¶ Of Penaunce and the par­tes of it.

THis Latin worde Peni What Pe naunce is. tentia, called in y ^e Greke tōge metanonia, which some turne Repētasice, some Penaunce, is as Hom. l [...]x. De peni­tent. Chrisostome sayth, not only to cease from the olde euelles but also to fol­lowe better offices. For it is sayde: Declyne from euell & do good.

Neyther is it ynoughe for vs vnto Psa. xxxiii helth, sayth he, only to haue plucked out the shafte, except we also lay me­dicines to the wounde.

Of these wordes of the holy Doc tor S. Iohn Chrysostome, is it euy­dente, who trulye repentethe and who not. If not onlye a cessasion frō the sinne, but also a diligent exercise Math wel of the vertue followeth the Penāce than is it true & vnfayned. But yf [Page] there be proued a cōtynuāce [...] y ^• syn, and no correccion or amendment of lyfe, thā is it manifest that such one had neuer no true repētance in his herte. For S. Austen sayth, what o­ther Contr a [...] iii. lib. [...] thynge is it to repente or to do Penaunce, than to be sorye for the synnes paste, & from henseforthe to abstayne from those thynges, which he hath cōmytted. Agayne he sayth, Ser. de [...] lxvi. the fruyte worthy of penaunce is to lament the synnes beynge past, and not to do thē agayne, as it is writtē, caste not synne vpon synne. Be ye Ec. xxx [...]. wasshed, sayth y ^e LORDE by the Pro­phet Esaye, & be ye cleane. He ther­fore Esay. i. is wasshed and is cleane, which both lamenteth the thynges paste, & doth not cōmyt agayne those thyn­ges, that are worthye to be lamēted. Paule descrybeth the true Penaūce in these wordes: Put of saith he, the olde man with his actes, & put ye on the newe man. Here he appoyntethe Colo. iii: [Page] vs not onlye to put of the olde man, but also to putte on the newe man. Agayne he sayth, fasshyon not your selues lyke vnto the manner of this worlde, but be ye chaundged by the renuynge of youre mynde, wherby we are made a newe creature, wal­king in the newnes of life. Doth not our Baptysme also preach vnto vs this thynge? We are buryed togy­ther, Rom. vi. saythe Paule, with Christe by Baptisme vnto deth, that as Christ is rysen agayne from the dead, so we lykewyse shoulde walke in the newe­nes of lyfe.

Thus haue we learned both by y ^• holy scryptures, & the aūcient Doc­tors, what the true penaunce is.

We haue learned of these your wordes that to do trulye penaunce, is not only to abstayne frō y ^e synne, but also to amplecte & enhalse y ^e ver tue contrary to the synne.

Ye saye trueth. And this is it that the [Page] Prophet sayth, cease to do euell, and Es [...]. [...]. learne to do well.

So farre as I remember, ye taught vs the very same, or els not much vnlyke, ī your Christmasse Banckette.

Yea forsothe, in the thyrde dyshe.

It is trueth that ye all saye. Ther­fore nede I nowe to make the fewer wordes concernynge this matter, if ye retayne those thinges in your me mory, which at that tyme I taught you.

We remember all those thinges wel.

I am very glad. But this must ye note in youre Pe­naunce, that it oughte rather to be done for the loue of vertue, than for the hate & detestacion of vyce, as the Psalmographe sayth, thou haste lo­ued ryghteousnes, & hated vnrygh­teousnes. Psal. Here ye se that the loue of ryghteousnes goethe before the ha­tred of vnrighteousnes. The scrip ture saith of Mary Magdalene, ma Luk. vii. ny synnes are forgyuen her, bycause [Page] she loued muche. The loue that she had to chastitie and purenes of lyfe made her to abhorre & vtterlye des­pyse all vnclennes, whiche before she had vsed. Therfore was y ^e great mul titude of her synnes remytted & for­gyuen her. A christen mannes herte ought so to be enflamed with y ^e loue of vertu, that euen for the only loue of that he shoulde vtterlye deteste & abhorre all vyce & noughtynes, as the Poet sayth. [...].

That is to saye, they that are good, hate syn for the loue that they haue to vertue. But they that are euell, hate synne for feare of payne. And S. Austē sayth: Euery man hateth Ad bonifac lib. i. Ca. ix synne so muche, as he loueth ryghte­ousnes. Agayne: He is an enemye of ryghteousnes, whiche synne the not for feare of payne. But he shall be a frend, yf he synneth not for the loue [Page] of it. Hereto pertayneth the sayenge of S. Ambrose, it is no true Penāce In [...]ucam Tract. iiii. saythe he, excepte feare doth succede & come after loue. And not of feare, but of the loue of ryghteousnesse be­gynneth the Penaunce, & of the in­tencion & feruentnes of loue, dothe the more feruente hate of synne fol­lowe.

Seynge than that it is necessary fyrst intierly to loue vertu before we can vnfaynedlye hate the vyce, I besech the Author of al good nes to engraffe in vs this loue, that we enhalsynge vertue, maye y ^e more easely eschew vyce.

Me thinke it is an hard thynge for a mā to loue vertu so, that for the loue of that on ly, he shoulde abstayne from synne. For there be many, which would ne­uer cease to do euell, as theyr daylye conuersaciō proueth, if they dyd not more fere y ^e punishmēt of this world & the mooste greuous paynes of hell fyre, than they desyre or couyt the fa [Page] uour of God & the glorye of heauen.

Trueth it is y ^• ye saye. Such haue not in them the true Penaūce.

What is thā to be done? How maye we come by & get such penaūce that maye set such a brennynge loue in our hertes towardes vertu, that for the very loue of it, we maye frely hate vyce, & cease to do euell.

It [...]. Cor. ii. is harde for a naturall man whiche vnderstandeth not those thynges y ^• pertayne to the Spiryte of God to do this of his owne strengthe & po­wer. For true Penaunce is the gifte True Pe­naunce is gyfte of God. Iaco. i. of God. Euery good gifte and euery perfecte gifte commeth from aboue, descendyng from the father of light. S. Ambrose saythe: Those are good In [...] lib. r. Ang. lib. i. cont. Pela gi. et Cel. de grat. Christi. teares, which wash away the faute. Moreouer they, whome God behol­deth, lament theyr offence. Peter de­nied fyrst, and he wepte not. For the the LORDE had not loked vpon hym. He denyed the second tyme, & wepte [Page] not. For the LORDE dyd not yet loke vpon him. He denyed the thyrd tyme Iesus looked vpon hym, & he wepte verye bytterlye. Let them reade the Gospell, & se that the LORDE Iesus Mat, xxvi [...] was than within whē he was heard of the hygh Prestes, and that y ^e Apo stle Peter was without & beneth in the haull, sometyme syttynge, some­tyme stondynge at the fyre with the seruauntes, as it is declared with a verye true & concordant tellynge of the Euangelistes. In consideracion No [...] wherof, it can not be sayde that the LORDE dyd loke on hym with his cor porall eyes by admonysshynge hym visibly. And therfore as concerning that which is written there, y ^e LORD dyd looke vpon hym, it was done in­wardly, it was done in the mynde, it was done in the wyll. The LORDE dyd helpe hym with his mercy secret ly. He toweched the herte. He called agayne the memorye. He visited Pe­ter [Page] with his inwarde grace. He mo­ued & brought forthe the affecte of y ^• inwarde man euen vnto outewarde teares. Beholde howe God is presēt Philip. ii. & helpethe oure wylles & dedes. Be­holde how he worketh in vs both the wyll and the dede.

That true Penaunce is y ^• gyfte of God, it is also manifeste by theise wordes of the Apostle, it becommeth ii. Tim. ii. the seruaunte of the LORDE not to stryue but to be peasable vnto al mē and apte to teache, & one that canne suffer the euell in mekenes, & can in­forme them that resyst, yf that God at ony tyme wyll gyue them repen­tance for to knowe the trueth, that they maye come to thēselues againe out of the snare of the dyuell, which are taken of him at his owne wyll.

Seynge than that the true & vnfayned Penaunce is the gyfte of God, howe is it possible for vs to ob­tayne it?

This is a necessary [Page] thynge to be knowen.

Uerely Howe we may come by true pe­naunce. by feruent & continnall prayer may ye easely obtayne this thyng at the hand of God. Aske & haue, saythe he. Seke & ye shall fynd. Knocke and it Math. vii [...] Luke. x. xi. shalbe opened vnto you. God vndou tedly wyll not fayle to gyue them a good spirite, that aske it of him, that the y maye vnfaynedly repente, loue righteousnes and hate vnrighteous nes. Praye with the Prophet Iere­mye. Iere. iii. Turne me O LORDE, & I shall be turned. For thou arte the LORDE my God, & after thou haste turned me, I repented. Agayne, heale thou Iere. xvii. me, O LORDE, & I shalbe healed, saue thou me & I shalbe safe, for thou art my prayse. If we wyll praye thus, God vndoubtedly wyll graunte vs our peticions, and gyue vs all good thinges. If we wyll caull, he is redy to come. Yea he stondeth & knocketh Apoca. iii, at the dore, so that yf ony man wyll opē the gate, he wyll enter into him, [Page] and suppe with him, and he w ^t hym. What woulde we haue more? If we i. Timo. ii. therfore perysh, the faulte is in oure selues, & not in God, which wylleth all men to be saued & to come to the knowlege of the trueth.

God gyue vs all grace to praye aryghte, truly to repent, feruētly to loue ver tue, that vnfaynedly we maye hate vyce.

So be it.

LORDE let it so come to passe.

I haue What hy therto is taught. nowe taught you, what Penaunce is, how it ought to be done, of whom we should alke grace truly to repēt, & howe it maye be obtayned.

We remēber all these thynges right well.

what nede I declare vn­to Searche [...] Bancket. you of what vertue, puissaunce, strēgth, power & efficacy, this moost holy Sacrament of penaunce is, se­inge y ^• I haue alredy spokē of it suffi ciently in the thyrd dysh of my Bāc­ket.

I remember well that ye taught vs there, y ^• there is no synne [Page] in the worlde y ^• doth not gyue place to the vertue of Penaunce.

Ye saye trueth.

Yet I haue herd, that some men nowe of late haue ry sen vp, which denye this thynge, and affyrme playnely, that such as faull into synne agayne after they be bap tised & haue put on Christ, can by no meanes be forgyuen neyther dothe this Sacrament of penasice auayle ony thynge to the remission of theyr synnes.

O detestable heresye.

Yea O thryse detestable here­sy. This is no newe heresy. For it be gan about the yeare of oure LORDE, CC. xlix. & was fyrst broughte vp of two famous Heretykes, called No­uatus & Catharus. For at y ^• tyme dyd the holye martyre S. Cypriane Lib. ep. iii [...] ep. ii. wryte agaynste the Nouatians, as we maye se in his workes. Ambrose Lib. ii. de pe n [...]ten. ca. ii. also, which lyued in the yeare of our LORD. CCClxxx. dyd wryte agaynst the fauourers of that secte. So lyke [Page] wyse dyd Fulgentius, whiche lyued De vera peniten. in the yeare of our LORDE. vC. besy­des diuers other Of these two Nouatus & Catarus ensued no smal swarmes of Heretykes, whiche syns that tyme haue mayntayned this abho­minable Heresye, and in theise oure dayes, the Catabaptistes renued it The Cata baptistes. agayne to the great perturbaciō of the Christē publyque weale, & much hynderaunce of Christes Gospell.

God forbyd y ^• any man should assent to this theyr wycked opinion seyng it doth not only fyll hell wyth the soules of them that mayntayne this abhominacion, but also many­festly fight w ^t gods moost holy word

Ye saye truethe. Although yf I had leasure, it were but a tryfle to confute this theyr wycked heresy, w ^t all the other that they mayntayne, yette wyll I for the confyrmacion of youre consciences rehearse certayne Scriptures, which shall vtterly re­fell [Page] theyr wycked opinion of denyēg remission & forayuenes of synnes to synners. God sayth by his Prophet these wordes: If the wycked shall re­pente Eze. xviii. hym & turne from all his syn­nes, whiche he hath wrought, & shall kepe all my preceptes, and do iudge­ment & righteousnesse, he shall lyue and shall not dy. I wyll not remem­ber all his iniquities, which he hath wrought. In his righteousnes whi­che he hathe wroughte, shall he lyue. Is it my wyll, sayth y ^• LORDE God, that the wycked should dye, & not ra ther that he shoulde turne from his wayes & lyue? Agayne in that same Chapter, turne & repent ye from all your iniquities, & your īiquite shall worke you no displesure. Cast away frō you al your wickednesses, wherī ye haue offended, & make you a newe hart & a new spiryte: & wherfore wyl ye dye O ye house of Israell? For I wyll not that any man shoulde dye [Page] sayth the LORDE god. Returne and lyue. Also by another Prophette he sayth, Returne, O thou rebell Isra­ell, Iere. iii. sayth the LORDE, and I wyll not turne awaye my face from you, for I am holy, saythe the LORDE, and I wyll not be angrye for euermore.

Agayne in another place the Pro­phet [...]. [...]. sayth, turne to the LORD your God, for he is gentle & mercyfull, pa cient & of much gentlenes, & redy to forgyue his malyce. Do not all these sētēces proue manifestli y ^• gods mer cy lyeth bent out for all māner of si­ners at all tymes, yf they repent & turne?

I meruayle howe they coulde fynde in theyr hertes to esta­blysh such hereticall doctryne, seyng they fyght so euidently wyth the dy uyne scriptures.

They refuse the authorite of the olde Testamēt, & onlye cleaue to the newe.

I knowe that ryght well, yet is y ^• olde Testament of neuer the lesse autho­rite [Page] therfore.

They gather theyr sinistrall opinion, as I heare saye, of S. Paule to the Hebrues, Heb. vi. wher he sayth, it is not possible that they [...], whiche were once lyghtened & haue tasted the heauenly gyfte, and were pertakers of the holye Ghoste, & haue tasted the good word of God, & the vertues of the worlde to come, yf they do faull, could be renued agē by Penaunce. Agayne, yf we synne wyllyngely after we haue receyued the knoweledge of the trueth, there remayneth no more sacrifyce for syn Heb. x. nes, but a fearfull lokyng for iudge­mēt & violēt fyre, which shall destroy y ^• aduersaries

These textes sta blysshe nothynge theyr opinion, but rather manifestly condemne it. As Math [...] well. touchynge y ^• fyrst sentence of Paule S. Ambrose vnderstādeth it not of Penaunce, but of Baptisme. The In Heb. cap. vi. renouaciō or renuynge, sayth he, by the fonntayne of holy Baptisme can [Page] not be made the second tyme. To be renued, he sayde that is, to be made newe. For it is the offyce of holy bap tisme to make a man newe. And a ly tle after he saythe, as Christe dyed once on the crosse as concernynge y ^• flesh, so do we dye once in Baptisme, not in flessh but in synne. And as he can not dye agayne, so can not we be baptised agayne, excepte peraduen­ture with the teares of Penaunce. not wyth the regeneracion of y ^• foun tayne. What than wylte thou saye, is there no Penaunce? There is Pe Note. naunce verely, but not another bap tisme. There is vndoutedly Penāce & it hath much vertu and strength, yea euen for hym also, that is verye much drowned in synne.

Thus se you that they that sinne after Baptisme, can not be made a newe by Baptisme (for y ^• is no more reiterated) yet is not here Penaūce denied vnto them, but synne they ne [Page] uer so greatly, yet yf they repente & turne to our LORDE God. they shall surely fynde mercy and be saued.

And as concernynge the seconde texte saynt Ambrose vpon the same In Heb: cap: x. place sayth, that Christ dyed once for our synnes, & shall no more for them be offered. For w ^t one oblacion hathe he made them perfecte for euermore, that are sanctifyed. Thou art made cleane, thou arte free from synnes, y ^• arte made the sonne of God. If thou returnest to thy fyrste vomite, ano­ther iudgement taryethe for the, ex­cepte thou be renued by Penaunce. Therfore lette euerye one, whyle he hath tyme, flye vnto the medicine of Penaunce, vnlesse he be commytted vnto euerlastynge fyre. These wor­des declare opēly, that so ofte as we repent and turne, so ofte shall we be forgyuē. Only we ought not to loke for another Sacrifyce. For Christe alredy hath suffered once for all. Do [Page] ye not perceyue nowe, howe greatly both the olde Heretykes, & also these theyr newe Apes, be deceyued?

Yies verely.

