¶M. Priour of Newnhams seconde opinion.

NOwe as touchinge your seconde opinion / w­hiche you saie that I helde: That faith with­oute workes is sufficient / verely I neuer saide so: but I might saie that by faith withoute workes a man is iustified. Whiche is Paules sainge in the t­hirde cap. to the Romās / and this sentence I bele­ue as true with Paule / and holde it for nō opinion And for a declaraciō of this Paules sentēce / I wil firste tel you what is faithe / what it is to be iusti­fied before god / ād what is the rightwisnes of fai­the. Firste ye shal knowe that the Apostle defineth faith in the. 11. ca. to the Hebrews saing that faithe is the very suer & substancial beliefe of him whiche is the same thinge that we hope fore: that is to saie faith is an infallible & vndouted certaintye in our hartes / wherby we beleue and truste in the inuisi­ble God: and to opene this definicion yet more plainely. Faithe is that same cōstante and faste persuasion in our hartes assuerde vs by the holygoste / certifyinge vs of the goodnes of God and of his promises towerde vs / by the which persuasion we be­leue verely his wordes and ar assuerde in our har­tes the holy goste testifinge it in vs) that he is our God / our father / to vs an almighty helper and deliuerer / and that we are receyued in to his favour by the dethe and meretis of his sonne Iesus Chri­ste our saviour / vpon the which beliefe ād assuered persuasion we love him so ernestly agene that we ceasse not the occasion and tyme offrede) to fulfill his plesures in doinge the workes of loue or charite to our neghbours. Of this lively faithe Paule speaketh alwayes / which by love is mighty in operacion ad Gala. 5. and mente no more deade faithe in this his sentēce / A man is iustified bi faithe / thē he mente of a deade man / whē he alledged the prophete [Page] Abaku [...]saing / the rightwise shal liue of his faithe / for dede faith geueth no life.

¶To be iustifyed orto be made rightwyse before God by this faithe / is nothinge els but to be absolued frome sinne of God / to be forgeuen / orto haue no sinne imputed vnto him of God.

