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<DATE>2014-04-16</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<HEAD>&para; Excepte a man haue the profe&s;&s;ion of his baptyme in his harte, he ca~ not vnder&s;tonde the &s;cripture.</HEAD>
<P>_AS a ma~ can by no means read, excepte he be taught the letters of the cro&s;&s;e|rowe, eue~ &s;o it is vnpo&s;&s;i|ble for a man of what&s;o+euer degre or name he be to vnder&s;tonde ought in the &s;cripture vn|to the honoure of God, and health of hys &s;oule, excepte he be fyr&s;t taught the profe&s;+&s;ion of his baptyme, and haue it al&s;o wryt+ten in hys harte.</P>
<P>Whych profe&s;&s;ion &s;tondeth in .ii. thyn|ges: <NOTE PLACE="marg">The profe&s;|&s;ion of oure baptyme what it i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> The one is the knowlege of the law of God, vnder&s;tandynge it &s;piritually, as Chri&s;t expou~deth it Mathew in the .v. vi. and .vii. chapter: &s;o that the roote and lyfe of all lawes is thys: Loue thy LORDE God with al thyne hart, all thy &s;oule, and all thy myghte, and thy neghboure as thy &s;elfe for his &s;ake: and that loue only, be the fulfyllynge of y^e law (as Paule teacheth,) and that what &s;oeuer dede we do, and not of that loue, that &s;ame fulfylleth no lawe in the &s;yght of God.</P>
<PB REF="2">
<P> And the other is to knowe the promi&s;es <NOTE PLACE="marg">Go&s;pell.</NOTE> of mercye, whyche are in oure &s;aueoure Chri&s;t, vnder&s;tandynge them al&s;o purely wythoute all leuen, after the mercyfulle&s;t fa&s;hion as &s;cripture expre&s;&s;eth them, and after all fatherlye loue and kyndne&s;&s;e of God vnto al that repe~t towarde the &s;awe and beleue in Chri&s;te.</P>
<P>And to haue this profe&s;&s;ion wrytten in thyne harte, is to con&s;ent vnto y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> law that it is ryghteous, and good, and to loue it in thyne harte &amp; to &s;ubmyt thy&s;elfe thervnto for to learne it, and to rule and &s;quare all thy dedes therby, &amp; the~ to beleue in Chri&s;t that for hys &s;ake, all thy &s;ynnes whyche thou dydde&s;t before y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> knowlege of this pro+fe&s;&s;ion, are forgeue~ the clerly, both pena &amp; culpa (to v&s;e y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Romy&s;h termes,) and that for none other &s;ati&s;faction to Godwarde, then Chri&s;tes bloude, and euen &s;o, that all the &s;ynne which we do after this knowlege ether of chaunce, ignoraunce, infyrmyte, negligence, or prouoked and ouercomme of y^e fle&s;h, is forgeue~ vs lykwy&s;e both pena and culpa thorow repentaunce and fayth in Chri&s;te wythoute oure &s;ati&s;faction of workes to Godwarde.</P>
<P>Not wyth&s;tondynge we beynge all
<PB N="iii" REF="2"> &s;onnes of one God, &amp; &s;eruauntes of one Chri&s;t mu&s;t agre amonge our &s;elues, &amp; he that hath offended, mu&s;t mekely know|lege his fault, and offer hym&s;elfe to make amendes vnto the vtmo&s;t of hys power, and yf he haue not where wyth, and axe forgeuene&s;&s;e for Chri&s;tes &s;ake, the other is bounde to forgeue hym. Nother wyth+out reconcylinge hym &s;elfe vnto hys bro|ther maye ony man be at the fyr&s;t recea|ued vnto the profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;tes fayth, nor continue therin, nor be receaued in agayne yf he be for hys open offences put therout. For how can a man loue hys neghboure as well as hym&s;elfe, &amp; be &s;ory that he hath hurt hym, excepte he &s;hulde offer hym&s;elfe to make amendes?</P>
<P>And we mu&s;te from hence forth walke in the lyfe of penaunce (yf ye wyll haue it &s;o called) and after the doctrine of Chri&s;t euery man tame hys fle&s;he wyth prayer fa&s;tynge, and the continual meditacyons of Chri&s;tes Penaunce and pa&s;&s;ions for vs, and of the holy &s;ayntes: and with &s;uch ab&s;tinence, and kynde of lyuing as euery man thinketh moo&s;t mete for hys co~plex+ion, the yonger confe&s;&s;yng theyr infirmi+ties to y^e elder, di&s;creter, &amp; better learned
<PB REF="3"> and axynge theyr aduyce and whol&s;ome coun&s;ell for the repre&s;&s;ynge of theyr di&s;ea+&s;es, but all to tame the fle&s;h, and to &s;erue thy neghbour, wythout ony &s;uper&s;ticious mynde.</P>
<P>But to Godwarde is ther no &s;ati&s;fac|tion &s;aue fayth in Chri&s;tes bloude out of a repentynge harte. For oure outwarde dedes can not be referred vnto God to do hym &s;eruice in hys owne per&s;one, and to helpe hym or make hym better there wyth. We can do no more with the~, wer they neuer &s;o perfecte, and done wyth all loue, then &s;ati&s;fye the lawe for the pre&s;ent tyme, and do oure duety vnto oure negh|boures, and tame oure owne fle&s;he, but not to make &s;ati&s;faction to God for &s;ynne that is once pa&s;t. The &s;ynne that is once commytted mu&s;t God forgeue frely of a fatherly loue for Chri&s;tes &s;ake.</P>
<P>When God vi&s;iteth vs with &s;ycknes, pouerte, or what &s;o euer aduer&s;ite it be, he doth it not of a tyrannous mynde to &s;ati&s;fye hys lu&s;te in oure &s;ufferrynge of euell, to make &s;ati&s;faccion for the &s;ynne that is pa&s;te, of the whiche we repent and be &s;ory: But of a fatherly loue, to make vs knowe oure &s;elfes, and fele hys
<PB N="iiii" REF="3"> mercy, and to tame the fle&s;h, and to kepe vs from &s;ynnynge agayne. As no natural father puny&s;&s;heth hys chylde becau&s;e he delyteth in tormentynge of hym, to take &s;ati&s;faction for the &s;ynne that is pa&s;te. But fyr&s;t teacheth kyndly and &s;ufferreth and forgeueth once or twy&s;e, and then at the la&s;te, when he &s;eyeth the body &s;o wan|ton that the chylde can not contynue in the ryghte waye, for the rage of wylde lu&s;tes, he beateth hym, to &s;ubdue the fle&s;h only and to tame it, that the doctryne of the father may haue hyr due cour&s;e in the harte of the chylde, &amp; &s;hulde not be choked wyth &s;u&s;tes, and concupi&s;cences of oure wycked nature.</P>
<P>Euen &s;o is it of God, yf ony of hys chyldren that haue profe&s;&s;ed his law, and the faythe of oure &s;aueoure, be negly|gent to tame hys fle&s;he, wyth prayer, fa|&s;tynge, and gooddedes after the doctryne of Chri&s;te, he wyll &s;urelye &s;courge hym to brynge hym in to the ryghte waye a|gayne, and to kepe hym that the doctryne of hys &s;oules health pery&s;he not in hym. But he taketh not hys mercye from vs, nor thynketh on the &s;ynne y^t is pa&s;te, after that we repente and be full conuerted,
<PB REF="4"> but ab&s;olueth vs both a pena and culpa for Chri&s;tes &s;ake, and is as myghtye and as mercyfull to do it for Chri&s;tes &s;ake, as the B. of Rome for mony, be&s;ides that he hath promy&s;ed mercyfully &s;o to do.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>&para; The knowlege of our baptyme is the keye and the lyght of the &s;cripture.</HEAD>
<P>ANd agayne as he whyche knoweth hys letters well, and can &s;pell per|fectly, can not but reade (yf he be dilige~t:) and as he which hath cleare eyes wythout impediment or let, and walketh therto in the lyght and open daye can not but &s;e, yf he attende and take hede: euen &s;o who &s;o euer hath the profe&s;&s;ion of bap|tyme wrytten in hys harte, can not but vnder&s;tonde the &s;cripture, yf he exerci&s;e hym&s;elfe therin, and compare one place to another, and marke the maner of &s;peche, &amp; axe here and there the meanynge of a &s;en|tence of them that be better exercy&s;ed than he is.</P>
<P>For as the doctrine whiche we &s;hulde <NOTE PLACE="marg">The keye &amp; lyght of the Scripture.</NOTE> be taught before we were bapty&s;ed, and for lacke of age is deferred vnto the yeares
<PB N="v" REF="4"> of di&s;crecyon is the keye, that byndeth &amp; low&s;eth, locketh and vnlocketh the con&s;ci+ence of all &s;ynners: euen &s;o that le&s;&s;on, where it is vnder&s;tande, is onely y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> keye that openeth all the &s;cripture, and euen y^e whole &s;cripture in it &s;elfe gathered toge|ther in a narowe compa&s;&s;e and brought in to a compendiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and tyll thou be taught that le&s;&s;on, that thyn hart fele the &s;wetne&s;&s;e of it, the &s;cripture is locked and &s;hut vp from the, and &s;o darke, that thou coulde&s;t not vnder&s;tande it, though Peter, Paul or Chri&s;t hym&s;elfe dyd ex|pounde it vnto the, nomore than a blynd man can &s;e, though thou &s;et a candell be|fore hym, or &s;hewe&s;t hym the Sonne, or poynte&s;t with thy fynger vnto that thou wolde&s;t haue hym to loke vpon.</P>
<P>Now be we all bapty&s;ed: But alas <NOTE PLACE="marg">How y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;cri+pture is loc+ked vp from our vnder|&s;tandynge.</NOTE> not one from the hye&s;t vnto the lowe&s;t euer taught the profe&s;&s;ion or meanynge therof. And therfore we remayne all blynde generally, as well our great Ra|bynes for all theyr hygh learnyng, which they &s;eme to haue, as the lay people: yee and &s;o muche the more blynde are our great clerkes, that where the laye people for a great nombre of them are taughte
<PB REF="5"> nothynge at all, they be al wronge taught and the doctrine of theyr baptyme is all corrupte vnto them, wyth the leue~ of fal&s;e glo&s;es, yer they come to reade the &s;crip|ture. So that the lyght whych they brynge wyth them to vnder&s;tande the &s;cripture wyth all, is vtter darkene&s;&s;e and as con|trary vnto the &s;cripture, as the Deuel vn+to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>By rea&s;on wherof the &s;cripture is loc|ked vp, and become &s;o darcke vnto them, y^t they grope for the dore, and can fynde no waye in, and is become a ma&s;e vnto the~, in the whych they wandre as in a my&s;te, or (as we &s;aye) led of Robbyn goodfellow that they can not come to the ryght way no though they turne theyr cappes: and y^e blyndnes therof hath blynded theyr eyes wyth malyce, &s;o that thoughe they beleue not the &s;cripture to be fal&s;e, yet they per|&s;ecute the ryghte vnder&s;tandynge therof, and can not beleue it true in the playne &s;ence, whych it &s;peaketh to them in. It is become a turne agayne lane vnto them, whych they can not go thorow, nor make thre lynes agre together. And fynally the &s;entences of the &s;cripture are nothynge but very rydels vnto them, at the whych
<PB N="vi" REF="5"> they ca&s;te as the blynde man doth at the crowe, and expounde by ge&s;&s;e, an hu~dreth doctours an hundreth wayes, and one man in .xx. &s;ermons allegynge one texte after .xx. fa&s;hions, hauynge no &s;ure doctri+ne to cleue vnto, and all for &s;acke of the ryght knowlege of the profe&s;&s;ion of oure baptyme.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>&para; He that hath the profe&s;&s;ion of baptyme wrytten in hys harte can be no heretyke.</HEAD>
<P>ANother conclu&s;ion is thys: As he whych euer crepeth alonge by the grounde and neuer clymmeth, can+not fall from an hygh: Euen &s;o no man y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> hath the profe&s;&s;ion of his baptyme wryt|ten in hys harte can &s;tomble in the &s;crip|ture, and fall vnto here&s;yes, or become a maker of diui&s;ion and &s;ectes, and a defen+der of wyld and vayne opinions. For the whole and only cau&s;e of here&s;yes and &s;ec|tes is Pryde. Now the lawe of God tru|ly interpreted robbeth al them, in who&s;e hartes it is wrytten, and maketh them as bare as Iob of all thynges, where of a ma~ can or maye be moued to pryde. And on
<PB REF="6"> the other &s;yde they haue vtterlye for&s;aken them&s;elues wyth all theyr hygh learnynge and wy&s;edome, and are become the &s;eruau~+tes of Chri&s;te onely, whych hath boughte them wyth hys bloude, and haue promy|&s;ed in theyr hartes vnfaynedlye to follow hym, and to take hym onely for the auctor of theyr religion, and hys doctrine onely for theyr wy&s;edome and learnynge, and to mayntayne it in worde and dede, and to kepe it pure, and to buylde no &s;traunge doc+trine there vpon, and neuer to be hyghe&s;t, but fellowe wyth theyr brethren, and in that fellow&s;hippe to waxe euer lower and lower, and euery daye more &s;eruaunt than another, vnto hys weaker brethren, after the en&s;ample and ymage of Chri&s;te, and after hys co~maundement and ordinau~ce, and not in fayned wordes of the By&s;hop of Rome.</P>
<P>Thys be &s;ayde bycau&s;e of them that <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;crip|ture ma|keth no he|retykes.</NOTE> &s;aye that the &s;cripture maketh men here|tykes, and corruppeth wyth fal&s;e opinions contrarye to the profe&s;&s;ion of theyr bap|tyme, and the lyght where wyth they &s;huld expounde the &s;cripture is turned into dar+kene&s;&s;e in theyr hartes, and the dore of the &s;cripture locked, and the welles &s;topped vp
<PB N="vii" REF="6"> yer they come at it.</P>
<P>And therfore becau&s;e theyr darkne&s;&s;e can not comprehe~de the lyght of &s;cripture, as it is wrytten Iohan. i. The lyghte &s;hy|ned in darkne&s;&s;e, but the darkne&s;&s;e coulde not comprehende it, they turne it into blynde rydles, and reade it wythout vnder+&s;tandynge, as laye men do our Lady mat|tens, or as it were Marlynes prophecyes, hauynge euer theyr myndes vppon theyr here&s;yes. And whan they come to a place that &s;ou~deth lyke, there they re&s;t &amp; wrynge out wonderfull expo&s;icions to &s;tably&s;he theyr here&s;yes wythall. Is it not a great blyndne&s;&s;e to &s;aye in the begynnynge of all together, that the whole &s;cripture is fal&s;e in the lytterall &s;ence, and kylleth the &s;oule? Whyche pe&s;tilente here&s;ye to proue they abu&s;e the texte of Paule, &s;ayenge: The letter kylleth, becau&s;e that texte was become a rydle vnto them, and they vnder+&s;tode it not. Whan Paule by thys worde lettre vnder&s;tode the lawe geuen by Mo|&s;es to condempne all con&s;ciences and to robbe them of all ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, to com|pell them vnto y^e promy&s;es of mercy that are in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Here&s;ye &s;pryngeth not of the &s;cripture
<PB REF="7"> no more than darkene&s;&s;e of the Sonne, but it is a darke cloude that &s;pryngeth out of the blynde hartes of ypocrites, and couereth the face of y^e &s;cripture, and blyn+deth theyr eyes, that they can not behold the bryght beames of the &s;cripture.</P>
<P>The whole &s;umme than of altoge|ther is thys: Yf oure hartes were taught the appointme~t made betwene God &amp; vs in Chri&s;tes bloude, whan we were bapti+&s;ed, we had the key to open the &s;cripture, and lyght to &s;e and perceaue y^e true mea|nynge of it, and the &s;cripture &s;hulde be ea+&s;y to vnder&s;tande. And becau&s;e we be not taught that profe&s;&s;ion, it is the cau&s;e why the &s;cripture is &s;o darke, and &s;o farre pa&s;&s;ynge oure capacite. And the cau&s;e why oure expo&s;icions are here&s;yes, is be|cau&s;e we be wronge taught, and corrupt wyth fal&s;e opinions before hande, &amp; made here tykes yer we come at the &s;cripture, and haue corrupte it, and it not vs: as the tay&s;te of the &s;ycke maketh whol&s;ome and well &s;ea&s;oned meate bytter, weery&s;h and vn&s;auery. Neuerthele&s;&s;e yet the &s;crip|ture abydeth pure in her&s;elfe and bryght, &s;o that he whych is &s;ounde in the faythe, &s;hal atonce perceaue that the iudgement
<PB N="viii" REF="7"> of the heretykes is corrupte in theyr ex|po&s;ytions, as an whole man doth fele at once euen with &s;mellynge to the meate that the tay&s;te of the &s;ycke is infected. And with the &s;cripture &s;hal they euer im+proue here&s;yes and fal&s;e expo&s;ytions, for the &s;cripture purgeth her&s;elfe, euen as y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> water once in the yeare ca&s;teth al fylthy ne&s;&s;e vnto the &s;ydes of it. Whiche to be true, ye &s;e by the authorite of Paule .ii. Timothe the .iii. Chapter, &s;ayenge: All the &s;cripture was geuen of God by in|&s;piracyon, and is good to teache with all, to improue: and &s;o forth. And by the en|&s;ample of Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles, howe they confou~ded the Iewes with the &s;ame &s;cripture which they had corrupt, &amp; vnder+&s;tode them ami&s;&s;e after theyr owne dark+ne&s;&s;e: and as ye &s;e by the en&s;ample of vs now al&s;o, how we haue manife&s;tly impro+ued the ypocrites in an hundreth textes, whiche they had corrupte to proue theyr fal&s;e opinions, brought in be&s;ydes y^e &s;crip+ture, and haue dryuen them of. And they be fledde and openly confe&s;&s;e vnto theyr &s;hame, that they haue no &s;cripture, and &s;ynge another &s;onge, and &s;ay they recea|ued them by the mouth of the Apo&s;tles.
<PB REF="8"> Vnto the which &s;toppyng of theyrs I an+&s;wer here gro&s;ly, &s;eynge they are an&s;we|red befor: That as he were a foole which wolde tru&s;t hym to tell his mony in hys ab&s;e~ce, that hath pycked hys pur&s;e before his face: euen &s;o &s;yth ye haue corrupt the open &s;cripture before our eyes, and are take~ w^t y^e maner, that ye can not denye: we were mad to beleue that it, whych hath lyen .xv. c. yeare as you &s;aye in your rotte~ mawes, &s;hulde nowe be whol&s;ome for vs, ye haue chewed and mingled it wyth your poy&s;on &s;patle. Can ye beare vs in hande and per&s;uade vs thynke ye wyth youre &s;o|phi&s;trye to beleue that ye &s;hulde mini&s;tre your &s;ecrete tradicions wythout grounde truely, whan we &s;e you mini&s;tre the open &s;cripture fal&s;ly? Can ye bewytch our wyt|tes wyth youre poetry, to beleue, that ye &s;hulde mini&s;tre youre &s;ecrete tradicions for oure profyte, whan we &s;e you corruppe the open &s;cripture to the lo&s;&s;e of our &s;ou|les for your profyte? Nay it is an hu~dreth tymes more lykely that ye &s;hulde be fal&s;er in &s;ecrete thynges than in open. And ther+fore in the very &s;acramentes whyche the &s;cripture te&s;tifyeth, that Chry&s;te hym&s;elfe ordened them, we mu&s;te haue an eye vn|to
<PB N="ix" REF="8"> your hande, how ye myni&s;tre them. And as we re&s;tore the &s;cripture vnto hyr ryght vnder&s;tondynge from youre fal&s;e glo&s;es: euen &s;o delyuer we y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;acramentes and ceremonyes vnto theyr ryght v&s;e fro~ youre abu&s;e. And that mu&s;t we do wyth the &s;cripture, which can corrupte no man that commeth thereto wyth a meke &s;prete, &s;ekynge there only to fa&s;hion hym&s;elfe lyke Chri&s;t, accordynge to the profe&s;&s;ion and vowe of our baptyme. But contrary+wy&s;e, he &s;hall there fynde the myghtye power of God, to altre hym, and chau~ge hym in the inner man a lytle and lytle in proce&s;&s;e, vntyll he be full &s;hapen after the ymage of our &s;aueour, in knowlekege and loue of all truth and power to worke there after.</P>
<P>Finally then for as muche as the &s;crip+ture is the lyght and lyfe of Gods electe, and that myghty power, wher with God treateth them and &s;hapeth them, after y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ymilitude, lykene&s;&s;e and very fa&s;hion of Chri&s;t, and therfore &s;u&s;tenaunce, com|forte, and &s;trength to corage them, that they maye &s;tonde fa&s;t, and endure and merylye beare theyr &s;oules health, where+wyth the lu&s;tes of the fle&s;he are &s;ubdued,
<PB REF="9"> and kylled, and the &s;prete mollifyed and made &s;ofte, to receaue the print of the y|mage of oure &s;aueoure Ie&s;u. And for as muche as the &s;cripture is &s;o pure of it &s;elf that it can corrupte no man, but the wyc+ked only, whiche are infect before hande, and yer they come at it, corruppe it wyth the here&s;yes that they brynge with them. And for as much as the complaynt of the hypocrytes that the &s;criptur maketh here+tykes is vayne and fayned, and y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> rea&s;ons where wyth they wold proue that the lay people ought not to reade the &s;cripture is fal&s;e, wycked, and the frute of rotte~ trees: therfore are they faythfull &s;eruauntes of Chri&s;t and faythful mini&s;tres and di&s;pen+&s;ers of hys doctrine, and true harted to|ward theyr bretheren, which haue geuen them&s;elues vp in to the hand of God, and put them &s;elues in ieoperdy of all per&s;e|cution, theyr very lyfe de&s;py&s;ed, and haue tran&s;lated the &s;cripture purely and wyth good con&s;cience, &s;ubmyttyng them&s;elues and de&s;yrynge them that can, to amende theyr tran&s;lation, or (yf it plea&s;e them) to tran&s;late it them&s;elues, after theyr be&s;te maner, yee and let them &s;owe to theyr glo&s;es, as many as they thynke they can
<PB N="x" REF="9"> make cleue therto, &amp; then put other mens tran&s;lation out of the waye.</P>
<P>Howe be it thoughe God hathe &s;o wrought with them, that a greate part is tran&s;lated, yet as it is not ynough that the father and the mother haue bothe be|gotten the chylde, and brought it into thys worlde, except they care for it, and brynge it vp tyll it can helpe it &s;elfe: Eue~ &s;o it is not ynoughe to haue tran&s;lated, though it were the whole &s;cripture in to the vulgare and commune tunge, excepte we al&s;o brought agayne the lyght to vn|der&s;tonde it by, and expell that darke cloude, whiche the hypocrites haue &s;pred ouer the face of the &s;cripture, to blynd the ryght &s;ence and true meanynge therof. And therfor are ther diuer&s;e introductio~s ordeyned for you, to teache you the pro|fe&s;&s;ion of your baptyme, the only lyght of the &s;cripture: one vpo~ the epi&s;tle of Paul to the Romaynes, and another called: The pathway into y^e &s;cripture. And for y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ame cau&s;e, haue I taken in ha~de to en|terpret thys epi&s;tle of &s;aynt Ihon y^e Euan+geli&s;te, to edifye the laye man, &amp; to teache hym how to read the &s;cripture, &amp; what to &s;eke therin, &amp; that he may haue to an&s;wer
<PB REF="10"> the hypocrites, and to &s;toppe theyr mou|thes wythall.</P>
<P>And fyr&s;te vnder&s;tande that all the epi&s;tles that the Apo&s;tles wrote, are the Go&s;pell of Chri&s;te, though all that is the Go&s;pell be not an Epi&s;tle. It is called a Go&s;pell, that is to &s;aye glad tydynges, be|cau&s;e it is an open preachynge of Chri&s;te: and an Epi&s;tle, becau&s;e it is &s;ent as a letter or a byll to them that are ab&s;ent. (&leaf;)</P>
<P><FIGURE>
</FIGURE></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="letter">
<PB N="xi" REF="10">
<HEAD>&para; Here beginneth the fyr&s;t Epi&s;tle of Saynte Ihon.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>The .i. Chapter.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_THat vvhiche vvas from the begynnyng declare vve vnto you, vvhiche vve haue &s;ene vvith out eyes, vvhich vve loked vpon, and oure handes haue handled of the vvord of lyfe. For the lyfe appeared, and vve haue &s;ene, and beare vvitne&s;&s;e, &amp; &s;hevv vnto you that euerla&s;tynge lyfe, vvhiche vvas vvith the father &amp; appeared vnto vs.</HI></P>
<P>In that &s;aynt Ihon &s;ayeth. The thynge whych was from the begynnynge, and the euerla&s;tyng lyfe that was with the father, he wytne&s;&s;eth that Chri&s;t is very God, as he dothe in the begynnynge of hys go&s;pell, &s;ayenge: The worde or the thynge was at the begynnynge, and the thynge was with God, and that thynge was God, and all thynges were made by it.</P>
<P>And when he &s;ayeth: Which we herd, &amp; &s;awe wyth oure eyes, and our handes han+dled
<PB REF="11"> hym, he te&s;tifyeth that Chri&s;t is very man al&s;o, as he doth in the begynnynge of hys Go&s;pell, &s;ayenge: The worde or that thynge was made fle&s;he, that is, became man. And thus we haue in playne &amp; open wordes a manife&s;t article of oure fayth, y^t our &s;aueour Chri&s;t is very god &amp; very ma~.</P>
<P>Whiche article who &s;o euer not only beleueth, but al&s;o beleueth in it, the&s;ame is the &s;onne of God, and hath euerla&s;tynge lyfe in hym, and &s;hall neuer come into co~|demnacion, as it is wrytten Ihon the .i. He gaue them power to be the &s;onnes of God, in that they beleued is hys name. And Iho~ .iii. he that beleueth in the &s;onne, hath euerla&s;tyngelyfe. And a lytle before in the &s;ayde chapter: He that beleueth in hym &s;hall not be co~demned. And to beleue in the wordes of thys article, is that ea|tynge of Chri&s;tes fle&s;h and drynkyng hys bloude, of the which is &s;poken Iho~ .vi. The wordes whych I &s;peake are &s;prete and lyfe and the fle&s;he profyteth not at all, mea|nynge of the fle&s;hly eatynge of his body, &amp; of the fle&s;hly drynkynge of his bloude. Ther is therfore great difference betwene <NOTE PLACE="marg">To beleue in Chri&s;te.</NOTE> beleuyng that ther is a God &amp; that Chri&s;t is God and ma~, and to beleue in God and
<PB N="xii" REF="11"> Chri&s;t God and man, and in the promy|&s;es of mercye that are in hym. The fyr&s;te is commune to good and bad, and vnto y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deuels al&s;o, &amp; is called <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n hi&s;torical faythe and belefe. The &s;econde is propre vnto the &s;onnes of God, and is theyr lyfe, as it is wrytten: The ryghteous lyueth by fayth, that is, in puttynge hys tru&s;te, confydence and whole hope in the goodne&s;&s;e, mercy, &amp; helpe of God, in all aduer&s;ities, bodely and goo&s;tly, and all temptacions, and eue~ in &s;ynne and hell, howe depe &s;oeuer he be fallen therin.</P>
<P>But as he which feleth not his di&s;ea&s;e, can longe for no health: euen &s;o it is im|po&s;&s;yble for ony man to beleue in Chri|&s;tes bloude excepte Mo&s;es haue had hym fyr&s;te in cure, and wyth hys lawe haue robbed hym of hys ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and condemned hym vnto euerla&s;tynge death and haue &s;hewed hym vnder what damp|nation they are in by byrthe in Adam. And howe all theyr dedes (appeare they neuer &s;o holy) are yet but damnable &s;ynne becau&s;e they can refer nothynge vnto the glorye of God, but &s;eke them&s;elues, theyr owne profyte, honoure and glorye. So that repentaunce towarde the lawe mu&s;te
<PB REF="12"> go before thys belefe, and he whiche repen+teth not, but con&s;enteth vnto the lyfe of &s;ynne, hath no parte in thys faythe.</P>
<P>And when Ihon calleth Chri&s;t the euerla&s;tynge lyfe that was wyth the fa|ther, he &s;ignifyeth that Chri&s;t is our lyfe, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;te is oure lyfe.</NOTE> as after in the pi&s;tle, and in the fyr&s;t al&s;o of hys go&s;pell, &s;ayenge: In hym was lyfe. For vntyll we receaue lyfe of Chri&s;t by fayth, we are dead, and can be but deade, as &s;ayeth Iho~ in the .iii. He that beleueth not in y^e &s;o~ne, can &s;e no lyfe: but y^e wrath of God abydeth vpon him. Of the which wrath we are heyres by byrthe &s;ayeth Paul, Ephe .ii. Of the whiche wrath we are ignoraunt, vntyll the lawe be publy|&s;hed, and walke quyetly after our lu&s;tes and loue God wyckedly, that he &s;huld be content therewith and mayntayne vs ther+in, contrary vnto his Godly and ryghte|ous nature. But as &s;oone as the lawe (who&s;e nature is to vtter &s;ynne. Rom .iii. and to &s;et man at variaunce, with God) is preached, then we fyr&s;te awake out of our dreame, and &s;e our damnacyo~, &amp; hate the lawe, which is &s;o contrary vnto oure nature, and grudge agayn&s;t God therto <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s yonge chyldre~ do agayn&s;t theyr elders
<PB N="xiii" REF="12"> whan they fyr&s;t commaunde, and counte God a cruell tyraunt becau&s;e of hys lawe in that he condemneth vs for that thynge whych we can not loue, nor of loue fulfyll.</P>
<P>But whan Chri&s;te is preached, howe y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> God for hys &s;ake receaueth vs to mer|cy, and forgeueth vs all that is pa&s;te, and hence forth rekeneth not vnto vs our cor|rupt and poy&s;oned nature, and taketh vs as hys &s;onnes, and putteth vs vnder grace and mercy, &amp; promy&s;eth that he wyll not iudge vs by the ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the law but nourture vs wyth all mercy and paci|ence, as a father moo&s;t mercyfull, only yf we wyll &s;ubmytte our &s;elues vnto hys doc+trine and learne to kepe hys lawes: yee and he wyll therto con&s;yder oure mekene&s;&s;e, and what &s;o euer chaunceth neuer taketh awaye hys mercy, tyll we ca&s;t of the yocke of oure profe&s;&s;ion fyr&s;te, and runne awaye wyth vtter defiaunce, that we wyll neuer come more at &s;coole. Than oure &s;tub|burne and harde hartes mollify and waxe &s;ofte, and in the confydence and hope that we haue in Chri&s;te and hys kyndne&s;&s;e we go to God boldly as vnto our father and receauelyfe, that is to &s;ay loue vnto God and vnto the lawe al&s;o.</P>
<PB REF="13">
<P> <HI>That vvhich vve haue &s;ene &amp; herd, vve declare vnto you, that ye may ha|ue fellovv&s;hip vvyth vs, and that oure fellovv&s;hip may be vvyth the father, and vvyth hys &s;onne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. And the&s;e thynges vve vvryte vnto you that your ioye may be full.</HI></P>
<P>To bryng vnto y^e fellow&s;hip of God <NOTE PLACE="marg">The touche &s;tone of all true doctri|ne and prea+chers.</NOTE> and Chri&s;t, &amp; of them y^t beleue in Chri&s;te, is the fynall intent of all the &s;cripture, why it was geuen of God vnto man, and the only thynge whych all true preachers &s;eke, and wherby ye &s;hall euer knowe and di&s;cerne the true worde of God from all fal&s;e &amp; counterfayted doctrine of vayne tradicions: and the true preacher from the wylye vpocrites. We preach vnto you (&s;ay+eth &s;aynt Ihon) y^t euerla&s;tynge lyfe whych we haue herde, and in hearynge receaued thorow fayth, and are &s;ure of it, to drawe you to vs out of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fellow&s;hip that ye haue wyth the damned deuels in &s;ynfull lu&s;tes and ignoraunce of God, for we &s;eke you, and not yours, as &s;ayeth &s;aynt Paule the ii. to the Corinthia~s the .xii. Chapter. We loue you as our &s;elues in God, &amp; therfore wolde we haue you fellowes, and equall wyth vs, and buylde you vpon the funda|cyon
<PB N="xvi" REF="13"> layde of the Apo&s;tles and Prophe+tes, which is Chri&s;t Ie&s;u, &amp; make you of the hou&s;hold of God for euer, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ye &amp; we, fellowes &amp; brethre~, and coupled together in one &s;prete, in one fayth, &amp; in one hope, might haue our fellow&s;hip therby w^t god, and become his &s;onnes and heyres, and with Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, beynge his brethren &amp; coheyres, and to make your ioye full tho|row that glad tydynge, as the angell &s;ayd vnto the &s;hepherdes. Luce .ii. Beholde I &s;hewe you great ioye that &s;halbe vnto al people, how y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ther is a Saueoure borne vnto you this daye, which is Chri&s;te the LORD. And this tydynges we bryng you wyth the worde of God only, whiche we receaued of hys &s;prete, and out of the mouth of his &s;onne as true me&s;&s;au~gers.</P>
<P>We preach not our &s;elues, but Chri&s;t our LORDE, &amp; vs your &s;eruau~tes for his &s;ake, we do not loue oure&s;elues, to &s;eke yours vnto vs, that after we had w^t wy|les robbed you of all ye haue, we &s;hulde exalte our &s;elues ouer you, &amp; &s;eperate our+&s;elues from you, and make oure &s;elues a &s;euerall kyngdome, fre and franke, ray|nyng ouer you as Heythen tyrauntes, &amp; holdynge you in bondage to &s;erue for our
<PB REF="14"> lucre and lu&s;tes, tanglynge your con&s;ci|ence wyth doctrine of ma~, whych draweth from God and Chri&s;te, and frayenge you wyth the bouge of excommunicacion a|gayn&s;t gods worde. Or yf that &s;erued not &s;hakynge a &s;wearde at you.</P>
<P><HI>And thys is the tydynges vvhych vve haue herde of him, and declare vnto you, that God is lyght, and in him is no darckne&s;&s;e at al. Yf vve &s;aye that vve haue fellovv&s;hip vvyth hym, and yet vvalke in darkene&s;&s;e, vve lye, and do not the truth. But and yf vve vvalk in lyght, as he is in lyght, tha~ haue vve fellovv&s;hip together, and the bloude of Chri&s;t hys &s;onne, clen&s;eth vs from al &s;ynne.</HI></P>
<P>As the deuell is darkene&s;&s;e and lyes, &s;o is God lyght and truth onely, and ther is no darkene&s;&s;e of fal&s;hed and con&s;entyng to wyckedne&s;&s;e in hym. And the bryght|ne&s;&s;e of hys lyght is hys worde &amp; doctrine <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t and hys worde&punc; are y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> lyght</NOTE> as the .c. and .xviii. P&s;alme &s;ayeth: Thy worde is a lanterne vnto my fete and a lyght to my pathes. And Chri&s;t is y^e lyght that lyghteneth all men. And the Apo&s;tles are called the lyght of the worlde, becau&s;e of the doctrine. And al that know y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> truth
<PB N="xv" REF="14"> are lyght. Ye were once darkene&s;&s;e (&s;ayeth Paule Ephe&s;i. v.) but nowe lyghte in the LORDS: walke therfore as the chyldre~ of lyght. And good workes are called the fru|tes of lyght. And al that lyue in ignorau~ce are called darknes, as he &s;ayeth afterward He y^t hateth hys brother walketh in darke|ne&s;&s;e. For yf the lyght of the glorious go&s;|pell of Chri&s;te dyd &s;hyne in hys harte, he coulde not hate hys brother.</P>
<P>By walkynge vnder&s;tande, con&s;en|tynge, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Walkynge in darknes or in lyght</NOTE> doynge, &amp; workynge. Yf we walke than in darkne&s;&s;e, that is, con&s;ent &amp; worke wyckedne&s;&s;e, and &s;aye we haue fellow|&s;hip with God, welye. For, to haue fellow+&s;hip wyth hym, is to knowe and con&s;ente and profe&s;&s;e hys doctrine in our hartes. Now yf the commaundementes of God be wrytten in oure hartes, oure membres can not but practy&s;e them, and &s;hewe the frute of the~. So whether lyght or darknes be in the harte, it wyll appeare in the wal|kynge. For though our membres be neuer &s;o deade vnto vertue, yet yf oure &s;oules knowlege the truthe, and con&s;ente vnto ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, we haue the &s;prete of lyfe in vs. And therfore &s;ayeth Paule Roma. viii. Yf the &s;prete of hym that ray&s;ed vp Ie+&s;us
<PB REF="15"> from death be in you, than wyl he that ray&s;ed vp Ie&s;us from death, quycken your mortall bodyes, by the rea&s;o~ of the &s;prete y^t dwelleth in you. So y^t it is not po&s;&s;ible for hym that knoweth the truth, and con&s;en|teth therto to continue in &s;ynne. And tha~ fynally yf we haue the lyght in our hartes and walke therin, than we haue fellow&s;hip wyth God, and are hys &s;o~nes and heyres, and are purged from all &s;ynne thorowe Chri&s;tes bloude.</P>
<P><HI>Yf vve &s;aye vve haue no &s;ynne, vve deceaue our&s;elues, and the truthe is not in vs.</HI></P>
<P>Yf we thynke ther is no &s;ynne in vs, we are begyled and blynde, and the lyghte of Gods worde is not in vs, and ether fol|lowe &s;ynne as bea&s;tes wythout con&s;cience at all. Or yf we &s;e the gro&s;&s;e fynnes, as murther, theft, and adultrye, yet we haue hanged a vayle of fal&s;e glo&s;es vpon Mo|&s;es face, &amp; do not &s;e nor perceaue the bright+ne&s;&s;e of the lawe, how that it requyreth of vs as pure an harte to God, and as great loue vnto our neghbours, as was in oure &s;aueoure Ie&s;us, and cea&s;&s;eth not before to condempne vs as &s;ynners.</P>
<PB N="xiiii" REF="15">
<P> <HI>Yf vve knovvlege our &s;ynnes, he is faythfull and iu&s;t to forgeue vs our &s;yn|nes, and clen&s;e vs from all our vnrygh|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Yf we confe&s;&s;e our &s;ynnes, not in the pre&s;tes eare, (though that tradicion re&s;to|red vnto the ryghte v&s;e were not dampna|ble) but in oure hartes to God wyth true repentaunce and fa&s;te belefe. Than is he faythfull to forgeue and to purge vs, be|cau&s;e of hys mercyful truth and promy&s;e. For he promy&s;ed Abraha~ that in hys &s;ede all the worlde &s;huld be ble&s;&s;ed fro~ the cur&s;e of &s;ynne. And hath abundauntly renewed hys euerla&s;tynge mercy vnto vs in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> new te&s;tamente, promy&s;ynge that our &s;ynnes &s;halbe forgeuen vs in Chri&s;tes bloude, yf we repent and tru&s;te therto.</P>
<P><HI>Yf vve &s;aye vve haue not &s;inned, vve make hym a lyer, and hys vvorde is not in vs.</HI></P>
<P>For hys worde te&s;tifyeth agayn&s;t vs, that we are all &s;ynners, yee &amp; els Chri&s;te dyed in vayne. Salomon &s;ayeth .iii. Reg. viii. That ther is noma~ that &s;ynneth not agayn&s;t God. And Paule proueth by the authorite of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;cripture vnto y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Romayns that we are al &s;ynners wythout excepcio~.
