News Out of Heaven

Gabriel the Aungel and Ambassador of god speaketh.

W Herfore are ye sad o ye men mortal? Wherefore do ye walk as persons desolate dismayd & altogether conforteles? Wherefore do ye sygh, weep, sob and take thought. Wherefore do ye wrynge your hands, & tear your here? Whye rather do ye not rejoice? Why do ye not eleuate and lift up your heads, walking plesaūtly? Why do ye not loke w ^t smylynge countenaunces? Whye do ye not put out of youre hearts all thought & care? Why do ye not so cōpose & set youre selves, that all the gesture of youre body may frāckely & with a lustye courage, declare youre joy, mirth, gladness, felicite and pleasaūce? Ther is, believe me, not one cause of sadness: but of gladness many ye & innumerable. For God is now no more an enemy unto you, but a dere friend. He is become of a cruel judge, a merciful savior, & of an austere and fierce LORDE, a bounteous and gentle father, of an extreme revenger, a tender forgyuer, to be short, he is now become the very same unto you, y ^• a most tender, most gentle, most loving, most bounteous, most kind, most benefycial, most liberal, most benygne father is to y ^• his natural son, whom he most int • erlye loveth, and tenderly inhalseth above all the other. Howe therefore can ye be sad? Howe can ye any otherwise than rejoice and be merry, seeing that all doloure, all so row, all care, all grefe, all pain, all perrell, all trouble, all danger, all disquietness, all hatred, all malice, all emnite, all maliuolence, all evil will, all wrath, all displeasure, all desire of vengeance, and all that ever is contrary to your joy & pleasaunce, to your health and comfort, to your rest and tranquility, is utterly extinguysshed & so put away forever and ever, that you which are of God's faithful cōgregaciō, obedient to his word, & ready to accomplysshe his most holy and divine will, shall never after this perysshe & fall out of favor, but have eternal life. And all this is come to pass thorough God's grande mercies by the glorious natiuite & most blessed birth of his well-beloved son Jesus Christ, which this day is borne of a pure & clean virgins in Bethleē a city of David, thorough the meruaylous and wonderful operaciō of the holy Ghost, y ^e he should be a sauyoure, yea and an omnisulficient sauyoure to save his people, that is to say, so many as believe in him, from their sins, and from the danger of Sattan, that they may be made inherytours of eternal glory.

These news out of heavē am I Gabriel the Angel and Ambassador of God sent for to declare unto you, that ye may unfeignedly rejoice not in vain & wordly things, but first in the LORDE GOD your savior, & afterward in celestial and heavenly things, & ever more be thankful for them, following worthy this inestimable benignite & unspeakable goodness of God y ^e father thorough Jesus Christ, that these singular benefits may not at any time seme to be shown unto ingrate and unthankful persons.

Me think I se you now begin to rejoice and skyppe for joy, yea and seriously to triumph as personnes full of francke courage at y ^• hearing of these most pleasant and joyful news, which thing certes to me is no vulgare delectacion & small pleasure.

But that you may rejoice unfeignedly, & know that ye in deed have an vrgente & weyghtye cause to be glad, yea and that with a continual mirth, and such a joy as ought to be immortal & never die: I will rehearse to you in what damnable state ye were in, before these most comfortable news were sent unto you from the most glorious and imperial seat of y ^e most blessed Trinite, that you perceyuynge your own miserable cōdicion, may the more seriouslye rejoice in those sweet and delectable news.

God in the beginning, as the holy scriptures testify, created mā according to his own similitude, lykenes & image, y ^• is to say, he in dued him with immortalyte, wit, reason, sapience, justice, free will, mercy, goodness, holiness, truth, & all perfeccion, and gave him impery and rule over all living creatures, constitutynge him in ioyefull Paradyse a gardē full of pleasure, that he should work in it & keep it, giving him also authority, power & lybertye to eat of every tree in y ^e garden, save only of y ^e tree of knowledge of good and evil. if man did eat of that never so sone, god told him before, y ^t he should die the death that is, fall from the glorious state wherein than he stood, become mortal, wretched, sinful, miserable, seruyle, thraull, captive, & a very bōd slave to Satan, hated of god, void of all goodness, bent to all mischief, the son of perdition, a fire brand of hell, a vessel of ire and wrath. All these things did God tell before to Adā, that he might be prudent, wise & circumspecte, and the better inarme himself w ^t courageous valeaūce to fight against the crafty and subtle assaults of his enemy,

Not longe after Satan, whom God before had thrown out of heaven for his arrogācy and pride, enuyeng man that blessed & glorious state wherein he did remain, desyrynge also his like perdition, full craftily and like a wily serpent, attempted the womā as y ^e more frail vessel, & ready to be deuycte & over come, so that at the last thorough his subtyl and crafty persuasions, she gave place to y ^• tortuous & wylye serpent, y ^• father of lyeng, & wyckedly transgressed God's most holy commandment. For Satan told her plainly, that there was no danger in eating of that fruit, which was forbyddē, neither should they die the death, though they so did, yea rather their eyes should be opened, and they should be as gods knowing good and evil. The woman being enflamed with these honylycke and sweet entysementes, seyeng also that the tree was good to eat of, fair to the eye, and pleasant to behold, toke the fruit of it, did eat, and afterward gave of it to her husband, which did eat in like manner, so y ^t straight ways both their eyes were opened, & they saw that they were naked, that is, perceived right well, y ^t they were now become miserable wretched, sinful, redacte to extreme calamite, and utterly fallen from the favor of God for the transgressiō of his most blessed precept, which thing made them to be very much ashamed, and to hyde thē selves frō the face of God. O miserable & pitefull change. O chance more perryllous than it can be expressed. Now is a man become of immortal mortal, of good evil, of righteous wicked, of wise folysh, of holy profane of virtuous ill desposed, of free bōd, of merciful cruel, of godly deuilysh of faithful unfaithful, of spiritual, carnal, of true false, of a vessel of mercy the vessel of wrath, of y ^e sonne of God the sonne of the devil, of the heir of glory the heir of damnation. Alas whan man was in honor he perceived it not, and therefore is he now becomme even like unto a brute beast. He is altogether without the spirit of God, he is all carnal and fleshelye, therefore cannot gods spirit abide in him, neither can he perceive those things that pertain to the spirit of God, yea & that is more to be lamented, not Adam alone is fallen into this dāpnable state, but also all his posterite. For thorough this his fault & wicked sin, all the earth with the inhabitātes thereof are accursed. So that so many as come of this old Adā, are dāpned, cursed & thrown from the favor of God. This one transgression of God's commandment hath made you all subject to the yoke & tyranny of Satan, and bond to everlasting damnation. Adam is youre father, and you are his childrē. Loke therefore in what case he is, in the very same are you. Adā is carnal, therefore are ye carnal. Adam is wicked, therefore are ye wicked. Adam is the son of wrath, therefore are ye the sonnes of wrath. Adā is a liar & nothing but vanite, therefore are ye liars and no thing but vanite. Adā is captive & bond prisoner to Satan, sin, death & hell, therefore are ye captives and bond prisoners to Satan, syn, death and hell. Howe can it otherwise be? That which is borne of flesh is flesh. Do mē gather grapes of thorns, or fygges of briers? So likewise every good tree bryngethe for the good fruit: but a corrupt tree bringeth forth ill fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth yil fruit, nother a corrupt tree good fruit. Even as it is impossible for a sower crabbe tree to bring forth sauery and sweet apples, so is it impossible for a sinful man drowned and buried all in sin, I mean Adā, to beget any other thē sinful, ungodly and wicked children. A good tree out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good. And an ill man out of the ill treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is ill. Now was Adam evil, therefore whatsoever he brought forth, mu • te needs be evil. Yea verily by the sin of this one mā Adā, evil was brought forth upon all men unto dāpnaciō. By the dysobedyence of him were ye all made sinners, and by nature the sons of wrath. For this one mannes fault did sin enter into the world, & thorough sin, death, and so came death upon all men, in so much as all ye have sinned. Ye were therefore begotten in sin, cōceyued in sin, & brought forth in sin. None of you all are pure, but everyone is polluted with ungodliness. Ther is no difference, all have sinned, and want the glory of god. Ye are corrupt and become abhominable in youre studies, there is not one that doth good, no not one for the LORDE hath looked from heaven upon the children of men, for to se if there were any that hath understanding or seakethe after God. But all are fall̄ from y ^• true way, they are become all together unprofitable, there is not one that doth good no not one. Their throat is like a wide mouthed grave, they work deceyte with their tongues, the poysō of adders is under their lips. Theyr mouth is full of cursynge & bytternes, their feet are swyfte to shed blood. Destruction & wretchedness are ī their ways, they know not the way of peace, neither is there any fear of God before their eyes. Theyse are y ^e sinful, wicked, and dāpnable fruits which you full of sin, wickedness and dāpnacion bring forth. Your minds & thoughts also are prone to evil at all times. Ye are not able once to think a good thought of youre selves. Who being borne of a woman can appear pure and clean in the sight of God, before whom the stars are not pure?

