AFter that god had striken our head shepherd vndre Christe / that worthye king and confessour Edward the sixt / good Christian brethren / which he threatened by his faithfull seruātes long before / yf we wol­de not turne from oure sinnes and wickednes j perceaued that it coulde not be auoyded god so disposing the mater / for oure vuthākfulnes but that the kingdom of God / at the leaste for a time / must be taken from vs / and the Chri­stian flock dispersed. The whiche thinge be­ganne to appeare to me more plainly / when j sawe gods booke conteininge the worde of lyf taken forth of the churches in the byshoprick of duresme / ād a foul sorte of jdoles called laye mennes bookes / brought in therfore: when y^e comon praier commaunded by publyke autoritie / set forth after. s. Paules rule to y^e edifiēge of Christes congregation in the vulgare tōge / was against Gods lawe / and also against the lawes of the realme / bannishede / and in the [Page]place therof a kīde of praier vsed far dissonaun te from Gods lawe / and the example of the primitive churche / in a strange tonge / farced ful of superstition / jdolatrye / and false fables / ha­ving nothing tolerable in it saving that y^e peo­ple coulde not vndrestād it / and therfor were lesse harmed ther by (although j suppose the popish prelates kepe it in a strange language / least that yf the commō sorte of men shold he­re it in their owne tonge / thei wold perceav it to be vaine / false / lieng fables / and therfor credit their doinges moche worse in all other thinges) but especially when j saw the lordes table / wher on was ministred the holy supper of the lorde / according to his owne institution and ordinaunce / was caried away / the cōmu­niō abhorred as heresye / and for thes / Baals altares reared vp / and his prestes and mōkish hypocrites / returned to their abhominable / blasphemouse / & jdolatrous masse as dogges to their vomit. Wherfor j begāne to recorde with my selff / and call to my remēbraūce / not w^tout earnest calling on gods name for the as­sistaunce of his spirit min owne state / and cō dition / and to examine mor depelye / both the doctrin which j had taught / wherof j ꝑceaved that of necessitie j must rendre an accompt and [Page]that w^tin short time / and also my dutie of alle­geance vnto y^e quenes highnes / wher in j foūd my selfe so cleare & blameles / that if the devel himselff and all myne enemies shold doo their worste / thei could not have accused me iustly / nother of worde nor dede perpetrated against her grace. And as cōcernīg the doctrine which j had taught / the more diligētly j did examine it / by the holye scriptures / and the testimonye of the aunciente fathers / the more syncere and pure it appeared / j was the more earnestly ꝑ­swaded / & settled in the truthe therof / my cō science did more plainly laye to my charge / y^t j could not revoke / saye against / nor dissem­ble it / w^tout blasphemous contempt of god / & most horrible denial of his sonne Iesus Christ. So y^t j found no fault in my selff as towching my preaching / but that as an vnprofitable servaunt / j did not so moche as j ought to have done / although j had done moche more then some thought j shold have thankes for. But what so ever mēne thought or spake as tow­ching thankful reward for my labour / j per­swaded my selff that j sholde have all thinges waied after equitie / and therfor considering both mine owne integritie / that j had offēded no lawe of the Realme / but lived like an obe­dient [Page]subiecte / & also that the same men bare y^e chefe rule vndre the quenes hyghnes / & shold be my judges as did knowe that y^e swerd was delivered them for the defence of the good & obedient subiect / so sone as j herd tell that j was exempted the quenes highnes pardon / j toke my journey towardes London with so much conveniēt spede as j might. Wher j foūd all thinges farre other waies then j wold ha­ve beleved yf j had not bene put in experience therof my selff. For j found in the place of equitie / preindice: for law / lust: for reason / will: & soche as shold have geven sentence accordinge as mater had bene obiected & justly proved / playe bothe the part of the accusare / of the witnesses and also of the judge: and gave this sentence immediatly / that j sholde other vndoo y^t j had doon / or ells: what that or ells ment j knew well jnough / for j had the exposition therof by his owne holy ghost. Thē my good lord chanceloure / who is alwaies sure at a ne­de / perceiving that j stode to this that j had of­fended no law / to help at a pinch / obiected yea thre or foure times for failing a mater no less malitious thene false. And bycause nothīg shold be lefte out that myght help forward the mater this good olde father of Duresme who [Page]had plaid thre partes befor right well / charge­the me with a mater not only malitious & falss but so folish / y^t j had moche to do to refraine my self from laughter / j could not chose but smile. At y^e last my l. chanceloure after certain talk had vnto me and myn answer made / concludeth that it was not only preachīg wherw^t j must be charged / y^e whiche he ꝑceived j sufficiently defended by the kinges law (in dede j had asked counsall of them that wer wel lear­ned in the lawes of the Realme) but also ma­teres to wchīg y^e quenes highnes / which were the same wherw^t he and the bushope of dures­me had charged me befor / as j lerned by thre or foure of the bushopes owne servātes / who had made no falss reporte of their master before in my materes / but as they wrote home to duresme to their companions what thinges j shold be charged w^tal & what shold be my jud­gement / so afterward j foūd it true. And ther­for vpon the monday at after nōne which was y^e thirtyth of octobre / after it was tolde me by a frende of myne dwelling in London / who is familiar in the bushopes howse / and at that ti­me frequented it the more to here somwhat as towching me / that he had learned and was credibly informed / both that all my goodes at du [...]sme [Page]was sensed in the quenes graces name and that j my self shold on the morow be cōmitted to the tower / bothe bycause j had contēned the quenes hyghnes lettres / and also for that j was a Scot. I saye after j herd thes things / cō siderig how many godli lerned preachers were imprisoned and commaūded to their howses for religion w^tout all doubte / and yet an other pretence made / perceiving that abiding could not profet my self nor yet the cōgregation / my de­parture myght doo bothe / j committed my self in to the guidīg of the lorde / and wēt my wai­es / not makig any mā privey to my departure. Meeveill not good brethrē though after that j was entered in to my journey / j were troubled with sondry cares / but che [...]ly with this lest y^t j shold now be apprehended by myn enemies / and so geve thē that they wold have bene glad of / som honest colour wherfor they might have semed justly to have wrought on me their wil. For they that were not a shamed to invēt false and feined accusationes / how wold they have reioysed / yea triumphed over me / when they might have laid to my charge flyēg the quenes realm / and y^t not only w^tout her graces licēce / but being convented befor her hyghnes honourable counsall / and commaunded to attend to [Page]they espied a time for me. You may be assured a laweres wit wanting nether cōning nor yet good will / and having full autoritie to saye and do what he lust / could easely have āplified this crime / and haue formed of a small gnat a myghty elephant. But after that the lord had delive­red me / at y^e least for this time / out of y^e mouth of the lyon / and saved me out of the handes of all myn enemies / which hated me / j begāne to studye with my self / and mor diligētly cōsidre / to what end God had wrought thus my deli­veraūce / which was not that j sholde now lyve as one that had no regard of gods glorye / nor of myn owne dutye. But that as j was appoynted to be a workmā in his vinyeard / & a watch man over the house of Israel / so j shold now most earnestly hunte thes wild swyne that de­stroieth y^e lordes vinyeard / gather together / so moche as in me liethe the lordes shepe / y^t now are dispersed thorow out montaynes / hilles / & groves / and to geve them warning of the fear­full swerd that hangeth over their heades.

Which thing j shall not cease to do / by the ayd of Gods most holy spirit.

But for so moche as j know ryght wel y^e proūd papistes / whos mouthes ar full of bitternes ād cursed speache wil not cease yea out of their pulpetes [Page]/with bosting & gloriouse wordes to carp & sclandre me for my sodeī deꝑture / as though ther by they had vanquished & overcome gods truth whiche j had set forth: & my kinsfolkes & frendes will moche lament my state / takīg this to vnkīdnes that j wold not make them privey of my purpose / thīkīge that thei shold have turned my mīde: and also whiche moveth me most of all / the weak flock of Christe whō j had fed with the true doctrin of the gospel / may by the subtill perswasions of the crafty hypocrites / be brought ī doubt of the veritie therof as though j my selfshold have forsaken jt & ther by be of­fended / and be brought from god: j say for thes causes / j thought it best to answer the maliti­ous hypocrits whos mouthes although j could not stop / yet at the least they shold not herafter saye but y^t thei were warned if y^t thei wold not cease to speak that thei ought not they shold here y^t they wold not / & here by to satisfy my kis­folk & frendes / who j know of frendship and loving kindnes look vpon my mater w^t a wrong tie, and also to admonish the weak christian brethren both to beware of the leven of the dissembling hypocrites / whom although they be clo­thed in lames skīnes / yet by their fruites / they may know them to be ravening wolves / & also [Page]to cōfirme them selves in that doctrine which j have preached vnto thē / whiche also they have receaved / & not to be easely caried away into a­ny other contrarie / although an angel shold co­me from heven and preache it to them. Who so will advisedly behold / the māners & cōditiones of the scribes ād pharises whilest Christ walked here vpon earth / what shyftes & practises they vsed to maintain their cloked holines / their dirty traditiones / and vainglorious estimation / & therfor to deface Christe / & to suppress his holy word / and also will w^t judgement cōpare our papish prelates w^t the whole rablemēt of their chi­kens vnto them / shall plainly se ours so likeī cō ditiones & practices / and so lyvely represent as it were the physnamie of their old aūcetours y^e pharises / that he wold saye & affirm that they were evē the self same risen from death to lyf againe. Yea yf bushop Caiphas were here in his owne ꝑson he wold for joye burst out & saye as Demea said by his sōne Ctesipho: Oh oh la­chrumo gaudio, laudo, patrissat, saluos sit: spero, est similis maiorū suorū. For what was in y^e pharises of old time / wherī ours now do not excell thē? What (pri)de / what vaīglorie / hypocrisy / trust in their own righteousnes / glorie in their workes of devotiō / covetousnes / traditiones / [Page]miscōstruing of gods law / suꝑstitiō / hatred of the true religion / ꝑsequutinge of the prophetes of Christe and of his apostles / sclan­dering of Christe: to be short / what wickednes ether in māners or in religiō can be foūd in thē but that the like and moche more doth plaīly appear in ours? yea ours have found out for vs an infinite rablement of jdolatries which they ne­ver herd of and wold have abhorred / as masses invocation of sainctes / worshipping of images & soche like. But they coulde never away w^t Christe nor his apostles but alwaies spak evel of thē / & of the gospel by cause it rebuked their vices: & what is the cause that our bushopes & prestes may not now abide the self same doctri­ne nor the preachers therof but for y^t they dis­close their hypocrisie and proude dissembling w^t god & the world? What will they now say by y^e doctrine and the preachers therof? What shall now be the talke in alhouses / tabernes / & bank quetes / what shall now a sort of lewd prestes jāgle in their assembles at merketes when they have all their cuppes in / what shall now anti­christes championes blouster and blow out at Paules cross and els where / but that soche preachers as had vsed that place now of late years were carnall and fleshly gospellours / soche as [Page]wold not lyve chast / set naught by fasting and praier / and preached carnally carnall libertie / soche as spak to please men for profet & promo­tion sake / last of all soche as were rāk seditious heretiks / their doctrine was new / against the teaching of the catholik church / and at the last they begāne to suspect it themselves / and therfor durst not abide by it but ranne their waye out of the realme. Shall not this be the sum of their brawlinge divinitie? But how moche ar we bound to our hevenly master Iesus Christ that both gave vs warning y^t they shold thꝰ en treat vs / and also for our confort / that he shold tast of this kindnes before vs. Mat. x. Ther is no disciple better then his instructour / nor no servant above his master / it may suffice y^e scholer to be as his teacher and the servaunt as his master. Yf they have called y^e master of the houshold be elzebul / how moche more his houshold servaū tes. But fear them not saith Christ. But when thes spirituall preachers call vs carnall gospe­lours what meā thei ther by? Meane thei that we be sinners / & that our flesh is not so subdu­ed / but that it will lust against the spirit? Or mean they that we have pleasure in sinne and in sinners? Or they call vs sinners because we could not lyve chast / y^t is / godlily w^tout a wif? [Page]If they mean after the first sorte / we confess with the publican / that we be sinners / and say with .s. Paul / that the fleshe striveth against y^e spirit / & y^t spirit agaīst y^e fleshe / in so moch y^t we do not thos thīges y^e which we wold faine do. If thei vndrestand their carnall gospellars af­ter the secōd sorte / we have to thank them; that thei will both shew plaīly whos childrē thei ar (for here in thei resemble the old pharises) & also that thei will serve vs here in as the pharises did Christ / for the self same thinge was in this wise laied to his charge of thē / and hathe continued a commō practice sence that time till now / and is not like to decaye in thes mennes handes / but if it be against ther will. After our saviour Christ had dimissed Ioannes disciples and preached to y^e people / thei praised god / but the pharises and the laweres dispised gods coū sall / and said / tushe he is but a glotō / and a swil boull / a boulsterar of publicans and sinners. This was a common obiection and sclander y^t the pharises vsed to deface Christes preachīg / & disswade the people frō it / for he receiveth / saye thei / sinners / and eateth with them.

What were thes complaints and sclanderous accusationes wherw^t thei went aboute to brīge Christe in hatred of the people / but the self same [Page]that now is obiected against vs? Wherfor / saye thei / do not thy disciples fast? Wherfor do thei y^e which is not leafull to do on the saboth? We and Ioans disciples fast. No no even as he is him self / soche ar his disciples. He is wholy geven to serve the bealy / he fasteth not / he ne­glecteth the saboth / he setteth naught by prai­er / he is a carnall man wholy geven to carnall libertie and to preache the same / & soche ar all his disciples. But we fast / we pray / we chastice our selves / we ar not like thes men / we fast twise a weeke / we ar not so carnall as this mā / and his disciples. Were not thes the goodly & holy perswasiones of the old Pharises against Christ and his doctrine? Did thei not in defa­cing of Christ and his disciples avaūce & set vp them selves? Did thei not by this colour of calling Christ soche a preacher of carnall libertie / crepe in to the consciences of the simple / ther to place them selves surely / vndre the pretence of a more perfect holynes? And what meane our pharisaicall hypocrites by termīg y^e preachers of Christes gospel carnall preachers of libertie but the self same thinge? But this is to be no­ted of thes hypocrites in all their sermōs / when thei thus raill agaīst the preachers / it is to this end to diswade the people from the doctrine of [Page]only salvation by Christ / and to kepe this estimation of them selves / that thei be holy / pure and godly lyvers / and therfor men must here and folow thē / al other ar but carnall sinners. In this wise the pharises perswaded the blīde man / whō Christ restored to his sight againe / saing / Geve God the praise as for this manne we know is but a sinner. Ioan. ix. As though thei shold have said / beleve vs / folow our doctrin / be our disciple / for we be holy / we serve god / we kepe y^e ordinaūce of our mother the holy church: and to maintaine this their hypocrisie w^t all / when other shyftes failed / thei tell a false lye on Christe to brīg him in hatred / saing he is a sinner / and that thei know it so to be. You mai be sure thes honest men wold not ells have said it.

