lyfe we must be borne agayne sanctified or made holy as apperteyneth to y e childrē of y e most holy God Nowe this newe birthe and sanctification the holy gost worketh in vs. And therfore he is called the holy gost because al thing that is sanctified or hallowed is sanctified or made holy by hym Wherfore when the holy goost is not in man then it is not possible that he should be holy althoughe he dyd all the good workes vnder y e sunne And for this cause saincte Paule writing to the Romaines doth cal the holy gost the spirite of sanctification that is to say the spirit that maketh holynes Lerne therefore good children that al we must be made holy and newe men by the vertue of the holy gost and that we can not atteyne this holines by our awn strength or workes and therfore we must beleue in the holy gost that he wil sanctyfye vs at such tyme and place and after that sorte maner as it shall please him And it is our part to gyue place to his workynge not to w tstande thesame And therfore we saye in this Crede I beleue in the holy gost But it is necessarye some thynges here to speake of the maner of sanctification how and after what maner y e holy gost doth hallowe vs y t we maye so prepare our selfes or rather gyue place to the holy goost whiche preuenteth vs that he with his lyght and almighty strenght and power maye worke hys wyll in vs. Now I desier you to marke dyligently by what meanes fashion the holy gost dothe worke thys sanctification or halowyng in vs. After y t our Lorde Iesus Christ by his death passion and resurrection had redemed vs and obteyned for vs that our synnes should be forgyuen and we be made the childrē of God shortly after in the feest of Pētecoste he sent down vp on his Apostles the holy goost in the lykenes of fyery tongues The whiche holy goost gaue them wysdome connynge audacitie and constācie to teach boldly this holy gospell of Christe that is to saye this christen faith whereof we do speake And where they could not be presēt thēselfe or long abide continew in their awne persons thither they sent their disciples other godly learned mē to thē they gaue the holy gost by layng their hādes vpō their heades And this rite or ceremonie to ordē preachers mynisters of gods worde hath cōtinued in the churche euen from the Apostles tyme vnto this day and shall endure vnto the worldes ende For saincte Paule saieth How shal men beleue without a preacher And how shal men preache excepte they be sente And here you may learne that this holy gospel whiche we preache and the doctrine of y e grace of Christe taught in the hole churche cōmeth not of the wil of mā but by the cōmaūdemēt of God by y e motion of the holy gost which doth sturre vp mēs myndes to publishe gods most holy worde and doth worke by his secret inspiration in the prechers and ministers of the same For they wer not able so muche as to open their moughtes to teache so highe mysteries and heauenlye wysedome yf the holy gost did not moue theim therto and worke in theim Neyther wolde the hearers so greatlye esteme the preachers worde and giue so good eare vnto it excepte the holy goost dyd parsuade theym that y e doctrine of the gospell wer of God and cam from heauen Now the holy goost worketh by this worde on this fashiō First he that beleueth y e gospel and receaueth the doctrine of Christ is made the sonne of God as sayncte Iohn witnesseth in his gospel saiyng As manye as receiue him he hath gyuē them power to be made the children of God For when we beleue in Christ and are baptised then we be borne agayne and are made the children of God And when we be his children then he gyueth the holy gost into our hartes as sainct Paule testifieth writyng thus Forasmuche as you be now the children of God therfore God hath sent the spirite of hys sonne into your hartes which cryeth Abba father And when we haue receaued y e holy gost he doth kyndle in our hartes true loue towarde God as saincte Paull writeth in the pistle to the Romaynes in the fifthe chapter The loue of God saith he is poured abrode in our hartes by the holy gost which is gyuen to vs. And where as the true loue of God raygneth there are gods commaundements kept and there begynneth a certen obedience to his wil and pleasure Forthermore the holy goost dothe staye the fleshe and y e lustes of thesame and helpeth vs to ouercome theim that we be not caried away by them but may continew in clennes and holynes of lyfe These be the benefites and workes of y e holy gost in vs. And to thentent you maye the more easely beare them awaye I wil as briefly as I can repete theym agayne vnto you First of all y e holy gost prouoketh stirreth vp men to preache gods worde Than he moueth mēs hartes to faith calleth them to baptisme and than by faith and baptisme he worketh so y t he maketh vs newe men agayne And whē we be thus newely borne and made again and be bicome the children of God then the holy gost doth dwel in vs and make vs holy godly that we may be y e temples of God in whome God maye dwell and inhabite Also thys holy ghoste doeth daylye more and more encrease and establyshe our faythe that we lyke moste louing childrē maie colle and embrace our heuēly father and hang fast about his necke The same holy goost doeth also assure and warrant vs that our synnes be forgyuen and that our pardon is signed with Gods seal He doeth also kyndle in vs a feruent loue towardes God and maketh vs wylling to kepe gods law and commaundementes and helpeth vs also to fyght agaynste synne and to wythstande oure yll appetites and desyers Furthermore with the crosse of syckenes diuerse other kindes of afflictions and aduersities the holy gooste doth as it were crucifie and mortifie vs to the world that we may lyue to Christ. And this worke he woorketh continually in vs and cesseth not vntil he hath wrought in oure hartes a perfecte faythe a perfect charitie and vntyl synne and all euell desyres be cleane at lengthe purged oute of vs by the death of our bodies And then we shalbe perfecte in all holines and cleane delyuered from all synne aduersitie and be heires of oure fathers kyngdome and hys true and most derely beloued children Wherefore good chyldren as heretofore you haue bene taught that we oughte to beleue in God the father that made vs and in God the sonne that redemed or boughte vs so you muste nowe learne to beleue in the holy goste that hathe hallowed vs and doth cōtinually more and more renew