<PB REF="16"> And the &s;cripture wytne&s;&s;eth that we are damnable &s;ynners, and that oure nature is to &s;ynne. Whyche corrupte and poy&s;oned nature, thoughe it be begonne to be cured and healed, yet is it neuer tho|row whole vntyll the houre of death. For the whych cau&s;e wyth al oure be&s;t frutes, ther growe wedes amonge. Nother can ther be ony dede &s;o perfecte that coulde not be amended. Whan a blynde bongler won+dereth at hys glorious workes, a conny<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> workeman that hath a clere iudgemente perceaueth that it is impo&s;&s;ible to make a worke that coulde not be made better. Now the lawe requyreth workes of vs in the hyghe&s;t degre of perfeccion and cea&s;|&s;eth not to accu&s;e vs, vntyll oure workes flowe naturally as glorious in perfeccion as the workes of Chri&s;te. And Chri&s;t tea|cheth vs to praye in oure Pater no&s;ter: Forgeue vs oure tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as we for|geue oure tre&s;pa&s;&s;ers. Where by ye maye ea&s;ely vnder&s;tande that we &s;ynne daylye one agayn&s;te another, and all agayn&s;t God. Chri&s;t taught al&s;o to praye that our father &s;hulde not let vs &s;lyp into tempta|cion: &s;ygnifyenge that our nature can not but &s;ynne, yf occa&s;ions be geuen, excepte
<PB N="xvii" REF="16"> that God of hys e&s;pecyall grace kepe vs backe. Which pronyte to &s;ynne is da~nabe &s;ynne in the lawe of God. Dauid prayed in the .lxviii. P&s;alme. Let not the tempe&s;t drowne me, let me not fall in to the bot|tom, and let not the put &s;hut hyr mouthe vpon me, as who &s;hulde &s;aye. Fyr&s;t kepe me God from &s;ynnynge, then yf I &s;hall chaunce to fal as no fle&s;he ca~ e&s;cape, one tyme or other, then call me &s;hortly backe agayne, and let me not &s;ynke to depe ther in: and thoughe I yet fall neuer &s;o depe, yet LORD let not the wayt of mercye be &s;topped, &s;ygnifyenge that it is impo&s;&s;ible to &s;tande of oure&s;elues, and much le&s;&s;e to ry&s;e agayne. Whiche impotencie and fe|blene&s;&s;e is damnable in the law of God, excepte that we &s;awe it, and repe~ted, and were fled to Chri&s;t for mercy: whych he geueth abundau~tly vnto the~ that requyre it wyth a faythfull harte, and not waue|rynge fayth.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>&para; The .ii. Chapter.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MY lytle chyldren, I vvryte the&s;e thynges vnto you that ye &s;ynne not. And though ony man &s;ynne, yet vve haue an Aduocate vvith the father, euen Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, vvhich is ryghteous.</HI></P>
<PB REF="17">
<P> I wryte vnto you on the one &s;yde, that God is lyghte, and therfore that no man which wyllinglye walketh in the vnfrute+ful workes of darkne&s;&s;e, hath ony fellow|&s;hyp wyth that lyght, or parte in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> bloude of his &s;onne. And thys I wryte and te&s;tify vnto you my deare chyldren, that ye &s;ynne not, that is, y^t ye con&s;ent not vnto &s;ynne, &amp; &s;hulde &s;ynne of lu&s;t and purpo&s;e malycy|ou&s;ly: but contrarywy&s;e that ye feare god and re&s;y&s;t &s;ynne wyth all your myght and power, accordynge as ye haue promy&s;ed. For who&s;oeuer &s;ynneth of purpo&s;e after the knowlge of the truth, the&s;ame &s;ynneth agayn&s;t the holy goo&s;t remedyle&s;&s;e. Hebre. vi. and al&s;o .x.</P>
<P>And on the other &s;yde, I te&s;tifye vnto you that we be alwaye &s;ynners, though not of purpo&s;e &amp; malice, after the natur of damned deuels, but of infirmitie and frayl+tye of oure fle&s;h, whyche fle&s;h not only let+teth vs that oure workes can not be per|fect, but al&s;o nowe and then thorow many+folde occa&s;ions and temptacions caryeth vs clene oute of the ryghte waye, &s;pyte of oure hartes. How be it (I &s;aye) yf when the rage is pa&s;t, we turne vnto the ryghte waye agayne, and confe&s;&s;e oure &s;ynnes vn+to oure father wyth a repentynge harte, he
<PB N="xviii" REF="17"> hath promy&s;ed vs mercye, and is true to fulfyll it. So that yf we &s;ynne not diuel|ly&s;hlye agayn&s;t the holy goo&s;t, refu&s;ynge the doctrine whiche we can not improue that it &s;hulde not be true, but after y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> frayl+tye of man, ther is no cau&s;e to di&s;payre: For we haue an aduocat and an interce&s;|&s;or wyth the father, euen Ie&s;us Chri&s;t that is ryghteous.</P>
<P>The name of oure aduocat is Ie&s;us, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Aduocate.</NOTE> that is to &s;aye, a &s;aueoure. Call hys name Ie&s;us &s;ayde the angell to Io&s;eph, for he &s;hall &s;aue his people from theyr &s;ynnes. Math. i. And thys aduocat and our Ie&s;us to &s;aue vs from oure &s;ynnes, continueth euer, as it is wrytten&punc; Hebre. vii. and hath <HI>Sempiternum &s;acerdotium.</HI> an euerla|&s;tynge office to make an atonement for &s;ynne. By the rea&s;on wherof &s;ayeth the text, he is able euer to &s;aue the~ that come to God thorowe hym, wyth repentaunce and faythe, and lyueth euer, to &s;peake for vs. And be&s;yde that, oure Ie&s;us is God and almyghtye. He toke oure nature vpon hym, and felte all oure infyrmyties and &s;ykne&s;&s;es, and in felynge learned to haue compa&s;&s;ion on vs, &amp; for compa&s;&s;ion cryed myghtely in prayers to God the father for vs, and was herd. And y^e voyce of the&s;ame
<PB REF="18"> bloude that once cryed, (not for ve~geau~ce as Abels, but for mercye only) and was herd, cryeth nowe and euer, and is euer herd, as ofte as we cal vnto reme~braunce wyth repentynge fayth howe that it was &s;hed for our &s;ynnes. He is al&s;o called Chri+&s;tus, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;tus.</NOTE> that is to &s;aye kynge anoynted with all myght and power ouer &s;ynne, death, &amp; hel, and ouer all &s;ynnes, &s;o that none that flyeth vnto hym, &s;hall euer come into iudgement of damnatio~. He is anoynted wyth all fulne&s;&s;e of grace and hath al the trea&s;ure and riches of the &s;prete of God in hys hande, wyth y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> whych he ble&s;&s;eth al men, accordynge to the promy&s;e made to Abraham, and is therto mercyfull to geue vnto all that cal on hym. And how much he loueth vs, I report me vnto the en&s;am+ple of hys dedes.</P>
<P>And he is ryghteous, both toward God in that he neuer &s;ynned, and therfor hath optayned al his fauoure and grace, and al+&s;o towarde vs, in that he is true to fulfyll all the mercye that he hath promy&s;ed vs, euen vnto the vttermoo&s;t iote.</P>
<P><HI>And he is the &s;ati&s;faction for our &s;yn+nes, &amp; not for oures only, but al&s;o for al the vvorldes.</HI></P>
<P>That I call &s;ati&s;faction, the Greke cal+leth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sati&s;factio~ what it is.</NOTE>
<PB N="xix" REF="18"> Ila&s;mos, and the Hebrewe Copar. And it is fyr&s;t taken for the &s;wagynge of woundes, &s;ores, and &s;wellynges, and the takynge away of payne and &s;mart of the~ And thence is borowed for the pacifyeng and &s;wagynge of wrath and anger, and for an amendes makynge, a contentyng, &s;ati&s;faction, a raim&s;ome, and makynge at one, as it is to &s;e abundatlye in the Byble. So that Chri&s;te is a full conten|tynge, &s;ati&s;faction and raun&s;one for our &s;ynnes. And not for oures only whyche are Apo&s;tles and di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t whyle he was yethere, or for oures whiche are Iewes or I&s;ralites and the &s;ede of Abra+ham, or for ours that nowe beleue at this pre&s;ent tyme: but for all mens &s;ynnes, both for theyr &s;ynnes whiche went before and beleued the promy&s;es to come, and for oures which haue &s;ene them fulfilled, and al&s;o for all them whiche &s;hall after|warde beleue vnto the worldes ende, of what&s;oeuer nation or degre they be. For Paule commaundeth .i. Timothe .ii. to praye for all me~ &amp; all degrees, &s;ayeng that to be acceptable vnto our &s;aueoure God, which wyll haue all men &s;aued and come to the knowlege of the truth, that is &s;ome of all nations and al degrees, and not the
<PB REF="19"> Iewes only. For (&s;ayeth he) ther is one God, and one mediatoure betwene God and man, the man Chri&s;te Ie&s;us, whiche gaue hym&s;elf a redemption and ful &s;ati&s;|faction for all men. Dauid al&s;o &s;ayde in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> xviii. P&s;alme: Theyr &s;ounde is gone tho+rowout all the earth. So that the benefyt &s;tretched on all men.</P>
<P>Let thys therfore be an vndoubted ar|ticle of thy faythe, not of an hy&s;torye faythe as thou beleue&s;t a ye&s;te of Alexan+dre, or of the olde Romaynes, but of a lyuely faythe and belefe, to putte thy tru&s;t and confyde~ce in, and to bye and &s;ell theron, as we &s;ay, &amp; to haue thy &s;innes ta|ke~ away, &amp; thy &s;oule &s;aued therby, yf thou hold it fa&s;t: and to co~tinue euer in &s;ynne, &amp; to haue thy &s;oule damned yf thou let it &s;lyp, that our Ie&s;us, oure &s;aueoure that &s;a+ueth hys people from theyr &s;ynnes, &amp; oure Chri&s;t, that is oure kynge ouer all &s;ynne, death, and hell, anoynted with fulne&s;&s;e of all grace, and with the &s;prite of God, to di&s;tribut vnto all men, hath accordynge vnto the Epi&s;tle to the Hebrues and all the &s;cripture, in the dayes of hys mortall fle&s;he, wyth fa&s;tynge, prayenge, &s;ufferynge and cryenge to God myghtely for vs, &amp; wyth &s;heddynge hys bloude made full &s;a|ti&s;faction
<PB N="xx" REF="19"> both a pena and a culpa (wyth oure holy fathers leue) for all the &s;ynnes of the worlde, bothe of theyrs that wente be|fore, and of theyrs that come after in the fayth, whether it be origynall &s;ynne or ac|tuall. And not only the &s;ynnes committed with con&s;ent to euell in tyme of ignorau~ce before the knowlege of the truthe: but al&s;o the &s;ynnes done of fcaylte after we haue for&s;aken euell, and con&s;ented to the lawes of God in oure hartes, and walke in the lyght of hys doctryne.</P>
<P>He &s;aueth his people from theyr &s;ynnes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t only is oure Sa+ueoure.</NOTE> Math. i. and that he only. So that ther is none other name to be &s;aued by. Actu. iiii. And vnto hym beare all the Prophetes re+corde, that al that beleue in hym, &s;hall re+ceaue remy&s;&s;ion of theyre &s;ynnes, in hys name. Actu the .x. chap. And by hym only we haue an entrynge in vnto y^e father and vnto all grace. Ephe. ii. and .iii. and. Ro. v. And as many as come before him are the|ues and murtherers. Ioh. x. that is, who &s;o euer preacheth ony other forgeuene&s;&s;e of &s;ynne then thorow fayth in his name, the &s;ame &s;layeth the &s;oule.</P>
<P>Thys to be true, not onely of orygy|nall but al&s;o of actuall, and a&s;well of that we commytte after our profe&s;&s;yon, as be+fore,
<PB REF="20"> maye&s;t thou euidently &s;e by y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> en&s;a~|ples of the &s;cripture. Chri&s;te forgaue the woman take~ in adultery. Ioh. viii. and an other whom he healed Ioh. v. And he for|gaue publycanes and open &s;ynners, and put none to do penaunce as they call it, for to make &s;ati&s;faccyon for the &s;ynne: which he forgaue thorow repentaunce &amp; &s;ayth, but enioyned them the lyfe of pe|naunce, the profe&s;&s;ion of theyr baptyme, to tame the fle&s;h in kepynge the co~maun+dementes, and that they &s;hulde &s;ynne no more. And tho&s;e &s;ynners were for y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> mo&s;t parte Iewes, &amp; had theyr originall &s;ynne forgeuen them before thorowe fayth in the te&s;tament of God. Chri&s;t forgaue his Apo&s;tles theyr actuall &s;ynnes after theyr profe&s;&s;ion which they commytted in denyenge hym, and put none to do pe|naunce for &s;ati&s;faccyon. Peter Actu. ii. ab&s;olueth the Iewes thorow repentau~ce and fayth fro~ theyr actuall &s;ynnes, which they dyd in con&s;entynge vnto Chri&s;tes death, and enioyned them no penau~ce to make &s;ati&s;faccion. Paule al&s;o had his ac+tuall &s;ynnes forgeuen hym frely thorow repentaunce and fayth, without mentio~ of &s;ati&s;faccyon. Actu. ix. So y^t accordynge vnto this pre&s;ente texte of Ihon, yf it
<PB N="xxi" REF="20"> chaunce vs to &s;ynne of fraylte, let vs not de&s;payre, for we haue an abuocate and in+terce&s;&s;our, a true attourney wyth the fa+ther Ie&s;us Chri&s;te ryghteous towarde God and man, and is the reconcilynge &amp; &s;ati&s;faccion for our &s;ynnes.</P>
<P>For Chri&s;tes workes are perfecte, &s;o that he hath obtayned vs all mercy &amp; hath &s;et vs in the full &s;tate of grace &amp; fauoure of God, and hath made vs as welbeloued as the angels of heauen, thoughe we be yet weake. As the yonge chyldren though they can do no good at all, are yet as ten|derly beloued as the olde. And God for Chri&s;tes &s;ake hath promy&s;ed that what &s;o euer euell we &s;hall do, yet yf we turne &amp; repente, he wyll neuer more thynke on our<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ynnes.</P>
<P>Thou wylt &s;ay, God forgeueth the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Popy&s;h for+geuene&s;&s;e.</NOTE> di&s;play&s;ure but we mu&s;te &s;uffre payne to &s;ati&s;fye the ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God. A tha~ God hath a ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e whych maye not forgeue payne and all, that the poore &s;ynner myght go &s;kot fre wythout ought at all. God was vnryghteous to forgeue the thefe hys payne, and all thorow repen+taunce and fayth, vnto whom for lacke of lea&s;ure was no penaunce enioyned. And my fayth is, that what &s;o euer en&s;ample
<PB REF="21"> of mercy God hath &s;hewed one, that &s;ame he hath promy&s;ed all. Yf I owe you .xx. li. ye wyl forgeue me, that is, ye wyl nomore be angrye, but I &s;hall paye you the twe~ty poundes: O popy&s;he forgeuene&s;&s;e, wyth whome it goeth after the commune pro|uerbe, no peny no pardon. Hys fatherhead geueth pardon frely, but we mu&s;t pay mo+ny abundauntly.</P>
<P>Paules doctrine is. Roma. iiii. Yf a man worke, it oughte not to be &s;ayde, that hys hyre was geuen hym of grace or fa|uoure, but of duety: But to hym that wor+keth not, but beleueth in hym that iu&s;tify|eth the vngodlye, hys fayth (he &s;ayeth not hys workes although he commau~deth vs deligentlye to worke, and de&s;py&s;eth none that God commaundeth,) hys fayth (&s;ay|eth he) is rekened hym for ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Confirmynge hys &s;ayenge wyth the te&s;ti|mony of the prophete Dauid in the .xxxi. P&s;alme, &s;ayenge: Ble&s;&s;ed is the man vnto whome God imputeth or rekeneth not hys &s;ynne: that is to &s;aye, whych man al|thoughe he be a &s;ynner, yet God layed it not vnto hys charge for hys faythes &s;ake. And in the .xi. he &s;ayeth. Yf it come of grace than it commeth not of workes. For than were grace no grace &s;ayeth he. For it was
<PB N="xxii" REF="21"> a very &s;traunge &s;peakynge in Paules ea|res to call that grace that came of de&s;er|uynge of workes: Or that de&s;eruynge of workes, whyche came by grace. For he rekened workes and grace to be contrarye in &s;uch maner of &s;peche. But oure holy father hath coupled them together of pure lyberalite I dare &s;aye, and not for coue|tou&s;ne&s;&s;e. For as hys holyne&s;&s;e, yf he haue a cau&s;e agayn&s;te ony man, immediatlye breatheth out an excommunicacion vpon hym, and wyl haue &s;ati&s;faccion for the vt|termoo&s;t farthynge and &s;omewhat aboue, to teache them to beware agayn&s;te ano|ther tyme, yer he wyll ble&s;&s;e agayne from the terrible &s;entence of hys heuy cur&s;e: Euen &s;o of that ble&s;&s;ed complexion he de|&s;cribeth the nature of the mercy of God, that God wyl remytte hys anger to vs vp+pon the appoyntment of oure &s;ati&s;faccion. Where as the &s;cripture &s;ayeth: Chri&s;te is oure ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, iu&s;tifyenge, oure re|dempcion, oure attonemente, that hath ap+pea&s;ed God, and clen&s;ed vs from our &s;yn|nes, &amp; all in hys bloude, &s;o that hys bloude is the &s;ati&s;faccion only.</P>
<P>And that thou maye&s;t the better per|ceaue <NOTE PLACE="marg">Workes ca~ be no &s;ati&s;|faccion for &s;ynnes to Godwarde.</NOTE> the fal&s;hed of our holy fathers fle&s;h ly ymagiuacion, call to mynde howe that
<PB REF="22"> the &s;cripture &s;ayeth, Iohan. iiii. God is a &s;prete, &amp; mu&s;t be wor&s;hipped in the &s;pretes that is, repentaunce, fayth, hope, and loue towarde hys lawe and our neghboure for hys &s;ake, is hys wor&s;hip in the &s;prete. And therfore who &s;o euer wor&s;hippeth God wyth workes, and referreth hys workes to God, to be a&s;acrifice vnto hym, to ap|peare hym, as thoughe he delyted in the worke for the workes &s;ake, the &s;ame ma|keth of God an ymage or ydoll, and is an ymage &s;ecuer, and as wycked an ydola|trer, as euer was ony blynde Heythen, &amp; &s;erueth God after y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ymaginacion of hys owne harte, &amp; is abominable vnto God, as thou &s;ey&s;t in how many places God de+fyeth the &s;acrifyce of the chyldren of I&s;|rael, for the &s;ayd ymaginacyon. So that who &s;o euer &s;uppo&s;eth that hys candle &s;tic+kynge before the ymage, hys puttynge a peny in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> bore, hys goynge a pylgrimage hys fa&s;tynge, hys wolwarde goynge, bare foote goynge, hys crouchynge, knelynge, and payne takynge, be &s;acrifice vnto god as though he delyted in them, as we in y^e ge&s;tures of Iacknapes, is as blinde, as he that gropeth for hys waye at noone.</P>
<P>Gods wor&s;hip is to loue hym for hys <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods wor|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">p.</NOTE> mercy, and of loue be&s;towe all oure wor|kes
<PB N="xxiii" REF="22"> vpon our neghboure for hys &s;ake, and vpon the tamynge of oure fle&s;he, that we &s;ynne not agayne, whych &s;hulde be y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> che|fe&s;t care of a chri&s;ten man: whyle Chri&s;t careth for that, that is once pa&s;t and com+mytted already, whether before oure pro|fe&s;&s;ion or after. For the condicions of the peace that is made betwene God and vs in Chri&s;tes bloude are the&s;e: The lawe is &s;et before vs, vnto the whych yf we con|&s;ente and &s;ubmyt our &s;elues, to be &s;colers therof, than are not only all oure fore&s;yn+nes forgeuen, both pena and culpa (wyth oure fathers lycence euer) but al&s;o of oure infirmities, weakne&s;&s;e, pronite, redyne&s;&s;e &amp; motions vnto &s;ynne are pardoned and taken aworth, and we tran&s;lated from vnder the damnacion of the lawe, which dampneth as wel tho&s;e infirmities as the &s;ynne that &s;pryngeth of them, and put|teth vs vnder grace, Ro. vii. So that we &s;hall not hence forth, as longe as we for|&s;ake not oure profe&s;&s;ion be iudged by the ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the lawe, but cha&s;ti&s;ed yf we do amy&s;&s;e, as chyldren that are vn|der no lawe. Now than yf God in Chri&s;t pardo~ our infirmyties, by rea&s;o~ of whych we can not e&s;cape but that we &s;hall now and than &s;ynne: it followeth that he mu&s;t
<PB REF="23"> lykewy&s;e pardon the actuall &s;ynne whych we do, compelled of tho&s;e infyrmities in &s;pyte of oure hartes and agayn&s;t the wyll of the &s;prete. For yf thou pardon the &s;ycke+ne&s;&s;e of the &s;ycke, than mu&s;te thou pardon the dedes whych he doth or leaueth vndon by the rea&s;on of hys &s;yckne&s;&s;e. Yf the mad|ne&s;&s;e of a madde man be pardoned, and vn+der no lawe, than yf he murther in hys madne&s;&s;e, he maye not be &s;layne agayne. Yf chyldren wythin a certayne age are not vnder the lawe that flayeth theues, than can ye not of ryght ha~ge the~, though they &s;teale. What Popy&s;h pardonynge were that? Thys doth Paule Roma. the vii. chap. &s;o confirme, that all y^e worlde can not quytch agayn&s;t it, &s;ayenge: I con&s;ente vnto the lawe of God that it is good, and fayne wolde I do it, and yet haue I not al|wayes power &s;o to do, but fynde another thynge in my fle&s;he, rebellynge agayn&s;te the wyll of my mynde, and leadynge me captiue into &s;ynne, &s;o that I can not do that I wolde do, but I am compelled to do that I wolde not. Yf (&s;ayeth he) I do that I wolde not, than I do it not, but the &s;ynne that dwelleth in me doth it, and tha~ &s;ayeth he: Who &s;hall delyuer me from thys body of death, in the whyche I am
<PB N="xxiii" REF="23"> bounde pre&s;oner agayn&s;t my wyl? Than|kes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;tes victory.</NOTE> be to God (&s;ayeth he) thorowe Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our LORDE, whych hath conque|red &amp; ouercome &s;inne, death, and hel, &amp; hath put the damnacion of the lawe out of the waye, vnto all that profe&s;&s;e the lawe &amp; be|leue in hym. We be vnder the law to learne it, and to fa&s;hion oure dedes as lyke as we can: but not vnder the damnacion of the lawe, that we &s;hulde be damned thoughe oure dedes were not as perfecte as the law requyreth, or thoughe of fraylte we at a tyme brake it. As chyldren are vnder the lawe that they &s;teale not, but not vnder the damnacion thoughe they &s;teale. So that all they that are grafted into Chri&s;te to followe hys doctrine, are vnder y^e lawe to learne it only, but are delyuered from feare of euerla&s;tynge death and hell, and all the threatenynges of the lawe, and fro~ con&s;cience of &s;ynne, whyche feared vs fro~ God. And we are come in to God tho|rowe the confidence that we haue in Ie|&s;us Chri&s;te, &amp; are as famylyar and bolde wyth hym, as yonge innocente chyldren whyche haue no con&s;cience of &s;ynne, are wyth theyr fathers and mothers, or them that nory&s;h them. Whych were impo&s;|&s;ible yf God now (as the B. of Ro. payn|teth
<PB REF="24"> hym) dyd &s;hake a rodde at vs of .vii. yeares puni&s;hment, as &s;harpe as the pay+nes of hel for euery tre&s;pas we do, whych tre&s;pa&s;&s;es for the nombre of them were lyke to make our purgatorye almoo&s;t as lo~ge as hel, &s;eynge we haue no gods word that we &s;halbe deliuered thence, vntyl we haue payde the la&s;t farthynge. And ther|fore coulde our con&s;cience neuer be at re&s;t nor be bolde and familiar wyth God.</P>
<P>Yf ye &s;ay the B. of R. can delyuer my con&s;cience from feare of purgatorye (as hys poetrye onely putteth me in feare) &amp; that by thys texte: what &s;o euer thou byn+de&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bynde and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ow&s;e.</NOTE> on earth. &amp;c. Yf thou thys way vnder+&s;tande the texte, what &s;o euer thou beyng in earth, lou&s;e&s;t ouy where, than myghte he lou&s;e in hel &amp; bynde in heaue~. But why <NOTE PLACE="marg">Note thys texte,</NOTE> maye not I take the texte of Chri&s;t, Ihon xvi. what &s;o euer ye axe my father in my name he wyll geue it you, and de&s;yre for|geuene&s;&s;e of altogether in Chri&s;tes name both a pena &amp; culpa, and than remayneth no &s;uche purgatory at all. How be it the texte of byndynge and lou&s;ynge is but bo+rowed &s;peche, howe that after the &s;imili|tude of worldly byndyng &amp; lou&s;ynge, loc|kyng &amp; vnlockyng, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> worde of God truely preached doth bynd &amp; lou&s;e the co~&s;cience.</P>
<PB N="xxv" REF="24">
<P> God &s;ayeth to Hieremy the prophete in his .i. Chap. Behold I geue the power ouer nations and kyngdoms, to plucke vp by y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> rootes and to &s;heuer in peces, to de&s;troye and ca&s;t downe, &amp; to buyld and pla~t. How did he de&s;troye nations and kyngdomes, and how dyd he buyld the~? verely by prea|chyng and prophecieng. What natio~ kyng+dome or Cytie he prophecyed to be ouer|throwen, was &s;o. And what Cytie he pro|phecyed to be buylt agayne, was &s;o: and what nation, after they wer brought into captiuitie he prophecied to be re&s;tored a|gayn, were &s;o: and whom he prophecied to pery&s;he, pery&s;hed: and who~ he prophecyed to be &s;aued, was &s;aued.</P>
<P>Euen &s;o who~ &s;o euer a true preacher of Gods word &s;ayth &s;halbe da~ned for his &s;in, becau&s;e he wyll not repent and beleue in Chri&s;t, the&s;ame is da~ned: and who~ &s;o euer a true preacher of gods word &s;ayth &s;halbe &s;aued, becau&s;e he repenteth &amp; beleueth in Chri&s;tes bloud, y^e &s;ame is &s;aued. And thys is the byndynge and lo&s;yng y^t Chri&s;t ment</P>
<P>Not with&s;tondyng ye mu&s;t vnder&s;to~de that whe~ we haue &s;ynned, though our har+tes were not to &s;ynne, &amp; though we repent+yer the dede be done, yet the body in &s;yn|nynge hath ouerco~me the &s;prite, and hath
<PB REF="25"> gotte~ the ma&s;try. So that y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;prite is nowe weaker and febler to vertue and to follow the lawe of God &amp; doctrine of Chri&s;t, and the fle&s;h &s;tronger to followe vice &amp; &s;ynne. Wherfore as when an olde &s;ore is broken forth agayn, we begynne as it were a new cure wyth greater dilige~ce and more care the~ before: eue~ &s;o here we mu&s;t renewe our olde battayle agayn&s;t y^e fle&s;h, &amp; more &s;tron+gly go to worke, to &s;ubdue it, accordyng to the profe&s;&s;ion of our baptyme which is y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> very &s;acrament or &s;ygne of repe~tau~ce, or yf they wyl &s;o haue it called penau~ce, by y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in|terpretatio~ of Paule Ro. vi. For y^e plun|gyng in to y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> water, as it betoke~neth on y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> one parte y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Chri&s;t hath wa&s;hed our &s;oules with his bloude, euen &s;o on y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> other parte it &s;ygnifyeth y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> we haue promy&s;ed to quench and &s;laye y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> lu&s;tes of the fle&s;h, with prayer fa&s;tynge, and holy meditacion, after the doctryne of Chri&s;t, &amp; with al godly exerci&s;e that tame the fle&s;he and kylle not y^e man.</P>
<P>Wher vpon the by&s;&s;hoppes that &s;ucce|ded <NOTE PLACE="marg">Howe pe|nau~ce came vp &amp; purga+tory.</NOTE> the Apo&s;tles, (when men had don ony open &s;ynnes) enioyned them penaunce as they call it, by the authorite of the congre|gacion and gouerners therof, and aduy&s;e of the moo&s;t wy&s;e and di&s;crete, and with y^e wyllynge con&s;ente of the tre&s;pa&s;&s;ers, to
<PB N="xxvi" REF="25"> tame the fle&s;h, as to go wolward, to wear &s;hyrtes of heere, to go bare foote and bare heade, to praye, to fa&s;te bread and water, &s;ome once in y^e weke, &s;ome twy&s;e or all the weke, an whole yeare .ii. yeares .iii. yeares vii. yeares .xx. yeares, and &s;ome all theyre lyues longe, and to go on pylgrimage, to by&s;et the memoriall of Saynts, to &s;tre~gth them the better to followe theyr en&s;am|ple and &s;uch lyke, &amp; all to &s;lay the worldly mynde of the fle&s;he. Whiche maner when it was once receaued of the people by co|&s;tume, it became a lawe. And the by&s;hops by lytle and lytle gat it whole into theyr owne handes.</P>
<P>When by&s;hoppes &s;awe that, how they had gotten the &s;ymple people vnder them in &s;uche humble obedience, they keganne to &s;et vp theyr cre&s;tes, and to raygne ouer them as princes, and to enoyne &s;ore pe|naunce for &s;malle trifles, namelye yf ought were done agayn&s;te theyre plea&s;ure and &s;ome they bet &s;ore, and &s;pared other, &amp; &s;olde theyr penaunce to the ryche, and o|uerladed the poore, vntyl the tyranny was waren &s;o greueous, that the people wolde beare it no lenger. For by thys tyme what wyth the multitude of Ceremonyes and heape of mens con&s;titucions, who&s;e ryght
<PB REF="26"> v&s;e was therto clene forgotten: and part|ly becau&s;e oure &s;hepeherdes were bu&s;yed to &s;eke them&s;elues and theyr hye autho|rite, and exalted euery man hys trone, &amp; were become wolues vnto the flock. The cau&s;e why the people were di&s;obedie~t vn|to whol&s;ome coun&s;el was, that the worde of God was &s;ore darkened and no where purely preached. And therfore the pre|lates loth to lo&s;e theyr hygh authorite &amp; to let the people go fre out of theyr yocke beganne to turne theyr tale and &s;ynge a newe &s;onge, howe that thys penau~ce was enioyned to make &s;ati&s;faction to God for the &s;ynne that was committed, robbynge our &s;oules of the frute of Chri&s;tes bloude and makynge vs image &s;eruau~tes, refer|rynge oure dedes vnto the per&s;on of God and wor&s;hyppynge hym as an ymage of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Here was purgatorye kyndled.</NOTE> our owne ymaginatio~ with bodely worke &s;aynge morouer: Yf we wold not do &s;uche penaunce here at theyr iniunctions, we mu&s;t do it in another worlde, and fayned purgatory where we mu&s;te &s;uffre .vii. yeares for euery &s;inne. And whe~ y^e kyngdo~ of Antichri&s;t was &s;o enlarged, that it mu&s;t haue an heade, they &s;et vp our holy father of Rome, or he rather v&s;urped the rowme wyth vyolence, &amp; to hym was geue~ thys
<PB N="xxvii" REF="26"> prerogatiue to &s;ell whom he wolde from purgatorye.</P>
<P>And the &s;acrame~t of penau~ce they thus de&s;cribe: Contrition, Confe&s;&s;ion, and Sa+ti&s;faction. Contrition, &s;orowe for thy &s;yn|nes: Confe&s;&s;ion, not to God and them whom thou ha&s;t offended: but tel thy &s;yn+nes in the pre&s;tes eare: Sati&s;factio~ to do certayne dedes enioyned of them to bye out thy &s;ynnes. And in theyr de&s;cription they haue clene excluded the fayth in the &s;ati&s;factio~ of Chri&s;tes bloude, which only bringeth lyfe and the &s;prite of life, &amp; righte+ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and without the which it is vn|po&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God. Hebr. xi. In who&s;e &s;teade they haue put in the pre&s;umpcyon of our owne workes. And for lack of tru&s;t in Chri&s;tes bloude, our contritio~ is but a frutele&s;&s;e &s;orowe in the re&s;pecte of hell, which maketh vs hate the lawe &s;tyll, and con&s;equently God that made it, where true contrition annexed with fayth is &s;o|rowe in re&s;pect of the lawe, vnto y^e which we con&s;ent that it is good, and loue it, &amp; therfor mourne partely becau&s;e we haue offended it, and partely becau&s;e we lacke power to fulfyll it as we wolde.</P>
<P>The&s;e thynges to be true oure prelates knowe by ope~ hi&s;toryes, as wel, as that it
<PB REF="27"> is noone whe~ the So~ne is flat&s;owth: but it delyteth them to re&s;i&s;te the holy goo&s;t, and to per&s;ecute y^e preachers of the thyn|ges, which yf they as well loued them as they knowe them to be true, they wolde preache the &s;ame them &s;elues, and lyue therafter. Hereby ye may &s;e y^t our workes are but to tame the fle&s;he only, and can be no &s;ati&s;factio~ to God, except we make hym an image, and oure &s;elfes image &s;er|uau~tes. And hereby ye may &s;e how out of thys open penaunce came the eare co~fe&s;|&s;io~, &s;ati&s;factio~ of workes, purgatorye and pardons. For when they had putte the &s;ati&s;faction of Chri&s;tes bloude out of the waye, then as they compelled men to con|fe&s;&s;e open &s;ynnes, and to take ope~ penaun+ce, euen &s;o they compelled them to con|fe&s;&s;e &s;ecrete &s;ynnes and to take &s;ecrete pe|naunce. And as they made marchaundi&s;e of ope~ penau~ce, &s;o dyd they of &s;ecrete. And for them that wold not receaue &s;uche par+don, fayned they purgatorye: and for the~ that receaued them, fayned they pardon: turnynge byndyng and lo&s;yng with prea|chynge Gods worde vnto byenge and &s;ellynge &s;ynne for mony. And &s;ence that tyme hetherto, the wor&s;e the people were, the better were the prelates conte~te, euer
<PB N="xxviii" REF="27"> re&s;i&s;tynge that they &s;huld be made better thorow theyr ble&s;&s;ed couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e and proude de&s;yre of honoure.</P>
<P>And out of thys fal&s;e pre&s;umption of workes, &s;prange the wycked vowes of re|lygion, which they vowe to make &s;ati&s;fac+tion for &s;ynne, and to be hygher in heaue~, in &s;teade of the lyfe of penaunce which Chri&s;t taught vs in the Go&s;pell to tame the fle&s;h and to crucifye the me~bres wyth all, that we hence forth &s;hulde walke in y^e wayes of Gods law, and &s;ynne nomore.</P>