What is thā to be thought of mā, which is nothing but dust and a very worm? Who is able to sai, my heart is clean, and I am pure frō sin? Ye have all sinned, ye are all become unclean, all youre righteousness are like a cloth polluted w ^t menstrue. Ye are fallen as a leaf, and youre iniquityes have carried you away as the wynd. If ye say, that ye have no sin, ye deceive youre selves, & the truth is not in you. For your heart is wicked and inserutable. Ye are unprofitable seruasites. Yea ye are Hypocrites and wicked, and the mouths of you all have spoken folyshnes. Al y ^• sort of you have gone astraye as sheep, everyone have walked after his own fantasye. Ye all are of stuburne heart, ye love vanities & seek after lies. To be short, ye are folysh people, unwise children and mad. To do mischief ye are wise enough, but to do good ye are very fools.

Here may ye se as in a clear mirroure youre deformyte, youre botches, youre sores, youre grievous wounds. Now may ye learn what ye are of youreselues, certes very flesh, that is to say, all that ever nought is, enemies to God, lovers of yourselves, captyues to Satan, and fyrye brondes of hell. What remedy? What shyfte will ye find: Whyther will ye go? to what coast will ye turn you? Howe will ye escape the fierce wrath of God? Whyther will ye go from his spyrite. Whyther will ye fly from his face? If ye go up into heaven, he is there, if ye go down to hell, there is he ready also. If ye take your flyght in the morning, & dwell in the furthest parte of y ^• see, verily his hand will retche you there, yea and his right hand shall catch you. What will ye do now? to fly profyteth nothing, to abide also bryngethe damnation. Thus se you that y • cannot escape by no means. To demulse, mitigate & swage y ^• divine ire & God's wrath ye are not able. Your syn hath made God angry w^ you. What have ye now I pray you, wherewith ye may please him? yourselves as ye have heard here to fore, are the children of wrath be gotten in sin, conceived in syn, borne in sin, carnal, wicked and ungodly, your heart is corrupt, unclean, stinking, flowynge with iniquity, arrogāt, puffed up, proud hatyng God, loving it self, full of hypocrisy and all evil. Your fruits are like unto yourselves, y ^• is, detestable in y ^• sight of God. What • ertu thē can there come out of such corrupt and polluted place? What pureness can there flow out of a puddle so filthy, so dirty, so unclean, so stynkyng, so unsavory? Thus se ye that ye have no way to pacyfye God's wrath, which ye have styred up against youre selves thorough your own wickedness. What therefore remaineth, but only that you loke for all cruel and grievous things. Helles mouthe is open & redye to swallow you up. The fire of hell which shall never be quenched, tarrieth you. Euerlastynge torments, Intollerable punishments, perpetual turmoylynges abide you. Ye are appointed to the place, where weeping & gnasshyng of teth is, where the fire is inextinguible, where the worm of them that be there, never die. What will ye do now? What shyf • e will ye find? Wyll ye fulfyl the law which God gave you by Moses, and so pacifye his wrath? But this to do ye are not able. For of yourselves ye are nothing but flesh and clean without God.

Flesshe and blood cannot possess y ^• kingdom of God. They that are flesshly, regard those things that pertain to the flesh. And the desire of the flesh is death. Yea the desire of y ^• flesh is emnite against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be by any means. They that are in the flesh, cannot please God. Yea they that live after the flesh, shall die▪ And he that hath not God's spirit, pertaineth not to God. Now have not ye the spirit of god, in as much as by Adam ye be all flesh (for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, & the spirit against the flesh) howe than will ye fulfyl the law to apease God's wrath.

Moreover the law is spiritual that is, it requireth not only polytyke & cyuple works, but also the pure affects, and clean mocyons of the spirit, and must be fulfilled not with the external work only, but also with a francke and free heart, doing the works of the law, not of constraynte & for fear of punyshment, but of love. For perfect charity or love casteth out fear.

But as the law is spiritual, so are ye carnal, that is, prone and redye to all noughtines, buried in sin and no less bond to Satan, than a bought slave is obstricte & bond unto his master. Now is the law & you of a contrary nature. When then shall ye agre? The law, I confess, is holy, & the precept is holy, righteous & good, but ye are unholy, wicked & evil. How will ye thē accomplysh the law, that ye may pacify God's wrath, & deserve remission of youre sins thorough youre own merits and deserts? Cā he that is dead erecte & lift up him self? Can he resume & take again his armonies? Can he recover new strengths? Cā flesh teach flesh no more to sin? Cā the Egle command her self no more to fly? Cā the Dolphynne cease to swymme? Can the man of Inde change his skynne? and the catte of the mountain her spots? Nether cā ye of yourselves cease to be y ^• ye are, nor yet work good, which so long have ben exercysed in evil The law kylleth, it giveth not life. The law worketh wrath, displeasure & damnation, it purchaseth not grace, favor, mercy, remission of sins, peace and tranquilite of conscience. For cursed is everyone that abideth not in all things y ^• are written in the boke of the law that he may do them. No man fulfyllethe the whole law, ergo no man is justified by the law, but rather cursed and brought to damnation.