be their true and faithfull subiectes of their realmes And euery king geueth commaundementes vnto his subiectes gouerneth theim in suche wyse that they do not euery man what he lyst hym selfe but what it pleaseth his prince to cōmaunde hym Euen so almighty God hath here in earth in his church an heuenly kyngdō And this kyngdō which Christ in his gospell so often calleth the kyngdome of heauen begynneth among his faithful peoble in this worlde And al that truly beleue kepe his commaūdementes parteyne vnto thys kyngdom And whan God by his gospel begynneth to cal vs vnto this kyngdom than the kyngdom of God commeth vnto vs and begynneth in vs. For God beginneth and in dede is the kyng and Lorde of theim that be godly he gouerneth and ruleth theim so that they worke not after y e lustes and desiers of their owne fleshe but as the Lord God who is their kyng teacheth and commaūdeth theim by his worde And kynges and great men in this worlde rule and gouerne by forse by soore threatenynges and greuous paynes and comstrayne their subiectes to obedyence and so they ought to do for it is the ordinance of God but God doeth not order his affaires so ī this forsaid kingdom of heuen but ruleth his subiectes lyke a gentle father by the worde of his gospel and by the holy gost that after this sort God causeth his ghospel to be preached vnto vs howe Christe for our sakes suffered death was buried and rose againe as before you herd in y e Crede Moreouer he openeth oure hertes gyueth vs faith to beleue his gospel And to them y t beleue his gospel he giueth the holy gost which doth gouerne vs and leade vs vnto all trueth For fyrste by faythe we be iustified before God for fayth maketh vs partakers of y e iustice of christ and planteth vs in Christ and he that by true faithe do receyue the promyse of grace to him God gyuethe the holye ghoste by whome charitie is spred abrode in our hertes whiche perfourmethe all the commaundementes Therfore he that beleueth in Christ and truely beleueth y e gospel he is iust holy before God by y e iustice of Christ whiche is imputed gyuē vnto hī as Paule saith Ro. iii. we thinke y t mā is iustified by faith w tout workes He is also iust before y e world because of y e loue charitie which the holy gost worketh in his herte Secondly faith worketh peace and quietnes in oure heartes and consciēces For by faith we be certified that our synnes be forgiuen Therfore saythe sayncte Paule to the Romanes Beyng iustified we haue peace and quyetnesse wyth God by our Lorde Iesus Christ. Thirdely this peace bringeth vnto vs a great and synguler ioy in our hertes and consciences and maketh vs for this excedyng benefite of gods mercy and grace towarde vs feruentely to loue him gladly to laude and praise him to honoure his name and to professe the same before all the worlde euermore to gyue vnto hym moste harti thankes and to be swift and redye to do all thinges that maye please God and to eschewe those thynges that may dysplease hym Thys good children is the sayd kyngdome of God whan by the gospell and the holy ghoste God raygneth in oure hartes whan he worketh in vs our Iustification that we hauynge peace of conscience may haue ioye and comforte in the holy gost of the abundance and plentifulnes of grace and the benefytes of Christe And this is that thinge whiche sayncte Paule speaketh of to y e Romaynes The kyngdome of God is iustice peace and ioy in the holy gost Nowe as an earthly kyng doeth gouerne his subiectes by hys lawes and commaundementes and by his mighte and power so doeth God rule and gouerne his church and true faithfull people whiche although they be here in earth yet they be of his heuenly kyngdome suche I saye he gouerneth by the holy worde of his gospell and the power of the holy ghost whom he powreth plentifully vpon al them that beleue the gospel and by that comfortable worde of the ghospell he gentilly entiseth and drawethe vs vnto him that we should gladly of our owne free will obey him For God loueth not seruyce constrayned by forse suche as slaues and bonde menne do more for the feare then loue but he wold haue his people to serue him willyngly of hearte and loue as Dauid said in the .cx. Psalme And this is the forsayde kyngdome of God whan he dothe in suche wyse raigne in vs and gouerne vs that we do not wourke after our owne wylles but in body and minde do ceasse rest from our owne euyl workes and shrewed wylles and folowe the workyng of God and the holye goste in vs. And this is to sanctifye the sabbot daye that is to say to kepe an holy rest whan we honor God with true honour whan we heare dilygently the worde of God whē we yelde our selfes clerly to God that his holy spirite maye worke in vs holy godly heuenly workes y t is to say iustice peace comfort other workes of y e holy gost Therfore he that praieth thus Thy kingdome come he prayeth nothynge elles but that God wil gyue vs grace that we maye rest from our own propre willes that we do not those thynges that delyte the body and please oure appetites but that we maye suffre God by his holy worde spirite to worke in vs holy workes that so the thirde cōmaundement maye be fulfilled Remembre that thou sanctifye the sabboth daye For so doth Esaye declare this commaūdement saying If thou worke not after thine own wyl in my holy day than thou shalt be called a pleasant rest to sanctifye and honoure the Lorde yf thou honoure him so that thou worke not after thyne owne wayes nor fynde the meanes to folowe thyne own wil nor speake thyne owne pleasure than shalt thou haue pleasure in the Lorde For all these thynges therfore good children ought you to praye to God that hys kyngdome maye come that he wil here in earth begynne his kyngdome in vs that we maye obey him in suche wyse as you haue herde Nowe the kyngdome of God commeth vnto vs two maner of wayes first by his worde faithe whan the gospell is preached vnto vs that our Lorde Iesus Christ delyuered vs frō synne death and hel by crosse death resurrection For by the preaching of his word we do lerne to put oure truste in God and to loue God And this knowlege and faith in Christe increaseth from tyme to tyme not only in theim that haue but newlye begonne to beleue but they also whiche many yeares haue professed Christe do profyt in the same faith more and more For their faith and loue towardes God by the dayly preachyng of the gospel is confirmed made more strong Secondly the kyngdome of God shall come to vs at the laste daye whan
