ten commaundementes ¶ A general preface to be rehersed in the begynnynge of euery sermon made vpon the articles of our Faith commonly called the Crede YHe holy apostle saynct Paule good childern writteth expressely that withoute faith it is vnpossible to please God Also Christ himselfe saieth He that beleuethe and is baptised shall be saued Now I trust ther is none among you but he is desirous to please God and enioye euerlastynge lyfe Then yf you wyll attayne therto you must chiefely and most diligently applye youre myndes to learne the christian faythe and the articles of the same For you haue hearde that without it there is nothing able to reconcile vs to God y e father to pacifie his wrath and to bringe vs to the lyfe euerlastyng For althoughe the tenne commaūdementes are an excellēt godly and heauenly doctrine yet we can not be saued or iustifyed by theym For we be not able of our owne strength and power to fulfyll the lawe and goddes holy commaundementes But by theym we onelye do learne what God requireth of vs and so be brought to the knowledge of our synne For this is the office of the lawe as saincte Paule sayeth to teache vs our offences and to set before our eyes the great feare of God and the indignation whiche we haue deserued by breakynge his commaundementes to the intent that we acknowledgyng our owne weakenesse shoulde flye to Goddes grace and mercye This feare of God is learned in the ten commaundementes and it is the begynnyng of wysedome But the holy christian fayth is a muche more hyghe and excellente knowledge and wysedome as sayncte Paule wytnesseth saying We speake wysedome amonge theym that are perfecte such wisdome as is not of thys worlde nor of the rulers of thys worlde whiche be mortall but we teache the wysedome of God whiche is secret and hyd which God ordeyned before the worlde vnto oure glorye whiche wysedome none of the rulers of this worlde dyd knowe These be the wordes of sayncte Paule whereby he declareth that the science of fayth passeth al other sciences and teacheth heauenly and eternall wisedome that excedeth all mennes philosophye For by faythe we learne to knowe God what he is and what loue he beareth towarde vs and howe great benefites he hath heaped vpon vs. For by fayth we be made y e childrē of God and he giueth vnto vs the holy goost whiche doeth lyghten and kyndle our hartes that we maye begynne to kepe hys lawe whiche els of our owne strengthe we were not able to kepe and fulfyll Wherfore good children it is necessarie for you to learne y e doctrine of faithe for without it we can not be iustified or brought agayne into gods fauour For no man is iust or rightuous before God that hath not the holy gost and he that will receyue the holy gooste muste beleue in Christe for by faith we receyue the holy goost therefore by faith we be iustified Agayne yf we wyll be saued we must knowe God and our Lord Iesus Christ as it is written Iohn the .xvii. But we can not knowe God and his sonne Iesus Christ but by faith therfore faith iustifieth vs and bringeth lyfe euerlastyng Wherfore good children applye your selfes dylygently to learne ▪ the Christian faith the which nowe I wil shortely reherse vnto you The Apostles Crede I Beleue in God the father almighty maker of heauen and erth And in Iesus christ his only sonne our Lord which was conceiued by the holye goost borne of the virgin Marye Suffred vnder Ponce Pylat was crucified dead and buried he descended into hel And the third dai he rose againe from death He ascended into heauē and sitteth on the ryghte hande of God the father almightye From thence he shal come to iudge the quicke and the dead I Beleue in the holy gost The holy Catholyke churche The communion of saintes the forgiuenes of sinnes The resurrection of the bodye And lyfe euerlasting Amen This is the summe of oure christian faith wherein God hath shewed vnto vs what he is how great benefites he hath gyuē and daily doth gyue vnto vs to thentent that we should cast y e anchore of our faith vpon him take sure holde of his mercye and goodnes and comforte oure selues with the same bothe in oure lyfe tyme and also at our death Wherfore good children be dilygent not onely to saye by rote the wourdes of your Crede but also to vnderstande what is ment by the same so y t whē you be asked any question therof you maye be able to make a direct answere and also in tyme to come to teache y e same to your children For what thīg can be more shame to a Christen man then to professe the relygion of Christ and yet to be ignorant in the chief pointes of Christes faith and his doctrine Considering that euery Christen man is bounde openly to declare his faith whē nede shal so require and to instruct his children in the same y t they maye come to the true knowledge of Christ. This generall begynnynge muste go before euery sermon of the Crede The first sermon of the Creation TO thentent good children that you maye the better vnderstande the true Christian faythe and doctrine you muste fyrste of all learne and knowe that God is a spirituall or gostly substance as Christ sayth Iohn the .iiii. God is not a bodily thing whiche maye be sene and felte He is present in euery place he seeth and beholdeth all thinges whiche we do speake or thynke and yet he is not measured with any ende tyme or place And forasmuche as mannes witte coulde not serche or fynde out the knowlege of thys highe misterie of the substaunce of God Christ himselfe the sonne of God dyd open to vs that beleue in hym what God is That is to say that there is God the father God the sonne and God the holy goste three persones and yet one true and euerlastyng God And it is your boūdē dutie good children