Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A06515
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Here after ensueth a propre treatyse of good workes; Von den guten werckenn. English
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Luther, Martin, 1483-1546.
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1535
(1535)
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STC 16988; ESTC S109685
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85,203
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316
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Here after ensueth a propre treatyse of good workes The preface IT is not vnknowen to all men good chrysten reader but that the true syncere teachers of the infallyble truthe of our sauyour Iesu Chryst ben falsely defamed vnto the vnlearned people theyr good name defaced to the no lytell hynderaunce and reproche of the same truth / in that they as they be borne in haÌ„de vniustly shulde in theyr wrytynges and sermons allure and withdrawe the forsayd rude people from penauÌ„ce froÌ„ prayer from fastyng from watchynge froÌ„ paynes from labours / fynally from all good workê But what they ben and theyr workes also whiche reproue sclaunder calumpnyate and falsely impeche the pure syncere and true worde of god pronounced by the mouthes of those his good and vertuous seruauntes / it is nowe thanked be god ryghte metely well perceyued / ye and for what intent truely for none other thaÌ„ for the mayntenaunce of the god theyr belyes theyr ambycyon theyr symony theyr pryde theyr promocyon theyr treason theyr trechery theyr glotony theyr lecherye theyr murdre with all theyr vngracyousnes God therfore moste good and almyghtye of his excedynge and bountefull mercy and grace to declare and set forth his infinyte goodnes towardes his electe moste welbeloued and faythful seruauntes / that they to theyr great conforte and consolacyon may be proued innocent of this most vntrue accusacyon wrongfully layde vnto theyr charge / and chiefely to the garnysshynge and deckynge of his emperyall glory mayntenauÌ„ce of his vndoubtable truthe hathe sent the here O reder a ryghte famous and excellent worke wherin is comprehended what good workes be / howe we may please god in all oure workes / howe our workes do not please hym and out of what fouÌ„tayne they ought to spryng and flowe yf they shulde please his godhede truely out of the fresshe and lyuyng fountayne of an vndoubted faythe truste / that his moste benygne petye swetnes and gentylnes which is the father of all mercyes the god of all consolacyon and conforte / dothe loue the fauoure the petye the accepte the. And thy workes also done at his coÌ„maundement for the blode passyon redempcyon and satysfaccyon of his moste dere and welbeloued sone Iesu Chryst / in whome by whome and for whose sake thou arte thus entyerly loued fauoured and accepted As wytnessed our father of heuen hym selfe at the baptysme of our sauyour Iesu Christe sayenge This is my welbeloued sone in whom or for whose sake I am well pleased that is to say appeased and swaged of my wrathe immedyately here hym that is to saye beleue truste hym stycke cleaue harde to hym by faythe For it is he for whom I delyte in you loue you fauour you petye you accepte bothe you and your dedes This is the fountayne out of the whiche all the workes of a chrysten man oughte to procede / so that what soeuer buddeth out of the tre of this fayth is accepted and pleasaunte before god / and els it is but synne and not accepted As saynte Paule wryteth in the xiiii chapytre to the Romaynes / what soeuer sayth he is not of faythe is synne And in the .xi. chapytre to the Hebrues without faythe it is impossyble for any man to please god The reason why is this albeit thou bestowe neuer so moche in almes / fast neuer so moch paye neuer so moch watche neuer so moch / yea albeit thou haddest done as many good dedes as all the worlde Yet yf thou haue not the faythe before rehersyd / that god for the blode of his sone doth accept the thy workes / loue the fauoure the petye the / yea and that entyerly and as his owne son heyre by adopcyon all that euer thou doste can not please god / but is abomynable synne and dyspleasyth hym vtterly For howe is it possyble that thou shuldest please hym whan thou art but a Iudas vnto hym doste beare two faces in one hoode / doynge one and thynkynge another In thy dedes thou woldeste seme to be his seruaunte in thy hert thou dost neyther loue hym nor truste that he loueth the. And albeit he hathe made neuer