¶The first chapiter of the first ymage whiche is the inward euyll.

THis is sure stable & most true (whe­ther man beleue it or not) that the­re can be no vexacyon and punysshement so greate in man / but that there is hym bo­the euyll and iniquite moche worse. So a­bundaunt & copiouse are his euylles whi­che he fealeth not. If truely he dyd feale his euyll / he shulde feale very hell / for he hath helle in hī self. Thou wilt are howe? The prophete sayeth euery man is a lyer. And ageyn / Euery man lyuing is all vany [...]e. To be vayne and a lyar is to be voyd of truth / and to be voyd of truth is to be with out god / and to be nothing. And that is to be in hell / & dampned. Therfore God chastynyng vs mercyfully doth open and [Page] put on vs oure casier and lyghter offences knowing that yf he shuld lede and brynge man to knowe his hole misery / he shulde perisshe within a lytell space / howebeyt he hath caused some to feale & tast their owne of whome it is wrytten / he leadeth downe to hell / and bryngeth ageyn. Wherfore they say well / whiche call the bodyly passyons certeyn warnynges and monisshementes of the euyl / whiche lieth with in. And thappostel in the .xij. to the Ebrewes calleth theym the fatherly instructions of God [...]a­yng / he scourgeth euery sonne that he rece [...] ueth / which he doth that by these scourgy [...] ges & lytell euylles / he may expell the great euylles / lest after he be compelled to feale theym / as it is wryten in the .xxij. of the prouerbes / folisshenesse is bound to gyther in the hert of the chylde / but the rodde of correccyon shall auoyde it. Do not kynde fa­thers more lament their chylder yf they be theues or euyll them yf they be wounded, yeis / they thē selues do bete theym & wounde theym that they shulde not be euil. Whace then lettyth that this abhominable euil with in vs is not felt? truely as I sayde / the prouidence of god that man (cōsidering [Page] his inward corrupcyon & vice) shuld not perisshe. For he hydeth theym / wylling that by onely fayth they shulde be sene perfectly though he doth showe some part of theym by a sensyble euyll. Therfore in the daye of euylles remembre goodnesse. Consyder ho­we good it is / not to knowe thyne hole e­uyll. Remembre well this goodnesse / and thy sensyble euyll shall the lesse vexe the.

And cōtrary in the day of goodnesse remē ­bre euylles / that is / when thou dost not feale thy true euylles / yet se thou be not vn­kynd / but remembre thy true euylles / and so shalt thou feale the lesse thy sensyble e­uylles. Therfore it is euydent that in man there is rather lacke of sorowe then suffi­cyent sorowe in this lyfe / not bycause that his euyll is not present byfore hym / but bycause the affeccyon / opinion and mynde of it is not present whiche thorowe the goodnesse of god is hydden.

For we may se theym to whome it is gyuen to knowe theyre hole iniquite / howe fearse & cruell they are ageynst theym selfe howe they regard not to suffer thorough all theyre lyfe / whate thing so euer it were / so that they felt not theyre hell and mysery.

[Page]Euyn so wolde euery man do / yf he ey­ther knewe or did beleue suerly his inward euyll he wolde of his owne wyll call vn­to hym outward euylles / ye / reioyse in theym / and be no more sadde for theym / then though he were in all prosperyte and felt no tribulacyon as some holy men haue done / emong the whiche Dauid was [...]e Psalme .C.vi.

Therfore the fyrst cōfortable ymage [...]s / to say vnto hym self. O thou man yet thou fealest not thyne euyll / be glad & gyue th [...]nkes that thou act not cōpelled to feale [...] so thyne euyll in comparyson of that g [...]t euyll is but lyght and easy / & that it is t [...]t some say, I haue deserued moche wors [...]e helle / whiche is sone sayd / but it is into [...]e­rable to felt. And this euell / though it [...]e [...]ruer so hydde and secret / yet he bryng [...]h forth his frute sensibly / whiche is fear [...] & wauering of the fearfull cōsciences / by [...]e whiche faythe is fore beseged and assa [...]ed whyle that man douteth and is vncert [...]n whether god be mercyful vnto hym or not and the weaker this frute is / the more [...]t­ter is this frute.

And this onely infyrmite / yf he be well [Page] cōsydered and loked on / syth it is spirituall doth ferre passe al bodyly trouble / and maketh it to seme but a trifell / yf that they be well compared to gither.

Besides this all that the churche speaketh of when she reherseth so oft vanite & aflic­tion of the sprete / perteyne to the inward euilles. What counseyles do we take in vayn [...]howe many of oure purposes are mocke [...]? howe many thinges se we? howe ma­ny heare we: that we wolde neither se nor heare / & these thynges that some tyme ma­ke for oure purpose some time are agaynst it [...] so moche that nothing is hole & perfait Furthermore / the more honoure & dignite [...] man is set in the more and greater are his trāsgressions / & the more is hes vexed with hetes / waues / and other stormes aboue all other / so that the .C.iij. psalme may wel say The reare in the see of this world [...] bestes / and greate / and treapyng wor [...] / without nombre that is to say / infinite [...]indes of temptations / so that for this cause Iob in the .vij. calleth a mannes ly­fe no thing but temptacyon.

And these are not therfore the lesse euil [...] bicause they be but lytel fealt but bicause [Page] they are so in vse and familier with vs we sette the lesse by theym. And therfore (as god wold also it shuld be) they moue & trouble vs but seide / all though we can not fully dispyse & forget theym. And trewe it is that we feale & perceaue scāt the thousand part of dure euylles. And yet we feale not those accordyng to the truth and greuous­nesse of theym / but measure theym by ou­re opinion / affection / and mynde.

¶The secunde chaptre of the secūde ima­ge / whiche is the euyll to come or bifore a man.

IT shall not a lytell easy thy present euyll what soeuer it be if thou turne thy mynde to consyder thynges to come / whiche are so manye & of suche efficacyte / that vnto them is onlye ascribed the grea­te & greuous passyō of mynde called feare. For thus some diffine it. Feare is a passyō of the mynde about euyll to come ī so mo­che that cappostel sayeth / go not about to sa fauoure hyge thynges but feare. And the more vncerteyn this euil is / the greater it is / in so moche that it is a comon prouerbe there is none age paste the stable altough this disease belonge to chylder and babes.

[Page]Do that by this ye may gather / that the­re is no mā sure & fre / from any other mannes infirmyte. But what soeuer one man suffereth the same may an other suffer al­so. To this pertayne all storyes & tragedy­es of all worldes / & all the compleyntes of this worlde. To this also maye be applyed that certeyn men haue obserued more then iij. hundreth diseases with the whiche mā nes bodi mai be vexed If thē there be so mani diseases / how many accydentes thinkest thou are there that may chaūce vpō oure goodes & vpō oure frēdes? Howe many encōbraūces & turmētes of the soule whiche is the princpall groūde wherin consist all these euylles / & the onely receauer of soro­we & sadnesse. And the greater a man is & in the more dignite / the more the streyngth & fealinge of this euyll encreaseth And were rayneth pouertie / slaunder & suche other (syth they may sone chaunce) it is nedefull that they be feared euery houre / euen as though they did hang ouer vs / by a lytell threde. Lyke as the swerde whyche dyoni­sius the tiraunt dyd hāge ouer his geestes hedes Of all these thīges whatsoeuer doth not chaunce vnto the count it for a vanu­rage [Page] / and as it were for a comforte of the euil whiche thou art striken with al / that also here thou mayst be compelled to say with Hieremas. It is the merci of god that we are not consumed For whiche so euer doth not come vnto vs / it is kept of by the strong hond of god / whiche compasseth vs with suche power and might (as it is shewed in Iob) that Satā and other euylles are wroth that they are kept from vs Therefore we se howe swetely god shuldt be loued when any thyng chaunceth to vs For this most louing father warneth vs) b [...] this one euyll) to beholde howe many euylles are aboute to subdue vs / if he dit not defend vs as though he shulde say / sathan and the hole hell of euylles persue to subdue the / but I haue prescribed & set the ende of the see / & haue sayd vnto hym / hyther shall thy swelling waues and come here shal they ceate / and be broken / as he sayeth in the .xxxviij. of Iob.

But be it paraduenture that god wil that none of them shall come / yet at the lest that which is called most fearfull of all (that is death) shall suerlye come and nothing so vnsuer as hys tyme and houre / whyche [Page] euyll truely is so greate, that we may se many mē whiche had leuer lyue and continue with al those euilles / them ones do dye to haue theym all fynisshed. And to thys one (contempnyng all other) scripture putteth feare / saying / remembre thy last ende & thou shalt neuer synne. To this se howe many meditacyons: howe many bokes: howe many meanes: howe many remedies: are ymagined / that by the memorye of this one euil they may feare vs from synne / make vs dis­pyse the world / alleuiate oure passyons / & euylles / and cōfort theym that are vexed / by the comparyson of this horrible & grea­te euyll / whyche for all that is necessarye. There is no man whiche wolde not desy­re to suffer all euylls / yf he myght by those auoyde death / for deth holy men did feare ye Chryst hym self went to his deth with feare and bloudy droppes of swette. Final­ly so horryble is this euyll that the mercie of god neuer toke more diligence / then to comfort oure weaknesse in this mater / as we shall se hereafter.

All those thinges are comyn and indifferent to all men / euen as the benefytes of helth are comyn to theym that are vexed. [Page] Howe be it to the christen there is a newe and speciall cause / to feare this euyll to co­me which dothe ferre passe all other euyl­les. And this is it that thappostel deschry­ [...]eth .i. Corin .x. sayenge. Let him that thynketh that he stondeth take hede / lest he fall The wey is so slypper and oure enemyes so myghty / armed with out owne powers (that is to sey with the socoure of oure owne flessh and of all oure euyll desyres) accō panyed with the infinite multitude of the worlde / wyth deuities and pleasures on the reght honde / with fearsnesse / crueltye of mē & displeasures on the lift honde / besydes the craft of subtiltie & a thousād weyes to hurte / deceyue and destroye / whiche he is instructe wyth al hym selfe. Thus lyue we / beynge not sure to contynue one my­nute of an houre in our good mynd & pur­pose.

Saint Cipriane remembring many of these thynges in a pistle whyche he made of mortalyte / doth teache that it is good to desyre deth / as a quycke helper to scape these euylles. And trulye when these men were in a goode mynde / and dyd entreate of these infinyte ieopardyes / we do se theym (dispysynge [Page] lyfe and death that is to saye al these foresaid euylles) desyre to dye and to be dyssolued / so that they myghte be loosed frome the multytude of synnes / that are in theym (as we haue sayde in the fyrst image) & into whiche they may fall of the whiche we speake nowe. And truly these .ij. thīges are verey ryghtuouse both to desire deth / & al­so to set lyght by all these euylles / ye vtter­ly to dispyse theym / yf god stryke the or moue the with one of theym / for it is te gyft of god to be moued wyth theym. What true Chrysten is there whiche wold not desyre to be diseased / ye and to dye / whyche seyth and fealeth hym selfe whyle he is hole to be yn synne / and that he may continuelly runne into more and dayly fall in theym / and so to transgresse the specyall and good wil of his most dere father.

