WAyingWayingand
conside -
ring
sore vexed in
their myndes, grudgyng,
and leding an
do not onely
for the most part, mislike of
their owne estate and calling,
but
ously
ously
ter into other
mens
a days
adays
tented
tented
with
their vocation and callyng,
wherof we
expe
rience. As for example: Many souldiers
again many mer
chants
what
folow oftentimes.
Lawyers woulde be
tion of
be
gle persons
men
and more, and
man laboureth to
man would
gladly be some great
Lorde,
or Earle. An Earle loketh to be a Duke,
or prince, a Duke or prince
seeketh to be
come King. A King (contentyng
hymself
yet least) studieth by what
meanes he
may amplifie his realme,
and
it townes, cities, and countreys, so to in
crease his
dominions daily, that at
length
he might attaine to the Monarchie
of all
Europe, and then to become Lorde of the
whole worlde. Briefly,
the hearts of
car
nall
meanes of concupiscence, which reigneth
in them, always to be
careful, to watche,
to wishe, to
mistrust,
to sue and busily to be occupied. For an
ambitious
and
if
he
he hath, he will not
refuse
to
woorke ten
times ten other to attaine to that which
he desireth
and gapeth
for, although it be
not profitable, either for body or
soule.
This time of
our pilgrimage is graunted
of God to learne to knowe him,
to
and honor him, to laude and magnifie his
name,
to put oure
whole confidence in
hym, to leade oure life accordyng to hys
blessed
will,
and to seeke our whole feli
citie and blessednesse only in hym.
Final
ly, to acknowledge (without the whiche
also the condition
of man
is worse
nesse
to proceede of him. This
time (I say)
for
this purpose
aforesayd, consume and spend in
nesse
nesse
Mammon,
and
other
of
earthly and transitorie riches, losing
and forgoing therby the
al, true
Wherfore with all righte they may be compared
to the Dog, wherof Esope speketh, which going
.
(hopyng to
deceitfull worldly things
be,
to
after the eternall and
thought it good, so compendiously
as pos
sibly I may, to shewe how vaine, transi
torie, deceitfull,
and
tain
tain
ly
ly
excellent, good, and most to be desired,
uen
ven
as God him self is the
fountain of all
goodnesse, and perfect in all
things which
can be desired, yea more a
greate deale
than oure
is able to
ter
ter
purpose, that
men
Lorde, in hym onely seeking their whole
and
perfect blysse, myght leade
their life paciently with a good
conscience
in all
quietnesse of minde and spirite, and
so to
libertie
and
spirituall gladnesse here in thys worlde,
the worlde to come they might be
inheritours (by grace) of the
rough
the bloud of oure
Christ. But before we enter any farther
to
speake of the vanities
of worldly and
transitorie Richesse, I will warne thee
(gentle
Reader)
that when I speake of
substance, riches, estates, bodily health, of
wife and children, and other like,
whiche
all are the good giftes of
God, I mean not
in respect of the thing
it selfe, nor yet the
good
default
the
great a
buse whiche commonly is seene in the
natural
natural
desire,
rich and worldly men ar inclined. Saint
Augustine
speaking of the nature of the
thing, affirmeth, that health,
strengthe,
riches,
grace, noblenesse, a
wyfe,
friendes, power,
and other like, they are things naturally
indifferent,
whereof a
man maye reape
good or S. Ambrose,
that then they are good and
profitable
when they are wel
hurt
them exceedeth the lymits
of reason and
equitie, and rules of Gods
holy worde.
Neither meane
I to touch those that are
rich, or
onely which are possessed of their
goodes,
whose money is their maister,
them (I
say) whiche are of the propretie
and na
ture of one named
bond
and did
whyche came
hym by hys owne
goodes. Also I wil speake of the
fidence
and inordinat lust, and of the
cha
syng
and puttyng away of vertue
and
godlynesse,
dependyng
yea
vanitie it selfe. Which moste of all com
meth to passe by
the
meanes of worldely
substaunce, and the greedie desire of the
same,
the very roote of
all
reduce men from true libertie
to
thral
dome, and turne freedome into
miseries, honour, and pro
motion into
and confusion. This if we considered, it
should not
to
set by them
as we do, but rather to abhorre and
hate
them,
thoritie yll gotten
and
make the possessor as it were happie: yet
not
happinesse.
seeme wel to be riches, but
consyst
not in
ons, but in the
Seneca agreeth very wel, say
ing:
none, is of
a more
from all daunger. For it is impossible
(as
the
touching the pitche or
other glew, should
escape,
without he be either caught, or at
the least
defiled with it.
purpose
tem
porall and worldly honour and dignitie
sundry kin
des of wantonnesse and other
ences
ences
therfore, that
such
as are enriched and come to great estate,
be endued
with singular
vertues
constancie, if they wil not be
or
defiled with
them. For authoritie ingen
dreth arrogancie, temeritie
of
other, and commonly enticeth men to
hastinesse and
yre, yea
in a whole masse of iniquitie,
great
tempest
It maketh them proude, and
their myn
des to wander so farre, that they can not
consider their
way,
but goe quite other
wise than they be aware of: And
thyn
intangle
much
like
the nette, the more he
struggleth, the fa
ster he maketh hym self,
owne death,
on the
the faster
it maketh it selfe. They seeme
to seeke in none other thing
any felicitie
or
blessednesse than in worldly prosperi
tie, which consisteth
in good fortune of ri
ches, honours, and great estimations, vo
luptuousnesse
and other like, esteemyng
founde the righte waye
But lyke as a droncken man is
not able
to fynde the waye homewarde, nor
yet
to go
so they wander and
erre here and there, beyng
many and
sires of worldly and transitorie goods,
and
can not once come to the way of true ri
ches, of
and felicitie.
This is that, whiche
vayne worldely
Riches? Seyng there
is neyther good honoure nor estymation
but in GOD
onely, and
he then that will be happie
indeede,
continually muste searche after
that,
whiche is onely
and
al
superfluitie and a
boundaunce of temporall riches.
Christe
be musyng
and studying
ly affaires, wherein is nothyng else but
trouble
and
that wee shoulde
for true and
doe
and comforte the spirites withoute any
or distresse: but goodes and
riches of this
worlde bryng with them
great paines and troubles, as wel in the
getting as in keepyng of
as Paradoxes, saying: Riches
with great
paine and
greater
care maintained and kept. Ther
fore saith
,
of tre
sure and muche goodes is but miserie and
wretchednesse.
of riches and great
are so many and great daungers, that it
is not
possible for a riche and worldely
man to escape any one of them.
For
as
our It is easier for a Camell to goe
through the eye of a nedle, than for a riche man to enter into the kingdome of god. Riches and authoritie
engender la
bour and paine, and make a
man like
to
to
in his cage,
turneth
but
it
man muche lyke
Ixionides.
Here
is also to be
considered, that the
dition,
dition,
past al reason,
turne
their humaine nature into mere beastly
nesse,
and like
and op
pressing almost Aristotle
des
cribing an happie and
blessed man,
Riches
are Sophistries of goodes where
with that great Sophister the
doth
as a Sophister seemeth
through his
to be wise, and is not in dede,
ches
tue, where in dede they are farthest
from
all.
ry apt to the purpose:
He is wicked
(saith
he) whiche esteemeth riches to be good.
Great rentes
or
good fortune, keepe men companie one
ly their
life time, but at the
houre of deth,
yea and oftentymes before,
and forsake their possessours and
some to be lyke
will suffer none to
the bone
which he picketh at.
Hesperide,
wherof he himself had
no commoditie,
neyther suffred any other
to
any part of it.
Tertullian sayeth,
that riches resemble
and are
muche
like
Sodome and Gomorre,
which seemed goodly
and faire to the eye,
but
being once touched, fell and straight
way
turned into dust
dely prosperitie and estimation
abasheth
not onely the simple and silly soules, but
and subdueth
many
learned and wise men.
of
Israell forsooke GOD for Goldes sake,
and fel a worshipping of the
golden
calfe,
and
ben as it were in contempt,
meete
for
the fire, as Tertullian dothe affirme.
And what
and
ambition
time, shall
somewhat be spoken of in his
place. Riches (sayeth Abacuck
the Pro
phete)
are thick and filthie mire.
Numa.
into
sundry tentations and
snares of the
noysome desires and lustes, which drown
men
into perdition, for
is
the roote of
all
againe,
reth,
as if
they were. Damascene sayeth:
and
changeable:
changeable:
worldly and transitorie.
Earthy
sitorie things are like
ted on a wall,
whiche seemeth to be
some
thing, where as it is nothyng: as a foole
foloweth the shadow of a
it to be some body,
so
doth the car
nall and voluptuous
trashe in stede of
ly
ly
the frantike man,
maketh mention, which supposed
to
seene a trim play, where he hearde goodly
songs and
pleasant
melodies, and thought
him selfe to
luptuousnesse:
and
althoughe it was no
thing but his fansie, yet it was pleasaunt
the diligence of
friends,
of his
phrenesie,
him selfe frustrate
of that which he in his
so it goth with the worldely
man,
whome Christ aunswereth, saying:
Thou foole, this night thy soule shall be
taken away
it is with those
that lay
and be not
riche in God: As if one should
say with the Prophete
,
riche
of this world
are
shal
is in deede) after they are gone out of
this
world, they shal
finde them
ly destitute and naked of all.
As
for great
estates, dignities and authorities in
mon
monAugustine
sayth: He whiche seeketh after promoti
on or authoritie is separated
from
God,
not bycause of the
but of the desire
which
proceedeth of ambition. They take pay
nes to
but forgoe a gayne perpetuall.
( Cyprian testifieth,
saying:
That which thou thynkest to
be
authoritie and power, is poyson hydden
costly Austine
sayth,
ritie the greater
danger he is in.
god of riches (which they cal Plutus)
to be
trust no man, bicause that
riches and promotions make men to doe
so,
and that bicause of the great daunger
they
be in continually.
sayth:
gotten by greate care and labour, choake
and
kill oftentimes their
possessor:
vnto
unto
many
we see goe to wracke
bothe bodily
and spiritually, temporally and
stingly.
stingly.
Howe many realmes and coun
treys
downeward? What tirannie or crueltie
hath not bene
shewed? What robberies
both
murthers, pilling and pollyng,
violence
and force, inceste, and all kyndes
of
chieues
chieves
of the
greedie
and insaciable desire to attaine to riches
and estimation?
yea of the most
puissant
kyngs and mightie men, whiche Daniell
called
then of worldely
concu
piscence? Also of the passions and
turall
turall
thence
ensue?
Plato sayth, that
sweetenesse, but in the
ende
engendreth one mischiefe
and brought forth
the sundring
and ren
ting
of the hart, and troubling of the spi
rite.
in these by
of hys wyttes, and
cleane besyde hym
selfe, it casteth hym
backewarde, and
seduceth hym
thorough sweetenesse and
flatterie, it counselleth nothyng accor
dyng
deth
a
man
of all temperancie, it is lyke to a hooke
whiche plucketh all
maner of things
to
to
and sadde
gladnesse.
He is hurte
which falleth in
it is
insatiable,
uer
ver Terence sayeth
way,
and
learned and wyse. He is happie, that
by other mens
example will
take war
nyng, and through the spectacle of
others
fal,
waxeth wyse.
kinde of
wyth theyr adherentes, wherewith the
whole
worlde is polluted,
saying:
not the worlde, neyther
the thyngs that are in the worlde: If
any man
the Father is not in hym.
pride
of lyfe, is
not of the father, but of the worlde, and
the worlde
passeth away,
and the lustes
therof, but he that fulfylleth the wyll
of
God abydeth for
Touching whiche three vices I might
rehearse of all sortes of people
more than
tenne thousande examples.
Whereof
some (I speak but temporally,
and not of
matters
concernyng the soule)
theyr money, goodes,
and estymation,
But
what neede I to spend my time, and
to trouble my braines
about
whether they speake of the Assyrians, E -giptians, Persians,
or Medians, Grecians, or
, or other countreyes, are
full
of it. Wherof rede Diodorus Siculus,
,
other historiographers, which
ten
our age and time, and we
shall
finde that all kinde of
least
we find it by
good
experience, that al
mis
chiefe
springeth out of these, yea
such
as had
foreseyng
persecution, crosses, and
tribulations to
ensue therby, and
by and by for feare of a
little losse of
worldly goodes,
commodi
ties,
honours, or otherwise, forsoke and
to sette the vanitie and inconstancie of
worldly
and transitorie thyngs, the
lier
lier
sed them to be
to
the ende al men
may see that with their eyes, whiche I
go
aboute
to expresse
by writing, to the de
light and plesure of the eye and eares,
ac
cording
Horace.
.Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit vtile utile dulci
That is to say,
Of which oure visions the learned Poete
M. Francisce Petrarche Gentleman of
Flo -rence,
did Tuscan the
six firste, after suche tyme as
hee had
ued
ved
faire, gracious, and a
noble Damosell,
named Laurette,
or (as it plesed him best)
Laura, borne of
, who afterward
hapned to die, he being in Italy, for whose
death (to shewe his great
grief) he mour
ned
many of his songs
and sorowfull lamen
tations,
song, containyng
the sayd visions, which
bicause they
out of the
The first then is: That he being
a day alone in his window, where
he saw
as it were in his minde by a
vysion a ve
ry faire hind, and also
two
swift hounds,
one white and the other blacke chasing
pursuing
hir so long,
that at length they
caught and killed hir. Which sight
cau
sed him to burst oute into sighes and tea
res for the piteous destinie
thereof: That
is, for the apointed time
of
Laura,
whiche he ment by the faire
hinde, as by the houndes white and
black
he
ning the time passyng
away, and
not ta
rying for any one.
made of
wherun
to also he Laura, to wete
hir whyte coloured
face
hir blackishe browes muche lyke
the wood
of Hebene. The coardes and ro
pes were of Sylke, and the sayles of
cloath
of golde, whereby are meant not
onely all hir costely rayement or
appa
but also hir noble and
excellent ver
tues wherewith she was beautified
and
adorned.