<P>And to &s;peak of wor&s;hyppyng of &s;ayntes &amp; prayeng, vnto the~ &amp; of that we make the~ our aduocates wel nye aboue Chri&s;te, or altogether, thoughe it requyre a longe di&s;putacyon, yet it is as bryght as y^e daye to all that knowe the truth, how that our fa&s;tynge of theyr euens, &amp; kepynge theyr holy dayes, goynge bare foote, &s;tyckynge vp of candels in the bryghte daye in the wor&s;hippe of them, to optayne theyr fa|uoure, or geuynge them &s;o co&s;tly yewels, offerynge into theyr boxes, clothynge theyr ymages, &s;huynge them with &s;yluer &s;hues, with an ouch of Cri&s;tal in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> myd|des, to &s;trake the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ppes and eyes of the ygnoraunt, as a man wolde &s;trake yonge chyldrens heades, to entyce the~ &amp; brynge
<PB REF="28"> them in, and rocke them a&s;lepe in ygno|raunce: are wyth all lyke &s;eruyce playne ydolatrye, that is in Engly&s;he ymage &s;er|uyce. For the &s;ayntes are &s;pretes, and can haue no delectacion in bodely thynges. And becau&s;e tho&s;e bodelye dedes can be no &s;eruyce vnto the &s;pirituall &s;ayntes, and we do them not to be a &s;eruyce to oure &s;el|ues or our neghbours: we &s;erue the worke and the fal&s;e ymaginacion of oure fle&s;hlye wytte, after the doctrine of man, and not of God, and are ymage &s;eruauntes. And thys is it that Paule calleth &s;eruire ele+me~tis mundi, to be in captiuite vnder domme ceremonies and vayne traditions of mens doctryne, and to do the worke for the worke it &s;elfe, as though God delyted therin for the dede it &s;elfe, wythoute all o|ther re&s;pecte.</P>
<P>But and ye wyll know the true wor|&s;hyppynge of &s;ayntes, herken vnto Paule Philip. ii. where he &s;ayeth: Ye &s;hyne as lyghtes in the worlde, holdynge fa&s;te the worde of lyfe vnto my glory or wor&s;hyp, agayn&s;te the daye of Ie&s;u Chri&s;te, that I haue not runne nor laboured in vayne. That is to wete, the wor&s;hyp whyche all true &s;ayntes now &s;eke, and the wor&s;hippe, that all the true me&s;&s;aungers of God
<PB N="xxix" REF="28"> &s;eke thys daye, or euer &s;hal &s;eke, is to draw all to Chri&s;te wyth preachynge the true worde of God, and wyth the en&s;ample of pure lyuynge fa&s;hioned therafter. Wyl ye therfore wor&s;hip &s;ayntes truely? than axe what they preached, and beleue theyr doc|trine. And as they followed that doctrine, &s;o co~forme your lyuynge lyke vnto theyrs. And that &s;halbe vnto theyr hygh wor&s;hip in the commynge agayne of Chri&s;t (whan all mens dedes &s;hall appeare, &amp; euery man &s;halbe iudged and receaue hys rewarde ac+cordynge vnto hys dedes) howe that they not onely whyle they here lyued, but al&s;o after theyr death wyth the en&s;a~ple of theyr doctrine and lyuynge lefte behynde in wry+tynge and other memorials, vnto the en|&s;ample of them that &s;hulde followe, wa~ne vnto Chri&s;t them that were borne. v hun|dreth, yee a thou&s;ande yeares after theyr death. Thys was theyr wor&s;hip in y^e &s;pret at the begynnynge as they were &s;pretes, &amp; <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;tyc|kynge vp of candels be|fore yma|ges.</NOTE> lyghtes were &s;tycked before theyr memori+als at the begynnynge to be a ceremonye to put vs in remembrau~ce that we &s;o pray+&s;ed the &s;ayntes and boa&s;ted theyr lyuyn|ges that we followed theyr en&s;amples in our dedes, as Chri&s;te &s;ayeth Math. v. Let your lyght &s;o &s;hyne before men, that they
<PB REF="29"> &s;e youre good workes, and glorifye youre father that is in heauen. For preachynge of the doctrine, whyche is lyght, hath but &s;mall effecte to moue the harte, yf the en|&s;ample of lyuynge do di&s;agre.</P>
<P>And that we wor&s;hip &s;ayntes for feare le&s;t they &s;hulde be di&s;plea&s;ed and angrye wyth vs, &amp; plage vs or hurte vs, (as who is not afrayed of &s;aynte Laurence? who darre deny &s;aynt Anthonye a fle&s;e of woll for feare of hys terrible fyre, or le&s;te he &s;ende the pockes among our &s;hepe?) is Hey+then ymage &s;eruyce, and clene agayn&s;t the fyr&s;te commaundemente, whych is: Heare I&s;rael the LORDE thy God is one God. Now God in the Hebrwe is called Elor: Elohim in the plurel nombre, &s;trength or myght. So that the commaundement is: Heare I&s;rael he that is thy power &amp; might <NOTE PLACE="marg">Note thys for the fyr&s;t co~maunde|ment.</NOTE> thy &s;wearde and &s;hylde is but one, that is, ther is none of myght to helpe or hurte the &s;aue one, whych is altogether thyne at thy commaundement, yf thou wylte heare his voyce only. And all other myght in the worlde, is borowed of hym. And he wyll lende no myght agayn&s;t the contrarye to hys promy&s;es: kepe therfore hys commau~|dementes, and he &s;hall kepe the. And yf thou haue broken them, and he haue lente
<PB N="xxx" REF="29"> of hys power agayn&s;t the, repente &amp; come agayne vnto thy profe&s;&s;ion, and he wyl re+turne agayne vnto hys mercye and fetche hys power home agayne, whyche he lente to vexe the, becau&s;e thou for&s;oke&s;t hym and brake&s;t hys commau~dementes. And feare none other creature: for fal&s;e feare is the cau&s;e of all Idolatrye.</P>
<P>Moreouer all we that are bapty&s;ed in Chri&s;t haue profe&s;&s;ed to do good for e|uell, and not to auenge oure &s;elues. And many of vs come to &s;uch perfeccion that we can be prouoked by no temptacion to de&s;yre vengeaunce, but haue compa&s;&s;ion, and mekely praye for them that &s;laye vs.</P>
<P>How wycked a thynge than is it to thynke that the &s;ayntes trouble and plage vs, becau&s;e we do them not &s;uche &s;uper&s;ti|cious honoure, whych is theyr di&s;honoure and oure &s;hame? It is verely a Popy&s;h y|maginacion, and euen to de&s;cribe the &s;ayn+tes after the nature of our prelates, which be meke and lowly tyll they be where they wolde be: But whan they be once alofte, they playe the tormentours yf we wyl not honoure them, &amp; do what &s;oeuer they com+maunde more earne&s;tly, than that whych God hym&s;elfe hath commaunded, &amp; feare them aboue God hym&s;elfe.</P>
<PB REF="30">
<P> And it can be but lyke abominacion al&s;o, that we cho&s;e of a fle&s;hly mynde euery man hys &s;euerall &s;aynte, or rather &s;eueral God, to be our aduocates, attorneys me|diatours, (wha~ ther is but one .i. Tim. ii) and interce&s;&s;ours, and call them oure ad|uouryes, whan we myght better call them <NOTE PLACE="marg">Aduouryes</NOTE> our adulterers, and &s;erue them, or rather a paynted po&s;t in theyr &s;teade, wyth our y|mage &s;eruice, therewyth to bynde them for to helpe vs, whan &s;oeuer and for what&s;oe|uer we cal vnto them, and to &s;aue our &s;ou+les therto wyth theyr prayers and merites &amp; wyll yet nother heare the doctrine or fol|lowe the en&s;ample of lyuynge (whyche is theyr onely honoure in the &s;prete) of ony &s;aynt, who&s;e doctrine &amp; lyuyng is aute~tyk</P>
<P>For fyr&s;t, God whych alone hath po|wer to helpe or hurte, hath made appoynt|me~t betwixt hym &amp; vs in Chri&s;tes bloude &amp; hath bounde hym&s;elfe to geue vs what &s;o euer we axe in his name, te&s;tifyeng ther+to that ther is none other name to be&s;aued by, and that he wilbe a father vnto vs and &s;aue vs both in this lyfe, and in the lyfe to come, and take vs from vnder the damna|cion of the lawe, and &s;et vs vnder grace &amp; mercy, to be &s;colers only to learne the law and that our vnperfecte dedes &s;halbe take~
<PB N="xxxi" REF="30"> in worth: yee and thoughe at a tyme we marre all thorowe oure infirmyte, yet yf we turne agayne, that &s;halbe forgeuen vs mercyfully, &s;o that we &s;halbe vnder no da~+nacion: whych te&s;tament is confirmed w^t &s;ygnes and wonders wrought thorow the holy goo&s;t. Now thys indented obligacio~ layde aparte, we make another of oure owne ymaginacion betwene the &s;ayntes &amp; vs, in theyr merytes for our ymage &s;eruyce Whych can be but a fal&s;e fayth, &s;eynge it hath not Gods worde (vnto whych alone we ought to clene) but it is al&s;o clene con|trarye therto.</P>
<P>And agayne the &s;ayntes were not &s;a|ued thorowe theyr owne merytes, but tho|row <NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the me|rytynge of &s;ayntes.</NOTE> Chri&s;tes. Nother were theyr dedes, whych they dyd after they were receaued vnder grace, &s;ufficient in them&s;elues to ful+fyll the lawe for the pre&s;ent tyme, &s;aue as Chri&s;tes merytes dyd &s;upplye the imper|fectne&s;&s;e of them, and that whych was lac+kynge on theyr parte thorowe theyr infir|mytyes. And therfore as the &s;ayntes holy workes made no &s;ati&s;faccion for the &s;ynne that they dyd before they were receaued vnder mercy: euen &s;o made they none for the deadly &s;ynnes, whyche they dyd vn|der mercy: &s;eyng the dedes were vnperfecte
<PB REF="31"> and had &s;ynne annexed vnto them by rea|&s;on of the fle&s;h, and were in&s;ufficient to ex+cu&s;e theyr owne may&s;ters. What mery|tes haue they in &s;tore for vs than, &s;eynge by all mens confe&s;&s;ion they nowe meryte not? Yf the moo&s;t obedient chylde in the worlde di&s;obeye hys fathers commaunde|mentes, hys fore good dedes can not make that di&s;obedience to be no &s;ynne, or to be a &s;ati&s;faccion, that the chylde &s;huld pre&s;ume in the co~fidence of hys olde dedes &amp; thynk hys father &s;hulde do hym wronge to pu|ny&s;he hym. But he mu&s;te knowlege hys faulte, and that he hath de&s;erued puny&s;he|ment, and de&s;yre forgeuene&s;&s;e vnto the glo+rye of hys fathers mercyfulne&s;&s;e, and not of hys olde dedes, thoughe hys olde obedi|ence be a greate pre&s;umpcion that he &s;yn|neth of frayltye and not of purpo&s;e. Euen &s;o yf I beynge as holy as euer was Paule in hys moo&s;t holyne&s;&s;e, &s;ynne thys day tho+row fraylty of my fle&s;h, myne old good de+des can be no &s;ati&s;faccion, but I mu&s;te knowlege my &s;ynne vnto my father and graunte that I haue de&s;erued damnacion, &amp; mekely de&s;yre forgeuene&s;&s;e, and chale~ge it by the obligacion where in God hathe bounde hym&s;elfe to me, vnto the glorye of the mercye of God, and not to the glory
<PB N="xxxii" REF="31"> of my holy dedes. For yf my dedes &s;aue me, it is my glory. But yf he forgeue frely without re&s;pect of my dedes, then it is the glorye of his mercy by Paules doctrine vnto the Romaynes.</P>
<P>Moreouer yf the &s;ayntes be in hea|uen, then can they be there in none other ca&s;e the~ y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> aungels, in which &s;tate Chri&s;t te&s;tifyeth they &s;halbe in the re&s;urrecion. Now the aungels are myni&s;ters &s;ente of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theangels &s;erue vs.</NOTE> God to do &s;eruyce vnto the electe which &s;halbe &s;aued. Hebr. i. And hath bou~de hym+&s;elfe yf I come in the ryght waye by the dore of Chri&s;tes bloude, and are helpe, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> he wyll &s;ende me (yf nede be,) an hundreth legions of aungels or &s;ayntes. But when God hath bounde hym&s;elfe to &s;ende me aungels or &s;ayntes, or an angel or &s;aynt, he hath not promy&s;ed to &s;ende this angel or that, or this or that &s;aint. And therfore whan I appoynt God whom he &s;hal &s;end, and bynde hym where he hath not bou~de hym&s;elfe, to &s;ende me what &s;aynt I wyl, I tempt God. And thus this cho&s;ynge of &s;eueral &s;ayntes is but temptynge of God. And yet we do wor&s;e then this: for we leaue the way of Chri&s;tes bloude and go not to God thorow hym, but runne to y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ayntes in a te&s;tament of our owne ma|kynge,
<PB REF="32"> &amp; wyll that they ether &s;aue vs them+&s;elues for our ymage &s;eruyce, or compell God for theyr merytes &s;akes to &s;aue vs. Why goe&s;t thou not vnto thy father thyn owne&s;elfe? I am a &s;ynner wyll they &s;aye &amp; dare not. Yf thou go in the ryght waye, thou ha&s;t no &s;ynne. Chri&s;te hath taken all thy &s;ynnes from the, and God hath no rod in hys hande, nor loketh foure, but merely, that it is a lu&s;t to beholde hys cherfull cou~+tenaunce, and offereth the hys hande. But thys waye is &s;topped vp thorow vnbelefe, and therfore we &s;eke another whyche is no way to lyfe, but vnto euerla&s;tynge death. We wyll not loke on the lawe wyth open eyes, and therfore haue we no due repen|taunce, and &s;o no lu&s;t to herken vnto the Go&s;pell of gladde tydynges in Chri&s;tes bloude. And where the ryght waye is &s;et before vs, &amp; we of malyce wyll not walke therin, God can not but let the deuell play wyth vs, and iuggle our eyes to confirme vs in blyndne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>But after what maner doth Chri&s;te <NOTE PLACE="marg">How chri&s;t prayeth for vs.</NOTE> pray for vs? Verely Chri&s;t in the dayes of hys mortall fle&s;h &s;uffred and prayed for al that &s;halbe &s;aued, and optayned, and was herde, and had hys peticions graunted. And he made &s;ati&s;faccio~, and purged, and
<PB N="xxxiii" REF="32"> purcha&s;&s;ed forgeuene&s;&s;e, euen then for al the &s;ynnes that euer &s;halbe forgeue~: And his prayenge for vs, and beynge a media|tour nowe, is, that the remembraunce of all that he dyd for vs, is pre&s;ent in y^e &s;ight of god the father as fre&s;h, as in the houre he dyd them, yee y^e &s;ame houre is yet pre+&s;ent and not pa&s;t in the &s;yghte of God. And Chri&s;t is now a kyng and raygneth and hath receaued power of all that he prayed for, to do it hym&s;elfe, and y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> when &s;o euer the electe call for ought in his na+me, he &s;endeth helpe euen of the power, which he hath receaued: yee yer they axe, he &s;endeth his &s;prete in to theyr hartes, to moue them to axe. So that it is his gyfte that we de&s;yre ought in his name. And in all that we do or thynke well, he preuen|teth vs with his grace: yee he careth for vs yer we care for our &s;elues, and when we be yet euel, he &s;endeth to call vs, and draweth vs with &s;uche power, that oure hart is can not but con&s;ente and come. And the angels &s;tande by and behold the te&s;tament of the electe, how we &s;halbe re+ceaued into theyr fellow&s;hip, and &s;e all y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> grace that Chri&s;t &s;hall poure out vpo~ vs. And they reioyce and pray&s;e God for his infinite mercy, and are glad and lo~ge for
<PB REF="33"> vs, and of very loue are ready agayn&s;t all houres when we &s;hall call for helpe in Chri&s;tes name, to come and helpe. And Chri&s;t &s;endeth them when we call in his name, and yer we call, euen whyle we be yet euel &amp; happely per&s;ecut y^e truth of ig|norau~ce (as Paul dyd) the angels wayte vpo~ vs to kepe y^t the deuels &s;laye vs not, before the tyme of our callynge be come.</P>
<P>Now yf an angell &s;hulde appeare vn|to the, what wolde&s;t thou &s;aye vnto him? Yf thou prayde&s;t hym to helpe, he wolde an&s;were: I do. Chri&s;te hath &s;ent me to helpe y^e, and beleue that y^e angels be euer aboute y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to helpe. Yf thou de&s;yrede&s;t him to praye for the to optayne this or that, he wolde &s;aye: Chri&s;t hath prayed, &amp; hys prayer is herde, or what &s;o euer thou ax|e&s;t in his name, he wyl &s;hewe the al that God wolde do to the, and what he wolde al&s;o haue the to do. And yf thou bele|uede&s;t &s;o, then were&s;t thou &s;afe. Yf thou de&s;yrede&s;t hym to &s;aue the with hys me|rytes. He wolde an&s;were that he had no merytes (but y^t Chri&s;t only is LORDE of all merytes) nor &s;aluacyon, but y^t Chri&s;t is LORDE of &s;aluacion. Wylte y^u ther|fore be &s;aued by merytes wold the angel &s;aye, then praye to God in Chri&s;tes na|me
<PB N="xxxiiii" REF="33"> and thou &s;halte be &s;aued by the merytes of hym, and haue me or &s;ome other thy &s;er+uaunte immediatlye to helpe the vnto the vttermoo&s;t of our power, and to kepe the, and brynge the vnto the rewarde of hys merytes. Yf thou wolde&s;t promy&s;e hym to wor&s;hyppe hym wyth ymage &s;eruyce, that is to &s;tycke vp a candle before hys ymage, or &s;uche an ymage as he appeared to the in, he wolde an&s;were that he were a &s;prete, and delyted in no candle lyghte, but wold byd the geue a candle vnto thy neghboure that lacketh, yf thou hadde&s;t to many. And &s;o wolde he an&s;were the, yf thou wol|de&s;t put mony in a boxe for hym, or clothe hys ymage in clothe of golde, or put golde~ &s;hues vpon his ymages foote. Yf thou &s;ay+de&s;t that thou wolde&s;t buylde a chappel in his name, he wolde an&s;were that he dwelt in no hou&s;e made wyth &s;tones, but wolde byd the go to the churches that are made already, and learne of the preacher there howe to beleue, and howe to lyue, and ho+noure God in the &s;prete, for the whyche cau&s;e churches were chefelye buylded, and for quyetne&s;&s;e to praye. And yf ther be no church, then to geue of it that thou maye&s;t &s;pare to helpe that one were buylded, to be a preachynge, and a prayenge hou&s;e, and
<PB REF="34"> of wor&s;hyppyng God in &s;prete, and not of ymage &s;eruyce.</P>
<P>And yf Paule appeared vnto the, what other thynge coulde he an&s;were al|&s;o then that he were a &s;prete, and wolde re|fu&s;e all thy ymage &s;eruyce? And yf thou &s;peake to Paule of hys merytes, he can none otherwy&s;e an&s;were the, then he an|&s;wered his Corinthians, that he dyed for no mans &s;ynnes, &amp; that no man was bap|ty&s;ed in his name, to tru&s;t in hys merites. He wolde &s;aye, I buylded all men vpon Chri&s;tes merytes, preachyng that all that repented and beleued in hys name, &s;hulde be &s;aued, and taken from vnder the wrath, vengeaunce, and damnacion of the lawe, and be put vnder mercy and grace. And by thys faythe was I &s;aued from damna|cion, and put vnder mercy and grace and made one wyth Chri&s;te to haue my parte wyth hym, and he wyth me, or rather to make a chaunge: that he &s;hulde haue all my &s;ynnes, and I his mercy &amp; the gyftes of his grace, and become glorious wyth y^e ornamentes of his ryches. And of my &s;a|ueoure Chri&s;t I receaued this lawe, that I &s;hulde loue my brethren, all Gods e|lecte as tenderly as he loued them. And I con&s;ented vnto thys lawe, for it &s;emed
<PB N="xxxv" REF="34"> ryghte, and became a &s;coler to learne it. And as I profyted in the knowlege, fayth and loue of Chri&s;t, &s;o I grewe in the loue of my brethren, and &s;uffred all thynges for theyr &s;akes, and at y^e la&s;t waxed &s;o per+fecte, that I wy&s;hed my &s;elfe damned (yf it myghte haue ben) to &s;aue my brethren. And all my brethren that receaued Chri&s;t receaued the &s;ame commaundement, and grewe therin. And they that were perfect loued me and all theyr other brethren, no le&s;&s;e then I loued them. And loke w^t what loue I mini&s;tred y^e gyftes of grace whych I receaued of Chri&s;t for the edifyenge of his congregacion, vpon my brethre~, wyth the &s;ame loue dyd they mini&s;tre theyr gyf+tes agayne on me, whiche they had, and I lacked. And &s;o loue made all commune. And moreouer yf they call my workes my merytes, I be&s;towed all my workes vpon my brethren to teach them, &amp; reaped the feute therof, euen my brethrens edify+enge and &s;oules health, yee &amp; reape day|ly, in that I lefte my doctrine and en&s;am+ple of lyuynge behynde me, by the whych many are conuerted vnto Chri&s;t daylye. Yf thou de&s;yre therfore to enioye parte of my merytes, go and reade in my go&s;|pel, and thou &s;halt fynde the frute of my
<PB REF="35"> laboure, the knowlege of Chri&s;t, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> health of thy &s;oule, and euerla&s;tynge lyfe.</P>
<P>And as I loued my brethren whe~ I ly|ued, &s;o I loue them &s;tyll, and nowe more perfectly. How be it my loue then was paynfull: for the more I loued, the more I &s;orowed, feared, and cared for them, to brynge them in to the knowlege of the truth, and to kepe them in vnite of fayth, le&s;t the fal&s;e Prophetes &s;hulde deceaue them, or theyr owne infirmytyes &s;hulde breake peace and vnite, or cau&s;e them to fall into ony &s;ynne.</P>
<P>But now my loue is without payne. For I &s;e the wyl and prouidence of God, and howe the ende of all thynges &s;halbe vnto his glory and profyte of the electe. And though I &s;e the electe &s;hall &s;omtyme fall, yet I &s;e how they &s;hall ary&s;e agayne, and how that theyr fall &s;halbe vnto y^e glo|rye of God &amp; theyr owne profyte. And we that are in heauen, loue you all alyke nother loue we one more &amp; another le&s;&s;e. And therfore yf ye loue vs more one the~ another, that is fle&s;hly, as myne olde Co+rinthians once loued, and I rebuked the~. Nother can we be moued to come more to helpe one then another. But we wayt when God wyl &s;ende ony of vs vnto the
<PB N="xxxvi" REF="35"> electe that call for helpe in Chri&s;tes name. Wherfore yf thou wylte be holpe~ of ony of vs, praye in Chri&s;tes name, and God &s;hall &s;ende one of vs, an angell or a &s;aynt, to kepe the power of the deuels from you: but not whome thou wolde&s;t cho&s;e, temptynge God, but whome it plea&s;eth God to &s;ende.</P>
<P>And yf youre preachers loue you not af+ter the&s;ame maner, to edyfye you with the true doctrine of Chri&s;te, and en&s;ample of lyuynge ther after, and to kepe you in vny+tye of fayth &amp; charite, they be not of Chri|&s;tes di&s;ciples, but Antichri&s;t, which vnder the name of Chri&s;te, &s;eke to raygne ouer you as temporal tyrau~tes. And in lyke ma+ner: Yf thys be not wrytte~ in your hartes y^t ye ought to loue one another as Chri&s;te loued you, and as ye had en&s;ample of vs his Apo&s;tles, ye go a&s;tray in vanities and are not in the ryght waye.</P>
<P><HI>And therby are vve &s;ure that vve knovve hym, yf vve kepe his commau~+dementes.</HI></P>
<P>This is cleane agayn&s;t the doctryne <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;tate of grace.</NOTE> of them which &s;aye that we can not know whether we be in the &s;tate of grace or no. Ihon &s;ayeth yf we kepe hys commaunde|mentes, then we be &s;ure that we knowe
<PB REF="36"> Chri&s;te is euerla&s;tyng lyfe Iho~ .xvii. The~ contrarye to the by&s;hop of Ro. Chri&s;ten men haue doctrine to know whether they be in grace or no.</P>
<P>The kepyng of Gods co~maundeme~tes certifieth vs y^t we be in the &s;tate of grace But the phari&s;aycall doctours haue no doctryne to knowe when a man is in the &s;tate of grace, wherfore it is manyfe&s;te y^t they kepe not Gods commaundementes, nor be in &s;tate of grace, but of all vngra|tiou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Nother know &s;uch doctours whether they be in &s;tate of grace, but kepe mens commaundementes, ergo mens co~maun+dementes certifye not that we be in &s;tate of grace. Thoughe thou haue a deuotion to &s;tyck vp a candle before a po&s;te, and &s;o forth, yet thou can&s;t neuer be &s;ure therby that thou arte in the fauoure of God. But yf thou haue deuotion to helpe thy brother in all hys my&s;fortunes, becau&s;e he is y^e ymage of God, and price of Chri&s;tes bloude, then thy deuotion certifyeth the, that thou arte in the fauoure of God or &s;tate of grace.</P>
<P><HI>He that &s;ayeth I knovv hym, &amp; yet ke+peth not his co~maundementes, is a lyer and the truth is not in hym.</HI></P>
<PB N="xxxvii" REF="36">
<P> Whan oure phari&s;es &s;aye, do as we <NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;ure argu+me~t to kno+we fals pro+phetes <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y.</NOTE> dyd you, and not as we do, they te&s;tifye that they kepe not Gods commaundeme~+tes, vnto whych te&s;timony oure eyes al&s;o beare recorde, &amp; they that kepe not Gods co~maundementes be lyars, and haue no truth in them. And tha~ whan they preach, they can not but preach lyes. And than though they preache Chri&s;te, they preach hym fal&s;ly vnto theyr fle&s;hly vauntage, &amp; not our &s;oules health. And for as muche as we maye haue no fellow&s;hip wyth the~ that kepe not Gods commau~dementes, i. Cor. v. and in as muche as all &s;uche are fal&s;e prophetes, voyde of all truth, it follo|weth that we ought to geue oure doctors no audience, though theyr defe~ders &s;tode by them wyth theyr &s;weardes drawen, but rather to laye downe our heades and &s;tretch forth oure neckes, to be &s;layne.</P>
<P><HI>He that kepeth hys vvorde, in him verely is the loue of God perfecte: and hereby knovv vve that vve are in him</HI></P>
<P>That is, he that kepeth hys co~maun+dementes, loueth vnfaynedly, and is ther+by &s;ure that he is in God. For to be in God, is to beleue in the mercy of God. And to beleue in mercy, is cau&s;e of loue, and loue cau&s;e of workynge. And therfore
<PB REF="37"> he that worketh for Gods &s;ake, is &s;ure that he loueth, and that he tru&s;teth in God: whych is to be in God or Chri&s;t. And as by wylfull kepynge of the commaunde|ment <NOTE PLACE="marg">A rule to knowe whe+ther we lo|ue God or loue hym not.</NOTE> we be &s;ure that we loue God, and be+leue in God, euen &s;o thorow wylfull brea|kynge of them we maye be &s;ure that we no+ther loue nor beleue in hym, and therfore that we be not in hym.</P>
<P><HI>He that &s;ayeth he abydeth in him, ought to vvalke as he vvalked.</HI></P>
<P>All that be bapty&s;ed in Chri&s;te, are wa&s;he~ in hym, to put of pryde, wrath, hate and enuye, wyth all theyr olde conuer&s;aci+on: by the whyche they oppre&s;&s;ed theyr neghbours, and haue promy&s;ed to become euery man euen as Chri&s;te hym&s;elfe vn|to his brethren in loue and kyndne&s;&s;e, both in worde and dede. They therfore which re&s;y&s;te Chri&s;tes te&s;tamente, and wyll not let it be knowen, and walke in the te&s;ta|mente of Antichri&s;te of Rome, wyth vni|ons, pluralities, and tot quots, &s;ome one of them, robbynge ten pary&s;hes of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> tenth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Loke vpon the B. Ro. owne decre+es Cau&s;a xii. que&s;t. ii. and other places.</NOTE> of all theyr yearely increa&s;e, and wythdra|wynge from them Gods worde, the foode of theyr &s;oules, and from the poore, theyr dayly &s;u&s;tenaunce, whych oughte to haue theyr parte in the tythes and other rentes,
<PB N="xxxviii" REF="37"> whan the preacher and other nece&s;&s;ary mi|ni&s;ters haue oute theyr partes, a due and lawfull &s;tipende: are not in Chri&s;te. For Chri&s;t nother &s;o walked, nor taught.</P>
<P><HI>Brethren I vvryte no nevv co~mau~+maundement vnto you, but an olde co~|maundement, vvhych ye had at the be+gynnynge. For an olde co~mau~dement is the vvorde, vvhych ye herde fro~ the begynnynge.</HI></P>
<P>I wryte no new precepte, but onely put you in remembraunce of that olde, whyche was taughte you whan ye were fyr&s;te bapty&s;ed in Chri&s;te, to loue eche o|ther, as he dyd you. Whyche is an olde commaundemente, and was geuen at the begynnynge of the worlde, and hath euer &s;ence bene wrytten in the harte of all that put theyr hope in God.</P>
<P><HI>Agayne, a nevv commaundement I vvryte vnto you, vvhyche is true in hym, and al&s;o in you: for the darke|ne&s;&s;e is pa&s;t, and the true lyght novve &s;hyneth.</HI></P>
<P>The deuell hath &s;owen hys darkne&s;&s;e in the felde, where thys commaundement &s;hulde growe, &amp; the wedes of me~s tradici|ons had ouergrowen y^e corne of thys olde co~mau~deme~t: &s;o that it was waxe~ olde, &amp;
<PB REF="38"> clene out of knowlege&punc; But Chri&s;te the lyght of all true doctrine nowe &s;hyneth, &amp; hath &s;cattered the darkne&s;&s;e, and plucked vp the wedes by the rootes, and re&s;tored thys olde commaundement agayne. And in hym it is a true commaundement, for he loued truely. And in you it is a true co~+maundement, for ye for hys &s;ake loue one another truely al&s;o. And by the rea&s;on of thys renewynge, it is called a newe com|maundement, as it is nowe called newe learnynge, and may well &s;o be: for it hath lyen longe in darkne&s;&s;e, and that in &s;uche darkne&s;&s;e, that many be &s;hryned for ho|lye &s;ayntes, who&s;e dedes and lyuynge when thou loke&s;t vpon them, conferryng them to the lyghte of thys olde doctrine y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nowe &s;hyneth agayne out of darkne&s;&s;e, they are abomynable bla&s;phemyes to Gods doctrine, y^e which they haue &s;worne to teach and followe.</P>
<P><HI>He that &s;ayth he is in the lyght, &amp; yet hateth hys brother, is in darkne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>For who &s;o euer feleth hys owne dam|nation vnder the lawe, &amp; beleueth in the mercie that is in Chri&s;t, the &s;ame can not but loue Chri&s;t, and hys neghbour for his &s;ake. And therfore he that hateth hys brother for ony offence done to hym, the
<PB N="xxxix" REF="38"> &s;ame &s;eyth not what Chri&s;t hath done for hym, but is in darkne&s;&s;e &s;tyll.</P>
<P><HI>He that loueth hys brother abydeth in the lyght: and ther is none offe~dyng in hym.</HI></P>
<P>Abydeth in the lyght, that is, conti|nueth in the knowlege of Chri&s;t. And ther is none offendynge in hym, that is: Fyr&s;t he wyll wyllyngly do nothynge, ether in worde or in dede that &s;hall offe~de his bro|ther. For loue wyll not let hym. And &s;eco~+darely, yf ought be done or &s;ayd, that may be well done or &s;ayde, he taketh it to the be&s;t, and is not offended. And thus ye &s;e that the knowlege of Chri&s;t is cau&s;e of al goodne&s;&s;e, and the ignoraunce of Chri&s;t is cau&s;e of all euell. And &s;o the doctrine of them is not fal&s;e, whyche &s;aye, that fayth in Chri&s;te is the roote of all godly vertue, and the cau&s;e of kepynge the com+mau~deme~tes: &amp; where faith is, there to be no &s;ynne, nor da~nacion: and that &s;ay, vn|belefe to be the mother of al vyce, &amp; cau&s;e of breakynge the co~maundementes, and to kepe men in &s;ynne and da~nacion only, as fayth only lou&s;eth vs thence.</P>
<P><HI>And he that hateth hys brother, is in darkene&s;&s;e, and vvalketh in darke|ne&s;&s;e, &amp; knovveth not vuhether he go+</HI>
<PB REF="39"> <HI>eth: for darknes hath blynded his eyes</HI></P>
<P>He that hateth hys brother, is in the ignoraunce of Chri&s;te, and of hys owne &s;ynne, and wythout repentaunce &amp; fayth, that hys &s;ynnes be forgeue~ him in Chri&s;t, and therfore is mercyle&s;&s;e vnto hys bro|ther, whom Chri&s;t commaundeth hym to pytie and loue. And in that ignoraunce he walketh: that is, worketh euell, and loueth the thynges of the world, and &s;eketh in the~ the lu&s;tes of the fle&s;h, whych are the quen|chynge of the &s;prete and death of the &s;oule and for loue of them hateth hys brother. And thys ignoraunce of Chri&s;te, whyche is vnbelefe, is cau&s;e of all the wyckedne&s;&s;e that we do vnto our brethren.</P>
<P><HI>I vvryte vnto you lytle chyldren that your &s;ynnes are forgeuen you for hys names &s;ake. I vvryte vnto you fa|thers, that ye knovv hym that vvas fro~ the begynnynge. I vvryte vnto you yonge men, hovv that ye haue ouer|come the vvycked.</HI></P>
<P>I wryte vnto you that are yonge in the fayth and yet weake, and therfore fall now and than, how that youre &s;ynnes are forgeuen you, as &s;oone as ye repent and re+concyle youre &s;elues vnto youre brethren, whom ye haue offe~ded, eue~ for hys names
<PB N="xl" REF="39"> &s;ake only, and not for our owne dedes, whe+ther afore or after, or for ony other mans dedes or &s;ati&s;faccion, &s;aue for hys only.</P>
<P>I wryte vnto you that are fathers in the doctrine of God, to teach other, how that ye knowe hym that was from the be|gynnyng, and is no newe thynge, though he newly receaued oure nature. And tho|rowe knowlege of hym (whych is the only lyght and the dore vnto the knowlege of God) ye are become fathers in the &s;crip|tures, or els ye had neuer vnder&s;tande it, though ye had &s;tudyed neuer &s;o muche, as it appeareth by the indurate Iewes, and al+&s;o by oure new phari&s;es, whyche per&s;ecute the &s;cripture and the true &s;ence therof, be|cau&s;e they be drowned in the ignoraunce of Chri&s;t, as theyr dedes and contrarye ly+uynge well te&s;tifye.</P>