With thys here and indygnation was Paule vexed and sturred vppe (in the vn­to the romayns) when he had compleyned that he coud not do to good wicht he wolde haue done / but that he dyd the euyll whiche he wolde not haue done / he cryed out. O wretched mā that I am who shal delyuer me frō this bodi of death the grace of [Page] god (he sayde) by Iesus chryst / he doth lytel loue god his father whiche doth not hate more the euill of synne then he doth death / sith that god dyd ordeyn death for this purpose / that it myght at the length fynysshe this euyll of synne / so that deth may be the mynistre of lyfe and ryghtuousnesse / of the whiche we shall speke hereafter.

¶ The thirde chapiter of the thyrdey ma­ge / whiche is the euyl that is passed or behind vs.

IN thys chiefly / aboue all other doth the swete mercy of god oure father shyne and set forth it selfe whiche is abyll to comforte vs in all veracyon / and ieo­perdyes. Nether is there any man whiche fealeth the hand of god more ready with hym then when he doth reherse & meditate the yeares of his lyfe past. Saynt Austine sayeth / yf that the choyse were gyuen to a man / that he shulde other dye or elles to lyue hys life passed agayn / as he hath liued it / that he wolde chose rather to dye: seyng his greate ieoperdies & euilles whice (scarcely and with great peryll) he hath escaped whiche opynyon is verey true if it be well extemed. Here he may se howe often he hath [Page] done many thinges with out studie and regard / ye clene cōtrary to his purpose. And hath also suffred many thynges with out counceyll and prouision byfore they were done and when they were done / in so mo­che that (merueyling with hym self) he is cōpelled to saye howe are these thinges come to passe / whiche I neuer thought to do but rather contrary. So that the prouerbe is founde verey true / man purposeth / & god dysposeth / that is to sey bryngeth to passe other thinges then man doth purpose. So that by this one text it is more euidēt then we can denye / that oure life and goodes ar gouerned by the hyghe and merueillous power / prouision / and goodnesse of god / and not by oure owne wysdome.

Here we may perceyue howe oft god hath byn with vs / when we haue nether sene nor felt hym. And howe trewe it is that Petre sayeth he taketh the charge and prouy­deth for al vs. Wherfore yf there were ne­ther bokes nor preachinges / yet oure lyfe hir selfe whiche is ledde thorough so mani perylles and ieoperdies may abundauntly testyfie and comend vs the godly good­nesse / most ready and swetist / whiche hath [Page] taken vp and borne vs in his bosom farre beyond all oure prouision and witte. And as Moses in the .xxxij. Deuteronomyon sayeth. The lorde hath kept hym as the ball of hys eye he hath ledde hym about and borne hym on hys shulders.

And of this spring all the exhortacions in the psalter / I haue remēbred the olde day­es. I haue cōsidered in meditacion all the­se workes & creatures. I shall remembre frō the beginnyng all thy merueilles. And I haue remēbred thy iugemētes & am comforted. These & suche other perteyne herunto that we maye surely knowe sith that he was them present with vo whē we sawe hym not / nor thought it / that he is also no­we present with vs / while he semith to vs to be absēt For he that toke vs in suche necessite with out oure consent wil not forsake vs in a lytell trouble though he seme to leaue vs / as he sayeth in Esaie. I haue for­saken the for a mynytte & lytell space / & in greate mercy will gather the agayn & re­ceyue the. Here maist thou put in these thinges / who was he that toke the charge of vs / so many nyghtes whyle we were sle­pyng. Who was he that toke thought for [Page] vs as oft as we laboured / played / & dyd in the other infinyte thynges / in the whyche we loke no thought for oure selfe. Or ho­we long ys the tyme / in the whiche we [...]a­ke regard to oure selfe The Couetous mā taketh thought to seke money / yet in the se­king & labouring for it / it is necessary that he put a part hys though. So we may so that all oure care (wether we wil or not) retourneth onely to god / & verey seldome it is that we are left in oure owne prouysi­on / whyche yet sometyme god doth suffer / that he may lerne vs to knowe his good­nesse that at the length we may perceyue what grete difference there is bytwene his prouision and ours. So it chaunceth / that he wyll suffer vs sumtyme te be stryken with some lyght dysease / or other euell faynyng as though he holpe vs not (howe be it in dede he dothe euer helpe vs) but yet he forbyddeth that those whyche are ab­out vs / assaut vs not so fyersly that they suppresse vs / so to tempt vs as hys dere chyldren / whether we wyll commytte to hys prouysyon all the resydue of oure lyfe and to se howe weke & vnproufitable ou­re care and prouision is / what do we? y [...] / [Page] or what can we proufit oure selfe in al oure life? whiche are not a bill to heale shortly a lytell ache in the thyghe: whye then are we so hasty to berydde in a moment frō oure parylles and euilles? and leaue not rather to hym the charge & cure of it / fyth that by hym we are delyuered (oure owne self beryng witnesse) from so many euylles and kept without oure oune ꝓuision. To knowe these thinges is to knowe the workes of god / to considre and remembre hys workes / and by that remembraunce to be cōforted in all aduersitees. They that knowe not this shall runne into the daunger that there is spokē of in the Psalme .xxviij. Bycause they haue not vnderstond the workes of god and the workes of his hondes thou shalt destroye theym / and not edyfye theym. For they are vnkind to the hole pro­uision of god gyuen theym in all theyre ly­fe / whiche in al lytel minycte committe not to hym the hole charge and prouision.

¶The fourth chapitre of the fo­urth ymage whiche is the euyll beneth vs.

[Page] YEt we se none other thing ī al the euilles that we suffer thē that the goodnesse of god is so greate & so redy w^t vs that emong the īnumerabyl euylles wyth which we are compas­sed on eueri syde / ye & in whiche we are fulli prisoned scāta fewe (nor thei at al times) are suffred to assayle vs / in so moche that the euil wherwith we are supp̄ssed is but a warninge of a grete auauntage w^t whiche god endueth vs / whyle that he suffreth vs not to be oppressed with the multitude of euilles with the whiche we are beseged.

What a myracle is it for a man to bestrykē at on euery syde with infinite strokes / and chaunce at the length to be touched but with one? yee it is a greate grace that he is not stryken with theym all / and a myracle that he is not touchet with many. Ther­fore the first of those euylles whiche are by neth is death The secunde is hell / yf we shulde consyder the dyuers and vyle deth of other men / wherwith synnars are stry­ken / we shall sene perceyue wyth howe grete lucre we suffre lesse then oure deser­uinges. Howe many are strangled wyth halters / galowes / and water / or dye with [Page] swerde / whyche paraduenture haue done moche lesse synnes then we haue done.

In so moche that theyre [...]th and mysery may be leyd bifore vs of Christ for an ymage & glasse wheryn we may perceyue / wha­te we haue deserued For so he answered in the .xiij. of lyke / when there were present that shewed hym of the galyleans whose bloude pylate myngled with theyre owne sacrifice. Suppose ye that these galyleans were gretter synnars then all other galy­leans bycause they suffred suche punysshement? I tell you nay / but except ye repent / ye shall all in lyke wise perisshe. Or thyn­ke ye that those .xviij. Vppon whome the coure in Siloe fill and slewe theym / were synners aboue all men that dwell in Ierusalem? I tell you naye / but except ye repēt ye al shall lyke wise perysshe.

Nether can we thinke that we ought lesse to be punysshed / whyche haue commytted as great or gretter crymes. Nether the iustice & truthe of god will be for oure cau­se other vnequall or false / whiche hath or dyned to geue to euery man acordyng to hys dedes / yf we do not preuent and at the lest suffre some lytel euyll pacyently that [Page] is gyuen vs of god most mercyfully for a warnyng / to exchewe the gretest euell.

Howe many thousandes are there in hell / and euerlasting dampnation whiche haue not the thousand part of oure synnes: ho­we many virgyns? chyldren? and whiche we call innocentes? howe many religious prestes? and maryed men? whiche semed thorow all theyre lyfe to serue god / & perad­uenture / falling into one synne are dampned perpetually. We will not dissemble. There is one ryghtuousnesse of god ī eue­ry synne. He hateth equally & condēpneth synne in who so euer it be founde. May we not here se the inestymable and bounteous mercy of god / whiche hath not damp­ned vs that so oft haue offended? howe moche I pray the is it that we can suffer in all oure lyfe? to be compared to euerla­sting payne / whiche they suffer / deseruyng it b [...]one transgression. And yet we whiche haue so oft transgressed are saued. Truely it is a great vnkindnesse and extreme hardnesse of vnbeleue / that we so lytell regard and so coldly magnifye these hyghe bene­fytes of god. Bysydes thys hyther thou mayst applye / so many infydelles / naty­ons [Page] / Iewes / infauntes / tho whome if the grace had byn gyuen whiche is gyuē to vs / they shuld not be in hell but in heuyn and shulde moche lesse haue synned thē we haue. For Crist in the .xi. of Mathewe s [...]t [...]h this ymage before oure yes saying / wo be to the Chorosaym / wo be thou. Both sayd [...] for yf the miracles whyche were shewed in you had byn shewed in tyre & Sydon they had repented long a gone in sackeclo the & asshes. Neuerthelesse I say to you it shall be easyer for Tyre and Sidon at the day of iugement then for you. And thou Caphernaum wyiche art lyft vp vnto he­uyn / shalt bethruft downe vnto hell for yf the myracles whiche haue byn done in the had byn shewed in zodom: they had remained to this day. Neuerthelesse I say vnto you / it shalbe easier for zodom in the day of iudgement / then for the. We se therfore howe moche prayse & loue we owe vnto oure mercyful god in al the euylles of this lyfe / bycause it is scant one droppe of that we haue deserued. Whiche Iob compareth to the see and the grauell of the see.

¶The fyfte Chapter of the fyfte ymage whiche is the euyll on the lyft hond.

[Page] HEre set byfore thyne yies the hole kepe and multitude of aduersaries and euyll men. And first consydre in theym howe many euylles they haue not done / to oure body / goodes / na­me and soule / whiche they wolde haue done / except (by the prouisyō of god) they had byn letted. And the hygher any man is in tale & auctorite the more redy at hond he is to be vexed / with the deceytes / soutteltyes flaunders & tēptacyons of his aduersa­ryes. And in all these thinges we may vn­derstonde and proue the honde of god most ready to delyuer vs. And whate merueyll is it though somtyme we be vexed with o­ne of these euylles? After this cōsyder the euylles whiche are appropryate vnto ou­re aduersaryes: not to be glad or reioyse in theym / but rather to suffer with theym / and to be sorye for they are subiect indifferent­ly to these euylles as well as we / as we haue shewed before.