Againe, he sawe a newe bushe oute of
a faire Laurell tree,
bud
dyng forthe,
small birdes didde syng,
wyth a verye
sweete and
melodious harmonie: Under
standyng hereby, hir
ous talke, hir most pleasaunt and sweete
song. And
by and
by he sawe the lyghte
nyng and tempest to wyther and drie
thys faire and goodly Tree. That is, that
a
burnyng sicknesse came,
whiche tooke
awaye the lyfe of this fayre damosell his
Laura.
The other three
are in manner all one,
hereby
that there is nothyng else in
thys worlde
but myseries, sorrowes,
afflictions, and
calamities: And all
that man doth stay
hym selfe
thyng but vayne fansie, wynde, and
smoake.
And thus as he
hadde passed
life time) what with flatterie and
what
in commendyng of hir beautie, caused
him
after
mourne and to
lamente, but considering
with him self, that there was no
hope or
loked for, turned himselfe
to
Godwarde,
lamenting and sorrowing the rest of hys
lyfe,
and repented
hym
of his former life
so ydlely and
The other ten visions next ensuing, ar
described of one
, Gen
tleman of France, the whiche also, bicause
they
our purpose, I
ted them out of Dutch into English.
Architecture or kinde of buildyng,
gorge
ously and magnificentlike made, as you
may see more
plainly in
the
of our visions. Secondly he sawe a spire,
thirdely
an Arke
triumphant. And then
the
of Palatine,
the hill Capitolie,
the mounte
Cely, Esquilin, Vimiel,
and Quirinel.
After that, the birde which
is able to beholde the Sunne,
that is the
Eagle
imperiall: and the great Statue,
whom he saw leaning on a
stone
pitcher,
whereout runneth a great water, wher
by he meaneth the
of Tyber, with
shee wolfe,
which is the
Armes of the Romains. The
Nimph mournyng
and wrin
gyng of hir handes. Eightly, a three fla
ming fire, wherout
a birde
flushing
ted
ted
hundreth
Nimphes rounde about it,
whome came the Faunes, which
brake the
Fountaine,
and
of all, hee telleth of
daughter
whiche after hir greate presumption and
pride was vanquished
and slaine. Lupa.
gettyng so
ues
ves
Wolfe,
as Mithridates Kyng of
Ponte
uer
ver
and riches, but always
treys and
Cities, goodes and
dominions,
ther
nations, through many great robbe
ries, with great labour and paine,
yea to
the perill and losse of their owne men and
Capitains, and so
amplified and augmen
ted
and domynions,
stuffed and furnyshed
theyr Cytie wyth abundaunce of all
ma
of riches,
kinde of superfluitie and
worldely
pom
pousnesse. So that they adorned their
Citie with all maner of
sumptuous
and
costely buyldings, wyth all kindes of
curious and cunning
workes,
as Thea
ters, Triumphall Arkes, Pyramedes,
Columnes, Spires, and
a greate
num
ber of
dalles and Figures, made of
and
sundry
kindes of stuffe, as Marble, Ala
blaster, Golde,
Copper, Pour
phere,
Emplaster, Brasse and other like
mettall, some
cast. All whiche sumptuousnesse and su
perfluitie
hathe oftentymes
thoroughe
dissention, discorde and sedition amongst
them
conspiracy, hate, and
particular profite,
by childish and folish counsell, ben to their
great hinderaunce and damage. As it
is to be seene in their
owne Histories.
And
as they proceeded in all wickednesse,
abhomination,
superstition,
and Idola
trie
from time to time,
CHRIST our
and King of
Pylate,
pre
sident
of
they ceassed not dayly
to kill the poore
Christians, persecutyng
the church of God in al places, by
al kinde
of crueltie and tiranny,
especially in the
time of Nero, Domitian,
they woulde not
and keepe theyr
false and superstitious worshyppyng of
God,
but rather
rebuked them,
auncient Rome would not amend it selfe,
and renounce their enorme vices,
Idola
trie and superstition, and
the Lorde
to imbrace the
true worshippyng of God, and the
lasting
lasting
they
them and their Empire,
and at
lengthe Rome,
and
burned,
spoyled, and wholly rased it. So the
Lord
ged
ged
This
is shewed
and sonets.
which was lifted
into
and brought
miserably
perished. As also before theyr
time many other realmes, as of
the Chal -des, and great Carthage, and other, ar like
wyse perished.
Charlemayn.
In the meane
put his minde
dominion
and rule, beginning so (through the libe
ralitie of many great
Princes, as
Pepin and manye other great Lordes
which he inchaunted
of
length
he hath set him selfe in the chaire,
as
that
dement
dement
began
nowe
to be darkened and become
blacke as a
like
fall downe:
practised to
get newe
and more dominions, they at
tempted by al means
possible to increase
whole study and labour was to
their honour and dignitie heere
earth, not without scattering of the com
mons and innumerable
murthers
of the
people.
that name, Bishop of Rome, tooke
him to raigne and rule
the
adored as a great prophet, and messanger
of God.
by a craftie sleight,
wrested the scripture to maintaine their
Talmuith: the Alcorane:
and these prelates and Bishops their
other errors and
herisies
which were
Ma -homet
in Asia and Affricke, and
Pope in Europe, with all their
curssed
Christe and his doctrine,
where preferryng their owne ambition,
profit,
obtain it the rather,
they
many superstitions
as
Latin
should not
organs play, cymbales, incense, palmes,
candles, tapers,
purgatorie, masses
for al
soules,
indulgences to
purgatorie, after thei
gotten money
inough. Item,
yea
armes of S. Cornelis, with many more tri
fles and other relikes. They
proceed fur
ther to the forbidding of mariage, meate,
egges,
butter:
in lyke manner
and crucifixes were sette
thereby
false miracles, alwayes
Maosin, that
is,
great shops,
churches, temples, chapels and Altars,
where they
might sell their trumperie
freely, not without great gain, yea so wel
that they were mounted so hie in
power,
as we
seene by experience, and dayely is to be
seene in places
where they are, that
they
rule
all this
nesse, as we heretofore
these S.
in his
warn
manifestly, that
ned the
pale
horse,
and he whiche satte
death: for this
notwithstanding their
carbuncled noses, through their
surable
surable
gluttony and dronkennesse, are
yet in their soule pale, deadish, black
and
blew, as
true life
within
nesse that
consisteth
in Christ
holy word.
sate on it was
death.
thing
but death and damnation. For hy
pocrisie engendreth nothing
but destruc
tion of
shame
and confusion. For hell foloweth them to
destroy those that are
Paule they
Antechrist shoulde be borne of the
sion
sion
desolation of
Rome. And to the ende we myght speake
more at large of
the
thing, I
foure visions out of the
setteth him out in his colours.
I saw a beast
(sayth S. rising out of the
sea,
the
alt and
they are
and beastly like Elmas the
inchan
ter, ful of fraude and guile,
full of falshod
and pride,
they are whelpes and genera
tions of the
of the Lord. Thys beast is described
here
as the pale
horse in the fourth age,
cruel Grashoppers in the
fift age, and the
mad horsses with
age.
damnable errors
ons of the
in the beastly
body of the beast, as namely in
the
outra
bishops, spiritual lawyers,
priests,
hypocrites, and false Magistrates,
for
tyrannous might.
It had also ten crownes
signifiyng
their
greate dominion and su
perioritie throughout the whole worlde.
The
most cruell, and that
through
the iniqui
tie and ingratitude of the people:
for he had
his
heades, and they
mening, that
is, that
Sathan is only of abilitie
and po
wer to blowe into their eares the thing
whiche
they with violence,
and by force
maintayne: where as
there are these
his meete instruments
to perfourme it
put in execution
by violence, and power,
by menaces and compulsion.
Wher as
seriously force
and violently
compell.
When he hath only engendred and
out any error or false
doctrine, they with
al diligence, as
an infallible truth, allow,
confirme
and stablishe it, and make of it
a
necessarie article to
as they
As
he hath found out any lye (as he
is the
hath ben since the be
ginning) so may they holde it for a per
fecte
authoritie and might, as experience
may
testifie, they
like, it is
manifest,
that they being hys
ghostly ministers and spirituall
mẽts,
ments,
execute effectually
works may wel testifie.
was not of
power to put Christ to
death, if it had not
afterward by the
deth. The Apostles,
tru ministers
shold
slaine,
neither shold they at this present, if these
popish prelates
did not folow
their old
against the
Lord and his Christ.
Al this is nothing else
than their
shining
with they
their
supremacie
and blamelesse to
bee regarded among
men, and before the world,
is
iniquity. What ar Popes,
Cardinals,
pa
triarks, legates,
officialls,
com
missaries,
prebendaries,
vicars, lorde ab
bot, master
or doctor, and
suche like, what
are these I say else but names of blasphe
mie?
for these offices
the holy ghost, neither is
there any men
tion
made of them in the holy scripture.
What is it I
pray you else, than a great
Pope
claimeth to him selfe to be the most holy
father, to be the
of Christ, God on
earth, supreame head of the Church, the
only
steward
of the gifts, graces, and mi
steries of God? What meaneth it that
Priests
and Bishops do
to
to stand
in Gods stead, to
sinne, and to be our
Ladies clean and
defiled
defiled
names
of
blasphemie? For they are
no
thing else
no care of feeding of the flock, but through
meere negligence and
slouth sette
preaching of the word, through these vain
titles)
than very offending
Idols. Their
Decrees, Decretals, traditions, rules,
or
dinaunces, statutes, customes of the Fa
thers, general Counsels, Sinodes,
and o
ther of their
word of God and his
wil, are nothing else
but dampnable hipocrisie, and
simulation,
blaspheming the name of
the
Lord. For the names of blasphemy on his
heade is nothing else but to
maintaine
shew, that
which is blasphemous, to his own
ment.
ment.
ment.
ment.This beast
was like the Leopard, spot -ted and blemished, tokens of inconstancie,
chaungeablenesse, and temeritie. His feete like to a Beares feete,
fearful and horrible, il
ing
crueltie, stubbornesse,
stoutnesse and
And his mouth as the mouth of a Lion,
declaring heereby the pride, theft,
murther,
and all kinde of wickednesse of
those Prelates. Daniel saw in a
vision,
Chaldees
were
to be compa
red. Unto the Beare which he sawe, was
likened the
barbarous
and rude realmes
of the Medes
Persians. By the Leopard
is
meant
the Grecians. The Assirians and Chaldees
were
for their stealing and Pride, rebuked and
curssed of the
Prophets
Esay, Nahum,
Abacuck. Medeans
and Persians kept
the people
of God in
dage. As it is to be seene in the bookes
of
Hester,
Paralipomenon
and Esay.
Gre -cians
also were very
spitefull,
and full of
time
Antiochus, as it ap
peareth in the Booke
of the Machabees.
Whereby the
holy
Ghost teacheth
one curssed
or kyngdom of An
techrist, should be
homination,
Idolatrie, fornication, mur
ther, and all kind of wickednesse, as were
in all these three realmes
aforesaid. As at
this day it is to be seene,
and we
good experience. No where raigned at a
ny time more
pride,
idlenesse, cruelty, I
dolatry, fornication, adultery,
nesse,
falshoode and inconstancie,
vaine
glorie,
iniquitie, sorcerie, superstition and impie
tie, than doth in
this one
dominion of An
techrist. He alone hath more contamina
ted
dels together that
most shamefullye intreated and
of God,
the
miserably
and narowly kept
as it were in prison, the true Ministers
of God by their
Decrees and traditions.
The
of Caiphas, is nothing in
the
comparison of
theirs, for in them is all
kind of
beastlinesse,
tonnesse,
concupiscence and carnall
any
place amongst
them, they are more lyke
beasts than men.
nothing to speake of, to the
ordinaunces
and statutes of the Antechrists, for those
were only against the body,
but
theirs
are against the soule and conscience of
man also. After
this sort doth the
(which is the
bear
the Image of the Leopard, of the Bear,
of the
it is not only
partaker
of al
but it exceedeth and surmounteth al other
kinde of iniquitie,
were
mouth of a Lyon, always
blasphemyng,
cursing and banning:
Their feete lyke a
beare, signifiyng
their insatiable
kinde
of mischiefe,
bloud: as leopards are they polluted
and
spotted with
stant mindes, institutions
ges chaungeable
and foolishe:
for suche
as
ly
forsaken of God.The Dragon (sayth
S.
the
or cursed ge
neration
of Antechrist, his beastly mem
bres,
his whole power, his seate of blasphe -mie, and his great
authoritie. To
his power is nothyng else, than
to make
them perfect and
skilfull by all maner of
crafte, subtiltie
and dissimulation,
cun
les:
and
so forth to confirme and stablysh
them in al kinde of
wickednesse
and fals
hods. To
kingdome,
full
of vainglory, dissimulation,
kednesse.
tie, is
and to
draw
the
pit of
and
On this maner is that greate Antechrist
a king with Sathan
of pride and darknesse.
dwell on the
earth, to reigne and to beare rule
them, for so
much as
they (
guide) are led into the ditche of all
errour
and false
doctrine, the very way
uerlasting
verlasting
Touchyng the
eternally) sitteth in
glory
the
the seat of
nesse, ignomie, and shame.
power,
er of God his
father,
ued
ved
ful of
hate,
chiefs:
of whose abhominations
the
tasted.