But if thei shold have hem examined what sin­ne thei knew by him / thei shold have had no­thing to saye. And what j praye youe knoweth our religious pharises by the prea­chers whom thei call carnall / savīg that which is cōfessed / that we be all sinners / and have nede of gods mercy? Do thei know vs to be dronkerdes / theves / murtherours / whormongers cōmon brawlers / or soche open offēdours as y^e cōgregation toke offence by our living / if thei do let them openly rebuke it / that other may be [Page]afeard to do the like: i. Tim. v. let them prove it by two or thre witnesses after .s. Paules rule / & j for my parte shall not only make open confession / but also shall make opē satisfactiō as the ordre was in the church of auncient time. If thei have no­ne of al thes thīgs to charge vs w^t all (if thei had we shold have herd tell of it or now) thāks to god for his mercy to warde vs / for this was only his work in vs / & god graūt thes vnshame fast hypocrites true repentaunce / and amend­ment of their lyves / for a nūbre of them be no­torious tabernhaunters / comon brawlers / veray dronkerds / known sodomites / and mani­festly proved whormongers. And if thei will say this is spoken of malice / j protest befor god that is not truly said / for j do not name them / bycause j love the mēn although j hate their cō ditiones. As to wching fasting / praier / and preaching libertie / when did ever any preacher speak against true praier / Christian fastīg / or set men at libertie to sinne / but allwaies inveihed against abuses in popish praier and fastīg / as Christe rebuked the praiers and fastings of the pharisaicall hypocrits / which in dede was all one with thes mennes praiers and fastīgs. And the libertie we preached was not to geve y^e flesh occasion to sinne / but to confort by the [Page]death of Christe the conscience overcharged & looden with sinne and soche bordens of phari­saicall traditiōs / as thei were not hable to bea­re. But this j know wel thei will charge me w^t all, and many others / that herin j shewed my self a carnall preacher / for that j did not lyve a fool lyf without mariage as thei do. If thei lyve chaste without mariage / let them geve god thanks therfore / j do not envye them that gyft of god. But surely god gave not me that gyft / that j could lyve a virginall chaste lyfe / but af­ter the maner of hypocrites / and therfore did entre in to y^e holy state of matrimonye / which is honourable amōg all mē / to the end j might serve god in pure chastitie of matrimony. Heb. xiij And wher as thei saye that although it be the gyft of god / yet may we attain it yf we will fast and praye for god hath made vs a promise y^t he will here oure praiers / and graunt our petitiones. I graunt he will so do yf we ask after his will / and if that the thing we crave appear to him y^t it be profitable for vs / for he knoweth before we aske what thīg we have nede of. And j doubte whether all the prestes that saye / thei have chastitie / by this that thei praie and fast / as thei say / optaine and have it or no? We rede in the scripture of many godly men / that earnestly & [Page]faithfully begged of god that thing which thei opteined not / and yet god herd them and loved them / but he knew that to graunt their petitiō was not so profitable for them.ij. Cor. xij. As .s. Paule testifieth of him self / how he was vexed with the prick of the fleshe / the devels messinger / he did desire the lord thrise to be delivered ther from / but he opteined not / but had the assistaunce of gods grace promised / wher withall he was bid den to be contēt. I wil not now entre in to the disputation of this mater / j may be so occasio­ned that j shal speak of it another time. But j wil herī purge myself of this crime wher of j & my felowpreachers ar accused as carnall / be­cause we ar maried / and j will purge my self after the ordre of the canon law / as j saw it put in practise once in Cambrige for the purgatiō of an holy and learned virgin / if all vnmaried prestes be virgins. The ordre was that beīg accused of whordom / fower or five as honest as him self / and of no lower degre in the vniver­sitie / must after he hym self have taken an othe that he is no whormonger / swear y^t they think his othe to be true. Whiche done / y^e mater stan deth clear / and he may justly take an action of sclander against them that accused him.

Now do j affirme befor my judge Iesus Christ [Page]and his wholl church / that j have not sinned / bycaus j tok a wif / and therfor am falsly accu­sed as a carnall or fleshly man for so doinge: & for my purgation herin and to prove my saing to be true in dede / and also to approve my doīg herin / j take witness to the law of god / the law of nature / and the civil lawes till thre hūdred years after Christes ascension / the example of Christes apostles / s. Paules coūsall to the Corinthians and in many other places / the councell of Nice / and all the fathers of the church to the second Carthage coūcell / which was fowr hundred and twenty years after Christes ascē sion. Yf thes suffise not or ells may be excepted agaīst / when j here it j shall answer it. Yf thes be allowable and sufficiēt then am j falsly accused / for all thes testifie plaīly that it is lawful and godly and in no wise forbidden but that a preste may mary. Wherfor j end with this sa­ing of .s. Augustin / quest.nou. & veter. test. quest. c. xxvij. Talis est enim quorūdā versutia, quia vt sanctitatis & castimoniae, ama­tores se simulent, nuptias esse dicunt dam­nandas, vt per hoc commendētur, & populum à veritate auertant. Soche is / saith .s. Austine / y^e subtiltie of som mē / because thei wold faine them selves lovers of holines and chasti­tie / [Page]thei saye mariages ar to be dāned / that by this meanes thei might be cōmended / and turne the people from the truthe. Mark that .s. August. noteth thes men of hypocrisie / subtiltie / of sekīg worldly praise / and deceiving the people. Cōsidre also that the mariages of prestes were not forbidden in his time / but then this painted holines beganne as you may perceive by his wordes / and was cōfirmed by the secōd Carthage coūcel shortly after his death. Whē thes subtil hypocrites who condemne holy matrimony as carnalitie / and feine them selves chaste lyvers to be estemed in the world / and that thei may the rather deceive y^e simple peo­ple / have rōne to thei be wearye in this rase / then heape thei this on also to aggravate y^e mater / and make vs mor odious vnto the people / that all our preaching was but flatterye / to please the magistrates and the nobilitie / that we might therby avaūce our selves & clyme to ꝓmotion: but here must you note by the way: or ells their tale is not worth a fart / saving your reverēce / y^t look what crimes soever thei lai to vs thei thē selves be clear & free frō thē / & thei be replenished w^t y^e cōtrarie v (er)tues. We ar carnall / thei ar spiritual / we cā not lyve w^t ­out wives / thei live chaste v (er)gīs our ladies husbādes / [Page]we doo no good works / all y^e world mai wōdre of y^eir good works / we preached to please mē / y^ei spar no mā / we sought to live jdlely & delicatly / y^ey studye / they preache to their flok daylye / we sought for promotion / & wold heap vp livīg vpon livīg / y^ei wil none yf you wil ge­ve it thē / or at y^e moste thei wil have but one at once: if thei thought y^t you wold not thus esteme & judge of them / thei wold no more impute vnto vs thes faultes / for thei shold but loose their labour / & misse of y^e thīg thei hūted after. I dare say their owne cōsciēces doth accuse thē of beliēg vs when thei say we flattred the ma­gistrates. The rulers thē selves toke vs so mo­the cōtrarye to flatterars & mē pleasers / y^t thei did moche blame vs of to bold & plain rebukīg their sinnes / ī so moche thei wold not at the last here no moo sermones / whiche was a manifest tokē y^t gods plage was at hād / as īdede it shortly folowed / vpon thē & the wholl realme. And for the lordly loyterīg prelates w^t all their ken­nel of dūme dogs / j trust thei will bear vs witness we flattred thē no deal. Who thē did we go about to please / y^e poore sort? Ther was no ꝓmotiō nor ꝓfet to be wō. God knoweth & let y^e world judge / whether we sought more to please mē & to ꝓcureto our selves ꝓmotiō / honour / estimatiō [Page]/ ease / & ꝓfe [...]or y^ei y^t now wipe their hā des so clean. But let them wipe their handes so cleane as thei cān / let them hādle the mater ne­ver so conīgly in charging other with their ow­ne faultes / yet will they be wraye them selves when they goo most about to cover & hide their faultes. But her in do we reioyse that our case is at this present w^t thes as .s. Paules was w^t the Galathians and the Thessalonians. for after he had instructed them perfectly & truly in the doctrine of salvation / ther entred in among them falss teachers which did not only poisō the good doctrine of the gospell which thei had received / w^t observationes of Moses law / & suꝑstitious ceremonies / but also the rather to bring their wicked purpose to pass / did sclandre .s. Paul of flattery and covetousnes: & therfor he writeth to both the congregations and purgeth him self of that falss accusation. Gal. j. saing to the Galathians now whether goo j about to please men or no? j. Thess. ij. & to the Thessalonians we speak vnto you not as men pleasars / but to please god who trieth our hartes. Nether have j lived among you at any time with flattering wordes / as you know nother by occasiō of covetousnes / god is witnese, nether sekīge praise of mē / nother of you nor of others. We had instructed y^e people & taught [Page]y^e pure doctrine of gods worde / we had laid no other foundation but Iesus Christe / and in co­meth a sort of falss teachers / and doth not only treade downe the doctrine of Christ / and fill alful of superstition / jdolatrie and falss religion / but to bring this the rather to pass / doo accuse vs of thos crimes thei them selves ar only giltie in. this hath bene the practise of all heretikes & false teachers / sence the beginning as doth wel appear to them that ar exersised in the histories of y^e church / whome thes hypocrites do folow so near / and have learned their cōning so ꝑfectly / that thow maist easely perceave y^e greke proverbe truly verefied in them / [...] / [...]. But what mervaill is it / though y^ei now raill & rage against the ministers of gods worde / call them heretikes / seditious / & new fangled felowes / when their auncetours y^e pharises did the same against Christ and his apost­les: wherin thes antichristes birds wold not be one foote behind them yf thei durst for the peo­ple / who wold not suffer Christ to be evel spo­ken of by name. But that thei dare not attempt agaīst Christ by name / thei will doo agaīst his holy worde vndre the name of new learning / & new preachīg against y^e faith of our mother holy church. Doo thei name it new learning by­cause [Page]thei have not be wonted vnto it / but now of late years? So may Christ be called vnto thē a new Christ / bycause thei were never acquai­ted w^t hime. Now many of y^em have this acquaī taūce w^t Christ / y^t thei know & cōfess him to be the only satisfaction for our sīnes / y^e only rede mer / y^e ōly mediatour / our only ryghteousnes y^e he offred vpon y^e cross ous for all / did mak by y^t one oblation / not to be iterated / a full & ꝑfect sacrifice for all y^e sinnes of y^e wholl worlde. Thei will saye y^e thei have bene so trained vp in y^e knowlege of Christe y^t thei know & cōfess all this to be true. And thus farr were well cōtent to folowe y^e late kings procedings. Yea thei folowed it as a currish dogge doth folow whē he is drawē against his will: then he draweth bak w^t all his force to pull his neck out of y^e coller / & yf y^t will not be / he gooth on snatching & gna­wing the bāde & ceaseth not till he have gnawē it in sondre. Or doo thei name it new bycause their holy father the pope / thei & his wholl clargie / doth so judge it & can in no wise brook it. In this sence Christ him self called it new lear­ning when he answered Ioans disciples their questiō of theirs & the pharises fast. For when thei misliked his doctrine bycause it was vtter­ly agaīst them & thei could in no wise awai w^tal [Page]Christ sheweth this reasō of y^eir offēce / olde rotten vessells cā hold no new wine. This new wine of the gospel cā not abide in a popish hart / re­plenished w^t suꝑstition / jdolatrie / & falss religi­on but it must nedes bespued out agaī or ells y^e vessells will vtterly burst in sundre. But they call it new learning & therfor the teachers ther­of heretikes / bycause it is but a new kinde of heresies found out of late years by the germanes & had bene alwaies / & is cōdemned by the holy church. God hath blessed the germanes / his name be praised for it / wondrefully w^t the syncere knowlege of his truth / & thei doo cōtinew ther in / & dayly encreace / although our ēglish hypocrites brute abrode the contrarie. But yet they were not the first invētours therof / for thei her in have taught nothing ells but y^e thei received of Christ / & was the learning of the church tyll antichrist of Rome waxed so strong that he ba­nished Christ & his gospel. And this doctrine which thei call heresie is not at any time cōdemned by the church of Christ / but by the church of antichrist / as shall plainlye be proded when thei have decreed agaīst any particular ꝑte ther of. But this must not be for gotten y^t youe vn­drestād whē thei speak of the church / although thei name it Christes church / y^t hath alwaies cō demned [Page]this doctrine / thei mean in veray dede a cōgregation of hushopes / monkes & friers / sworne souldiours to antichrist the pope. And think youe this church will decree any thing a­gainst it self?. And wher thei will defende them selves w^t the reason of long auncient custom / j answere w^t .s. august. lib. de baptis. paruul. & it is recited ī the popes decrees for a decree of the church. dist. viii. can. qui cōtemp. Qui cōtēp­ta veritate praesumit consuetudinem sequi, aut circa fratres inuidus est et malignus, qui bus veritas reuelatur, aut in deum ingratus est, cuius inspiratione ecclesia eius īstruitur Nam dominus in euāgelio, ego sum, inquit veritas, non dixit ego sum cōsuetudo. Ita (que) veritate manifestata, cedat cōsuetudo verita ti. Reuelatione igitur facta veritatis, veritati cedat cōsuetudo, quia et Petrus qui circūci­debat, cessit Paulo veritatem praedicāti. Igi­tur cū Christus veritas sit, magis veritatem quā cōsuetudinem sequi debemus. He y^econ temnīg y^e truth doth presume to folow custom is other envious & malignaunt to his brethren to whom y^e truth is revealed / or ells he is vnth ankfull to god by whos inspiration his church is istructed / for y^e lord in y^e gospel saith / jam y^e truth / & he said not / jā y^e custō. Therfor when [Page]y^e truth appeareth / let custom geve place to the truth / for Peter him self who did circūcise / did geve place to Paul preachīg y^e truth. Therfore seing Christ is the truth / we ought rather to folowe y^e truth then y^e custom. Herin is to be marked this / y^t the holy father doth geve exāple of .s. Peter who forsoke custom to folow truth. Our prelates say thei be Peters successours / why will thei not thē folow Peter herin. Thei be his folowers in title & name but nothīg in de­de. Savīg y^t thei denie Christe & pluk out their swerds to persequut them y^t serve and beleve in Christ / as Peter did smite Malchus one of thē y^t came to apprehend Christ. And yet thei differ from Peter / y^t wher he of blinde zeall drew out his swerd to defend Christ / thei of malitious purpose bend all their power w^t fier & swerd to destroy Christ. And is it ani merveill though we rūne away from y^t cruell clawes of thes wilde beastes / in whos handes ther is no mercy? We fled not bycause we did suspect our doctrīe / but bycause we knew well their crueltie. We went not away bycause we could not abide bi our doctrine & prove it true / but for y^t truth could not be herd w^t indifferēt judgment. j pray you mark this practise / & loke yf the like were ever foūde in any historie? Thei cast the chiefest learned [Page]mē in (pri)sone / or cōmaundeth them to kepe their houses & not to cōm a brode / or banisheth them the realm as Peter martyr. I. alasco w^t others / & whē thei be sure of thē / y^t thei shall not meadle / for thei were not hable to abide their lernīg / then to blinde the eies of y^e people / thei pretēd a disputation / & call the matter in to question / when ther is no mān to answer thē as thei thīk & also when thei be already determined / let the truth apear never so plaine to the contrarye / what thei will decree. Then crieth a stoute chā piō at paulls crosse boldly / wherbe our new preachers now? Why doo thei not now come forth & dispute. Thīk youe this lusty roysterkī doth not know full well y^t thei be fast j nough / they may not cōm to answer hī? Yet by thos whom god hath delivered out of their hādes / although thei be nothīg to be cōpared in learnīg to them thei have lokked fast vpe / it shall plainly apeare to all indifferent men y^t their doctrine is true / & may easely be maītained by the scripture & testimonie of the aunciēt fathers of christes church. And y^t the cōtrarie cā not be defēded / nother by gods word / the aunciēt church / norby no ho­nest way / and therfor thei ar driven w^t shame j nough to bolster & kepe it vp / w^t fier & swerd / w^t thus will we / & thꝰ shall it be. And by cause thei [Page]wold seem in the face of the world to doo it by learnīng & the cōsent of most part of learned men of the realme / thei gather a sorte of blīde prest­es to gether in to the cōvocation house whos lyvīges hāgeth / as thei call it of makīg Christes bodye / & of pretēsed chastitie / beīg for y^e most ꝑte / vnlerned asses / & filthy whormongers / and thes with a showte of yea yeayea / or nay nay nay / must determine thes matters: Act. xiij. as yf the maisters of y^e pythonise / whiche had a spirit of pytho and ther by brought to them great profet and Demetrius the gold smith with the wholl cōgregation of the artificers / who had riche li­vīgs by jdolatrie / shold had bene appoīted cler­kes in the convocation house at philippos or at Ephesus and with their yea yea or nay nay ha­ve determined this question / whether Paull & Silas had bene seditiouse heretikes: wold not / trow youe / the more parte have cried w^t alowd voice yea yea yea? oh / aurisacra fames quid nō mortalia pectora cogis? Whether this stand with reason that thos prestes whos living depē deth only of superstition / jdolatrie and fals re­ligion / & ar for the most parte blind ignoraunt asses / shold be ōly judges in the waightye mat­ters of our religion / j reporte me to the indiffe­rent man. Another practise / whiche in veray [Page]dede was / that moved me most to save my self from them by flieng out of the realme / thei ha­ve / not latly invented / but derived frome their forfathers y^e jewish pharises / & yet not put in vre of many years. And that is / y^t thei will not leave a lyve one learned mā in the realme whi­che is not of their owne secte / no nor yet or thei have done one noble mane that now liveth / al­though thei wil not pretēd religiō to be the cause / but invent some other waighty matter. I must nedes here geve the noble men warnīg of that j herde / by cause j love them / and am sorye to here / straungers speak this dishonour of thē y^t thei ar not hable to rule them selves and ther for must desier a pollshorne bushope to gover­ne them & the wholl realme. At my last being at Lōdon waitinge at y^e parlamēt house of my lordes of the counsall as j was cōmaunded / j mett w^t a familiar acquaintaunce of mine / although not of my opinion in religion / but one that for the matters of religion dothe favour the popish bushopes / and is both familiar with the best of them / and also taken to be a wise man and of a great forsyght as he is in dede. He asked me of my state / saing thus vnto me / did not j tell youe y^t youre religiō wold not cōtinew? And so wold have perswaded me to have geven place / & re­voked [Page]myn opiniō: wher in when he saw he prevailed not / he said frendly / he was sory for me / & wished that he were of power to doo me pleasure: to whome j said / it was sufficient to me y^t he wold cōtinew his familiar frendship w^t me: & ther vpō j charged him as j was often wont of frendship to tell me what he thought of our bushoplike procedīgs. Wherto he answered / as in maters of religiō veray well. But in other maters nothīg so. For / saith he / j have entred talk with som that be most nygh of their counsall / and j perceav this by all their proceadings and purposes / y^t thei ar fullye bēt to set vp the power of the clargie as hygh as ever thei were abo­ve the laytye / & j have good reasones that mo­veth me also to think this to be true. Whervn­to j said / that can never be brought to pass. For although the noble men doo favoure their reli­gion / yet will thei never suffer them to clyme so hygh again. Tush / saith he / thei shall first of al help them to bring to pass at this parliament / that thei wold / & then thei will have their he­des off one after an other. What / said j they will never so doo for the nobilitye favoureth them. Yea saith he / & thei favour som of them again. But thei love none of them all so well but thei love them selves better. Thei see y^t the [Page]wholl youth of the realme and especially of the noble and the worshipfull at infected w^t this heresie and new learning / and thei shall herafter vndoo againe all y^t thei now doo / and then the latter end shal be worse then the beginnīg / and therfore will thei chopp of the heads of the fa­thers and therby both their children ar disenhereted / and shall be hable to do no harm / & also thei may in their place make noble men of their owne kinred & frēdes. What / said j it were to moche cruelty / whervnto saith he / yea yea thei thīk it is better an incōveniēce than a mischieff. God deliver the noble bloud of england out of the daunger of thes dissēbling wolves. But let the noble men cōsidre how many of their owne frendes and most dear derlings / w^t whom they wer ioyned incōfederacye for the bushop of Rome / wretched winchester and develish drēmīg Duresme have brought to confusion / and they shall have sufficiēt warnīg how thei may trust thes bloudye butchers. If doctour ridley wer a lyve the bushop of Duresmes chaplein and one hand / he wold vouche it to his face / as he ded y^e last time y^t ever he spak to him / y^t he careth not whos bloud he shed to bring his purpose about And what wold this vnsatiable bloudsokīg hy­pocrite have cared to have wrought my destruction / [Page]whom he toke to be an enemie to his de­velish devises. He invented al y^e waies he could to bring me to revoke the truth: he caused two noble men to charge me w^t preachīg / as he ter­med it heresie / he him self accused me that j had infected his wholl dioces with new lern̄ig / but when that wold not serve / by cause j had done nothing / but y^t was cōfirmed by the lawes of y^e realme / he was not ashamed to lay to my char­ge that j was not an englishe mān borne: that j had exercised his office in his bushoprich / that j had brought ī a wyfe of mīe own ī to y^t church wher never woman came be for. And then the .l. chaūcelour chargeth me w^t cōtempt of y^e quenes highnes as though j shold have received thre letters of cōmaūdmēt to repair & make my­ne appearaūce before the counsall and wold appear for none of them. If bothe thes butchers had bene so wel knowne to kīg Henry the eight for rank traitours to the crown of englond / as thei were īdede / which now thei shew plainly as j am well knowē to be a mear naturall ēglish mā / they shold never have brought that noble realme now in daunger to be over runne & conquered w^t straungers: the which thing men y^t be half blinde may plainly see y^ei goo aboute. I never medled w^t his office / j was in daunger of [Page]muche displeasure as the honorable coūsall did wel know / by cause j wold not take vpō me his office. And her in he vttereth his malitious hy­pocrisie / & what an vnshamefast bawd he hath bene / is / and wilbe to y^e monkes of Duresme when he saith ther came never woman w^t ī that house be fore my wyf came ther. For he know­eth right well y^t the church of Duresme was replenished w^t maried prestes be for bush. Williā by the helpe of lanfrank archbushope of Can­tourburye did optaine lycence from pope Hil­debrāde to banishe the maried prestes & to brīg mōks from warmouth & jarrow. And also it is not vnknowē to hime nor to his chancellour nor to never one of his officers / y^t every mōke of them all for the most parte hath a concubine in the towne / who hath come and doth come to their church & chābre / & no fault foūde / but y^t honest men of the towne & also of y^e countrie ar offēded therw^t / but dare say nothīg for fear of the great bawde ther patrone. Yea y^e busho­pe & his mōks knew full well y^t j did knowe to moche of theyr jugling and ther for it was ti­me to rid me out of the waye.