<P>I wryte vnto you yonge men that are &s;tronge in &s;ufferyng per&s;ecucions, &amp; fyght for youre profe&s;&s;ion, not wyth the &s;weard, but with &s;ufferyng, how that ye haue ouer+come that wycked, whyche poy&s;onned the worlde at the begynnyng, and yet worketh in the chyldren of darkne&s;&s;e and vnbelefe: and that in beleuynge the worde of truth, as it followeth anone after.</P>
<P><HI>I vvryte vnto you yonge chyldre~</HI>
<PB REF="40"> <HI>hovv that ye knovve the father. I vvryte vnto you fathers hovv that ye knovve hym that vvas from the be|gynnynge. I vvryte vnto you yonge men that ye be &s;tronge, and the vvord of God dvvelleth in you, and that ye haue ouercome the vvycked.</HI></P>
<P>I wryte to you yonge chyldren home that ye knowe the father, whome ye loue thorowe knowlege of the &s;onne, or els ye had neuer knowen hym as a father, but as a iudge &amp; a tyrau~t, and had hated him. I wryte vnto you fathers as before, how ye are fathers of al truth in knowyng the &s;onne, or els ye hadde euer continued in darkne&s;&s;e remedyle&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>I wryte vnto you yonge men, howe that ye are &s;tronge, and that your &s;tre~gth is the worde of God whyche dwelleth in your bre&s;tes thorow fayth, in the whyche ye haue ouercome the wycked deuell and all hys pompe, as it followeth in the .v. Chap. thys is the victory that ouercom|meth the worlde, euen our fayth.</P>
<P><HI>Loue not the vvorlde, nor the thin+ges that are in the vvorlde. Yf a man loue the vvorld, the loue of the father is not in hym. For all that is in the vvorld, as the lu&s;t of the fle&s;h, the lu&s;t</HI>
<PB N="xli" REF="40"> <HI>of the eyes, and the pryde of good, are not of the father but are of the vvorld: and the vvorlde vany&s;heth avvaye, &amp; the lu&s;te therof. But he that doeth the vvyll of God, abydeth euer.</HI></P>
<P>The loue of the worlde quencheth the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Auarice or couetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> loue of God. Balaam for the loue of the worlde clo&s;ed hys eyes at the cleare lyghte which he well &s;awe. For loue of the world the old phari&s;es bla&s;phemed the holy goo&s;t and per&s;ecuted the manyfe&s;te truth, which they coulde not improue. For loue of the worlde many are thys daye fallen awaye. And many which &s;tode on the truths &s;yde and defended it a whyle for loue of the worlde, haue gotten them vnto the contra+rye parte, and are be come the Antichri&s;tes of Romes mamelukes, and are waxen the moo&s;te wycked enemyes vnto the truthe and moo&s;t cruell agayn&s;t it. They knowe the truth, but they loue the worlde. And when they e&s;pyed that the truth could not &s;tond with y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> honoures which they &s;ought in the worlde, they hated it deadly &amp; bothe wyttynge and wyllynge per&s;ecuted it, &s;yn+nynge agayn&s;te the holy goo&s;te. Whyche &s;ynne &s;hall not e&s;cape here vnpuny&s;hed, as it &s;hall not be wythout damnation in the
<PB REF="41"> world to come, but &s;hall haue an ende here with confu&s;ion and &s;hame, as had Iudas I&s;carioth the traytoure.</P>
<P>By the lu&s;t of the fle&s;he is vnder&s;tand <NOTE PLACE="marg">The lu&s;t of the fle&s;he &amp; of the eyes.</NOTE> lechery, which maketh a man altogether a&s;wyne: and by the lu&s;t of the eyes, is vn|der&s;tonde couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, whiche is the roote of al euel, and maketh to erre from the fayth. i. Timoth. the la&s;t And then fo|loweth pryde: which .iii. are the world and capitaynes ouer all other vices, and occa+&s;ions of all my&s;chefe.</P>
<P>And yf pryde, couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &amp; lechery be the worlde as &s;aynt Ihon &s;ayeth, then turne youre eyes vnto the &s;piritualty, vn to the Romane by&s;hop, Cardinals, by&s;|&s;hops, abbates, and al other prelates, and &s;e whether &s;uch dignityes be not y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> world, and whether the way to them be not al&s;o the worlde. To get the olde Abbats trea+&s;ure, I thynke it the redye&s;t waye to be y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> newe. Howe fewe come by promotion, ex+cept they bye it, or &s;erue longe for it, or both? To be&s;kylled in warre and in pol|lynge, to mayntayn warre and lu&s;tes: and to be a good amba&s;&s;yadoure, is the only waye to a by&s;&s;hopryke, or to paye truely for it. Se whether pluralyties, vnions, tot quots, and chaungynge the le&s;&s;e benefyce
<PB N="xlii" REF="41"> and by&s;&s;hopryke for the greater (for the contrarye chaunge I trowe was neuer &s;ene) maye be without couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e and pryde. And then yf &s;uche thynges be the worlde, and the worlde not of God, howe is oure &s;piritualtye of God? Yf pryde be &s;ekyng of glorye, and they that &s;eke glorye can not beleue Ihon .v. howe can oure &s;piritualtye beleue in Chri&s;te? Yf coue|tou&s;ne&s;&s;e turne men from the fayth, how are oure &s;piritualtye in the faythe? Yf Chri&s;t (when the deuel proferred hym the kyngdomes of the worlde and the glorye therof) refu&s;ed them as thynges vnpo&s;&s;i|ble to &s;tande wyth hys kyngdome, whiche is not of y^e world: of whome are oure &s;piri+tualtye, which haue receaued them? Yf <NOTE PLACE="marg">Couetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e be a traytoure, and taught Iudas to &s;ell hys Ma&s;ter: howe &s;hulde he not in &s;o longe tyme teache oure &s;piritu|altye the &s;ame crafte? Namelye, when they be of all kynges &s;ecretes, and the am+ba&s;&s;iadours of theyr &s;ecretes, and haue therto thorowt all Chri&s;tendome a &s;ecret coun&s;ell of theyr owne, of the whiche ne|uer laye man was partaker, and wyth the which they turne the ende of all appoyn|tementes vnto theyr owne honoure and profyte. Couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e hath taughte the~
<PB REF="42"> to brynge in damnable &s;ectes accordyng vnto the prophecye of Peter, and to cor|ruppe the &s;cripture with fal&s;e glo&s;es, and to turne euery good ordinaunce that had a vertuous begynnynge vnto a vycyous ende. The promotions of the &s;piritualtye corrupte theyr myndes, wyle they be yet in the &s;hell and vnhatched. For they come thyther but for couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and to a|uoyde the cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;te in the worlde: except the~ that be compelled of theyr fre~+des, or be &s;o &s;ymple that they marke not theyr fal&s;hed beforhande. Who knowyng the truth &amp; louyng it, wold put his heade in y^e Romy&s;h by&s;hops haltre that &s;o mo&s;e+leth mens mouthes, that they ca~ not ope~ them to defende ony truthe at all? When temporall kynges were in theyr hygh au|thorite, then the generall councell repre&s;|&s;ed the enormytes of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;piritualtye. But &s;ence the Antichri&s;te of Rome, cardinals, and by&s;hopes were exlated, and the Em|proure and kynges became theyr &s;eruaun+tes, they wolde &s;uffre nought to be deter|myned in theyr councelles that &s;hulde re+forme the worlde of theyr deuelly&s;h pryde, in&s;aciable couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and &s;tynkynge lecherye, which may &s;tonde with no god|lye vertue. But y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> worlde which is not of
<PB N="xliii" REF="42"> God, &s;hall at the la&s;t haue an ende with co~+fu&s;ion, and they onlye abyde, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> do the wyll of the father: whych wyll is that we beleue in the &s;onne, and loue one another. Let the~ therfore that haue the worldes good (I myght &s;aye the worldes god) v&s;e it, but not loue it, that they maye be ready to be&s;tow it at the plea&s;ure of God. And let them which haue it not, de&s;yre it not: for it blyn+deth the eyes of the &s;eynge. Deu. xvii. But let them put theyr tru&s;t in God, whyche &s;hall not fayle them, nor leaue them de&s;ti+tute of rayment and foode, whych Paule coun&s;elleth to be content wyth. The rych (as Iames &s;ayeth) per&s;ecute the true bele+uers. The ryche wyll neuer &s;tonde forth openly for the worde of God. Yf of .x. thou+&s;ande ther &s;prynge one Nicodemus, it is a greate thynge.</P>
<P><HI>Lytle chyldre~ it is novv the la&s;t hour and as ye haue herde that Anthichri&s;t &s;hulde come, eue~ &s;o novv are many An+tichri&s;tes come already. Vvhereby vve knovv, that it is the la&s;t houre. They vvent out of vs, but vvere none of vs. For had they bene of vs, they had con+tinued vvith vs. But that fortuned that it myghte appeare hovve they vvere not all of vs.</HI></P>
<PB REF="43">
<P> Houre is here taken for tyme. The la&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">What the la&s;t houre is.</NOTE> houre is as much to &s;aye, as the la&s;t tyme. Though the Apo&s;tles myghte not knowe when the la&s;t daye &s;hall be, and how longe the worlde &s;hulde endure, yet thys was &s;hewed them, and vs by them, that Anti|chri&s;t &s;huld fyr&s;t come: and not only come but al&s;o preuayle and be receaued after a worldly maner and raygne ouer all, &amp; &s;et vp a longe co~tinuynge kyngdome with da~+nable &s;ectes &amp; wonderfull kyndes of ypo|cri&s;ye, that is to &s;aye, fal&s;hed cloked vnder a contrarye pretence, as te&s;tifyeth Paule and al&s;o Peter. Which Antichri&s;t bega~ne with the Apo&s;tles, &amp; dyd &s;ow his doctrine <NOTE PLACE="marg">Antichri&s;t.</NOTE> amonge the doctrine of the Apo&s;tles, prea+chynge many thynges as the Apo&s;tles dyd, and addynge euer &s;omwhat of his owne, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the wedes myghte euer grow vp together w^t the corne. Of the which Ihon gathered a &s;ygne, y^t the la&s;t daye drewe nye, though he could not be &s;ure how longe it were therto.</P>
<P>Antichri&s;t is one of the fyr&s;te that &s;eyth the lyghte, and co~meth &amp; preacheth Chri&s;te a whyle and &s;eketh hys glorye in Chri&s;tes Go&s;pell. But whan he e&s;pyeth that ther wyll no glorye cleue vnto that preachyng, then he getteth hym to the co~trarye parte, and profe&s;&s;eth hym&s;elfe an open enemy, yf
<PB N="xliiii" REF="43"> he can not di&s;gy&s;e hym&s;elfe, and hyde y^e an|gle of his poy&s;oned here&s;ye vnder a bayte of true doctrine.</P>
<P>The Apo&s;tles were cleare eyed, and e&s;pyed Antichri&s;t at once, and put hym to flyght, &amp; weded out hys doctrine quyckly. But whan charite wexed colde, and the preachers beganne to &s;eke them&s;elues, and to admytte glorye and honoure of ryches, then Antichri&s;t di&s;gy&s;ed hym&s;elfe after the fa&s;hio~ of a true Apo&s;tle, &amp; preached Chri&s;t wylyly, bryngyng in now thys tradicion, and nowe that, to darken the doctrine of Chri&s;te, and &s;et vp innumerable ceremo|nyes, &s;acramentes and ymagery, geuynge them &s;ygnifycacions at the fyr&s;te: but at the la&s;te the &s;ygnifycacions layed aparte, preached the worke as an holy dede, to iu|&s;tifye and to put awaye &s;ynne, and to &s;aue the &s;oule, that men &s;hulde put theyr tru&s;te in workes and in what &s;o euer was vnto hys glory and profyte, and vnder y^e name of Chri&s;t, mu&s;tered Chri&s;te out of altoge|ther, and became heade of the congregaci|on hym&s;elfe.</P>
<P>The by&s;hop of Rome made a lawe of his owne to rule his church by, and put Chri&s;tes out of the waye. All the by&s;hop|pes &s;weare vnto the by&s;hoppe of Rome,
<PB REF="44"> and all curates vnto the by&s;hoppes, but all for&s;weare Chri&s;t and hys doctrine.</P>
<P>But &s;eynge Ihon toke a &s;ygne of the la&s;t daye, that he &s;awe Antichri&s;t begyn, how nye oughte we to thynke that it is, which after .viii. hu~dreth yeares raygnyng in pro&s;perite, &s;e it decaye agayne, and his fal&s;hed to be di&s;clo&s;ed, &amp; hym to be &s;layne with the &s;prete of the mouth of Chri&s;te, that is, with that olde doctrine that pro|ceded out of Chri&s;tes mouth? For Paule &s;ayeth: when Antichri&s;te is vttered, then commeth the ende.</P>
<P><HI>But ye haue the anoyntynge of that holy, and knovve all thynge. I vvryte not vnto you as thoughe ye knevve not the truthe, but as vnto them that knovve it, and hovve that no lye is of the truthe.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t in the &s;cripture is called y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ho+ly, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The holy.</NOTE> becau&s;e he onely &s;anctifyeth and hal|loweth vs. And he is called Chri&s;t: that is to &s;aye, anoynted, becau&s;e he anoynteth oure &s;oules with the holy goo&s;t, and with all the gyftes of the &s;ame. Ye are not a|noynted <NOTE PLACE="marg">Anoynted.</NOTE> w^t oyle in your bodyes, but with the &s;prete of Chri&s;t in your &s;oules: which &s;prete teacheth you all truth in Chri&s;t, &amp; maketh you to iudge what is a lye, and
<PB N="xlv" REF="44"> what truth, and to knowe Chri&s;te from Antichri&s;t. For excepte he taught your &s;oules within, the pourynge in of wor|des at youre eares were in vayne.</P>
<P>For they mu&s;t al be taught of God. Io. vi. And the thynges of God noman kno|weth, &s;aue the &s;prete of God: and the car|nal man knoweth not the thynges of the &s;prete of God, whan contrary, the &s;piri|tual that is anoynted with the &s;prete, iud+geth all thynges .i. Cor. ii. And therfore we are forbydden to call vs ony may&s;ter vpon earth. Math. xxiii. &s;eynge we haue all one may&s;ter now in heaue~, which on|ly teacheth vs with his &s;prete, though by the admyni&s;tracyon and office of a fayth ful preacher. Which preacher yet can not make his preachynge &s;prynge in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> harte, nomore the~ a &s;ower can make hys corne growe, nor can &s;aye this ma~ &s;hal receaue the worde, and this not: but &s;oweth the worde only, and commytteth y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> growyng to God, who&s;e &s;prete breatheth where he ly&s;teth, and maketh the grounde of who&s;e harte he ly&s;teth frutfull, &amp; cho&s;eth whom he wyl at his own plea&s;ure, and for none other cau&s;e knowen vnto ony man.</P>
<P><HI>Vvho is a lyare, but he that deny|eth that IESVS is CHRISTE?</HI>
<PB REF="45"> <HI>The &s;ame is Antichri&s;t, that denyeth the father and the &s;onne.</HI></P>
<P>For as much as Antichri&s;t &amp; Chri&s;t are two contraries, and the &s;tudye of An|tichri&s;t is to quenche the name of Chri&s;t, how can the Romy&s;h by&s;hop and hys &s;ec|tes be Antichri&s;t, whan they all preache Chri&s;te? How was (&s;aye I agayne to the) Pelagius, who&s;e doctrine the By&s;hop of Rome defendeth in the hyghe&s;t degre An|tichri&s;t, and all other heretikes al&s;o? Vere+ly &s;yr the by&s;hop of Rome &s;eketh hym&s;elfe as al heretykes dyd, and abu&s;eth the name of Chri&s;t, to gather the offerynges, tythes and rentes in hys name, to be&s;towe them vnto hys owne honour and not Chri&s;tes, and to brynge the con&s;cience of the people into captiuite vnder hym, thorowe &s;uper+&s;ticious feare, as thoughe he had &s;uche au+thorite geuen hym of Chri&s;te. And eue|ry &s;yllable that hath a &s;ounde as thoughe it made for hys purpo&s;e, that he expoun|deth fal&s;ly and fle&s;hly, and therwyth iug|leth and bewytcheth he the eares of the peo+ple, and maketh them his owne po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, to beleue what hym ly&s;teth, as though it made no matter to them whether he prea|ched true or fal&s;e, &s;o farre as they beleue &amp; do as he byddeth them. But all the textes
<PB N="xlvi" REF="45"> that &s;hewe hym to do hys duety, he puteth out of the waye, and all the textes therto that &s;et the co~&s;ciences at lyberte in Chri&s;t and proue oure &s;aluacion to be in Chri&s;te onely. And wyth Pelagius he preacheth <NOTE PLACE="marg">The B. of R. and Pe|lagius agre</NOTE> the iu&s;tifienge of workes, whych is the de|nyenge of Chri&s;te. He preacheth a fal&s;e byndynge and lou&s;ynge wyth eare confe&s;|&s;ion, whyche is not in the tru&s;te and co~|fidence of Chri&s;tes bloud&s;heddynge. He preacheth the fal&s;e penaunce of dedes, not to tame the fle&s;he, that we &s;ynne nomore, but to make &s;ati&s;faccion and to redeme y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ynne that is pa&s;t. Whyche what other can it be &s;aue the denyenge of Chri&s;te, whyche is onely redempcion of &s;ynne? He maketh of the workes, of the ceremonies, (whych were wont to be &s;ygnes and reme~+braunce of thynges to be beleued or done) ymage &s;eruice vnto God and his &s;ayntes, whyche are &s;pretes, to purcha&s;e wyth the merytes of the~ what &s;o euer y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> blynde &s;oule ymagineth: whych all are the denyenge of Chri&s;t. For yf thou wylt receaue ony a|noyntynge of grace or mercy ony whence &s;aue of hym, he is no longer Chri&s;t vnto the. Chri&s;t is called Ie&s;us, a &s;aueoure: he is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ie&s;us. Chri&s;tus.</NOTE> called Chri&s;tus, kynge anoynted ouer all men, of whom they mu&s;t holde, &amp; of who&s;e
<PB REF="46"> benefyte mu&s;te all they haue. He is called Emanuel, God is wyth vs. For he onely <NOTE PLACE="marg">Emanuel.</NOTE> maketh God our God, our &s;trength, po|wer, &s;wearde and &s;hylde, and &s;hortlye oure father. He is called Sanctus, that is, holy <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sanctus.</NOTE> that halloweth, &s;anctifyeth, and ble&s;&s;eth all nacions. And the&s;e be hys names for euer, and be no names of ypocri&s;ye, as we &s;ometyme call hym Thomas Curte&s;ye, whych is but a churle: and as we cal them curates, whych care for theyr pary&s;hes as the wolfe for the flocke: and them by&s;hop|pes, that is ouer&s;eers, whyche wyl &s;o ouer &s;e, that they wyll &s;uffre nought to be pro|&s;perous &s;aue theyr owne co~mune welth: and as &s;ome call them&s;elues deade, which <NOTE PLACE="marg">Deade men</NOTE> lyue in all voluptuou&s;ne&s;&s;e: and as &s;ome call them&s;elues poore wythout hauynge <NOTE PLACE="marg">Poore men</NOTE> ony thynge proper, and yet lyue in all a|bundaunce: and as they &s;haue and di&s;gy&s;e them&s;elues wyth garmentes and orname~|tes to &s;ignifye euer a contrary thynge tha~ that they be.</P>
<P>Naye Chri&s;t is no ypocrite or di&s;gy|&s;ed, that playeth a parte in a playe and pre+&s;enteth a per&s;one or &s;tate whych he is not: But is alway that hys name &s;ygnifyeth. He is euer a Saueour and oure anoynted wyth grace, and euer maketh God wyth
<PB N="xlvii" REF="46"> vs, and euer &s;anctifyeth. Nother is ther ony other to &s;aue &amp; &s;anctifye fro~ &s;ynne, or anoynte wyth grace, or to &s;et God at one wyth men. And the&s;e thynges whych hys name &s;ignifye, doth he euer vnto al that haue tru&s;t &amp; confidence in hys bloude, as &s;oone as they repente of the &s;ynne, whyche they de&s;yre to be &s;aued and &s;anctifyed from</P>
<P>Now though the By&s;hop of Rome &amp; hys &s;ectes geue Chri&s;te the&s;e names, yet in that they robbe hym of the effectes, &amp; take the &s;ignificacions of hys names vnto the~|&s;elues, and make of hym but an ypocrite, as they them&s;elues be, they be the right An+tichri&s;tes, and denye both the father &amp; &s;o~ne For they denye the wytne&s;&s;e that the fa|ther bare vnto hys &s;onne and depryue the &s;onne of all the power and glorye that hys father gaue hym.</P>
<P><HI>Vvho &s;o euer denyeth the &s;onne, the &s;ame hath not the father.</HI></P>
<P>For noman knoweth the father but the &s;onne and to whome the &s;onne &s;heweth hym. Math. xi. Moreouer yf thou knowe not the mercy that God hath &s;hewed the in Chri&s;te, thou can&s;t not knowe hym as a father. Thou maye&s;t well be&s;yde Chri&s;t knowe hym as a tyrau~t. And thou maye&s;t knowe hym by hys workes, as the olde
<PB REF="47"> Philo&s;ophers dyd, that ther is a God, but thou can&s;t nother beleue in hys mercy, nor loue hys lawes, (whyche is hys only wor|&s;hip in the &s;prete,) &s;aue by Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Let therfore abyde in you that vvhych ye herde at the begynnynge. Yf that, vvhych ye herde at the be|gynnyng &s;hal remayne in you, tha~ &s;hal ye continue in the &s;onne &amp; in the fa|ther. And thys is the promy&s;e that he hath promy&s;ed vs, euerla&s;tynge lyfe.</HI></P>
<P>Yf we abyde in the olde doctrine, which the Apo&s;tles taught, and herke~ to no newe <NOTE PLACE="marg">The Apo&s;t|les doctrin ought we to abyde by</NOTE> learnynge: than abyde we in the &s;onne (for vpon the &s;onne buylde they vs) and in the father thorowe confidence in the &s;onne, &amp; are heyres of euerla&s;tynge lyfe.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e thynges haue I vvrytte~ vn|to you, becau&s;e of them that deceaue you. And the anoyntynge that ye re|ceaued of hym dvvelleth in you, and ye nede not that ony man teach you, but as that anoyntynge teacheth you of all thynges, and is true, and is no lye. Euen as it hath taught you &s;o a|byde therin.</HI></P>
<P>Whan a true preacher preacheth, the &s;prete entreth the hartes of the electe, and maketh them fele the ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the
<PB N="xlviii" REF="47"> lawe of God, and by the lawe the poy&s;on of their corrupt nature, &amp; the~ce lea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eth the~ thorowe repentaunce, vnto the mercye that is in Chri&s;tes bloud. And as an oynt+ment <NOTE PLACE="marg">Anoyntyng</NOTE> healeth the bodye, euen &s;o the &s;prete, thorow confidence and tru&s;t in Chri&s;tes bloude, healeth the &s;oule, and maketh her loue the law of God, and therfore is it cal+led anoyntyng or oyntme~t, and may wel be &s;ygnifyeth by the oyle of our &s;acrame~t. But outwarde oyle can nother heale the &s;oule nor make her fele, &s;aue as a &s;ygne, or as a bu&s;he at a tauerne dore quencheth a mans thyr&s;te, nother is it a thynge to put tru&s;te in, let vs therfore followe the teachynge of the &s;prete, whych we haue receaued (as Paule &s;ayeth) in earne&s;te to certifye oure hartes &amp; to make vs fele the thynges of God, &amp; not cleue vnto the tra|ditions of men, in the whych is no felyng, but y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> one &s;ayeth &s;o &amp; another thus, confyr+mynge theyr a&s;&s;ercions w^t glorious per&s;ua+&s;ions of wy&s;edome, but not after y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> wy&s;edo~ of God. Whych rea&s;ons another denyeth with contrary &s;ophi&s;mes: &amp; &s;o ry&s;eth braw+lynge about vayne wordes w^tout certente.</P>
<P><HI>And novv lytle chyldren abyde in hym, that vvhan he &s;hal appeare, vve may haue confidence, &amp; not be made</HI>
<PB REF="48"> <HI>a&s;hamed of hym at hys co~mynge.</HI></P>
<P>Here are two thynges to be marked: one yf we cleue vnto Chri&s;t after the doc|trine of the Apo&s;tles and as they buylt vs vpon hym, we &s;halbe bolde and &s;ure of our+&s;elues at hys co~myng, as a &s;eruau~t, which in hys may&s;ters ab&s;ence doeth onely hys may&s;ters commaundementes, can not be confou~ded at hys co~mynge home agayne. But and yf we followe me~s doctrine, how can we be bolde? yee how &s;hulde we not be a&s;hamed wyth our teachers? vnto whom he &s;hall than &s;aye (whan they boa&s;t them|&s;elues, how that they haue bene hys vyca|res) I knowe you not, departe from me ye that haue wrought wyckedne&s;&s;e, and vn|der my name haue brought in damnable &s;ectes, and haue taught youre di&s;ciples to beleue in other thynges than in me. Now the &s;umme of al that the Apo&s;tles taught, and how they buylt vs vpon Chri&s;t, is the new te&s;tament. But the By&s;hop of Ro|mes doctrine is not there founded, but eue~ improued. Confounded therfore &s;hal he be whyche wyttynge and wyllynge &s;hutteth hys eyes at the true lyght, and openeth the~ to beleue hys lyes.</P>
<P>Another thynge is thys, al y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;cripture maketh mencion of the re&s;urreccion and
<PB N="xlix" REF="48"> commynge agayne of Chri&s;t: and that all men, both they that go before, and they that come after &s;hall then receaue theyr rewardes together, and we are commau~|ded to loke euerye houre for that daye. And what is done wyth the &s;oules from the departynge of theyr bodyes vnto that daye, doth the &s;cripture make no mentio~, &s;aue only y^t they re&s;t in the LORD and in theyr fayth. Wherfore he that determy|neth ought of the &s;tate of them that be departed, doth but teach the pre&s;u~ptuou&s;e ymaginations of hys owne brayne: No|ther can hys doctrine be ony artycle of our fayth. What God doth wyth them, is a &s;ecret, layed vp in the trea&s;ury of God. And we ought to be pacient, beynge cer|tifyed of the &s;cripture, that they whiche dye in the fayth, are at re&s;t, and ought no more to &s;earche that &s;ecrete, the~ to &s;earch the houre of the re&s;urrection, which God hath put only in hys owne power. But thys reme~bre, that the whole natur of ma~ is poy&s;oned and infecte with &s;ynne: And the whole lyfe of &s;inne mu&s;t be mortified. Nowe the roote of all &s;ynne and fir&s;t vice that we were infecte wyth, is, that we wold be wy&s;e, where God hath not taught vs, as ye &s;e how Eue wolde haue bene as
<PB REF="49"> God in knowlege of good and bad. And therfore hath God hyd many thynges in hys power, and commaunded that we &s;hal &s;earch none of hys &s;ecretes farther, then he hath openned them in hys &s;crypture, to mortifye thys poy&s;on of all poy&s;ons, y^e de|&s;yre to appeare wyfe, &amp; that we be a&s;hamed to be ignorau~t in ony thynge at all. Wher+fore they that vyolently make articles of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fayth wythout Gods worde are yet alyue in the roote of &s;ynne; and vice, and growe out of the deuel, and not out of Chri&s;te. And theyr articles are of the blyndne&s;&s;e of the deuel, and not of the lyght of Chri&s;te for Chri&s;tes lyghte hath te&s;timonye of the &s;cripture euery where.</P>
<P><HI>Yf ye knovve that he is ryghteous, knovve that all that vvorke ryghteou&s;+ne&s;&s;e are borne of hym.</HI></P>
<P>Oure nature is to worke wyckedne&s;&s;e and &s;o blynde therto, that it ca~ &s;e no righte+ou&s;ne&s;&s;e. And then it followeth that we mu&s;t be borne a newe in Chri&s;t, yer we be or can ether do or yet know what is rygh|teous. And in hym we mu&s;t fyr&s;t be made ryghteous oure &s;elues, yer we can worke ryghteous workes, whyche conclu&s;ion is contrarye vnto the B. of Rome. For he &s;ayeth that the workes do make the man
<PB N="L" REF="49"> ryghteous, and Chri&s;tes doctryne &s;ayeth: that the man maketh the workes ryghte|ous. A righteous ma~ &s;pryngeth out of righ+teous workes &s;ayeth the B. of Romes doc+trine, ryghteous workes &s;prynge oute of a ryghteous man, &amp; a ryghteous ma~ &s;pryn|geth out of Chri&s;t, &s;ayth Chri&s;tes doctrin. The workes make the man ryghteous that before was wycked &s;ayeth the B. of Rome, the workes declare that the man is ryghteous &s;ayeth Chri&s;tes doctrine, but y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> man was fyr&s;t made ryghteous in Chri&s;t and the &s;prite of Chri&s;te taught hym what ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e was, and healed hys harte, and made hym con&s;ent therto, and to haue hys lu&s;te in ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and to worke ryghteou&s;ly.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>&para; The .iii. Chapter.</HEAD>
<P><HI>BEhold vvhat loue the father hath &s;hevved vs, that vve &s;huld be cal|led the &s;onnes of God. For thys cau&s;e the vvorlde knovveth you not, becau&s;e it knovveth not hym. Dearly beloued, novv vve are the &s;ons of god thoughe yet it appeareth not vvhat vve &s;halbe, but vve knovv that vvha~ he &s;hal appeare, vve &s;halbe lyke hym: for vve &s;hall &s;e hym as he is.</HI></P>
<PB REF="50">
<P> The loue of God to vs warde is ex|cedynge grace, in that he hathe made vs hys &s;onnes wythoute all de&s;eruynge of vs, and hath geuen vs hys &s;prete thorowe Chri&s;te, to certifye oure hartes thereof, in that we fele that oure tru&s;te is in God, &amp; that oure &s;oules haue receaued health and power to loue the lawe of God, whiche is a &s;ure te&s;timonye that we are &s;onnes and vnder no damnacion. Nother ought it to di&s;corage vs, or to make vs thynke we were le&s;&s;e beloued, becau&s;e the worlde hateth vs, &amp; per&s;ecuteth vs, for the worlde knoweth vs not. Nother let ony maruayle <NOTE PLACE="marg">The world coulde not knowe Chri&s;te.</NOTE> for the worlde coulde not knowe Chri&s;te hym &s;elfe for all hys gloryous commynge wyth myracles and benefytes in hea|lynge the &s;ycke and ray&s;ynge the deade. But for all the oppre&s;&s;ion of the worlde we are yet &s;ure that we are Goddes &s;on|nes. And in lyke maner though the glorye that we &s;halbe in appeare not: yet we are &s;ure that we &s;halbe lyke hym, when he ap|pearethe. As darkne&s;&s;e vany&s;heth awaye at the co~mynge of the Sonne, &amp; the worlde receaueth a newe fa&s;hion, and it turneth into lyght, and is &s;odenlye made glorious: Euen &s;o when he appeareth, and we &s;hall <NOTE PLACE="marg">The world &s;hal knowe Chri&s;te.</NOTE> &s;e hym as he is, we &s;hall w^t the lyght of him
<PB N="li" REF="50"> be chaunged into the glorye of his ymage and made lyke hym. And then &s;hall the worlde know both hym and vs vnto theyr &s;hame and confu&s;ion.</P>
<P><HI>And all that haue thys hope in hym purge them&s;elues, as he is pure.</HI></P>
<P>The fayth and hope of a chri&s;ten man, are no dead, ydle, or baren thynges: but lyuely, workynge and frutefull. For when the law thorowe con&s;cience of &s;ynne hath &s;layne the &s;oule, then hope and tru&s;te in Chri&s;tes bloude thorowe certifyenge of y^e con&s;cience that y^e damnacion of the lawe is taken awaye, quycken her agayne, and make her to loue the lawe, whiche is the purifyenge of the &s;oule and hyr lyfe, and &s;eruynge the lawe in the inner man. And then the &s;ayde gyftes of hope and faythe &s;tretch them&s;elues forth vnto the mem|bres, dead with natural lu&s;t, con&s;ent, and cu&s;tome to &s;ynne, and quicken them, and purge them, with the whol&s;ome penau~ce of Chri&s;tes doctrine, and make the~ &s;erue the lawe outwarde, and beare whol&s;ome frute of loue, vnto the profyte of theyr neghbours, accordynge to Chri&s;tes loue vnto vs. For yf the &s;prete of Chri&s;te <NOTE PLACE="marg">The faythe of a Chri&s;te~ man.</NOTE> (with the whiche God anoynteth vs, and
<PB REF="51"> maketh vs kynges, and &s;ealeth vs, and maketh vs hys &s;ure and &s;eueral kyngdome whyche he geueth vs in earne&s;t .ii. Cor. i. and wyth the whyche he chaungeth vs in to the ymage of Chri&s;t .ii. Cor. iiii.) dwell in oure &s;oules thorowe faythe, the&s;ame &s;prete can not but quycken the membres al&s;o, and make them frutefull. Roma. viii. Wherfore the faythe and hope of the Ro|mane by&s;hop, whych by theyr owne co~fe&s;|&s;ion maye &s;tande wyth all wyckedne&s;&s;e, and con&s;ent vnto all euel, and be wythout repentaunce towarde Gods lawe (as it appeareth by theyr thre capitall &s;ynnes, touched of Ihon a lytle aboue: pryde, co|uetou&s;ne&s;&s;e and lechery) are no true faythe and hope, but vayne wordes and vy&s;ures only, accordynge to hys other di&s;gy&s;ynge and names of ypocri&s;ye.</P>
<P><HI>All that commytte &s;ynne, co~myt vnrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, for &s;ynne is vnrygh|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>That the Engly&s;he calleth here vn|ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e the Greke calleth <HI>Ano|mia,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">What &s;yn is.</NOTE> vnlawfulne&s;&s;e, or breakynge the law. So that all &s;ynne is breakynge of Gods law, and only the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of Gods lawe is &s;ynne. Nowe all Gods lawes are <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;u~me of Gods lawe.</NOTE> conteyned in the&s;e two poyntes: Beleue