broughte in of later yeres whiche bryngeth vs not vnto the true knowledge of god but leadeth vs into errors and ignoraunce of God But if you wil lyfte vp your mindes to god good children to know his diuine maiestye hys infinite power wysedome goodnes and other his godlye perfections loke not vpon a deafe domme blynde lame and deade ymage made by a painter or caruers handes but loke vpon heauen and other creatures made by goddes awne handy worke loke vpon man who cā speake see smell heare feale and go and hath lyfe wyl and reason and whome no man but God himselfe made to be his lyuely image and similitude We haue also y e holy scriptures whiche declare vnto vs the wonderful workes of God by which thynges wee maye be ledde to the knowledge of God without painted or carued ymages Now paraduēture some wil say that Christ hathe a bodye and lykewyse haue saintes therfore of them we may haue ymages althoughe of God there can be made no ymage And further they wil say that the cause why ymages wer forbid was perryl of ydolatry and worshipping of theym So that where there is no suche peril we may haue ymages Yet as I will not vtterly deny but they may be had so I thincke it more cōuenient for christē religion that they shuld be taken out of Christen mens churches then that they shoulde be placed in the temple of God And of this my opinion I wil shewe you certaine good groundes to thintente that whan you be demaunded why we Englyshe men haue no ymages in our churches you maye be able to make therunto a reasonable aunswer and that also in time to come you may declare to your children what abuses haue crepte into the church by the occasion of ymages That if anye man shall hereafter god about craftily to brynge in ymages agayne for hys owne lucre sake they maye the soner perceyue hys Iuglynge and so the better auoide the perill and daunger Fyrst it is certaine that we neither haue commaundement counsell nor example of the scripture nor of the primatiue churche in thapostilles time nor many yeres after to set vp ymages in our churches As it maye appeare by the holy mā Epiphanius Bishop of Cypres a man of great estimation an .xi. hundreth yeres passed for his great lernyng and vertue and by whom not only in his lyfe tyme but also after his death god wrought many miracles He in an epistle which he wrote to the Bysshoppe of Hierusalem whiche epistle saint Hierome did translate out of Greke into Latine writeth that as he passed y e contrey about Hierusalem he founde in a church a cloth painted hauing the image of Christ or of a saynte And whā I saw saied he an ymage of a mā hang in the church of Christe contrarie to the authoritie of the scripture I cut it in peces counseled thē to buri some pore dead mā therin And after he wrote to the Bysshop of Hierusalem that he shuld commaunde al the priestes not to suffer suche images beynge contrary to our religion to hange in the church of christ Wherby it appeareth y t in those dayes ymages were not alowed to be sette vp in churches amonge christen menne yea al thoughe it were the ymage of Christe or any sayncte but that the vsage of ymages beganne after that tyme. And yf we wyl beleue aūcient Histories ymages wer brought into churches by the pollicye and force of the Byshoppes of Rome many good christian Emperors withstanding the same to their power But Idolatrie by the byshoppes of Rome preuailed and seduced many Christen Realmes Moreouer many images teache nothyng elles but erronious and supersticiouse doctrine For what reachethe the picture of sayncte Mychael waying soules and our lady putting her beades in the balaunce Forsoth nothing els but superstitiousnes of beades and cōfidence in oure owne merites and the merites of saincts nothynge in the merites of Christe For wheras oure good workes be not able to way against the deuel our lady muste laye her beades in balaūce that is to say wil workes diuised of oure awne braynes not commaūded of God and by them to saue vs. Which doctrine is very false and iniuriouse to Christe What did y e ymage of saint Sondaye teache But that Sondaye was an holye man accordynge to the which teaching beggers asked their almes for saynct Sondayes sake But I wyll leaue to speake of the euell doctrine whiche was taught by Images and I wyll declare vnto you y e ymages haue bene so abused that all the goodnes whiche myght come by theym was neuer cōparable to the great ignoraunce and blyndnes the superstition and idolatrie whiche haue been brought in and cōmitted by meanes of thē The whiche abuses good children your owne fathers yf you aske theym can well declare vnto you For they themselfes wer greatly seduced by certayne famouse and notoriouse ymages as by our lady of walsingham oure ladye of Ippeswiche Saynt Thomas of Canterbury Sainct Anne of Buckestone the roode of Grace and suche lyke whom many of your parentes vilitide yerely leauinge their owne houses and familyes To thē they made vowes pilgrimages thinkyng that God would heare their prayers in that place rather than in another place They kissed their feete deuoutrly and to theim they offred candles and ymages of waxe rynges beades gold and syluer aboundantly And because they that so taught them had ther by great cōmoditie they mainteined the same with fayned myracles and erroniouse doctrine teaching the people that God would heare their prayers made before this image rather than before another ymage or in another place wheras the Prophete Esay sayth that God doeth heare those that be truely penitent in euery place a lyke But peraduenture some wyl saye they dyd neuer teache vs to kneele to y e ymage but before the image But who I pray you gaue them commission to teache you to kneele before the ymage yf you make youre praiers to God why lyfte you not bothe your eyes and handes to heauen where God is why loke you rather vpon the walles vpon stockes and stones then thitherward where you knowe he is to whome you make your prayers What nedest thou which arte the ymage of God to kneele before the ymage of man Again they that be greued with takyng downe of ymages out of the churches will parchaunce say We worshipped not y e image but the sainct whome the ymage dyd signifye And who I praye you commaundeth you after this fashion to worship any sainct why shoulde wee geue that honoure to sainctes nowe after their deathe whiche they themselfes whan they were on lyue dyd vtterly refuse Yf a Christen man althoughe in dede he were a very holy man and a lyuing saint should set himself vpon an aulter in the church you would say to him come down syr that is no place for you to stande in And why shoulde than dōme ymages stande there whan they be