¶But in this they are more wretched that they are separate from oure company both bodyly and spiritually. This euyll whiche we suffer is nothing to theyrs / for they are in synne in vnbeleue / vnder the [Page] wrath of god vnto the power of the deuell wretched bondmen of vngodlynesse and synne in so moche that yf the hole worlde wolde curse & banne theym: they can desire no worse vnto theym. This well cōside­red / we shall loue perceyue with howe moche gretter loue we ought to suffer this lytell dysease of the body / in the fayth / in the kyngdome of Christ / and in the seruice of God / whiche in thabundaunce of these cōmodytees and vertues ought scant to be fealt. Theyre mysery also so ought to be so rowed in a Christē and meke hart / that his sorowe seme not to be paynfull / but rather pleasure vnto hym. For so commaundeth Paule in the secunde to the Philippians / let euery man cōsydre not whate is in him selfe / but whate is in other men / let the same mynd be in you whiche was in Christ Ie­su whiche beyng in the shape of god / toke on hym the shape of a seruaunt / that is to say with a meke and a lowe mynde put on hym oure shape / orderyng hym self none otherwise in oure euylles then yf they had byn his owne. So forgettyng his godhed and other pleasures he made hym selfe of no reputacyon / that he myght be founde in [Page] euery poynt lyke man / separatyng nothing that man had from hym / but onely synne / submyttyng hym self to all other infirmy­tees. The holy men (streyngthed with this mynde and sturred vp with this ymage) were wont to pray for euyll men / ye and for theyre enemyes. And to do all thinges accorddyng to the example of Christ forgettyng theyre owne iniuryes or ryghtuous­nesse / taking thought howe they shulde de­lyuer theym from theyre euylles. And with this werre mothe more trouble / then with theyre owne bodyly euylles.

As Saynt Petre wrytteth of lot in the secunde Chapitre of the secunde Epistle he beyng ryghtuous / and dwellyng emong theym / in seyng and hearyng / vexed his ryghtuous soule from day / to day with theyr vnryghtuous deades.

Here thou seyst whate a depth of euyl­les appereth and whate occasyon is gyuen to be mercyfull and to suffer with theym / & vtterly to dyspyse oure lytell incōmody­te / yf the charyte of god be in ve / and howe God will let vs suffer nothing in cōpary­son to these that they suffer. The cause that these thinges do b [...] tytell moue vs is this

[Page]The lye of oure hart is not pure ynough wher with we shulde se howe grete shame and mysery it is for a man to lye vnder synne / that is to saye to be forsaken of God / & possessed of the deuell. Who is so hard har­ted that wyll not pytye the myserabyll cō ­dicyon of theym whiche lye before the churche / and in the streates with deformed fa­ces / theyre noses eaten of / theyr iyes out / & other of theyr membres cōsumed with matter / fylthe / and corrupcyō / in so moche that the sense can not onely abyde to beholde it / but also the mynde doth abhorre to remembre it. And whate meaneth god by these lamentable mōstres of our flessh & lykenesse but to open the iyes of oure mynde that we may perceyue with whate en horrible fa­cyon the soule of a synnar sheweth out his matter and corrupcyon / though he hym selfe walke in purpyll and in golde / couered with roses / and lylyes / as though he were all redy in paradise. But how many syn­ners are there in the worlde in cōparyson of one of these deformed persones: Truely these infynite euylles / bothe in gretnesse & in nōbre dispysed ī oure neyghboures doo cause ours (though, it be but one and that [Page] verey small) to seme to vs verey grete & de­testable. Howe be it also in bodyly tribulacyōs they are in worse cōdicyon them we are. For I pray ye what thing can be to theym swete and acceptable (though they had & myght obteyne all thinges that they desired) seyng that theyre cōscience can not be quyet: is there any thing more abhominable then a grudgyng or byting cōscience For Esaye sayeth in the .lvij. Chaptre: the wicked are as the boyling see / whiche can not be quyet and his floudes do habound into subiection and mourning. And the lorde god sayeth / there is not peace (whiche is the verey tranquyllite of conscience) vnto the wicked. Therfore thou mayst se that verefyen in theym whiche is wryten in the xxviij. of Deuteronomyon. The lord shall gyue the a fearefull hart / & deceauyng iyes and a soule cōsumed with sorowe / & thy lyfe shall be hangyng before the / & thou shalt feare day and nyght / & thou shalt not trust thy lyfe / in the morning thou shalt say who shall geue me the euentyde. And in the euenyng / who shall geue me the mornyng? Bicause of the feare of thy hart / for thou wal [...] be feared / & for those thinges whiche thou [Page] shalt see with thyne yies. Fynally he that dyd consyder with a good mynde the vttermost poynt of euylles / other of his enemy­es or of his frendes / he wolde not onely forget his owne troubles thinkyng hym selfe that he suffred no thing / but wolde also with Moyses and thappostell Paule breke out and desire that it myght be leful for hym to dye for theym and to be made cursed frō Christ / & to be put out of the boke of lyfe (as it is wryten in the .ix. to the Romayns) that they myght be delyuered and saued. Christ burnyng with this syre and loue both dyed and went downe to hell for vs leuyng vs an example that we also shulde take thought for other mennes harmes / forgettyng oure owne / ye rather desyring oure owne.

¶The syxte Chapitre of the syxt ymage whiche is the euyll on the ryght honde.

ON oure ryghte honde are oure fren­des by whose euylles and vexations oure troubles are mitygated and aswaged as Saynte Petre teachet in the fyft of the fyrst Pistle sayenge. Resyst the deuell stedefast in the fayth / remembryng that ye do but fulfyll the same affliccions / whiche are [Page] appoynted to youre bretheren that are in the worlde. So the cōgregacyon of christē areth in theyre prayers / that they prouoked be the examples of holy men / maye folowe the vertue of theyre passyons / and syngeth solemply / that the holye men haue suffered turmentes / that they myght suerly come to the victorye of martyrdome. By the which wordes and songes of the church we must vnderstōd that the passyons and victoryes that God hath gyuen to his martyres and holy sayntes / ought to be had in memory / that by theyre example we may be quyke­ned and bolded to suffer those euylles whiche they suffred. And yf theyre commemo­racyon be by vs done to any other entent / whatsoeuer it be / then is it medled with supersticyon & hypocrisie. As is theyrs that honoure theym to thintent that they shul­de not suffer the trouble & vexacyō / whiche the sayntes by theyr example & memory do teache to be suffred / so that they desire to be made vnlyke vnto theym / whose feastes they celebrate. Right excellētlye doth thappostle entreate this place of cōfort in the .xij to the Heb. sayēge: ye haue not yet resysted vnto bloud shedīge striuīge ageynst synne

[Page]And ye haue forgotten the consolacyon / whiche speaketh vnto you as vnto chyl­dern. My sonne despyse not the chastenynge of the lorde / nether saynt when thou art rebuked of hym: for whō the lorde loueth hym he chasteneth. If ye shall endure cha­stenynge god offereth hym selfe vnto you / as vnto sonnes / what sonne is that whome the father chasteneth not? Yf ye be not vn­der correccyō (wherof al ar parte takers) them are ye bastardes and not sonnes. Moreouer seyng we haue fathers of oure flesshe whiche corrected vs / and we gaue theyme reuerence: shall we not moch ra­ther be in subieccyon vnto the father of spirituall gyftes / and lyue? No maner lernyn­ge for the present tyme semych to be ioyous but greuous / neuerthelesse afterward it bryngeth forthe the quyet frute of ryght­uousnesse vnto theym / whiche there in are exercysed. These were the wordes of saynt Paule. Who wolde not be abasshed of these wordes / where he diffyneth playnely / that they are not the sonnes of god / whiche are not vnder his lernyng and correccyon Who can more strongly be cōfirmed / & mo­re effectuouslye be cōforted / then he that heareth [Page] that they are loued of god whiche are chastened / and that they are the sonnes of god / and endued with the cōmunyon of holy men / ye they onely are holy whiche suffer and are chastened. This vehement exhortscyō shulde make sufferaunce and correccy­on to be loued and desyred. Here is no place to excuse oure selfe / that some suffer lesse some more for to euery man is gyuen temptatiō by measure / not aboue oure streynght as it is wrytten in the .lxxix. psalme. Thou shalt fede vs with the brede of teares / and geue vs drinke in theares / in measure / whiche Paule doth also saye. God is faithfull whiche suffereth you not to be tempted / for ther thē ye be able: ye he wyll put such cha­unce vnto the temptacyon that ye may be able to resyst. Therfore where as the gret­ter euyll and temptacyō is / there is the more cōfort and helpe of god. So that the in­equalyte of trouble and temptacyō is but onely in the face outwardly and not in the verey thinge. When we nowe at this daye remembre Iohn Baptist shamefully slayne & behedded of Herode / doth it not cōfound vs and make vs abasshed? that he beyng suche one (as emōg the chyldren of wymen [Page] there arose not a gre [...]ter) the onely frende of the spouse the prepare of christes wa [...]e / gretter them all the prophetes / was nether slayne by any open iugement / nether yet for any fayned cause (as Christ was accused) nether for to auoyd insurreccyon of the people. But was beheded in pryson at the ap­petyte of a dauncetesse / the doughter of a wretched aduoutrous woman. Let then the shameful deth / of suche an holy persone suche an holy lyfe of suche a Prophete / so wretchedly and vilaynously delyuered in­to the cruell hōdes of a rybaud that was angry with hym swage and pacyfye al our euyll / where was god whiche suffered euē before his eyes such an horrible dede? Where was Christ whiche hearyng of it spake neuer a worde? He dyed as though he had byn vnknowen to god / men and all creatures. What suffer we in the whiche we may reioyce? and not rather be vtterly confounded and asshamed yf it be compared vnto this mannes dethe. Or howe shall we be bold to shewe oure faces / yf we wyll suf­fer nothynge / syth suche holye men haue suffered suche vyle deth without deseruyng / ye and theyre bodyes after theyre deth hath [Page] ben made a laughing stocke to theyre ene­myes. Behold (sayeth Ieremyas) they whi­che had no iugement to drynke of the cup­pe / drinkyng shall drynke of it / & shalt thou be lest innocent? thou shalt not be lefte innocent / but drynking thou shalt drinke of it. Therfore the heremyte dyd well whiche because he was wont euerye yere to haue sykenesse / and scaped one hole yere without sykenesse / was very sadde & wepte / sayng that God had forgotten hym / & had denyed hym his grace. So necessary and holsome is the correccyon of the lorde to all christē Here we se howe it is nothing that we suffer / yf we cōpare it to the prisons / Iron / fyre / bestes / water / and other infynite tor­mentes / ye yf we ponder well the greuous persecutyons of theym whiche suffer the temptacyons of the deuell beynge present with vs in this lyfe. For there are manye whiche are suffer more sharply and gre­uouslye them we do / bothe in sprete and bodye. Here some man wyll say in this I cō ­pleyne / that my passyon cannot be compared to the passyons of holy men / bycause I am a synner / not worthy to be compared vnto theym.