<PB N="lii" REF="51"> in Chri&s;t, and loue thy neghboure. And the&s;e two poyntes are the interpretynge and expou~dyng of all lawes, &s;o that what &s;o euer edifieth in fayth and loue, is to be kepte, as longe as it &s;o doeth. And what &s;o euer hurteth fayth or loue, is to be bro+ken immediatly, though bi&s;hop, kinge, em+perour or an angel co~mau~de it. And all in+differe~t thynges y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nother helpe nor hurte fayth and loue, are whole in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> handes of father, mother, ma&s;ter, lorde and prynce. So that yf they wyl &s;ynne agayn&s;t God, and ouerlade our backes, we maye well runne awaye, yf we can e&s;cape, but not auenge our &s;elues. But and yf they wyll breake into thy con&s;cience, as the by&s;hop of Rome doeth with his domme traditi|ons, &amp; &s;ayeth, to do this &s;aueth thy &s;oule, and to leaue it vndone lo&s;eth thy &s;oule, then defye them as the workes of Anti|chri&s;t, for they make the &s;ynne agayn&s;t y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> faythe that is in Chri&s;tes bloude, by the which only thy &s;oule is &s;aued, &amp; for lacke of that only, damned. And how loue brea+keth y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> lawe, take an en&s;a~ple: It is a good <NOTE PLACE="marg">Loue brea|keth y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> law.</NOTE> lawe that men come to the church on the &s;ondayes to heare Gods worde, and to re+ceaue the &s;acrament of the body &amp; bloud of Chri&s;t, in a remembraunce of his be|nefytes
<PB REF="52"> and &s;o to &s;trengthen thy &s;oule, for to walke in his loue &amp; in the loue of oure neghboure for his &s;ake. &amp;c. yet yf my father mother, or ony other that requyreth my helpe be &s;ycke, I breake that good co~maun+dement, to do my duty to myne elders or my neghboure. And thus all lawes are vn+der loue and geue rowm to loue. And loue interpreteth the~: yee and breaketh them at a tyme, thoughe God hym&s;elfe co~maunde them. For loue is lorde ouer al lawes, and the thynge that Chri&s;t commau~ded aboue all other.</P>
<P><HI>And ye knovv that he appeared to take avvaye oure &s;ynnes, &amp; ther is no &s;ynne in hym.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;te dyed not alone to purcha&s;&s;e pardo~ for our fore&s;ynnes, but al&s;o to &s;laye all &s;ynne, and the lyfe of &s;ynne in our mem+bres. For all we that are bapty&s;ed in the name of Chri&s;te &s;ayeth Paule. Ro. vi. are bapty&s;ed to dye wyth hym concernynge <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ygni|ficacion of oure bap|tyme.</NOTE> &s;ynne, and that as he after hys re&s;urrec|tion dyeth nomore, &s;o we after our bap|tyme &s;huld walke in a new lyfe, and &s;ynne nomore. Our me~bres are crucyfyed wyth hym, in all that pertayneth vnto y^e lyfe of &s;ynne. And yf in Chri&s;t be no &s;yn, the~ how can ther be wylfull &s;ynne in the fayth that
<PB N="liii" REF="52"> is in hym, or in the quycke membres that thorowe fayth grow out of hym? Euery man therfore that hath the true fayth of Chri&s;te, purgeth hym&s;elfe, as he is pure.</P>
<P><HI>All that abyde in hym &s;ynne not. And all that &s;ynne, haue nother &s;ene hym nor knovven hym.</HI></P>
<P>As ther is no &s;ynne in Chri&s;t y^e &s;tock, &s;o can ther be none in the quycke mem|bres that lyue and growe in him by fayth. And they that geue them &s;elues to &s;ynne haue nother &s;ene, knowen, or felt by fayth the mercy that is in hym. Our holy fa|ther then whiche forbyddeth matrimony, and geueth his di&s;ciples lycences wyth his holy ble&s;&s;ynge to kepe whores, and plura|lytyes, vnions, and totquots, to robbe the pary&s;hes, hathe nother &s;ene nor knowen Chri&s;t, nomore haue his di&s;ciples that co~|&s;ent vnto this iniquite. And yf they knowe hym not, they can not truely de&s;crybe him vnto vs. It followeth the~ that theyr prea|chynge is but ypocri&s;y.</P>
<P><HI>Lytle chyldre~ let no ma~ begyle you. He that vvorketh ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, is ryghteous, as he is ryghteous.</HI></P>
<P>Iudge men by theyr dedes. For who &s;o euer hath the lyght of God in hys &s;oule, he wyll let hys lyght &s;hyne, that men &s;hall
<PB REF="53"> &s;e hys good workes. And therfore where ye &s;e not the ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of workes in the membres outwarde, there be &s;ure, is no ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of fayth in the harte in+warde. Let no ma~ mocke you wyth vayne wordes. Who &s;o euer preacheth the Chri&s;t in worde and dede, hym take for Chri&s;tes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;tes vycare.</NOTE> vicare. And them that wolde proue the~|&s;elues hys vycares wyth Sophi&s;trie, and whan it is come to y^e point make a &s;weard only of theyr myghty argumentes, &amp; lyue contrarye to all hys doctrine, and in all theyr preachynges bla&s;pheme and rayle on hys ble&s;&s;ed bloude, take for the vycares of Antichri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>He that &s;ynneth is of the deuel, for the deuell &s;ynneth fro~ the begynnyng But for thys cau&s;e appeared the &s;onne of God. Euen to de&s;troye the vvorkes of the deuel. Al that are borne of God do no &s;ynne, for hys &s;ede abydeth in them, and they can not &s;ynne, becau&s;e they be borne of God. And here by are the &s;o~nes of God knovven, and al|&s;o the &s;onnes of the deuell.</HI></P>
<P>God and the deuell are two contra+ry fathers, two contrary fountaynes, an two contrary cau&s;es: the one of all good+ne&s;&s;e,
<PB N="liiii" REF="53"> the other of all euell. And they that do euell, are borne of the deuell, and fyr&s;te euel by that byrth, yer they be euell. For <NOTE PLACE="marg">The ma~ is fyr&s;t euel.</NOTE> yer a man do euell outwarde of purpo&s;e, he conceaued y^t euell fyr&s;t in his mynde, &amp; con&s;ented vnto it, and &s;o was euel in his harte yer he wrought euell: and yer he co~+ceaued euel in his harte, he was borne of the deuel, and hadde receaued of hys &s;ede and nature: By the rea&s;on of which na|ture, &s;ede and byrth, he worketh euell na|turally, and can do none other. As Chri&s;t &s;ayeth Ioh. viii. Ye are of the father y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> de|uel, and therfore wyl do the lu&s;tes of your father, for it is a co~mune prouerbe: The chylde followeth his fathers nature.</P>
<P>And on the other &s;yde, they that do <NOTE PLACE="marg">The ma~ is fyr&s;t good.</NOTE> good, are fyr&s;t borne of God, and receaue of his nature &amp; &s;ede, and by the rea&s;on of that nature and &s;ede, are fyr&s;te good yer they do good by y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ame rule. And Chri&s;te which is contrarye to the deuell came to de&s;troye the workes of the deuel in vs, and to geue vs a newe byrth, a new nature, and to &s;ow new &s;ede in vs, that we &s;hulde by the rea&s;o~ of that byrth, &s;ynne nomore. For the &s;ede of that byrth, that is to wete the &s;prete of God, and the lyuely &s;ede of his worde, &s;owen in oure hartes, kepeth
<PB REF="54"> oure hartes that we can not con&s;ente to &s;ynne, as the &s;ede of the deuell holdeth the hartes of hys, that they can not con&s;ente to God. Thys is contrarye vnto the B. of Rome in two poyntes: In the one that he &s;ayeth, that oure good dedes make vs fyr&s;t good, and teacheth vs not to beleue in Chri&s;tes bloud, there to be wa&s;hed &amp; made fyr&s;t good. And in another, that he &s;ayeth, God cho&s;eth vs fyr&s;t for our good qualy|ties and properties, and for the enforce|me~te and good endeuoure of our frewyll. What good endeuoure is there where the deuell po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth the whole harte, that it ca~ con&s;ente to no good?</P>
<P>And fynally ther is greate difference betwene the &s;ynne of them that beleue in <NOTE PLACE="marg">The fayth|ful and vn|faythfull &s;ynne dy|uer&s;ly.</NOTE> Chri&s;t vnfaynedly, and the &s;ynne of them that beleue not. For they that beleue, &s;yn not of purpo&s;e &amp; con&s;ente to wyckedne&s;&s;e that it is good, ca&s;tynge and compa&s;&s;yng aforehande wythout grudge of con&s;cience to brynge theyr purpo&s;e aboute. Theyr fathers conceaued my&s;chefe the&s;e eyghte hundreth yeares ago, and the &s;onnes con&s;ente vnto the &s;ame, and haue no po|wer to departe there from. And ther|fore theyr &s;ynne is deuely&s;h and vnder the damnacion of the lawe. But yf he that
<PB N="lxv" REF="54"> beleueth &s;ynne, he doth it not of purpo&s;e, or y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> he con&s;enteth vnto the lyfe of &s;ynne, but of infirmytie, chau~ce, and &s;ome greate temptacion that hath ouercome hym. And therfore hys &s;ynne is veniall and vn|der mercy and grace, thoughe it be mur|ther, thefte, or adultery, and not vnder the damnacion of the lawe. So that hys fa|ther &s;hall &s;courge hym, but not ca&s;te hym awaye or damne hym. Marke the &s;ynne of Saul and of Dauid. Saul euer excu&s;ed hys &s;ynne, and could not but per&s;ecute the wyll of God: And Dauid confe&s;&s;ed hys &s;ynne, wyth greate repentaunce at y^e fyr&s;t warnynge, whe~ &s;oeuer he forgat hym&s;elfe.</P>
<P><HI>All that vvorke not righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e are not of God, nor he that loueth not hys brother. For thys is the tydynges vvhiche ye herde at the begynnynge, that vve &s;huld loue one another, and not be as Cayn, vvhiche vvas of the deuell, and &s;levve his brother. And vvherfore &s;levve he hym? for hys de|des vvere euel, and hys brothers rygh|teous. Maruayl not my brethre~ though the vvorlde hate you.</HI></P>
<P>The lawe of ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is, y^e we loue one another as Chri&s;te loued vs, and he that hath not thys loue lyuynge in hys
<PB REF="55"> harte, and whan the tyme is, bryngeth not forth the frutes therof, the &s;ame is not of God, but of the deuell, who&s;e byrthe and properte of the &s;ame ye &s;e de&s;cribed in Ca|yn, how he re&s;y&s;ted God and per&s;ecuted y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> chyldren of God for theyr belefe and wor+kes therof. And as ye &s;e in Cayn &amp; hys bro+ther Abell, &s;o &s;hall it euer co~tinue betwene the chyldren of God and of the deuell vn|to the worldes ende. Wondre not therfore though the worlde hate you.</P>
<P><HI>Vve knovve that vve are tran&s;la+ted from death to lyfe, becau&s;e vve loue the brethren. He that loueth not hys brother, abydeth in death. Al that hate theyr brethren are murthurers: &amp; ye knovve that no murthurer hath e|ternall lyfe abydynge in hym.</HI></P>
<P>Yf thou loue thy brother in Chri&s;te, &amp; arte ready to do and to &s;uffre for hym as Chri&s;te dyd for the, than thou arte &s;ure thereby that thou arte the &s;onne of God, and heyre of lyfe, and delyuered fro~ death and damnacion. So haue Chri&s;ten men &s;ygnes to knowe whether they be in y^e &s;tate of grace or no. And on the other &s;yde he that hath no power to loue hys brethren maye be &s;ure that he is in the &s;tate of death and damnacion. Another is thys: Let
<PB N="lvi" REF="55"> euery man loke vpon hys harte, &amp; be &s;ure that he whyche hateth hys brother, hathe &s;layne hym before God, and is a murthe|rer, &amp; murtherers &s;hall not obtayne y^e king+dome of God. Gala. v. but are Cayns bre+thren, and the deuels chyldren, and are hey+res of death and euer vnder damnacion. Compare the regiment of the &s;piritualte whych haue had the temporall &s;wearde in theyr handes nowe aboue .viii. hundreth yeares vnto this doctrine of Ihon, &amp; iudge whether they haue led vs truely after the &s;teppes of Chri&s;tes doctrine or no.</P>
<P><HI>Hereby vve are a&s;&s;ured of loue, be+cau&s;e he lefte hys lyfe for vs, and ther+fore oughtevve to leaue oure lyues for our brethren. He the~ that hathe the &s;ub&s;tau~ce of the vvorld, and &s;eyth hys brother haue nede, and &s;hutteth vp his compa&s;&s;on from him, hovv dvvelleth the loue of God in hym?</HI></P>
<P>Yf we felte the loue of Chri&s;tes death, it wolde &s;ure &s;et oure harte on fyre to loue hym agayne, and oure brethren for hys &s;ake, &amp; &s;hulde neuer cea&s;&s;e to &s;laye oure re|&s;y&s;tynge me~bres, vntyl we could not only be well content, that our brethren were in pro&s;perou&s;er &s;tate than we: but al&s;o vntyll we coulde ble&s;&s;e them whan they cur&s;e
<PB REF="56"> vs, and pray for them whe~ they per&s;ecute vs, and to &s;uffre death for them, to te&s;tify the word of theyr &s;oules health vnto them, and wyth loue to ouercomme them, and to wynne them vnto Chri&s;te. Yf nowe euery chri&s;ten man oughte to haue thys rule of hys profe&s;&s;ion before hys eyes to learne it, that he &s;hulde loue hys brother as Chri&s;te dyd hym, to departe wyth hys lyfe for hys brothers en&s;ample, how farre are they of from good &s;colers, that can not fynde in theyr hartes to departe with a lytle of the abundaunce and &s;uperfluyte of theyr temporall goodes, to helpe theyr neghbours nede?</P>
<P><HI>My lytle chyldren let us not loue in vvord nor vvyth the tu~ge, but vvyth dede and of a truthe. For thereby vve knovve that vve be of the truth, and &s;o &s;hal vve certify oure hartes in hys &s;yght</HI></P>
<P>Yf we haue power to worke, then doeth the worke certyfye oure hartes, that oure faythe in Chri&s;te, and loue to God and oure neghboure for hys &s;ake are vnfayned, and that we are true chyldren &amp; no ypocrites. And then are we bolde in oure con&s;cience before God. And thys is it that Peter meaneth .ii. Peter .i. where he byddeth vs myni&s;ter in oure fayth ver|tue,
<PB N="lxvii" REF="56"> Godly lyuynge, and al maner of good workes, and there with to make oure vo|cation and election, or oure callynge and cho&s;ynge &s;ure. For the &s;yght of the worke doth certyfye vs that God hath called vs, and cho&s;en vs vnto grace and mercye.</P>
<P>But and yf when the tyme of wor|kyng is come, we flye and haue no power to worke, then wyll oure con&s;cience ac|cu&s;e vs of &s;ynne and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion wyth in the harte before God, and &s;o for feare of y^e rod we darre not be bolde, but drawe back and &s;tande a loofe.</P>
<P>Let a chylde haue neuer &s;o mercifull a father, yet yf be breake hys fathers com+maundementes, thoughe he be not vnder damnation, yet he is euer chyd and rebu|ked, and nowe and then la&s;&s;hed wyth the rodde: by the rea&s;on wherof he is neuer bolde in hys fathers pre&s;ence. But the chylde that kepeth hys fathers commaun+dementes, is &s;ure of hym&s;elfe, and bolde in hys fathers pre&s;ence, to &s;peake and axe what he wyll. They that myni&s;ter well, get them good degre and greate confide~|ce in the faythe that is in Chri&s;te Ie&s;u, &s;ayeth Paule .i. Timo. iii. He that wor|keth, is bolde before God and man. For hys con&s;cience accu&s;eth hym not wythin,
<PB REF="57"> nother haue we ought to wyte hym w^t all, or to ca&s;te in his teth. And as w^tout &s;yghte of the workes Iames the Apo&s;tle can not &s;e thy fayth Iaco. ii. nomore &s;hal thou euer be &s;ure or bolde before God or man.</P>
<P><HI>But yf oure harte condemne vs, God is greater then oure harte, &amp; kno|vveth all thynge.</HI></P>
<P>Yf our con&s;cience accu&s;e vs of &s;ynne, God is &s;o great and &s;o myghty, that it ca~+not be hydde.</P>
<P><HI>Dearly beloued yf oure hartes con+demne vs not, then vve tru&s;te to god|vvard. And vvhat &s;o euer vve axe, that &s;hall vve receaue of hym becau&s;e vve kepe his co~mau~deme~tes &amp; do the thyn+ges vvhich are plea&s;aunt in his &s;yghte.</HI></P>
<P>Kepynge of the commaundementes maketh a man &s;e hys fayth, and to be bold therin. And fayth when it is wythout con|&s;cience of &s;ynne, goeth into God boldlye, and is &s;tronge and myghtye in prayer to coniure God by all hys mercyes, and ther+with opteyneth what &s;o euer he axeth, of all hys promy&s;es. And the texte &s;ayeth be|cau&s;e we kepe hys commaundeme~tes. Yee verely his co~mau~deme~tes make vs bolde. But the kepynge of mens traditions and domme ceremonyes make not bold before
<PB N="lxviii" REF="57"> God, nor certifye oure con&s;cie~ce that oure fayth is vnfayned. Thou &s;halt not knowe by &s;prynkelyng thy&s;elfe w^t holy water, nor ky&s;&s;yng y^e pax, nor with takynge a&s;&s;hes, or though thou were anoynted with al y^e oyle in teames &s;trete, y^t thy fayth is &s;ure. But and yf thou coulde&s;t fynde in thyne harte to be&s;towe bothe lyfe and goodes vpo~ thy neghboure in a iu&s;t cau&s;e, and ha&s;te pro|ued it: then art thou &s;ure, that thou loue&s;t Chri&s;te, and fele&s;t that thou ha&s;t thy tru&s;t in hys bloude.</P>
<P><HI>And thys is hys commaundement, that vve beleue in his &s;o~ne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and loue one another, as he gaue com|maundement.</HI></P>
<P>Fayth is the fyr&s;t &amp; al&s;o the roote of al <NOTE PLACE="marg">Fayth is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> roote of all commau~de+mentes.</NOTE> co~maundeme~tes. And out of fayth &s;pryn|geth loue, &amp; out of loue, workes. And when I breake ony co~mau~deme~t, I &s;yn agayn&s;t loue. For had I loued, I had not done it. And when I &s;ynne agayn&s;te loue, I &s;ynne agayn&s;te faythe. For had I earne&s;tly and wyth a full tru&s;te remembred the mercye that Chri&s;te hath &s;hewed me, I mu&s;t haue loued Wherfore when we haue broken ony commaundement, ther is none other way to be re&s;tored agayne, then to go through repeutaunce vnto oure fayth agayne, and
<PB REF="58"> axe mercy for Chri&s;tes &s;ake. And a&s;&s;oone as we haue receaued fayth that our &s;ynne is forgeuen, we &s;hall immediatly loue the commaundement agayne, and thorowe loue receaue power to worke.</P>
<P><HI>And he that kepeth his commaun|deme~tes abydeth in hym, &amp; he in hym. And hereby vve knovve that ther dvvelleth in vs of hys &s;pryte, vvhyche he gaue vs.</HI></P>
<P>Thorow the workes we are &s;ure that we continue in Chri&s;te, and Chri&s;t in vs, and that his &s;prite dwelleth in vs. For his &s;pryte it is that kepeth vs in faythe, and thorowe faythe in loue, and thorowe loue in workes.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>&para; The .iiii. Chapter.</HEAD>
<P><HI>DEarly beloued beleue not euery &s;prete, but proue the &s;pretes vvhether they be of God. For many fal&s;e Prophetes are gone out in the vvorlde.</HI></P>
<P>Spretes are taken here for preachers, becau&s;e of the preachynge or doctryne, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Spretes.</NOTE> whyche yf it be good, then is it of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;prete of God: and yf it be euell, of the &s;prete of the deuell. Nowe oughte we not to be|leue euery mans doctrine vnaduy&s;edly,
<PB N="lxix" REF="58"> or condemne ony mans preachynge yer it be herd and &s;ene what it is. But a chri+&s;ten mans parte is to examen, iudge, and trye it, whether it be true or no. Quench not the &s;prete &s;ayeth Paule .i. The&s;&s;alo. the la&s;t, nother de&s;py&s;e prophecyenges, but proue all thynge, and kepe that which is good. De&s;troye not the gyftes of the &s;prete of God, but trye whether they be of God, and good for the edifyenge of his congregacyon: and kepe that whiche is good, and refu&s;e that which is euell. And &s;uffre euery per&s;one that hath ony gyfte of God, to &s;erue god therin, in his degre and e&s;tate, after a chri&s;ten maner and a due ordre. Why &s;hall we trye the doctri|nes? Verely for ther be many fal&s;e Pro|phetes abrode already. We tolde you be|fore that Antichri&s;t &s;hulde come, as oure may&s;ter Chri&s;t tolde vs y^t he &s;hulde come But now I certify you that Antichri&s;tes kyngdome is begon already. And his di&s;|cyples are gone out to preach. Trye ther+fore all doctrine. Wherwith &s;hal we trye <NOTE PLACE="marg">The tryall of all doc|trine.</NOTE> it? With the doctrine of y^e Apo&s;tles, and with the &s;cripture, which is y^e touch &s;tone: yee and becau&s;e ye loue compe~diou&s;nes, ye &s;hall haue a &s;horte rule, to trye them withall.</P>
<PB REF="59">
<P> <HI>Here by knovve ye the &s;prete of God. Euery &s;prete that confe&s;&s;eth that Ie&s;us Chri&s;te is come in the fle&s;he, is of God. And euery &s;prete that confe&s;&s;eth not that Ie&s;us Chri&s;te is come in the fle&s;h, is not of God. And the &s;ame is the &s;prete of Antichri&s;t, of vvhom ye haue herde that he &s;hulde come: And euen novv he is in the vvorlde already.</HI></P>
<P>What &s;oeuer opinion ony membre of Antichri&s;te holdeth, the grounde of all hys doctrine is to de&s;troye this article of our fayth, that Chri&s;t is come in the fle&s;h. For though the moo&s;te parte of all here|tykes confe&s;&s;e that Chri&s;te is come in the fle&s;he after theyr maner, yet they denye that he is come as the &s;cripture te&s;tifyeth, and y^e Apo&s;tles preached hym to be come. The whole &s;tudye of the deuell and all hys membres is, to de&s;troye the hope and tru&s;te that we &s;hulde haue in Chri&s;tes fle&s;he, and in tho&s;e thynges whyche he &s;uf|fred for vs in hys fle&s;he, and in the te&s;ta|ment and promy&s;es of mercy, whyche are made vs in hys fle&s;he. For the &s;cripture te&s;tifyeth, that Chri&s;te hath taken awaye the &s;ynne of the worlde in his fle&s;he, and that at the&s;ame houre that he yelded vp hys &s;prete into the handes of hys fa|ther,
<PB N="lxx" REF="59"> he had full purged and made ful &s;a|ti&s;faccion for all the &s;ynnes of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> worlde. So that all the &s;ynne of the worlde, both before his pa&s;&s;yon and after, mu&s;t be put awaye thorowe repentaunce towarde the law, &amp; fayth and tru&s;t in his bloude, without re&s;pecte of ony other &s;ati&s;faccion, &s;acrifyce or worke. For yf I once &s;ynne, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> lawe rebuketh my co~&s;cyence, and &s;etteth variaunce betwene God and me. And I &s;hall neuer be at peace with God agayn vntyl I haue herde y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> voyce of his mouth, howe that my &s;ynne is forgeuen me for Chri&s;tes bloude &s;ake: And as &s;oone as I beleue that, I am at peace with God. Ro+ma. v. and loue his lawe agayne, &amp; of loue worke.</P>
<P>And that Chri&s;te hath done this &s;er|uyce in his fle&s;h, denye all the membres of Antichri&s;t. And herby thou &s;halt know them. All doctrine that buyldeth y^e vpon <NOTE PLACE="marg">The doctri+ne that is of God.</NOTE> Chri&s;t, to put thy tru&s;t and confidence in his bloude, is of God, and true doctrine And all doctrine that withdraweth thyn hope and tru&s;t from Chri&s;t, is of the de|uell, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The doctri+ne that is of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Deuel.</NOTE> and the doctrine of Antichri&s;te. Ex|amyne the Romy&s;h by&s;hop by this rule, &amp; thou &s;halt fynde that all that he doeth, is to the de&s;truccion of this artycle. He
<PB REF="60"> wre&s;teth all the &s;criptures, and &s;etteth the~ cleane agayn&s;te the woll, to de&s;troye thys artycle. He myny&s;treth the very &s;acramen+tes of Chri&s;t vnto the de&s;truction of thys artycle: and &s;o doth he all other ceremo|nyes, and his ab&s;olucion, penaunce, pur|gatory, di&s;pen&s;ations, vowes, with al di&s;|gy&s;ynges. The Romy&s;h bi&s;hop preacheth that <NOTE PLACE="marg">The B. of Romes doc+trine of Chri&s;te.</NOTE> Chri&s;te is come to do awaye &s;ynnes, yet not in the fle&s;h, but in water, &s;alt, oyle candels, a&s;hes, freres cotes, and monkes coules, and in the vowes of them that for|&s;weare matrimony, to kepe whores, and &s;weare beggerye, to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e all the trea|&s;ure, ryches, wealth and plea&s;ures of the worlde, and haue vowed obedience, to di&s;|obey with authorite all the lawes, both of God and man. For in the&s;e ypocrity&s;h &amp; fal&s;e &s;acrifices, teacheth he vs to tru&s;t for the forgeuene&s;&s;e of &s;ynnes, &amp; not in Chri|&s;tes fle&s;h.</P>
<P><HI>Ye are of God lytle chyldren, and haue ouercomme them. For greater is he that is in you, then he that is in the vvorlde.</HI></P>
<P>He that dwelleth in you, and worketh in you thorowe faythe, is greater then he which dwelleth &amp; worketh in them thorow vnbelefe. And in hys &s;trengthe, ye abyde
<PB N="lxxi" REF="60"> by youre profe&s;&s;ion, and confe&s;&s;e youre LORDE Ie&s;us, how that he is come in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fle&s;h and hath purged the &s;ynne of all that beleue in his fle&s;h. And thorow that fayth ye ouercomme them in the verye tormen|tes of death. So that nother theyr iuglyn+ges, nother theyr plea&s;ures, nother theyr threatenynges, or tormentes, or the verye death, wherewyth they &s;laye your bodyes, can preuayle agayn&s;t you.</P>
<P><HI>They be of the vvorlde, and ther+fore they &s;peake of the vvorlde, and the vvorlde attendeth vnto them. Vve be of God, and he that knovveth God, heareth vs. And he that is not of God, heareth vs not. And hereby vve knovve the &s;prete of truth &amp; the &s;pret of erroure.</HI></P>
<P>Ther be and euer &s;halbe two genera|cions <NOTE PLACE="marg">Two gene|racions in the worlde.</NOTE> in the worlde. The one of the deuell, whyche naturally herken vnto the fal&s;e A+po&s;tles of the deuell, becau&s;e they &s;peake &s;o agreable vnto theyr naturall complexion. And another of God, whych herken vnto true Apo&s;tles of God, and con&s;ente vnto theyr doctrine. And thys is a &s;ure rule to iudge &s;pretes by, that we iudge the~ to haue the &s;prete of truth, whych herken vnto the true doctrine of Chri&s;tes Apo&s;tles: &amp; the~
<PB REF="61"> to haue the &s;prete of erroure, which herken vnto worldly and deuely&s;h doctrine, abhor+rynge the preachynge of the Apo&s;tles. And loke whether the Romy&s;h By&s;hops doctri+ne be worldly or no, yf pryde and couetou&s;+ne&s;&s;e be worldly, yee and lechery to. For <NOTE PLACE="marg">The B. of R. doctrine is worldly.</NOTE> what other is al hys doctrine, than of be|nefyces, promocions, dignities, by&s;hopry|kes, cardinal&s;hips, vicareges, par&s;onages, prebendes, chaunge of by&s;hoprykes, and re&s;ignynge of benefyces, of vnions, plura|lities, totquots, and that whych commeth once into theyr handes, maye not out a|gayne: yee and of whores and concubynes and of captiuynge of con&s;ciences for coue+tou&s;ne&s;&s;e: and all that herken to that doc|trine abhorre the Apo&s;tles, and per&s;ecute it and them that preache the it.</P>
<P><HI>Dearly beloued let vs loue one an other, for loue is of God. And all that loue are borne of God, and knovv God And he that loueth not, knovveth not God: for God is loue.</HI></P>
<P>Ihon &s;yngeth hys olde &s;onge agayne, and teacheth an vnfallible and &s;ure toke~ whych we maye &s;e and fele at oure fyngers ende, and therby be out of all doute, that our fayth is vnfayned, and that we know God and be borne of God, and that we
<PB N="lxxii" REF="61"> herken vnto the doctrine of the Apo&s;tles purely and godly, &amp; not of ony curio&s;ite, to &s;eke glory and honoure therin to our &s;el+ues, &amp; to make a cloke therof to couer oure couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and fylthy lu&s;tes. Whyche token is, yf we loue one another. For the loue of a ma~s neghboure vnfaynedly &s;prin+geth out of the vnfayned knowlege of god in Chri&s;tes bloud. By y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> whych knowlege we be borne of God, and loue God, &amp; our neghbours for hys &s;ake. And &s;o he that lo+ueth hys neghboure vnfaynedly, is &s;ure of hym&s;elfe that he knoweth God, and is of God vnfaynedly. And contrary wy&s;e, he y^t loueth not, knoweth not God. For God <NOTE PLACE="marg">The fun|tayne of loue.</NOTE> in Chri&s;tes bloude is &s;uche a loue, that yf a ma~ &s;awe it, it were impo&s;&s;ible y^t he &s;huld not breake out into y^e loue of God againe and of hys neghboure for hys &s;ake.</P>
<P><HI>Here in appeared the loue of God vnto vs vvarde, becau&s;e God &s;ent hys onely &s;onne in the vvorlde, that vve &s;hulde lyue thorovve hym. Here in is loue: not that vve loued God, but that he loued vs, and &s;ente hys &s;onne, a &s;a|ti&s;faccion for our &s;ynnes.</HI></P>
<P>Yf a man had once felte wythin in hys con&s;cience the fearce wrath of God towarde &s;ynners, and the terrible &amp; moo&s;t
<PB REF="62"> cruell damnacion that the lawe threate|neth, and than behelde wyth the eyes of a &s;tronge fayth, the mercy, fauoure &amp; grace the takynge awaye of the damnacion of the law, and re&s;torynge agayne of lyfe fre+ly offred vs in Chri&s;tes bloude: he &s;hulde perceaue loue, and &s;o muche the more, that it was &s;hewed vs, whan we were &s;ynners &amp; enemyes to God. Rom. v. and that wyth out al de&s;cruynges, wythout our endeuou+rynge, enforcynge and preparynge our &s;el+ues, and wythout all good motions, qua|lities, and properties of our fre wyl. But whan oure hartes were as deade vnto all good workynge, as the membres of hym, who&s;e &s;oule is departed, whyche thynge to proue, and to &s;toppe y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> bla&s;phemous mou|thes of all oure aduer&s;aries, I wyll of in|numerable textes rehear&s;e one in the be|gynnynge of the &s;econde chapter to the E|phe&s;ians, where Paule &s;ayeth thus: Ye were deade in tre&s;pa&s;&s;e and &s;ynne, in the whych ye walked accordynge to the cour&s;e of the worlde, and after the gouernoure y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ruleth in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ayre, the &s;prete that worketh in the chyldren of vnbelefe, amonge whyche we al&s;o hadde oure conuer&s;acion in tyme pa&s;t, in the lu&s;tes of oure fle&s;he, and ful|fylled the lu&s;tes of the fle&s;h &amp; of the mynde
<PB N="lxxiii" REF="62"> &s;o that the fle&s;he and the mynde were a|greed both to &s;ynne, and the mynde con|&s;ented as well as the fle&s;he) and were by nature the chyldren of wrath, as well as other. But God beynge ryche in mer|cy, thorowe the great loue where wyth he loued vs, euen whan we were deade in &s;ynne, hath quyckened vs wyth Chri&s;t: for by grace are ye &s;aued: and wyth hym hath ray&s;ed vs vp, and with hym hath made vs &s;ytte in heauenlye thynges thorowe Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, for to &s;hewe in tyme to come the exceadynge ryches of hys grace, in kynd|ne&s;&s;e to vs warde in Ie&s;us Chri&s;te. For by grace are ye &s;aued thorowe fayth, and that not of youre &s;elues: for it is the gyft of God, and commeth not of workes, le&s;t ony man &s;hulde boa&s;te hym&s;elfe. But we are hys workeman&s;hip, created in Chri&s;te Ie&s;u vnto good workes, vnto y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> whyche God ordened vs before that we &s;huld walke in them. The texte is playne. We were &s;tone deade and wythout lyfe or power to do or co~&s;ent to good. The whole nature of vs was captiue vnder the deuel, and led at hys wyll. And we were as wyc|ked as the deuell now is, (Excepte that be now &s;ynneth agayn&s;t the holy goo&s;t,) and we con&s;ented vnto &s;ynne, wyth &s;oule and
<PB REF="63"> body, and hated the lawe of God. But god of hys grace only quyckened vs in Chri&s;t, and ray&s;ed vs out of that death, and made vs &s;yt wyth Chri&s;t in heauenly thynges. That is: he &s;et our hartes at re&s;te &amp; made vs &s;yt fa&s;t in the lyfe of Chri&s;tes doctrine and vnmoueable from the loue of Chri&s;te. And fynally, we are in thys oure &s;econde byrth Gods workeman&s;hip and creacion in Chri&s;t: &s;o that as he whyche is yet vn|made, hath no lyfe nor power to worke, no more had we tyll we were made agayne in Chri&s;t. The preachyng of mercy in Chri&s;t quyckened our hartes thorow fayth wrou+ght by y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;prete of Chri&s;t, whych God pou|red into our hartes, yer we wy&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Dearly beloued yf God &s;o loued vs, then ought vve to loue one another.</HI></P>
<P>Yf we felte the loue of God in Chri|&s;tes bloude, we could not but loue agayne, not only God and Chri&s;t, but al&s;o al that are bought wyth Chri&s;tes bloude. Yf we loue God for y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> plea&s;ures that we receaue, than loue we oure &s;elues. But yf we loue hym to do hym plea&s;ure agayne: that can we none otherwy&s;e do, than in louynge <NOTE PLACE="marg">The v&s;e of loue.</NOTE> oure neghboures for hys &s;ake: the~ that are good, to co~tinue them in theyr goodnes, &amp; them that are euell, to drawe the~ to good.