But when Winchestre cam in also with his fallss accusation / (for j never receaved one letter nor token of cōmaundment / from here [Page]highnes nor from her honorable counsall / but a letter the post delivered me by the way as j was coming to Lōdon) and laid it earnestly to my charge as though j had bene a stubbern re­bell / j perceived thei wold serve me as thei had done others / meane to punishe me for religion & pretend treasō: & subornate two or thre falss witnesses as thei have pleintie in store to affirme that j had made some offence to the quenes highnes / as their great grādsiers plaide with Christ / saing that he did forbid the people to pay tribute vnto Caesar. Wher for j thought it best to deliver my self out of their handes by forsaking my native country / seing ther was nother equitie nor justice to be loked for al­though my doctrine was never so pure / my behavoir never so vpright / and j never so hable to answer with truth to y^t was obiected. And therfor my frendes and kinsfolke have no cause to be sory for me. For although j have lost a great livīg / al my goodes / have not on farthīg left me / am bannissed my native countrie / shal vse no more the familiar companie of my fren­des / what have j lost? Nothing / but shall be a great gainner: for yf to save thes thinges amā loose his soul / what hath he wonne? And yf the departure from theis / have ever lasting lyf [Page]to rewarde what dāmage is ther? our saviour Christ whos ꝓmise is moche more sure & preciouse then y^e vncertaine & flatterīg glorie of the worlde / hath made faithfull ꝓmise / y^t who so ever forsaketh / house / brethrene / systers / father mother / wyf / children / or lyvelod for his name sak / the same shal receave an hūdred fould / and shall enheret ever lastīg lyff. Mat. xix. Mat. vj As for living he y^t fedeth y^e sparrowes will not see me vnprovided for. Godlines is great riches / whē a mā is cōtēt w^t y^t he hath. When we have fode & raimēt let vs be ther w^t cōtent. j. Timot. vj. Heb. xiij For this is a plaine case we brought nothing in to the world / nor we cann carye nothīg away. we have here no dwelling place / but we seeke a citie to come / the hevenly Ierusalem wher our saviour Iesus Christ is / For whos sake j counte all things but losse & do judge them but doung y^t j may winne him. Phi. iij. In him only resteth the whole riches of gods trea­sure / he is the only way to everlastīg lyff / wher vnto who so will attaine must seke it in y^e scripture / in y^e gospel of Christ / & not in the filthye dānable traditiones / & develish doctrine of the papistes. Wherfor deare brethren seing you have tasted of y^e swete bread of lyff / gods most ho­ly worde / take hede of the papistes so wer leven that worketh death. And bycause j wolde you [Page]shold not be ignoraunt / how youe ought to be have your selves wher so moche jdolatrie is o­pēly cōmaūded / & howe to learne youre Chris­tes crosse a new / j meane to beare Christs crosse laid on your baks / to folow him strōgly and not to fainte / j have translated for you two ser­mones of y^t great learned & godly man. I. calvī made for y^t purpose / & thes have j done travail­ing / havīg no place certaine wher j will remai but j trust shortly to be wher j will stikke down the stake till god call me home againe. But for so mocheas y^e bushop of Duresme did openlye to my face call y^e doctrine which j had taught in his dioces as towchīg the popish mass / heresie / jshall by gods grace / good christian bretthrē / declare & ꝓve by y^e testimonie of the scriptures & also of y^e aunciēt fathers of christes church / y^t y^e popish mass is the greatest heresie / blasphemy / & idolatrie / y^t ever was ī y^e church / which shal be the next thīg y^t youe shall looke for from me by gods grace. In y^e meane seasō / remēbre good brethrē / y^t our vnthāk fulnes was the cause of this our plage. Let vs crye therfor vnto the lorde / powrīg forth before him faithfull teares / & he will delivere vs that we may trulye honoure him ī the gates of the daughter of Syon / y^t is opēly ī y^e mides of y^e faithfull cōgregation. Amē.

