpe them selues then art thou bound to them and haue wherewith euen as much as to thyne owne houshold And they haue as good right in thy goodes as thou thy selfe And if thou withdraw mercy from them and hast wherewith to helpe them then are thou a thefe If thou shew mercy so doest thou thy dutie and art a faythfull minister in the houshold of Christ and of Christ shalt thou haue thy reward and thanke If the whole world were thyne yet hath euery brother his right in thy goodes is heyre with thee as we are all heyres with Christ Moreouer the rich and they that haue wisedome with them must see the poore set a worke that as many as are able may feede them selues with the labour of their owne handes accordyng to the Scripture commaundemeÌt of God Now seest thou what almes deede meaneth and wherefore it serueth He that seketh with his almes more then to be mercyfull to a neighbour to succour his brothers nede to do his dutie to his brother to giue his brother that he oweth him the same is blind and seeth not what it is to be a Christen maÌ and to haue felowshyp in Christes bloud As pertaining to good workes vnderstand y t all workes are good which are done within the law of GOD in fayth and with thaÌkesgeuyng to God and vnderstand that thou in doing theÌ pleasest God what so euer thou doest with in the law of God as when thou makest water And trust me if either winde or water were stopped thou shouldest feele what a preciouse thyng it were to do either of both and what thankes ought to be geuen God therfore Moreouer put no difference betwene workes but what soeuer commeth into thy handes that do as time place and occasion geueth and as god hath put thee in degree hie or low For as touchyng to please God there is no worke better then an other GOD looketh not first on thy woorke as the world doth as though the bewtyfulnes of the worke pleased hym as it doth the world or as though he had nede of them But God looketh first on thy hart what fayth thou hast to his wordes how thou beleuest hym trustest him and how thou louest hym for his mercy that he hath shewed
to put on sackecloth to sprinkle themselues with ashes and earth when they heard of or saw any sorowful thing as it was Paules maner to stretch out his hand when he preached And as it is our maner to holde vp our handes when we pray and as some kisse their thome nayle and put it to their eyes and as we put our handes on childrens heades when we blesse theÌ saying Christ blesse thee my sonne and God make thee a good man which gestures neither helpe nor hinder This mayst thou well see by the xiij of the Actes where the holy Ghost commaunded to separate Paul and Barnabas to go and preach TheÌ the other fasted and prayed and put their handes on their heades and sent them forth They receaued not the holy Ghost theÌ by putting on of hands but the other as they put their handes on their heades prayed for them that God would goe with them strength them and coraged them also bidding them to be strong in God and warned them to be faythfull and diligent in the worke of God and so forth ¶ Anoyling LAst of all commeth the anoyling wythout promise and therefore without the spirite and without profet but altogether vnfruitfull and superstitious The sacramentes which they haue imagined are all wythout promise and therefore helpe not For whatsoeuer is not of fayth is sinne Rom. xiiij Now without a promise can there be no fayth The sacraments which Christ himselfe ordeined which haue also promises and would saue vs if we knew them and beleued them them minister they in the latine touÌg So are they also become as vnfruitfull as the other Yea they make vs beleue that the worke it self without the promise saueth vs which doctrine they learned of Aristotle And thus are we become an hundred tymes worse then the wicked Iewes which beleued that the very worke of their sacrifice iustified them Against which Paul fighteth in euery epistle prouing that nothyng helpeth saue the promises which God hath sworne in Christ Aske the people what they vnderstand by their Baptime or washing And thou shalt see that they beleue how that the very plunging into the water saueth them of the promises they know not nor what is signified thereby Baptime is called volowing in many places of England because the priest sayth âolo say ye The childe was well volowed say they yea and our Vicare is as fayre a volower as euer a priest within this twenty miles Beholde how narowly the people looke on the ceremony If ought be left out or if the childe be not altogether dipt in the water or if because y â childe is sicke y t priest dare not plunge him into the water but poure water on his head how tremble they how quake they how say ye sir Iohn say they is this childe christened enough hath it his full christendome They beleue verely that the childe is not christened yea I haue knowen Priestes that haue gone vnto the orders againe supposing that they were not priestes because that the Byshop left one of his ceremonies vndon That they call coÌfirmation the people call Byshoping They thinke that if the Byshop butter the childe in y e forehead that it is safe They thinke that the worke maketh safe and likewise suppose they of anoyling Now is this false doctrine verely For Iames sayth in y â fyrst chapter of hys Epistle Of his good wyll begat he vs with y â word of life that is with the worde of promise In which we are made Gods sonnes heires of the goodnes of god before any good workes For we can not worke Gods will tyll we be hys sonnes and know hys wyll and haue hys spirite to teach vs. And Saint Paule sayth in y t fyft chapter of hys Epistle to the Ephesians Christ clensed the congregation in the fountayne of water thorough the worde And Peter saith in the first of his first epistle Ye are borne anew not of mortall seede but of immortall seede by the worde of God which liueth and lasteth euer Paule in euery Epistle warneth vs that we put no trust in workes and to beware of perswasions or arguments of mans wisdome of superstitiousnes of ceremonies of Pope holynes and of all maner disguising And exhorteth vs to cleaue fast vnto the the naked and pure worde of God The promise of God is the Anker that saueth vs in all teÌptations If all y â world be against vs Gods word is stronger then y e world If the world kill vs that shall make vs aliue agayne If it be possible for the worlde to cast vs into hell from thence yet shall Gods worde bring vs agayne Herby seest thou that it is not the worke but the promise that iustifieth vs thorough fayth Now where no promise is there can no fayth be and therefore no iustifiyng though there be neuer so glorious workes The Sacrament of Christes body after this wise preach they Thou must beleue that it is no more bread but the very body of Christ flesh bloud and bone euen as he went here on earth saue his coate For that is here yet I wot not in how many places I pray thee what helpeth all this Here is no promise The deuils know that Christ dyed on a Fryday and the Iewes also What are they holpe thereby We haue a promise that Christ and his body and his bloud and all that he did and suffered is a sacrifice a raunsome and a full satisfaction for our sinnes that God for his sake wyll thinke no more on them if they haue power to repent and beleue Holy worke men thinke that God reioyceth in the deede selfe without any further respecte They thinke also that God as a cruell tyrant reioyceth and hath delectation in our payne takyng without any further respect And therefore many of them martyr themselues wythout cause after the ensample of Baals Priestes which iij. Reg. xviij cut themselues to please theyr God with all and as the olde heathen pagans sacrificed their children in the fyre vnto their Gods The Monkes of the Charterhouse thinke that y â very eating of fishe in it selfe pleaseth God and referre not the eating vnto the chastening of the body For when they haue slayne their bodyes wyth colde fleme of fisheating yet then will they eate no fleshe and sley themselues before their dayes We also when we offer our sonnes or daughters and compell or perswade them to vowe professe chastitie thinke that y â very payne and that rage and burning which they suffer in absteining from a make pleaseth God and so referre not our chastitie vnto our neighbours profet For when we see thousandes fall to innumerable diseases therby and to die before their dayes yea though we see theÌ breake the commaundementes of God dayly and also of very impatiency worke abhominations against nature to shamefull to be spoken of yet wyll we not let them marry but compell
Christ or entende to restore the Kynges agayne vnto their duties and right and to the rowme and authoritie which they haue of God and of shadowes to make theÌ Kynges in deede to put the world in his order agayne then the Kynges deliuer their swordes and authoritie vnto the hypocrites to âlay him So dronken are they with the wine of the whore ¶ The text that foloweth in Paule wil they happely lay to my charge and others How shall they preach except they be sent sayth Paul in the sayd x. to the Romaines We wil they say the Pope Cardinals and Byshoppes all authority is ours The Scripture perteineth vnto vs and is our possession And we haue a law that who soeuer presume to preach without the authoritie of the Bishops is excommunicate in the deede doyng Whence therefore hast thou thine authoritie wil they say The old Phariseis had the Scripture in captiuitie likewise and asked Christ by what authoritie doest thou these thynges as who should say We are phariseis thou art none of our order nor hast authoritie of vs. Christ asked them an other question and so will I do our hypocrites Who seÌt you God Nay hee that is sent of God speaketh Gods word Iohn iij. Now speake ye not Gods worde nor any thyng saue your own lawes made cleane contrary vnto Gods worde Christes Apostles preached Christ not them selues He that is of the truth preacheth the truth Now ye preach nothyng but lyes and therefore are of the deuill the father of all lyes of hym are ye sent And as for mine authoritie or who sent me I report me vnto my workes as Christ Iohn v. and. x. If Gods word beare recorde that I say truth why should any man doubt but that God the father of truth and of lyght hath sent me as the father of lyes of darknes hath sent you and that the spirite of truth and of light is with me as the spirite of lyes and of darkenes is with you By this meanes thou wilt that euery man be a preacher will they say Nay verely For GOD will that not and therfore will I it not no more then I would that euery man of London were Mayre of London or euery man of the Realme Kyng therof God is not the author of dissention and strife but of vnitie and peace and of good order I will therefore that where a congregation is gathered together in Christ one be chosen after the rule of Paul and that hee onely preach and els no maÌ openly but that euery man teach hys houshold after the same doctrine But if the preacher preach false then whosoeuers harte God moueth to the same it shal be law full to rebuke and improue the false teacher with the cleare and manifest Scripture and that same is no doubt a true Prophet sent of GOD. For the Scripture is gods and theirs that beleue and not the false Prophet SAcrament is then as much to say as an holy signe And the Sacramentes which Christ ordeined preach Gods word vnto vs and therfore iustifie and minister the spirite to them that beleue as Paul thorough preachyng the Gospell was a minister of righteousnes of the spirite vnto all that beleued his preachyng Domme ceremonies are no Sacramentes but superstitiousnes Christes SacrameÌts preach the fayth of Christ as his Apostles did thereby iustifie Antichristes domme ceremonies preach not y â fayth that is in Christ as his Apostles our Byshops and Cardinals do not But as Antichristes Bishops are ordeined to kill who soeuer preach the true faith of Christ so are his ceremonies ordeined to quench the faith which Christes SacrameÌtes preach And hereby maist thou knowe the difference betwene Christes signes or Sacramentes and Antichristes signes or ceremonyes that Christes signes speake and Antichristes be domme Hereby seest thou what is to be thought of all other ceremonies as halowed water bread salt bowes belles waxe ashes and so forth and all other disguisinges and Apesplay and of all maner coniurations as the coniuring of church and churchyardes and of alter stones such like Where no promise of God is there can be no fayth nor iustifiyng nor forgeuenes of sinnes For it is more then madnes to looke for any thing of god saue that he hath promised How farre he hath promised so farre is he boduÌ to them that beleue and further not To haue a fayth therefore or a trust in any thing where god hath not promised is plaine idolatry and a worshipping of thyne own imagination in stede of God Let vs see the pith of a ceremony or two to iudge the rest by In coniuring of holy water they pray that whosoeuer be sprinckled therewith may receaue health as well of body as of soule and likewise in makyng holy bread and so forth in the coniurations of other ceremonies Now we see by dayly experience that halfe their prayer is vnheard For no man receaueth health of body thereby No more of likelihode do they of soule Yea we see also by experience that no man receaueth health of soule thereby For no man by sprinckling himselfe with holy water and wyth eating holy bread is more mercifull then before or forgeueth wrong or becommeth at one with his enemy or is more patient and lesse couetous and so forth Which are the sure tokens of the soule health They preach also that the wagging of the Byshops hand ouer vs blesseth vs and putteth away our sinnes Are these workes not against Christ How can they do more shame vnto Christes bloud For if the wagging of the Byshops hand ouer me be so precious a thyng in the sight of God that I am thereby blessed how then am I full blessed wyth all spirituall blessinge in Christ as Paul saith Ephe. j Or if my sinnes be full done away in Christ how remayneth there any to be done away by such phantasies The Apostles knew no wayes to put away sin or to blesse vs but by preaching Christ Paule sayth Gal. ij If righteousnes come by the law then Christ dyed in vayne So dispute I here If blessing come by the wagging of the Byshops hand then dyed Christ in vayne and his death blesseth vs not And a little afore sayth Paule if while we seeke to be iustified by Christ we be yet found sinners so that we must be iustified by the law or ceremonies is not Christ then a minister of sinne So dispute I here If while we seeke to be blessed in Christ we are yet vnblessed and must be blessed by the wagging of the Byshoppes hand what haue we then of Christ but curse Thou wilt say When we come first to the fayth then Christ forgeueth vs and blesseth vs. But the sinnes which we afterward commit are forgeuen vs through such thinges I aunswere If any man repent truely and come to the fayth and put hys trust in Christ theÌ as oft as he sinneth of frayltie at
Not onely foule and beast but also tree herbe all the floures of the earth do crye vnto vs to trust God and to cast away all care that is coupled with couetousnesse of more then sufficient to beare the charges whiche we haue in our handes by the reason of the state we be in the world and all care that is annexed with mistrust that God shuld not minister inough to beare all our charges if we endeuer our selues to keepe his commaundementes and to do euery man his craft or office he is in truly and when God to proue vs suffereth vs to haue neede of our neighbours we first complayne to God desire him to prepare the hartes of our neighbours agaynst we come to desire their helpe But MaÌmon pypeth an other song saying if thou shouldest make no other maner of labour for a benefice then as if thou careddest not whether thou had dest it or haddest it not it would be loÌg ere thou gattest one all would be take out of thyne hand I aunswere as thy labour was to get it such shal be thy be hauiour in it as thou flatteredest to haue it so shalt thou it it And as thou boughtest and souldest to get it so shalt thou sell in it to bye âauour and to be set by in the world If thy principall in tent that thou seekest a benefice for be lucre then take hede to the example of thy forefather Symon Magus Let thy care therefore be to do the office that God putteth thee in trulye and the blessyng that he coupleth thereto that take with thankes and neither care nor couet further Take no thought therefore saying What shall we eate or what shall we drinke or what shall we put on all these thynges the heathen seke Yea and your heauenly father knoweth that ye neede all these things But seke first the kyngdome of God and the righteousnesse therof and all these thynges shal be ministred vnto you Be not like the heathen which haue no trust in God nor his word nor beleue any life to come Let them vexe them selues and ech be a deuill to an other sor worldly thynges But comfort thou thy self with y â hope of a better life in another worlde euer assured that y â shalt haue here sufficient onely if thou keepe couenaunt with the Lord thy God and seke his kyngdome and the righteousnesse therof aboue all things The kyngdome of God is the Gospel and doctrine of Christ And the righteousnesse therof is to beleue in Christes bloud for the remission of sinnes Out of which righteousnesse springeth loue to God thy neighbour for his sake which is also righteousnesse as I haue sayd afore so farre as it is perfect and that which lacketh is supplied by faith in Gods word in that he hath promised to accept that til more come Then foloweth the outward righteousnesse of workes by the which and diligent recording of Gods word together we grow and waxe perfect and keepe our selues from goyng backe and losyng the spirite agayne And these haue our spiritualtie with their corrupt doctrine myngled together that is to say the righteousnes of the kyngdome of God which is fayth in Christs bloud the outward righteousnes of the meÌbers that we ascribe to the one that pertaineth to the other Seke the kingdome of heauen therfore and the righteousnesse of the same and be sure thou shalt euer haue sufficient and these thynges shal be ministred vnto the that is to say shall come of their owne accord by the promise of God yea Christ promiseth thee an huÌdredfolde euen in this life of all that thou leauest for his sake If that were true would some say who would not rather serue him then Mammon yet is it true For first if thou be seruaunt of MammoÌ thou must kepe thy God and thy God not thee And euery man that is stroÌger then thou will take thy God from thee Moreouer God will take either thee from thy Mammon or thy Mammon from thee ere thou wouldest to aduenge ⪠him selfe of thy blynd vnkyndnesse that when he hath made thee and geuen thee all thou forsakest him and seruest his mortall enemy But if thou folow Christ all the world and let them take all the deuils in hell to them shall not be able to disappointe thee of a sufficieÌt lyuing And though they persecute thee from house to house a thousand tymes yet shall God prouide thee of an other with all things sufficient to liue by Now compare y e suretie of his with y â incertaintie of the other then the blessed end of this that heaueÌ is promised thee also with the miserable departyng from the other so sore agaynst thy will and then the desperation that thy hart âeeleth that thou art all ready in hell And theÌ may not this be wel called a thousand fold more then the other Care not then for the day folowyng but let the day folowyng care for it selfe For the day that is present hath euer inough of his owne trouble If thou looke well on the conenauÌt that is betwene thee thy Lord God on the one side and the temptations of the worlde the fleshe and Satan on the other thou shalt soone perceiue that the day present hath euer inough to be cared for for which thou must âry instantly to God for helpe also though thou do thy best Now theÌ seing y t day present is ouercharged with her owne care what madnesse is it to lade vpon her also the care of the day folowing yea the care of a yeare ye of xx yeare or as though thou neuer entendest to die and to torment and vexe the soule thorow mistrust and vnbeliefe to make thy life soure and bitter and as vnquiet ⪠as the lyfe of the deuilles in hell Therefore care day by day houre by houre earnestly to keepe the couenaunt of the Lord thy God and to recorde therein day and night and to do thy part vnto the vttermost of thy power And as for Gods part let hym care for it himselfe and beleue thou his wordes stedfastly and be sure that heauen and earth shal sooner perishe then one iote bide behinde of that he hath promised And for thine owne part also care not of that maner as though thou shouldest do all alone Nay God hath first promised to helpe thee Secondarily to accept thine hart and that little y â thou art able to do be it neuer so imperfect Thirdly though wynde weather the streame cary thee cleane contrary to thy purpose yet because thou bidest still in thy profession ready to turne the right course as soone as y â tempest is a little ouer blowen God promiseth to forgeue that not y t lesse to fulfill his promises of one iote Doth Christ so defend his that they neuer come in daunger of trouble yes they come into such straites oft that no witte
That fayth haue they in theyr owne workes onely But the true hearers vnderstand the lawe as Christ interpreteth it here and feele thereby theyr righteous damnation and runne to Christ for succour and for remission of all their sinnes that are past and for all the sinne which chaunce thorough infirmities shall compel theÌ to do for remission of that the law is to stronge for their weake nature And upon that they consent to the lawe loue it and professe it to fulfill it to the vttermost of their power and then go to and worke Faith or confidence in Christes bloud without helpe and before the workes of the law bringeth all maner of remission of sinnes satisfaction Faith is mother of loue fayth accompanieth loue in all her workes to fulfill as much as there lacketh in our doing the lawe of that perfect loue which Christ had to his father and vs in his fulfilling of the law for vs. Now when we be reconciled then is loue fayth together our righteousnesse our keeping the lawe our continuing our proceeding forwarde in the grace which we stand in our bringing to the euerlasting sauing and euerlasting life And the woorkes be esteemed of God according to the loue of the hart If the woorkes be great loue little and colde then the woorkes be regarded thereafter of God If the workes be small and loue much and feruent the workes be taken for great of God And it came to passe that when Iesus had ended these sayinges the people were astonied at his doctrine for he taught them as one hauing power and not as the Scribes The Scribes and Phariseyes had thrust vp the sworde of the woorde of God into a scabbarde or shethe of gloses and therein had knit it fast that it coulde neither sticke nor cut teaching dead workes without fayth and loue which are the life and the whole goodnes of all workes and the onely thing why they please God And therefore their audience abode euer carnall and fleshly mynded without faith to God and loue to their neighbours Christes wordes were spirit life Ioh. vi That is to say they ministred spirite and life and entred into the hart and grated on the conscience and thorow preaching the lawe made the hearers perceaue their duties euen what loue they ought to God what to man and the right dampnation of all them that had not the loue of God and man written in their hartes and thorow preaching of fayth made all that consented to the lawe of God fele the mercy of God in Christ and certified them of their saluation For the worde of God is a two edged sworde that pearceth and deuideth the spirite and soule of man a sonder Heb. ãâã A man before the preaching of Godes woorde is but one man all fleshe the soule consenting vnto the lustes of the fleshe to follow them But the sworde of the worde of God where it taketh effect diuideth a man in two and serteth him at variaunce against his own selfe The fleshe haling one way and the spirite drawing another the fleshe raging to follow lustes and the spirite calling backe agayne to follow the lawe and will of God A man all the while âe consenteth to the flesh before he be borne again in Christ is called soule or carnall But whe he is renued in Christ through y t word of lyâe and hath the loue of God and of hys neighbor and the fayth of Christ written in his hart he is called spirite or spirituall The Lord of all mercy send vs preachers with power that is to say ãâã expounders of the worde of God and speakers to the hart of man and deliuer vs from Scribes Phariseyes hypocrites and all false Prophetes Amen An aunswere vnto Syr Thomas Mores Dialogue made by William Tyndall 1530. â First he declareth what the Church is and geueth a reason of certaine wordes which Master More rebuketh in the translation of the new Testament ¶ After that he aunswereth particularly vnto euery Chapter which semeth to haue any appearaunce of truth thorough all his foure bookes ¶ Awake thou that slepest and stand vp from death and Christ shall geue the light Ephesians 5. THe grace of our Lord the light of his spirite to see to iudge true repeÌtaunce towardeâ Gods lâwe a fast fayth in the mercyfull prââ¦es y â are in our sauiour Christ serueÌt loue toward thy neighbour after the exaÌple of Christ his Saints be with thee O Reader with all that loue the truth loÌg for the redemption of Gods elect Amen Our Sauiour I esus in the 16. of Iohn at his last Supper when he tooke his leaue of his Disciples warned them saying the holy Ghost shall come and rebuke the world of iudgemeÌt That is he shall rebuke the world for lacke of true iudgement and discretion to iudge and shall proue that the tast of theyr mouthes is corrupt so that they iudge swete to be sowre and sowre to be swete the eyes to be blynd so that they thinke that to be the verâ seruice of God which is but a blynd superstition for zeale of which yet they persecute the true seruice of God and that they iudge to be the lawe of God whiche is but a false imagination of a corrupt iudgement for blynd affection of whiche yet they persecute the true law of God and them that kepe it And this same it is that Paul sayth 1. Corinth ij how that the naturall man that is not borne agayne and created a new with the spirite of God be he neuer so great a Philosopher neuer so well sene in the law neuer so sore studied in the Scripture as we haue examples in the Phariseis yet hee cannot vnderstaÌd the thynges of the spirite of God but sayth he the spirituall iudgeth all thyngs and hys spirâe searcheth the deepe secretes of God so that what soeuer God commauÌdeth hym to do he neuer leaueth searchyng till he come at the bottome the pith the quicke the lyâe the sâ⦠the mââow very cause why and iudgeth all thyng Take an example in the great commaundement loue God with all thyne hart y t spirituall searcheth the cause and looketh on the benefites of God and so conceaueth loue in his hart And when he is commaunded to obey the powers and rulers of the world hee looketh on the benefites which God sheweth the world through them and therefore doth it gladly And when hee ⪠is commauÌded to loue his neighbour as hym selfe he searcheth that his neighbour is created of God and bought with Christes bloud and so forth and therefore he loueth hym out of his hart and if he be euill forheareth hym and with all loue and pacience draweth hym to good as elder brethren wayte on the youÌger and serue them and suffer them when they will not come they speake fayre flatter and geue some gaye thyng and
to auoyde the trouble of the world and occasions that might plucke me there from and to serue my brother with all euen as one hand helpeth an other or one member an other because one feeleth an others grief the payne of the one is the payne of the other What soeuer is done to the lest of vs whether it be good or bad it is done to Christ and what soeuer is done to my brother if I be a Christen maÌ that same is done to me Neither doth my brothers payne greue me lesse then myne owne Neither reioyse I lesse at his wealth then at mine own if I loue hym as well and asmuch as my selfe as the law coÌmaundeth me If it were not so how sayth Paule let hym that reioyseth reioyse in the Lord that is to say Christ whiche is Lord ouer all creatures Iâ my merites obteined me heaueÌ or a hygher place there then had I wherein I might reioyse besides the Lord. Here see ye the nature of the law the nature of the Euangelion How the law is the key that byndeth and damneth all men and the Euangelion is the keye that loseth them agayne The law goeth before and the Euangelion foloweth When a preacher preacheth the law he byndeth all consciences and when he preacheth the Gospell he looseth them agayn These two salues I meane the law and the Gospell vseth god his preacher to heale cure sinners with all The law driueth out the disease and maketh it appeare and is a sharpe salue and a freatyng corsey killeth the dead flesh and louseth and draweth the sores out by the rootes all corruption It pulleth from a man the trust and confidence that he hath in him selfe in his owne workes merites deseruinges and ceremonies and robbeth him of all his righteousnesse and maketh him poore It killeth him sendeth hym downe to hell and bryngeth him to vtter desperation and prepareth y e way of the Lord as it is written of Iohn the Baptist For it is not possible that Christ should come to a man as long as he trusteth in him self or in any worldly thyng or hath any righteousnesse of his own or riches of holy workes Then commeth the EuaÌgelion a more gentle paster which soupleth and swageth the woundes of the coÌscience and bringeth health It bringeth the spirite of God which loseth the bondes of SathaÌ and coupleth vs to God and his will through strong fayth and feruent loue with bondes to strong for the deuill the world or any creature to lose them And the poore wretched sinner feeleth so great mercy loue kyndnes in God that he is sure in hym selfe how that it is not possible that God should forsake him or withdraw hys mercy and loue from hym And boldly cryeth out with Paul saying Who shall separate vs from the loue that GOD loueth vs withall That is to say what shall make me beleue that God loueth me not Shall tribulation Anguish Persecution Shal huÌger Nakednes Shal sword Nay I am sure that neither death nor lyfe neither aungell neither rule nor power neither present thynges nor thinges to come neither hygh nor low neither any creature is able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesu our Lord. In all such tribulations a Christen man perceaueth that God is his father and loueth hym euen as he loued Christ when he shed his bloud on the crosse Finally as before when I was bond to the deuill and his will I wrought all maner euill and wickednes not for hells sake which is the reward of sinne but because I was heyre of hell by byrth and bondage to the deuill dyd I euill For I could none otherwise do to do sinne was my nature Euen so now since I am coupled to GOD by Christes bloud do I well not for heauens sake which is yet the reward of wel doyng but because I am heyre of heauen by grace and Christes purchasyng haue the spirite of God I do good frely for so is my nature As a good tree bryngeth forth good frute and an euill tree euill frute By the frutes shal ye know what the tree is A maÌs dedes declare what he is within but make him neither good nor bad though after we be created a new by the spirite doctrine of Christ we waxe perfecter alwaye with woorkyng accordyng to the doctrine and not with blynd woorkes of our owne imagining We must be first euill yer we doe euill as a Serpent is first poysoned yer he poyson We must be also good yer we do good as the fire must be first hoate yer it heate an other thyng Take an example As those blynd and deaffe which are cured in the Gospell could not see nor heare till Christ had geuen them sight hearyng and those sicke could not do the dedes of an whole man till Christ had geuen them health So can no man do good in his soule till Christ haue losed hym out of the bondes of Sathan and haue geueÌ him wherewith to do good yea first haue powred into hym that selfe good thing which he shedeth forth afterward on other Whatsoeuer is our owne is sinne Whatsoeuer is aboue that is Christes gift purches doyng and working He bought it of his father dearely with his bloud yea with his most bitter death and gaue his lyfe for it What soeuer good thyng is in vs that is geuen vs frely without our deseruyng or merites for Christes bloudes sake That we desire to folow y t will of God it is the gift of Christes bloud That we now hate the deuils will whereunto we were so fast locked and could not but loue it is also the gift of Christes bloud vnto whom belongeth the prayse and honour of our good dedes and not vnto vs. Our deedes do vs three maner seruice First they certifie vs that we are heyres of euerlastyng life And that the spirite of God whiche is the earnest therof is in vs in that our hartes consent vnto the law of God and we haue power in our meÌbers to do it though imperfectly And secondarily we tame the fleshe therewith and kill the sinne that remayneth yet in vs waxe dayly perfecter and perfecter in the spirite therewith kepe that the lustes choke not the word of God that is sowen in vs nor quench the giftes and working of the spirite and that we lose not the spirite agayne And thirdly we do our dutie vnto our neighbour therewith helpe their necessitie vnto our own coÌfort also and draw all meÌ vnto the honoryng and praysing of God And whosoeuer excelleth in the giftes of grace let the same thinke that they be geuen hym as much to do hys brother seruice as for his owne selfe as much for the loue whiche God hath to the weake as vnto him vnto whom God geueth such giftes And he that withdraweth ought that he hath from hys neighbours neede robbeth
it or to read in it To beleue that Iesus is Christe is to beleue in Christ that is to beleue earnestly and to put all thy trust therein and to lay the price of thy soule therupon that the sonne of Marie whom the aungell coÌmaunded to be called Iesus because he shuld saue his people froÌ their sinnes is that Christ that Messias and that annoynted whiche God promised the fathers should come and blesse all nations and annoynt them with the oyle of his spirite with mercy and grace and to deliuer them froÌ death of their soules whiche is the consentyng to sinne and to make them a lyue with consentyng vnto the law of God and in certifiyng theÌ that they be the sonnes of God And to put the whole trust in all that he suffred in his fleshe for thy sake and in all promises of mercy that are in hym and that thou be full persuaded that there is no other name vnder heauen giuen vnto men to be saued froÌ sinne by or to purchase forgiuenesse of the lest synne that euer was coÌmitted An other conclusion is this whosoeuer loueth God loueth all that beleue in God For all that loue hym that begetteth loue them that are begotten of him and all that beleue in God are begotten of God through that belefe and made his sonnes theÌ al that loue God loue all that beleue in God An other conclusion is this When we loue God and his law theÌ we loue the sonnes of God Which is this wise proued The loue of God is to keepe the law of God by the text before and after the law of GOD is to loue our neighbours therfore if we loue God in kepyng his lawes we must needes loue the sonnes of God But Iohn should seme to be a very negligeÌt disputer to many men in that he here certifieth vs of the loue of our neighbours by the loue of God when aboue hee certifieth vs that we loue God because we loue our neighbours Hee semeth to doe as I heard once a great Clerke in Oxford stand halfe an houre in a pulpit to proue that Christ was a true Prophet by the testimonie of Iohn Baptist and an other halfe houre to proue Iohn y t Baptist a true Prophet by the authoritie of Christ as we say claw me claw thee and as euery these might lightly proue him selfe a true man in bearyng recorde to an other as false as he and takyng recorde of the same agayne Which kynde of disputyng schole men call Petitiâ prâncipij the prouyng of two certaine thynges eche by the other and is no prouyng at all as our holy father proueth the authoritie of Scripture by hys decrees for the Scripture is not autentike but as his decrees admit it to make his decrees shyne and appeare glorious and to obtaine authoritie he allegeth the Scripture after his iugglyng maner to make fooles starke mad But it is not so here for both the demonstrations are certaine both the proffe of the loue of God and his law by the loue of my neighbour and the proofe of the loue of my neighbour by the loue of God and his law For wheÌ ij thynges are so ioyned together that they can not be separated then the presence of the one vttereth the presence of the other whether soeuer thou first seest As if I see fire I am sure that some thyng doth burne And if I smell burnyng I am certified of fire Euen so the loue of God is the cause why I loue my neighbour and my loue toward my neighbour is the effect of the loue of God And these two loues are euer inseperable so that whether soeuer I feele first the same certifieth me of the other Iohn calleth the loue of a maÌs neighbour the deedes of loue after the Hebrue speach as to helpe at neede For the deede declareth what the man is within Neither can my loue to God fayth be sene to the world saue thorough the workes And by the workes doth Christ commaunde vs to iudge So that if a maÌ haue euill workes and continueth therin he loueth not God nor knoweth God no though he call hym selfe master doctour or Gods vicare Neither vnderstandeth he Gods word for all his high diuinitie but is in all hys preachyng an hypocrite a false Prophet and a lyer though hys preachyng please the world neuer so well Neuerthelesse a man is certified that he loueth God yer he come at the worke by the testimonie of the spirite which is giueÌ him in earnest The spirite sayth Paule Roma viij testifieth vnto our spirite that we be the sonnes of God and then it testifieth that we beleue in God for thorough fayth are we sonnes And then it certifieth me that I loue God For fayth and loue are inseparable The spirite thorough fayth certifieth my conscience that my sinnes are forgiueÌ and I receaued vnder grace and made the very sonne of God and beloued of God And theÌ naturally myne hart breaketh out into the loue of God agayne I seke how to vtter my loue and to do God some pleasure And because I can neither do seruice or pleasure vnto his owne person my neighbour is set before me to do God seruice and pleasure in him to be to him as Christ is to me because he is my brother bought with Christs bloud as I am And I consent vnto that law and loue it yer I come at the dede and long after the dede And then wheÌ I loue my neighbour in the deede accordyng to this law I am sure that I loue hym truly Or els if I examined not my loue by this law I might be deceaued For some loue their neighbours for pleasure profite glorie and for their doyng seruice onely as our spiritualtie loue vs and of that blessed loue do their busie cure to keepe vs in darkenes which loue is a signe that a man hateth God and hys neighbour therto and loueth him selfe onely But Gods law is that I should absteine from myne owne pleasure and profite and become my neighbours seruaunt and bestow lyfe and goodes vpoÌ hym after the example of Christ Wherfore if I loue my neighbour out of the loue of Christ and after the example of hys law I am sure that I loue him truly And his commaundementes are not greuous For all that is borne of God ouercommeth the worlde and this is the victory that ouercommeth the world eueÌ our faith To loue is not paynefull the commaundementes are but loue therfore they be not greuous because loue maketh the commaundements easie The seruice that a mother doth vnto her child is not greuous because she loueth it But if she should do the tenth part vnto one that she loued not her hart would brast for impacience Vnto a maÌ that fetleth not the loue of Christ it is as impossible to keepe the commaundementes as for a Camell to enter through the eye of a nedle But
no place euen so is he not addict to any age or person but enspyreth where he will when he will and bring in for an example that he enspyred yong Timothy prouing thereby that the youth of it selfe is not to be despised but according to the learning which it bringeth and that therfore they may not despise my youth but first read what doctrine I bring and therafter to iudge it No more in this I proue not that I am enspyred and haue the spirite of God as Timothie had but onely proue that God may enspyre youth as he did Tymothe and that therefore ye ought first to read before you condemne for you know not who is enspyred and who not vntill you haue read theyr workes or séene theyr factes Thus you may sée that my wordes define not that all youth is enspired although some may be but I exhort that no man despise prophesies but proue all and approue that is good And to make the matter more playne I shall bring you an example out of Paule to the Hebrues which exhorteth them to hospitalitie for by that some men vnwares haue receaued Angels to harbour be not therefore vnmindfull of it Here Paule exhorteth you to hospitalitie and shewing you that by those meanes some men haue receaued angels into their house he would not haue you thinke y t all the gestes that you shall receaue shall be angels but some shall be leud losels And likewise I in exhorting you to read my booke and not despising my youth because that sometime God enspireth the yong would not haue you thinke that the bookes made of yong men which ye shall receaue shall be holesome doctrine but some men be lewd and vnfruitfull neuerthelesse euen as if they receaued not those gests they should also put away angels if any came So if you despise to read such bookes as be written by young men you may also fortune to despise them which are written by the inspiration of Christes spirit and therefore ye ought to read But be it in case I had indéed praised my selfe as I haue not and that I had sayd that I had the Spirite of God what inconuenience should folow thereof would you therof argue that my doctrine were false If that were a good argument then were Christes Doctrine false then were Paule a false prophet and our fayth nothing for Christ said to the Iewes that he was the light of the worlde And againe he sayd It is my Father that glorified me whome ye call your God Now if it had bene a sufficient argument to condemne hys doctrine because the world calleth it boasting theÌ should we haue beleued no truth at all Besides that Paul séemeth not a little to boast him selfe if men looke on it with a carnall eye for he sayth that he thincketh not him selfe inferiour vnto y t hyest Apostles and sayth againe that if they glory to be the ministers of Christ though he speake vnwisely he is more copious in labours in stripes aboue measure in prison more often often at the poynt of death c. Should we for these words thinke that his doctrine were not right Nayverely that doth not improue the doctrine but that it may be good holesome for a man may boast him selfe do well so he referre y t prayse to God from whom all goodnes commeth but be it in case that I should say that God of hys mere mercy and for the loue that he oweth me in Christ and hys bloud had geuen me hys spirite that I might be to his laude prayse to whom be thankes for euer Amen would you thinke that this were so greate a boastyng that the doctrine should be impayred therby Ah blinde guides I pray God geue you the light of vnderstandyng I beseche you brother Rastell be not discoÌtent with me if I aske you one question be ye a Christen man or no I am sure you will aunswere yes then if I brought you the text of Paule which sayth he that hath not y t spirite of God is none of his I pray you how will you auoyde it notwithstaÌdyng if you wold auoyde y t text yet will I lay an other blocke in the way that you shal not be able to remoue and that is the saying of Paule 2. Corin. 13. Know ye not your selues that Christ is in you except ye be reprobate persons now how soeuer you would iudge of your selues I thinke verely that I am no such therfore whereas before I dyd not so write Now I certifie you that I am Christes coÌclude what ye wil the day shall come that you shall surely know that so it is albeit in meane season I be reputed a laughyng stoke in this world for I know in whom I trust and he can not deceaue me Then bryngeth he against me that I say we haue bene long secluded froÌ the Scripture and also that our fore fathers haue not had y t light of Gods word opened vnto them I maruell what Rastell meaneth by bryngyng this for his purpose for I thinke it no boastyng of my selfe but if ye thinke that it be vntrue I thinke he is very blynde For what Scripture hath the poore commons bene admitted vnto euen til this day It hath bene hid and locked vp in a straunge tounge and from them that haue attayned the knowledge of that toung hath it bene locked with a thousand false gloses of Antichristes makyng and innumerable lawes And where I say our forefathers haue not had the light of Gods worde opened vnto them I meane that they haue not the Scripture in their owne mother toung that they might haue conferred these iugglyng mistes with the light of Gods word as the processe of my wordes can testifie which he hath holy left out but I besech the ChristeÌ reader once to read the place for my discharge and his confusion ye shall finde it in the secoÌd leafe of my booke And now he alledgeth agaynst me that I should say this iudge Christen reader what reasons Rastell hath brought and how he hath soluted theÌ for in my minde both his reasons and solutions are so childish and vnsauery so vnlearned and baren so full of faultes and phantasies that I rather pitie the mans déepe ignoraunce and blyndnes which hath so deceiued him selfe through Philosophie and naturall reason then I feare that he by his vayne probations should allure any man to consent vnto hym I thinke Rastell layeth not this agaynst me because I boast my selfe in these wordes And verely as touchyng the truth of those woordes I will adde thus much more vnto theÌ that I neuer wyst man y t was couÌted wise whiche hath brought so slender reasons except he entended to destroy a thing which ye séeme to haue build And finally where as I exhorte all men to iudge and conferre the Scriptures which Syr Thomas
Tyndall vpon the Gospell of Luke The Prologue of W. Tyndall vpon the Gospell of Iohn The epistle to the Romaynes to the excellentest part of the new Testament Here you must note these wordes law sinne c. Law how it is to be vnderstand The law of God requireth the bottom of our hartes S. Paul was a great persecutor of the christians If we be not willing to do good then doth sinne raign in vs. No man can fulfill the law but Christ onely The pââe and perfect kepyng of the law is to do the âaâe of ãâã ãâ¦ã but oâ inward loue The law encreaseth sinne The law is spiritual The spirite of god maketh a maÌ spirituall The law is good righteous and holy Workes of the law the fulfilling of the law are two things By the workes of the law no man can be iustified As the law is spiritual so it must be fulfilled spiritually Where true fayth is there is the spirit of God Our iustification is by fayth in Christ Out of true fayth springeth all good workeâ Oâsynne Sinne what it is Sinne in y â scripture is chiefly called vnbe liefe Grace how it is vnderstand in the scriptures Gift what it is God for Christes sake receaueth vs. There is no damnation to theÌ that are in Christ Faith what it is False and fained faith True faith is liuely Fayth is not idle The true definition of fayth Good workeâ cannot be separate from true fayth Righteousnes how it is to be vnderstaÌd Flesh spirite what they are âow to vnderstand them How this word fleshe is to be vnderstand in the Scripture Increduââtie is the chief of all sinnes Fleshe is here well described What soâeuer procedeth of faith is spirituall A necessary and profitable instruction for all preachers The maner of S. PauÌles doctrine Nature is so blinde that we caÌnot see nor vnderstand the goodnes of God hys mercy shewed vnto vs in Christ Iesu hys âowne S. Paule coÌdemneth all hipocrisiâ How S. Paul rebuketh hypocrites The difference betwene the Iewe the Gentile All men are sinners The waye howe wee must bee made righteous Faith obteineth the fulfillyng of the law S. Paule auÌswereth to the caueling question that our Papistes vse agaynst iustificatioÌ of faith onely Good workes are ouâ ward signes of true fayth Wee are first iustified theÌ foloweth good workes Gods mercy moueth vs to fayth in his promises so that God in al things worketh our iustification Gods mercy saueth vs and not we our selues If we lack Abrahams fayth we cannot be Abrahams children Fayth onely receaueth the grace that coÌmeth by Abraham The frutes workes of fayth Fayth before all workes iustifieth Good workes are the fruites of fayth Where true fayth is there are good workes Where fayth lacketh there is all euill workes As by ââaÌ came sinne so by Christ came saluation The principall work of faith and the battaile betwen the spirite and the flesh What it is not to be vnder the law What it is to be vnder the lawe The right fredome libertie froÌ sinne and from the law Example Our consciences bound and in daunger to the lawe by olde Adam so loÌg as he liueth in vs. The law requireth of vs that which we cannot pay The law doth vtter and declare what sinne is What wâ may do of our selues and what we may not do Where feare and shame is away there all wickednes is committed The fleshe is contrary to the sprite The sprite lusteth contrary to the flesh There is no daunger to theÌ that are in Christ The right worke of fayth is to mortify the flesh Predestiâ⦠cion is in the handes of God How farre we may proceede in predestination Predestinâtion is not rashly to be disputed of Which are good workes mete to be done Loue is y â fulfilling of the law We must deale louingly with our weake brethren The weaknes of our brethren is to be considered In the epistle to the Romaines is conteyned a sufficient doctrine for a Christen man Beware of the traditious of men This epistle declareth it self Weake and yong consciences as to be stubborne for the last shal receiue the equall reward with the first Loue fulfilleth the law It is the parte of a good shepherd to veÌture hys lyfe for hys sheepe tribulatioÌ for the Gospell sake maketh vs sure of eternall lyfe All that repent are iustified thorough saith by Christ and not by workes The law condeÌneth but the beleuyng of Gods promises iustifieth In sekyng any other satisfaction theÌ Christ we beceauâ our selues Hereby are we warned that workes saue vs not but the word that is the promise Mannes righteousnes zeale or imagination without Gods worde is odious For fayth when it is preached bringeth y e spirite and power to fulfill the law Who so hath a pure fayth can not but abouÌd with good workes Not the receauyng of the Gospel but the coÌtinuaunce to the latter ende maketh vs blessed He meaneth therby lest they should fall from the worde they had already receaued PatieÌce in persecution for Christs sake rewarded with y â crowne of euerlasting ioy and felicitie Hereby haue we euident signes that the latter day is at hand The office of a bishop The Pope his Prelates are here playnly set forth for what Christ loosed freely the Pope did bynd it to lose it agayne for money Vertuous Byshops are worthy double honor Byshops must be vigilant in their vocationâ This hath already ben fulfilled in our spiritualtie What maner a man a Byshop or Curate ought to be Good deedes please god so farre foorth as they are applied to the kepyng of the commaundements but Christ onely iustifieth Christ is all to a Christen man MeÌ ought to rule theyr wiues with godâ word To watch is not onely to abstaine from slepe but also to auoyde all occasions that may drawe vs to sinne As god reioyceth not in the dede it selfe ⪠so doth he not in ââ¦dle faith without works Good workes are a shew of our fayth as the fruit is of the tree He prophesieth of the popes spiritualtie The condition of the worlde shall waxe worse and worse Where ãâã true fayth is there are also good workes Christes bloud purchaseth forgeuenes of sinnes and not mans workes Whether this were Paules epistle or no great learned men haue doubted Some deny it to haue bene written by anye Apostle and refuse it as not Catholike A solution of the former doubts This not to be denied to be Paules Epistle Mercy is locked vp from hym which wilfully yeldeth his body ãâã soule to sinne No place in the scripture so plainly describeth the significations figures of the olde testament as this epistle doth This epistle for that it agreeth with the rest of the scripture ought to be of equal authoritie with the other This epistle is to be taken as holy scripture The papistes alleage this text for their purpose thorough misunderstandyng the same Fayth only
Christ is accompted to vs for righteousnes We are saued by grace and not by workes of the law The Pope when any man offendeth him falleth to cursing Workes can be no satisfaction for sinne to Godward God is a spirite and must be worshipped in y t spirite Popish workes Gods worship God doth pardon and forgeue all our sinnes whatsoeuer they are for Christes sake Christes victory The popes purgatory is terrible Binde and lose Note this text Bynding losing is by the true preachyng of Gods Word We must struggle striue with sinne How penauÌce came vp Purgatory How the Pope and hys shauelyngs haue abused penaunce Here was Purgatory kindled The deââ¦nition of penaunce made by the Papistes Fayth is the chiefest part of penaunce Our workes can make no satisfaction but onely faith in Christes bloud The practise marcheuÌdise of the Pope his Clergy Vowes of Religion Worshyppyng of Saintes The Pope and his Clergy setteth vp Idolatry The true worshipping of saintes Good lessons are to be learned of y â saints The true worshipping of saintes is to folow their life and doctrine If we harken to the voyce of God he is mighty and of power to helpe vs. We must do good for euill A popish imaginatioââ Aduourâes Idolatry God hath promised to geue vs whatsoeuer we aske in Christes name for Christes sake Saints caÌ not help vs The saints were not saued by their ââ¦ne merites but by Christes merites We must humble our selues to the mercy of almighty God The Angels serue vs. To choose saintes to be our aduacates is mere idolatry Christ is the way life that leadeth vs to saluation Howe Christ prayeth for vs Christ is a kyng and hath power him selfe to forgeue vs and to receaue vs vnto hym selfe All the blessed company of heaueÌ reioyse and are glad to haue vs to be with them that we might loye together Christ prayeth for vs and hys prayer is heard Imageseruice is abhorred of God God hateth superstition Churches were or deined for preachyng and callyng on the name of God Christe hath made a chaunge with vs for he hath taken vpon him all our sinnes and grauÌted vs his mercy and giftes of grace loue maketh all thynges common S. Paule was a louyng and carefull preacher A good saying of S. Paule The state of grace They that keepe the coÌmaundementes are in the state of grace When we do good to our neighbour then we may be assured that we are in the state of grace A sure argument to know false Prophetes by To be in God is to beleue in the mercy of God A rule to know whether we loue God or loue him not They that be enemies to the Testament of Christ and are teachers of mans ãâã tions are not in Christ And old coÌmaundement is the woorde which ye heard from the begynnyng Siâ transit gloriââuÌâ⦠This was Cardinall wolsey He that hateâh hys brother is in darknes and seâth not Christ To abyde in the light is to abyde in ãâã knowledge of Christ Faith in Christ is the roote of all goodnes He that hateth hys brother is in ignoraunce IgnorauÌce When we haue offended our brother if we reconcile our selues vnto hym agayne theÌ are our sinnes forgeuen We can not know the father but by the sonne Fayth in Christ ouer commeth the worlde ââarice or couetousnes The loue of y â worlde ãâã many from Christ Thomas Wolâ⦠lâââ Cardinall of England Lechery Couetousnes Pride Compare the worldâ to the pope Cardinals ⪠c. and you shall finde them to bee the world Pride ⪠Couetousnes Note The proââ¦tions of the spiritualitie corrupt their myndes Popes and Bishops will suffer nothyng that shall restrayne their pride and couetousnes Riches and couetousnes blyudeth the eyes of the ãâã Houre Antichrist The worldings loue the Gospell so longes it bryngeth gayne The Papistes poudred the doctrine of Christ w t theyr dreggeâ The Pope hath put Christ froÌ his rule gouernement Antichrist hath bene long among vs. Christ onely is called holy Annoynted The carnall man knoweth not the thinges of the spirite of God Antichrist who it is The Pope captiuateth the vnderstandyng of all meÌ with his superstitious rites and ceremonies Pelagius heresie Iesus Christus Emanuel Sanctus Thomas Curteise a churle Dead men Poore meÌ Christ is no disguised person The Pope and his shanelynges are right Antichrists To know God The Apostles doctrine ought we to abide by Annoyntyng Outward oyle auayleth nothyng We must cleaue to the doctrine of the Apostles A fore saying to all hypocrites and teachers of false doctrine We must beleue the resurrectioÌ not to be curious to vnderstand the state of the soules departed where they are nor what they do The doctrine of the Pope is cleane contrary to Christes doctrine The thyrd Chapter The world could not knowe Christ The world shall know Christ A Christen mans faith and hope are not idle The fayth of a Christen man The popes fayth What sinne is The suÌme of Gods law Loue breaketh the law We are baptised to dye with Christ concernyng sinne The filthynes of the Popes doctrine Where true fayth is there procedeth good workes He that preacheth Christ in worde and deede hym take for Christes vicare The man is first euil The maÌ is first good The Popes doctrine The faythful and vnfaithfull sinne diuersly We must recompence euill with goodnes Good âorkes declare where good sayth is Fayth is the roote of all commaundementes Spirites We may not beleue euery doctrine that is taught and preached but we must first examine it with the touch stone of Gods word and so either receaue it or reiect it The triall of all doctrine Antichrist will not coÌfesse that Christ ãâã come in the flesh Doctrine that is of God Doctrine that is of the deuill The Popes doctrine of Christ God is the worker in vs by fayth that we haue in ãâã Two generations in the world The Popes doctrine is worldly He that loueth God is borne of God The founteâne of loue God first loued vs before we could loue hym Ephesâ Herein appeareth the great and louing mercy of almightte God toward vs when we were yet sinuers Loue maketh vs the sonnes of God No man hath sene God The scripture hath sene God By this badge of loue we are knoweÌ to haue the spirite of God He that be leueth that Iesus to Gods sonne hath God in hym Fayth taketh hold of Christes death and deseruyng Loue maketh the faythfull Christian man to be bold Loue. Feare If we loue ouâ brethreÌ theÌ are we carefull for them The more we loue God the more diligent we are to do his will Where perfect loue is there is no feare Fayth is the mother of loue A sure rule If we loue God we must do his commaundements his commaundement is to loue our neyghbours Fayth maketh vs Gods sonnes What it is to beleue that Iesus is Christ Iesus the true Messias and the