[Page]They suffered gylties and for innocen­cye but I suffer for my synnes / therfore it [...]s no merueyle though they suffered all thyn­ges pacyently and gladly. This saying is verey folisshe / for yf thou suffer for thy synnes thou mayst reioyce that thy synnes be purged. Where not the holy men also syn­ners? but thou fearest lest thou be lyke vnto Herode or to these whiche honge on the left honde.

Thou art not yf thou be pacyent / what thīg maketh the differēce bytwene the thefe on the ryght hōde & the thefe on the left hōde? but onely paciēce & impaciēt? Yf thou be a synnar / well / the thefe was also a syn­ner / howe be it his pacyence obtayned the glory of ryghtuousnesse and holynesse.

So do thou lyke wyse / for thou cāst not suffer but other for thy synnes / or for ryghtuousnesse / and bothe these suffrynges make the holy & blessed / yf thou loue theym. Wherfore thou hast none excuse left. Finally as thou doest cōfesse / that thou suffryst iustly for thy synnes / thou arte ryghtuouse and holye as the thefe on the ryghthonde. The knoweleging of thy synne / because it is truthe dothe iustifye and make the holy. And [Page] euē then immediatly (after this knowele­gyng of thy synne) thou doest not suffer for thy synne / but for thy truthe and innocency For a ryghtuous man can not suffer / but for the truthe and innocently. Nowe art thou iustifyed by the knoweleginge of thy synne / and suffering pacyently. Therfore (and that truely and worthyly) is thy pas­syon and suffering to de cōpared to the sufferyng of the sayntes euen as the knowelegyng of thy synnes is to be cōpared vnto theyrs. For there is but one truthe of all men the knouwelegyng of synne / sufferyng pacyently of all euylles / and true cōmunyon of holy men in all and by all thinges,

¶The seuenth Chaptre of the seuenth ymage whiche is the euyll aboue vs.

IN this last ymage we must lifte vp oure hart and assence vp in to the mountayne of Myrthe with the spouse. Here is Iesus Chryst crucifyed the hed of all chry­sten / the capteyn of all theym that suffer / of whome many haue wryten many thinges And all men (as it is cōuenyent) haue wryten all thinges. His memorye is cōmended vnto the spouse / where as it is sayde. Put [...]e as a sygne vpon thyne arme. The bloud [Page] of this lambe marked on the post doth put awey the stryking aungell. The spouse of hym is commended / because her here is ly­ke the purpure of a kyng. That is her me­ditacyon is redde and of purpure coloure by remembryng the passyō of Christ. This is the wodde that Moyses was commaunded to put in to the waters of Marath (that is to say / the bitter passions) and they were made swete. There is nothīg but this passyon maketh it swere / ye deth. As the spouse doth say his lyppes are lylyes distil­lyng the chief and pure Myrrhe. What proporcyon is there bytwene lylyes and lyp­pes? syth these are redde and they whyte. Truely it is spoken mystycally / bycause his wordes are most whyte / and pure in the whiche is no bloude bytternesse of enuye or malyce / but they are swete and mylde / with the whiche (neuerthelesse) he doth di­styll the most pure and chief myrrhe / that is to say / persuadeth most bitter death / whi­che (euen as the most pure and chiefe Mir­rhe at one taketh awey all corrupcyō and stynking of the body) taketh awey the cor­rupcyon and stynking of synne. Of grete power are these most swettest lyppes that [Page] are able to make the most bitter deth / swete / pure / whyte and acceptable. But howe shall this be done? Truely whyle thou he­rest that Iesu Christ the sonne of god hath (by his most holy touching and passyon) consecrate and halowed all oure euylles / and suffrynges / ye the deth it selfe most extremest and grettest of all other / hath blyssed the curse / glorifyed the slaunder made ryche the pouertye / so that deth is compel­led to be the gate of lyfe / Curse / the begyn­nyng of blyssyng.

And slaunder the father of glorie / howe canst thou nowe be so harde & vnkynde? that thou wilt not both loue ye & also desy­re all passyōs & troubles / whiche are deped & purified in the most clene & holy flesshe & bloude of Christ / & so made vnto the holy / innocent / holsome / blessed / & glorifyed. For yf he (by the touchinge of his clene flesshe) hath halowed al waters for baptesme ye al creatures. Howe moche more bi the touchī ge of his moste pure flesshe & bloude had he sanctified al dethes / all passiōs / al iniuries all curses / al slaunders / for the baptesme of the sprete or bloude? As he sayeth of the sa­me baptesme or passyō in the .xij. of Luke. [Page] I must be baptysed with a baptesme / & ho­we I am payned tyll it be ended? Thou seest how he is payned howe he pantith / how he thirsteth to sanctifye and make lo­ued passyon and deth. For he seeth that we are feared with passyons / he seeth that deth is feared and abhorred. Wherfore he (as a most meke sheperd / and most faythfull phisiseō) goyng aboute to cure oure euyl / doth hast and is payned vntyll his dye that by his deth he myght make theym acceptable & welcome to vs. So that the deth of a Christen is to be counted lykē to the brasen serpent of Moses which in all poyntes had the facyon of a serpent / but it was clene with­out lyfe / without mouyng / without veno­me / without bytyng. So the ryghtuous do apere to theym that a soles to dye / howe be it they lyue in peace. We are like to thinges which dye / Nether is there any other face outwardly of oure deth then of the deth of other thinges. Howe be it the thinges in dede are other wyse. For to vs deth is deed. Lykewyse all oure other troubles and ve­xacyons are lyke the troubles of other thī ges / but that is onely in the face outward­ly. For in very dede oure sufferynges at the [Page] begynning of impassibilite / euen as deth is the begynnynge of lyfe.

And this is it that Ihon speaketh of in the viij. If a man kepe my sayenges / he shall neuer so deth. How shal he not se deth Truely for dying he begynneth lyfe. So that for the lyfe whiche he seeth he can not see deth / here the nyght as the day shall belyghte­ned / for there is moche more clere lyght of the lyfe whyche we begynne then there is of the lyfe from whyche we be exyled by deth. And all these thynges are confyrmed and stablisshed to theym whiche beleue in Christ / but it is contrary to theym that beleue not Therfore if thou kysse / loue / and embrace the cote of Chryst vesselles / water pottes / and suche other that Christ did touche and vse / countyng theym grete and swete relykes / as though they were consecra­ted & halowed by this thouchyng / whye doest thou not moche more loue / embrace and kysse / the paynes & euylles of this worlde slaunder and deth? whiche were not onely halowed by his touching / but also clen­sed and blissed in his pure bloude / ye and embraced with the will of his hert / his enfamming charyte and mercy mouing hym [Page] therunto / seyng that in these are moche greater merytes / rewardes / and goodnesse / thē in those relykes for in these are obsteyned for the / the victory of deth and heel / and of all synnes / and so is it not in the relyques. O that we myght se / and beholde the hert of Chryst / when that hangyng on the crosse he was payned to make death deade and despysed howe feruently / & swetely he to­ke vppon hym paynes and deth for vs that were feerfull and dyd abhorre paynes and deth howe gladly he began to drynk thys cuppe to vs that were dyseased / that we shulde not feare after hym to drynke syth we do so that there chaunced none euyll to hym but onely good by rysing agayn.

No doubt chat chyef & pure myrrhe (Crystes lyppes distillyng it and his wordes cō mending it) shulde be moste acceptable ād swete euen as the smell of lylses So writeth Petre in the fyrste pystle for asmuche as Chryst hath suffer for vs in flesshe Arme your selues lykewyse with the same mynde Paule also in the .xij. to the Hebrues. Consyder howe that he endured suche spea­king agaynst hym of synners / lest ye shulde be weryed ēd saynt in your myndes. Therfore [Page] yf we haue lerned in the ymages byfore (whiche were byneth vs and nere vnto vs) to suffer euylles paciently / cruely in this last ymage which is set aboue vs we (being rauysshed in christ lyft vp and set hygher them all euylles) ought not onely to suffer theym / but also to loue / desyre and seke theym. And the ferther of that a man is frome this mynde & desyre / the lesse he hath of Christes passion. As they which vse the sygnes and armure of Christ against euyl­les and deth / that they might nether suffer nether dye / whyche desires are clene con­trary to the crosse and deth of Christ wherfore it is necessary that what euylles so e­uer we suffer be consumed & clene brought to nought in this seuenth ymage / so that it shulde not greue vs but rather delite vs and make vs glad yf this ymage perse and entre in to oure her [...]s / or do remayn and sure in oure inward desire and mynde.

¶The first chapter of the fyrst ymage whiche is the goodnesse with in vs.

WHo is a bill to numbre the goodnesse whyche euery man posses­seth in his owne person? fyrst howe grete are the gyftes of the bodie? as beutye streinght helt / q̄cknesse / witte & besydes these in the male the most ꝑfai [...] & noble kynde & nature / by the whyche he is mete to exercyse and take vpon hym many thinges priuate / comune and other excellēt actes / whiche woman is nothing mete nor apt to / whathe merueyle is it / yf thou vsing these giftes (thorough the fauoure of god) cenne twenty / or thyrty yere with pleasure shuld suffer & be payned in one of theym for the space of tēne dayes? whate shal we do whiche haue had manye good houres / [Page] and will not be cōtent to suffer one euell? here may we se howe we be endued by he­pe with the goodly giftes of god. And agayn with howe fewe euylles many of vs be oppressed or touched.

Howe be it god almyghtye (not thynking it sufficiēt to haue done this moche for vs) dyd also cast vnto vs rychesse & plenteous abundaunce of all thinges / though not to all men yet truely to many / & to theym spe­cially that are impotent & weake to suffer euyll for (as I sayde bifore) to theym he gyueth more of the sprete / to whome he gaue lesse worldly & bodyly goodes that there shuld be a certeyn equalite in all thynges & he the ryghtuouse iuge of al thinges. Nether do grete rychesse so moche comfort a man as a mery & glad sprete. Bisides this / to some he gyueth yssue & children (whiche is a grete pleasure) power / imperye / hono­ur a name / glory / fauoure / and suche other whyche yf a man vse a longe season (ye though he vse theym but a smal season) they shall sone declare vnto hym whate he shal do in a lytell euyll.

The gyftes of the soule are more excelēc then all these as witte / connyng iudgemēt [Page] eloquence / wysdom / and these also (as he dyd the other) he deuideth after an equalyte so that he hath recompensed it in the o­ther / by gyuing theym more quietnesse and gladnesse of mynde.