The doctrine which we shal entreat in this place / is plaine y­nough and easie / saving that the greatest parte of thos that profess them selves to be Christians / doo seek out and bringe / j can not tell what subtleties to cloke their evel withall. But the summ of this wholl doctrine is / that after we knowe the livīg god to be our father / & Iesus Christe oure redemere / we ought to consecrate bothe bodie and soull vnto him / who of his infinite goodnes hath taken vs in to the nūbre of his sonnes: and to acknowlege withall kinde of benevolēce / honour / & obedience / y^e same bene­fite which oure most dear Savioure did vouch salf to bestowe on vs after he had bought it with so great a price. And because we ar bound not onlye to renounce all infidelitie / but also to separate oure selves frō all superstitiōs / which [Page]doo as well disagree with y^e true seruice of god as the honoure of his sonn / and which can by no means agree with the pure doctrine of the gospell and true confession of the faith / j said this doctrine of it selve to be so easie / that ōlie the practise and exercise ther of ought to remaine vnto vs / saving that manye men doo seek certaine deceitfull shyftes / thorow which they will not be overcome in that thinge / the which is moste chiefly cōdēned by gods owne mouth. This cause constraineth vs at this time to tary longer in the declaratione of this mater / that every man may know his owne dutie / and de­ceav not him selfe / thinkinge that he is escaped when he is covered / as the common saing is / vndre a wett sack. But for that ther be many of this opiniō / whos churches ar thorowly pourged frō the filthines / and jdolatries of the papisme / that this argumēt or treatice is but supfluouse / befor we pass any further / it is not vn­profitable to declare soche men most fowly to be deceived. First when it is declared / how great an offence it is / for vs to be polluted and defiled with the jdolatours / feining our selves to cleave and consent to their impieties / wear admonished to mourn for our former sinnes / & to aske of god forgevness of them / withall humblenes / [Page]and in this thīg to acknowledge the singular benefite whiche he gave vnto vs / drawing vs forth of that same filthe wherin we we­re holden down and drowned. For we trulye ar not hable to sett forth this so great a benefit worthely jnough. And for that we know not what shall happen vnto vs / and to what end god doth reserv vs / it is very expedient to be prepared and armed in time / that in to what state so ever we shal comme / or with what so ever temptations we may be oppugned / we never swerve from the pure word of god. First it may be that many of this our church and con­gregation / shal travaill in to som papisticall cō trie / who ought greatly now to be in a readi­nes and armed to battell. Then albeit god doth geve vs at this time libertie / to serve him purely and godlily / yet we know not how lōg this benefite shal cōtinew. Let vs therfor take this time of our quietnes and tranquillitie / not as though it shal alwaies last / but as it were a ti­me of truce / wherin god doth geve vs leisure / to strēghthē our selves / least when we shal be called to vtter the confession of our faith / we be found new and vnprepared / bycause we cō ­tēned the meditatiō of that mater in due time. Nether truly ought we to forget in the meane [Page]while our bethren / which ar kept vndre the tyrāny of antichriste / oppressed with most miserable bondage / but to take care / remembraūce / pitie over them / and to praie god to strenghthē them with that cōstancye / which he requireth in his worde. We must also admonish and solicite thē by all waies / not to rest in places wher mē ar fast on slepe in their voluptuousnes / but to apply diligētly this thought / and will / that thei confess the glorie due vnto god. For we ar not taught of god only for our selves / but that euerie man after the measure of his faith / shold brotherli cōmunicate w^t his neghbours / and distribute vnto thē that thing he hath lear­ned & knowne in gods scholl. Now see we thē that it is profitable / yea truly necessarie so wel to our selves / as to our brethrē / that the remē ­braunce of this doctrine shold be renued veray oft / especially seing the text it self whiche we shal expoūd / doth lede vs to the same purpose. David doth opēly protest / and as it were doth make a solē vowe / that he will never be partaker in the sacrifices of jdolatours / and also y^e he will so detest / and grevously hate the jdoles that he will not at any time once name thē / as though he shold defile his mouth in namīg thē. This is not the fact of some one mean mā / but [Page]the example of David the most excellent kinge and prophet / which ought to be vnto all gods children / a certain comon rule to ryght & god­ly lyff. And to thentent we may the better per­ceav this thing and more vehemētly be moved with the true fear of god / the cause is to be no­ted which he addeth / wherin truly resteth as it were a certain foundation of that same alienatiō and offence / wher by he doth moste greatly abhorre the cōmunion of jdolatours. The lor­de / saith he / is myne enheritaunce. But is not this thinge comō to all faithful and godly mē? Ther is no man truly which wold not glorie in so excellent a thing. And this is sure without all doubte / that god being once geven vnto vs in the ꝑfone of his sonne / doth daily entise vs to possess hime. But ther be veray fewe which ar so affected in this part / as the greatnes and worthines of this same mater shold seme to as­ke and deserve. Nether truly cā we by any meanes possess god / onles on this cōdition that we also be come his. David therfor of good right / and worthely did set the foūdation of his god­lynes / and religion in this sentence / & reason / seing that god is his cnheritaūce / he wil refraī from all pollutions of jdoles / which do turne vs from God him selff. [Page]This is the cause why the prophet Esay / whē he had vpbraided the jewes that they had gevē thēselves to fals & straunge gods / whom they had made / added afterward / theis / saith he / ar thy portion / signifieng by thes wordes / that god doth deny to the worshippers of jdoles all bond and felowship of covenant / and disenheriteth thē / and vtterly depriveth them / of that so īfinitly great benefite / whiche he wold have bestowed on them / gevīg him selff vnto them. Som man will except & say / that the prophet entreateth in that place only of thē which put their affiance in jdoles / and deceaveth them selves thorow opinion and incredulitie. I graūt / but this alfo j answer / yf thei that do transfere gods honour vnto jdoles / ar vtterly separated and cutt of from his folowship / thei also do err and decline fom what from him / whiche do feī them selves to consent to superstitions thorow fear and weaknes of minde. For no man can in hart or any conformable fashion or in wil / & in purpose of minde / or feining / or by any true or feined waie approche to jdoles / but he must so farr go bak from god. Wherfor let this sentence be thorowly persuaded / and remain depely printed in our hartes / that thei whiche seke god with a true and pure minde / to the end to [Page]possess him for their enheritaūce / will have no communiō & felowship w^t jdoles / withwhome god hath that divorce and debate / that he wold have all his to proclaim and make continuall & deadly warre vpō them. And in this place David by name doth express / that he wil never be partakre of their oblations / nether have their names in his mouth and talking. He might have said on this wise / I will not deceave my self w^t y^e ūwise & folish devotiōs of y^e vnbelev (er)s j wil not put my trust in soche abvses / nor j will nev (er) forsake gods truth / to folow y^es lies / but he speaketh not on this maner / but doth ra y^er ꝓmise cōstātly / y^t he wil nev (er) be conv (er)saūt amōg y^er ceremoīes. Therfor he doth testifie y^t so farr forth as cōcerneth y^e service of god / he wil abide con­tinually in al puritie and holines both of body and sowle. And first in this place we must considre / whether this be not jdolatrie to signifie & declare by owtward tokens / our agreament / with thos superstitions / wher with the service of god is corrupted & vtterly perverted. They y^t swī (asy^e cōmō saīg is) betwixt twoo wa­ters / alleage this saīg / seīg y^t god wold be honored ī spirit / jdoles cā by no waies be honoured ōles amā put his trust in thē. But to this may be easely answered / y^t god doth not so require y^e [Page]service / & adoration of the minde / y^t he graun­teth & remitteth y^e other ꝑte of our nature vnto jdoles / as though y^t ꝑte shold seme nothīg at alto belong vnto him. For it is said in many pla­ces / y^t the knees must be bowed befor god / & al­so y^e hādes lyfted vp to heven. What then? Surely the chefe honour that god requireth is spirituall / but y^e owtward signification wherby y^e faithfull do testifie y^t it is god only whom they serve & honour / must so immediatly folow / y^t thei must at one time be ioyned to gether. But one place shall so suffice for all / to confute that obiection whiche thei snatch of one word / that thei shalbe plainly rebuked and cōvicte. In the third chapt. of Daniel it is written y^t Sidrach Misach and abdenago / refused and denied vn­dre any maner of colour / to cōsent vnto the su­perstition set vp and erected by Nabuchodono­sor / declaring that thei wold in no wise honour his gods. If theis goodly wittye sophisters had bene ther at that time / thei wold have laught to scorne the simplicitie of thes thre servaunts of god. For j suppose they wold have tawnted them with sochelike words / you folish mē / this truly is not to honour them / seing youe put no affiaunce in thes things. Ther is no jdolatrie but wher ther is devotion / that is to say / a cer­tain [Page]bēding and application of the minde to honour and worshipe the jdoles. But thes godly men did folow a better and wisar counsall / for this answer whiche thei made proceded not of their own wit / but rather of y^e holy ghost / whiche moved them thus to speake / whom yf we will not resist / we must accept this place & this example / as a certain rule and definition / that jdolatrie is an outward action against gods honour / yea although it procede not from the wil and purpose of the minde / but be onlye colourable & feined. In whiche mater thei make goodli cavillationes y^t ther is no jdolatrie at all when as our affiaunce is not put in jdoles. Yet shall thes men coutinually remain condemned by y^e sentence whiche thee mightiest judge hath pro­nounced. But thes men do contend only for y^e name / ōly going about somdeall to lesson their faulte / which thei can by no means defend nor excuse. Yea thei will graunt that this thing is evell done and not rightly / yet not with standīg thei wold have this fact to be judged as a certaine veniall sinne. But although we graūt them as towching the name that thing they aske / yet thei shall not get so moche ther by that they may make their cause moche the better. Let vs saye thꝰ / that soche maner of feined worshipping [Page]of jdoles / is not called jdolatrie / yet nev (er) theless it shal be a traitourous entrep^ece against god / a certain fact repugnaunt to the confessiō of faith / & a fowl filthy pollution most full of wicked sacrilege. I pray you when the most sa­cred service and honour of god is so violated / that we falsly break y^t promise we mad to him / that thorow cowardise and faītnes of stomak we denie crokedly and falsly our Christian profession / that we be come inconstaunt and dowble / that we defile our selves fowly with thos things / whiche god hath cursed with all kinde of malediction: is this so light a mater that after we have done it / we ought only to wipe our mouth / and confess that we have commit­ted a certain small fault? Let vs therfor put a­way thes shiftes / specially seing thei serve for no nother thinge but to make vs bouldre / and to geve vs greater libertie to sinne / and doth nothing at al diminish our fault? Ther be also other more impudēt / whiche do not only / chaū ging the name / goo about to perswade y^t it is not so great and vnworthy a sinne: but do plaī ly and precisely deny it to be sinne. It is sufficient / saye they / that god be honoured w^t hart & minde. Evē so truly if the hart it selff were not dowble. For when the minde is truly sounde & [Page]pure the bodye shall never be drawen in to a contrary parte. I wold know of them what y^e is that moveth & leadeth their feet to the temple. For when thei goo to here mass / their legges will never be stirred of their owne moriō / but must nedes be moved bi y^e īward power of the mīde. Thē must thei nedes confess y^t ther is in them selves a certain desier and motiō of mīde wher of thei be caried to worship the jdoles / and chefely because they covet to apply thē selves after their wil and opinion / whiche ar enemies to the truth / yea and do so conforme them selves to please them / that they do moche more esteme their favour & their owne lyf then gods honour and glorye. Besids this / their impudency is so manifest and shamfull / that j am ashamed to dispute against it / as though it had som colour or lyknesse of reason / yet j must ne­des do it / seing they do please thē selves so greatly / and arr / as it were men dronken in their own opiniones and pleasures / fallē fast on ste­pe. They think this is jnough to worship god in sprit / whos then shall the body be? Truli. s. Paull moveth vs to honour god / both in body and spirit / for they be his own and belongeth to none other. God hath created the body / & shall it be leafull for vs / therwith to serve & honoure [Page]the devell as though he shold seem te be the author & maker therof? It were better they wold profess them selves opēly to be maniches & denye that god made the wholl mā. Yf they had never so litle taste of the gospell thei wold not burst out in to so licētious impudēcye. But now it is plaine j nough / that thei in no wi­se know / what is the power & greatnes of this benefite / to be redemed w^t y^e bloud of gods sōn. And to prove this true / how can we look for y^e resurrectione of the flesh except we beleve that Christe Iesus is the redemer both of bodyes & souls? j. Corin. vij. .S. Paul also doth admonish vs / not to be y^e servants of men / because we were bought & purchesed w^t so great ap^ece / which is y^e bloud of gods sōn. Then he y^t doth joyn & addict him self to the wicked service of jdoles / doth he not treade ūdre his fete the most sacred bloud of Iesus Christ / wherin doth cōsist the price of the eternall & īmortall glorie / which we look for in our bodies? What reasō is it y^e our bodies shold be defiled & ꝓfaned befor jdoles / seīge y^e crown of eternal lyf is ꝓmised vnto thē in hevē. This wallowīg in satās stews & most filthye defilīg is it a meā & waie wher by we may come to the kīgdō of god? Morover it was not said w^t out a great cause / our bodīes at the tēples of the holy [Page]ghost / therfor thei w^c perceav not / that they ought to be kept in all holines / do plainly shew them selves to perceave & vndrestād nothīg at all of the gospell. Also thei declare y^t they know no whit at al what is the powr of Iesus Christ & of his grace. For when it is said on this wise that we ar bone of his bones & flesh of his flesh we ought to vndrestād that we be joyned with him both in bodie and soull. Therfor no mane can defile his own bodye w^t any maner of su­perstition / but he doth separat him self / from y^e cōiunction and vnion / wher by we ar made the mēbres of the sōne of god. But now let thes wittye & subtile doctours answer me / whether thei have receaved baptisme only in their souls / or whether god hath cōmaūded rather & instituted y^t this signe shold be imprīted in our flesh. Shal the bodye then wherin y^e mark of Iesus Christ is printed / be polluted & defiled w^t so contrarie / repugnaunt / and so wicked abominations? Al­so the lordes supper / is it receaved in the min­de only / and not also in the hands and mouth? Hath god engraven in our bodies the armes & badges of his sōne / that we afterward shold pollute our selves w^t all vncleannes / w^t most foul spotes & shame / & so vnsemly deform our selves / y^t no kīde nor likenes of christiā bewtie shold appear? [Page]It is not leaful in coynīg one pece of gold to prī te two cōtrarie coynes / nether to set two sealls the one repūgnaūt to y^e other / vnto one writīg: & shal a mortal man take vpon hime to countrefete and corrupt baptisme / and the moste ho­ly supper of Iesus Christ / & also be bold to say y^t ther is no evel in so great and mischevous a fact? Soche men truly ar worthye / that their servaūtes shold perswade and make them beleve / thei have a great pleasur to do them service when not w^tstandīg / they geve them selves to slepe / pleasurs and al jdlenes / & do not move one finge to do any worke at all. Yf they say it is not alike reason / by cause we have nede of their labour that be vndre vs: j āswer although god have nonede of vs / yet for that he wil vse our labour / service / and obediēce / to serve and honour him / truely it is to moche vnsemely / & for vs the greatest shame and infamye / to do all thing other wise then he will / and cleane to be void of the studye and dutye whiche we owe vnto him / yea our shame is so moche the greater / that the worm of the earth, and an vnliving creature shall requiere more power over vs / & ho­nour then his creatour. But yet we must talk with thes beastes more plainly. They say it is leafull for them to fein and cloke what so ever [Page]they will emong the papists / and to conforme them selves to that maner and fashion of religion / whiche is thought most apt to norish superstition. Who is he then that geveth them bread to be fed with all ther? Who doth make the grownd fertile to bring forth fruit? If god do fede & norishe them ī thos places wher thei dwell as he doth all other men in the other partes of the earth / why do thei not honour the gever of that benefite with that part of themselfe / whiche is so bountefully norished of him? Why do they rather obei and serve the devel with theyr bodies? Yf thes men were in any parte christians / j wold vse with thē more waighty and hy­gher reasons: and j wold aske of them / to what end we lyve in this world / and wher vnto our lyfe ought to be referred. But o miserable ca­se that they whiche with subtleties and shiftes will dally with god / ar so brutishe / that they must be handled / as men not only destitute of gods spirit / but in a maner void of naturall common sence. They think this is a suffici­ent excuse / to saye / they do nothing in this kin­de / but for feare of perill and daungere / but yf this colour may take place / then must we say that Ioseph shold have done none evel / yf he had committed whordom with his maistres [Page]when it was violently offered him / seing he shold not have folowed his own will / but have geven place to necessitie & violence whiche she did vnto him. It shold have bene a foolish fact of him / to entre soche perill and infamie / as af­ter ward he suffred by the false accusation of y^e naughty woman / seing he might have escaped thos evels yf he had accōplished hir will. But we ought rather to folow y^e exāple of Ioseph / and alowe the testimonie of the holy ghoste / who doth commend his constancye. If ther be no wickednes in taking vpon vs jdolatrouse religion when we do it to avoid the raging cruel­tie of the papistes / the servaunt shall not sinn / who for his masters pleasure / shall playe the bawde / kill / and playe the traitour / for fear to displease him / vndre whos power he is. But j abide to longe in this mater / wher in (as j said before) ther is no doubt or difficultie. It shall not befarr frō the purpose to cōsidre in to how great confusjon thei falle / whiche travail with al their craftes to escape gods judgmēt. Others ther be y^t have foūd an other shyft & stertīg holle / thei graunt / y^t the suꝑstition of the gētles is a wicked & detestable religiō / but it is not all on reason of thes & y^e superstitiōs whiche arr in y^e papisme. As though all the false religiō y^t ever was emōg y^e heithē / was not a corruptīg & de­pravatiō [Page]of the true religion of god. From whē ce did y^e heathen draw & tak to them selves y^e yr ceremonies but of the holy fathers? In which doīg this was their great fault / y^t thei depraved & vtterly ꝑverted thos thīgs whiche thei had receaved / well & wisely īstituted of god. But yet al the abominatiōes y^t ever wer in the world have bene cloked w^t a bewtiful title of god hī selfe & y^e culture of his religiō. But thos coūtrefet religions / had never y^t cōmēdation / power & au­thoritie / y^t god did at any time apꝓve thos ser­vices & cōgregations / or y^t faithful mē did vse & frequēt them. Goo to let vs ꝓcede forther. Although j shold graūt the jdolatrie of the papistes to be vnlike & differ from the suꝑstition of the old gētles / yet cā thei not denye but god so ear­nestly dide forbid the religiō wickedly set vp ī be thel / as al other suꝑstitiōs which were īstituted & celebrated īother places. Whē y^e calves were erected ī Dā & Bethel this was īstituted & done ūdre a certaīe colour of his naē w^t had brought his people out of egipt & iet y^e same religiō w^t was y^er appoīted is manifestly agaīst the doctrine of y^e law. God doth cōdēne al thos y^e goeth thither to defile and pollute them selves. And truly y^e supper of Iesꝰ Christ & the popish mass arr no less repugnaūt and cōtrarie the on to the other [Page]then the sacrifices of Moses and Ieroboam. From whence then is this vispensation and li­cence to goo and here mass vndre this colour y^t the supper of Iesus Christe is but transformed yea rather in dede deformed? But j say and affirme cōtrariwaise / that all they that do fear god truly & honour him godlily / ought so mo­che the more to hate & detest it / for that it doth more openly violat and profane the holy insti­tution of Iesus Christe / then if it were not so repugnaunt and cōtrarie vnto the same. Wherfore let vs kepe this common rule generally / y^t all the ordinaunce and inventions of mē proponed and takē in hād to corrupt the simple truth of gods word / & to pervert that religiō which he requireth & alloweth / arr veray sacrileges with whiche the Christian man / may in no wise communicate / without that iniurie and contumelye / whiche treadeth vndre feet gods honour most wickedly. I know wel jnough how grevous and vntolerable this severe judgmēt semeth to them / whiche wold after their own lust and delicat minde / be more nicely and mekly spoken to and taught. Wherin what wold they j shold doo? What moderatiō and lenitie shold j vse? Truly now j perceave how tendre and deintie they arr / j covet so moche as may [Page]be to spare them / but both j and they must be condemned so sone as god hath spoken: therfore yf we will tendre our own salvation / let vs take it in good parte. They say they fīd no mā more severe and sharp then j am / but j will de­clare vnto them / on the other parte / that j handle them more mekly & tendrely / thē the truth of the cause / the worthines of gods name / and their own salvation did requier. Which thing being so in dede / truly they can not excuse and deliver them selves from the necessitie of that dutie and testimonie / that the prophet Ieremie doth requier of the Iues captives in Babylon whom he not only forbiddeth to come near y^e abominations of the Chaldeans / or coloura­bly and feinedly to geve any consent to them / but also doth geve a plain commaundement y^t they shold declare the wicked religion of the Chaldeans to be vnto them a most filthye sa­vour. You shall say to them (saith the prophet Ieremie) the gods which have not made hevē and earth shal perish both out frō y^e the earth / and also from vndre hevē. Ther is also in this place an other circumstaūce to be marked / that when the prophet had written his boke in He­brue / yet he put in this sentence exprest in the cōmō vulgar speache of y^e Caldeās / as though [Page]he wold by this meās / constrain the jewes / to chaunge frō their tūge / to the ende thei might more apertly profess y^e hatred and disagremēt thei have w^t y^e wicked jdolatours. Now let our nice yonglings complain of me as though my adv (er)tismēt excadeth all measure / & yet j have not at any time desiered y^e half part of y^t dutye which y^e prophet requiereth & asketh so earnestly. But what so ever be y^e maner / other of my saing & moderation / or els of mi silēce & taci­turnitie / never y^e less we ar tied & boūde to that law which god doth geve vnto vs / And truly it is not w^tout a cause / y^t god speakīg to his faith full / saith to them / you ar my witnesses & my servaunt whō j have chosen. Wherfore who so ever wil prove him selfe to be a membre of Iesus Christe / ought by al waies to declare / that y^e praise & honour of gods name doth so aper­tain to him / that thei which by their faining do hide & burie y^e testimonie of his truthe / do lea­ve them selves inexcusable. What j praie you is to be thought of thē y^e do al y^eirlyfe time subv (er)t y^e same? Of what sort ar y^ei y^t do not ōly hide y^e ꝓfessiō of y^e Christiā religiō / & sheweth no tokē y^e rof before mē / but also cōmitteth many things / & thosmost cōtrarie & vnsemely / This y^erfore resteth that gods childr̄e w^c live wher y^es impurities & abomīatiōs remaī / doo mourne [Page]after y^e example of y^e godly mā [...]oth / and also speak so frely against so many & so great abo­minable vices of mē / as god shal geve to them power & oportunitie. Let vs now com to shew certaine kīds of jdolatries / which ar of most e­stimatiō in y^t is daies. Emōg which sort / y^e mass is chefe / wherof j have towcht somthīg before. For although it be so famouse & notable blasp. both ī absurdite & greatnes of mischef y^t nothīg cā be imagined mor fowl & wicked / yet stil be­y^er patrōs foūd for ā evel cause / which do trifil forth ī this ꝑt. But wil y^ei nil y^ei / y^ei shal be cō pelled to cōfess this y^t j saie / y^e y^e mass by it selfe is a denial of Ie. Christs death / & a certaī sacri­lege invēted & ordeined by satā to abolish y^e sa­crament of y^e supp. Nether ar y^ei able to denie but y^t y^er invocatiō of saints / & suffrages for y^e dead / ar wicked abuses / wherby y^t īnvocatiō of of gods n̄a / a thīg of al o y^er most holi is ꝓfaned And y^ei who emōge y^epapist. do defile y^em selves w^t y^es aboīnatiōs do thīk thē selves giltie of no fawlte. What shold we do say y^ei? It is not leaful for vs to correct & amēd thos thīgs / w^t we know evel & faultie / we ar (pri)vat mē & y^eiy^e have y^e power & publike autoritie do earnestly defēd y^es thīgs. Therfore we must suffer that violēt necessitie. Igraunt al this to be true. But j say this is not to the purpose. It belōgth not to [Page]their office to correct and apoint a common or­dre for the people / nether doth any mā requier this at their hand / yet nevertheless they arr admonished to amend them selves / and to institute an honest and manerly behavour of privat lyfe / which thing without, al doubt pertaineth to their duytye. Nether do we commaund thē to clense the temples and the cōmon streates / but that everie man kepe his owne bodye and hart in puritie and holines / and labour by all meanes that god may be honoured / served / & obeied / in his own house. For thes arr farr vnlyke and moche dissonaunt / to abolishe y^e mass in any region / and not to be presēt at it / when as the vse therof and that religion can by no o­ther means be letted. But they repete and jte­rate their saing / that is / that they do not denie the death and passion of Iesus Christe / seing / they have no soche purpose / to worship it in their minde. But j do aske of them / what is y^e a Christen man doth confess with his mouthe, but that same y^e he beleveth in his hart? This is plain and manifest jnough / that this thing whiche they do / is most disagreinge with the confession of faith. So that / as moche as in thē lieth / they do not only hyde the true & propre testimonye of faith but also do vtterly denye & [Page]forsake it. I will yet talk with them somthing more familiarly and plainely. For the papistes do say the mass is a sacrifice wherin they will offer Iesus Christe to recōcile thē selves to god. But if this be so / it foloweth that Iesus Christe hath not optained ūto vs by his death righteousnes and eternall salvation. Let them seke al the compases and shyftes thei will / yet must they come hervnto / that all whiche go to mass, vndre the name of devotion and religion / do ꝓfess that they consent ther with. Therfore as moche truly as in them lieth they shewe y^e thei have not their redemption perfect jnough by y^e death of Iesus Christe. Ther be many that speake not so largely / nether suffer their talk to wandre thorowout all sortes of masses / that is to saye sacrileges. Thei choose owt one kīde of masses only & y^t thei defēde: it is called y^e parish mass / or y^e high mass / for in this y^e i thīke ther is more liknes & agreing w^t y^e supꝑ of Iesus Christe. And truly it might be said not vnaptly / y^t al masses which arr said both of y^e prestes of the lowest degree / & also of y^e canōs / or of thos prestes y^t have certaī chappels / & al other which ar foūded by any mānes will or y^t ar so saleable y^e thei be sett forth daily to sale / y^t al thes j say ar not vnlike to harlots which in y^e stewes setting [Page]them selves to sale w^tout all shame & honestiel / do make ther bodies cōmō to al mē / but y^e high mass to be veray like y^t same harlot w^t doth craftely abvse the honest name of an husbād / to hide her vnshāfastnes / & to retain and defēd the estimatiō of an honest & chaste wife. Although this similitude doth not agree on everie parte / because y^t an harlot joyned in matrimonie to an husband will have som shāfastnes and mo­destie / y^t she wil not set forth and make herself cōmon to all y^t cometh: but the parish or high mass is an whorish jdolatrie of al other most cō mon / readie & set forth to al mennes desiers & wicked lustes: although thes filthie bawdes / doo colour and smoth here w^t this colour and soche bewty / y^t thei retaine stil som relikes of Iesus Christes supper. It is w^t thes as w^t the thefe who braggeth and bosteth him self then more highly & gloriouslie / when he hath wōne & is clothed w^t the spoiles of him / whō he hath staine and whos horse he rideth on. We / saie they / seke the supper of Iesus Christe / and when we can not being opprest vndre that tyrannie / wher in we dwell / have the same pure / we must be content with that whiche is left to vs / loking for the helping hand of God. Forsoth a goodly and pretie excuse. By cause [Page]they have no right and perfect vse / of the supper / as though they had gotten a proviso / they witness and openly profess that they have not Iesus Christe the eternall and only preste and therfore everie weke do seke a new sacrifice / to put away their sinnes. For all this is in the high mass as well as in that w^t is said in the name of Nicholas or for the dead. In w^t thing thei fein them selves to worshipe an jdole / and yet do boste y^t thei seke Iesus Christe: & be cause thei wold not seme to fight agaīst god w^tout swerd or buckler / thei bring and obiect the au­toritie of this or y^t mān / as though the absolution of any one manne may exempt and deliv (er) them y^t thei be not cōdemned of god. I wil not saie y^t thei lye egregiously / whē thei alege soch men as thei do for the defence of their cause.