As
the holy ghost and the sprite of Christ ope
neth the misteries
of the truth in his elect
of
erroure, since the death and
Christ, darkned truth
and set forth the se
cretes of his malice in the ennimies of
Christ.
being man,
of god,
to doe such miracles as no man else could
this Antichrist, by the
power and aucthoritie
foloweth, yea passeth his father the
For as he robbed
the godly man
,
spoiled him of all his
substance, goods,
chil
dren,
him in his body with
Boils and Botches,
and cruell
murtherer, vexe,
consume, and oppresse the poore people,
by
his spoiling
Grashoppers, defrauding the
poore of their sweat and
bloud, of
theyr
paines,
not
sparing the feeble
and sicke, neyther
widow nor fatherlesse. No kind
of
good (be
it
ght to them, in
dened in conscience, but that they are
tented
tented
to
of restitution. Yet
do
(which is worst of
des to
false belief, and other
comfortlesse.
Finally,
dwelleth fulnesse of the
whole
Deitie:
the whole masse
of impietie, subtilitie,
fraud and malice, with power to worke
all
maner of mischiefe mightely, substan
tially and corporallyAnd I saw
one of his heads, as it were wounded to death,
anouncing and preaching of the
Gospell.
Which thing
is come to passe since the
time of
in Boheme,
in Germanie,
and is since (God be praised)
daily more
and more, that the head of the
Beast is
wounded, in places where gods
word is preached. As in England, Fraunce, Scotland, Poland, and else
where, as
one may wel
des be blinde.
that in most places, Buls and Pardones
of the Pope are little
set by, hys power
and might troden
hys name
blotted out, his Purgatory, Masses, Pil
grimages, Idols, and
other like trumpe
ries, cried out
ly wound
on the head of the
beast, I think
it to
not a ma
nifest token of his fall to come, there is
looked for. But his deadly woun -des were healed.
Although the Gospel
hath
ben preched in sundry and
and the popes abhominations
cast
downe, yet remaineth (in some places)
their
false priesthood
vows not to mary,
Sodomish chastitie, auricular confession,
or at
the
least the fashion of it, and
other
more superstitions. For the beast
seketh
al meanes to
to passe, that the
eyes of many learned
ministers, and
pastors waxe dimme, and
as it were
asleepe, so that they do not na
rowely searche, or diligently trie
matter by the onely touchstone of Gods
holy
word, but weigh them rather
by
ceiuable
ceivable
good intents. Al
though they are sure, and throughly per
suaded the Pope
to be very Antechrist,
that these names are put out of their boo
kes,
yet
are these
no value or at the least
nowe
of
necessitie to be
godly rites, honorable
and singular orna
ments. Although they say, the Masse to
value in Latin, yet in their own
language to be a sacrifice propiciatorie:
other
in saying Dimitte nobis, or
any other like
thing, not
holde
holde
the free wyl in
man.
as it were
bewitched and
drawne by a
subtill kinde of flattery, in calling them
ignominiously
most
christen princes, de
fendours of the
fayth,
meanyng the Romish decrees. And
after
thys sorte is healed and cured
the
wounde of the Beast, by the meanes of
Chirurgians.
And the whole worlde (sayeth S.
)
did wonder at the beast.
The foolish people,
worldly and carnall minded, not
standing
standing
the
wysedome of the holy ghost,
imbracyng all those glorious and
sightes, as godly, meritorious, and spi
rituall matters, and wondryng
at
them,
worshypped, exalted, and made muche of
it, yea
ordeined and in
stituted of GOD.
growne to suche
grossenesse, that they
wyll not nor can
forsake theyr olde
and more
than outragious kynde of worship
pyng, whiche is rather custome than
re
ligion. For
theyr wicked custome shal
continue, they
clap
their handes, and crie oute for
with Gaudeamus.
And they worship the Dragon, who
that is to say, they
mindes, hoping that
their kingdome shall
abide and stande: chiefly when they see
his head
againe whole and sounde that is
their
bur
ned, the Instructers of the people slayne
and put to silence
as it
hath ben practised in our
trey
trey
of low Germanie. All those that wor
shyp the Dragon, worship the beast
also:
for as those whiche honour Christ,
honor
hys father also, in
lyke maner all those
whiche adore
Antechrist, that is to say,
consent
and holde of his traditions, mas
ses, and ordinaunces, all those (I
saye)
worship the
ceyued
ceyved
Who is like
namely in out ward shew
of
holynesse, or
tes and Ceremonies. Who is able to warre against him? say
they, consyderyng that
worldly princes are readie to defend
his
quarrell, and take
his parte. The papists
goe about by all meanes
possible, be it by
crafte or subtiltie, by force or violence to
maintain
their adulterous, fained,
guised churche in hir diseased estate,
po
wer and holy shewe: no kinde of wicked
nesse, craftinesse, or policie
assayed
assayed
bee regarded of
the
spiritual men
of gret power, worthinesse
And there was
When
Gods
truth
was
in
their
imaginations,
them
lustes of their
owne hearts, blinded with
so
to be very wise,
Now
stories
agaynst
God, and his Christ. They make
the peo
ple by straight lawes
to
and all their Romishe and beggerly cere
monies and
vile borrowed
be it
holy and sacred scriptures may not once
be red, neither may it be had
in the mo
ther tong. For the Scripture (say they)
must be
as
pleaseth them,
cording as they think good for their own
And how trow ye, could
thys
wound of
for
the infallible word of God (which be the
Scriptures) hath
him this wound.
merits
(whiche
in holy Scripture, is called the
Communion of the body and bloude of
crucifiyng of hys bodie:
.
Wedlocke
is called of them
dyng
it
was instituted as a good and
defiled
defiled
papistical vowes of Monkes and Friers
may be
broken, although
it be sufficient
ly
and hath
ingendred a
thousande Sodomi
tes. Again, that without the blind mum
bling
and laying on of the priests
hande,
synnes can not be
they say:
for in deede by this one vowe their kyng
dome is maintained.
And more other ab
hominations
and not to trouble the reader
muste I needes touche by
the waye, the
great
blasphemie whiche they commit in
saying, that the
entryng into the holy
Church
their
they take
mens soules,
affirmyng their Masses to
be sacrifices propiciatorie for the
quicke
and the dead,
fortyng, and
redeemyng man. And
nable and stinkyng troupe
of Antechri
stes, they create
only to be main
tained and defended by them in their ma
licious wickednesse.
Kings
ordeined of God to be heades and rulers
in
and
pollitike matters: but God
forbid, that a godly and vertuous
Prince
(whom they
disdayn, and are rebellious
be called their
head, and
for that onely
belongeth
to
toSathan: for the
the onely
chiefe head of the proude.
And power was
(sayth our
text) for
three yeres and a halfe of Helias, Daniel, .
He openeth his mouth to blasphemie a -gainst God and his name, and to
blaspheme his holy Tabernacle and inhabiters of
The tabernacle of God is Christ
in whom the fulnesse of the
godhead abi
deth wholy and perfectly. By the inhabi
ters of
ment his true church,
whereout the Aungels are not excluded.
These
inhabiters then, are those whiche
leade an
and
fained
fained
on earth, worshipping god
the father in
spirite and truthe,
stedfast and
but
are not
founde faythful and constant
to
to
And to this
(or beastly
was
writs
fire, and sword, as the cruell tirant
Pha -rao
and Antiochus did, to
shew manifestly
that Christ is
the stone
of offense, whereat the world
stumbled. And power
was
For these wicked and
abhominable
Antechristes spare
no man,
small nor great, yong nor olde, high nor
low, riche nor
poore,
sicke nor whole,
learned nor
must bow before
them, and become
iecte
jecte
ments, either
by force or
otherwise:
they must
their
minde and intention, whether
they
be Towne dwellers or Straungers,
uernours
vernours
No excuse
will
halfe, or else they
must wyth
Christ,
raigne at the Barre among
they
one place,
and
in
de
stroying the true and godly fayth of all
For all that dwell
They must all consent to
their
great abhomination. They muste
blaspheme and offend God,
keepe
their most filthy traditions, and
Romishe trashe. They that
dwell
earth, are such as doe
more than God, their
owne affection
more than Gods truthe, putting theyr
confidence, comfort,
and hope, in the on
ly beggerly merites and vile
of these
beastly and
abhominable Hipo
crites, and not
of God in his worde,
Whose names are not wrytten in the
booke of the Lambe.
which are not confessed of Christ,
cepted by
his
word and promiſſes.
which wyth the righteous as
members
of
one spirituall body,
(whose
part and
portion is not in the land of the
not of the
which the father hath
to be participant of one spirit with
him.
They
which are not ordeined,
predesti
nated nor written in his forknowledge,
the foundations of
the world,
drẽ
dren
immaculate in
Chriſt.
must worship the Dragon.
The Lambe is
Christ
the sinnes of
the world, in whom is only
life, for he is the life him selfe, of them
namely which which was slaine from
the beginning, for
all them which
are created to
death, resurrection,
and
the promise of God,
all, for they all
all meat,
one spiritual
stone.
Albeit he came a long season after them
in the
flesh, he onely did tread downe
the
head of the Serpent. Also he hath
bene
slaine from the
beginning,
bers, as it is to be seene
Abel,
,
those which are not written of
the
Lamb in the booke of life, be sealed
in the
booke of death, S. Peter saith)
with the
and his angels to eternal
death, bicause of their He that hath eares to heare,
let
(sayeth the
hath any wit, let him
to
he that
will be wise, let him
the demonstration
of these things. After
this sort doth
the holy Ghost certifie hys
faithfull,
all which is written, is wrytten
to
our
learning and edification. He
that leadeth into
Thys
warning
heede
if they lust, for he wil that his
ments
ments
afflict
and vexe the faithfull in their bodies out
wardly, shal be vexed
and punished in
the
spirit with inward darknesse, and
with
blindnesse of the minde, to abide the
rather in the net of
Sathan,
and sinne:
God wil
lust,
enter into great errors and
to
might be damned. If any kil with
the
must also be killed,
throu -ghe the sword of the spirite,
worde of God. The word which I
Christ) shall condemne them
at
his
uelation
velation
will molest or trouble
them, the fire shall
proceede forth of their mouth, And I saw yet (sayth S.
)
an other Beast rising out of the earth,
Signify
ing and representing
all manner
of false
Prophets,
their
intents
ther beastly, idle, carnall, and
corrupted.
They are also abhominable in the
tions
harts, not seking
god,
but their belly, not
but
their own
They rise out of the earth, enclined
uen
ven
The desire and lust
which they
raign in this world, maketh
not for
any
to truth. The desire of money
nesse
nesse
in al kind of
wickednesse,
til the Lord destroy
goeth
on in vertue
face to face,
Sion.
therer
from the beginning first of
all in
Cain,
carnal chil
dren of this world.
Cham the
first
sonne of Noe, Ismael
Esau, in
and
, Balaam
and
al the false prophets of Baal, Annas and
Caiphas, Baricha
and Diotrephe,
kes,
a spar
cle of light in him) may easily see and
ceiue:
ceive:
in their
cathedral church
where they
beast
had
terfaited
terfaited
For she spake like the Dragon. The
horns of Christ are hie,
great,
wherout only
springeth the sweete
comfortes of the promises of God,
to his Church, congregation and people.
Gods word
is right,
and the Scepter of
the aucthority of Christ, and the rod of his
righteous
ordinaunces, that
this worde ruleth, there are none other
on (signifying Christ
hornes, for
in him consisteth the fulnesse
of al truth.
hornes,
and
those counterfaited and false. They
be Christes
hornes,
signifie
the corruptyng
and falsifiyng the
meaning both of the old and new Testa
ment,
expounded and wrested to a world
ly and carnal
it
is too apparant and manifest, that it is but
a false shew, ful of
dissimulation,
and alto
gither contrary to
not discearning
the true meaning of the
holy Ghost. This letter
rite
of God, is
death, and nothing agrea
ble
any regarde
very
lies
and death. His
and life, theirs is
or
tinkling Cimbal, fantasticall, fained, So
phistical and crafty: although
they
seeme
to
to none more
hornes of the beast, to maintain the
king
of Antechrist, and not of
Christe,
for
of thys
worlde. They
chaunge the true
the good creatures of
God,
of trees, adornyng
and deckyng stockes
and stones,
with golde,
uet,
vet,
ho
ly estate of
whoordome, and to
all kinde
of
hath commaunded
to
their false
stitions,
so to abolishe and
effect Gods
blish
their wicked traditions, to
bring
leade men at length to detestable
idola
trie, wherof they are ful, and to worship
things forbidden.
And
for the
of their estate, they
and helpe
of Sathan their chief captaine,
wrested, chopped and chaunged the scrip
tures
to
ted Saintes to be necessarie, their
masse
meritorious, and their
purgatorie
to
bee a fearefull and horrible thyng, and
These beastly asses
and
belly God byshops, are not ashamed
to saye,
that
by
they defende wyth toothe and nayle.
They confesse (as it is
in deede) that they
do weare but the figure
of the thyng: for
it is but a shadowe
in deede, and an out
warde shewe,
not to the glorie of
God,
but their owne ambition, profite, and
moditie,
moditie,
seeking an occasion to persecute
the very truthe. They are,
of a truthe,
the
Sathan,
ner of wyndes, traitours,
and very folo
wers of
, dreamers,
enimies,
and
veritie, serpents, and
vi
pers,
Foxes
destroying the vineyarde of
the Lorde,
workers, faintyng
wycked or
tes, insatiable beastes, whose
theyr god,
and their end perpetuall
con
more names, the holy Ghoste doth attri
bute
myngle
the
the bitter worme wood
of their Traditi
ons, so that almost the whole worlde is
the dregs of their
ons.
ons.This beast did all that the first beaste coulde do before him.