For he that keepeth the whole law, and yet offend the in one, is made gylty of them all. Moses gave you a law, and yet none of you all do fulfill it. Neither ye nor youre fathers were ever able to bere y ^• yoke of the law. Who ever entered into the glory by the fulfilling of the law? Wyl ye therefore seek to be justified by the law, ye are utterly fallen from that which ye sought. You not knowing the righteousness of God, and seeking to stablysh youre own righteousness, cannot be made subject to the righteousness of God. The law was given you by Moses from God, not that you should seek to be made righteous by it, which is a thing impossible, but that it should declare to you the will of God, prove the obedience of your her • e, keep you in an honest and godly trade of living, refrain you from wicked doing, repress ydolatry, swearing, ungodliness, disobedience, theft, manslaugter, adultrye, false witness. &c. set before your eyes your abhominable wickedness and sinful living, that you may learn to know yourselves, and make the more hast to approach unto God's mercy. For by y ^• law commethe the knowledge of sin: Ye should not have known sin but by the law. For ye had not known concupiscence except the law had said, thou shalt not co • ytte. The law is a school master to teache you what ye ought to do. Whose admoniciōs, warning and instruccions, seeing ye follow not nor obey as it teachethe, and as ye ought, it rather cōdēpne thā save you, kill then quicken you. For no flesh shall be justified by y ^• works of the law in y ^• sight of god. Your labor therefore in this behalf is vain, seeing that ye seek God's favor, remission of sin, iustifica • ion, salvation, and eternal glory by y ^• works of the law only. Whyther will ye now fly? will ye pacyfye God's wrath by offrynge up the sacrifices of the ceremonial law?

This also is in vain. For if y ^• works of y ^• moral law, I mean the. x. commandments, bring no mā to perfeccion, and are nothing less thā able to pease y ^• divine wrath by cause of their uncleanness which do y ^• cōmaūdemētes, yea rather which do thē not, how thā cā this be brought to pass by external ceremonies which are nothing but types fygures, clouds, & shadows of good thi • ges to come? Here therefore do ye no thing else thā as the commune Proverb is, go about to make an Ethiop white. For as touching youre sacrifices, it is manifest by diverse places of the scriptures, that God hath no pleasure in thē. Wherefore, saith he, do ye bring unto me enlence out of Saba, and sweet smellynge Calamus out of far countrees? Youre burnt offrynges are not accepted, and youre sacrifices have not pleased me. Agayne, put youre burnt offringes to your sacrifices, & eat y ^• flesh, for I did not speak with youre fathers, neither did I command thē on y ^• day, whā I brought thē out of the lande of Egypt, any thing at all of burn • e offringes and sacrifices, but I command thē this word, saying: Hear you my voice, & I shall be your god, and ye shall be my people, walk in every way that I have commanded you, that ye may prosper. But they would not once hear me, nor give attendaunce to me, but they followed their own pleasures, and walked in the lewdness of their malicious hearts, so that they fell clean frō me. To what purpose do ye offer unto me the multitude of your sacrifices, saith the LORDE? I am full of them. The burnt offringes of youre wethers, and the fat of youre fatlynges, and the blood of youre calves, of your lambes & gotes would not I have. Whan ye come before my sight, who requireth these things of your hands? Offer I pray you, no more Sacrifyce to me thus in vain. Your ensence is abomination to me. Your Sabbothes and holy days by no means can I away with. He that offereth an ox, is like to him that kylleth a man. He y ^t sleyeth a beast, is like unto him that braynethe a dog. He that offereth an oblaciō, is like unto him that offereth swynes blood. Here le ye y ^t God hath no pleasure in these external sacrifices, but rather abhorreth them.

Then perceive you full well, that this is no way to deliver yourselves out of captyuitie, & to obtain the favor of God. What will ye now do? Wyl ye invent new thiges of your own fātasy, & offer thē to God of a good intent, that by this means he may be the more merciful to you? This also is yet most vain. For if things prescribed & commanded of God himself, can not • btaynē for you remyssyon of your sins, what shall than your dreams, youre fantasies, your inuencions, your good intētes, your godly zeles, do in this behalf? Verily ye are in a miserable case. For ye may not put any thing to the word of God, nor yet pluck ought from it. Ye must walk in the way that God hath appointed you, neither may ye declyne on the right hand nor on the lift hand. Yea ye may not do to your LORDE god y ^• , which ye think best in your own eyes, but that only which he commandeth you. Here therefore is no evasion, nor way to escape y ^• fierce plages of God. Certes the longer ye wrestle and entāgle yourselves in this behalf, the worse ye are, so far as I can perceive, so unable are ye of yourselves in any point to satisfy God's wrath, & to make him your friend.

What refuge then can ye now inuente? yet is there nothing before your eyes set, but only desperacion & eternal death, for ye have deserved no other, & y ^e reward of syn is death. Certes the hook is laid at the root of the tree that every tree that bringeth forth not good fruit, shall be hewn down & caste into the fire. Howe now will ye escape from the wrath that is to come? Woe be unto them that sin and keepeth not my commandments, saith y ^e LORDE, surely I will not spare thē. Sinners shall be turned into hell, ye and all those people that forget God. For God shall reign snares upon sinners, fire & brymestone, storm and tempest shall be parte of their cup. As smoke decayeth, so shall the wicked decay, and as wax meltethe before y ^• face of the fire, so shall sinners perish before the face of God. The most hyest hateth sinners, & he will be revenged of the wicked. The soul y ^• hath sinned, shall die. The countenance of the LORDE is upon them that do evil, that he may root the remembrance of thē out of y ^• erth.

He that cōmytteth sin, is of the devil. For the devil sinneth from the beginning God is a consumyng fire. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living god. Woe be to you therefore O ye ungodly men, which have forsakē the law of the LORDE that most high god. If that ye be borne, in cursing shall ye be borne, & if ye die, in cursīg also shall be your part, what will ye now do? Here ye se nothing but malediction, cursynge, wrath, vengeance, destruction, perdition, dānation. Here perceive ye no way to escape the great displeasure of god, but only to precipitate & caste yourself headlong into hell pytte to be burnt w ^t the continual flames of that most terrible and grievous fire. Remedye is there none, all comfort is gone, besides sorrow and mournyng, nothing here doth appear, o the miserable case, wherein ye stonde.