diligently to learne thys lesson And although these thinges passe all mennes capacities and is a doctrine harde for you to learne yet in tyme to come you shal heare more of this matier In the meane season beare awaye I praye you thys one lesson that there is one true and euerlastinge God and yet three persones the father the sonne and the holy gost And this we call the Trinitie because these thre the father the son and the holy goost are one godlye substaunce And it is a great shame for you that be christē children not to learne this lesson For all you were baptised in the name of the father and of the sonne and of the holy goost and thereby you were made christen and the childrē of God and obteyned remission of youre synnes Wherfore it is your dutie to learne knowe in whose name you ar baptised that so you maye truly know God and youre father which you
soule reason senses eyes eares all my other members Also I beleue that the same almyghtye Lorde and God doeth dayly gyue to me and to vs al meat dryncke cloth wife children house lande ryches cattell and all thynges necessarye to the mayntenaunce of our lyues and y t he doth dayly defende kepe and preserue vs from al peril and delyuer vs from all euell And all thys he doethe of hys owne mere mercie and goodnes without our worthynes or deseruynges For the which benefites it is our dutie to render to hym continualll and euerlastyng thankes to obey hym in all thynges to take hede that we be not vnkynde to him y t hathe shewed so greate kyndnesse towardes vs. ¶ A generall conclusion to be rehersed at the ende of euery sermon made vpon the Crede Thus you haue heard good children the true and playne meanynge of this parte of the Crede Now it is youre parte deapely to prynte the same in youre heartes that you maye put your hole trust and confidence in the true and lyuynge God oure heauenly father And forasmuche as fayth is the worke of god and the light of our hartes whiche God putteth in vs by hys worde and holy spirite so that we can not atteyne fayth and the knowledge of Christ withoute goddes word and true preachers therfore accustome your selfes euē from youre tendre age to hear the worde of God that he by his holy spirite maye moue and sturre vp your hertes to true fayth knowledge of him And beside that you shall desier God with moste harty praiers that as he hath giuen you the gifte of fayth so he wyll contynew and increase the same in you that as you growe in age so also you may growe in the knowledge of Christ. For he that beleueth in Christ is made thereby the sonne of god heyre of lyfe euerlasting And then he gyueth vs his holye spirite to kyndle charitie in oure hartes wherby we loue God and kepe all hys commaundementes All these benefytes we receyue by faythe in the whiche who so euer contynueth vnto the ende of his lyfe shalbe saued the whiche God graunte to vs all Amen The seconde sermon of our Redemption I Declared vnto you heretofore good childrē that the Crede entreateth chiefly of thre thynges that is to saye of God the father that made the world of God the sonne that redemed the worlde and of God the holy goost that sanctifieth the worlde And in the former sermon I taught you the hygh heauenly philosophie of the creation Wherfore now I will vttre vnto you the great mistery of our redempcion whiche is conteyned in these wordes of the Crede I beleue in Iesus Christ his only begotten sonne our Lorde whiche was conceyued by the holye goost borne of the virgin Marie suffered vnder Ponce Pilate was crucified dead and buried He descended into hell The thirde daye he rose from death He ascēded to heauen He sytteth on the ryghte hande of God the father almyghtie From thense he shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead In this seconde part of the Crede we may learne to know the secōde person in trinitie the sōne of god Iesus christ our lord And as in y e first article ye haue learned what benefytes we receyue of God the father to the sustentation maintenaūce of this temporal transitorie lyfe so in this seconde parte we shall lerne to know how great treasures and ryche gyftes we haue receyued by y e sonne of God Iesus Christ to the atteinyng of y e perfect euerlastīg lyfe And here you may cōsider good childrē how great was the miserie how horrible was the indignation of God whiche we were brought vnto by Adam So great it was that neyther golde nor syluer nor anye other thynge was able to bye vs out of the same but onely Iesus Christ y e sonne of God y t by hys death effusion of hys moost precious blod And of this great misery and indignation of God towarde vs this was the cause At what tyme God had made Adam and Eue and set thē in paradyse he intreated them lyke a most louyng and gentle father For he made theym lordes ouer al liuely creatures both beastes fyshe and fowle and did giue vnto them al trees y t bare fruit that thei might feade thereon Onely he forbad theym that they shoulde not eate of the tree of knowlege of good ylle And yet he gaue theym warnynge of y e great losse damage that they should suffer if they eat of that tree saying When soeuer you shall tast of the fruyt of that tree you shalbe made mortal and shall dye Their dutie had bene vnto so gentle a God and so mercifull a father in their hartes to haue beleued him trusted him loued him to haue obeyed hym and to kepe all his commaundemētes gladly But our most craftye enemy Satan enuying mans felicitie spake to Eue by the serpent and sayde No you shall not dye but you shall be lyke Gods knowyng both good euell And with these most poysened wordes perswaded Eue to eate of the fruyt whiche was forbydde And Eue gaue of the same to Adam who also did eat therof and