In all these thynges the most liberall hond of god must be considered with gy­uyng thankes and oure infirmite must be comforted that in this multitude and gretnesse of goodes we merueyl not / though some sowernesse be admyxt / for vnto volup­tuous men / there is no meate acceptable whiche of his nature hath not other some sharpe tast / or elles hys sawce prepared for hym / so that contynuall and onely swetnesse is a thing intollerabill. Therfore it was well sayd euery pleasure by his perseueraunce maketh a man full of it / and to disda­yn it. And agayn / it is said. Euen pleasure hir self is a payne: bycause this lyfe is to weke and impotent to suffre cōtinually goodnesse without the temperature of euyll for the abūdant copie of the goodnesse wherof spryngeth thys prouerbe. Theyre bones must be strong whyche shall suffer good dayes whiche prouerbe I haue often considered merueyling at the merueylous true [Page] sentence of it / & howe all the purposes and desires of men are clene contrary vnto it / whyche seke nothyng but good dayes / ye when they haue gotte theym they can worse bere theym thē the euyll. For whāte doth god cōmend vnto vs in those thinges / but that the crosse shulde be merueylous / euen in the enemyes of the crosse: Insomoche that we ought to tempore and halowe all thynges by it / euen as we powdre flesshe with salte that it do not putrifie & wareful of wormes werfore thē do not we receyue with a glad hert / thys temperature sent of god / whyche yf he dyd not sente / yet oure lyfe whiche is not able to endure with thys contynuall pleasure and goodnesse / wolde desire it of his owne will. Nowe we per­ceiue howe truely the wise mā sayed of god he that contynueth from the one ende to the other strongly / and dysposeth all thyn­ges swetely / for yf we consider these good thynges / it shall appere that it is also true whiche is spoken of Moses in the.

xxxij. of Deuteronomyon / he bare hym Vppon hys shulders / he ledde hym ab­out and kept hym as the balle of hys eye wyth thys saying we may stoppe theyre [Page] mouthes whyche vnkyndly chatter that there are mo euilles in this lyfe them good thynges for surely / we neuer lacke good­nesse nor pleasures / full of proufit & swet­nesse: but we do moche lacke suche people as shuld vnderstond it with the Prophete saying. The Erthe is full with the mercy of god. And agayn: the erth is full of hys prayse / & in the .ciij. psal. The erth is reple­nysshed with thy possession / thou hast delyted me Lorde in tese creatures for this cause we syng dayly in the masse: heuyn & erth are full of thy glorye / why so? for there are many good thinges for the whiche he shulde be praysed / but that is onely of theym whiche se this fulnesse and replenysshyng for euyn as we sayde of the euylles in the first ymage / that euery mannes euyll was so greate as hys opynyon / and knowelege was in it. Euen so good thynges though they come on vs on euery syde and in a maner suppresse vs / yet are they no gretter them they are extemed / for all that god made be verey good / howe be it they be not knowen so of all men.

Of this ymage / Iob gyueth vs a fayre & most proufitable example / whyche (when [Page] all his goodes were taken a way) sayde / yf we haue taken goodnesse of the hond of the Lorde whye shall we not also suffer euylles? truely it was a goodly sayng and a myghty comfort in temptacion / for he dyd not onely suffer but was also tempted by his wife to ympacyence / saying vnto hym wilt thou yet perseuer in this innocency? curse the Lorde and dye / for it is manyfest that he is not god whyche so doth forsake the / why them doest thou trust in hym and not rather denye hym / and curse hym / and so to knowelege thy selfe mortall / to whome after this lyfe nothyng is remaynyng. These and suche other to euery man hys owne wyfe (whyche is sensualyte) doth prompt and shewe in temptacyon / for the sense sauoureth not that thyng whyche perteyneth to god howebeit all these thinges are bodyly goodes / and comen to all men. But a Chrysten man precelleth in other inwarde goodes which are farre better that is to say in the fayth of Chryst / of the why­che it is spoken in the .xl. Psalme. All hys glorye is of the kynges doughter whyche is withyn in borderes of gold cumpassed about with varyete. And as we haue spo­ken [Page] of the euyll of the fyrst ymage / that there can be sene no euyll so grete in a man / but there is a moche worse in hym whiche he can not se. Euyn so the best of all the good thinges that be in a Christen he hym self can not se nor iudge / for yf he dyd per­ceyue it he shulde be then in heuen / bycau­se the kyngdome of heuen (as sayeth Chry­ste) is withyn vs for he that hath faith hath the truth and word of god / & he that hath the worde of god hath god hym self the maker of all thinges. If these goodes were reuelat vnto the soule that he myght feale the botom of theym as they be in verey de­de / he wolde sone be dissolued from the bo­dye / for thabundaunce of that swetnesse. wherfore all other goodes art as it were a monysshyng of those goodes (that we haue withyn vs) whiche he wolde by theyme shulde be shewed vnto vs / bycause thys lyfe is not a byll to abyde the glorye of ther yf they were shewed forth. Therfore they are mercyfully hydden of god vntyll they are encreased to theyre perfit state / euen as louing fathers do gyue vnto theyre chyl­dren sometyme lytell gyftes to play wyt­hall / wherby they may entyce the myndys [Page] of theyre chyldren to trust for gretter thynges.

Howe be it sometyme they shewe theim selfe and come forth when that the consci­ence (reioysing / doth cōmytte hym self hol­ly vnto got / speaketh gladly of hym / hereth his worde swetely & deuoutly / is redy and glad to serue hym / to do good workes / to suffer euylles / and suche other / whiche all are tokens of an infinite and incōparabill goodnesse lying with in / whyche sendeth out thēse swete droppes by a lytell at ones though sumtyme it, chaunce that it be fer­ther reuelate to soules whyche fall to contemplacyon / in so moche that they are ma­de dronkē with it / and can not tell where they are. As S. Augustine & his mother do confesse of theym selues / and many other.

¶The secunde Chapter of the secunde ymage whiche is / the goodnesse to come / or byfore hym.

THey that are not Christen can take but small comfort of the goodnesse to come / bycause to theym all thynges are vncerteyn for this affect whyche is called hope (by the whyche we are commaunded after mannes confortyng to trust euer for [Page] the best / bithe whiche we take greate ma­ters in honde trustyng to bryng theym to oure purposse (doth of ten tymes) ye and in a maner alweyes / deceyue vs. As Chryst doth teache in the .xij. of luke of the ryche mā whiche said to his soule. I wil distroy my barnes and bylde gretter / and theryn will I gadre all my frutes and all my goodes / and will saye vnto my soule: Soule thou hast moche goodes leyd vp in store for many yeares / take thyne ease / eate / drinke / & be mery. But god said vnto hym: thou sole this nyght will they fetche awey thy foule agayne frō the / then whose shall tho is thinges be whiche thou hast prouyded? So is it with hym that gathereth rychesse and is not ryche in god.

Nether yet hath god left the sones of men so / but doth confort theym by a hole suer and perfait hope / that they shall ouer come theyre euilles and obteyne goodnesse And though they be vncertein where goodnesse [...]t is that shall come / yet they hope styll wythout doubt / by the whyche hope they are susteyned / lest (by falling ynto des­peratyon) they shulde not be able to suffer theyre present euyll / & so to do worse wherfore [Page] this affect of hope whiche is in temporall thinges is gyuen the of god / not taht he wold haue the stykke therin / but to pro­cede vnto the hole suer / and parfayt hope whiche is onely vnto hym. And for thys cause god is lūg sufferyng that be may brīg vs to repentaunce / As paule sayeth in the ij. to the Romains. Nether will he suffer that all men be deceyued in this vnperfit & deceytful hope whithe is in worldly maters / but that they retorne and take the parfait and vnfayned hope whiche is in hym.

There are bysides these goodes to the Christē .ij. great goodes whiche they shall suerly haue but not without deth and sufferyng for they haue also the comon hope that we spake of / concernyng the fynys [...]hing of theyre present euyll & encreasing of the cō ­trary good / although they do not so gretely regard that / as they do in the increasyng of theyre owne proper good / whiche is the truthe in Christ in the whiche they do procede from day to day / for the wiche they do both liue and hope. But bysides these as I sayde / there ys .ij. chyef whiche shall come in deth. The fyrst is that in deth is fynys­shed all the tragedy of the euylles in thys [Page] lyfe / as it is wryten Precioꝰ is in the sight of god / the deth of his sayntes. And agayn in peace I shall bothe slepe and rest. And a ryghtuous man yf he be subdewed of deth he shall be in colenesse. And contrary to theyme that are wyked / deth is the begyn­nyng of euyll. As it is saide the death of synners is worst / and euylles shall take an e­uell man in hys deth. So Lazarus shall be comforted whyche hath receyued here his euylles / where as the gloton shall be punysshed bycause he hath receyued here his goodes.

So it feloweth that a chrysten whether he die or lyue is euer in better takyng / suche a blissed thyng is it to be a chrysten and to beleue in chryst wherfore as Paule saieth To lyue it is Chryst to me / and to dye it is auauntage / and in the .xiiij. to the Roma. he that lyueth he lyueth to god / and he that dyeth he dyeth to god / whether we ly­ue therfore or dye we are the lordes.

This surenesse hath christ obteyned for vs bycause that he died and rose agayn / that he shulde be lorde both of quykke and dede whiche was a bill to make vs sure [...] bothe in life & deth as the prophete sayeth in the, [Page] xxij. psalme: If I walke in the myddes of the shadowe of deth I will not feare euilles bicause thou art with me. And yf that this adauaūtage of deth do but lytell moue vs / it is a signe that oure faith in Christ is verey weke with vs / for he that doth not well exteme the pryce and value of a good deth / or elles that deth is good / he doth not yet beleue but is ouer moche letre by the olde adam / and the wysdome of the fllesshe yet reynyng in hym / we must therfore la­boure that we may be promoted to kno­we and loue thys benefyte of deth. It is a greate thyng that death (whiche is to o­ther the greatest euyll) is made to vs the greatest auauntage / and except that Cryst had gotten that for vs / whate grete thyng had he done by gyuyng hym selfe for vs.

Truely it was a godly worke that he dyd therfore it was no merueyle to hym to make the euyll of deth most proufitable for vs Therfore deth is nowe dede to faythfull men / and hath nothyng to be feared for / but hys visar and outward face.

And ys euyn lyke to a serpent whyche ys kylled for he hath the ferefull shape that he had byfore / howe be it yn verey dede [Page] there is nothing left but the figure / the euil is dede / and can do no more harme. And as in the .xxi. of Numery God cōmaunded the brasen serpent to be lyft vp by whose sight the quykke serpentes dyd perisshe. Lykewise oure deth by the faithfull beholdyng of the deth of Christ doth perisshe and doth not nowe appere but a certeyn figure of deth. So the mercy of God hath figured all thinges to vs that are weke / that he hath destroyed the power of deth / and (by­cause it can not be vtterly put awey) hath made it but a verey figure / for the whiche cause it rather called slepe inscripture then deth.