It is easy to per ceyue for hym that lokethe vpon the textes with a syngle eye, & wyth an vncorrupted herte. But I pray you rehearse some textes of the newe Te stament, that maye euidently shewe y ^t they which synne after Baptisme, maye be renued by the holy Sacra­ment of Penaūce, & that gods mer­cy is redy for them, whā so euer they repent & turne.

That synners maye receyue remission of theyr syn nes though they syn after they haue knowen the trueth, & are baptysed, it is manifeste by diuers places of y ^• newe Testament, who doubteth but that Peter was bothe baptysed and knewe the trueth, when he confessed Christ to be the sonne of the lyuynge God?

No mā. For Christ sayde Math. xvi vnto hym, thou arte blessed, Symō. [Page] Flessh & bloud haue not shewed this vnto the, but my father whiche is in heauen.

Uery well. Yet dyd he Mat. xxvi [...] faull agayne after that, when he de­nyed Christe.

Ye saye trueth.

Dyd not he afterwarde, when he repented, obtayne mercye at the hande of God?

No man wyll de ny that, I am sure.

Uery well. Hereof doth it followe, that remissiō of sinnes is not denyed vnto siners, yf they repent & beleue. Agayne, dyd [...]. Cor. [...]. not one amonge the Corinthians af ter he was baptised, commytte a gre uous and detestable offence, in as muche that he was excōmunicate & put oute of the christen congregaci­on? and yet when he repented, was ii. Cor. ii. he not receyued agayne among the faythfull? If his synne hadde bene irremissible & could not haue ben for gyuen by no meanes, would Saynt Paule haue cōmaunded, y ^t he should haue bene taken agayne into the cō ­pany [Page] of the Christianes?

It is to be thoughte naye.

Ye maye be sure, he woulde not. S. Iohn al­so [...]. Ioan. ii. sayth, my lytle chyldrē, these thin­ges haue I wrytten to you, that ye shoulde not synne. But yf ony man shall synne, we haue an aduocate w ^t God the father Iesus Christ y ^• rygh teous one. Is not the loste sonne re­ceyued, whan he repenteth, knowled Luke. xv. geth his faulte, & commethe home a­gayne? Is not the wandrynge shepe fetched home agayne vpō shulders? Is not the woūded man cured and Luke. x. made whole? Dothe not Christ day ly crye, come vnto me all ye that la­bour Math. xi. & are ladē, & I shal refresh you Came not Christe to call synners to Math. ix. repentance? Is not Christ a ꝑpetu­all sauiour?

O moost swete & confortable sayenges.

Theyse authorities vtterly cōdēne the opi­nion of the aforesayde Heretykes, & set for the hyghly the blessed Sacra­ment [Page] of Penaūce vnto the great cō ­solacion & conforte of all faythfull & penitent synners. Therfore lette vs runne to this Sacrament as vnto a stronge Bulwarke and sure asyle. Let vs flye vnto it as vnto an holy Anckere. Let vs delyght in it, as in an hauen of helthe. Lette vs not dis­payre, but beleue with a sure fayth, that yf we vnfaynedly repente and turne vnto God, desyrynge mercys for Iesus Christes sake, he wyll sure ly remitte our iniquite, and take vs agayne vnto his fauour.

Bles sed be God for it.

I haue spo­ken sufficiently for this tyme of Pe­naunce. I wyll nowe declare some what of the partes therof to you. For they are also necessary to be kno wen.

I praye you let it be so.

¶ Of Contricion.

[Page] PPenaunce consisteth in The two partes of Contriciō. thre partes, Contriciō, Confession, & Satisfac­cion or amendement of lyfe. Fyrst as concernig Contriciō, ye shall vnderstande that it consysteth in two speciall partes, which must alwayes be cōioyned to­gyther, & cā not be disseuered.

I praye you, what are they?

The fyrst is, a very sorowe or mour­nynge of the herte for the synnes cō mytted agaynst the wyll of GOD. The seconde is a constant faythe, to beleue that be the synnes neuer so great & manifolde, yet yf we repent & aske mercye, God the father wyll, not for the worthynes of ony merite or worke done by vs, but for y ^• onlye merytes of the bloud and passion of our Sauioure Iesus Christ, vndou tedly forgyue vs our synnes, repute vs iustifyed & of y ^• nōber of his electe chyldren. The contricion of suche a [Page] penitent synner pleaseth God great ly, yea it is an acceptable Sacrifyce vnto hym, as Dauid sayth, a Sacri Psal. l: fyce to God is a troubled spyryte, a cōtryte and humble herte God wyll not despyse. God saythe S. Austen, De ciui. de [...] lib. x. ca. iii [...] wyll not the Sacryfyce of a slayne beast, but of a slayne herte. An herte that is humbled with the knowlege of the filthynesse & abhominacion of her owne synnes, & slayne with the feare of God, and yet trusteth in the moost confortable promyses of God the father, made vnto vs in Christes moost blessed bloude, thyrstynge for strēgth to do the wyll of God, canne none otherwyse but haue God mer­cyfull vnto her. God fylleth thē that Luke. [...]. are hūgry with good thynges, sayth the mooste gloryous virgyn, but he letteth go the rytch emptye. God re­sisteth i. Pet. v. the proud, but to y ^• humble he gyueth grace. Blessed are they that Math. v, hunger & thyrst after ryghteousnes, [Page] for they shalbe filled. Who euer hath [...]rue Cō ­tricion dry [...]ethaway bothe pre­sumpciō & [...]espetaciō this godly contricion in hym, canne neyther presume nor yet despayre. For if he be vnfaynedly cōtryte and sorowfull for his synnes, he must ne des graunte hym selfe to be synfull, miserable, voyd of all goodnes, bent vnto euell, prone to noughtynesse, whiche thynge vtterly subdueth pre sumpcion & engraffethe in the harte submission, obedyence & humilite of mynde. Agayne, yf he be trulye con­tryte, be his synnes neuer so great & innumerable, yet casteth he his eyes on Gods mercy, set forth to all peni­tent synners in Christe Iesus, that wyll laye hand on it with a sure and vndouted sayth, which lykewyse ma keth hym, that by no meanes he can dispayre. For though his synnes be great, yet he knoweth that the mer­cy of God is greater, & therfore can not his synne condemne hym. Why is Christe called a Phisicion, but by­cause [Page] he is able to heale synners? If De Peni­ad venan. our Phisicion be wyse, sayth Flugē ­tius, than can he heale all infyrmiti­es. If our God be mercyful, thā can he forgyue all synnes. For ther is no perfecte goodnes, of whom al nough tynes is not ouercome. There is no perfecte medicine, to whome any dis ease is foūde incurable. Thus se we, y ^• where perfecte contricion is, there is neyther presumpcion nor despera cion.

I praye you, hawe maye we come by this true & perfecte con­tricion? Howe we may come by [...] true [...] [...]fect cōtri cion. Rom. x. The scrip ture deuy­ded into two par­tes.

Uerelye by the worde of God. For fayth commeth by hea­rynge, and hearynge by the worde of God. Ye shall note that y ^• holy scrip­ture is deuyded īto two partes, that is to saye, the lawe & the promyses, the knowledge wherof is ryght ne­cessary for the obtaynynge of true & perfecte Contricion. Ye knowe that Marke this simi litude. a mannes face shalbe longe defyled, spotted & deformed before he shal per [Page] ceyue it, except it be eyther told him of other, or els that he him selfe seeth it euidētly ī some myrrour or glasse. Semblably, the soule of a christē mā shall be spotted wyth synne a great space, before he perceyueth it, and be truly contryte & sorye for it, excepte it be eyther tolde hym of other by de clarynge the lawe of God to hym. or els he hymselfe loketh in the glasse of trueth, whiche is the lawe of God, & by that menes perceyueth his owne deformite, misery and wretchednes. For by the lawe cōmethe the knowe­ledge Roma. iii. Prouer. vi of syn. The cōmaundement is a lanterne, and the lawe is a lyght & waye of the lyfe, sayth Salomō. Da uid also saythe, O LORDE thy worde Psa [...] is a lanterne to my feete, & a lyghte to my pathwayes. So that y ^• nexte [...] [...]sson. waye to haue the knowledge of oure synnes, whereby we shoulde be mo­ued to be cōtryte & sorowfull in our hartes for our wickednesses & offen­ces, [Page] & to stond in feare of Gods rygh teousnes, is euer to haue the lawe of God before our eyes. I haue hydden Psal. [...] thy speches in my herte, saythe Da­uid, that I maye not offende the.

Nowe I praye you, how shall we do concernynge the second parte of Contricion.

Whā ye are vn faynedly stryken wyth this Contri­ciō, so y ^• your hartes do truly feare y ^• iustyce of God, & ye abhorre synne e­uen to y ^e vttermoost of your power, longynge greatly for strength to do the wyll of God that ye maye walke innocently before the eyes of the di­uyne maieste, than for the consolaci­on of youre consciences, and the re­ioysynge of your hertes, oughte ye to consyder the moost swete, mooste ioyefull, moost confortable promises of God, made to vs frely in Christes moost precious bloud. Nowe to put Marke [...], awaye desperacion, doth conueniēt time require, that ye cleue stedfastly [Page] w ^t all mayne to the promyses, which laye forth Gods mercy before your [...] eyes. Therfore loke where so euer ye heare or se ony confortable promyse of God in the holy scryptures, that declareth mercy to penitēt synners, beleue without doubtyng, that that pertaineth vnfaynedly to you. Whā so euer ye heare or read that Christe is a sauyoure, streyghte wayes laye hande on that, & beleue that he also is your sauyour. Whan the Scryp­ture i. Tim. i. Ioel. ii. Actum. ii. Roma. x. shall saye to you, Iesus Christe came into y ^e world to saue synners, & euery one y ^t calleth on the name of the LORDE shall be saued, beleue you streyghte wayes, that ye are of that nōber which shal be saued by Christ. Whan the scrypture shall saye, God wyll not the deth of any synner, but rather that he tourne & lyue, beleue Eze. xviii. you streyghtwayes, that Gods plea sure is, ye shoulde be saued, yf ye re­turne to him with a cōtryte & fayth [Page] full herte, and so lyue wyth hym for euermore in the celestiall glorye, Ex­cept Marke [...] beare [...] wa [...]e. ye haue this fayth also annexed with your sorow, verely as your con tricion is imperfecte, so is it able to cast you into desperacion. Agayne, to haue a faythe that God wyll for­gyue you your synnes, & not to be so ry for your offenses, nor to stonde in feare of Gods indignaciō for trans­gressynge his moost holy law, nor to hunger & thyrst after righteousnes, verely as your contricion is imper­fecte, so is it the ryghte waye to lede you to presumpcion. Neyther despe­racion nor presumpcion ought to be in the herte of ony chrysten mā, but a penitēt & sorowfull mynde erected & lyfted vp wyth fayth. For S. Au­sten De vera [...] falsa peni­ten. cap. ii. sayth, yf fayth be the foundaciō of penaūce, wythout the whych ther is nothyng that good is, verely that penance ought to be desyred, whych it is euident to be groūded on fayth. [Page] For a good tree can not bryng forth euell fruytes. Therfore that penāce which procedeth not of fayth, is vn­profytable. For we must beleue that remedy is graunted to penaunce of our sauyour. Fulgētius also sayth, De penit [...]. ad venant. Iudas that betrayed Christ, repen­ted hym of his syn, but he lost helth & saluacion, bycause he trusted not to be forgyuen. He repented worthe ly in dede bycause he synned betray­enge the ryghteous bloude, but he therfore loste the fruyte of his repē ­taūce, bycause that he dyd not trust that the syn of his betraieng should be wasshed awaye wyth his bloude, whōe he betrayed. Thus se you how necessary faythe is vnto a contryte herte, & howe that w ^toute that, it is not possible for any penitēt siner to receyue remission of hys synnes, as dyuers manifest textes & Historyes of the holy scrypture do euydentlye proue & shew.

You taught vs [Page] this thynge abundantly before in y ^• thyrd dysh of your Bācket, neyther haue we forgottē it.

I am glad of it. Therfore wyll I nowe tary no lenger about this matter, but ma [...]e hast to the second parte of Penaūce whiche is Confession.

I praye you hertely, let it so be.

¶ Of Confession.

AFter that ye haue cōceiued in your hertes such true & perfecte Contri­cion, as I haue hyther­to paynted, than dothe it follow in ryght & due order, which is Confessiō. It is requisyte y ^t a chrystē man be not only sory for his offē ­ces cōmytted agaynst God, but also that he knoweledgeth and cōfessethe hys synne. For the scrypture sayth, Math [...] Ma [...]e. [...]. Luke. [...]. that they whyche came to be bapty­sed of Iohn, confessed theyr synnes. [Page] Lykewyse read we in the Actes of y ^• Actum. xix. Apostles. But in asmuch as y ^e scrip­ture teacheth dyners kyndes of con fessiō, therfore wyll I here somwhat towche them all.

Fyrste the chefe & moost pryncy­pall The cōfes­ [...] of faith Confession, is the Confession of our fayth, wherin we confesse vnfay nedly, whatsoeuer y ^e holy scriptures teach of God. This cōfession is so ne­cessary, that wythout it no man can be saued. No manacynge wordes, no imprysonmēt, no chenes, no fetters, no sweard, no faggot, no fyre ought to plucke vs from this Confession. No tyranny ought so to be feared, y ^e God & hys trueth shoulde not be con fessed. For euery one, sayth Chryst, y ^e Math. x. Mat. viii. Luke. xii. shall confesse me before mē, I shall al­so cōfesse him before my father which is in heauen. But he that shall deny me before men, I shall deny hym also before my father, whyche is in hea­uen. Of this Confession S. Paule [Page] sayth, w ^t the herte it is beleued vnto Roma. [...] righteousnes, but w ^t the mouth cō ­fessiō is made to saluacion. Also S. i. Ioan. [...] Iohn. Hereby shall ye knowe the spy ryte of God. For euery spyryte that confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God. And euery spy ryte which cōfesseth not that Iesus Christe is come in the flesshe, is not of god. And this is that spirite of An techrist, of whome ye haue herd, how that he should come, & nowe alredy is he in the worlde. But in asmuche as thys confession is not that parte of Penaunce, wherof we do nowe en­treate, I wyll omit it at this presēt.

Another kynde of Confession is, The Con­fession of synnes vn to God. whiche pertayneth more nearely to our matter, for to confesse our synne vnto God, whome we haue offēded. wythout thys Confessyon oure Pe­nāce auayleth but lytle, as we maye perceyue by dyuers places of y ^e scrip­ture. For though al thynges are opē [Page] to the eyes of God, & nothyng can be Heb. iiii. hyd from hym, so that he knoweth al chynges, yet wyll he that we hūblye confesse & knowledge our synnes vn to him, that by thys menes we may make hym the more mercyfull vnto vs. We read that a certayne blynde Luke. xviii man cryed vnto Christ, sayenge: Ie­su the sonne of Dauid haue mercye vpon me, Christ dyd knowe full well wherfore he called on hym, yet not w ^t standynge he sayde, what wylte y ^u that I do vnto the? LORDE sayde he, that I may receyue my sight. Christ demaunded thys thynge of hym, by cause he would haue hym cōfesse hys infirmite & blyndnes. So is it con­ueniēt for vs, yf we wyl receyue our syght, to confesse our blyndenes.

S. Iohn say the, Yf we confesse oure [...]. Ioan. i. synnes, God is faythful & righteous to forgyue vs our synnes, & to make vs cleane from all our vnryghteous­nes. If we saye, we haue not synned, [Page] we make hym a lyer, & his worde is not in vs. Dauid also saythe, I haue Psal. xxx [...] made my trespasse knowē vnto the, & myne vnrighteousnes haue I not hydden. I sayde, I wyll confesse my vnryghteousnes to the LORDE, and thou hast forgyuen the vngodlynes of my synne. This confession follow eth a true repētant & cōtryte herte. The Prophet Daniel confesseth his Daniel. ix, synne on thys manner, we haue syn­ned, we haue done vnryghteousnes, we haue wrought wickedly, we haue gone awaye & declined from thy cō ­maundementes & iudgementes. Al­so Eldras, I and the house of my fa­ther ii. Esd. i. haue synned, we were seduced w ^t vanite, & haue not kepte thy com­maundementes. Lykewyse Dauid, ii. Reg. xii. whan the Prophet Nathan at y ^t com manndement of God, rebuked hym for his adultery & manslaughter, cō fessed his synne, & sayde, I haue syn­ned vnto y ^e LORDE. Agayne, O God. [Page] I haue synned to the alone, & euel be fore the haue I done. The Publican Luke. xviii also made his confession on this mā ­ner, O God be thou mercyfull to me a synner. This kynde of Confession ought euery christen man dayly and hourly to make vnto God, so ofte as he is broughte vnto the knoweledge of his synne.