<PB N="lxxiiii" REF="63"> Loue is the in&s;trument wherewyth fayth maketh vs Gods &s;o~nes, and fa&s;hioneth vs lyke the ymage of God, and certifyeth vs that we &s;o are. And therfore co~maundeth Chri&s;te Mathew the fyfte. Loue your ene+myes, ble&s;&s;e them that cur&s;e you, praye for them that per&s;ecute you, that ye maye be the &s;onnes of your heauenly father, whych maketh hys Sonne ry&s;e ouer good and badde, and &s;endeth hys rayne vpon iu&s;te and vniu&s;teryee whyche made the Sonne of hys mercy &s;hyne vpon vs, and &s;ente the rayne of the bloude of hys deare and onely childe vpon our &s;oules&punc; to quycken vs, and to make vs &s;e loue to loue agayne.</P>
<P><HI>No man hath at ony tyme &s;ene God. Yf vve loue one another, God dvvelleth in vs, and hys loue is per|fecte in vs.</HI></P>
<P>Though we can not &s;e God, yet yf we <NOTE PLACE="marg">Noma~ hath &s;ene God.</NOTE> loue one another, we be &s;ure that he aby|deth in vs, and that hys loue is perfecte in vs: that is, that we loue hym vnfaynedly. For to loue God truely, and to geue hym thankes, is only to loue oure negh|boure for hys &s;ake. For vpon hys per&s;one thou can&s;t be&s;towe no benefyte. And for &s;o much as we neuer &s;awe God, let vs make no ymage of hym, nor do hym ony ymage
<PB REF="64"> &s;eruice after oure owne imagynatio~, but let vs go to the &s;cripture that hathe &s;ene <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;crip-hath &s;ene God.</NOTE> him, and there were what fa&s;hion he is of, &amp; what &s;eruice he wyll be &s;erued with. Blynd rea&s;o~ &s;ayeth: god is a kerued po&s;t and wyl be &s;erued with a Candle. But &s;cripture &s;ayeth: God is loue, and wyl be &s;erued with loue. Yf thou loue thy negh|boure, then art thou y^e ymage of God thy &s;elfe, and he dwelleth in the lyuyng tem|ple of thyne harte. And thy louynge of thy neghboure for hys &s;ake, is hys &s;eruice and wor&s;hyp in the &s;pirite, and a candle that burneth before hym in thyne harte, &amp; ca|&s;teth out the lyght of good workes before the worlde, and draweth all to God, and maketh hys enemyes leaue theyr euell, &amp; come and wor&s;hyp hym al&s;o.</P>
<P><HI>Here by vve knovv that vve abyde in hym, and he in vs. For he hath ge|uen vs of hys &s;prite.</HI></P>
<P>He that hathe not Chri&s;tes &s;pryte, the &s;ame is none of hys. Rom. viii. Yf we haue the &s;prite of God, then are we &s;ure. But howe &s;hall we knowe whether we haue the &s;prite? Axe Ihon and he wyl &s;aye yf we loue one another.</P>
<P><HI>And vve haue &s;ene and do te&s;tifye that the father hath &s;ent hys &s;o~ne, the</HI>
<PB N="lxv" REF="64"> <HI>&s;aueoure of the vvorlde. Vvho &s;o euer confe&s;&s;eth that Ie&s;us is the &s;onne of God, in hym dvvelleth God, and he in God. And vve haue knovve~ &amp; beleued the loue that God hath to vs.</HI></P>
<P>Fyr&s;t the Apo&s;tles taught no fables, but that they &s;awe and receaued of God, by the wytne&s;&s;e of hys &s;prite. Seco~daryly Ihon a&s;cendeth vp one &s;tep hyer, fro~ loue to fayth, and &s;ayeth: He that beleueth that Ie&s;us is Gods &s;onne, hath God in hym. And I doubte not but the B. of Rome and hys defenders wyll an&s;were Ihon, and &s;aye: The~ the deuel hath God in hym, and is al&s;o in God. For other fayth, the~ &s;uche as y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deuel hath, felte they neuer ony. But Ihon preuenteth the~ &s;ayeng: we haue kno+wen and beleued the loue that God hath to vs. That is, we beleue not only wyth &s;tory fayth, as men beleue olde cronicles, but we beleue the loue and mercye that God &s;hewed vs, and put oure tru&s;t and confidence ther in: (and &s;o taketh &s;criptur belefe) We beleue that Ie&s;us is the &s;onne of God, became man, and was &s;layne for oure &s;ynnes, whiche is a token of greate loue. And that loue beleue we, and tru&s;te therto. Where Paule &s;ayeth .i. Corint. xii No ma~ can cal Ie&s;us LORDE (except the
<PB REF="65"> holy goo&s;t haue taught hym,) but thorow the holy goo&s;t. He meaneth not wyth the mouth only, but in the harte w^t vnfayned fayth, puttynge his hope and tru&s;t in the lord&s;hip which he hath ouer&s;ynne, da~nacio~ hel and death. For &s;o coulde no ma~ cal Ie|&s;us LORDE, excepte the holy goo&s;te had taught hym, as Chri&s;te &s;ayeth Math. xvi. fle&s;h and bloude &s;hewed the not that.</P>
<P>But yet how &s;hal I &s;e my fayth? I mu&s;t come downe to loue agayne, and thence to the workes of loue, yer I can &s;e my faythe. Not alwaye, but &s;omtyme y^u &s;halt fele thy fayth without y^e outward dede, as in great aduer&s;ite &amp; per&s;ecution, when the deuel a&s;|&s;aulteth the with de&s;peration, &amp; layeth thy &s;ynnes before the, &amp; wolde beare the in ha~de that God had ca&s;t the away, &amp; left the &s;uc+currele&s;&s;e, for thy &s;ynnes &s;ake, then co~meth fayth forth w^t hyr &s;hyld, and turneth backe agayn the dartes of the deuel, and an&s;we|reth: Nay, for Ie&s;us is y^e &s;onne of God: yee and my very God, &amp; my very LORD, and hath taken awaye my &s;ynnes &amp; all damna+cio~. And this trouble &amp; aduer&s;itie which is come vpo~ me, by &s;ettyng on of the &amp; of thy lymmes, is only to make me fele the mercy of my father &amp; his power, and helpe with|in in my &s;oule, and to &s;lay the re&s;t of the
<PB N="lxvi" REF="65"> poy&s;en which remayneth in the fle&s;he.</P>
<P><HI>God is loue, and he that abydeth in loue, abydeth in God, and God in hym.</HI></P>
<P>Thys haue we herde aboue, and it is ea&s;y to be vnder&s;tonde.</P>
<P><HI>Herefore is loue perfecte wyth us, that we &s;hulde haue confidence in the daye of iudgmente.</HI></P>
<P>How &s;o euer thys texte dothe &s;ounde, thys me thynketh &s;hulde be the meanynge: that we &s;hulde prouoke eche other to loue, and euer haue tho&s;e en&s;amples of edy|fyenge before oure eyes that &s;hulde moo&s;te moue vs to loue. For perfecte loue &s;er|ueth to make a man bold, becau&s;e it is the kepynge of the commaundementes. And therfore he that is perfecte in loue, when he &s;eyth hym&s;elfe (yet in thys worlde) to be vnto his neghboure as God is vnto him, &amp; to be lyke his heaue~ly father in all en&s;am|ples of kyndne&s;&s;e, is bolde in the pre&s;ence of God: yee though he come to iudge &s;yn+ners. When on the other &s;yde, they that co~+tinue euer in theyr wyckedne&s;&s;e, &amp; growe not in loue, fall often. And therfore theyr con&s;cience euer accu&s;eth them, and put|teth them in feare, by the rea&s;on of the fre&s;he memory of the offence, that they
<PB REF="66"> can not atto~ce be bold, though they haue neuer &s;o great promy&s;e of mercy.</P>
<P><HI>Ther is no feare in loue, but perfect loue ca&s;teth oute feare: For feare hath paynfulne&s;&s;e. He therfore that feareth, is not perfecte in loue.</HI></P>
<P>Loue is not paynfull, but maketh all thynge ea&s;y &amp; plea&s;aunt. Feare of puny&s;h|ment for the tre&s;pa&s;&s;e newly commytted, is paynfull: Therfore where loue is per|fecte, there is no &s;uch feare. Loue is y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ful|fyllynge <NOTE PLACE="marg">Loue.</NOTE> of the commaundementes, and therfore where loue is perfecte, there is no &s;ynne. And where the con&s;cience doth not accu&s;e of &s;ynne, there is fayth bolde to go in to God, and to &s;tande before him, and loke hym in the face, and to coniure hym by all his mercyes, and to axe the pe+titions of his de&s;yre. Lacke of loue is the breakynge of the commaundementes, &amp; cau&s;e of &s;ynne. And where the co~&s;cience accu&s;eth of &s;ynne, there fayth is aba&s;hed, di&s;made, a&s;hamed, and afrayed to go in, for fear of rebuke. Loue therfore &s;erueth to make a man bolde in the daye of iud|gement, and in all temptacions.</P>
<P>Ihon &s;peaketh not generally of all <NOTE PLACE="marg">Feare.</NOTE> maner feare, but of that only, whiche the con&s;cience of &s;ynne putteth a man in.
<PB N="lxvii" REF="66"> For dyuer&s;e feares ther be that accompa+ny loue, and growe as &s;he doeth. The more a woman loueth hir chylde, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> more &s;he careth for it, and feareth le&s;t oughte &s;hulde chaunce vnto it amy&s;&s;e. Euen &s;o the more we loue our brethren, the more we care for them, and feare le&s;t ony tem+tacion &s;hulde trouble them. As Paule &s;ayeth .ii. Corin. xi Who is &s;ycke, and I am not &s;ycke? who is offended or hurte, &amp; myne harte burneth not? How cared he for Timothe, for Titus, and for all that were weake, and for the Corinthia~s, Ga+lathians, and for all congregacions? and how dilige~tly wrote he to them in his ab+&s;ence? &amp; the more we loue God, the more diligent and circu~&s;pecte are we, that we offende hym not. And tel me I praye the, who &s;o euer hath had experience, what a payne and grefe, yee and what a fretting corro&s;efe is it vnto the harte of a true lo|uer of God, to heare the poy&s;on genera|cion of vypers, the pe&s;tilente &s;ecte of y|pocriti&s;h phari&s;es, wyttyngly &amp; wyllyng|ly to bla&s;pheme and rayle on the ope~ and manyfe&s;t truth of the holy goo&s;t?</P>
<P>Yf ye wyll &s;e how bolde loue is, go to Mo&s;es, Exodi. the .xxxii. Chapter, and Numeri the .xiiii. Chapter, and there be|holde
<PB REF="67"> how he coniureth God, and among all &s;ayeth: Forgeue this people, or put me out of the boke that thou ha&s;t wrytten. As who &s;hulde &s;aye, they be thy people, &amp; thou commaunde&s;t me to loue them, and for thy &s;ake I loue them, and teach them, and care for them as a mother that had borne them, and loue them no le&s;&s;e then my &s;elfe. Wherfore yf thou loue me as thou promy&s;e&s;t me, then &s;aue them with me: or yf not, then ca&s;t me awaye wyth them, and let me haue &s;uche parte as they take. And Paule &s;ayd as muche Roma. ix. Loke vpon worldly loue, and &s;e what pagientes &s;he playeth now &amp; then, and how dronken a thynge it is: &amp; be &s;ure where the loue of God is perfect, &s;he wyl not onely go betwene bodely death and hyr louer, but al&s;o betwene hym and hell. Yf a man wolde take of this, that a man myght be &s;o perfyte in this lyfe, that he might not be perfyter, it wold not follow. For though the &s;prete at a tyme get the vpperhande of the fle&s;he, and wynneth her &s;elfe &s;o to God, that &s;he can not tell whether &s;he be in the body or no: yet the fle&s;he wyll pull her downe agayne, &amp; not let her continue, and now &amp; then plucke of &s;ome of hyr fethers, for mountynge &s;o
<PB N="lxviii" REF="67"> hye agayn e. For Mo&s;es fell wel ynoughe thorowe vnbelefe after that feruentne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>we loue hym, becau&s;e he loued vs fyr&s;te.</HI></P>
<P>We de&s;erue not the loue of God fyr&s;te, but he de&s;erueth oure loue, and loueth vs fyr&s;te, to wynne vs, and to make vs hys frendes of hys enemyes. And as &s;oone as we beleue hys loue, we loue agayne. And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Fayth is y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> mother of loue.</NOTE> &s;o faythe is mother of all loue. And as greate as my faythe is, &s;o greate is loue, though fayth ca~ not be perfectly &s;ene, but thorowe the workes of loue, and in y^e fyre of temptacion.</P>
<P><HI>Yf a man &s;aye, I loue God, and ha|teth his brother: he is a lyar. For howe can he that loueth not hys brother whome he &s;eyth, loue God whom he &s;eyth not? And thys commaundement haue we of hym: that he which loueth God, loue his brother al&s;o.</HI></P>
<P>To loue a mans neghboure in God is a &s;ure rule to knowe that we loue God: and not to loue hym is a &s;ure token that we loue not God: and to hate oure negh|boure is to hate God. For to loue God is to do hys co~maundementes, as Chri&s;te &s;ayeth Ioh. xv. Ye are my louers yf ye do
<PB REF="68"> tho&s;e thynge<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">hich I haue commaunded you: and the commaundement is to loue oure neghboures: then he that loueth not hys neghboure, loueth not God. And lyke+wy&s;e to hate the commaundement, is to hate God that commaunded it: and the commaundemente is to loue oure negh|boures: he then that hateth hys brother, whome oure God byddeth hym loue, ha|teth God.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>&para; The .v. Chapter.</HEAD>
<P><HI>AL that beleue that Ie&s;us is Chri&s;t are borne of God. And all that loue hym whiche begat, loue hym that is begotten of hym. In thys we knowe that we loue God, &amp; kepe hys commaundementes. For this is the loue of God, that we kepe hys co~|maundementes.</HI></P>
<P>Thys is a &s;ure conclu&s;ion that we be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Fayth ma|keth vs Gods &s;ons</NOTE> borne of God thorowe fayth, &amp; that faythe maketh vs Gods &s;onnes, in that we beleue that Ie&s;us is Chri&s;te, as the fyr&s;te chapter of Ihon al&s;o te&s;tifyeth: He gane the~ power to be the &s;onnes of God, in that they bele|ued in hys name.</P>
<P>What it is to beleue that Ie&s;us is <NOTE PLACE="marg">What is to beleue that Ie&s;us is Chri&s;te.</NOTE> Chri&s;t, may be vnder&s;tande by that which is aboue rehear&s;ed. It is a farre other
<PB N="lxix" REF="68"> thynge than as y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deuell bel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ed it agayn&s;t hys wyll, and to hys greate payne, or as they beleue it, whych to fulfyl theyr &s;ynne, enuye the glorye of Chri&s;t, and per&s;ecute hys Go&s;pell, forbyddynge to preache it, or to reade in it. To beleue that Ie&s;us is Chri&s;te, is to beleue in Chri&s;te: that is, to beleue earne&s;tly, and to put al thy tru&s;t therin, and to laye the pryce of thy &s;oule thervpon, that the &s;onne of Maria, whom the aungell commaunded to be called Ie|&s;us, becau&s;e he &s;hulde &s;aue his people from theyr &s;ynnes, is that Chri&s;te, that Me&s;&s;i|as, and that anoynted. whych God promy+&s;ed the fathers &s;hulde come and ble&s;&s;e all nacions, and anoynte them wyth the oyle of hys &s;prete, and wyth mercy and grace, and to delyuer them from death of theyr &s;oules, whych is the con&s;entyng to &s;ynne, and to make them alyue wyth con&s;entyng vnto the lawe of God, and in certifyeuge them that they be the &s;onnes of God. And to put the whole tru&s;te in all that he &s;uffred in hys fle&s;he for thy &s;ake, and in al promy&s;es of mercy that are in hym, and that thou be fully per&s;uaded y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ther is none other name vnder heauen geuen vnto me~, to be &s;aued from &s;ynne by, or to purcha&s;&s;e forgeuene&s;&s;e of y^e lee&s;t &s;ynne that euer was
<PB REF="69"> co~mytted or euer &s;halbe in thys worlde.</P>
<P>Another conclu&s;ion is thys: Who &s;o euer loueth God, loueth all that beleue in God. For al that loue hym that begetteth, loue them that are begotten of hym: and all y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> beleue in God, are begotten of God thorowe that belefe, and made hys &s;onnes: than all that loue God, loue all that be|leue in God.</P>
<P>Another conclu&s;ion is thys: Whan we loue God and hys lawe, than we loue the &s;onnes of God. Whych is thys wy&s;e proued: The loue of God is to kepe the lawe of God, by the texte before and after: the lawe of God is to loue oure neghbou|res, and therfore yf we loue God in ke|pynge hys lawes, we mu&s;te nedes loue the &s;onnes of God.</P>
<P>But Ihon &s;hulde &s;eme to be a very negligent di&s;puter to many men in that he here certifyeth vs of the loue of oure neghboures by the loue of God, whan a|boue he certifyeth vs that we loue God becau&s;e we loue oure neghboures. He &s;e|meth to do as I herde once a greate clerke in Oxforde &s;ta~de halfe an houre in a pul|pyt, to proue that Chri&s;te was a true pro|phete by the te&s;timony of Ihon bapty&s;te, and another halfe houre to proue Ihon the
<PB N="lxx" REF="69"> bapti&s;te a true prophete by the authorite of Chri&s;t, as we &s;aye, clawe me, clawe y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">: and as euery thefe myght lyghtely proue hym&s;elfe a true man, in bearyng recorde to another as fal&s;e as he, and takynge re|corde of the &s;ame agayn. Which kynde of di&s;putyng, &s;cooleme~ cal <HI>petitio princip<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i</HI> the prouyng of .ii. certayn thynges, eche by the other, and is no prouynge at al. As oure holy father proueth the authorite of &s;cripture by hys decrees (for the &s;cripture is not autentike, but as hys decrees ad|mytte it) and to make hys decrees &s;hyne and appeare gloriou&s;e, and to optayne authorite, he allegeth the &s;cripture after hys iuglynge maner, to make fooles &s;tar|ke madde.</P>
<P>But it is not &s;o here, for both the demo~+&s;trations are certayne, doth the profe of the loue of God, &amp; hys lawe by loue of my neghboure, and the profe of the loue of my neghboure by the loue of God and his lawe. For when .ii. thynges are &s;o ioyned together, that they can not be &s;eparated, then the pre&s;ence of the one vttereth the pre&s;ence of the other, whether &s;oeuer thou fyr&s;t &s;ey&s;t. As yf I &s;e fyre, I am &s;ure that &s;ome thyng doeth burn. And yf I &s;mel bur+nynge, I am certifyed of fyre: Eue~ &s;o the
<PB REF="70"> loue of God is the cau&s;e why I loue my <NOTE PLACE="marg">The loue of God is cau&s;e of my neghbours loue.</NOTE> neghboure: &amp; my loue towarde my negh|boure is the effecte of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> loue of God. And the&s;e .ii. loues are euer in&s;eparable, &s;o that whether &s;o euer I fele fyr&s;t, the &s;ame certi|fyeth me of the other.</P>
<P>Ihon calleth the loue of a mans negh|boure the dedes of loue, after the Hebrue &s;peche, as to helpe at nede, thoughe he were euen an enemy to me, to geue the be&s;t cou~|&s;ell I can, to vy&s;ite and relyue hym yf he be &s;ycke and nedy, yee yf nede were, to be|&s;towe euen my lyfe al&s;o for hym. For the dede declareth what the man is wythin. Nother can my loue to God, and &s;ayth be &s;ene to the worlde, &s;aue thorowe the wor|kes. And by the workes doeth Chri&s;te co~|maunde vs to iudge. So that yf a man haue euel workes, and continueth therin, he loueth not God, nor knoweth God, no though he call hym&s;elfe may&s;ter doctoure, or Gods vycare. Nother vnder&s;tandeth he Gods worde, for all hys hye diuinitie: but is in all hys preachynge an ypocrite, a fal&s;e prophete, and a lyar, though hys preachynge plea&s;e the worlde neuer &s;o well. Neuerthele&s;&s;e a man is certifyed that he loueth God yer he come at the worke, by the te&s;timonye of the &s;prete,
<PB N="lxxi" REF="70"> whych is geuen hym i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> earne&s;t. The &s;pret &s;ayeth Paule. Roma. viii. te&s;tifyeth vnto oure &s;prete, that we be the &s;onnes of God: and than it te&s;tifyeth y^t we beleue in God: for thorowe fayth are we &s;onnes. And tha~ it certifyeth me that I loue God. For fayth and loue are in&s;eparable. The &s;prete thorowe faythe certifyeth my con&s;cience that my &s;ynnes are forgeuen, and I recea|ued vnder grace, and made the very &s;onne of God, and beloued of God. And than naturally myne harte breaketh oute into the loue of God agayne, and I &s;eke how to vtter my loue, and to do God &s;ome plea|&s;ure. And becau&s;e I can nother do &s;eruyce or plea&s;ure vnto hys owne per&s;onne, my neghboure is before me, to do God &s;eruice and plea&s;ure in hym, and to be to hym as Chri&s;t is to me, becau&s;e he is my brother, bought wyth Chri&s;tes bloude as I am. And I con&s;ent vnto that lawe, and loue it yer I come at the dede, and longe after the dede. And than wha~ I loue my neghboure in the dede accordynge to thys lawe, I am &s;ure that I loue hym truly. Or els yf I examined not my loue by thys lawe, I myght be deceaued. For &s;ome loue theyr neghboures for plea&s;ure, profite, glory and for theyr doynge &s;eruice only, as oure &s;pi|ritualty
<PB REF="71"> loue vs, and of that ble&s;&s;ed loue, do theyr bu&s;y cure to kepe vs in darkne&s;&s;e: whyche loue is a &s;ygne that a man hateth God and hys neghbour therto and loueth hym&s;elfe only. But Gods lawe is, that I &s;hulde ab&s;teyne from myne owne plea&s;ure and profyte, and become my neghboures &s;eruaunte, and be&s;tow lyfe and goodes vp+pon hym, after the en&s;ample of Chri&s;te. Wherfore yf I loue myne neghboure out of the loue of Chri&s;te, and after the en&s;am+ple of hys lawe, I am &s;ure that I loue hym truely.</P>
<P><HI>And hys commaundementes are not greueous. For all that is borne of God, ouercommeth the worlde: and thys is the victory that ouerco~meth the worlde, euen oure fayth.</HI></P>
<P>To loue is not paynfull: the co~mau~+dementes are but loue: therfore they be not greuous, becau&s;e loue maketh the co~|maundementes ea&s;y. The &s;eruyce that a <NOTE PLACE="marg">A goodly &s;i+militude of loue.</NOTE> mother doeth vnto hyr chylde is not gre|nous, becau&s;e &s;he loueth it. But yf &s;he &s;hulde do the tenth parte vnto one that &s;he loued not, hyr harte wolde bra&s;te for im|pacience. Vnto a man that feleth not the loue of Chri&s;te, it is as impo&s;&s;ible to kepe the commaundementes, as for a Camell
<PB N="lxxii" REF="71"> to entre thorowe the eye of a nedle. But im+po&s;&s;ible is po&s;&s;ible and ea&s;ye to where the loue of Chri&s;te is beleued. For it follow|eth, all that are borne of God, ouercomme the worlde: that is to wete, the deuel which is the ruler of the world, and hys di&s;ciples whych haue theyr lu&s;te in hys gouernau~ce and con&s;ent to &s;ynne, bothe in bodye and &s;oule, and geue them&s;elues to follow theyr lu&s;tes wythoute re&s;y&s;taunce: and theyr owne fle&s;he, whyche al&s;o con&s;enteth to &s;ynne, do they ouercome, wyth al that mo+ueth to &s;ynne. By what victory? Verely thorowe faythe. For yf oure &s;oules be truely vnder&s;et wyth &s;ure hope and tru&s;te, and continuall meditacions of Chri&s;tes loue, &s;hewed already, &amp; of &s;uccurre, helpe &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;tence that is promy&s;ed in hys name, &amp; wyth the continuall memory of theyr en|&s;amples whych in tymes pa&s;t haue fought thorowe fayth and ouercome: than were it impo&s;&s;ible for the worldewyth al hys chy+ualry, to ouerthrow vs wyth ony a&s;&s;ault or with ony ordinau~ce that he could &s;hute agayn&s;t vs. For yf that fayth and medi|tacion were euer pre&s;ente in vs, than loue thorow that fayth, &s;hulde ea&s;ely ouerco~me what &s;o euer peryll thou coulde&s;t yma|gyne. Reade in the byble, and &s;e what con|que&s;tes
<PB REF="72"> faythe hath made, both in doynge and al&s;o &s;ufferynge. The .xi. Chapter vn+to the Hebrues myni&s;treth vnto the en&s;am+ples abundauntly. How myghty was Da+uid whan he came to fyght, and how ouer+came he thorowe fayth? And how mygh|tyer was he whan he came to &s;uffrynge, as in the per&s;ecucion of kynge Saul? In &s;o muche that whan he had hys mo&s;t mortal enemy kynge Saul, that .xii. yeares per&s;e|cuted hym agayn&s;t al ryght, (that wha~ he had gotte~ hym in hys ha~des to haue done what he wolde wyth hym) thorow faythe he touched hym not, nor &s;uffred ony man els to do, though he was yet all hys lyfe a man of warre and acco&s;tumed to murther and &s;heddynge of bloude. For he beleued that God &s;hulde auenge hym on hys vn|ryghteous kynge, vpon whom it was not lawfull to auenge hym&s;elfe.</P>
<P><HI>Vvho is it that ouercommeth the vvorlde, but he that beleueth that Ie|&s;us is the &s;onne of God?</HI></P>
<P>Yf to beleue that Ie&s;us is Gods &s;o~ne be to ouerco~me the worlde, than oure pre|lates vnder&s;ta~d not what belefe is, whych affirme that the be&s;t belefe, and the wor&s;t man in the worlde, maye &s;tande together.</P>
<P><HI>Thys is he that came by vvater</HI>
<PB N="lxxiiii" REF="72"> <HI>and bloude Ie&s;us Chri&s;t: not by vvater only, but by vvater and bloude. And it is the &s;prite that te&s;tifyeth, becau&s;e the &s;prite is truthe. For ther are thre that beare vvytne&s;&s;e in heaue~. The father, the vvord &amp; the holy goo&s;t. And the&s;e iii. are one. And ther are .iii. vvhyche beare recorde in earth: the &s;prite, vva|ter, and bloude, and the&s;e .iii. are one.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;te came with .iii. wytne&s;&s;es, wa|ter, bloude, and &s;prite. He ordened the &s;a|crament of baptyme to be hys wytne&s;&s;e vnto vs. And he ordeyned the &s;acramente of his bloude, to be hys wytne&s;&s;e vnto vs. And poureth hys &s;prite into the hartes of hys, to te&s;tifye and to make them fele, that the te&s;timonye of tho&s;e .ii. &s;acramen|tes are true. And the te&s;tymonye of the&s;e iii. is, as it after followeth, that we haue euerla&s;tynge lyfe in the &s;onne of God. And the&s;e .iii. are one full wytne&s;&s;e, &s;uf|ficient at the moo&s;t that y^e law requireth, which &s;ayeth .ii. or .iii. at the moo&s;t is one full &s;ufficient wytne&s;&s;e. But alas, we are not taught to take the &s;acramentes for wytne&s;&s;e, but for ymage &s;eruyce, and to of|fre the worke of them to God, wyth &s;uche a mynde, as y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> old heythen offred &s;acrifices of bea&s;tes vnto theyr Gods. So that what
<PB REF="73"> &s;o euer te&s;tifyeth vnto vs, that we haue euerla&s;tynge lyfe in Chri&s;te, that mouthe haue they &s;topped wyth a leuended maun|chet of theyr phari&s;aycall glo&s;es.</P>
<P><HI>Yf vve receaue the vvytne&s;&s;e of me~, the vvytne&s;&s;e of God is greater. For thys is the vvytne&s;&s;e that God hath borne of hys &s;onne.</HI></P>
<P>Yf the wytne&s;&s;e of men, whan they be iii. is to be receaued, muche more is the wytne&s;&s;e of God to be receaued. Nowe the wytne&s;&s;e that the&s;e .iii. water, bloude, and &s;prite beare, is the witne&s;&s;e of God, &amp; ther|fore the more to be beleued.</P>
<P><HI>He that beleueth in the &s;o~ne of God hath vvitne&s;&s;e in him&s;elfe. And he that beleueth not God, maketh hym a lyar, becau&s;e he doth not beleue the vvyt|ne&s;&s;e that God hath te&s;tifyed of hys &s;onne. And thys is the vvytne&s;&s;e, that God hath geuen vs eternall lyfe: and thys lyfe is in his &s;onne. He that hath the &s;onne, hath lyfe. And he that hath not the &s;onne of God, hath not lyfe.</HI></P>
<P>The true beleuers haue the te&s;timo|ny of God in theyr hartes, and they glo|ryfye God, wytne&s;&s;ynge that he is true. They haue the kyngdome of God wyth in them, and the temple of God wythin
<PB N="lxxv" REF="73"> them, and God in that temple, and haue the &s;onne of God, and lyfe thorowe hym. And in that temple they &s;eke God, and offre for theyr &s;ynnes the &s;acrifice of Chri+&s;tes bloude, and the fatte of hys mercyes in the fyre of theyr prayers, and in the con+fydence of that &s;acrifyce go in boldlye to God theyr father.</P>
<P>But the vnbeleuers bla&s;pheme God, and make hym fal&s;e, de&s;cribynge hym af|ter the complerion of theyr lyenge nature. And becau&s;e they be &s;o full &s;tuffed wyth lyes, that they can receaue nothynge els, they loke for the kyngdome of God in out+warde thynges, and &s;eke God in the tem|ple of &s;tone, where they offer theyr ymage &s;eruice and the fat of theyr holy dedes: in confydence wherof they go into God, and tru&s;t to haue euerla&s;tyng lyfe. And though the texte te&s;tifyeth that thys lyfe is only in y^e &s;onne, yet they wyll come at no So~ne nor Sonne &s;hynynge, but as vncleane byr+des, hate the lyght.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e thynges haue I vvrytten vnto you that beleue in the name of the &s;onne of God, that ye maye knovv that ye haue euerla&s;tynge lyfe, and that ye maye beleue in the &s;onne of God.</HI></P>
<PB REF="74">
<P> They that haue y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fayth of Chri&s;tes Apo&s;tles, knowe that they haue eternall lyfe. For the &s;prete te&s;tifyeth vnto theyr &s;pretes that they are the &s;onnes of God. Rom. viii. and receaued vnder grace. Oure doctours &s;aye, they can not knowe whyther they be in the &s;tate of Grace: therfore they haue not the fayth of the A+po&s;tles. And that they knowe it not, is the cau&s;e why they rayle on it.</P>
<P><HI>Thys is the confydence that vve haue in hym, that yf vve axe oughte accordynge to hys vvyll, he heareth vs. And yf vve knovve that he hea|reth vs, vvhat &s;o euer vve axe, vve knovve that vve haue the petitions that vve axe of hym.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t &s;ayeth Math. vii. Axe and it &s;halbe geuen you. And Ioh. in the .xvi. cha What &s;o euer ye axe in my name, he &s;hal geue it you. To axe in the name of Ie|&s;u <NOTE PLACE="marg">To axe in Chri&s;tes name.</NOTE> Chri&s;t and accordynge to his wyll, be both one, and are nothinge els, but to axe the thynges contayned in the promy&s;es and te&s;tament of God to vs warde, that God wyll be our father, and care for vs, both in body and in &s;oule: &amp; yf we &s;ynne offraylte and repent, forgeue vs, and my|ni&s;tre all thynges nece&s;&s;arye vnto thys
<PB N="lxxvi" REF="74"> lyfe, and kepe vs that we be not ouer|come of euell. &amp;c. Now yf they whiche beleue in Chri&s;t are bold with God that he heareth them, and &s;ure that he graun|teth theyr petitio~s, it followeth that they which are not bolde that he heareth the~, nor &s;ure that he graunteth theyr petici|ons, do not beleue in Chri&s;t. They that go to dead &s;ayntes, with whiche they ne|uer &s;pake, nor wote where they be, be not bolde that God wyll heare them, nor &s;ure that he wyll graunte the~ theyr peti|cyons, therfore they beleue not in Chri&s;t. That they be nother bolde nor &s;ure, that appeareth fyr&s;te by theyr dedes, and &s;e|condarely by theyr owne confe&s;&s;ion, for they &s;aye: What, &s;hulde God heare them or graunt them ought, &s;eynge they be vn|worthy? yee and they confirme it with a &s;ymilitude of worldly wy&s;edome, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> they &s;hulde be put backe for theyr malapert|ne&s;&s;e, and fare y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> wor&s;e. As yf a rude fel|lowe &s;hulde breake vp into the kynges priue cha~bre, and prea&s;&s;e vnto his owne per&s;on without knockynge or &s;peakynge to ony other officer: &s;o that they beleue it an augmentynge of &s;ynne, to go to God them&s;elues in the confyde~ce of Chri&s;tes bloude as he bad them.</P>
<PB REF="75">
<P> <HI>Yf a man &s;e hys brother &s;ynne a &s;ynne not vnto death, let hym axe, and he &s;hall geue hym lyfe, for them that &s;ynne not vnto death. Ther is a &s;ynne vnto death, and for it I laye not that thou &s;hulde&s;t praye. All vnryghteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e is &s;ynne. And ther is a &s;ynne not to death.</HI></P>
<P>What &s;oeuer &s;inne we &s;e in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> world, let vs praye, and not di&s;payre. For God is the God of mercy. But for the &s;ynne <NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ynne to death.</NOTE> to death, which is re&s;y&s;tyng grace, &amp; fygh+tynge agayn&s;t mercy, and open bla&s;phe|mynge of the holy goo&s;t, affirmynge that Chri&s;tes myracles are done in Beel&s;e|bub, and his doctrine to be of the deuell, I thynke that no Chri&s;ten man yf he per+ceaue it, can otherwy&s;e praye, then as Paule prayed for Alexander the copper|&s;inyth the .ii. Tim. y^e la&s;t: that God wolde rewarde hym accordynge to his workes. They that go backe agayne after they knowe the truth, &amp; geue them&s;elues wyl|lyngly to &s;ynne, for to followe it and per|&s;ecute the doctrine of truth by profe&s;&s;io~, to mayntene fal&s;hed for theyr glorye and vauntage, are remedyle&s;&s;e: as ye maye &s;e. Heb. vi. and .x. Balaam &s;ynned &s;o, the fal&s;e Prophetes in the olde te&s;tame~t &s;yn|ned
<PB N="lxxvii" REF="75"> &s;o, the Phari&s;es &s;ynned &s;o, Alexander &s;ynned &s;o, and now many &s;ynne &s;o, follo|wynge theyr pryde and couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Vve knovve that all that are borne of God, &s;ynne not: But he that is borne of God kepeth hym&s;elfe, and the vvyc+ked toucheth hym not.</HI></P>
<P>As thou reade&s;t in the thyrde chap|ter, they that are borne of God can not &s;ynne, for the &s;ede of God kepeth them. They can not ca&s;t of the yocke of Chri&s;t and con&s;ent to continue in &s;ynne, nor de|fye his doctrine, nor per&s;ecute it, for to quench it, or to mayntene ony thynge co~+trary vnto it. But in what &s;o euer capti|uite they be in y^e fle&s;h, theyr hartes yelde not, but ymagen to breake low&s;e and to e&s;cape, and flye awaye, vnto the party &amp; &s;tandarde of theyr LORD Chri&s;t. And as men of warre they euer kepe watch and prepare them&s;elues vnto warre, and put on y^e armure of God, the which is Gods worde, the &s;hylde of fayth, the helmet of hope, and harne&s;&s;e them&s;elues with the meditatio~ of tho&s;e thynges which Chri&s;t &s;uffered for vs, and with y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> en&s;amples of all the &s;ayntes y^t followed hym, &amp; thynke earne&s;tly that it is theyr parte to lyue as purely as y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> be&s;t, &amp; come after as fa&s;te as