The secunde goodnesse of deth is that it doth not onely fynisshe the euilles & pay­nes of this life / but also (whyche is letter) it maketh an ende of all vice and synne the whiche to theym that be good faithful maketh deth moche more to be desyred then these present goodes wherof we haue spo­ken / for the euilles of the soule (whiche are synnes) are without cōparison worse thē the euylles of the body. These onely sinnes (yf we dyd sauoure theyme) wolde make deth verey acceptable and loued vnto vs / [Page] whiche thyng yf they do not / it is a sygne that we do not wel perceyue nor hate the euylles of oure soule. Therfore sith thys lyfe is full of perylles / and that synne doth bes [...]ge vs on euery syde / and sith we can not lyue without synne / deth is best and most expedient whiche loseth vs from the seperilles / and cutteth synne clene awey from vs therfore in the prayse of a ryghtu­ouse man it is spokē / in the .iiij. of Sapience. He that pleased god is made beloued / & he (lyuing emong synners) is translated & rauysshed / that malice shulde not chaunge his vnderstōding / nether that fayning shulde deceyue his soule for the bewitching of tryfeling doth darken goodnesse / & the vn­stablenesse of concupiscēce doth ouerwhelme the witte wyth out malyce (O howe true these wordes are and dayly [...]ene) it is fone roted and hard to be dystroyed. But his soule pleased god and for that he hasted to bryng hym out from the myddes of ini­quite. Euen so (thorough the mercy of god) deth whiche was to man the payne of synne made to the chrysten the ende of synne and the begynning of lyfe and ryghtuous­nesse wherfore it is necessary that he whi­che [Page] louith lyfe and ryghtuousnesse shulde not abhorre deth (whiche is the minyster & gate of theym both) but rather to loue it / or elles he can neuer come to lyfe & ryght­uousnesse / and he that can not loue it / let hym pray god that he may. For therfore a­re we taught to say / thy will be fulfilled / because we (whiche fearing deth do rather fauoure & loue synne then iustice) of oure power be not abyl to fulfil it. And that god dyd ordeyn deth to be the destruccyon of synne / it maybe gathered of this / that after synne he put deth vppon Adam by and by / ye byfore he cast hym for the of Paradise / to thintēt to shewe vs that deth shuld worke none euyl but all goodnesse toward vs syth it was put on hym (as a penaunce and satisfaction) in paradice.

Truth it is that by the enuy of the deuil deth entered into al the worlde / but in this was declared the hyghe and godly goodnesse toward vs / that it was ordyned euen at his first begynnyng / not to hurte vs but to be the payne and destruction of synne to oure grete proufit. This was signyfyed when be had tolde Adam byfore in the precept / that what houre so euer he dyd tast of that [Page] frute he shulde dye / yet after the trāgression he dyd moderate the extremyte and rygou­re of the precept / nether dyd he speke one syllable of deth / but sayde onely. Thou art erth / and shalt retourne into erth / vntyll thou come ageyne into the lond [...] out of the whiche thou art taken. And (as though he had hated deth) wolde not vouthesaus o­nes to name it / according to the Prophete layng / for there is wrathe in his indigna­cyon and lyfe in his wyll. And semed so to speke / that except deth had byn necessary to the distruction of synne he wolde neuer haue put it vpon man / no / nether yet haue named it. ☞ Euen so ageynst synne whiche brought forth deth / the prouysyon of God dyd so arme deth / that here thou mayst se fulfylled the saying of the Poete. The maker of deth / dyd perisshe by his owne worke / and synne was distroyed and kyl­led by his owne proper frute (that is to say deth) whiche he begat he hymself / euen as a viper by hyr owne you frute.

This is a goodly syght to se howe deth is distroyed / not by an others worke / but by his owne. As Goliath had his he destroy [...]en of wih his owne swerde For Goliath [Page] was the figure of synne / a terrybill gyaunt to all men / except to lytell Dauid (that is to say to Christ) whiche alone dyd ouer throwe hym / and cutting of his hede with his owne swerde sayde: there can not be ater swerde then Golyath hath hym selfe. If then we do remembre these ioyes of the vertue of Christ and the gyftes of his grace / whate shall a lytell euyl vexe vs? syth in that great euyll to come we se so grete profites and commodytees.

¶ The thyrd chapter of the .iij. ymage whiche is the good that is passed or behinde vs

THe cōsyderacyon of this good whiche is passed may sone be gathe­red by his cōtrary ymage whiche we spake last of howe be it we will helpe (in this also) hym that desyreth to loke on it. Saynt Austyne in this thing is a grete doar / in his cōfessyōs / where he doth wel recite the benefites of god towardes hym / frō the wōbe of his mother. That doth also the excellent psalme. Lorde thou hast proued me / where emong all other he merueyling at the prouidēce of god sayeth Thou hast vnderstōd my though [...]es a far­re of my path / and my downe lyinges thou [Page] hast serched / as though he wolde say / wha­te so euer thing I haue thouht / and what so euer I haue wrought / or howe moche so euer I shulde obtayne and possesse / nowe I perceyue that it is not done by my witte and polecye / but that they were ordyned by thy prouisyon lōge byfore this tyme / final­ly. Thou hast sene before all my wayes / & there is no worde in my tongue. Wherin then? in thy power.

This we lerne by oure owne experien­ce / for yf we remembre oure lyfe whiche is passed / shall we not merueyle / that we ha­ue thought / wylled / done and sayde suche thinges as we coude not se byfore? howe shulde we haue brought theyme to passe / yf we had byn left to oure owne will and power? And nowe fyrst we perceyue and se that his care was so ready with vs / and his prouision so cōstaunt vpon vs / that we coude nether speke / wyll / nor thinke / but that whiche he had gyuen vs. As it is spokē Sapience .vij. for in his hond are both we & oure workes. And Paule / whiche wor­keth all thinges in all men / whye then are not we (so insensyble and harde [...]arted) a shamed? whiche (thaugh by oure owne ex­perience) [Page] do [...]e howe carefull the lord hath byn for vs vnto this day / and hath gyuen vs all goodes: and yet cannot fynde in oure hertes to gyue vnto hym the same charged ouer vs in a lytell tryfill / but ordre ou­re selfe so folishely as though he had forsaken vs / or elles myght forsake vs / doth not the Psalme say on this maner? I truely am [...]edy and poore / the lord taketh thought for me. Saynt Austyne sayeth. Let hym ta­ke charge on the whiche made the / whiche prouided for the / before thou were. Howe can it be that he shall not prouide for the whiche art a man / syth he prouided for the to be a mā. But thou wilt say we haue the rule of oure selfe as well as god / we graunte vnto hym that he made vs (and that scarcely) but we haue in oure power the charge of oure selfe / as who sayeth: he made vs / & and by and by went his wey / leuyng vs in oure owne power to rule and ordre oure selfe. ☞ And yf that oure wysdome and prouysyon do let vs / that we can not per­ceyue this workyng of God / whyle that par aduenture many thynges do chaunce after oure purpose / yet ones turne thy­ne yie and loke vpon the Psalme whiche [Page] sayeth: My bone is not hyd from the / whiche thou madest in secrete / that is to say. Thou dydest se and facyō my bones in my mothers bely when I was not / when my mother dyd not yet knowe whate was made in her / and my substaunce in the ne­der partes of the erth / that is to say / the fi­gure and facyon of my body in the lowest bowelles of my mother was not hydde frō the / for thou didest make it. Whate meaneth he by these wordes? but to shewe vs by this greate example / whate care god hath euer taken for vs? who can glorye that he wrought with god and holy to make him selfe in his mothers bely? Who gaue the mother charge to geue vs myske / to nourisshe vs / to loue vs / and to exercyse all mo­therly dewetyes to vs when that we dyd not yet feale oure lyfe? Of this shulde we knowe nothing except we had sene it do­ne in other / and so therby beleue that we were euen so ordered, Nether shulde we haue any memory of theym that they were done to vs / no more them yf they had byn done to theym that slepe / ye or be deed / and rather not yet borne / for asmoche as concer­nyth oure knowelege and memory.

[Page]Here we se that without oure helpe the goodly mercyes and cōfortes be mynistred vnto vs. Do we yet doubt and dispeyre to cōmyt the cure and custody of vs vnto hī. Yf this experience do not moue & instruct man / I wot not whate wyll moue him / for we do se this comynly in all yong chyldren set byfore oure yies / so that so many exam­ples may make vs a shamed of oure folys­shenesse and hardynesse. Yf we shulde thin­ke that the lyghtest good and euyll shulde chaunce vnto vs without the singular prouisyon of God. Saynt Petre sayeth. Cast all youre care to hym for he careth for you And the Psalme, Cast all thy care vpon the Lorde and he shall nourisshe the. And S. Augustyne in his cōfessyons to his soule / why stōdest thou vppon thy selfe and doest not stōde? Cast thy selfe to hym / he wil not plucke awey his hond that thou maist falle. And ageyn S. Petre sayeth. Let theym that suffer accordyng to the will of God / commytte theyre soules to hym with well doyng / as vnto a faythfull creator.

O yf any man dyd knowe his god after this maner / howe suer / howe quyet / howe mery shulde he lyue? be truely shulde haue [Page] God / knowyng surely that whatsoeuer thing do come or chaunce vnto hym / it is by the dysposicyon and ordinaunce of his swete wyll. The sentence of Petre is sure and stable / he caryth for you / whate can we heare swetter thē these wordes? Therfore cast all youre care (he sayeth) to hym / whiche yf we do not (but wyll oure self care for oure selfe) whate do we els then goo about to let the prouisyon of God? and to make also oure lyfe sadde / labourouse / be­red with many feares / cares / and troubles and that in vayne / for we do nothyng pro­fit here with / but as the Ecclesiastique sa­yeth. This is the vanyte of all vanytyes / & veryng of the sprete / For thorow his hole boke he speakith in experyence of this thīg whiche he hath moche laboured and attēpted for hym selfe. Howe be it in all his la­boure he founde nothyng but payne vany­te and vexacyon of the sprete / so that he cō cludeth that is the gyfte of God yf a man eate / drynke / and be mery with his wyfe / that is to say yf he lyue without care and thought / and so be taketh hym selfe to god whiche caryth for all. Wherfore we ought to take none other care vpon vs but this [Page] that we take no thought for oure selfe but cōmytte and leue all oure care & thought to God. All there thinges (as I sayed) a mā may sone gather by the cōtrary ymage / and by remembraunce of his lyfe passed.

¶The fourth Chaptre of the .iiij. yma­ge whiche is the good beneth vs.

HEtherto we haue cōsydered the goo­des whiche are in vs and oures / here after let vs exteme these goodes which a­re set, without vs and in other. And first theym whiche are byneth vs / that is to say deade and dampned. Paraduēture ye wolde merueyle whate good thinges coude be founde in theym whiche are deade & dampned / howe be it the power of the godly go­odnesse is so greate in euery place that he she with vs goodnesse and his glory in the most euilles that be. Let vs cōpare theym vnto oure selfe then so we oure inestima­ble and infinite profites / and cōmodytyes as we may also easily perceyue by the con­trary ymage of euylles. For the moo euyl­les of death and hell we see in theym the moo profite we perceyue in vs. And the more vehement and extreme theyr euylles be the more we count oure aduauntage [Page] whiche are not lyghtly to be dispysed and set at nought for they commend to vs the hyghe and bounteous mercy of God. And the ieoperdye is / lest we vnking (settyng lytell by it) be founde worthy to be damp­ned with theym or worse to be tormented.