so did breake gods commaundemente Nowe I praye you marke good childrē what thei lost by this their disobedience First when Adam and Eue wer thus deceyued by y e serpent and perswaded that God dyd not fauoure theym but had enuye at theim that they shoulde haue knowledge of good and yll and that for enuye he forbad thē to eate of that fruit that shoulde gyue to them so great knowlege they did no more trust God but beganne to trust themselues and did study to care prouide for thē selues Secondarily whē they no more trusted God they coulde no more finde in their hartes to loue hym but began to dote vpō them selues to thynke y t they had no better frende neither in heauē nor earth thē their awn selfes And after y t thei had thus put their trust and cōfidence in themselues and dotyngly loued all that was their awne by by folowed feare and concupiscence For by an by they beganne to hate and eschewe all thinges that wer paynful or vnpleasant to the fleshe and dotynglye to lust long for such thinges as wer delectable and pleasant to the fleshe Hereby you perceiue good children how our first parētes Adam and Eue poisened with the venome of the serpente were cast into .iiii. horrible vices or diseases The firste is that they dyd not trust in God The second that they dyd not loue God The third that they did not feare him but as a cruell tyranne The fourth that they were replenished with concupiscence and euyll desiers lustes and appetites And these be the rotes of originall synne oute of the whiche all other synnes do spryng and growe So Adam and Eue had a very great fal that fel from gods benediction
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
may y e more assuredly beleue this both Christ himself rose from death and many saintes also w t hym Fourthely we must beleue euerlastyng lyfe Wherefore it foloweth in the Crede I beleue euerlastynge lyfe that is to saye I beleue that whā we shall ryse from death then we shall lyue euer with Christe in parfite holynes and iustice and in suche a gloriouse ioy as no toung can tell nor hart thincke And this treatise of the Crede we must end with this wourde Amen which is asmuche to saye as I beleue that al the articles of our beliefe before rehersed be very true and thereof I haue a sure faithe trust and confidence Therefore good children from the bottome of your hartes you must beleue in the holy gost whiche doth promyse vnto vs remission of our synnes by al y e true preachers ministers of goddes worde And he dothe also geue light to our hartes and myndes and moueth vs to beleue goddes worde and to put our faith and trust in hym And the same holy goost dothe dayly purifye sanctifye vs purge and clense vs from sinne and after this bodily death shall rayse vs agayne to euerlasting life And take this for a sure conclusion and doubt nothynge thereof that the holy goost as he hath begonne these thīges in vs so he will fynyshe thesame in vs yf we obey him and continue in faith vnto thēde of our liues For he y t cōtinueth vnto y e ende shal be saued And this is the summe and also the most plaine vnderstāding of this thirde parte of the Crede entreatyng of our sanctificatiō or halowing Wherefore good children marke well this lesson that when ye be demaunded howe vnderstande you the thirde parte of the Crede yee may answer thus I beleue y t neither by mās strength power or wysedome neyther by myne awne endeuour nor cōpasse of myn awne reason I am able to beleue in Iesus Christ or to come vnto hym But the holy goost did call me by the worde of y e gospell and with y e giftes of his grace he hath hitherto endowed me halowed me and in the true faith he hathe hitherto preserued and confirmed me this he hath not done only to me but also he calleth and gathereth togyther in the vnitye of one faith and one baptisme all the vniuersal churche that is here in earth and he halloweth kepeth and preserueth thesame in the true knowledge of Christ and faith in his promyses And in this churche he geueth free and general pardō to me and to al that beleue in him of al our synnes offences and trespasses and at the last day he shall rayse me and all other y t be deade and al that dyed in the true faithe of Iesus Christ he shall glorifye in the lyfe euerlastyng Therefore to the sayde holy gost that sanctefyeth vs with y e father that made and created vs and the sonne that redemed vs be geuen all honour and glorye world without ende Amen ¶ A generall preface to be rehersed in the begynnynge of euery sermon made vpon the Lordes prayer YE haue learned heretofore good childrē in y e Crede what we ought to beleue and in the ten cōmaūdemētes what we ought to do but we can neyther beleue nor do as we ought to do excepte the holy gost worke with in vs bothe a true faith also a dewe obedyence towardes God and his lawe For faith is the gyfte of God and all good thinges commeth from the father of lightes Therefore we must nedes aske and craue these benefites at his hande whiche only is the gyuer of theim For so Christ saieth that God the father wyll gyue to vs his children all thinges so that we sue to hym for theim And the prophet Dauyd saieth Cal vpon me in the daye of thy trouble and I shal deliuer the and thou shalt glorifye me Also our Sauioure Christ commaūdeth vs to do y e same sayng Aske and you shal haue seke and you shall fynde knocke and the dore shall be opened vnto you Now therfore seyng that we haue learned what we shoulde beleue and do it is most necessary for vs to cal for gods grace with most feruēt and ernest prayers that we may be able to performe y e thinge whiche we are bounde to do For our sauiour Christ hath promised vs that what soeuer we aske the father in his name