¶The rightwysnes which is allowed before God that cometh of faithe is sometimes in scripture called his mercie or fauour towerd vs & in vs / wher­by he is moued for Christis bloudis sake to promise vs forgeuenes. And sometimes it is takē for his truthe & faithfulnes in the performīge of his pro­mise / & of this is he called iuste or rightwise / faithful and true. Vv [...]erfore the scripture comenly ioyneth these two wordes / mercie & Truthe or faith­fulnes togither especially in the Psalmes as I noted in the argument of the. 89. Psalme / and as Dauid praieth God in the. 31. Psal. to deliuer him for his rightwisnes sake: that is for his mercies sake or for his truthes sake / & in the. 5. Psal. lorde ledemeforthe for thy rightwisnes sake. The mercy w­herby God is moued to promise vs his benefits / goth before / and his truthe in performinge felo­weth / nowe the maner of the scripture is / to vse t­he one for the tother / as the kingdome of heauē for the gospel which gothe before & is the knowlege of the waye to the kingdome / and because of hearin­ge the worde / cometh faith Ro. 10. therfore to hea­re in scripture is sometimes takē for to beleue / as Iohan in the. 6. Euery man that hath harde and is learned of my father cometh to me / that is to saye euery man that beleueth on the father &c. & in the same ca. He that cometh to me shalnot hōger / whi­ch saing the sentence folowing expoundeth thus / He that beleueth in me shal neuer thirste or shalbe euer satisfied / here / to come to Christe whiche foloweth [Page] faith in him / is taken for to beleue in him. ād sometime that at gothe before is taken for that at foloweth / as maye apere wel to them that are ex­cercised in readīg of holy scripture / as the keye of knowleg and the gospel ar al one / for that one co­meh of the tother. Farthermore. Paule in the. 9. & .10. ca. to the Ro. & ī the. 3. to the Philip. declareth two maner of rightwisnesses: one he calleth the ri­ghtwisnes of the lawe or our owne rightwisnes / & the tother the rightwisnes of god or of faithe. the rightwisnes of the the law is that at is gotē bi workes of the lawe / the rightwisnes of faithe is that wherby God of his mercie rekeneth vs righwise for our faythes sake. Outwarde workes shewe vs rightwise before the worlde / but faithe iustifieth vs before God / Abrahams vtwarde dede in obainge God and going forth to offer his sonne Isaac / Genesis. 22. and Iames. 2. was a testimony of his faith / and declared him rightwise before men / af­t [...]r the rightwisnes of the lawe / but his faith iustified hī before God longe before yer Isaac was borne / Gene. 15. Also we ar iustified before God only in that we ar chosen in Christe before the wolrde was created / Ephe. 1. Of the whiche election ād iustifica [...] / our faithe when god geueth it vs / certi­fieth our hartes / & aftirwarde whē our faith brek­ethforth ī to good workes for trwe faith cānot be ydle than ar our workes a testimony before men of our faithe / so that our faithe is a secrete and a suer persua [...]ion to our selfe of our election before God / and our workes that procede of faithe ar a testimony of our faith to the worlde / of the which vtward workes the worlde iugeth vs rightwise a [...] tir the rightwisnes of the law. But here let men take hede leste they despise the rightwisnee of faithe [...]s heresie / & stāde to the rightwisnes of their owne [Page] workes. Of whō thꝰ speaketh Paule Ro. 10. They ar ignorāt of the rightwisnes which is alowed be­fore God / & go aboute to stableshe their owne rig­htwisnes: wherfore they ar not vnder the righwisnes of God. There Paule (as I poynted you to before bringeth in Moses / Leuiti. 18. & in Deutero. 30. describinge these two rightwisnes / as one cōtrarie to the tother. of the whiche descripciō I wil not here tarye / rede the places ād Paules pistle to the Ro. & to the Gala. & vnd (er)stande it if god wil geue it yowe. This is therfore Paules sentence to the Romans in the thirde chapter. Vve suppose that a man is iustified by faithe with oute the workes of the lawe / vnderstanding it of iustificacion / and of that rightwisnes that is of liuely faith ād alowed before God / as I haue declared it before. And for the probaciō of this sentence / the Prophetes / Christe his awne selfe / and his Apostles spente al their labours and liues / ād especially Paule labouring above al other to confirme it / as it apereth in his pistles / and especially in his pistle to the Romans. Vvheryn he layed this sentence of the iustifyinge by faith / at the beginninge as his principal proposition and chefe foundation grounded of the testi­monie of Abaku [...] the Prophete. Agenste the which proposicion / the Iwe whiche sought for the right­wisnes of workes / as nowe do the false Christen / a non obiected saing / as you do nowe. If faith ōly iustifieth / wherfore the is the lawe with so many good workes cōmaunded vs to fulfil it? Paule answerthe / By the lawe come men in to the knowledge of their sinnes. And because ye shulde vnd (er)stand that by the lawe he mēte the moral lawe / & not the ceremonial. He gaue exāple ī the. 7. ca. of the moral law saīg. I had not known that cōcupiscēse had bē sinne except the law had saide. Thou shalnot luste [Page] And nowe therfore (saith he Rom. 3.) the rightwis­nes of God is made manifeste with oute the lawe / by the Gospel frome faith to faithe / which rightwisnes was sometime preached of