onely in number exceedyng but in knowledge also excellyng both by preaching and Printing doe so garnishe the Church in euery respecte that it may seeme and so peraduenture wil be thought this time of ours to stand now in little neede of such bookes and momumentes as these of former antiquitie yet notwithstandyng I am not of that mynde so to thinke For albeit increasing of learning of tonges and sciences wyth quicknes of wit in youth and other doth maruailously shut vp as is to be seene to the sufficient furnishyng of Christes Church yet so it happeneth I can not tell how the farther I looke backe into those former tymes of Tyndall Frith and others lyke more simplicitie wyth true zeale and humble modestie I see wyth lesse corruption of affections in them and yet wyth these dayes of ours I finde no fault As by reading and conferring their workes togither may eftsoones appeare In opening the Scriptures what trueth what soundnes can a man require more or what more is to be sayd then is to be founde in Tyndall In his Prologues vppon the fiue bookes of Moses vppon Ionas vppon the Gospelles and Epistles of S. Paule namely to the Romaines how perfectly doth he hit the right sence and true meaning in euery thing In his obedience how fruitfully teacheth he euery person his dutie In his expositions and vppon the parable of the wicked Mammon how pithely doth he perswade how grauely doth he exhort how louingly doth he comforte simply without ostentation vehement without contention Which two faultes as they coÌmonly are wont to folow the most part of writers so how farre the same were from him and he from them his replies and aunsweres to Syr Thomas More doe well declare in doctrine sound in hart humble in life vnrebukeable in disputation modest in rebuking charitable in trueth feruent and yet no lesse prudent in dispensing with the same and bearyng with time and with weakenes of men as much as he might sauing onely where mere necessitie constrayned hym otherwise to doe for defence of trueth against wilfull blyndnes and subtile hypocrisie as in the Practise of Prelates is notorious to be seene Briefly such was his modestie zeale charitie and painefull trauaile that he neuer sought for any thing lesse then for hymselfe for nothyng more then for Christes glory and edification of other for whose cause not onely he bestowed his labours but hys life and bloud also Wherfore not vnrightly he might be then as he is yet cauled the Apostle of England as Paule cauleth Epaphroditus the Apostle of the Philippians for his singular care and affection toward them For as the Apostles in the primatiue age first planted the Church in trueth of the Gospell so the same trueth beyng agayne defaced and decayed by enemies in thys our latter tyme there was none that trauayled more earnestly in restoring of the same in this Realme of England then dyd William Tyndall With which William Tyndall no lesse may be adioyned also Iohn Frith and D. Barnes both for that they togither with him in one cause and about one tyme sustayned the first brunt in this our latter age and gaue the first onset agaynst the enemies as also for the speciall giftes of fruitfull erudition and plentifull knowledge wrought in them by God and so by them left vnto vs in their writinges Wherfore accordyng to our promise in the booke of Actes and Monumentes wee thought good herein to spend a litle diligence in collecting and setting abroad their bookes togither so many as could be founde to remaine as perpetuall LaÌpes shyning in the Church of Christ to geeue lyght to all posteritie And although the Printer herein taking great paynes coulde not paraduenture come by all howbeit I trust there lacke not many yet the Lord be thanked for those which he hath gotte and here published vnto vs. And woulde God the like diligence had beene vsed of our auncient forelders in the tyme of Wickliffe Puruey Clerke Brute Thorpe Husse Hierome and such other in searching and collecting their workes and writings No doubt but many thinges had remayned in lyght which now be lefte in obliuion But by reason the Arte of Printing was not yet inuented their worthy bookes were the sooner abolyshed Such was then the wickednes of those dayes and the practise of those Prelates then so craftie that no good booke coulde appeare though it were the Scripture it selfe in Englyshe but it was restrayned and so consumed Whereby ignoraunce and blyndnes so preuayled amonge the people tyll at the last it so pleased the goodnes of our God to prouide a remedy for that mischiefe by multiplying good bookes by the Printers penne in such sort as no earthly power was able after that though they did their best to stoppe the course thereof were he neuer so myghtie and all for the fartheraunce of Christes Church Wherefore receaue gracious Reader the Bookes here collected and offered to thy hand and thanke God thou hast them and reade them whilest thou mayst while time life and memory serueth thee In reading wherof the Lord graunt thou mayst receaue no lesse fruit by them then the harty desire of the setter forth is to wishe well vnto thee And the same Lord also graunt I beseech him that this my exhortation wishe so may worke in all that not onely the good but the enemies also which be not yet wonne to the worde of trueth setting aside all partialitie and preiudice of opinion woulde with indifferent iudgementes bestow some reading and hearyng likewise of these to taste what they doe teach to vewe their reasons and to trye their spirite to marke the expositions of Tyndall the argumentes of Frith the Articles and allegations of Barnes Which if they shall finde agreable to the tyme and antiquitie of the Apostles doctrine and touchstone of Gods worde to vse them to their instruction If not then to myslike them as they finde cause after they haue first tryed them and not before And thus not to deteine thee with longer processe from the reading of better matter I referre and commende thee and thy studies gentle reader with my harty wishe and prayer to the grace of Christ Iesu and direction of hys holy spirite desiryng thee lykewyse to doe the same for mee Iohn Foxe The Martyrdome and burning of William Tyndall in Brabant by Filford Castell Lord opeÌ the K. of EnglaÌds eyes Here foloweth the historie and discourse of the lyfe of William Tyndall out of the booke of Actes and Monumentes Briefly extracted FOr somuch as the lyfe of W. Tyndall author of this treatise immediately folowing is sufficiently at large discoursed in the booke of Actes and Monumentes by reason whereof we shall not néede greatly to intermedle with any new repetition therof yet notwithstanding because as we haue takeÌ in hand to collect and set forth his whole workes togither so we thought it not vnconuenient to collecte likewise some briefe notes concerning the order of his
and God deliuered you and hath brought you vnto a land where ye bee at home Loue the straunger therefore for his sake In the xj he exhorteth them to loue and feare God and rehearceth the terrible dedes of God vpoÌ his enemyes on them that rebelled agaynst hym And he testifieth vnto them both what wil folow if they loue and feare God and what also if they despise hym and breake his commaundement In the xij hee commaundeth to put out of the way all that might be an occasion to hurt the fayth and forbiddeth to do ought after their owne myndes or to alter the word of God In the xiij he forbiddeth to herken vnto ought saue vnto Gods word no though he whiche counseleth contrary should come with miracles as Paule doth vnto the Galathians In the xiiij the beasts are forbidden partly for vncleannesse of them and partly to cause hate betwene the heathen and them that they haue no conuersation together in that one abhorreth what the other eateth Vnto this xv chapter all pertaine vnto faith and loue chiefly And in this xv hee begynneth to entreate more specially of thinges pertainyng vnto the common welth and equitie and exhorteth vnto the loue of a mans neighbour And in the xvj among other he forgetteth not the same And in the xvij he entreateth of right and equitie chiefly in so much that when hee looketh vnto faith and vnto the punishment of Idolaters hee yet endeth in a law of loue and equitie forbiddyng to condemne any man vnder lesse then two witnesses at the lest and commaundeth to bryng the trespassers vnto the open gate of the citie where all men go in and out that all men might heare the cause and see that he had but right But the Pope hath founde a better way euen to oppose him with out any accuser and that secretly that no man know whether hee haue right or no either heare his Articles or aunswere for feare lest the people should searche whether it were so or no. In the xviij hee forbiddeth all false and deuilish crafts that hurt true faith Moreouer because the people could not heare the voyce of the law spoken to them in fire he promiseth them an other Prophet to bring them better tydynges whiche was spoken of Christ our Sauiour The xix and so forth vnto the end of the xxvij is almost altogether of loue vnto our neighbours and of lawes of equitie and honesty with now and theÌ a respect vnto faith The xxviij is a terrible Chapter and to be trembled at A Chrisren maÌs hart might well bleed for sorrow at the readyng of it for feare of the wrath that is like to come vpon vs accordyng vnto all the curses which thou there readest For accordyng vnto these curse hath God delt with with all nations after they were fallen into the abhominations of blindnesse The xxix is like terrible with a godly lesson in the end that we shold leaue searchyng of Gods secrets geue diligence to walke accordyng to that hee hath opened vnto vs. For the keepyng of the commaundementes of God teacheth wisedome as thou maiest see in the same Chapter where Moses saith keepe the commaundementes that ye may vnderstand what ye ought to doe But to search Gods secretes blindeth a maÌ as it wel proued by the swarmes of our sophisters whose wise bookes are now when we looke in the Scripture founde but full of foolishnesse The Prologue of the Prophete Ionas made by William Tyndall AS the enuious Philislines stopped y e welles of Abraham and filled them vp with earth to put the memoriall out of mynde to the entent that they might chalenge the grounde euen so the fleshly minded hipocrites stoppe vp the vaynes of life which are in the scripture with the earth of their traditions false similitudes and lying allegories that of lyke zeale to make the Scripture their owne possession and merchaundice and so shut vp the kyngdome of heauen which is Gods worde neither entring in themselues nor suffering them that would The Scripture hath a body without and within a soule spirite lyfe It hath without a barke a shel and as it were an harde bone for the fleshlye mynded to gnaw vpon And within it hath pith cornell mary and all swetenes for Gods elect which he hath chosen to geue them hys spirite to write hys law and the fayth of hys sonne in their hartes The scripture conteineth iij. thinges in it First the lawe to condemne all flesh Secondarily the Gospel that is to say promises of mercy for al that repente and knowledge theyr sinnes at the preachyng of the lawe and consent in their hartes that the lawe is good and submit themselues to bee scholers to learne to kepe the law and to learn to beleue the mercye that is promised them and thirdly the stories lyues of those scholers both what chaunces fortuned them also by what meanes their scholemaister taughte them and made them perfect and how he tried y e true from the false When the hipocrites come to the law they put gloses to and make no more of it theÌ of a worldly law which is satisfied with the outwarde worke and whiche a Turke may also fulfill When yet Gods law neuer ceaseth to condemne a man vntil it be written in hys harte and vntill he keepe it naturally without compulsion and all other respect saue onely of pure loue to God and his neighbour as he naturally eateth when he is an hungred without compulsion and all other respect saue to slake hys hunger onely And when they come to the Gospell there they mingle their leuen and say GOD now receiueth vs no more to mercy but of mercy receueth vs to penaunce that is to witte holy deedes y â make them fatte bellies and vs their captiues both in soule and body And yet they fayne their Idole the Pope so mercifull that if that thou make a litle money glister in hys Balaams eyes there is neither penance nor purgatory nor any fastyng at all but to flye to heauen as swift as a thought at the twincklyng of an eye And the liues stories and giftes of men whith are contayned in the bible they reade as thinges no more pertaining vnto them then a tale of Robin hood as things they wot not wherto they serue saue to faine false discant and iuglyng allegories to stablishe their kyngdome with all And one of the chiefest and fleshliest studies they haue is to magnifie the âaintes aboue measure and aboue the truth with their Poetry to make them greter theÌ euer God made them And if they find any infirmitie or sinne ascribed vnto the sayntes that they excuse with all diligence diminishyng the glory of the mercy of god and robbyng wretched sinners of all theyr comforte thinke therby to flatter the saintes and to obtayne their fauour and to make speciall aduocates
for the professioÌ of our Baptisme or couenantes made betwene GOD and vs. As for an ensample Christ sayth Mat. v. Happy are the mercifull for they shall obtayne mercy Lo here GOD hath made a couenaunt with vs to be mercyfull vnto vs if we will be mercyfull one to an other so that the man whiche sheweth mercy vnto his neighbour may be bold to trust in GOD for mercy at all needes And contrarywise iudgement without mercy shal be to him that sheweth not mercy So now if he that sheweth no mercy trust in GOD for mercy his faith is carnall and worldly and but vayne presumption For God hath promised mercy onely to the mercyfull And therfore the mercyles haue not Gods word that they shall haue mercy but contrarywise that they shall haue iudgement without mercy And Math. vi If ye shall forgeue then theyr fautes your heauenly father shall forgeue you but and if ye shall not forgeue men their faultes no more shall your father forgeue you your faultes Here also by the vertue and streÌgth of this couenaunt wherewith God of his mercy hath bounde him selfe to vs vnworthy he that forgeueth his neighbour may be bold when he returneth and amendeth to beleue and trust in GOD for remission of what soeuer he hath done amisse And contrarywise he that will not forgeue can not but dispayre of forgeuenesse in the end and feare iudgement without mercy The generall couenaunt wherin all other are comprehended included is this If we meke our selues to god to kepe all his lawes after the ensample of Christ then God hath bounde him selfe vnto vs to kepe and make good all y t mercies promised in Christ thoroughout all the Scripture All the whole law which was geueÌ to vtter our corrupt nature is comprehended in the tenne commaundementes And the ten commaundemeÌts are comprehended in these two loue God and thy neighbour And he that loueth his neighbour in GOD and Christ fulfilleth these two and consequently the ten and finally all the other Now if we loue our neighbours in God and Christ that is to witte if we be louyng kynde and mercyfull to them because God hath created them vnto his likenes and Christ hath redemed them and bought them with his bloud theÌ may we be bold to trust in God through Christ and his deseruing for all mercy For God hath promised and bounde him selfe to vs to shew vs all mercy and to be a father almighty to vs so that we shall not neede to feare the power of all our aduersaries Now if any maÌ that submitteth not him selfe to kepe the coÌmaundements doe thinke that hee hath any faith in God the same mans fayth is vayne worldly damnable diuelish playne presumption as is aboue sayd and is no fayth that can iustify or be accepted before God And that is it that Iames meaneth in his Epistle For how can a man beleue sayth Paule without a preacher Rom. 10. Now read all the scripture and see where God sent any to preach mercy to any saue vnto them onely that repente and turne to God with all their hartes to kepe his commaundementes Vnto the disobedient that wil not turne is threatned wrath vengeance and damnation according to all the terrible actes and fearful ensamples of the Bible Faith now in God y t father through our Lord Iesus Christ accordyng to the couenauntes appointment made betwene God and vs is our saluatioÌ Wherfore I haue euer noted the couenantes in the margents also y t promises Moreouer where thou findest a promise and no couenaunt expressed therwith there must thou vnderstand a couenaunt that we when we be receyued to grace know it to be our duty to kepe the law As for an ensample when the scripture saith Mat. 7. Aske and it shall be geuen you seeke and ye shall fynde knocke and it shall be opened vnto you It is to be vnderstand if that when thy neighbour asketh seketh or knocketh to thee thou theÌ shew hym the same mercy which thou desirest of God then hath god bound him selfe to helpe thee agayne and els not Also ye see that two thynges are required to be in a christen maÌ The first is a stedfast fayth and trust in almighty God to obtayne all the mercy that he hath promised vs through y t deseruyng and merites of Christes bloude onely without all respect to our owne workes And the other is that we forsake euill and turne to GOD to kepe hys lawes and to fight agaynst our selues and our corrupt nature perpetually that we may do the will of God euery day better and better Thys haue I sayd most deare reader to warne thee least thou shouldst be deceyued and shouldest not onely read the scriptures in vayne and to no profite but also vnto thy greater damnation For the nature of gods worde is that whosoeuer read it or heare it reasoned and disputed before hym it wyll begin immediately to make hym euery day better and better till he be grown into a perfect man in y t knowledge of Christ and loue of the law of God or els make hym worse worse till he be hardened that he openly resist the spirit of god then blaspheme after the ensample of Pharao Coran Abiron Balam Iudas Symon Magus and such other This to bee euen so the woordes of Christ Iohn 3. do well confirme This is condemnation sayth he the light is come into the world but the men loued darkenes more then light for their deedes were euill Behold when the light of Gods worde commeth to a man whether he reade it or heare it preached or testified and he yet haue no loue therto to fashion his lyfe therafter but consenteth still vnto hys olde dedes of ignoraunce then beginneth hys iust damnation immediatly and he is henceforth without excuse in that he refused mercy offered hym for God offreth mercy vpon the conditioÌ that he will mende hys liuing but he wyll not come vnder the couenaunte And from that houre forward he waxech worse and worse God taking hys spirit of mercy and grace from him for his vnthankfulnes sake And Paul writeth Rom. 1. that the heathen because wheÌ they knew god they had no lust to honour hym wyth godly liuing therfore God poured his wrath vpon them and tooke hys spirit from them and gaue theÌ vp to their hartes lustes to serue sinne from iniquitie to iniquitie till they were thorowly hardened and past repentance And Pharao because when y e word of God was in his countrey Gods people scattred throughout all his laÌd yet he neither loued theÌ nor it therfore God gaue hym vp and in takyng hys spirit of grace from hym so hardened hys hart with couetousnes that afterward no myracle could conuerte hym Hereunto pertaineth y t parable of the talentes Mat. 25. The Lord commauÌdeth the talent to be taken away from the euill and slouthfull seruant and to
fayth to God and loue and mercyfulnesse to our neighbours is all that y e law requireth therfore of necessitie the lawe must be vnderstand and interprete by them So that all inferiour lawes are to be kept obserued as loÌg as they be seruauÌts to faith and loue and then to be brokeÌ immediatly if thorough any occasion they hurt either the fayth whiche we should haue to Godward in the confidence of Christes bloud or the loue whiche we owe to our neighbours for Christes sake And therfore when the blinde Phariseis murmured and grudged at him and his Disciples that they brake the Sabboth day and traditions of the elders and that he him self did eate with Publicanes and sinners he aunswered Math. ix allegyng Esayas y e Prophet Go rather and learne what this meaneth I require mercy and not sacrifice And Math. xij Oh that ye wist what this meaneth I require mercy and not sacrifice For onely loue and mercyfulnesse vnderstandeth the law and els nothyng And he that hath not that writteÌ in his hart shall neuer vnderstand the law no though al the angels of heauen went about to teache him And he that hath that grauen in his hart shal not onely vnderstand the law but also shall do of his owne inclinatioÌ all that is required of the law though neuer law had bene geuen as all mothers do of them selues without law vnto their children all that can be required by any law loue ouercommyng all payne grief tediousnesse or lothsomnesse and euen so no doubt if we had continued in our first state of innocencie we should euer haue fulfilled the law without compulsion of the law And bicause the law which is a doctrine throughe teachyng euery man his duetie doth vtter our corrupt nature is sufficiently described by Moses therfore is litle mention made therof in the new Testament saue of loue onely wherin all the law is included as seldome meÌtion is made of the new Testament in the old law saue here there are promises made vnto theÌ that Christ should come and blesse them deliuer them and that the Gospel and new TestameÌt should be preached and published vnto all nations The Gospell is glad tidynges of mercy and grace and that our corrupt nature shal be healed again for christes sake and for the merites of his deseruynges onely Yet on that condition that we will turne to God to learne to keepe his lawes spiritually that is to say of loue for his sake will also suffer the curyng of our infirmities The new Testament is as much to say as a new couenaunt The old TestameÌt is an old temporall couenaunt made betwene GOD and the carnall children of Abraham Isaac and Iacob otherwise called Israell vpon the deedes and the obseruing of a temporall law where the reward of the kepyng is temporall life and prosperitie in the land of Canaan and the breaking is rewarded with teÌporall death and punishment But the new TestameÌt is an euerlastyng couenauÌt made vnto the children of GOD thorough faith in Christ vpon the deseruynges of Christ where eternall life is promised to all that beleue and death to all that are vnbeleuyng My deedes if I kepe the law are rewarded with temporall promises of this lyfe But if I beleue in Christ Christes deedes haue purchased for me the eternall promise of the euerlastyng lyfe If I coÌmit nothyng worthy of death I deserue to my reward that no man kill me if I hurt no man I am worthy that no maÌ hurt me If I helpe my neighbour I am worthy that he helpe me agayn c. So that with outward deedes with whiche I serue other men I deserue that other men doe like to me in this world and they exteÌd no further But Christes dedes extende to lyfe euerlasting vnto all that beleue c. These be sufficient in this place concernyng the law and the Gospell new Testament old so that as there is but one God one Christ one faith one Baptisme euen so vnderstand thou that there is but one Gospell thoughe many write it and many preach it For all preache the same Christ bryng the same glad tidinges And therto Paules Epistles with the Gospell of Iohn and his first Epistle and the first Epistle of S. Peter are most pure Gospell and most playnly and richely describe the glory of the grace of Christe If ye require more of the law seke in the Prologue to the Romaines and in other places where it is sufficiently entreated of ¶ Repentaunce COncerning this word repeÌtaunce or as they vsed penaunce the Hebrue hath in the old Testament generally Sob turne or be conuerted For which the translation that we take for S. Ieromes hath most part Conuerti to turne to be conuerted and somtime Agere poenitentiam And the Greeke in the newe Testament hath perpetually Metanoeo to turne in the hart and minde and to come to the right knowledge and to a mans right wit agayn For which Metanoeo s Ieromes traÌslation hath sometime Ago poenitentiam I do repent sometime Poeniteo I repent sometime Poeniteor I am repentaunt sometyme Habeo poenitentiam I haue repentaunce sometyme Poenitet me it repenteth me And Erasmus vseth much this worde Resipisco I come to my selfe or to my right mynde againe And the very sence and signification both of the Hebrue also of the Greke word is to be conuerted and to turne to God with all the hart to know hys will to liue accordyng to his lawes and to be cured of our corrupt nature with the oyle of his spirite and wyne of obedience to his doctrine Whiche conuersion or turnyng if it be vnfayned these foure do accompany it and are included therin Confession not in the Priestes eare for that is but mans inuention but to God in the hart and before all the congregation of GOD how that we be sinners and sinnefull and that our whole nature is corrupt and inclined to sinne and all vnrighteousnes and therfore euill wicked and damnable and his law holy and iust by which our sinnefull nature is rebuked And also to our neighbours if we haue offended any person particularly Then contrition sorowfulnes that we be such damnable sinners and not only haue sinned but are wholy enclined to sinne still Thirdly fayth of which our oldâ doctours haue made no mention at all in the description of their penaunce that God for Christes sake doth forgeue vs and receyue vs to mercy and is at one with vs and will heale our corrupt nature And fourthly satisfaction or amendes makyng not to god with holy workes but to my neighbour whom I haue hurt and the congregation of God whome I haue offended if any open crime be found in me and submittyng of a mans selfe vnto the congregation or churche of Christ and to the officers of the same to haue his lyfe corrected and gouerned henceforth of them
it is chewed the pleasanter it is and the more groundly it is searched the precioser thynges are found in it so great treasure of spirituall thinges lyeth hid therin I will therfore bestow my labour diligence thorow this little preface or prologue to prepare a way in therunto so farreforth as God shall geue me grace that it may be the better vnderstand of euery man for it hath ben hitherto euill darkened with gloses and wonderful dreames of sophisters that no man could spy out the intent and meanyng of it which neuerthelesse of it selfe is a bright lyght and sufficient to geue light vnto all the scripture First we must marke diligently the maner of speakyng of the Apostle and aboue all thing know what Paul meaneth by these wordes the Law sinne grace fayth righteousnes flesh sprite and such lyke or els read thou it neuer so ofte thou shalt but loose thy labor This word Lawe may not be vnderstand here after the common manner and to vse Pauls terme after the maner of men or after mans wayes that thou wouldest say the law here in this place were nothyng but learnyng which techeth what ought to be done and what ought not to be done as it goeth with mans law where the law is fulfilled with outward workes only though the harte be neuer so far of but God iudgeth after the grounde of the harte ye and the thoughtes and the secret mouinges of the mynde therfore hys law requireth the grounde of the hart and loue from the bottome therof and is not content with the outward worke onely but rebuketh those workes most of all which spryng not of loue from the ground and low bottome of the hart though they appeare outward neuer so honest and good as Christ in the gospell rebuketh the pharises aboue all other that were open sinners and calleth them hipocrites that is to say Simulars and paynted Sepulchers which Pharises yet liued no men so pure as pertayning to the outward dedes and workes of y t law ye and Paul in the third chapter of his epistle vnto the PhilippiaÌs confesseth of himselfe that as touching the lawe he was such a one as no man coulde complayne on and notwithstandyng was yet a murderer of the christen per secuted them and tormented them so sore that he compelled them to blaspheme Christ was altogether mercilesse as many which now fayne outward good workes are For this cause the 115. psalme calleth all men lyers because that no man kepeth the law from the ground of the harte neither can kepe it For all men are naturally inclyned vnto euill and hate the law we fynde in our selues vnlust and tediousnes to do good but lust and delectation to do euill Now where no free lust is to do good there the bottom of the hart fulfilleth not the law and there no doute is also sinne and wrathe deserued before GOD though there be neuer so great outwarde shew and apparance of honest liuing For this cause concludeth S. Paule in the second chapter that the Iewes all are sinners and transgressors of the law thoughe they make men beleue thorow hipocrisie of outward works how that they fulfill the law sayth that he onely whiche doth the law is righteous before God meanyng therby that no maÌ with outward workes fulfilleth the law Thou saith he to the Iewe teachest a maÌ should not breake wedlocke and yet breakest wedlocke thy selfe Wherin thou iudgest an other man therein condemnest thou thy selfe for thou thy selfe doest euen the very same thynges whiche thou iudgest As thoughe hee would say thou liuest outwardly well in the workes of the law and iudgest them that liue not so thou teachest other men and seest a mote in an other maÌs eie but art not ware of the beame that is in thyne owne eye For though thou keepe the lawe outwardly with works for feare of rebuke shame and punishment either for loue of reward vantage vayne glory yet doest thou all without lust and loue toward the law and haddest leuer a great deale otherwise do if thou diddest not feare the lawe ye inwardly in thine harte thou wouldest that there were no law no nor yet God the author and venger of the lawe if it were possible so paynefull it is vnto thee to haue thyne appetites refrayned and to bee kepte downe Wherfore then it is a playne conclusion that thou from the grounde and bottome of thyne hart art an enemy to the law What preuayleth it now that thou teachest an other man not to steale when thou thyne owne selfe art a thefe in thyne hart and outwardly wouldest fayne steale if thou durst though that the outward dedes abyde not alway behind with such hypocrites and dissimulers but breake forth among euen as an euill scabbe or a pocke can not alwayes be kept in with violence of medicine Thou teachest an other man but teachest not thy selfe ye thou wââ¦est not what thou teachest for thou vnderstadest not the law a right how that it can not be fulfilled and satisfied but with inward loue and affection much lesse can it be fulfilled with outward deedes and workes onely Moreouer the law encreaseth sinne as he sayth in the fift Chapter because that maÌ is an enemie to the law for as much as it requireth so many thinges cleane contrarie to his nature wherof he is not able to fulfill one pointe or title as the law requireth it And therfore are we more prouoked and haue greater lust to breake it For whiche causes sake he sayth in the seuenth Chapter that the lawe is spirituall as though he would say if the law wer fleshly and but mans doctrine it might be fulfilled satisfied and stilled with outward deedes But now is the law ghostly and no man fulfilleth it except that all that he doth spryng of loue from the bottome of the hart Such a new hart and lusty courage vnto the law ward canst thou neuer come by of thyne owne strength enforcement but by the operation and workyng of the spirite For the spirite of God onely maketh a man spirituall like vnto the law so that now hence forth hee doth nothyng of feare or for lucre or vantages sake or of vaine glory but of a free hart and of inward lust The law is spirituall and wil be both loued and fulfilled of a spirituall hart and therefore of necessitie requireth it the spirit that maketh a mans hart free and geueth him lust and courage vnto the law ward Where such a spirite is not there remaineth sinne grudging and hatred against the law which law neuerthelesse is good righteous and holy Acquaint thy selfe therfore with the maner of speakyng of the Apostle and let this now sticke fast in thyne hart that it is not both one to do the dedes and workes of the law and to fulfill the law The worke of y t law is what soeuer a man doth or
can doe of his owne free will of his owne proper strength and enforcing Notwithstandyng thoughe there be neuer so great workyng yet as long as their remaineth in the hart vnlust tediousnes grudgyng grief payne lothsânnes compulsion toward the law so long are all the workes vnprofitable lost ye and damnable in the sight of God This meaneth Paule in the iij. Chapter where he sayth by the dedes of the lawe shall no fleshe be iustified in the sight of God Hereby perceauest thou that those sophisters are but disceauers whiche teach that a man may and must prepare him selfe to grace and to the fauour of god with good workes How caÌ they prepare them selues vnto the fauour of God to that whiche is good when them selues can do no good no can not once thinke a good thought or consent to do good the deuill possessing their hartes myndes thoughtes captiue at his pleasure CaÌ those workes please GOD thinkest thou whiche are done with grief payne and tediousnes with an euill will with a contrary and a grudgyng mynde O holy saint Prosperous how mightely with the Scripture of Paule diddest thou confound this heresie twelue hundred yeares a goe or therupon To fulfill the law is to do y t workes therof and what soeuer the lawe commaundeth with loue lust and inward affection and delectation and to lyue godly and well freely willyngly and without compulsion of the lawe euen as thoughe there were no lawe at all Such lust and free libertie to loue the law commeth onely by the workyng of the spirite in the hart as hee sayth in the first Chapter Now is the spirite none otherwise geuen then by fayth onely in that we beleue the promises of God without waueryng how that God is true and will fulfill all hys good promises toward vs for Christes blondes sake as it is playne in the first Chapter I am not ashamed sayth Paule of Christes glad tydynges for it is the power of GOD vnto saluation to as many as beleue for at once and together euen as we beleue the glad tydynges preached to vs the holy ghost entreth into our hartes and looseth the bondes of the deuill whiche before possessed our hartes in captiuitie and held them that we could haue no lust to y t will of God in the law and as the spirite commeth by fayth onely euen so fayth commeth by hearyng the word or glad tidynges of God when Christ is preached how that hee is Gods sonne and man also dead and risen againe for our sakes as he sayth in the thyrd fourth and tenth Chapters All our iustifying then commeth of faith and faith and the spirite come of God and not of vs. Hereof commeth it that fayth onely iustifieth maketh righteous and fulfilleth the law for it bringeth the spirit through Christes deseruinges the spirite bringeth lust looseth the hart maketh him free setteth hym at libertie and geueth him strength to worke the deedes of the lawe with loue euen as the law requireth then at the last out of the same fayth so workyng in the hart spryng all good workes by their owne accorde That meaneth he in the thyrd Chapter for after he hath cast away the workes of the law so that he soundeth as though he would breake and disanulle the law through fayth he aunswereth to that might bee layd agaynst saying we destroy not the law through fayth but mayntaine further or stablish the law through fayth that is to say we fulfill the law thorough fayth Sinne in the Scripture is not called that outward worke onely committed by the body but all the whole busines and what so euer accompanyeth moueth or stirreth vnto the outward deede and that whence the workes spring as vnbelefe pronenes and readynes vnto the deede in the grounde of the hart with all the powers affections and appetites wherwith we can but sinne so that we say that a man then sinneth when he is caried awaye headlong into sinne all together as much as he is of that poyson inclination and corrupt nature wherein hee was conceiued and borne For there is none outward sinne committed except a maÌ be caried away all together with life soule hart body lust and mynde thereunto The Scripture loketh singularly vnto the hart vnto the roote and originall fountaine of all synne which is vnbelefe in the bottom of the hart For as fayth onely iustifieth and bryngeth the spirit and lust vnto the outward good workes Euen so vnbelefe onely damneth and keepeth out the spirit prouoketh the flesh and styrreth vp lust vnto the euill outwarde works as it fortuned to Adam Euâ in Paradise Gene. 3. For this cause Christ calleth synne vnbelefe and that notablie in the. 16. of Iohn the spirite sayth he shall rebuke the world of sinne because they beleue not in me Wherefore then before all good workes as good frutes there must needes be fayth in the hart whence they spryng and before all bad deedes as bad frutes there must nedes be vnbelief in the hart as in the roote fountain pith and streÌgth of all sinne whiche vnbelefe is called the head of the Serpent and of the old Dragon which the womans seede Christ must treade vnderfoote as it was promised vnto Adam Grace and gift haue this difference Grace properly is Gods fauour beneuolence or kynd minde which of his owne selfe without deseruyng of vs he beareth to vs whereby he was moued and inclined to geue Christ vnto vs with all his other giftes of grace Gift is y t holy ghost and his working which hee poureth into the hartes of them on whoÌ he hath mercy and whoÌ he fauoureth Though the giftes the spirit encrease in vs dayly haue not yet their ful perfection ye and though there remaine in vs yet euill lustes synne which fight agaynst the sprite as he sayth here in the 7. chapter and in the 5. to the Galath and as it was spoken before in the 3. chapter of Gen. of the debate betwene y â womans sede the seed of y t serpent yet neuertheles gods fauour is so great and so strong ouer vs for Christes sake that we are counted for full whole and perfect before God For Gods fauour towarde vs deuideth not her selfe encreasyng a little and a little as do the giftes but receiueth vs whole altogether in ful loue for Christes sake our intercessour and mediator and because y t the giftes of the sprite the battell betwene the sprite and euill lustes are begonne in vs already Of this now vnderstandest thou the 7. chapter where Paul accuseth hymselfe as a sinner and yet in the 8. chapter sayeth there is no damnation to them that are in Christ and that because of the spirite and because the giftes of the sprite are begonne in vs. Sinners we are because the fleshe is not full killed and mortified Neuertheles in as muche as we beleue in
teacheth to deale soberly with the consciences of the weake in the fayth whiche yet vnderstand not the libertie of Christ perfectly enough and to fauour them of Christen loue and not to vse the libertie of the faith vnto hinderaÌce but vnto the furtheraunce and edifiyng of the weake For where such consideratioÌ is not there foloweth debate and despising of the Gospell It is better there to forbeare the weake a while vntill they waxe strong then that the learnyng should come altogether vnder fote And such worke is singular work of loue ye and where loue is perfecte there must nedes be such a respect vnto the weake a thing that Christ commaunded and charged to be had aboue all thinges In the 15. Chapter he setteth forthe Christ agayne to be counterfaited that we also by hys ensample should suffer other that are yet weake as them that are fraile open sinners vnlearned vnexpert and of lothesome maners and not to cast theÌ away forthwith but to suffer theÌ til they waxe better exhort them in the meane tyme. For so delte Christ in the gospel and now dealeth with vs dayly suffering our vnperfectnes weaknes conuersation maners not yet fashioned after the doctrine of the Gospell but smell of the flesh ye and sometyme breake forth into outward deedes After that to conclude withall he wisheth them encrease of fayth peace and ioye of conscience prayseth them and committeth them to God and magnifieth his office and administration in the gospell and soberly and with great discretion desireth succour and ayde of them for the poore sayntes of Ierusalem and it is all pure loue that he speketh or dealeth withall So fynde we in this Epistle plentuously vnto the vttermost whatsoeuer a christen man or woman ought to know that is to witte what the law the gospell sume grace fayth righteousnes Christ god good workes loue hope hope and the crosse are and euen wherin the pith of of all that pertayneth to the Christen fayth standeth and how a christen maÌ ought to behaue himselfe vnto euery man be he perfect or a sinner good or bad strong or weake frend or foe and in conclusioÌ how to behaue our selues both towarde God and toward oure selues also And all thynges are profoundly grounded in the Scriptures and declared with ensamples of hymselfe of the fathers and of the prohets that a man can here desire no more Wherfore it appeareth euidently that Paules mynde was to comprehende brieflye in hys Epistle all the whole learnyng of Christes gospell and to prepare an introduction vnto all the olde testament For without doubte whosoeuer hath this Epistle perfectly in hys harte the same hath the light the effect of the olde Testament wyth hym Wherfore let euery man without exception exercise himselfe therein diligently and recorde it night and day continually vntill he be full acquainted therwith The last chapter is a chapiter of recommendation wherein he yet mingleth a good monition that we should beware of the traditions and doctrine of men which beguile the simple with sophistry and learnyng that is not after the Gospell and draw them from Christ and noosell them in weake and feble and as Paul calleth them in the epistle to the Gallathians in beggerly ceremonies for the entent that they would lyue in fat pastures and be in authoritie and be taken as Christ ye and aboue Christ and sitte in the temple of God that is to witte in the consciences of men where God onely his worde his Christ ought to sit Compare therfore all maner doctrine of meÌ vnto y t scripture and see whether they agree or not And commit thy selfe whole and all together vnto Christe and so shal he with his holy sprite and withal his fulnes dwell in thy soule Amen The Prologue vppon the first Epistle of S. Paule to the Corinthians by William Tyndall THis Epistle declareth it selfe from chapter to chapter that it nedeth no Prologue or introduction to declare it When Paul had conuerted a great number at Corinthum as ye read Act. 18. and was departed there came immediatly false Apostels and sectmakers and drew euery mans disciples after hym so that the people were whole vnquieted deuided and at variaunce among themselues euery man for the zeale of hys doctour those newe Apostles not regardyng what diuision what vncleannesse of liuing or what false opinions were amonge the people as long as they might bee in authoritie and well at ease in theyr bellies But Paul in the first foure chapiters with great wisdom and sobernesse rebuked first the diuision the authors therof and calleth the people to Christ agayne and teacheth howe and for what the preacher is to be takeÌ In the 5. he rebuketh the vncleanes that was amongst them In he 6. he rebuketh the debate and goyng to law together pletyng their causes before the heathen In the 7. he reformeth them concernyng chastitie and mariage In the 8. 9. 10. and 11. he teacheth y â strong to forbeare the weake that yet vnderstand not the libertie of the gospell and that with the ensample of him self which though he were an apostle and had authoritie yet of loue he abstayned to winner other And he feareth them with the ensamples of the olde Testament and rebuketh diuers disorders that were among them concernyng the Sacrament and the goyng barehedded of maried women In the 12. 13. and 14. he teacheth of the manifold gyftes of the spirite and proueth by a similitude of the bodye that all giftes are geuen y t eche should helpe other and through loue do seruice to other and proueth that where loue is not there is nothing that pleaseth God For that one should loue an other is all that God requireth of vs and therfore if we desire spiritual gifts he teacheth those giftes to bee desired that helpe our neighbours In the 15. he teacheth of the resurrection of the body And in the last he exhorteth to helpe the poore sayntes A Prologue vpoÌ the second Epistle of S. Paul to the Corinthians by W. Tyndall AS in the first epistle he rebuketh the Corinthians sharpely so in this he comforteth them and prayseth them and commauÌdeth him that was excommunicate to be receiued louingly into the congregation agayne And in the 1. and 2. chapiters hee sheweth his loue to them warde how that all that he spake did or suffered was for their sakes and for their saluation Then in the 3. 4. and 5. he prayseth the office of preaching the gospell aboue y t preaching of the law sheweth that the Gospel groweth through persecution throughe the crosse whiche maketh a man sure of eternall lyfe and here and there he toucheth y t false prophetes which studied to turne the faith of the people from Christe vnto the workes of the law In the 6. and 7. chapters he exhorteth theÌ to suffer with the gospell to lyue as it becommeth the Gospell and prayseth hym
this Epistle to haue bene written by any of the Apostles but haue also refused it all together as no Catholicke or godly epistle bicause of certaine textes written therin For first he sayth in the sixt it is impossible that they whiche were once lighted and haue tasted of the heaueÌly gift and were become partakers of the holye ghoste and haue tasted of the good worde of GOD and of the power of the worlde to come if they fall shoulde bee renewed agayne to repentaunce or conuersion And in the tenth it sayth if we sinne willingly after we haue receiued the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sinnes but a fearefull lookyng for iudgement and violent fyre whiche shall destroy the aduersaries And in the xij it saith that Esau found no way to repentaunce or conuersion no thoughe he sought it with teares Whiche textes say they sound that if a man sinne any more after he is once Baptised he can be no more forgeuen and that is contrary to all the Scripture and therefore to be refused to be Catholicke and godly Vnto whiche I aunswere if we should denye this Epistle for those textes sakes so should we deny first Mathew which in his xij Chapter affirmeth that he which blasphemeth the holy Ghost shall neither be forgiuen here nor in the world to come And then Marke which in his thyrd Chapiter sayth that he that blasphemeth the holy Ghost shal neuer haue forgiuenesse but shal be in daunger of eternall damnation And thirdly Luke which saith there shall be no remission to him that blasphemeth the spirite of God Moreouer Iohn in his first Epistle saith there is a sinne vnto death for which a man should not pray And ij Pet. ij saith if a man be fled from the vncleanesse of the world through the knowledge of our Sauiour Iesus Christ and then be wrapt in agayne his ende is worse then the beginnyng and that it had better for him neuer to haue knowen the truth And Paule ij Ti. iij. curseth Alexander the Copper-smith desiring the lord to reward him accordyng to his deedes Whiche is a signe that either y t Epistle should not be good or that Alexander had sinned past forgiuenesse no more to be prayed for Wherfore seyng no Scripture is of priuate interpretation but must be expounded accordyng to the generall Articles of our fayth and agreable to other open and euident textes confirmed or compared to lyke sentences why should we not vnderstand these places with like reuereÌce as we do the other namely when all the remnaunt of the Epistle is so godly of so great learnyng The first place in the vj. Chapiter will no more then that they whiche know the truth and yet willingly refuse the light and chuse rather to dwell in darkenes and refuse Christ make a mocke of him as y â Pharisies which wheÌ they were ouercome with Scripture miracles y â Christ was the very Messias yet had they such lust in iniquitie that they forsoke him persecuted him slewe him and did all the shame that could be imagined to him can not bee renued ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã sayth the Greeke to be conuerted that is to say such malicious vnkyndnesse which is none other then the blasphemyng of the holy Ghost deserueth that the spirite shall neuer come more at them to conuerte them whiche I beleue to be as true as any other text in all the Scripture And what is ment by that place in the tenth Chapter where he sayth if we sinne willingly after we haue receiued y t knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sinne is declared immediatly after For he maketh a comparison betwene Moses and Christ saying if he which despised Moses law dyed without mercy how much worse punishment is he worthy of that treadeth the sonne of God vnderfoote and counteth the bloud of the couenaunt by whiche bloud he was sanctified as an vnholy thyng blasphemeth the spirite of grace By which wordes it is manifest that he meaneth none other by the fore wordes then the sinne of blasphemy of the spirite For them that sinne of ignoraunce or infirmitie there is remedy but for him that knoweth the truthe and yet willingly yeldeth him selfe to sinne consenteth vnto the lyfe of sinne with soule and body had rather lye in sin then haue his poysoned nature healed by the helpe of the spirite of grace and maliciously persecuteth the truth for him I say there is no remedy the way to mercy is locked vp and the spirite is taken from him for his vnthankefulnesse sake no more to be geuen him Truthe it is if a maÌ can turne to God and beleue in Christ he must be forgiuen how deepe soeuer he hath sinned but that wil not be without the spirite and such blasphemers shall no more haue the spirite offred them Let euery man therefore feare God and beware that he yeld not him self to serue sinne but how oft soeuer he sinne let him be gyn agayne and fight a freshe and no doubt he shal at the last ouercome and in the meane tyme yet be vnder mercy for Christes sake because his hart worketh and would fayne be loused from vnder the bondage of sinne And there it sayth in the. xij Esau founde no way ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to bee conuerted and reconciled vnto God and restored vnto his byrth right agayn though he sought it with teares that text must haue a spirituall eye For Esau in sellyng his byrthright despised not onely that temporall promotion that he should haue bene Lord ouer all his brethren and kyng of that countrey but he also refused the grace and mercy of GOD and the spirituall blessyng of AbrahaÌ and Isaac and all y t mercy that is promised vs in Christ which should haue bene his seede Of this ye see that this Epistle ought no more to be refused for holy godly and Catholicke then the other autentike Scriptures Now therfore to come to our purpose agayne though this Epistle as it sayth in the sixt lay not the grounde of the fayth of Christ yet it buildeth cunnyngly thereon pure gold siluer and precious stones proueth the Priesthode of Christ with Scriptures ineuitable Moreouer there is no worke in all the Scripture that so playnly declareth the meanyng and significatioÌs of the sacrifices ceremonies and figures of the old Testament as this Epistle in so much that if wilful blindnes malicious malice were not the cause this Epistle onely were enoughe to wede out of the hartes of the papistes that cankred heresie of iustifiyng of workes coÌcernyng our Sacraments ceremonies and all maner traditions of their owne inuention And finally in that ye see in the tenth that he had bene in bondes and prison for Christes sake in y t he so mightely driueth all to Christ to be saued thorough him and so cared for the flocke of Christ that he both wrote and
not to God that we should continue vnfruitfull as before but that he should put the seede of his holy sprite in vs as S. Iohn in his first Epistle calleth it and to make vs fruitfull For sayth Paul Ephe. 2. By grace are ye made safe through fayth and that not of your selues for it is the gifte of God and commeth not of the workes least any man should boast himselfe For we are his workemanship created in Christ Iesu vnto good workes which God hath ordeyned that we should walke in them William Tyndale otherwyse called Hitchins to the Reader GRace and peace with all maner spirituall fcelyng and liuyng worthy of the kyndenes of Christ be wyth the reader with all that trust the wyll of God Amen The cause why I set my name before this little treatise and haue not rather done it in the new testament is that then I folowed the counsell of Christ which exhorteth men Math. 6. to doe their good deedes secretly and to be contente with the conscieÌce of well doyng and that God seeth vs and patiently to abyde the reward of the last day which christ hath purchased for vs now would I fayne haue done likewise but am I compelled otherwise to do While I aboade a faythfull companion which now hath taken another voyage vpon him to preach Christ where I suppose he was neuer yet preached God which put in hys hart thether to go sende his spirite with hym comforte hym and bryng hys purpose to good effecte one William Roye a man somewhat crafty when he commeth vnto new acquayntance and before he be through knowne and namely when all is spent came vnto me and offred hys helpe As long as he had no money somwhat I could rule hym but as soone as he had gotten hym money he became lyke hymselfe agayne Neuerthelesse I suffered all thynges tyll that was ended which I coulde not doe alone without one both to write and to helpe me to copare the textes together When that was ended I toke my leaue and bade hym farewell for our two lyues and as men say a day longer After we were departed he went and gate him new frendes which thyng to doe he passeth all that euer I yet knew And there when he had stored hym of money he gate hym to Argentine where he professed wonderfull faculties maketh boast of no small things A yeare after that and now xij monthes before y â printyng of this worke came one Ierome a brother of Grenewich also through Wormes to Argentine saying y â he intended to be Christes Disciple another whyle to kepe as nye as God would geue him grace y â profession of hys baptisme to get hys liuyng with his haÌdes to lyue no loÌger idlely of the sweate and labour of those captiues whiche they had taught not to beleue in Christe but in cut shooes and russet coats Which Ierome with all diligence I warned of Royes boldnes exhorted him to beware of hym to walke quietly and wyth all patieÌce long sufferyng according as we haue Christ hys Apostles for an ensaÌple which thyng he also promised me Neuerthelesse wheÌ he was commyng to ArgeÌtine WilliaÌ Roye whose toung is able not onely to make fooles starke mad but also to deceaue the wisest that is at the first sight and acquaintaunce gate hym to hym and set hym a worke to make rymes while he hym selfe translated a Dialogue out of Latin into Englishe in whose Prologue he promiseth more a great deale then I feare me he will euer pay Paule sayth 2. Timo. 2. The seruauÌt of the Lord must not striue but be peaceable vnto all men and ready to teach one that can suffer the euill with mekenesse and that can informe them that resiste if God at any tyme will geue them repentaunce for to know the trouth It becommeth not then the Lordes seruaunt to vse rayling rymes but Gods worde which is the right weapon to slay sinne vice all iniquitie The Scripture of god is good to teach and to improue ij Timo. iij. and. ij Thes ij Paule speakyng of Antechrist sayth Whom the Lord shall destroy with the sprite or breath of his mouth that is with the word of God And. ij Cor. x. The weapons of our warre are not carnall thynges sayth he but mighty in God to cast downe strong holdes and so forth that is to destroy high buildings of false doctrine The word of God is that day wherof Paul speaketh i. Cor. iij. which shall declare all thing that fire which shal try euery mans worke and consume false doctrine with that sword ought men sharply to fight and not to rayle with foolishe rymes Let it not offende thee that some walke inordinatly let not the wickednes of Iudas cause thee to despise the doctrine of his fellowes No man ought to thinke that Stephen was a false preacher because that Nicolas whiche was chosen felow with hym Act. vj. to minister vnto the widowes fell after into great heresies as histories make mention Good and euill go alwayes together one caÌ not be knowen without the other Marke this also aboue all thinges that Antechrist is not an outward thyng that is to say a man that should sodeÌly appeare with wonders as our fathers talked of hym No verely for Antichrist is a spirituall thyng And is as much to say as agaynst Christ y t is one that preacheth false doctrine contrarie to Christ Antechrist was in the old TestameÌt and fought with the Prophetes he was also in the tyme of Christ of the Apostles as thou readest in the Epistles of Iohn and of Paule to the Corinthians and Galathians and other Epistles Antechrist is now shall I doubt not endure till the worldes ende But his nature is when he is vttered and ouercome with the worde of God to go out of the playe for a season and to disguise hymselfe and then to come in agayne with a new name and new rayment As thou seest howe Christ rebuketh the Scribes and the Pharises in the Gospel which were very Antechristes saying Wo be to you Pharises for ye robbe widowes houses ye praye long prayers vnder a colour ye shut vp the kingdom of heaueÌ suffer theÌ not y â would to enter in ye haue taken away the keye of knowledge ye make men breake Gods commaundementes with your traditions ye beguile the people with hipocrisie and such like Which thynges all our prelates do but haue yet gotten them new names and other garmentes and are otherwyse disguised There is difference in the names betwene a Pope a Cardinall a bishop and so forth and to say a Scribe a Pharisey a seniour and so forth but the thyng is all one Euen so now when we haue vttered hym he wyll change hymselfe once more and turne hymselfe into an angell of lyght 2. Cor. 11. Read the place I exhorte