he wyll gyue it vs. Also he saieth that what soeuer we aske yf we beleue we shal receaue y e same Wher is to be noted that yf we wyll obteyne oure requestes we must aske in y e name of Christ and also trust assuredly that for Christes sake our praiers shal be heard To aske in Christes name is to aske accordynge to his wil that is to say to aske y t which he hath commaunded Therefore when we praye we may saye thus O God our father and the father of our Lorde Iesu Christ which art in heuē I durst not of myne awn head be so bold to come vnto thy most highe and excellent maiestye to desyer any thyng of the but thy welbeloued sonne our Lord Iesus Christ hath commaūded me so to do and only in his name and at his commaūdemente am so bolde Therfore yf thou hear me y u hearest thy dearly beloued sonne oure Lorde Iesus Christ. And yf thou heare me not thē thou hearest not Iesus Christ him selfe who hath sent me to the and hath commaunded me to aske in his name Of this prayer made in fayth speaketh saincte Iohn in his epistle saying This trust we haue in God y t when we aske any thynge accordinge to his will he doth heare vs. Therefore we shoulde stedfastly beleue that God doth heare our prayer For he that beleueth not he shall obtayne nothynge And therefore Christe saith If you beleue you shall obtayne And to thentent that we should beleue surely thynke that we be herde he hath promysed to graunt what soeuer we aske in his name And agayne to thentent that we shuld knowe and be suer that we praye accordyng to his wil he hymselfe hath taught vs howe what we should praye and aske Therfore it is not in our lybertye whether we wil praie or not but by goddes commaundement we be boūde to praye as you haue hearde in the seconde commaundement Now therefore with all dilygence lerne good children y e holy prayer of y e Lord which y e greate doctour and our Lorde Iesus Christ taught vs hymselfe saying to his disciples Ye shall praye after this maner OUre father which art in heauē halowed be thy name Thy kyngdome come Thy wil be don in earth as it is in heauē Geue vs this day our daily bread And forgeue vs our trespaces as we forgeue them that trespace against vs. And suffre vs not to be led into temptacion But delyuer vs from euyl Amen This good children is the prayer of the Lorde
but durynge thys lyfe we fyght agaynst synne vntyl we die and so be tryed and proued whether we loue him and his commaūdementes better then oure owne wylles and pleasures Also oure mercyefull father layeth on oure backes diuerse afflictions and aduersities to pul downe our proud and hyghe stomakes and to mortifie our fleshe that we may be like oure brother Christe who by the crosse ouercame synne deathe and the deuyll and so entred into euerlastynge glorye So that in this petitiō we must lerne both wisedome and pacience wisdome to beware of synne whā it prouoketh vs and in no wise to folow the same Pacience to suffer willyngly the crosse and suche afflictions as God shall sende vnto vs to pray god with feruent desier that he suffer vs not to perishe in the same but mercifullye to defende vs vntyll suche tyme as it shall please hym clearly to delyuer vs whiche shalbe when we shal dye and by Goddes power be raised agayne from death to lyfe and be delyuered from all maner of euels Therefore when we say in the Lordes prayer delyuer vs from euyll we chiefly desyre God to send vs a good deathe that then aboue all other tymes we may be delyuered from all euels For as muche as at that houre we be in the most daunger of all euels and temtations Wherfore it is moste necessarie for vs euen from our tender age to praye to oure Lorde that at that laste houre chiefly he wyll be good and gracious vnto vs delyueryng vs from all maner of euell So that death maye be to vs none euyll but a clere acquayntaūce frome al euels And this the lordes prayer we must euer ende with this word Amen Wiche is asmuche to saye as suerly I trust it shalbe so And it is not ynough to say Amen with our tongue only but also Amen muste be in oute harte and continew and tary there that is to saye we ought to beleue suerly and constantlye that our prayer is hearde and that oure heauenly father wil graunt vs oure petitions For so Christ hath promysed that what soeuer we aske the father in hys name it shalbe gyuen to vs. And for that intente Christe confirmeth this his promise w t an othe saying Amen Nowe you haue hearde good children the true and playne exposition of the seuenth and last petition whiche I praye you to place in your memories that when you be demaunded howe vnderstande you the seuenth petition you may redely answere Herein we generally desyre our heauenly father to delyuer vs frō all euell and perell bothe of body soule lande catell and riches And that when we shall ley on oure death bed he wyll than graunt vs a good houre that we may departe oute of thys vale of miserie in hys fauoure and from thys transitorie lyfe enter into life euerlastynge The whiche God graunte vs all Amen ¶ A sermon of Baptisme OUre Lorde Iesus Christ good children ▪ in y e gospell of Iohn saith thus Except a man be borne agayne of y e water and the spret he can not enter in to the kyngdome of God Nowe we ought to direct our hole lyfe to come to the kyngedome of heauen For the Lorde sayth First seke the kyngdō of god And you haue heard heretofore that we dayly make thys petition to god thy kingdō come Wherfore it is very necessarie for vs to know how we must be borne againe what thys secōd birth is w tout the which we can not entre into the kingdōe of God But when we speake of a seconde birth you shal not so grosse lye vnderstande this sayinge as though a mā which is once borne should entre