This beastly genera
tion hath the selfe same lying
power to
of holynesse to continue
and
roughout all the worlde, the same abho
hominations, as
that greate
Antechriste
hath done
the Pope
in
Europe, and in AsiaEurope and in Aſia,
in Affrike
Mahomet. Fynally,
there
hath Sathan his chayre, where any
strange worshyppyng or
false
of
God is
admitted.
And he caused the earthe and them that
dwell therin to worship the
beast. They make
not those onely to commit idolatrie
that
are ignorant
and blinde, but force suche
as
Oh
how many
are at this instant in
else where, whiche agaynst their belefe,
conscience,
and the holy ghost, maintain,
allowe, and permit the manifest Baby
lonicall
abhomination,
communicating
the venemous dregges of the barbarous
cup
of these Baals priestes.
They had ra
ther to tarrie ignominiously in
this beg
gerly trashe and filthie ceremonies, than
to be
this worldly
office and
or
and if neede so
require, to loose it for the truthe, so de
lectable
and sweete these worldely plea
sures are
sonnes wyll perishe, transgres
sing the ordinances of GOD,
and with
Dathan, Chore, Abiron, be swallowed
and sinke into Hel
amongst the wicked,
than to suffer wyth Christe any trouble,
contempte,
reproche,
calamitie. Suche I say, as seeke and
the commoditie, and ease of their owne
fleshe,
their honour,
more than
the
them
worthy of his grace, for they must wor
shyp the
beast, whose deadly wounde was
healed,
death. To those hellishe
dogges and in
fernall
Cerberus must be rendred and
uen
ven
more honour,
and worshyp than to GOD hym selfe.
Their
wicked
and moste fylthie
ons must now be more (in our countrey)
sette
by, than the pure worde of
God
and the eternall veritie. And why should
it not be so?
sinagoge and congregation,
wherein the
wounded
head of the beast is nowe alto
gether cured and
made whole?
gayne their Idols,
to some they
made a newe nose, hand, arme or legge,
other
some
are paynted
vernyshed and made
now (more like mad men)
do carrie them
rounde aboute the Citie in Procession,
decked
wyth
silke,
ous stones, beades,
gyrdles, purses, flo
wers, greene bowes, and all manner of
sweete herbes)
with song and sundry mu
sicall instrumentes, torches, candles, of
ferings,
and all other kynde of
and kneelyng before them bare headed,
they worship,
handes to them. They keepe
and
nowe againe their
lemne processions
and church holy dayes.
They eate, they drinke, they laugh, they
quaffe,
and run after whoores, they fight
and pike quarels, their stewes are
fur
nished wyth whoores: ruffians, and bauds
are nowe
and are haun
ted freely: yea all manner of
iniquitie
and
wickednesse, are
with al greedinesse. Briefly, the kingdom
of
Sathan is in all things newly
fortified and
established:
the head of the
beast wel annointed and redressed: so
as the
popish church
they
of his
customes, so long
shall the true
uauntes
vauntes
persecuted,
bannished, blamed, slaunde
red, mocked, and scornefully intreated,
cried
out
led, myserably slayne and burned, in
suche sort that their corpses are cast here
and there abrode, hanged
on trees, gibets,
and bushes, and no man will burie them.
But thys
mynded and wycked people
handes together in token of greate
they
daunce and leape, they
make mery
and are gladde, they make great diners,
and sende
presentes
one to an other, be
ing wonderful wel disposed, bicause they
see those
that dyd rebuke them of their
wycked
hauioures,
havioures,
so irkesomly intreated,
they
sing and make ballettes, they compose
in metre, and sette forth bookes of greate
slaunders,
blasphemies and
lyes, against
GOD, his Christe, and his Churche,
whyche thyng
surely
dothe sufficiente
ly
rage and fume, they are woode lyke
bloud thyrstie Tyrantes, they gnashe
as
fierce and cruell Lyons, and they are ve
ry sorie that any shoulde
escape theyr
bloudy
handes. Thys may those testifie
whiche
the Sermons of one
Hollande, as the
rest of them
were
woorthie to bee. But God be than
ked, that the Papistes
of oure countrey
can
none otherwyse clense them
than wyth suche
foule and filthie dishe
cloutes, and
fyght wyth such darts wher
wyth
they hurte them
shalbe our
escape your
but slay and kill them, either
by fire, wa
ter, sweard, rope, or any other torments:
spare no
man,
neither olde nor yong, rich
nor poore, great nor small, man nor
wife,
maried nor
den, for they al speak against
Dragon, wherby our kingdom should fal,
we should lose our
best
profits, and suffer
great damage and losse. Cause also that
and pore, bond or
free,
be marked on their
right hand, or on their forehead. And
boue
bove
that al Massemongers,
Monks,
Friers and Priestes be
gers
swear by othe, to obey
and
Pope, and the Romish Church, and there
to vowe chastitie.
marked
For as the right mark of an
stian, is the faith working through chari
tie and
(for the pledge of the
of God, is faith
so is the
true mark and seale of the Popish Ante
christ, to bragge and
trust in their
owne
workes and
grimages,
shrifts, Buls, and Pardons,
to
be
many
, and an hun
dred more such dreames.
And that no man might bie and sell,
confesse or al
low that which the Pope teacheth or
maundeth,
maundeth,
is contented and
willing
of Requiem,
absolutions, and o
ther abhominations: those may neither
bie nor sel
amongst them. Yea they are
excommunicated, persecuted, and
ned
ned
to fire, sweard, gibbet or
water. But
are
al good chil
dren, especially those that
ble marke,
and
they cal
and
troupe. Those I say, may traffique and oc
cupie freely,
practising Simonie, chaun
ging
and selling of Benefices, Prebenda
ries,
and all other of their
Romish pedla
ry, and
of the
Antechrist bringeth
them into his Tem
ple,
there
to Here is wisdom.
The
true and
in well
and
ging
ging
not
we are fooles and
not wise men. Therefore the Lord dothe
admonish
his
auditors diligently to serch
of Antechrist, to
might
kepe them
which
of the beast,
and
worship his image, shal drink of the wine
of gods
wrath.
with him on
of God
in
his kingdom. Heereby we may
which we escape the wrath of God, and
attaine to
For
the holy Ghost sayth here S.
He that hath
wit, count the number of the Beast. That is,
they (which are not al
togither
foolish and deafe, let them count
and cast
let
them studie and meditate continually on
the thing, find fault with
it,
which seemeth
the world.
Count (sayth the Lord) for it is the number of a man, that is such
a number
as the
carefull and dilygent man may
easily finde out. God
commaundeth heere
expresly, that we must search and count.
And his number is six hundred, three score and sixe. For so many make
these
letters
in the Greeke tong La -tinos, Latinus,
the number
of
sixe hundreth three score and sixe. And
it is well and
very
credible (sayth the ho
ly Martir
that his name should
be
so called, for so muche as hys dominion
hath that
name, and are
all Latinists that
rule and
truthe,
that this godly teacher being full
of
the spirit of god hath not failed
to fore
tel the true mening of the holy Ghost in
this behalf. For
it
is
mish church, is called the Latine church,
head of the same. We see also
in this Church, are done in Latine. And
in their spirituall
ken:
no man may
cept he be a Latinist.
they call
Hebrue to be
or
Greeke erronious
or heretiquish: yea they
holde the
Hebrue and Greeke Bible to be
suspected,
and straightly charge and
com
maund their Latine (
and holden for the best.
Which thing is so
manifestly known, that it hath no need of
any further
exposition.
mother the Romish
churche.
that maintaine, defende and
holde
holde
a
gainst God and his truth.
name of
his
dearely
oure onely
and redeemer. And
I thanke hym from the bottome of my
hearte, that
it
hathe pleased hym of his
mercie, without my
called me wyth the Apostle S. Paule,
and the com
panie of hys enimies,
whole of the colour of scarlet reddish, in
token
of greate
tyrannie, sheddyng of
bloud and murthers, which they
a
gainst those which will not agree to their
wicked
ful of
ignominious blasphemous names:
as, your holynesse,
your clemencie, your
lordship, your fatherhod, your mastership,
your
serenitie, your worthinesse,
honour,
vicar of
God, spiritual lord, phisition of the soule,
defender of the
faith,
supreme head of the
church, and many other, as it is seene
day
ly by their letters and writyngs.
ouer
over
trumpe
ries, and
than processions, confirma
tions, greasyngs, purgatorie, Masses for
al soules, pilgrimages, pardons,
regina, Placebo,
This beast had
signifiyng all his subtil
practises, his craf
tie fetches and false conspiracies, therby
to impeche
and withstande the graces of
God, and giftes of the holy Ghost: And
nish
nish
of God. And this woman was arayed in pur -ple, and gilded with golde and precious stones and pearles. Which signifieth their
coapes
of gold,
trumperies of
silk, pur
ple, crimosin sattin, redde coloured, bor
dered
wyth golde, pearles and
precious
stones,
ted,
decked Ro
mish churche bragged and boasted muche
of hir Gospel and
hir
Apostles, of
wyth
all kinde of costlynesse, whiche is
for
follow, and to
expresse them in their
uersation.
versation.
She had a cup of golde in hir hande full of ab -homination and filthinesse of hir
fornication.
This cup, is hir
on,
whiche
she dayly communicateth, di
stributed aboute the Chalice,
Merchauntes doe so wickedly abuse.
It
containeth
and
doctrine, all kinde of erroures, lyes, and
all manner of craftie wor
kes of hypocrites, all manner of
tions
tions
of fleshly wysedome, all
mans wit
tie
or o
therwise
kinde of worshippyng, of
idolatrie, forni
cation, Sodometrie, and all other kynde
of iniquitie.
Outwardly she seemeth to
be gilded, she reporteth yea
to
magnfying of the name
of Christ.
say, they preache the sacred Scripture,
they
in chastitie, and all is
and de
ceiptfull shewe of holynesse, full of hypo
crisie and dissimulation,
a
of all mischiefe and abhomination, it
is
but
as the rest of all their doings are.
And in hir forhead was a name written, a mysterie, great Babylon.
A
name declaring
what manner of woman she is. She is
knowne wel inough
by hir naughty frui
tes, of such as are skylful of godly know
ledge,
and
derstandyng.
derstandyng.
minated,
conducted and ledde by the spi
rite of GOD, maye easily
and knowe, accordyng
Scriptures, that shee is nothyng else
but an
whoore, full of all iniquitie,
abhominati
on and wyckednesse. But thys
ment
ment
Infidels, the
whyche
are so bewitched and inchaunted
by the meanes
of their fayre outwarde
shewe, their
humble kneeling, creepyng,
and
gaye Ceremonies, that
ever
euer
ever
and
taketh in hand, they make muche of
it, worship and imbrace
it,
as holy, ho
nest
mitted for theyr
She is called mother of whoredomes and abho -minations of the earth,
muche passyng the
towne of the Chaldees in all kinde of wic
kednesse,
for she is the mother and foun
taine both of spiritual and carnall whor
dome
and abhomination. And I saw
that
she was the maried wyfe of the
For I saw hir
dronke of the bloud of Sainctes, and with the bloud of the martyrs of
which she outragiously and most
ly
ly
persecuted and
slayne.
And when I saw hir so, I
not onely bicause
I
saw hir
defiled and sprinkled of murther and
ding of innocent
bloude, but also bicause
of hir greate and abhominable blasphe
mies.
And
most of al, I was
sure amazed and
almigh
tie God coulde or woulde suffer or per
mit
wickednesse
and detestable and horrible impietie
is called of the Angell, the
great whore:
that great Citie which ru
led
Rome.
wayes, The .x. horns which thou sawest
the
Kings, Princes, and their
heeretofore were
and maintainers of the Romish churche,
seeking to doe
good to that whoore, yea to
their owne damage and hinderaunce, bi
cause
of the good will and blinde
zele they
bare
which
ueth
veth
through hir
ded, that he considereth not hir
nor
hir plea
sure, frendship or
in him lieth, hating,
contemning, and put
ting to death, through
(wherewith
she hath
bewitched
them which (meaning his
him of
hir, and tel him of his
is
misused:
setting
before his eyes hir fraude, falshoode,
shamefastnesse,
shamefastnesse,
fainednesse, and
fulnesse,
fulnesse,
til
til
his eyes be open, and his
illuminated by the grace of
God, so that
when he
led and
hateth and defieth
hir
the more.
eyes of
many Princes and Kings, Coun
treis, Townes and Cities, and other wel
disposed opened, and their hearts are tou
ched by the mighty working
of
gods holy
spirite, and by the meanes of preaching
hearing of
the woord
of God, so that now
they defie the whoore with all hir traditi
ons
and abhominations which they
were
wont to maintain and defend so willing
ly.
Yea those I say which for
very blinde
bare
were contented to kisse hir feete, shalbe as
now hir
mortall and
deadly ennimies.
They shal not passe
they shall condemne hir
take from hir the Realme
and dominion
which she
now
shall deny hir
tribute and obeisaunce, or
to doe hir
any homage, and at length shall
shall
other temporal Magistrates, yea
Cardinals, Archbishops,
Bishops and Prelates. Of which, many
ensamples
are at this instant to be
And more followers of these ensamples,
wil be heerafter. Which albeit
they were
the hornes of the beast to
defend
withal, yet shal they so abolish hir,
mislike
hir,
and
forsake hir, that at length she shal
be left whole
shall chase,
pursue, and hunt the Babilonish whoore
of Rome, with the
cleare trumpe of Gods
holy word, that
she shall become pale and
colourlesse,
Cal to remembraunce what God hath
and other
moe. All whiche
their
Reliques, Crucifixes
call
Purgatorie,
shall raise some not infe
rior to them, which shall make so muche
and bring hir to such a fall,
that she
shal not be able to
againe, so that
no man shall regarde hir any more, ney
ther shall there
be any found to
set hir
againe. They shall strip hir naked, that
so
many as behold hir,
may cry out
consume hir flesh.
way from
hir al
and al other worldly pleasures, confound
hir
scriptures, and so consequently
consume
and make weake
the keeping and
uing
ving
Ceremonies. Last
of
all, they shall all to burne hir with fire,
their Decrees,
stomes, and all other
When as all these
abhominations shall
cease, and be gone
by the meanes of the
preaching
of the Gospel, then this whoore
shall
not be seene any more, bicause
the
harlot continueth
no longer
matiõ
mation
their
customs
and Ceremonies, their
raiment, their
Images (the light of their
dominion)
their
on,
keepe back their Altares,
their Masse,
Bishops, Priests, Miters,
Cros
ses and Banners: of what estimation (I
pray you) shalbe
their holy
(as they terme
it) whorish Church?
thing else than
in outward false
shew of
many gay trifling and vaine hipocritical
Ceremonies.
