AS the highest tides haue their falles and ebbes, & after greatest tēpests and darkest dayes, the sunne shineth: so fareth it with me, (right Worshipfull) it pleased God the author of all good­nesse (when I had bene foure yeares or more tossed with sundrie troubles & ad­uersities able euerie way to oppresse me, had not the same mightie Iehouah, Ia­cobs God,Exod. 2 [...] ▪ [...]. Leuit. [...].12. Psal. 50.14. Psal. 116.1. the hope and strength of Israel (who by the mouth of his holy Prophet hath willed all men in their troubles to call vpon him, promising euen then to deliuer them) so stirred vp and opened the harts of my worshipful good friends, [Page] [...]o fauor my innocencie & to releeue my case, to Gods holy name be all praise, honor and glorie for it,) to graunt me at length a breathing time after my trauels, yet intermingled with remembrances of my former miseries, & with speciall war­nings of the Lord: all which I most ioy­fully receiue, and with my hart embrace, considering, [...]. 12.5.6. [...]. 3.11.12. [...]u. 3.19. that he correcteth whom he loueth: and that the race of my youth was so vnaduisedly run, that I haue merited much more grieuous punishment for it. In which time of rest (if I may terme it a rest that we enioy while we remaine here in this world) I haue bestowed such va­cant time as my necessarie businesse let­ted not, in penning the whole history of Christ our Sauiour plainly & as I could, according to my simple capacitie and knowledge in English me [...]ter, to be ap­plied to the tunes of sundrie of Dauids Psalmes: following therein the foure E­uangelists, dissenting from them in no­thing, though in the disposing of Christ his acts and doctrins (as neare as I could) to their proper places, and as they were done in order of time, I follow other di­rections. Which worke (howsoeuer) to Gods glorie I hope, I haue finished, and [Page] for two especiall causes haue determined (though the workmanship be but as it were rough hewen, yet in respect of the matter that is so worthie) to dedicate the first fruits of my labors vnder your wor­ships name.

The first is, your godly zeale and for­ward affection to the hearing & reading of Gods word, much like that noble Ro­mane Caecilia, which let no day passe without reading some parte of Gods booke, and euer caried about her, whi­ther soeuer she went (the Rom. 10.17. Deut. 6.6. Cap. 11.18. Luc. 1 [...].26. Io [...]. 5.39. Act. 17.11. touchstone of our faith) the new Testament, which rare vertues of her minde much more a­dorned and beautified her, then either her birth, though borne of honorable parentage, or her attire how costly so e­uer. The booke of God is in deed to be esteemed of greater value then all other iewels: in it is the heauenly manna, that Ioh. 6.48. Cap. 4.14. Cap 7.38. bread of life, and the waters whereof whosoeuer drinketh shall neuer thirst, offred vs: in it is the Ioh. 14.6.way, the truth, and the life taught vs, and by this way onely haue we accesse vnto the Father.Homer. Odyss. lib. 12. The Poets faigne that Vlysses sayling be­tweene Italie and Sicilie, was driuen to stop the eares of his companie with wax, [Page] and to be bound him selfe to the mast of his ship, least by hearing the songs and sweete melodie of the Syren that lay in his way, he and his should f [...]ll into their danger: but whosoeuer sa [...]leth in this ship, may safely vnbound, and with open eares, passe by all the Syrens of Italie at this day, which exceed (I dare auouch it) for number and craft, an hundred to one that all Italie and Sicilie affoorded in the dayes of Vlyss [...]s. In the booke of God is the true and best triacle found, which de­liuereth the receauer from the poysoned cup of that great Circe the Bishop of Rome,Reue. [...]8.3▪ Mar. 16.18. who hath infected so many thou­sands, and transformed them into swine: in it is that notable whore of Babylon, sitting on a scarlet coloured beast full of names of blasphemy,Reuel. 17 3. with seuen heads & ten hornes, notably described: frō whose fornications the Lord deliuer vs. While your Worship doth (as that kingly pro­phet Dauid did) exercise your selfe in the same booke of the lawe of the Lord day and night,Psal. 1.2. Psal▪ 119. Ioshua 1.8. you shall easily perceiue that vaine and wicked are the trash and trum­peries that Rome doth offer vs, the which I know and can iustly report, that with all your heart you vtterly abhorre them: [Page] which gift of grace as God hath begun in you for your good, so I beseech him to continue the same to his glorie. In the booke of God you shall see that Rom. 1.20. Cap. 10.18. Psal. 19.4. Wisd. 13. igno­rance (which the Romanists do accompt the mother of deuotion) can not excuse them: that deuotion without knowledge is dotage, and knowledge without ver­tue ostentation. And therein you shall see and find it indeede, that Psal. 97.7. Exod 20.3. Iohn 14.13. Cap. 16.23. Matth. 7.7. Reu. 19.10. Cap. 22.9. to pray to Angels or Saints, or for the dead (which they make no small point of their reli­gion) is plaine superstition, and their counterfet holinesse hypocrisie.