Therfore the more we se theym sorowe and lament / the more we ought to reioyse in oure selfe of the goodnesse of God / ac­cordyng to the sayng of Esay. Behold my seruauntes shall eate and you shall be hungry. Beholde my seruauntes shall drynke / and you shalbe tristye. Beholde my serua­untes shall be mery and you shall be con­founded. Beholde my seruaūtes shall prayse for the reioysyng of theyre hartes / and you shall crye for the sorowe of youre hartes: and you shall howle for the contrici­on of your sprete / and you shall put dow­ne youre name in an other to my elect and so furth / fynally as I sayde. The examples of theym that do euyll dye and are damp­ned / as saynt Gregory doth shewe in a dialoge / do profyt vs to be a monysshement / and an instructyon that he may be hap­pye whome other mennes perylles do ma­ke wise.

[Page]Truly this good (bycause it is comenly knowen) doth but litel moue vs / although it ought to be numbred amōge the chyef / & is of greate reputacyon to theym that haue good iugement / syth that a great part of holy scripture where he speaketh of the wrath iugementes / and thretenynges of God per­teyne to this place. These holsome instruccyōs / the examples of wretched persones do profitably cōfirme in vs / whiche them chyefly be of power and efficacyte / yf we put on vs the mynde of theym whiche suf­fer theym / and cōuict oure selfe in theyre stede and place / them shall they flurre vs vp and moue vs to the prayse of the goodnesse of God / whiche hath kept vs from theym. Let vs also cōferre theym to God hym selfe / so that we may cōfyder the iusti­ce of god in theym. Though this he harde / yet let vs go about it / for syth that god is a iust iuge / it is expedyent that his iustice be loued and praysed. And so then ought we to reioyse in God / when he distroyeth euyll men both in body and soule / for in all these thinges his hyghe and ineffable iustice she wyth hym selfe. Therfore verey helle also is full of god and hyghe goodnesse [Page] / no lesse then heuen / for the iustice of god is god him selfe / and god is the hyghe goodnesse. Wherfore as his mercy / euen so his iustice and iugement / most hyghly are to beloued / praysed and preached.

This ment Dauid saying the ryghtuoꝰ man shall be glad when he shall se auengement / he shall wasshe his hondes in the bloude of a synner. For this cause dyd the Lord forbid Samuel that he shuld no more lament Saul / saying howe lōg mornest thou for Saul / syth I haue cast hym dow­ne that he shuld not reygne ouer Israel?

As though he shuld say / doth my wyll so displease the / that thou wilt preferre a mā nes with before myne? fynally. This is the voyce of prayse and gladnesse thorough all the Psalter / that the Lord is iuge of widowes / and father of fatherles chyldren / that he shall auenge the pore / that his enemyes shall be cōfounded the wikked shall be di­stroyed / and many suche other. And yf that any man thorough folisshe mercy will ha­ue pytye on that wyked bloudy nacyō and hope of infidels whiche kylled the ryght­uous / ye the sonne of god / by & by / he shal­be founde to reioyce in theyre iniquite / and [Page] to allowe and fauoure those thinges whi­che they dyd / and so to be verey worthy to perisshe with theim whose offences he wolde not haue punysshed. Let vs therfore heare this tex [...]. Thou [...]oest loue theym that bate the and hatest theym that loue the. A [...] Ioas sayde to Dauid when he dyd ouer moche lament his wyked son an homycyde Absalon .ij. of the kynges .xix. wherfore in this ymage we must reioyce in the pitye of holy men and in the iustice of God whi­che most ryghtuously doth punisshe the pursuer & of pytye / to delyuer his chosen peo­ple from theym. And so thou seyst that the­re appereth not a lytle but a great deale of good in theym that are dede and dampned for in theym is aduenged all the iniuryes of the holy men / and thyne also yf thou be ryghtuouse emōg theyrs. Whate merueyle is it then yf (by thy present euyll) he punys­she thyne enemye / that is to say the synne of thy body? Ye thou must reioyse in this act of the most noble iustice of God / whiche (though thou desire hym not) doth kyll and distroye thy mischeuous enemye / that is to saye / thy synne in thy selfe / whiche yf thou fauoure thou shalt be founde a frende of [Page] synne and an enemye of iustice whiche worketh in the. So that thou mayst fere lest this be also spoken to the. Thou doest loue theym that hate the / and hatest theym that loue the. Therfore euē as thou must reioyse with al thy hart in the iustice whiche is feerse and cruell ageynst thy synne. Euen so must thou be glad when it pursueth and punyssheth synners whiche are the enemyes of god and all good men. Thou seest no we that principall goodes appere sumtyme in extreme euylles / not for the euylles but for the grete goodnesse of iustice / whiche doth auenge vs,

¶ The .v. chapter of the fyft ymage whiche is the euyll on the lyft hond.

SOme aduersaryes we haue here in this lyfe (bisides theym of whome we haue spoken in the Chap­tre next before whiche are damp­ned and made lyke vnto fyndes) whome we must consyder with an other mynde / & we shall perceyue .ij. profites that come of theym. First that they habunde with tem­porall goodes / in so moche that the Pro­phetes where almost moued vnto enuy by theyre goodes / as in the Psalme .lxxvij. [Page] My fete be almost moued / my steppes be disparsed / for I haue fauoured the wyked / seyng the peace and prosperite of synners. And after / Beholde the verey synners ha­ue obteyned the abundauntry chesse in the worlde. And in Hieremye .xii. Truly lorde thou art iust / yf I shulde dispute with the / howe be it. I wyll speke ryghtuous thyn­ges vnto the / why doth the wey of wyked men prosper? for they are all well / whiche trangresse thy cōmaundementes and lyue wykydly. Why doth he poure so many benefytes vppon theym for nothyng and leseth theym? but to cōfort vs / and shewe howe good he is to theym that are ryghteuous / as the psalme sayeth: he that is so good to euil howe moche more shall he be good to the good? reserued that he punissheth the euil with no vexacyon / and tempteth the good with many troubles / that they may kno­welege hym to be good to theym / not one­ly in these present goodes / but also in the secrete goodes whiche be to come / and may saye with the same Psalme it is good for me to cleue to the lorde / and to put my ho­pe in god: As though he shulde saye / be it / that I suffer some thinges whiche I se they [Page] suffer not / yet I trust that god is moche better vnto me them vnto theym and so these visible euylles are an argumēt of inuisible goodnesse / that we shuld trust for goodes inuisible / and despise the euylles that we suffer: Euen as Chryst in the gospell / bid­deth vs to behold the foules of the ayre / & the ly yes of the felde saying / yf god so clothe the grasse whiche is to day in the fylde & to morowe shall be cast into the fornace shall he not moche more do the same vnto you / o ye of lytell fayth / wherfore by con­ferring the goodes with whiche the euyll abounde / vnto the euylles whiche we suf­fer oure fayth is exercysed / and oure com­fort (whiche onely is holy) is stablisshed in god so that it is necessary that all thynges worke for the best vnto theym that loue god. The secunde profit (moche more mer­ueylous) is that all theyre euilles are good vnto vs / god so prouydeht for vs / for al­though theyre offences be euyll occasyons vnto the weake / yet to theim that be strong they be an exercyse of vertue / an occasyon of resisting of synne / and a greate meryte.

Blissed is that man whiche suffereth temp­tacyon / for when he is proued / he shall re­ceyue [Page] a crowne of lyfe / where is a greater temptacion then the multitude of myschevous examples? fynally for thys cause the world is called one of the enemyes of the elect people of god bycause that sayth hys entisementes / and wicked workes / he [...] reth vs vp prouoketh vs / & entysith vs frō the wey of god into his wey / As it is wry­ten in Gen .vi. The children of god dyd se the doughters of mē that they were fayre / and they were made carnall. And in the . [...]xv. of Numeri / The chyldren of Israell did fall with the doughters of the Moabites / so that it is holsome that we euer be suppressed by some incommodyte / lest that we (as they that are weke) offended by the euyll occasions of the worlde shulde fall and synne. So lot is commended of S. Petre in the secunde of his secund epistell / by­cause that he suffred moche euyl by the w [...] ked examples of the sodomytes / and neuerthelesse contynued in his ryghtuousnesse. Necessary it is therfore that euyll occasy­ons be gyuen / whiche shuld be the occasy­sion that we shuld resist synne & haue victory / howe be it wo be vnto the worlde bycause of euyll occasions. Dyth then in the [Page] transgressions of other god ꝓcureth for vs so greate goodes: howe moche more ought we to beleue / with al oure hart that he wil turne ouer owne offen [...]s to oure profits / though the with & fleshe iuge otherwise. Nether any lesse doth the wolde profit vs by hys other euyll whiche is called aduer­site / for theym that he cannot, deuoure by hys entisementes / nor incorporate to hym by euyll occasions / he laboureth to dryue theym from hym by troubles and passions and to vexe and inquyet theym by paynes and punysshementes / euer entending other deceytes thorough the example of synne / or elles to auert mennes myndee by pay­nes ād turmētes. Thys is the monstre thy mer a whose hede is flateryng / and lyke a virgyns this belye deuouryng and lyke a lions and his taile full of deth and lyke a serpentes / for the ende of the worlde / bothe of pleasure and tyranny is venom and deth euerlastyng.

Therfore as in the synnes of the worlde god hath made vs to fynde profytes.

Euen so (that hys persequucyons shuld not be ydell and in vayne) they are ordey­ned to vs for the encreasing of oure goodes [Page] in so moche / that in that they hurt vs / they are compelled to profit vs. As saynt Augustyne dothe saye / concernyng the lytell chyldren whiche were killed of Herode / he conde neuer haue done so greate profit & good by hys benefytes / as he dyd by hys hate & enuye. And saint Agatha went reioysyng to the pryson as though she had gone to a dyner saying on this maner without thou make my body to be well handeled of thy turmentours / my soule can not with vic­tory entre into Paradyse, as the corne without he be thrust out of his huske / and be strongly beten in the barne floure shal not belayd vp in the garner. But whate nede vs to speke so moche of this / syth the hole scripture / all the wrytinges and sayinges of the fathers / and all the deades and actes of the holy men are consenting vnto thys that those thynges whyche are most noy­som are most profytable to theym that be­leue / so that they be well suffered. As S. Petre sayeth / who is he that will harme you yf ye folowe that whyche is good. And the Psalme .lxxxviij. hys enemy shall no­thyng prevayle agaynst hym. And the son­ne of iniquyte shall haue no power to hurte [Page] hym / howe shall he not hurte hym syth that many tymes he kylleth hym. Cruely for in hurtyng hym he doth hym most pro­fit. Therfore wese that we dwell in the myddes of goodnesse on euery syde / yf we be wyse / and also in the myddes of euylles. So are all thynges tempered merueylous­ly by the hygh prouidence of the goodnesse of god.

¶The syxt Chapter of the syxte image whiche is the good on the ryght honde.