thee whatsoeuer thou art that readest this and note it well The Iewes loke for Christ and he is come xv hundred yeares agoe and they not ware we also haue loked for Antechrist and he hath raigned as long and we not ware and that because eyther of vs looked carnally for hym and not in the places where we ought to haue sought The Iewes had found Christ verily if they had sought hym in the lawe and the Prophetes whether Christ sendeth them to seke Iohn 5. We also had spied out Antechrist long ago if we had looked in the doctrine of Christ hys apostles where because y â beast seeth him selfe now to be sought for he roareth and seketh new holes to hyde hymselfe in chaungeth hymselfe into a thousand fashions with all maner wilinesse falshode suttletie craft Because that hys excommunications are come to lyght he maketh it treason vnto the kyng to bee acquaynted with Christe If Christe they may not raigne together one hope we haue that Christ shal liue euer The olde Antichristes brought Christ vnto Pilate saying by our lawe he ought to die and wheÌ Pilate bade them iudge hym after their lawe they aunswered it is not lawfull for vs to kyll any man whiche they dyd to the intent that they whiche regarded not the shame of their false excoÌmunications should yet feare to confesse Christ because that the temporall sword had condemned hym They do all thing of a good zeale they say they loue you so well that they had rather burne you then y t you should haue fellowship w t Christ They are iealous ouer you amisse as sayth S. Paul Gal. iiij They would deuide you from Christe and his holy Testament and ioyne you to the Pope to beleue in his Testament and promises Some man will aske peraduenture why I take the labour to make this worke in as much as they will burne it seyng they burnt the Gospell I aunswere in burnyng the new Testament they dyd none other thyng then that I looked for no more shall they do if they burne me also if it be Gods will it shall so be Neuerthelesse in translatyng of the Testament I dyd my dutie and so doe I now and will doe as much more as God hath ordeined me to do And as I offered that to al men to correct it who soeuer could euen so do I this Who soeuer therfore readeth this compare it vnto the Scripture If Gods word beare recorde vnto it and thou also feelest in thine hart that it is so be of good comfort and geue God thankes If Gods word condemne it then hold it accursed and so doe all other doctrines As Paule counseleth his Galathians Beleue not euery sprite sodenly but iudge theÌ by the word of God whiche is the trial of all doctrine and lasteth for euer Amen The Parable of the wicked Mammon THere was a certain rich man whiche had a steward that was accused vnto hym that hee had wasted his goodes And called hym and sayd vnto him How is it that I heare this of thee Geue accoumptes of thy stewardshyp For thou mayst be no longer my steward The steward sayd with in him selfe What shall I do for my master will take away froÌ me my stewardshyp I can not digge and to begge I am ashamed I wote what to doe that when I am put out of my stewardshyp they may receaue me into theyr houses Then called he all his masters detters and sayd vnto the first how much owest thou vnto my master And he sayd an huÌdred tonnes of oyle and hee sayd to hym take thy bill and sit downe quickely and write fiftie Then sayd he to an other what owest thou And he sayd an hundred quarters of wheate He sayd to hym Take thy bill and write foure score And the Lord commended the vniust steward because he had done wisely For the children of this world are in their kynde wiser then the children of light And I say also vnto you make you frendes of the wicked Mammon that when ye shall haue neede they may receaue you into euerlastyng habitations Luke xvi Chapter For as much as with this diuers such other textes many haue inforced to draw the people from the true faith from puttyng their trust in the truth of Gods promises and in the merites and deseruyng of his Christ our Lord and haue also brought it to passe for many false Prophetes shall arise and deceaue many and much wickednes must also be sayth Christ Math. xxiiij And Paul sayth ij Timo. iij. Euell meÌ and deceauers shall preuaile in euill while they deceaue and are deceaued them selues and haue taught them to put their trust in their owne merites and brought them in belefe that they shal be iustified in the sight of God by the goodnesse of their owne workes haue corrupt the pure word of God to confirme their Aristotle with all For though that y e Philosophers worldly wisemen were enemyes aboue all enemyes to the Gospell of God and though the worldly wisedome can not comprehend the wisedome of God as thou mayst see i. Corint j. and. ij And though worldly righteousnes can not be obedient vnto the righteousnes of God Rom. x Yet what so euer they read in Aristotle y t must be first true And to mainteine that they rent and teare the Scriptures with their distinctions and expounde them violently contrarie to the meanyng of the text and to the circumstaunces that go before and after and to a thousand cleare and euidente textes Wherfore I haue taken in hand to expounde this Gospell certaine other places of the new Testament and as far forth as God shall lende me grace to bryng the Scripture vnto the right sence and to digge agayne the welles of Abraham and to purge cleanse theÌ of the earth of worldly wisedome where with these Philistenes haue stopped them Whiche grace graunt me God for the loue that he hath vnto his sonne Iesus our Lord vnto the glory of his name Amen THat fayth onely before all workes and without all merites but christes onely iustifieth and setteth vs at peace with God is proued by Paul in the first chapiter to the Roma I am not ashamed sayth he of the Gospell that is to say of the glad tidinges and promises which God hath made and sworne to vs in Christ For it that is to say the gospell is the power of god vnto saluation to all that beleue And it followeth in the foresayd chapiter y â iust or righteous must liue by faith For in the fayth which we haue in Christ and in Gods promises fynde we mercy lyfe fauour and peace In the law we fynde death damnation wrath moreouer the curse and vengeaunce of GOD vpon vs. And it that is to say the lawe is called of Paule 2. Corin. 3. the ministration of death and damnation In the lawe we are
y u shalt be iustified of thy wordes thou shalt be condeÌned Mat. xij That is thy wordes as well as other deedes shal testifie with thee or agaynst thee at the day of iudgemeÌt Many there are whiche abstaine from the outward dedes of fornication and adulterie neuerthelesse reioyce to talke therof laugh their wordes laughter testifie against them that their hart is vnpure and they adulterers fornicatours in the sight of GOD. The toung and other signes oftymes vtter the malice of the hart though a maÌ for many causes abstaine his hand from the outward dede or act IF thou wilt enter into lyfe kepe the commaundements Math. xix First remember that when God commaundeth vs to do one thyng he doth it not therfore because that we of our selues are able to do that he coÌmaundeth but that by the law we might see know our horrible damnation and captiuitie vnder sinne and therfore should repeÌt and come to Christ receaue mercy the spirite of God to loose vs strength vs to make vs able to do Gods wil which is the law Now when he sayth if thou wilt enter into lyfe kepe the coÌmaundementes is as much to say as he that kepeth the commaundementes is entred into life for except a maÌ haue first the spirite of lyfe in hym by Christes purchasyng it is impossible for him to kepe the commaundements or that his hart should be loose or at libertie to lust after them for of nature we are enemyes to the law of God As touching that Christ saith afterward if thou wilt be perfect go and sell thy substauÌce and geue it to the poore he sayth it not as who should say that there were any greater perfection then to kepe the law of God for that is all perfection but to shew the other hys blindnes which saw not that the law is spirituall and requireth y t hart But because he was not knowyng that he had hurt any man with the outward deede he supposed that he loued his neighbour as him selfe But when he was bydde to shew the deedes of loue and geue of hys aboundaunce to them that neded he departed mournyng Whiche is an euieÌdt tokeÌ that he loued not his neighbour as well as him self For if he had neede hym selfe it would not haue greued hym to haue receaued succour of an other man Moreouer he sawe not that it was murther theft that a man should haue aboundaunce of riches lying by hym and not to shew mercy therewith and kyndly to succour hys neighbours neede God hath geuen one man riches to helpe an other at nede If thy neighbour nede thou helpe him not beyng able thou withholdest his dutie from hym and art a thefe before God That also that Christ saith how that it is harder for a rich man who loueth his riches so that he can not find in his hart liberally and freely to helpe the poore and nedy to enter into the kingdome of heauen then a Camell to goe through the eye of a needle declareth that he was not entred into the kingdome of heauen that is to say eternall life But he that kepeth the commaundementes is entred into life he hath life and the spirite of life in him THis kinde of deuils goeth not out but by prayer fasting Math. 27. Not that the deuill is cast out by merites of fasting or praying For he sayth before that for theyr vnbelefes sake they coulde not cast him out It is faith no doubte that casteth out the deuils and fayth it is that fasteth and prayeth Fayth hath the promises of God wher unto she cleaueth and in all thinges thyrsteth the honour of God She fasteth to subdue the body vnto the spirit that the prayer be not let and that the spirite may quietly talke with God she also whensoeuer oportunitie is geuen prayeth God to fulfil his promises vnto his prayse glory And God which is mercifull in promising and true to fullfill them casteth out the deuils and doth all that fayth desireth and satisfyeth her thyrste COme ye blessed of my Father inherite the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the worlde for I was a thirst and ye gaue me drincke c. Math. xxv Not that a man with works delerueth eternal life as a work man or labourer his hyre or wages Thou readest in the text that the kingdome was prepared for vs from the beginning of the worlde And we are blessed sanctified In Christes bloud are we blessed from that bitter curse damnable captiuitie vnder sin wherein we were borne and conceiued And Christes spirite is poured into vs to bring foorth good woorkes and our workes are the fruites of the spirite the kingdome is the deseruing of Christes bloud and so is fayth and the spirite and good workes also Notwithstanding the kingdome foloweth good workes and good workes testify that we are heyres thereof and at the day of iudgement shall they testify for the elect vnto theyr comfort and glory and to the confusion of the vngodly vnbeleeuing and faythlesse sinners which had not trust in the worde of Gods promises nor luste to the will of God but were caryed of the spirite of theyr father the deuill vnto all abhomination to worke wickednes with all lust delectation and gredienes MAny sinnes are forgeuen her for she loueth much Luk. vij Not that loue was cause of forgeuenes of sinnes But contrariwise the forgeuenes of sinnes caused loue as it foloweth to whoÌ lesse was forgeuen y â same loueth lesse And afore he commended the iudgement of Simon which aunswered that he loueth most to whom most was forgeuen and also sayde at the last thy fayth hath saued thee or made thee safe goe in peace We can not loue except we see some benefite and kyndenes As long as we looke on the lawe of God onely where we see but sinne and damnation and the wrath of God vpon vs yea where we were damned afore we were borne we can not loue God No we can not but hate him as a tyraunt vnrighteous vniust and flee from hym as did Caine. But when the Gospell that glad tidinges and ioyfull promises are preached how that in Christ God loueth vs first forgeueth vs and hath mercy on vs then loue we againe and the deedes of our loue declare our fayth This is the maner of speaking as we say Sommer is nie for the trees blossome Nowe is the blossomyng of the trees not the cause y t sommer draweth nie but the drawyng niâ of sommer is the cause of y e blossoms and the blossomes put vs in remembraunce that sommer is at hand So Christ here teacheth SimoÌ by the feruentnes of loue in the outward dedes to see a strong faith within whence so great loue springeth As y â maner is to say do your charitie shew your charitie do a deede of charitie
Christ which fulfilled the lawe for vs may euery parson that repenteth beleueth loue-eth the law and mourneth for streÌgth to fulfill it reioyce be he neuer so weake a sinner The two pence therefore and the credence that he left behynde him to bestowe more if neede were signifieth that he was euery where mercifull both present and absent without fayning cloking complayning or excusing and forsoke not his neighbour as long as he had nede Which example I pray God men may followe and let opera supererogationis alone MAry hath choseÌ a good part which shall not be taken from her Luk. x. She was first chosen of God and called by grace both to know her sin and also to heare the worde of fayth health and glad tidinges of mercy in Christ and fayth was geuen her to beleue the spirite of God loosed her hart from the bondage of sinne Then consented she to the will of God againe and aboue all thinges had delectation to heare the worde wherein she had obtayned euerlasting health and namely of his owne mouth which had purchased so great mercy for her God chuseth vs first and loueth vs first and openeth our eyes to see his exceeding aboundaunt loue to vs in Christ and then loue we agayne and accept his will aboue all thinges and serue him in that office whereunto he hath chosen vs. Sell that ye haue and geue almes And make you bagges which waxe not olde and treasure which faileth not in heauen Luke xij This such like are not spoken that we shoulde worke as hyrelinges in respect of rewarde and as though we shoulde obtayne heauen with merite For he saith a little afore feare not little flocke for it is your fathers pleasure to geue you a kingdome The kingdome commeth then of the good will of almighty God thorough Christ And such thinges are spoken partly to put vs in remembraunce of our dutie to be kynde agayne As is that saying let your light so shine before men that they seyng your good workes may glorifie your father which is in heaueÌ As who shoulde say if God hath geuen you so great giftes see ye be not vnthankefull but bestow them vnto his praise Some things are spoken to moue vs to put our trust in God as are these Beholde the Lyllies of the fielde Beholde the byrdes of the ayre If your children aske you bread will ye proffer them a stone and many such lyke Some are spoken to put vs in remeÌbraunce to be sober to watch pray and to prepare our selues agaynst teÌptations and that we should vnderstand and know how that temptations and occasion of euill come then most when they are least looked for least we should be carelesse and sure of our selues negligent and vnprepared Some thinges are spoken that we should feare the wonderfull and incoÌprehensible iudgementes of God lest we should presume Some to comfort vs that we dispayre not And for lyke causes are all the ensamples of the old TestameÌt In conclusion the scripture speaketh many thynges as the world speaketh But they may not be worldly vnderstand but ghostly and spiritually yea the spirite of God onely vnderstandeth them and where he is not there is not the vnderstandyng of the Scripture But vnfrutefull disputyng and braulyng about wordes The scripture sayth God seeth God heareth God smelleth God walketh God is with them God is not with them God is angry God is pleased God sendeth his spirite God taketh his spirite away and a thousande such like And yet is none of them true after the worldlye manner and as the wordes sound Read the second chapter of Paule to the Corinthians The naturall man vnderstandeth not the thinges of God but the spirite of God onely and we sayth he haue receaued the spirite whiche is of God to vnderstand the thynges which are geuen vs of God For without the spirite it is impossible to vnderstand them Read also the viij to the Romaines They that are led with the spirite of God are the sonnes of GOD. Now the sonne knoweth his fathers will and the seruauÌt that hath not the spirite of Christ sayth Paule is none of his Likewise he that hath not the spirite of GOD is none of gods for it is both one spirite as thou mayst see in the same place Now he that is of God heareth the word of God Iohn viij and who is of God but he that hath the spirite of God Furthermore sayth he ye heare it not because ye are not of God that is ye haue no lust in the word of God for ye vnderstand it not that because his spirite is not in you For as much then as the Scripture is no thyng els but that which the spirite of GOD hath spoken by the Prophetes and Apostles can not be vnderstand but of the same spirite Let euery man pray to God to send him his spirite to loose him from his naturall blindnes and ignoraunce and to geue him vnderstandyng and feelyng of the thynges of God of the speakyng of the spirite of GOD. And marke this processe First we are damned of nature so coÌceaued and borne as a Serpent is a SerpeÌt and a tode a tode a snake a snake by nature And as thou âeest a youÌg child which hath pleasure in many thynges wherein is present death as in fire water and so foorth would slea hym selfe with a thousand deathes if he were not wayted vpon and kept therfro Euen so we if we should liue these thousaÌd yeares could in al that tyme delite in no other thing nor yet seeke any other thyng but that wherein is death of the soule Secondarily of the whole multitude of the nature of man whom God hath elect and chosen and to whom he hath appointed mercy and grace in Christ to them sendeth he his spirite whiche openeth their eyes sheweth them their miserie and bryngeth them vnto the knowledge of them selues so that they hate and abhorre them selues are astonyed and amased and at their wittes endes neither wot what to do or wher to seeke health Then lest they should flee from God by desperation he comforteth theÌ agayne with his swete promises in Christ certifieth their harts that for Christes sake they are receaued to mercy and their sinnes forgeueÌ and they elect and made the sonnes of GOD and heyres with Christ of eternall lyfe thus through fayth are they set at peace with God Now may not we axe why GOD chuseth one and not an other eyther think that God is vniust to damne vs afore we do any actual dede seyng that god hath power ouer all hys creatures of right to do with theÌ what he lyst or to make of euery one of them as he listeth Our darknes can not perceaue his light God wil be feared and not haue his secret iudgementes knowen Moreouer we by the light of fayth see a thousand thynges which are impossible to
ther he looketh with what hart thou workest and not what thou workest how thou acceptest the degree that he hath put thee in not of what degree thou art whether thou be an Apostle or a shoemaker Set this ensample before thine eyes Thou art a kechinpage and washest thy masters dishes an other is an Apostle and preacheth the word of God Of this Apostle harke what Paule sayth in the. 2. Corinth ix If I preach sayth he I haue nought to reioyce in for necessitie is put vnto me as who should say God hath made me so woe is vnto me if I preach not If I do it willingly sayth he then haue I my reward that is then am I sure that Gods spirite is me and that I am elect to eternall lyfe If I do it agaynst my will an office is committed vnto me that is if I do it not of loue to God but to get a liuyng thereby for a worldly purpose and had rather otherwayes lyue then do I that office which GOD hath put me in and yet please not God my selfe Note now if this Apostle preach not as many do not whiche not onely make them selues Apostles but also compell men to take theÌ for greater then Apostles yea for greater theÌ Christ him selfe theÌ wo is vnto him that is his damnation is iust If he preach his hart not right yet ministreth he the office that GOD hath put him in and they that haue the spirite of God heare the voyce of God yea though he speake in an Asse More ouer how soeuer he preacheth he hath not to reioyce in that he preacheth But and if he preach willyngly with a true hart and of conscience to God then hath he his reward that is then feeleth he the earnest of eternall lyfe the woorkyng of the spirite of God in hym And as he feeleth Gods goodnes and mercy so be thou sure he feeleth his owne infirmitie weakenes vnworthynes and morneth and knowledgeth his sinne in that the hart will not arise to worke with that full lust loue that is in Christ our Lord. And neuertheles is yet at peace with God through faith and trust in Christ Iesu For the earnest of the spirite that worketh in him testifieth and beareth witnes vnto his hart that God hath chosen him and that his grace shall suffice him whiche grace is now not idle in hym In hys woorkes putteth he no trust Now thou that ministrest in the kechen art but a kechenpage receauest all thyng of the hand of God knowest that God hath put thee in that office submittest thy selfe to his wil and seruest thy master not as a man but as Christ him selfe with a pure hart accordyng as Paule teacheth vs puttest thy trust in God and with hym sekest thy reward Moreouer there is not a good dede done but thy hart reioyceth therein yea when thou hearest that the word of God is preached by this Apostle and seest the people turne to God thou consentest vnto the deede thyne hart breaketh out in ioy springeth and leapeth in thy brest that God is honored And in thyne hart doest the same that y â Apostle doth and happely with greater delectatioÌ and a more feruent spirite Now he that receaueth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shal receaue the reward of a Prophet Math. x. that is he that consenteth to the dede of a Prophet and maintaineth it the same hath the same spirite earnest of euerlastyng lyfe whiche the Prophete hath and is elect as the Prophet is Now if thou compare dede to dede there is difference betwixt washyng of dishes and preachyng of the word of God but as touchyng to please God none at all For neither that nor this pleaseth but as farforth as God hath chosen a man hath put his spirite in hym and purified his hart by fayth and trust in Christ Let euery man therefore wayte on the office wherein Christ hath put hym and therin serue his brethren If he be of low degree let him paciently therin abyde till God promote him and exalte hym hyer Let kyngs and head ofcers seke Christ in their offices ministre peace and quietnes vnto the brethren punish sinne and that with mercy euen with the same sorow and grief of mynde as they would cut of a finger or ioynte a legge or arme of their own body if there were such disease in them that either they must be cut of or els all the body must perish Let euery man of what soeuer craft or occupation he be of whether bruer baker tayler vitailer merchaunt or husbandman referre his craft and occupation vnto the commoÌ wealth and serue hys brethren as hee would doe Christ him selfe Let him bye and sell truly and not set dice on his brethren so sheweth he mercy and his occupation pleaseth God And when thou receauest money for thy labour or ware thou receauest thy dutie For wherein so euer thou minister to thy brethren thy brethren are dettours to geue thee wherewith to mainteine thy selfe and houshold And let your superfluities succour the poore of whiche sort shall euer be some in all townes and cities and villages and that I suppose the greatest nuÌber RemeÌber that we are members of one body ought to minister one to an other mercifully And remember that whatsoeuer we haue it is geuen vs of God to bestow it on our brethren Let him that eateth eate and geue God thankes onely let not thy meate pull thine hart from God And let him that drinketh do likewise Let him y t hath a wife geue God thaÌkes for his liberty onely let not thy wife withdraw thine hart from God and then pleasest thou God and hast the worde of God for thee And in all thinges looke on the worde of God and therein put thy trust and not in a visure in a disguised garment and a cut shooe Seeke the worde of God in all thinges and without the worde of God do nothing though it appeare neuer so glorious What soeuer is done without the worde of God that count idolatry The kingdome of heauen is within vs. Luk. xvij Wonder therefore at no monstrous shape nor at any outward thyng without the worde For the world was neuer drawen from God but with an outward shewe and glorious appearaunce and shining of hipocrisy and of fayned and visured fasting praying watching singing offering sacrificing halowing of superstitious ceremonies and monstrous disguising Take this for an ensample Iohn Baptist which had testimony of Christ and of the Gospell that there neuer rose a greater among wemens children with his fasting watching praying rayment and straÌight liuing deceaued the Iewes and brought them in doubt whether Iohn were very Christ or not and yet no Scripture or miracle testifiyng it so greatly y â blinde nature of man loketh on the outwarde shining of workes and regardeth not the inwarde word which speaketh to the hart
When they sent to Iohn asking him whether he were Christ he denied it When they asked him what he was and what he sayd of himselfe he aunswered not I am he that watcheth prayeth drinketh no wine nor strong drinke eateth neyther fishe nor fleshe but liue wyth wilde hony and Grashoppers and weare a coate of camels heare and a gyrdle of a skinne but sayd I am a voyce of a cryar My voyce onely pertaineth to you Those outward things which ye wonder at pertayne to my selfe onely vnto the taming of my bodye To you am I a voyce onely and that which I preach My preaching if it be receaued into a penitent or repenting hart shall teach you how to liue and please God according as God shall shed out his grace on euery man Iohn preached repentaunce saying prepare y â Lordes way and make his pathes straight The Lordes way is repentaunce and not hipocrisy of mans imagination inuention It is not possible y t the Lord Christ should come to a man except he know himselfe and his sinne truely repent Make his pathes straight the pathes are the lawe if thou vnderstaÌd it a right as God hath geuen it Christ sayth in the xvij of Mat. Helias shall first come that is shall come before Christ and restore all things meaning of Iohn Baptist Iohn Baptist did restore the law and the Scripture vnto the right sence vnderstanding which the Pharises partly had darckned and made of none effect thorough their owne traditions Math. xv where Christ rebuketh them saying why transgresse ye the commaundementes of God thorough your traditions and partly had corrupt it with gloses and false interpretations that no maÌ could vnderstand it Wherefore Christ rebuketh them Mat. 23. saying wo be to you Pharises hipocrites which shut vp the kingdome of heauen before meÌ ye enter not your selues neither suffer them that come to enter in and partly did beguile the people and blinde their eyes in disguising themselues as thou readest in the same 23. chap. how they made broade and large Philacteries and did all their workes to be seene of men that the people should wonder at their disguisinges and visuring of themselues otherwise then God had made them and partly mocked them with hipocrisy of false holines in fasting praying and almes geuing Mat. 6. and this did they for lucre to be in authoritie to sitte in the consciences of people and to be counted as God him selfe that people shoulde trust in their holynes and not in God as thou readest in the place aboue rehearsed Mat. 23. wo be to you Pharises hipocrites which deuoure widowes houses vnder a colour of long prayer Counterfet therfore nothing without y t worde of God wheÌ thou vnderstandest that it shall teach thee all thinges how to applie outwarde thinges and whereunto to referre them Beware of thy good entent good mynde good affection or zeale as they call it Peter of a good minde and of a good affection or zeale chidde Christ Math. 16. because he sayde that he must goe to Hierusalem and there be slayne But Christ called him Satan for his labour a name that belongeth to the deuil And sayde that he perceaued not godly thinges but worldly Of a good entent and of a ferueÌt affection to Christ the sonnes of Zededei would haue had fire to come downe from heauen to consume the Samaritans Luk. 9. But Christ rebuked them saying that they wist not of what sprite they were that is that they vnderstoode not how that they were altogether worldly fleshly mynded Peter smote Malchus of a good zeale but Christ condemned his deede The very Iewes of a good enteÌt and of a good zeale slew Christ and persecuted the Apostles as Paule beareth them recorde Rom. x. I beare them recorde sayth he that they haue a feruent mynde to Godward but not according to knowledge It is an other thing then to do of a good minde and to do of knowledge Labour for knowledge that thou mayest know Gods will and what he would haue thee to doe Our mynde entent and affection or zeale are blinde and all that we do of them is damned of god and for that cause hath God made a testament betwene him and vs wherin is coÌteyned both what he would haue vs to do and what he would haue vs to aske of him See therefore that thou do nothing to please God withall but that he commaundeth neither aske any thing of him but that he hath promised thee The Iewes also as it appeareth Act. vij slew SteueÌ of a good zeale because he proued by the scripture that God dwelleth not in Churches or temples made wyth handes The Churches at the beginning were ordeyned that the people shoulde thether resorte to heare the word of God there preached onely and not for the vse wherein they now are The temple wherein God will be worshipped is the hart of man For God is a spirite sayth Christ Ioh. 4. and will be worshipped in y t spirite in truth that is when a penitent hart consenteth vnto the lawe of God and with a strong fayth loÌgeth for the promises of God So is God honored on al sides in that we count him righteous in all his lawes and ordinaunces and also trust in all his promises Other worshipping of God is there none except we make an Idoll of him IT shal be recompensed thee at the rising agayne of the righteous Lu. xiiij Reade the text before and thou shalt perceaue that Christ doth here that same that he doth Math. v. that is he putteth vs in remembraunce of our dutie that we be to the poore as Christ is to vs and also teacheth vs how that we can neuer know whether our loue be right and whether it spring of Christ or no as long as we are but kinde to them onely which do as much for vs againe But and we be mercifull to the poore for conscience to God and of compassion and harty loue which compassion loue spring of the loue we haue to God in Christ for the pure mercy and loue that he hath shewed on vs then haue we a sure token that we are beloued of God and washed in Christes bloud and elect by Christes deseruing vnto eternall life The scripture speaketh as a father doth to his young sonne do this or that and then will I loue thee yet the father loueth his sonne first and studieth with all his power and witte to ouercome his childe with loue and with kindnes to make him do that which is comely honest and good for it selfe A kynde father and mother loue their children euen when they are euill that they would shed their bloud to make them better and to bring theÌ into the right way And a naturall childe studieth not to obtayne his fathers loue with workes but considereth with what loue his father loueth him with all
How many are there of the same sort which thou caÌst not make beleue that a thousand thinges are sin which God damneth for sinne all the scripture throughout As to bye as good cheepe as he can and to sell as deare as he can to rayse the market of corne and victuale for his owne vauntage without respect of his neighbor or of the poore of the common wealth and such like Moreouer how many hundred thousandes are there which when they haue sinned knowledge their sinnes yet trust in a balde ceremony or in a lowsy Fryers coate and merites or in the prayers of them that deuoure widowes houses and eateth the poore out of house and harbour in a thyng of hys owne imagination in a foolishe dreame and a false vision not in Christes bloud and in the truth that God hath sworne All these are faythlesse for they follow their owne righteousnes and are disobedieÌt vnto all maner righteousnes of God both vnto the righteousnes of Gods lawe wherewith he damneth all our deedes for though some of them see their sins for feare of payne yet had they rather that such deedes were no sinne and also vnto the righteousnes of the truth of God in his promises whereby he saueth all that repent and beleue them For though they beleue that Christ dyed yet beleue they not that he dyed for their sinnes and that hys death is a sufficient satisfaction for their sinnes and that God for hys sake will be a father vnto them and geue them power to resist sinne Paule sayth to the Romaynes in the x. chap. if thou confesse wyth thy mouth that Iesus is the Lord and beleue wyth thine hart that God raysed hym vp from death thou shalt be safe That is if thou beleue he raysed hym vp againe for thy saluation Many beleue that God is riche and almighty but not vnto themselues and that he he will be good vnto them and defend them and be their God Pharao for payne of the plague was compelled to confesse hys sinnes but had yet no power to submit hymselfe vnto y t will of God and to let the children of Israell goe and to loose so great profit for Gods pleasure As our Prelates confesse their sinnes saying though we be neuer so euill yet haue we the power And agayne the Scribes and the Pharises say they sate in Moyses seate do as they teach but not as they do thus confesse they that they are abhominable But to the second I aunswere if they sate on Christes sear they would preach Christes doctrine now preach they their owne traditions and therefore not to be heard If they preached Christ we ought to heare them though they were neuer so abhominable as they of themselues confesse and haue yet no power to amende neither to let loose Christes flocke to serue God in the spirit which they holde captiue compelling them to serue their false lyes The deuils felt the power of Christ and were coÌpelled against their willes to confesse that he was the sonne of God but had no power to be conteÌt therewith neither to consent vnto the ordinaunce eternall councell of the euerlasting God as our Prelates feele the power of God agaynst them but yet haue no grace to geue roome vnto Christ because that they as the deuils nature is will themselues sitte in hys holy temple that is to witte the consciences of men ¶ Simon Magus beleued Acts. 8. with such a fayth as the deuils confessed Christ but had no right fayth as thou seest in the sayd chapter For he repented not consenting vnto the lawe of God Neither beleued the promises or longed for them but wondred onely at y â myracles which Philip wrought and because thaâ he himselfe in Philips presence had no power to vse his witchcrafte sorcery and arte magike wherewith he mocked deluded the wittes of y t people He would haue bought the gifte of God to haue solde it much dearer as his successours now do and not the successours of Simon Peter For were they Simon Peters successours they would preach Christ as he did but they are Simon Magus his successours of which SimoÌ Peter well proued in y t secoÌd chapter of hys second epistle saying there were false Prophetes among the people meaning of the Iewes euen as there shal be false teachers or doctours among you which priuely shall bring in sectes damnable sectes is part taking as one holdeth of Fraunces another of Dominyck which thyng also Paule rebuketh 1. Corin. 1. and 3. eueÌ denying the Lord that bought them for they will not be saued by Christ neyther suffer any man to preach hym to other And many shall follow their damnable wayes thou wilt say shall God suffer so many to goe out of the right wayes so long I aunswere many must folow their damnable wayes or els must Peter be a false Prophet by which the way of truth shal be euill spoken of as it is now at this present tyme for it is heresy to preach the truth and through couetousnes shall they wyth fayned wordes make merchaundise of you of their merchaundise and couetousnes it needeth not to make rehearsall for they that be blinde see it euidently Thus seest thou that Iames when he sayth faith without deedes is dead and as the body without the spirite is dead so is fayth without deedes and the deuils beleue that he meaneth not of the fayth trust that we haue in the truthe of Gods promises and his holy Testament made vnto vs in Christes bloud whiche fayth foloweth repentaunce and the consent of the hart vn-the lawe of God and maketh a man safe and setteth him at peace with god But speaketh of that false opinion and imagination wherewith some say I beleue that Christ was borne of a virgine and that he dyed and so forth That beleue they veryly and so stroÌgly that they are ready to slay who soeuer would say the contrary But they beleue not that Christ dyed for their sinnes and that his death hath peased the wrath of God and hath obtained for them all that God hath promised in the Scripture For how can they beleue that Christ dyed for their sinnes and that he is their onely and sufficieÌt Sauiour seyng that they seeke other Sauiours of their owne imagination seyng that they feele not their sinnes neither repent except that some repent as I aboue sayd for feare of payne but for no loue nor consent vnto the law of god nor loÌging that they haue for those good promises which he hath made them in Christes bloud If they repented and loued the lawe of God and longed for that helpe whiche God hath promised to giue to all that call on hym for Christes sake then veryly must Gods truth giue them power strength to do good workes when so euer occasion were giuen either must God be a false God But let God be true and euery
is for Christes sake deceaueth him selfe and maketh a mocke of himselfe vnto the godles hipocrites infidels No man can serue two maisters God and Mammon that is to say wicked riches also Mathew vj. Thou must loue Christ aboue all thing but that doest thou not if thou be not ready to forsake all for hys sake if thou haue forsaken all for his sake then art thou sure that thou louest him Tribulation is our right baptisme and is signified by plunging into the water Wee that are baptized in the name of Christ sayth Paule Rom. vj. are baptized to dye with him The spirite through tribulation purgeth vs and killeth our fleshly witte our worldly vnderstaÌdyng and belly wisedome and filleth vs full of the wisedome of God Tribulation is a blessing that commeth of God as witnesseth Christ Math. v. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousnes sake for theyrs is the kyngdome of heauen Is not this a comfortable word Who ought not rather to chuse and desire to be blessed w t Christ in a little tribulation then to be cursed perpetually with the world for a little pleasure Prosperitie is a right curse and a thing that God geueth vnto his enemies Wo be to you ritch sayth Christ Luke vj. loe ye haue your consolation wo be to you that are ful for ye shall hunger wo be to you that laugh for ye shall weepe wo be to you when men prayse you for so did theyr fathers vnto the false prophetes yea and so haue our fathers done vnto the false hypocrites The hipocrites with worldly preaching haue not gotten the prayse onely but euen the possessions also and the dominion and rule of the whole worlde Tribulation for righteousnes is not a blessing onely but also a gift that God geueth vnto none saue his speciall frendes The Apostles Act. v. reioyced that they were counted woorthy to suffer rebuke for Christes sake And Paule in the second epistle third chapter to Timothe sayth All that will liue godly in Christ Iesu must suffer persecutioÌ And Philip. j. he sayth Vnto you it is geuen not onely to beleue in Christ but also to suffer for his sake Here seest thou that it is Gods gift to suffer for Christes sake And in the 1. Pet. 4. sayth Happy are ye if ye suffer for the name of Christ for the glorious spirite of God resteth in you Is it not an happy thing to be sure that thou art sealed with Gods spirite vnto euerlasting life And verily thou art sure therof if thou suffer patiently for his sake By suffring art thou sure but by persecuting canst thou neuer be sure For Paule Rom. 5. sayth Tribulation maketh feeling that is it maketh vs feele the goodnesse of God and his helpe and the working of his spirite 2. Cor. 12. the Lord sayd vnto Paul My grace is sufficieÌt for thee for my streÌgth is made perfect through weaknes Lo Christ is neuer strong in vs till we be weake As our strength abateth so groweth the strength of Christ in vs when we are cleane emptied of our own strength then are we ful of Christes strength looke how much of our owne strength remayneth in vs so much lacketh there of y â strength of Christ Therfore sayth Paule 2. Cor. 12. Very gladly will I reioyce in my weaknes that the strength of Christ may dwell in me therfore haue I delectation sayth Paule in infirmities in rebukes in need in persecutions and in anguish for Christes sake for when I am weake then am I strong Meaning that the weaknes of the fleshe is the strength of the spirite And by flesh vnderstand wit wisedome and all that is in a man before the spirite of God come and whatsoeuer springeth not of the spirite of God and of Gods woorde And of like testimonies is all the scripture full Behold God setteth before vs a blessing and also a curse A blessing verely and that a glorious and an euerlasting if we will suffer tribulatioÌ and aduersity with our Lord and sauiour Christ And an euerlasting curse if for a little pleasure sake we withdrawe our selues from the chastysing nurture of God wherewith he teacheth all his sonnes and fashioneth them after his godly will and maketh them perfect as he did Christ and maketh them apte and meete vessels to receiue his grace and hys spirite that they might perceaue and feele the exceeding mercy which we haue in Christ the innumerable blessinges and the vnspeakeable inheritance whereunto we are called and chosen and sealed in our sauiour Iesus Christ vnto whome be prayse for euer Amen Finally whome God chuseth to raigne euerlastingly with christ him sealeth he with his mighty spirite and poureth strength into his hart to suffer afflictioÌs also with Christ for bearing witnesse vnto the truth And this is the difference betwene the children of God and of saluation and betwene the children of the deuyll and of damnation that the children of God haue power in theyr hartes to suffer for Gods worde which is theyr life and saluatioÌ their hope and trust and whereby they liue in the soule and spirite before God And the children of the deuyll in time of aduersity flye from Christ whome they followed faynedly theyr hartes not sealed with hys holy mighty spirite and gett them to the standerde of theyr right father the Deuyll and take his wages the pleasures of this world which ar the earnest of euerlasting damnation which conclusion the xij chap. to the Hebrues well confirmeth saying My sonne despise not thou the chasticing of the Lord neither faint wheÌ thou art rebuked of him for whom the Lord loueth him he chasticeth yea he scourgeth euery sonne whome he receaueth To persecution and aduersitie for the truthes sake is Gods scourge and Gods rod and pertaineth vnto all his children indifferently for when he sayth he scourgeth euery sonne he maketh none exception Moreouer sayth the text If ye shall endure chasticing God offreth hymselfe vnto you as vnto sonnes what sonne is it that the father chasticeth not If ye be not vnder correction whereof all are partakers then are ye bastardes and not sonnes Forasmuch then as we must needes bee baptised in tribulations and through the red sea and a great and a fearefull wildernes a land of cruell Giantes into our naturall couÌtrey ⪠yea and in asmuch as it is a playne earnest that there is no other way into the kingdome of life then through persecution sufferyng of payne of very death after the ensample of Christe therefore let vs arme our soules with the comforte of the Scriptures How that God is euer ready at hand in time of neede to helpe vs and how that such tyrants and persecutors are but gods scourge and his rod to chastice vs. And as the father hath alway in time of correction the rod fast in his hand so that the rod doth
Now without these and a thousand such lyke pointes couldest thou not vnderstand Scripture which sayth that righteousnes commeth by Christ and not of mans will and how that vertues are the fruites and the gift of Gods spirite and that Christ blesseth vs in tribulations persecution and aduersitie How I say couldest thou vnderstaÌd the scripture without Philosophy in as much as Paule in the second to the Collossians warned them to beware least any man should spoyle them that is to say robbe them of their fayth in Christ thorough Philosophy and deceitful vanities and thorough the traditions of men and ordinaunces after y e world not after Christ ⪠By this meanes then thou wilt that no man teach an other but that euery man take the Scripture and learne by hymselfe Nay verely so say I not Neuerthelesse seyng that ye wyll not teach if any man thyrst for the truth and read the Scripture by hymselfe desiring God to open the dore of knowledge vnto him god for his truthes sake wil and must teach hym Howbeit my meaning is that as a mayster teacheth his prentice to know all the poyntes of the mete yarde first how many inches how many feete and the halfe yarde the quarter and the nayle and then teacheth him to mete other things therby euen so will I that ye teach the people Gods lawe and what obedience God requireth of vs vnto father and mother mayster Lord King and all superiours and wyth what frendly loue he commaundeth one to loue an other And teach them to know that naturall vename and byrth poyson which moueth the very harts of vs to rebell against the ordinaunces and will of God and proue that no man is righteous in the sight of God but that we are all damned by the lawe And then wheÌ thou hast meeked them and feared them wyth the lawe teache them the testament and promises which God hath made vnto vs in Christ and how much he loueth vs in Christ And teach them the principles and the ground of the fayth and what the sacramentes signifie and then shall the spirite worke wyth thy preaching make theÌ feele So would it come to passe that as we know by naturall wit what followeth of a true principle of naturall reasoÌ eueÌ so by y e principles of y e fayth by y â plaine scriptures by the circumstaÌces of the text should we iudge all meÌs exposition and all mens doctrine and should receaue the best and refuse the worst I woulde haue you to teach them also the properties and maner of speakinges of the scripture and how to expound prouerbes and similitudes And then if they goe abroad and walke by the fieldes and medowes of all maner doctours and Philosophers they coulde catch no harme They should discerne the poyson from the hoonny and bring home nothyng but that which is holsome But now do ye cleane contrary ye driue them from Gods worde and will let no man come therto vntil he haue ben two yeres maister of art First they nosel them in sophistry and in benefundatum And there corrupt they their iudgementes with apparent argumeÌts and wyth alleaging vnto them textes of Logike of naturall Pââ¦ia of metaphisike and morall Philosophy of all maner bookes of Aristotle and of all maner Doctours which they yet neuer sawe Moreouer one holdeth this an other that One is reall an other nominall What wonderfull dreames haue they of their Predicamentes vniuersales second intentions Quidities Hecseities and Relatiues And whether Species sundata in chimerae be ââ¦aspecies And whether this proposition be true ãâã eus est aliquid Whether eus be âquiuocum or ãâ¦ã âns is a voyce onely say some Ens is ãâ¦ã saith an other and descendeth into ens creaâ⦠⪠and into eâs increatum per modâs inââ¦sââ¦os wheÌ they haue this wise brauled viij x. or xij or moo yeares and after that their iudgementes are vtterly corrupt then they beginne their diuinitie Not at the scripture but euery man taketh a sundry Doctour which Doctours are as sundry and as diuers the one coÌtrary vnto the other as there are diuers fashions and monstrous shapes none like an other among our secres of religion Euery religion euery vniuersitie and almost euery man hath a sundry diuinitie Now what soeuer opinions euery man fyndeth wyth his Doctour that is his Gospel and that onely is true with him and that holdeth he all his life long and euery man to maintaine his Doctour with all corrupteth the Scripture fashioneth it after his owne imagination as a Potter doth his claye Of what text thou prouest hell will an other proue purgatory an other Lymbo pâtrum and an other the assumption of our Lady And an other shall proue of the same text that an Ape hath a tayle And of what texte the Graye Fryer proueth that our Lady was without originall sinne of the same shall the blacke Fryer proue that she was conceaued in originall sinne And all this do they wyth apparent reasons with false similitudes and likenesses and with argumentes and perswasions of mans wisedome Now there is no other diuisioÌn or heresy in the world saue maÌs wisedome and when mans folishe wisedome interpreteth the scripture Mans wisedome ââatereth diuideth and maketh sectes while the wisedome of one is that a white coate is best to serue God in an other saith a black an other a graye an other a blew And while one saith that God will heare your prayer in this place an other saith in that place And while one saith this place is holyer and an other that place is holyer and this religion is holyer then that and this Saint is greater with God then that an hundred thousand like thinges Mans wisedome is plaine idolatry neither is there any other idolatry theÌ to imagine of God after mans wisdome God is not mans imagination but that onely which he saith of himselfe God is nothyng but hys law and his promises that is to say that which he biddeth thee to doe and that which he biddeth thee beleue and hope God is but his worde as Christ sayth Iohn 8. I am that I say vnto you that is to say that which I preach am I. My words are spirite and life God is that onely which he testifieth of himselfe and to imagine any other thing of God then that is damnable idolatry Therefore saith the 118. Psalme Happy are they which search y â testimonies of the Lord that is to say that which God testifieth and witnesseth vnto vs. But how shall I that doe when ye will not let me haue his testimonies or witnesses in a touÌge which I vnderstand Will ye resist God Will ye forbid hym to geue hys spirite vnto the laye as well vnto you Hath he not made y e English tounge Why forbidde ye hym to speake in the Englishe tounge then as well as in the Latine Fynally that
a state or a degree ordeined of God and an office wherein the husband serueth the wife and the wife the husband It was ordeined for a remedy and to encrease the worlde and for the man to helpe the woman and the woman the man with all loue and kyndnes and not to signifie any promise that euer I heard or redde of in y â scripture Therfore ought it not to be called a Sacrament It hath a promise that we sinne not in that state if a man receaue hys wise as a gift geuen to him of God the wife her husband likewise as all maner meates and drinkes haue a promise that we sinne not if we vse them measurably with thankes geuing If they call matrimony a Sacrament because the scripture vseth the similitude of matrimonie to expresse the mariage or wedlocke that is betwene vs and Christ For as a woman though she be neuer so poore yet when she is maried is as rich as her husband euen so we wheÌ we repent and beleue the promises of God in Christ though we be neuer so poore sinners yet are as rich as Christ all his merits are ours with all that he hath If for that cause they call it a sacrament so will I musterde seede leuen a net keyes bread water and a thousand other things which Christ and the Prophetes and all the scripture vse to expresse the kingdome of heauen and Gods worde wythall They prayse wedlocke wyth their mouth and say it is an holy thyng as it is verely but had leuer be sanctified wyth an whore then to come wythin the sanctuary ¶ Of Order SUbdeacon DeacoÌ Priest Byshop Cardinall Patriarch and Pope be names of offices and seruice or should be and not Sacraments There is no promise coupled therwith If they minister their offices truly it is a signe that Christes spirite is in them if not that the deuill is in them Are these all Sacramentes or which one of them Or what thyng in them is that holy signe or Sacrament The shauyng or the annoynting What also is the promise that is signified thereby But what word printeth in them that charact that spirituall seale O dreamers and naturall beastes without the seale of the spirite of God but sealed with the marke of the beast and with cankred consciences There is a word called in Latine Sacerdos in Greeke Hiercus in Hebrue Cohan that is a Minister an officer a sacrificer or a Priest as Aaron was a Priest and sacrificed for the people and was a mediator betwen God them And in the English should it haue had some other name then Priest But Antichrist hath deceaued vs with vnknowen and strauÌge termes to bring vs into confusion and superstitious blyndnes Of that maner is Christ a Priest for euer and all we Priests thorough hym and neede no more of any such Priest on earth to be a meane for vs vnto god For Christ hath brought vs all into the inner temple within the vayle or forehanging and vnto the mercy stoole of God And hath coupled vs vnto God where we offer euery man for himselfe y e desires petitions of his hart sacrifice and kil the lustes appetits of his flesh with prayer fasting all maner godly liuing An other worde is there in Greeke called Presbiter in latin Senior in englishe an elder and is nothing but an officer to teach and not to be a mediator betwene God and vs. This nedeth no annointing of man They oâ y t olde testament were annointed with oyle to signifie the annointing of Christ and of vs thorough Christ with the holy ghost This wise is no man Priest but he that is chosen saue as in time of necessitie euery parson Christeneth so may euery man teach his wife housholde and the wife her children So in time of neede if I see my brother sinne I may betwene hym and me rebuke him and damne his deede by the lawe of God And may also comfort them that are in dispayre with the promises of God and saue them if they beleue By a Priest then in the new testament vnderstand nothing but an elder to teach the younger and to bring theÌ vnto the full knowledge and vnderstanding of Christ and to minister the Sacramentes which Christ ordeyned which is also nothyng but to preach Christes promises And by them that geue all their studie to quench the light of truth and to holde the people in darcknes vnderstand the disciples of Sathan and messengers of Antichrist what soeuer names they haue or what soeuer they call themselues And as concerning that our spiritualtie as they will be called make themselues holyer then the lay people and take so great landes and goodes to pray for them and promise them pardons and forgeuenes of sinnes or absolution without preachyng of Christes promises is falsehode and the woorkyng of Antichrist and as I haue sayd the rauenyng of those wolues which Paul Act. xx prophesied should come after hys departyng not sparyng the flocke Their doctrine is that marchaundise wherof Peter speaketh saying through coueteousnes shall they with fayned wordes make marchaundise of you ij Pet. ij And their reasons wherewith they proue their doctrine are as sayth Paul i. Timo. vj. superfluous disputynges arguynges or braulyngs of meÌ with corrupt mindes and destitute of truth whiche thinke that lucre is godlynes But Christ sayth Math. vij by their frutes shalt thou know them that is by their filthy couetousnes and shamelesse ambition and dronken desire of honor contrary vnto the example doctrine of Christ and of his Apostles Christ sayd to Peter the last Chapter of Iohn Fede my sheepe and not shere thy flocke And Pet. sayth i. Pet. v. Not being Lordes ouer the Parishes but these shere and are become Lordes Paul saith ij Cor. ij Not that we be Lordes ouer your faith but these will be Lordes compel vs to beleue what soeuer they lust without any witnes of Scripture yea cleane contrary to the Scripture wheÌ the opeÌ text rebuketh it Paul sayth it is better to geue theÌ to receaue Act. xx But these do nothyng in the world but lay snares to katch and receaue what so euer coÌmeth as it were the gapyng mouth of hell And. ij Cor. xij I seeke not yours but you but these seeke not you to Christ but yours to theÌ selues and therfore lest their dedes should be rebuked will not come at the light Neuerthelesse the truth is that we are all equally beloued in Christ and God hath sworne to all indifferently According therfore as euery man beleueth Gods promises longeth for theÌ and is diligent to pray vnto GOD to fulfill them so is his prayer heard and as good is the prayer of a cobler as of a Cardinall and of a bocher as of a Byshop the blessing of a baker that knoweth the truth is as good as the blessyng of our most holy father the Pope And
groweth dayly in the operations workes therof ¶ Of Confession COnfession is diuers One foloweth true fayth insparably And is the confessing and knowledging with the mouth wherein we put our trust and confideÌce As when we say our Credo confessing that we trust in God the father almighty and in his truth promises in his sonne Iesus our Lord and in his merites and deseruinges in the holy Ghost and in his power assistance and guiding This confession is necessary vnto all men that wyll be saued For Christ saith Mathew x. he that denyeth me before men hym will I deny before my father that is in heauen And of this confession sayth the holy Apostle Paule in the x. chapter The beliefe of the hart iustifieth and to knowledge wyth the mouth maketh a man safe This is a wonderfull text for our Philosophers or rather sophisters our worldly wyse enemies to the wisdome of God our deepe profounde welles wythout water our cloudes wythout moysture of rayne that is to say naturall soules without the sprite of God and feeling of godly thynges To iustifie and to make safe are both one thing And to confesse with the mouth is a good worke and the frute of a true fayth as all other workes are If thou repent and beleue the promises then Gods truth iustifieth thee that is forgeueth thee thy sinnes and sealeth thee with hys holy spirite and maketh thee heyre of euerlastyng lyfe through Christes deseruinges Now if thou haue true fayth so seest thou the exceeding and infinite loue and mercy which God hath shewed thee freely in Christ then must thou needes loue agayne and loue can not but compell thee to worke and boldly to confesse knowledge thy Lord Christ and the trust which thou hast in his word And this knowledge maketh thee safe that is declareth that thou art safe already certifieth thine hart and maketh thee feele that thy fayth is right and that Gods spirite is in thee as all other good workes doe For if when it commeth vnto the point thou hast no lust to worke nor power to confesse how couldest thou presume to thinke that Gods sprite were in thee An other confession is there which goeth before saith and accompanieth repentaunce For who so euer repenteth doth knowledge his sinnes in his hart And who soeuer doth knowledge his sinnes receaueth forgenenes as âayth Iohn in the first of his first Epistle If we knowledge our sinnes he is faythfull and iust to forgeue vs out sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrighteousnes that is because he hath promised he must for his truthes sake doe it This confession is necessary all our liues long as is repentaunce And as thou vnderstandest of repentaunce so vnderstand of this confession for it is likewise included in the sacrament of Baptime For we alwayes repent and alwayes knowledge or coÌfesse our sinnes vnto God and yet dispayre not but remember that we are washed in in Christes bloud which thing our baptime doth represeÌt and signifie vnto vs. Shrift in the eare is verely a worke of Sathan and that the âalsest that euer was wrought and that most hath deuoured the fayth It began among the Greekes and was not as it is now to reckeÌ all a maÌs sinnes in the priestes eare but to aske couÌcell of such doubtes as men had as thou mayst see in S. Hierome and in other authors Neither went they to Priestes onely which were very fewe at that tyme no moe then preached the worde of God for this so great vantage in so many masses saying was not yet founde but went indifferently where they saw a good and a learned man And for because of a litle knauery which a DeacoÌ at Constantinople plaide thorough coÌfession with one of the chiefe wiues of the citie it was layde downe agayne But we Antichristes possession the more knauery we see growe thereby dayly the more we stablishe it A christen man is a spirituall thing and hath Gods word in his hart and gods spirite to certifie him of all thing He is not bound to come to any eare And as for the reasons which they make are but persuasions of mans wisedome First as perteining vnto the keyes maner of bynding and loosing is eough aboue rehearsed in other places Thou maist also see how the Apostles vsed them in the Actes and in Paules Epistles how at the preaching of fayth the spirite came and certified their harts that they were iustified thorough beleuing the promises When a man feeleth that his hart consenteth vnto the law of God and feeleth hymselfe meeke pacient curteous and mercifull to hys neighbour altered and fashioned like vnto Christ why shoulde he doubt but that God hath forgeuen him and chosen him and put his spirite in hym though he neuer cromme hys sinne into the priestes eare One blynde reason haue they saying How shall the Priest vnbynde loose and forgeue the sinne which he knoweth not How did the Apostles The Scripture forsake they and runne vnto their blinde reasons and draw the Scripture vnto a carnall purpose When I haue tolde thee in thyne eare all that I haue done my life long in order and with all circumstances after the shamefullest maner what caÌst thou doe more then preach me the promises saying if thou repent beleue Gods truth shall saue thee for Christes sake Thou seest not myne hart thou knowest not whether I repent or no neyther whether I consent to the law that it is holy righteous and good Moreouer whether I beleue the promises or no is also vnknowen to thee If thou preach the law and the promises as the Apostles did so should they that God hath chosen repent and beleue and be saued euen now as well as then How be it Antichrist must know all secretes to stablish his kingdom to worke his misteries withall They bryng also for them the storie of the x. lepers whiche is written in the. xvij Chapter of Luke Here marke their falsehoode and learne to knowe them for euer The fourtene Sonday after the feast of the Trinitie the begynnyng of the vij leââ¦n is the sayd Gospell and the viij the ix lessons with the rest of the seuenth is the exposition of Bede vpon the sayd Gospell Where saith Bede of all that Christ healed of what so euer disease it were he sent none vnto the Priestes but the lepers And by the lepers enterpreteth the folowers of false doctrine onely which the spirituall officers and the learned men of the congregation ought to examine and rebuke their learning with Gods word and to warne the congregation to beware of them Which if they were afterward healed by the grace of Christ ought to come before the coÌgregation and there openly confesse theyr true fayth But all other vices saith he doth God heale within in the conscience Though they this wise reade at mattens yet at hie masse if they haue any