Nouelties in these dayes delight dain­tie eares, and fine filed phrases so fit some fantacies, that no booke except it abound with the one or th'other, or both of these, is brookt of them. Some reade Gascoine, some Gueuar [...], some praise the Pallace of pleasure, and the like whereon they be­stow whole dayes, yea some whole mo­neths and yeares, that scarce bestow one minute on the Bible, albeit the booke of God. And no maruell though hypocri­tical Papists delight in anie other booke rather then the Bible, seeing that this (as the Sunne scorcheth the naked Ethiopi­ans skin) so grieueth the galled conscien­ces [Page] of some that whē it discouereth their dissembling, they neuer leaue kicking while any Christian is in their company. Other there be that are more mild, who for feare their offices should flie, or their liuings be lost, haue learned such confor­mitie, that they can dissemble with deare friends in deepe points of religion, and seeme outwardly that which inwardly in heart they vtterly abhor: these snakes are most venimous when they cast their old skins. Are not they grosse, & drunke with the dregges of their superstition, that dare vtter this blasphemie against God and his word (to terrifie and with­draw as much as they may, the well mea­ning man from so godly and comforta­ble an exercise) that it is dangerous for the vnlearned to reade the Bible? If they would consideratiuely wai [...]h what great and grieuous punishment the Lord layd on Sennacherib king or Assyria,2 King. 18.30. Esay. 37.1. 1. Mac. 7.43. Leuit. 24.11. Nicanor and others, for blaspheming his name, they would not so rashly do the like. If their forefathers had considered that the word of God is a sea,Ezec. 47.1. wherein both the e­lephant may swimme and the lambe may wade, the greatest Doctour may dayly learne in, and the simplest man may cō ­continually [Page] haue comfort; and that in the same there is a soueraigne salue for euery sore, they would not (as I thinke) haue forbidden the reading of Gods booke, & in stead thereof commaunded to be read (yea and that openly in churches) the le­gend of lyes, rather then liues of Saints: not vnlike in most places, for method & matter, to the monstrous fables of Gar­ragantua, Huon of Burdeaux, & the like.

Whosoeuer will (as Isaac) continually meditate on Gods booke,Gen. 24.63. he shal as Da­uid saith, find it a lanterne to his feet,Psal. 119. and a light to his paths: yea Gods word will be in his mouth sweeter then honie and the hony combe. When I perceiued how desirous your Worship was, to heare & reade Gods word, it greatly moued me to write this booke, perswading my selfe that it will be to you and all the godly, a recreatiō, to apply some part of this hea­uenly historie of Christ our Sauiour to the tune of one of the Psalmes of Dauid, that being (as S. Paule aduiseth all men) filled with the spirit of God, you may stil be speaking vnto your self in Psalmes & hymnes and spiritual songs,Ephes. 5.18. singing and making melodie vnto the Lord in your heart, and giuing thanks alwayes for all [Page] things vnto God euen the Father, in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ.

The second reason that moued me to take this worke in hand (besides the hope that I haue thereby to benefit many, and especially such as haue delight to be rea­ding and singing of Ballades and other English meeters, by giuing them better matter to reade and sing, then such com­monly do yeeld vnto them) is to signifie in some part, my gratefulnesse to God and your Worship, for the manifold be­nefites and fauours that I and mine haue receiued at your hands: to God (I say) first, as the author, and your selfe the in­strumēt that he hath vsed to do me much good. For if God had not opened your heart, [...]. 16.14. as he did the heart of Lydia to heare the preaching of S. Paule, you had not regarded my miserie. And therfore with Dauid I will as long as I liue receiue the cup of saluation, [...]sal. 116.12. and call vpon the name of the Lord: for as nothing pleaseth God more then thankfulnesse, so nothing can displease God and man more then vn­gratefulnesse. But lest some Sicophant should (seeking to deface my good mea­ning) note or charge me with adulation, I will rather passe ouer the sundrie and [Page] daily benefites I haue and do receiue by your Worships meanes, with this slight remembrance of them, thē giue him anie such-aduantage, or the least occasion to carpe at the same. But if any of Momus mates mislike with my doings, either in this or the rest of my booke, (so that the godly & well disposed, & of them chiefly your Worship, to whom I offer my book and my selfe to be patronized and defen­ded, do like and allow of it) I esteeme not his detractions but as trifles, and his floutes as follies, and therefore let him content himself with this answer, I tooke not this trauel for his sake. And thus de­siring your Worship to accept in good part this my humble dutie and remem­brance of you, as glad by this meanes to impart the effect of my affection towards you, as the widow was by two mites to manifest her good meaning to the trea­surie, I beseech Almightie God to blesse you and all yours with continuall and daily increase of the riches of his graces & gifts, that you may euer go forward from faith to faith, readie with all your endeuours to maintaine the quarell of Christ and his Church, vntill you bee [Page] summoned to raigne with him in glorie without end. Amen.

From Prendergast the first day of Au­gust, 1594.