the Prophetes / and proued by the testimony of the lawe. And nowe a [...] men iustified frely by Goddis mercy and by the redempcion that is in Jesu Christe thorowe faith in his bloude &c. Ro. 3. Then agene obiecteth the Iwe as nowe dothe the Christē / in the beginnīge of the 4. ca. Vvhat thē shal we saye to Abrahā our father aftir the flesshe: what gote he bi his workes? Vvas he not iustified bi them? If Abraham (saith Paule) were iustified by his workes / so hath he wherof to reioyse / but not before God. And euen here is Ia­mes question soluted Iaco. 2. sayng. Abraham our father / was he not iustified by his dedes when he wolde haue offred his sonne Isaac? yes verely / as here saith Paule / he had to reioyse before men but not before God / that is to saye / he had that dede which iustified him ād declared him iuste vtward­ly before men with the rightwisnes of the lawe for his obedience: but as concerninge the rightwisnes of [...] before God saith Paule Abrahā beleued in God / and it was rekened him for rightwisnes. This is Paules firste argument to proue his principal proposicion: which argument he taketh of the example of Abraham father of the peple of God. In whom the forme of rightwismakinge was fir­ste declared and setforthe for our example. The seconde argumente Paule deduceth of the diffiniciō of th [...]s worde Vvas Rekened: which standeth in the sayd autorite of Genes [...]s. 15. and it signifieth a rekeninge & a fre forgeuenes of a dutye which the dettour is not able to paye / sainge. To hī that worketh is the rewarde not rekened of fauoure / but of dutye: And to him that worketh not / but bele­ueth [Page] on hī that iustifieth the vngodly. Faith is re­kened for rightwisnes (faithe sayth he ād not workes) euen as Dauid sayth: Blessed is that man to whome the lorde rekeneth not his sinne / he sayd not blessed is he that worketh / but he to whō God rekeneth not sinne / that is to saye / althoughe he be a sinner and not able to come oute of dette: yet wil not God of his mercy reken it vnto hym ne laye it to his charge / for that the penitent sinner beleueth that Christe made satisfaction for him ād payd the raunsome for it with his preciouse bloude. And v­pon this fre forgeuenes he sealed him a quitaun­ce with the seale of circumcision which was a tokē to hī that he was iustified by his faith. But we haue nowe a more suer ād liuelyer token of our right wismakinge by faithe / for god hath confirmed vs in Christe / he hath anoynted vs / he hath cōsegned vs vnto him / and geuen vs his holygost for an er­neste of his promise to be iustified by faith. 2. Cor. 1 and Ephe. 1. thus sayng. Aftir that you harde the Gospel which is the worde of truth wheryn ye be­leued / ye were scaled with the holy spirit whiche is to vs as an ernest peny to be assuerde of our promised heretage / whiche is purchesed vs by redem­pcion into the prayse of the glorie of God. Mo ar­gumentes Paule maketh in the same. 4. cap. to the Romans / for the probacion of his sentence / espye them oute if you can and desyer God to geue you vnderstandinge. Also ye shal knowe that Christe came not as a lawyer like Moses / but he was the very redemer and reconcyler of the beleuers thor­ow his bloude into his fathers fauour and grace. The lawe was geuen by Moses / but remission of sinnes and the holygoste is geuen by Christe / Io­han. 1. ye & that vnto all & vpon al that beleue Ro. 1 Oh what consolacion is in this one place set forthe [Page] for feared and troubled conscienses? suerly no tonge can expresse it / for althoughe we wante good workes / as we wante al / for there is not one that doth good / but we ar al sinners) yet let vs beleue that for Christes sake we are receyued frely into our fathers grace. This rightwisnes is set forth of his mercie for vs with oute the workes of the lawe / wherfore suerly / it were grete blasphemie ag­enst Christe / and no lesse defilinge of his mercie se­ [...]te / not to receyue the merites of his passion / that is to saye the rightwisnes by faithe / but to turne it into our sinful workes. If [...]ny man▪ be he neuer so holy shuldbe iustified by his workes then had [...]hriste saith Paule to the Galat. in the secōd cha­pter dyed in vaine for that same man: let vs ther­fore receyue Christes rightwisnes nowe offred vs let vs truste to his rightwisnes and merets & not to our owne / nor yet to eny others / for al our ri­ghtwisnesses saith I saie ī the. 64. chapter ar as the spotted and foure clothes of a menstruose. It is verely [...] grete blasphemie to refuse this suer and fre forgeuenes in Christes bloude / ye ād a dam [...]able thinge to [...] it as heresie and to seke for wor­kes of our owne muencion vpon this hope and beliefe to deserue heuen and to be iustified by them. For this article to [...]e knowne Paule swet so sore in his pistles and laboured in h [...]s preachin [...]e. But yet let not blinde carnal reason make this obiection agenste him saing. If faithe withoute workes iu­stifieth / then nede we not to do eny good workes? Not so [...] for by faithe therfore ar we iustified to thentente we shuld▪ do good workes & neuer ceasse / and therfore Paule after that he had sufficiently proued his conclusion dyd serro in the. 12. [...] to the [...] good workes then euer we ar able to do. [...] wor [...]es in their place / and [Page] faith in hir place / for if the workes ar not done of faith / then are they sinne Rom. xiiij.

