death and in the meane time that it maye please him to make you to prosper from good to better and to giue me to perseuere in your seruice as your very humble and very obedient seruant for euer * ⎠* A Christian exhortation the vvhyche must bee recited with a loude voyce before euery faithfull person being in the agonie of Death HE that is of GOD let him heare the word of GOD and let hym not only hear it but let him kéepe it and put it in execution for all thinges shall haue an ende and shall weare as a garmente but the worde of the Lorde GOD remayneth eternally Nowe séeing it is so that by one man sinne is come into the worlde and by sinne death and consequentlye all afflictions and aduersities depend of the same therefore iustly the life of man is nothing else but a continuall battell vpon the earth in suche sorte that the flesh sighteth against the spirite and the spirite against the Diuell the Worlde and the Flesh which are the enimies of our soules But following the counsell of the Apostle to obteyne victorie in that spirituall battayle you must constantly resist by Faith for the victorie which ouercommeth the world it is our faith the whiche is a true and stedfast knowledge of the loue of God towards vs according as by his Gospell he declareth himselfe to be oure father and sauioure by the meane of Iesus Christ Hauing then suche a stedfast Faith for your principal foundation acknowledge and confesse without fayning before the Maiestie of God that you are a poore and miserable sinner conceiued and borne in iniquitie and corruption prompte to all euill doing vnapte to anye good thing and that by youre vice you haue transgressed without ende and withoute ceassing the whole commaundementes of god In which thing doing you haue drawen by hys iust iudgemente ruine and destruction vpon you yet for all that you are displeased in your self that you haue offended him and do condemne your selfe and youre vices with true repentance desiring that the grace of God doe help your calamitie Praye then in such stedfast fayth if you can not with youre mouth pray wyth youre hearte that God our very louing and most mercifull father doe not enter at all into iudgement nor into accompt with you but that hée will haue pitie vpoÌ„ you in the name of his sonne Iesus Christ our Lord and that it may please him to blotte out our vices and spottes by the merites of the death and passion of the same Iesus Christe in whose name presente you to him his holy Prayer the whiche he hath taught vs in saying with a pure hearte Our Father which art in Heauen thy name be halowed Thy Kingdome come Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heauen Giue vs this day our dayly bread And pardon vs our offences as we pardon them whiche haue offended vs And leade vs not at all into temptation but deliuer vs from the euill For thine is thy Kyngdome the power and the glorie throughout all ages So be it B. S. N. Acknowledge with all youre hearte your vniustice be forse for your sinnes repent you continually and the Kingdome of God shal draw néere vnto you acknowledge that there is no iustice nor innocencie nor anye good workes of you or in you but as a child of wrath conceyued borne in the sinne of the old Adam you do deserue eternall death and damnation Yet for all that let not the same nor all the sinnes of the world if you should haue committed theÌ„ feare you at al for Iesus Christ the true and eternall sonne of God is made verye man conceyued by the holy Ghost borne of a holy Virgin To sanctify and to cleanse you he hath suffered vnder Ponce Pilate many afflictions iniuries and outrages making himselfe a seruante and captine to sette you into full libertie Iesus Christ was crucifyed vpon the woodde of the Crosse to delyuer you from the eternall cursse Iesus Christ dyed in sheding his precious blaud for youre redemption to deliuer you fully from deathe from Hell and from the power of Satan Iesus Christ was buried in the Sepulchre to burie all youre sinnes the which he hathe borne blotted out Iesus Christe is descended into the lower partes in suffering an extreame anguish to deliuer you from all paynes and griefes of death Iesus Christe arose agayne from the dead to make you to rise agayne in your proper body and glorious immortalitie Iesus Christ is gone vp into Heauen to make you to go vp after him Iesus Christ is set at the right haÌ„d of God his father almightie being youre aduocate and intercessor towardes him and the appointment of all your sinnes We a waite for him that he shall come to iudge the liuing and the dead to yeèlde to euery one according to his workes but to his faithfull ones whiche beléeue in him he will not impute at all their sinnes but hauing iustified them by his grace will make them to raigne for euer with him in hys heauenly throne B. S. N. Such is the great misterie of our redemption the whiche by the helpe of the grace of the holye Ghoste you oughte