THis is the congregacion of holy mē the newe creature of god / oure frendes and brothers in whome we se nothing but good nothyng but comforte / yf we behold theym wyth a spyrytuall yie for vnto the carnall yie many tymes it appereth all otherwise / as we haue declared in the contrary image of euylles. And yet these goo­des whiche we seyn theym with oure car­nall yie are not to be dispysed. But in these we may perceyue that we are comforted of god / for the Psalme durst not presume to condempne all theym whiche possessed rychesse in this worlde / saying / If I dyd say thus. Behold I haue reproued the ge­neration [Page] of thy children. If I wolde haue send that all whiche are ryche / hole and honoured be euyll. I shulde haue condemp­ned thy holy men for many of theym are [...]o Chappostell also teacheth tymothe that he commaunde the ryche men of this worlde) that they be not proude / not to forbid theyme to be ryche. The scripture also doth testifie that Abraham Isaack and Iacob were ryche. And Danyell with hys companions / were also honoured in Babylon. Besi­des thys many kynges of Iurye were ryche The Psalme therefore consyderyng theym sayeth / If I did say thus: I haue reproued the nacyon of thy children. for (I say) god hath gyuen to his elect the abundaunce of these rychesse to comfort theym / and other with all howe beit these are not theyre specyall goodes / but they are a sygne and a shadowe of the trewe goodes whiche are fe­ith / hope / cheryte / and other graces and gyftes whiche all are comune by charyte.

This is the communyon of holy men in the whiche we reioyse.

And who will not here reioyse / ye though he be ī great sorowes whyche doth beleue (as it is in dede) that all the goodes of ho­ly [Page] men are his goodes and that his euyll is also theyrs. This image is most swete and pleasaunt / whiche Chappostel to the Ga­lathians .vi. doth descrybe / saying bere ye one an others burthen and so fulfill ye the lawe of Christ.

Is it not good for vs to be here where yf one membre do suffer (as it is said vnto the Corinthians) all suffer with hym. If one mēbre be had in honoure / all membres be glad also Therfore / while I suffer / I suf­fer not alone / for Chryst and all Chrysten suffer with me. As he sayeth hym selfe / he that toucheth you toucheth the ball of my­ne yie. Thus / do other here my burthen / and there vertue is myne. The fayth of the congregacyon socoureth my fearfulnesse. The chastyte of other healeth the tempta­cyon of my lust. The fastyng of other is myne aduauntage.

The prayers of other taketh thought for me. And to be short / so all the mēbres helpe one an other that the most honest partes do couer / kepe & honoure the lesse honest.

As it is well discrybed vnto the Corinthi­ās .xij. And a swell I may delyte in the goodes of other as in myne owne / and then [Page] truely they are myne yf I be gladde and reioyse in theym. I am foule and fylthy / but they whome I loue and in whome I reioyse are faire and beutifull. By the whiche loue I do not onely make theyre goodes my­ne / but also theym selues / wherfore vnder theyre glory myne ignominie shall easyli [...]e honoured theyre rychesse shall fulfyll my pouertye. Theyre good dedes shall heale my synnes / whate man can nowe dispeyre in synne? who will not reioyse in paynes? whiche nowe doth not beare his synnes or at the lest yf he beare theym / he beareth theyme not alone / but is holpe with so many children of god / ye with Chryst hym self Suche a thyng is the communyon of holy men / and the Churche of Chryst. If eny mā do not beleue that this is true he is an in­fidele / and hath denyed Chryst & his chur­che: for though thys be not fealt / yet it is so done / ye who is he that fealeth not thys who is in the cause that thou disperyest not that thou art not ympacyent? Thy vertue na [...] truely / but the feloushyppe of holy mē or elles thou were not abyll to bere the lest synne that is / nor yet abyde one worde of man agaynst the / so nygh is Chryst and [Page] the churche vnto the.

This is it that we say / I beleue in the holy goost / the holy and pure churche whate is it to beleue the holy churche / but the communyon of holy? wheryn do the holy men comyn? Truely in good and euyll and all thynges. As the sacrament of Chrystes body doth figure it in brede and wine wherof Thappostle spekith saying / we are one brede and one body / who offendeth any ly­tell part of the body / and hurteth not the hole? whate suffereth the ferthest part of the fote that the hole bodi suffereth not? wate benefyte is done to the feate in the why­che all the body reioyseth not. But we are one body: therfore whate so euer another sufferyth I suffer & whate so euer benefyte is done to an other / it is done to me. Euyn so Chryst sayeth that whate so euer is do­ne to one of his left is done vnto hym whate man takyng a lytell peace of breade of the altare wyll not sey that he hath taken brede / or dyspysing any lytell part of hy shall not be named to dyspyse brede.

Wherfore yf we sorowe / yf we suffer / yf we dye / let oure yie loke hytherward / and let vs beleue strongly and besure / that not we [Page] or at the lest not we alone: But christ also and his churche doth sorowe / suffer / ād dye with vs. So good is Chryst vnto vs that he wolde not the waye of oure deth shuld be solytarye whiche euery man doth abhorre: But (all the churche beryng vs compa­nye) we entre the wey of passions and deth and the churche doth mare strongly suffer it then we do / so that we may well applye vnto vs the wordes of Helyseus whyche he spake to his forefull seruaunt saying: feare not / there are more with vs then with theyme. And when Helyseus had prayed he sayed Lorde open this childes yies that he may se. And the Lord opened hys yies / and he dyd se / and behelde a mountaynefull of horses and charettes of fyre about Helyse­us we lacke nowe nothyng but to pray / that oure yies may be opened and that we may fethe churche rounde about vs wyth the yies of the faith. Then haue we noting to feare. As the Psalme sayeth: Mountay­nes are about it and the Lord in the com­passe of his people from thys tyme present and perpetually / Amen.

¶The seuenth Chapeter of the seuenth [Page] ymage which is the good aboue vs.

I Speake nothyng of the euerlastyng and heuynly goodes whiche the blys­sed haue in the clere syght of god. Or at the lest yf I touche theyme / it is in the fayth / by the meanes wherof we may onely obteine theyme. But this seuenth ymage is Ie­sus Chryst kyng of glorye / rysing frō deth euin as he was the seuenth ymage of euyl­les / sufferyng / dying / and beyng buryed / here may we se the hyghe and chief ioy of ou­re hart / and goodes parmanent and stable Here is none euylles at all / for Crist ones reysed from deth / dyeth no more / deth hath no more power ouer hym.

This is the chemney of charyte / the fi­re of god in Syon. As Esay as sayeth cryst is borne for vs / and not that onely but also gyuen vnto vs. Wherfore his resurrection is myne / ye and all thynges whyche he wrought thorough his resurreccion. And as tappostell vnto the Romayns .viij. most copyously gloryeth sayng howe shall he not wyth hym gyue vs all thynges? whate wrought he by hys resurrectyon truely he dystroyed synne and raysed ryghtuousnesse confirmed deth and restored lyfe / ouercame [Page] hell and brought euerlastyng glorye. These thinges are inestimable and suche as mā nes vnderstonding scarce can beleue to be gyuen vnto hym: No more then Iacob whyche (amased euē as though he had wakened out of a grete slepe when he herd sey that his sonne Ioseph dyd reygne ī Egipt) coude not beleue it vntyll they rehersyng all did shewe hym the waynes that were sent from Ioseph. So truely it had byn ve­ry harde to beleue that suche greate bene­fytes had byn by Iesu Chryst geuen to vs whiche were vnworthye except that bi many wordes / by many wayes and apperin­ges he had shewed hym selfe to hys dyscy­ples.

So that at the last by great vse and expe­ryence of hys shewyng and teachyng (as Iacob was by the waynes we be taught so to beleue. Truely Chryst is to vs a true and notable sygne / and wayne whyche is made of god / oure wisdome / ryghtuousnes­se / sanctifyeng and redempcion. As thap­postell sayeth I am a s [...]nne / but I am cary­ed in his rightuousnesse whiche is gyuen vnto me. I am vnclene but hys holynesse is my sanctifieng / wheryn I am swetely ca­ryed [Page] / I am folisshe / but hys wysdome caryeth me / I am synfull and dampnabyll but hys innocency is my redempcion hys goodnesse is a sure charyot that caryeth me out of perdycion. Thus may euery Chrysten / this stōding that he haue feith) bost of all the goodnesse & merites of Christ: nether nedeth he more nor lesse to reioyse in theym then yf he had done theym hym self / and e­uen so are they hys owne. So that nowe he may ioyfully abyde the iugement of god whyche eyles were intollerable. Suche a noble thyng is faith. Suche profites is getteh for vs. Suche glorious children of god it maketh vs. Nether can we be chylder except we enheryte oure fathers goodes.

Let then euery Cristen sey with sure trust and confydence: deth / where is thy victory deth / where is thy stynge / that is to sey synne? for the styng of deth is synne / ād the power of synne is the lawe. Thankes be to god whyche hath gyuen vs the victory / thorough Iesu Chryst oure Lorde / fynally.

The lawe maketh vs synners / And synne maketh vs subiect vnto the sentēce of deth who hath ouercome these .ij. oure iustyce? oure lyfe? nay truely / but Iesus Chryst ryssing [Page] from deth [...]ondempnyng synne & deth gyuyng vs his rustyce / and distributing to vs hys merytes / whyche also by puttyng hys bond vpon vs hath healed vs and ge­uen vs power to fulfyll the lawe to ouer­come deth / to exile synne and to bothe chyl­dren of god / to whome be honoure / pray­se / and thankes wyth out measure / and ende. Ammen.

Thys is the last ymage in the whyche nowe we (not onely lylt vp aboue oure e­uylles / but also aboue oure goodes lately also sittyng in the euylles and perylles to vs purchased by the synne ād offence of an other / and encreased by oure owne) nowe fitte and rest vs in the goodes gotten by the rightuousnesse of an other that is of Iesus cryst onely for vs crucfied we are iusti­fied in his iustice and euen as he is iust & ryghtuous / euen so are we that are alyed knytte / and clene vnto hym by fayth This is he that hath gyuen hym self hole to vs. This is he that pleaseth god. Thys is the most chyef prest / the true bysshop / the good aduocate oure onely mediator / that con­tinually (neuer ceassing) in the presence of hys father prayeth for vs. And loke howe [Page] impossible it is that he in his iustice shuld not please Euen so impossible it is that we by fayth wherby we cleue vnto his ryghtuousnesse shulde not please. And bi these meanes a Chrysten is almyghty / Lord of all thynges / ād clene without all synne. And yf it chaunce that he falle ynto synne? yet is it necessary that they hurt not / but are forgeuen for the iustyce of Christ whyche is not a bill to be ouercome whyche dryeth vp and putteth awey all synne / on the whiche also oure fayth doth lene surely bele­uyng that Christ is suche a one vnto vs as we haue spoken of hym / and moche better then we are able to declare / for he that be­leueth not this / knowith not Christ nether vnderstondeth whate Chryst proufiteth / neither whate he is good for.

Wherfore euen this one ymage yf there were none other / may encrease suche com­fort in vs yf we behold it with a good ād dylygēt hert that we shall nothing be sory in oure troubles but rather (as though we felt theym not) reioyse & be glade in Chryst that we haue tribulacions with the whi­che reioysing instruct vs chryst hī self oure Lordes god whiche is blissed for euer. And