¶Nowe master prior because you or not gretly acqueynted with Paules doctrine / althoughe he be your patrone and paynted at your gates: because his argumēts ar to highe for them that neuer felt faith / nor yet tasted the fealinge of the spirite of faith i [...] the schole of the crosse. I wil descēde with yowe into a more sensible demonstracion to proue Paules sainges trwe & to dāne your opiniō. Paule as he was going to persecute Christes chirche was smiten downe a murderer and rose agene a iustifi­ed man / which yet had done no good workes / but only beleued in Iesu Christ that smit him downe and spake vnto him ergo faith only iustified. The yonge innocent newe Christined and departed I thinke you wil graunte is iustified / but not bi his workes / ergo. The thefe that hanged by Christe was iustified vpon the crosse / but not for eny workes that he ther did / ergo for his faith only. Wherfore sir / me thinke ye were to hastye to iuge me a Lutherane and an heretique for affirming or hol­ding eny saing of holy scripture / which I knowe wel you vnderstand not ād to impute vnto me th­at whiche I neuer said / and so preuely to accuse me where vpon to avoyde the cruel tirānye of my lorde your reuerent & spiritual father with his adherentes that yet fight agenste the lorde and his anoynted / I was constr [...]yned to lese al that I had and to flee. Syr / stande yowe to your glisterin­ge good workes and glor [...]ouse merets beleuinge to be iustified and forgeuē for them & not in Chri­stes dethe / and truste you to them if you wil) [...]or as for me which am an heretique and a Luther [...] ­ne in your opinion / I shall by Goddis grace fea­ [...]e with Iobe al my deades / & praye with Dauid: [Page] O lorde I beseche the entre not into iugemēt with thy seruaunte / but saue me & deliuer me for thy ri­ghtwisnes sake & not for mine / that is to saye saue me for thy mercies sake & not for my merets. Also I shall by Goddis grace aftir that mesure of the faith that god hath geuen me / beleue to be saued ī this faith / that is to saye / that my sauiour Christe hath dyed for my sinnes / ād is rysen for my right­wis making by whose dethe & sufferīges / my father in heauen is peased & hath receyued me into his fauoure for Christis bloudis sake / so that nowe Christe hathe redemed me & saued me / he is mine / ād al his merets ar mine. His rightwisnes / his wisdo­me / his holynes / his satisfaction / his fulfillinge of the lawe / & al his good deades ar mine / as suffici­ent to serue me for my saluacion / & yet will I not ceasse to do good workes / but rather am I bounde for this loue to do mor then euer I am able / thou­ghe I truste nether to my nowne nor yet to eny o­thers. Thus haue you a rekenīge of my faithe as cōcerninge th [...]s article. Nowe to your. 3. opinion.

¶Master priour of Newnhams Thirde opinion.