agayne into hys mothers wombe so be borne againe as he was before For it were great folyshenes so to thinke But here we meane of a seconde birthe which is spiritual wherby our inwarde man and minde is renewed by the holye ghost so that our hertes and myndes receaue newe desiers which they had not of theyr first birth or natiuitie And the seconde birth is by the water of Baptisme whiche Paule calleth the bathe of regeneration because oure synnes be forgyuen vs in Baptisme and the holy gost is powred into vs as into goddes beloued childrē so that by the power and wourkynge of the holye Ghost we be borne agayne spiritually and made newe creatures And so by baptisme we enter into the kingdome of God shalbe saued for euer yf we continewe to oure lyues ende in the faithe of Christe Wherfore good childrē cōsidre diligently y e strength of baptisme and marke wel howe greate treasures and howe excellent benefites you receaued in youre baptisme that you maye thanke God for the same and comfort youre selfes by theim in all your temptations and endeuoure youreselfes faithfully to performe al thinges which you promised in your baptisme And that you mai do this y e better hear and learne the wordes of our master Christe by the whiche he dyd ordeyne and institute baptisme And oftentymes repete the same that you maye lerne them worde for worde wythout y e boke These be the wordes of our Lord Iesus Christ spoken to his dyscyples Go into the whole world and teache al nations baptise thē in the name of the father the sonne and the holi gost He that wyl beleue and be baptised shalbe saued But he that wyll not beleue shall be damned By these wordes oure Lorde Iesus Christe dyd institute baptisme wherby we be borne agayne to the kyngdom of God And you good childrē shall gyue diligence not onely to reherse these wordes but also to vnderstād what christe ment by the same That when you be demaunded any questyon herein you maye bothe make a dyrecte answere and also in tyme to come be able to teache youre children as you your selues are nowe instructed For what greater shame can ther be then a man to professe him selfe to be a Christen man because he is baptised and yet he knoweth not what baptysme is nor what strength the same hathe nor what the dyppyng in the water doth betoken wher as all oure lyfe tyme we ought to kepe those promises which there we solemply made before God and man and all oure profession and lyfe oughte to agre to our baptisme Wherefore good children to thentent you may the better know the strength power of baptisme you shall first vnderstande that our lorde Iesus Christ hath instituted and annexed to the gospel thre sacramēts or holy seales of his couenāt and lege made with vs. And by these thre gods ministers do worke with vs in the name and place of God yea God him selfe worketh with vs to confirme vs in our faith to asserten vs that we are y e lyuely membres of Gods trew churche and y e chosen people of God to whome the gospell is sent and that all those thinges belong to vs wherof the promises of the gospel make mentiō The first of
these sacramentes is baptisme by the whiche we be borne again to a new and heauenly lyfe and be receaued into gods churche and congregation whiche is the foundation and pyller of the trueth The seconde is absolution or the authoritie of y e keyes wherby we be absolued from suche synnes as we be fallen into after oure baptisme The thirde sacrament is the communion or y e Lordes supper by the whiche we be fedde and nourished and fortified in y e faith of the ghospell and knowlege of Christ that by this fode we maye growe more and more in newnes of lyfe so that we maye be no longer children but maye waxe perfecte men and ful growē in Christ. For I wolde you should wel know this good children that a Christen mās knowlege and lyfe is a more excellēt thing than vnlerned people can iudge For a christen man hathe the certen worde of God where vpon he maye grounde hys conscience that he is made a christen man and is one of Christes mēbers which he is assured of by baptisme For he that is baptysed maye assuredlye saye thus I am not now in this wauering opiniō that I only suppose my selfe to be a christiā man but I am in a sure belefe that I am made a Christen mā For I know for a suerty that I am baptised I am sure also that baptysme was ordeyned of God and that he whiche baptysed me did it by gods commission and commaundemente And the holy goste doth witnes that he whiche is baptysed hathe put vpon hym Christ. Wherfore the holy gost in my baptisme assureth me that I am a Christen man And this is a true and syncere fayth whiche is able to stande agaynste the gates of hell for asmuche as it hath for it the euydence of gods worde and leaneth not to any mans saying or opinion Furthermore good chyldren you shall dylygentlye learne the cause wherefore we are baptysed You haue alredy herde y t by baptisme we be borne agayne The cause of this our secōd birth is the synfulnes and filthynes of our first birth For by our first natiuitie whan we were borne of our fathers and mothers all we were borne in synne and whē we yssued out of oure mothers wombe we were laden with synne and Gods angre as it was at large declared vnto you in the exposition of y e ten cōmaundements and speciallye in the last cōmaundement For as Adam did synne and by sinne was so corrupted both in his body and soule that by his awne power or strēgth he was not able to do any good thinge euen so all the children ofspring of Adam be borne synners so that they can not be iustified by themselues or by their awn strength but are inclined and bent to synne at all tymes And as saynt Paul saieth by nature they be the