Another kynde of Cōfession is to The con­fession of synnes to our neygh bour. Iacob. v. knowledge & confesse oure synnes to them, whome we haue offended. Of this speaketh S. Iames, sayeng, cō fesse your synnes one to another. Al so Christ, yf thou shalt offer thy gyft Math. v. at the Altare, & there doste remēber, that thy brother haue any thyng a­gaynst the, leaue thy gyfte there be­fore the Altare, & go thy waye, and be fyrste reconcyled to thy brother, & than come on thy waye, & offer thy gyfte. This Confession, wherby we are reconcyled one to another, & con ioyned in mutuall amite, is so neces­sary, [Page] that wythout it, the other pro fyt & auayle lytle before God.

There is another cōfessiō, which is publique & open, & this is, whan The publ [...] que confes sion. we knowledge & cōfesse our synnes openly before the congregacion, as the manner was in the prymatyue chyrch. Of this confession speaketh Christe: If thy brother trespasse a­gaynst Mat. xviii, the, go & tell hym his faulte betwene the & hym alone. If he hea reth the, thou haste wonne thy bro­ther. But if he heareth the not, thā take yet one or two with the, y ^t in the mouth of two or thre wytnesses euery matter maye be establysshed. If he heareth not thā, tell it to the congregaciō. If he heareth not the congregacion, holde hym as an He then and Publican.

All these kyndes of cōfession are abundantly fortressed & approued by the holy scriptures.

But we heare nothyng all this whyle of [Page] auriculare cōfession, which is chefe­ly vsed amonge vs at this tyme.

Of this we would be glad to heare.

I praye you expresse your mynde cōcernyng this kynde Of Aricu­lare confes sion. of Cōfession also. For some approue it, some agē cōdēne it.

Why au riculare Cōfessiō shuld be cōdēned & exiled from y ^e boūdes of christianite I se no cause, but that it shoulde be approued, retayned, maynteyned & vsed, I fynd causes many, yea and those ryght vrgent and necessary.

Muche absurditie & wicked­nes hath both bene conspired, lear­ned, practised, & done in this auri­culare Confessiō, as histories make mencion, neyther want we expery ence of this thinge.

I can not denye these thynges to be true.

There is no thynge so good and of so great excellencye, but it maye be abused. The abuse therof is to be Note. taken awaye, and not the thyng it [Page] selfe. That Cōfessiō hath be [...] great lye abused, it can not be denyed, as many other thynges in the chyrche haue ben also, yet ought it not ther fore to be reiected & cast awaye, but rather restored to the olde purite & to the vse, for y ^e which it was fyrste instituted. And so shall it not only not hurte, but also profytte verye hyghly, & brynge much vtilite and profyt to y ^e christen congregacion.

This thyng shal neuer come to passe, excepte they that sytte on confession be men of grauite, sagaci te, wisdome, discrecion, sobriete, in­tegrite, & able to teach, istruct and informe with all godly doctryne.

Me thyncke it an extreme poynte of madnes for a man, y [...] his body be diseased, to hunte, inquire and seake aboute for a sober, wyse, mark this Simili tude. prudent & cunnynge Phisicion, y ^t may cure & heale it, & to be so necly gente in those thynges y ^t pertayne [Page] to his soule. For many care not to what preste they go vnto, be he ler ned or vnlearned, wyse or folish, mo dest or lyght, of good conuersacion or of noughty lyuyng, so that to sa tisfy the custome they come to one, & receyue theyr absolucion, and go awaye neuer the better instructed nor with the more penitēt hertes.

This is a great abusion.

Ye say trueth. Therfore were What mā ­ [...]er of men they ought to ve, that shulde be Curates. it conuenient, y ^e they, which should be appoynted to be Curates & ouer sears of the Christen people, into whose handes the whose lyfe & care of Christes flocke is cōmitted, shuld be of such sorte, as S. Paule descri [...]. Tim. iii. Titus. i. beth in his Epistles to Timothe & Titus, that is to saye, irreprehensi ble, fautles, sober, discrete, ryghte­ous, holy, temperate, apte to teach, & suche one as cleueth vnto y ^• true worde of doctryne, that he maye be able to exorte with wholesome lear [Page] nynge, and to improue them that speake agaynste it. For this cause Leui. xxii dyd God cōmaunde in the olde Te stamēt that they should not be cho­sen to be preestes for to minister to him, which had ony blemysh on thē whyther they were, blynd, lame, w ^t an euell fauoured nose, w ^t any mis­shapen member, or y ^t haue a brokē fote or hande, croke backed, or any blemish in theyr eies. &c. What mēt God by this perfeccion of the pre­stes Note wel, mēbers, but only to shew that he whiche should serue him, & gyue attendance on his flocke, should be whole & sounde in all kynde of ver­tu & godlynes, not corrupte nor de formed w ^t ony iniquite, & vnclenes A preste ought to haue no blemysh on him, that is to saye, he ought to be pure both in his doctryne & con­uersacion.

God graunt vs once such Curates, that maye rule amonge vs with suche integrite of [Page] lyfe & synceritie of doctryne, as is required of them in the holy scrip­tures.

If this might be brou­ght to passe, than should the gospel of Christ florysshe, and the flocke of [...]t. xx. Christe, whome he purchased wyth his moost precious bloud, be better looked vpon & fedde, than they are nowe a dayes.

Trueth it is. But I praye you marke, what I shall nowe saye vnto you, concer­nyng this Auriculare Confession.

That Auriculare Cōfession is a thyng of much weight, & graue im portaunce it appeareth well, in as much as it bringeth to men diuers ample cōmodities & large profytes

I pray you, what are those.

Fyrst igraffeth i vs a certayne The cōmo dities that ensewe of auriculare Confessiō hūilite, submissiō & lowlines of mid & depresseth al arrogācy and pride, whyle we humbly are contented to cōfesse to our ghostly fathers suche offences, as wherewith we haue of fended God, Secondly it incuteth [Page] and beteth into our hertes a shame fastnes, wherby we are so ashamed of our fautes heretofore commyt­ted, that we vtterly abhorre them, & are wholly inflamed with y ^• loue of vertue. Thyrdly, it bryngeth vs to y ^e knowledge of our selues, while we heare those thinges of the prest, that are necessary to be knowen of euery christen mā. Fourthly in cō ­fessiō we do not only lerne to know howe haynous & detestable a thīge synne is before God, but also mea­nes & wayes to eschewe it. Howe many, thynke you, are ther, which yf this auriculare confession were taken awaye, would not care how they lyued, neyther woulde they re garde onye parte of Christes doc­trine, but liue like bruite beastes w ^t out ony feare of God at all, or stu­dy of innocencye, wallowynge and tomblynge them selues dayelye in synne, not once hauynge a respecte [Page] vnto the correccion of theyr olde & wicked manners. Fyftely yf we be in doubte of ony thinge, in confessi on we maye learne the assuraunce & certente of it. Syxtely in confes­sion the ignorant is brought vnto knowledge▪ the blynde vnto syght, the desperate vnto saluacion, the presumptuous vnto humilite, the troubled vnto qu [...]ernes, the sorow full vnto ioye, the sicke vnto helth, the dead to life. What nede I make many wordes? Confessiō bringethe high trāqui [...]tte to y ^e troubled cōsci­ence of a christē mā, whyle y ^e moost confortable wordes of Absolucion are rehersed vnto him by the prest.

I praye you, what is that ab solucion.

Uerely a free deliue What ab Coluciō is. rauuce from all youre synnes tho­row Christes bloud. How saye you is here any thynge to be condēned in Auriculare Confession.

No verely, alll thinges y ^t you haue [Page] rehearsed, are rather worthy hygh prayse & commendacion.

It is atributed & giuen vs euen of na ture to cōmunicate vnto other the secretes of our hertes concerninge mūdane & woridly thīges, whither they be of ioye or sadnesse, and tyll we haue so done, we are neuer ī rest

You saye trueth.

Whye shoulde we than not be redye to do so likewyse in spirituall affayres, & thinges pertaynynge vnto the sal­uacion of our soules, excepte per ad uēture we be enemies of our owne helth. What is sweter & more plea­saunt, saythe Cicero, than to haue Libro de [...]. such one, with whome thou darest be bold so to speake al thīges, as w ^t thy selfe? A man hauyng a learned wyse, descrete, silent, close, & faythe full ghostly father, which louethe y ^e penitent, no lesse than a natural fa ther doth his childe, why should he feare to declare vnto him the secre­tes [Page] of hts herte, which is redy to cō forte, to instructe, to counsayle, to tech, and to do all thinges y ^t should make vnto his cōsolacion & helth. The Prophet Malachy sayth, the Mala. ii. lyppes of a preste kepe knoweledge, and men shall seake the lawe at his mouthe. For he is a messanger of y ^e LORDE of hoostes. If this ought to be done at all tymes, whan haue we a more cōueniēt & fit tyme to do it, than in the tyme of Confession, whan we maye freely talke to our spirituall fathers, what soeuer ple seth vs?

It is trueth that ye saye. But what if such a ghostly fa ther doth not chastse, as ye haue dis cribed hertofore.

Uerely ye ought alwaye to resorte to the best learned mē, & to seke for suche ghost ly fathers, as both wyll and can in structe and teache you the lawe of God. But let it so be, that your Cu rate be not of y ^e gretest learned mē, [Page] yet is he to muche simple, yf he can bringe oute of his treasurehouse thinges neyther newe nor olde, se­inge that the holy scriptures are so Mat. xiii. plenteously sette forth in oure En­glysh tonge, that euen y ^e very ydiot maye nowe become learned in the kyngdom of God. At the leest, this commoditie shall ye enioye at hys hande, euen the benefyte of Abso­lucion. Therfore to make fewe wor An exho [...] tacion to go to Confes­sion. des concernynge this matter, dis­dayne ye not to go to confession at the tymes appoynted accordynge to the ordinaunce of y ^e holy chyrch, and the Acte of our moost excellent kinge, yea and that with all hūble & reuerence. Declare the diseases of your soules vnfaynedly, that ye maye be healed with y ^e moost swete and confortable salue of Absoluciō Followe the godly & wholesome ad monicions of youre ghostly father Go vnto him wyth such an hatred [Page] & detestacion of synne, that ye may returne from hym wyth hertes all togither enflamed with the perfyt loue of vertu, innocēcy, & true god­lynes, beyng full fixed neuer to re­turne [...]. Pet. ii vnto youre olde vomyte and wallowynge in the myre. And whā he shal rehearse vnto you the moost Earneste faith must be gyuen to y ^• word [...] o [...] absolu tion. swete & confortable wordes of Ab­solucion, gyue earnest faythe vnto them, beynge vndoutedly perswa­ded, that your synnes at y ^t tyme be assuredly forgyuen you, as though God him selfe had spoken them, ac­cordynge to this sayenge of Christ: He that heareth you, heareth me. Mat. x. [...]uk x. Ioan. xx Agayne, Whose sinnes ye forgyue, are forgiuen them.

This haue I spoken concerning Auriculare confession.

Uery godly forsothe.

What remay­neth nowe.

Ye promised con sequently to entreate of Satisfac­cion or amendement of lyfe.

[Page]

Ye saye trueth. Of that mat ter therfore wyll I now intreate.

¶ Of Satisfaccion or amēd ment of lyfe.

AS towchīg this word Satisfaccion, whiche hath so longe bene re­tayned in the Chyrche of Christ, we must gra unt & beleue vndoubtedly, y ^• christ alone is the omnisufficiēt satysfac­cion for all oure synnes vnto God the father, by the sprynkelyng and effusiō of his moost precious bloud [...]. Pet. [...] which abydeth & lasteth for euer so perfect, that he is able at all times to saue them, that are sanctified w ^t Heb. [...] that one & omnisufficient oblaciō & Sacrifice of his moost blessed bo­dy on the Altare of the Crosse, and that not onlye from the faute, but also from the payne due and belon gynge vnto the faute. Behold that [Page] lambe of God, sayth S, Iohn Bap Ioan. i. tist, which taketh awaye the synne of the worlde. S. Iohn the Euan­geliographe [...]. Ioan. [...]. sayth also: The bloud of Iesus Christ Gods owne sonne, makethe vs cleane from all synne. Agayne, yf any mā synne, we haue Ioan. [...]. an aduocate wyth God the father, Iesus Christ that ryghteous one, And he is the satisfaccion for oure synnes, not for our sīnes only, but also for all the whole worlde. By y ^• Rom. v. death of Christe are we reconcyled to the father. Christ is our wisdom i. Cor. [...]. Ephe. [...]. sanctificacion, ryghteousnes & re­demcion. Christe is oure peace. By the bloud of Christ haue we remis­sion of oure synnes. By Christ are all thynges recōcyled to God, and Colo. [...]. Esa. [...]. by Christes bloude are all thynges pacifyed & set at a stay both in hea­uen & in earth. Christe was broken for oure synnes. Christe bare oure synnes on his body vpon the tree, [Page] by whose stripes we are made hole. i. Pet. ii. i. Ioan. ii. Oure synnes are forgyuen vs for Christes name. All the Prophetes beare wytnesse, that thorowe the name of Christ, euery one that bele ueth on him, shall receyue remissiō of his sines. Thus se we that there Act. x▪ is no satisfacciō perfecte & sufficiēt to God the father for oure synnes, but only the death of Christ so that we maye well say with the Apostle God forbyd, y ^t we should reioyse in [...]ala. vi. Note for whos syn nes y ^• death of Christ i [...] a satisfac­cion. ony thyng, but in the death of our LORDE Iesus Christe. Who so euer repenteth him of his synnes from the very herte, & is sorye for thē, la­menteth his miserye, hongreth for strength to do y ^e wyl of God, know ledgeth his offenses, labourethe w ^t all mayne to walke in a newe lyfe, nedeth not to doubte, but y ^• Christ by his death hath abūdantly satis­fyed to God the father for his syn­nes.

Is ther no more behind [Page] concernynge satisfaccion.

Yies verelye. After ye haue repen­ted you of your wickednes, ye must thā amend your lyfe, & bryng forth fruytes worthy of Penaūce, as the Mat. iii. scripture commaundeth. Ye muste practyse in your lyuyng all godly­nesse & innocency. Factynge, prayer and almes must dilygently be exer cysed of you in your dayly conuer­saciō. Psa. l [...]xxiii Rom. i. Ephe. v. Ye must go frō vertue to ver tue, & frō faith to faith. As ye haue walked before in darknes, so must ye walke now in light. Your whole lyfe must nowe be nothing els, thā a perfecte meditaciō of purite and innocencye. Excepte ye laboure to do this, surelye ye haue no parte of Christ, neyther is y ^e death of Christ a satisfacciō for your sinnes, but y ^• Ioan. iii. wrath of God abydethe styll vpon you. God hath blessed you in christ Iesus, that euery one of you shuld turne away from his wickednesses [Page] as the scripture sayth. God hathe Act. iii. i. Thes. iiii. not called vs, sayth S. Paule, vn­to vncleannes, but vnto sanctificacion and holines.

These thinges once done, than re­mayneth A satisfacci­on to our neyghbour. there a true & pepfecte satisfacciō to our neighbour, whome we haue offended or hurte either in worde or dede. For a satisfaccion or amēdes must nedes be made to our neyghbour, or els we walke not after the order of Charite, nor accor­dynge Mat. vii. Luke. [...]. to the lawe of nature, which commaundeth euery man to do to another, as he would other should do to him. Therfore God in the old lawe commaunded that yf any m [...] dyd steale from his neyghboure an oxe or a shepe, he should restore and gyue hym agayne fyue oXes for an Exo. x [...] oxe, & foure shepe for one shepe. We read also in the Gospell of Luke, y ^• Zacheus sayd vnto Christ: behold Luke. xix [...] LORDE I gyue halfe my goodes to [Page] the poore people, & yf I haue decey ued any man of any thyng, I gyue him four times asmuch agayne for it. These thynges declare manifest lye, that we are bounde to make sa­tisfacciō to our neyghbour, ī what soeuer thynges we haue hurte thē.

What, if we be not able, shall we then lose the heretage of y ^e king dome of heauen?

God forbyd Note well For than shoulde all they that dye for thefte, & many other be dāned.