YOur thirde opinion is / that I shulde holde that euery preste maye haue a wyfe or a concubine. Syr this maye welbe your owne opinion / for it was neuer mine I take God to recorde that a preste might haue a cōcubine / but this I be­leue that it is lawful and standeth with holy scripture / that euery preste which haue not the gyfte of chastite / ought to haue his owne wife / & no nother [...] / nor yet a cōcubyne. Althoughe your chir­che militar as you cal it for they ar beter soudiers then preachers permitteth the prestes in some places to haue their concubines paynge theyr annual tributes to their▪ bishopes for their lecencial luste / [Page] and in many places / to their grete sclaunder / their Cōmissares / Scribes with other officers winke at their boredome & adultery / for bribes / for fauou­re / or feare. yow tolde me once secretly as we wal­ked aftir souper betwene your barne yarde & your highe gates / that the Pope had dispensed with the Cardinall to kepe a concubine / whiche thing then (as litel learnīge as I had) I coulde not beleue to be lawful / but that it had bene rather lawfull for as moche as he had not the gifte to lyue chastely if ye said true) to haue maryed ād liued in chaste matrimony with his owne wyfe. Nether beleue I th­at your chirche militante did godly to in [...]ibit pre­ste or eny woman the holy & honourable [...]acramēt of matrimony / which God dyd institute for euery man and woman that wolde receyue it / & denyed it no man / as a sacrament that maketh lawful the acte of wedlok / which cōmitted withoute wedlok / to sinne and damnable. yowe saye that I toke for my example / sainte Peter which was a preste / and yet had he a wyfe / both before Christ called him to the office of an Apostle / and also aftir his callinge. Vvhich example you cannot denye. But then bringe you in for your helpe to cōfute my sainge your brother celerer called / Johā Berde / or Johan Salpho / a man of like learninge and coulde beter skill in makinge of a pease ri [...]e then in allegging of holy scripture saing / that Peter vsed not his wyfe aftir his callinge / & to proue this he allegged Paule in a certayne pistle (saye you / for nether of you co­ulde tel where ī what pistle nor yet vnderstode you your own allegacion saing. They that haue wyues let them be as thoughe they had nō. This texte th­erfore Paule writ not to Peter only & to the other maryed Apostles / but to the Corintheans / & to al vs that ar of Christes chirche ye to al the worlde / [Page] nowe if yowe vnderstande this same Paulis sain­ge in the. [...]. ca. in the first to the Corintheans. The [...] that haue wiues / let thē be as toughe they had nō as your brother Celerer allegged it for Peter / th­at is to saye let them not vse their wiues / then af­tir your mindes / ought nomā that haue a wyfe to haue the felawship of his owne wife. Here maye men se what [...]lerkely disputers ye are ād what pr [...] bye promotours ād accusers of Christen men your spiritual and moste reuerend fathers in god haue procured them. The texte therfore is thus vnder­standen / as the circumstāce of the letter declareth [...] that haue wiues be as thoughe they had [...] not their mindes be so inordinatly drowned in l [...]ste and tangled with hare for theyr housholde that they be h [...]dred frome preachinge of the worde of they be called therto / orels be le [...] ­ [...]d frome the hearinge and folowing of the wor­de if they be otherwise called. By this texte Pau­le entended no lesse to forbide amaryed mā the chas [...]e companye of his wife and the due beneuolence [...]as he calleth it to the same chapter thē the byer & s [...]ll [...]r to not vse his goodes lawfully / when he saith in the [...] f [...]lowinge. They that bye let thē be as though they possessed nothīg / that is to saye / let them not be so gredely glued to their goodes / but that when they se occasion they can be contente gladly to departe from them to releue the necessite of the poore [...] [...] for the declaracion of this his min­de be shewed the cause why he thus saide / addinge therto saing thus. For I wolde haue you withou­te to [...] trouble. If Paule by this texte shulde forbide [...]ny man the cōpanye of his wife as you dreamed [...] shulde he saie cōtrarye to him­selfe in the same chapter / saing. Let the man geue vnto his wife the due beneuolēce / & let the wife li­ke [Page] wise vnto hir housbāde. But be it ī case that peter (as he did vndouted) had the cōpanie of his wi­fe aftir his callinge / did he offende god in so doing or no? If ye saie that be offended / then blaspheme you and dishonour you the sacramēt of matrimo­ny / wherby god sanctified and made honorable the chaste vse therof as Peter vsed it. If he did not of [...]ende / why then steke you so sore for Peter to de­fende him for wel & lawfully doing? But here and ye were wel opposed you might be founde to be in the heresi of the Taciās & like heretiks that dāned matrimony as vnpure / whiche god sanctified with his worde / & instituted as pure / holy / honourable & good / honouringe it with his presens & firste miracle / forbidding i [...] no man or woman that wolde marye. To put you oute of doute of Peters fela­wshipe with other Apostles with their wiues aftir their calling: ye shall knowe that there were at the Corintheās certayne false prophetes which obserued Paules liuīge & the other Apostles (as you obserued mine) to carpe their cōuersacion & to mines be their autorite / and to defame thē to the people / saing [...] as it apereth by paules answere) that he fasted not / nor was chaste / but led his wife aboute withe him / vnto whō paule answerde sharpely on this maner. 1. Cor. 9. Haue we not powr to eate & to drincke? Other haue we not powr to leade aboute sister to wife as wel as the other Apostles & as the brotherne of the lorde / ād as Cephas? Other only haue not I & Barnabas powr this to [...]b? Here is it playne that Cephas which is called Peter with other Apostles led aboute their wiues with them. Whō paule aftir the maner of the scripture calleth their sisters: as did Abrahā Ge. 12. 20. & Isaai. 2. 6. & Solomō Can. 4. for that they were of like faith ād professiō in Christes religiō with their housbōdes. [Page] [...]hy shulde not the man be associated with his wyfe whom God commaundeth to forsake father and mother / and to [...]leue to his wyfe? And Christe cō ­maundeth also that whō God ioyneth let not man separat? Thinke you that the Apostles regarded these commaundementes of God so lighte as to leue their owne wyues one flesshe & bloude with thē knit to gither with so faste a bonde that only deth muste departe them? The wyfe saith Paule. 1. Co­ri [...]. [...].) hath not powr ouer hir owne body / but hir housbande / & likwise the man hath not powr ouer his owne body / but the wife / withdrawe not your selues one from a nother except it be with a cōmu­ne consent of bothe / ād that but for a time (he saith not for euer bothe to go into religion) but for a tyme to geue your selues to fastinge and prayer / ād afterwarde come agene vnto the same thīg leste sa­than tempte you for your incontinēcie. The Apo­stles for a suerty had chaste matrimony in an hig­her reuerence & honoure then you thinke thei had / and abhorred it not as vnpure ād prophane as the forbiders therof do / and as dyd like heretiques.

¶That a pre [...]e whiche haue not the gifte of chastite ought to haue his owne wyfe it is manifeste / by the Apostle. 1. Cor. [...]. saing. To avoyed fornicacion let euery man haue his wyfe / here he excepteth no­mā / no not a preste (if a preste be a man let him ha­ue his wyfe saith he) and not a concubine or a no­ther mannis wife / and let euery woman haue hir housbōde. He excepteth nether nōne nor eny other religiouse. But here you wil saie that thei haue vowed chastite. And I saye it is chastite man ād wo­man to live to gither in chaste matrimony desieringe no nother. And if you saie that the [...] haue vowed to lyue withoute the desyer of the felawshipe & cō ­pany of mā for one to desyer a nother in mynde is [Page] sinne except they be man & wife) which you cal virginal chastete: then saye I agene that they haue vowed that thinge that lyeth not in their powr / ād so performe they it neuer. They that vowe this cha­stite therfore let them loke before they leape. God at the firste creacion griffed in to man and woman as he hath done into all creatures a certayn secrete natural properte to begete / to conceyue / & to brin­ge forth a nother in like kinde & that lawfully wi­th honour. Whiche natural ordinaunce and property it lyeth not in man to altere and to change / nor yet to put awaye frome his harte the natural love and desyer to the tother kinde whom God created to be his felawe helper vnto this naturall effecte.