Me think I se you now again very sory, much lamenting, wryngyng your hands, tearyng youre here, cursynge the time of youre birth, having pleasure in nothing walking as persons indistress, void of all consolacion and comfort, verily I have brought you into this case y ^• your joy afterward should be the greater, and that you should have the more pleasant and ioyefull news, which I now bring to you out of heaven. For no man knoweth what a precious thing a Phisicion is, except first of all he sealeth himself diseased, & perceyueth that he hath need of a Phisicion, if he intend to enjoy the benefyte of health. They that are strōge have no neade of a Phisicion, but they that are sick. Now therefore hear again your most pleasant news, that youre sadness may be turned into joy, & that youre joy may be full and perfect.

God, perceyuynge in what miserable case Adam and all his posterite was set thorough the brekynge of his most blessed and holy commandment, again that by the envy of Satan, death was come over all the world, willing of his own free mercy without ony of your merits or deserts, to show him self of no less puissaunce, to save man, that the devil was to condēpne him, said at that present to Satan, whan Adam had offended: I will set emnite between the and an woman, between thy seed and her seed, and that self seed shall tread down thy head. O most sweet and comfortable promise. O most heavenly word of grace. Here is y ^e beginning of your joy & gladness. In Adam were ye all lost, but ī this seed of a womā are ye all saved But who is this seed? Not Abel, • • oche, Abrahā, Isaac Jacob, nor David. Who then? Verily evē the son of God, even Jesus Christ, which w ^t out y ^• seed of mā by y ^e wonderful operaciō of y ^e holy ghost, did take very flesh of y ^• most pure virgyn Mary, & is this day borne into y ^• world. He is this seed of a woman, which shall trede down the head of this serpent, y ^• is to say, destroy his power, deliver you out of captivity, set you again at liberty, reconcyle you to God y ^• father, purchase remission of youre sins, obtain the holy Ghost for you, & make you fellow heirs w ^t him of eternal glory. Satan, sin, death & hell, with all their army shall now no more against you prevail. For by this seed of a woman Jesus Christ your LORDE, hath God givē you the victory. So that now with triumphant hearts and reioysynge spirytes, ye may say, O death where is thy styng? O hell where is thy victory? For now is he borne, which shall •• aye death, & deliver you from the power of death, yea from death it self shall he redeem you. And hell shall he swallow up, so that Satā shall have no more dominion over you.

Moreover in this seed alone Jesus Christ shall all nations be blessed. In Adā ye all were cursed, but in Christ ye be all blessed. Adam brought to you wrath and displeasure, but Christ bringeth love and • auour. Adā is the author of sin, death and damnation, but Christ is the author of goodness, life and saluaciō. Adam casteth you down into hell, but Christ lyfteth you up to heaven. Adā maketh you fire brādes of hell, but Christ maketh you inheritors of eternal glory. By the sin of Adā many were dead, but by the goodness of Christ, grace hath come upon many. By the wickedness of Adam sin came upon all men unto damnation, but by the righteousness of Christ saluaciō is come upon all men unto the justification of life. By the disobedience of Adā, many were made sinners, but by the obedience of Christ many are made rygtheous. Thus se you y ^• in Christ ye are blessed, that is, pardoned of your sins & received into favor. Furthermore this is he, of whom Jacob did prophecy that he should come being looked for & desired of all naciōs. This is that Prophet whom God promised to Moses that he would raise up among his brothers, & put his words in his mouth, so that whoso ever will not hear him, shall perysshe & utterly be destroyed. This is he which was fygured in the old law by so many types, ceremonies and shadows. This is that king whose kingdom God promised unto David to corroborate & establysshe for evermore. This is that everlasting preeste, after the order of Melchizedek. This is he, whom so many kings and Prophets have desired to se. And now is he come which so long hath ben desired. How much blessed & fortunate are ye therefore, unto whom it hath chaūsed to se this day? ye may well rejoice, & clappe youre hands for joy. For he is not borne to be unto you a tyrant, a fierce LORDE, a cruel judge, an extreme revenger, but a sweet savior, a gentle LORDE, a bountyous favorer, a merciful forgyuer. Whyche thing ye may well perceive by his name, for his name is JESUS, given unto him of God his father by the Angel, which by true interpretation, is a SAVIOR. For he it is that shall save his people frō their sins. Mark he shall save them and not condemn thē. If he had had a rigorous name ye might well have ben afearde of him, but his name is full of swetenes, pleasare, delectacion & comfort. And because ye should not fear to come unto him, behold he is not borne royallye after y ^e manner of the worldly Prynces set out w ^t gallant pomp, but humbly, mekely & lowely. For he lieth simply, in a maunger wrapped in vile cloths, whan not withstanding he is LORDE over all things both in heaven and in earth. But his kingdom is not of this world. For he hath not so much as a place where he may lay his head. Thus is he become poor, that by his poverty ye should become rich. O howe much are ye bound to this pour new king & savior, which when he was in the form of God, ye very God himself toke vpō him y ^• shape of a seruaūte, and became very mā for your sake. If she had not done thus, certes ye had ben damned forever and ever. For youre sin was so heinous & great, that it could not otherwise be taken away but only by him.

By him, yea by him alone are all youre sins put away. He it is, yea he it is alone, which putteth away your iniquities for his own sake, & will remember thē no more. A righteous God, & such a one as saveth, is there none but he alone. He is that lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He is that savior, which is come into the world for to save sinners. He it is, in whose name and in none others under heaven, men must be saved.

Moreover divers grave, weightye & serious causes are there, why it was convenient that this youre savior should be borne. Fyrst, that in as much as ye all are grievous sinners & have broken all the commandments of God, he should fulfill the law for you, delyuerynge you from the curse of the law, wherun to ye are bound, or else saved could ye be by no means. And this shall this child, which is now borne, do for you: I mean, satis • y the law before he ascend again unto his father, & set you free from the malediccion and curse of the law. For Christ is the perfect fulfilling of the law unto justification for every one that believeth. Christ shall redeem you from the curse of y ^• law, while he is made accursed for your sake. For it is writ̄, cursed be every one y ^t hāgeth vpō a tree. O what joyful trdinges are these unto you for to hear, y ^• Christ shall deliver you from the curse of the law, and restore you unto life, which before were dead?