deade wher thou canst not suffre the true ymages mēbres of Christ liuely sainctes to be placed Peter refused to be wourshipped of Cornelius likewyse dyd Paule and Barnabas to be honored of men and the aungel also refused to be honored of a man forasmuche as speciall honoure and seruice appertaineth only to god Neuerthelesse in ciuile honor and seruyce we be subiecte to kynges princes parentes maisters and al superiors to honoure and serue thē of duety as God of vs requyreth But al these thinges cesse after their death they that wil say that they nether worship ymages nor the sainctes in ymages but God onelye in the sainctes and ymages they pretende the same excuse that the heathen Idolatrers did For they sayd lykewyse that they worshypped not blockes nor stones but God in theym and yet thei wer great ydolatrers But these men that pretende so manye excuses for their ydolatrye as all ydolatrers euer haue done yet in very dede they worship not onely creatures but also the ymages of creatures Whan they knele kysse sense them For whan they see an ymage of the Crucyfyx or of a saint by the way doo they not bow downe and put of their cappes vnto it But they do that say they not to y e ymage but to Christ But why than doo they it whan they se the ymage and not before Marye saye they for the ymage putteth vs in remēbraūce of christ But let them truly aunswer this as they thinke in their hartes As often tymes as they remembre Christe before they see the ymage doo they bowe downe and put of their cappes or no Certayne it is that thei do not but assone as thei come to the ymage they doo And therefore in veraye dede they doo that honor to the ymage and not to Christ nor to the saint whatsoeuer they pretende But they fantasy som holines or vertue to be in the ymages specially whan they be set vpon high in the churche the commen place to honor god alone and therefore they ronne rather to one churche than to another and honor one Image rather than another for elles why are not the ymages in the caruers and painters shoppe as wel kneled vnto worshipped as they y t be set in y e church And yf they dyd their reuerence to christ not to the image seing that Christ is in heauen to heauen they shuld loke vp wher christ hī self is and not gase vpon an ymage Seyng therefore that it is an horrible ydolatry to wurshyp the Sunne which is a most goodly creature of God and representeth vnto vs the wonderfull worke of God Let euery man consydre how diuilyshe ydolatry it is to worship our awne ymages made by our awn handes Yt is not also taught you in all the scripture that you shoulde desyre saincte Rocke to preserue you from the pestilence to pray to saint Barbara to defēde you from thondre or gonneshot to offer to saincte Loy an horse of waxe a pigge to sainct Anthonye a candel to sainct Sithe But I shoulde be to longe yf I shoulde reherse vnto you all the superstitions that haue growe out of the inuocation and praying to saintes departed wherwith men haue been seduced and goddes honoure geuen to creatures This was also no smal abuse that wee called the ymages by the names of the thinges whome they did represent For we were wont to say This is saincte Annes aulter my father is goone a pylgrymage to our lady of walsyngame in our churche sainct Iames standeth on the right hand of the highe aulter These speches we wer wont to vse although they be not to be cōmended For sainct Austen in thexposition of the .cxiii. psalme affirmeth y t they who do call suche ymages as the carpenter hath made by the names of those thinges whiche God hath made do chaūge the truth of god into a ly It is not also taught you in all scripture Thus good children I haue declared how wee wer wōt to abuse ymages not that hereby I condempne your fathers who were men of greate deuotion and had an ernest loue towarde God altoughe their zeale in all pointes was not ruled and gouerned by true knowledge but they were seduced and blynded partely by the commen ignorance that rayned in their tyme partely by the couetuousnes of their teachers who abused the simplicity of the vnlerned people to the mayntenaunce of their awne lucre and glorye But this haue I spoken to shewe you how crafty the deuil and his ministers haue been euen of late tyme to allure Christen mē to Idolatry vnder the pretence and title of deuocion holynes and religion that you being warned of suche abuses may the better knowe and auoyde them incase at any tyme Satan or his messengers woulde entyse you vnto suche superstition again For yf mariners y t haue passed y e daungers of the seas and are safelye entred into the hauē be naturally moued to shewe to suche as sayle to those places from whence they came what parrelles they shall passe by and howe also they maye auoid the same Howe muche more ought we that haue already passed the diepe seas and daungers of superstition to warne you good children of these perrelles and to teache you whiche are nowe as it were entring into the troublesome seas of this worlde how you maye auoyde these so great daungyers And it is veray necessary for preachers at all tymes to admonyshe exhorte and cal vpon you to auoid this most haynouse and detestable synne of ydolatrye For not onelye the prophetes in tholde testamente wer very ernest to cal vpō the Iewes to eschewe this synne of ydolatry but thappostles also be very diligent to disswade Christē mē from y e same And we haue to much experience in the worlde that of ymages commeth worshippyng of them and ydolatry For sainct Austen vpon the .cxiii. psalme affirmeth that simple men be more moued and stirred to bowe downe to ymages and worship thē because they haue mouthes eyes eares noses handes and feet then they be moued to contēpne thē althoughe they perceiue they cā neither speke see smell feale nor goo It cannot be sayde that ymages be necessarie for then we condempne the appostilles and al the holy men in the primatiue church yea and Christe hymselfe also because they vsed no suche thynge nor yet that they be profitable for yf they had either Christe woulde haue taughte it or the holy goste woulde haue reueled it vnto the appostles whiche they dyd not And yf they dyd the appostilles were very neelygente that woulde not make some mention of it and speake some good word for ymages seyng y t they speake so manye against them And by this meanes Antichriste and his holy papistes had more knowledge or feruente zeale to geue vs godlye thynges and profitable for vs thā had the veray holy saintes of Christe yea more than Christ himselfe and the holy goost Now forasmuch good children