But in case it wer so that a devout and godly man / wer somtime of this minde / that he thought it was nothing evell to come to the hygh mass / yet afterward when he knoweth the truth / yf he doth disalowe and condemne his former judgement / his latter is so moche the more to be beleved / for that God hath brought him / or rather compelled him to disa­lowe the same / & by cause he ꝑceveth & plainly knoweth / that he is overcome in that thing [Page]whiche he before did greatly embrace and al­lowe. But what nede we herin to stirre the truth / as yf we shold bloundre and trouble a water that is pure and clear. Do thei think y^t with the judgmēt and saing of a mortall man thei may stop god & hedge him in? We know that ther is nothīg besides the truth y^t in judgment ought to prevaill with out the respect of any person. This mater is soche / y^t the parish or hygh mass is īstituted to sacrifice Iesꝰ Christe / and to reconcile the favour of god both for quick and dead / and also y^t a pece of bread shold be ther worshipped as though it were y^e sonne of god. I do not examine thorowly all y^e abo­minatiōs and wickednes / that arr in that mass for thei be almoste innumerable. But j do re­herse only the worse and grosser. Now let them y^t do but feine a consēt w^t soche wickednes and corruptions / washe their hāds so clean as they will / yet shall thei never be more just and innocent then Pilate. But this is a mervaill y^t thes good and religiouse parishioners at easter time do seke som by chappel / or som mock christian monk / whiche may prepare & deliver vnto thē y^e apish and coūtrefet supper. Yf y^e hygh mass is most nearest y^e supper of Iesus Christe / as thei say it is / why do y^ei not observe and kept it? [Page]But now after that thei have bene at the high mass every sōday thorow the year / because thei wold seme to cōicat in the sacramēt of the supꝑ a right / thei sodenly shake of & forsake the hygh mass. But we shold not mervaill at soch incōstā y^e cye / for this is a sure & due punishmēt / for thē whiche have laid no foundation at any time of truth in ther minds / y^e they shold alwaies wa­ver & be cōtrarie to them selves / in all thīgs y^ey do & take in hand. As towching y^t same hypocriticall supper / j know that thei be of this mīde / that thei suppose it to be the greatest iniurye to them selves y^t may be whē it is rebuked & imꝓved. But what cā we do in that mater seīg it is nothīg agreable to Christes rule? Nether do j fide fault w^t this y^t thei do it secretly / for j know that the supper was never better celebrated / nor more devoutly / then when the disciples went in to some secret place / to flye the tyran­nye of the enimies. But her ar two faults truly not to be suffered. One that thei whiche do make soche a supper and like apes do falsly and corruptly countrefet the true supper of Christe / do feine that thei kepe and worshipe their mass. The other is that the minis­ter / whiche for the most part is som religious mā the rather to dissemble the mater / doth not [Page]that office as a christian / but as a prest of y^e po­pish ꝓfession, & in this thei suppose thei have an honest ād sure defēce if the mass saier have not this purpose to shew the bread & wine to them to be worshipped / if he leave out the canō wher in ar cōteined many great impieties / & if he deliver y^e sacramēt to all y^t be present vndre both kīds. But when thei shal come before y^e highest judge thē shall thei fele y^e fruit y^t thei sought by soch glosīg & lies / yea truly thei ought now al­ready to perceav it. For j do judge thos same goads & prickes wher w^t their cōsciēces ar prikt & woūded to be agrevous fealīg of y^t same judgmēt. Aud truly this cause must be decided & plaī ly debated in y^t same place and courte / wher y^e truth hath her grave and true witnesses. For to be short / thei them selves do know them selves giltye of y^t mater w^t thei have purposed to declare both to gods enemies & also to y^e cōmon peo­ple. But god must neds denye him selff / yf he allowe the ordre and doing of that profession. If all the men in the world with on minde and purpose wold conspire to pronounce thes men ryghteous / yet none be he never so ready and mightye can excuse and deliver them from this but thei shalve thought to halte on both sids.

And god doth declare by his prophet / that no so [Page]the haltig of any mā shalbe euer allowed before him. As towchīg the man whom thei choose to be the minister of their supper it is a folish thīg to abuse his persō / as though thei could seme to make him an apte man to that office and fūcti­on. Yea but the vertue of that same sacrament say thei / resteth not in the worthines of the ministres. That j graunt and adde this to also yf any devel shold ministre y^e supper / it shold be never the worse. On the cōtrarie part if an angel singe mass yet then shold it be no whit the bet­ter. But we ar now in an other question / that is / whether ordres geven by the pope to a mōk do make him apt to the office and function of a pastour. If thei say contrarie that thei percea­ve / that thing doth make nothing to the purpose / and that thei do not choose him in that sort the thing it self sheweth contrarie. But let it be that thei as towching the ministre have no soche respect. Yet must j abide in that outward profession whiche thei take vpon thē and worship / yea j must press it earnestly / as a profession most contrarie and vnworthie a christen man. For this is plain and manifest that thei do and will defend and cover them sel­ves / vndre the person of a preste made for the nonce to colour and dissemble.

But if thei wold rightly and law fully celebrat the supper / it wer their d [...]ietie so to separat thē selves from the ordre & ꝓfession of jdolatours that thei shold appear in that to have nothīg comon w^t them. But now thei be so farr frō this separatiō / y^t thei ascribe them selves in to their felowship and communion / & do everie one of them feinedly profess them selves to be mēbres of that bodie. After this thei will compare vs to the olde heretikes / that did refuse the vse of the sacraments for the vices of the ministres / as though we do here respect the propre sīncs of everie man and not rather the comon state and condition. I do pass over this mater shortly / by cause that whiche is spoken is sufficiēt jnough to convince so foule and shamfull impudencye. But if thes mē be so folish and dull witted that thei ꝑceave not this filthines / the word of god must suffice vs / as whē the lord saith by the prophet Ieremie / Israel if thow doste turne / tur­ne vnto me. In whiche words is most plainly expressed / w^t what simplicitie and integritie of mīde we ought to deal and walk before god / w^t out any thought & wil to returne to thos thīgs / whiche we know ar not thankfull nor allowed of him. Whiche is a cause why .s. Paule also doth testifie y^t he was sent to turne the vnfaithful [Page]from their vanities / vnto the living god / as though he wold say / it is to no purpose to change som one olde & accustomed evel w^t other hy­pocrises and feinings / but vtterly to a bolish al superstitions / that the true religion may be set in her own puritie and holines. For with out this faith and integritie / men never come the right way vnto god / but do alwaies waver and ar vncertaī to what parte thei may turne them selves. Ther be others that ar come thus farr y^t they disalowe & refuse the mass / but they wold have som patches kept stil whiche thei cal gods service / least as som men say / they shold seme to be destitute of all religion. And it mai be that so me of thes be moved with a godly minde & zeall at the least j will so thīk / but what so ever their zeall and purpose be / yet may we not say / that they kepe the true rule or any good measure.

Many say we may come to their baptismes / be cause ther is no manifest jdolatrie in them. As who wold say / that this sacrament were not also corrupted / and vtterly deformed with al kinde of corruption / in so moche as Iesus Christe may seme to be yet stil ī Pilates house to suffre all opprobries & shames. To cōclude / wher as thei sai y^t this is the cause / why thei wold retaine some ceremonies / least thei shold appear to [Page]be void of al religiō / if one shold examine their cōsciēces / the same truly wil answer / y^t thei do it to satisfice the papists / and thei change their coūtenance to fly ꝑsequution. Other some do watch a time least thei com in the mass whille / and yet thei come to the temple / that mē shold suppose thei here mass. Other some come but at evensong time / of whom j wold know / whether thei think this to be nothing / that at that same time the jdoles be honoured / that y^e pictures and images be sensed w^t fumigations / that a solem praier be made in the intercession of so­me saint / and grownded on his merits / that Salue regina be songe with a lowd voice / and that one verie side a mater is herd so filled and replenished with develish and cursed blasphemi that the mīde shal not onlye abhorre the offen [...] of the ears and eyes ther present / but most ve­hemently the thought and recordation ther of. I do pass over that the singing it self in an vn­known tonge is manifest profanation of gods praises & of holi scripture / ass s. Paul doth admonish in the fourten to the Corinthes. But let this last fault be forgevē thē. If thei come to evēsong to geve some signe & testimonie of their Christianitie / thei wil do this chefely on y^e solē feastes. But thē ther shal be solem ensensīg the cheffest jdoles / & great plentie of swete fumigations [Page]powred out / the w^c is a kinde of sacrifice as the scripture teacheth. It was also a maner vsed amonge the Gētles / & wherby thei cōpel­led the weak mē to denie god. And for this cause the greatest parte of martyrs did suffre death constantly / for that thei wold not make perfu­mes and burne incense to jdoles. When thes men be come thus far / y^t thei receave in ther noses the savour of the sensours thei also pollute them selves with that pollutiō w^t is moste greatest and execrable ther. And yet thei thinke we ought / to hide and cover this so great wicked­nes and mishef. But j beseche thē in the honourable & holy name of god / that thei wil diligētly marke this saīg of the Psalme / y^t jdoles ar so to be detested of the faithful & godly man / that thei shold not be in his mouth or tonge / least y^e talke had of thē shold seme to cōtaminat & defile him. This one word ought to fraie & w^t draw vs from all congregation and felowship of jdolatours / by cause that we livīg in that cōgregatiō may easely be wrapped in and defiled. But to speak plaīly & frely what j thīk of al y^es / w^t seke ameā way betwixt god & y^e devel: y^ei have double & variable mīds / & j cā not fīde out a more apt & fete cōparisō to set y^em out & paīt y^em in y^eir lively colours / thē y^t same whiche may be [Page]brought of Esau that same filthie & double mā. For whē he saw his brother Iacob sent by his father Isaac in to Mesopotamia to seke a wyf / because the womē of the land of Canaā did so moche mistike the father and his wyf Rebecca y^t thei thought their lyfe bitter & irksom to lyve amōg thē & rather wisheth death / he marieth anew wife / somwhat to satisfie his parēts / but he doth not put awaie the olde. So y^t he doth kepe stil y^t evel wherof Isaac did so grevously complain / but somdeal to amēd the mater / he marieth anew wife. Evē so thei that ar so wrapped vp in the world / y^t thei cā in no wise folow god do mēgle and tosse to gether many & divers kīds of religions and superstitions / y^t ihei may applie and cōforme thē selves by some way to the wil of god / and thei alwaies kepe stil some corruptiō / so y^t what soev (er) thei do / cā not apear to be pure and syncere. I know also right wel y^t ther be in thos places many miserable souls / w^t lyve ther in great difficulties and cares / w^t truely coveteth to walk rightly w^tout hypocrisie / & yet can not lowse them selves / out of many doubtes & scruples / w^t is no merveill in so great and horrible confusion as we see at this time in the papisme. Yea j do greatly pitie their miserable state / which seke meanes wherby thei may [Page]serve god devoutly and live amōg the enemies of faith if it may be possible by any waies. But what wil we? I can do nothīg els to thone or to thother / but declare their errour and sinne / y^t thei thē selves may adde the remedie. If thei come herafter to aske of me this or that more diligētly and particularly / j wil send soche curiouse inquisitours to the cōmon rule which ha­ve of god. I speak this for y^t ther be some of this sort of men so importune / y^t yf a mā shold answer al their difficulties & doubtes / he shold seme never to make an end of any thing. And my think soche men may wel be cōpared to thē who after thei be taught in a sermō to vse sobre apparell and deckīg of the bodye w^tout al dissolute and sumptuouse trimming / thei wold ha­ve the preacher to make their hoose and sewe their shoes. Wel what must we do thē? In this mater ther is a certain thīg set before vs wher vnto we ought to direct and conferr our wholl minde / studie and thought. That is y^t the zeal of gods house may eat vp our hart and so move vs / that we bear and take vpon our selves / all dishonours / cōtumelies / and opprobries / w^t ar done most vnworthily agaīst gods holy name. When soche desier of gods honour / and fervēt love shalbe kindled in our hartes / not like drye [Page]stubble sone set on fier & easely extinguished / but like a fier y^t burneth cotinually / a mā shal be so far frō sufferīg or approvīg y^es aboīatiōs wherw^t the name of god most shāfully & vnwortheli is polluted / y^t whē he shal beholde y^em / he shalbe hable in no wise to suffer dissimulation / silence / & taciturnitie. And it is diligently to be marked / y^t he saith / The zeal of gods house / y^t we shold know y^t to be referred / vnto the out­ward ordre w^t is instituted in y^e churche / y^t we shold exercise our selves in cōfessiō of our faith. I do not wey y^e mockers w^t say / y^t j my self ly­vig here w^tout any daūger / yea ratherin great quietnes / do talk goodlely of thes maters. I ā not he w^twhom thes men have any thīg to do / For this is wel knowen j have here no land of myn owne. So may we thīk & say of al thes philsoophers w^t geve y^eir judgmēt w^tout knowlege of y^e cause. For seing y^ei wil not here god / who doth now truly speak so jently to thē / to teache y^em: j do declare y^e daye & judgmēt / at what time being called before y^e judgmēt seat of god / y^ei shal hear y^t sentēc / agaīst the whiche y^er shal be no answer / nor defence. For seing y^ei wil not heare him / as the best and most meke maister / thei shal then know at the last / & fele him as their most severe & just judge. At which [Page]time the stowtest & y^e craftiest of thē shal perceave & know / y^t thei were deceaved in their opiniōs, Let thē be so wel ezercised and prepared as thei wil / to obscure or subvert justice and equi­tie / yet their lawlike and judicial ornaments / and the badges of the great dignitie & power / wherwith thei now prowdly wax insolēt / shal not then geve them the victorie. I speak this by cause counseilours / judges / pror­tours / advocats / and soche other bearing the swinge in courtes and judgements / ar not on­ly bold to strive with God / and so to contend / that thei wold seme / to have goten a certaine right to scorne and mock his maiestie / but also reiecting all holy scripture / do spue out their blasphemies / as the greatest sentences of the lawe / and most hygh decrees. Thes men whō the world doth honour as certain jdoles / so sone as thei have spokē one word / can not suffre reason & truth to have any place to rest in.