<PB REF="76"> they can. And yet in all theyr workes they knowlege them&s;elues &s;ynners vnfayned|ly, as longe as one iotte of theyr perfecte|ne&s;&s;e that was in the dedes of Chri&s;te, is lackynge in theyrs. So that the deuell can not touche the hartes of them, no|ther wyth pryde, or vayne glorye of pure lyuynge, nother to make the~ con&s;entynge vnto y^e fle&s;he in gro&s;&s;e &s;ynnes, yf at a tyme they be taken tardy and ketch a fall. What &s;o euer chaunce them, the deuell can ketch no holde on them, to kepe them &s;tyl in cap|tiuite: but they wyll breake lou&s;e agayne, and repent, and do penaunce, to cha&s;ty&s;e theyr fle&s;he that they come no more vnder the deuels clawes.</P>
<P><HI>Vve knovve that vve be of God, and that the vvhole vvorlde is &s;et on my&s;chefe</HI></P>
<P>They that beleue: that is to &s;aye, put theyr tru&s;t in Chri&s;te, &s;e both theyre owne glorious &s;tate in God, and al&s;o the wret|ched e&s;tate of the worlde in theyr wycked+ne&s;&s;e. But the worlde as they knowe not God, nor the glorye of the &s;onnes of God: Euen &s;o they &s;e not theyr owne my&s;era|ble e&s;tate in wyckedne&s;&s;e and damnacion vnder the lawe of God, but the wor&s;e they are, the bolder they be, and the &s;urer
<PB N="lxxviii" REF="76"> of the~&s;elues, the farther from repentau~ce, and the more &s;tandynge in theyr owne co~|ceates, for the darkene&s;&s;e that is in them. And therfore &s;ay our doctoures, a ma~ can+not knowe whether he be in the &s;tate of grace or no, nor nedeth to care therfore. And they be therfore the blynde leaders of the blynde.</P>
<P><HI>Vve knovve that the &s;onne of God is come, and hath geuen vs vn|der&s;tandynge to knovve hym that is true: and vve be in the truth thorovve Ie&s;us Chri&s;te. He is very God and e|ternall lyfe.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t is al, and the fountayne of al, and of hys fulne&s;&s;e receaue we all. And as he poureth the gyftes of hys grace vpon them that beleue in hym, &s;o he geueth the~ vnder&s;tandynge to knowe the very God, and that they be in the verye God, and that they haue optayned that thorow hys purcha&s;ynge: &amp; leaueth not hys &s;hepe in darkene&s;&s;e. And the &s;ame Ie&s;u Chri&s;te is very God, and eternal lyfe. God and e|ternall lyfe was he from the begynnynge, and became man for the great loue he had to vs, for to brynge vs vnto hys eternall lyfe. And he that hath ony other waye thy|ther, whether they be hys owne workes, or
<PB REF="77"> other mens, or workes of ceremonyes, or &s;acramentes, or merytes of &s;ayntes, or of ought &s;aue Ie&s;u Chri&s;te onely: &s;hall neuer come thither. The worlde &s;eyth the by&s;hop of Rome, and &s;eyth that they whyche be in hym, be lordes in thys worlde, &amp; therfore they care to be in the B. of Rome: but whe+ther they be in God or not they &s;aye, it is not nece&s;&s;ary to knowe.</P>
<P><HI>Lytle chyldren bevvare of ymages.</HI></P>
<P>Serue none ymage in youre hartes. Idolatry is Greke, and the Engly&s;he is ymage &s;eruyce. And an Idolatrer is al&s;o Greke, and the Engly&s;h an ymage &s;er|uaunt. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Idolatrye: Idolatrer.</NOTE> Be not Idolatrers, nor commyte Idolatrye, that is, be none ymage &s;eruaun+tes, nor do ony ymage &s;eruice, but beware of &s;eruyng all maner ymages. And thynke it not ynoughe to haue put all the ymages of fal&s;e Gods out of the waye, yf ye nowe &s;et vp the ymage of the very God and of hys true &s;ayntes in theyr rowmes, to do y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ame &s;eruice vnto them, whyche ye dyd to the other. For ye maye do as &s;tronge y|mage &s;eruyce vnto the ymage of God and his &s;aintes, as vnto the ymage of fal&s;e god+des: yee thou maye&s;t co~mytte as great ydo+latry to God, &amp; yet before none outwarde ymage, but before the ymage whyche thou
<PB N="lxxix" REF="77"> ha&s;t fayned of God in thyne hart, as thou maye&s;t before an outwarde ymage of the deuell. The Iewes in the temple of God, where was none ymage of God, dyd as greate ymage &s;eruyce to God, as the Hey|then vnto theyr fal&s;e Gods: yee the Iewes in doynge to God the thynges whych god commaunded them, dyd commytte wor&s;e Idolatry, &amp; &s;ynned greuou&s;lyer agayn&s;te God, than the Heythen dyd in offerynge vnto theyr fal&s;e Gods, whyche thynge to be true, the prophetes te&s;tifye. For whan the Iewes dyd theyr ceremonyes and &s;acri+fyces (the meanyng and &s;ygnificacio~ lo&s;t, and the cau&s;e forgotten whych God orde|ned them for) to flatter and plea&s;e God w^t the gloriou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the dede in it&s;elfe, and to purchace oughte of hym for the co&s;tly|ne&s;&s;e or properne&s;&s;e of the pre&s;ent, what o|ther made they of God in theyr ymagina+cion, than a chylde? whom yf he crye or be di&s;plea&s;ed, men &s;tyl wyth a popet, or yf we wyll haue hym to do ought, make hym an hor&s;e of a &s;tycke, or &s;uch lyke.</P>
<P>Yf thou brynge a bole of bloude, and &s;et it before God, to flatter hym, to &s;troke hym, and to corye and clawe hym, as he were an hor&s;e, and ymagine&s;t that he hath plea&s;ure and delectacion therin, what
<PB REF="78"> better make&s;t thou of God, than a bochers dogge? Yf thou brynge the fat of thy bea|&s;tes of God, for the &s;ame ymaginacion, what make&s;t thou of God, than one that had nede of greace to grea&s;e &s;hues or &s;inere bootes? Yf thou burne&s;t bloude and fat to+gether to plea&s;e God, what other thynge doe&s;t thou make of God, tha~ one that had lu&s;t to &s;mell to burnt flote&s;&s;e?</P>
<P>God commaunded a curtefye of all fyr&s;t rype frutes to be offred: not to be an ymage &s;eruice, but a wytne&s;&s;e and te&s;ty|mony that he had made them growe, that y^e people &s;hulde not forget God, but thynke on hys benefytes, &amp; loue hym, and of loue, kepe hys commaundementes. And lyke|wy&s;e yf ony hadde &s;ynned agayn&s;t Gods lawe, God commaunded that they &s;hulde repente, and than brynge a bea&s;t, and &s;lay it, and offre the bloude and the fatte of the inwardes: not to make &s;ati&s;faccion, but to te&s;tifye only that God was appea&s;ed, and had of hys mercy at the repentaunce of the harte forgeuen the &s;ynne. The &s;acrify|ces of bloude were ordeyned partely to be a &s;ecret prophecyenge of Chri&s;tes bloude|&s;heddynge, and partely to be a te&s;timonye and certifyeng of our hartes, that y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ynne was forgeuen, and peace made betwene vs
<PB N="lxxx" REF="78"> and God, and not to be a &s;ati&s;faccio~. For that were ymage&s;eruice, and to make an ymage of God.</P>
<P>We reade in the hi&s;tories that whan a loue daye, or a truce was made betwene man and man, the conuenauntes were rehear&s;ed: and vpon that, they &s;lewe bea|&s;tes in a memorial and remembraunce of the appoyntment only. And &s;o were the &s;a+crifices &s;ygnes and memorials only, that God was at one wyth vs. For the Iewes <NOTE PLACE="marg">It is Io|wy&s;hne&s;&s;e not to be|leue wyth-&s;ygnes and myracles.</NOTE> coulde beleue no wordes though an angell had &s;poken wythout a token, as we holde vp our fyngers and clappe handes. And lykewy&s;e what &s;o euer they were bydden to do, they mu&s;te haue had a token of reme~|braunce, though it had ben but a rynge of a ru&s;he, as it is to &s;e in the Byble.</P>
<P>Euen &s;o oure ymages, relyques, cere|monies, and &s;acramentes were oure me|morials and &s;ygnes of remembraunce on+ly. And he that geueth in hys harte more to them than that, is an ymage &s;eruaunt. But whan God is a &s;prete and wor&s;hip|ped in the &s;prete, we for lacke of fayth, be|ynge &s;pretle&s;&s;e, and hauynge no power to de&s;yre of God ony &s;pirituall thynge, &s;erue God in the body, wyth ymagined &s;eruyce for &s;uche worldlye thynges, as our profe&s;|&s;ion
<PB REF="79"> is to defye. Who ky&s;&s;eth a relyque, or beholdeth an ymage for loue of the &s;ayntes lyuynge, to followe theyr en&s;ample? Naye we wyl fa&s;t the &s;ayntes euens, and go bare+foote vnto theyr ymages, and take payne, to obtayne greater plea&s;ure in the worlde, and to purcha&s;e worldly thynges as main+tayne the bodye in lu&s;tes, that the &s;oule ca~+not once wy&s;he for power to lyue as the &s;ayntes lyued, or to longe for the lyfe to come. Yf we wente a pylgrimage to kepe the remembraunce of the &s;ayntes lyuynge in mynde for oure en&s;ample, and fa&s;ted &amp; wente bare foote to tame the fle&s;he that it &s;hulde not lu&s;te after &s;uche worldly thyn|ges, whych we nowe de&s;yre of the &s;ayntes, than dyd oure fa&s;tynge and pylgrimage goynge &s;erue vs, yee and the &s;aynte were yet oure &s;eruaunte to edifye vs in Chri&s;te wyth the remembraunce of hys lyfe lefte behynde, to preache and to prouoke vs to followe hys en&s;ample. For oure bodely &s;eruice can be no &s;eruice vnto the &s;aynte whych is a &s;prete, excepte we ymagen him to be an ymage.</P>
<P>Saynte Whyte mu&s;te haue a che&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">S. Whyte mu&s;t haue yearly a che&s;e.</NOTE> once in a yeare, and that of the greate&s;te &s;orte, whych yet eateth no che&s;e. It &s;halbe geuen vnto the poore in hyr name &s;ay they
<PB N="lxxxi" REF="79"> Fyr&s;t that to be fal&s;e, we &s;e wyth our eyes. Secondarely, Chri&s;t co~maundeth to care for the poore, &amp; geue them al that we maye &s;pare in hys name, &s;ayenge that what is geuen them, is geuen hym, and what is de+nyed them, is denyed hym. Yf the lawe of Chri&s;te be wrytten in thyne harte, why di+&s;tribute&s;t thou not vnto thy brethre~ wyth thyne owne handes in the name of thy &s;a+uoure Ie&s;u Chri&s;t, which dyed both for the~ and the, as thou ha&s;t vowed and promy|&s;ed to hym in the baptyme?</P>
<P>Moreouer they &s;aye: It is geuen vn|to &s;aynt Whytes chappellayne. Saynte Whytes chappellayne hath a &s;typende al|ready &s;ufficient for a Chri&s;ten man, and oughte to receaue nomore, but there wyth to be content, and to be an en&s;ample of de+&s;py&s;ynge couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Moreouer, that pre&s;t that wolde followe the lyuynge of Ie|&s;u Chri&s;te as &s;aynte whyte dyd, and teach hys pary&s;&s;he~s to do &s;o, were a ryght chap|pellayne of Chri&s;te. And they haue a pro+my&s;e to be fedde and clothed, as well as euer was theyr may&s;ter in the name of Chri&s;te. And &s;o be they and euer were, &s;o that they nede not to begge in the name of &s;aynt Whyte.</P>
<P>What &s;hall &s;aynte Whyte do for the
<PB REF="80"> agayne for that greate che&s;e? (for I wote well it is not geuen for noughte) &s;hall &s;he geue abundaunce of mylke to make butter and che&s;e? All we that beleue in Chri&s;t, are the &s;onnes of God, &amp; God hath promy&s;ed to care for vs, for as much as we care for the kepynge of hys co~mau~dementes, and hath promy&s;ed that we &s;hall receaue what &s;o euer we axe to hys honoure and oure nede, of hys hande. Yf we than be the na|turall &s;onnes of God, why ru~ne we from oure father, a beggynge to &s;aynte Whyte? Saynte Whyte &s;endeth no rayne vpon earth, nor maketh the So~ne &s;hyne theron, nor maketh y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> gra&s;&s;e grow. Nother is ther ony Gods worde that he wyll now do &s;o much for vs at hyr reque&s;t. But god hath promy&s;ed yf we wyll kepe hys lawes to do &s;o muche for vs at oure owne reque&s;te, for the bloude of hys &s;onne Ie&s;u. What other thynge than is thy &s;eruynge of S. Whyte, than lacke of &s;ayth and tru&s;t to Godward in Chri&s;tes name, &amp; a fal&s;e fayth of thyne owne, faynyng to &s;aint Whyte warde for thyne ymage&s;eruice, or &s;eruynge her wyth che&s;e, as though &s;he were a bodely thynge? <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> lyke di&s;putacion is it of al other &s;aintes.</P>
<P>And as we wor&s;hip the &s;ayntes wyth ymage&s;eruyce to obtayne temporall thyn|ges:
<PB N="lxxxi" REF="80"> euen &s;o wor&s;hippe we God. And as the Iewes turned theyr &s;acrifyces vnto ymage &s;eruyce, which were geue~ them of God to be &s;ygnes to moue them to &s;erue God in the &s;prete: Euen &s;o haue we oure &s;acramentes. And for an en&s;ample let vs take the ma&s;&s;e, whiche after the B. of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ma&s;&s;e is made an y|mage &s;er|uice.</NOTE> Romes abu&s;e, is the moo&s;t damnable y|mage&s;eruice that euer was &s;ence it be|ganne. Chri&s;te accordynge to the te&s;ty|monye of the &s;cripture, made in the dayes of hys fle&s;he, &s;ati&s;faction for all the &s;ynne of them that had beleued or &s;hulde beleue in hys name, &amp; obtayned that they &s;hulde be the &s;onnes of God, and taken from vn+der the damnation of the lawe, and putte vnder geace &amp; mercye, and that God &s;huld hence forth deale wyth them as a mercy|full father dealeth wyth hys chyldre~ that runne not awaye from hym, no though ought be at a tyme chaunced amy&s;&s;e: but tary euer &s;tyll by theyr father and by hys doctrine, and confe&s;&s;e theyr tre&s;pa&s;&s;e, and promy&s;e henceforthe to enforce the~&s;elues vnto the vtmo&s;t of theyr power that they do no more &s;o neglygentlye. And thys pur+cha&s;e made he with the thinges which he &s;uffred in his fle&s;he, and wyth the &s;tronge prayers which he prayed. And to kepe this
<PB REF="81"> te&s;tament, euer fre&s;h in mynde, that it were not forgotten, he left wyth vs the &s;acrament of his body &amp; bloude, to &s;treng+then, our fayth, and to certifye our co~&s;cy|ence, that our &s;ynnes were forgeuen a&s;|&s;oone as we repented and had reco~cyled our &s;elues vnto our brethre~, and to arme our &s;oules, thorowe the continuall reme~+braunce of Chri&s;tes death, vnto the de&s;|py&s;ynge of the worlde, mortifyeng of the fle&s;h, and quenchynge of the lu&s;tes and thyr&s;t of worldly thynges. As they whiche haue dayly conuer&s;acion wyth the &s;ycke and my&s;erable, &amp; are pre&s;ent at y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deathes of men, are moued to defye the worlde, and the lu&s;tes therof.</P>
<P>And as Chri&s;t had in&s;tute the &s;acra|ment of his body and bloude, &s;o the by&s;|&s;hops in the proce&s;&s;e of tyme, &s;et &s;ygnes of all the re&s;t of Chri&s;tes pa&s;&s;ion, in the ornamentes and ge&s;tures of the ma&s;&s;e: &s;o that the whole pa&s;&s;ion was dayly de&s;|crybed before our eyes, as though we had pre&s;ently loked vpon it.</P>
<P>And marke al&s;o for what cau&s;e they <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ryght v&s;e of the ma&s;&s;e.</NOTE> came vnto the &s;acrament: they reconcy|led them&s;elues eche one to other, yf ony man had offended his brother, yer they were admytted into the congregacion
<PB N="lxxxii" REF="81"> or body of Chri&s;t to be membres of eche other, knyt together in one fayth &amp; loue to eate the lordes &s;upper (as Paule cal|leth <NOTE PLACE="marg">i. Cor. xi. i. Cor. x. Ephe&s;i. i.</NOTE> it) for the congregacion thus gathe|red is called Chri&s;tes bodye, and Chri&s;te theyr heade. And lykewy&s;e yf a man had ben taken in open &s;ynne, agayn&s;t the pro+fe&s;&s;yon of his baptyme, he was rebuked openly. And he confe&s;&s;ed hys &s;ynne ope~ly, and axed forgeuene&s;&s;e of God and of the congregacion, whom he had offended w^t the en&s;ample of his euell dede: and toke penaunce as they call it, of the congrega+cion, that is certayne di&s;crete iniunctio~s how he &s;hulde lyue and ordre hym&s;elfe in tyme to come and tame his fle&s;he, for the auoydynge of the &s;ayd vyce: becau&s;e hys confe&s;&s;ion and repentaunce which he &s;e|med to haue, &s;hulde be none ypocri&s;y, but an earne&s;t thynge. For yf an open &s;ynner be founde amonge vs, we mu&s;t immedi|atly amende hym, or ca&s;t hym out of y^e co~|gregacion wyth defyaunce and dete&s;ta|cyo~ of his &s;ynne, as thou &s;ey&s;t how quyck+ly Paule ca&s;t out the Corinthian, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> kept his fathers wyfe, and whan he was war|ned wolde not amende. Or els yf we &s;uf|fre &s;uch to be amonge vs vnrebuked, we can not but attonce fal from the con&s;tau~+cye
<PB REF="82"> of our profe&s;&s;ion, and laugh and haue delectacion and con&s;ent vnto theyr &s;ynne, as it is come to pa&s;&s;e thorow out all chri|&s;tendome. Whiche is ten thou&s;a~de tymes more abominable then yf we &s;ynned oure &s;elues. For the be&s;t man in the worlde that hateth &s;ynne, myghte at a tyme thorowe fraylte of the fle&s;he be drawen to &s;ynne. But it is altogether deuely&s;he and a &s;ure token that the &s;prete of Chri&s;te is not in vs nor the profe&s;&s;ion of our baptyme writ+ten in the harte, yf we laughe at another mans &s;ynnes, though our &s;elues ab&s;teyne for &s;hame or feare of hell, or for what &s;o euer ymagynacion it be: or that we be &s;o blynde that we &s;e none other &s;ynne in vs, then oure outwarde dedes. And y^e penau~ce enioyned frayle per&s;ones, that coulde not rule them&s;elues was vnder the authorite of the curate and the fadde and di&s;crete men of the pary&s;h, to relea&s;&s;e parte, or al at a tyme, yf nece&s;&s;yte requyred, or wha~ they &s;awe the per&s;onne &s;o growen in perfectnes that he neded it not. But &s;e wherto it is nowe come, and after what maner oure holy father that is at Rome di&s;pen&s;eth wyth altogether. And &s;e what oure by&s;hop+pes offycers do, where the authorite of the curate and of the Pary&s;hes is become.
<PB N="lxxxiii" REF="82"> Yf in .x. pary&s;hes rounde ther be not one learned and di&s;crete to helpe the other, then the deuell hath a greate &s;wynge a|monge vs, that the by&s;hops officers that dwel &s;o farre of, mu&s;t abu&s;e vs as they do. And yf within a dioce&s;e or an whole lande we can fynde no &s;hyfte, but that y^e by&s;hop of Rome that dwelleth at y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deuell in hell, mu&s;t thus mocke vs, what a &s;troke thynke ye hath Satan amonge vs? And all is becau&s;e we be ypocrites, and loue not the waye of truth, for all our pretendynge the contrary.</P>
<P>And to begynne wythall, they &s;ayde <HI>Confiteor,</HI> and knowleged them&s;elues to be &s;ynners. And then the pre&s;t prayed in generall for al e&s;tates and degrees and for encreace of grace, and in e&s;pecyall, yf nede requyred: vnto whiche prayers the people herkened and &s;ayde. <HI>Amen.</HI> And then the Go&s;pell and glad tydynges of forgeue|ne&s;&s;e of &s;ynnes was preached, to &s;teare vp our fayth. And then the &s;acrament was myni&s;tred for the confyrmacion of the faythe of the Go&s;pel, and of the te&s;tament made betwene God and vs of forgeue|ne&s;&s;e of &s;ynnes in Chri&s;tes bloude, for oure repentaunce and faythe: as ye &s;e how after all bargens ther is a &s;ygne therof
<PB REF="83"> made, ether clappynge of handes, or vo|wynge a peny or a grote, or a pece of golde or geuynge &s;ome earne&s;t, and as I &s;hewed you, howe after a tru&s;e made they &s;lewe bea&s;tes, for a confirmacion. And then men departed, euery man to his bu&s;yne&s;&s;e, full certifyed that theyr &s;ynnes were forgeue~, and armed wyth the remembraunce of Chri&s;tes pa&s;&s;ion and death for the morty+fyenge of the fle&s;he all the daye after. And in all the&s;e was nother the &s;acrament, no+ther other ceremonyes of the ma&s;&s;e ymage+&s;eruyce vnto God, and holy dedes to make &s;ati&s;faction for our &s;ynnes, or to purcha&s;&s;e &s;uche worldly thynges as the go&s;pell tea|cheth vs to de&s;py&s;e. And now co~pare thys v&s;e of the ma&s;&s;e to oures, and &s;e whether the ma&s;&s;e be not become the moo&s;t damna+ble ydolatrye and ymage&s;eruice that euer was in the worlde.</P>
<P>We neuer reconcyle oure&s;elues vn|to oure brethren whych: we haue offended: we receaue vnto oure ma&s;&s;e the open &s;yn|ners, the couetous, the extorcyoner, the adulterer, the bakbyter, the co~mune whore and the whorekeper, whiche haue no parte in Chri&s;te by the &s;cripture, yee &s;uch are &s;uf+fred to &s;aye the ma&s;&s;e, as the v&s;e is nowe to &s;peake: yee &s;uche are we compelled wyth
<PB N="lxxxiiii" REF="83"> the &s;warde to take for our pa&s;tores and curates of oure &s;oules, and not &s;o hardy as to rebuke them. Nother do they repent and confe&s;&s;e theyr &s;ynnes, and promy&s;e amendement, or &s;ubmytte them&s;elues to whol&s;ome iniunctions for the auoydynge of &s;uche &s;ynnes, and tamynge of theyr fle&s;he. We &s;aye <HI>confiteo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> and know|lege oure &s;elues to be &s;ynners in latyne, but neuer repent in Engly&s;h. The pre&s;te prayeth in latyne, and &s;ayeth euermore a &s;tyll Ma&s;&s;e, as we &s;aye. For thoughe he &s;ynge and &s;treyne hys throte to crye loude vnto them that be by hym, yet as longe as no ma~ woteth what he prayeth, or whe+ther he ble&s;&s;e or cur&s;e, he is dome &amp; &s;pech|le&s;&s;e. And &s;o in that parte we abyde frut|le&s;&s;e, and vntaught how to praye to God. And the Go&s;pell is &s;onge or &s;ayde in latyn only, and no preachynge of repen|taunce towarde the lawe, and faythe towarde Chri&s;te had. And therfore abyde we euer faythle&s;&s;e and without &s;tudyenge to amende oure lyuynges. And of the ceremonyes of the ma&s;&s;e we haue none other ymagynacion, then that they be an holy &s;eruyce vnto god whych he receaueth of oure handes, and hath great delectacion in them, and that we purcha&s;e greate fa|uour
<PB REF="84"> of God w^t the~, as we do of great me~ here in the worlde with gyftes and pre&s;e~|tes. In &s;o much that yf y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> pre&s;t &s;ayd ma&s;&s;e without tho&s;e ve&s;timentes, or lefte the o|ther ceremonyes vndone, we &s;hulde all quake for feare, and thynk that ther were a &s;ynne commytted ynough to &s;ynke vs all, and that the pre&s;t for his labour were worthy to be put in the by&s;hop of Romes purgatory, and there to be brent to a&s;hes</P>
<P>And of the very &s;acrame~t it &s;elfe we knowe none other thynge, then that we come thyther to &s;e an inui&s;ible myracle, Neuerthelater it were &s;omewhat yet, yf they had bene as louynge, kynde, carefull and diligente to teache the people to re|pente, &amp; to beleue in the bloude of Chri&s;t for the forgeuene&s;&s;e of theyr &s;ynnes, vnto the glorye of the mercy of god, and of hys exceadynge loue to vs, and vnto the pro|fyte of our &s;oules, &amp; vpon that preachyng to haue mini&s;tred the &s;acramente as a me+moriall, remembraunce, &s;ygne, token, ear+ne&s;t, the &s;eale of an obligacion, and clap|pynge of handes toghether for y^e a&s;&s;urau~ce of the promy&s;e of God, to quyet, &s;tably&s;h and certifye our con&s;cyences, and to put vs out of al wauerynge and doute, y^t our &s;ynnes were forgeuen vs, &amp; God become
<PB N="lxxxv" REF="84"> our father and at one wyth vs, for whyche cau&s;e onely Chri&s;t ordened it: as they were zelous and feruent to mayntene the cere|monies of the ma&s;&s;e in all poyntes. For nowe they haue taken awaye the &s;ygnifi|cacion and very entent of the &s;acramente to &s;tably&s;he the eare confe&s;&s;ion, theyr me|rytes, de&s;eruynges, iu&s;tifyenge of workes, and lyke inuencion vnto theyr owne glo|rye and profyte: what doth the &s;acrament admony&s;h vs of reconcilynge vs to God? But now they haue de&s;troyed for y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nonce that fayth whyche profyted, &amp; haue &s;et vp wyth wyles, &s;otylty, fal&s;hed, gyle and with violence, that fayth whyche profyteth not: we haue good cau&s;e to iudge and examine the doctrine of the &s;pretes, whether it be grou~ded vpo~ Gods worde or no. We take paynes to come thether to &s;e &s;trau~ge holy ge&s;tures, wherof, &s;aye they to theyr &s;hame who knoweth the meanynge? and to heare &s;traunge holy voyces, wherof, &s;aye I al&s;o that no ma~ knoweth the vnder&s;tandynge, and to loke vpon the &s;acrament, and all to optayne worldly thynges, for that &s;eruice. Why, maye not all men de&s;yre worldly thynges of God? Yes, we ought to a&s;ke of God onely &s;ufficiency of all worldly thyn+ges, as we do &s;pirituall thynges, yet not
<PB REF="85"> for bodely &s;eruyce, &s;eynge God is a &s;prete<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> but for the goodne&s;&s;e and mercy of our fa+ther, and for the truth of hys promy&s;e and de&s;eruynges of hys &s;onne. And &s;o wha~ we do me~ bodely &s;eruice, we ought to loke for oure wages of God: le&s;t yf he moue not y^e hartes of our may&s;ters, we be &s;hrewedlye payed: and lykewy&s;e whan we lende or bargene, we oughte to de&s;yre God for pay+mente, le&s;t thorowe our negligence he for|get vs, and the appoyntmentes be not tru+ly kepte. Some ther be yet that a&s;ke hea|uen for bodely &s;eruyce, whych is lyke abho+minacion.</P>
<P>But who commeth thyther wyth re|pentaunce and fayth, for to obtayne forge+uene&s;&s;e of hys &s;ynnes, and wyth purpo&s;e to walke in the lyfe of penaunce, for the ta+mynge of the fle&s;h, that he &s;ynne nomore? and to &s;tably&s;h hys harte in that purpo&s;e, and to arme hys &s;oule agayn&s;t al that mo+ueth to the contrary, and whan he goeth home, is certifyed in hys con&s;cience, tho|row that &s;ygne and token, that his &s;ynnes are forgeuen hym? As Noe was certifyed by the &s;ygne of y^e raynebow that the world &s;hulde nomore be ouerrunne wyth water, and as Abraham was certifyed by y^e &s;igne of circu~ci&s;ion, that God wolde fulfyll to
<PB N="lxxxvi" REF="85"> hym and hys of&s;pringe al y^e mercyes that he had promy&s;ed: and as Abraham Gene. xv. whe~ he a&s;ked a &s;igne to be &s;ure that he &s;hulde po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the lande of Canaan, was certifyed thorow y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ygne that God gaue hym therof, &amp; of the foure hu~dreth yeares that hys po&s;teryte &s;hulde be in thraldome in Egipte, and of theyr delyueraunce: and as Gedion was certifyed by the &s;igne of hys fle&s;e, of the victorye that God had pro+my&s;ed hym: and as many other that bele|ued in God were certifyed by the &s;ygnes that God gaue the~, of the promy&s;es which God made them? Verely no man. For oure prelates which laye for them&s;elues, <HI>compelle intrare,</HI> co~pell not vs to entre into ony &s;uche fea&s;te, nor wyll &s;uffre ony &s;uch meate to be &s;et before vs: for feare of ouerthrowynge the foundacion of theyr fal&s;e buyldynge, wherof &s;pringeth &s;o great glorie and profit vnto the~, which funda|cion to buylde theyr lyes vpo~, they coulde neuer haue layed, excepte they had fyr&s;te thru&s;t this doctrine of oure &s;oules health cleane out of knowlege. And as &s;oone as they had blynded that lyght, they be+came leaders in darkne&s;&s;e, and made of y^t ma&s;&s;e Image&s;eruice: &s;o that the &s;traunge holy ge&s;tures, mu&s;t be meritorius workes
<PB REF="86"> to de&s;erue longe lyfe, health, ryches, ho|noure, fauour, dignite, and abundau~ce of all that we haue, for&s;akynge our baptyme, &amp; to arme vs from bearynge of the cro&s;&s;e wyth Chri&s;te. And they haue made of it a pyll of two contrarye operacions: &s;o that the &s;ame medecine that pre&s;erueth our &s;ou+les from purgatory, dothe purge the body of hou&s;e, landes, retes, goodes and mony. And the lyght that rebuketh the~, they call &s;edicious, that it maketh the &s;ubiectes to ry&s;e agayn&s;t theyr prynces. Whych thyng the ypocrites layed &s;ometyme vnto y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> pro|phetes, as ye maye &s;e in the olde te&s;tament And at la&s;te they layed it vnto Chri&s;tes charge, as ye maye &s;e in the Go&s;pel, and to the charge of the Apo&s;tles, as ye may &s;e in theyr actes. But at all &s;uche tymes, the ypocrites them&s;elues &s;teared vp &s;uch a &s;wearde to mayntene theyr fal&s;hed, y^t euermore a greate parte of the worlde pery|&s;hed thorowe theyr owne my&s;|cheuous prouokynge pryn|ces to battayle.</P>
<P>&para; Thus much I haue &s;ayd becau&s;e of the~ that deceaue you, to geue you an occa&s;ion to iudge the &s;pretes.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="letter">
<PB N="lxxxvii" REF="86">
<HEAD>&para; Here begyn+neth the .ii. Epi&s;tle of S. Ihon.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_THe Elder vnto the elect lady and hyr chyldren, whyche I loue in the truth: and not I only, but al&s;o al that haue knowe~ the truth, for the truthes &s;ake, whych remayneth in vs, and &s;hal be in vs for euer: wyth you be grace, mercy and peace, from God the father and fro~ the</HI> LORDE <HI>IESVS CHRIST the &s;onne of the father, in truthe and loue.</HI></P>
<P>Thys all is the tytle and &s;uper&s;cripci+on of the Epi&s;tle or lettre, wherein (to co~|fyrme it the more) he &s;etteth hys name, of|fice, to whome he wryteth it, and an Apo|&s;tolicall &s;alutacion or wy&s;&s;hynge. And is as much to &s;ay: as I Ihon the Elder wryt thys Epi&s;tle vnto the faythfull congrega|cion, and vnto the &s;ame I wy&s;h grace and peace, and that they per&s;euer or continue in the truth and loue. The cau&s;e why he
<PB REF="87"> calleth hym&s;elfe the Elder and not Ihon I reken be, that it was moo&s;t v&s;ed of euery man and commune, and full of Apo&s;toli|call &s;wetne&s;&s;e and authorite: not only be|cau&s;e of the wor&s;hippe of age, but al&s;o by rea&s;on of the holy callynge and office. Moreouer he calleth the church or congre|gacion a lady, becau&s;e &s;he is the bryde of y^e LORDE Ie&s;us: and the membres of the church he calleth chyldren, remaynynge &s;o &s;tyll in comparynge and aludynge. As for hys wy&s;hynge is playne ynough, for it is &s;o ryfe in other Epi&s;tles. But Ihon addeth Truth &amp; Loue, as hys maner is to dryue it, de&s;yrynge them to be and continue ther+in. The truth doth he &s;et agayn&s;t ypocri&s;y and erroure and lyes, that it be nothynge, but a true fayth. Charite conteyneth al ex+ercy&s;e of godlyne&s;&s;e. Be&s;yde thys he men|gleth amonge &s;uch thynges as maye pro|cure vnto hym fauoure of y^e hearers &amp; &s;om+thynges of the truth, to make the hearers myndes to geue hede, and to co~firme and &s;tably&s;h the~: &s;ayenge: Whych I loue in the truth, that is, truly, hartely and &s;yncerely. For Chri&s;ten charite ought to be without al &s;imulacion &amp; ypocri&s;y. I loue them for the truthes &s;ake, that is: becau&s;e they exer|cy&s;e the truth, do I loue the~. And not only
<PB N="lxxxviii" REF="87"> do I loue the~, but al&s;o all they that knowe the truth, where by he ray&s;eth vp theyr har+tes and corages, and enty&s;eth them to far|ther endeuoure of godlyne&s;&s;e. To thys al|&s;o pertayneth it y^t he &s;ayeth, that the truth &s;hall abyde wyth vs for euer: by the whych comfortable &s;ayenges we can not but be confirmed and &s;tably&s;hed in godlyne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>I reioyced greatly that I founde of thy chyldren walkynge in the truthe, as we haue receaued a commaunde|ment of the father.</HI></P>
<P>He begynneth hys matter wyth reioy+cynge, beynge glad that ther be founde a|monge them &s;uche as refu&s;ynge errours and deceauers, haue layed handes on the truthe. And that not euery truthe, (for thoughe they be &s;omtyme neuer &s;o farre from it, yet do they thynke to holde fa&s;te the clere truthe) but that truthe that is ge|uen of the father by the very euangelicall doctrine. Nother can ther be ony other truth. Thus &s;e we than and learne where+fore we ought to reioyce: We &s;e whych be the rule of the true and godly truth. For an earne&s;t &amp; true fayth can not but bra&s;te out in workynge and declarynge the in|warde trea&s;ure that God hath commyt|ted vnto oure fidelite and tru&s;t.</P>
<PB REF="88">
<P> Thys reiocynge had Paule al&s;o of hys Philippians, Collo&s;&s;ians and The&s;|&s;alonians that (lyke faythfull &s;tewardes) gaue out the manyfolde grace commytted vnto them by Paules preachynge: &s;o that they receaued it agayne w^t vauntage: that is, heauenly and &s;piritual for worldly and temporall, and a vncorruptible crowne, for de&s;py&s;ynge worldly goodes.</P>
<P><HI>And now I be&s;eke the Lady, not as though I wrote a new commaunde+ment vnto the, but that &s;ame whyche we had from the begynnyng: that we &s;hulde loue one another. And thys is the loue, that we &s;hulde walke after hys commaundementes.</HI></P>
<P>He exhorteth them to procede co~&s;tau~t|ly in the euangelicall truthe~, &amp; to loue eche other. And in commendynge thys to them he alleged two poyntes, namely: the au|thor therof, and hys auncientne&s;&s;e. It is not I (&s;ayeth he) that commaunde you to continue in the truth, but the LORD hym+&s;elfe, whych &s;ayeth in the Go&s;pell: He that co~tinueth vnto the ende, &s;halbe &s;aued. No|ther do I wryte a new commaundement, or lately &s;pronge vp amonge vs, but the moo&s;t auncient, the whych was al&s;o com|maunded in the lawe, where it is wrytten
<PB N="lxxxix" REF="88"> on thys wy&s;e: Loue thy LORDE God a|boue all, and thy neghboure as the &s;elfe. That (I &s;aye) that Chri&s;t re&s;tored, &amp; that flory&s;hed from the begynnynge of true re|ligio~, namely: that we loue eche other; that do I wryte vnto you. Lo howe commenda+ble thys be, and not to be refu&s;ed. And for farther declaration he &s;ayeth: And that is the loue, that we &s;hulde walke after hys co~|maundementes. Thys (namely) is y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> pyth of loue or Chri&s;ten charite, to kepe the co~|maundementes. For our LORDE in the Go&s;pell (from whence the&s;e wordes &s;eme to be taken) &s;ayeth: He that hath my com|maundementes, and kepeth them, he it is that loueth me. And agayne: Abyde in my loue. Yf ye kepe me commaundemen|tes, ye &s;hall abyde in my loue. That is my commaundemente, that ye loue eche other <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> I loued you. Nother let ony man mar|uayle at the&s;e wordes of oure Saueoure: For all the co~maundementes are referred euery where to loue: yee and of Paule al&s;o Rom. xiii.</P>