the sygh of the hart is his sinne put away in Christes bloud For Christes bloud purgeth euer and blesseth euer For Iohn sayth in the second of his first epistle This I write vnto you that ye sinne not And though any man sinne meaning of frailtie and so repent yet haue we an aduocate with the father Iesus Christ which is righteous and he it is that obteineth grace for our sinnes and Heb. vij it is written But this man meaning Christ because he lasteth or abideth euer hath an euerlasting priesthod Therefore is he able also euer to saue theÌ that come to God through hym seing he euer liueth to make intercession for vs. The Byshops therefore ought to blesse vs in preaching Christ and not to deceaue vs and to bring the curse of God vpon vs wyth wagging their handes ouer vs. To preache is their dutie onely and not to offer their feete to bee kissed or testicles or stones to be groped We feele also by experience that after the Popes Byshoppes or Cardinals blessing we are no otherwise disposed in our soules then before Let this be sufficient as concerning the sacramentes and ceremonies with this protestation that if any caÌ say better or improue this with Gods word no man shall be better content therewith then I. For I seeke nothing but the truth and to walke in the light I submit therefore this worke and all other that I haue made or shall make if God will that I shall more make vnto the iudgements not of them that furiously burne all truth but of them which are ready with Gods worde to correct if any thing be sayde amisse to further Gods worde I will talke a worde or two after the worldly wisdome with them and make an ende of this matter If the sacramentes iustifie as they say I vnderstand by iustifiyng forgeuenes of sinnes Then do they wrong vnto the sacraments in as much as they robbe the most part of them through confession of their effect of the cause wherfore they were ordeined For no man may receaue the body of Christ no maÌ may marry no man may be oyled or aneiled as they call it no man may receaue orders except he be fyrst shriuen Now when the sinnes be forgeuen by shrift afore hand there is nought left for the sacramentes to doe They will aunswere that at the least way they encrease grace and not the sacrameÌtes onely but also hearing of masse matens and euensong and receauing of holy water holy bread and of the Bishops blessing and so forth by all ceremonies By grace I vnderstand the fauour of God and also the giftes and working of his spirite in vs as loue kyndnes patience obedience mercifulnes despising of worldly thynges peace concorde and such like If after thou hast heard so many masses matens and euensonges and after thou hast receaued holy bread holy water and the Byshops blessing or a Cardinals or the Popes if thou wilt be more kinde to thy neighbour and loue him better then before if thou be more obedieÌt vnto thy superiors more mercifull more ready to forgeue wrong done vnto thee more despisest the world and more a thyrst after spirituall thynges if after that a Priest hath taken orders he be lesse couetous then before if a wife after so many and oft pilgrimages be more chast more obedient vnto her husband more kynde to her maydes and other seruauntes if Gentlemen knightes Lordes and kinges and Emperours after they haue sayd so often dayly seruice wyth their Chappellaynes know more of Christ then before and can better skill to rule their tenauntes subiectes and realmes christenly then before and be content with their duties then do such thinges encrease grace if not it is a lie Whether it be so or no I report me to experience If they haue any other enterpretations of iustifiyng or grace I pray them to teach it me For I would gladly learne it Now let vs goe to our purpose agayne ¶ Of miracles and worshipping of Saintes ANtichrist shal not only come with lying signes and disguised wyth falshod but also wyth lying miracles and wonders saith Paule in the said place ij Thess ij All the true miracles which are of God are shewed as I aboue rehearsed to moue vs to heare Gods word and to stablishe our fayth therin and to confirme the truth of Gods promises that we might without all doubting beleue theÌ For Gods worde thorough fayth bringeth the spirite into our hartes and also life as Christ sayth Iohn vi The wordes which I speake are spirite and lyfe The worde also purgeth vs and clenseth vs as Christ sayth Iohn xv ye are cleane by the meanes of the word Paul sayth i. Timo. ij One God one Mediatour that is to say aduocate intercessor or an atonemaker betwene God man the man Christ Iesus which gaue him selfe a raunson for all men Peter sayth of Christ Actes iiij Neither is their health in any other neither yet also any other name geuen vnto men wherin we must be saued So now Christ is our peace our redemption or raunsom for our sinnes our righteousnes satisfactioÌ and all the promises of God are yea Amen in him ij Cor. i. And we for y t great and infinite loue whiche God hath to vs in Christ loue him agayn loue also his lawes loue one an other And the deedes whiche we hence forth doe do we not to make satisfaction or to obteine heauen but to succour our neighbour to tame y t flesh that we may waxe perfect and strong men in Christ and to be thankefull to God againe for his mercy and to glorifie his name COntrarywise the miracles of Antichrist are done to pull thee from the worde of God and from beleuyng his promises and from Christ and to put thy trust in a man or a ceremonie wherin Gods word is not As soone as Gods woorde is beleued the fayth spread abroad then sease the miracles of god But the miracles of Antichrist because they are wrought by the deuil to quench the fayth grow dayly more and more neither shall cease vntill the worldes end among them that beloue not Gods worde and promises Seest thou not how God loosed sent forth all the deuils in the old world among the Heathen or GeÌtiles And how the deuils wrought miracles spake to them in euery image Euen so shal the deuill woorke falshode by one craft or an other vntill the worldes end amoÌg them that beleue not Gods word For the iudgement and damnation of hym that hath no lust to heare the truth is to heare lyes and to be stablished and grounded therein through false miracles and he that will not see is worthy to be blind and he that biddeth the spirite of God go from him is worthy to be without him Paul Peter and all true Apostles preached Christ onely And the miracles did but confirme and stablish their preachyng and those
the commyng of the truth of Gods word as the night vanisheth away at the presence of day The childreÌ of Israell slew not those gyauntes but the power of God Gods truth promises as thou mayst see in Deut. So it is not we that shal destroy those gyauntes as thou mayst see by Paule ij Thess ij speakyng of our Ham Antichrist Whom the Lord shall destroy saith he with the spirite of his mouth that is by the wordes of truth and by the brightnes of his comming that is by the preachyng of his Gospell ANd as I haue sayd of allegories euen so it is of worldly similitudes which we make either wheÌ we preach either when we expound the Scripture The similitudes proue nothyng but are made to expresse more playnly that which is contayned in the Scripture and to lead thee into the spirituall vnderstanding of the text As the similitude of Matrimony is taken to expresse the Mariage that is betwene Christ and our soules and what excedyng mercy we haue there wherof all the Scriptures make mention And the similitude of the members how euery one of them careth for other is taken to make thee feele what it is to loue thy neighbour as thy selfe That preacher therfore that bringeth a naked similitude to proue that which is contayned in no text of Scripture nor foloweth of a text count a deceauer a leader out of the way and a false Prophet and beware of his Philosophie and persuasions of maÌs wisedome as Paul i. Corinth ij sayth my wordes and my preachyng were not with entysing wordes persuasions of mans wisedome but in showyng of the spirit and power that is he preached not dreames confirming them with similitudes but Gods word confirmyng it with miracles and with working of the spirite the which made them feele euery thing in their hartes That your fayth sayth he should not stand in the wisedome of man but in the power of God For the reasons and similitudes of mans wisedome make no fayth but waueryng vncertaine opinioÌs onely one draweth me this way with his argumeÌt another that way of what principle thou prouest blacke an other proueth white and so am I euer vncertaine as if thou tell me of a thyng done in a farre land and an other tell me the contrarie I wote not what to beleue But fayth is wrought by the power of God that is when Gods word is preached the spirite entereth thyne hart and maketh thy soule feele it and maketh thee so sure of it that neither aduersitie nor persecution nor death neither hell nor the powers of hell neither yet all the paynes of hell could ones preuayle agaynst thee or moue thee froÌ the sure rocke of Gods word that thou shouldest not beleue that which God hath sworne And Peter ij Pet. i. sayth we folowed not deceauable fables when we opened vnto you the power and commyng of our Lord Iesus Christ but with our eyes we saw his maiestie And agayne we haue sayth he a more sure word of prophesie wherunto if ye take hede as vnto a light shynyng in a darke place ye do well The word of prophesie was the old TestameÌt which beareth record vnto Christ in euery place without which recorde the Apostles made neither similitudes nor argumeÌts of worldly witte Hereof seest thou that all the allegories similitudes persuasions argumentes which they bryng without Scripture to proue praying to Saintes Purgatory care confession and that God will heare thy prayer more in one place theÌ in another and that it is more meritorious to eate fish then flesh and that to disguise thy selfe put on this or that maner cote is more acceptable then to go as God hath made thee and that widowhode is better then matrimony and virginitie then widowhode and to proue the Assumption of our Lady and that she was borne without originall sinne yea with a kisse say some are but false doctrine Take an example how they proue that widowhode and virginitie excede matrimony they bryng this worldly similitude He that taketh most payne for a man deserueth most and to him a man is most bound so likewise must it be with God and so forth now the widow and virgine take more payne in resisting their lustes then the maryed wife therfore is their state holier First I say that in their owne sophistry a similitude is the worst and feblest argument that can be and proueth lest and soonest deceaueth Though that one sonne doe more seruice for hys father then an other yet is the father free and may with right reward theÌ all a like For though I had a thousand brethren and did more theÌ they all yet do I not my dutie The fathers and mothers also care most for the lest and weakest and them that can doe lest ye for the worst care they most and would spend not their goodes onely but also their bloud to bryng them to the right way And euen so is it of the kyngdome of Christ as thou mayst well see in the similitude of the riotous sonne Luke xv Moreouer Paul sayth i. Cor. vij It is better to marie then to burne For the person that burneth can not quietly serue God in as much as hys mynde is draweÌ away the thoughts of his hart occupyed with wonderfull and monstrous imaginations He can neither see nor heare nor read but that his wittes are rapt and he cleane from him selfe And agayne sayth he Circumcision is nothyng vncircumcision is nothyng but the kepyng of the coÌmaundementes is all together Looke wherein thou canst best kepe the commaundemeÌtes thether get thy selfe and therin abyde whether thou be widow wife or mayde and then hast thou all with God If we haue infirmities that draw vs from the lawes of God let vs cure them with the remedyes that God hath made If thou burne mary For God hath promised thee no chastitie as long as thou mayst vse the remedy that hee hath ordeyned no more then hee hath promised to slake thine honger without meate Now to aske of God more then he hath promised commeth of a false faith and is playne Idolatry and to desire a miracle where there is naturall remedy is temptyng of God And of payne takyng this wise vnderstand He that taketh payne to kepe the commaundementes of God is sure therby that he loueth God and that hee hath Gods spirite in hym And the more paine a man taketh I meane paciently and without grudgyng the more he loueth God and the perfecter hee is nearer vnto that health which y â soules of all Christen meÌ long for the more purged from the infirmitie and sinne that remaineth in the flesh but to loke for any other reward or promotion in heauen or in the life to come then that which God hath promised for Christes sake and which Christ hath deserued for vs with his payne takyng is abhominable in the sight of
teachers Looke vpon the Popes false doctrine what is the end thereof and what seeke they thereby Wherefore serueth Purgatory but to purge thy purse and to polle thee robbe both thee and thy hayres of house and laÌds and of all thou hast that they may be in honour Serue not Pardons for the same purpose Whereto perteineth praying to Saintes but to offer vnto their belies Wherfore serueth confession but to sit in thy conscience and to make thee feare and tremble at what soeuer they dreame and that thou worship them as Gods and so forth in all their traditions ceremonies and coniurations they serue not the Lord but their belies And of their false expoundyng the Scripture and drawyng it contrary vnto the example of Christ and the Apostles and holy Prophetes vnto their damnable couetousnes and filthy ambition take an example Math. xvj When Peter sayth to Christ thou art the sonne of the liuyng God and Christ aunswered thou art Peter and vpoÌ this rocke I will build my congregation By the rocke interpret they Peter And theÌ commeth the Pope wil be Peters successour whether Peter will or will not yea whether God will or will not and though all the Scripture say nay to any such successioÌ and saith loe I am the rocke the foundation and head of Christes Church Now sayth all the Scripture that the rocke is Christ the fayth and Gods word As Christ sayth Math. vij he that heareth my wordes doth therafter is like a man that buildeth on a rocke For the house that is build on Gods woorde will stand though heauen should fall And Iohn xv Christ is the wine and we the braunches so is Christ the rocke the stocke and fouÌdation wheron we be built And Paul i. Cor. iij. calleth Christ our foundatioÌ and all other whether it be Peter or Paule hee calleth them seruauntes to preach Christ and to build vs on hym If therfore the Pope be Peters successour his dutie is to preach Christ onely and other authoritie hath he none And. ij xj Paule marieth vs vnto Christ and driueth vs from all trust confidence in man And Epht. ij sayth Paule Ye are build on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophetes that is on y â word which they preached Christ beyng sayth he the head corner stone in whom euery buildyng coupled together groweth vp into an holy temple in the Lord in whom also ye are built together made an habitatioÌ for God in the spirit And Peter in y â ij of his first Epistle buildeth vs on Christ contrary to the Pope whiche buildeth on hymselfe Hell gates shall not preuaile agaynst it that is to say agaynst the congregation that is builde vppon Christes sayth and vpon Gods word Now were the Pope the rocke hell gates could not preuayle agaynst him For the house could not stand if the rocke and foundation wheron it is builte did perish but the contrary see we in our Popes For hell gates haue preuayled agaynst them many huÌdred yeares and haue swalowed them vp if Gods word be true and the storyes that are written of them yea or if it be true that we see with our eyes I will geue thee the keyes of heauen sayth Christ and not I geue And Iohn xx after y t resurreccioÌ payed ãâã and gaue y â keyes to them all indifferently What soeuer thou byndest on earth it shal be bounde in heauen what soeuer thou lousest on earth it shal be loused in heauen Of this text maketh the Pope what he will and expoundeth it contrary to all the Scripture contrary to Christes practising and the Apostles and all the Prophetes Now the scripture geueth record to himselfe and euer expoundeth it selfe by an other open text If the Pope theÌ can not bryng for his exposition the practisyng of Christ or of the Apostles and prophetes or an open text then is his exposition false doctrine Christ expoundeth him selfe Math. xviij saying If y â brother sinne agaynst the rebuke him betwixt him thee alone If he heare thee thou hast wonne thy brother but if he heare thee not theÌ take with thee one or two and so forth as it standeth in the text He concludeth saying to them all whatsoeuer ye bynde in earth it shal be bound in heauen and what soeuer ye louse on earth it shal be loused in heaueÌ Where byndyng is but to rebuke them that sinne and lousing to forgeue them that repent And Iohn xx Whose sinnes ye forgeue they are forgeuen and whose sinnes ye hold they are holden And Paul i. Cor. v. byndeth and ij Cor. ij louseth after the same maner Also this byndyng and lousyng is one power and as he byndeth so louseth he yea and byndeth first ere he caÌlouse For who can louse that is not bound Now what soeuer Peter byndeth or his successour as he wil be called and is not but in dead y t very successour of Sathan is not so to be vnderstood that Peter or the Pope hath power to commaunde a man to be in deadly sinne or to bee damned or to go iâto hell saying bee thou in deadly sinne be thou damned go thou to hell go thou to Purgatory For that exposition is contrary to the euerlastyng Testament that God hath made vnto vs in Christ He sent his sonne Christ to louse vs from sinne and damnation and hell and that to testifie vnto the world sent he his Disciples Actes i. Paule also hath no power to destroy but to edifie ij Cor. x. and. xiij How can Christ geue his Disciples power agaynst him selfe and against his euerlastyng Testament Can he send them to preach saluation geue them power to damne whom they lust What mercy and profite haue we in Christes death and in his Gospell if the Pope which passeth all men in wickednesse hath power to sende whom he will to hell and to damne whom he lusteth we had theÌ no cause to call him Iesus y â is to say sauiour but might of right call him destroyer Wherfore then this bynding is to be vnderstood as Christ interpreteth it in the places aboue rehearsed as the Apostles practised it and is nothyng but to rebuke men of their sinnes by preachyng the law A man must first sinne agaynste Gods law ere the Pope can bynde hym yea and a man must firste sinne agaynste Gods lawe ere hee neede to feare the Popes curse For cursing and binding are both one nothyng sauing to rebuke a maÌ of his sinnes by Gods law It foloweth also then that the lousyng is of like maner and is nothing but forgeuing of sinne to them that repent throughe preachyng of the promises whiche God hath made in Christe in whom onely we haue all forgeuenes of sinnes as Christ interpreteth it and as the Apostles and Prophetes practised it So is it a false power that the Pope taketh on hym to louse Gods
fathers fathers of theÌ that are past And as we feele our fathers so dyd they that are past feele their fathers neither were there in the world any other fathers then such as we both see and feele this many hundred yeares as their Decrees beare recorde and the stories and Chronicles well testifie If Gods word appeared any where they agreed all agaynst it When they had brought that a sleepe then stroue they one with an other about their owne traditions and one Pope condemned an others Decrees and were sometyme ij yea thre Popes at once And one Bishop went to law with an other and one cursed an other for their owne fantasies such things as they had falsly gotteÌ And the greatest Samts are they that most defeÌded the liberties of the church as they call it which they falsly gote with blynding kings neither had the world any rest this many hundred yeares for reformyng of Friers and Monkes and ceasyng of schismes that were among our Clergy And as for the holy Doctours as Augustine Hierome Cyprian Chrisostomus and Bede will they not heare If they wrote any thyng negligently as they were men that drawe they cleane contrary to their meanyng and therof triumphe they Those Doctours knew of none authoritie that one Byshop should haue aboue another neither thought or once dreamed that euer any such should be or of any such whisperyng or of Pardons or scouryng of Purgatory as they haue fayned And when they cry miracles miracles remember that God hath made an euerlasting Testament with vs in Christes bloud against which we may receaue no miracles no neither y â preachyng of Paule him selfe if he came agayn by his own teaching to the Galathians neither yet the preachyng of the aungels of heauen Wherefore either they are no miracles but they haue fayned theÌ as is the miracle that S. Peter halowed Westminster or els if there be miracles that confirme doctrine contrary to Gods word theÌ are they done of the deuill as the mayd of Ipswich of Kent to proue vs whether we will cleane last to Gods word and to deceaue them that haue no loue to the truth of Gods word nor lust to walke in his lawes And for as much as they to deceaue with all arme them selues against theÌ with argumentes and periÌnasions of fleshly wisedome with worldly similitudes with shadowes with false Allegories with false expositions of the Scripture contrary vnto the liuyng practising of Christ and the Apostles with lyes and false miracles with false names domne ceremonies with disguising of hypocrisie with the authorities of the fathers and last of all with the violence of the temporall sworde therfore do thou contrariwise arme thy selfe to defende thee with all as Paule teacheth in the last chapter to y â Ephesians Gyrde on thee the sworde of the spirite which is Gods word and take to thee the shilde of fayth which is not to beleue a âate of Robynhode or Gestus Romanorum or of the Chronicles but to beleue Gods woorde that âasteth euer And when the Pope with his falshead chalengeth temporall authoritie aboue King and Emperour set before thee y â xxv chapter of S. Math. Where Christ commanudeth Peter to put vp his sword And set before thee Paul ij Cor. x. Where he sayth the weapons of of our warre are not carnall thynges but myghty in God to bryng all vnderstandyng in captiuitie vnder the obedience of Christ that is the weapoÌs are Gods word and doctrine and not swordes of yron and stele set before thee the doctrine of Christ and of hys Apostles and their practise And when the Pope chalengeth anthoritie ouer his fellow Byshops and ouer all the congregation of Christ by successioÌ of Peter set before thee y â first of the Actes where Peter for all hys authoritie put no man in the rowme of Iudas but all the Apostles chose two indifferently and cast lottes desiring God to temper them that the lot might fall on y e most ablest And Actes viij the Apostles sent Peter and in the xi call him to rekening and to geue accomptes of that he hath done And when the Popes law coÌmaundeth saying though that the Pope liue neuer so wickedly and draw with hym through his euill ensample innumerable thousaÌdes vnto hell yet see that no man presume to rebuke him for he is head ouer all and no man ouer him set before thee Gallates ij Where Paule rebuketh Peter openly And see how both to the CorinthiaÌs and also to the Galathians he will haue no superiour but Gods word hee that could teach better by Gods worde And because when he rehearsed his preachyng and hys doynges vnto the hygh Apostles they could improue nothyng therfore will he be equall with the best And when the Friers say they do more theÌ their dutie wheÌ they preach and more theÌ they are bound to to say our seruice are we bouÌd say they and that is our dutie to preach is more then we are bound to Set thou before thee how that Christes bloud shedyng hath bounde vs to loue one an other withall our might and to do the vttermost of our power one to an other And Paul sayth i. Cor. ix Wo be vnto me if I preach not yea wo is vnto him y â hath wherewith to helpe his neighbour and to make him better and do it not If they thinke it more then their dutie to preache Christ vnto you then they thinke it more then their dutie to pray that ye should come to the knowledge of Christ And therefore it is no maruell though they take so great labour yea and so great wages also to kepe you still in darkenes And when they crye furiously hold the heretikes vnto the wall and if they will not reuoke burne them without any more a do reason not with theÌ it is an Article condeÌned by the fathers Set thou before thee the saying of Peter i. Pet. iij. To all that aske you be ready to geue an aunswere of the hope that is in you and that with mekenes The fathers of the Iewes and the Bishops whiche had as great authoritie ouer them as ours haue ouer vs condemned Christ his doctrine If it be inough to say the fathers haue condeÌned it theÌ are y â Iewes to beholdeÌ excused yea they are yet in the right way and we in the false But if the Iewes be bound to loke in the Scripture and to see whether their fathers haue done right or wrong then are we likewise bound to looke in the Scripture whether our fathers haue done right or wrong and ought to beleue nothyng without a reason of the Scripture and authoritie of Gods word And of this maner defend thy selfe agaynst all maner wickednes of our spirites armed alway with Gods woorde with a strong and a stedfast fayth thereunto Without Gods word do nothing And to his word adde nothyng neither pull any
God and fayth of Christ and corrupt the text of the couenaunt with false gloses and are disobedient to God and therefore sâ⦠deadly Oâ this also ye see the difference betwene the lambes of true beleuers and betwene the vncleane swyne that follow carnall lustes fleshly libertie and the churlishe and hypocrââ¦e dogges Which for the blinde zeale of their owne righteousnes persecute the righteousnes of the fayth in Christes bloud The effeminate and careles swyne which coÌtinue in their fleshlines cease not to wallow theÌselues in their olde podell thinke that they beleue very well in Christes bloud but they are deceaued as thou mayst clearely perceaue because they feare not the damnation of euill workes nor loue the lawe of good workes and therefore haue no part in the promise The cruell and doggishe hypocrits which take vpon them to worke thinke they loue the lawe which yet they neuer sawe saue vnder a vayle But they be deceaued as thou mayst perceaue by that they beleue not in Christ for the forgeuenes of sinne Whereby also I meane that they beleue not thou mayst perceaue that they vnderstand not the lawe For if they vnderstoode the lawe it would eyther driue them to Christ or make them dispayre immediatly But the true beleuers beholde the lawe in her owne likenes and see the impossibilitie thereof to be fulfilled wyth naturall power and therefore flee to Christ for mercy grace and power and then of a very thankfulnes for the mercy receaued loue the lawe in her owne likenes and submit theÌselues to learne it and to profit therein and to do to morow that they can not do to day Ye see also the difference of all manner of faythes The fayth of the true beleuers is that God iustifieth or forgeueth and Christ deserueth it and the fayth or trust in Christes bloud receaueth it and certifieth the coÌscience thereof and saueth and deliuereth her from feare of death and damnation And this is that we meane when we say fayth iustifieth that fayth I meane in Christ and not in our owne workes certifieth the conscience that our sinnes are forgeueÌ vs for Christes bloudes sake But the fayth of hypocrites is that God forgeueth and workes deserue it And that same false fayth in their owne workes receaueth the mercy promised to the merites of their owne workes and so Christ vtterly excluded And thus ye see that faith is the thing that to affirmed to iustifie of all partyes For faith in Christes bloud which is Gods promise quieteth the conscience of the true beleuers And a false fayth or trust in workes which is their owne fayning beguileth the blynde hypocrites for a season tyll God for the greatnes of their sinne when it is âull openeth their eyes then they dispayre But the swyne say God is so good that he wyll saue deuilles and all and damne no man perpetually whatsoeuer he do An other conclusion is this to beleue in Christ for the remission of sinnes and of a thankfulnes for that mercy to loue the lawe truely that is to say to loue God that is father of all and geueth all and Iesus Christ that is Lord of vs all and bought vs al with all our hartes soules power and might and our brethren for our fathers sake because they be created after his image and for our Lord and master Christes sake because they be the price of his bloud and to long for the lyfe to come because this lyfe cannot be fedde without sinne These ââ¦tes I say are the profession and religion of a Christen maÌ and the inward baptime of the hart signifyed by the outward washing of the bodye And they be that spirituall character badge or signe wherewith God thorouge hys spirite marketh all his immediatly and assoone as they be ioyned to Christ and made members of hys Church by true fayth The Church of Christ then is the multitude of all them that beleue in Christ for the remission of sinne and of a thankfulnes for that mercy loue the lawe of God purely and without gloses and of hate they haue to the sinne of this world long for the life to come This is the church that cannot erre dampnably nor any long tyme nor all of them but assoone as any question aryseth the truth of Gods promise stirreth vp one or other to teach them the truth of euery thing needefull to saluation out of Gods worde and lighteneth the hartes of the other true members to see the same and to consent thereto And as all they that haue their hartes washed wyth this inwarde baptyme of the sprite are of the church and haue the keyes of the scripture ye and of binding and lowsing and do not erre Euen so they that sinne of purpose wyll not heare when their faultes be tolde them but seeke liberties and priuilegies to sinne vnpunished and glose out the lawe of God and mainteine ceremonies traditions and customes to destroy the fayth of Christ the same be members of Sathan all their doctrine is poison Errour darcknes ye though they be Popes Byshoppes Abbotes Eurates and Doctoures of diuinitie and though they can rehearse all the scripture without booke and though they be seene in Greeke Ebrew and Latine ye and though they so preach Christ and the passion of Christ that they make the poore women weepe and howle agayne For when they come to the point that they should minister Christes passion vnto the saluation of our soules there they poyson all together and glose out the lawe that should make vs feele our saluation in Christ and driue vs in that poynt from Christ and teach vs to put our trust in our owne workes for the remission and satisfaction of our sinnes and in the Apish play of hypocrites which sell their merites in steede of Christes bloud passion ⪠âo now deare reader to beleue in Christes bloud for the remission of sinnâ and putchasing of all the good promises that helpe to the lyfe to come and to loue the law and to long for the life to come is the inward Baptisme of the soule the Baptisme that onely auayleth in the sight of God the new generation and image of Christ the onely keye also to binde and âowse synners The touchstone to trye all doctrines The lanterne and light that scattereth and expelleth the mist darknes of all hypocrisie and a preseruatiue agaynst all errour and heresie The mother of all good workes The earnest of euerlastyng lyfe and title whereby we chalenge our inheritaunce And thoughe fayth in Christes bloude make the mariage betwene our soule and Christ is properly the Mariage garment yea and the signe Thau that defendeth vs from the sââ¦tyng and power of the euill aungels and is also the rocke whereon Christes Churche is built and whereon all that is built standeth against all weather of wynde and tempestes yet might the
As it is of y â Iewes though as Paul beareth them record they haue a feruent zeale to God yea and haue the Scripture therto yet because they haue not the true vnderstaÌdyng all is daÌnable that they do Hypocrites with scrappes of almose get an hundred fold And with prayer they get prayse as thou seest here and pray therto and robbe widowes houses as thou readest Math. xxiij And with fastyng they get fat belyes full dishes euer more then inough And yet there is none almose praying or fastyng among them in the sight of God With their prayers they exclude all true prayers and make it impossible that there should be any amoÌg them For prayer is either a longyng for the honour of the name of God that all men should feare him and kepe his preceptes and beleue in him And contrary to that they seke their owne honour that men should feare them and keepe their ordinaunces and beleue in their swete blessings prayers pardons and what soeuer they promise If they byd fast thou must doe it or be damned and be an hereticke and rebellious to holy Church If they dispeÌce and geue thee cleane remission for to eate fleshe on good friday though thou be neuer so lustie thou must obey or els thou art damned and an hereticke because thou doest not beleue in holy Church Either prayer is to geue God thaÌkes for the benefites receaued Contrary to which they will first haue thankes of the world for their prayers and robbe not onely widowes houses But also Lord Prince Emperour and all the world of house and land yea of their wittes to And then they bynde God to thaÌke them and to geue them Beside the thankes which they haue gotten in the world not onely heaueÌ and an hygher place but that he geue heauen to no other man saue thorough their merites Either prayer is a complaynyng a shewyng of thyne owne miserie and necessitie or of they neighbours before God desiring hym with all the power of thine hart to haue compassion and to succour Coutrary to this they haue excluded with their prayers all necessitie miserie from among them They be Lordes ouer all and do what they will through the whole world Kyng and Emperour are their seruauntes they neede but say the word and their wil is fulfilled And as for their neighbours they haue no compassion vpon them to bryng their complaintes before God But with theyr prayers robbe them of that litle they haue and so make them more miserable Of enteryng into the chamber and shuttyng the doore to I say as aboue of that the lift hand should not know what the right hand doth the meanyng is that we should auoyde all worldly prayse and profite and pray with a single eye and true enteÌt accordyng to Gods word and is not forbidden therby to pray openly For we must haue a place to come together to pray in generall to thanke and to crye to God for the common necessities as well as to preach the word of God in Where the Priest ought to pray in the mother toung that the name of God may be halowed and his word faithfully taught and truly vnderstode and fayth and godly liuyng encreased and for the kyng and rulers that God will geue them his spirite to loue the common wealth and for peace that God will defend vs from all enemyes for wederyng and frutes that God will kepe away pestilence and all plagues And the Priest should be an example to the people how they should praye There be of such things as the Priests and other bable and not pray many good Collectes that should much edifie the people if they were spokeÌ in the mother tounge And then while the Priestes sing Psalmes let euery man pray priuatly and geue God thankes for such benefites as his hart knoweth he hath receaued of God commende to God his priuate necessities and the priuate necessities of his neighbours which he knoweth is priuie to Neither is there in all such any ieopardie of vayne glory But and if God haue geuen any man the spirite of praying as all men haue not like giftes that he pray oft and when other do not theÌ to haue a secret place to pray in both for the auoydyng of vayne glory speach of people and that thou mayst be free to vse thy wordes as thou lustest and what soeuer gestures and behauiours do moue the most to deuotioÌ is necessarie and good And finally what soeuer necessitie thou hast though thou feele thy selfe a great sinner yet if thyne hart be to amend let not that discourage thee But go boldly to thy father seing thou hast his commaundemeÌt euer to pray and promise that he will heare thee not for thy goodnesse but of his goodnesse for his truth Moreouer when ye pray bable not much as the heathen do For they thinke that they shal be heard for theyr much bablinges sake Be not therfore like vnto them For youre Father knoweth of what thynges ye haue neede before ye aske hym Of this maner therefore pray ye O our father which art in heauen honoured be thy name thy kingdome come Thy will be fulfilled euen in earth as it is in heauen Geue vs this daye our dayly bread And forgeue vs our trespasses as we forgeue our trespassers And leade vs not into temptation But deliuer vs froÌ euill For thine is the kingdome the power the glory for euer Amen As before he rebuked their false entent in praying that they sought praise and profite of that worke which ought to be direct to God alone ether to geue him thaÌkes that is to say to be a knowen and to confesse in the hart that al we haue commeth of hym or to call vpon hym for ayde and succour in teÌptations and all necessitie Euen so here he rebuketh a false kynde of praying wherin the toung and lippes laboure and all the body is payned but y â hart talketh not wyth God nor feeleth any sweetnes at all nor hath any confideÌce in the promises of God But trusteth in the multitude of wordes and in the payne and tediousnes of the length of the prayer as a coniurar doth in his circles Characters and superstitious wordes of his coniuration As ye see now to be amoÌg our Fryers MoÌkes Chanons and Nunnes and euen thoroughout al the spiritualtie Which as I haue proued aboue haue with their false entent of praying excluded all occasions and the whole matter of true prayer haue turned it into a bodely labour to vexe the toung lippes eyes and throate with roaring and to weary all the members so that they say may truely sweare it that there is no greater labour in the world then prayer for no labour whatsoeuer it be when the body is compelled and the hart vnwilling can be other then greuous and painefull But true prayer if they complayned and
the phariseyes that they oft fasted when the common people fasted not and all to appeare holy As ours fast Aduent and beginne before Lent at Septuagesima wheÌ Laus tibi domine commethin And concerning the annointing of thy head c. is ment as afore of turning the other cheeke and of that the left hand should not know what the right did that is that they shoulde auoyde all vaine glory and fast to god and for the entent that God ordeyned it for and that with a merry hart and chearefull countenaunce thereby to feele the working of God and to be sure of his fauour Such is the meaning not to bynde theÌ that will fast to annointe their head and washe their faces And the maner or phrase of speaking commeth of an vsage that was among the Iewes to annoint themselues with sweete and odoriferous annointmentes wheÌthey were disposed to be merry and to make good cheare as ye see how Mary of Bethanie powred a boxe of precious ointement vppon Christes head at supper As coÌcerning fasting it were good that kinges and rulers did set an order of sobernes among their subiectes to auoyde dearth innumerable diseases and y e great heape of vices that spring of intemperancy and that they forbio not onely riote and excesse but also all maner wanton delicious and customable eating and drinking of such thynges as corrupt the people make the men more effeminate then the women so that there remayneth no more tokens of a man in them saue theyr beardes Our fashions of eating make vs slouthfull and vnlusty to labour study vnstable inconstant and lyght manered full of wittes after witted as we call it incircumspect inconsiderate heady rash and hasty to begyn vnaduisedly and without castyng of perils the end not coÌsidered what may folow nor y e meanes well looked vppon how and by what way the matter might be brought to passe triflers mockers rude vnsauery iesture without all maner of salt and euen very apes and marinesettes and full of wanton and ribaldish communication lewde gestures It corrupteth the witte with falâe iudgement and infecteth the body with lust and maketh the whole man so vnquiet in him selfe that the body cannot sit still and rest in one place and continue in his worke nor the mynde perseuer and endure in one purpose Let them prouide that there be diligent fishyng in the Sea commaunde the Sea cost and townes whether fish may easely come to fast Friday Saterday and Wensday to if nede be on the friday to eate no white meate And let the countreys which haue none abouÌdance of fish yet haue white meate inough fast Friday and Saterday froÌ flesh onely And let those countreys where scarsetie of both is fast Friday from flesh onely and eate flesh Wensday and Saterday But abstayne from supper or from dyner or eate soberly those dayes And let them so moderate their fastes that the people may beare it a prouisioÌ made for the old the sieke and fable c. Which fast shal be a temporall thyng for a temporall common wealth onely not a seruice to God Then let the Priestes preach first the law truly and teach the people to see their sinnes and so bryng them to repentannce And secondearely the fayth of Christ and the forgiuenesse of sinne through fayth And thyrdly almose prayer fasting which are the whole life of a ChristeÌ man without which there is no Christen man a liue And let them preach the true vse of their almose which is to helpe thy neighbour with counsell with body and goodes and all that is in thy power and the true vse of prayer whiche is to bryng his necessitie and thyne owne before God with a strong fayth in his promises and the true vse of fastyng which is to tame y t flesh vnto y â spirit that the soule may attende to the word of God and pray through fayth By these three we kepe the spirite of God and both coÌtinue and also grow in righteousnesse and waxe perfecter perfecter in soule body And if these fayle or that we vnderstand not the right enteÌt we loose the spirite againe and the righteousnesse of fayth and the true vnderstandyng of the Scripture and all our learnyng shal be but pure darckenesse And then what a blyndenesse is that wheÌthe darcknesse of hell is called the light of heauen As it is of almose prayer so it is of fastyng iudge like of all thre Where any one of them is there are they all thre and where any one is away there is none at all We must haue the profession of all three euer written in our harts I must euer loue my neighbour and be ready to helpe and when occasion is offered then do it I ought to coÌsider and know that all commeth of God and to knowledge that same to him in myne hart And what so euer we neede we ought to know that we must receaue that of God and therfore to call euer to him with a strong fayth Euen so I must euer fight agaynst my fleshe and therefore euer withdraw from it all that moueth it to rebell agaynst the spirite So now fastyng standeth not in eatyng and drinkyng onely and much lesse in flesh alone But in abstinence of all that moueth the flesh agaynst the spirite as long sleepyng idlenesse and filthy communication and all worldly talkyng as of couetousnesse and promotion and such like and wanton coÌpany soft clothes and soft beddes and so forth Which are that right hand and right eye that must be cut of and plucked out that the whole maÌ perish not And as ye can put no generall rule of almose or prayer no more can ye of fastyng But I must be all way ready to cut of what soeuer I perceaue to streÌgth the flesh agaynst the spirit And I must haue a diligent eye to the flesh and his complexion and if ought scape me in word or dede seke wheÌce the occasioÌ came and at once cut of that right hand and plucke out that eye If this fast be truly preached then is fasting good and not afore for making of hypocrites as Christ would not let his Disciples fast before they were learned lest they should therby haue bene no better then the Phariseis And then the outward fastyng ordayned by the temporall rulers helpeth much for the weakes sake Yea and though the land were so plenteous that it neded not to coÌmauÌde such fast for to auoide dearth yet they ought to set such vp Because of them that cannot rule them selues for whose sakes they ought to forbyd excesses of tauernes and alehouses and riotyng out of season For if the people could rule them selues what ned rulers Moreouer if any man priuately shew the Priest his infirmities and the Priest see any maner of abstinence or chastising apte for the person that let him councell him to do
for the electe onely in whose hartes God hath written hys lawe with his holy spirite and geuen them a feeling faith of the mercy that is in Christ Iesu our Lord. ¶ Why Tindall vsed this worde congregation rather theÌ church in the translation of the new Testament WHerefore in as much as the clergy as the nature of those hard indurat AdamaÌtstones is to draw all to them had appropriat vnto themselues the terme that of right is common vnto all the whole congregation of them that beleue in Christ wyth their false and subtil wyles had beguiled and mocked the people brought them into the ignoraunce of the word making theÌ vnderstand by this worde church nothing but the shauen flocke of them that shore the whole worlde therefore in the translation of the new Testament where I found this word Ecclesia I enterpreted it by thys word congregation Euen therfore did I it and not of any mischeuous mynde or purpose to stablâshe heresie as master More vntruely reporteth of me in hys Dialoge where he rayleth on y t translation of the new Testament And when M. More sayth that this word Church is knowen wel inough I report me vnto the conscieÌces of all the land whether he say truth or other wise or whether the lay people vnderstand by Church the whole multitude of all that professe Christ or the iugglyng spirites onely And wheÌ he saith that congregation is a more generall terme if it were it hurteth not For the circumstance doth euer tell what coÌgregation is ment Neuerthelesse yet sayth he not the truth For whersoeuer I may say a congregation there may I say a Church also as the Church of the deuill the Church of Sathan the Church of wretches y t Church of wickedmen the Churche of lyers and a Church of Turkes therto For M. More must graunt if he will haue Ecclesia translated throughout all the new Testament by this woorde Church that Church is as commoÌ as Ecclesia Now is Ecclesia a Greeke word and was in vse before the tyme of the Apostles and taken for a coÌgregation among the heatheÌ where was no congregation of God or of Christ And also Lucas him selfe vseth Ecclesia for a Church or congregation of heathen people thrise in one Chapter eueÌ in the xix of the Actes where Demetrius the goldsmith or siluersmith had gathered a company agaynst Paule for preachyng agaynst Images Howbeit M. More hath so long vsed ⪠his figures of Poetry that I suppose wheÌ he erreth most he now by the reason oâ a long custome beleueth himself that he sayth most true Or els as the wise people which when they daunce naked in nettes beleue that no man seeth them euen so M. More thinketh that his errours be so subtilly couched that no man can espy them So blinde he counteth all other men in comparison of his great vnderstandyng But charitably I exhorte him in Christ to take hede for though Iudas were wilier then his felowes to get lucre yet he proued not most wise at y t last end Neither though Balam the false Prophet had a cleare sight to bryng y â curse of God vpon the childreÌ of Israell for honours sake yet his couetousnesse did so blind his prophesie that he could not see his owne end Let therfore M. More and his coÌpany awake be tymes ere euer their sinne be ripe lest y e voyce of their wickednesse ascenoâ vp and awake God out of his slepe to loke vpoÌ them and to how his eares vnto theyr cursed blasphemies agaynst the open truth and to send his haruest men and mowares of vengeaunce to repe it But how happeth it that M. More hath not contended in likewise against hys derelyng Erasmus all this longe while Doth not he chauÌge this word Ecclesia into congregatioÌ and that not seldome in the new TestameÌt peraduenture he oweth him fauour because he made Moria in hys house Whiche booke if it were in English theÌ should euery man see how that he then was farre otherwise mynded then he now writeth But verely I thinke that as Iudas betrayd not Christ for any loue that he had vnto the hyghe Priestes Scribes and Phariseis but onely to come by that wherfore he thirsted eueÌ so M. More as there are tokens euideÌt wrote not these bookes for any affectioÌ that he bare vnto the spiritualty or vnto the opinions which he so barely defeÌdeth but to obtaine onely that which he was an hungred for I pray God that he eate not to hastly lest he be chokeo at the latter end but that he repeÌt and resist not the spirite of God which openeth light vnto the worlde ¶ Why he vseth this woorde Elder and not Priest AN other thyng which he rebuketh is that I interprete this Greeke worde Presbiteros by this worde Senior Of a truth Senior is no very good Englishe though Senior and Iuniot be vsed in the vniuersities but there came no better in my mynde at that tyme. Howbeit I spied my fault since long yer M. More tolde it me and haue ââ¦ded it in all the woorkes which I sens made and call it an Elder And in that he maketh hereâie of it to call Presbiteros an Elder he condemneth their owne old Latin text of heresie also which they vse yet dayly myâââ¦ch and haue vsed I suppose this I suppose this run huÌdred yeares For that text doth ãâ¦ã an elder likewise In the. 1. Pet. 5. ââ¦s standeth it in y e Latin text Seââ¦ores qui in vobis sunt obsecro ego conâ⦠pascite qui in vobis est gregem Chriâ⦠ãâ¦ã elders that are among you I ãâ¦ã which am an elder also that ye sedâ⦠flocke of Christ which is among ãâ¦ã There is Presbyteros calleâ ãâ¦ã And in y t he sayth fede Chrisâ⦠he meaneth euen the Ministeâ⦠chosen to teach the people to ãâ¦ã them in Gods word no âay ãâ¦ã And in the 2. Epâstâe of Iohâ ãâ¦ã text Senior electae Dominae ãâ¦ã The elder vnto the eleât Lady ãâ¦ã her children And in the ãâ¦ã Iohn Senior Gaâo dilecto ãâ¦ã vnto the beloued Gaiâs In these ãâ¦ã pistles Presbyteros is calleâ an ãâ¦ã And in the xx of the Actes y â text sâ⦠Paule sent for maiores natu Eccleâ⦠ãâ¦ã elders in byrth of the congregation or Church and sayd vnto them take ãâ¦ã vnto your selues vnto y â whoâe ãâã ouer which the holy ghosâ hath ãâ¦ã you Episcopos ad regendum Eccleâ⦠Dei Byshops ouerâcaâs to ãâ¦ã the Church of God There is ââ¦teros called an Elder in byrth ãâ¦ã same immediately called a ãâ¦ã ouersear to declare what pâ⦠ment Hereof ye see that I haue ãâ¦ã more erred then their owne text ãâ¦ã they haue vsed sence the scripture waâ first in the Latin âoung and that their owne text vnderstandeth by Presbyâeros nothyng saue an Elder And they were called
thou findest in the scripture and the ensamples that are gone before wyll alway testifie who is the church Though the Phariseis succeded the Patriarkes prophetes and had the scripture of theÌ yet they were heretikes and falleÌ from the fayth of them and froÌ their liuing And Christ and his disciples Iohn the Baptist departed from the Phariseis which were heretikes vnto the right sence of y â scripture and vnto the faith and liuing of the Patriarkes and Prophetes and rebuked the Phariseis As thou seest how Christ calleth them hipocrites dissimulers blynde guides and painted sepulchers And Iohn called them the generatioÌ of vipers and serpentes Of Iohn the angell sayde vnto his father Luke i. he shall turne many of the children of Israell vnto their Lord God which yet before Iohn beleued after a fleshly vnderstanding in God and thought theselues in the right way And he shall turne the harts of the fathers vnto the children That is he shall wyth hys preaching and true interpreting of the scripture make such a spirituall hart in y â childreÌ as was in their fathers Abraham Isaac and Iacob And he shall turne the disobedient vnto the obedience of the righteous and prepare the Lord a perfect people That is them that had set vp a righteousnes of their owne and were therefore disobedient vnto the righteousnes of fayth shal he conuert from their blindnes vnto the wisdome of them that beleued in God to be made righteous and with those fathers shall he geue the childreÌ Egles eyes to spye out Christ and his righteousnesse and to forsake their own and so to become perfect And after the same maner though our Popish hypocrites succede Christ and his Apostles and haue their scripture yet they be fallen from the fayth liuyng of them and are heretickes and had nede of a Iohn Baptist to conuert them And we depart from them vnto the true Scripture and vnto the fayth and liuyng therof and rebuke them in like maner And as they which depart from the fayth of the true Church are heretickes eueÌ so they that depart froÌ the Church of heretickes and false fayned fayth of hypocrites are the true church which thou shalt alway know by their fayth examined by the Scripture by their profession and conseÌt to liue according vnto the lawes of God ¶ An other Argument AN other like blind reasoÌ they haue wherein is all their trust As we come out of them and they not of vs so we receaue the Scripture of them they not of vs. How know we that it is the Scripture of God and true but because they teach vs so How can we beleue except we first beleue that they be the Church and can not erre in any thyng that perteyneth vnto our soules health For if a man tell me of a maruelous thyng whereof I can haue no other knowledge theÌ by his mouth onely how should I geue credence except I beleued that the maÌ were so honest that he could not lye or would not lye Wherfore we must beleue that they be the right Church that can not erre or els we can beleue nought at all This wise reason is their shoteancre all their hold their refuge to flye vnto chief stone in their foundation wheron they haue built all their lyes al the mischief that they haue wrought this viij huÌdred yeares And this reason do the Iewes lay vnto our charge this day and this reason doth chiefly blynd them and hold them still in obstinacie Our spirites first falsifie the Scripture to stablish their lyes And when the Scripture commeth to light and is restored vnto the true vnderstaÌdyng and their iugglyng spied they like to suffer shipwracke then they cast out this ancre they be the Church and can not erre their authoritie is greater then the Scripture and the Scripture is not true but because they say so and admitte it And therfore what soeuer they affirme is of as great authoritie as the Scripture Notwithstandyng as I sayd the kyngdome of heauen standeth not in words of maÌs wisedome but in power and spirite And therfore loke vnto the examples of the Scripture and so shalt thou vnderstand And of an hundred examples betwene Moyses and Christ where the Israelites fell from God were eueâ restored by one Prophet or other let vs take one euen Iohn the Baptist Iohn went before Christ to prepare his way that is to bryng meÌ vnto the knowledge of their sinnes and vnto repentaunce through true expoundyng of the law which is the onely way vnto Christ For except a man knowledge his sinnes repent of them he can haue no part in Christ of Iohn Christ fayth Math. xvij that he was Elias that should come restore all thyng That is he should restore the scripture vnto the right sence agayne which the Phariseis had corrupt with the leuen of their false gloses and vayne fleshly traditions He made croked thinges straight as it is written and rough smoth Which is al so to be vnderstand of the Scripture which the Phariseis had made croked wrestyng them vnto a false sence with wicked gloses so rought that no man could walke in the way of them For when God sayd honour father mother meanyng that we should obey them and also helpe theÌ at their nede the Phariseis put this glose thereto out of their owne leuen saying God is thy father and mother Wherfore what soeuer nede thy father mother haue if thou offer to God thou art hold excused For it is better to offer to God then to thy father and mother and so much more meritorious as God is greater then they yea and God hath done more for thee then they is more thy father and mother then they As ours now affirme that it is more meritorious to offer to God and his holy dead Saintes then vnto the poore liuyng Saintes And wheÌ God had promised the people a Sauiour to come blesse them and saue them from theyr sinnes the Phariseis taught to beleue in holy woorkes to be saued by as if they offered and gaue to be prayd for As ours as oft as we haue a promise to be forgeueÌ at the repentaunce of the hart through Christes bloud shedding put to thou must first shriue thy selfe to vs of euery sââ¦abe we must lay out handes on thine head and whistell out thy sinnes and enioyne the penaunce to make satisfaction And yet art thou but loused from the synne onely that thou shalt not come into hell but thou must yet suffer for euery sinne seuen yeres in Purgatory which is as whot as hell except thou bye it out of the Pope And it y â aske by what meanes the Pope geueth such pardon They aunswere out of the merites of Christ And thus at the last they grauÌt against theÌselues that Christ hath not only deserued