But yet by the way j admonish and warn thē before hand / that it shal be better for them / to have some remembraūce of that same horrible vēgeāce / w^t is ordeined for thē y^t chaūge justice w^t iniquitie / & truth w^t lyēge. Ney^er y^e doctours & chābremastres / y^e delitiouse bāckettours & verai voluptuose mē / take ani higher degre here / [Page]then that thei may chatter in their feastes and banquets & bable forth their words agaīst the hevēly maister / to whom truly al men ought to geve most diligēt eare. Nether can their goodly & famouse titles pluk any man from this judg­mēt / in whiche the lordly & reverent abbotes / (pri)ours / deans / archdecons / as chefe masters of the game shalbe cōpelled to lead the dawnce in y^e cōdemnation whiche god shal make most grevouse. Now although the courtears ar wōt to gratifie men w^t the sprīkling of their holy water let them not thīk y^t thei cā w^t y^t kinde of doīg satsfie god. To cōclude / all jesters & praters let them holde their tong & boste not out their me­rie wittie saīgs / onles thei will fele his mightie hād / at whos word thei ought to trēble. Wher in their errovr is to moche folish y^t beleveth by cause thei take me for their adversarie ther for thei shall not have god to be their judge. Let them scrape my name out of theyr books and vtterly bloth it forth / speciallie in this kinde of cause and question / wher in my purpose is on­ly that god be herd & obeied / not that j shold rule mens consciences after my lust / and char­ge them with any necesitie or lawe. As for all others whiche do not so proudli dispīse gods word / and yet ar so delicate and weak that they [Page]can in no wise be moved / j do most hertily be seche them / that thei will take more thought and regarde to their own dutye / salvation / and gods honour / and do no more flatter thē selves / as thei have don hether to. Let them ther fore open their eyes / and rear vp them sel­ves that thei may beholde the miserye wherin thei arr. I know well jnough the evels / difficulties / and stoppes wherin thei be wrapt e­mong the papistes / j do not speak vnto them / as though it were an easie mater in the mides of the idolatries to take vpō thē & defēd the pure & syncere religion of god / but yf thei lack strength / j advertise thē to flye vnto god the autoure of al power / y^t thei may be made strōg by hī & learn to prefar his glory before al thīgs of this world. For j do earnestly desier that al faithful men w^t ar miserably afflicted in the papisme / shold vndrestand & know this / how y^t the prophet Ieremie remainīg at Ierusalē in Iewri did sēd this advertisment & exhortation vnto the people w^t were holden captive and oppressed in Babilon. Yf the tirānye of the pope and of al his ministres be to thē sharp and cruell / thei must considre / that the Iewes also of that time suffred heavie and bittre bondage / & yet thei ar cōmaūded in the vulgare speache of [Page]y^e coūtrie to execrate y^e jdolatrie of y^e Chaldeās It is not reason y^t y^e tyrānie of men shold break or any deal diminish from vs y^e due honour we ow vnto god. Her js no exception or pretēce of (pri)velege / w^t hygh or lowe riche or poor may or ought to vsu rp vnto thē selves. Let al men ther for bow down y^eir neck / & w^t most humilitie submit them selves to god. Let y^e poor man have y^t true fear of god / let him not say vnconstaūtly j know not what to do / least god answer him / nether know j what to do w^t y^e. The riche & wealt­hy men let them not lik droukē sloggards slepe in ther wealth / & cōsume in their ꝓsperitie / and aboundaūce of all thīgs / as it were in a certain draff tubbe / but rather after y^e exāple of .s. Paule / let them learn to estem all y^t / as dirtte & dammage / w^c doth w^tdraw vs from godly & christiā lyfe / or may seme any thīg to hīdre vs. We also w^c lyve here in rest & quiet enioyeng y^e vse of y^e greatest & sīguler benefits of god / let vs not for get y^e j towched in y^e begīnīg / y^t we applye y^es thīgs to our learnīg / y^t what so ever herafter befawl vs / or in to what so ev coūtrie we shal beled / iet we may alwaies cōstantly abide in y^e pure cōfession of our faith / detestīg all jdola­trous religion / superstitiōs / and abuses / w^c ar against gods truth / do obscure his honour / and vtterly subvert his religion.

AL the exhortatiōs whiche cā be made to īstruct vs to suffer patiētly & constaūtly for Christe Iesꝰ name & his gospel / shall not moche move vs / ōles we know & be ꝑfectly ꝑswaded of y^e right / truthe / & worthines of y^e cause wherfore we cōtend. For when we be in that jeoperdie and daunger / that we must loo­se our lyfe / we ought to be most certain of that thing / wherfor we entre to so great perill.

But that constauncye and firmnes of minde can not be had / onles it be depely founded in a certaintie and sure perswasion of faith.

Ther be many whiche will vnadvisedly & rashly ventre to dye for certain folysh opinions in­vented of their own brain. But soche for­wardnes of minde ought rather to be thought a furiousnes then a christian zeall and love.

For assuredly ther is no firmnes other of minde / or wit / or of common sence / in thes men which do cast them selves in to peril w^t soche hargie rashnes. How so ever it be / god wil not acknowlege and take vs for his martyrs and witnesses / without agood cause. For death is cōmon for all men / and also the condemnation of theves and of gods children / the sufferaunce of shame and punishment semeth to be all one / but god maketh a difference betwixt them / by cause he can not denie & forsake his own truth. This also is required y^t we have a sure witness void of al errour of that doctrine / whiche we will defēd. Wherfor as j said / ther is no exhortation so weightie / that can move and perswadevs to suffre for the gospel / but yf a true certaintie of faith be imprinted in our hartes.

For to put our lyfe in daunger / without any consideration vnadvisedly / and chaunceably / is most against nature. And so to do / shold be thought rather rashnes / then Christian bolde­nes. Morover god aloweth nothing that we do onles we be plainly perswaded that it is for his name sake / & for his cause that the world is so against vs / and doth hate vs.

But when j speak of soche certaintie and per­swasion of minde / j do not only vndrestād this [Page]y^t we shold know to discern and judge betwixt the true religiō / and the folish opinions / and constitutions of men / but also that we be tho­rowly perswaded of everlastig lyf & the crovn promised vnto vs in heven after our conflict in this world. Let vs now mark wel y^t thes two reasons do partaine to oure dutye / and must be joyned to gether / y^t the one may in no wise be separated and disioyned from the other. It is mete therfor to take our beginning of this / that we vndrestand & know / what is our Christian religion / what faith it is that we ought to holde and folow / what rule of lyf god hath geven vs. Nether must we only have our mīds instruct with this godly doctrin / but also have our mindes so armed and prepared / that we may freli and boldly damne all errours / lies / & superstitions / which satan hath brought in to the world / to corrupt the pure simplicitie of gods doctrine. Therfor it is no mervaill / that ther is so small a numbre of men / that have a ready minde and desier to suffre for the gospel / and that the greatest part of them / that profess them selves Christians / knoweth not the power of the Christian religion / and ther own profession. Al men in a maner ar negligēt / and have no desier or veray small / to here and read / [Page]who thinketh it sufficient / yf thei have gottē so me smal tast of the Christiā faith. And this is y^e cause why ther is [...]ene in thes no surety and cō stancie of minde / and y^t so sone as thei come in to any conflict / thei ar so abashed / as though thei shold bye and bye vtterly perish. For w^t cō sideration our desier ought to be greater to pur sue and serche out most diligently gods truth / that therwith our hartes may be perswaded w^t out any doubt. Nether is this al to have soche knowledge and vndrestanding. For we see many so well travailed in gods doctrine that thei seme as though thei were stained and died y^er w^t / in whom never the less ther is no desier & love of god / no more truly then if thei had knowen nothing at any time of the godly doctrin / but by a certain vnsure / light / and wavering opinion. But what other cause is ther of this so great vncertaintie and levitie / but that thei did nev (er) ꝑceave in ther minde the maiestie of y^t holy scripture. And truly if we wold rightly waye / that it is god that speaketh to vs theirin we wold here him with more diligence / attention and reverēce. If we wold think in readīg the scripture / that we ar in the schole and discipline of angels / we shold have an other maner of desier to exercise our selves in that doctrine / [Page]which is setforth to vs / to confort / strength­thē / and instruct our mīds. Now we see what is the waye to prepare our selves to patience & sufferaunce for the gospel / that is so to goo for­ward in the doctrine ther of / that being throwly perswaded of the true religion & that doctrine which we ought to holde and defend / we may nothing esteme / and despise all the fravds and illusions of y^e devel / and al the invētions of men / as things not only of no value / but al­so execrable / by cause thei vttrely corrupt the Christian synceritie. And herin we differ as true martyres of Iesus Christ / from the furi­ouse and stifnecked men / which suffre for their own folish opinions. Secōdly we ought to be so minded / that being assured of the right and goodnes of the cause / we shold be enflamed w^t this due desier to folow god whither so ever he shal call vs / to embrace his word w^t soche reverence as it is worthie / and being called bak frō the deceitfull fashion of this world / as men ra­vished / w^t their whol mīde & endevoir shold be caried to an hevēly lyfe. But o most miserable case / y^t whē the light of god doth shine vnto vs in thes daies so bright as it did nev (er) shine in y^e remēbraūce of mē / yet so litle zeal / favo² & love shold be foūd. Wherī our miserie is so moche [Page]the greater / that in so great filthines and vn­thankfulnes we ar not overwhelmed with blushing shame. For we must shortly come before y^t judge / before whom our vice and evel w^t we by al means go abovt to hide / shall be brought forth / with that rebuke and chek / wherby the just cause of our destruction shal apear. For yf we be so endebted and bound to god / that for the knowlege he hath geven vs / we ought to geve to him honourable and thankfull testimonie / why is our stomak so abashed & fearful to entre in to the batell? Especially seing god in this our age / hath so opened him selfe / that it may be rightly said and truly / that he hath opened and plainly set forth / the greatest treasurs of his secrets. May not this be said / that we so think of god / as though we semed to stād no nede of him at all? For yf we had any consideration of his maiestie / we durst never be so bold to turn the doctrine / whiche proceadeth out of his mouth in to philosophye and vaī speculation. In fine we can have no excuse / but this must be vnto vs the greatest shame / yea an horrible condemnation / that in so great knowlege / obtained by the singulare goodnes of god we have so litle love & mind to defend & kepe the same. For first / yf we will call to our remā braunce [Page]the martyrs of olde time / and cōpare their wondreful constancie with this our tēdre slouthfulnes / we shal finde passing great cause to detest our own filthines. For thei were not for the most part so travailed and excercised in the scripturs / that thei could learnedly dispute of all maters. But first of al / thei knew & held fast this / that ther is one god / whō thei ought to serve and honoure: then / that thei were re­demed with the bloud of Iesus Christe / that in him only and in his grace thei shold put their affiaunce / and trust of salvation. Morover they did judge all other inventions and ordinaūces of mē / to worship god / so vnworthy filthines / that thei could easely condemne al jdolatries & superstitions: to conclude in few words this was their divinitie / ther is one only god the maker of the whol world / which hath declared vnto vs his wil by Moses and the prophets / & then by Iesus Christe and his apostles. We have one redemer / with whos bloud we were bought / & by whos grace we hope to be saved. Al the jdoles of the world / ar to be detested and accursed. Thei came stoutly and boldly to the fier / or other kinde of death / and punishment / instructed with no other doctrin and more hidden knowlege. And the numbre of them was [Page]not small / as of two or thre / but so great that y^e multitude of thē / whiche were cruelly vexed and tormented of the tyrants semed innumerable and infinite. But we ar so taught and in­structed / that we passe all our auncetours in knowlege and vndrestandīg of holy scripture. We think in our selves / and it is true / as tou­ching the vndrestanding of the scripture / god hath ēdued vs with so moche knowlege / as he hath gevē to any age at any time. And yet ther is in vs scantly the least droppe of fervent love towards god. Ther is no reason why we shold norish this nice cowardnes of mīde / onless we wold willīgly and wittingly provoke y^e wrath and vengeaune of god / against our selves.

What must we then do? Truli we must tak to vs astowt / bold / & cōstāt mīd. We must chefely considre how precious and honourable the cō fessiō & testificatiō of our faith is before god.

For we do litle know / how God doth esteme this confession / when our lyfe whiche is of no value / is more set by and dear vnto vs.

Wherin our wondrefull and beastly folishnes is shewed: for we can not in this sort spare our lyfe / but we must nedes confess that we sett more therby / then by gods honour and our own salvation. A certain hethen man could vse [Page]this saing / that it is a miserable thing / to for­sake and betray the causes why we lyve for the conservation of lyfe. Yet he and his lyk did never know truly / to what end men wer set in y^e world / and wher for thei lived ther in. Thei might well say / that vertue is to be estemed & folowed / and that we ought to lyve an honest lyfe / without blame. But all ther vertues wer nothing ells / but colours and shadowes. But we have better vndrestanding / whervn­to our lyfe must be referred / whiche is / that we honour God / with all prayse and glorye / that he him selfe may be our glorye.

Without him / our lyfe is miserable / the whi­che we can not continew the least moment but we shall heap vpon our selves / a perpe­tual malediction. And yet we ar nothing a shamed for the winning of a few daies / for this feble lyfe / to refuse the eternall kingdom / and to separate our selves from him / by whos power we ar continewed in this lyfe. Yf a man shold examine the most vnlearned / yea thos whos witt is so dased / and whos lyfe so voluptuouse / that they be most lyke to brute beasts / what maner of lyfe is apoynted them / they durst not say plainly and openly / that it shold cōnsiste ōlye in eating / drēking & sleapīg, [Page]For thei know that thei ar created to a better / wort hier and more higher thing: which is no­thing ells / but to serve and honour god with al kīd of honour / and to suffer our selves as good children / to be ordred and rueled by our most bening father / that after the end of this fraill & vnsure life / we may be receaved in to his eter­nal heretage. In the apointing and winning of this end / consisteth the chefest and greatest point of our felicitie / yea al the wholl weight of ever lasting lyfe. But when we carrye our mīds and thoughts an other waye / & do snatch fast hold of this present lyfe worse then a thow sand deathes / what excuse can we have? For / to lyve and be ignoraunt of the causes wher­for we lyve / is vnnatural. But to forsake the causes wherfore we lyve here / for the desier & love to prolong our lyfe as it were for thre daies in this deceatful world / and to be separated from god the author of lyfe / is soche a bewit­ching and furiouse madnes / y^t j know not with what words we ought to express and shew it. But what so ever knowlege we have / and how so ever our lyfe is apointed / for so moche as not with standing the persequutions ar no less & bitter / let vs cōsidre how & by what meās the Christian men may confirm them selves [Page]in patiencye / and so strengh then their minds / that thei may constantly vētre to daūger their lyfe for gods truth. This same text which we have recited / being wel vndrestonded may brīg vs to that indifferencye of minde / yea to that willingnes / that we shall not refuse to suffre death for gods name. Let vs go forth of the cytie / saith the apostle / after the lord Christe / bering his opprobrie. First / he doth teach & admonish vs / that although the swerds ar not alreadye drawen to kill vs / or the fiers kindled to broyll and burne vs / yet that we can not truly be joyned with the sonne of god / so long as we have the roots of our thoughts & desiers fixed in this world. Wherfor the Christen mā must alwaies / although he be in quiet / have one fote lifted vp readye to the battell / and not only that / but also his mīd must be vtterli separated frō y^e world although his body be therī. Althought this at y^e first syght may seme vnresonable / yet one saing of .s. Paull / ought to be sufficient to ꝑswade vs / for that we be called & appointed to this / to suffer persequution.

As though he shold saye / Soche is the conditiō of our Christianitie / that we must neds en­tre in and pass thorow this waye / yf we will folow Christe. In the mean season / to ease [Page]our infirmitie and to mitigate the tediousnes and hevines / whiche persequutiones brīgeth / we have this great & swete cōfort / that we suffering all thes incōmodities / opprobries & daungers of lyfe for the gospel / do as it were set our feet / in everie fotestep of gods sōne / and do fo­low him as our prince & guide. If it had bene ō ly said vnto vs / y^t we must pass thorow all the opprobries of y^e world to kepe the christiā pro­fession / and also suffre death frely & w^t out fear when so ever gods will were / methīk we shold have had some colour to answer and say contrarye / that it is a thing divers and abhorring frō our nature to wandre so with out a guide. But seing we ar charged and commaunded to folow y^e lord Iesus / his leadīg ought to seme so right and honorable / that we have no just excuse to refrain or refuse his commavndement.