stedfastly to beléeue to baue bin wrought for youre saluation And doubt not at all but that by the merite of Iesus Christe the head of his Churche you are made a member incorporate to the same yéelding him thankes in great humilitie that he hathe giuen you the grace to haue liued in the communion and companye of his faithfull hauing nouâ—ished you with hyword with his bodye and with hys bloud acknowledging as well assured the great mercie of God by the remission of all youre sinnes the which he hath giuen you by Iesus Christ who will make you to rise againe at the latter daye to raigne with him in the life eternall the which he hath promised to all those whiche beléeue in him being baptised in his name Nowe B. S. N. séeing that you haue this Faith doubt not at all to receyue the promise of Faith for God is true he is not a lyar as man is rather Heauen and Earth shall passe but the worde of God remayneth for euer God is youre father and creator you are hys creature and the worke of his hands he hath not made you to destroy you for hée is the sauiour of all men and willeth not the deathe of a sinner but that he conuert and liue wherefore I declare vnto you in the name of God that of his great goodnesse and mercie he giueth you full pardon and remission of all your sinnes by the onely merite of his sonne Iesus Christe our Lorde in the sheding of his pretious bloud for he is the propitiation not only of all your sinnes but of all the sinnes of the whole world B. S. N. Iesus Christ sayeth with his owne mouth that all things are possible to him
cause is it necessarie for you to confesse and knowe the Lord Iesus Christ The sicke Bycause I must recouer in Iesus Christe all that whiche I haue lost in my self by meane of the sinne of the olde Adam wherein I was conceyued and borne Wherefore it was néedefull for my saluation that Iesus Christe very God and verye man being clothed with oure fleshe shoulde of his frée liberalitie and grace giue me all that which I had lost in Adam Minister It is very well sayde that is the cause why Iesus Christe was conceyued by the holy Ghost and borne of the Virgine Marie to purge and sanctifie you for cleane contrary to him you are conceyued and borne in sinne and of sinfull parents wherefore do not you confesse that wythout Iesus Christe you shoulde haue remayned a poore and wretched sinner in eternall death The sicke Yes verily but I beléeue and confesse that this good Iesus Christ hathe reconciled me to God his Father Minister Yea but how hath he reconciled you to God his father The sicke By his deathe and passion in the sheding of his pretious bloud for to deliuer me from eternall paynes This good Iesus Christe hath suffered for me vnder Ponce Pilate manie afflictiōs iniuries and troubles It is Iesus Christ which was crucifyed for me as accursed vpon the woodde of the Crosse to deliuer mée from the eternall cursse wherevnto Adam had bound me This my faniour Iesus Christ was indéede buried to burie all my sinnes wyth him to the ende they shoulde not bée imputed vnto me before god It is my Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ which is gone downe into the lower partes suffering an extreame temporall anguishe to deliuer me from an eternall Minister All this whiche you haue nowe confessed of Iesus Christe was it sufficient to saue you The sicke No but that the holy Scriptures should be in euery iote fulfilled for what is it that Iesus Christ should haue profited me to haue bin borne crucifyed dead buried and gone downe into the lower partes for me only withoute being risen agayne Wherefore I beléeue and confesse that my Lorde my head and Sauiour Iesus Christe is risen from the dead to make me to rise with hym as one of his little members into eternall life Minister Consequently it is written that he is gone vp into the Heauens being nowe set at the righte hande of God his Father But what dothe this ascention profit you The sicke My Lord my head and Sauiour Iesus Christe is gone vp into the Heauens to make me to go vp after him for there where the head is the members are also and I beléeue that being set at the right hande of God his Father he is mine Aduocate intercessor and only mediator towards him very wel assuring me that none may be able to hurte me séeing that Iesus Christ is mine aduocate my iudge togither wherefore I haue no occasion to feare the day of his iudgement when he shall come to iudge the liuing and the dead for I beléeue and confesse in steadfast Faith that there is no iudgemente nor condemnation againste those whiche are faithfull members in Iesus Christ Minister Who hathe giuen him the grace to vnderstande and knowe all these things The sicke It is by the grace of the holye Ghost one onely God with the Father and the sonne by whose meane we receyue all the good thinges and giftes whiche are offered vnto vs in Iesus Christ Minister Séeing that you haue alreadye confessed that you are