<P><HI>Thys commaundement is, that (as ye haue herde from the begynnynge) ye &s;hulde walke in it. For many decea|uers are entred into the world, which confe&s;&s;e not that Ie&s;us Chri&s;te is come</HI>
<PB REF="89"> <HI>in the fle&s;he. This i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> a deceauer, and an Antichri&s;te.</HI></P>
<P>He rehear&s;eth and beateth in charite or loue as his maner is to do: and here to he allegeth a cau&s;e, the which &s;teareth the church to a redyne&s;&s;e, and watchynge, &amp; to an earne&s;t endeuoure of godlyne&s;&s;e. For this cau&s;e &s;ayeth he do I &s;o earne&s;tly beate in loue, for this cau&s;e ought you be dilige~t namely: becau&s;e ther are many deceauers come into the worlde, y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> are bu&s;y to drawe you into erroure from the waye of truthe. Fro~ &s;uche endeuoure to withdrawe youre+&s;elues, goynge forth &amp; procedyng in true re+ligion, truth &amp; loue. Be&s;yde thys he payn|teth and de&s;cribeth &s;uche deceauers w^t cer|tayne notes or markes, &s;ayenge: They co~|fe&s;&s;e or graunt not that Chri&s;te Ie&s;us the Me&s;&s;ias very God &amp; ma~, of whom y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> pro|phetes prophecyed aforehande, &s;hulde come in the world. Of &s;uch he geueth verdyte co~|tynently, &s;ayenge: This is a deceauer or withdrawer &amp; Antichri&s;t. The true &s;ygni|fycacion of y^e word Antichri&s;t is as much, <NOTE PLACE="marg">What Anti+chri&s;t is to &s;aye.</NOTE> as agayn&s;t Chri&s;t or contrary to Chri&s;ter Now trye all learnynges &amp; conferre the~ to y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> true doctrine of Chri&s;t, ether in the olde or new te&s;tament, &amp; yf thou fynde them di&s;agreynge to y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fore&s;ayde true doctrine,
<PB N="xc" REF="89"> counte both the doctrine, &amp; hym that vtte|reth it euen Antichri&s;t, &amp; the doctrine dam+nable: Eue~ as vnlawful marchaundy&s;e is. Of this loke farther in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> .i. epi&s;tle y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> .ii. and iiii. chapters, where it is farther declared.</P>
<P><HI>Loke on your &s;elues, that ye lo&s;e not that we haue wroughte, but that we maye haue a full rewarde.</HI></P>
<P>He rea&s;oneth of the harme or daunger, and the&s;e wordes &s;eme to be taken oute of Ezechiell the .xviii. Chap. where he &s;ayeth: Yf the ryghteous turne awaye from hys ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &amp; do iniquite, accordynge to all the abhominacio~s y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the wycked man doth, &s;hall he lyue? all the ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e that he hath done &s;hall not be thought vpo~.</P>
<P>It is a &s;horte &amp; pythy &s;entence to moue or admony&s;he where he &s;ayeth: loke on your &s;elues, &amp; is as muche to &s;aye, as: Let euery one beware, left he beynge rechele&s;&s;e in that he hath wel begonne, le&s;e all y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> frute of &s;uch good dedes as he hath hetherto wel accomply&s;hed: But rather pa&s;&s;ynge by all Antichri&s;tes doctours let vs &s;o ru~ne, y^t we may receaue a ful rewarde: y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> which none do receaue, but &s;uch as endure vnto y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ende</P>
<P><HI>who &s;o euer tran&s;gre&s;&s;eth and a|bydeth not in the doctrine of Chri&s;te, hath not God. He that endureth in the</HI>
<PB REF="90"> <HI>doctrine of Chri&s;te, hath both the fa|ther &amp; the &s;onne.</HI></P>
<P>Here doth he now adde greater thyn+ges. For it is a very great thynge to wa~te God, and to haue nother the father nor y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;onne. But he y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> abydeth not in the truth &amp; loue, he hath nother the father nor the &s;onne. Wherfore we ought to endeuoure and bu&s;yly to laboure that we procede in the waye of truth. Of this reade more in the .ii. Chapter of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> .i. epi&s;tle of S. Ihon. Chri&s;t &s;ayeth Ioh .xv. Without me can ye do nothynge. For as the braunche cut from the tre can brynge no frute: &s;o lyke+wy&s;e he y^t is cut fro~ y^e vyne&s;tocke, which is Chri&s;t can not but abyde vnfruteful, &amp; tra~&s;gre&s;&s;e y^e co~maundeme~tes of god, wher+fore al&s;o he hath not God, nor no parte with hym, but &s;halbe ca&s;t in y^e vtter dark+ne&s;&s;e, where &s;halbe waylynge and gna&s;|&s;hynge of teth.</P>
<P>Contrary wy&s;e he that abydeth in y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;tock or tre, is partaker both of the &s;appe and goodne&s;&s;e of it, and is euer workyng the wyll of the father, the frute of Chri|&s;tes merytes, and the gyftes of the holy goo&s;t: &s;o that al thynges do &s;erue hym for the be&s;t Roma. viii.</P>
<P><HI>Yf ther come ony ma~ vnto you, &amp;</HI>
<PB N="xci" REF="90"> <HI>brynge not this learnyng, hym receaue not in to the hou&s;e, nother byd hym God &s;pede: For he that byddeth hym God &s;pede is partaker of his eueldede<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI></P>
<P>Wyth playne wordes commau~deth he to auoyde and fiye the company of he+retykes, and to cleue con&s;tau~tly to Chri|&s;tes doctrine. They that brynge theyr doctrine and not Chri&s;tes, or they that preach or followe doctrines contrary to Chri&s;tes doctrine they be Antichri&s;tes. Now the doctrine of Chri&s;t is comprehe~+ded in the wrytynges of the Prophetes and Apo&s;tles. Wherfore, what &s;oeuer he <NOTE PLACE="marg">Who be heretikes.</NOTE> be that bryngeth not y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;criptures, or tea|cheth ought agayn&s;t y^e &s;cripture, is in no wy&s;e to be admytted vnto thy company, or ony of thyne, nother v&s;e ony commu|nicacion wyth &s;uch. For euell communi|cacio~s infecte good maners. And y^e dwel+lynge neare of &s;uche, doth peruerte euen the be&s;t al&s;o. By the hou&s;e he meaneth al maner dwellynge by of &s;uch: and by byd|dynge God &s;pede, he meaneth familyar communicacion.</P>
<P>Era&s;mus enlargynge the wordes of faynt Ihon &s;ayeth featly on thys wy&s;e: Yf ony come to you that bryngeth a doc+trine contrarye to thys, that thereby he
<PB REF="91"> myght leade you from the truth of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> go&s;|pell, vnto hym ought ye geue &s;o lytle hea+rynge, that ye receaue hym not into youre hou&s;e, yf he do requyre lodgynge: nother &s;alutynge wy&s;he hym health, yf perchaunce he do mete you in the waye. For it is to be douted le&s;t he infecte the hou&s;holde wyth hys &s;eyournynge by the, and render the euel for the benefyte that thou &s;hewe&s;t hym in permyttynge hym y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> v&s;e of thy hou&s;e, which gretynge, co~mu|nicacion, &amp; rea&s;onynge be cau&s;e therof. For euel co~municacions corruppt good maners as one of the olde &s;ages &s;ayeth. Morouer he that v&s;eth familiarite wyth &s;uch deceauers or &s;aluteth them, is taken as partener wyth them. For he geueth the wycked a corage, and an occa&s;ion to thynke that he is of &s;ome e&s;timacion a|monge the~, whom he goeth aboute to &s;ub+uerte: &amp; vnto other he geueth a &s;emblau~ce of euell, as thoughe he dyd fauoure hys wyckedne&s;&s;e, who&s;e company he doth not refrayne. The &s;ayeng of Ie&s;us Sirach in his boke Eccle&s;ia&s;ti. the .xiii. Cha. is lyke to this, where he &s;ayeth: He y^t toucheth the pytch, &s;halbe &s;tayned of it, &amp; he y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> v&s;eth the proud ma~s co~pany, &s;hal waxe proude.</P>
<P><HI>I had many thynges to wryte vnto</HI>
<PB N="xcii" REF="91"> <HI>you, neuerthele&s;&s;e I wolde not wryte wyth papyr and ynke, but I tru&s;te to come vnto you, and &s;peake wyth you mouth to mouth, that oure ioye maye be full. The &s;onnes of thy electe &s;y&s;ter grete the. Amen.</HI></P>
<P>In co~cludynge his epi&s;tle he promi&s;eth to come vnto the~&punc; &amp; pre&s;ently to declare the&s;e &amp; other thynges more largely: &amp; that for this purpo&s;e, not to take them with gy+les &amp; craftyne&s;&s;e, to v&s;e dominion ouer them, &amp; poll them of theyr mony: but that theyr Chri&s;te~ ioye may be complet. And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Whan ioye is complet.</NOTE> it is complete whan we all perceaue the bu&s;yne&s;&s;e of y^e fayth aryght, and exercy&s;e it by charite. In <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> ende al&s;o he &s;etteth the &s;alutacion of that churche, fro whe~ce he wryteth, makynge all congregacy|ons &s;y&s;ter brydes of one &s;pou&s;e. y^e LORDE Ie&s;u Chri&s;t, and the membres, that is, the Chri&s;tians endued with grace, he calleth chyldre~. That al&s;o that he rather wyl en|due theyr mynde &s;piritually with wordes and by mouth, then by wrytynge and with penne, is al&s;o graciou&s;ly &s;ayd. For it is no profyte vnto vs to &s;e, heare, or reade the doctrine of the Apo&s;tles wrytten on papir with ynke, without we wryte it al|&s;o in our mynde, redre&s;&s;ynge our lyfe and
<PB REF="92"> maners after it.</P>
<P>This epi&s;tle in all thynge &s;auoureth and is conformable vnto the &s;prete of S. Ihon the Apo&s;tle, though &s;ome wyll &s;aye it to be of one Ihon a pre&s;t, elder, or &s;e|nioure. Neuerthele&s;&s;e how &s;o euer me~s iudgeme~tes do vary, &s;ure|ly ther is nought wrytten in this, that is not to be red in the fyr&s;te epi&s;tle: wherfore it is of lyke &s;prete, &s;o y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> noman can refu&s;e it without he do wyckedly. For this then, and for openynge his truth &s;o clearly, be pray&s;e and glory vnto God.</P>
<CLOSER>AMEN.</CLOSER>
<TRAILER>&para; The ende of the .ii. epi&s;tle of S. Ihon.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="letter">
<PB N="xciii" REF="92">
<HEAD>&para; Here begyn+neth the .iii. Epi&s;tle of S. Ihon.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_THe Elder vnto the belo+ued Gaius, whom I loue in the truth. welbeloued I wy&s;he in all thynges that thou pro&s;pere&s;t and fare&s;t well, euen as thy &s;oule pro&s;pereth.</HI></P>
<P>Thys begynnynge and &s;alutacion is playne, neuerthele&s;&s;e &s;om what varyenge from the commune v&s;e of the Apo&s;tles. It maye be applyed to Gaius hou&s;holde and maye be vnder&s;tande thus&punc; I wy&s;h &amp; de&s;yre that as thy &s;oule pro&s;pereth, and is endued wyth all maner of &s;pirituall gyf|tes: euen &s;o all thy frendes and hou&s;holde <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">, or &s;o pro&s;pere God all that belongeth vnto the. For it is the moo&s;te felycite that can be to haue a &s;ounde mynde in a &s;ounde body. Here is to be noted y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nature of true loue, which reioyceth at dure negh+boures health: yee can &s;uffre hys enemye to pro&s;per, howe the more his frende?</P>
<PB REF="93">
<P> <HI>I reioyced greatly whan the brethre~ came and te&s;tifyed of the truth that is in the, how thou walke&s;t in truth. I ha|ue no greater ioye than for to heare that my &s;onnes walke in verite.</HI></P>
<P>S. Ihon reioyceth that fyr&s;t he hath receaued the truth, and that he walketh therin wyth great pray&s;e of the brethren. To walke in the truth is to lyue a godly <NOTE PLACE="marg">To walke in the truth</NOTE> lyfe accordynge to the rule of truth, wyth+out gyle or &s;imulacion. Nother is it y|nough to knowe the truth, wythout we walke al&s;o therin: that is to refourme our wordes, dedes &amp; all our lyuynge thereby. Moreouer the greate&s;t ioye that &s;ayntes haue, is, that they hear vs walke in truth wherfor they couet not to be wor&s;hipped &s;uper&s;ticiou&s;ly. For the labour they toke to enfourme vs was not to be rewarded agayne of vs with ceremonious &s;eruice, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> therin to delyte: but to delyte in declaring the frute of theyr laboure, by our co~uer+&s;acion accordynge to the wyll of God <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s they taught. Euen as the plowm<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n be&s;to+wynge great laboure vpo~ his feldes, hath no greater delyte &amp; ioye, the~ to &s;e hys fel|des geue plenty of corne: to y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> which en|tent he be&s;towed al his laboure.</P>
<P><HI>Dearly beloued thou doe&s;t fayth+</HI>
<PB N="xciiii" REF="93"> <HI>fully what&s;oeuer thou doe&s;t to the bre+thren and to &s;traungers, whyche bare wytne&s;&s;e of thy loue before al the con+gregacion. Vvhich brethren wha~ thou brynge&s;t forwardes on theyr iourney, (as it plea&s;eth God) thou &s;halt do wel, becau&s;e that for hys names &s;ake they went forth, &amp; toke nothynge of the ge~+tyles, we therfore oughte to receaue &s;uche, that we al&s;o myght be helpers of the truthe.</HI></P>
<P>Fyr&s;t it is requyred that we receaue y^e truth, and remayne &s;ounde in the fayth, &amp; &s;econdarely that we be thankefull: Wher|fore the Apo&s;tle reioyceth w^t Gaius of the ho&s;pitalite and benefyte, whych they vnto whom he had &s;hewed it te&s;tifyed ope~ly be|fore all the congregacion. Thys place tea|cheth tha~kfulne&s;&s;e, &amp; y^t no ma~ is to be depri+ued of hys due reward. And becau&s;e we be bou~de to do well <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o euery ma~, &amp; chefely to the myni&s;ters of gods word: therfore doth Ihon pray&s;e y^t in Gaius, &amp; in hym al other faythful, v&s;ynge therto argume~tes of cour+te&s;y &amp; profitablenes. For it is courte&s;y (&s;ay+eth he) yf y^u bryng the~ forwardes on theyr iourney (as it plea&s;eth god) y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> is: yf y^u &s;tuffe the~ w^t foode by y^e waye, &amp; intreate the~ well whyle they are by y^e. For thou knowe&s;t to
<PB REF="94"> whom thou geue&s;t it, namely God, which &s;ayd: He that receaueth you, receaueth me. And to thys belongeth al&s;o the rea&s;on fol|lowynge: For they wente forth for the na|me of Chri&s;te. That is: they go aboute to preache the go&s;pel, and not to be enryched and to do theyr owne bu&s;yne&s;&s;e. And ther|fore do they take nothynge of the Genty|les, vnto whome they preach, that &s;o they myght wynne the more vnto Chri&s;te, be|cau&s;e they be farre from &s;u&s;picion of &s;e|kynge auauntage amonge the Gentyles. It is therfore oure dutye, (whych do know that the labourer is worthy of hys wages) to receaue &s;uch good men and &s;uccurre the~ wyth oure &s;ub&s;taunce. To the ende dothe he al&s;o ioyne the rewarde &s;ayenge: that we al&s;o myght be helpers of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> truth, namely that &s;eynge we maye not preach, and we be bounde to forther the truth; we maye do it wyth oure &s;ub&s;taunce, helpynge &amp; aydyng them &s;o, to whom the office is commytted and are apte therto&punc; M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> .x. &s;ayeth Chri&s;t: He that receaueth a prophete in the name of a prophete, &s;hall receaue the rewarde of a prophete, and he that geueth one of the&s;e lytle ones a cuppe of colde water in the na+me of a di&s;ciple, verely I &s;aye vnto you he &s;hall not lo&s;e hys rewarde. By thys place
<PB N="xcv" REF="94"> it appeareth that ther were many good me~ at that tyme, whyth followynge the en&s;a~|ple of Paule preached the Go&s;pell frely vn+to the Gentyles. For the men of the primi+ty&s;e church dyd &s;o earne&s;tly couet the glo|rye of the LORDE Chri&s;t to be promoted and &s;et forth, that for hys &s;ake they dyd &s;uf+fre and toke great payne for it. But they that were not ordyned to that office, gaue therto al theyr &s;ub&s;taunce, that the labou|rers in the Go&s;pell &s;hulde want nothyng. And amonge &s;uche was Gaius the chefe&s;t a ryche man as it &s;emeth, whome Paule al&s;o Roma. xvi. calleth hys oo&s;te and the oo&s;te of all the congregacion. Be&s;yde the&s;e al&s;o dyd many good men of the meane &s;ort helpe to promote the Go&s;pell lykewy&s;e. And we (vnto whom the endes of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> world be come) lye &s;norkynge lyke &s;loggardes. They that are apte to teache, &amp; to whome God hath geuen grace in preachynge and facunde or wel&s;peakynge, wyll not put the~+&s;elues, nor theyr &s;ub&s;taunce in ha&s;arde: ether wyll not take the laboure vpon the~, wythout they be wel anoynted wyth &s;ome fatte benefyce or &s;tipende, and becau&s;e few or none obtayne them, that be mete for it, therfore is that office &s;o &s;lackely executed. And agayne the Patrons wyll admytte
<PB REF="95"> none that be poore &amp; haue nought, though they be mete for it. Yee &s;o farre we be from myni&s;trynge our &s;ub&s;taunce to &s;uch, that we enuye and wythdrawe from them &s;uch &s;tipende, as of longe tyme haue ben geuen of other to &s;uche v&s;e: and thus we &s;e that y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> doctrine of godlyne&s;&s;e, &amp; the glory of Chri|&s;tes name do pery&s;h. But I praye God geue vs that &s;prete that we &s;e to haue occu+pyed theyr hartes of whome Ihon &s;peaketh here, and pray&s;eth them.</P>
<P><HI>I wrote vnto the congregacion, but Diotrephes whych loueth to haue the preeminence amonge them, recea+ued vs not. Vvherfore yt I come, I wyll peclare hys dedes whych he doth yea &s;tynge on vs wyth malicious wordes, nother is there wyth content. Not only he hym&s;elfe receaueth not the brethre~ but al&s;o he forbyddeth the~ that wolde and thru&s;teth them out of the congre|gacion.</HI></P>
<P>It is not playne of what wrytynge Ihon doth &s;peake, neuerthele&s;&s;e, it &s;emeth y^t he wrote vnto that congregacion wherin Gaius was, in the whych wrytynge he ex+horted them to do it that they &s;awe Gai|us do. But one Diotrephes, wyth&s;tode the&s;e holy admonicions, whome he here re+buketh,
<PB N="xcvi" REF="95"> blamynge hys here&s;y, reuylynges, wanto~ne&s;&s;e of tunge, &amp; hys &s;tudye in pryde &amp; ambicion: &amp; be&s;ydes thys he blameth hys vncurteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, de&s;py&s;ynge cruelne&s;&s;e &amp; tyranny again&s;t the brethren. He is eue~ an en&s;ample of al heretykes and wycked men whych al&s;o re&s;y&s;t the go&s;pell. Neuerthele&s;&s;e at thys tyme he wryteth not bytterly a|gayn&s;t hym, but kepeth it vntyll he come &amp; be pre&s;ent wyth hym: for tha~ doth he threa+ten he wyll pull awaye hys vy&s;ure. And y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> is the dutye of true hyrdemen, to forgeue nought, nor to &s;pare wycked deceauers. What thynke ye wolde Ihon &s;aye now a|dayes yf he came agayne in tho&s;e churches that wyll &s;eme euangelical, &amp; fynde not on+ly one Diotrephes, couetynge y^e primacye but innumerable Cardinals, Patriarkes By&s;hops &amp; other prelates of the churche? I pa&s;&s;eouer that &s;ome of them chatter I wote not what agayn&s;te the doctrine of truth, y^t they receaue not the pure doctrine of Chri&s;t &amp; hys Apo&s;tles, &amp; that they con|de~ne &amp; exco~municate &s;uch as wolde recea|ue it. God draw vs out of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> lyo~s mouth.</P>
<P><HI>Dearly beloued follow not that whych is euel, but that whych is good He that doth well, is of God, but he that doth euell, &s;eyth not God.</HI></P>
<PB REF="96">
<P> He addeth to pre&s;erue Gaius fro~ offen|dyng, as though he wolde &s;aye: Thou kno+we&s;t what Diotrephes goeth about, where+fore I wolde not haue y^e to follow y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> maner of men, &amp; therfore &s;etteth he a generall rule and &s;entence, namely: that it is to be fol|lowed that is good, and not that which is euell. The which &s;ente~ce maye be alleged a+gayn&s;t them that brynge forth to &s;tably&s;h theyr opinions, longe tymes, the maners &amp; co&s;tumes of y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fathers, wyllynge rather to be ruled thereby, tha~ by Gods holy worde, whiche neuerthele&s;&s;e &s;hall te&s;tify agayn&s;te vs at y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> great daye, or w^t vs, &amp; not y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fathers co&s;tumes, &amp; maners. He ioyneth al&s;o ano|ther &s;ente~ce to thys, &s;ayenge: He that doth well, is of God: but he that doth euell, per|ceaueth not Gods bu&s;yne&s;&s;e, nother &s;hall he &s;e hym after thys lyfe. Wherfore that which is is good, and God hath co~maun|ded, that is to be done, and not other me~s maners, en&s;amples, and co&s;tumes, which &s;omtyme were in&s;titute for &s;ome cau&s;e, tha~ nedyge a reformacion.</P>
<P><HI>Demetrius hath a good reporte of all men, and of the truthe: yee and we oure&s;elues al&s;o beare recorde, and ye knowe that oure recorde is true.</HI></P>
<P>To a wycked en&s;ample he ioyneth, &s;et|teth
<PB N="xcvii" REF="96"> and co~ferreth the en&s;ample of Deme|trius a good ma~, that ther be nought lefte behynde to confirme Gaius mynde. For the myndes of good men be greatly mo|ued wyth the en&s;amples of euell men, wherfor we &s;e &s;cripture oftentymes heale thys grefe. It mu&s;t vndoutedly haue ben a man of maruaylous integrite and vn|blameable thys Demetrius, vnto whome all the congregacion of good me~, yee and the truth al&s;o, be&s;yde that the Apo&s;tle Iho~ a man wythout gyle, and that had not le|arned to flattre gaue &s;uch verdyte. Wher+fore we pa&s;&s;ynge by Diotrephes, let vs rather followe Gaius &amp; Demetrius For &s;uch be &s;et for our en&s;ample to follow, and the other to e&s;chue.</P>
<P><HI>I haue many thynges to wryte, but I wyll not wyth penne and ynke wryte vnto the. For I tru&s;te I &s;hall &s;hortely &s;e the, and we &s;hal &s;peake mouth to mouth. Peace be wyth the. The louers &s;alute the. Grete the louers by name.</HI></P>
<P>As he concluded the &s;econde epi&s;tle, &s;o concludeth he thys la&s;t al&s;o. And here in are many fayre en&s;amples of loue and charite, which be rather to be followed tha~ to be di&s;puted vpon. S. Ierome &s;emeth to
<PB REF="97"> attribute the&s;e two epi&s;tles, the .ii. and .iii. vnto one Ihon a diuine or pre&s;te. But I can not &s;e what be conteyned herein that is vnworthy of S. Iho~. For the &s;hortne&s;&s;e hath al&s;o a won+derous fauoure. And the brefne&s;&s;e hath al&s;o my&s;teries: wher|fore it is not to be refu&s;ed.</P>
<TRAILER>&para; The ende of the iii. Epi&s;tle. &leaf;</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="index">
<PB REF="97">
<HEAD>A table for to finde the notable places treated vpon in this expo&s;icion of the epi&s;tles of S. Ihon.</HEAD>
<P><TABLE>
<ROW>
<CELL>Angels &s;erue vs.</CELL>
<CELL>xxxii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Aduouryes.</CELL>
<CELL>xxx.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Anoyntynge. &leaf;&leaf;</CELL>
<CELL>xlviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Antichri&s;t.</CELL>
<CELL>xliii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>What Antichri&s;t is to &s;aye.</CELL>
<CELL>xci.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Byndynge and lo&s;ynge</CELL>
<CELL>xxiiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Baptyme.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>The profe&s;&s;ion of our baptyme what it is.</CELL>
<CELL>ii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The knowlege of our baptyme is the keye of the &s;cripture.</CELL>
<CELL>iiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>He that hath the profe&s;&s;ion of hys bap|tyme wrytten in his harte can be no heretyke.</CELL>
<CELL>vi</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The &s;ignificacion of baptyme.</CELL>
<CELL>lii.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Chri&s;te.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;t is our lyfe.</CELL>
<CELL>xii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;t and his worde are the lyght.</CELL>
<CELL>xv.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;tus.</CELL>
<CELL>xix. xlvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;t only is our &s;aueoure.</CELL>
<CELL>xx.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;tes victory.</CELL>
<CELL>xxiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Howe Chri&s;t prayeth for vs.</CELL>
<CELL>xxxii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="98">
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;t is called holy and anoynted.</CELL>
<CELL>xliiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The worlde could not know Chri&s;t.</CELL>
<CELL>L.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The worlde &s;hall knowe Chri&s;te.</CELL>
<CELL>L.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;tes vicare.</CELL>
<CELL>liii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>What it is to beleue that Ie&s;us is Chri&s;te.</CELL>
<CELL>lxviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>To axe in Chri&s;tes name.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxv.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The church is a lady.</CELL>
<CELL>xci.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e or auarice quencheth the loue of God.</CELL>
<CELL>xli. xlii.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>The tuych&s;tone of all true doctrine and preachers.</CELL>
<CELL>xiiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>A &s;ure argument to know fal&s;e. prophetes by.</CELL>
<CELL>xxxvii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The B. of Rome &amp; Pelagius agre.</CELL>
<CELL>xlvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The Apo&s;tles doctrine ought we to abyde by.</CELL>
<CELL>xlvii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The tryall of all doctrine.</CELL>
<CELL>lix.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Doctrine that is of God or y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deuell.</CELL>
<CELL>lx.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The B. of Romes doctrine of Chri&s;t.</CELL>
<CELL>lx.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The B. of Ro. doctrine is worldly.</CELL>
<CELL>lxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Dead men</CELL>
<CELL>xlvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Emanuel.</CELL>
<CELL>xlvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Fayth.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>To beleue in Chri&s;te</CELL>
<CELL>xi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Fayth is cau&s;e of al goodne&s;&s;e.</CELL>
<CELL>xli.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The fayth of a Chri&s;ten man.</CELL>
<CELL>li.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The B. of Romes fayth.</CELL>
<CELL>li.</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="98">
<ROW>
<CELL>Fayth is the roote of all commaunde|mentes.</CELL>
<CELL>lviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Fayth is the mother of loue.</CELL>
<CELL>lxviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Fayth maketh vs Gods &s;onnes.</CELL>
<CELL>lxviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The faythfull and vnfaythfull &s;ynne dy|uer&s;ly.</CELL>
<CELL>liiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Feare.</CELL>
<CELL>lxvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Popy&s;h forgeuene&s;&s;e.</CELL>
<CELL>xxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Go&s;pell.</CELL>
<CELL>ii.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>God.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>A rule to knowe whyther we loue God or not.</CELL>
<CELL>xxxvii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>To be in God.</CELL>
<CELL>xxxviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>To knowe God.</CELL>
<CELL>xlviii</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The &s;umme of Gods lawe.</CELL>
<CELL>li.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>No man hath &s;ene God.</CELL>
<CELL>lxiiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The &s;cripture hath &s;ene God.</CELL>
<CELL>lxiiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Who be heretykes.</CELL>
<CELL>xci.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Ie&s;us.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>Ie&s;us is our aduocate.</CELL>
<CELL>xviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Ie&s;us.</CELL>
<CELL>xlvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>What it is to beleue that Ie&s;us is.</CELL>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;t.</CELL>
<CELL>xviii. lxviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Idolatry.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Idolatrer.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxviii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Ignoraunce is cau&s;e of wycked|ne&s;&s;e.</CELL>
<CELL>lxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Whan ioye is complete.</CELL>
<CELL>xcii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The lu&s;t of the fle&s;h &amp; of the eyes.</CELL>
<CELL>xli.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<PB REF="99">
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Loue.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>Loue breaketh the lawe.</CELL>
<CELL>lii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The fountayne of loue.</CELL>
<CELL>lxii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The v&s;e of loue.</CELL>
<CELL>lxiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The pyth of loue.</CELL>
<CELL>lxiiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Loue.</CELL>
<CELL>lxvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The loue of God is cau&s;e of my negh|bours loue.</CELL>
<CELL>lxx.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>A goodly &s;imilitude of loue.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>La&s;t houre.</CELL>
<CELL>xliii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The man is fyr&s;t euell or good.</CELL>
<CELL>liiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Merytynge of &s;ayntes.</CELL>
<CELL>xxxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Ma&s;&s;e is made an ymage&s;eruice.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The ryght v&s;e of ma&s;&s;e.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Purgatory.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>How penaunce and Purgatory came vp.</CELL>
<CELL>xxv.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>How purgatory was kyndled.</CELL>
<CELL>xxvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Poore men.</CELL>
<CELL>xlvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Scripture.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>How the &s;cripture is locked vp from oure vnder&s;tandynge.</CELL>
<CELL>v.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The &s;cripture maketh no heretykes.</CELL>
<CELL>vi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>They key and lyght of the &s;cripture.</CELL>
<CELL>iiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Chri&s;t and hys worde are the lyght.</CELL>
<CELL>xv.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The &s;cripture hath &s;ene God.</CELL>
<CELL>lxiiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Sati&s;faccion what it is.</CELL>
<CELL>xix.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>State of grace.</CELL>
<CELL>xxxvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Sanctus.</CELL>
<CELL>xlvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="99">
<ROW>
<CELL>Spretes.</CELL>
<CELL>lxii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Synne what it is.</CELL>
<CELL>li.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>The &s;ynne to death.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxvi.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Sygne.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>It is Iewy&s;hne&s;&s;e not to beleue wythoute &s;ygnes and myracles.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxx.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Two generacions in the worlde.</CELL>
<CELL>lxi.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Walkynge in darkene&s;&s;e or in lyght.</CELL>
<CELL>xv.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<HEAD>Workes.</HEAD>
<ROW>
<CELL>Workes can be no &s;ati&s;faccion for &s;ynnes to Godwarde.</CELL>
<CELL>xxii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Wor&s;hippyng of &s;ayntes wyth &s;tyckyng vp candels before them.</CELL>
<CELL>xxix.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Gods wor&s;hippe.</CELL>
<CELL>xxii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Worldly goodes.</CELL>
<CELL>xliiii.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>S. Whyte mu&s;t haue yearly a che&s;e.</CELL>
<CELL>lxxx.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>To walke in the truth.</CELL>
<CELL>xciii.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE></P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