But that we shold have mor earnest love and desier towards this lawdable and helthfull ex­ample / it was not only said that Iesus Christe doth lead the way as guide and prince / but al­so that we ar made līke vnto his jmage.

For so .s. Paul in the epistle to the Rom. spea­keth / that god hath chosen and called all them whom he hath taken in to the nūbre of his chil­dren / that they shold be like and be fashioned after [Page]the jmage of him whiche is apointed pater­ne and hede over all. What / ar we so nice and tendre y^t we can or will bear and suffer nothing at all? Then must we neds refuse gods grace wherby he calleth vs to the hope of salvation & leadeth vs ther to by this way? Forthes two ar so ioyned to gether y^t the one can not be separa­ted from the other / that we be the membres of Iesus Christe / and that by means of this con­iunction and communiō / we be exercised with many afflictiones and calamities. This same maner of our lyfe so ioyned with gods sonne / and soche conformitie to him / we ought to esteme mor then we do / and also to judge it not only by all wayes most worthye to be professed but also to be folowed. The suffering of calamities for the gospell / in the opinion and judgment of the world / is the greatest infamie but seing we know that all the vnfaithful ar so blinded / that they can see or ryghtly judge no­thing at all / ought not we to have clear eies / and to judge mor perfectly? It is shame to be afflicted and vexed of thē that occupie the seat of justice. But .s. Paul doth shew vs by his example / that we have great occasion to glorie in the scarres of Iesus Christe / and as it wer in certain markes imprinted in vs / [Page]wher with we being marked & deckt / god doth acknowleg and receav vs for his servaūts ādelect. And we know this y^t .s. Luke doth reherse of Peter and Ioan / that they were veray glad and joyfull / that thei were thought worthie to suffer for the lord Iesus name / sclandre rebuks and shame. Wher in two things may be seen contrarie in them selves / shame / and ho­nour / by this that the world running hedlong in furie and madnes doth iudge against all rea­son / and by this means doth chaunge the glori of god with dishonour and infamie. Let not vs now disdain so to be dispised and to be rebu­ked of the world / that we may herafter optai­ne with god and his angells / honour / glorie & praise. We see what great labours ambiti­ouse men taketh to obtaine the ordre of some king / and after thei have at cheved it / what trivmphes they make: but the sonne of god doth offre to vs his ordre / and yet everie one dispi­seth it / and is turned with the wholl power of y^e mīde to y^e vanitie of y^e world. I pray you whē we behave our selves so ꝓudly & vnthākfully / ar we worthie to have any thīg comō w^t him? Although our vndrestāding cā ꝑceave & cōprehēd nothīg herī / yet of a truth thes ar the ꝓpre & honorable badges and armes of hevenly no­bilitie. [Page]Im (pri)sonmēts / banishments / maledictions / after the opinion of men bring nothing ells then great sham and infamie. But what doth let vs to see what god doth judge & ꝓnoū ­ce of y^es thīgs / savīg our own īfidelitie? Wher­for we must labour y^t y^e name of gods sōne be of soche authoritie / waight / & honour w^t vs / as it is most worthie / y^t we thīk we ar well & honourably delt w^t al / y^t his burnes as it wer certaine badges ar (pri)nted in vs / or els our vnthākfulnes cā in no wise be borne. If god shold ꝑsequut vs after our merits / hath he not iust cause everie daye to chastice & punish vs īfinite waies? Yea surly no deathes put vnto vs were able to recō ­pēce y^e least part of our mischefe. But of his great & infinite goodnes / he treadeth vndre fote al our sīnes / & doth vtterli abolish y^e same / & wheras he might punishe vs accordīg to y^e greatnes of our sīnes / he hath īvēted ā other merveilous way / wherby y^e afflictiōs ar traduced frō our deserved paine & punishmēt / to a great honour / & a certaī (pri)vilege & sīguler benefite / because y^t by y^e partakīg & sufferīg of thē we ar receaved in to y^e felowship of gods sōne. May it be o y^er waies said or judged / then that we / seing we despise and disdain this so excellēt and blisfull condition and maner of living / have litle profetted in [Page]the christian doctrin? This is the cause why .s. Peter after he had moved vs to lyve a godly & holye lyfe in the fear of god / farr from that lyfe wherfor other men as theves / whormongers / adulterours / and mēkillers suffre / by & by ad­deth this / yfwe must suffer as christē men / ther in we geve glory to god for that great and singuler benefite / which he hath bestowed on vs.

Nor it is not for nothing that the holy mā speaketh thus / what ar we / j pray youe / y^t we shold be witnesses of gods truth / and as it were proc­tours apointed to defend his cause. Behold we be miserable mē as it wer wormes of the earth creaturs full of vanities and lies / yet god will have his truth defēded by vs / which is truly so great honour / that it semeth not to pertain to the angells in heven. This one reason well considered / ovght it not to enflame and stire vp our minds / to offre our selves wholy to god / and to shew our wholl endevoire in so holye and excellent a mater to please him? And yet many can not forbear / but that thei wil speak against god or at the least thei will complaine / that he hath no greater regard to ease their imbecillitie. it is a merveilous mater / say they / that seing god hath borne vs thus moche fovoure / that he hath chosen vs to be his children / yet he wil suffer [Page]vs to be so cruelly vexed & oppressed of wic­ked men. I do yet answer thes men / that although we knew no reason why god doth so deall with vs / yet his authoritie shold be soche with vs / that we shold applye / & conforme our selves to his will. But now when we see Iesus Christe to be set for an example to vs / least we shold seke any other / ought we not to think our selves greatly happye / that we be so drawen after his jmage and liknes? Morover god doth set forth and she we plaīe and manifest causes / wherfor he will have vs to suffre persequution / emonge which / if ther wer non other but that reason and advertisment which .s. Peter geveth / we must neds be veray pevish and sturdye / onless we be satisfied ther with.

This is his reason / that seing gold and silver which ar corruptible metalls ar purged and tri­ed in the fier / it is reason that our faith also / whiche in value excelleth all riches / be tried & approved with soche perills of lyfe and greves.

He could by and by after our calling / with out any conflict and suffering of thes calamiti­es have crowned vs. But as he wold have Christe to raīg in the mides of his enemi­es / evē so he wold have vs also dwellīg emong y^t selfsame / to bear & suffre y^eir violēc & oppressiō [Page]vntill we be delivered from thes afflictiones & calamities by him. And j am not ignoraunt / that the flesh will then greatly spurne and refuse to be ruled / whē it must be brought in to this state / but yet the will of god must rule all our thoughtes and lustes. Yf we fele in our selves som contradiction and resistaunc it is not greatly to be merveiled at. For that is planted and engraven in our nature to flye the crosse. Yet let vs not abide still / in that tendrenes of the fleshe / but let vs go on forward / knowing that our obedience is thankful & acceptable to god / so that we cast down our sences and appetits / and do so subdue them / that thei be vndre his powr. Nether did the prophetes and apostles com to death with minde / that thei did not perceave their will to be against it / and encli­nīg an other waie. Thei shal lead the whether thow wolds not / said our lord Iesus to Peter. So whē soche fear of death doth prik our mīds let vs labour by al meanes / that we may have the overhand / or rather that god may overco­me / and in the mean while let vs thus perswade our selves / that it is to him a most pleasant sacrifice / when we resist our appetites / and do so withstand them / that by this meanes being subdued vndre his power / we may ordre and [Page]lead our lyfe after his will and pleasure. This is the cheffest and greatest battell / whervnto god will have all his with all ther power to applie / to thende thei may laboure / to cast down and depress all that whiche doth so moche exal­te it selfe in their sences / wittes and appetits / that it doth carye and withdrawe themfrom y^e way / which god doth shew to thē. In the meā season / the cōsolations ar so great and weigh­tye / that it can not be expressed / how moche deyntie cowardnes is in vs / when we waxe faint herted / and geve over for thes perills and troubles. In olde time the numbre was almost infinite of them / which for the desier of a gar­land made of corruptible leaves / did refuse no laboure / paine and wrastlinge / and also did so suffre death it selfe / that thei might seme to have their lyfe in no price. And yet ther was none of them / but did contend chanceably beīg vncertain / whether he shold winne / or lose the game. God doth set befor vs an immortall crown / wherī we may optaine his own glorie. And he hath not apointed vs / an vncertaine & chanceable conflict / but doth promise soche are ward / to the whiche we ought to conferr all y^e counseills / studies / and desiers of our lyfe.

What is the cause / that we ar so faint herted in [Page]the largenes and worthines of this honour / which is certaine and eternal? Do we think y^t this was spoken in vaine / that we shal lyve w^t Christe / yf we be dead with him? The triūph is prepared for vs / but we so moche as we may do flie from the conflict and battel. But this doctrin is soche / that it semeth plainlie to disa­gree with mans judgemēt. This is true.

Nether also Christe / whē he pronounceth thē blessed which suffer ꝑsequution for right eous­nes sake / doth propownd soche a sentenc as y^e opinion of the world wold allowe or receav.

Yea he wil have vs to thinke / that to be y^e cheffest felicitie / which we judge the greatest mise­rie. We think our selves most miserable / whē god doth suffre vs to be afflicted and oppressed with the tyrānye and crueltie of our enemies. But we do wondrefully erre in this / y^t we set not befor our eies gods promises / w^t do plainli confirme vnto vs / that al things shal come to our profect / joye / and salvatiō. We cast down our stomakes and dispare when we see wicked & naughty men / to have the ov (er)hand on vs / & to do y^t crueltie to vsy^t thei seme to tread down our neck with their feet. But this same most cruel vexation of the wicked / and so great trouble and cōfusion of thīgs / as s. Paul warneth / [Page]ought rather to cōfirm our mīds raise vp & lit­te thē in to hevē. For bi cause of our own natur we ar bēt to y^e studie & love of thīgs present / & ar so inflamed y^t w^tour whol knowlege / mīd & cogitatiō / we ar occupied in to moche levīg & vsing this vanitie: god / whē he suffreth vs to be thꝰevel vexed & handled / & y^e wicked to grow & florish in al thīgs / doth teache & admonish vs by thes plaine & notable sings of his most just judgemēt / y^t / that daie shal once come / whē all thīgs y^t be now troubled & confused / shalbe sattled. But yf y^t same time seme far & lōg to / let vs flye to y^e reamedie / & let vs not flatter our selves in our vice. For this is certaine y^t we have no faith at al onless we cast y^e eies of our mī ­de to y^e honourable coming of Iesus Christe.

And because god wold leave out no cōsideration / y^t might be apt to move & stirre vs / he doth set forthe on y^e one part ꝓmises / on y^e other ꝑt threatenīgs. Do we fele y^t y^e ꝓmises of god have not force jnough & autoritie in vs? To cōfirm thē w^tal let vs joī y^erto y^e threatenīgs. We shew our selves wōdousti froward / sence we beleve gods ꝓmises no more y^en we do. Whē y^e lord Iesꝰ Chri. Mat. x. Luc. ij. saith / he wil acknowleg vs for his own & cōfess so of vs befor his father / so y^t we also cō fess him befor men / what shold let vs to geve [Page]to him that cōfession / which he requireth of vs?

When men have done all thei can / the worst y^ei may do is to take away our lyves. How pre­ciouse then shall the hevēly lyfe be vnto vs whē it is compared with this present lyfe whiche is lost? It is not my purpose in this place to col­lect all the promises set forth in the scripture to this end. Yet sence thei be repeated and so oftē times renued vnto vs / we ought so to be exerci­sed not only in the readīg / but also in y^e knowlege and cōsolation of them / that we might be as it wer died and surelye confirmed in them.

But yf when y^e plage hangeth over our heades thre or fower of them ar not fufficient to con­firm & strengthen vs / truely an hundreth shold be sufficient to overcome al adverse and contra­rie temtations. But yf god with thes great swete promises can not entice and draw vs to him / ar we not veray great dullerds / and betle heads / when nether the sever threatenings can work any more in vs? Luc. ix. Iesus Christe doth appointe adaye to accuse all them befor his father whiche denye the truth for fear of losing this life / for whom he declareth destruction both of bodye and soull to be prepared. Mat. x. Also in an other place he protesteth that he will refuse all maner of communion with them that deny him befor [Page]men. Thes words onlese we be vtterlye void of all sence ought vehemently to move our minds and so to fray vs / that for fear the hears of our heade shold stert vpp. But how so ever it be / onles we be so affected and moved as the greatnes of the mater and daunger requireth / ther remaineth nothīg ells for vs but to look for horrible and most miserable confusion: wherin we may excuse our fault so moche as we lust / & we may say that in this great frailtie and weaknes of nature / we rather ar worthye of mercy then of any severitie and sharpnes of punishment / it will not serve. Heb. xj. For it is written on the cōtrarie part / that Moses after he had sene god by faith was so hardned and strengthened / that no vi­olence of tēptation co [...]melt his mind / and bēd him from that great cōstancye. Wherfore whē we be so tendre and flexible that ther appear in vs no power of firme and constant minde / we signifie and declare plainlye that we be vtter­ly ignoraunt of god and his kingdome. Also whē we ar werned that we ought to be joyned & cowpled w^t our head / we have gotten a good­ly couler to exempt & separat our selves frome him / yf we say we ar mē And were not y^ei y^t were befor vs men so well as we are? Yea yf we had nothinge ells / but even the bare doctrin of [Page]godlines / yet were al y^e excuses w^t we can brig weack and of no value. But now ar we wor­thy more greater chek and condemnation / sen­ce we have so great & notable exāples / whos great authoritie ought vehemently to excite & confirme our minds. Ther ar two chefe partes of this our exhortation or consolation to be cō sidered. The firstis / y^t this hath ben a commō state to the vniversal bodye of the church alwaies and ever shalbe to the end of the world / that it was vexed with soche iniuries and contum [...] lies of the wicked / as it is reported in the Psalme Psalm. [...].xxix. / Thei have vexed me evē now frō my iouth hether to / & have drawn a plough ov (er) and ov (er) e veri ꝑt of my bak. The holy ghost in this place doth brīg in the old church speakīg on this wise y^t it shold not seme now vnto vs a new yⁱng nor greavouse / if we see in thes daies our cause & cōdition to be like. S. Paul also recitīg y^e same place of an o y^er Psal. wher it is said / We were as it were shepe led to the slaughter / doth de­clare y^t this ꝑtained not onli to one age / but it was & shalbe the cōmō / vsual & cōtinual state of Christs church. So y^t if we see in this time y^e church to be so hādled & vexed / bi y^e insolēcie & pride of y^e wicked / y^t some bark at her / some bi­te her / mani afflict her / & alwaies invēt some [Page]mischef & pestilēt destructiō to her / yea & set vp on her w^tout ceasig as it were mad dogges & wil de ravenīg beastes / let vs cal to remēbraūce y^t she was so vexed afflicted & oppressed ī al times before. God doth geve vnto her sōtime / some rest & refreshīg & as it were a time of true. And this is y^t w^c is spoken in the psalme above alle­g [...]d / y^e righteous lord doth cut ī sodre y^e cordes of the wicked: & ī an other place / y^t he breaketh their rodde / Psal. c. xxv. lest y^e good being to moche pressed shold faīt & move y^eir hādes to īiquitie. But god wold alwaies have his church to be tost in this world / & as it were alwaies in a certaī cōflict / reservīg for her quiet rest in heven. The end of thes afflictions was alwaies blessed / yea truly god wrought this y^t the church alwaies pressed w^t mani & great difficult calamities / was never vttrely oppressed. ij. Cor. iiij. As it is saide in an other pla­ce / the wicked with all their labour did never optain y^t thei desiered. S. Paul also doth so glorye of like happye end & issue of afflictions / y^t he sheweth this grace of god to be ꝑpetuall in his church. We saith he / ar prest with all kind of afflictions / but we ar not killed w^t sorow & care / we live in greatnede & pov (er)tie / iet ar we not for saken we are cast down but we ꝑish not / alwaies carriēg aboute the mortificatione of our lord [Page]Iesus Christe / that his lyf also mai be declared in our mortal bodye. This issue and end / as we see that god hath alwaies made it happie and prosperouse in y^e persequutiōs of the church / ought to bolden vs / seing we knowe that our fathers / who also acknowledged their frailty & weaknes / had alwaies the victorie over their enemies / by cause thei continued constant in paciencye. I do entreat this first part of my ex­hortatione briefli / that j may come the soner to the secōd / which doth more pertaine to the purpose. And that is / that we applie certaine examples of the martyres which were before vs / to our consolation and confort. And in this kinde or nūbre ther be not two or thre / but a great & thik cloude as y^e apostle writeth to y^e Hebrues. Heb. xij. Wherby he signifieth / that ther is so great a multitude of them / which hath suffred for the testimonie of the truth / that so well the aboundaunce of excellent examples / as the most grave autoritie ought to provoke vs to cōtentatiō patiencie / and moderation of minde. And least my oration shold waxe to long in heaping vp together an īfinite multitude of exāples / j will ōly speak af y^s jewes / which suffered most grevouse ꝑsequutiō for y^e true religiō / both vndre y^e tyrānie of kīg Antiochꝰ / & also shorthly after [Page]his death. We can not saie y^t thē the nūbre of y^e afflicted mē was smal / whē a great mighty ar­my as it were of martyrs was prepared to maitaine and defend y^e religion. Nether can we al­lege y^t thei were certaine excellent prophets / whō god had chosen forth and separated frome y^e comon sort of people / for ther were women / boyes / and infants / also in that nūbre of martyrs. Nether wil we say y^t thei passed thorow y^e ꝑsecution / only with some light losse / without great peril of lyfe / without great paines & tor­mēts of bodies / seing / ther was no kīde of cru­elty vnproved in afflictīg / vexing / & tormētig them. Let vs here also what y^e apostle doth saie of them / and doth set forth for vs to folow.