Nomore then it lyeth in the libertye of the liuelye tre wel planted to ceasse frome bringing forth hir frutes in hir time / except God altereth this his natural ordinaunce bi some singler gifte. For it is nother vowe nor mannis tradiciō that maye alter nature. But yet many haue striued to put awaye cō ­cupiscens withoute matrimonye and to ob [...]ayne a gifte of chastite by their owne workes and enforcements febleyng their bodis: but the more they strived agenste nature / the lesse they preuayled / & the more burninge they suffred [...] and why? because thei despised the remedy cōmaunded by gods worde to be receyued / & wente aboute to heale their decease with their owne workes and inuencions. God or­dined chaste matrimony as an holy and honeste re­medie for this natural burninge and vnlawful luste / cōmaunding by his Apostle. 1. Corint. 7. that if thei cannot be continent & chaste / let them marye. For it is beter to mary thē to burne. But your chirche militāte beleueth it beter / to burne in al maner of filthy cōcupiscens and luste / ye to liue in opē ad­ultery and sinne then to marye. And therfore vn­der [Page] the pretence of the setting vp and extolling of their inordinat ordres: haue thei so obscured the g­lory of honourable matrimonye whō they haue set in siche despight ād opprobrie reputing it so vnpure and vnclene / that it maye not be cowpled with their holy ordres / ne celebrated in certaine of their state holy times of the yeare withoute their dispensaciō. They thought thorow the forbinding of matrimony their prestes / to haue institute in their ch­irche a more pure and cleaner state of perfectiō thē euer God ordened / but to what a chaste ende theyr holy porpose is come / euery man maie se / for al the wealthe speke euel and shame of them / & euery mā abhorre them for their pryde and vnclene liuinge. But wherfore dyd your Chirche militant forbide their prestes to marye? Because they were suer to haue more avauntage by their adultery and hore­dome then euer they shuld haue by their chaste matrimonye. For if they had wiues then shuld not the Bishopes / Cancelers / Commissares / Scribes and somners be fed so fat with their adultery and sinne as they are. If the prestes had wiues / then shuld they haue a beter name ād fame / then shuld the yoke ād [...]ares of matrimony abate their pri­de / and encrese in them vertue and mekenes. But paraventure they wil saie that the troublous sorowes ād harefull state of matrimony shulde hindre them frome preaching and teaching their parochians / naye verely / for nothing hath letted them more frome that office / then their welthy ydle and vnchast liuing and riches / and nothing shuld forther it more then to haue experience of the crosse & trouble / nothīg more hindreth the worde then the preather therof to haue an euel name: ād the moste parte of them never preached nor taughte their flok nor never shall / and emonge these fewe that prea­che [Page] because they have no wiues: they destroye mo­re with their evell example of liuinge / then euer they edified with their preachinge / which sclaun­derouse enormite might be reformed if they wol­de receyue that honourable ād holy remedie of chaste matrimony ordined of god for them. Vvedlok (saith the Apostle Hebre. in the. 13. cap. is honourable for all men / he excepted none) and the chambre bed vndefiled / but heremongers & adulterers god wil iuge. If it be honourable for al men / how shulde it dishonour prestes that lyue in perpetual bur­ninge and desier of other mennis wiues / seruātes and doughters? Vvhy maye not chaste matrimo­ny agre withe your holy ordres? Is one sacrament iniuriouse / harmeful or dishoneste to a nother? Al your chirche militāt with their schole doctours saye and affirme that the sacramētes geue grace to the receyuers of them / and how then hapeneth it / that the holy ordrede prestes maye not receyue the grace of matrimony? But (as I saied before) with oute doute these forbyders of holy matrimony ar of the secte of those heretiques that damned matrimony as vnpure / beleuinge that it maye not be v­sed withoute sinne: of the whiche nowe ar those cu­rates which wil inioyne their parochiās that shal­be maried / one not to knowe the tother (abusinge Tobias exāple) in dayes aftir the celebraciō of the sacramēt / & wil forbide maried persons to geue th­eir due beneuolēce (as Paule calleth it) to eche ot­her in lente & other of their holy tymes. These mē doutelesse beleue that the acte and vse of matrimo­ny is sinne and iniuriouse or irreuerēt vnto the same sacramente that maketh it holy / lawful & hon­ourable: these men know not the vertue & grace of the worde of God / which maketh an holy ād chaste acte of that which is sinne withoute the same worde [Page] Paule. 1. Thessa. 4. cōmaundeth the Thessalontans the holy and honourable vse of matrimony saing. Let euery one of you knowe to possesse his vessel ī holines & honour. Vvhich doctrine of Paule these curates rather ought to instructe them: then to in­hibit them that thinge whiche the worde sanctifieth and maketh honourable. Brīging the maryed peo­ple into this errour and cōbraunce of consciens to beleue that they sinne when they do wel / and to make sinne there as nō is. But the blinde leadeth still the blinde. Paule in his pistles bothe to Timothe and Titus warned them that emonge al other qualites and condicions belonginge to eny man to be chosen preste or ouer seer of Christes flok / they shuld se that he were a maryed man ād the man of one wife / that is to saye a liuer in chaste matrimo­nye. And wherfore cōmaunded Paule so diligent­ly this poynte of matrimony to be obserued? Verely because he wolde haue them blamelesse / for he sen [...] better remedye for their chastete ād good fame to be preserued thē bi chaste matrimony. And why he estemed a maried mā worthy for the cure of eny p [...]ethe / he telleth Timothe saing: for if it be sene vnto yowe that he gouerneth wel his owne hous­hold [...] bringing vp his childerne in subiectiō with al reuerence: then maye you suppose that the same man shall also well instructe and teache an hole pa­rishe or towne. But if he cannot rule and gouer­ne his owne house (saith Paule) how shal he teache and take the charge and cure of the congregacion of God? Paule saith. 1. Cor. 7. that maryed persons that haue bodely troble / & what is trouble els but to be caste in to the plesure of God to learne miche vertue? The gouerning of his house is an introdu [...]on vnto a greter cure / there shal he practise & be­ginne to monethe in time / & learne to correcte with [Page] discretion and love / nowe to be roughe ād sharpe / then to be merciful and softe / all in time & in good ordir to kepe them in subiection / feare & learninge Then muste he learne to beare the weaknes & sik­nes of wife childerne and seruantes with other visitaciōs of god as losse of goodis / dethe of his childerne or wife / with other infinite aduersites & cō ­mune karis of matrimonye. This thought Paule to be a schole & introduction into the spiritual cure of an hole paresshe. But at this schole were neuer our prestes ād bishopes / but rather brought vp in courtlye welthe and luste &c. They haue formed and reformed many yeres al other states ād other mennis liuinges / vntil now they their selfe ar so farre oute of frame / that no state or ordir hath more nede of reformacion then they their selues. And the worde of God that shulde reforme their enor­mites: they wil not suffer it to come into light: but god for his mercie redresse this wiked state. Amen. ¶It is not so lōge a go sith chaste matrimony was forboden the prestes. For at the counsel of Nycene (when they had wiues) where they wolde haue firste separated and diuorsed them frome their wiues There rose vp an holy man & cōfessour called Pa­phnucius (loke in the decrees. 31. distinct. & in. 2. lib. Ecclesiasti tripartite historie Epiphanio scholast interprete cap. 14) which man said stiffly agēste it / affirminge that wedlok was honourable for almē and that it is chastite / a man to holde hī to his ow­ne wife. And thus persuaded he the general coun­sel / that they shulde not laye siche a burden vpon eny men / affirminge it to be grevouse. Vvhiche s­huld be the occasion of fornicacion & adultery both to them that were then maryed ād to their wiues. These wordes spake Paphnucius in the presens of al the counsel: notwitstondinge yet he him selfe [Page] was no maried man. And the counsel commended and allowed his sentence / and decreed nothing as concerning that matter at that time / but lefte it in euery mannes libertye: but sith that time the chir­che as they saye hath forboden them to marye. Here maye you se that other that counsel did a misse and erred in approuinge it lawful for thē to ha­ue wiues or els the chirche that did forbide it: but the counsel can not erre (saye they) wherfor then the chirche erred that decreed the contrary? Of the which Chirche thus prophecyed Paule in the. 4. Chapter of the firste pistle to Timothe saing / that in the later dayes some shulde departe frome the faith / geuinge hede to sprites of erroure / and to the deuelleshe doctrine of men spekinge lyes tho­row hipocrisie / hauinge their conscienses marked with a hotte yerne / forbiddinge to marye / and cō ­maundinge to abstayne fro meats which god crea­ted to be receyued with geuinge thankes &c. Thus maye you se howe liuely Paule did set forthe your Chirche militant here in erth in hir owne coloures that forbo [...]e matrimonye and meats &c. ye and of what sprite she is gouerned / and whose doctrine she felowethe. Oh good God / how many soules haue they drawne with their selues to hell by this one lawe of forbydinge man & woman to marye? Vvhat burnings / what concupiscens and vnlaw­full lustes / have this Synagoge of Satan caused and compelled to raigne and to be [...]aryed aboute in there persones hartis daye and nighte / that wolde marye and maye and dare not? ye what adulte­ry [...] with other vnclennesses foloweth vppon this deuellesshe doctrine and lawe of forbidin­ge matrimonye? And yet thought they if couetu­ [...] and ambiciouse dominion were not the cause [...] to have institute and set vp a more pure spiri­tuall [Page] state and ordir then ever God made. But the holy frutes of their spirituall ordninaunce decla­re the gostly autor. your brother Celerer (saie you) asked me wherfore the Chirche militante ordened that the ministres of it shulde not have wyues or concubines as well nowe as then / vnto the which question you faine an answere in my name like as you fayned the interrogacion / for if he had asked me eny sich question: I wolde haue denyed his fal­se suppositiō / for before this deuelesshe ordinaun­ce they had no cōcubines but lawful wiues. ād the answer that you fayne is impertinēt to siche a question. [...]fore if I shulde haue answerde him de­maund [...] [...] why the chirche militāt ordined that they shulde haue no wiues / I wolde haue said / be­cause they thought to haue a better avauntage by their cōcubines then by their wiues / & because matrimony is more cōbres & kareful / then to liue w­ith a nother mannis wife or with an hore / whō he maye forsake and take a nother when he lusteth. But you thought you letters shulde neuer come to light and therfore you writte your plesure.