But this I say vnto you, yf we be able by ony meanes to make satis­facciō to them, whome we haue of­fended, hidered or hurte, we ought w ^toute doubte to do it. But yf it so be, that by no wyse we are able, thā ought we to come to them, whome we haue offended, & desyre them for Christes sake to forgyue vs. And they agayne ought, yf they wyll be forgyuen of God, to remitte & for gyue theyr offenders.

This [Page] is very godly spoken.

Hyther to haue I talked with you of y ^e ho­ly Sacrament of Penaunce, of Cō triciō, Confession, & Satisfacciō ac cordynge to the vayne of the holye scriptures & the mynde of the aun­cient Doctours.

We remem ber all theyse thynges well, and we thancke you ryght hertely for thē.

Neyghboure Philemon, ye promised also to speake somewhat of fastynge, which is very necessary for this present tyme.

Ye saye trueth, & accordyng to my promise I wyll nowe entreate of it.

¶ Of Fastynge.

TO tarye longe in the enco my & prayse of fastyng, as it were but a vayne thīge so doth not the scarsenesse of tyme suffer it. Howe can it anye otherwyse thā be a thinge of hygh excellency & muche vertue, seynge that God hymselfe was the fyrste [Page] institutor & Author of it, prescry­bynge Gen. ii. it vnto oure prime parente Adā in Paradyse, whiche yf he had obserued, none of vs all had fallen frō that ioyfull state into this cala mitouse misery [...]. Dyd not Moses fast forty dayes, that he myghte be [...]x. xxxiiii Iud. xx. i. [...]. vii. xiii. iii. [...]. xix. made worthy to receyue y ^• Tables of the lawe? Dyd not the people of Israell many tymes fast whē they had displeased God, to recouer and wynne agayne his fauoure, and at diuers other tymes? Dyd not Hell as also fast. xl. dayes? Dyd not Io­saphat ii. Pa [...]. xx cōmaūd a solō fast to his pe ople, Did not quene Hester w ^t certē Hester. i [...]i other Iewes fast thre dayes & thre nightes, whēthere was a cōmaūde ment gyuen to destroye all the Ie­wes? Dyd not the kynge of the Ni­niuites, whan Ionas threatened Io. ii. iii: them subuersion, cōmaunde bothe man & beast, & all that euer dwelte in the Cytie to fast? Did not Dani D [...]n. ix [...] [Page] ell many tymes faste, and neyther i. Esd. [...]. Mat. [...]iii. Mat. iii. xi▪ Ac. i. xiiii. xxvii. eate nor dryncke? Dyd not Esdras so lykewyse? As I maye passe ouer many of the old Testament, dydde not Christ the sonne of God in the newe lawe fast forty dayes & forty nyghts? Dyd not Iohn Baptiste gyue himselfe to much & continual fastynge? Dyd not the Apostles af ter Christes Affensiō fast? Is there not a certayne kynde of dyueltes, which is not cast oute but by pray­er Mat. ix▪ ii. Cor. vi. xi. & fastynge? Dyd not Paule fast oftentymes? Do not al these Histo ries declare that fastynge is an ex­cellent & very precious thynge? Is not fastynge one of the cheife and pryncypal workes, which are requi red of a christē mā in y ^e holy scriptu re? Fastīg, sayth Basilius magnus Maketh lawers wyttye. It is the Mat. vi. Ser. i. D [...] Ieiunio. best custody & kepynge of the soule. It is the sure habitacion and dwel lynge of the body. It is a defence & [Page] armour to valeaunt men. It is an Beholde what a precious thynge fastynge is. exercyse to lusty Champions, & pro uers of maystries. It expelleth tē ­tacion. It is the vnction of godly­nesse. It is the familiarite of y ^• foū ­tayne, y ^e gouernour of pure lyuig. Fastyng is the ornamente of a Ci­tie, the establyshmēt of y ^e iudgynge place, the peace of houses, y ^e helth & preseruaciō of houshold. As I may make shorte tale, thou shalte fynde that fastyng hath made al the sain tes frendes and neyghbours vnto God. Hytherto haue I rehearsed y ^• wordes of the famous Doctor Ba silius. The blessed martyre S. Cy­priane Set. De Ieiunio. [...]t tent. Christi. also sayth, wyth fasting the stynckynge poole of vyces is dryed vp, wantonnes wythereth awaye, concupiscences and lustes decaye, vayne pleasures go awaye. Wyth fastyng the flame of the burnynge Ethna is quenched, & the fornace of the flammiuomus vulcane quen [Page] ched wythin, dothe not burne the hylles nere vnto it. Fastynge, yf it be gouerned w ^t discresion, tame the all the rebellion & fearcenes of the flesshe, & spoyleth & maketh weake the tyranny of glotonye. Fastynge speareth vp & encloseth as though it were in a narrowe prison the ex­traordinary & vnlawfull mocions, yea it holdeth streight and bindeth the wanderynge appetites. Fastig if it be garnysshed w ^t humilite ma­keth the seruauntes of God despi­sers of the worlde. Fastynge is fed with the deyntyes of the Scrip­tures, it is refresshed with contem placion, it is establysshed w ^t grace, it is norysshed with celestiall & hea­uenly bread. Th [...]s se you also by y ^e auncient Doctours, how precious a thynge fastynge is. Agayne ye se of howe great vertue & strength it is, & howe many cōmodities it brī ­gethe to them that vse & exercyse it [Page] aright. Let these few thinges ther fore suffice for thys present, for the commendacion & prayse of fasting.

We perceyue nowe right wel that fastinge is a thynge of weygh ty importaunce.

Uerelye me thynke that I cā not approue nor allowe the manners of those Gos­pellers, as they caull them selues, which contēnynge all kynde of god ly fastynge, gyue thēselues to glot tony & dronckennesse, perswadyng thē selues to be thā best christē mē, whan they ar furdest from chrestia nite.

Such grosse gospellers haue much hyndered y ^• prosperous progresse of Goddes worde.

True the it is that ye saye. But I praye you be dili [...]ent a lytle while to heare me, and I wyll teach you both what the true & christen faste is, and also howe ye ought to faste.

I pray you let it be so.

Speake on brother Phelemon, we [Page] heare you gladlye.

The true Ser. [...]. De Ieiunio. & christen faythe, as Basilius mag­nus doth defyne, is not only to ab­stayne from meates, but also to es­chewe euell thinges. Of this diffi­nicion What Fa­styng i [...]. do ye learne two thynges, y ^• is to saye, that the true & christen fast consisteth not only in the absti­nence of meates, but also in the es­chewynge of euell. Therfore sayth Hom. xv. i [...] cap. vi. our golden mouthed Doctor, ther is a spirituall and a corporall fast. The corporall faste is to abstayne from meates. The spirituall fast is to abstayne from synnes. For as y ^e fleshe hath a pleasure in eatynge, so [...]: hath the spiryte of the flesh a plea­sure in synnyng. In consideracion wherof the wise men call euery sin pleasure or lust, bycause we cōmyt euery synne with delectaciō & plea sure. Agayne he sayth: He that ab­stayneth from meat, & not frō euell workes, he appearethe to faste, but [Page] yet he fasteth not in dede. For loke Note. howe much he fasteth vnto men, so muche dothe he eate before God, se­ing he goeth forth styll to synne. In another place also he saythe, I In Gen. i. Hom. ix. call fastyng abstinence from vices. For the abstinence from meates is receiued for this purpose, that it should refrayne y ^e rigoure & fearse Marke wherfore we abstai ne from meates. nes of the flesh, to make it obedient euen as an horse is to his keper.

He that fasteth, must aboue al thin ges refrayne anger, learne meke­nez & lenite, haue a contryte herte, & that may repell & put abacke vn cleane concupiscences & lustes, set before his eyes alwaye the eye of y ^• euerlastynge iudge, & the inpraua­ble iudgynge place, by his mony to be made better & to haue rule ouer it, to be liberall in gyuynge almes, to admyt & receyue into his herte no euell agaynst his neighbour, as Esay speakyng in y ^• person of God Esa. [...]. [Page] sayth, haue I chosē this fast, sayth the LORDE? Though thou wriest a­bout thy necke lyke a circle, & stro­west vnder the sackeclothe & ashes, neyther shall thy fast be so called ac ceptable, saythe the LORDE. What fast than, tell me? Loosen, sayth he, the bōdes of the wicked bargaynes breake thy breade to the hungrye, brynge the poore man that hath no house into thy house. If thou doste these thynges, saythe he, than shall thy lyght breake forth as the mor­nyng, and thy health shall sprynge right shortely. Hast thou now sene (my welbeloued) what the true fast is? Let vs loke vpon this fast, and lette vs not thynke, as many do, y ^• fastynge stondethe in thys poynte, yf we continue without ony diner vntyll it be nyght. Hytherto haue I rehersed the wordes of S. Iohn Chrisostome, of whome we maye easly learne, that the true & christē [Page] faste is not onlye to abstayne from meat, but also from synne. But let In Leuit. Homel. x. cap. vi. vs heare the myndes of some other doctors, Origene sayth wylt thou that I shewe vnto the, what fast y ^u oughtest to fast? Fast from euell de des, abstayne from euel wordes, re­frayne frō euell thoughte [...], touche not the theuish breades of peruerse doctryne. Couyt not, nor luste not after the deceyuable meates of phi losophye, that maye seduce & turne the from the trueth. Suche a faste pleaseth God. S. Austen sayth, the Ex ser [...] [...]e. c [...]xxii. fastes of christen men are rather to be obserued spirituallye than car­nally. In consideraciō wherof, let vs fast principally srō our synnes, vnlesse oure faste be refused of the LORDE, as the fastes of the Iewes were. What a fast is this, that an Esa. lviii. impostore or deceyuable person, I cā not tel who, should abstayne frō meates, whiche the LORDE hathe [Page] created, & yet ware fatte with the fatnes of synnes? Haue I chosen such a fast, sayth the LORDE? Rede the eyght and fifty Chapter of the Prophet Esaye. And a lytle after Math wi [...]: he sayth, the faste which the moost hyghest dothe approue & allowe, is not only to leaue of to refresshe the body, but also to departe frō euell actes or dedes. Also i another place Extra [...]. xv [...] [...] Ioan. he fayth, the great & generall faste is to abstaine frō [...]iquites & vnlaw ful pleasures of the worlde, which is a perfecte fast, that we sorsakige Titus. ii. vngodlines & the lustes of y ^• world, should lyue in this worlde soberly, righteously & godly. To this faste what reward doth the Apostle giue It followeth & he saythe, Lokynge for that blessed hope and the appe­raunce of the glory of y ^• great god, & of our Sauiour Iesu Christ. In this worlde as a Lent of abstinēce Note. do we celebrate, whan we lyue wel, [Page] whā we abstayne from wickednes, and vnlawfull pleasures. But by­cause this abstinence shal not be w ^t out rewarde, we loke for that bles­sed hope of the reuelacion of y ^e glo­ry of the great God, & of oure saui­our Iesus Christ. I coulde reherse vnto you īnumerable places bothe of these Doctors & of many other, yf I had leasure, which declare eui dently, that the true & christē faste doth not only consiste in the absti­nence of meates, but also in the for sakyng of synne. But these at this tyme maye seme abūdantly to sa­tisfye.

O good LORD, [...]genst the wycked [...] vngodly Fasters. howe greatelye are manye decey­ued, whiche thyncke that they fasts wel, yf they do onelye but abstayne from a smokye pece of Baconne, or harde salted and powdered befe, though they eate the mooste delici­ous fyshes that can be gotten, and infarse theyr bodies like belyed Hy [Page] crites with all the swete meates [...] eyther Potecaries or ony other cā inuēt or imagyne, yea & that so vn measurablye, that after they haue once dyned, they are prouoked ey­ther to the pleasure of the body, or elles lyke beastes of the bellye faull streyghtwayes vnto sleape, so that they are not able to serue God, nor themselues, nor yet onye other, O detestable abhominacion.

Howe much also are they deceiued of the true māner of fasting, which do not only fast after such sorte, as ye haue nowe spokē, but also do no rysh in theyr hertes all kynd of ma lyce agaynst theyr christē brothers sekyng howe they may destroy thē & shed theyr bloude, yea neyther do they cease to pollute and defyle the moost blessed name of God, so much as lyeth in them, wyth moost abho minable oothes, and are also in all theyr conuersacion wicked lyuers, [Page] as I maye adde nothynge therto.

Undoutedly these men are farre from the true & christen man ner of fastynge, whiche is, not only Ser. i. De Ieiunio. to abstayne from meates, but also from synnes. Agaynst those thōde­reth the holy Doctor Basilius ma gnus on this manner: Wo be vnto you ye drōckardes, not with wyne only. For wrathe & indignaciō is al so a certayne drōckēnesse of y ^e soule makīg it euē as wyne doth hertles & folysh. For although y ^u eateste no Note. flesh, sayth he yet neuertheles dost thou eate thy brother. Thou tari­est from thy meate tyll it be night, yet all the whole daye doste thou cō sume in sute & goynge to the lawe. But thynke not that the goodnes of fastynge is only in the abstinēce of meates. For the true faste is the eschewynge of euelles. Whan thou fasteste, loosen all wycked bondes, disquiet not thy neighboure, paye [Page] thy mony that thou owest, exercise not lawyng & suing by the fast. &c.

Thus haue I declared vnto you after the myndes of the holy & aun cient Doctors, what the true and christen fast is, wherby ye may also easely learne to knowe the popysh & false fast. And bycause ye shal not doubte of this doctryne cōcerning fastynge, know you, that y ^e kynges moost royall maiesty also ī his Pro clamacion concernynge eatynge of whyte meates this tyme of Lent, hath there no lesse prudently than godly, set forth y ^e very same thing, that hytherto I haue taught you. The wordes of the Proclamacion are these: Lette all men endeuoure thē selues to theyr possible powers The kynges Proclamaci on cōcernīge whyte mea­tes. with thys liberte of eatīg of white meates to obserue also that faste, whiche God moost specially requi­rethe of them, that is to saye, that they renounce the worlde, & the di­uell, [Page] with all theyr pompes & wor­kes, & also to subdu & represse their carnall affeccions, & theyr corrupt workes of the flesshe, accordynge to the vowe & profession, made at the fonte stone. Howe saye ye to theyse wordes.

Uerely they are wor des of suche a Prince, as is worthy of immortalite and eternall glory.

I besech almyghty God long to preserue ī prosperous helth his moost excellente maiestye.

Amen, good LORDE I beseche the,

Seynge that I haue taught you, what the true & christē fast is, I wyll nowe accordynge to my pro myse teach you also howe ye ought to faste

I praye you let it so be.

In declaryng to you this thynge, whome should I rather fol lowe than oure Sauioure Iesus Christe, the teachet of all truethe? Howe we ought to fast he teacheth vs in the Gospell of Math. on this [Page] manner, sayenge, whan ye faste, be Math. vi. not sad as the Hypocrites are. For they disfigure theyr faces, y ^t they myght be sene of men to fast. Uerely I say vnto you, they haue theyr rewarde. But thou, whan thou ta­stest, annoynt thy head, & wash thy face, that it appeare not vnto mē, that thou fastest, but to thy father whych is in secrete, and thy father which seeth in secret, shall rewarde the opēly. Christ in this place, doth not only rebuke y ^e hipocritical and supersticious māner of the vngod­ly fasters, but he also teachethe vs the true & germayne manner of fastyng.

What is that I praye Thre thyn ges are to be [...] in fa [...]ting you?

Uerely, who so euer en­tendeth tofast arighte, he must obserue thre thynges. The fyrste is, y ^t he annoynte his head. The second, that he washe his face. The thyrd, that he faste in secrete.

This is so straunge a manner of fastyng, as euer I heard.

It is peraduenture [Page] straūge vnto you, bycause ye are not yet perfectely exercysed in the Phrases of the holy scriptu­res, but if ye be once taught, what is signifyed by this māner of spea­kyng, it shall not only not seme vn to you straung, but also very plea saunt & praty.

I pray you de The Au­thor tea­ [...]heth no thyng of hys owne brayne. clare it to vs, that we maye learne to fast aryght & accordynge to the wyll of Christe.