him in their dedes as fast as they can runne The Turkes being in number fiue tymes moe then we are knowledge one God and beleue many thinges of God moued onely by the authoritie of their elders and presume that God will not let so great a multitude erre so long tyme. And yet they haue erred and bene faithlesse these eight hundred yeares And the Iewes beleue this day as much as the carnall sort of them euer beleued moued also by the authoritie of their elders onely and thinke that it is impossible for them to erre being Abrahams seede and the childreÌ of them to whom the promises of all that we beleue were made And yet they haue erred and bene faythlesse this xv hundred yeares And we of like blindnesse beleue onely by the authoritie of our elders and of like pride thinke that we can not erre beyng such a multitude And yet we see how God in the old Testament did let the great multitude erre reseruyng alway a litle flocke to call the other backe againe and to testifie vnto them the right way ¶ How this word Church hath a double interpretation THis is therfore a sure coÌclusion as Paule sayth Rom. ix that not all they that are of Israell are Israelites neither because they be AbrahaÌs sede are they all Abrahams childreÌ but they onely that folow the faith of Abraham Euen so now none of them that beleue with their mouthes moued with the authority of their elders onely that is none of theÌ that beleue with M. Mores fayth the Popes fayth and the deuils fayth which may stand as M. More coÌfesseth with all maner abhominatioÌs haue the right fayth of Christ or are of his Church But they onely that repeÌt feele that the law is good And haue the law of God written in their harts and the fayth of our Sauiour Iesus euen with the spirite of God There is a carnali Israell a spirituall There is Isaac and Ismaell Iacob Esau And Ismaell persecuted Isaac Esau Iacob the fleshly the spiritual Wher of Paul complayned in his tyme persecuted of his carnall brethreÌ as we do in our tyme and as the elect euer dyd shall do till the worldes end What a multitude came out of Egypt vnder Moses of which the Scripture testifyeth that they beleued moued by y â miracles of Moses as Symon magus beleued by the reason of Philippes miracles Actes viij Neuerthelesse the Scripture testifieth that vj. hundred thousaÌd of those beleuers perished thorough vnbelief and left their carcasses in the wildernesse and neuer entred into the land that was promised them And euen so shal the children of M. Mores faythlesse faith made by the persuation of maÌ leap short of the test which our Sauiour Iesus is riseÌ vnto And therfore let them embrace this present world as they do whose children they are though they hate so to be called And hereby ye see that it is a playne an euident conclusioÌ as bright as the sunne shynyng that the truth of Gods word dependeth not of the truth of the congregation And therfore when thou art asked why thou beleuest that thou shalt be saued thorough Christ and of such like principles of our fayth aunswere thou wottest and felest that it is true And when he asketh how thou knowest that it is true aunswere because it is written in thyne hart And if he aske who wrote it auÌswere the spirite of God And if he aske how thou came first by it tell him whether by readyng in bookes or hearyng it preached as by an outward instrumeÌt but that inwardly thou wast taught by y â spirite of God And if he aske whether thou beleuest it not because it is written in bookes or because the Priestes so preach aunswere no not now but onely because it is writteÌ in thyne hart and because the spirite of God so preacheth and so testifieth vnto thy soule And say though at the beginning thou wast moued by readyng or preachyng as the Samaritans were by y â wordes of the woman yet now thou beleuest it not therfore any leÌger but onely because thou hast heard it of the spirite of God and read it written in thine hart And concernyng outward teachyng we alledge for vs Scripture elder theÌ any Church that was this xiiij hundred yeares and old antenticke stories which they had brought a slepe where with we confounde their lyes RemeÌber ye not how in our owne tyme of all that taught Grammer in England not one vnderstode the Latin toung how came we theÌ by the Latin toung agayne not by them though we learned certaine rules principles of them by which we were moued had an occasion to seke further but out of the old authours Euen so we seke vp old antiquities out of whiche we learne and not of our Church though we receaued many principles of our Church at the begynnyng but more falsehead then truth It hath pleased God of his exceding loue wherewith he loued vs in Christ as Paul sayth before the worlde was made and wheÌ we were dead in sinne and his enemies in that we did coÌsent to sinne and to liue euill to write with his spirite ij conclusions in our harts by which we vnderstaÌd all thyng that is to were the fayth of Christ and the loue of our neighbours For whosoeuer feleth the iust damnation of sinne and the forgeuenes and mercy that is in Christes bloud for all that repent forsake it and come and beleue in that mercy the same onely knoweth how God is to be honoured and worshipped and can iudge betwene true seruing of God in the spirite and false Image seruing of God with workes ⪠And y e same knoweth that sacrameÌtes signes ceremonies and bodely things can be no seruice to God in his person but memorials vnto men and a remeÌbraunce of the testament wherewyth God is serued in the spirite And he that feeleth not that is blynde in hys soule and of our holy fathers generation and maketh God an Image a creature worshippeth him with bodely seruice And on the other side he that loueth his neighbour as himselfe vnderstandeth all lawes and caÌ iudge betwene good and euil right wrong godly and vngodly in all conuersation deedes lawes bargaines couenaunces ordinaunces and decrees of men and knoweth the office of euery degree and the due honour of euery person And he that hath not that writen in his hart is popishe and of y â spiritualtie which vnderstaÌdeth nothing saue his own honour his own profite what is good for himself onely and when he is as he would be thinketh y â all the world is as it should be ¶ Of worshipping and what is to be vnderstand by the worde COncerning worshipping or honouring which two termes are both one M. More bringeth forth a difference a distinction or diuision of Greke wordes
and token that at y t repeÌtaunce of the hart thorow an offering to come and for that seedes sake that was promised Abraham theyr sinnes were forgeuen them And in like maner the ornamentes and all other ceremonies were eyther an open preaching or secret prophesies and not satisfactions or iustifyinges And thus the workes did serue them and preache vnto them and they not the workes nor put any confidence therein ¶ False worshipping BUt what did the children of Israell and the Iewes They let the significations of their ceremonies goe lost the meaning of them and turned them vnto the workes to serue them saying that they were holy workes coÌmaunded of God the offerers were thereby iustified obtayned forgeuenes of sinnes thereby become good as the parable of the Pharesey Publican declare Luke xviij and as it is to see in Paule and thoroughout al the Byble and became captiue to serue put their trust in that which was neyther God nor hys worde And so the better creature agaynst nature did serue the worse Whereof all likelihode God should haue accepted their worke by the reason of them if their harts had bene right and not haue accepted their soules for the blouds sake of a Calfe or shepe for as much as a man is much better then a Calfe or shepe as Christ testifieth Math. xij For what pleasure should God haue in the bloude of Calues or in the light of our candels hys pleasure is onely in the hartes of them that loue his commaundementes Then they went further in the imagination of their blynd reason saying in as much as God accepteth these holy workes that we be made righteous thereby then it foloweth that he which offereth most is most righteous and the bestman yea and it is better to offer an Oxe then a shepe because it is more costly And so they stroue who might offer most and the priests were well apayde Then went they further in their fleshly wisdome saying if I be good for the offering of a Doue and better for a shepe and yet better for an Oxe and so euer the better thing I offer the better I am Oh how accepted should I be if I offered a maÌ namehym that I most loued And vpoÌ that imagination they offered their owne children and burnt them to ashes before Images that they had imagined And to coÌtiââ¦e their blindues they layd for them no doubt the ensample of Abraham which offered his sonne Isaac and was so accepted that God had promised hym how that in hys seede all the worlde should be blessed Hereof ye see vnto what abhomination blynde reason bringeth a man wheÌ she is destitute of Gods word And to speake of y â Sabbath which was ordeyned to be their seruaunt to preach to be a signe vnto theÌ that God thorow his holy spirit and word did sanctifie them in that they obeyed hys commaundementes and beleued and trusted in hys promises and therfore were charged to leaue workyng and to come on the holy day and heare the word of God by which they were saÌctified vnto it also they became captiue and bond to serue it saying that they were iustified by absteyning from bodely labour as ours thinke also in so much that though they bestowed not the holy day in vertue prayer and hearing the word of God in almosedede in visiting the sicke the needy comfortlesse and so forth but went vp and downe idlye yet what soeuer nede his neighbour had he would not haue holpe him on the Saboth day as thou mayst see by the ruler of the Sinagoge which rebuked Christ for healyng the people on the holy day Luke xiij And of like blyndnesse they went fet out the brasen Serpent which Moses commauÌded to be kept in the Arke for a memory offered before it thinkyng no doubt that God must be there present for els how could it haue healed the people that came not nye it but stode a farre of and beheld it onely And a thousand such madnesse dyd they And of the temple they thought that God heard them there better then any where els yea and he heard them no where saue there And therfore they could not pray but there as ours can no where but at Church and before an Image For what prayer can a man pray when the word of God is not in the temple of his hart yea wheÌ such come to Church what is their prayer what is their deuotioÌ saue the blind image seruice of their hartes But the Prophetes euer rebuked them for such faythlesse woorkes for such false fayth in their workes In the xlix Psalme saith y t Prophet I wil receaue no Calues of your houses nor Goates out of your foldes thinke ye that I will eate the flesh of Oxen or drinke the bloud of Goates And Esayas sayth in his first Chapter what care I for the multitâde of your sacrifices sayth the Lord. I am full I haue no lust in the burnt offeringes of your Rammes or in the fat of faâ beastes or bloud of Calues Lambes or Goates offer me no more such false sacrifice And therto your swete cense is an abhominatioÌ vnto me And thus he sayd because of the false fayth and peruertyng the right vse of them And for their calfe fastyng not referryng their fast vnto the tamyng subduyng of their fleshe vnto the spirite wheÌ they complained vnto God iustifying theÌ selues and saying how happeneth it that we haue fasted and thou wouldest not looke vppon it we haue humbled our soules and thou wouldst not know it God aunswered them by the Prophet Esayas in the. lviij chapter behold in the day of your fast ye do your owne lustes and gather vp all your dettes And how soeuer ye fast ye neuerthelesse striue and fight and sâinite with tiste cruelly I haue chosen no such fast and humblyng of soule c. But that ye louse wicked bondes and let the oppressed go free and to breake bread vnto the hungry and to cloth the naked and so forth And concerning the temple Esayaâ sayth in his last chapter What house will ye build for me or in what place shall I rest heaueÌ is my seate and the earth my foote stole As who should say I am to great for any place that ye can make and as Steuen sayth Actes vij and Paul Actes xvij I dwell not in a temple made with handes ¶ How ceremonies sprang among vs. VNderstaÌd also to see how we came into like blindnesse that before the commyng of Christ in the flesh the Israelites Iewes were scattered thoroughout all the world for their Image seruice both East West South and North as ye read in the Chronicles how England was once full so that there was no Prouince or great Citie in the world where no Iewes were God so prouidyng
or xii yeare olde before they were admitted to receaue the sacrameÌt of Christes body haply And he apposed them of the lawe of God and fayth of Christ asked them whether they thought that lawe good and whether their hartes were to follow it And they aunswered yea And he apposed them in the articles of our fayth and asked them whether they put their hop and trust in Christ to be saued thorow his death and merites And they answered ye TheÌ coÌfirmed he their baptim saying I confirme you that is I denounce and declare by the authoritie of Gods worde and doctrine of Christ that ye be truely baptised within in your hartes and in your spirites thorow prosessing the lawe of God and the faith of our sauiour Iesu which your outwarde baptim doth signifie and therupon I put this crosse in your foreheades that ye goe and fight agaynst the deuill the world and the flesh vnder the standard of our Sauiour in the name of the father the sonne the holy ghost AmeÌ Which maner I would to God for his tender mercy were in vse this day But after that the deuil was broken lowse and the Byshops began to purchase and the Deaââ¦s to scratch all to them and the spiritualtie to clime an hygh then because the labour seâ⦠to tedious and paynfull to appose the children one by one they asked the Priests that presented theÌ onely whether the children were taught the professioÌ of their Baptisme And they aunswered yââ And so vpon their wordes they confirmed theÌ without apposing So wheÌ they no lenger apposed them the Priests no lenger taught them but committed the charge to their Godfather and Godmothers and they to the father and mother dischargyng them selues by their owne authoritie within halfe an houre And the father mother taught theÌ a monstrous Latin Pater noster and an Aue and a Crede Which gibbresh euery Popââ¦iaye speaketh with a sundry pronunciation and fashion so that one Pater noster semeth as many languages almost as there be tounges that speake it Howbeit it is all one as loÌg as they vnderstand it not And in processe as the ignoraunce grew they brought them to confirmation straight from Baptisme so that now oftymes they be volowed and bishoped both in one day that is we be confirmed in blindnesse to be kept from knowledge for euer And thus are we come into this damnable ignoraunce and fierce wrath of God through our owne deseruyng because when the truth was told vs we had no loue therto And to declare the full and set wrath of God vpon vs our Prelates whom we haue exalted ouer vs to whom we haue geuen almost all we had haue persuaded the wordly Princes to whoÌ we haue submitted our selues and geueÌ vp our power to deuour vs vp body soule and to kepe vs downe in darkenesse with violence of sword and with all falsehead and guile In so much that if any do but lift vp his nose to smell after the truth they swap him in the face with a fire brande to seng hys smellyng or if he open one of his eyes once to looke toward y â light of gods word they bleare daze his sight with their false iugglyng so that if it were possible though he were Gods elect he could not but be kept down and perish for lacke of knowledge of the truth And in like maner because Christ had institute the Sacrament of his body and bloud to kepe vs in remembrauÌce of his body breaking blud sheding for our sinnes therfore went they and set vp this fashioÌ of the Masse and ordeined Sacramentes in the ornamentes thereof to signifie and expresse all the rest of his passioÌ The amice on the head is the kercheue that Christ was blynd folded with when the souldiours buffeted him and mocked hym saying prophecie vnto vs who smote thee But now it may wel signifie that he that putteth it on is blynd and hath professed to leade vs after him in darkenesse according vnto the beginnyng of his play And the flappe theron is the crowne of thorne And the albe is the white garment that Herode put on him saying he was a foole because he held his peace and would not auÌswere him And the ij flappes on the sleues and the other ij on the albe beneath ouer agaynst his fete behind and before are the. iiij nayles And the fanon on his hand the cord that his haÌdes were bound with And the stole the rope wherwith he was bound vnto the piller when he was scorged And the corporiscloth the sindon wherin he was buried and the altare is the crosse or haply the graue and so forth And the casting abroad of his hands the splaying of Christ vpon the crosse And the light and sticking vp of candles bearyng of candles or tapers in procession happly signified this text Math. v. ye be the light of the world and let your light so shyne before meÌ that they may see your good workes glorifie your father which is in heauen And the salt signifieth the wisedome of Christes doctrine and that we should therewith salt our dedes and do nothing without the authoritie of Gods word So that in one thing or other what in the garmeÌtes and what in the gestures all his playde in so much that before he will go to Masse he wil be sure to sell hym lest Iudases part should be left out And so throughout all the SacrameÌts ceremonies or signes iij. words of one signification there were significations vnto them at the beginning And so long as it was vnderstaÌd what was ment by them and they dyd but serue the people and preach one thyng or an other vnto them they hurted not greatly though that the free seruaunt of Christ ought not to be brought violently into captiuitie vnder the boÌdage of traditions of men As S. Augustine complayneth in his dayes how that the condition and state of the Iewes was more easy then the ChristiaÌs vnder traditions so sore had the tyranny of the shepheardes inuaded the flocke all ready in those dayes And theÌ what iust cause haue we to coÌplaine our captiuitie now vnto whose yocke from that tyme hetherto enen xij hundred yeares long hath euer somwhat more waight bene added to for to keepe vs bowne and to confirme vs in blyndnesse howbeit as long as the significatioÌs bode they hurted not the soule though they were paynefull vnto the body Neuerthelesse I impute this our greuous fal into so extreme and horrible blyndnesse wherin we are so deepe and so deadly brought a slepe vnto no thyng so much as vnto the multitude of ceremonies For assoone as the Prelates had set vp such a rable of ceremonies they thonght it superflnous to preach the playne text any longer and the law of God faith of Christ loue toward our
a signe of y e loue of myne hart which reioyseth and is glad that he is come home safe and sounde And euen so is this but the memoriall of the very sacrifice of Christ once done for al. And if ye wold no otherwise meane ye shal haue my good will to call it so still or if ye can shew me a reason of some other meanyng And therfore I would that it had bene called as it in deede is and as it was commauÌded to be Christes memoriall though that I doubt not but that it was called Masse of his He brue woord Misach which signifieth a a pension geuyng because that at euery Masse meÌ gaue euery man a portioÌ accordyng vnto his power vnto the in stentation of the poore Which offering yet remayneth But to a false vse and profite of them that haue too much as all other thinges are peruerted Finally it is the same thinge that it was when Christ institute it at hys last supper If it were then the very sacrificing of Christes body and had that same vertue and power with it that his very passion after wrought why was he sacrificed so cruelly on the morow and not holde excused therwyth seyng he was there verely sacrificed M. Item that there remayneth bread and wine in the sacrament Tyndall Improue it What is that that is broken and that the Priest eateth wyth hys teeth ayre onely if a childe were fed with no other foode he should wax haply as long as his father Wherof then should his body his flesh and bones grow wherof should that come with reuerence I speake it that he pisseth and so forth all by miracle will they say O what wonderfull miracles must we faine to saue Antichristes doctrine I might wyth as good reason say that the hoste is neyther rounde nor white but that as my mouth is deceaued in the tast of bread euen so mine eyes are in the syght of roundnes and so is there nothing at all Which all are but the disputations of men with corrupt myndes without spirite to iudge Neuer the later when the Priest hath once rehearsed the testament of our sauiour thereon I looke not on bread and wine but on the body of Christ broken and bloud shed for my sinnes and by that fayth am I saued from the damnation of my sinnes Neyther come I to Masse for any other purpose then to fet forgeuenes for Christes deathes sake nor for any other purpose say I Confiteor knowledge my sinnes at the beginning of Masse And if ye haue other doctrine teach vs a reason leade vs in light we will follow Christ sayth Iohn xi it is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing at all the woordes which I speake saith he are spirite and lyfe That is the fleshely eatyng and drinking of Christes body and bloude profit not as his carnall presence profited not by the reason of his presence onely as ye see by Iudas and y â Phariseis and the souldiours that touched hym and how his bodely presence did let the disciples to vnderstand spiritually But to eate and drinke in the spirite that is to harken vnto his wordes and with a repenting hart to beleue in hys death bringeth vs all that Christ can do for vs. More Item that the masse auaileth no man but the Priest Tyndall If ye speake of the prayers his prayers helpe vs as much as ours him If ye speake of y e sacrameÌt it helpeth as many as be present as much as hym if moued therby they be leue in Christes death as well as he If they be absent the sacrament profiteth them as much as a sermon made in the church helpeth them that be in y â fieldes And how profiteth it the soules of the deade tell me vnto whome it is no signe If ye meane the carnall eating and drinking then it profiteth the Prieste onely for he eateth and drinketh vppe all alone and geueth no man parte wyth hym More Item that a man should not be howseled till he lay a dying Tynd. That is to shamelesse a lye M. Item that men and women should not spare to touch it Tynd. A perillous case Why Because the Pope hath not oyled them Neuerthelesse Christ hath annointed them wyth hys spirite and wyth hys bloud But wot ye why The Pope thinketh if they should be too busie in handeling it they woulde beleue that there were bread and for that cause to strength their faythes he hath imagined little prety thinne manchetes that shine thorow and seeme more lyke to be made of paper or fine Parchement then of wheate floure About which was no smale question in Oxforde of late dayes whether it were bread or none some affirming that the floure with long lying in water was turned to starch and had lost his nature M. Item that the sacrameÌt should not be worshipped Tyndall It is the Sacrament of Christes body and bloud And Christ calleth it the newe and euerlasting testament in hys bloud and commaunded that we shoulde so do in the remembraunce of hym that hys bodye was broken and his bloude shed for our sinnes And Paule commaundeth thereby to shewe or preach the Lords death They say not pray to it neither put any fayth therein For I may not beleue in the sacrameÌt but I must beleue the Sacrament that it is a true signe and it true that is signified therby which is the onely worshippyng of the Sacrament if ye geue it other worship ye plainly dishonour it As I may not beleue in Christes Church but beleue Christes Church that the doctrine which they preach of Christ is true If ye haue any other doctrine teach vs a reason and lead vs in light and we will follow More Item that a ChristeÌ is not bound to keepe any lawe made by man or any at all Tynd. You say vntruely a ChristeÌ man is bound to obey tyranny if it be not agaynst hys fayth nor the lawe of God vntill God deliuer him thereof But he is no Christen man that byndeth hym to any thing saue that which loue and his neighbours necessitie requireth of them And when a lawe made is no longer profitable Christen rulers ought to breake it But now a dayes wheÌ tyraunts haue gotten the simple people vnder they compell theÌ to serue theyr lustes and wyly tyranny without respect of any common wealth Which wyly tyranny because the truth rebuketh it is the cause why they persecute it least the common people seing how good they should be and feeling how wicked they are shuld withdraw their neckes froÌ their vnrighteous yooke As ye haue ensample in Herode in the Scribes and Phariseis and in many other More Item that there is no Purgatory Tyndall Beleue in Christ and thou shalt shortly finde purgatoryes inow as ye now make other feele M. Item that all soules lye and sleepe
loueth the lawes of God and vseth y e power that he hath of god well and referreth hys will and his deedes vnto the honour of God commeth of the mercy of God which hath opened his wittes and shewed him light to see the goodnes and righteousnes of the lawe of God and the way that is in Christ to fulfill it wherby he loueth it naturally and trusteth to do it Why doth God open one mans eyes not an others Paule Rom. ix forbiddeth to aske why For it is to deepe for maÌs capacitie God we see is honoured therby and his mercy set out and the more seene in the vessels of mercy But the popishe can suffer God to haue no secret hid to himselfe They haue searched to come to the botome of hys botomlesse wisdome and because they caÌ not attayne to that secrete and be to proude to let it alone and to graunt themselues ignorauÌt with the Apostle that knew no other then Gods glory in the elect they go and set vp freewill with the heathen philosophers and say that a mans freewill is the cause why God chuseth one and not an other coÌtrary vnto all the scripture Paul saith it commeth not of the will nor of the deede but of the mercy of God And they say that euery man hath at y e least way power in his freewill to deserue that power shoulde be geuen hym of god to kepe the law But the scripture testifieth that Christ hath deserued for y â elect euen theÌ wheÌ they hated God that their eyes should be opened to see the goodnes of the lawe of God and the way to fulfill it and forgeuenes of all that is passed wherby they be drawen to loue it and to hate sinne I aske the popishe one question whether the will can preuent a mans witte and make the witte see the righteousnesse of the lawe and the way to fulfill it in Christ If I must first see the reason why yer I can loue how shall I with my will do that good thing that I know not of how shall I thanke God for the mercy that is layde vp for me in Christ yer I beleue it For I must beleue the mercy yer I can loue the worke Now fayth commeth not of our frewill but is the grace of God geuen vs by grace yer there be any will in our hartes to do the lawe of God And why God geueth it not euery man I can geue no reckoning of his iudgementes But well I wot I neuer deserued it nor prepared my self vnto it but ranne an other way cleane contrary in my blyndnesse and sought not that way but he sought me and found me out and shewed it me and therwith drew me to him And I bow the knees of mine hart vnto god night and day that he will shew it all other men And I suffer all that I can to be a seruaunt to open their eyes For well I wot they can not see of themselues before God haue preueÌted them wyth hys grace For Paule saith Phil. i. he that began a good worke in you shall continue or bring it vnto a full ende so that God must beginue to worke in vs. And Phil. ij God it is that worketh both the willing and also bringing to passe And it must needes be for God must open mine eyes and shew me somewhat and make me see the goodnesse of it to draw me to hym yer I can loue consent or haue any actuall will to come And when I am willing he must assiste me and helpe to tame my fleshe and to ouercome the occasions of the worlde and the power of the fendes God therfore hath a special care for his elect in so much that he will shorten y e wicked dayes for their sakes in which no man if they should continue might endure And Paule suffereth all for the electe ij Timothy ij And Gods sure foundation standeth sayth Paule God knoweth hys So that refuse the truth who shall God will keepe a nuÌber of his mercy and call them out of blindnesse to testifie the truth vnto the rest that their damnation may be with out excuse The Turke the Iew and the Popish build vpon frewill ascribe theyr iustifying vnto their woorkes The Turke when he hath synned runneth to the purifyinges or ceremonies of Mahomet and the Iew to the ceremonies of Moses and the Pope vnto his owne ceremonies to fet forgeuenesse of their sinnes And the Christen goeth thorough repentaunce towarde the law vnto the fayth that is in Christes bloud And the Pope saith that the ceremonies of Moyses iustified not compelled with the woordes of Paule And how then should his iustifie Moyses Sacramentes were but signes of promises of fayth by which fayth the beleuers are iustified and euen so be Christes also And now because the Iewes haue put out the significations of their Sacraments and put their trust in the workes of them therfore they be Idolaters and so is the Pope for like purpose The Pope sayth that Christ dyed not for vs but for the Sacramentes to geue them power to iustifie O Antichrist The xj Chapter HIs xj chapter is as true as his story of Vtopia all his other Poetrie He meaneth Doctour Ferman person of Hony lane WhoÌ after they had haÌdled after their secret maner and disputed with secretly and had made him sweare that he should not vtter how he was dealt with as they haue made many other then they contriued a maner of disputatioÌs had with him with such oppositions aunswearynges and argumentes as should serue onely to set forth their purpose As M. More thoroughout all his booke maketh quoth he to dispute and moue questions after such a maner as he can soyle them or make them appeare soyled and maketh him graunt where he lysteth and at the last to be concluded and lad whether M. More will haue him Wherfore I wil not rehearse all the arguments for it were to long and is also not to be beleued that he so made them or so disputed with them but that they added and pulled away fayned as they liste as their guise is But I will declare in light that which M. More ruffeleth vp in darkenesse that ye may see their falshead First if ye were not false hypocrites why had ye not disputed openly with him that the world might haue heard and borne recorde that that whiche ye now say of him were true what cause is there that the lay people might not as well haue heard his wordes of hys own mouth as read them of your writyng except ye were iugglyng spirites that walke in darknesse When M. More sayth the Church teacheth that men should not trust in theyr workes it is false if he meane y e Popes Church For they teach a man to trust in domme ceremonies SacrameÌtes in penauÌce and all maner workes that come them to profite whiche yet helpe
good workes but a shadowe wherewith a man is neuer the better Nay Sir we make good woorkes fruites whereby our neighbour is the better and whereby God is honoured and our fleshe tamed And we make of them sure tokeÌs wherby we know that our fayth is no fayned imagination and dead opinion made with captiuing our wits after the Popes traditions but a lyuely thyng wrought by the holy Ghost And when he disputeth if they that haue faith haue loue vnto the lawe and purpose to fulfill it then faith alone iustifieth not how will he proue that argument he iuggleth wyth this worde alone and would make the people beleue that we said how a bare faith that is without all other company of repeÌtaunce loue and other vertues yea without Gods spirite to did iustifie vs so that we shoulde not care to do good But the Scripture so taketh not alone nor we so meane as M. More knoweth well inough When an horse beareth a saddell and a man therin we may wel say that y t horse onely alone beareth the saddell and is not holpe of the man in bearing thereof But he would make men vnderstand that we ment the horse bare the saddell emptie and no man therin let him marke this to see his ignoraunce which woulde God were not coupled with malice Euery man that hath wit hath a will to and then by M. Mores argument witte onely geueth not the light of vnderstanding Now the conclusion is false and the contrary true For y t wit without helpe of the will geueth the light of the vnderstanding neyther doth the will woorke at all vntill the wit haue determined this or that to be good or bad Now what is faith saue a spirituall light of vnderstanding and an inwarde knowledge or feelyng of mercy Out of which knowledge loue doth spring But loue brought me not that knowledge for I knew it yer I loued So that loue in the processe of nature to dispute from the cause to the effect helpeth not at all to the feeling that God is mercifull to me no more than the louing hart and kinde behauiour of an obedient wife to her husband maketh her see his loue kyndnesse to her for many such haue vnkinde husbandes But by hys kynde deedes to her doth she see hys loue Euen so my loue and deedes make me not see Gods loue to me in the processe of nature but his kinde deedes to me in that he gaue his sonne for me maketh me see his loue to loue againe Our loue and good workes make not God first loue vs and chaunge hym from hate to loue as the Turke Iewe and vaine popishe meane but his loue and deedes make vs loue chaunge vs from hate to loue For he loued vs when we were euill and his enemies as testifieth Paule in diuers places and chose vs to make vs good and to shew vs loue and to draw vs to him that we should loue agayne The father loueth his childe when it hath no power to do good when it must be suffered to runne after the owne lustes without lawe and neuer loueth it better then then to make it better and to shew it loue to loue agayne If ye coulde see what is writteÌ in the first epistle of Iohn though all the other scripture were layde a parte he should see all this And ye must vnderstand that we sometyme dispute forwarde from the cause to the effect and sometyme backward from the effect to the cause and must beware that we be not therwyth beguiled we say sommer is come and therefore all is grene and dispute forwarde For sommeâ is the cause of the grenesse We say the trees be grene therfore sommer is come and dispute backward from the effect to the cause For the grene trees make not sommer but maketh sommeâ knowen So we dispute backward the man doth good deedes and profitable vnto his neyghbour he must therefore loue God he loueth God he must therefore haue a true fayth and see mercy And yet my woorkes make not my loue nor my loue my faith nor my faith Gods mercy But coÌtrary gods mercy maketh my fayth and my fayth my loue and my loue my works And if the Pope could see mercy and worke of loue to his neighbour and not sell his woorkes to God for heauen after M. Mores doctrine we needed not so suttle disputing of faith And when M. More alleageth Paule to the Corinthians to proue that faith may be without loue he proueth nothing but iuggleth onely He saith it is euident by the wordes of Paule that a maÌ may haue a faith to do miracles without loue may geue all his good in almes without loue and geue his body to burne for the name of Christ al without charitie Wel I will not sticke with hym he may so do without charitie without fayth therto Then a maÌ may haue faith without faith Ye verely because there be many differeÌces of faith as I haue sayd and not all faithes one fayth as maister More iuggleth We read in the woorkes of S. Ciprian that there were martyrs that suffered martyrdome for the name of Christ all the yeare long and were tormented and healed agayne and then brought forth a freshe Which martyrs beleued as ye do that the payne of their martyrdom should be a deseruing merite inough not onely to deserue heauen for themselues but to make satisfaction for the sinnes of other men thereto and gaue pardons of their merites after the ensample of the Popes doctrine and forgaue the sinnes of other men which had openly denyed Christ and wrote vnto Ciprian that he shoulde receaue those men that had denyed Christ into the congregation agayne at the satisfaction of their merites For whiche pride Ciprian wrote to them and called them the deuilles martyrs and not Gods Those martyrs had a fayth without fayth For had they beleued that all mercy is geuen for Christes bloudshedding they would haue sent other meÌ thether and would haue suffered their owne martyrdome for loue of their neighbours onely to serue theÌ and to testifie the truth of God in our sauiour Iesu vnto the worlde to saue at the least way some that is to wete the elect for whose sake Paule suffereth all thing and not to winne heaueÌ If I worke for a worldly purpose I get no rewarde in heauen euen so if I worke for heauen or an hyer place in heauen I get there no rewarde But I must do my woorke for y t loue of my neighbour because he is my brother and the price of Christes bloude and because Christ hath deserued it and desireth it of me and then my rewarde is great in heauen And all they which beleue that their sinnes be forgeuen them and they receaued as the scripture testifieth vnto the enheritaunce of heaueÌ for Christes merites the same loue
despised and haue translated the Scripture purely and with good conscieÌce submittyng them selues and desiryng them that can to amend their traÌslation or if it please theÌ to traÌslate it themselues after their best maner yea and let them sow to their gloses as many as they thinke they can make cleaue thereto and then put other mens translation out of the way Howbeit though God hath so wrought with them that a great part is translated yet as it is not inough that the father and the mother haue both begotten the child brought it into this world except they care for it and bryng it vp till it can helpe it selfe Euen so it is not inough to haue translated though it were y e whole Scripture into the vulgare common toung Except we also brought agayne the light to vnderstaÌd it by and expell that darke cloude which the hypocrites haue spread ouer the face of y e scripture to blind the right sense and true meanyng thereof And therfore at their diuers introductions ordeyned for you to teach you the professioÌ of your Baptisme the onely light of the Scripture one vppon the Epistle of Paule to the Romains and an other called The pathway into the Scripture And for the same cause haue I taken in hand to interpret this Epistle of S. Iohn the Euangelist to edifie the lay maÌ and to teach him how to read the Scripture and what to seke therein that he may haue to aunswere the hypocrites and to stop theyr mouthes with all And first vnderstand that all the Epistles that the Apostles wrote are the Gospell of Christ though all that is the Gospell bee not an Epistle It is called a Gospell that is to say glad tydinges because it is an open preachyng of Christ and an Epistle because it is sent as a letter or a bill to them that are absent ¶ Here begynneth the first Epistle of S. Iohn Chapter 1. THat which was from the begynnynge declare wee vnto you which we haue heard which we haue seene with our eyes which we looked vppon and our handes haue handled of the worde of lyfe For the lyfe appeared and we haue sene and beare witnesse and shewe vnto you that euerlastynge lyfe which was with the father and appeared vnto vs. In that S. Iohn sayth The thyng which was from the begynnyng and the euerlastyng lyfe that was with the father he witnesseth that Christ is very God as he doth in the begynnyng of his Gospel saying The word or the thyng was at the begynnyng and the thyng was with God and that thyng was God and all thinges were made by it And wheÌ he sayth which we heard saw with our eyes our hands handled hym he testifieth that Christ is very man also as he doth in the begynning of his Gospell saying The word or that thyng was made flesh that is became man And thus we haue in playne and opeÌ wordes a manifest Article of our fayth that our Sauiour Christ is very God and very man Which Article who soeuer not onely beleueth but also beleueth in it the same is the sonne of God hath euerlasting lyfe in him shall neuer come into condemnation as it is written Iohn i. He gaue them power to be the sonnes of God in that they beleued in his name And Iohn iij. He that beleueth in the sonne hath euerlastyng life And a litle before in the sayd Chapter He that beleueth in hym shall not be condeÌned And to beleue in the wordes of this Article is y t eatyng of Christes flesh and drinkyng his bloud of which is spoken Iohn vj. The words which I speake are spirite and lyfe the flesh profiteth not at all meanyng of y e fleshly eatyng of his body and fleshly drinkyng of hys bloud There is therefore great difference betwene beleuing that there is a God and that Christ is God maÌ and to beleue in God and Christ God and man and in the promises of mercy that are in hym The first is coÌmune to good and bad and vnto the deuils thereto and is called the fayth beleue of the hystory The secoÌd is proper vnto the sonnes of God is their lyfe as it is written The righteous liueth by fayth that is in puttyng hys trust confideÌce and whole hope in the goodnes mercy and helpe of God in all aduersities bodely and ghostly and all temptations euen in sinne hell how depe so euer he be fallen therin But as he which feeleth not hys disease can long for no health euen so it is impossible for any man to beleue in Christs bloud except Moses haue had hym first in cure with his law haue robbed hym of his righteousnes and coÌdemned him vnto euerlastyng death haue shewed hym vnder what daÌnation they are in by birth in AdaÌ how all their deedes appeare they neuer so holy are yet but damnable sinne because they caÌ referre nothyng vnto the glory of God but seke theÌ selues theyr owne profite honour and glory So that repentaunce toward the law must go before this belefe and he which repenteth not but coÌsenteth vnto the life of sinne hath no part in this fayth And when Iohn calleth Christ the euerlastyng life that was with the father hee signifieth that Christ is our lyfe as after in the Epistle and in the first also of his Gospel saying In him was lyfe For vntill we receaue lyfe of Christ by fayth we are dead and can be but dead as saith Iohn iij. He that beleueth not in the sonne can see no lyfe but the wrath of God abydeth vppon him Of which wrath we are heyres by byrth sayth Paule Ephe. ij Of whiche wrath we are ignoraunt vntil the law be published and walke quyetly after our lustes loue God wickedly that he should be content therwith mainteine vs therin coÌtrary vnto his godly and righteous nature But assoone as the lawe whose nature is to vtter sinne Roma iij. and to set man at variaunce with God is preached theÌ we first awake out of our dreame and see our damnatioÌ and haue the law which is so contrary vnto our nature and grudge agaynst God therto as young children do agaynst their elders when they first commauÌde and count God a cruell tyrauÌt because of his law in that he coÌdemneth vs for that thyng which we can not loue nor of loue fulfill But when Christ is preached how that God for his sake receiueth vs to mercy forgiueth vs all that is past hencefoorth rekeneth not vnto vs our corrupt and poysoned nature taketh vs as his sonnes and putteth vs vnder grace and mercy promiseth that he will not iudge vs by the rigorousnes of the law but nourture vs with all mercy and patieÌce as a father most mercyful Onely if we will submit our selues vnto his doctrine and learne to kepe his lawes Yea
and he will therto consider our mekenes and what soeuer chaunceth neuer taketh away hys mercy till we cast of the yoke of our profession first and runne away with vtter defiaunce that we will neuer come more at schole Then our stubburne and hard hartes mollifie waxe soft and in the confideÌce and hope that we haue in Christ and his kindnes we go to God boldly as vnto our father and receaue life that is to say loue vnto God and vnto the law also That whiche we haue seene and heard we declare vnto you that ye may haue felowshyppe with vs and that our felowshyppe may be with the father and with his sonne Iesus Christ And these thynges we write vnto you that your ioye may be full To bryng vnto the felowshyp of God and Christ and of them that beleue in Christ is the finall intent of all the Scripture why it was giuen of God vnto man and the onely thyng which all true preachers seke wherby ye shall euer know and discerne the true word of God from all false and counterfayted doctrine of vayne traditions the true preacher from the wylie hypocrite We preache vnto you sayth Iohn y t euerlastyng lyfe which we haue heard and in hearyng receaued through fayth and are sure of it to draw you to vs out of the felowshyp that ye haue with the damned deuils in sinnefull lustes and ignoraunce of God for we seeke you and not yours as sayth Paul ij Cor. xij We loue you as our selues in God therfore wold haue you felowes and equall with vs build you vpon the foundation layd of the Apostles and Prophetes which is Christ ⪠Iesus and make you of the houshold of God for euer that ye and we felowes and brethren and coupled together in one spirit in one fayth and in one hope might haue our felowship thereby with God and become his sonnes heyres with Iesus Christ beyng his brethren and coheyres and to make your ioy ful through that glad tydinges as the aungell sayd vnto the shepheardes Luke ij Behold I shew you great ioye that shal be vnto all the people how that there is a Sauiour borne vnto you this day whiche is Christ the Lord. And these tydinges we bryng you with the worde of God onely which we receaued of his spirit and out of the mouth of his sonne as true messengers We preach not our selues but Christ our Lord and vs your seruauntes for hys sake we do not loue our selues to seke yours vnto vs that after we had with wiles robbed you of all ye haue we should exalte our selues ouer you separate our selues froÌ you and make our selues a seuerall kyngdome free and fraÌke raygnyng ouer you as heathen tyrauntes holdyng you in bondage to serue our lucre and lustes tanglyng your conscience with doctrine of man whiche draweth from God and Christ and fearing you with the bugge of excommunication agaynste Gods word Or if that serued not shakyng a sword at you And this is the tydinges whiche we haue heard of hym and declare vnto you that God is lyght and in hym is no darknes at all If we say that we haue felowshyp with hym and yet walke in darkenes we lye and do not the truth But and if we walke in light as he is in light then haue we felowshyp together and the bloud of Christ his sonne clenseth vs from all sinne As the deuill is darknes and lyes so is God light and truth onely and there is no darknes of falshead consentyng to wickednes in hym And the brightnes of his light is his word and doctrine as the. C. and. xix Psalme sayth Thy worde is a lanterne vnto my feete a light to my pathes And Christe is the light that lightneth all men And the Apostles are called the light of the world because of the doctrine And all that knowe truth are light Ye were once darkenes sayth Paule Ephes v. but now light in the Lord walke therfore as the children of lyght And good workes are called the frutes of light And all that lyue in ignorauÌce are called darknes as he sayth afterward he that hateth his brother walketh in darknes For if the light of the glorious Gospell of Christe dyd shyne in his hart he could not hate his brother By walking vnderstande consenting doing and working If then we walke in darcknes that is consent and worke wickednes and say we haue felowship with God we ly For to haue felowship with him is to knowe and consent and professe his doctrine in our hartes Now if the commaundementes of GOD bee written in our hartes our members can not but practise theÌ shew the fruite So whether light or darknes be in the hart it will appeare in y t walking For though our members be neuer so dead vnto vertue yet if our soules knowledge the truth consent vnto righteousnes we haue the sprite of life in vs. And Paule sayth Rom. viij If the spirite of him y t raysed vp Iesus from death be in you theÌ wil he y t raised vp Iesus froÌ death quicken your mortall bodies by the reasoÌ of the spirit that dwelleth in you So that it is not possible for him that knoweth the truth consenteth thereto to continue in sinne And then finally if we haue the light in our harts and walke therein then we haue fellowship with God and are his sonnes and heires and are purged from all sinne through Christes bloud If we say we haue no sinne we deceaue our selues and trueth is not in vs. If we think there is no sinne in vs we are beguiled and blinde and the light of Gods word is not in vs and eyther folow sinne as beastes without conscieÌce at all Or if we see the grosse sinnes as murther theft and adultery yet we haue hanged a vayle of false gloses vpon Moses face and see not the brightnes of the law how that it requireth of vs as pure an hart to God and as great loue vnto our neighbours as was in our sauiour Iesus ceaseth not before to condemne vs as sinners If we knowledge our sinnes he is faythfull and iust to forgeeue vs our sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrigh teousnes If we confesse our sinnes not in the preistes eare though that tradition restored vnto the right vse were not daÌnable but in our hartes to God with true repentaunce and fast beleife then is he faythfull to forgeue and to purge vs because of his mercifull truth and promise For he promised Abraham that in his seede all the worlde should be blessed from the curse of sinne And hath aboundantly renued his euerlasting mercy vnto vs in the new testament promising that our sinnes shall be forgeuen vs in Christes bloud if we repent and trust thereto If we say we haue not sinned we make him a lyer and hys woord is not in vs. For his
own of the which neuer lay man was partaker and with which they turne the end of all appointments vnto their owne honour and profite Couetousnes hath taught theÌ to bring in damnable sectes according vnto the prophecy of Peter and to corrupt the Scripture with false gloses to turne euery good ordinaunce that had a vertuous begynnyng vnto vicious ende The promocioÌs of the spiritualtie corrupt their mindes while they be yet in the shel and vnhatthed For they come thether but for couetousnes and to auoyd the crosse of Christ in the world except them that be compelled of theyr frendes or be so simple that they mark not their falshode beforehande Who knowing the truth louing it would put his head in the popes halter that so moseleth mens mouthes that they can not open them to defend any truthe at all When the temporall kinges were in their hye authoritie then the generall Counsell repressed the enormities of the spiritualtie But since the Pope cardinals and bishops were exalted the emperour and kings became their seruauntes they would suffer nought to be determined in their counsels that should reforme the worlde of their demilish pride insatiable couetousnes stincking lechery which may stand w t no godly vertue But the world which is not of God shall at the last haue an end with confusion and they onely abide that do y e will of the Father which will is that we beleeue in the Sonne and loue one an other Let them therfore that haue y e worlds good I might say the worldes God vse it but not loue it that they may be ready to bestow it at the pleasure of God And let them which haue it not desire it not for it blindeth the eyes of the seeing Seut 1â But let them put their trust in God which shal not fayle them nor leaue them destitute of rayment and foode which Paule counselleth to be content with The ritch as Iames sayth persecute the true beleuers The ãâ¦ã neuer stand forth openly for the ãâã of God If of x. thousand there ãâã Nichodemus it is ãâã great thing Little children it is now the last houre and as ye haue heard that Antichrist shoulde come euen so now are many Antichristes come already whereby we know that it is the last houre They went out of vs but were none of vs for had they bene of vs they had continued with vs. But that fortuned that it might appeare how they were not all of vs. Houre is here taken for tyme the last houre is as much to say as the last tyme. Though the Apostles might not know when the last day shal be how long the world should endure yet this was shewed them and vs by theÌ that Antichrist should first come not onely come but also prenayle and be receaued after a worldly maner and raigne ouer all and set vp a long continuyng kyngdome with damnable sectes and wonderfull kyndes of hypocrisie that is to say falshead cloked vnder a contrary pretence as testifieth Paule and also Peter Whiche Antichrist began with the Apostles and sue his doctrine among the doctrine of the Apostles preachyng many thynges as the Apostles dyd and addyng euer somwhat of his owne that the weeds might euer grow vp together with the corne Of which Iohn gathered a signe that the last day drew nye though he could not be sure how long it were therto Antichrist is one of the first that seeth the light and commeth and preacheth Christ a while and seeketh his glory in Christes Gospell But when hee eâpyeth that there will no glory cleane vnto that preachyng theÌ he getteth him to the coÌtrary partie and professeth hym selfe an open enemy if hee can not disguise him selfe and hide the angle of his poysoned heresie vnder a bayte of true doctrine The Apostles were cleare eyed and espied Antichrist at once and put hym to flight and weeded out his doctrine quickly But wheÌ charitie waxed cold and the preachers began to seke them selues and to admit glory and honour of riches then Antichrist disguised him selfe after the fashion of a true Apostle and preached Christ wylyly bryngyng in now this tradition and now that to darkeÌ the doctrine of Christ and set vp innumerable ceremonies and Sacramentes and imagerie giuyng them significations at the first but at the last the significations layd a part preached the worke as an holy deede to iustifie and to put away sinne and to saue the soule that men should put their trust in woorkes in whatsoeuer was vnto his glory and profite and vnder the name of Christ ministred Christ out of all together and became head of the coÌgregation him selfe The Pope made a law of hys owne to rule his church by and put Christes out of the way All the Byshops swere vnto the Pope and all Curates vnto the Byshops but all forswere Christ and his doctrine But seing Iohn tooke a signe of the last day that he saw Antichrist begyn how nye ought we to thinke that it is whiche after viij hundreth yeares raignyng in prosperitie see it decay agayne and his falshead to be disclosed and him to be slayne with the spirite of the mouth of Christ that is with that old doctrine that proceded out of Christes mouth for Paule sayth wheÌ Antichrist is vttered theÌ commeth the end But ye haue anoyntyng of that holy and knowe all thyng I write not vnto you as though ye knewe not the truth but as vnto them that know it and how that no lye is of truth Christ in the Scripture is called the holy because he onely sanctifieth haloweth vs. And he is called Christ that is to say annoynted because he annoynteth our soules with y e holy ghost and with all the giftes of the same Ye are not annoynted with oyle in your bodyes but with the spirite of Christ in your soules which spirite teacheth you all truth in Christ and maketh you to iudge what is a lye and what truth and to know Christ from Antichrist For except he taught your soules with in the powring in of woordes at your cares were in vayne For they must be all taught of God Iohn vj. And the thyngs of God no man knoweth saue the spirite of God and the carnall man knoweth not the thinges of the spirite of God when contrary the spirituall that is annointed with the spirite iudgeth all thynges i. Cor. ij And therfore we are forbidden to call vs any Master vpon earth Math. xxiij seyng we haue all one Master now in heauen which onely teacheth vs with his spirite though by the administration and office of a faithfull preacher Whiche preacher yet can not make hys preachyng spryng in the hart no more then a sower can make his corne grow nor can say this man shall receaue and this not but soweth the word onely committeth the growyng to God whose spirite bretheth where
impossible is possible and easie to where the loue of Christ is beleued For it foloweth all that are borne of God ouercome the world that is to wete the deuill which is the ruler of the world and his disciples which haue their lust in hys gouernaunce coÌsent to sinne both in body and soule and giue themselues to folow their lustes without resistence and their owne flesh which also coÌsenteth to sinne do they ouercome with al that moueth to sinne By what victory Verely through fayth For if our soules be truly vnderset with sure hope and trust and continuall meditations of Christes loue shewed already and of succour helpe and assistence that is promised in his name and with the continuall memorie of their examples which in tymes past haue sought through fayth and ouercome theÌ were it impossible for the world with all his chinalrie to ouerthrow vs with any assault or with any ordinaunce that hee could shoote agaynst vs. For if y t fayth meditation were euer present in vs then loue thorough that fayth should easly ouercome what so euer peril thou couldest imagine Read in the Bible and see what conquestes fayth hath made both in doyng also sufferyng The xj chapter vnto the Hebrues ministreth the examples aboundauntly How mighty was Dauid when hee came to fight and how ouercame hee thorough fayth And how mightyer was he when he came to sufferyng as in the persecution of the kyng Saul In so much that when he had his most mortall enemy kyng Saul that twelfe yeares persecuted him against al right in his handes to haue done what hee would with him through faith he touched hym not nor suffred any man els to do though he was yet all his lyfe a man of warre and accustomed to murther and shedyng of bloud For he beleued that God should aduenge hym on his vnrighteous kyng vpoÌ whom it was not lawfull to adueÌge himselfe Who is it that ouercommeth the world but he that beleueth that Iesus is the sonne of God If to beleue that Iesus is Gods sonne be to ouercome the world then our Prelates vnderstand not what belief is which affirme that the best belefe and the worst maÌ in the world may stand together This is he that came by water and bloud Iesus Christ not by water onely but by water and bloud And it is the spirite that testifieth because the spirite is truth For there are three that beare witnesse in heauen The father the worde and the holy ghost And these three are one And there are three which beare recorde in earth the spirite water and bloud and these three are one Christ came with three witnesses water bloud and spirite He ordeined the Sacrament of Baptisme to be hys witnesse vnto vs. And he ordeined the SacrameÌt of his bloud to be his witnes vnto vs. And he powreth his spirite into the harts of his to testifie and to make them feele that the testimonie of those two SacrameÌts are true And the testimonie of these three is as it after foloweth that we haue euerlastyng life in the sonne of God And these iij. are one full witnes sufficieÌt at the most that the law requireth whiche sayth ij or iij. at the most is one full sufficient witnes But alas we are ââ¦t taught to take the SacrameÌts for witnesses but for imageseruice to fore the worke of them to God with such a minde as the old heathen offred sacrifices of beastes vnto their Gods So that what soeuer testifieth vnto vs that we haue euerlastyng lyfe in Christ that mouth haue they stopped with a leuended maunchet of their Pharisaicall gloses If we receaue the witnesse of meÌ the witnesse of God is greater For this is the witnesse that God hath borne of his sonne If the witnesse of men so they be iij. is to be receaued much more is the witnesse of God to be receaued Now the witnesse that these iij. water bloud spirite beare is the witnesse of God therfore the more to be beleued He that beleueth in the sonne of God hath witnes in him selfe And he that beleueth not God maketh him a lyer because he doth not beleue the witnesse that God hath testified of his sonne And this is the witnesse that God hath giuen vs eternall lyfe and this lyfe is in hys sonne He that hath the sonne hath lyfe And he that hath not the sonne of God hath not life The true beleuers haue the testimonie of God in their hartes they glorifie God witnessing that hee is true They haue the kingdome of God with in them and the temple of God within them and God in that temple haue the sonne of God lyfe through hym And in that temple they seke God and offer for their sinnes y e sacrifice of Christes bloud and the fatte of his mercies in the fire of their prayers and in the confidence of that sacrifice go in boldly to God their father But the vnbeleuers blaspheme God and make him false describyng him after the complection of their lyieng nature And because they be so full stuffed with lyes that they caÌ receaue nothing els they looke for the kyngdome of God in outward thynges and seeke God in a temple of stone where they offer their imageseruice and the fate of their holy dedes in confidence wherof they go into God and trust to haue euerlastyng lyfe And though the text testifieth that this lyfe is onely in the sonne yet they will come at no sonne shynyng but as vncleane byrdes hate the light These thynges haue I written vnto you that beleue in the name of the sonne of God that ye may know that ye haue euerlasting life that ye may beleue in the sonne of God They that haue the fayth of Christes Apostles know that they haue eternal lyfe For the spirtte testifieth vnto their spirites that they are y e sonnes of God Roma viij and receaued vnder grace Our Doctours say they can not know whether they be in the state of grace therefore they haue not the fayth of the Apostles And that they know it not is the cause whey they rayle on it This is the confidence that we haue in hym that if we aske ought accordyng to his will he heareth vs. And if we know that he heareth vs whatsoeuer we aske we knowe that we haue the petitions that we aske of hym Christ sayth Math. vij aske it shal be geuen you And Iohn in the. xvj chap. Whatsoeuer ye aske in my name he shall giue it you To aske in y t name of Iesu Christ accordyng to his will be both one and are nothyng elles but to aske the thynges contayned in the promises and TestameÌt of God to vs warde that God wil be our father and care for vs both in body and in soule and if we sinne of frailtie repent forgiue vs and minister vs all thynges necessarie vnto this life kepe