For god
hath (saith the Angell) put in their hearts to fulfill his
will. God
hath
on of his holy spirite in the minds of those
his secrete will and
pleasure. Namely to
false and hipocriticall re
ligion, to suffer no longer the enormitie
and foule
I saw an other angel (saith S.
Iohn,)John,)Iohn),John),
the true ministers and preachers sent in
these our dayes. As
also
of the
Angell
which had the
God. Again in the .x. chapter,
of the angel
which was
in the
Chapter, of the Angell which
Babilon,
for worldlings.
51
Christ,
L.j. comming from
All which
is to declare
that the godly preachers are
er,
spirite of God)
declare and
the
of
that pestilent whore.
For like as the
father hath the life
him,
hath his
without any feare.
And the earth was light of his brightnesse.
Not
of the Angell which was but a Mes
sanger, was the earth lightned, but
of
the
power which was
Gods word is once truely
preached, there
the whole earth is
lightned of the bright
nesse of the
glory of God. And this Angell cried aloud, she is
fallen. That great
Babilon,
which was so proud, hie minded,
mon a whore, that
blasphemous sinagoge
of the hipocrites, is turned
She
is by
the
brought to great ignomie and shame.
Hir
first
of this world was
and vanqui
shed through
and ponder well in your
minde,
the materiall
temple was throwne down,
and
stone left
an other. Now in this our
time, she shal
uere
vere
preaching of gods word, to the
comfort of
all
what as it were
deferred, yet let them be
as well assured of this hir
come, as we
know and certainly
the other
and compare this
plucking downe
of Abbays,
Frieries, and
other religious houses (as they cal them)
in Germanie, England, and in other places,
and make your accompts,
that more and
more sorowes shal happen,
and surely fal
The occasion of
hir fall,
and the desolation before the lord, is this:
She is become a dwelling place to
more
than
hir first fall,
for
now enter they a great many at once,
yea wel
And she is become a keeper of
.
For all manner of
Idolatrie is maintai
ned and kept by hir spirituall Courtiers
and holy
fathers (as they call them) as be
their Bishops and priests. Here raigneth
sacriledge,
fraude,
tousnesse,
tousnesse,
malice, lecherie, gluttonie, pride,
She is become a
For in
hir dwelleth
the adulterous Bishops, the buggerous
Cardinals,
and lecherous Prelates, and
a
heape of
Nunnes, and Sisters. All these compa
reth
Esay the Prophet to wilde
namely
to Dragons, Ostriches, Eagles,
Monkeis, Owles, Mermaides,
and other
sterous and straunge
beasts: for
amongst
them hath bene
at this
present, all manner of vaine and
foolishe
toyes, as mockings, scoffings
and
singing, playing, and
Heere we might
speak and reherse many
things: Namely of the keeping
of their
stewes, and how
they goe a whoring two
maner of wayes: whereunto
we might
the ruffian
prelates
get thereby. As it is
to be seene, namely at Rome, what
nues
nues
rents,
after
ward of the drouning and killing of
drẽ,
dren,
and
casting
in corners and ditches, as is
tised amongst
these
It is fallen, For all the kinreds and nati
ons of the world, except
a very fewe of
simple and seely souls,
which god through
his
goodnesse, mercy and
grace hath chosen and predestinated to
him selfe,
Bicause
they
not rendred thankes to almightye God,
when
occasion, oportunitie
and time
ued,
ved,
bottomlesse pit
of all
errour and
abhomi
soul.
They
searched to runne a whoring
after their
hurtfull and
damnable witchcraftes and
inchauntments,
and crediting
their false doctrine and teachings, and so
consequently
apply
And the Kings of the earth,
not
before their eyes the
and feare of
God,
. Yelding
to many false, Idolatrous,
and
straunge
worshippings. In such sorte, that by the
teachings, admonitions,
and
persuasions
of their holy fornicatours, they
ken the
of peace
against the true children of God. Which
molested and troubled, scornefully
in
treated and mocked, violently oppressed
and persecuted,
(chasing and ba
nishing them) confiscated their lands and
goodes, turning
their
dren out of the doores
all this, so murther they and slay all such
nocent bloud, as hanging, drowning, or
burning
them most cruelly without any
cause, yea without any remorse of consci
ence,
nor
nor
death,
and
no
be
all their doings and crueltie. Also
their
mitred
Merchaunts, and
mongers, factors and sellers of mennes
soules, are waxen very rich and welthy
by
selling of their
their owne commoditie and profite
forbidden. Of like qualitie
are their Ima
ges,
Bones of departed
Sainctes, and other
like things. Whereby, and by many o
ther of their
fained holinesse, they
are
be
their
goods and richesse)
so lusty, spiteful, proud
and lofty, that
they
session and
Realmes,
of Cities, Fortresses and Ca
stels, and many other pleasaunt places,
Woodes, Warrennes, Parkes, Farmes,
Conduits, Fountaines, Hounds, Horsses,
and Mules. So that in aucthoritie and
power, in riches, and substance,
and in all
kinde of plesant things, they
are nothing
inferior to Kings
and Princes.
take other mennes
their
most filthie and
honest mennes daughters,
they most abhominably
and shamefully
defile,
marre and spoile. I
consider what
gaines Bishops
gather of the
of
Buls, Pardons, and
resigning of benefi
ces. Againe it can not well
be tolde, what
golde and
saying of their
thering of their yearely Offerings, and
which their Cathedral Churches,
Abbeis,
Religious houses
and
that in al things they
passe the welthiest.
There is no kind of
pleasure come it
uer
ver
farre off, be it
costly, but they wil
of it.
withstãding,
withstanding,
crites at their
sermons,
regarde nothing lesse than the vanitie
of
this world, and praise
sting and abstinence.
And I heard another voice, an other
warning of the spirite, whereby
the
true
and faithfull ministers of God are in
structed and taught,
warning
ing:
Goe out of hir my people, come away
with Esdras
out of that wicked Babylon,
goe
forthe with Abraham out of Caldee,
runne
and flie with Lothe out of filthye
Sodome, and meddle
wyth that
whoorish Church of Rome, denie, forsake,
Ande-
wholly hir false and fained ho
lynesse, hir foule and filthy ceremonies,
abhorre hir dissimulation and hypocrisie,
curse and ban their trifles
and
and
whooremongers,
Balaamites.
Lifte
your hearts your former follie and abho
minations which you
in times
past, and come to me (sayth the Lord) all
ye that
and are
I shall refresh you. Get ye away from among them, without looking behinde you,
that ye be not partakers of their sinnes, which is the
geance
geance
nation.
At all tymes and seasons
there
learned fathers, whiche through their ex
cellent and
and writings
the comming
and reformation of the churche,
for the
a
mendemente of many faultes, and to see
brotherly exhortation and
christian disci
pline
Bertrandus Herebaldus,
,Lu-
Andeganensis, Peter Damianus, Valeriane Medeburgensis, Bernard
and Hieronymus
. Beside these
there be other which are of oure time, as
,
and more
other.
All whiche, the Papistes for the
moste
parte
kes.
To rehearse here their
wrytings,
their reasons and testimonies, it
would
require
some of their names to thys end and pur
pose, that
it myght appeare to the Rea
der, that at all tymes God hath had one
or other, that hath not ben in all
poynts
consenting to their blasphemies.
Albeit,
the light of Gods truthe was not
then so
perfectly
a dayes
adayes
but they
and
princes which resisted them
and letted them of their vertuous enter
prises,
whiche also maintained those An
techrists in their impietie
the
it
is with
out any doubt, that these, as Pharao, with
all his power
in the red
Sea, and as that
proude kinde of Phariseys and priestes
of the
in the Citie, bicause of theyr
manifeste blasphemies
perished, so shall
likewise at the hour and time of God ap
pointed,
all these perishe and vanishe a
way.
For the sinnes of this whoore,
or the in
numerable blasphemies of this false reli
gion, the great abhomination
and
filthie
idolatrie, the burning, hangyng, drow
ning, and sheading
of innocente
bloude,
are come
there to
desire the
vengeance of
God, for their
caused
ked
ked
them. And God hath
ar come
Therfore
most
threatened pla
gues of the most righteous God, no lesse
than Sodome
and
Gomorre,
for their trans
gression and wickednesses: which when
it was foretolde them, made light of it,
al
mischiefe,
God pouring out his vengeance, destroy
ed them
with fire and
brimstone.
Rewarde hir
with such mea
sure as she did measure
ye good heede,
and looke narowly, ye that
hir,
snare hir, as she hath snared you.
Againe,
as she hath
heretofore wrongfully mole
sted and troubled you,
scornefully intrea
ted, yea, and by hir Traditions
and
you
nowe do ye
horte
hir of hir wyckednesse,
like a very harlot, and condemne
hir by
the mightie and true worde of God
to
uerlasting
verlasting
can not be quen
ched.
And
That is,
render
to
to
for worldly punishe
ments whiche she hath brought
elect of
God, hellishe torments. For
cor
eternal
pains and torment of the minde:
for the blame and ignomynie
of thys
worlde, perpetuall
shame and confusion:
for temporall death,
tion both of body and soule.
And the cup.
That is al kinde of trou
bles,
whiche she
filled to you out of hir cup, that is, caused
to come
you, shalbe doubled to hir a
gaine: for (as it is sayd) she shall
ly Ghost calleth here double,
that
which
is withoute comparison,
pleasure and
sorowes
and griefes, hir mery and plea
saunt talke, hir
into weepyng, mournyng, wringyng of
handes and gnashyng of teeth.
Hir
com
maundings shal be turned into
hir
hir honoure
into shame.
moste faynedly
an holy kynde of priest
hode, she boasteth and braggeth much of
that
whiche
they are furthest from. She
taken
hir, and proudely claimed
all
highnesse.
sed:
sed:
hir therefore wayte and at
tende on the plagues and punishementes
due
rogancie. Take away hir
Eu -phrates,
wyth the spoyle and greate
nues,
nues,
hath hytherto
so
and
hir in the deepe pit of all mise
ries and wretchednesse.
For she sayth in
hir heart, I sitte being a Queene,
with
I am the
the
the Catholike
and
holy Churche, I
authoritie and power in
and
Hell: I
to loose, to
It stan
deth not with me, as it doth with those
that be not of this
worlde, for all thyngs
here are at my commaundement.
I am no widowe, I am not desolate.
The hyghest powers and
of
thys worlde do assiste and defende mee,
those that say against
me.
Maxence,
were
of my predecessours, than
are
the Princes of our tyme readie to main
taine wyth fire and
Decrees,
Traditions and Ceremonies. Therefore I shall see no mournyng.
I shall
continue
wayes, I shall be called Madame at all
tymes: my
kyngdome shall abyde for
uer,
ver,
from
me, I shall
can come
sorte,
boaste (wyth no small presumption) our
Papistes
also, saying:
That the lyttle
vessell of Sainct Peter may wel by the
reason of
weather
and
tempeste be sha
ken, and with the
bled, but
perishe: hereby goyng aboute to
that theyr superstitious and Romyshe
churche should
abyde styll, and
what abilitie and power
the Lambe is,
whiche
abideth Syon,
a
gainst whom they
stick and make warre against
and
lit
tle flocke they persecute daily with great
tyrannie,
crueltie,
and rigorousnesse.
Therfore shal hir plagues come at one day. God
shall
once poure
malignant church, Death, sorowes,
hunger and sworde,
and
They shalbe
whiche is
in Christe
maine in
not
ceasse to mourne, to wring their
handes,
and
gnashe their teeth,
they
shall be inhe
ritours of
and
whoore
with the whole generation of
hypocrites
shall be burnt with
prepared for the
This sentence
is not so
for the Lorde who shal
power and might: he is holy and faithful
in mercie, true in his
worde
and promise,
terrible
and righteous in his
against the wycked. No man then shall
part of the threatned vengeaunce
of hys
wrath from the And the Kings of the earth, namely the worldly and
carnall Princes whiche
fornication, and
in all
filthynesse, shall be -waile hir, when they shall see hir
wen
wen
and so yll intreated, it shall
them sore, that they may or
can not main
taine and defende hir with water, fyre
and sworde
God and hys saincts,
for they shall be nothyng well pleased
with
the
ordinaunces and institutions
of
Christe, bycause they doe hate nothyng
more
than the workes of the spirite, that
will of God. It shall anger them to
the
hearte,
that
they are not able to burne
still and slay all those that
speake,
write,
or
preache agaynst the deedes of the fleshe
and do
of their
fornication,
adulterie, and theyr
ordinate
lyfe, and rebuke them of theyr
moste abhomynable idolatrie.
And lamente
And shall stande a farre of, for feare
of hir tormentes, crying and saying: Alas, alas, that greate citie Baby -lon, that myghtie Citie.