so many and great ê“myses of saluacyon mercye loue pety and fauour in the blod of his sone to al that repent doubt not therof / but assuredly truste vnto it yet thou what soeuer thou arte that haste not this fayth lyke an hethen hounde and an vnfaythfaull myscreaunt by thy infydelyte and false herte dost make no better of hym but a lyer and false of his promyse / a tyraunte and a butchers curre delytyng in blode and neyther doste thou loue hym truste hym nor fauour hym For howe shuldest thou loue hym whan thou accoÌ„ptest no better of hym than I haue sayde And agayne howe is it possyble that he shuld loue the fauoure the petye the accepte other the or thy workes seynge thou doste fyrste abiecte hym by thy synful dyspayre and incredulytie Yea what worldlye prince wold kepe such a wretche in his house yf he knewe hym / howe moche lesse than wolde he loue hym fauoure hym accepte hym or any of his seruyce Agaynste suche workes it is that the true and faythfull mynysters of Chrystes worde haue foughten as done in most false hypocrysye and deuelysshe despayre whiche otherwyse they haue do hyghely prayse and coÌ„mende as whan they be done in true faythe and loue towarde god his coÌ„maundementes as thou shalte se and fynde in this moste goodly and excellente volume of good workes / whiche I beseche god neuer to fauour me yf any of those vntrue men / I wyll not saye false deceyuers dyd euer wryte to teach any thyng halfe so good in theyr lyues But it is an olde prouerbe that a good thyng wyl prayse it selfe / wherfore I commytte it vnto thyne owne iudgement good reader to prayse it euer as thou shalte fynde cause / So bolde I am of the goodnes therof And yf thou fynde my wordê to be true that good workes be here of our auctor requyred taught praysed and coÌ„mended to the vttermost as the truthe is then I beseche the moste gentyll and indyfferent reader to take admytte all false backe byters sclaunderers of goddes true mynysters euermore hereafter as they be not to thynke the contrary but that as they most deadely belye those good men in this behalfe / so they do also in other thynges as I truste in god it shall more playnly appere / bothe to the gentyll reader therto to all the worlde in tyme commyng And that as I beleue vnfayned to the great glorye of the lyuyng god the inestymable solace and comforte of his electe chyldren and the vtter confusyon of the chyldren of Antechrist So be it ¶ Here endeth the preface of this present worke dieu et mon droit De bonis operibus ¶ Here begynneth the boke of good workes IT is fyrst of all to be knowen
where as the father and mother be good louyng theyr chyldren not with carnall loue / but as they be bounde to holynesse the worshyppyng of god bryngynge them vp / teachyng them in the thre fyrst coÌ„maundementes there is alwaye the chyldes owne wyll broken So that he is compelled to forsake to suffre that that his nature wolde not / wherby he fyndeth a cause to despyce his father and his mother / to grudge agaynst them / or to go about do worse thynges There than goeth awaye bothe loue and feare excepte the grace of god helpe Lykewyse whaÌ„ the father and mother correcte and chaste theyr chyldren as they deserue / yea other whyles more than they deserue the whiche thyng yet is no let to the soules helthe than the frowarde nature taketh suche chastesynge with dysdayne Moreouer there be some of such vngracyous disposicyon / that they be a shamed of the pouertie loue byrthe deformytie or sclauÌ„der of theyr father mother sufferyng them selfe to be moued more with such thynges / than with this hyghe commauÌ„demeÌ„t of god / the is aboue all thynge / which by his great couÌ„sel hath gyuen theÌ„ such father mother to proue exercyse theÌ„ in his coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t But this is moche stroÌ„ger whaÌ„ the chyldren be at lyberte / for thaÌ„ loue goyng downe there is moche loue taken away froÌ„ the father mother whatsoeuer is coÌ„mauÌ„ded and sayd of oure father mother / that must be vnderstaÌ„de also of them that be in the stede of our father mother whan they be deade or absent / as be our kynsfolke our godfarthers / temporall rulers and spirytuall fathers For euery man must be ruled of other men and be vnder them Wherfore we se here also howe many good workes is taught in this coÌ„maundement / in as moch as all our lyfe is subiect vnto other men Hense it coÌ„meth that obedyence is so greatly praysed and that it compreheÌ„deth all vertues and good workes in it Agaynste euyll bryngyng vp of chyldren THere is another sclaunder