a member of Iesus Christ it followeth then that you are also incorporate to hys Churche the whiche ye ought to beléeue to be holy Catholike and vniuersall The sicke I beléeue certaynely the holye Church vniuersal washed and clensed in the pretious bloud of Iesus Christ wherefore I doe most humbly thanke him that he hath gyuen me the grace to be one of the little members of his Church and beyng baptised in his name he hath made me to liue in the communion vnitie and charitie of the same hauing instructed me with his holy word and nourished me with his true bodye hauing giuen me to drinke of hys most pretious bloud in hope of the eternall life Minister Nowe séeing that you are so well founded vpon the liuely Rocke which is Iesus Christ and knowing your selfe well you must confesse and acknowledge the principall good things whiche you haue receyued of thys Lord Iesus Christ The sicke It is very méete for I will not be ingrate to acknowledge the good things and giftes that I haue receiued of God wherefore I consesse that I wretched and miserable sinner haue infinitely and withoute ceassing offended the goodnesse and iustice of God hauing transgressed his holy commandements In doing whereof I haue deserued eternall death and damnatiō Notwithstanding I appealing to the mercie of God do aske him mercie and beléeue and confesse vndoubtedly that my sinnes are fully and wholly forgiuen me by the only merite of the deathe and passion of my Lord and sauiour Iesus Christ in the sheding of hys most precious bloud wherein I doe assure my selfe to be sufficientlye and fully washed and purged which is the greatest cōtentation and good thing that euer I mighte receyue and such is my faith in the whyche I will liue and dye by the grace of the holy Ghost Minister Séeing that you haue receyued so great a good thing of God by the meane of his sonne Iesus Christe it behoueth you also to do hys commandementes for euen as he hathe pardoned and forgiuen you all your sinnes euen so likewise must you fréely and with a good heart forgiue all those whiche may haue offended you other wise you shall not walke according to God. The sicke Héerein haue I knowen the Law of Iesus Christ to be the onely holy and perfect lawe commaunding vs to loue our neyghbours both friēds and enimies as our selues wherefore I beséeche all those whome I may haue offended eyther in worde or déede to forgiue me with as good a heart as I doe forgiue all whyche haue offended me desiring to doe them pleasure and seruice as to my good bréethren and friends Minister Now séeing that it is ordeyned of God that all men shall dye we may not resist his ordinance but we must continually conforme our selues to his holy will wherfore my brother you may not find it strange if I doe declare vnto you that which the good Prophete Esay dyd declare to the King Ezechias saying vnto hym from the Lorde Giue order to thy house for thou shalt die shalt liue no longer This good councel should stirre you vp to dispose your self spiritually well in your cōscience It is first to turne your selfe to God and to bewayle your sinnes as this good King did to implore his mercie in asking him forgiuenesse and saying alwaye in your heart O Lord God be
vayne glorye and would perswade vs that we haue deserued Heauen and eternall life by our workes vnto whome we muste answere in this sort O thou horrible enchanter thou bearest me in hande that I am a Saincte to the ende thou mightest make me a Diuell Who is he that doth that which is commanded him to doe none no not one wher are then my deserts I wil shew thee Sathan my Lorde Christ hathe taken from mee all my sinnes and hath nayled them to his crosse and hath cancelled the obligation which was againste me yea he hath done more for me he hathe giuen mee all his deserts to witte his obedience iustice righteousnesse and innocencie as to a member of his bodye wherefore I being a member of his body can no more bee damned than my Lorde Christe may Now when hee seeth himselfe thus aunswered and proued a lyar by the sacred Scriptures of God whiche are the onely weapon wherewith to put him to flight he then yeeldeth all lost therfore we may easily see how needeful it is to be armed against Sathan with the most blessed word of God wherwith to quenche all his fierie dartes and to repulse all his assaults Wherfore I haue turned this exhortation into our english tongue the whych was written in the French by a reuerend worthy learned and godly father to a noble martiall and Christian Gentleman of France his good Lorde and friende wherewith in the time of his quietnesse he might fitte his armoure and weapons in suche sort as by battayle he might valiantly fighting obtayne a glorious and victorious Crowne For as your honor knoweth he that will be a good Souldioure must enter timely into the warres therefore I saye I haue turned into the Englishe the same exhortation for the profite of the Churche of God