Alas, our mother
the holy Churche of Rome, so many holy
fathers, Popes,
Cardinalles, and By
shops: Alas, for our Monkes, Chanons,
and Friers
with their so holy, so
and straight
Alas, for so many Pardons, Indulgen
ces, and confessions, so many principall
hye Feastes, Holy dayes, and gay Coa
pes and Garmentes. Alas for oure
ho
ly Water, holy Candelles, holye Pal
mes, holye Ashes, hallowed Belles,
of our so gay ceremonies.
With these and
the lyke wordes shall
they bewayle hir,
trembling and
quakyng for feare,
ing out on this maner
strong
citie: for in one houre is thy
come. Thou art sodainly perished with
aware of it.
Alas, who shal now pray for
ses of Requiem, and do the funeralles
for
our soule? Whether
shall we go nowe to
shrifte? who shall now
and par
don
fetche oure
shall consecrate
sing or ryng
and
cast holy water at oure
burials, and redeme
Suche shal be the complaints of the wic
ked and faithlesse persons.
And the merchants of the earth, whiche do
make any trafike of the marchandise
of
their Temple (whiche place dothe
them in steade of the market)
as well
a
mongest the Mahometistes, as the
Pa
we are moste trou
bled and molested here in Europe, of that
popishe
Antechriste, we
shall
to speake as we
most
of hym. These merchantes then (I say)
shall bewayle hir, and mourne
very
sore, and muche more than the Kyngs
dyd. For no man buieth their ware any
theyr pedlary is nothing set by any
The wares or merchaundises of theyr
shoppes, are
Masses, prayers,
blessyngs,
whyche they sell
(to get the more, as it is
esteemed) in steede of God theyr maker,
Holy breade, holy water, Candels, reli
kes, Pardons, ,
they get the very sweate
and bloude of
the poore
silly soules.
And
That is to say,
stode a farre
1847.
and cried. In like maner When they saw
the smoake of the burnyng, saying: What Citie was lyke
in
ryches, po
wer, wealth, and voluptuousnesse? No
Prince or lorde
is better entertained, of
al thyngs better
tendance
uelings
velings
dence
is onely in this Citie, this
is theyr
God: Herein consisteth their
whole feli
citie and blessednesse.
These Shipmen shall (bycause of theyr
greate losse) so weepe and wayle, that men shall cast
duste
and fond
wytlesse
heads:
That is to saye, theyheads, that is to saye. They
shall be so wrapped in darkenesse, that
they
shall not see in
theyr
bycause of theyr
also their
knowledge
shall bee made dull, blunte,
by the meanes of
furie, and rage. All this shall they do,
to
shewe theyr greate
griefe: as for theyr
repentaunce, it shall be
lyke
of
, and
, their predecessoures. And in theyr
sorrowe, they
shall complayne
on thys
manner: Alas, alas, that greate Citie, that
woorthie and moste
famous Rome, that
sweete and
pleasaunt Babylon, oure holy
mother, wherein we were made so ryche, so
proude, so myghtie and
glorious, that al
the
worlde dyd dreade, honour and
no kinde of
is now made desolate,
she is fallen
Again,
how comfortable
shall it be for the elect to see
them
exempted of this condemnation, and to
of that
nesse in eternal glory. And I saw an Angell standing in the
Sunne, signifying
the Apostles and al true
in the
bright
nesse,
which
is Christ
and
worthy witnesses
stand
fast in a stedfast
whole multitude of Antechrist, without
ded
nothing in
this world, be it
paine,
torment, or deathe, will shrincke
therefro. And he cried with a
loude voyce to all the Foules that did flie by the middes of
This voice
the worldes end, with a
stant mind,
which flie
der
der
mind, and
become
spiritual through faith
and
aside,
ly plesures or corruptiblenesse,
selues
selves
and make their
to be in
uen,
ven,
life. These are
the
father feedeth and sustaineth
wythoute
in
hã
hamMesopotamie,
Moyses in Sinai, Helias
Carmelus,
Daniel
lions,
Paul in Damasco,
S.
in Pathmos,
and many moe
herein England,
and
in other places, and shalbe to the worlds
end.
The
maner of their calling is: Come
assemble you in
and mind,
knit your
in
the bond of
perfectnesse,
that the
derstanding,
derstanding,
keepe
your hearts
in Christ Prepare ye (sayth
the Angel) to come to that great and super
naturall good supper of the Lord: Which is
that eternall and
of the soul.
Come on and tast of the most
daintiest
dishes,
which
hath heard,
neither came
into mannes
heart, which God hath prepared for them
what his good wil
the
same in life
ly pleasures.
soberly, temperately,
chastly
of our Lord and God. Finally,
order and
frame your life so, that ye may eat the fleshe of kings, that
ye may by exhortation and
ensample,
teach the worldly
to
all maner of filthie,
carnall
and sinnefull
lustes. And that ye may eat the flesh of all captaines and
mightie men, pluck down the
hie minded hearts of
der
der
uour
vour
the
worldly rich and
proud
ly pleasures,
excesse, and manifolde vani
ties.
And the fleshe of horsses, and of them that sit on them. And the flesh of al fre men
Regard neither
horsses nor them that sit on
their flesh in peeces.
Spare no man, ney
ther hie nor low, rich nor poore, bond nor
free, but
checke and taunt them, that they
turne
to the lord. As for the obstinate and stub
born which wil not
bow but
resist, break
them and hew them in pieces, punish the
degree so
these
beastly
Antechristes
sit on them:
take
away the pride and lof
tinesse from these loitering prelates, and
idle bishops, and also of
and follow their
hipocrisie,
cruell
persecution
from the innocents,
poure downe thy wrath
according
to their desertes, and let none
escape.
re
sort there where as the dead
(men without
and drouned
in
honestly in their
vocation, let
learned
and wise in all
al in the holy Bible which be
the Scrip
tures, and that it becometh
in the feare of
god, not to do al things
aduisedly
aduisedly
pleasure,
but orderly, as reason and equi
tie doth require, not to oppresse the
poore,
innocents and fatherlesse, but
to aid, suc
coure and helpe them,
and to
punishe the
on in
taxing
they be
merciful, good
stewards
To the hipocrites
in any creatures,
uing
ving
he goe no more like
a beast and Mule in
whom is no
mennes
but rather take
wife, to flie al occasions of
the
the
to obey. The
band:
againe,
the
husband to be frienda
ble and
cherish and nourish hir,
defended his Church, and cared
for
hir.
the Parentes not
to
dren to wrathe. And the
bey them
that be their masters.
shalt
and
drinke the
of Buckes and
Bulles
which shall be slayne at Basan.
And I
saw the Beast, and the Kings of the earth, and their armie.
That is, these
Ruf
fians and lecherous Bishops, Monkes,
Abbots, and the rest of
these
of Antechrist, with the Princes of this
world,
cruel tyrants,
catchpols and hang
men of the Beast, are assembled together,
to consult
and gather
souldiours, and set
them out to fight
against him which sate
to make warre a
gainst Christ and his
Churche,
his
chosen and
uaunts
vaunts
any kind of
doubt
or
so
preached and taught,
the glorye of God
preferred, and the securitie and naughti
nesse of
mannes sinfull and
abhominable
insur
rections, tumultes and seditions risen a
mongst the hipocrits of
traiterous enter
prises.
These Princes
and captaines with their
most
cruel souldiers are set on,
and stirred by the malice of
these Idola
trous Bishops and Prelates,
Pilate and Herode
were
Annas
and Caiphas to put Christ to death.
And
as Felix
at the request
Ananie the hie
priest, kept
S. Paule in prison. The Emperor
and other tyrants
should
secuted the Christians
their
horsses had not bene pricked so fast
and so often with the spurres
of wicked
and leude Prelats
vanquishe and roote out the truthe, may
be
seene by their letters, wrytten
and
sent to so many Kings and Princes.
No
small
in discredite and slaunder
with
the
people, the which
(
his bones, whome they coulde
not be
uenged
venged
their requestes
and sutes made to the
kyng
of Englande, Richarde by name.
Againe, Sigismunde the Emperor wold
promise
fortified by a safeconduct graunted
, to goe
and come safely to the
Counsell at
Constance, and
forced
hym: for if he would be the image
of the beast,
of the Ro
mish church, he must doe all as it pleased
them. It is
manifest
in
low
Ger -many
(our Flaunders,
where as soone
as Gods
worde was sin
cerely preached, and the Gospell of
Christ
king
dome was rente
how idola
trie and superstition was brought low,
all excesse, surfetting
wickednesse and vice, all pride
nesse
beat
down
mongers
asha
med of their filthinesse: priests
misliked of their
estate, and durst not say
Masse, go on
procession
other
of their
crounes, let grow
their beards, hid
ues,
ues,
ves,
ves,
light women were
fians
for
saw their houses not so much haunted as
before. These
with
and wist not
where to hide
cause of
did shine so
bright
in the worlde. On the other side, consider
how
the
kyngdome of Christe increased,
how the
honor of
God was set foorth, the name of
the Lorde was magnified
and
praised and blessed. Howe many people
whiche hitherto
doltes in al securitie
then come to knowledge and
ding,
ding,
life,
selues
selues
selves
selves
to that
whiche they
heard, expressed it in
their life
of al, it was
briety, honesty,
amongst this new springing churche: and
contrarywise, the dedes
of
the
flesh forsa
ken,
the
that olde serpent, who from
the
beginning hated the truth,
felici
tie, seing his kyngdom go to wrack, hys
gay
church decay,
hys
pilferyng trashe
nothing
set by: yea and seing his beastly
bodie,
preaching of
Gods word so cleane
ten to the grounde,
did waxe madde
and
red
and alliaunce with his
Antechrist,
gathe
red a counsell against the Lorde and his
churche, to scatter
and
put asunder hys
flocke,
uerne
verne
equitie,
but
violently and
reigne, yea notwithstanding
their
chri
stians, it is too well knowne howe they
are
to speake a
ny more of that matter, not
mistrusting
but that it
shall be declared at large of
some diligent writer. But
purpose? The Lorde against whom
they
all theyr
enterprises and
He seeth their fall and
verthrowe,
and the
hande.
blessed are
whiche die in the Lorde,
they shall
truth, muche lesse to obtaine any
victorie
agaynste God
. Contrarywise,
Thoroughe them,
as
instrumentes, and
false prophetes, he
maunde,
and execute all hys
deceiptfull
and false hypocrisies and idolatries.
It
is then moste sure and
certaine, that this
beast with all theyr
beastlynesse, can
uer
ver
the Beast was apprehended and taken, and with hir the
false Prophetes whyche did
signes and wonders before
. As heretofore
and
the
E -gypt,
wente aboute to counterfaite the
signes,
whiche
Moyses and Aaron
dydde
in the presence of Pharao:
doe
these
false inchaunters
in these oure days, namely
in
that they
shew greater wonders, than any hereto
fore hath ben heard
of: That is,
that they
turne very bread into naturall fleshe
and
bloud, and that so cunnyngly
that it can
not be once
dyng
tastyng of it
otherwyse
than breade. And more other: as to re
deeme
soules out of Purgatorie, by sacri
fices and
and
other shamefull braggs, wherwith he
ceyued
ceyved
the beastes
marke and seale, and worship his image.
These both, namely the head and the bo
die, the beast, and the false
prophete, were
These shall surely thorough
the power and ryghteous
God,
pocrites and false Prophetes
And the remnant which folow, of what
state and condition so
be, were slayne with the sworde of him that
sitteth
which
commeth out of his mouthe.
This sworde is (as is before sayd) his
mightie and true word,
which
hath with
in
not afrayde of
this
worde, but obstinatly
or
dinaunces, also those whiche beyng stri
ken of this sworde, and beleeve
not, nor
repentyng them of their misdedes, frame
their lyfe accordyngly,
shall perishe with
out doubt with this sword for
And all the foules are
of hys mercie, hathe chosen
and plucked
from these worldly
pleasures and naugh
tie desires, shall be
goeth filled with
their fleshe,
these shall be gladde bycause
that theyr
numbre is
increased. Againe, on the other
syde, shall they
see the wicked and obstinate, through
the
) seeing
the ven
geaunce of God, shall
washe their feete
in the bloud of the wic
ked
sist
God
and his holy worde, with al their
vainglorie and pompe, sodainly
and with
a greate noyse
perishe. The Lorde shall
destroy them for
The
(sayeth
) fall, they are cast downe,
are not able to stande.
This wyll surely come
as
it hath done in al ages, and as we
seene it with our eyes, and
dayly shall see
it more and more. But they which feare
God and
hym, shall obtayne hys
grace and mercy, and shal
ful
promises, the inheritance of
his
lasting
lasting
nexte
folowing.
I sawe (sayth S. a newe
S. Peter
thing (going before the
sed
and purified,
and
things must be changed and
made
of all
corruptiblenesse. He meaneth not
Aretes)
that the creatures
shoulde
consume away, and be no more, but one
ly
be renued, so the godly
and chosen shall
be
is to say: Here
in this worlde from sin,
hereafter of death
so shall
be
led
of
The first
defiled with the pryde
of the angels, and the fyrst
earth corrup
ted with the manyfolde wyckednesses of
man, were passed
away altogether, and
shall be no more, not that the veritie of
them
shall vanishe, but the nature, com
plection, and qualitie of them shal
change
and turne into sinceritie and perfection.