flesh to eate it is soluted euen when he gaue his body to be broken his bloud to be shed And we eate and drinke it in deede wheÌ we beleue stedfastly that hee dyed for the remission of our sinnes Austen and Tertullian to witnesse But here maketh More his argument agaynst the young man Because the Iewes maruelleâ at this saying My flesh is very meate and my bloud drinke And not at this I am the dore and the very vyne therefore this text sayth he My flesh is c. must be vnderstand after the litterall sence that is to wirte eueÌ as the carnall Iewes vnderstode it murmuring at it beyng offended goyng their wayes froÌ Christ for their so carnall vnderstandyng therof And the other textes I am the dore c. must be vnderstand in an Allegory and spituall sence because his hearers maruelled nothyng at the maner of the speach Loe Christen Reader here hast thou not a âast but a great tunne full of Mores mischief and pernicious peruertyng of Gods holy worde and as thou seist him here falsely pestilently destroy the pure sence of Gods worde so doth hee in all other places of hys bookes First where he sayth they marueiled at this Christes saying My flesh is very meate c. that is not so neither is there any such worde in the text except More will expounde Murmurabant idest mirabantur they murmured that is to say they marueiled as he expouÌdeth Oportet idest expedit conuenit He must dye or it behoueth him to dye that is to say it was expedient and of good coÌgruence that he should dye c. Thus this Poete may make a man to signifie an Asse blacke white to blere the simple eyes But yet for his Lordly pleasure let vs graunt him that they murmured is as much to say as they meruayled because perchaunce the one may folow at the other And then do I aske him whether Christes Disciples and his Apostles heard âim not vnderstode him not when he sayd I am the doore and the vyne and when hee sayd My flesh c. If he say no or nay the Scripture is playne agaynst him If he say yea or yes then yea doe I aske hym whether his Disciples and Apostles thus hearyng and vnderstandyng hys woordes in all these three Chapters wondered and meruayled as More sayth or murmuâed as hath the text at their maisters speech What thinke ye More must aunswere here Here may ye see whether this old holy vpholder of the Popes Churche is brought euen to be taken in his owne trappe For the Disciples and his Apostles neither murmured nor merâayled nor yet were offended w t this their maister Christes wordes and maner of speech for they wââ¦ainted with such phââ¦red their maister Christ when hâââ¦e will ye also go hence frâme ⪠Lord sayd they to whom shall we goe thou hast the wordes of euerlastyng lyâe and we beleue that thou arâ⦠sonne of the liuyng God Lo M. More they neither meruailed nor murmured And why For because as ye say theâ vnderstode iâ in an Allegory ãâã ââd perceiued well that hee meant not of hys materiall âody to bee eaten with their teeth but he meant ãâã of him selfe to be beleued to be very God and very man hauing flesh and bloud as they had and yet was he âhe sonne of the liuyng God This belefe gathered they of all hys spirituall sayinges as hym selfe expounded his own wordes saying My flesh profiteth nothyng meanyng to be eaten but it is the spirite that giueth this life And the wordes that I speake vnto you are spirite and lyfe so that who so beleue my flesh to be crucified and broken and my bloud to be shed for his sinnes he eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud and hath lyfe euerlastyng And this is the lyfe wherewith the righteous lyue euen by fayth The second argument of More AFter this text thus wisely proued to be vnderstand in the litterall sence with carnall Iewes and not in the Allegorike or spirituall sense with Christ his Apostles the whole suÌme of Mores confutation of the young maÌ standeth vpon this Argument ãâã Posse ad Esse That is to witte God may do it Ergâ it is done Christ may make his body in many or in all places at once Ergo it is in many or in all places at once Which maner of argumentation how false and naught it is euery sophister and euery man that hath witte perceiueth A like argument God may shew More the truth and call him to repentaunce as he did Paul for persecutyng his Church Ergo More is conuerted to God Or God may let him run of an indurate hart with Pharao and at last take an open and soden vengeaunce vppon him for persecutyng hys worde and burnyng his poore members Ergo it is done already M. More must firste proue it vs by expresse wordes of holy Scripture and not by hys owne vnwritten dreames that Christes body is in many places or in all places at once and then though our reason can not reach it yet our fayth measured and directed with the worde of fayth will both reach it receiue it and hold it fast to not because it is possible to God and impossible to reason but bicause the written woorde of our fayth sayth it But wheÌ we read Gods wordes in mo then xx places contrary that his body should be here More must giue vs leue to beleue his vnwritten vanities verities I should say at laysure Here mayst thou see Christen reader wherefore More would so fayne make thee beleue that the Apostles left out certeine thynges vnwritten of necessitie to be beleued eueÌ to stablish the Popes kyngdome which standeth of Mores vnwritten vanities As of the presence of Christes body and makyng therof in the bread Of Purgatory of inuocation of Saintes worshyppyng of stones and stockes pilgrimages halowyng of bowes and belles and crepyng to the crosse c. If ye will beleue what so euer More can fayne without the Scripture then caÌ this Poete faine you an other Church theÌ Christes and that ye must beleue it what so euer it teacheth you for he hath fained to that it caÌ not erre though ye see it erre and fight agaynst it selfe a thousand rymes Yea if it tell you blacke is white good is bad and the deuill is God yet must ye beleue it or els be burned as heretikes But let vs returne to our purpose To dispute of Gods almighty absolute power what God may do with his body it is great folie and no lesse presumption to More sith the Pope whiche is no whole God but halfe a God by their owne decrees haue decreed no man to dispute of his power But Christen Reader be thou content to know that Gods wil his word and his power be all one and repugne not And neither willeth he nor may not do any thing includyng
eatyng of his flesh in forme of bread had this ben his meaning For he left them neuer in any perplexitie or doubt but sought all the wayes by similitudes familiar exaÌples to teath them playnly He neuer spake them so hard a parable but where he perceiued their âeble ignoraunce anone he helpte them and declared it them Yea and sometymes he preuented their askyng with his owne declaration thinke ye that he did not so here yes verely For he came to teach vs and not to leaue vs in any doubt and ignoraunce especially in the chief pointe of our saluation which staÌdeth in the belefe in his death for our sinnes Wherefore to put them out of all doubt as concerning this eatyng of his flesh and drinkyng of hys bloud that should giue euerlastyng lyfe where they tooke it for his very body to be eaten with their teeth hee sayd It is the spirite that giueth this lyfe my flesh profiteth nothyng at all to be eaten as ye meane so carnally It is spirituall meate that I heare speake of It is my spirite that draweth the hartes of men to me by faith and so refresheth them ghostly Ye be therefore carnall to thinke that I speake of my flesh to be eaten bodely for so it profiteth you nothing at all How long will ye be without vnderstaÌdyng It is my spirite I tell you that giueth lyfe My fleshe profiteth you nothyng to eate it but to beleue that it shal be crucified suffer for the redemption of the world it profiteth And when ye thus beleue then eate ye my fleshe and drinke my bloud that is ye beleue in me to suffer for your sinnes The veritie hath spoken these woordes My flesh profiteth nothyng at all it can not therefore be false For both the Iewes and his Disciples murmured and disputed of hys flesh how it should be eaten and not of the offeryng thereof for our sinnes as Christ ment This therfore is the sure anker to hold vs by agaynst all the obiections of the Papistes for the eatyng of Christes body as they say in forme of bread Christ sayd My flesh profiteth nothyng meaning to eate it bodely This is the key that solueth al their argumentes and openeth the way to shewe vs all their false and abhominable blasphemous lyes vppon Christes wordes and vttereth their sleigh iuggling ouer the bread to mainteine Antichristes kyngdome therewith And thus when Christ had declared it and taught them that it was not the bodely eatyng of his materiall body but the eatyng with the spirite of fayth he added saying The wordes which I here speake vnto you are spirite and lyfe That is to say this matter that I here haue spoken of with so many wordes must be spiritually vnderstand to giue you this life euerlastyng Wherfore the cause why ye vnderstaÌd me not is that ye beleue not Here is lo the conclusion of all this Sermon Christ very God and man had set his flesh before them to be receiued with fayth that it should be broken suffer for their sinnes but they could not eate it spiritually bycause they beleued not in him Wherefore many of his Disciples fell froÌ him walked no more with him And then he sayd to the twelue Will ye go away to And Symon Peter aunswered Lord to whom shal we go Thou hast the wordes of euerlastyng life and we beleue and are sure that thou art Christ the sonne of the liuyng God Here is it manifest what Peter and his felowes vnderstode by this eatyng and drinkyng of Christ For they were perfitely taught that it stode all in the belefe in Christ as their auÌswere here testifieth If this matter had stand vpon so deepe a miracle as our Papistes fayne without any word of God not comprehended vnder any of their common senses that they should eate hys body beyng vnder the forme of bread as long depe thicke and as brode as it hanged vpon the crosse they beyng yet but feble of fayth not confirmed with the holy ghost must here nedes haue woundered stoned and staggerde haue bene more inquisitiue in and of so straunge a matter then they were But they neither doubted nor marueiled nor murmured nor were any thyng offended with this maner of spech as were y t other that slipt away but they aunswered firmely Thou hast the woordes of euerlastyng lyfe and we beleue c. Now to the exposition of the woordes of our Lordes Supper Among the holy Euangelistes writyng the story of Christes Supper Iohn bicause the other three had written it at large did but make a mention thereof in his xiij Chapter Mathew Marke and Luke declaryng it clerely orderly with iust number of wordes With whom Paule agreeth thus writyng vnto the Corinthians Our Lord Iesus yââame night he was betrayed he tooke the bread and after he had giuen thankes he brake it saying Take ye it eate it This is my body whiche is for you brokeÌ Here is now to be noted the order of this action or act First Christ tooke the bread in his haÌdes secondaryly he gaue thankes thirdly he brake it fourthly he taught it them saying take it fiftly he had them eate it At last after all this hee sayd This is my body which is for you broken this thyng do ye into the remembraunce of me Here ye see y t this bread was first broken deliuered them and they were coÌmauÌded to eate it to ere Christ sayd This is my body And for bicause it is to suppose verely y â they tooke it at his haÌd as he had them and dyd eate it to when they had it in their handes their master whose wordes they did euer obey coÌmmauÌding theÌ It must needes folow if these be the wordes of the coÌsecratioÌ that they were houseled with vnconsecrated bread or els now eaten or at lest wise part of it ere Christ consecrated it yea it foloweth that it was out of Christes handes and in theyâ mouthes when Christ consecrated it so to haue consecrated it wheÌ it was now in his disciples handes or in their mouthes or rather in theyr bellyes Here it is manifest that Christ consecrated no bread but deliuered it to his Disciples and bad them eate it In somuch that S. Thomas their owne Doctour that made their transubstantiation coÌfesseth that some there were that sayd that Christ did first consecrate with other woordes ere he now reachyng the bread to his Disciples sayd This is my body c. And yet calleth he it no heresie so to say Now sith in all this acte and Supper there bee no woordes of consecration but of the deliueryng of the bread broken after thankes giuyng with a commaundement to eate it bryng vs your wordes of coÌsecration and shewe vs by what woordes God promised you and gaue you power to make his body There is neither commaundement nor yet any wordes left in all the Scripture to make or
towardes God 22. b. of ignoraunce 277. a Fulnes of all goodnes Christ 424. a Fulfillyng the law what 240. b. obtayned by fayth 44. b Foundations of man feeble 92. a Foundation of loue 416. a. of the old Testament 9. b. of Abbeyes and Purgatory 309. a Fury of the Popish Clergy 93. a G. GAine ioyned with payne easeth the same 361. a Gainefull Gospell loued of shaue lynges 406. b Geldyng of Priestes 317. b Generation of two sortes 415. b Generation of Serpentes 340. b George Ioy writeth to the kyng for licence to traÌslate the Bible 454. b Gildas 28. a. a preacher and a Prophet 101. a Gift what it is 42. a Giftes of grace our brothers aswell as ours 384. b Giltles nede no pardon 318. b Glory 200. b Glorious names of the Popes Clergy their estimation 140. b Gloses 200. a. Pharisaicall 264. b God described 431. a. what he is 104 a spirite 294 b. inuisible 417. a. what he requireth 26. a. onely to be beleued 22. b. geueth all thyngs 24. b. alwayes most gracious 119. b. defendeth his doctrine hym selfe 97. a. teacheth vs if man wil not 103. b. seeketh vs. 294. a. pardoneth vs of his mercy 74. b. draweth vs to Christ 458. a. heareth prayer at all tymes 20. b. receiueth the humble 85. b. worketh by grace in vs before repentauÌce come 321. b. biddeth vs be bold with hym 297. b. rewardeth all obedience 110. a. mercyfull to the ignoraunt 377. a. forgeueth our frailty 293. b. reserueth a litle flocke 298. a. what worke he requireth 457. a. maketh vs blessed in Christ 90. b God is light 392. a. the chief Phisitian 297. a. can not lye 170. b. in whom dwellyng 417. b. how rightly serued 86. a. how truly worshypped 180. a. whoÌ he receiueth 101. a God who he will plague 35. b. poureth vengeaunce vpon the vnrepeÌtaunt 28. a. aduengeth his doctrine 106. b. aduengeth disobedience 107 b. and 110. a. plagueth hys enemies and helpeth his seruauÌtes 7. b. will not be tempted 171. a God forbyddeth Images 8. b. lyke him selfe euery where 282. a God who he reiecteth 25. a. taketh away the wicked 111. a. warneth before he strike 105. a. destroyeth one wicked by an other 110. b. punisher of secret sinnes the kyng of open 122. b God worketh backward 98. a. no lyer 462. a God worketh vppon all creatures as he will 80. b. respecteth not persoÌs 122. a. a iust iudge ouer kyng all degrees 142. a. onely taketh vengeaunce on the kyng 111. a. how he is at one with vs. 72. b. burdened with his promises 4. b God sometymes weakeneth his elect and why 101. a. scourgeth whom he loueth 8. a and 186. a. trieth hys childrens fayth 98. a. is fatherly to his elect 293. b. kepeth a litle flocke 268. a God first loued vs. 88. b. and 333. b. fighteth for vs. 98. b. receiueth vs for Christes sake 42. a. worketh in vs by faith 415. b. loueth vs not for our works sake 162. b. to vs as we shuld be to our neighbour 73. b. stroÌger theÌ all his enemyes 98. a. defeÌder of all estates 341. b. pardoÌneth all simple for Christes sake 346. a God in the name of Iesus must be called vpon in all aduersities 425. b. reioyceth in an acceptable receiuer asmuch as in a liberall geuer 244. b Gods will is we shoulde doe good workes 75. a Gods childreÌ cannot sinne 423. b. his loue howe to be vnderstode in vs. 89. a. his promise reacheth to all Abrahams posterity 437. b. his promises are all comfort 100. a. his fauour at what tyme from vs. 34. b. his two Testamentes 9. b Gods spirite 392. a. where it is 41. a his word may not be altered 23. a. his gentle correctioÌ 287. b. his children vnder chastising 100. a. hys forgiuenes 395. a. his goodnes to mankynd 234. a. his glory set forth by true miracles 475. a. his kyndnes moueth vs to loue hym 67. b. his mercy styrreth vp fayth in vs. 45. a. his generall couenaunt with vs. 33. b. his word pith of all goodnes 290 âa not the cause of euill 105. b. ought to iudge 14. a. how to vnderstand the same 142. a. must season all thynges 121. b. must be heard and done 75. a Gods spirite hath spoken the Scriptures 80. a. his truth worketh woÌders 97. b. fighteth for vs. 98. a Gods grace must be exercised in vs. 68. a. his Sacramentes preach his promises 162. a. his promise saueth vs. 52. a. his mercy saueth vs. 45. a. his mercy toward the penitent 22. a Gods promises iustifie 51. b. his promises in Christ belong onely to the penitent 31. a. his will sought out onely of a true Christian 102. a Gods worde sighteth agaynst hypocrites 97. b. persecuted 97. a. hys Churche called heretickes 291. a. his true church who are 268. a. his true seruice 217. a Gods workes supernatural 21. b. his omnipotency not to curiously to be dealt withall 462. b. his presence in all places alike 287. a. his wonderfull care for his 164. a Goods 212. b Good woorkes where 78. a. where true fayth is 45. b. and 55. b Good woorkes how farre forth they please God 54. a. significations of true fayth 44. b. fruites of fayth 45. b Good men may erre and not be damned 300. a Goodnes must be shewed to euill persons 71. a Gospel 36. b. 387. a. what it signifieth 127. a. comforteth 77. b. promised by the Prophetes 378. a. a true touchstone 3. a. the ministration of of righteousnes 62. a. why writteÌ of the Apostles 288. b Gospell and the Popes doctrine differ 475. b. slaundered by Papistes 320. b Gothes 351. b Gouernement of Gods Ministers 344. a Goyng to law 212. b Grace what 157. b. how to be vnderstode 42. a Grace truth come through Christ 199. b. receiued onely by fayth 45. b. continueth by keepyng the law 185. b Grammarians vnderstand not Latin 268. b Grecians 303. a. refuse the Popes tyranny 347. b Gregory 325. b Gregory the fifth ibidem Greuous sinne not rebuked 426. b Grosse worshyppyng of God 424. b H. HAm and the Pope like 170. a Handy craftes commaunded by God 244. a Hatred 204. a. and 404. a Hart must ioyne with prayer 239. a. worshyppeth God 284. a Hart of man Gods true temple 87. b Hart containeth the word of the law and Christes promises 31. b Headynes â90 b Heathen repent at Ionas preachyng 30. b. moued by miracles to know God 27. a Hearyng the word causeth repeÌtance 321. b Hearyng Gods worde prouoked by true miracles 284. a Heauen commeth by Christ 112. b Heires of God by sayth 257. b Helizeus 281. b Helpe commeth al from aboue 433. a Helpe towarde our neighbour must be in a readynes 78. b Hell foloweth euill workes as good workes folow fayth 70. a Henry the second 190. a Henry the fourth set vp 28. b Henry the fifth 28. b. a great conquerour 366. a Henry the vi 28. b. and 366. b Heresie
God either wiped out or leuened by shauelyngs and why 151. b PromotioÌs of the spiritualty 406. b Propertie of the Gospell 194. a Properties of the Hebrue toungue agreeth with the English 102. b Prophaners of Gods word 104. b Prosperitie is a curse 99. a A Prophet who 76. a Prophetes of whom slayne 138. b. and why ibideÌ bore their brethrens weakenes 25. b Prophesie of Paule to Tim. iij. and iiij chap. fulfilled in our dayes 53. b Protestation of the authour of this worke 157. b Protectour of Purgatory More 364. a A prouiso of the Papistes 361. b Pseudochristi 132. a Publicans what they be 216. a Purgatory 256. a. 265. a. 324. a. and why so called 139. a. the Popes creature 150. a. profitable to Papistes 307. b. not proued by Scripture 456. b. is terrible 396. b. stuffeth purses and disheriteth right heires 139. a. a iayle tormeÌting 307 b. is in earth as the pope sayth 359 a. visible and inuisible 297. b. none to the penitent 307. a Punishement how it must be executed 211. b Pure fayth aboundeth with good workes 52. b Purenes of the heart 143. a. of conscience 142. a Puttyng on of handes without faith of no force 152. b Purses stuffed with Purgatory 139. a Q. QValis pater talis filius 353. a Quicke and dead burnt of Papistes 435. b Questions of Scripture how to bee iudged 137. a R. RAblementes of Popery 136. b. of the Popes gard 343. b. takeÌ for the Church 249. b Racha 203. a Raynebow a pledge of Gods promise 436. b Rauenous Wolues 242. a Raylyng 290. b Readynes to doe good commeth of God 259. a Realme decayeth by buildyng of Abbeis cloisters c. 279. b Reasons Papall prouyng the Pope the Church 262. b. against translatyng Scriptures 1. a Receipt of a child in Christes name how to be vnderstode 343. a Reconciliation 387. a. to our brother 44. b Reformation must be had by loue 344. b Regeneration causeth the loue of God 382. a Regimentes states and degrees of two sortes 201. b Regiment spirituall and temporall poysoned by Papistes 181. b Regiment temporall not vsed of Christ 185. a Religion how to be tried 3. a. one holyer then an other 104. a. blynded with couetousnes 19. b Religious shauelynges beholde the outward side onely 114. a Reliques and Images enriched poore neglected 272. a Remission of sinnes 369. b Remission of sinnes to conquere England 362. b Remedy agaynst vayneglory 217. b Repentaunce 18. b. 320. b. and 331. a. how acquired 254. b. preached by Christ 28. b. by Sacramentes 13. a. preached to the Iewes by the Apostles 28. a Repentaunce the forerunner of faith 18. b. hath three partes 37. b. taught by Baptisme 14. b. signified by Baptisme 146. b Repentaunce prepareth the way to Christ 145. b RepentauÌce and sure fayth in Christ purge our sinnes 157. a Repentaunce interpreted for penauÌce of Tyndall 254. a Repentaunce and forgiuenes come by preachyng 123. b Repentaunt iustified by fayth 31. b. no sinner before God 82. b. receiueth Gods promises in Christ 31. a Request how to be made to God 222. b Resistaunce must be made agaynst all false doctrine 454. a Resistaunce agaynst God dishonoreth hym 270. a ResistauÌce of magistrates resistauÌce of God 213. a Resistaunce 393. a Restitution of the law 202. b Resurrection of Christ 261. a. destroyed by More 296. a. foolish to the heathen 256. b Rest of conscience in Christ 177. b Reuengement must bee referred to to God and his officers 215. b Reward how it commeth 218. b. of patience in persecutioÌ for the Gospel 52. a. of obedience 107. a. of disobedience 107. a Righteous liue by fayth 336. a Righteousnes of many sortes 380. b. both outward and inward what 68. b. commeth freely from Christ 71. a. how purchased 44. a. where contayned 194. a. how to be vnderstode 43. a. and 191. b Righteousnes of the Phariseis 200. b. of the kyngdome of heauen 235. a. of man odious to Gods worde 52. a Riches 189. a Rich in spirite 189. a Rich men theeues before God if they helpe not the poore 77. a. must pray for dayly bread 239. a Richard the second slayne 28. b Right Antichrist who 408. a Right penaunce 387. b Right Israelites not all that came of Israell 275. b Ripe fruites offred 424. b Rites and ceremonies Papal 407. b Roan persecuteth 454. b Robin good felow and the Pope a lyke 174. b Robinhode of authoritie in the popes behalfe 129. b Robart of Caunterbury 362. a Romish Church abhominable 267. a Rome how it came to be chief 347. a. mother of all wickednes ibidem Roote of all goodnes fayth 404. a. of all commaundementes fayth 414. a Rochester an Orator 129. b. his Diuinitie 124. b. improued 129. a. faithles 130. b. miscoÌstrueth Pauls text most shamefully 130. a. falsly allegeth Paule for ceremonies 128. b his malicious blyndnes 127. a. alledgeth heretickes for his purpose 129. b. maketh Aaron a figure of of the Pope 127. b Ruben his story 169. a Rustler 372. b Rule to know if we loue God 403. a Rulers Gods gift 118. a. for whom ordayned 228. b. why euill 118. a. not to be resisted 385. b. their dutie toward runagates 207. b Rulers repine to heare their faultes 214. b S. SAbboth day must serue vs. 274. a. for maÌs vse 287. a. how it should be occupyed 274. b Sacramentes 273. a. why ordayned 425. a. and. 442. a. not without significations 322. a. all haue significations 322. a. all haue significations 256. b. without significations to be reiected 455. a. are sinne to the vnfaythfull 443. a. how profitable 13. a. how they iustifie 143. b. confirme weake consciences 448. b. preach repentaunce vnto vs. 13. a. are stories to keepe the couenaunt in memorie 441. a. signes of Gods promise 144. a. no Sacraments to the dead 13. b SacrameÌtes of whom superstitiously ministred 293. a. abused by Papistes 13. b. of Papistes disagree 253. a. Robbed through confession 157. b. ministred in an vnknowen toung 153. a SacrameÌts of Papistes are dumine 152. a Sacrament 320. b. what it meaneth 445. a. of Christes body to whom profitable 323. b. the effect thereof 441. b. how to be receiued 470. a. a sure token of our saluation 442. a. onely preacheth iustification 143. the true meanyng therof 464. b Sacrifice and Sacrament differre 13. b Sacrifice 310. a. 322. b. 273. b. of bloud 424. b. of the old law 281. a Sacrifices and ceremonies wheÌ they ceased 357. b Sacrifices old why ordained 29. a Sacrilegie in Papistes 20. a Sacerdos 144. b Saluation to beleue in Christ 70. a. not attayned by pilgrimage 155. a Sanctus 408. a Saintes 295. b. in heauen who 298. a. cannot helpe vs. 70. b. not to be trusted in 296. a. why not to be called on 325. a. are examples 159. a Saintes truly worshypped 280. a. examples of fayth 133. b. desire our saluation 280. a. ioyful of our company 401. a. abhorre them
of Lemster was a great miracle 176. a Women aswell as men endewed with wisedome 252. a Women why they Baptise 287. a Women discrete may minister the sacramentes 322 b Women haue power to bynde and how 358. a World shall know Christ 410. a World knoweth not Christ 409. a. blynd in godly matters 423. b Wrold worse worse 55. b. a louer of wickednes 7. b World of whom ouercomen 421. a World must bee rebuked for lacke of iudgement 248. b Worldlynes in the Popes doctrine 416. a Worldly wisedome tendyng to Gods glory is commendable 455. b Worldly prefermentes are lettes to true Christianitie 340. a Worldly wisemen vnderstand not the Scriptures 88. a Worldly rulers how farre to be obeyed 385. b Worldly witte 113. a Word of the law and Christes promises contayned in the hart 31 b Word of God 34 a. the force therof 178. a. ground of fayth 302. b. maketh true fayth 170. b. trieth miracles 300. b Word beyng the Gospell before the Church 255. a Word saueth 18. b Word altered not Gods word 201. a Wordes honoryng God expresly 269 b Wordes of Christ are spirituall onely 460. a. are spirite and lyfe 465. b Worke made acceptable by fayth 243. b Workes 4. b. 16. a. 19. b. 219. a. 225. b. and. 331. b What they be and to what end 81. a. Gods workemaÌship 15. b. are Sacramentes 226. a. whiche be good 84. b. whence they be 331. b. how to be done 73. a. how accepted of God 18. b. must be seasoned with Gods word 219. b Workes their force 15. a. 384. b Workes of the law and fulfillyng the same two thynges 40. b Workes Papisticall 396. a. taught with crueltie 29. b. blynd ibidem Workes make hypocrites the true in tent away 228. b Workes without fayth 16. a Workes are made perfect with Christes bloud 31. a. without Christ in Gods sight damnable 70. a Workes our witnesses before God 69. a. a shew of fayth 55. a. cannot be separated from fayth 42. b. declare fayth 402. a. declare Gods goodnes 67. b. expressed by fayth 413. b. cannot bee done without fayth 73. b. where true fayth is 411. b. folowe true fayth 68. a. spryng from true fayth vniuersally 41. b. folow iustification 45. a Workes looked on 162. b. not to be presumed vpon 11. a. cannot fulfill the law 249. b. deserue not the reward promised 218. a Workes of the law iustifie not 41. a. 195. b. 185. b. and 335. a. no satisfaction for sinnes to Godward 39. a. satisfactory in no wise 398. a. deserue not the giftes of grace 386. b Workes are vnder the law 336. b Workes without the promise saue not 153. a Workes of ours can deserue nothing 333. a. must be done without hope of reward 69. a. must be done and not trusted in 85. a. must serue vs and not we them 273. b Workes all euill where faith lacketh 46. a Workes of ours how farre they extend 37. a. fulfill the law before the world 117. a. must not be done for reward 333. a. obtaine not Gods fauour 89. b Workes must procede of loue 335. b Workes to our neighbour workes to God 421. a. the fruites of lyght 392. a. of loue 88. b. of fayth 73. b Workes outward declare where true fayth is 68. b Workes whiche most meete to bee done 49. a. why they must be done 32. a Worker first of our worke GOD. 329. b Worke holy sophisters confounded 117. a Worshyp of Saintes and heathen Gods a lyke 424. a Worshyp of God truly 396. a Worshypping of Saintes 398. b. and 224. b. of the Crosse 270. b. of vncoÌsecrate hostes 298. b. of Images 271. a Worshypping of Images neuer established by miracles 300. b Worshypping and honoryng are one 26â a Worshyppyng in spirite 395. b Worthy receauyng of the Sacramentes encreaseth fayth 446. b Wrath of God styrreth vp destroyers of the Church 341. b Written Scriptures must confound vnwritten verities 255. b Writyng from the begynnyng ibidem Y. YOngest best beloued of parentes 264. a Yong widowes forbidden ministration 313. b Yong Timothy made a Byshop 252. b Yuye tree a similitude 352. b Z. ZAcharias the first Pope 348. a Zeale wtout knowledge nought 87. a Zeale of righteousnes what 192. b Zeale of ceremonies may not breake vnitie 237. b Zuinglius and Oecolampadius belyed of More 473. b ¶ The end of the Table of M. Tyndals workes Imprinted at London by Iohn Daye dwellyng ouer Aldersgate An. 1572. ¶ Cum gratia Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis I D THE WORKES of the excellent Martyr of Christ Iohn Frith DIEV ET MON DRIOT His lyfe and Martyrdome 1. His booke of Purgatory Fol. 1. 2. An auÌswere to Rastals Dialogue 7. 3. An auÌswere to Syr Thomas More 32. 4. Hys aunswere vnto Fisher Byshop of Rochester 51. 5. A Bulwarke against Rastall 60. 6. His iudgement vpon M. Tracyes will and Testament 77. 7. A letter written from the Tower to Christes congregation 81. 8. A mirrour or glasse to knowe thy selfe 83. 9. A treatise vppon the Sacrament of Baptisme 90. 10. An antithesis betweene Christ and the Pope 97. 11. A booke of the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ 107. 12. Articles for the which he dyed 170. A Table contayning the principall matters of all his workes ARISE FOR IT IS DAY The storie life and Martirdome of Iohn Frith with the Godly and learned workes and writings of the sayde Author here after ensueing THe sayd Iohn Frith was borne in Kent and was the sonne of Richard Frith Inholder in Senenock in the Countye of Kent This yong man so greatly profited in lerning that scarcely in his time there might bée anye found equall vnto him And vnto his great knowledge and learning was adioyned such an honest conuersation and godlynes of life that it was harde to iudge in whether of them he was more commendable Of the great godlines that was in him this may serue for experiment sufficient that not withstanding his other manifold and singular giftes and ornaments of the mynde in him most pregnant wherwith all hée might haue opened an easye way vnto honour and dignitie yet he chose rather wholye to consecrate him selfe vnto the Church of Christ excellently shewing forth and practising in him selfe the Precept so highly commended of the Philosophers touching the lyfe of man which life they say is geuen vnto vs in such sort that how much better the man is so much the lesse hée should liue vnto hym selfe but vnto other seruing for the common vtilitie And that we shoulde thinke a great part of our birth to bée due vnto our parentes A greater part vnto our countrey And the greatest parte of all to bée béestowed vpon the Church if we wil bee counted good men Fyrst of all he began his studie at Cambridge where he had to his tutor Stephen Gardiner who afterward was Byshop of Winchester And in the nature of this yong man being but a child God had planted meruelous
in lawe whom he did so valiauntly fight withall and confounde that he connerted Rastall to his part Then he was ââryed to Lambith before the Bishop of Caunterburie and afterward to Croydon where was present StepheÌ Gardiner Bishop of Winchester who had béene his tutor in Cambridge as aforesayd and séemed to owe vnto him greate loue and fauour but in the stéede thereof he found in the ende his great malice and tyrannye and last of all he was called before the Bishoppes in a Common assemblye at London where he so costantly defended him selfe that he had preuailed if he might haue bene heard as indéed he was not The order of his iudgment with the maner of his examinatioÌ and Articles which were obiected agaynst him are comprised and set forth by himselfe in a letter written to his frendes which letter also is imprinted and set forth in this booke After sentence geuen against him by the Byshop of London he was delyuered to the Maior Shirifes of the sayd Citie Syr Stephen pecocke a simple man being then Maior and forth with he was committed to new gate where he was put into y e Dungeon vnder the sayd Gate and laden with Boltes and Irons as many as he could beare and his necke with a Coler of Iron made fast to a post so that he could neyther stand vpright nor stoupe downe yet was he there continually occupied in writing of diuerse thinges namely with a candell both day and night for there came none other light into that place And in this case he remayned iij. or iiij dayes and then was from thence caried into Smithféelde y e iiij day of Iuly 1533. where with great pacience and constancy he suffered that most hâlly and cruell death of burning And when the fyer was set on the faggottes he embraced the same in his Armes and with all pacience commytted his spirite vnto almighty God But this one thing is yet to bee remembred that he being bounde to the stake with an other good Martyr which was a very simple young man named Andrew Hewet there was present one Doctour Cooke that was person of the Church called Allhalowes in hony lane scituate in the myddes of Chepesyde And the sayd Cooke made an open exclamation and admonished the people that they should in no wise pray for them no more then they would doe for a dogg At which wordes Frith smyling desired the Lord to forgeue him But the vngodly and vncharitable wordes of the sayd Doctour did not a litle offende the people And thus for the testimony of the true doctrine of Christ which the sayd Frith sealed with his bloud the day and yeare afore sayd he dyed in the xxiiij yeare of his age as some saye but his parentes reported in the xxx yeare of his age IOHN FRITH VNTO the Christen Reader GRace and peace bee with thee ChristeÌ reader I am sure there are many that will much meruell couÌt it a great presumptioÌ that I beyng so young and of so small learnyng dare attempt to dispute this matter against these thre personages of the which nuÌber two that is to say my Lord of Rochester and Sir Thomas More are auncient men both of great witte and dignitie Notwithstanding I will desire theÌ paciently to heare myne aunswere not aduertisyng who speaketh the wordes but rather what is sayd And as coÌcernyng myne youth let them remember what Paule monisheth i. Timot. iiij willyng that Timotheus should instruct the coÌgregration and that no maÌ should despise his youth for as the spirite of God is bound to no place cueÌ so is he not addict to any age or person but inspireth when hee will and where he will makyng the young to see visioÌs and espye the truth and the elders to dreame dreames and to wander in phantasies Actes 2. Ioel. 2. And as touchyng my learnyng I must nedes acknowledge as the truth is very small neuerthelesse that litle as I am bound haue I determined by Gods grace to bestow to the edifying of Christes congregation which I pray god to encrease in the knowledge of his word I would not that any man should admit my wordes or learnyng except they will stande with the Scripture and be approued therby Lay them to the touchstone and trye them with Gods word If they be found false and counterfaite then damne them and I shall also reuoke them with all myne hart But if the Scripture allow them that you can not deny but it so is then resist not y e doctrine of God but knowledge your ignoraunce and seduction and returne gladly into the right way For if you caÌ not improue it by Gods word and yet of an hate and malicious mynde that you beare to the truth labour to resist it condemne it that it should not spread I ensure you your sinne is irremissible and euen agaynst the holy ghost and the bloud of them that perish for fault of instruction shal be required on your handes Peraduenture some of you will say your fathers old progenitours ⪠with many holy men and Doctours haue so beleued that therfore you will abyde by the old I aunswere The wayes iudgementes of God are meruelous who knoweth whether God haue suffred his elect to erre and be seduced for a season to the entent that the vnfaithfull which would not beleue the truth but had pleasure in iniquity might stoÌble at their errour into their vtter confusion and ruine Although a man be neuer so faythfull and holy yet is there much imperfectioÌ in him as long as he is included in this mortall body how be it it is not imputed vnto him but through y e fayth in Christes bloud who lye pacified and forgeuen And therfore it is not sure that we folow their exteour workes or other imaginatioÌs but let vs euer coÌferre them vnto the pure word of God and as the Scripture testifieth so let vs receaue them My Lord of Rochester doth testifie him selfe writyng vpon the xviij Article that there are many pointes both of the Gospels and other Scriptures which are now discussed more diligeÌtly and more clearely vnderstand then they haue bene in tymes past And addeth furthermore that there are diuerse places in Scripture yet some deale darke which he doubteth not but that they shal be more open and light vnto our posteritie for why shal we dispaire of that saith he sith that the Scripture is for that entent left with vs that it may be vnderstaÌd of vs exactly and to the vttermost point Of this may you euidently perceaue that the old fathers and holy Doctours haue not sene all the truth But somewhat is also left through the high prouision of God to be discussed of their successours And therfore is it not mete that we straight wayes cleaue vnto their wordes with out any further ensearchyng the scriptures but we must examine all thyngs by the
signification and sought their health and righteousnes in the bodely worke and in the sacrifice it selfe then were they abhominable in the sight of God and then he cryed out of them both by the Prophet Dauid and Esay And likewise it is with our Sacramentes let vs therefore séeke vp the significations and go to the very thing which the sacrament is set to present vnto vs. And there shal we finde such fruitfull foode as shall neuer fayle vs but comfort our soules into life euerlastyng Now will I in order answer to M. Mores booke and as I finde occasion geuen me I shall indeuoure my selfe to supply that thyng which lacked in the first treatise and I trust I shall shewe such lyght that all men whose eyes the Prince of this worlde hath not blynded shall perceiue the truth of the scriptures and glory of Christ And where as in my first treatise the truth was set forth with all simplicitie and nothing armed against the assault of sophisters that haue I somewhat redressed in this booke haue brought bones filte for their téeth which if they be to busie may chaunce to choke them ¶ Thus beginneth the Preface of M. Mores booke IN my most harty wyse I recommende me vnto you and send you by this bringer the wryting againe which I receiued from you Whereof I haue bene offered a cople of copies mo in the mean while as late as ye wot well it was Deare brethren consider these wordes and prepare you to the crosse that Christ shall lay vppon you as ye haue oft bene counsaylled For euen as when the Wolfe howleth y e shéepe had nede to gather theÌselues to their shepheard to be deliuered from the assault of the bloudy beast likewyse had you nede to slye vnto the shepheard of your soules Christ Iesus to sell your coates and buye his spirituall sworde which is the word of God to defende and deliuer you in this present necessitie for now is the tyme that Christ tolde vs of Math. x. that he was come by his worde to set variaunce betwene the sonne and his father betwene the daughter and her mother betwene the daughter in lawe and her mother in lawe that in a mans owne householde shall be his enemies But be not dismayde nor thinke it no wonder for Christe those twelue and one of them was y e Deuill and betrayed his master And we that are his disciples may loke for no better than he had himself for the scholer is not aboue his mayster Saint Paule protesteth y e he was in perill among false brethren surely I suppose that we are in no lesse ieopardye For if it be so that hys mastership receiued one copye and had a cople of copyes moe offered in the meane while then may ye be sure that there are many false brethren which pretend to haue knowledge in déede are but pykethankes prouiding for their bellye prepare ye therfore clokes for the weather waxeth cloudy and rayne is like to followe I meane not false excuses and forswearing of your selues but that ye loke substantially vpon Gods worde that you may be able to answere their subtle obiections And rather chuse manfully to dye for Christ and hys worde than cowardlye to deny hym for thys vayne and transitory lyfe coÌsidering that they haue no further power but ouer this corruptible bodye which if they put it not to death must yet at y e length perish of it selfe But I trust the Lord shall not suffer you to be teÌpted aboue that you may beare but according to y e sprite that he shall poure vppon you shall he also sende you the scourge and make hym that hath receiued more of the sprite to suffer more and him that receiueth lesse thereof to suffer according to his Talent I thought it necessary first to admonishe you of this matter and now I will recite more of M. Mores boke Whereby men may see how gredely these newe named brethren writeit out secretly spread it abroade The name is of great antiquitie although you liste to ieste For they were called brethreÌ ere our Bishops were called Lordes and had y e name geuen them by Christ saying Math. xxiij all ye are brethren And Luke y â xxij Confirme they brethren And the name was coÌtinued by the Apostles and is a name that nourisheth loue amitie And very glad I am to heare of their gredy affection in writing out and spreading abroade the worde of God for by that I do perceiue the prophesie of Amos to haue place which sayth In the person of God I will send hunger and thyrste into the earth not hunger for meate nor thurst for drinke But for to here the word of God Now begynneth the kyngdome of heauen to suffer violence Now runne the poore Publicanes which knowledge them selues sinners to the word of God puttyng both goodes and body in ieoperdy for the soule health And though our Byshops do call it heresie and all them heretickes that hunges after it yet do we know that it is the Gospell of the lyuyng God for the health and saluation of all that beleue And as for the name doth nothing offeÌde vs though they call it heresie a thousand tymes For S. Paule testifieth that the Phariseis and Priestes which were counted the very Church in hys tyme dyd so call it and therefore it foreceth not though they ruling in their rowmes vse the same names Which young maÌ I here say hath lately made diuers other thynges that yet runne in hoker moker so close amoÌg the brethren that there commeth no copies abroad I aunswere that surely I can not spynne and I thinke no maÌ more hateth to be idle then I do Wherfore in such thynges as I am able to doe I shal be diligeÌt as long as God lendeth me my lyfe And if ye thinke I be to busie you may rid me the sooner for euen as the shéepe is in the butchers handes ready bound and looketh but euen for the grace of the butcher wheÌ he shall shed his bloud Euen so am I bounde at the Byshops pleasures euer lookyng for the day of my death In so much that playne worde was sent me that the Chauncelour of LoÌdon sayd it should cost me the best bloud in my body whiche I would gladly were shed to morow if so be it might open the kyngs graces eyen And verely I maruell that any thing can runne in hoker moker or be hyd from you For sith you mought haue such store of copyes concernyng the thyng whiche I most desired to haue ben kept secret how should you then lacke a copye of those thynges which I most would haue published And hereof ye may be sure I care not though you and all the Byshops with in England looke on all that euer I wrote but rather would be glad that ye so dyd
were in number but 25. thousand And the Israelites were 400. thousand fighting men which came into Silo and asked of God who should be theyr Captaine agaynst Beniamin And they being but 25. thousand slue of the other Israelites 12. thousand in one day Then fledde the children of Israell vnto the Lord in Silo made great lamentation before hym euen vntill night and asked hym counsell saying shall we go any more to fight agaynst the tribe of Beniamin our brethren or not God sayd vnto them yes goe vp and sight agaynst them TheÌ went they the next day fought agaynst them and there were slaine agayne of the Israelites 18. thousand men Then came they backe agayne vnto the house of God and sat down and wept before the Lord and fasted that day vntill euen and asked hym agayn whether they should any more fight agaynst theyr brethren or not God sayd vnto them yes to morrow I will deliuer them into your handes And the next day was y e tribe of Beniamin vtterly destroyed sauyng 600. men which hid theÌ selues in the wildernes Here it is euident that the children of Israell loste the victorye twise and yet notwithstanding had a iust cause and fought at Gods commaundement Besides that Iudas Machabeus was slaine in a righteous cause as it is manifest in the first booke of the Machabées And therfore it can be no euident argument of the vengeance of God that he was slaine in battell in a righteous cause and therefore me thinketh that thys man is too malaparte so bluntly to enter into Gods iudgement and geue sentence in that matter before he be called to counsell Thus haue I sufficiently touched hys Preface for those pointes y e he afterward touched more largely haue I willingly passed because I shall touch theÌ earnestly hereafter Now let vs sée what heproueth ¶ It ys a great wonder to see vppon how light and sleight occasioÌs he is falleÌ vnto these abhominable heresies For he denieth not nor caÌ not say nay but that our Sauiour sayd him selfe my fleshe is verely meate my bloud is verely drinke he denieth not also that Christ him selfe at his last Supper takyng the bread into his blessed handes after that he had blessed it sayd vnto his disciples Take you this and eate it this is my body that shal be geuen for you And likewise gaue theÌ the chalice after his blessyng and consecracion and sayd vnto them this is the chalice of my bloud of the new testament which shal be shed out for many do ye this in remembrance of me ¶ It is a great wonder to see how ignoraunt their proctour is in the playne textes of scripture For if he had any IudgmeÌt at all he might wel perceiue y â when Christ spake these wordes my flesh is verely meate and my bloud is verely drinke he spake nothing of y e sacrameÌt For it was not institute vntill his last supper And these wordes were spokeÌ to y e Iewes long before ment them not of y e carnall eatyng or drynking of his bodye or bloud but of the spirituall eating which is done by fayth and not with tothe or bellye Wherof S. Austyn sayth vppon his gospell of Iohn why preparest thou other tothe or bellye beleue and thou hast eaten him So y e Christes words must here be vnderstaÌded spiritually And that he calleth hys fleshe very meat because that as meate by the eating of it disgetting it in our bodye doth strengthen these corruptible meÌbres so likewise doth Christes fleshe by the beleuing that it taketh our sinne vpon it selfe suffered the death to deliuer vs strengthen our immortall soule And likewise as drinke when it is dronken doth comfort and quicken our frayle nature So likewise doth Christes bloud by the drinkyng of it into the bowelles of our soule that it is by the beleuing and remembring that it is shed for our sinnes comfort and quicken our soule vnto euerlasting lyfe And this is the eating and drinking y e he speaketh of in that place And that it is so you may perceaue by the text following which sayth he that eateth my body drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in him which is not possible to be vnderstaÌd of the sacrament For it is false to say that he y e eateth the sacrament of his body and drinketh the sacrament of his bloud dwelleth in Christ and Christ in hym For some man receiueth it vnto his condemnation And thus doth Saint Austen expound it sayinge Hoc est enim Christum manducare in illo manere illum manentem in se habere This is the very eating of Christ to dwell in him to haue him dwelling in vs So y e who so euer dwelleth in Christ y e is to say beleueth y â he is seÌt of God to saue vs from our sinnes doth verely eate and drinke his body and bloud although he neuer receiued the sacrament This is y e spirituall eating necessary for all y â shal be saued for there is no man that coÌmeth to God wtout this eating of Christ that is the beleuing in hym And so I denye not but that Christ speaketh these wordes but surely he ment it spiritually as Saint Austen declareth and as the place playnely proueth And as touching y e other wordes y e Christ spake vnto hys disciples at the last Supper I deny not but y â he sayd so but y â he so fleshly ment as ye falsly faine I vtterly deny For I say y e his wordes were then also sprite life were spiritually to be vnderstaÌded y e he called it his body For a certaine propertie euen as he cauled him self a very vyne his disciples dery vine braunches and as he cauled himselfe a dore not y e he was so in dede but for certaine properties in the similytudes as a maÌ for some propertie sayeth of his neighhours horsse this horsse is mine vp and downe meaning that it is in euery thing so like And lyke as Iacob builded an aulter and cauled it the house of God as Iacob called y e place where he wrastled with the aungell the face of God and as the pascall lambe was cauled the passing by of the Lord. And as a broken potsherd was cauled Hierusalem not for that they were so in dede but for certaine similitudes in the properties and that the very name itself might put men in remeÌbraunce what is ment by the thing as I sufficiently declared in my first treatise He must nedes confesse that they that beleue that it is the very body and his very bloud in dede haue the playne wordes of our sauiour him selfe vpon their side for the ground foundacion of their fayth That is very true and so haue they y e very wordes of god which say that a broken potsherd is Hierusalem and that Christ is a stone
shall hereafter appeare And therfore necessitie compelleth vs to expounde it figuratiuely as doth also S. Austen and other holy Doctours as hereafter shall playnly appeare If euery man that can finde out a new fonde phantasie vppon a text of holy Scripture may haue hys owne mynde taken and hys owne exposition beleued agaynst the expositions of the olde cunnynge Doctours and Saintes theÌ may you surely see that no article of the christen faith caÌ stand and eudure loÌg And then he alledgeth S. Hierome which sayth that if the exposition of other interpretours and the coÌsent of the common Catholicke Church were of no more strength but that euery man might be beleued that could bryng some textes of Scripture for hym expounded as it pleased hym selfe then could I sayth this holy man bryng a new sect also and say by Scripture that no maÌ were a true ChristeÌ maÌ nor a meÌber of the Church that kepeth ij coates And in good faith sayth M. More if that way were alowed I were able my selfe to find out xv new sectes in one fore noone S. Peter sayth that the Scripture is not expounded after the appetite of any priuate person but eueÌ as it was geuen by the spirite of God and not by mans will So must it be declared by the same spirite And therefore I will not that any man shal be beleued by bringyng his own mynde phantasie But if he wil be beleued let him bryng either an other playne texte which shal expounde the first or els at the lest he must bryng such a senteÌce as will stand with the processe of the Scripture Why was S. Hierome alowed agaynst the determination of the counsell of Malta sith he was alone and they a great multitude but onely because he brought euideÌt scripture whiche at the tyme of their sentence none of them remembred and yet when it was brought they could not auoyde it And likewise except I bryng euideÌt scripture which they all shal expouÌd as I do I desire not to be beleued And where M. More sayth that in good fayth he were able to find out xv new sectes in one fore noone he may thaÌke God that he hath such a pregnaunt wytte But yet I trust he should not find one if there were any peril of damnatioÌ therin but that we would w t a plaine text coÌfute it which he should not be able to auoyde And ouer this the very circumstaunces of the places in the gospel in whiche our Sauiour speaketh of that Sacrament may well make open the difference of his speche in this matter and of all those other and that as hee spake all those but in an allegorye so spake hee this playnly meanyng that he spake of his very body and hys very bloud beside all allegoryes For when our Lord sayd he was a very vyne and when he said he was the dore there was none that heard him that any thyng marueiled therof And why For because they perceyued well that he ment not that he was a materiall vyne in deede nor a doore neither But when he sayd that hys flesh was very meate and his bloud very drinke and that they should not be saued but if they dyd eate his flesh and drinke his bloud then were they all in such a wonder ther of that they could not abyde And wherefore but because they perceyued well by hys wordes and his manner of circumstaunces that Christ spake of his very fleshe and his very bloud in dede It is openly knowen confessed among all learned men that in the 6. chapter of Ioh. Christ spake not one worde concerning the sacrament of his body and bloud whiche at that tyme was not yet institute but all that he there spake was of the spirituall eating and drinking of his body and bloud into our soules which is the fayth in his body and bloud as I haue touched before And the circumstances of this place do in dede proue that they were fleshly minded vnderstode not the spirituall wordes of our sauiour Christ and therfore woÌdered murmured Insomuch that Christ sayd vnto theÌ doth this offend you what will you say then when ye shall see the sonne of man ascending thether where he was before Then addeth S. Austen you shall know that he ment not to geue his flesh to eate w t your teth for he shall ascende hole And Christ addeth it is the spirite that quickeneth the fleshe profiteth nothing the word that I speake are spirite and lyfe that is to say sayth S. Austen are spiritually to be vnderstand And where Christ sayth that the fleshe profiteth nothing meaning of his owne flesh as S. Austen sayth he meaneth that it profiteth not as they vnderstode hym y e is to say it profiteth not if it were eaten But it doth much profit to be slayne that thorough it and the sheding of his bloud the wrath of God our father is pacified and our sinnes forgeuen And wher his mastership sayth that the people perceiued well what he ment and therfore he wondred so sore and could not abide because they perceiued well by his wordes and maÌner of circuÌstances what his meaning was I wil say as I did before that the vnderstood hym not Now here he will say vnto me if it be but your naye my yea theÌ I would thinke to be beleued as sone as you and surely y e were but reason Not withstanding thankes be to God I am able to bring in auctorite to Iudg betwene vs both whose iudgment I trust his mastership will admit This auctor is S. Austen whiche sayth Discipuli enim eius qui eum sequebantur expauerunt exhorruerunt sermonem non intelligentes That is to say his his disciples which followed hym were astonied and abhored his wordes and vnderstode them not And because your mastership shal not thinke that he ouershot him felfe and spake he wist not what we shall allege hym saying the same wordes in an other place Cum diceret Nisi quis manducauerit carnem c. illi non intelligentes dixerunt ad inuicem Durus est hic sermo quis potest eum audire That is when Christ sayd except a man eate my flesh and drinke my bloud he shal haue no lyfe in him they because they vnderstode him not sayd to ech other this is an hard saying who can heare him Thus I trust you will geue place although not to me yet at the least vnto S. Austen and receiue the truth which is so plainely proued And where his mastership allegeth this text for the sacrament that except they did eate his flesh and drinke his bloude the could not be saued it semeth that he is fallen into the error of Pope innocent which likewise vnderstanding this text vpon the sacrament as M. More doth caused yong children and infantes to receiue the sacrament as though they had all bene damned which died