and make holy all those that beleue the gospell For he that beleueth in Iesus Christe that he is oure Lorde and oure redemer to him God gyueth the holy gost to make him holye and ryghtuouse As sayncte Paule witnesseth saiyng No man can cal Iesus lord but by the holy goste And for asmuch as now it hath ben plainelie declared vnto you after what sorte and manner the holy gooste doth sanctifie vs it is your part not onely to emprynt this lesson diligently in youre myndes but also to desier God with continuall and earnest prayers that he wyll vouchesafe more and more to sanctifie you And as muche as lyeth in you apply your selfes to heare godly sermons and gyue youre hartes to God lyke waxe apte and mete to receyue what thyng so euer it shal please him to prynt in you For he that is wyllynge and glad to lysten to godly sermons he that is studyous to learne the word of god wherin christ is preached w t a stedfast faith cleueth to y e promise of y e gospel ▪ he is made partaker of this Sāctificatiō and holynesse and of this so great comforte and euerlastyng saluation For God sayeth by his prophet Esaye My worde shall not returne to me in vayne And saynct Paule sayeth that the gospell is the power of God where wyth he wourketh the saluation of all them that beleue Nowe the rest that folowethe in the Crede is a shorte declaration of these thynges before rehersed For it foloweth in the Crede I beleue the holy catholycke churche that is to saye all godly and Christē men must beleue that the gospel or doctryne of goddes grace thorowe the merites of oure sauiour Iesus Christ is neuer in vayne published in the worlde or sowed abrode without fruit but euer there is founde some companye of men or some congregacion of good people whiche beleue the gospel and be saued And this cōpanie of men whiche beleueth the gospell although here vpō earth thei be seuered in sōdry places yet are they called one holy catholike or vniuersal churche of Christe that is to saie a multitude cōgregation or companye of Christen people For this worde churche doth not here betoken a temple or churche buylded of tymber and stone but it signifieth a companye of men lyghtened with the spirite of Christe whiche do receaue the gospel and come together to heare gods wourde and to praye And this Christē churche is a cōmunyon of sainctes that is to saye all that be of this cōmunion or cōpany be holy be one holy body vnder Christe their heed they be one holy congregation or assemble And this congregation receaueth of their hedde and Lorde Iesus Christe all spirituall riches and gyftes that perteyneth to the sanctification and making holy of the same bodye And these gostly treasuers be commen to y e hole body and to euery membre of the same For he that is vnfainedly a faythfull and Godly man is made partaker of these benefites And these are the sayde gyftes which be commē to y e hole church of Christ and to euery membre of the same The first is that God the father that euerlastīg and endles maiestye is our most gentle mercyful father That God y e sonne is our redemer and mediatour betwene the father and vs. And that God the holy gost is y e commen sanctifier or halower of all theim y t haue a true faithe in God The second is the preaching of y e gospel thadministration of baptisme and the sacrament of the bodye and bloude of our Lorde Iesus Christ by the whiche we are made partakers of all the inheritaunce of heauē of all the benefites of Christe The third is prayer The fourth is the crosse of affliction and aduersitie whiche God sendeth to all godly men to make theim to knowe him to proue therby trye their faith to mortifye their fleshe to make clene the corruption of the same And here I speake onely of the crosse which good men suffre For thafflictions of the vnfaithful and vngodly do rather hurt them then make them holy For inasmuch as their vnpatientnes is encreaced by such aduersitie thei be brought to more disperatiō and damnatiō Nowe it is very good for you to knowe these thinges that you may also knowe that there is nothyng in heauē or erthe better for vs thā is the true knowlege of God and that these excellent gyftes and benefites cannot be had but onely in the foresayde churche or cōgregatiō and no where els But whan the true churche which is ruled by the holy gost the worde of God dothe promyse vs these so great riches and benefites we ought not to doute but that we haue alredye receaued them And when y e churche doth happoint and ordeine vs to be preachers and ministers of these most pretiouse treasures we must stedfastly beleue that God effectuously worketh with vs that he is present with vs and that he at all tymes doth strengthen vs agaynst the worlde and the deuyll and that he doth helpe vs to do all thynges accordyng to our callyng prosperously and with good successe Secondly we must beleue the remission of synnes Therfore next vnto this article I beleue the holy catholique churche the communion of saintes is added y e forgeuenes of synnes For where so euer the churche of Christ is there is frely offred that eternall comfort aboue all measure that is to say the fauore of God and remission of synnes And without that churche is no remission of synne Wherefore we must seke remission of synnes in the churche of Christ and desier absolution That when y e true churche by their ministers doth promyse vs remissyon of our synnes and here in erthe dothe absolue vs we may surely trust that in heauē also before God we be absolued pardoned Thirdly We must beleue the resurrection of the fleshe wherefore after tharticle of the remission of synne foloweth next this article I beleue the rysing agayne of y e fleshe for among other ponyshmentes for originall syn layd vpon Adam his posterity we daily see this horrible paine that the goodly beawtiful bodye of man created to immortalitie must nedes ones be dissolued by deathe and brought to a filthye and stinckyng corse and graue that the tyranny of synne whiche so long as we liue rageth in our fleshe by our deathe may ceasse haue an ende as saint Paule saith vnto the Romanes For by deathe of the body cease all the desires concupiscences and rages of y e mynde whiche be against the wil and commaundementes of God There ceassith also all synnes against our neighbours as Ire enuie lechery couetuousnes pride and all ill affectyons and at the last day god shall rayse vs agayne frō death so that such infirmities and synnes shall no more be founde in vs but we shal be pure spiritual and immortal and lyke to the bright clere bodye of Christ. And that we