And there was no more sea,
constãt
constant
al pric
kings
tion, mistrustfulnesse
ken quite from
of
into
the holy Ghost,
all
hindrance, feare, persecution, tyrannie,
violence,
and
worlde,
when we shall see hym
face to face. And
the
sea shall be no longer
tie, than
all other creatures,
but shall be
purified from all corruption, and
shall
henceforth be so
cleare as any christall,
although it remaineth
the
same
And I
by
mission of God, the holy Citie, new
. By good
reason is
this holy Citie the
congregati
on and churche of God called newe
lem,
lem,
come downe from God hir Creatour
and maker, for she is
holy, not of
hir self,
but of him that made hir, and chose hir to
be his
spouse, prepared lyke a bride trimmed for hir
husbande, for she is
rified and made newe againe, as the well
the lambe
Christ
through
and renuing of the
holy
Ghost shew glorious
so
long
as she
worlde,
but doth
he hir husband hath lefte
hir, namely his holy woord. But heerafter
shall she (being
chednesse, and all kinde
of corruptions)
more perfectly follow his steppes. She is
called new
heere on earth, for so much as
she hath laide off, and put away throughe
the vertue of Gods holy spirite, the
man with all his lustes,
lowship with the
darknesse.
But heereafter shal she be new
by his
as
she shall be
and all manner of corruption.
She
is cal
led the new
both heere and here
after, bicause
that all their
Citizens are
of one beliefe: yet shall they be heereafter
of like glorie and
zens are among the Sainctes,
and
the fa
milie of God, and there shall they be
children, and
inheritors with
hir
Christian faith is
bloud,
but by the gratious
the
(sayth
S. Paul)
which is
which
God
hath builded. She is furnished with the
prepared and trimmed to be a faire and
wrinckle. She is
from hir
through his bloud, she is very costly, and
wel
adorned
other more vertues of the spirit:
an
is dressed and
trimmed for hir
The bride
(sayth
)
right hand in a vesture of fine gold.
But
hir raiments (so long as she is on earthe)
are
are spiritual
the soule and minde, and not of the body.
And I heard (sayth S.
) in the midst
of this last vision, a mightie
voice out of the
the
of GOD, a
voyce saying after this sort
beholde, for your
owne (and al other
and instruction, the holy Tabernacle of the
Lord, which shall be with the chosen for
also heere wyth the
Militant
that
of the holy Ghost. As
Christ
him selfe te
stifieth:
my word, I and
my father will come to
him, and dwel
with him. In like manner
speaketh
God by the Prophet Ezechiel:
saying,
them, which shall be
lasting
lasting
my sanctua
rie among them for
ling shalbe with them,
yea I wil be their
God,
also he
confirmeth heere in this place, say
ing:
He will
In
suche sorte that they shall
knowledge any other, than him only.
He
shal alwayes comfort and strengthen
heere by his holy spirit,
and heereafter by
his
ly keepe
them, that they shall
him heere, nether afterward be seperated
from him. And God shall wipe away all teares from
their eyes, so cleane
that no
kinde of
trouble or feare, shall make them afraid,
any
them
lord
and I
my
selfe wil be glad with
hir. From that time forward shall there
be
heard
within hir, no more sorrow
nor
paine, neither shall there be
any death,
for
death shall be destroyed for
The conscience of man shall
not then be
infirmitie, but
shall
Ghost. They shall through sinne, not
die
any more, but
shall
God. That cruel whoore shal
drink
no more in the bloud of the Martirs, for
she
with al
hir adherents, and wicked ti
rantes, shall be kept in that filthie lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone
for
of trou
ble,
anguish or
pain,
or any kind of
crueltie, or wretchednesse, which coulde
be
sorowes, wailing, and
shall
be
nifest ensample in the Gospell, where
teacheth by the
taine housholder, which hired labourers
into his vineyard, who calling them
him in
as much to them
that wrought but an hour, as he did
them that
are of such a
or wise,
by anye
meanes of faire speach, dissimulation or
hipocrisie,
is able to get
must they enter through the gate
which
is Christ Thys
The
and mightie stone Christ
beginning the Church of God
hym
hath bene
builded and grounded. Uppon
him did Adam,
Noe, Abraham, Moyses,
with the rest of the godly
fathers
that
were, build,
so
before him, or shall be after him, for they
on the
God had wrought to
all,
being
kinde of meat, and
dronke
of one spiritu
all stone which is Christ
terward is come
into the flesh.
may lay any other foundation (sayeth S. Paule)
than that which is layd alreadye,
which is Christ
one,
strong, and
laid and builded these
agreeable the
Peter,
and Mathie. These were prefigured
by
erected in
Galgala,
for a memoriall
of the passing of the children of Israell on
dry land
through the
.
They were
also signified by
whereon Elias the Prophet builded an
aultare Carmelus,
in
the
name of the Lord. The sure grounde of
was,
the
that Christ was the very sonne of the
Upon this foundation
they
all builded, by the announcing, prea
ching,
and writing of that which
the
Prophets and true preachers did
Namely, that he, that is, Christ,
was the
away the
sinnes of the
world, for they soughte the
way of
and
kingdom of God and his righteousnesse,
shewing
them
ding.
and
and Patri
arkes, is all one with the Apostels,
all grounded
vnto
untoS. Paule accordeth very wel, saying:
are ye no more straungers, but ci
tizens with the Saincts: and are builded
Prophets. And by
these
founda
tions are not onely
afore named, for then shold
Paule
him selfe did more
laboure than they all)
number be excluded: In like ma
ner should be Barnabe, Sylas, Agabus,
the righteous,
which was other
wise surnamed Marke, with
many other
more of the like vocation
and calling,
and also all other
faithfull and true mi
nisters, which are of the like faith, and
teach
that doctrine. For ye must consider
that the number of
place,
is a
the number of
ten in other pla
ces,
fest and principallest.
The buildings of the wall of it, was of
This signifieth,
that in Christ
the most costliest, the moste pleasantest,
in
him a
right, shall alwayes abide freshe, greene,
lustie, well
and
shall be verye mightie, yea great and
strong pillers
of his holy and
Temple. He that
keepeth
my
And the Citie was pure golde like
of God is without any spot
or wrinkle.
It
is pure and
the
The light of the
Citie is
which
word
or deede. His death and sheading of
his
bloud, hath made this citie
more cost
ly than pure golde. And the foundations of the wall of the
Citie, were garnished with all maner of pretious stones, which preciousnes
notifieth
And the Angell (sayeth Sainct
whiche dydde shewe all those foresayde
thyngs,
to take the
more heede to the
gracious
and mercifull
purpose of the Lorde, and to bryng me
to a more deeper
knowledge of his miste
ries,
shewed me a pure
,
whiche is therefore called the Water of
Lyfe, bycause it maketh whole,
and
ueth
veth
uer
ver
the
flowing ve
ritie and the worde of
myghtie doctrine
of Christe. Thys is
that sweete
Edom,
to
refresh Paradise, which
it selfe in foure, watereth the
foure parts
of the earthe. This runnyng
water ma
keth the Citie of God
very pleasant and
delectable. This
fortable,
springyng into eternall
lyfe, it
is here a spirituall comfort for the
of God, and shalbe hereafter that incom
prehensible glory
of the Sainctes in
uen.Peter)
but
to
thee, for thou hast the worde of e
ternall life. The vertue and nature
of
this water is to
satisfie, purge and
to comfort, to make
whole and healthful,
for it proceedeth
and floweth
iestie
of God, it commeth from that eter
nal and excellent schoole of the father,
and
thence proceedeth forwarde to the
fulnesse
(sayth the
Lorde)
be free from all your filth
I will also
plant in you a new
spirite.
In the middes of the strete of it, and of either side of the
This
of
the Lorde,
lyfe, namely
Christ
and pastour, the
the worlde. Out of the roote and
nie of
spryngeth
thys tree (accor
ding to the fleshe)
Ghost, borne
of the virgin Marie. As
the
tree of life, in the beginnyng was planted
in the middest of Paradise,
spiritually in the
of his Churche,
whiche
is his moste pleasaunt garden: if
that grounde
or earth which maketh the
trees twice fruitefull in the yeare, be cal
led
happy, so may this garden by
good
ason,
reason,
Where
is without frute,
nor drieth
reth, which dothe not onely beare twyce
a yeare
fruite, signifiyng all the
kable
kable
ren
dreth his frutes
that is, continually,
bothe Sommer and
winter. All they which are thys Congre
gation
as they
kinde of
spirituall and
temporall.
And the
The
promises and the
worde
of GOD are spirite and lyfe, the
and vertue of them,
are
blessednesse and eternal
waye. When Gods worde is sincerely
preached and taughte, then we remem
ber the benefites of oure
then is oure
conscience appeased and sa
tisfied, and the minde mery
and
gladde,
then dothe the soule of man
rendreth therfore
to GOD the Father
moste heartie
thanckes, worthie pray
ses, syngyng
and magnifiyng hym for his
eternall goodnesse and mercie. So
then
the
Nations are
quite healed and made
healthfull thorough beleefe, and
faste
and confessyng Christe
onely
holynesse.
The woorde of GOD writ
ten, or preached, is lyke
ued,
ved,
holy
Ghost,
is of muche importaunce and wayghtie,
healthfull strong
and myghtie in opera
tion, muche lyke
all thyngs (sayeth Zorobabell) is
the
meth
meth
all: For it is the wyll of
the Lorde
whiche
Of whiche glorie and blessednesse
to make a discourse, I shold labor in vain,
and bysides that
get
my purpose,
eare hearde
it, nor
eye sawe it, neyther
came it into any heart: And to say al,
uer
ver
that God hath prepared
for
his elect that
Ye
ently (as I hope) herd, what wickednesse,
thraldome, laboure, paine, and trouble,
and ambi
tion bringeth to them that
it, wishe for it,
and seeke after it. Lyke
wise ye may consider here, howe and af
ter what
sort they draw man from
God,
from naturall reason, from all goodnesse,
and mutuall and brotherly
kinde of iniquitie, crueltie
and
ral
ral
that they not
onely
bryng other men in
great danger to attaine to their purpose,
but they
Ye
the
Prince of
this worlde, is a father and the
author of al wickednesse,
and how that that
(whiche within
a few yeres hitherwards
borne of him: as ye may see more
ly
ly
You
howe that the
hys adhe
rents, accordyng to the veritie of Gods
holy word, and his
righteous
shal be throwen and cast into the pit of e
ternall
pardition of
which hath ben prepared for him and
hys
angels, hys
marked with his marke from
the begin
ning of the worlde: where shall be gna
shyng of teeth, and
wringyng of
the han
des eternally.
howe
that neyther hee, nor all hys mem
bres are able to do any thing against
su
su
they are not
of the
world, therefore the world and all
that belongeth
to the world,
the beginning hated them, persecuted
and afflicted
them, as well Sathan him
self, as the world and
as it is seene dayly, and shal be, so long as
the worlde
continueth:
notwithstanding
there hath bene sometime a little quiet
nesse seene
and shall be, it is possible yet,
namely so long as the malice
and
of Sathan and his membres be bridled
tied shorte, so
long
shall the godly people
some
yeares of grace. Furthermore, it was she
wed you, how that Christ
man for
in the kingdome
of
his father, with al his
Apostles his chosen, with all suche as
leeue
leeve
through them in him, whiche
hathe
bene prepared for them from the begyn
ning,
where is and shall be
of God,
and
the
kyngdome of God,
and of Sathan, the
Churche of Christe, and the synagoge of
Rome,
or the assemblie of the reprobate,
the broade waye, and the straite
gate,
lastyng
lastyng
if
might choose the one or the other of these
two wayes,
I
be so foolishe or ignorant, that
would not
choose rather
tion, to ascende into
than to goe
into hell.
be
are desirous to be accomp
ted
diligentely
take heede, that they wander
not, nor bee
doctrin. For lyke as
arrogancie, ease of the
body, voluptuous
nesse, and plesure of the worlde, hath cha
sed and
away all maner of
tion,
tion,
ning
shall
the
raign and rule in his
membres, notwith
standing that the childe of perdition, that
Antechrist
is already manyfested, and o
penly shewed: yea he attempteth yet
dai
by the meanes of suche vices,
a little
before mentioned, to rayse
reformed Churches among the brethren,
dissention and
trouble.
And it is to be
feared, that in the ende he shall
more and more. For it is
quitie shal abounde, and
hande, and the charitie of many shall wax
colde.
But
so many as beare more
God, and seeke more to please hym than
the
that which pleaseth
him,
according to his
ent to know
Antechrist, to blame
him, to
speake and reporte of him as his doings
chiefly, to
confesse the
name of the Lorde
feare
him, to
in hym, to
neere as we
can, to expresse him in oure
thorough
oure
saythe Christe:
lyfe
and who so hateth his lyfe
here
for my na
mes sake, shal keepe it to life
Againe, he that
will be my Disciple,
let
hym
be
also. Who so
shall honoure hym. The
better
than hys maister, and a messenger
is no more than he
that sente hym. If we
keepe the
we shall
remaine in his
did the will of hys father, and
remayned
in his
we
as he
Lorde, and frame our
lyfe
to the doctrine
and exaumple of our maister and Lorde
in keeping the commaunde
mentes of the Lorde Christe. Lette
not
be wrathfull,
but
them
that
persecute you, and speake
as I am perfecte. That
thys our
and
that henceforth wee
more: for he that is dead, is free
from
sinne. Let
dead to sinne, and
not to our
but to our Lorde and
Christ.
not sinne (saith the apostle S.
Paule) raigne in your mortall body,
that
ye shoulde obey the lustes
thereof, but be
ye true
of righteousnesse
life,
or the
henceforth your
weapons of
pons of righteousnesse
when we were the
frute had we then in those things, wher
of we are
nowe
those things is death, but contrarywise,
the fruite of
life. Brethren, it is now
tyme to awake
from sleepe, forasmuche
as the
passed, and
the day approcheth, and is
uen
ven
God hath freely sent his true and faithful
ministers, and
woord
ly
ly
no thought for the fleshe,
to fulfill the lu
stes thereof, but according to the good
pleasure of
God,
The workes of the flesh are notorious
cleanesse,
cleanesse,
Idolatrie, witch
craft, hatred, debate, emulation, wrathe,
contentions,
dronkennesse, gluttonie, and suche like.
ches
and miserable
yea they are
threatned, that
shall
not enherite
the kingdom of
the
fruites of
long suffering,
meekenesse, temperancie, and suche like.
this sort ought
to
walke, being carefull to mortifie
his
own flesh,
exercising himself in these good
works which God hath
to
walke in,
casting
is corrupt
therfore renued in
and
put ye on the new man, which after
god, is
created in righteousnesse
holinesse. Wherfore cast
we are members
angrie
goe down
place to the
steale no more,
but
let
and work with his
is
good,
needeth.