not in me and in whom I abyde not let hym not say or thynke that he eateth my body or drinketh my bloud They abyde not in Christ which are not his members And they are not hys meÌbers which make them selues the meÌbers of an harlot And these are also the very wordes of Bede Here it is playne proued agayne by the authoritie of S. Austen and Bede that the wicked and vnfaythfull which are not the members of Christ doe not eate hys body nor drinke hys bloud and yet they do eate the sacrament as well as the other Wherefore you must néedes graunt that the Sacrament is not y e naturall body of Christ but a figure tokeÌ or memoriall therof Now good Christen people count not thys new learning which is firmed by such olde Doctors and faythfull fathers Now were this inough for a Christen man that loued no contention But because there are so many sophisters in y â world which care not what they say so they holde not theyr peace I must néedes set some bulwarke by thys holy Doctor to helpe to defend hym for els they will shortly ouerrunne hym as they do me and make hym an hereticke too Therefore I will alleage hys master S. Ambrose Saint Ambrose sayth Non iste panis est qui vadit in corpus sed ille panis vitae aeternae qui animae nostrae substantiam fulscit That is It is not thys bread that goeth into the bodye but that bread of euerlasting life whiche vpboldeth the substance of our soule Furthermore the great clerke Prosper confirmeth the same saying Qui discordat a Christo nec carnem Christi manducat nec sanguinem bibit etiamsi tamtae rei sacramentum ad iudicium suae praesumptionis quotidie indifferenter accipiat That is He that discordeth from Christ doth neyther eate hys fleshe nor drinke hys bloud although he receaue indiffereÌtly euery day the sacrament of so great a thing vnto the condemnation of hys presumption And these are also the very wordes of Bede vpon the xj Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians Now you may sée that it is not S. Austens minde onely but also the saying of many moe And therefore I trust you will be good vnto hym And if ye condemne not these holy fathers then am I wrongfully punished But if you condemne theÌ then must poore Frith be content to beare the burthen with them ¶ The mynde and exposition of the old Doctours vppon the wordes of Christes maundey ANd where M. More sayth that if Christe had not ment after the plaine literal sece that both the hearers at that tyme and the expositours since and all ChristeÌ people beside this xv c. yeare would not haue taken onely the litterall sence beyng so straunge and maruelous that it might seme impossible decline from the letter for allegories in all such other thynges beyng as hee sayth and as in deede they be so many farre in nomber mo As touchyng y e hearers they were deceiued and vnderstode him not I meane as many as tooke his wordes fleshly as you do And they had their aunswere of Christ when they murmured that his wordes were spirite and lyfe that is as S. Austen sayth spiritually to bee vnderstand and not fleshly as is before declared And as for the expositours I thinke he hath not one of the old fathers for him but certaine new felowes as Dominie S. Thomas Decam and such other whiche haue made the Pope a God And as I haue shewed S. Austen maketh full for vs and so do all the old fathers as OccolaÌpadius hath well declared in his booke Quid veteres senserint de SacrameÌto eucharistiae And some of their sayinges I shall alledge anone And where you say that all Christen people haue so beleued this 1500. yeares that is very false For there is no doubt but that the people thought as holy S. Austen and other faithful fathers taught them Which as I said make with vs. NotwithstaÌdyng in déede sith our Prelates haue bene made Lordes and haue set vp their lawes and decrées contrary to the prerogatiue of all Princes lyke most sutle traytours haue made all meÌ beleue that they may make lawes and bynde mens consciences to obey them and that their lawes are Gods lawes blindyng y e peoples eyes with two or thrée textes wrongfully wrested to aduaunce their pride where they ought to obey Kyngs and Princes and be subiect to their lawes as Christ and his Apostles were eueÌ vnto y e death Sith that tyme I say they haue made men beleue what they list and made articles of the faith at their pleasure One article must be y e they be the Church and can not erre And this is the grounde of all their doctrine But the truth of this article is nowe sufficiently knowen For if Quéene Katherine be kyng Henries wife then they do erre and if she be not then they haue erred to speake no more cruelly It is now become an article of our fayth y e the Pope of Rome must be y â head of y e Church the Vicare of Christ that by Gods law It is an article of our fayth that what soeuer hee byndeth in earth is bounde in heauen in so much that if he curse wrongfully yet ye must be feared and infinite such other which are not in our Crede but blessed bee God that hath geuen some light into our Princes hart For he hath lately put foorth a booke called the glasse of truth whiche proueth many of these articles very foolishe phantasies and that euen by their owne Doctours so I trust you shal be proued in this poynt of the Sacrament for though it be an article of our fayth it is no article of our Crede in y e xij articles wher of are sufficient for our saluatioÌ And therefore we may thinke that you lye without all ieoperdye of damnation Neuerthelesse seing his mastership saith that all make for him and I say cleane contrarie that all the olde fathers make against him or at the lest wise not with him It were necessary that one of vs should proue his purpose But indeede in this poynt he would loke to haue the vauntage of me For he thinketh that men will soner beleue hym which is a great man then me which am but a poore man and that therfore I had more néede to proue my part true then he to proue his Well I am content and therfore geue eare deare reader and Iudge betwéene vs. First I wil begin with Tertulian because he is of most antiquitie Tertulian speakyng of Christ sayth Nec panem reprobauit quo ipsum corpus suum representat That is to say Christ him selfe did not reproue or discommend bread whereby he doth represent hys very body For the vnderstandyng of thys place you must knowe that there was an hereticke called Marcion which dyd reproue creatures and said
say yea rather the remeÌbraunce of the sacrifice Graunt mercies good Chrisostome now do I perceaue y e pith of this matter euen as the masse is the very death and passion of christ so is it a sacrifice Now it doth but only represent the very death and passion of Christ therefore it doth follow that the Masse in very dede doth but onely represent a sacrifice And yet notwithstaÌdyng many tymes it is called a sacrifice of holy Doctours and hath the name of y e very same thyng that it doth represent signifie And euen so we may say of this sacrameÌt that as the Masse is the very sacrifice and passion of Christ so is the Sacrament his very body sacrifice that is offered Now the Masse doth but onely represeÌt signifie the passioÌ so the Sacrament doth but onely represent and signifie the body and very sacrifice once offered for euer NotwithstaÌdyng many tymes the Masse is called a sacrifice of holy Doctours and so the Sacrament is called the body and a sacrifice And hath the name of the very same thyng that it doth represent and signifie Furthermore Chrisostome sayth Ipse quoque bibit ex eo ne auditis verbis illis dicerent quid igitur sanguinem bibimus carnem comedimus ac ideo perturbarentur Nam quando prius de his verba fecit multi solummodo propter verba scandalum passi sunt Neigitur tunc id quoque accideret primus ipse hoc fecit vt traÌquillo animo ad coÌmunicationem misteriorum induceret That is to say he also dranke of it lest wheÌ they heard his woordes they should say why do we theÌ drinke bloud and eate flesh and so should be troubled For when hée spake before of those thyngs many of them were offended with his woordes And because that should not now also chaunce he hym selfe dranke first of it that he might cause them to come without feare to the partaking of those misteries here Chrisostome noteth y e Christ dranke of it to draw them from the grosse vnderstaÌdyng of his wordes and by his drinkyng to testifie vnto them that it was not his natural bloud nor his naturall flesh in déede but onely memorials and representations of his body and bloud And therfore he called theÌ misteries that is to say sacramentes For in this place a Sacrament and a mistery is all one thyng NotwithstaÌdyng sometyme this word mistery is more commoÌ and large in signifying then this worde Sacrament And I haue shewed you before that a Sacrament is the signe of an holy thyng it selfe that it represeÌteth albeit some tyme it beare the name of the very thyng it selfe as the Image of S. Peter is not S. Peter him selfe and yet it beareth his name Chrisostome sayth Caro non prodest quicq hoc est secundum spiritum verba mea audienda sunt Qui secundum carnem audit nihil lucratur nihil vtilitatis accipit Et paulò post Quid est auteÌ carnalit er intelligere simpliciter vtres dicuntur neque aliud quippiam excogitare Misteria omnia interioribus oculis considâraÌda sunt hoc est spiritualiter That is to say The flesh profiteth nothing that is my wordes must be vnderstaÌd after the spirit He that vnderstaÌdeth them after y t flesh wynneth nothyng nor taketh any profit And a litle after What meaneth this to vnderstand after the flesh or carnally verely to take the thynges simply as they are spoken and to thinke no other thyng All misteries or Sacramentes must be considered with the inward eyes that is to say spiritually And after he expoundeth him selfe on this maner Interiores autem oculi vt panem viderint creaturas transuolant non de illo pane a pistore cocto cogitaÌt sed de eo qui dixit se paneÌ vitae quâ per misticum paneÌ significatur That is to say The inward eyes as soone as they sée the bread they passe ouer the creatures thinke not of that bread which is baken of the baker but of hym that called him selfe the bread of lyfe which is signified by the misticall or sacramentall bread Would you haue hym say any more hee telleth you playne that Christ which is the very bread of lyfe is signified by this sacramentall bread And that is the thyng whiche our Byshops so fleshly denye now a dayes which thyng yet you may sée the old fathers conclude with one assent NotwithstaÌdyng yet I will alledge mo old Doctours so that from hence forward they may be ashamed to call it new learnyng Fulgentius sayth In illis enim carnalibus tempore legis victimis significatio fuit carnis Christi quam pro peccatis nostris ipse sine peccato fuerat oblaturus sanguinis quem erat effusurus in remissionem peccatorum nostrorum In âsto autem sacrificio gratiarum actio atque commemoratio est carnis Christi quam pronobis obtulit sanguinis quem pro nobis idem Deus effudit That is to say In these carnall sacrifices in the time of the law was a signification of the flesh of christ which he without sinne should offer for our sinnes of the bloud which he should shed out in remission of our sinnes But in this sacrifice is a thaÌkes geuyng remembraunce of the flesh of Christ whiche hee offered for vs and of the bloud which the same God shed out for vs. First note that he calleth it a sacrifice which notwithstaÌdyng is but a remeÌbrauÌce of that sacrifice offered on the crosse once for all as it is proued before out of Chrisostome Then hée playnly calleth it a thankes geuyng remembraunce of Christes flesh and bloud and so concludeth with vs. Neuerthelesse because Sophisters wold soone thinke to auoyde this place I will alledge one other saying of the same author whiche they shall neuer be able to auoyde Fulgentius saith as Haymo testifieth Hic calix nouum TestamentuÌ est id est hic calix quem vobis trado nouum Testamentum significat That is to say This cup or chalice is the new Testament That is this cup or chalice which I deliuer you doth signifie the new TestameÌt In this place he doth playnly shew his mynde whiche can not be anoyded For euen as the cup is the new Testament so is the bread the body Now the cup doth but signifie the new Testament and therefore I may conclude that the breade doth but signifie the body Eusebius sayth Quia corpus assuÌptum ablaturus erat ex oculâs nostris sideribus allaturus necessarium erat vt nobis in hac die sacramentum corporis sanguinis consecraret vt colleretur iugiter per misterium quod semel offerabatur in precium That is ta say Because he would take away out of our eyes the body that he toke and cary it into heauen It was necessary that in this time he should consecrate to vs
touching hys Godhed and dwelleth in the same temple of God as God and in some place of heauen for the conditioÌ of his very body Here is it euident by S. Austens wordes that as touching his godhed he is in all places and as touching his manhode he is onlye in heauen yea and not that onely but that he being in heauen as touching the measure nature condicion and qualitye of his naturall body is only in one certaine place in heauen and not in many places at once Thus much is proued out of S. Austen Thys truth is not onely proued by S. Austens authoritie but also by y e noble clerke Fulgentius which writeth on this maner Vnus idemque homo localis ex homine qui est Deus immensus ex patre vnus idemque secundum bumanam substaÌtiam absens coelo cum esset in terra derelinquens terram cum ascendisset in coelum Secundum dââinam vero immensamque substantiam nec coeluÌ dimittens cum de coelo descendit nec terram deserens cum ad coelum ascendit Quod ipsius Domini certissimo sermone potest cognosci qui vt localem ostenderet suam humanitatem dicit Discipulis suis Ascendo ad patrem meum patrem vestrum Deum meum Deum vestrum De Lazaro quoque cum dixisset Lazarus mortuus est adiunxit dicens gaudeo propter vos vt credatis quoniaÌ non eraÌ ibi immensitatem vero suae diâinitatis ostendens Discipulis dicit Ecce ego vobiscum sum vsque ad consummationem sâculi Quomodo autem ascendit in coelum nisi quia localis verus est homo aut quomodo adest fidelibus suis nisi quia ideÌ immensus verus Deus est That is to say The same one man is locall that is to say conteined in one place as touchyng his manhode which is also God vnmeasurable from the father the same one man as touchyng the substaunce of his manhode was absent from heauen when hee was in earth and forsakyng the earth when he ascended into heauen but as touchyng his godly vnmeasurable substaunce neither forsoke heauen wheÌ he descended from heaueÌ nor forsoke the earth when he asceÌded vnto heauen Which may be knowen by the most sure word of the Lord which to shew his humanitie to be locall that is to say contained in one place onely dyd say vnto his Disciples I asceÌd vnto my father and your father my God and your God of Lazarus also when hee sayd Lazarus is dead hee said further I am glad for your sakes that you may beleue for that I was not there And agayne shewyng the vnmeasurablenesse of his Godhead he sayd vnto his Disciples behold I am with you vnto the worldes ende how dyd he ascende into heauen but because he is locall and a very man Or how is he present vnto his faythfull but because he is vnmeasurable very God Here may you conclude by the authority of this Doctour also that Christes body is onely in one place at once For he saith that Christ as touchyng his manhood is locall that is to say conteined in one place onely And that hee proueth by the Scripture euen of Christes owne woordes Now if this be true as my conscience doth testifie how so euer other men shall Iudge then must it néedes folow that his naturall body can not be in the Sacrament And the authoritie I am sure no man can auoyde it is so playne Now as for his natural reasoÌs be not worthy the reasonyng For first that the body of Christ vnglorified could no more be in ij places at once then his owne can because he is a naturall body as he is I will not examine no coÌparison betwen there ij bodyes but if Christ wold tell me that he would eche of both their bodyes to be in fiftene places at once I would beleue hym and would neuer aske hym whether he would first glorifie them or not But I am sure glorified or vnglorified if he sayd it hee is able to do it For the matter is not impossible to God Truth it is that if Christ so sayd in so saying so meÌt there is no doubt but he were able so to do But that he in déede so grossely ment ye shall neuer proue And in déede if he had so meant that hys owne body naturall should haue continued in the Sacrament which is the meate of the soule through fayth and not of the body by eatyng it and may as well be eaten through faith although it remayne in heauen as if it were here present to our mouthes if I say he had so ment theÌ wold he neuer haue geueÌ vs such Scriptures as he dyd For I say that this grosse imagination may not staÌd with the processe of the Scripture whiche is receiued as it shall appeare by certaine textes 1. First where our Sauiour sayth y e flesh profiteth nothyng The waight of those woordes doth compell vs to vnderstaÌd our matter spiritually for by this short sentence we are no lesse plucked backe froÌ the carnall eatyng theÌ was Nichodemus that he should not once dreame of the carnall regeneratioÌ when Christ sayd vnto hym that what soeuer was of y t flesh was flesh For this is a playne conclusion that when Christ sayd the flesh profiteth nothyng hee ment it euen of hys own flesh that it could not profite as they vnderstode hym to be eateÌ with the téeth Albeit it doth much profite to bee slayne for our redemption and eaten thorough fayth Whiche thyng we may do although his natural flesh be not in y e sacrament For I may as well beleue in hym though he be in heauen as if he were in earth and in the Sacrament before myne eyes And that Christ spake these woordes of his owne body it is playne by S. Austens wordes writyng vppon the same place And therefore he sayth that they must be vnderstand spiritually and addeth if thou vnderstand them spiritually they are spirite and lyfe And though thou vnderstaÌd theÌ carnally yet neuertheles they are spirite and lyfe But vnto thée they are not spirite and lyfe which vnderstandest not spiritually those things that I haue spoken Also Athanasius sayth Spiritus est qui viuificat caro noÌ prodest quicque verba quae ego locutus sum spiritus sunt vita Nam hoc loco vtrumquè de seipso dicit carnem spiritum spirituÌ ab eo quod est secundum carnem distinxit vt non solum visibile sed etiam inuisibile quod in ipso erat credentes discant quod ea quae dicit noÌ sunt carnalia sed spiritualia Quod enim comedeÌtibus suffecisset corpus vt totius mundi alimonia fiat Sed ea propter meminit ascensus filij hominis in coelum vt illos a corporali cogitatione auelleret posthac discant carnem dictam cibum coelestem superne venieÌtem
spiritualem alimoniam quaÌ ipse det naÌ quae locutus sum inquit vobis spiritus sunt vita That is to say it is the spirite that quickeneth the fleshe profiteth nothyng the wordes whiche I speake vnto you are spirite lyfe For in this place also hee meaneth both of his owne fleshe and his owne spirite he deuided the spirite from the flesh that they might know through fayth not onely y e visible part but also y e visible part y e was in hym also that the wordes which he spake were not carnall but spirituall For what body shold haue suffised to haue ben the meate of all y t world And eueÌ therfore dyd he make mention of the Ascension of the sonne of man into heaueÌ that he might withdraw them froÌ the bodley imagination that they might hereafter learne that the flesh was called heauenly meate which coÌmeth from aboue and spiritual meate whiche hee would geue For sayth Christ the wordes that I haue spokeÌ vnto you are spirite and lyfe Here you may sée that Christ spake it of his owne fleshe and ment playnly that it dyd nothyng profite as infidelles dyd vnderstaÌd hym For els it geueth life as it is receiued of the faythfull in a mysterie For as Bartram sayth in this mysterie of the body and bloud is a spiritual operation which geueth lyfe Without the whiche operation those mysteries do nothyng profite for surely sayth hee they may féede the body but the soule they can not féede 2. Besides that the Scripture sayth that that entreth in by y e mouth doth not defile a man for as Christ sayth it is cast forth into the draught And by the same reason it foloweth that it doth not sanctifie or make a man holy But the Sacrament entreth in by the mouth therfore it doth folow that of it selfe it doth not saÌctifie or make holy of this text should folow two inconueniences if the Sacrament were the naturall body of Christ First it should folow that the body of Christ should not sanctifie the faythfull because it entreth in by y t mouth And agayne it should folow that the body of Christ should be cast out into the draught whiche thyng is abominable Wherefore it must néedes folow that the Sacrament can not be hys naturall body 3. Furthermore Christ would not suffer that deuoute woman which of loue sought hym at hys sepulture to touch hys naturall body because she lacked a poynt of fayth and dyd not count hym to be equall with hys father And much more it shall follow that the wicked which haue no fayth nor loue towardes hym shall not be suffered to eate hys fleshe with theyr téeth and swallowe it into their vncleane bodyes for that were much more then to touch hym And yet notwithstandyng they receaue and eate the Sacrament Wherupon it should follow if the sacrament were hys naturall body that they should in deede eate hys body which thyng may be counted a blasphemye agaynst God Moreouer Christ sayth he that eateth my fleshe drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in hym Now we know right well that the wicked doe eate the Sacrament and yet neither dwell in Christ nor Christ in them Wherefore it must followe that the Sacrament is not the very fleshe of Christ And surely I can not excuse them of blasphemye which so directly contrary Christes wordes How can you auoyde these textes which Christ speaketh vnto hys disciples saying yet a little while am I with you and then I depart to hym that sent me And agayne It is expedient for you that I depart For excepte that I departe that comforter shall not come vnto you And agayn he sayth I forsake the world and go to my father And to be short he saith Poore men ye shall euer haue with you but me shall you not euer haue Now we know right well that hys Godhead is in all places and that as touchyng hys Godhead hee forsooke not the world when he ascended vnto his father Wherfore it must nedes follow that he forsooke it as touching hys fleshe and manhode And thereto agréeth the expositions of S. Austen and Fulgentius before alleaged yea and al other old faithful fathers Now if he haue forsaken the world as touching the presence of hys naturall fleshe and manhode as all Doctors define then ment he not that hys naturall fleshe shoulde be present in the Sacrament to bee eaten with our téeth And therfore though Christ so tell you yet must you take hym as hee meaneth or els you be begyled For if ye thinke that God both maye and will fulfill and verifye all thynges accordyng to the letter as he speaketh them I may call you an obedient maÌ as S. Bernard doth hys Monk Adam And may say as he doth that if that be the right way so simply to receaue all thyng we may put out the texte of Scripture which warneth vs to be wise as Serpentes For the text following is sufficient which biddeth vs to be simple as Doues Why doth your mastership graunt a necessary allegorye wheÌ Paul sayth Christ is a stone or wheÌ Christ sayth that he is a doore The scripture sayth hee is both twaine and syth God so sayth he is able so to make it And therfore by your reason we shall nede none allegorye in all scripture and then he that is most simple and foolish may be counted most faythfull And so shall we néede no faythfull fathers to expouÌd the text but it shall be most merite to beleue the letter Thys I denye not but that God coulde haue done it if he had so intended when he spake the wordes But now y e scripture standyng as it doth I thinke he can not doe it As by example I thinke that God by the bloud of hys sonne Christ myght haue saued all men both faythfull and vnfaythfull if he had so intended and that it had so pleased hym But now the Scriptures standyng as they do I say hee can not doe it and that it is impossible for hym For then he might make hys sonne a lyer which sayth He that beleueth not is damned And againe He that beleueth not shall not sée life but the wrath of God abydeth vpon hym And euen as it is impossible to stand with the processe of Scripture wherin God hath declared his will that the vnfaythfull shoulde be saued although God might haue done it at the first if he had so would Likewise it is impossible the Scriptures standing as they do that the naturall body of Christ shoulde be present to our téeth in the Sacrament And as for our fayth it néedeth not to haue hym present in the bread For I may as wel eate him and drinke him through fayth that is to say beleue in hym as though he were as present in the Sacrament as he was hanging on the Crosse 1. And because you say that my
to hys Disciples the signe of his bloud 129 Christes body is neither materiall bread nor drinke 131 Christ hys body occupyeth one place onely 137 Christ as touchyng his Godhead is in all places 139 Christ his body is in one place onely 147 Christ is eaten with fayth and not with the teeth 157 Christ calleth hym selfe bread 159 Church cannot erre sayth Rochester 56 Contradictories cannot bee true 26 Corruption when it entred into the Church 116 CorinthiaÌs how they came togither to eate the Supper of the Lord. 162 D. DEath is terrible to all flesh 34 Dead persons can neither doe good nor euill 53 Doctours haue erred in many thynges 53 Doctours proue that there is bread in the Sacrament 165 Dippyng in water and liftyng vp agayne what it meaneth 93 E. EXample of the Alepolle 113 Epitome of Frithes booke of the Supper of the Lord. 164 F. FAyth in Christ is our righteousnes 28 Fayth is not procured by violence 57 Fayth is the gift of God 58 Fayth is the spirituall eatyng of Christ in the Sacrament 108 Fayth that saued our fathers the same now saueth vs. 109 Fayth eateth Christ ioyfully 143 Fayth in Christes bloud consecrateth the Sacrament 153 Faythfull and vnfaythfull doe not âate a lyke 161 False Antichristes 154 Feare maketh fayth no fayth 5â Fier of Purgatory is of great force 50 Flesh may not reioyce in the gifts of nature but must feare and tremble 89 Flesh of Christ doth profite nothing and yet it doth profite 123. 140 Foundation of Frithes treatise of the Sacrament 108 Frith why hee wrote agaynst Purgatory 4 Frithes conclusion agaynst Rastals booke 32 Frithes aunswere to Syr Thomas More 32 Frithes iudgement vppon the booke of the Machabees 40 Frith and More doe not agree 42 Frithes opinion of Christes death read it for it is excellent 48 Frithes aunswere to the Byshop of Rochester 51 Frithes Bulwarke against Rastall 60 Frith a good player at the tennyce 62 Frith handleth Rastall gentely 63 Frith a true Martyr of Christ 65 Frithes aunswere to Rastals second chapter 66 Frith a good scholer 68. 69 Frithes aunswere to Rastals thyrde chapter 69 Frithes iudgement vppon Tracyes last will and testament 77 Frithes letter to the congregation 81 Frithes mirrour or glasse wherein a man may learne to know him selfe 83 Frithes mirrour or glasse wherein behold the efficacie of the Sacrament of Baptisme 90 Frithes auÌswere to Master Mores first booke of the Sacrament 107 Frith met with false brethren 114 Frithes offer to the Clergy 115 Frithes earnest zeale 115 Frith feareth not death 115 Frith is no hasty iudge 150 Frith hath great modestie 156 Frithes prayer 157 Frith doth playnly declare his doctrine is the Sacrament 168 G. GErmanes beleeue the presence of the body but worshyp it not 167 Glasse that representeth the face is not the face 146 God hath left vs two Purgatoryes 5 God is to bee honored of all creatures 13 God forgeueth our sinnes for Christes sake 14 God neither the better nor the worsse for our doynges 15 God can not bee agaynst hym selfe 48 God is sayd to bee almighty because there is no superiour power aboue hym that hee can doe all thynges that hee will 145 God is so vnited to the manhode of Christ that they make but one person 169 Gods honour consisteth not in our seruice 13 Gods word is the touchstone to trye all doctrine 53 Gods worde is the keye of knowledge 58 Gods spirite is not bounde to any place 91 Gods Church what it is 92 Good bad are of the seÌsible church 93 Gods Churche is without spot or wrincle 93 Godfathers and Godmothers and their charge 96 God cannot doe all thynges 142 Good woorkes are to bee done because God commaundeth them to bee done 28 Good workes are the frutes of fayth 74 Good workes doe mortifie our members 75 Good woorkes are profitable to our neighbour 75 Good giftes geuen to vs of God why they are geuen 85. 86 Goodnes is of God and all euill of our selues 83 Grace is the gift of God 76 H. HEauen and hell is expressed in the Scripture but no word of Purgatory 54 Hell there is none to them that are in Christ Iesu 72 Hell is ordeyned for such as feare not God 72 Heresie what it is 50 I. IEwes slayne for Idolatry 38. Institution of the SacrameÌt 157. 163. Iudas Machabeus beleueth the resurrection 39. Iudas Machabeus profitable to the Papes cleargie 39. Iustification freely excludeth purgatory 10. K. KEyes how they were geuen to Peter and Paule 58. L. LAwe of God and lawe of man doe greatly differ 19. Lazarus 20. M. MAn why hee was made 13. Manna was to the Iewes the same that the Sacrament is to vs. 110. 118. Maundy of remembraunce 159. Ministers must bee circumspect 96. Miracles how the true are tryed froÌ the false 154. More and Rochester cannot agree 30. 36. 56. Mores false and fond argument 33. More vnderstandeth not the Scripture 35. More proued to be an insipient 40. More a quarelling brabler 144. More a confused interpreter of the Scriptures 41. More a procter for purgatory 42. More a subtile Sophister 46. 137. More and his purgatory confuted and confounded 50. Mores Poetry 84. 137. More a trifeling mocker 120. More hath a chekmate 121. More pretely nipped 122. More a subtile Poet. 137. More an ignoraunt procter for the clergie 144. More daunsing naked in a net thinketh himselfe inuisible 84. More harpeth on a wroÌg string 148 More and Frith dispute two things 149. More a popishe and malicious tyrant 156. N. NAturall reason not mete to reason against Scripture 13. Nature teacheth vs that there is both bread and wine in the Sacrament 165. O. OBstinate persons 95. Oecolampadius dyed of a Canker 118. Opinion of Frith 164. 165. 166. Opinion of the Prelates 164. 165. 166. P. PAule prophesieth of the latter tymes 116. Papistes imagined a purgatory for themselues 5. Papistes corrupte the Scriptures 126. Papistes say that no promise or couenant ought to be kept with heretiques 155. Parables proue nothing 54. Paradise what Christ ment by that worde 138 Paschall Lambe compared with the Sacrament of Christes bodie 157 158. Philip his maner of Baptisme 95. Pope is mercilesse if there be a purgatory 6. Pope is the Deuils vicar 59. Pope selleth Christes merites for money 11. Pope is Antichrist 59. Prayers and good deedes how they helpe 49. Prayers for the dead are vayne 52. Prayers made by Iohn Frith 157. Purgatory pickepursse 17. Purgatory a phantasie of mannes imagination 17. 27. Purgatory on the earth 18. Purgatory there is none 21. 27. Purgatory is in many places 21. Purgatory can not feare vs from sinne 25. Purgatory is needlesse 29. 31. Purgatory quite excluded 45. Purgatory and pardons haue beene good marchaundise for the Pope and his clergie 58. R. RAstalles dialogues what they conteyned 7. Rastall followeth More 7. 8. Rastall clearely and quicklye confounded 8. 9. Rastalles lyes 13. 14. Rastalles
that Christen men were not bounde to abstayne from bodely labour by that commaundement for it was so geuen to the Iewes And if we were bound to abstayne from bodely labour by that commaundement then was the kinges grace and all his councell my Lorde Cardinall and all his counsell in the waye of damnation For they cause men to carye their stuffe on the holy day what daye so euer it bée whan they will remoue At this reason all my Lordes were astonied and wist not what to say they were loth to coÌdemne my Lord Cardinals grace seing he was so holy a prelate of Christes church and that facte they coulde not deneye Wherfore at y e last my Lorde of Rochester remembred hym selfe and obiected in this maner A goodly reason I will make you a like reason The byshop of Winchester suffered y e stues Ergo the stues bée lawfull At this reason I ineruayled much For I perceyued that it was as lawfull for our noble Prince to carye stuffe on the holy day which is not agaynst y e word of god as it is for an harlot of y e stnes to liue in open whordome which is against the worde of God And yet my Lords the byshops of their greate charitie and of their innumerable spirituall treasure suffereth agaynst their conscience both to bée done Briefely it were to longe to recite all the vncharitable maner that they dyd vse with me And yet earnestly I must bée condemned poore man for an heretyke But I will recyte the saying of doctours for me y e men may sée how shamefully I haue erred Saynt Hierome sayth Therfore bée certine dayes assigned that we should come togither not that that daye in the whiche we come togither is holyer then an other but all dayes bée like and equall And Christ is not alonely crucified in Parasceden and risen onlye on the sonday but the day of resurrection is alwayes and alwayes may we eate of our Lordes fleshe c. Here S. Hierome sayth y e selfe words y e I spake And of these wordes was I moued to speake as God doth knowe Also S. Augustine sayth we must obserue the sabboth day not y e we should recken our selfe not to labour but that all thinge that we doe worke well muste haue an intention to the euerlasting rest Wherfore we must obserue the holy day not by corporall idlenes and vnto the letter but spiritually must we rest from vyces and concupisences wherfore among all the ten commaundementes that of the sabboth daye is alonely commaunded to bée figuratiuely obserued c. Also Tertullyan The Carnall circumcision is put away and extincted at his time So likewise the obseruation of the sabboth day is declared to bée for a tyme for we must kéepe y e sabboth day not alonely the seuenth day but at all tymes as Esay sayth c. But here my Lorde of Rochester sayde fyrste that I vnderstode not Tertulian secoÌdarily that hée was an heretike But I passe ouer myne auÌswere for this is but a Lordly worde and hée could none otherwise saue his honour but yet staÌdeth my scripture fast And S. Hierome and S. Augustine also their owne law whose wordes be these It is come vnto me that certaine men which bée of an euill spirite haue sowen certaine euill thinges among you and contrary to the holy faith so that they doe forbid that men should worke on the Sabboth day The whiche men what other thyng shall we call them but the preachers of Antichrist the which Antichrist shall make the Sabboth day and the Sonday bée kept from all maner of worke c. This law clearely declareth you to bée Antichristes this is more then I sayd I haue great marueile that the Byshop of Bathe beyng so mighty a Lord in condemning of heretickes was not learned in this law seyng it is his owne facultie NOw dare no maÌ preach y e truth and the very Gospell of God in especiall they that bée féeble and fearefull But I trust yea and I pray to God that it may shortly come that false and manifest errours may bée plainely shewed There bée certaine men like conditioned to dogges if there bee any man that is not theyr countryman or that they loue not or know not say any thing agaynst them then cry they an hereticke an hereticke ad ignem ad ignem These bée the dogges that feare true preachers What heresie finde you in this article I doe thinke that you doe féele my prayer to bée heards For doubtles there bée many shamefull errours now manifestly opened that at those dayes had béene heresie to haue touched them WEe make nowe a dayes many Martyrs I trust wée shall haue many moe shortly For the viritie coulde neuer bée preached playnely but persecution did follow Here did my Lord of Bathe inquire of mée if I reckoned them for martyrs that were burnte at Bruselles I answered that I knewe not their cause wherefore they died but I reckoned as many men to bée martyrs as were persecuted and dyed for the worde of God but hée saide hée woulde make mée to frye for this How thinke you by this holy prelate was not this a charitable argument to refell myne aunswere with But this was the strongest argument that euer they vsed And paraduenture I may sée the day that this argument may bée made against them THese lawes these lawyers these Iusticiares that say that a man may lawfully aske his owne good afore a Iudge and contende in iudgement haue destroyed all patience deuotion and faith in Christen people On this article hangeth also y e nexte THis pleading in iudgement is manifestly against the Gospell Luk. 12. Homo quis constituit iudiceÌ And contrary to S. Paule Iam omnino delictum est c. Myne aduersaries most vncharitably layde these two articles against mée as though I had condempned the lawemaker lawe and execution thereof whan I onely spake agaynst the vnchariblenes of some meÌ which rather séeke vengeaunce of their brethren than any right or helpe of the lawe Nor I speake not against all lawyers or against any for pleading iustly after the forme of the lawe but onely against those which taught men that they were bounde to prosicute the vttermost of the lawe vnder the paine of deadly sinne were the man neuer so poore and vnlike to pay the debte Against these two persons spake I and against none other For it is not nor neuer was mine intent to forbid suing at the lawe for I doe know very well that maiestratus is of God Ergo it must néedes followe that all lawes hauing probable reasons of nature made to conserue a common wealth must also bée allowed of God for lawes bée a parte of the power that is instituted of God Moreouer S. Paule doth appeale to the Emperour which is also pars litis And that hée coulde not doe if suing were
compared to the vyne and all the members of holy Churche to the branches that as the braunches can bring foorth no frute of them selues so caÌ holy church of her selfe bring foorth no goodnes except shee remaine in Christ by persite fayth This is wel proued by your owne law whose wordes bée these therfore is the Church holy because she beléeueth righteously in God c. Here you not the cause wherfore the Church is holy because she beléeueth righteously in God that is she beléeueth in nothyng but in him and she beléeueth nor heareth no worde but his as our master Christe beareth witnesse my shéepe heare my voyce and an other mans voyce doe they not know Also in an other place hée that is of God heareth the wordes of God How coÌmeth this that y e Church of God hath so sure a iudgemeÌt that she knoweth the voyce of Christ froÌ other voyces can not erre in her iudgement Because that Christ hath chosen her and because she is learned of God as our master Christ sayth and because she hath as S. Iohn sayth the inwarde oyntmeÌt of God y â teacheth his all maner of verity so that she can not erre But why can shee not erre because she may doe what she will Because that all thing that she doth is well done because she may make new rules and newe lawes at her pleasure Because she may inuent a newe seruice of God that is not in Scripture at her wil Nay nay my Lordes For she is but a woman and must bée ruled by her husbande yea she is but a shéepe and must heare y e voyce of her shepheard and so long as she doth so long caÌ she not erre because the voyce of her shepheard can not bée false This may be proued by your own law whose wordes bée these y e whole Church can not erre Also in an other place the congregation of faythfull men must néedes bée which also can not erre c. These wordes bée playne what Church it is that can not erre that is the congregation of faythfull men that bée gathered in Christes name whiche haue Christes spirite whiche haue the holy oyntement of God whiche abyde fast by Christes word and heare no other maÌs voyce but his Now my Lordes gather you all togither with all the lawes that you caÌ make and all the holynes that you can deuise and crye the Church the Churche and the Councels the Councels that were lawfully gathered in the power of the holy ghost all this may you say yet lye and if you haue not in déede the holy ghost with in you and if you doe heare any other voyce then Christes then are you not of the Churche but of the deuill and théenes murtherers as Christ saith For you come into the fold of Christ without him you bring not his voice but you come with your owne voyce with your owne statutes with your owne word your owne mandamus mandamus precipimus precipimus excommunicamus excommunicamus These bée the voyces of murtherers and Théeues and not of Christ therfore you can not but erre for you bée not taught of God you haue not the holy oyntment you haue not the worde of God for you you heare not the voyce of the true shepheard therfore must you néedes erre in all your counsells This is an other maner of rule then my Lorde of Rochester doth assigne to examine your counsels by for hée sayth where that the Pope and the counsell doth not agrée all in one there will hée suspect the counsell not to bée right Who did euer heare such a rule of a Christean man yea and of a bishop yea and of a doctor of Diuinite where hath hée learned this Diuinite to recken a counsell to bée trew because y e the Pope and so many men doe agree in one yea and that such men as haue so often tymes erred in their couÌcels as hée doth declare hym self rekening the counsell of Constantinople that had 330. Byshops and yet did erre and hée knew no other cause but bée cause the Pope did not agrée to them Is not this a resonable cause caÌ not the Pope erre let hym read his own lawe Distinctio 19. Anastasius Distinctio 40. Si Papa and also 24. q 1. Arecta in the glose and there shall hée fynde that the Pope hath erred Wherefore then should the matter stande in his iudgment Now how will hée by thys rule saue the counsels of constance and of Basell where in both counsels the Popes were condemned for heretykes As the same counsels make mencion also that the councels haue erred that grauÌted hée hymselfe but peraduenture hée will saye that they were not full Councels Now is it well amended what distinction is as conscernyng the veritie in a counsell that hath a thowsand byshops and in an other that hath fyve thowsand can the multitude helpe to the veritie Then had the Turke the veritie and we the falsed then had the Prophet Micheas the worsse part for hée was alone against iiij hundred so was y e verytie by y e Prophets of Ball and not by Elyas for they were foure hundred and fyftye hee was but one man Briefely Christes flocke is alwayes y e smallest nuÌber in this world but yet it is the best not the smallest number maketh Christes flocke but that Christes Church staÌdeth neyther by the greatest number nor yet by the smallest nor by the iudgmeÌt or numbring of man but by the callyng and eleccion of God Wherefore let my Lorde bring forth what counsell that hée will and if they haue not the word of God I will not all onely say they may erre but also that they doe erre in verye déede And that will I proue by the greatest lawyer that they haue called Panormitanus whose wordes bée these that Councels may erre as they haue erred as concernyng that contract of matrimony inter raptorem raptam and the saying of Saint Hierome was afterward preferred a boue the statute of the counsel as it is proued 36. q. 2. Tria for in thinges concerning the fayth is the saying of a priuat person to bee preferred afore the saying of the pope if hée haue better reasoÌs and scriptures of the new and of the olde testameÌt for him then the Pope nor it can not helpe to say that the counsell can not erre because that Christ did pray for his Church y e her fayth should not fayle For I auÌswere to this that though y e generall couÌcell doe represent y e whole vniuersall church neuertheles in very déede there is not y e very vniuersall church but representatiue For the vniuersal church staÌdeth in y e election of all fayth full men all faithfull meÌ of y â world make that vniuersall Church whose head and spouse is Christ Iesus the Pope is but the vicar of Christ and not the
but also his blessed worde all that longeth to hym Take awaye Christes word and what remayneth béehynde of Christ nothing at all I pray you my Lorde to whome was this worde fyrst preached to whome was this written all onely to priestes and not vnto lay men yea was it not written to all the worlde yes truely Wherby will you conuerte a Turke or an Infidell not by holy Scripture When they bée conuerted what wil you learne them what wyll you géeue them to reade any other thing then holy Scripture I thinke nay Now will you make your owne countreymen your owne citizens your owne subiectes yea your owne brethren redéemed with Christes blessed bloud worsse then Iewes and Infidels But there is no reason nor no brotherhod nor no Christen charitie that can mooue you or that can helpe you for you are so blynded and so obstinate against Christ that you had rather all the worlde shoulde perishe then his doctrine shoulde bee brought to light but I doe promyse you if God doe spare mée lyfe and géeue mée grace I shall so set it out if you doe not reuoke it that it shall bée to your vtter shame and confusion finde the best remedye that you can I doe beléeue stedfastly that god is mightier then you and I doe recken and faythfully beléeue that you are ten tymes worsse then the greate Turke for hée regardeth no more but rule and dominioÌ in this worlde and you are not therewyth content but you will also rule ouer meÌs consconsciences yea and oppresse Christ and his holy worde and blaspheme and condemne his worde Was it not a holy connsell of the Chaunceler of London to counsell a certaine marchaunt to buye Robyn hoode for his seruauntes to read What should they doe wyth vitas patrum and with bookes of holy Scripture Also the same Chauncelour sayde to an other man what findest thou in the Gospell but a story what good canst thou take there out O Lord God where art thou why sléepest thou why sufferest thou this blasphemy Thou hast defended thy Prophetes with wild fire from heauen and wilt thou suffer thy onely fonne and thy heauenly word thus to bée despised and to bée reckened but as a story of Robin hoode Rise vp good Lorde Rise vp thy enemyes doe preuayle Thy enemyes doe multiplye shew thy power defend thy glory It is thy contumely and not ours what haue we to doe with it but alonely to thy glory Reuenge this cause or thy enemyes shall recken it not to bée thy cause O thou eternall God thoughe our sinnes haue deserued this yet looke on thy name yet looke on thy veritie Sée howe thou art mocked Sée how thou art blasphemed yea that by them that haue taken on them to defend thy glory But now heauenly father séeyng that thou hast so suffered it yet for the glory of thy name geue some man strength to defend it or els shalt thou bée clearely taken out of the hartes of all men Wherefore most gracious Lord of thy mercy and grace I beséech thée that I may haue the strength to defend thy godly word to thy glory and honour and to the vtter confusion of thy mortall enemyes Helpe good Lorde helpe and I shall not feare a thousande of thyne enemyes In thy name will I begyn to defend this cause First commeth thy faythfull seruaunt Moses true and iust in all thy workes and hée commaundeth faithfully truely with great threatnings that man woman and child should diligently read thy holy word saying Set your harts on all my wordes the which that I doe testifie vnto you this day that you may commaunde them vnto your children to kéepe to doe to fulfill all thynges that bée written in the booke of this law Marke how hée commauÌded them to learne their children all thynges that bée written in this booke and so to learne theÌ that they might kéepe and fulfill all things that were written in y t booke Moses made nothing of secretnes will you make secretes therin how shall men fulfill those wordes that they knowe not How can men knowe the very true way of God haue not the word of God is not all our knowledge therin The Prophet sayth thy word is a lanterne vnto my féete and a light vnto my pathes Hée calleth it a lanterne and light yea and that vnto all men and you call it but a story darkenes and a thyng of secretnes yea and occasion of heresie how can the occasion of darknes geue light how can a lanterne bée a thing of secretnes how can the veritie of God bée occasion of heresie The holy Prophet sayth blessed is the man that setteth his delectation in the will of God and his meditation in Gods law night and day Here sayeth the spirite of God that men bee blessed that study the word of God and you say that men bée heretickes for studying of it How doth the spirite of God and you agrée Also S. Paule commaundeth vs to receiue the helmet of health and the sword of the spirite the whiche is the worde of God I pray you to whom doth hée here speake to Priestes onely How many of your Priestes dyd hée knowe yea was not this Epistle written to the whole Churche of the Ephesians And dyd not they read it were not they lay men and why shall not our lay men read that they red Moreouer doth not Paule call it the sword of the spirite is it not lawfull for lay men to haue the spirit of God Or is the spirite of God not frée but bound alonely to you Also S. Iohn sayth if any man come to you bring not this doctrine receiue him not into your house nor yet salute hym Here the holy ghost would we should haue no other doctrine but holy scripture and you will take it alonely from vs. Furthermore this was written vnto a woman and to her children and you will y t no other man wyfe nor childe shall reade it But if we should receiue your Priestes into our houses after this rule I thinke we should not bée greatly coÌbered with them for their are few of them that haue this word Also our M. Christ saith vnto the pharesies search you scriptures for in them you thinke to haue eternall life Our Maister sent the Pharisies to scriptures and you forbyd Christen men to reade them who had a worse sprite then they and yet they iudged better of holy scriptures theÌ you doe For they iudged to haue lyfe in theÌ you iudge to haue heresyes in theÌ so that you bée ten tymes worse to scriptures theÌ euer were they Also Paule saith all scripture geuen by insperation of God is profitable to teach to improoue to enforme io enstruct in righteousnes that the man of God may bée perfect and prepared vnto all good workes You will not denye but but scripture is geueÌ vs of God Ergo
at a sore exigent when you were compelled to prooue this thynge with so âauld a reason Who would haue looked for so simple a reason in so earnest a matter of so wise a man of so great a Doctour of so worshipfull a father and of the Bishop of London yea and of him that is called an other Salomon notwithstanding such an haltyng similitude dyd hée neuer learne in the Prouerbes of Salomon but it had béene a better similitude of the kings proclamatioÌ which is proclaimed y t all men might know it and also kéepe it no man is bound to kéepe it till it bée proclaimed likewise the Gospel was geuen for to bée proclaimed and euery man is bound to kéepe it Wherfore it must néedes bée proclaimed to euery man and vnto you my Lorde I beséeche God that you may bée one of them of whom it is spokeÌ To you is it geueÌ to know the misteryes of God Amen ¶ That mens constitutions which are not grounded in Scripture bynde not the conscience of man vnder the payne of deadly sinne TO this article we must note that there bée two maner of ministers or powers one is a temporal power the other is called a spiritual power the teÌporall power is coÌmitted of God to Kinges Dukes Earles Lordes Barons Iudges Maiors Shriues to all other ministers vnder theÌ these bée they that haue onely the teÌporall sword wherby they must order al y e coÌmoÌ wealth with all world ly thinges loÌgyng thereunto as y e disposition of these worldly goodes who shal bée right owner and who not the probation of mens testamentes the ordering of payments and customes the settyng of all maner of taskes and forfaites the correction of all transgressions wherby the coÌmon wealth or any priuate person is disquieted or wronged as correction of théeues murderers harlotes baudes sclanderers wranglers extortioners brybers vserers false buyers and sellers and of all other thynges whereunto béelongeth any outwarde orderyng or any corporall payne In thys power is the kyng chiefe and full ruler all other bée ministers and seruauntes as Paule doth declare âaying let euery soule bée subiect and obedient vnto the hye powers c. Also S. Peter bée subiect vnto the kyng as vnto the chiefe heade eyther vnto rulers as vnto theÌ that are sent of the kyng for the punishmeÌt of euill doers Vnto this power must wée bée obedient in all thynges that pertaine to the ministration of this present life and of the commoÌ wealth not alonely as Paule sayth for auoyding of punishment but also for dischargyng of our consciences for this is y e wyll of God So that if this power commaunde anything of tyranny against right and law alwayes prouided that it repugne not agaynst the Gospell nor destroye our fayth our charitie must néedes suffer it For as Paule sayth charitie suffereth all thyng Also our maister Christ If a man strike thee on the one chéeke turne hym the other for hée doth exercise tyranny But ouer these worldly goods these present thynges and ouer thy corporall bodye which Christen men doe not alonely not regarde but dispise it Neuertheles if hée commaunde thée any thyng agaynst ryght or doe thée any wronge As for an example cast thée in prison wrongfully if thou canst by any reasonable and quyet meanes without seditioÌ insurrectioÌ or breakyng of the commoÌ peace saue thy selfe or auoyde hys tyranny thou mayst doe it wyth good conscience As if thou were in prison if thou couldest auoyde without any sedition thou mayst lawfully doe it thy coÌscience is frée so doyng and thou dooste not sinne nor offende the lawe of God as Paule sayth If thou mayste bée frée vse it but in no wise bée it ryght or wrong mayst thou make any resistaunce wyth sworde or wyth hand but obey except thou canst auoyde as I haue shewed thée But if y â cause bée ryght lawfull or profitable to the coÌmon wealth thou must obey and thou mayst not flye wtout sinne That men haue fled from the tyranny and the wrong of thys power wée haue it openly in diuers places of scriptures As of Elezy that fled from the tyranny of the kyng of Siria Also Helyas fled from the tyranny of kyng Achas Also S. Peter fled out of prison And S. Paule out of the Citie of Damascum and out of Iconium as it is open in the Actes of the Apostles So that agaynst this power though thou haue wrong mayst thou not make any corporall resistaunce but alonely auoyde by flying or els kéepe y e thing that is commaunded thée But if it bée ryght and to the profite of the coÌmon wealth thou must both fulfill it and also abyde But now wil it bée inquired of mée of this case if it please y â kinges grace to condemne the newe testament in Englishe and to commaunde that none of his subiectes shall haue it vnder displeasure whether they bée bounde to obey thys coÌmaundement or no To this will I auÌswere That I doe béeléeue that our most noble Prince hath not forbidden that Christen men may haue Christes TestameÌt whether it bée in latyne or Englishe French Douche Gréeke or Hebrue for Christes veritie is all one in all tonges And as his grace knoweth it were very vnreasonable that any man should eyther counsell or forbid his grace that hée shoulde know or reade the Testament of the most noble Prince hys father in the which is alouely géeueÌ and promised worldly goods which as soone as they bée géeuen bée ready to decay and to perishe and if I say this bée vnreasonable and vnright how much more were it vnreasonable to take awaye from vs our father of heauens testament whose legacy and promises doe as farre excell the legacies of the noble Prince his father as God doth excell man But what shoulde I make many reasons to prooue vnto hys grace that thyng to bée lawfull that the father of heauen hath sent vs froÌ whom coÌmeth nothyng but goodnes Yea and it was not sent by man by Angell or by Saint but by the onely sonne of God both God and maÌ and diligently declared by hym to all the worlde Not vnto the Pharesies alone but vnto all maner of people and that to the houre of death and also thereof tooke his death and not yet so content but sent his glorious Apostles to declare and to learne thys godly worde thorough all the worlde And béecause the ministration of thys worde required a greater strength then was in any naturall man therefore also gaue hée them his eternall sprite to establishe them to confirme them and to make them strong in all thinges that there might bée nothing desired to the declaration and setting out of his worde Now who coulde finde in his hart that is a true subiecte and regardeth the honour of our noble Prince and the saluation of his soule eyther to thinke that his grace
Wherfore we wil now speake of the other power which men call spirituall Fyrst here is to be noted that this is no power nor none auctoritie worldly but all onely a ministration of the word of God and a spirituall regiment preaching the gouerning of the soule and the mynistration of y e spirit hauing nothing to doe with the erterior Iustice or righteousnes of the worlde and therfore hath it no power by right and law to make any statutes or lawes to order the worlde by but all onely faithfully truely to preach and to minister the word of God ther by instructing the conscience of man nothing addyng thereto nor taking there from but as S. Paule sayth to abyde in those thinges that they haue learned and that bée commytted vnto them for S. Paule as hée hym selfe sayth âurst speake no other thing but those things which christ had wroght by him For hée curseth him bée he maÌ or Angel that preacheth any other gospell then hée had preached Therefore the Prophet commaundeth vs that we should not heare the wordes of those prophetes which disceaue vs for they speake visions of their owne hartes and not out of y â mouth of god and yet speake they in the name of God Wherefore these men so long as they speake onely y â worde of God so long are they to be heard as Christ himself after y e saying hée y e heareth you hereth mée also whatsoeuer they say vnto you sytting in the chayre of Moses do it On y e which text speketh S. Augustine By syttyng in y e chayre is to vnderstand the learning of the lawe of God and therefore God doth teach by them but if they will teache their owne doctrine heare it not doe it not for such men séeke that is theirs and not Christes c. These wordes bée playne agaynst all them that preach any thing but the law of God onely Wherfore if these mynysters will of tyranny aboue the worde of God make any lawe or statute it must bee consydered after two maner of wayes fyrst whether it bée openly and derectly agaynst the word of God and to y e destructioÌ of y e faith as that statute is whereby they haue condemned the new testament also forbydden certayne men to preach the worde of God hauing no trew cause aganst them but all onely their malicious suspectioÌ also y e learning wherby they learne that workes doe iustifye moreouer that statute whereby they bynde men vnder the payne of damnation to bée assoyled of them These statutes I say with other lyke men are not bouÌd for to obey neither of charite for here is faith hurt which geueth no place to charitie nor yet for auoyding of sclaunder for the worde of God may not bée auoyded nor yet géeue place vnto sclauÌder for then shoulde it neuer bée preached but it must bée faââe stucke vnto and the more that men bée offended withall and the stiffer that they hée against it the more openly and playnely yea and that to their faces that make such statutes mâst wée resiste them wyth these wordes wée are more bounde to obey God then man This is well proued by Hilarius wordes All maner of plantes that hée not planted of the father of heauen must bée plucked vp by the rootes that is to say the traditions of men by whose meanes the coÌmaundementes of the lawe hée broken must bée destroyed and therefore caulleth hée theÌ blynde guides of the waye to euerlasting life béecause they sée not that thyng they promise and for that cause hée sayth that both the blynde guides and they that bee led shall fall into the dyke c. Marke that all traditions of men which are agaynst Gods lawe must be destroyed Therfore let euery man take héede for it longeth to their charge for both the blynde guides and also they that bée led shall fall in the dyke It shall bée none excuse for hym that is led to say that hys guyde was blynde but let them heare the worde of God by his holy prophetes walke not in the preceptes of your fathers nor kéepe not their iudgemeÌts but walke in my preceptes and kéepe my iudgementes The other maner of statutes bée when certaine thinges that bée caulled indifferent bée commaunded as thinges to bée done of necessitie and vnder the paynes of deadly sinne As for an example To eate fleshe or fishe this day or that day is indifferent and frée also to goe in this rayment of this colour or that colour to shaue our heades or not a priest to wear a loÌg gowne or a short a gray Fryer to weare a gray coate or a russet a whyte Fryer to weare a white or a blacke a Priest to marry or not to marry an Heremyt to haue a bearde or not These with all other such outwarde workes bée thinges indifferent and may bée vsed and also left Now if the Byshoppes will make any lawe or statute that these thynges shall bée determinately vsed so that it shall not bée lawful for vs to leaue it vndone but that wée must precisely doe them and not the contrary vnder the payne of deadly sinne here must they bée withstanded and in no wise obeyed âor in this is hurt our fayth and libertie of Christendome whereby wée are frée and not bounde to any exteriour worke but frée in all things and vnto all men at all tymes and in all maner except it bee in such a cause where as brotherly charitie or the common peace should bée offended Therefore in all these thynges bée wée frée and wée must withstand them that will take this libertie from vs with thys texte of Scripture Wée are bought with the price of Christes bloud wée will not bée the seruauntes of men This texte is open against them that will bynde mennes conscience vnto sinne in those things that Christ hath lefte them frée in Of this wée haue an euident example of Saint Paule the whiche would not circumcise Titus when the false brethren woulde haue compelled hym thereunto as a thynge of necessitie vnto whom S. Paule gaue no romthe as coÌcernyng to bée brought into subiectioÌ S. Paul dyd not withstand them bycause that CircumcisioÌ was vnlawfull or might not bée vsed of Christen men but bycause that they would haue compelled hym vnto it as vnto a thyng of necessitie that thyng woulde not Saint Paule suffer for that was agaynst the libertie that we haue in Christ Iesus as hée sayth here playnely Wherfore we bée not alonely by Christe made frée from sinne but also made frée in vsing all maner of thynges that bée in different and vnto them we can not bée bounde as vnto thynges of necessitie as on the Friday to eate fish and thereunto bée bounde in conscience vnder the payne of deadly sinne In this we may not obey for it is against the word of God not béecause it is euill to