¶But God at laste shal aske a rekeninge wherfo­re his holy sacramēt firste of al institute is now forboden & despised / wherfor they presone & torment prestis that marye. As verely as the bloude of A­bel cryed ād obtained vengeaunce / shal the bloude of other good men vexed & slayne / obtayne the sa­me to fall vpon these persuers & sheders of like in­nocēt bloude for kepīge of goddis cōmaundemēts.

¶Vvheter a laye man maye heare cōfessions.

POwertly / you saye that my opinion was / that euery laye man maye heare confessions. Sir I am not remēbred that euer I had eny communicaciō with you of this mater: but if I had: I thīke I said not that euery laye man / but some laye man / [Page] and that aftir this forme which Christe prescribeth in the. 5. chapter of Mattheu / preferring loue and cōcorde al sacrifices / as if a man hath offended his brother and aftirwarde touched with repentaun­ce go to him knowleginge his offence desierīg him of forgeuenes reconcylinge eche other: do not this laye mā that heareth and forgeueth him heare his confession and absolue him? Also if a man hath eny grugge and inquietnes in his consciens by the reason of sinne committed that euermore troubleth & fereth him of damnacion / and this man cannot be quiet and confortetd ne haue eny peace in his harte and assuerd howe and by what meani [...] he maye haue that suer forgeuenes / which is th [...] faith in Christe / withoute the which no consciens maye be suer and at reste frome the face of sinne and dā ­nacion / of the which quiete reste Paule speaketh to the Romās in the. 5. chapter / saing. Because we ar iustified by faith we ar at peace with God tho­row our lorde Iesus Christe &c. and because there are nowe so many blinde curatis that knowe not this souerayne remedye for sinful and vnquiet cō ­sciencis / but rather damne it for heresie and perse­cute it. If sich a troubled consciens (I saie) go vnto a discret learned laye man for wāte of o learned preste (as now thāked be god there ar mo laye men that knowe this salue then prestes) for counsel ād conforte / shewinge him his grefe and decease desiering his counsel and prayer: dothe not this man aftir Iames minde sainge. Cōfesse or shewe your sinnes to eche other / & praye one for a nother that you maye be saued? Then saie you that your bro­ther cel [...]rer sayd that it was lawful but in time of grete nede. Verely I neuer see greter nede then even nowe to feche this holsome and swete salue that is to saye / that only faith in Christes deth iu­stifieth [Page] and set our hartis at reste at the laye man or woman: the prestis for the moste parte ar so ig­norance / so proude and so maliciouse that thei had leuer persecute this sauinge helth of mānis soule / then to receyue it & minister it to their s [...]k flocke. ¶But these two maner of cōfessions presuppose a penitent and a contrite harte hombled and vnfay­nedly confessed before god. Of the which maner of confession Dauid speaketh in the. 32. Psalm / aftir the Hebrew compte in the. 5. verse: I said / I shall confesse my vngodlines which is agenste me to the lorde / ād euen straite thou forgauest it me. Nether is it Goddis lawe that mennis consciencis shuld­be clogged with tellinge of al their sinnes that eu­er they haue done in to a prestis care: which is im­possible for eny man to do. Whē Dauid saith Psal. 19. Vvho maye attayne to the knowlege of his sinful nature? Vvhich Ieremie cap. 17. cōfirmeth sa­inge. Shrewed and vnable to be serched is man­nis harte. Vvho can noumbre and tel al his sinnes with so many circumstācis as the Popis lawe prescribeth vs? and yet his disciples teache vs & prea­che that we can haue no forgeuenes of our sinnes / except we confesse them into their eares. Vvhich doctrine not only vexeth not a lytell many a good simple consciens: but bringeth many for feare ād shame into desperacion. If no sinne be forgeuen with oute it be rehersed ād tolde them in theyr ea­res as they teache vs / thē shal we neuer haue quiete cōnsciencis. For we committe ful many ād they to / which we can nether see nor remember. Also it is no small iniurye to Christis bloude to attribute the forgeuenes of our sinnes (as the [...] teache) to the selfe cōfession. Vvhē it is only faith in goddis promise thorow Christis bloude that bringeth vs for­geuenes of our sinnes & geueth vs reste and peace [Page] in our consciencis Roma. in the. 5. Chapter. And yet to stable she their combrouse confession they ar not ashamed to abuse the holy scripture changing the truthe (as Paule saith to the Romās in the firste Chapter) in to a lye / takinge for them this pla­ce of Mattheu in the. 8. Chapter / wher Christe commaunded the man healed of his leprye to go & she­we him selfe vnto the preste. Vvhich place maketh playne agenste them. For the man was hole and cleane bothe bodye and soule before he bad him go for his faith firste had purified his harte / and then Christe healed his bodye / for Christis cures were perfite in healinge the hole man. Nowe this man healed / Christe bad him go shewe him selfe to the preste / he had him not go and shriue him selfe to the preste. He had him go shewe his skinne & bodye For the prestis office was to iuge & to decerne whether the leprye was gone or not / and to dispose the offringe for the clensinge of the sore / and to haue a good porcion therof for his duty / as ye maye reade Leui [...]ci in the. 13. and. 14. Chapter / ād as the terte folowing in Mattheu declareth / if you wol­de diligently note it and conferre the lawe and the Gospell to gither and remember that Christe sayd he came not to breke Moses lawe / but to fulfil it. Christe therfore wolde not defraude them of their dutye / nether be preiudice vnto their office / leste they shulde haue accused him of breakinge of Moses lawe / for they honted for siche occasions faste ynoughe to bringe him a waye / ād therfore he had the man now healed go shewe him selfe to the pre­ste that the preste might haue his priuilege in the iugement of the clensinge of the leprye / adding to this commaundement / that he shulde offer the gif­te. that Moses commaunded to be o [...]fred (for this was that morsel that the couetuouse preste gaped [Page] so gredely for) and Christe wolde not the preste to be disapoynted of his proye / adding also these wordes. In to a testimony to themselfe / that is / to testifie to the prestis hartis / that althoughe they hōted to take him as breaker of Moses lawe / yet here in this cure they might wel see hī obserue it into their owne cōdemnacion / if they did other wise accuse hī as eny transgressour therof / as they dyd not with standinge at the laste / their owne consciencis wit­nesinge agenste them. And euen of the violēt wre­stinge and false interpretinge of this one texte to serue for our spiritual belyes and their ambiciou­se impery men maye gather and see plainly many other placis and textis of holy scripture to be like wise peruerted and torne in to their tradicions. But God avenge & deliuer once his pure holy worde frome the captiuite of these pestelent skorners & gloriouse glosing hipocritis. Amen.

¶Of pilgrimages and worshiping of Images.

