Part 12

In the furst he saithe: But I haue a few thinges againste the / bicause thow hast there them that maintaine the doctrine of Balaam which taughte in balacke to put occacion of synne before the children of Israel / that they shuld eate of meates dedicate vnto Idolls and committ fornication / and so furth. I thincke here neadith not many wordes to shew wherfor I haue alledged thies sayinges of meates offered vnto Idolls: for all the godly do plainly see / that by like reason all diuine seruice that is vnholy / or contrary to Godds worde / with what colour so euer they be stayned / are forbidden and condemned. They see that all such expositions are put awaye / by which theise fearefull men / and such as do loue the worlde and worldly pompe to mutch / do leade themselues away from the right tracke / that they shuld not sincerely confes Christe.

[[The Conclusion and adhortation to fre confession.]]

All they which be godly do both see and perceyue that they which do desire to lyue euerlastingly haue neade to make a simple cleare and playne confession / they see that Christes name must be confessed / and that no man must communicate with Antichriste / how great so euer daungers do hange ouer them / and how gret so euer the aduauntages be which are offered vnto them. They see that they must treade down the feare and desire of the fleshe. The most holy Apostle of Christe writith of Moses.

[[Heb. 11.]]

By faith Moses when he was greate / refused to be called the sonne of Pharaos daughter / and chose rather to suffer aduersitie with the people of Godd / then to enioye the pleasures of synne for a ceason / and esteamed the rebuke of Christ greater riches / then the treasures of Egypt. For he hadd respect vnto the rewarde. Whos example (most goodely indeede) that we may folowe / we must alwais haue before our eyes and (as I iudge) we must neuer lett slypp out of our myndes thos most holy most true and healthefull wordes of our lord Christe / which I see neade often tymes to be repeated and inculcate:

[[Mat. 10.]]

Euery one that shall knowledge me before men / hym wyll I knowledge also before my father which is in heauen. But whosoeuer shall denie me before men / hym will I also denie before my father which is in heauen.

[[Luc. 9.]]

For who so is ashamed of me and my wordes / of hym shall the sonne of man be ashamed when he commith in his maiestie / and in the maiestie of his father / and of the holy Aungels. And therfor ther are in all places of the scripture most large promises sett furthe to them which do fely confes Christe / and deny Antichriste with a goode corage. Iohn in the boke of the Reuelacion /

[[Apocal. 6.]]

I sawe (saithe he) the sowles of them which wer filled for the name of Iesu and the word of God. And wher as in this furst place he hadd writon / them which wer filled / he added.

[[Apoc. 13. 19. 20.]]

And as many as worshipped not the image of the beast / nor did take the marcke in their foreheade / or in their hande / all which / whom he did se in the very same place / he couplith together and saythe. And they lyued and reigned with Christe. He saith that they lyued and reigned with Christe / not only they which were filled / but they which abiding in the constauntnes and confession of true faithe / did not worshipp the image of the beaste / nor receyued ony markes of it. The blessed Apostle Paule doth proue that we do receyue more in the rewarde of sufferinge / then it is that we do heere suffer in the affliction it self /

[[Rom. 8.]]

saying: for I suppose that the afflictions of this lyfe / are not worthie of the glorie which shal be shewed vpon vs. Who is it then that will not labor with all his poure to come vnto so greate an excellencie / that he may become the frend of Godd / and forthwith ioye with Christ? that after famin and banishement or tormentes and punishementes / which are but earthely / he may attayn vnto heauenly rewardes? Yf it be a glorius thinge for worldly souldiours to returne in to ther countrie triumphing after they haue vanquished their enemie / how mutch more worthi a thing is it for vs / after our fleshe the world and deuell beinge ouercomme / to go again with triumphe into paradise? And to offer vnto Godd a gifte most acceptable / faith incorrupte / the sownd vertue of mynd / and sincere confession of faithe / a notable praise of deuotion. To comme in his companye when he commith to take vengeaunce of his enemies / To stond by his syde when he shall sytte down to iudge / to be made the felow heire of Christe / to be made equall with the angels / to reioyce in the possession of the heauenly kingdom with the patriarches / with thapostles / with the prophetes / and all confessours and martirs. What persequution can vanquishe theis thoughtes / which are not uain / but of force / and of poure / in the holy ghoste? what tormentes can ouercome them? The mynd ons grownded in theis godly meditacions doth endure stronge and stable / and that mynd abydeth immutable against all the terrors of the deuell / and the threttes of the world / and of Antichriste / that mynd I say which the certayn and sure faith of thinges to come doth strenghthen. The eyes be shutt vpp in theis persequutions of the earthe / but heauen is open. Antichriste threatneth / but the lord Christe defendith. The world is taken from him that is killed / but paradise is gyuen to him being therunto restored. Temporall lyfe is taken awaye / but the euerlastinge lyfe is repayred. What a dignitie (o brethern) is it / how great a safetie / for a man to depart myrily from hens / to depart so through oppressions and trobles? It is a glorius thinge to shutt vpp the eyes in a moment / with which men and the world wer seene / and forthewith to open the same to se Godd and Christe. But that we maye behold theis thinges in mynde and thought / that we may (I saye) night and daye meditate theis thinges / and sincely confes the holy name of Christ / and escape and treade down all thinges which are contrary to pure confession / we must diligentlly praye vnto that same our heauenly father through Iesus Christe our lorde.