Bycause I wyll not teache you ony thynge of myn own braine, but y ^• only, which I haue read in the holy scriptures or els in the aunciente Doctors, I wyll rehearse vnto you the wordes of s. Iohn Chrisostome, which shall Hom. xlv. Ex cap. vi Math Fe [...]ia. i [...]ii. [...]. abundantly satisfy youre desyre in this behalfe. In the annoyntynge of the head, sayth he, we know that mercy is signifyed. Therfore to an noynt the head, is to shewe mercye to our neighbour. For that mercy that is done vnto a poore man, is referred

[Page] vnto God, which is the head of What it is to annoynte the heade. the man, as the Apostle sayth. And the LORDE hym selfe sayth, what so euer ye haue done to one of my les­sest brothers, ye haue done it vnto me. In the stede of y ^e which mercye, with the diuine retribucion, as w ^t i. Cor. xi. Math. xxv: Math. v. Psal. cxxxii a certaine heauēly oyle, we are pou red and shedde ouer by hym, which sayth: Blessed are the mercyful, for God shall haue mercy on them. Ho ly Dauid also dyd knowe the vnc­cion & annoyntynge of the celestial oyle in the head, when he sayd, as y ^e annoyntment, which came downe into the beard. But in wasshyng y ^e face, the purite of a clene bodye & of What it is to wasshe the face. a syncer conscience is knowē to be signifyed. So that to wash y ^e face, is to make clene y ^e face of our hart, from all fylthinesse of synnes & frō the vncomelynes of trespasse, & to haue a verye pure conscience, that we may truly haue in vs, the glad­nes [Page] of celestiall ioye, & the familiari te & cherefulnes of the holy Ghost. Hytherto haue I rehearsed y ^e wor­des of Chrisostom, wherby ye may learne, that to annoynt our head, mark wel. is none other thynge than to shew oure selues beneficiall to the poore mēbers of Christ. Agayne, to wash our face, is to make cleane both bo dy & soule from sinne & wickednes.

If this be to fast, I feare me that so many faste not before God, as pretende outwardly to faste be­fore men.

This manner of fa stynge teacheth the holy scripture, howe so euer men vse it. Therfore yf ye wyll faste aryghte after the mynde of S. Iohn Chrisostome, ye must fyrste annoynte youre heade, that is to saye, conforte the poore people with suche goodes as God, hath cōmytted to you. For the ryt­ches Marke here o ye rytch me [...]. y ^e ye haue, be not youres only but they be Gods also, as he sayth by

[Page] y ^• Prophet, gold is myne, siluer is Agge. [...]i. myne. God hath put thē in yourhā des, y ^e ye should distribute parte of thē to y ^e poore people. Ye are y ^e Ste The author entendeth not here c [...] munion of thynges, which god forbyd that ony man shuld gather her of but only m [...] nysweth the rytch men of there dutye. Math. xxv. wardes of God, & the dispensators of his treasures that you lyuynge of them, shuld also conforte y ^e poore mēbers of Christe. If ye spend thē otherwyse than God hath appoyn ted you in his worde, ye shall rēder an accoūtes for it. Ye haue nothig at all, but that ye shall be called to an accountes for it euen to the vt­termoost farthig. If ye be not fos [...]d to haue vsed your talent well, & vn to the profyt of other, ye shall with that vnprofitable seruaunt of the Gospel be cast into outward darke nes, where wepynge & gnasshynge of teth shall be. If ye be proued vn­mercyfull & negligent in the distri­bucion of the worldly goodes, sure ly, surely ye shall be caryed awaye with the rytch man, of whome S. [Page] Luke speaketh in the Gospell, vn­to Luke. xvi. hell; & there burne in such cruell & bytter flames, as the fyre wherof shall neuer be quenched, neyther shall the worme of them, that shall be there, dye at ony tyme, as y ^e Pro phette sayth. Thus se you that ye Esa. lxvi. haue no great cause to boste & glo­ry of worldly goodes, nor yet to a­uaūce your selues aboue other mē for youre possessions sake, no more than a greate mans seruaunt hath to whome his LORDE and mayster hath cōmytted his goodes for a cer tayne space to kepe, the seruaunte lookynge at euery houre whan his mayster wyl require them agayne. He is a very thefe & robber, say the Basilius Magnus, which maketh Ser. i. In diuites Auatos. that thyng his owne, that he hath receyued to distribute and gyue a­brode. For the bread, sayth he, that thou retaynest & kepeste, is y ^e bread of the hungry, the garment, which [Page] thou kepest in thy chest, is the gar­ment of the naked, the shoo, that is moulde with the, is the shoo of him that is vnwod, & the mony, whiche thou hydest in the grounde, is the mony of the nedy. Moreouer thou doste iniury & playne wronge to so many as thou forsakeste, whē thou arte able to helpe them. Hytherto Eccl. xxxiiii. pertayneth the sayenge of the wyse man, the bread of the nedy is y ^e lyfe of y ^e poore, he that d [...]fraudeth hym of it, is a manstear. Thus se you in howe great iopardy, the ritch men are, that be vnmercyefull vnto the poore people, & how lytle theyr fast pleaseth God in theyr vnmerciful­nes, seynge they do not annoynte theyr head, that is, showe no mercy to the poore mēbers of Christ, God teachynge the true manner of fa­stynge Esa. lviii. by his Prophet amonge all other thiges sayth, breke thy bread to the hungry. Marke y ^e he say the, [Page] breke thy bread to the hungry. Cer Mathe thys expo sicion. tayne Doctors wryte on this tert & says, y ^t thou breakeste thy breade thā to y ^• hūgrye, whan y ^• so fastest y ^t thou sparest from thyne owne bel­lye to gyue it to the poore hungrye man. For a Christen manne ought to be no lesse carefull for the poore than for hymselfe, so that prouisiō once made for his familye, he muste also shewe mercye to the nedye.

Thou therfore doste breake thy bread vnto the hungrye, whā thou gyueste hym that, whiche thou thy selfe necessarelye shouldest haue ea­ten. And this is to annoynte thy head aryght, verely euen to breake thy bread to the hungry.

Would God that all rytche mē dyd O prepo­steroas al mes gy­uers. knowe this much & would followe it. For many thyncke that they do God an hyghe Sacrifyce, yea & y ^e they be good almes men, yf whan they haue once pāpred theyr owne [Page] bellyes with all kynde of deynties, they than at the laste gyue or sende to the hūgry a few scrappes, which they wyl scasely vouchsafe to giue to theyr dogges.

I pray God giue vs all grace to do oure dutye. Nowe haue ye herde, what it is to annoynte youre heade. I wyll also speake somwhat of wasshyng your face, although I maye seme abun­dantly to haue spoken of the very effect of it in y ^• diffiniciō of fasting.

If we wyll fast aryghte, we are not only commaūded to annoynte oure head, that is to saye, to shewe mexcy to the poore people, but also to wasshe our face, that is, to make our hertes cleane from all synne, y ^• we maye haue a pure conscience. For it is not ynough to be benefici al to other, except we also be benefi cial to our selues. This shall come to passe, yf we labour w ^t all mayne to haue a mynde pure & cleane frō [Page] all carnall affectes, & a body voyde of wicked dedes. What was y ^e cause that God dyd cast away the fastes & solemne feastes which the Iewes celebrated & kepte holy ī his name, but onlye y ^t they wasshed not theyr face, that is, they went not aboute to put of theyr olde conuersacion, & to become newe men? I hate & ab­horre, Esa. i. sayth God, your sacrifiices, youre solemne feastes, your fastes, why so? For your handes, sayth he are full of bloud. Youre hertes are full of vengeaunce, your conscien­ces are spotted and defyled withal kynde of sinnes, ye haue no feare of God before your eies. What is thā to be done? Be ye wasshed, sayth he be ye cleane, take awaye the euell of your thoughtes from myne eies Cease to do euell, learne to do well, seke iudgement, helpe the poore op­pressed, be fauourable to the cōfort­les, defende the widowe. &c. GOD [Page] hateth those prayers, those fastes, those good dedes, as they cal them, which come from a defyled body, a corrupt hert, a fylthy mynd, a blou dy conscience, a spotted and pocky soule, as a certayne man sayth. It [...]ius, [...]ont. Rom. profyt a mā nothynge at all to fast & pray & to do other good thīges of deuocion, excepte the mynde be re­frayned from vngodlynes, and the tonge from backebytinges. For God hath euer a principall respect to the herte of the doer of y ^• worke. If the herte be pure, cleane & fayth full, than dothe God approne that worke. But if it be spotted w ^t syn, God casteth it away, appeare it ne uer so glisteryng & excellent in the sight of y ^• worlde. Offer not, sayth Ec [...]l. xxxv: the wyse manne, wycked giftes, for God wyll not receyue them.

It is euident thā, that so many as chaung not theyr wicked lyfe, cast away theyr Hypocrisy, make clene [Page] theyr hartes, put out of theyr myn des al rācoure, malyce, enuy, grud­ge. &c. and to study aboue all thyn ges to lead a pure & innocent lyfe, can by no menes please God Godly ad moniciō [...] concernig y ^• true mā ner of fa­styng.

No forsoth. Therfore yf ye entende to fast aryght, & to make your faste acceptable to God, prouide earnest ly that youre faste procede from a pure & cleane herte, voyde of al car nall affectes, stuffed full of fayth & charite, and altogither studious of true innocency & vnfayned godly­nes. So shall it come to passe, that not only your fast, but al that euer ye do besydes accordynge to Gods word, shall very greatly please god.

I besech God gyue vs grace to do all thynges accordyng to his moost godly wyll & pleasure.

Labour & God wyll helpe. I haue declared two thynges that are ne­cessary to the true vse of fastynge. There remayneth nowe the thyrde [Page] to be brought forth, which is so ex­pedient and necessary for that pur pose also, y ^e y ^• other two w ^tout this profiteth nothynge.

I praye you let vs heare it.

We are not only cōma [...]ded in oure fastyng to annoynt our head & to wash our face, but also to fast, in secret.

What is it I praye you to faste in secret.

Uerely to fast in secret What [...] is to fast in secret. is not to kepe you close frō y ^e sight of men, & so to abstayne from your meates in preuye corners, but not to hunt & hawke after vayneglory nor prayse of men for your fasting, nor to seke to be sene of men whyle ye fast, that they maye commend & prayse you. We are counted before God than to faste in secrete, whan Note. we fast with such a mynd, that we woulde fast in dede, though no mā lyuynge dyd se vs, and whan we re garde more the accomplishment of Goddes wyll, & the subieccion & ta [Page] mynge of our body, than all the hu mayne glorye that can be attribu­ted vnto vs.

It is lawefull than to fast euen before men.

Yea verely or to do any other good worke, so that the desyre of worlde ly prayse he not in youre myndes. For Christ saythe, let your lyght so shyne before men, that they maye Math. v. se your good workes & glorify your father which is in heauen. But yf [...] we seke ony prayse of men & desyre to be magnifyed for oure good de­des, verelye than haue we oure re­warde, not of God, but of y ^• world. For ther is no more pestiferous in fecciō to poysō any good worke, y ^e it should lose the reward before God, than the desyre of vayne glory, and worldly prayse. What dyd deiecte & Esay. xiiii [...]. Pet. it. caste downe Lucifer from heauen into hell pytte, but vayneglorye? Agayne what dyd exalte & lyfte vp frō the earth vnto heauen y ^• moost [Page] blyssed and glorious virgin Mary the mother of our Sauiour Iesus Christ but humilite, as she her selfe testifieth. My soule, sayth she, mag nifyeth the LORDE. And my spirite Luke. i. reioyseth in God my sauyour. For he hath loked vpon the humilite of his handmayd, beholde, bycause of this, shal all kyndredes call me bles sed. God resystethe the proude, but [...]. Pet. v. to the humble he gyueth grace and sheweth fauour. Unto whome shal I loke, sayth God by his Prophet, Esa. lxvi. but vnto hym that is poore & con­tryte in spiryte & feareth my wor­des? Blyssed are y ^e poore in spiryte, forto thē belongeth the kyngdome of heauen. Therfore all youre wor Math. v. kes that ye do, do them with a sim­ple mynde, & with such an harte as beyng nothyng desyrous of vayne glory, seaketh only the honoure of God, & the accomplyshment of his moost deuyne wyll. Thus haue I taught

[Page] you neyghbours both what y ^• true and Christen fast is, & also howe ye ought to fast.

Brother Phi­lemon we confesse before you, that we haue lerned here this day more of you concernyng certayne thyn­ges thā euer we knew before. God gyue vs all grace to followe youre moost godly instruccions.

Amen, I beseche God.

Well, nowe is the greatest parte of oure Potacion past. What is more to be done?

Ye promised that ye woulde declare vnto vs the signifi cacions of certayne Ceremonies, y ^e be vsed in the chyrche this tyme of Lent.

Ye sayde also that ye woulde teach us, howe we shoulde prepare our selues worthely to re­ceyue the moost blyssed Sacramēt of the Altare at y ^• tyme of Easter.

I remēber my promyse well, accordyng ther vnto, therfore wyll I do.

¶ Of the Ceremonies vsed in the Chyrche this tyme of Lent, and what they signifye. Of the Asshes.

THe fyrste Ceremo­nye that is vsed in the Chyrche this tyme of Lent, is the imposiciō & layenge on of Asshes vpon the heades of Christen men.

I praye you vnto what pur pose is that ceremony vsed? What What the ashes sig [...] nyfye. is the significaciō of it?

This is done, to put vs in remembraūce what we are. For whan the preste layethe asshes on youre heades, he sayth these wordes. Remember mā that thou arte asshes & vnto asshes thou shalte returne. This Ceremo ny pr [...]cheth vnto vs, that we are nothynge but asshes, dust & earthe, & to that we shall returne agayne. If we marke this Ceremony well, we shall

[Page] haue but litle occasion to be proud Note. or to magnify ourselues, as y ^e scrip Eccl. x. ture sayth, wherfore arte y ^u proude O thou asshes & earth? All fleshe is grasse, sayth the Prophet, & all his Esa xxviii glory is as a floure of y ^e feld. If we consider this thynge well, it shall also prouoke vs vnto the contēpte & vtter despisynge of the worlde, ye a it shall plucke vs from sinne, & moue vs to do good workes, as the wise man sayth, remember thy last Ecc. vii. ende, and thou shalte neuer synne. And for asmuch as in the olde lawe they y ^t would hūble them selues be fore God by Penaunce, dyd vse to sytte downe in y ^e asshes & to throw asshes vpō theyr heades, as y ^e scrip­tures shewe of Achab, of the Nini­uites, [...]is. Re. xxi. Ionas. iii. Iudit. iiii. of the Iewes, whā they were oppressed of holofernes, & of diuers other, therfore the holye fathers of Christes chyrch in tymes past in stituted also this ceremony to put [Page] vs in remembraūce of the Penāce which this holy tyme of Lēt ought to be done of all christen menne for theyr wycked dedes, whyche they haue wrought all the whole yeare paste. Do ye perceyue nowe, what the layeng of asshes vpon your hea des do signify.

Yea very wel.

Forsoth who soeuer reposeth the significacion of this Ceremony in his herte, canne none otherwise but alwaye be humble, gentle, low ly, meke, full of humilite, estraun­ged from all arrogancy, despisyng terrestiall thynges, & desyrynge thynges celestiall.

Ye saye trueth. But what meneth I praye you, the couerynge of the Images in the temples this tyme of Lent.

¶ Of the couerynge of Images, & what it signifyeth.

THe ecclesiasticall wryters assi­gne dyuers causes, one this, [Page] another that. But in this dissensi­on & variete of opinions, I wyll al leage one or two reasons, & byd the other fare well as thīges not great ly makyng vnto the edificacion of The fyrst cause why Images are coue­red. true godlynes.

I praye you let vs heare.

One cause is to signify vnto vs, that they that are synners & haue a pleasure styl ther in to remayne, are not worthye to behold the sayntes in heauē, which are represented by those Images, nether shall they at ony tyme come vnto that glory, wherof the Sayn tes alredy haue y ^e fruicion, excepte they repēt them of theyr wicked ly­uynge, Mat. iii. ryse oute of synne, brynge forth fruytes worthy of Penaūce, & become newe men in theyr cōuer sacion. Therfore whan we enter in to the chyrche and se all those Ima ges couered, we oughte to mourne & lament our synfull lyuyng, to re­cognyse oure selues synners, to ex­cyte [Page] & store vp our selues to bryng forth fruytes worthy of Penaūce, & to cut away by true & vnfayned Contricion our synnes, y ^t we maye be founde worthy agaynst Easter, that is, agaynste the tyme of oure passyng & goyng out of this world clerely to beholde & openlye to se in the kyngedome of heauen the shy­nynge The secōd cause. face of God & his Sayntes.