Secondly seeing that the world is without all knowledge of god, corrupt with Idolatry, poisoned w ^t their own ymaginacions, drowened with Ipocrisy, and altogether s • t on wickedness (the head Prestes Bisshops, lawyers, Scribes & Pharisees corruptyng the holy scriptures on such manner with their pestilent glosses) it is necessary that this Christ the wisdomme of the father come down, & redress these great absurdities, reducyng & bringynge the divine Scriptures again to their true sense, that men may for sake all Idolatry, all ungodly doctrine, all wicked customs, & learn to know the true God. And surely as he is come from God to be a master & teacher, so will he undoubtedly teache godly things. For he that cometh from heaven, is above all men: And that he hath seen and heard, that will he testify. For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God. For God gyuethe not him the spyrite, to a measure. But the spirit of God is plenteously upon him, because he hath an noynted him, to preach glad tidynges, to y ^• poor hath he sent him, y ^t he should heal the broken in heart, preach deliverance to prysoners, sight to the blind, and freely set at liberty them that are bruised, and declare the acceptable year of the LORDE. The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORDE. All naciōs shall resort unto him. They shall say one to another, come, let us go up to the mount of the LORDE, & to the house of the God of Jacob, & he shall teache us his ways, that we may walk in his paths. The people that walk now in darkness, shall se a great light, & they y ^• dwell in the land of the vadowe of death, shall have the light shine upon thē Christ shall multiply the people and increase their joy also. He shall make them to rejoice, even as men that make merry in heruest, & as mē that have gotten the vyctory, whē they deal the spoil. For he shall break y ^e yoke of y ^t people's burden. The wolf shall dwell with y ^e lamb, & the catte of the mountain shall lie with the goat. The calf the lyon, & the sheep shall dwell together, & the young child shall not once be afearde of them. The calf and the bear shall feed one with another, & their youngelynges shall take their rest together. And the lyō like as the ore shall eat chaff. And the in fant so soon as it is wened, shall lie playeng upon the hooles of adders and the child that is wened shall put his hand into a cokeatrycesnest. They shall not hurt, nor they shall not kyl in all God's holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORDE, even as though the water of the see flowed over the earth. O what a singular pleasure is this for you, which hitherto of blind gides have blyndly be led in all kind of Idolatry & wickedness to the great danger & peril of your souls health (for if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the dytch) to have such an heavenly teacher coming down from the bosom of god the father, which cannot lie, but will purely & syncerly teach you all truth, that ye may undoubtedly know the true God, which thing is everlasting life, & cōsummate or perfect righteousness. Can any news be brought unto you mor • joyful than these? He is truly to much brutal, that reioy seth not at the hearing of them.

Thyrdly he shall not only with all syncerite inform you of the denyne will of his celestial father, but he shall also work many strange & wonderful miracles among you, to cōfyrme his doctrine, & to show that he is unfeignedly y ^• true Messias, which so many years was promised before to come. For he shall restore the sick to their health, the blind to their sight, the death to they hearing, the domme to their speaking, the halte to their going the mad to their whole mind, y ^• possessed of y ^e dyuel to their perfect state, the dead to their life, the sinful to grace & virtue. Then as the Prophet saith, shall the eyes of the blind be made to se, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened. Thē shall the halte skyppe as the heart, & the tongue of the domme shall be losoned. They shall wa • ke as persons delivered & set at liberty of the LORDE. They shall turn and come into Zion with praise, & everlasting gladness shall be upon their head. Ioye & myrthe shall they have, sorrow and mourning shall fly from thē. Whose heart rejoiceth not to hear theyse most plesaūt & comfortable news?

Fourthly he shall watch, pray & fast exercysyng all kind of benefycence and virtue, yea & that not for himself shall he do these things, but for you, for your health, for your cōmodite, profit & salvation. All y ^t ever he shall do, shall be done for your sake. His watching, fasting, prayenge, alms deeds, & all that ever he doth, shall be done for you. All his good deeds shall be yours. His righteousness, holiness & godly life shall be yours. Christ's deeds must needs be yours, for Christ himself is yours. This Chylde is borne for your sake, & this son is given unto you. He is your new years gift. He that hath not spared his own son, but hath given him for all you, how is it possible but y ^t w ^t this his son he must needs give you all things. Who shall now therefore attēpte any sin against you that be the elect and chosen people of God? It is God that iustifiethe & maketh you righteous, who then is he that canne condemn you? O most blessed & joyful tidynges.

Fyftely when he hath full godly on this manner both lived verteously, and also preached purely the divine will of his celestial father, the Bishops, the head Priests, the Scribes & Pharisees,) which thorough their obstinate blindness & pretensed malice shall ever hate him, • aye in wait to snare him ī his sermons calūmate his most godly doctrine, obscure his most pure & irreprehensible name) shall at y ^• last grow into so great a malice & fury against Christ, that they shall never cease until they have cruelly slain him. For they shall report him to be a glotton, a wynebybber, a friend of Publicās & sinners, one that casteth out diuelles by y ^• help of Beelzebull prince of the dyuels, a Samaritan, one possessed withe a devil, one all together set a maddinge, a seductour and deceyuer of the people, a destroyer of God's temple, an herityke, a traytoure, & one that forbiddeth to pay tribute to Caesar. They shall make his own disciple to betray him thorough gifts & rewards. They shall bring in false wy • nes against him for to condēpne him to death, They shall bring him before the temporal judges. They shall lay many things to his charge unjustly. They shall mock him, they shall rail on him, they shall spytte on him, they shall buffet him, they shall scourge him, they shall put a crown of thorn on his head, they shall nail him on a cross, they shall prick him evē to y ^e heart with a spear, they shall for very despyte hange him between two thieves, and cruel murderers, as though he were the chief & princypall. No kind of torment or vilany can be invented. but the very same shall they exercise vpō him. For frō the sole of the foot, to the top of the hed, shall there be no whole place ī his most blessed body. O cruel fury & furious cruelnes. All these things shall he suffer not for his own, but for your sake, for your health & salvation, yea & that wyllyngely. H • shall give his body to thē y ^• stryke, & his chekes to thē y ^t pluck thē. Hys face shall not he turn away from thē that rail & spyt on him. Lyke as a sheep shall he be led to be slain, and like a lamb before the clypper shall he hold his peace, nether shall he once opē his mouth. Thus because it is his pleasure, shall he offer him self upon the altare of the cross, & by his most precious blood pay our raūsome. By this his glorious passion shall he take upon him your infyrmities, & bear away youre sins. By his most blessed wounds shall all your iniquities be put away. Al your sins shall be laid on his back. His blood shall make you clean from all your sin. By his blood shall ye have remission of your sins. By y ^e precious blood of this Christ, as of an immaculate and pure lamb shall ye be redeemed from the tyranny of Satan. By y ^• oblation of Christ shall ye be made free from all wickedness, delivered from the power of darkness, & carried into the glorious kingdom of God. For he is the lamb of GOD which taketh away the sin of the world. This is that son of man, which is come to save that which was lost, & not to destroy the souls of mē, but to save thē. And all this shall come to pass by the oblation & offryng of his own most precious & blessed body. For he shall by your Bishop, not such one as also shall have need to offer for his own sins, but for yours only, nether shall he be like y ^• bishops of y ^• old law, which offer daily for y ^• sins of y ^• people such sacrifices, as can never take away sin, nor yet make men perfect. But this your Bishop shall be godly, innocent, fautles, segregated from sinners, and made higher then y ^e heavens, which shall not need, as the other Bisshoppes do, daily to offer sacrifices first for his own sins, & afterward for the sins of the people. For he being without all sin shall once for all offer himself. And this one sacrifice or oblation of his most blessed body shall be able to save so many as believe in him, even to the vttermoost Christ being the Bishop of good things to come shall enter into y ^• holy place by his own blood, & find everlasting redēpciō. He thorough the holy Ghoste shall offer himself immaculate to God, & pourge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hē once for all offering up him self shall take away the sins of many. By the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ done once for all, shall you be sanctified. With one oblaciō shall he make perfect for evermore thē that are sanctified. Here se you of what inestimable price the sacrifice of Christ your bysshop is. The virtue of it never ceaseth, but endurethe in perfect strength for ever & ever, y ^• the sins of y ^• faithful repentant may be forgiven at all times by it. Christ's blood shall not cry for vengeance, as y ^• blood of Abel did, but for mercy, grace & favor. Yea by Christ's blood shall all things both in heaven & e • the be pacifyed, apeased, set at a stay, & reconciled to God the father aboūdātly. So that now ye shall be purged of all your sins by this one & omnisufficiente oblation of Jesus Christ your Bishop. For he alone shall tread down the wynepresse, & take upon his back the great & importible burden of your sins all. He by his death shall slay death & overcome Satā, sin, hell, desperacion, & all y ^• ever may be against you. So y ^• now ye shall be made so clear, as though ye had never offended. Ye shall now be so set at liberty as though before ye had never ben in captivity. And all this shall come to pass by the death alone of this young child now borne, whose body shall be the alone sacrifice of all your sins, unto the which as unto an holy ancker ye must alway run for aid, refuge & succoure, trustynge assuredly, that his death • s youre whole hope, youre meryte, youre refuge, health, life & resurrection. For youre meryte is the compassion & exceeding mercy of Christ your LODRE, ye are not w ^t out meryte, so longe as y ^• LORD of mercies doth not fail, And if the merits of the LORDE be many, than are ye plenteous in merits. The more able y ^• he is to save, the more safe and w ^t out danger are ye. Thus se you what a great occasiō ye have to reioy se in the death of the LORDE Christ your alone savior, whereby so many singular & great commodities shall chance unto you. God forbydde therefore that ye should rejoice in ony thing at all, save only in the cross & death of your LORDE Jesus Christ.