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Errors and Inconsistencies

Frequent Variant Spellings: lenghth, poeple, satisficed; pix (pyx) Spacing in terms such as "whatsoeuer", "whosoeuer" is variable

Errors involving overline/tilde are shown here in {braces}.

Corrected Errors: 3 to maynteyne their false opinion [falfe] 4.v Rule which they must obserue is this [obseru{n}e] " conuerting them to the gospell of christe [the{m} gospell] 22.v As is writen of Christe [it writen] 27 that thinges shuld not be doone [not not] 31 whearby eich man may easily iudge [indge] 34.v They were thinges indifferent [_body text has "thin-" with "ges" only in catchword_] 38.v But let these papists giue [ginue] 41.v for the which they thinke that man to be ther own [whith] [_spelling "whith" is a variant of "with" in this text_] 57 +hairein+ [+aireim+, printed without breathing] 58.v and do obstinatly defend it [a{n}nd] 60.v [Sidenote: Luc. 23.] [Lnc.] 67 and beloued Brethern in Christ [in in] 72 depart out of this lyfe in true faithe do not [faithe-do _at line break_]

Unchanged Text, with possible correction in brackets: 8 or to make an acte prefect [perfect] 13 our weaklinges do not slyppe and foile them selues [soile] 15.v and be partakers withe Idolatrors [Idolators] 24.v thos deulishe dragges which ar in the Masse [drugges] 37 it wil brust forthe at lengthe [burst] [_spelling "length(e)" is also unusual for this text_] 40.v it is aganist the furst table [against] 62.v [Sidenote: Dotor VVeston.] [Doctor]

Pre-existing Corrections: In most cases it is impossible to tell whether these corrections were made by the printer or by a later reader. Unless otherwise noted, text in brackets represents conjectural words or letters, blacked out.

9.v The phisicions / do cowncell [that] when a contagius disease 17.v the begynynge of Christes ordinaunce and institution, [_comma may be hand-written_] 38 vse the rite and ceremonie as the lord[r]e commaunded 38.v wicked actes and the do[y]inge of them 45 the corrupt blindnes of the vnbel[ea]uers [_letter "e" printed above "a"_] 54 [Psal. 59] [_printed text reads "95." with initial "9" crossed out and following "9" added by hand, overwriting period_] 55 Augustine speaketh of. Many might[h]e 59 to [to] the glorie of his name 66.v By H.B. [_name "Henry Bullinger" hand-written, possibly by librarian_] 75.v to keape peace with them [wit] he must 80.v ther is [[is]] almost neither measure nor end. [_two-letter word could be "is", but there is no dot_]

Reconstructions and printing problems: Unless otherwise noted, text in brackets is reconstructed from visible parts of letters. Single letters are invisible.

3 [Sidenote: The furst Diui[s]ion] 9.v our naturall and [birthe] syn 12 thincke hymself greatlye gyltie of ony notable [cryme] or fault 12 being corrupted he did [allow] [_word fits visible text, but is spelled "allowe" elsewhere_] 32 when they ar present at Idolatries / [_page ends at mid-line, with sentence continued on next page_] 48.v for his plea[s]ure did chaunge Godds Religion 62.v [Sidenote: Lyberall [t]o Women] 79 if a man did denie in persequut[ion he] synned not

Page numbering The printed book numbered folios (leaves); the back (left, verso) side of each page was blank. 13: misprinted as 15 22-32: misprinted in sequence as 23-33, with correct 33 duplicated 27: misprinted as 82 (for "28" in incorrect sequence) 53: misprinted as 93

Misplaced u/v: The printed book ordinarily used "v" initially, "u" later in the word. Sidenotes used "vv" for "w". Exceptions are listed:

2.v But nowe I haue written unto you 4 frendlie / gentill / and louinge unto the vnbeleauers 5 and to obey them in thinges lawfvll 5.v [Sidenote: Conuersation vuith men excommunicate.] 9 euell ioyned vnto us? " To the same pupose he usith the vearse of the poete Menander. 14 the lorde hadd gyuen them uictorie 20.v as the popishe brood haue and do sett upp, 86 which are not uain