correction yet we se how the fathers loue remayneth what pitie and compassiō he hath of them howe lothe he is to beate theim and wolde rather forgyue theim yf it wer not for their benefite and amendment And whē the childe falleth on his knees and asketh forgyuenes promysynge amendement we see how redy and willynge the father is to forgiue Now seyng our earthly fathers be so louynge to their children muche more God our heauenlye father wil be our most kynde and louyng father wil nourysh kepe and defende vs teache instructe vs the way to euerlastyng saluation And yf we fall into anye errore or synne yet for Christes sake he is wyllynge to forgyue vs and althoughe he punysheth vs here for a tyme yet he doethe it of fatherlye loue that he beareth towardes vs not to punyshe vs for euer but to amend vs and to make vs to know our faultes and to bryng vs agayne into the right waye And lyke a most louyng father he correcteth vs for a smal tyme in this worlde lest he shoulde punyshe vs for euer in y e worlde to come Of this therefore so louyng and so mightie a father we may wel reioyce and haue an excedynge great comforte farre passyng any harte to thynke or tongue to tel And hym agayn we ought moste entierlye to loue and obey seyng that he is our father and hath loden vs with so many gyftes and benefites With glad hartes therfore you ought to saye this prayer which whā you say you speake with God the father in heauen he heareth you and lyke a most kynde father dothe graunt al that you aske Often tymes also and ernestly you must praye whan you ryse in the mornyng whan you go to the churche whan you eate drynke whan you go to bed whan you awake out of your slepe that frō your youth you maye accustome your selfes both gladly and oftē to praye For by prayer we shall obteyne all thynges that eyther Christ hathe purchased for vs or our heuenly father hath promised to vs. Nowe this also you must dilygently considre that we say O father which art in heuē to dyscerne hym from our fathers whiche be here vpon earthe For we haue fathers here in earth whiche be but men and be not able to saue vs. But in heauen we haue an other maner of father of far more might a spiritual an euerlastīg father whiche in al oure nedes is able to helpe vs and finallye to gyue vs helth lyfe euerlasting And as childrē take of their carnal fathers fleshe and blode and many tymes be veray lyke theim in their face and countenaunce so take we of our heuēly father our soule and spirite and therein we ought to resemble our heuēly father that is to saye we ought to beleue his worde obey his commaūdementes forbere those thinges that he forbyddeth and in all thynges be conformable to hys holy wyl and worde And than is he assuredlye oure gentle father and we his dere children And than as he dwelleth in heuen in a lyght passynge all measure euyn so shall we dwel wyth hym in heauen for euer These great thynges whiche far excede the capacitie of mannes vnderstanding our sauiour Christ doth teache in these fewe wordes whan he teacheth vs to saye O our father whiche art in heauen Now folowe in this holy praier certen petitions wherein be comprehended all thynges that be either conteyned in y e ten Commaūdementes or elles promised in the Crede These petitions good childrē you shall lerne with al diligence that you may know what you shoulde aske The thre first petitions entreate of the matters perteynynge to y e first table The other .iiii. speake of thīges promised in the Crede belongynge to the seconde table as herafter you shall heare The first petition conteyneth matters of the first and seconde commaundement I am thy God Thou shalt not take the name of thy Lord God in vaine And these be the wordes of that petition Thy name be halowed BEfore I told you good children y t we go not before god we pray not first that God wil be our God and our father but god of hys inestimable mercye dothe preuent vs dothe cal vs by hys worde dothe cal vs vnto faithe doth gyue vs his spirite to know him for our father and Lorde before we coulde thynke therof and seke for God But now seing that by his word faith he hath called vs and by Baptisme hath grafted vs in Christ and made vs membres of his churche we ought not to be slouthful nor ydle but study to go forwarde increace in godlynes and to praye thus Our father whiche art in heuen for asmuche as thou hast gyuen vnto vs being vnworthy thi holy gospell and hast chosen vs and not we the and seyng that thou haste sent vnto vs preachers whiche teache vnto vs thy word wherby we be sanctified and instructed in the faith so that nowe we maye know the for God and partelye fulfyl the first commaundemente now fulfyl O father y t thou haste begonne procede to helpe vs that we maye fulfyl the seconde commaūdemēt that is y t thy name mai be halowed that is to say may be honored as holy This prayer pleaseth God and he heareth it God giueth vs grace strength that we maye halowe his name To halowe the name of God is not to make it holye whiche in it selfe is euer most holy but to halowe his name is to take it for holy reuerentlye to vse it as a most holy thing of great feare and loue to God to beware that we speake not of his name vaynely nor with out great reuerence to confesse his name to laud him extolle him in all necessities to call vpon hym And on the other syde we do violate the holye name of God whan we abuse the same to euyll and naughty thinges whan we speake euyll of God or godlye thynges whan we teache any false doctrine of God and his religion or abuse the name of God to ydoltarie and errours or whan by the name of God we be forsworne Also whan by the name of God we curse mē or other creatures or whan we speake of God godlye thīges make therof but scoffing gestyng And whan we lyue not accordynge to the worde of God and regarde not God but gyue euyl exāple to other both to thinke and speake of God and godly thinges lyghtly and contemptuously as they passed not of them But nowe it is an horryble hearyng good childrē that we be called the churche of Christ and christen men we be taughte that God is oure Lorde and father and yet we be so faynte so euyll naughtye and vnkynde people that we do not halow nor reuerētli vse his name Therfore it is more than nede to praye and instantlye to pray for Gods helpe that we mysuse not his name vnreuerētly but that we maye halowe it and most hyghly honour it