THen you saye that I wolde haue men in deri­sion that wente on pilgrimage / for what cau­se it came not then into your minde / loke & you can call the cause yet into your minde / & who tolde you this / for I can tell you full well / ād who cōspired with you to obserue me & to write my sainges & to cōceyue siche secrete letters / but the lorde will se to it & avenge Exo. 5. Sir I mocked thē not / but he that sitteth in heauen hath thē in derisiō. It is the lorde that scornethe thē Psal. 2. and that worthely because they forsake him the liuinge god alone for all sufficient / and euer ready to helpe all that call vpon him in faith and verite / and will runne aftir straunge goddes / into hilles / wodes and solitary places / there to worshipe stockes & stones / ye & pa­tauēture to do worse thinges) of mānes making. [Page] Ar not these men to be laughed at / or rather to be lamented / that maye ād oughte to worshipe god at home in their chamber / and yet will farsake / wi­fe / childerne and housholde (whose presens they behoue) and spende both bodye and goodes in longe and wearye trauelinges to fall downe and worshipe a stocke or a stone made with mannis hande? Are not these the people scatred so brode thorowe al the lande of Egypte to seke chaffe? Exodi in the 5. chapter. Reade the seconde precepte as it stan­deth Exodi in the. 20. chapter / reade the lawe / the Prophetes and the newe testament / and loke ho­we greuously God threateneth these godgoers ād saincte sekers that shulde have but one God / him only to honour and to serue / as Christ testified in the. 4. chapter of Mattheu / and that in spirit and truthe euen at home in their hartes. Stāde it not writen Exodi in the. 22. chapter. He that offereth to eny Goddis / that is to saye vnto eny image / save vnto the lorde only: let him dye with oute re­demption? He abhorred straunge goddes so sore / that he forbade his people to name them / Exod. in the. 23. Chapter. Heare what I saie saith in the .65 chapter: I haue stretched forth my handes al this longe time paste vnto a nacion that forsaketh me / and seketh straunge goddes / which nacion gothe not the right waye / that is to saye not aftir my minde and commaundementes. Vvhich nacion exaspereth and angreth me beynge present / and yet go they forth / to offre in groues and wodes / doin­ge sacrifices there at autares of stone / sittinge and knelinge by toumbes and shrynes / sleaping in chirches full of images: let the schole men excuse this falling dome before Images kissinge of their fete / kneling / praing / holding vp of hādes / steking vp of candles / and geuinge them giftes / &c. callinge [Page] for their helpe in sikenes ād perel making their vowes vnto them. Let them cloke their worshipe with Dulia and Hyperdulia and yet shal it be Idololatria / when they haue made the beste for them that they can. God will not be worshiped with our inuencions / but as he him selfe hath commaunded he forbode euen the making of Images. For he se that they shulde steale a waye his worshipe. Thus said he Isaie in the. 42. chapter: I am he that is called the lorde: which geue not my glory to eny other creature nether yet my prayse to eny karuen Images. Except you be ashamed of your stockes and▪ Idoles in wodes and hilles / in whom you deligh­ted and leaue your groues and gardens / which ye chose for your selues / you shalbe like okes whole leaues fall a vaye and like a garden with oute water. For the glistering glorie of these Images shal be turned into stubble / and the makers of them in to sparkes of fyer / and both of them shalbe burn­te vp to gither noman quenchinge them Isaye in the firste chapter. Reade him also in the ende of the seconde chapter. And heare what the Prophet Baruch saith of these Idolotres in the. 6. cap. Th [...]yr goddes verely haue goldē crownes vpon their heades / frome whom the prestes fetche golde and sil [...]er and bestowe it vpon their selues. Also they geue of the same golde and Iwels to hores and make [...]a­ye their harlettes their with / and aftir that these harlettes have o [...]rede them agene / they re [...]ave them and decke their goddis with the same. And yet ar not these goddis cleane frome rouste [...]wormes / althoughe they be kouere [...] ād dect with purple they must wype a waye the duste frome theyr faces / for their houses ar full of duste &c. Reade the. 44. Chapter of Isaye.

[Page] AT laste you put your most Reuerēde father in minde for forgeting / saing: But I besech your lordship that no creature may know that I / or eny of mine do shew you of these thīgis / for thē I shal lese the fauour of many ī my countrye &c. Oh yuel fauourde oules / backis / & night rauens that thus feare the light. O negociū perambulās in tenebris O preuey p [...]yson walkīge in derkenes. Fered you men more then god? Had you leuer lese the fauour of God then of men? Is this the zele you bare to gods worde? Had you leuer let it lye stil strangled with heresie then you shuldbe disclosed ād lese the fauour of mē? What Christē mā wolde with drawe you his fauour for avenginge gods truthe frome heresie? These ar the godly spirituall that take so grete paine in persecuting / presoning & putting to deth with so grete labours & study the poore inno­cent soules & membres of Christe for the pure zele they haue to god & to his worde: secretly they dare acc [...]se / but not opēly / In d [...]rkenes dare they stāde & shoteforthe their arows dipped in venome / but not in the light. They thinke to make the truthe a lyer which saith in his gospel: there is nothinge so secr [...]etly done but it shalbe disclosed. But it is your owne glorie your own honour and ydle belis [...]uste tha [...] you seke & [...]ont for so gredely / and not to de­liuer Gods truth from heresies / for it is his trwe worl [...] & the very liuely mēbres of his poore chirch that you yet persecute so cruelly. Vvhich abhominable blindnes if you wil not knowe & repent you at so many daily exhortacions / warningis / & thre­tening is by Goddis own worde both in Latine ād in Englisshe so mercifull offred you: loke for no nother but the vengeaunce and wrath of god now hanging ouer your headis / shortly to be powerd downe [...]pon you. Plages daily ar sent into your [Page] kingdome / and euen the Popis hed which is Antichriste is now broken / Babilon is fallen in dede / and all hir karuen and grauen goddis ar braste a­gēst the grounde. I saie in the. 21. chapter. Fle you therfore out of Babilon ād let euery man saue his life. Ieremie in the. 51. chapter. For there ar many thingis that threten an heuy fall & change to your Popishe kingdome. Thē lorde of powrs hath de­crede to abate the pride of all stoutenes / & to pluk downe all the grete gloriouse of therthe. I saie in the. 23. chapter. It is the worde of God (I tell you yet agene) that thei and you persecute so cruelly. It is Christe whō you fight agenst invayne so vlindely / and it is the breath of his mouth / that is to saie his almighty worde that shall destroye you. But wherfore wolde you not that eny creature sh­uld knowe that you accused me? Verely Christe declareth the cause in the thirde chapter of Iohan saing. Men loued the derkenes more then the light because their workis were euil / for euery man that both euil hateth the light / nether cometh he to the light / leste his werkis be reproued. God be pray­sed / which like as at the beginninge he drewforth the light of derkenes / now causeth the truthe to comforth thorow your false opinions and letters. Amen. your spirituall father was negligent in kepinge your letters. Maledictus [...]omo qu [...] confi­dit in homine: & carnem facit brachium suum. Ie­remie in the. 17. Chapter.

¶Nowe (Master Priour) if you canne declare your opinions otherwise and confirme them by holy scripture trulye and purely vnderstonden: she­we forth your minde in the name of God / and I shall gladly make answer agen ther vnto: but in the meane ceason (as right is and besemeth euery christē) I submitte this my answer to your letters [Page] vnto the tyrall of Boddis worde and to his chirch that canne and wil iuge it aftir the scripture by the spirit of God / Qui miscreatur & benedicat tibi. Iliuminet vultum suum super te / vt cognoscas in terra viam suam / & in omnibus gentibus salutare suum. Amen.

¶yours to his litel powr George Ioye.