Another cause is to declare the mournynge & lamentacion of syn­ners for theyr vngodly manners. Ye knowe that y ^e custome is amōge vs euen at this daye, that so longe as we mourne for ony of oure fren­des departed, we vse to go w ^t close Note: faces, to weare simple apparell, layenge asyde all gorgious & sumptu­ous garmentes. So lykewyse this tyme of Lent, whiche is a tyme of mournyng, all thynges that make to the adournement of the chyrche wherof the Images are parte, are [Page] either layd asyde or els couered, to put vs in remembraūce y ^t we ought nowe to lament & mourne for our soules dead in sinne, & continually to watche, praye, fast, gyue almes, & do such other workes of Penasice as wherwith God beyng excited & stored vnto his antique & olde mer cies, may call vs agayne frō death to lyfe, from synne to godlynes, frō wickednes to innocencye.

I haue hearde also that Images in y ^e The third cause. Tēple are couered for this purpose in y ^e time of Lēt, to put vs in remē braunce that although we haue in ony parte of the yeare paste cōmyt­ted Idolatry with thē, yet at this tyme we shoulde vtterly gyue ouer this abhominacion, & only cleue to God, & to his exceding great mercy lokyng for remission of our synnes & al other good thinges at his hand alone thorowe Iesus Christe oure LORDE. In consideracion wherof y ^• [Page] clothes that are hanged vp thys tyme of Lente in the Chyrche haue paynted in them nothynge els but the paynes, tormētes, passiō, bloud sheddynge & death of Christ, y ^t now we shoulde only haue oure myndes fyred on the passion of Christe, by whome only we were redemed, and althoughe we haue erred & runne astray lyke shepe destitute of a shep Math. [...] parde all the longe yeare paste, yet that now this holy tyme we should returne withe humble & contryte myndes vnto Christe the bysshop & [...]. Pet. i [...] curate of our soules.

It may be so ryght well. The significacion vndoubtedly that ye haue now re­hearsed is very godly. Well thus haue I declared vnto you that I haue red concernyng the couering of Images in Lente.

We thancke you for it. Let me se, what other Ceremonies are vsed in the Chyrche this tyme of Lent?

[Page] Ther are diuers other, but I pray you neyghbour Philemon, declare vnto vs, what the Ceremonies sig nify, which are vsed in the Proces­sion of Palme sondaye. For surely I thyncke, not one amonge a thou­sand knowe what y ^e Processiō prea che the vnto vs.

I thyncke ye saye trueth in dede, & therfore is it so lytle regarded nowe a dayes a­monge many, whan notwithstan­dynge it preachethe vnto vs many godly & goodly lessōs, yf they were knowen. Therfore yf ye wyl marke diligently, I wyll to the vttermost of my power declare to you partly myne owne coniecture, & par telye what I haue read & lerned of y ^e aū ­ciēt wryters ī tymes past cōcernīg this matter.

I praye you let it so be. We wyll heare you gladly.

¶ Of y ^e Ceremonies y ^e are vsed in y ^• Processiō of Palme sondaye, & what they signifye.

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IN the begynnynge of the Pro­cession the people goethe oute ha uynge euery one a Palme in theyr hand followynge the Crosse which is couered with a clothe.

Ve say trueth, but what doth it mene. That the Crosse is caried forth be­ynge couered with a clothe, rather then with an open face?

The What y ^• [...] bted crosse signifyeth Crosse so velated & couered signifi­eth Christ the sonne of God, which beynge promised of the Fathher to the Iewes in the olde lawe, was not than come, but only adumbra­ted, shadowed & prefigured by cer­tayne types, figures, Ceremonies, cloudes & shadowes, as by Manna E [...]. [...]vi. xvii. xii. the Rocke, the Paschall Lambe, y ^• brasen serpent. &c. All these prefigu Num. xxi: red Christ to come. In consideraci on wherof that Crosse is borne en­closed.

We perceyue nowe y ^e What the people syg nifye. right well. But what do those peo­ple [Page] signify, which go with y ^e crosse.

Uerely the fathers of y ^• olde Testament, which lyued longe be­fore the commynge of Christ being vnder the cloudes & shadowes of y ^• olde lawe.

For what intente what the Palme signifyeth do they beare Palmes in theyr hā ­des?

Forsothe to signifye the victorye that they haue gotten by Christ.

why I pray you, how could they get any victory by christ whan he was not yet borne? Marke this well.

Yies forsoth brother Christopher. For although Christ at that tyme was not come in the fleshe & borne of the moost glorious virgyn Ma­ry, yet dyd they beleue vndoubted­ly, & were perfectly persuaded that he should come, & that they shoulde be redemed by his passion, & that he shoulde paye theyr dettes to God y ^• father, euen with his moost precy­ous bloud, delyuer them out of cap tiuite, & make them pertakers of y ^e [Page] glory of heauē. And although they dyd not se Christ with theyr corpo­rall eies, yet dyd they se hym withe theyr spirituall eyes, that is to say w ^t y ^• eyes of theyr faith, yea & beleue wythouteony hesitacion or doub­tynge, as Christ sayde of Abraham to the Iewes, Abraham youre fa­ther I [...]n. viii: dyd reioyse that he myghte se my daye, and he sawe it and was gladde. This is to be vnderstonde y ^t Abrahā dyd se Christ with y ^• eyes of hys faythe, which is y ^• very true & perfecte sight.

So farre as Note. I remember I haue red this texte in the Scripture, blessed are the ey Luke. [...] es that se those thinges, which you se. For I saye vnto you, that many Prophetes & kynges woulde haue sene those thynges that ye se, & yet haue they not sene them, and heare those thynges, which ye heare, and yet haue they not hearde them.

Ye saye trueth. This is vn­derstonded [Page] of the corporallsyght of Mathe well. Christ. They desyred so greatly the redempcion of Israell, y ^t they euer­more wyshed the cōmyng of Christ in the flesshe, as we maye perceyue in the Prophette Esaye, where we Esa. xvi. read these wordes: Sende forth O LORDE, that lambe the ruler of the earth oute of the rocke of y ^e deserte vnto the mount of the doughter of Syon. Agayne, woulde God thou wouldest clyue asunder the heuēs and come downe. They desyred in Esa. lxiiii. dede very greatly to se Christ with theyr corporall eyes, but yet dydde they se him none otherwyse thā w ^t the eyes of theyr fayth, in asmuche as he was not t [...]an borne, but on­ly Gen. iii. Eco. xvi. xvi. [...]ii. Num. xxi. promised of God the father, and shadowed by diuers ceremonies of the olde lawe. For as saynte Paule [...]. Cor. x. sayth, all oure fathers were vnder a clowde. Therfore in asmuche as they dyd faythfully beleue ī Christ [Page] and hope to be saued by his mooste blessed passion, althoughe they dyd not se hym with theyr corporal ey es, yet was he vnto them a Sauy­our, a redemer, a perfecte satisfac­cion, so that by hym they euen at y ^e tyme had gotten the victorye ouer Note here of y ^• Palme synne, death and hell.

But I pray you why do they rather beare a Palme in theyr handes than any other thynge?

I wyll tel you neighbours, that which they beare in dede in theyr handes, is not pro perly called a Palme, for they are the bowes of a Salow tree, but by cause we haue no Palmes growīg in this londe, therfore do we beare them in stede of Palmes. By bea­rynge of those Palmes the victory that we haue gotten ouer Satan thorowe Christ is signifyed.

Why rather by the Palme than by ony other tree?

For Aristotle why victo ry is syg­nyfyed by a Palme tre. & Plutarche do wryte, as Aulus [Page] Gellius testifiethe, that the nature of a Palme tree is this, y ^e although there be neuer so great weyghtes & burdens layd vpō it, so that a mā would not thyncke it possible to be borne, yet doth not the Palme tree once bowe, nor gyue place to y ^e bur den, but valeauntly aryseth & pre­uayleth agaynst the weyght layde vpon it. Therfore by this Palme tree rather thā by any other is vic Prob. viii. Spm. viii. Lib iii. Cap. vi. torye alwaye signifyed, yea & that not only in diuyne but also in hu­mayne literature.

We per­perceyue it nowe ryght well.

Surely it is a thing much worthy to be noted.

Ye saye trueth. If men dyd knowe the significaciō of those bowes, which they beare in theyr hādes at y ^t tyme, they would not so supersticiously abuse them, as they do

Ye say truth, but let those thynges passe, & let vs go forwarde with oure Procession.

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Than go they forthe with y ^• Crosse vntyll they come vnto a cer tayne stedde in the chyrche yearde, where they stōde styll, & in y ^e meane seasō, y ^e prest rede, y ^e gospel

It What the re dyng of the Gospel in y ^• Chyrchyard singnifyeth, is trueth, what meneth y ^t?

It signifiethe the Prophetes, whiche prophesied of Christes commynge, & declared that whan he once came captiuite shoulde be exiled, & liber­ty reduced, all sorow & care should be dry uenawaye, & all ioyfull & me ry thinges succede & come in place. They prophesied that at hys com­mynge the eyes of the blynde shall Esa. xxxv be opened, the eares of y ^e deafe shall heare, the halte shall skyppe as the harte, & the tonge of the dūme shall speake. Agayne the preached, that, whan y ^e annoynted sauioure come, he shall preach mery tidynges to y ^e poore, heale the contryte in herte, Esa. lxf: Luke, iii [...], preach delyueraunce to the preson ners, and syght to the blynde. &c. [Page] Are not all these ioyfull & pleasa [...] newes? This doth the Gospell sig­nify, which the prest readeth ther. For this Greke worde Euangeliō, What E­uāgeliō [...] which we cal Gospel ī Englysh, so [...] deth in our common tonge, a good, ioyefull and mery message. Thus ye perceyue, what the readinge of that Gospel signifyeth.

Yea forsothe very well. I praye you go forthe.

The Gospell beynge once done, thā goeth y ^e people forth with the Crosse that is couered, & euen streyght wayes not farre frō them come other people & the prest with the Sacrament, which haue with them a Crosse bare & vncoue­red, prycked full of grene Oliues & Palmes.

What do all those thynges I praye you, preach vnto vs.

Tary a whyle, & I shall de clare to you altogyther. But fyrste ye shall note, that there come forth certayne chyldren before the naked [Page] Crosse, [...]ngynge a certayne songe, whiche begynneth, En rex venit. Beholde the kynge commeth.

What meanethe that.

This What the chyldrē sig nify, y ^• come syngyng be fore the Crosse. may be vnderstonded by those Pro phetes, whiche prophecied of Chri­stes cōmynge a lytle before he was borne, shewynge that he was nere at hande, or it maye ryght well sig nify S. Iohn Baptist, whiche dyd not only shewe before that Christe was at hand, but also poynted him euen with his fynger, sayenge: Be­holde Ioan. [...]. the lambe of God, whiche ta­keth awaye the sinne of the world. Now as towchynge y ^e naked crosse, What the nak [...]d crosse signifyeth. it signifyeth Christ alredy come, & borne into this worlde. And they y ^t go w ^t the crosse, betoken the people of the newe Testament, whiche be­leue in Christ, & receyue hym with What those people signi fye, whych go wyth th [...] Crosse. enbrasynge armes.

But I praye you for what cause, is that Crosse adourned wythe grene Oli­ues [Page] & Palmes?

The grene What the [...]rene O­lyues sing nyfye on y ^• Crosse Olyue leaues declare vnto vs the vnmesurable aboundans of vertu es, whiche are in Christe, of whome alone we haue al that euer good is, And what so euer vertue is in vs or what so euer good dede comme from vs, all that we do receyue of Christ, the sole Author & foūtayne of all goodnes. I am y ^e vyne, sayth Christe, & ye are the braunches. He Ioan. xv. What the Palmes signify on y ^• Crosse. that abydeth in me, & I in him, brī geth forth much fruyte. For with­out me ye can do nothyng. And as concernynge the Palmes, they sig­nify the victory, which Christ hath gotten ouer Satan, synne, death, hell, desperacion. &c. by his mooste blessed passion, & the shedyng of his moost precious bloude, as he sayth by the Prophet Oze, from the po­wer Oze. xiii: of death, sayth he, wyll I dely­uer thē, yea from death it selfe wyl [Page] I redeme them. O death, I wyl be thy death. O hell, I wyll be thy de­strucciō. Thus ye se, what is ment by the grene Olyues and Palmes, wher w ^c the naked Crosse is adour­ned.

Yea verely.

Nowe marke what followethe. After the songe of the chyldren, the preste go eth forthe wyth the Sacrament & certayne people also withe the na­ked Crosse, vntyll they mete wyth that Crosse, that is obnelated and couered. They are not so sone met, but the bumbled Crosse vanyshe a­way, & is cōueyed from the compa­nye streyghte wayes. Than all the whole people enclose togyther w ^t great ioye, singyng & makyng me­lody tryumphantly followyng the naked crosse, bearyng in theyr han­des euery one a Palme, ī some pla­ces also they beare some grene her­bes in the stede of Oliues.

What is signifyed, I praye you, by [Page] all those thynges.

Where as y ^e couered Crosse vanyssheth away What the goynge a­waye of y ^• couered crosse sig­nifyeth & goeth out of place at the ingresse & commynge in of the naked & opē Crosse, it preachethe to vs, y ^t whan Christe was once come, & appeared in the flesh & had suffered and dyed for vs, that than all the Ceremoni­es, types, figures, clowdes & shado­wes of y ^e olde lawe vanysshed away and were no l [...]nger of ony effecte. Whan the lyghte once shyneth, the darkenes bearethe rule no lenger. Christ the true lyght of the worlde is come, therfore those ceremonies Ioan. vii. of the olde law are now no more ne­cessary. The trueth of Goddes pro­myse is pformed. Therfore al shado wes, which were as pledges ought of necessite to vanysh awaye. They that are truly conuerted vnto the Note. LORDE, haue no more the vayle of ceremonies before theyr faces, but are free, & with open eyes of theyr [...]. Cor. iii. [Page] sayth they se y ^• LORD Christ. More ouer y ^• people, that accōpany bothe crosses mete togyther & enclose as one, followyng the open and naked crosse.

What signifieth that?

This sheweth y ^• they, whiche What the enclosyng of both the peo ple togyther signifyeth. were before the cōmynge of Christ, & they that haue bene syns y ^t tyme, are all one, of one chyrche, of one cō gregacion, of one shepefold, professe one God, beleue in one Sauioure, haue one heauēly father, & loke for one rewarde, which is the glory of heauen thorowe Iesus Christe, as S. Paule sayth, all dyd eate of one spirituall meate, & all dyd dryncke 1. Cor. x. of one spirituall dryncke, for they What the syngyng of the people togyther sig nyfyeth. droncke of y ^e spirituall rocke, which accōpanyd thē. And this rocke tru ly was Christ. They syngynge and makynge melody togyther, signifi eth theyr inward & vnsayned ioye, which they haue cōceyued in theyr hertes for the redempciō that they [Page] haue in Christe Iesus.

But what meanethe theyr Palmes and Oliues or other greene herbes in theyr handes?

I haue decla­red vnto you before, that the Pal­mes Palmes. signify the victory, y ^t we haue gotten ouer Satan thorowe oure LORDE & captayne Iesus Christe, as S. Paule sayth, death is swalo [...]. Cor. xv. wed vp into victorye. O deathe where is thy stynge. O hell, where is thy victory? The stynge of deth is syn The strength of syn is y ^e law But thanckes be vnto God, which hath gyuen vs the vyctory thorow our LORD Iesus Christ. Christ him selfe also sayth, in the world ye shall haue trouble, but be on a good con Ioan. xvi. fort, for I haue ouercome y ^e world. All that is borne of God, ouercom­meth the world, saythe S. Iohn, & [...]. Ioan. v. this is y ^e victory, which hath ouer­come the worlde, euen our faythe.

What is signified by y ^e grene [Page] Oliues or other herbes?

The The Olyues that they sig nyfye. aboundance of vertues. The be a­rynge of Olyues she wethe that we are not only delyuered oute of ser­uile captiuite, & that we haue gottē the victory thorowe Iesus Christ, & are set at liberty, that we beyng w ^tout feare & delyuered frō y ^e poore Luke. [...] of oure enemies, shoulde serue God all the dayes of our lyfe ī holines & righteousnes, but that we are also Note here of y ^• Olyue tre. thorow hi, plenteously garnysshed & enuyroned w ^t al kīdesof vertues do now no lesse florysh w ^t vertues, than y ^e Olyue tree dothe w ^t fruyte, which as Plini writethis neuer w ^t out grene leues & fruyte. Therfore Lib. xv: Psal. [...]. saith Dauid, I being as a fruytful Olyue tree in y ^e house of God, haue trusted ī the mercy of God for euer: more.

we perceyue now these thynges ryghte well. What follo­weth I praye you?