Some saith he / Heb. xj. were hanged vp like belles and stretched / dispising to be delivred y^t thei might optaine a beter resurrection: other were pro­ved with opprobrious wordes and strippes / or with bondes and (pri)sonment: other wer stoned / or cutt insondre / or killed with the swerd: o­ther some went wandering hether and thether thorow hills & caves of the earth. Let vs now come to make cōparison betwixt thē & vs. Yf y^ei suffred so mani & great tormēts for y^e truth / w^t was as then but obscure / what ought we to do in this great light / w^t hath shined vnto vs in [Page]this time? God speaketh vnto vs now as with full mouth. The greatest gate of the kingdome of heven is made open vnto vs. Iesus Christe comen frō heven vnto vs doth so call vs to him / that we have him present as it were before our eies. In to how great ingratitude & shāfull wickednes shall we rūn ī to / if we have less stomak & love to bear & suffre for y^e gospel / thē thei had w^t did behold y^e promises of god but as it were a farre of / who had but a veray litle dore opened to entre in to y^e higdome of god / who had receaved only a remēbraunc & obscure testimoni in figures of Iesus Christe? Thes great ma­ters cā not be declared & expressed w^t any wor­des as thei beworthy. Wherfor j leave them to be weied in everie manes thoughts & meditations. This doctrin as it hath a comon & vniver­sall reason / so it must be referred to the exercise & ordre of everie manes lyfe. But everie man must apply it to his propre vse & profett apt for his own cōsolatiō. And j speak this for this cause / least y^t thei w^t see them selves to be in no manifest perill / shold suppose this doctrin to be vaine & not to ꝑtaine to thē. Now thei arr not in y^e handes of tirātes / but what know thei howe god wil deal w^t thē herafter? Therfor we must be of y^e mīd & judgmēt / y^t if any ꝑsequntiō / w^t we loked not for happē vnto vs / y^t we fal not [Page]y^er ī to vnwares & vnꝓvided / but y^t we come to it prepared lōg befor hād, but j̄ feare y^er be mani deaph eares to whō yⁱs my oratiō is made w^t ­out fruit. For y^ei y^t live ī quiet / havīg all thīgs at wil / ar so far frō preparīg y^em selves to take & suffre death whē nede shal be / y^t y^ei have no care nor y^ought of servīg god at al. But y^es ought to be al our studie cōtinualli / espetialli īy^es great troublesō times / wherī we live ī great peril In y^e meā time y^ei whō god calleth to suffre for y^e testīonie of his name / must yⁱnke īverai dede y^t thei were prepared lōg before / & brought to this suffraūc of evels / bi y^e motiō & certain judgemēt of y^e [...]prit / y^t y^ei might bear y^em selves y^erī boldly & cōstātli. Thē also y^ei must diligētly call to y^er remēbraūc al y^e exhortatiōs w^t y^ei have herd before / & be so stirred vp w^t y^e adv (er)tismēt of thē / as y^e valiaūt souldiare to take his armour whē he hereth y^e trūpet blowe. But what seke we?

Truly in y^es perils we do nothīg ells: but seke shiftes & waies how to escape. I meā this by y^e most ꝑt of mē. For this same ꝑsequutiōs is as it were a towche stone / wherw^t god doth trye & ꝓve who be his: but y^er ar fewe foūd of y^t faith, cowrage & godlines to wards god / y^t thei will offre thē selves frākly & freely vnto death for his names sake. This is a thing almost incredible / y^t y^ei w^t do glory / y^t y^ei have some knowlege [Page]in the gospell / arso impudent and vnshamfast / thei will vse soch cavillations. Some will say / what shall it availl to confess our faith before thos stubborne stifnecked men / which ar pur­posed to warre agaist god him selfe? Is not this to cast pearls before swine? As who wold say / Iesus Christe doth not most plainly declare / y^e he doth requier of vs the cōfessiō of his name / yea among most perverse & wicked men? But if this our testimonie do nothīg profett to their edifiēg / yet shal it profett to y^eir cōfusion. Alwaies y^e cōfession of our faith doth savour swetly before god although it brīge death & destructjō to wicked men. Ther be other also which will say this / what shall our death profett when it shall seme to geve more offēce then vtilitie? As though god hath left to them selves fre choyse to dye when thei will or when thei shall thīk it the most apte time of death? But we cōtrarie wise do obey him but as for the fruit y^t must co­me by our death / we leave to the hand & provi­dence of god. Wherfore the christian man must most cheflye in what place so ever he be / diligētly se y^t he lyve in y^e simplicitie & integritie y^t god requireth / and y^t he be not brought from y^t mīd & maner of godly & holy life at any time w^t any daūgers or threatnīgs. Let him eschue so mo­the [Page]as is possible the ragīg madnes of the wol­ves / so y^t the same w^tarenes be not joyned w^t the prudēce & craftines of the flesh. First of all let him do this / y^t he geve over & resigne his lyfe in to the handes of god the most faithfull keaper. When he hath ordeīed & kept diligētly this maner & fashione of lyfe / yf afterward he fall in to the handes of enemies / let him thīk & perswad him selfe / y^t he is brought in to y^t place of god / for this cause y^t he mai have him a witnes of his sōne. Therfor seīg he is called & brought to y^t cō fession by the certaine decree of god / ther is no way to goo bak / onles he will be vnfaithful vn to him / to whom we have promised all our en­devours both to lyve and dye: yea whos we arr although we had promised nothīg at all. I meā not herby to drive everie man of necessitie at all times to geve a full & ꝑfect cōfessiō of y^eir faith / no not sōtimes whē y^ei be asked. For j know what measure & moderatiō .s. Paul vsed / who was as readye w^t hart & mīde to defēd y^e gospel as any other. Nether was this spoken by y^e lord Iesus & promised w^t out a cause / y^t god wold geve vs in y^t time & matter / a mouth & prudēce. As though he wold have said / y^e office of y^e holie ghost / is not ōly to cōfirme vs y^e we may be willīg / bold & strong / but also it cōsisteth ī gevīg vs [Page]judgmēt prudēe & coūsail / how we mai / as it be cometh vs / governe & rule our selves / in so great & so herde amater. Truly this wholl treatise is to this ēd y^t thei y^t be ī soch distresses shold de­sier & receav frō heavē y^t moderatiō & prudēce / not folowīg y^e coūsail of the fleshe to seke some shiftes to escape. But ther be y^t do obiect in this place / y^t the lord Iesus yea whē he was asked wold make to thē no āswer. But j sat y^t this suf­ficeth not to take away y^t rule / w^t he hath gevē to vs / to witnes our faith thē when y^e cōfession ther of is necessarily required. Furthermore / y^t he did nev (er) dissēble or kepe silēce for this purpose to save his life. Last of al y^t he did neverma­ke so doubtful ā answer / but y^t it cōteined ā apt testimonie of that w^t he had spokē before / or els did first satiffie thē y^t laye ī waite to mark both his words & dedes. Wherfor let al christiās be wel ꝑswaded & sure of this thīg / y^t no mā ought more to estē his life thē y^e testimonie of y^e truth wherin god wil have y^e praise & glorie of his name to appear. Is it w^t out acause / y^t he calleth althos his witnesses (for this doth y^e word martire signifie) who ar brought to make answer before the enemies of faith and religiō? Or is not this rather the cause / for y^t he wold vse all their speakīg & whole course of life to the cōfessiō of his name? Wherin everie mā must not so looke [Page]to his neghbour & felowe / y^t he wil seme to do nothīg at al w^t out his exāple & testimonie. And this curiositie is so much the mor to be eschued because we ar ꝓne to this vice of our owne na­ture. Peter whē he had herd of Christe that he shold be ledde ī his old age whether he wold not he ēquired what shold be come of Ioā his felow & cōpanion. Ther is none of vs / w^t to avoide perill & daūger / wold not gladly make answer in y^e wise / by cause whē we shold suffre any thīg / by & by this cometh in to our mīde / what is the cause wher for j shold suffer more then others? But Iesus Christe doth coūsail & monish other wise vs al in comō / & everie mā privatly / to be prepared & readie / y^t as he calleth on or other / so everie mā come forth in his ordre. And j have shewed this before / y^t we shalbe vnarmed & vnprepared to take & suffre martyrdō / ōless we be fēsed ād armed w^t the promises of god. Now re­maineth to declare plētifully soche ꝓmises / not y^t we wil sett forth everie one exactli / but to she we the chefe & most excellēt thīg / w^t god wold have vs to hope for / to cōfort vs ī our calamities. And ther be thre soche thīgs: the first / y^t seīgal the times both of our life & death do cōsist in his hād / he wil so defēd vs bi his power / y^t not one hear of our head shal faul but after his wil. Wherfor al faitful mē ought y^us to beꝑswaded / [Page]in whos handes so ever thei be tossed / that god in no wise wil lay a side that governaunce and custodie / whiche he hath taken vpō him for thē with so great care. Yf this perswasion of gods fatherly care / and prouidence did rest and cleave depe in our harts / we shold be delivered out of hande / of the greatest part of thes doubtes and difficulties / whiche do now trouble & hin­dre our dutye. We behold now the bitterness of the tyraunts / and vnbridled crueltie / brawlig pivishly in al sharpnes of punisments. And here by we judge that god hathe no more care / nor regard to defend and kepe vs in savetie.

And therfor we be so stirred and provoked / by our own reasons to looke and provide / for our selves / as though the whole hope of gods helpe and succour were clean taken awaie. But on the other part / the so great providence of god / as he hath shewed vnto vs / ought to be vnto vs like a stronge fenced castle / which can be o­ver comē with no power. Let vs therfor learn and hold fast / this short sentence / y^t our bodies ar in his hand and power / who also did creat them. And this is y^e cause / wherfor god hath delivered his / after a merveilouse sorte / and contrarie the opinion and hope of al men / as Sy­drach / Misach / and Abdenago / forth of y^e bur­ning [Page]oven / Daniel, out of the lions denne / pe­ter out of Herods prison / wher in he was shot & watched most diligently fast bonnd in chaines. By thes examples he wold declare vnto vs / y^t he could staye our enemies as it were with a certaine bridle / and that he had that power that when he wold / he could preserve and as it were pluk vs out of the mouth of death it self. Not that he doth alwaies thus deliver his frō soch perils / but of right having the autoritie to apoint our lyfe and death / he will have vs persuaded / that we are so continued and kept vndre his custodie and tuition / that what so ev (er) the tyraunts do invent / or with what furie so ever thei set vpon vs / yet it is only in his hand to apoint lyfe [...] death: and therfor this mater ought only to be refferred to his wil. But yf he suffre y^e tyraunts to kil vs / yet our life is vnto him deare and moche more sett by of him then it is worthie. Psalm. c. xvj. The which he did plainly declare to be so when he pronounced by the mouth of Dauid / that the death of his saints was honourable and preciouse in his sight. xxvj. cap. And also when he said by Esay / y^t the earth it selfe shold shew forth the bloud that was shedd which semeth al to gether hiddē. Now then lett the enemies of the gospell be as bountiful and prodigall in [Page]shedding the martyrs bloud / as thei will / yet this must be / that thei shal make a reckening & horrible accompt of the effusion of that dear & preciouse bloud / yea even to the vttremost droppe. But now / in this time thei do scornfully & prowdly laugh / when thei burne the faithfull men / and after thei have dypte and washed thē selves in their bloud / thei be come so dronken / that thei care nothīg at al / what murthers thei do. But yf we wil have this stay and modera­tion of minde / that we can paciētly abide / god wil at the last declare / that it was not without a cause that he so greatly estemed our life / and had it in so great honour. In the mean while let vs not take it to grefe / yf it be now bestow­ed to confirme and garnish th [...] gospel / whiche excelleth heven and earth in worthines. And y^t we may be mor surely perswaded that god wil never leave vs as abiects in the hands of the e­nemies / let vs not forget that same saing of Iesus Christe / wherin he saith / that it is he him selfe whom men do persequut in his membres. Act. ix. God had said before by Zacharye / who so tow­cheth youe towcheth the sight of myn eie. Zach. ij. This is moch more expressed / if we suffre for the gospel sake / it is evē as the sonne of god hī selfe were & suffred in y^t afflictiō. Therfor let vs thīk so [Page]y^t Iesꝰ Christe must forget hī self / if he shold have no care & thought of vs at y^t time whē we be in prison and daūger of life for his cause & glo­rie: and let vs also knowe that god will take all the cō tumelies and iniuries / as done agaīst his owne sonne. Let vs come to the second place of cōsolatiō / w^t is one of the greatest among gods promises: that is / that god will so hold vs vpp w^t the vertue of his spirit in thes afflictiōs / that our enemies what so ever thei do / nor satan y^eir chefe capitaine shall in any thīge go awai w^t the over hand. And truly we do see how in that necessitie / he doth shew the succour and helpes of his grace. For the invīcible stowtnes and cōstā ­cye of mind w^t is sene in the true martyrs / is a notable token of that same most mighty power w^t god vseth in his saints. Ther be two things in persequutions grevous / tediouse and intolerable to the flesh wherof the one cōsisteth in the cheks and rebukes of men / the other in the paine and tormēt of the bodie. In both thes kinds oftemtations god doth promise so his assistaunce that we shall easely over come all the īfamie and violence of the grefs and paine. And truly what he promiseth he doth performe in dede w^t most manifest and assured helpe. Let vs then take this bucklere to defend vs against all fear / [Page]and let vs not measure the power of gods spirit so sclendrely / that we shold not thinke and beleve / that he will easely overcome all the iniuri­es / bittrenes / and contumelies of menn. And of this divine and invincible operation / emong all other we have a notable exāple in this our age. A certain yonge man / who lived godlylye here w^t vs in this cytie / when he was taken at Dornick was cōdemned with this sentence / y^t yfhe wold denye the confession of his faith / he shold be but beheaded / but yfhe persevered in his purposed opiniō / he shold be burned. Whē he was asked whether he wold do / he āswered plaīly / he who wil geve me this grace to dye papatiently for his name / will also work by y^e selfe same grace / that j may abide broylīg and burning. We ought to take this sentence not as pronounced of a mortall man / but of the holy ghost / that we shold thinke / that god can so wel confirme / and make vs over come al pains and tormēts / as to move vs to take any other kinde of meaker death in good part. Yea we see also often times / what constancye he geveth to evel and wickedmen / who suffre for their evel dea­des & wickednes. I do not speake of soch as be obstinat & hardned ī their wickednes w^t have no repētaunce / but of them which do perceave consolation [Page]by the grace of Iesus Christe / & so do take and suffre quietly and with good wil most grevouse and sharpe paine: as we see a notable example in that thefe who turned at the death of our lord Iesus Christe. Will god who assisteth with so great power wicked men y^e suffre condingly for their evell actes / forsake thē who defend his cause / and will he not rather geve them invincible power? The third place of pro­mises / whiche god promiseth to his martyres / is the fruit which thei ought to look for of their sufferīg and of death it selfe / yfnede so requier. But this fruit is / that after thei have sett forth and honoured gods name / & edified his church with their testimonie / thei may be gathered to gether in immortal glorye with the lord Iesus: But be cause we have spokē largely jnough before of this reward of eternall glorye / it is now sufficient / to renue the memorie of thos things y^e ar all readye spoken. Wherfor let the faith­full learn to reare vpp their head to the crown of immortall glorye / wher vnto god doth call them / let them not take the losse of this lyfe grevously / cōsiderīg the greatnes / and worthines of the reward. And that thei may besure and ꝑfectly perswaded of this so great a good thīg / as can not be expressed with any speache / nor in [Page]thought be comprehended / nor with any ho­noure jnough estemed / lett them have continually before their eies this like and conformable reason with our lord Iesus Christe that in death it selfe thei behold lyfe / as he by ignominie of the crosse and infamie came to gloriouse resurrectiō / wherin all our felicitie / trivmph and joye consisteth.

Amen.