youre selfes frome youre tender age to pray gladly and often for that pleaseth God and he is veray redy to giue you al thinges that you nede so that we giue him his due honoure and aske of hym as our dutie is But specyally they that be godly muste vse to praye whan they go to bedde whan they ryse whan they go to the churche or syt doune at the table For these times are chiefly appoynted to prayer as scripture doth witnesse in many places And forasmuch as we be not able to get our dayly breade by oure owne wit laboure and dylygence except God giue it vs let vs therfore before all thynges seke his kyngdome and studye to please him that he may gyue vs al thinges necessarye for vs. And although many men in this worlde get their lyuyng and ryches by crafte and deceipte yet let vs absteyne from such vnlawful meanes For they do rather bryng pouertye to a man then ryches And althoughe brybers extorcyoners vsurers and craftye deceauers of their neighbours do prosper for a while in this worlde yet they seldome establyshe theyr thynges For it is written that scasely the thyrde heyre shal enioy goods yll gotten And God doth only wynke at theim suffryng thē to floryshe for a tyme that afterwarde he maye y e more greuouslye punyshe and sodenly destroy thē And when we desyer God to gyue vs our dayly breade thynke not Good children that our heuenly father wyl gyue vs only a morsell of bread and nothyng besyde but vnder the name of breade be all thinges conteyned whiche be necessarie to the maintenance of our lyfe as meate dryncke apparell house landes cattell and monye accordyng to the saying of sainct Paule God gyueth all thynge to our vse richely and aboundantly But Christe teacheth vs in this petition to aske only for our dayly breade for this entent that we shoulde be content with suche a meane as oure dayly vse and necessitie doth require and that we should not by ouermuche eatyng and drynkynge wastfully spende those thynges wher w t poore people myght be relyued For sayncte Paul doth commaunde vs to laboure and worke that we maye eate our awne breade also gyue to thē that haue nede The which commaundement we shall easely kepe yf we wyll be contente with a meane dyet and kepe a measure in our apparell But they that delyght in superfluitie of gorgyous apparel and deynty fare make pleasure the ende of their eatynge and drynkyng ▪ and not necessitie they be not wont to gyue muche to the poore but commenly suche do deceaue the nedye brybe and pyle from thē and oftentynes by plaine robberies force do steale other mens goods that they maye haue wherwith to mainteyne their charges and sumptuous expēses As we see by daily experience that couetous persons and the ryche men of this worlde that be gyuen to ryot superfluitye vse to gyue lytle or nothyng at all to y e poore Furthermore in this petition we do not only desier our bodily fode and sustinance but also all thyng necessarye to the same wherby we maye vse and inioy suche as God hath sent vs that is to saye we praye for seasonable wether and holsomenes of the ayer for helthe of bodye for peace and quyetnes of the commen welthe for trustye and faithful seruantes and suche lyke For except God sende a faire and seasenable wether all the fruites and corne growyng vpon the earth are lyke to peryshe and so all our laboure in plowyng sowyng and plantyng shall be bestowed in vaine Also he y t hath not his helth he can haue no pleasure in his riches or greatly ioy in his meat or drinke be it neuer so deinty Furthermore in warre time all thoughe God sende vs great plētye of corne and wyne yet all is destroyed of oure ennemyes somuche that we maye scante truste our frendes from spoilyng of vs. For than all is full of robbynge burnynge beatyng kyllynge and wasting with fire sworde And yf we haue any thinge lefte vs in the tyme of warre yet we can not quyetly haue y e vse of it for feare care and trouble of the warres And yf it be a tyme of peace yet yf thou haue an enemye within the walles of thyne awne house that is to saye yf thou haue an vnkynde or vnfaythful wyfe vnthryftye children vntrustye and neglygente seruauntes then by them thy lyuynge is wasted and cōsumed For al these do defraude the of thy dayly breade and by y e occasion of thy greate losse and hynderance The principal cause of all these aduersities is the deuel For he is so mortal an enemie to mankynde that he is desyrous not onli to destroy our souls with false doctrine and erroneous opinions but also throughe tempestes infection of the ayer dyuerse kyndes of sykenesses by famyne batteyl by the malyce and falsehed of oure owne householde and of our neyghbours he wolde fayne cōsume our lyfe helth house and goods clerely destroy them And this wicked spirite woulde ouerthrowe in a momente of an houre whole realmes commen welthes yf God dyd not let hym Wherefore we must ernestly pray to God that he wil staye this wycked spirite and gyue vs our daily bread that he wil preserue vs frō all sycknes that hauynge helthe of our bodyes we may vse inioy our substance And that also he wil sende vs godly and dilygente rulers to defēde vs from our enemyes and to prouide that nether our goodes be stollen from vs by thefes or robbers neyther lost or conuayed from vs thorowe the vntrustynes or falsenes of oure householde seruauntes Furthermore you shall note good childrē that our Lorde Iesus Christ hath not taught vs to saye father gyue me my dayly breade but gyue vs oure dailye breade and lykewyse in all the petitions that folowe no man prayeth in the synguler noumber for himselfe alone but in the plurel noumber aswel for other as for himselfe By y e whiche lesson we be admonyshed of the brotherly charitie whiche one of vs shoulde beare towardes an other For we be all offenders and from our birth the children of yre Neuertheles God so loued vs that he gaue his only sonne Iesus Christ to suffer deathe for vs to obteyne for vs remyssion of oure synnes to reconcile vs to him to make vs his children Therefore nowe is God our father Christe oure brother and we be goddes children and heyres and coinheriters with Christ and amonge oure selues we be brethren and all brethrē to Christ. And therefore we ought to ioyne altogyther in one prayer and to be glad one to healpe another bothe in worde and dede to the vttermost of our power Furthermore this is a great comforte for vs to know that all the church and congregation of Christ doeth praye for vs and that all the treasurs of Gods riches that is to say Christ himselfe the kyngdome of heauen the holy gospell the sacramentes and the prayers of al