Syrtely but in as much as it is not sufficient that this youre new hynge Jesus Christ do die for your sins, except he also riseth again for youre justification, therefore do I also declare unto you these most joyful & comfortable news, y ^t after he be once dead & buried he by y ^• power of his deite shall gloriouslye rise again y ^• third day frō death to life for your iustificaciō according to y ^• holy scriptures. For God his father shall make him alive after two days, & upon the third day he shall raise him up, & he shall live in his sight. As Jonah was ī y ^e belly of a whale three days & three nights, so shall y ^e son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. And as Jonah by y ^• power of God came out of y ^• whalles belly y ^e third day, so in semblable wise shall this Christ by y ^e puissaūce of God his father rise again y ^• third day from death to life. By this glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, shall ye get the victory of Satan, sin, death, hell, desperacion. &c. By this glorious resurrecciō of Jesus christ shall ye be made righteous in God the fathers sight. By this glorious resurrecciō of Jesus Christ shall heaven gates be opened for you, which so longe have ben sparred. By this glorious resurrecciō of Jesus christ shall ye also rise again, & enter into everlasting life. By this glorious resurrecciō of Jesus christ, shall god of his exceeding mercy beget you a new into everlasting hope, & an immortal heritage, which is kept for you in heavē. For Christ is y ^• resurrecciō & life, he y ^• believeth in him, all though he be dead, yet shall he live, & everyone that liveth & beleuethe in him, shall never die. Here se you in howe joyful and merry a state ye shall be set by Christ's most glorious resurrection. What is here but that moveth & styreth us to joy & gladness? To much brutall is he which at the heryng of these most sweet & delectable news doth not seriously rejoice.

Furthermore after that this LORDE Jesus Christ is risen again from death to life, & hath continued here vpō the earth certain days showing himself unfeignedly to have risen unto his disciples & certain other, than shall he by the wonderful power of his Godhead ascēd up into heavē very God & very mā in the presence of his disciples, that they may be faithful witnesses hereof to other, & sytte down on y ^• right hand of God his father, as equal God concerning his dette w ^t his father in all virtue, puissaunce strength & power. By this his meruaylous ascencion shall he go & prepare places for you in y ^• house of his eternal father. For he is y ^e way, the truth & the life. No man cōmethe to y ^• father but by him. But this his meruaylous ascēciō shall he draw you all unto him. By this his meruaylous ascēciō shall he give diverse spiritual gifts unto you thorough the sending of y ^e holy ghost y ^• sweet cōfortour, which shall lede you into all truth. Although he ascēde unto his father, yet will not he leave you cōfortles. For by his divine spirit he will be w ^t you evē to the very cōsummacion & ende of the world. He will not leave & • orsake you. For he is called Emanual, which is by interpretaciō, God is with us. For he is that God which will ever accompany you so long as ye abide in his word. Yea he will come & dwell w ^t you. He will offer himself to you, even as a gentle & loving father doth to his most tender childrē. For this his promise, I will, saith he, dwell among thē, & be conversant among thē, I will be their God, & they shall be my people, yea I will be their father, & they shall be my sonnes and daughters.

Agayne though Christ shall sit on y ^e right hand of God y ^e father almyghty, yet shall he not be there idle & utterly fall̄ frō seeking your profit. For he shall there continually pray & make intercessiō to God his father for you. This mā Christ Jesus is youre alone mediatoure, so y ^• if onye of you doth sin, ye have him to be your advocate, even Jesus Christ y ^• righteous. And he it is y ^• obtayneth mercy for your sins. Whatsoever also ye ask of the father in his name, he will surely give it you. What will ye desire more? Are not these comfortable & sweet news to hear, y ^• you have this day so precious a jewel borne among you, yea & given you freely? Verily youre joy ought to be so great, y ^t it could not be expressed. B • t let us hear mo joyful tidīges.