agaynst the father and mother moch more subtyll peryllous than the fyrst / whiche is garnysshed and set forth for ryght true honoure And that is whan the chylde lyueth after his owne mynde and wyll / his father and mother sufferynge hym to do it Here is honour here is loue but it is but beastlye of bothe ê‘tyes Here the father and the mother please the chylde and the chylde agayne pleaseth the father the mother This punysshement is so open and coÌ„mon that there be verye seldome examples sene of the fyrst sclaunder / which thyng happeneth bycause that the father and mother be blynded and nother know nor worshype god in the fyrste coÌ„maundementes And for this cause they can not se what thynge theyr chyldren lacke / and howe they shulde be taught and brought vp And so they brynge theÌ„ vp to prophane worldly honoures ryches / that they may onely please men / by all meanes to be exalted made great men This thyng is pleasauÌ„t to the chyldren / into this they be obedyent without any gayne sayenge So the coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„tes of god vnder the colour of goodnes go to wreake / that is fulfylled which is wryten by the prophetes Esaye Hieremye / that the tyme shulde come whan the chyldren shuld be dystroyed by theyr owne fathers mothers After the example of kynge Manasses which suffered his sone to offre do sacryfyce and burne beastes to the ydoll Moloch For I praye you what other thynge is this / than the chylde to do sacryfyce offre to an ydolle / whan the father mother brynge theym vp more to the loue of the worlde thaÌ„ of god / sufferyng theÌ„ to be caryed after theyr owne wyll in the pleasures of the worlde / to be set a fyre with the loue myrth goodes honoure of this worlde / the loue glorye of god the pleasure of euerlastyng goodes to be quenched clene put out in theÌ„ O howe great ieoê‘dye is it to be a father mother where as nothynge reygneth but flesshe and blode For it staÌ„deth hooly iÌ„ this coÌ„mauÌ„dement / that the thre fyrste syxe last be knowen kepte In as moche as it is coÌ„mauÌ„ded to the father mother to teache theyr chyldren those thyngê as it is in the .77 psalme He gaue his coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t vnto Iacobe / and put his lawe into Israel whaÌ„ he coÌ„mauÌ„ded the fathers to declare these thyngê to theyr chyldren / that theyr posteryte myghte knowe them / and that theyr chyldren whan they be waxen vp myght shewe the same to theyr chyldren also And this is the cause why god hathe coÌ„mauÌ„ded to honour thy father mother / that is to loue them with feare / for loue without feare is more sclauÌ„der than it is honour Now marke therfore whether al men haue ynoughe good workes to do or not Whether soeuer they be fathers and mothers or they be chyldren But we be so blynde that we let this alone and seke for other workes not coÌ„maunded WHere than as the father and mother be so folysshe that they brynge vp theyr chyldren wantonly and worldly / the chyldren in no wyse shuld obeye them / for god is more to be sette by in the thre fyrst coÌ„mauÌ„dementes than our father and mother I call waÌ„tonly worldly bryngyng vp / whaÌ„ they teach vs not more to seke folowe god / than the pleasures honours ryches power of this world / to weare laufull clene rayment / and loke for honest goodê / is necessary no synne So yet that the chylde be so taught in his herte that at the leaste in the puttynge on and wearynge of his apparell The trewe wearyng of apparell he sorowe and lament the wretchednesse of this lyfe in erthe that it can not well be begon nor passed ouer wtout moche more rayment and ryches than neade requyreth / to hyll couer the body / to keape away the colde / and get a lyuynge so / that he shal be constrayned agaynst his wyll to playe the foole / for the fauoure of the worlde suffre this euyll for a better thynge to exchue the worse The spirytualtie neuer redde this text of Hestor Thus the quene Hester dyd weare her crowne sayenge vnto god / thou knowest my necessytie that I abhorre the sygne of pryde my glorye which is vpoÌ„ my hede in the dayes of my bostynge / and I dysdayne it as the clothe of a menstruate woman / the whiche I wyll not beare in the dayes of my sylence what soeuer hert therfore is thus armed / may weare all maner of garmentes wtout all ieoê‘dy / for he weareth them weareth theÌ„ not / he playeth of the instrumeÌ„tes playeth not / he lyueth gloryouslye not gloryously And these be the preuy soules secrete spouses of Chryste / but they be very scarse For it is very harde not to