what our Lord Iesus Christ ment by them that when you shall be asked any question herein you maye make a dyrect answere and that also in tyme to come you maye be able to instruct your children in the same For what greater shame can ther be eyther in the sight of God or of man then to professe thi selfe to be a Christen mā yet to be ignorāt in what place of scripture and by what wordes Christ commaūded faith and forgyuenes of synnes to be preached Seing y t a Christē man ought to beleue nothyng as an article of his faith except he be assured that eyther it is gods cōmaundement or his worde Now good children that you maye the better vnderstande these wordes of our sauiour Christe you shall knowe y t our Lorde Iesus Christ whē he beganne to preache he ded cal and chose his twelue Apostils and afterwarde besydes those twelue he sent forth thre score and tenne dysciples and gaue thē authoritie to preach the gospel And a litle before his death and passiō he made his prayer to his heuenly father for theim for all those that shoulde beleue thorow their preaching As it is declared in the gospel of sainct Iohn Now it is not to be doubted but y t Christes praier was heard of his heauenly father wherefore it foloweth that as mani as beleued the preaching of Christes discyples were as surely saued as yf they had heard and beleued Christ hymselfe And after Christes assention the Apostelles gaue authoritie to other godly and holye men to minyster gods worde and chiefely in those places wher ther wer Christen mē alredy whiche lacked preachers and the Apostles theim selues could not longer abide with them For the Apostles dyd walke abrod into diuerse partes of the worlde and did studye to plant the gospel in many places Wherefore wher they founde godly men and mete to preache gods worde they layed their handes vpō them and gaue them the holy gost as they theimselues receaued of Christ the same holy gost to execute this office And they that were so ordeyned were in dede and also were called the ministers of God as the Apostles theimselues were as Paule sayeth vnto Tymothy And so the ministratiō of gods worde which our Lorde Iesus Christ hymselfe dyd first institute was deryued from the Apostles vnto other after theim by imposition of hādes and gyuynge the holy ghost from the Apostles tyme to our dayes And this was the consecration ordres vnction of the Apostles wherby they at the begynnynge made Byshopes and pryestes and this shall continewe in y e churche euen to the worldes ende And what soeuer rite or ceremonye hath ben added more than this commeth of mannes ordinaunce and policye and is not commaūded by goddes worde Wherefore good children you shal gyue due reuerence honour to the ministers of y e churche and shal not meanely or lyghtly esteme them in the executiō of their office but you shall take them for gods ministers and the messengers of our Lorde Iesus Christe For Christ himselfe saieth in y e gospel He that heareth you heareth me And he y t dyspiseth you dyspiseth me wherefore good children you shal stedfastly beleue al those thinges whiche suche ministers shall speake vnto you from the mouth and by the commaūdement of our Lorde Iesus Christ. And what soeuer they do to you as when they baptyse you when they gyue you absolution and dystribute to you the bodye and bloude of our Lord Iesus Christe these you shall so esteme as yf Christe hymselfe in his awne person dyd speake and minister vnto you For Christe hath commaunded his ministers to do this vnto you and he hymselfe althoughe you see him not with your bodily eyes is present with his ministers and worketh by the holy ghost in thadministration of his sacramentes And on the other syde you shall take good hede beware of false and priuye preachers whiche pryuely crepe into cities and preache in corners hauyng none authoritie nor being called to this office For Christe is not present with such prechers ▪ and therefore dothe not the holy gost worke by their preching but their worde is withoute fruite or profyt and they do great hurte in commen welthes For suche as be not called of God they no doubte of it do erre and sow abrode heresye and naughty doctrine And yet you shal not thinke good childrē that preachers whiche be lawfully called haue authoritie to do or teache what soeuer shal please thē But our Lord Iesus Christ hath gyuen them playne instructions what they ought to teache and do And yf thei teache or do any other thynge then is conteyned in their commission then it is of no force nor we ought not to regarde it And for this cause our sauioure Christ dyd breath into hys discyples and gaue them the holy gost For where the holy gost is ther he so worketh that he causeth vs to do those thynges whiche Christe hath commaunded And whā that is not done than the holy ghost is not there Wherefore all thynges whiche we shall so speake or do can take none effecte Now the summe of the commission whiche Christ gaue to his dysciples was this that they shoulde preache repentaunce and forgyuenes of synne in his name And he added therto bothe a promise a threatnyng saying He that wil beleue and be baptised shalbe saued But he that wil not beleue shall be damned Wherfore all thinges whiche the ministers of y e churche do saye or do to vs ought to be directed to this ende y t they maye lowse vs and declare vnto vs the forgyuenes of our synnes whē we truly repent and beleue in Christ. But when we do not repent vs of our synne and forsake the same or do not beleue the gospel then they ought to bind or reserue sinne and to declare vnto vs that yf we styl continew in sinne we shal be dampned for euer And when the minysters do thus execute their cōmission then they obey God whose synnes soeuer they forgyue in earth their synnes be forgyuen in heauen also And contrarye wyse whome soeuer they binde in earth their sinnes be boūde also in heauē But yf the ministers wolde interprise to do contrary to their cōmission that is to say to forgyue synnes to vnrepentaunte synners and vnbeleuers or to bynde their synnes and denye theim absolution that be repentaunte and truste in the mercye of God then they shoulde not do wel nor their acte shoulde be of any force but they shoulde deceaue themselues and other also And than shoulde that be true that Christ speaketh in the gospell When the blynde leadeth the blinde both fall into the diche But when the ministers do trulye execute their office you oughte good children to take great comforte and to confirme your faithe therby that you maye stedfastlye beleue and in all temptations answere your aduersarye the deuell after this maner God hathe