Let not corrupt communication
is good to edifie withal,
ster grace
not the
holy
are sealed
all
bitternesse, anger, and wrath, crying
and
one
to
uing
ving
god
sake,
of god as
dear
children,
as Christ
hath
self for
of a sweet
fornication and all
or
tousnesse,
tousnesse,
you, as it becometh
ye filthinesse, nor foolish
talking, neyther
For this ye must
know, that no whoremonger neither
cleane
cleane
nor
is an Idolatour, hath any inheritaunce
in
the
man
by such things cometh the wrath of
God,
of
not therefore companions wyth them:
for so much
but are now light in the
fore
the fruite of the spirit is
in
assay
and
ful
ful
them
circumspectly
and wisely, not like the foo
lish,
but as the wise, and redeeme
for
rous days. Therfore be ye not ignorant,
but
replenished
rite.
Let the woord of God dwell in you
plentuously
in
all wisdom,
teaching and
admonishing your own
in your hearts,
god the father of our Lord
submitting your
in the feare of God.
Lord: for the husband is the heade
of
the
wife,
Church, and is the
Therefore as the Church is in
Christ:
their husbandes in
bands
the woman, as
which are heires togither
of the grace of life.
the Church, and
he might sanctifie
it,
and clense it, and
make it
without
it
should be holy and without blame:
So
ought men to
owne bodies: for he that
ted his owne
flesh, but
nourisheth
risheth it, as the Lord doth his Churche,
for we are members of his bodye, of hys
flesh, and of his bones. For
a man
be one flesh.
Children obey your parents
father and
mother which
is the first
maundement,
maundement,
Fathers,
wrath, but bring them
must obey
as
to the
eye,
as men pleasers, but as the
of Christ: doing
the wil of God from the
heart, with a good will
soeuer
soever
doth, that
same
shall he
bonde
or
free. Therefore ye maisters, doe
the same thing
away
threatening, knowing that you
maister also in
whom there
is no respect of persons. Finally, I beseech
you
all indifferent,
of what estate, condi
tion, or calling so
shew
your self
keeping
your selfe alwayes
true doctrin, without
any
iudice
judice
irreprehensible,
be ashamed,
submit your
rulers,
and
or
blame no man, be ye
not spiteful,
amiable
and peaceable, shewing
kindnesse and courteousnesse to all
men.
Girde the loynes of your heart.
Stande
manfully, and put your
whole trust and
red. Let your
that which is
which
is good. Be affectioned to
ther
ther
Be not
or negligent to do
in spirite.
the time.
in
tribulation,
of the
Saintes,
your selfe to Hospitalitie.
which
persecute you, blesse I say
not,
as in you is.
minde, of
one
concorde and one
ment.
ment.
contention
or vaine glorye, but that in
meekenesse of minde
other better than him selfe.
Let no man seeke his owne, but the pro
fite of other men. Be
the which, al
other
things are nothing to
speake of, of what faith so
our
long suffering, not
nor puffed
seeketh not hir
owne, is not
anger, it thinketh no
not in
the truthe, endureth all
al things, and
ry
charitie, is Christ
come man for
selfe
in al kind of
and suffered death on the Crosse
doe well without
which man soweth, that same also he shal
reape.
If he sowe in the fleshe, he shall
reape againe of the fleshe, perdition.
But
if he sowe in the spirite, he shall
reape of
the spirite, life.
Therefore continue in
wel doing,
although ye suffer rebuke and
ignominie
of the world. Be humble and
Abraham, Moyses and
.
Be long suffering and pacient with
and Thobie in al kind
of troubles,
sities,
sities,
to send his rods first of
house: therfore when he
chastneth
our sinnes which we
past, we must paciently
beare it.
stedfast and
moueable,
moveable,
our affliction,
trouble, or
the losing
friends
or
pẽsed
pensed
for
heere
indure: God wil
an
of sweete
Let
he shal
keepe
on
on
stedfastly
Therefore my deare
brethren, let
al ages
and times, and
diligently marke,
if at any time any one was put to
con
fusion and shame, which trusted in the
Lorde. He which called
him in faith
and confidence, was he
contempned of
him? Was there
ny, were he
ned to the
Lord, not
ly, for God is
and readie to
he is at hande to all
them that call
toure
and defendoure of all those
that
seeke him in truthe, and trust in
him.
But fie
are faint hearted,
inconstant,
very libertines, fearing
men,
poore prin
ces more than God, which
ter care of these
transitorie
goodes, and
than
uersitie
versitie
engendreth pacience,
trial or probation, probation hope,
is poured into our
hearts. Goe forwarde
then my brethren
to all good works, and
make your
selfe sure to the Lord, and to
the
power of his might: Take
therefore the
ye may be able to resist in
the
Stand therfore,
ded with the truth,
plate of
with the
preparation of the Gospell of
peace.
you the shield
of faith, wherewith ye may quenche the
fierie dartes
of
the wicked. Take
you also the helmet of
the
of God, and
pray without
ceassing in all
your prayers
in
Be diligent and watchfull. Be you
wise
and suttle like
Serpents,
out fraude or guile as
Be
who goth about
like a roaring Lion, see
king whom he may
thousand
sleights
of wayes,
to
entrap and snare by.
fore, be stedfast in faith,
and
defende thy
selfe with the armor right nowe before
mentioned.
Beare your selfe manfully,
confirm and refresh your self
with
that excellent meat of the
which doth not perish,
which
is the word
of
god, that ye might withstand him both
day and
night
like a good souldior, and
all
his assaultes. Take ye heede therefore
to
valiantly and couragiously
against him,
at what time he shall assault you, either
by faire or
foule
meanes, by flatterie, in
shewing you the riches, the
glorye
and
and purpose, than
to
you, or by crueltie, persecution, or trou
ble,
to
hearken
way.
And
bicause he can
into an Angell of light,
it is requisite
and
necessarie that
ued
ved
stone of Gods
holye
worde, if so be that it agreeth therewith,
so must
it be holden for good, be
and followed. But if so be that
it in a
ny parte be contrary to that, it muste
according to the
Apostle
S. Paules saying
be
in your
heart, but pluck it out forthwith.
God
is meeke, holy, long suffering,
mer
cifull, and altogither good, but feeling that
any one bringeth
any
thing contrarye to
these particularities appropriated
God, be
ye sure that
that spirite is not
of God: from those refraine your selfe,
resisting them wyth the weapons before
mentioned.
Be sober and humble in mind, content
of
nesse
world,
neither
be ye seduced by the plea
sure of carnall concupiscence, and volup
tuousnesse
of this world, which are de
ceitfull, and bring great paines to them
that folow after them. But to keepe
your
self the rather cleane from
the thraldom
of them, way and consider
how vain,
certaine,
certaine,
a thing it is: what
proceedeth
all flesh is
honor, force and
might of it, as the
of the field. The grasse withereth, and
the
floure fadeth away.
Yea all Princes and
people are but hay, where
of the Lord doe but
dry,
the floure of it falleth.
But
of the lord abideth for
Thou lettest
man Lord (saith
) passe away as
the
is greene in the mor
ning,
and
at night is
time of
our life is three score and x.
yeres
and thoughe men be so strong that
they
come to foure score yeares, yet is
their
strength then but laboure
and paine.
wisedome of
man?
The numbre of hys
dayes are a hundreth yeres at the moste,
and
a thousand yeares
compared
ternitie, are not so much as a drop
of wa
ter to the whole sea, or as a little duste
Affrike, for that com
meth to an ende, and eternitie hath none
ende,
but continueth alwayes. All
fleshe
waxeth olde as a
that is
made and can be seene, shall
perish in sea
son. The generation
of fleshe and
bloude
is suche, that when one is borne, an other
dieth.
One kyngdome increaseth, an o
ther decreaseth:
teth
wickednesse, shall perish
with them.
Blessed is the man, which through
wise
dome exerciseth hym selfe in al goodnesse,
and declareth
holy things
with
ding.
ding.
ding.
ding.
sophers, and other
Pagans, could
well
discerne and
the which
also
did contemne and forsake
riches, greate estimation and
authoritie,
bicause
of many labours, paines, and
quietnesse,
quietnesse,
whiche
here-
their time
in more quietnesse, would not
be
intangled with any kind of thing that
mighte hynder them of their studie and
other exercises.
But I coulde rehearse here, a greate ma
ny more
of examples, yf neede
shoulde so
the Hea
then
ought
that in knowledge
And
to draw your
all vayne and transitorie thyngs,
whiche
leade men
your selfe with heart
and mind towards
the
Lorde, ye must call to remembrance
often, the
wrath which shall come to the
of the worlde, the fleshe and the
the last day. Agayne,
call to minde that
worthie reward and glorious
whiche
the children
and
seth,
and is turned from mornyng
the feare of God before your eyes, keepe
your
self from doing
of
gerous dayes. The foole hath no conside
ration
of the time, but the wise man
derstandeth
derstandeth
ledge,
and taketh heede to
instruction. He
which findeth wisedom, esteemeth
it, and
maketh much of
it. A wittie man in talk
man) walketh wisely.
Al
so they
and
Withdrawe your selfe
will
be counted wise before
nitie of this present
worlde, and
caste a
side all manner of voluptuousnesse, plea
sure, and
carnall Concupiscence.
For yf
you folow the
worlde, and
desires of the body, it
will
cause your eni
mies to
you, to
see
ded, and to come to high promotion:
Be
not ye abashed or displesed, for
tiõ
tion
which god
here
ked, and carnall
libertines, to
Epicures,
bellygods, and other, seing they are of no
continuaunce, they shal
fall, vanyshe, and
come to naught, they shall
consume lyke
smoake, and perishe like the herbe and
floure of the
fieldes: But truste
ye in the
Lorde, and go forward from goodnesse to
better. Christe
comfort of all troubled Christians,
war
killeth the body,
seing
he can not hurt the
soule, whiche is in the Lordes keepyng,
though
mented or yll intreated, yet are
we
sure,
that God shall raise it
body and soule being
uerlasting
verlasting
wyse, all
the wicked which persecute the
true membres of Christ, as doth at thys
day, that wycked tyrant the Duke of
Al -ba,
with all his
very hangmen
and cruel
murtherers of the Pope, shall
and shameful end here
in this worlde, and hereafter
nall ignominie
and confusion in
the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone:
The
reward in deede of all such
tyrantes
and wicked ones, as nowe be, or
were: as
Nero, Dioclesian, Dioscore, Maxi -mian,
and many more other, whose
fearefull
and terrible examples
ought to
were it not that they by the
ment
ment
in
theyr
the naughtie ende
of these wicked tyran
tes, and waying again, our good end and
sure
consolation,
which we gather out of
the worde of God, we ought by good re
son to
to thanke
the Lorde oure God, that it hath pleased
him to cal
such a good state, and
that
he hath thoughte
thing for his name sake. Then be of good
cheere, and take courage,
and takyng thy
crosse
on thy shoulder, followe stoutely
Christ
thy kyng and only head.
But
if thou wilt do this, thou must contemne,
cast
honor, carnal
lusts
it
is much easier to
be a
world: for hys
therfore
of gods holy spirit: neither purpose
or de
sire either by worde or deede any thing
displeaseth him:
put
al thy trust
in him. Thus doing, let him be the
marke
starre, the compasse
at thou saylest, the way whereon thou go
est, the
rocke whereon thou
standest, the
sure grounde wheron thou buyldest,
the
strength and
fortresse wherin thou tru
stest, the ende
thou hastest, the
good whiche thou desirest, the lyfe whiche
thou
seekest,
the comfort which thou
dost
wishe for, the treasure wherefore thou
labourest, thy glory, perfection,
truste and confidence.
So then it shall
come to passe, that no
kinde of
hurte
thee, neyther fyre nor water, losse
of goodes or honoure, wife,
chyldren,
of
friendes, lande, house, inheritance or any
other possessions,
neyther
yet contempt,
sclaunder, backbityng, persecution, ba
nishement, or any
other myserie suffe
ryng for hys name sake.
inconstancie and
variablenesse
of Fortune, nor
of richesse and time, then shalt thou in
uertie
vertie
highly regar
ded, in distresse mery, in
in prison at
libertie and abroade. There
fore
thy heart
from al worldly, carnal, and transitorie
riches, and be lifted
rite to
sures: so
shalte thou be regenerate
of the
holy ghoste, and being confirmed
by the
worde of God, may well be called
Micro -cosme,
that is, the whole
worlde
the little foote. Ye shall be true Christi
ans, Kings
and Priestes, esteeming
uerthelesse
verthelesse
saunt, and quiet in conscience:
ye
shall
knowe your owne: and being throughly
persuaded of the truthe,
ye shall
abyde
stedfast and
wyth
No kynde of affecti
on,
shal trouble
you,
ye shal put away al wic
kednesse,
matters, but youre
in
me
ditate of God and his kingdome, that be
yng busie therwithall, ye
myghte con
temne al worldly things from the heart.
Nothyng then
shall
be able to separate
forewarde
in
all vertue and godlynesse,
till suche time as it shall please
Almighty
God to take
oure soules
shall we see hym moste perfectely
face to
face. Unto the
which perfection and
full
full
to bryng
Almightie, the father of our Lorde