children of Gods wrath That is to saye God is angrye w t vs for those synnes whiche by nature be as it wer a kynne to vs and we be borne with theim into this world But when we be borne againe by baptisme thē our sinnes he forgyuen vs and the holy goste is giuē vs which doth make vs al so holy doth moue vs to al goodnes Wherefore good children whē a man is baptysed it is as muche to saye as he dothe there confesse that he is a synner and that he is vnder the rule and gouernaūce of sinne so that of himselfe he can not be good or ryghtuous And therefore he commeth to baptisme and there seketh for helpe and remedy and desyreth God first to forgyue him his synnes at length to deliuer him clerely from all synne and perfectely to heale his soule from the sykenes of synne as the physitian doth perfectely heale his patient from bodely diseases And for his parte he promyseth to God againe and solemply voweth that he wyl fyght againste synne with all his strength and power that he wyll gladly beare the crosse and al suche afflictiōs as it shal please God to lay vpon him and that also he wil be contēt to dye y t he may be perfectly healed and delyuered from synne For God doth forgiue vs our synnes by faith but by afflyctions and death he dothe take theim cleane away as saint Peter witnesseth sainge He y t suffereth or is afflycted in y e fleshe doth cesse from synne And sainct Paule sayeth he that is deade is iustified or delyuered from synne These be the promyses which we make whē we are baptised And of this mind must all they be whiche shall haue any fruite by baptisme Wherfore seyng all you that be here are alredy baptysed continewe I praye you in this good mynde and purpose knowlege in your hartes before God that you be synners be sory for y e same and praye to God to heale and delyuer you frō youre sinne Beware you fal not to sinne againe haue no delite in sinne nor synne not wyllyngly But be godly and holy and suffer gladly suche afflictions as God shall lay vpon your backes And yf you do thus then your baptisme shal be auaile able vnto you God shall worke in you by his holy spirit and shall fynyshe in you all those thinges which by baptisme he hath begon Hitherto you haue herde what we promyse to God when we are baptised now learne also I pray you what God worketh in vs by baptisme what benefites he gyueth vs in the same For baptysme is not water alone and nothinge els besides but it is the water of god and hath his strength by y e worde of God and is a seale of gods promyse Wherefore it doth worke in vs all those thinges where vnto God hath ordeyned it For oure Lord Iesus Christ saieth Go and teache all nations and baptyse them in the name of y e father and the sonne and the holy gost This god commaunded his disciples to do Wherfore by the vertue of this commaūdement which came from heuen euen from the bosome of god baptisme doeth wourke in vs as the wourke of God For when we be baptised in the name of God that is as muche to saye as God him selfe shoulde baptise vs. Wherfore we oughte not to haue an eye only to the water but to God rather whiche did ordeine the baptisme of water and commaūded it to be done in his name For he is almyghtye and able to worke in vs by baptisme forgiuenes of our synnes al those wonderful effectes and operatiōs for the whiche he hathe ordeyned the same althoughe mannes reason is not able to conceyue the same Therfore consider good chyldren the greate treasures and benefytes whereof God maketh vs partakers when we are baptised whiche be these The firste is that in baptisme our synnes be forgyuen vs as sainct Peter witnesseth saiynge Let euerye one of you be baptised for the forgiuenes of his synnes The seconde is that the holy gost is gyuen vs the whiche doth sprede abrod the loue of
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
when we go about to marie oureselues not makynge our parentes priuie to suche contractes or bargaynes but contemnyng theyr authoritie that God wil not prosper such mariages nor giue therto his fauour and blessyng But if you wil kepe gods cōmaūdementes honoure your parents then God wyl loue you and powre hys gyftes vpon you most aboūdantly Now good childrē you haue herde what you ought to do I praye you be willing to performe that thing which your bounden dewtie requireth of you For saincte Paul saieth that this is the first or chiefe commaūdemente hauynge a promyse annexed vnto it For herin god doth promyse that he whiche doeth honour his father and mother shall lyue a long lyfe and shal abyde in his natiue countrey And he that doeth not honoure theym shalbe dryuen out of his countrey shal shortely dye And surely this we proue to be true by dayly experyence For when childerne be wanton wilde stiffenecked stubburne and refuse to be ruled by their parētes and scholemasters or do not serue their maisters truelye when thei wyl not haue in reuerēce their preachers and curates or do not obey the common rulers then God scourgeth theym some wyth one punishment some with an other Some is maymed some leaseth an eye one hathe suche a fall from an horse y t he lyeth for starke deade an other is drowned And here I wyl not speake of those vnthrifty young men whiche be pickers of quarels and in their wylfulnes thone slayeth thother But yf perchaunce these dysobedyente childerne escape punyshmente in theyr yought yet when they come to mans state and kepe howses of their awne then commonly suche children do not auoide this threat and indignation of God For then many times they runne into suche dette that they be compelled to forsake their natiue countrey and to flye into sanctuarie or elles to wandre in straunge regions lyke banyshed menne farre from