These thi ges once done, thā the people gothe [Page] somewhat further vnto the chyrch doreward, and there stondeth styll.

I remēber it well.

Im mediately after certayne chyldren stondynge vpō an high place right agaynst the people, syngynge with a lowde voyce a certayne Hymne, in the prayse of our Sauioure Ie­sus Christ, which begynneth, Glo­rialaus.

It is trueth.

At the ende of euery verse the chyl­dren caste downe certayne cakes or What the chyldren signify, y ^• synge glo­ria laus. breades with [...]loures.

What do they meane by this?

The chyldrē which sig, betokē y ^e faithful christen men in this worlde, whiche ought to be simple & hūble in hert, as a chylde is, as Christ sayth, vere [...]at xviii ly I saye vnto you, excepte ye be cō uerted & become as a chylde, ye shal not enter into the kingdome of he­uen. Who so euer therfore hūblethe himselfe as this chylde, he it is that is greatest in the kyngdome of hea­uen. [Page] Also S. Paule, Brothers, be [...]. Cor: [...] not chyldren, in vnderstandynge howe be it, as concernynge malici­ousnes, be chyldren, but in vnder­standynge be perfecte. Nowe as cō cernynge the syngynge & castynge downe of cakes & floures, ye shall heare now thre thiges. The fyrst is What the syngyng of [...] chyldren sig nyfy [...], geuyng of glorye & prayse to Christ for his innumerable benefites she­wed vnto vs, which is signifyed by the syngyng of the chyldren. For it is conueniente that we be not for­getfull of Goddes goodnes toward vs, but that we be thanckefull a­gayne for it, and synge perpetuall prayses to his moost blyssed name. For this is the rewarde and amen­des that he desireth, as he himselfe sayth, the Sacrifice of prayse shall Psa. [...] honouor me. Also y ^e Psalmograph sayth: O [...]ier to God the Sacrifice of prayse. The seconde is an ho­nest conuersacion, & the continuall What [...] flou re [...] signify [...]. [Page] exercyse of godly vertues, which is signified by the floures, that y ^e chyl dren east do [...]ne. For seing that we are restored vnto oure olde liberte Note thorowe Christe, whiche we lost in Adam, & are nowe become christen mē, we ought not only to be thāke­ful to God for his benefites, but al so leade an honest & pure lyfe, that by this meanes also Goddes glory maye be set forth by vs, as Christe sayth, Let youre lyght so shyne be­fore math. v. men, that they maye se youre good workes, & glorify your father which is in heauen. We are set w ^t ­oute feare, & delyuered frō y ^e power of our enemies, sayth Zacharye y ^e preste father of S. Iohn Baptiste, that we should serue God all y ^e day Luke. i. es of our lyfe, in holynes & ryghte­ousnes. We are the workemanshyp of god, sayth S. Paule, created in Ephe. ii. Iesus Christe vnto good workes, which God hath prepared that we [Page] shoulde walke in them. Agayne, ye i. Cor. v [...] are derely bought. Glorify GOD now therfore ī your body & ī your spiryte, which are Goddes. Also in another place, If any manne be in Christe, he is a newe creature. The thyrde is mercy towarde the poore ii. Cor. v. people, which is signifyed by the ca stynge downe of the cakes. Thys What the ca styng dow [...] of the Ca­signifye. mercy towarde the nedy mēbers of Christ, ought diligently to be exer cised of all christē men, which haue the goodes of y ^e world in theyr pos­session, or els they shewe thē selues vnworthy the benefites of GOD. For by mercye & faythe are synnes pourged, saythe the wyse man. To Prouer. x [...] Pro, xxi. do mercy & iudgement pleaseth the LORDE more then Sacrifice. Giue Luke. xi, almes, sayth christ, & behold all thi­ges are cleane vnto you. Thus se you, what is signifyed by the syn­gynge of the chyldren, & by the ca­stynge downe of the floures and of [Page] the cakes. Wherof ye learne, what is youre dutye to do agayne vnto Beholde what our duty is to ward god God for his excedynge & incompa­rable benefytes towarde you, vere­ly to be thanckefull, to lede a god­ly lyfe, & to be mercyfull to y ^• poore mēbers of Christ.

Undoub­tedly the significacions of these ce­remonies are godlye. I woulde all men knewe them, & woulde do ther after.

The very same wysh I also.

But what doth it mene What the stōding of the chyl­dren in so [...]yghe a place sig nifyeth. I praye you, y ^• the chyldren, which singe, & cast downe the floures and cakes, stonde in so hygh a place frō the ground?

This preacheth vnto vs, y ^e they, which gyue prayse vnto God & practyse an honest con uersacion, and shewe mercye to the poore poople, shoulde not do it for Mathe this well. vayne glorye nor for the prayse of men, but only for the glory of God, settynge theyr myndes, seyng they are come to Christe, no more vpon [Page] earthlye thynges, but vpon thyn­ges celestiall & heauenly. In token wherof they ascend and go vp into such an hygh place from the earth. And this is it, that S. Paule wry [...]. [...] teth, yf ye be rysen agayne w ^t christ seake for those thynges that are a­boue, where christ is syttynge on y ^• ryght hāde of God. Seke for those thynges that are aboue, & not that are vpō y ^• earth. For you are dead, & your lyfe is hydde with Christ in God.

This is a good lesson, we thancke you for it.

Well, nowe marke the ende of your Pro­cession, for it is almoost done.

I pray you declare what soeuer re mayneth

Theyse thinges once done thā goeth the Processiō forth, vntyll they come to y ^• chyrche dore, whiche, whan they come vnto it, is sparred, & certayne chyldren in the chyrch syngynge. The songe beyng once done, the preste taketh y ^• crosse in his hande, & putteth the dore frō [Page] him with it, & so openeth it, and entreth What the sperynge of the Chyrche dore signi fyeth. in with al the other people after hym.

What do all those thīges preach vnto vs?

The spearynge of the chyrch dore signi­fyeth, that heauē gates were spea­red Gen. iii. Rom. v. agaynst vs for the synne of our fyrst father Adam, in whom all we haue offended, so that no mā could once enter by his owne vertue, po­wer, merites & good dedes into he­uen, Ioan. iii. as Christ witnesseth, no man goeth vp into heauen, but he that came downe from heauen. That is to say, no man by his owne strēgth & vertue ascendeth into heauē, but Christ, whiche descended from hea­uen, & toke flesh of the moost glori­ous Note & pure virgyn Marye. Ther­fore euery one that goethe vp into heauen, goeth vp by Christe, as he hymselfe witnesseth, I am y ^• waye, Ioan. xiiii the trueth & the lyfe, no man com­methe vnto the father, but by me. [Page] Therfore to declare that oure in­gresse & entrynge into heauen, com meth only by Christe & by Christes death, therfore the preste openethe the dore w ^t the crosse. For ye knowe right well, that none of all the holy Patriarches, Prophetes, Kynges, and other godly fathers of the olde Testamēt dyd enter into the glory of heauen, vntyll Christ had suffe­red & payed oure raunsome by hys moost precious bloud

Ye say trueth.

This declareth ther­fore manifestely, y ^e by Christe alone we haue free passage into eternall glorye, as S. Paule sayth, euerla­stynge Rom. v [...], What the chyldren sig nifye, which synge with in the chyrch lyfe is the gyfte of God, tho row Christ Iesus our LORD.

But what is sygnifyed by y ^e chyl­dren which are within the chyrche at the dore syngyng?

Uerely the myrth, ioye & melodye, whiche the Aungelles make in heauen, for mās redēpciō by christ. It sheweth [Page] how glad & mery they are, that mā is become pertaker of y ^• glory, wher of they haue the fruicion. And this theyr ioy maketh them to come for to mete the soules of the faythfull, & to present them to the diuine ma ieste.

This is a very godly ex posicion.

Whan they are once What the chyrch sig nifyethe. entred into the chyrche, wherby he uen is signifyed, than do the all the people knele downe, & the prest pluc kyng vp the cloth, wherwith y ^e cru cifixe was couered, and makyng it open to all that are there presente, syngethe a certayne songe, the peo­ple in the meane season prayenge & gyuynge thanckes vnto God. And so endethe the Procession.

I pray you declare this also vnto vs What the Crucifixe & the peo­ple signifi

This signifyethe that whan we be once departed oute of thys world, & are brought of the Aūgels into heauen, that than we shall for euer & euer worldes without ende [Page] enioye the moost glorious syght of the diuine maieste, syngynge vnto him prayses incessātly on this mā ­ner: Thou arte worthy, O LORDE, Apo iiii. to receyue glory, honour & vertue. For y ^u hast made al thinges, and for thy wyll they are and were made. Thou arte worthye to take y ^• boke, & to open the seales of it. For thou Apo. v. waste slayne & haste redemed vs by thy bloude. To hym that syttethe on the Throne, & to the lābe be bles syng, honour, glory, & power, worl­des without ende. Amen.

Now haue I declared vnto you neighbours, what euery ceremony y ^e is vsed in the processiō of Palme sondaye signifyeth.

Ye haue done so in dede brother Philemon. We do not only thāke you for this youre great payne, but also desyre almyghty God with moost humble hertes to rewarde you for it in his glory.

In thus doing I haue Ioan. [...]vii; [Page] done but my duty, & I confesse my selfe to be an vnprofitable seruaūt Notwithstandynge yf this my sim ple declaracion hathe profyted you ony thynge at all, or set forwarde your knowledge in christ, verely I am not a lytle glad. And yf I shall perceiue hereafter, that ye practise those thynges in your dayly man­ners, y ^t I haue taught you in wor­des, surely neyghbours I shall vn faynedly reioyse & gyue God herty thanckes, that you are so serious & earnest labourers i y ^e LORDES vine yearde.

Neyghbour Phi lemō, doubte ye not, but that with Goddes grace we wyll labour dili­gently to follow your moost godly & wholesome admonicions. There­fore yf there be ony mo ceremonies to be declared. I pray you expresse thē to vs

I pray you what me neth y ^e wasshyng of the Altares on Maūdy Thursday at after noone.

¶ Of wasshynge of the Altares, & what it signifyeth.

THer are diuers aūswers made vnto it, as we we reade, but I thyncke it is done to put vs in re­membraunce, howe Christ wasshed his disciples fete at his maundy, y ^• we in lyke manner shoulde be redye at all tymes to do good vnto oure christen brothers, yea euen to wash theyr fete, whiche semeth to be the moost hūble & lowely acte, that we can do vnto thē. If I, sayth Christ Ioan. xii [...]. being your LORDE & mayster haue wasshed your fete, verely you also ought to washe one anothers fete. For I haue gyuen you an exāple, y ^e as I haue done to you, so lykewyse ye should do. Let that mynde be in [...]. [...]. you, sayth S. Paule, that was in Christ Iesus.

¶ Of garnishyng y ^• chyrch on Easter daye, & what it signifyeth.

[Page]

VUhat meaneth it y ^• on Easter What the garnys­shyng of y ^• chyrch on Easter daye signi fyeth. daye the Images & all other thynges, that were before hyd, are made opē, & the Temple restored to her pr [...]tine & olde beautye?

Nothynge els but that after christ had once suffred his passion for our synnes, & was rysen agayne from Rom, iiii: death to lyfe for our iustificacion, all cloudes & shadowes were taken awaye, all ceremonies & sacrifices of the olde lawe ceased, all ioye, all myrthe, all felicite, all pleasure, all liberte, & all that euer we lost before in Adā, is nowe recouered agayne Note by Christe. In token of this oure welth & ioye is the Temple on Ea­ster day moost preciously adourned

We are nowe aboundantlye satisfyed concernyng the ceremoni es y ^• are vsed in the Lente. I praye you therfore declare vnto vs y ^e last parte of our Potacion accordynge [Page] to your promise which is this, how we ought to prepare our selues for to receyue worthely at the tyme of Easter y ^t moost blessed Sacrament of the A [...]re.

Neyghbours I wyll do it with all my herte. I pray you therfore, marke wel, what shal be sayde.

Speake on brother Philemō, we wyll heare you withe diligent eares and attent myndes.

Howe we ought to prepare oure selues to receyue worthely at the tyme Easter, the moost bles­sed Sacrament of the [...]

THat you maye pre pare youre selues con­dignely & worthely to receyue the moost bles­sed Sacrament of the [Page] Altare, it shal be necessarey that ye obserue certayne thynges. Fyrst y ^• ye labour with all mayne to erecte & lyft vp your selues from your old synfull lyuynge, where w ^t in tymes past, ye haue bene miserably detay­ned, before ye approch vnto this ce lestial table. For yf it were not law ful for y ^e vncircūcysed in y ^e fleshe to eate of y ^e figuratiue Paschal Lābe how much more thā is it vnlawful for y ^e vncircūcysed in the hart, y ^• is, for the synfull & vnclene person to taste of the true Paschall Lambe, which was offered & slayne for our sake? Pourge out the olde leuen, [...]. Cor. v. sayth S. Paule, y ^e ye may be newe dowe, lyke as ye are swete bread.

For christ is offered a Paschal lābe for vs. Here he sheweth, y ^e yf we wyl worthely celebrate our Easter, we must put awaye our olde & synfull lyuynge. But before all thynges in this expurgacion of vice, ye muste [Page] earnestly labour, that ye come not to receyue the body of oure LORDE w ^t a malicious, hatefull & vnchari­table harte. For this is a Sacra­ment of peace, of vnite, of concord, & of vnfayned loue. Therfore ther ought to be mutuall reconciliaciō on al partes, before ony come vnto this celestiall feast, as saynt Iohn Chrisostom sayth, let no Hypocrite Hom. [...] De [...] Iud [...]e. approche, let no man with a cloked mynde once be so bolde, as for to drawe nygh vnto so great mysteri­es, vnlesse he be condēned & deserue the sētēce, & suffer y ^•, whiche Iudas suffered. For after the communion Mai. xxvi. of the table the dyuell entred into hym. Let no Iudas therfore be at the table. This Sacrifice is a spiri tuall meate. For as corporal meate whan it fyndeth a bellye occupyed w ^t aduerse & corrupt humors, doth both hurte the more, noye y ^• more, & helpeth nothynge at all, so this spi [Page] ritual meate lykewyse, yf it fīdeth ony manne polluted w ^t malignite & euel, shal destroy hī the more, not of the owne nature of it, but thorowe the faute of hym that receyueth it. Let y ^e mynd therfore & the thought be pure in al thynges, for y ^e Sacri­fice is pure Let vs prepare an holy soole. Let vs hold fast y ^e holye kisse, which associateth the soules, recōcy leth y ^e myndes, & maketh one body. For we all seme to take vpō vs one bodye. Therfore let vs myxte oure selues inone body, not w ^t the cōmix tion of bodies, but beynge bounde with the charite of soules y ^• by this meanes we maye be associated to y ^• fruytes of the diuine table. For a­mōge al vices, this table of y ^e LORD detesteth none so muche as y ^• synne of malyce, seynge that it mooste of all alienateth mennes myndes frō the worthy receyuyng of this holy rōmuniō. Therfore prouyde aboue [Page] all thynges, that no kynd of disple sure be in youre myndes, but that ye be of that affeccion towarde all mē, that Christ Iesus was toward you, which disdayned not for your saluaciō, to suffer his moost blyssed body to be broken, & his moost preci ous bloude to be shed vpon the Al­tare of the crosse.

We wyll em ploye all our endeuour to come vn­to this moost holy Bancket wythe pure myndes & charitable hartes.

God graunt it.

Secondely knowe that it is not ynoughe vnto the condigne & wor­thy preparaciō of your selues vnto this mooste heauenlye table to ex­pourge & put synne oute of you, ex­cept ye also garnysh your myndes with godly vertues. Is it ynough for a man agaynste the commynge of his frend only to make clene his house? Is it not also conuenient, y ^• he adourne & garnysh it so pleasaūt [Page] ly as he can deuyse?

Reason requireth so.

It is a thousād tymes more conuenient, that whā we shal receyue the LORD of al LOR­DES & Kyng of all Kynges into our hertes, we than do not onlye make cleane the house of our soules, but also garnysh it with the moost odo­riferous & redolēt floures of diuine vertues.

verely ye say truth.

Remember howe greuously, Mat. xxii. that manne was punysshed, which presumed to come vnto the maria­ges not hauynge the nuptiall gar­ment.

We remember it well.

Take hede than, y ^t ye do not onlye prouyde for the expurgacion of vice, but also for the adourment of vertues, vnlesse a lyke thynge chaūse vnto you. Blessed is he that [...]po. xvi. watcheth, sayth God, & kepeth his clothes, that he walke not naked, & men se his fylthines.