Whā y ^• time is ones come y ^• this world shall have an ende, then shall this your LORDE and king Jesus Christ come full gloryo •• y from the right hand of his father in his majesty, & before him shall be gathered all naciōs. For at y ^• voice of y ^• archangell & trōpe of God shall all people rise out of the erth, w ^t their bodies both faithful & unfaithful. They y ^• have done good, shall come forth into y ^e resurrecciō of life, but they y ^• have done evil, into y ^• resurrecciō of dānaciō. All shall be present before the judging place of Christ. Every mā shall receive according to their deeds. Thā shall you which are his faithful people receive for your corruptible body, an incorruptible body, for your mortal body an immortal body, & even such one as shall be like to his own glorious body. It hath not yet appeared that ye shall be. But know ye that if he ones appear, ye shall be like unto him, for ye shall se h • m as he is, This day of judgment shall be to the wicked & unfaithful, a day of wrath, a day of trouble & heuines, a day of calamite & misery, a day of darkness & myst. They shall walk as mē being blind, because they have of fended the LORDE, & their blood shall be shed as y ^e dust, & their bodies as dūge hylles. Neither shall their silver & gold be able to deliver thē in that day of the LORDES wrath. For to thē it shall be said. Departe from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, which is prepared for y ^e devil & his Angels. But y ^e day to you, which are his faithful people, and obedient to his word, shall be a day of cōsolacion, comfort, joy & myrthe w ^t all gladness. For to you it shall be said: Come ye blessed chyldrē of my father, inheryte y ^• kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For ye shall be taken up in the clouds for to mete y ^• LORDE in the air, and so shall ye ever he w ^t the LORDE in glory. But who is able to express what joy, what pleasure, what myrthe, what gladness ye shall have in heavē. The eye hath not seen, & the ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into y ^e heart of man y ^• God hath prepared for them that love hī. Ye shall se him face to face, upon whom Aungelles desire to loke. With sorrow, care, thought▪ pain or death shall ye no more be entangled. God shall wype away all tears from your eyes. Your joy, your gladness, youre mirth shall be perpetual. All the pleasure of this world compared to the leest joy of heaven is nothing. For this celestial city is of pure gold, like unto clear glass, & the foūdacions of the walls of this city are garnisshed with all manner of precious stones, the gates are of fine pearl. Yea the streres of this heavenly city are pure gold. It hath no need of the son neither of the Moon to lighten it. For the brightness of God doth lighten it, & the lamb is the light of it. In this city shall ye glyster as the shynyng of heavē, & shall be as y ^e sterres, world without ende. Ye shall be as y ^• aūgels of God y ^• are in heavē, Ye shall be pyllers in y ^e temple of god. Ye shall be clothed w ^t white garments, ye shall sytte w ^t Christ vpō his seat, ye shall eat Manna y ^• is hyd. ye shall ear of y ^• tree of life, which is in the mids of the Paradise of God. Ye shall have a white stone, & in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receyuethe it. Ye shall receive the crown of life, which the LORD hath promised to thē that love him Ye shall receive the vncorrupty ••• crown of glory. Ye shall receive the crown of righteousness, which the LORDE a righteous judge in y ^• day shall give to all thē that love his coming. To conclude, ye shall according to his promise receive everlasting life, in the which ye shall live w ^t god the father, and this his son Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, with the holy Ghost one very God worlds without ende, to whom alone be all honor & glory forever and ever. Amen.

A brief rehearsal of all those things that go before.

T Hus have I declared unto you the most sweet, most comfortable, most plesaūt, & most meri news out of heave at the commandment of the highest & puissaūt God. Ye se ī how miserable a case ye are redacted and fallen by the sin of Adā, & howe that by him ye are all damned and made y ^• sons of wrath. Ye se that of yourselves because of youre imperfecciō, ye are not able to do any good thing, that may satisfy y ^• divine will & apease God's wrath. Ye se that y ^• works of the law can not make you free in y ^• sight of god, neither are ye able of youre own strenth & free will so pure • y, so spiritually to do thē as the law requireth, that you may obtain remissyon of youre sins by doing of them. Ye se also that the sacrifices of the old law can never put away sin, & as for works of your own inuenciō are most of all im{per}fecte, & most vnapte to purchase grace & favor. Thus se you that of youre own selves, of your own polecy, of your own righteousness ye are not able to escape the danger of dānation, yea rather dānaciō it self, Therefore did I declare unto you the comfortable news out of heuē, showing you that God, not for the works of righteousness that ye have done, which in deed are none, but of his own free & great mercy hath vouchedsaufe to preserve and keep you from the danger of Satā sin, death & hell, yea and y ^t by this his well-beloved son Jesus Christ which this day is borne in the city of David to be the savior of y ^• world. So that for Jesus Christ's sake God is well pleased with you.

Ye have heard that y ^• law hath condemned you, in as much as ye are trāsgressours of it, and hath made you accursed. Frō this curse of the law shall christ deliver you, not frō the law it self, that you should live ungodly, & after a remiss and dissolute manner (for such have no in heritaūce in y ^• kingdom of Christ & of God) but from the curse, servitude, bondage, damnaciō of y ^e law. For he shall fulfill y ^• whole law evē to the uttermost. And his fulfilling shall be accepted before God the father for the fulfilling of so many as believe in him. And he setting you at liberty from the curse of the law, shall give you a new heart, & put in you a new spirit, & he shall take away your stony heart & give you a fleshly, that is, a soft & gentle heart, ready to enclyne to y ^• accōplyshment of God's will. He shall give his laws into your minds, & write them in your hearts, y ^• you may ever after franckely and with a free spirit fulfyl them.

Ye have heard how this Christ shall bring you out of the darkness into the light of truth by the sincere declaring of his fathers will. For he is the light of y ^• world, & God hath given him to be a witness unto the people, a captain & a master among the heythen. And this his doctrine shall he confyrme with such miracles, as shall euydētly show & prove that he is that true Messias, which was promised to come.

Agayne ye have heard y ^• all his good deeds are yours. For with hī hath God the father also givē you all things, so that he is your wisdom, your righteousness, your sāctificacion and redemption.

Ye have heard also that he shall offer himsele for you to God the father an oblation & sweet swellynge sacrifice vpō the Altare of the cross & that by this one oblation & sacrifice of his most blessed body done once for all, all your sins shall be put away, ye shall be made perfect, and wasshed from all deformity so clean by Christ's blood, as though ye had never offended heretofore.

Ye have heard again that as christ shall die for your sins, so shall he rise again for your justification, obtaynynge for you the victory of sin, death and hell, y ^• that his most glorious resurrection.

Ye have heard y ^• after he is once risen again, he shall here remain certain days, & than ascend corporally into heaven, & sytte down on the right hand of God y ^e father sendynge down the holy Ghoste, which shall lede you into all truth.

Ye have heard also that Christ sitting on the right hand of God the father shall not be idle, but still provide & seek youre health. He shall be your mediatoure & advocate. He shall make continual intercessyon for you. He shall pleate youre cause before God his father. He shall auaunce your matter before the divine presence. If ye at any time excite or styre up gods wrath against you thorough your iniquity, he shall straight ways apease it, and make God the father, still youre loving father, which elles would be to you an extreme revenger.