heere in Englande And albeit that the wordes be not many they be of singular valew and effecte the whiche I haue published vnder your honors name doubting not but that you will take my poore trauel in this behalfe in good part I haue added in the ende of it a Table of certayne consolatorie passages of Scripture whiche I haue gathered out of the old and new Testament for confirmation of oure faith in the moste sweete and comfortable promises of the almighty For when we shal come to the battayle the which we must once sighte eyther in the time of our health or else in the article of deathe for none is crowned that fighteth not and a Christian life is a continuall warre by the grace of God thys shorte exhortation shall greatly helpe as manye as shall make the same familiar vnto them towardes the obteyning of the victorie agaynste the aforesayde trayned experimented cunning mightie and cruell enimie In London the twentith of Marche Anno Domini 1579. Your honours humble euer to commaunde I. S. To the faithfull Reader saluation FRiende Reader take in good parte the exhortation the vvhich I haue heere vvritten for the great comfort and profit of al persons vvhich feare God vvherevvith to serue them at neede vvhen it shall please the Lord to call them But note you that to vse thys vvell that of these three letters B. S. N. the firste letter signifieth brother if the partie be a manne the seconde Sister being a vvoman and the third signifyeth the propre name of the person vvherby he must be named For vve may not then honor them by names of vvorldlye honour and dignitie but to stand firmely against Satan in the vertue of the Lorde We must name thē by their proper names vvhiche they haue receyued at the holye Sacramente of Baptisme This doing thou shalt obey God vvhome I beseech to be merciful vnto thee in the secret day of his comming ¶ To my Lorde my Lord of Senarpont Knight of the Kings order Captayne of fiftie men at armes and his Lieutenant generall in Picardie MY Lorde hauing oftentimes considered the beginning the continuance and the ende of mās life I haue plainelye knowen as by an ordinarie experience that men are more curious and carefull for the entertaynement and conseruation of this their life than to prepare themselues to a more happie ende according to God for man being in this bodily prison as blinde and not perfectlye regenerated do the better loue the darkenesse of suche an earthly prison than hee doth the heauenlye lighte for the whiche cause it is written that hee that is of the earthe speaketh of the earth As beeyng like the sonnes of Agar whiche soughte the wisedome of this worlde the whiche is foolishnesse before god Howe manye bee there at this day vnto whome the remembrance of death is very vnpleasaunt yea rather detestable so delighting themselues in their worldly pleasures that they seeme to haue forgotten God not caring any thing at all for Religion nor for the vengeance and iudgement of God terrible and fearefull to all those which haue their names written in the earth being scraped out of the booke of life VVherefore my Lord to the end you walke not in the large way which bringeth to destruction being taught by the wise man saying In all thy workes see thou doe remember thy latter dayes and thou shalt neuer sinne I haue thoughte good to drawe out of the holye Scriptures a Christian exhortation to bee recited with a loude voyce before euerie faithfull person the whiche approcheth to this bodily death couered with a casuall life passing on to one muche better and more happie For hauing this done I will attribute to my selfe nothing for I am but earth and durt yet notwithstanding I do not thinke to haue laboured in vayne considering that the Lorde Iesus Christ do the admonishe vs that we shoulde be alwayes readie not knowing the houre for the day of the Lord wil come suddainely as a theefe in the night O how happie then shall they be whiche shall put themselues into his safegard VVherefore my Lord I do present you this little Christian exhortation very humbly beseeching you to keepe the same to serue you at youre neede at what time it shall please the Lorde God to call you I know well that when the same tyme shall come you shall haue good meanes to haue with you some man learned and furnished with holy letters to declare vnto you the worde of life yet for all that not knowing the time nor the place ne yet the oportunitie that we may haue I dare boldly say without beast that hearing thys exhortation redde with a loude voyce being in mortall agonie it maye be vnto you as holesome as the Christian consolation of the best learned Doctor of the Religion for they might preach no more vnto you than the Prophets and Apostles doe preach vnto you in the sayd exhortation the which I beseech you to receyue with as good heart as I do desire the supreme gouernour to giue you the grace my Lorde to glorifie him as well in your life as in your