eate fishe for in tyme conuenient and when thou art disposed it is good but bycause that they will in this thyng bynde our consciences and make that thynge of necessitie that God had hath left frée Therfore speaketh Paule agaynst them in these wordes In the latter dayes certeine men shal swarue from the fayth applying them selues to the spirites of errours and doctrines of the deuill forbiddyng Mariage and to absteine from meates that God hath created to bée receiued of faythfull meÌ with thanks for all creatures of God bée good and nothyng to bée refused that is receiued with thaÌkes Marke how Paule sayth nothyng is to bée refused that may bée receiued with thankes this is openly agaynst theÌ that will forbid either fish or flesh this day or that day as a thynge vnright for a ChristeÌ man to eate for as S. Paule sayth meate doth not commende vs vnto God Also in an other place the kyngdome of heauen is neither meate nor drinke Therfore they doe vnright to bynde our conscience in such thynges and to thinke vs vnfaythfull bycause we obserue theÌ not Now let our holy hypocrites of the Charter house looke on their coÌscieÌce whiche recken to buy and to sell heaueÌ for a péece of fish or flesh but they recken it no vyce to lyue in hatred raÌkour and malice neither to serue God nor their neighbour but with such an hypocrites seruice as they haue inueÌted of their own hypocrisie not receiued of God They thinke it a great perfection to absteine from béefe and mutton and to eate pike tenche gurnarde and all other costly fishes and that of the dentiest fashion dressed but a péece of grosse béefe may they not touche may they not smell for then they lose heauen and all the merites of Christes bloud Is not here a goodly fayned hypocrisie béefore the world it shynneth bryght but compare it vnto Christes Scripture and there can not bée a greater blasphemy For here in they clearely damned Christ and his ordinaunce make that of necessitie y e Christ left as indifferent Agaynst these holy hypocrites writeth S. Paule saying we ought not to be led with the traditioÌs of men that say touche not tast not handle not which thyngs perish with vsing of them and are after the commaundements and doctrine of men whiche thynges haue the similitude of wisedome in superstitious holynes and huÌblenes in that they spare not the body and doe the flesh no worshyp vnto his néede Here is clearely condemned all supersticiousnes and fayned holines that men haue inuented in eating or drinking in touching or in handling or in any other such thinges not that we may not doe them but that we doe them as thinges of necessitie and recken our selfe holy wheÌ we doe theÌ and to synne deadly when we doe theÌ not This is by the daÌnable institutions of men The which S. Augustine condemneth in these wordes The Apostle sayth Touche not handell not c. Because that those men by such obseruations were led from the veritie by y â which they were made frée whereof it is spoken the veritie shall deliuer you It is a shame sayth hée and vnconuenient and farre from the noblenes of your libertie séeing you bée the body of Christ to bée disceaued with shadowes and to bée iudged as sinners if you dispise to obserue these things Wherfore let no maÌ ouercom you seing you are the body of Christ that will séeme to be meeke in hart in the holynes of Aungels and bringing in thinges which he hath not séene c. Here haue wée playnely that those thynges which bée of the inuention of man doe not bynde our conscience though they séeme to bée of neuer so great holynes and of humblenes and holynes of Angels as Paule sayth Wherefore let them make what statutes they will and as much holynes as they can deuise Inuent as much Gods seruice as they can thinke and lye that they haue receaued it froÌ heauen and that it is no lesse holynesse then Angels haue and set thereunto all their mandamus remandamus excoÌmunicamus sub pena excommunicationis maioris minoris Precipimus Interdicimus sub indignatione dei omnipotentis ApostoloruÌ Petri Pauli ligamus with all other such blasphemies that they haue for doubtles if their bellies were ripped there should bée nothing found but blasphemes of God and of his holy word detractions oppressions Confusyons damnations of their poore brethren Other good haue we none of them let all Christen men aunswere to this of their conscience if it be not trew And yet are we frée in our conscience and all these can neyther bynd nor damne our conscience for we are frée made thorow Christ And in conscience nor bound vnder y e paine of deadly sinne to nothing that maÌ can order or set except it be conteined in holy scripture But in body we are bound to euery man This doth S. Augustine proue in these wordes Seing that we bée made of soule and of body as long as we doe liue in this temporall lyfe we must vse to the noryshing of this lyfe these teÌporall goodes Therefore must we of that part that béelongeth to this lyfe bée subiect vnto powers that is vnto men that doe minister worldly things with some honour but as concerning that part wherby we beléeue in God and bée cauled vnto hys kingdome we ought not to bée subiect vnto any maÌ that will peruert that same thing in vs that hath pleased God to geue vs to eternall lyfe c. Here is it playne that we in conscience by Christ bée made frée nothyng can bynd vs vnto sinne but his word onely Now is it clearely open that if any power of heauen or earth commaunde any thyng against Gods worde or to the destruction or minishing of the same no maÌ may obey in any case vnder the payne of damnation for Gods veritie is not indifferent to bée lefte or not to bée lefte Agayne if man commaunde any thyng to bée done that may bée done in time and place conuenient if hée wll binde vs vnto indifferent thinges as vnto a thing of necessitie then shall wée not doe it not béecause it is euill to doe but that it is damnable to bée done as a thyng of necessitie Neuerthelesse if any of these thynges bée commaunded of the Byshops as burdens and as thinges indifferent then shall wée kéepe them in tyme and place conuenient as where I may by them serue my brother or edifie hym or doe him any good or that it may bée vnto hym any meanes to come to the verity neuerthelesse at an other tyme when I am in place conuenient where I shall not offende my brother nor ingender no sclaunder nor any disquietnes in the common wealth There may I fréely without any charge of conscience and without all maner of sinne breake the Byshops commauÌdement For it is but as
and by what authoritie your highe pollitike rule saued that you dare géeue either of these kindes to the laye men seyng they were both alonely geuen to the Apostles for eueÌ by that authoritie that you haue power to take away the one kynd by that selfe same haue you power to take away the other for they were both geuen at once and indifferently to the receiuers so that as many as receiued the one receiued also the other and to them that hée sayd take and eate this this is my body to them hée sayd drinke all of this c. Now if you may thus take away y e partes of y e sacramentes at your pleasure y e coÌsequent shall bée y â incontinuance all the sacramentes shal be destroyed and Christes word set at naught Wherefore my Lord this blasphemous euation will not helpe you but such shamfull solutions must they vse that will be agaynst the open worde of God Amend your conscience my Lorde for if you doe not remeÌber the terrible wordes of y â Prophet hée shall shake his sword bend his bowe make it al ready therein hath hée prepared the shot of death his arrowes for to burne This is no smal threatning nor lightly to auoide But let vs sée what the scriptures say that which I gaue vnto you I receaued of y e Lord. Marke S. Paules wordes how hée receaued this thyng of the Lorde c. The Lord Iesus the same night in y e which hée was betraied tooke bread and thanked and brake it and sayde Take ye and eate this is my body which is broken for you this doe yée in the remembraunce of mée After y e same manner hée tooke the cup said this cup is the New testament in my bloud this doe as oft as you drinke in the rememberaunce of mée for as often as you shall eate this bread and drinke this câp you shall shew the Lordes death tyll hée come Marke diligently how S. Paule declareth how the Lord Iesus Christ dyd institute this blessed and comfortable sacrameÌt in both kindes and in both kindes dyd mynister it hymselfe and not that all onely but also enacted this coÌmauÌdement to all Christen people which must receiue it This doe as often c. Yea and this commauÌdement is geueÌ after the Sacrament is ministred in both kinds Teaching vs that in both kindes the Lord hath instituted this Sacrament to bée receiued and also that they y â so receaue it not breake this commaundement of the Lorde This doe as often c. This commaundement S. Paule did not lightly let slyp but hée knew that it was the ordinaunce and y e commaundement of the Lord and also knew y e one iot or tytle of his wordes should not nor ought nor can not bée let slip without perrell of the soules of them y â so littell makes of his word And therfore hée durst not nor would not and yet hée had as great auctoritie as the counsell of constance let slip or tanspose the institution and commaundement of the Lord but wholy and fully with all diligence hée wrote those wordes vnto all the whole congregation of the Corinthians not to the ministers or priestes all onely but to the whole congregation that is as well to the mynisters of the word as to lay men and also the contrary for hée sayth when you come togither that you may perceaue y â hée speakes indifferently hée there reproueth theÌ that tarryed not for poore men And also these wordes bée playne who so euer shall eate of this bread and drink of this cup worthely c. Now vnto this whole congregatioÌ I doubt not but by y e spirit of the Lord which sawe béefore this damnable errour to bée instituted of antichrist and his very all onely mynisters hée sayd drinke you yea and to reproue and manifestly to declare this open errour hée adeth this worde Cuppe signifying and teaching that Christes ordinaunce is not to receaue the bloud in the body onely but to receaue the bloud after his institution by it selfe out of the cup lest they should bée found correctours and blasphemers of the holy institution and commaundement of the Lord Of whom S. Paule receaued this coÌmaundemeÌt and of no couÌsels Now what ChristeÌ man can doubt but our M. Christ to whom all thing is bare and open both things present also to come knew that there was bloud in his owne body Also Saynt Paule his scholer which learned this lesson of hym was not ignorant that there was bloud in his body And yet firste our maister Christ géeueth his bloud alone by it selfe out of the cup and his diligent scholer knowyng the doctrine of his maister dyd the same regardyng his maisters doctrine and preferring it before his carnall reasoÌ which knew that there was bloud in euery body but his maisters doctrine taught him that his maister kept not his bloud in his body but for vs lost and damned persons for our innume rable detestable and aboue all capacitie to declare damnable and abhominable sinnes brake his body shed his bloude thereout plentously and therewith made sacrifice and satisfactioÌ for all our sinnes as Saint Iohn sayth The bloud of Iesus Christ clen seth vs from all sinne also we are sanctified by the offeryng of the body of Iesus Christ once for all Now that all Christen men which bée sanctified by the offeryng of this body and by sheadyng the bloud out of this body shoulde alwayes haue both those partes in remeÌbraunce hée according as the bloud was deuided froÌ the body for all sinners indiffereÌtly that will come vnto Christe and accordyng to his maisters institution commauÌdement ministred this Sacrament and also ordeined it to bée ministred to all men The body by it selfe the bloud by it selfe That they might alway not remember alonely that our Sauiour Christ offered his body for vs but also shed out of that same body his most precious bloud and therfore sayth S. Paule as his maister Christ taught him As often as you shall eate this bread and drinke this cup you shall shew the Lordes death till hée come Now my Lordes come to your counselles Christ and S. Paule defendeth thys thyng partinaciter as you call it that is stifly and strongly wyll they abide by it and will not reuoke it Wherfore after the decrée of your Counsell they bée condemned for heretickes I can no more say but God helpe them for there is no remedy with them but they must néedes to the fier for they will not bée abiured in no wise It is a piteous case that two so good men as these bée will bée thus openly agaynst the decrée of the holy counsell yea and against so many and so noble fathers and so great clarkes the which knew this matter as ye say as well as they and it is not to bée thought that the holy Ghost would leaue so
tame his body that it may waite vpon God deceiueth hym selfe All our doynges must tende to the honour of God and loue of our neighbour This boke is a preachyng of fayth and loue Here thou mayest learne a right meditation or contemplation The workes of God are supernatural We must abstaine froÌ outward euill though not for loue yet for feare of the vengeance of God Vnto the law of god we may neither adde nor minish We are coÌmaunded to abstayne from Images God is mercyful to them that repent Christ hath deliuered vs therfore we ought to serue him our neyghbour for his sake Loue onely to the fulfillyng of the lawes of God We must trust onely in God not in our selues Howe a maÌ may trye examine hym selfe how much he loueth God and his neighbour God styrreth vp his people vnto fayth A right way of prayer The pith effect of all y e lawes of God And if wee firste loue God then out of that loue wee must nedes loue our neighbour What it is to loue and feare God and what it is to despise hym The word of god may not be altered Let no maÌ draw vs from gods worde Of maters of the common weals None may be condemned vnder two witnessed Christ our sauiour declared in the old testament The curse and wrath of God ouer al those that break his lawes We may not be to curious in the searchyng of Gods secretes but rather study to vnderstand to do our duety towards god and our neighbour The Papistes kept the Scriptures from the lay people because they onely will be the publishers expositors therof The scripture hath a body and a soule The scripture contayneth iij. thinges The maner of hipocrites in reading the law of god The papisticall and corrupt doctrine of the papists Now the Papistes âring and wrest the scriptures God correcteth where he loueth God casteth none away but such as refuse to kept his lawes and will not harken vnto hys voyce Such as hardeÌ their hartes and not harken to the will of God to do it God casteth out The Prophetes of God bare the weakenes of their brethren their ãâã ries also with patience The Pope and his ministers are persecutors ouer their brethren The cruell opinioÌ that the disciples had of Christ The ignoraunce and imperfection of the apostles God doth mercifully try tempt vs to moue vs to vtter our hartes myndes towardes hym Ionas of himselfe was an vn mete messenger to be sent of such a message but god assisted him with his holy spirit The carnal imagination of mans nature without Gods spirite Ionas so long as he was in his carnall imagination could nât abyde the voice of God but fled howbeit God called hym ââ¦ne Ionas flesh râbelled agaynst the spirite The wicked seke to to coâer their wickednes with âope holy workes How Ionas was ârapped made aârayed Ionas beyng afrayd comesseth his sinnes Le ts howe they may be vsed law fully Miracle moueth the heathen to know god and to call vpon him As Ionas lay three dayes and iij. nightes in y t Whals Bely so Christ lay thre dayes and three nightes in the earth How christ sheweth his death resurrectioÌ by Ionas the Prophet Christ by the mouth of his Apostles preached repentaunce to the Iewes Where ther is no repeÌtauÌce there God powreth out his vengeaunce Gildas a writer of y t Brittishe Chronicle Wicleffe a preacher of repenâânÌce They slew Richard y t second They set vp Henry the fourth Henry the fift Henry the sixt Christ now preacheth repeÌtaunce vnto vs. Ionas called vpon God out of the fishes belly The sacrifice that Ionas offereth vnto God The sacrifices of the olde lawe were ordeyned to put vs in remeÌbraunce of the sacrifice of thankesgeuyng Ionas dyd that God commaunded hym Niniue was the greatest Citie in the world ⪠Christ is mercyfull to the that repent and call for mercy The doctrine of the Phariseis and the Papists make sinne of that is no sinne This is y â doctrine of y t Papistes and hypocriticall monkes at this day The blynd and fruteles workes of the Papistes Papisticall sinnes Papistes taught theÌ selues and theyr workes withall crueltieÌ The false wicked doctrine of the Papistes Blinde and btpocritical doctrine The Phariseto set vp a righteousnes of workes to cleÌse their soules withall By the worldly fleship interpretations of the scriptures the Iewes hartes were hardened The heââ then repented at the preachyng of Ionas A good and profitable example Note herâ the great mercy of God The right maner how to read the Scripture All our deedes are made perfect in christes bloud All the promised made by God in Christ are made to theÌ that repent The two keyes that open aâ the Scripture A very fruitfull good lesson How thou mayst at all tymes apply the stories of the Bible to thy great comfort The law must be fulfilled with the mercy that is in Christ In thy hart are the wordes of the law in thine hart are the promises and mercy of Christ Our sinne is of our selues but remission sorgeuenes therof commeth frely of the mercy of God for christes sake God hath no nede of our works but we must do theÌ for our selues and for the profite of our neighbors Christ hath satisfied for our sinnes as well after baptisme as before Baptisme Our actuall sinnes are washed away in Christes bloud The Zewes to this day ar locked out from the vnderstanding of the scriptures The right way into the vnderstanding of the Scritures Iaco. 1. The generall couenaunt that God hath made with vs. Lawe In these commaundemento is contayned tee whole law Where no good ãâ¦ã are there the fayth is vayne What fayth it is that saueth Two thinges are required to be in a christian man What the nature of gods word is When we heare gods will and do it not then God withdraweth his mercy and fauour from vs. He that harkeneth to the word of God doth it the same shal be blessed in his deede What it is to build vppon âand The vncleane spirit that returneth in worse sort theÌ he was when hee was cast forth Such ãâã are profes sours of the worde ãâã God and will not tame and scourge theÌ selues theÌ will God plague ãâã scourge Christes deedes âet vs in the fauour of God our owne helpe vs to continue in his fauour Loue is the fulfilling of the law Faith is cause of loue God requireth mercie and not sacrifice Onely loue vnderstandeth the law Gospell New Testament Our workes extend no farther then to our neighbour Why Tyndall vsed this worde repeÌtauÌce rather then penaunce ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã The foure partes of repentanÌce What maner of satisfaction weâ ought to make ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Why hee nameth theÌ Elders not priests William Tyndals Prologue vpon the Gospell of Marke The Prologue of W.
they âoâ NegligeÌce ãâã doyng ââ¦ed brynââ¦th vs to desperation Two apte similitudes ãâã well and ââ¦l doings Promise He that professeth not a newe lyfe hath no promise of mercy in Christ Prayer Workes must be seasoned with Gods worde if they shall please God Prayer What it is and how many wayes it may be named prayer Chamber To shut thy chamber doore what it meaneth Prayer Gods commaundement and promise shuld moââ vs to pray The Pater noster That prayer is vayne wherein y t hart is not ioyned with the toung False prayer is painefull True prayer to pleasaunt Sion Shenâ⦠Not the multitude of thy âordes but thy fayth ãâã praying God doth respect The Dater noster is expounded To honour Gods name what it is Kinges must commaunde nothyng nor forbid to do any thing contrary to Gods worde When we request any thing at Gods haÌd we must pray that his will be done not ours Dayly breade whereby is vnderstoode all that pertaineth vnto the necessitie of this lyfe A surer way then pardons How thou mayst bee sure of pardon for thy sinnes We cannot of our selues but âall into ãâã Small occasions drâ⦠vs to ãâ¦ã ãâã we are ãâã ly prone Who shuld thinke hym selfe to be without sinne were as euill as Lucifer Kynges ãâã subiectes are all one afore God A couenauÌt where with God is bounde to forgeue vs and we to forgeue ech other Gods couenaunt is a sure absolution to all that keepe Leauen how many wayed it is taken Faith what power it is of and the fruites that spring thereof Loue is righteousnes Faith bringeth loue Workes Loue. Fayth As Leauen can not be seene in a âoafe without smell or tast so cannot saith in vs without good workes and y â intent of the same be seene or appeare That fayth iustifieth what iâ meaneth Fayth Workes are sacramentes Baptim Christ Fayth Fast If fasting be vsed to any other and then to tame the fleshe that thereby we may be the more prone to serue God it is abused To annoint the head what it meaneth Fastyng The heape of inconueniences that spring by ââ¦rate superfluous ãâã and drinking Fastyng dayes or dayes of abstmence are to be ordained for common weales sake Almose Prayer Fasting Almose prayer and fasting how necessary Almose prayer and fasting are inseperable Fasting is not in eating and drinking onely Workes make hipocrites ãâã y â true entent be away Rulers be ordained for theÌ that cannot rule theÌselues Preacher The office of a true preacher Note this well ye temporall magistrates Prophets Priestes yea and Kynges of the old TestameÌt zealous Preachers Papistes haue often bene called to the Popes couenaunt but seldome to the Lords Obiection Solution Payne How God delueth in our payne takyng Fast The intent of fastyng what ââ¦s Fast How the Iewes did fast Fast The popes fast A feasâyng fast Faslyng The true intent is away from the Popes fastyng Monkes made the Pope a ââ¦od for his dispensations Couetousnes ãâã at a ãâ¦ã ãâã is 2. Pet ãâã Couetousnes cannot but erre More Couetousnes blinded the eyes hardened y e hart of Sir Thomas More The coÌmodities that folow couetous and worldly rich men âuke xij Luke xiiij Couetousnes maketh the salte of Godes worde vnsauery Couetousnes maketh a false Prophet Darckenesse Couetousnes causeth darcknesse Darckenesse The daâânes of the Popes doctrine here plainely appeareth Fayth in workes is darcknesse Darcknes Mammon what it is Mammon is a God Mammon maketh meÌ disguise theÌ selues The seruauntes of Mammon are not oâ Chriââes Church The seruaunt of Mammon to no true preacher To bee MammoÌs seruaunt what it is MammoÌs seruaunt how he is knowen The goodnes of god towarde mankynd Byrdes beastes teache vs to put away care Care Mammon Actes ãâã ConenauÌt keepe couenaunt with God and he shal keepe promise wyth thee Kingdome of heauen what Righteousnes of the kingdome of heauen what it is Iâ thou folow Christ thou canst not ãâ¦ã sufficient liuing Care What we ought chââââest to care for Tempte Why God letteth hys children be tempted with aduersitie What care is forbiddeÌ Care whâ⦠care euery man ought to haue Gods commaundement is mans lyfe Exod. xx Why God suffereth tirauntes to prosper Iudgyng What iudgyng is to be rebuked All dayes are indifferent to do good dedes to y â prayse of God the profite of our neighbore The beame Ceremonies hee that breaketh vnitie for zeale of ceremonies vnder slandeth not Gods law Ceremonies Measure ⪠Dogges who they be what is signified therby Swyne truly described Praâer is a commauÌdement Belefe To beleue in God what Luke 18. Prayer By prayer we wynne the victory onely and therefore is it of all thyngesâ most necessary False Prophetes what their wickednes ãâã Mark xiij Math. 24. Thy hart must be ioy ned with thy prayer The riche must pray for dayly bread To thinke our selues saued or preserued by any other meanes then by Gods ⪠is Idolatry Faith must be ioyned to our prayer Though God differ thy request yet must thou not saynt Doubtes How to âoyle doubtes Note Note Law what the fulfillyng therof is The end of all y â lawes betwen mâ and man is to loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Strayte gate The narrow way Few finde the narrow waâ and whâ Peter Paule ⪠Christ The false prophetes who Sheepes clothing what it meaneth ⪠ãâã Thess 2. Sheepes clothing Rauening wolues The obedience pouertie and wilfull chastitie of our spiritualtie Pouertie Chastitie Charitie Fasting Prayer Thornes beare no Figges The aunswere of cloysterers to such as shall desire âelefe at theâ haÌds A corrupt tree beareth no good ââute Fayth is the kernell of all our good frutes Faith maketh the âoorke âoâd and acceptable An example howe thy workâ or deede may be pleasaunt and acceptable before God ⪠Handy craftes are the commaundement of God The Iewes Turkes geâr almes as we doe yet for lacke of fayth it is abhominable God is aswell pleased when we thankefully receaue his benefites as when we do geue for his sake Hipocrites exâoll their owne workes to destroy the workes of God The holynes of hypocrites wherein it is Aske the ãâã steÌ Friâis why they murthered one of their felowes at London Who is y â spiritualty IgnoraÌce ãâã not if we wââ notâcâ False prophetes how to ãâã âhere they be Beleuers without ãâã workers without fayth are built on ãâã The ãâ¦ã ãâ¦ã theâ ãâ¦ã in Iesus Christ Fayth what it breedeth Loue. The word of God ãâ¦ã ãâã a man into ãâã parts ãâ¦ã y t fleââe to hold one âay and ãâã spirite to draw an other Iohn 16. The holy ghost shall rebuke the world for lacke of true iudgement ãâã Cor. 2. The spiritual iudgeth all thynges spiritually Math. 22. Rom. 13. Math. 22. The spirituall man searcheth ãâã the cause why ãâã ought to loue hys neighbour ⪠Man is Lord ouer all the creatures of the ãâã ãâã Reg. â1 Circumââ¦oÌ not trequented in ãâã
Gene. 32. Iohn 6. Papistes are the wresters of Scriptures The Sacramenteâ⦠are confirmations to weake consciences Fayth encreaseth by the worthy receiuyng of the Sacramentes Math. 28. Math. 18. Ephe. 3. The olde Doctours vary in their opinion of the SacrameÌt In aunswere to them of the second opinion Christ once sacrificed is a sacrifice for euer The doctrine of the Papistes Papistes be agreued with âuch as consent not to their gâosse opiââ¦on Signes coÌmonly called by the name of thyngs signified therby Note this worthy true argument followyng All the doctors with one accorde call the Sacrament a sacrifice Papistes should be indifferent in iudgementes as Protestants are TransubciatioÌ was a worde vsed among the olde Doctours An effectual and good Argument The Pope confirming transubstantiatioÌ did purchase hys own gayne to the ouerthrow of the right vse of Christes Sacrament The commoÌ persuasion of Papistes Marke 9. Papistes are cruell persecutârs The faithfull are in good state though the wicked iudge the contrary 1. Cor. 13. Phil. 2. Fayth onely iustifieth what it is to say Gene. 32. Gene. 33. Gene. 35. Exod. 12. Exod. 30. Iudi. 10. Iudi. 15. Iudic. 19. 1. Reg. 6. 1. Reg. 7. 3. Reg. 22. Nume 6. Ierem. 7. Ezech. 12. A short and effectuall collection of the former arguments An obiectioÌ made by y t Papistes An aunswere to y u former obiection In excelleÌt argument 3. Reg. 8. 3. Reg. 8. Math. 26. Marke 14. Luke 22. 1. Cor. 11. A letter of Maister Tyndall to M. ârââh 1. Pet. 2. 1. Ioh. 5. Math. 5. Rom. 8. Phil. 3. Boldnes of spirite Weunde not conscience Standing vpoÌ thinges necessary Death after denying euill spoken of by the aduersaries Obedience of God To looke for no maÌs helpe bringeth Gods helpe Conslancie in staÌding Pacience in suffering Bylney Perseueraunce to the end Math. 21. Two Martyrs at Antwerpe Foure martyrs in FlauÌders and one at Luke PersecutioÌ at Roâne Fiue Doctours at Paris takeÌ for y e Gospell In other Letter of M. Tyndall Hygh questions to be auoyded All deedes before they bee iustified by fayth are sinne Preachyng the law of God and mercy of Christ SacrameÌts without significations to be refused M. Tynball heâe beareth with tyme. By the affirâ⦠he ââ¦neth the ââ¦on which M. Luther the âaxoÌs be hold of the Sacrament M. Tyndall aâ⦠beareth w t tyme. Vbiquetie can not be proued Eating the whores flesh is to spoyle the Popes Churche ⪠onely for y â praye and spoyle ther of Worldly wisedome so farre as it may serue to Gods glorie may be vsed Low waâkyng The vpright handlyng in the translation of M. Tyndall A low hart maketh a man hygh with God Authoritie is the glory of age Meekenes is the glory of youth Purgatory hath no profe by Scripture Iohn 6. The Iewes wer blynd and ignorant vnderstode not the wordes of Christ The true worke that is acceptable before God Abacuk 2. The Iewes desire a sigâe or token whereby they might beleue that he was Christ Psal 7. Christ required of the Iewes to haue fayth and trust in hym Christ explaneth sheweth him selfe to the Iewes Fayth onely appreheÌdeth Christ and all hys benefites Christ rebuketh the incredulitie and lacke of fayth in the Iewes All that the father draw come vnto Christ Christe came from heaueÌ into earth to fulfill the will of his father He. y â beleueth Christes death to be for the remissioÌ of his sinnes the same cateth y â fleshe drinketh the bloud of Christ The cause of y e Iewes murmur Christ reproueth the murmuryng of the Iewes Esay 54. Ierem. 31. Iohn 6. All that beleue hope in Christ haue euerlastyng life M. More had not the vnderstandyng of the scriptures 1. Cor. 11. More is a mocker The eating or the bread of Christ is onely to beleue in Christes âeath How the bread signifieth and sheweth Christes ââ¦esh Christes flesh is the spirituall foode of ouâ soules The obstinate wilfull blyndnes of the Iewes The malice of the Iewes toward our Sauiour Christ The carnal Papistes ceasse not still to offer hym Hebr. 10. Thomistes be y â schole Doctours Christ in saiyng y â hys flesh is very meate doth not say that bread shal be transubstaââated into hys flesh Christes wordes are spirituall not carnall More declareth hys ignoraunce and wilfull blyndnes More reporteth the Scriptures vntruly Mores first reason is coÌfuteâ Iohn 6. 10. 15. Christes Disciples murmured not at hys saying Christes ââ¦s wâ⦠in all thynges to be spiritually vnderstand Abacuk 2. The confutation of his ij argument Christ in that he is God may doe all things that he will but yet he will not falsefye hys holy Scriptures More is a great setteâorth of vnwritten veâities Although y e Pope daâe âot take vppon hym to be God ⪠yet he is coÌtented to be named taken for halfe a God Esay 42. Christ âs touchyng his manhode occupieth at one ây me but one place but hys Godhead is in all places at once Iohn 14. Iohn 10. Hebr. 11. Hebr. 9. Christes must nedes dye for God had so promised before Iohn 2. and 12. God may not be fouÌdâ⦠More would haue beleued Christ if he had talked with hym what soeuer hee had said to him Gods almightye power is not to be to busely deale withall More doth but scoffe out the matter Matters of âayth are repugnauÌt to reason Gods blessed will is declared in his Scriptures More traucâleth in his Poetrie Mores similitude of faces in the glasse proueth no faces in substaunce By âayth we must eate and drinke Christes body and bloâd spiritually More writeth against hym selfe More an vpholder of vnwritten verities Abacuk 2. Fayth is y â life of the righteous 1. Iohn 4. By fayth we eate drinke Christ and so he abydeth in vs and we in hym Christen religion is fayth and a lyfe correspondeÌt The Iewes and also the disciples of Christe were offended at his wordes Here Christ doth playnly shew that it is the spirituall eatyng not the fleshly eatyng of his body that profiteth The eating of Christes flesh profited nothyng The wordes of Christe were spirit and life Christes disciples vnderstode Christ to speake spiritually and beleued Math. 26. Math. 24. Luke 24. 1. Cor. 11. The order of the actâ⦠Christ consecrated no bread but deliuered it to his Apostles to eate There is left vnto vs no wordes of consecration wherby we should alter and chauÌge the nature of bread into his body The vse of the Supper The paschal lambe The true meanyng significatioÌ of the Sacrament of the body bloud of Christ Mores litterall sense âs lost Marke 14. The wordes of consecratioÌ were spokeÌ after Christ had deliuered y â bread the cup. Luke 22. 1. Cor. 11. How the Papistes wrest the wordes of Scripture Iohn 6. 1. Cor. 10. To eate Christes flesh is to beleue in hym The maner of Saint Paules speakyng Math. 15. An allegoticall spech wel allowed and
nothing but as the father moueth it euen so hath God all tyrantes in hys hande and letteth them not do whatsoeuer they would but as much onely as he appoynteth them to do and as far forth as it is necessarye for vs. And as when the childe submitteth himselfe vnto hys fathers correction and nurture and humbleth himself altogether vnto the will of his father theÌ the rod is taken away euen so when we ar come vnto the knowledge of the right waye and haue forsaken our owne will and offer our selues cleane vnto the will of God to walke which way soeuer he will haue vs then turneth he the tyrantes or els if they enforce to persecute vs any further he putteth them out of the way according vnto the comfortable ensamples of the scripture Moreouer let vs arme our soules with the promises both of helpe and assistance and also of the glorious rewarde that followeth Great is your reward in heaueÌ sayth Christ Math. 5. And he that knowledgeth mee before men him will I knowledge before my father that is in heauen Math. 10. and Call on me in time of tribulation and I wyll deliuer thee Psal 65. and Beholde the eyes of the Lord are ouer them thet feare hym and ouer them that trust in hys mercy to deliuer theyr soules from death and to feede them in time of hunger Psal 46. And in Psal 47. sayth Dauid The Lorde is nygh them that are troubled in theyr hartes and the meeke in spirite will he saue The tribulations of the righteous are many and out of them all will the Lord deliuer them The Lord keepeth al the bones of them so that not one of theÌ shall be brused The Lord shal redeeme the soules of his seruauntes And of such like consolation are all the Psalmes full woulde to God when ye read them ye vnderstood them And Math. 10. When they deliuer you take no thought what ye shall say it shall be geuen you the same houre what ye shall say for it is not ye that speake but the spirite of your Father which speaketh in you The very heares of your heades are numbred saith Christ also Math. 10. If God care for our heares he much more careth for our soules which he hath sealed with his holy spirite Therefore sayth Peter 1. Pet. 4. Cast all your care vppon him for he careth for you And Paule 1. Cor. 10. sayeth God is true he wil not suffer you to be tempted aboue your might And Psal 71. Cast thy care vpon the Lord. Let thy care be to prepare thy selfe with all thy strength for to walke which way he will haue thee and to beleue that he will goe with thee assist thee and strengthen thee agaynst all tyraÌtes deliuer thee out of al tribulatioÌ But what way or by what meanes he will do it that committe vnto him and his godly pleasure and wisedome and cast that care vpon him And though it seeme neuer so vnlikely or neuer so impossible vnto naturall reason yet beleue stedfastly that he will do it and then shall he according to his olde vse chainge the course of the worlde euen in the twinckling of an eye and come sodenly vpon our Gyantes as a theefe in the night and coÌpasse them in their wyles and worldly wisedome when they crye peace all is safe then shall theyr sorrowes beginne as the panges of a woman that traueileth with childe and then shall he destroy them and deliuer thee vnto the glorious prayse of hys mercy and truth Amen ANd as pertayning vnto them that despise Gods worde counting it as a phantasie or a dreame and to them also that for feare of a little persecution fall from it sette this before thyne eyes how God since the beginning of the world before a generall plague euer sent his true prophetes preachers of his word to warne the people and gaue them time to repent But they for the greatest part of theÌ hardened theyr hartes and persecuted the worde that was sent to saue them And then God destroyed them vtterly and tooke them cleane from the earth As thou seest what followed the preaching of Noe in y â olde world what folowed the preaching of Loth among the Sodomites the preachyng of Moses and Aaron among the Egiptians and that sodenly against all possibilitie of mans witte Moreouer as ofte as the children of Israell fel from God to the worshipping of images he sent his prophets vnto them and they persecuted and waxed harde harted and then he sent them into all places of the world captiue Last of all he sent his owne sonne vnto them and they waxed more hard harted then euer before And see what a fearefull example of his wrath and cruel vengeance he hath made of them vnto all the worlde now almost fifteene hundred yeares Vnto the olde Brittaines also which dwelled where our natioÌ doth now preached Gildas and rebuked them of theyr wickednes and prophesied both vnto the spirituall as they will be called and vnto the lay men also what vengeaunce would follow except they repented But they waxed hard harted and God sente his plagues and pestilences among them and sent theyr enemies in vppon them on euery side destroyed them vtterly Marke also how Christ threateneth theÌ that forsake him for whatsoeuer cause it be whether for feare eyther for shame eyther for losse of honour frendes lyfe or goodes ⪠He that denyeth me before men him will I deây before my father that is in heauen He that loueth father or mother more then me is not worthy of me all thys he sayth Math. 10. And in Mark 8. he sayth Whosoeuer is ashamed of me or my wordes among this adulterous and sinfull generation of him shall the sonne of man be ashamed when he commeth in the glory of his father with his holy Angels And Luk. 9. also None that layeth his hande to the plowe and looketh backe is meete for the kingdome of heauen Neuerthelesse yet if any man haue resisted ignorantly as Paule did let him looke on the truth which Paule wrote after he came to knowledge Also if any man cleane against his hart but ouercome with the weaknes of the flesh for feare of persecution haue denied as Peter did or haue deliuered his booke or put it away secretly let him if he repente come again and take better hold and not dispayre or take it for a signe that God hath forsaken him for God ofttimes taketh hys strength euen froÌ his very elect wheÌ they either trust in theyr own strength or are negligent to call to him for his strength And that doth hee to teach theÌ to make theÌ feele that in that fire of tribulatioÌ for his wordes sake nothing can endure and abide saue his word and that streÌgth onely which he hath promised For the which strength he will haue vs to praye vnto him night and day wyth all
instance THat thou mayst perceyue how that y â scripture ought to be in the mother tounge and that the reasons which our sprites make for the contrary are but sophistry and false wiles to feare thee from the light that thou mightest follow them blindfolde and be theyr captiue to honor theyr ceremonies and to offer to theyr belly First God gaue the children of Israell a law by the hande of Moses in their mother tounge and all the prophetes wrote in theyr mother tounge and all the Psalmes were in the mother tongue And there was Christ but figured and described in ceremonies in riddles in parables and in darck prophecies What is the cause that we may not haue the olde Testament with the new also which is the light of the olde and wherin is openly declared before the eyes that there was darckly prophesied I can imagine no cause verely except it be that we should not see the woorke of Antechrist iugglyng of hipocrites what shoulde be the cause that we which walke in the broad day should not see as well as they that walked in the night or that wee shoulde not see as well at noone as they did in y â twylight Came Christ to make the world more blinde By this meanes Christ is the darknes of the world and noâ the light as he saith him selfe Iohn 8. Moreouer Moses saith Deut. 6. Heare Israell let these wordes which I coÌmaunde thee thys day sticke fast in thine hart whet theÌ on thy children talke of theÌ as thou sittest in thine house as thou walkest by the way when thou lyest downe when thou risest vp binde them for a token to thyne hand let them be a remembraunce betwene thine eyes write theÌ on the posâes gates of thine house This was commauÌded generally vnto all men How cometh it that gods word pertaineth lesse vnto vs theÌ vnto the Yea howe commeth it that our Moysesses forbid vs and commaund vs the contrary threaten vs if we do will not that we once speake of Gods worde How can we whette Gods word that is to put it in practise vse exercise vpoÌ our children houshold wheÌ we are violently kepte from it and knowe it not How can we as Peter commaundeth geue a reason of our hope when we wot not what it is that God hath promised or what to hope Moyses also commaundeth in the sayd chapter If the sonne aske what the testimonies lawes and obseruaunces of the Lorde meane that the father teach him If our childreÌ aske what our cerimonies which are moe then the Iewes were meane no father can tell his sonne And in the xj chapter he repeteth all againe for feare of forgetting They will say happely the scripture requireth a pure minde and a quiet minde And therefore the lay man because he is altogether combred with worldly busines can not vnderstand them If that be the cause then it is a plaine case that our prelates vnderstand not the Scriptures them selues for no lay man is so tangled with worldly busines as they are The great thinges of the worlde are ministred by them neyther do the lay people any great thing but at their assignement If the Scripture were in the mother tongue they will say then would the lay people vnderstande it euery man after his owne wayes Wherfore serueth the Curate but to teach him the right way Wherfore were the holy dayes made but that the people shoulde come and learne Are yee not abhominable scholemaisters in that ye take so great wages if ye will not teach If ye would teach how could ye do it so well and with so great profite as when the lay people haue the scripture before them in theyr mother tongue for then should they see by the order of the text whether thou iugledest or not and then woulde they beleue it because it is y â scripture of god thoughe thy liuyng be neuer so abhominable Where now because your liuing your preaching are so contrary and because they grope out in euery sermon your open and manifest lyes and smell your vnsatiable couetousnes they beleue you not when you preach truth But alas the Curates them selues for the most part wot no more what the new or olde Testament meaneth then do the Turkes neither know they of any more then that they read at masse mattens and euensong which yet they vnderstande not neyther care they but euen to mumble vp so much euery day as the Pye and Poymgay speake they wot not what to sill vp theyr bellies withall If they will not let the lay man haue the woorde of God in hys mother tounge yet let the priests haue it which for a great part of them do vnderstand no latine at all but sing and say and patter all day with the lips onely that which the hart vnderstandeth not Christ commaundeth to search the scriptures Iohn 5. Though that miracles bare recorde vnto hys doctrine yet desired he no fayth to be geuen eyther vnto hys doctrine or vnto hys miracles without recorde of the scripture When Paule preached Act. 17. the other searched the scriptures dayly whether they were as he alleaged them Why shal not I likewise see whether it be the scripture y â thou alleagest yea why shall I not see the scripture and the circumstaunces and what goeth before and after that I may knowe whether thine interpretation be y â right sence or whether thou iuglest and drawest the scripture violently vnto thy carnall and fleshlye purpose or whether thou be about to teache me or to disccaue me Christ sayth that there shall come false prophets in his name and say that they themselues are Christ that is they shall so preache christ that meÌ must beleue in theÌ in their holines and thinges of their imagination wtout gods word yea that agaynst Christ or Antechrist that shall come is nothyng but suche false prophetes that shall iuggle with the scripture and beguile the people with false interpretatioÌs as all the false prophetes scribes pharisies did in y t old TestameÌt How shall I know whether ye are agaynst Christ or fals prophetes or no seing ye will not let me see how ye alleage the scriptures Christ sayth By theyr deedes ye shall know them Now when we looke on your deeds we see that ye are all sworne together and haue seperated yourselues from the lay people and haue a seuerall kingdome amoÌg your selues and seuerall lawes of your owne making wherewith ye violently binde the lay people that neuer consented vnto the making of them A thousand thinges forbidde ye which Christ made free and dispence with them agayne for money neyther is there any exception at all but lacke of money Ye haue a secret counsell by your selues All other mens secretes counsels know ye and no man yours ye seek but honour riches promotion authoritie and to
thyng therâroÌ as Moyses euery where teacheth thee Serue God in the spirite thy neighbour with all outward seruice Serue God as he hath appoynted thee not with thy good intent and good zeale Remember Saul was cast awaye of God for euer for his good intent God requireth obedieÌce vnto his woorde abhorreth all good intentes and good zeales which are without Gods word For they are nothyng els then playne Idolatry and woorshyppyng of false Gods And remeÌber that Christ is the end of all thyng He onely is our restyng place he is our peace Ephe. ij chap. For as there is no saluatioÌ in any other name so is there no peace in any other name Thou shalt neuer haue rest in thy soule neither shall y â worme of conscience euer cease to gnaw thyne hart till thou come at Christ till thou heare the glad tydings how that God for his sake hath forgeuen thee all freely If thou trust in thy workes there is no rest Thou shalt thinke I haue not done inough Haue I done it with so great loue as I should do Was I so glad in doyng as I would be to receaue helpe at my neede I haue left this or that vndone and such like If thou trust in confessioÌ then shalt thou thinke Haue I told all Haue I told all the circumstances Did I repent inough Had I as great sorow in my repentaunce for my sinnes as I had pleasure in doyng them Likewise in our holy PardoÌs pilgrimages gettest thou no rest For thou seest that the very Gods theÌ selues which sell their pardon so good cheape or some whiles geue theÌ freely for glory sake trust not therein them selues They build Colledges and make perpetuities to be prayed for for euer ladey â lyppes of their beadmen or chaplaynes with so many Masses Diriges and so loÌg seruice that I haue knowen some that haue byd the deuill take their founders soules for very impaciencie and werines of so paynefull labour As pertainyng to good deedes therfore do the best thou canst and desire God to geue strength to do better dayly but in Christ put thy trust and in the Pardon promises that God hath made thee for his sake on that rocke build thine house and there dwell For there onely shalt thou be sure from all stormes and teÌpestes from all wyly assaultes of our wicked spirites which study with all falshead to vndermyne vs. And the God of all mercy geue the grace so to do vnto whom be glory for euer Amen ¶ A compendious rehearsall of that which goeth before I Haue described vnto you the obedience of children seruauntes wines subiectes These iiij orders are of Gods makyng y e rules thereof are Gods word He that kepeth theÌ shal be blessed yea is blessed all ready and he that breaketh them shal be cursed If any person of impaciency or of a stubburne and rebellious mynde withdraw hym selfe from any of these and get him to any other order let hym not thinke thereby to auoyde the vengeaunce of God in obeying rules and traditions of mans imaginatioÌ If thou poulledst thine head in the worship of thy father and breakest his commaundementes shouldest y â so escape Or if thou payntedst thy masters image on a wall and stickedst vp a caÌdle before it shouldest thou therewith make satisfaction for the breaking of his coÌmaundementes Or if thou warest a blew coate in the worshyp of the kyng and brakest hys lawes shouldest thou so go quyte Let a mans wife make her selfe a sister of the charterhouse and auÌswere her husband when he byddeth her hold her peace my brethren kepe silence for me and see whether she shal so escape And be thou sure God is more gelouse ouer his commaundementes then man is ouer hys or then any man is ouer his wife Because we be blynd God hath appointed in y e Scripture how we shuld serue him please him As perteynyng vnto his owne person he is aboundaÌtly pleased when we beleue his promises and holy Testament which he hath made vnto vs in Christ for the mercy which âe there shewed vs loue his commaundements All bodyly seruice must be done to maÌ in Gods stede We must geue obedience honour tolle tribute custome and rent vnto whoÌ they belong Then if thou haue ought more to bestow geue vnto y t pore which are left here in Christes stede that we shew mercy on them If we kepe the commaundements of loue theÌ are we sure that we fulfill the law in the sight of God and that our blessing shal be euerlastyng life Now when we obey patiently and without grudgyng euill Princes that oppresse vs persecute vs and be kinde and mercyfull to them that are mercylesse to vs and doe the worst they caÌ to vs and so take all fortune patiently and kysse what soeuer crosse God layeth on our backes then are we sure that we keepe the commaundementes of loue I declared that God hath taken all vengeaunce into his own handes and will aueÌge all vnright him selfe either by the powers or officers whiche are appointed thereto or els if they be negligent he will send his curses vppon the traÌsgressours destroy them with his secret iudgementes I shewed also that whosoeuer auengeth him selfe is damned in the deede doing and falleth into the haÌdes of the temporall sword because be taketh the office of God vppon him and robbeth God of his most high honour in that he wil not patieÌtly abide his iudgement I shewed you of the authoritie of Princes how they are in Gods stede and how they may not be resisted doe they neuer so euill they must be reserued vnto the wrath of God Neuer the latter if they commaunde to do euill we must then disobey and say we are otherwise coÌmauÌder of God but not to rise agaynst theÌ They wil kil vs theÌ sayest thou Therfore I say is a Christen called to suffer euen the bitter death for hys hopes sake and because he will do no euill I shewed also that the Kynges and rulers be they neuer so euill are yet a great gift of the goodnes of God and defende vs from a thousand thynges that we see not I proued also that all men without exception are vnder the temporall sword what soeuer names they geue them selues Because the Priest is chosen out of the lay men to teach this obedience is that a lawfull cause for him to disobey Because he preacheth that the lay maÌ should not steale is it therfore lawfull for hym to steale vnpunished Because thou teachest me that I may not kill or if I do the kyng must kill me agayn is it therfore lawfull for thee to kil and go free Either whether is it rather mete that thou whiche are my guide to teache me the rightwaye shouldest walke therin before me The Priestes of the old law with their high bishop Aaron and all his successours
Now let vs consider your foresayd causes ponder whether your booke haue or may do any such good as you say pretended whether it haue conuerted those sortes of people or els be any thyng lykely to do such a fact And first let vs sée what it profiteth y t first sort which are infidels not beleuyng in Christ nor his scripture Our sauiour Christ sayth he that beleueth is not damned Iohn Baptist confirmeth the same saying he that beleueth in y e sonne hath euerlastyng lyfe but he that beleueth not in the sonne shal not sée life but the wrath of God abydeth vpon hym Here it is euideÌt not by my exposition but by the consent of all Christen men that those infidels are damned for what entent then should Rastell teach them that there is a Purgatory without Christ ther is no way but daÌnation as scripture all faythfull men testifie Then would I know by what way he wold persuade that there were a Purgatory which should be away a meane to saluation and not to damnatioÌ for theÌ which beleue not in Christ This I am sure of and I thinke Rastell be leueth it also that the infideles shall neuer come in it though there were one This you may sée that his first cause is very vayne and that if they dyd beleue it they were in déede deceyued Now let vs procéede vnto the second sort of people which beleue in Christ and his scripture and yet misconstrue it expoundyng it after theyr own willes And let vs sée what frute they take of this booke what it profiteth them we shall finde that it lesse serueth these men then the first for if this men beleue in Christ and in hys Scripture then is it not possible that they should receaue or admitte that thyng which is agaynst the Scripture both by the exposition of them selues of all the world For this is both agaynst Scripture and all faithfull meÌ that there should be any way to health if we exclude Christ and hys Scripture And sith Purgatory is counted away to health he that would go about to proue it secludyng Christ and Scripture is agaynst Scripture and all faythfull men Besides that if they be so obstinate that they will not receaue the verye Scripture but expounde it after their own willes wrest it after the same then wil they much lesse receaue your booke which is so playne agaynst scripture therfore if you would thinke that they could bee tamed by your booke which notwithstandyng so wresteth Scripture then may I very wel lyken you to hym that hath a wilde horse to tame which when he perceiueth that hee can not hold hym with a scoktishe snafle will yet labour to breake him with a rooteÌ twine threde So that I can espye no maner of profite that caÌ come of your booke if you can alledge no better causes then you yet shew but that it had bene a great deale better vnwritten And brother Rastel where you say that I auaunce boast my selfe much more then becommeth me and that I detract and slauÌder my neighbours that I prouoke all men that read my booke rather to vyce then to vertue with such other thynges as ye lay to my charge I trust I shall declare my inconuenience and geue you a sufficient aunswere ¶ An aunswere to Rastels first chapter which reproueth me for boastyng my selfe IN the first chapter of this booke Rastell laboureth to proue that I am sore ouer séene in laudyng boastyng my selfe that I lyke my selfe so well that he is sure that other men do lyke me the lesse and that he feareth that God will therfore lyke me fauour me rather the worse then the better Here he iuggeleth wyth me and would make me beleue that he tossed me mine own ball agayne but when I beholde it I perceaue it to be none of mine for he hath cut out all that shoulde make for me so that he hath geuen it cleane an other shape then euer I entended that it should haue as it appeareth by hys writing which rehearseth my words in this maner I am sure there are many that maruell that I being so yong dare attempt to dispute thys matter agaynst these thrée persons But my wordes are these I am sure that there are many that will much maruell that I being so yong and of so smal learning dare dispute this matter c. Here Rastell leaueth out the wordes and of so small learning for if he had put that in he had bewrayed himselfe For I thincke no man so mad as to say that he which sayeth himselfe to be both yong and of small learning shoulde prayse and boaste hym selfe Also immediatly after the wordes of hys first allegation I say on thys maner And as touching my lerning I must needes acknowledge as the truth is that it is very small which I thinke is but a base boasting and anone after I say I would not that any man should admit my wordes or learning except they will stand wyth the scripture and be approued therby Lay them to the touchstone and trye them with Gods word if they be found false and contrary then damne them and I also shall reuoke them with all mine hart c. Finally I exhorted them to read my booke not aduertising who speaketh the wordes but rather what is spoken by which wordes you might well see that I entended not to boast my selfe and all this haue I written and be left it out eueÌ in the first page as he calleth it wherin he reporteth that I boast my selfe Notwithstanding one thing doth sore vexe him that I should recite the Epistle of S. Paule wherby he saith I would haue men beleue that I had the spirite of God and thinke that though I be young that I sée visions and espye the truth and that myne elders haue dreamed dreames and wandered in phantasies Thys he recounteth to be a great boast and that thys one place shoulde winne him the fielde whereunto I aunswer that indéede my wordes do not proue that thing which you séeme so surely to gather of them but my wordes do argue on this maner that no man ought to condemne a thing before he read it and then to geue sentence and because you séeme ignoraunt in the matter I shall declare it vnto you and how it standeth It is a coulour of Rhetorike and is called Auantopodosis that is to saye An aunswere to an obiection that a man might haue here made on thys maner thou grauntest thy self yong and of so small learnyng doost thou then thinke that we shall once read or regard thy booke specially sith it is written against auncient meÌ both of great wit dignity To these two pointes I aunswer preuenting theyr obiection that they should not despise it because of my youth for as the spirite of God is bound to