their kynsfolkes acquaintaūce frendes where no man doth helpe thē trust them or hath pitie of theym And many of them whilest they go aboute to auoyde extreme pouertie by lying stelyng robbyng other ill meanes are cast in pryson and afterward hanged These and such lyke paynes men do worthely suffer in their age whiche in theyr youth dysdayned to folowe the counsell of theyr parentes Wherfore good children obey youre parentes and magistrates then you shall proue wise men able to helpe both your selues and other Then God shall blesse you that you may longe continewe in the contrey wherin you wer borne and bredde and dwell amonge your parentes brethren sisters frendes and acquayntaūce many yeares Then extreme pouertie shall not oppresse you whereby you should be compelled to leaue your countrey neyther the rages or partels of warre shal driue you out from thense So manye and so great benefites hath God promysed to obedyent chyldren And there is no doubt but that he will perfourme that thinge whiche he hath promised As we feale by experiēce y t as long as we obey oure parentes and suffer our selues to be gouerned accordynge to Gods wyll so long we be brought vp in the feare of God to our great cōmoditie and profit And thys is the true meanynge of the fourthe precept whiche I praye you depely to prynt into youre memories that when you shall be asked how you vnderstand the fourth cōmaūdemēt you may answer we ought to loue dreade our Lord God for his sake to honor our parētes teachers masters gouernours to obey thē in no wise to dispise thē The fifte sermon ¶ Thou shalt not kyll IN the former sermon it hath ben declared vnto you howe you shoulde vnderstande the fourth precept in y e which you haue learned how you muste behaue youre selues towardes youre fathers mothers all cōmen ministers in the publyke weale Now foloweth the fift commaundemente Thou shalte not kyll Whiche teacheth vs howe we oughte to ordre oure selues towardes eche of oure neighbours that we hurte theym not nether in theyr goodes nor in theyr lyfe For among al worldlye goodes and bodely gyftes there is none more precious thē healthe and lyfe Therfore God before al other damages and hurtes doeth chiefely forbydde this that we kil not our neyghbour And this commaundement dothe not onelye restrayne our handes from kyllyng with violence and force but it for byddethe also all angre enuye wrathe hatred and malyce that we be not manquellers neyther in harte wourde nor deade For the lawe is spirituall as saynt Paule sayeth and requyreth of vs obedience not onli in outward worke but also in thaffection of hart and inwarde motions and most secret senses of the same And it is an hye wysedome to looke in the botome of this commaundemente ryghtly to vnderstande the same Therfore our lorde Iesus Christ dyd expounde thys commaundement his own selfe lest we should erre and falsely vnderstande it as the Iewes dyd For the Iewes thought that as long as they had refrayned theyr handes from killyng and slayng so long they had kept this commaundement And althoughe theyr hert had ben full of hatred enuye malice towardes their neighbour with cōtumelious wordes or dedes hadde gyuen occasion of manslaughter yet thys they counted for no syn and their scribes pharises did so teache thē Therfore Christ in the fifte of Mathew sayth Uerely I saye vnto you excepte your ryghteousnes excede the righteousnes of the scribes and pharises ye can not entre into the kyngedome of heuen Ye haue heard that it was sayde vnto them of the olde tyme Thou shalt not kyll Whosoeuer kylleth shalbe worthy to be iudged But I saye vnto you y t who soeuer is angry with hys brother shalbe worthy to be iudged Here you see good children that Christ doeth as ernestly forbydde hathered angre and enuye as he doeth bloudy māslaughter For he that is angry with his neyghbour killeth hys neyghbour in harte and wyll and breketh this commaundemente of God thou shalte not kyll And marke well good children that he sayeth not thy hande shall not kyl or thy sworde spere or gunne shall not slaye But he sayeth thou shalt not kyll that is to saye thou whiche arte made of bodie and soule shalte neyther kil with any of thy bodely members neyther yet with thy inward mind or wyll neyther wyth woorde nor deede But here paraduenture some wyll saye What thinke you syr of traytors commen theues robbers and murtherers oughte not suche to be kylled I answere that they ought to be kylled but yet God saieth thou shalt not kil thou shalt kepe peace with all mē Who then shall kyll suche malefactors Leaue punishemēt to me sayeth God and I will reuenge God himself wyl do execution vpon suche open trāsgressors of hys lawes And therfore here in this world God hath ordeyned vnder him kinges princes and other magistrates and hathe gyuen theim their swordes to this vse that thei should be his deputies in kylling such