Thyrdely it is requisite, y ^• whā [Page] ye haue thus garnysshed youre sel­ues, ye trust not ī your owne good workes, or in your owne prepara­cion, as though ye had made youre selues worthy ynough to come vn­to the eatynge of thys inestimable treasure, but let youre whole affi­aunce be in the mercye of God, and whan ye haue done all that ye are able to do, graunt youre selues vn­profitable seruātes, & desyre more & more continually valeaunce and strength to do the wyll of God, be­sechynge hym of hys infinite good nes to supplye that, which lacketh ī you, & bycause y ^• ye may receyue y ^• more grace & strengthe to walke in the pathwaies of the LORD, ye now come w ^t all reuerence vnto y ^e moost heauenly meate, wherwyth you be­ynge saciated, maye valeauntly en arme your selues & maynely fyght agaynst Satā, & his wicked army.

Fourthly, ye must gyue serious [Page] diligēce, that ye come vnto this ta­ble of y ^• LORD w ^t a feruent desyre, w ^t an hongry stomake, with a gredye mynd, & with a famelyke soule. For this Sacramēt hateth a stomacke that is alredy saturated & fylled. It proponeth and setteth forth all kynde of celestiall deynties to the hungrye soule, as the moost blessed virgyne saythe, he hathe fylled the Luke. [...] hungry with good thynges, but y ^• rytch hath he let go empty. Blessed Mat. v. are they, that hunger & thyrst righ teousnes, for they shall be fylled. Al Esa. iv. ye that are a thyrste, saythe Christ, come vnto the waters, & ye y ^t haue no mony, make haste, bye and eate. Come bye w ^tout mony, & wythout ony marchaundyse wyne & mylke. Agayne, I wyll gyue to hym that thyrstethe of the well of the water Apoc. xxi. of lyfe frely. And he that is a thyrst let him come, & he that wyl, let him take the water of lyfe freelye. The [Page] fat Pharise, the belyed Hypocrite, A [...]o. [...]. the porkelynge Iusticiarie, whiche trust in theyr owne righteousnes, are no fytte G [...]stes for this mooste delicious table, but the hūble syn­ner, which knoweth his infirmite, confesseth his imbecillite, desyreth valeaunce, h [...]ngreth & thyrsteth for strength to do the wyll of GOD.

God sende vs this hunger & thyrst euermore.

Fyftely ye maye not onlye come vnto this celestial table with hongry stomackes to obtayne these inestimable treasures, but also be­leue vnfaynedly that ye shall haue all good thynges, that ye wysshe or longe for, accordyng to your desyre & fayth For he that commeth vnto God, sayth S. Paule, must beleue [...]. y ^• god is, & that he is a rewarder to thē that seke hym.

Withoute thys faythe, no manne commeth worthelye to recepue the [Page] body of our LORDE, as Chrisostom saythe: Let vs all that are sycke go Hom. in Mat. [...]v. Cap. xiiii. vnto Christ with great fayth. For yf all they which dyd but towch y ^e hēme of his garmēt, receyued theyr perfecte healthe, howe muche more shall we be corroborated and made strong, yf we haue hym whole w ^tin vs? Therfore whē ye syt downe to receyue the blessed body of Christe, call streyght wayes to your remembraunce the death of Christ. Remē ber that his bodye was brokon for you vpon the Altare of the Crosse. Rem [...]mber that he offred hymselfe Ephe. v. a swete smelling Sacrifice to God the father for the abolysshement of all your synnes. Remēber that his Mat. [...]vi Luk. xxii. bloud was shed for the remission of your synnes. Remēber that by the effusion & sheddynge of hys mooste precious bloud, all your offēses are [...] Ioan. i. cleane wasshed awaye, & you pour­ged from all iniquite. In consideracion [Page] wherof, ye nowe receyue y ^• ve ry body of christ, bycause ye shoulde nothynge doubte of the remission of your synnes, & of the fauoure of GOD toward you, as Christ hym selfe witnesseth. He that eateth my flesh & dryncketh my bloude, hathe eternal lyfe, & I shall rayse hym vp in the last day. For my flesh is very meate, & my bloud is very dryncke. He that eteth my flesh & dryncketh my bloud, dwelleth in me, & I in hī But do not only call to remēbrāce these aforsayd thynges, but beleue faythfully also, & be perswaded vn­doubtedly, that they be true, & shall chaūse to you according vnto your fayth. So shal it come to passe, that w ^t the receyuīg of Christes body, ye shall also receyue all the benefytes, gyftes, and graces of Christe, yf ye beleue, so that not only Christ is be come altogyther yours, but also al y ^• euer he hath besydes is yours, as [Page] S. Paule say the, he that hath not Roma. viii spared his owne sonne, but gaue hī for vs all, how is it possible, that he also should not gyue vs all thinges w ^t him? O the inestimable treasu­res, that lye bent out in this moost holy Sacrament of the Altare for the faythefull. Blyssed is he that is a faythfull geste of this celestial ta ble. Blessed is he that with a pure fayth & syncere charite eateth y ^e bo­dy of his LORDE. Blessed is that mā which receiueth this moost honora ble Sacramēt, Christes very body & bloude with an vndefyled consci­ence. For Satan, synne, death, hel, desperacion. &c. shall not preuayle agenst hym. Such one may be sure to dwell in Christ, & Christ in him. Such one may be sure to haue his herte abundātly enfarsed w ^t celesti all graces & heauēly gyftes. Such one maye be sure to haue God y ^e fa­ther, God y ^e son, & God y ^e holy Ghost [Page] dwellynge perpetually in his brest. whā ye haue done these thīges a for sayd, than drawe nygh, whan tyme requirethe, w ^t all hūble & reuerent feare vnto the feaste of the LORDES bodye, & before y ^t ye receyue it into your mouth, praye on this māner.

¶ A prayer to be sayde before y ^e re­ceyuynge of the Sacrament.

O LORD I am not worthy, that y ^u shouldest enter into me, but saye the word only & my soule shall be made whole. Heale y ^u me O God, and I shall be healed, saue thou me, Psal. [...] & I shall be saued. Create in me, O LORDE, a cleane herte, that w ^t true fayth, & perfecte charite I maye re ceyue thy moost holy body w ^t suche dignitie & worthynes thorowe thy grace into my breste, that y ^u mayste dwel in me & I in the for euermore AMEN.

Thus haue I neighbours declared vnto you cōpendiously, how ye shal [Page] prepare your selues worthely to re ceyue at y ^e time of Easter the moste blyssed Sacrament of the A [...]re. Yf ye receyue it on such māner, as I haue taughte you here tofore, ye may be sure to receyue it worthely & accordynge to Christes instituciō vnto y ^e helth of your soules.

I praye God gyue vs grace to re­ceyue it accordynge to youre moost godly īstrucciōs, y ^t our soules maye be truly fed w ^t the true body of our Sauiour Iesus Christ.

But for as much as we se many departe vnreuerētly frō the LORDES table, therfore wyll I in fewe wordes by your pacience declare to you, after what manner ye shall go from it, & howe ye shall behaue your selues e­uer Ephe. v. after, that ye maye walke as it becommeth the chyldren of lyghte,

I pray you hertely let it so be

¶ Howe we ought to behaue oure selues, after that we haue receyued [Page] the moost blessed Sacramēt of the Altare.

NOwe moost dere brothers af­ter y ^• ye haue receyued the bo­dy of our LORDE Iesus Christ, and w ^t that same moost glorious bodye tasted also his most precious bloud H [...]m. [...]. De sac. par [...] Myst. which, as Chrisostome sayth, is the helth of our soules, wassheth, garni sheth, enflameth our soules maketh our mynde more shynynge thā the fyre, more clere than the gould, & is y ^e sufficient price of y ^e hole world, it is conueniēt that ye shewe your sel ues thanckefull agayne to God for these his iestimable benefites, whi­che he at that tyme hath frely gyuē vnto you, euen y ^e very body & bloud of his welbeloued sōne & our LORD Iesus Christ, w ^t all the other incom parable treasures which pertayne vnto hym. For all theyse thynges hath he moost bounteously gyuen you in this moost holy Sacramēt. [Page] It is therfore, I say, cōueniēt, y ^• ye shewe your selues agayne thancke­full to hym, by renderynge harty & immortall thāckes. For this moost holy mysterye is called, Sacramentum Eucharistiae, that is, y ^• Sacrament of thanckes gyuynge, bycause y ^t whā eyther we our selues receyue it, or els be presēt, whā other do receyue it, we should gyue God precordiall thāckes for his bounty & kyndnes, shewed to vs thorow Iesus Christ. Who commeth to the table of onye man, & departeth without thāckes gyuynge? To approche therfore to sytte downe at the table of y ^e moost hygh & redoubted kynge, where no terrestriall & corruptible meate is eaten, but euen the very bodye of y ^e pure & immaculate Lambe Iesus Christ, & to departe from so heauē ­ly a table w ^t vnthanckefull hertes, certes it were a thyng to much for to be detested. It shal therfore be ve [Page] ry conuenient after ye haue recey­ued that moost blyssed Sacramēt, not to depart out of y ^e chirch before ye haue gyuē God harty thanckes for his manifold benignite toward you, ye maye do it on this manner.

¶ Thāckes gyuynge after y ^e receyuynge of the Sacrament.

VUe thancke the moost gentle & mercyfull father that thou hast vouchedsafe this day of thyne own goodnes to fede vs w ^t an heuē ly meate, euen y ^• very body & bloud of thy moost intierly beloued sōne our LORDE & sauiour Iesus Christ Graunt we besech the y ^• we by this celestiall feaste engraffed, yea incor porated i his moost holy body, may so infixe in oure brestes hys moost bytter death, y ^e we by remembryng the same, maye dayly dye vnto syn, and so encrease thorow thy diuine grace in al vertues, that thy name maye be perpetually sanctifyed in [Page] vs, thy wyll accomplysshed among vs here in earth, as it is in heauē, & our christen brothers loued vnfay nedly & socoured mercifully, vnto y ^• immortall prayse of thy moost holy & blyssed name, to whome be all ho­nour & glory for euer & euer.

Amen.

So he it.

LORD let it so come to passe.

After y ^• ye departe frō y ^• table of our Lorde Learne he [...]e what we [...] fesse to do whā we recea­ue the Sa­crament God, caull vnto youre remēbraūce what ye haue done, & what ye haue professed. Fyrste remēber y ^• ye haue receyued the very body of our lord Iesus Christ, of al treasures moost precious. Secondely remēber that by the receyuynge of that, ye haue professed youre selues to be the son­nes of God, the members of Christ, the mayntayners of true godlines the studious followers of Goddes wyll, the feruent louers of our chri sten brothers, & the extreme enemi­es of Satan & his army, so long as [Page] euer ye lyue. All theyse thynges do ye professe, whā ye syt at the moost heauenly table. Loke therfore that ye do not dallye, nor mocke w ^t God, vnlesse worser thynges chaunse vn to you. Let vs departe from that table, sayth Chrisostome, as Lyōs Hom. lxi. De sac. par [...] Myst. that breath fyre, y ^t we maye be terri ble to the diuel. Therfore that this thynge may come to passe, remēber that ye are now engraffed in christ, & become mēbers of Christes body. Howe vnsyttynge than were it, to faull agayne from Christe, & to ad­ioyne your selues vnto vnclennes? Remēber that ye are wasshed from [...]. Cor. vi. youre synnes & sanctifyed by Chri­stes bloude, & iustifyed by the name of the LORDE Iesus. Were it not than very vnsemely to pollute and defyle your selues agayne w ^t youre olde fylthynes? Remēber that god hath now delyuered you out of the londe of Egipte frō your moost cru [Page] ell enemy Pharao the diuel, & hath broughte you into the londe of pro­myss. Haue not than a pleasure to returne into that lond of captiuite Remēber that God hath deliuered yon from the fylthy & abhominable Sodomites. Prouyde therfore y ^t ye loke not backe agen vnto theyr pernicious manners. Remember that God hath delyuered you from the babylonicall captiuite, & hath brought you vnto the newe & cele­stial Ierusalem, so that now ye are Ephe. ii. no more Gestes & straungers, but Cytysēses wyth the Sayntes and of the houshold of God. Were it not than a thynge of much ignominye for you to fall from so great an ho­nour? what shal I make many wor des w ^t you? Ye pertayne now al to gyther vnto God. Loke therfore y ^• ye lose not the fauour & gentlenes of so bounteous a LORDE.

Moreouer ye haue professed day [Page] ly to dye vnto synne, & to walke in a new lyfe. Loke that ye aunswere faythfully to this your promyse. Agayne, ye haue professed, that ye wyll loue your christen brothers, & do for thē to the vttermooste what so euer lyeth ī your power. Al these thynges haue ye promised to do, by the receyuynge of this moost blys­sed Sacramēt. Loke therfore that ye be not necligent in the accōplish mente of the premisses, vnlesse the wrath of God falleth vpō you. For it is not ynough to begyn well ex­cepte ye go forth in your enterpri­ses. He that cōtinueth vnto y ^• ende, No [...]. shall be safe, saythe Christ. Agayne, be thou faythful vnto death, and I Math. x. shall gyue the y ^• crowne of lyfe. No [...]. ii. Luke. man that putteth hys hand to the plowgh, and loketh backewarde, is mete vnto y ^• kyngdome of heauen. Therfore neghbours do as ve haue professed. Cast away your olde wic [Page] ked lyuynge. Continue in the body of Christe thorowe a newe lyfe. Re­mayne for euermore in the seruyse of God. Seke the kingdome of god Math. vi. & the righteousnes therof aboue al thynges. Procure the furtheraūce Loue and lyue y ^• Go spel. of his moost holy worde, & so not on ly loue but also lyue y ^e Gospel, that ye maye be coūted both before God & man true & earneste followers of Goddes worde. Furthermore loue your christē brothers w ^t a true, per fecte & vnfayned loue, & lette youre loue brynge forth good workes y ^t it may appeare to be w ^tout dissimula cion, or faynynge. Aboue all thīges as I haue euer exorted you, be obe­dient mark wel f [...]r true o bedience toward [...] kynges graces maiestye Rom. xiii. to y ^• Kynges graces maieste, yea and that not only for feare but muche more for conscience sake, in all thynges, as it becommeth fayth full subiectes. The other publique magistrates also spirituall or tēpo­rall haue in perpetuall reuerence & [Page] honour. To be shorte, be so affected Phi [...]. [...] towarde all menne, euen as Iesus christ was toward you, & in al your wordes & dedes, lette your lyght so shyne before men, that they may se your good workes, & glorifye youre math. v. father, which is in heauē, to whom be all honour & glory for euermore. Amē. Thus endeth your Potaciō.

Praysed by God for it.

Bothe nowe & euer.

For he a­lone is worthy all honour & glorye.

Thus haue I neighbours ac A brefe re­hersal of al thynges i [...] this Pot [...] cion cordynge to my promyse in the be­gynnynge of our Potacion, perfor med all thynges, concernynge the holy Sacrament of Penaunce, w ^t the partes therof. Of fastyng, of ce remonies & of the moost honorable Sacramente of the [...] I haue also taughte you many godlye and goodly thynges, worthye to be im­prynted in the hartes of all christ [...] men. Now brothers I moost instāt [Page] ly desyre you by the great mercyes of God & the precious bloud of our sauiour Christ, to repose these thin ges in your memory, and not to for get thē, but w ^t al diligence maynly to prosecute & followe them, yea & to expresse them natiuely in youre quotidiane & dayly cōuersaciō. For the seruaunt', which knowethe his Luke. maysters wyll, & doth it not, shalbe beatē wyth many strypes. If ye do theyse thynges, knowe that in thys world ye shal haue God the father, a mercifull father vnto you, God y ^• sonne a swete Sauiour vnto you, & God the holy Ghoste a ioyfull cō ­fortour vnto you, & after this lyfe, ye maye be sure to enioye the moost blyssed & glorious syght of the holy Trinite. Amen.

Neyghbour Philemon for this your Potacion we thancke you, & we trust that y [...] shall se suche fruytes procede from vs, that ye shall reioyse to haue cal [Page] led vs vnto this your moost godly Potacion.

So doynge neygh boures, knowe me to be altogither youres. Well seynge this spirituall Potacion is so fortunately ended, I praye you followe me, y ^• we maye also refresshe oure bodies with cor porall norysshement, & so wyth one mynd prayse GOD for all thynges,

We fol­low. Blessed be God for this heauenly Pota­ciō.

AMEN.