Ye have heard again y ^• Christ at y ^• last day shall come gloriously frō y ^• right hand of his father to iuge the quick & the dead, & howe that after the judgment is once done, ye shall enter into glory with him, living forever after in such joy, pleasure & gladness, as cannot by any means either be expressed by tongue, or cōceyued in heart. All these commodities, pleasures & profyttes shall ye have by this your new king & savior Jesus Christ, which this day is borne in Bethlehem a city of David. What more pleasant and thanckeworthye news could be brought to you then these? What could have set such a joy in your hearts, as the hearing of these news? Cā any thing like unto these chance unto you, so great, so welcome, so acceptable, so joyful? Verily if ye seriously cōsyder the misery wherewith ye were obruted & overwhelmed before, ye shall easlye perceive that ye have an earnest cause to rejoice. No prisoner, no captive, no bond slave was ever in so great captivity & thralldom, as ye were, before these news were brought to you. I • a prisoner reioysethe for his deliverance out of prison, which once must needs have an ende, if none otherwise, yet at the leest by death, howe great a cause thē have you to rejoice for your deliueraūce which were captives & prisoners to that horrible monsture and pestiserous serpent even Satā himself, yea and that not for certain years, but forever worlds without ende. Neither was it youre body alone, that was in captivity and bondage but your soul also, both your body & soul were captive to him, so that if this your new king, redeemer & savior should not help you, it could none oth • rwyse be but that you must needs have ben damned, cast into hell fire, there to burn to weep, to lamente▪ forever & ever remediles. But frō this most grievous destruction shall this child Jesus Christ deliver you, & make you heirs of everlasting glory. What a cause have ye now to rejoice? Your joy cannot be expressed, your gladness is immeasurable.

Therefore seeing ye shall receive of this youre new king so many, so great, so inestimable benefits, loke that ye be not vnthanckefull. Receyue this your savior w ^t enbrasyng arms. Run unto him, if not w ^t the feet of your body, yet w ^t the feet of your mind. Knowledge him to be your alone & omnisufficient savior, & that there is none other name given unto men under heaven, wherein they must be saved, but only this name of Jesus Christ. Confess him to be the true son of the living God, which hath now taken flesh of y ^• most pure and clean virgin Mary for your sake. Confess him alone to be your peace, life, health, defense, goodness, wisdom, righteousness, sanctyficacion, redēpcion, pastoure, shepehearde, Bisshoppe and head. In all youre trouble resort to him as unto a strong Bulwark, y ^• you may ease you of your miserable burdens Pour out your hearts before this LORD. Knowe him to be your alone mediator & advocate. Ask all things in his name. Dout nothing of his great goodness & exceeding mercy toward you. Can a woman forget the child of her womb, and y ^• son whom she hath borne? And though she doth forgette him, yet will not he forget you. For behold he hath written you up vpō his hands, so y ^• ever ye are in his sight. He will undoubtedly ease you of your burdens, be they never so great. If ye thurst, he will give you of y ^• well of y ^• water of life freely. If ye hunger he is that bread of life, which came down from heavē. If any mā eat of that bread, he shall live forever. If ye be sick, he is a Phisicion, ready to cure & heal all your diseases. If ye be bond and in servitude, he will make you free, & set you at lyberite. If ye be dead in sin, he is the resurrecciō & life. If ye walk in darkness, he is the light of the world. He that followeth him, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. If ye be poor, he is rytch unto all thē y ^• cal upon him. If ye be wicked, prophhane & folysh he is righteous, holy & wise. If ye be oppressed with syn • e, death of hell, he hath subdued them all. If ye fear the wrath of God the father, he is youre mediator, advocate & atonement maker. If ye have condemned youre self thorough sin, he is a savior, & will save his people from their sins. What will ye have more? Ye want nothing, but he will supplye it for you aboūdantlye, & to the uttermost. Fear not therefore to come to this youre new king Jesus Christ. For the very cause of his cōminge is not to destroy, but to save the souls of men.

Receaue him therefore with joyful hearts. Forsake all ydolatrye & vain supersticiō. Beleue in him alone. Put your affiaunce & trust in none other but in him only. And let not this your faith be dead, but agile, quick, lyuysshe, & mighty in operaciō. Let it be such a faith, as worketh by love. Fyrst let youre faith bring forth an earnest love toward God, and out of this love toward god, let such a love proceed toward your neighbor, that out of that love there may spring plētie of good works. Be like unto a good tree, which bringeth forth her fruit in due time. Be no barren & vnfruytful fygge tree unless y ^• malediccion & curse of God fall on you. While ye have time, work good to all mē. For God hath not delivered you from the power of your enemies, & of all such as hate you, y ^t you should still continue evil, or return to your old wickedness, but that ye set at liberty and void of all fear, should serve him in holiness & righteousness before him all the days of our life. The law of the spirit of life throw Christ Jesus hath made you free from the law of syn & death. Notwithstandyng though ye be cal • ed into liberty, yet let not youre liberty be an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve ye one another. Be as free not having y ^• liberty for a cloke of wickedness, but evē as the servants of god. For Christ hath not of his own mere bounty delivered you from the miserable servitude of Satan, that ye should run again to that your enemy, but that ye should serve him, which hath shown you such great kyndenes. Ye are now Christ's all together, therefore must ye loke what he will have you do. For if he be punished, which disdaynethe to fulfill the commandment of a terrestiall & earthly Prince, in what case thā are ye, if ye do either cast away or despise the commandment of an heavenly governor? Certes ye ought so to institute & order youre life, y ^t it should serve Christ your captain on such manner, that Satan should have nothing to do with you, nor ye w ^t him. For he that doth sin, is the servant of sin. Therefore ought you to caste away all sin from you, & give your mind to purite & holiness of life, & ever study to maintain mutual love. For not everyone that saith, LORDE, LORDE, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth y ^• will of God which is in heaven. He that pertaineth to Christ, is a new creature. And they that belong unto him, have crucified the flesh with the lusts thereof. Therefore if ye be soldiers of Christ, declare it in outward works, For it is a point of notable vnshamefastnes to bost yourselves that ye pertain to Christ's army, & yet do nothing at all that he commaūdeath. He that saith that he dwelleth in him, ought to walk as he hath walked. If ye say, that ye have fell • owshyp with Christ, and yet walk in darkness, ye lie & do not the truth. But if ye walk in light, as he is light, than have ye fellowshyp together, & the blood of this your savior Jesus Christ God's own son maketh you clean from all sin.

Wherefore if ye will enjoy these most comfortable & pleasant news, which I have brought from heaven and have now declared unto you, forsake all wickedness, and enhaulse all godliness, reject all ydolatrye, and practice the true worshipping of God, caste away the works of the flesh and put on the fruits of the spirit, mortify old Adam. and become new men, to be short, let your light so shine before men that they may se youre good works & glorify your father which is in heaven, to whom with this your new king and omnisufficient savior Jesus Christ God's own son, and the holy ghost that most sweet confortoure, be all honor and glory worlds without ende. AMEN.