and giue vnto vs the iustice and ryghtuousnes of his sonne Iesus Christ whiche suffered for vs. These are but fewe wordes but surely they be of greate importaunce For in this sentence saynct Paule includeth the summe and effecte of the holy ghospell when he sayeth Christ was deliuered to death for our synnes and rose agayne for oure ryghtuousnes For lykewise as when an other man doeth pay my raunsome and satisfye or suffre for me I my selfe am iudged to paye the same and no man after can accuse me therof And whē an other is bounde for me yf he be by any lawful meanes discharged I my selfe am counted to be dyscharged also euen so forasmuche as Christe hymselfe toke vpon him the bande of death for vs and to satisfye for vs so did in deede by hys death we our selues for whō he was thus bounde iustely be delyuered and dyscharged from death and damnation And so we be counted righteous for asmuche as no man dare accuse vs for that syn for the which satisfaction is made by our Sauiour Christ. And when oure sauiour Iesus Christ had thus satisfied for our synne and so ouercame deathe and hell than lyke a most valiant conquerer he ascended into heauen where God hys father receyued him with a moost gloriouse triumphe and placed hym on hys ryghte hande and made him Lorde ouer all creatures and therefore he is called in y e crede also our Lorde For yf he had not raunsomed and redemed vs we had bene cast downe to hel for euer But seynge y t he redemed and bought vs therfore bewe his he is our Lorde and mayster hym we must loue obey and serue And this is oure moste hye and euerlastynge comforte that Iesus Christ is our Lorde and we his seruauntes For because he is oure Lorde therefore he wyll defende vs and delyuer vs from all daungers And althoughe we be synners yet he wil forgiue vs our synnes because he hathe payed y e raūsome and det due for thesame And althoughe we dye yet he wil rayse vs vp agayne because he hathe ouercome and conquered death And althoughe we be neuer so muche afrayed of the sorowes and paynes of hell yet they shall not be able to holde vs bycause that to theym that be hys seruauntes he hathe broken hell and set open the gates thereof Wherfore seynge that we haue so myghtye a Lorde and maister we be out of all peryll and daunger But we agayne aboue all thynges we muste studye to obey oure lord mayster and do those thinges whiche he commaundeth For he hath redemed and bought vs for thys entente and purpose that we shoulde be iust and holy as he hymselfe is holy And he that is not obediēt vnto Christes commaundementes shall be sore punyshed for oure Lorde Iesus Christ shal come agayne to iudge both the quicke and the dead Wherefore good children laboure wyth all diligence and studye that when Christe shall come againe to iudge the world he may finde you holy and obedient For then he wyll rewarde you wyth euerlastyng lyfe After thys maner Christ redemed vs frō synne and from the horryble offence of Adam by whome we were al condemned For by Christes passyon death by hys ghospell we haue obteined thus much that we may beleue and trust in god And trustyng in God we haue his holy spirite whereby we maye also loue God And thys holy gooste renueth vs and clemeth vs from all euell lustes and desires that we beynge thus made holye and rightuouse maye kepe Goddes commaundemētes and serue our Lord Iesus Christ. Wherfore good chyldren beleue ye with al your heart in thys Iesus Christ the onelye sonne of God oure Lord and doubte not but that he hath suffered for our synnes and contented the iustyce of his father for y e same and hath brought vs agayne vnto his fauour made vs his wel beloued children and heyres of hys kyngdome And when you be asked howe vnderstande you the second parte of the Crede you shall answer I beleue that Iesus Christ veray God begotten of God the father and verye manne borne of the virgin Marie is my Lorde whiche by hys precyouse bloode and holy passyon hathe redemed me a myserable damned wretch from all my synnes frome death eternall and from the tyrannie of the Deuell that I should be his owne true subiect and lyue within his kyngdome and serue hym in a newe and euerlastynge lyfe and iustice euen as oure Lorde Christe after he rose from deathe to lyfe lyueth and raygneth euerlastyngly Or elles if you wyl answere more shortely you may say thus I beleue that Christe was deliuered to death for our sinnes and rose againe for our iustification The thirde sermon of our Sanctification NOwe remayneth the third parte of the Crede to be declared whiche entreateth of our sanctificatiō how we be made holy And it is spokē in these wordes ¶ I beleue in the holy gost the holy catholicke churche the communion of saynctes the forgyuenes of synnes the risyng agayne of the bodye and lyfe euerlastyng Amen IN the seconde parte of the Crede which treateth of our Redemption and pryce giuen for vs you haue bene taughte good children to knowe the seconde persone in Trinitie Iesus Christe what he is and what he hath done for vs that he was made man for our sakes that he toke vpon him our synnes and suffered for vs y e feare and panges of deathe hel and had victory ouer them by hys passiō and death And after by his godly and victorious power he arose again from death to lyfe And after this most glorious conquest he ascended into heauen where he sitteth at the ryghte hande of his father is our Lorde and we his seruantes derely boughte All this you haue learned in the last sermon but now good childrē in this thirde parte of the Crede you shall lerne to knowe the thirde person in trinitie y e holy gost and also his benefites and giftes that we maye knowe what we haue receyued of God after our redēption wherby we may be made mete to come to euerlastynge lyfe thorough the merites of Christ. For althoughe our Lord Iesus Christ hath redemed vs from y e captiuitie of synne death and hel and hath set vs agayne in the fauor of God yet we should haue no knowledge of these great benefites we should feale in our cōsciences no comforte ioy or peace by the same yf they were not declared vnto vs by the preachīg of gods most holy word And our consciences should styl remaine troubled and the feare of eternal death and all noughty desiers and concupiscences of the frayle fleshe shoulde euer remaine in vs euē as frō Adams time thei be in vs as sone as we be borne and so we shuld be vtterly vnapte to the kyngdō of God lyfe euerlasting yf we shulde stil remayne as we be borne For yf we wyl be the heyres of god euerlastynge