He that doth aught to make

sea.

that they do, have done, and shall do. For sin we through fragility never so oft, yet as soon as we repent and come into the right way again, and unto the Testament which God hath made in Christ's blood, our sins vanish away as smoke in the wind, and as darkness at the coming of light; or as thou easiest a little blood or milk into the main Insomuch, that whosoever goeth about to make satisfaction for his sins to Godward, saying in his heart, satisfaction This much have I sinned, this much will I do again; or this wise will I live to make amends withal; or this will I do to get heaven withal; the same is an infidel, faithless, and damned in his deed-doing, and hath lost his part in Christ's blood: because he is disobedient unto God's Testament, and setteth up another of his own imagination, unto which he will compel God to obey. If we love God, we have a commandment to love our neighbour also, as saith John in his Epistle. And if we have offended him, to make him amends; or if we have not wherewith, to ask him forgiveness, and to do and suffer all things for his sake; to win him to God, and to nourish peace and unity but to Godward, Christ is an everlasting satisfaction, and ever sufficient.

or to get heaven, hath lost his part of Christ's blood.

To our neighbour make we amends.

The apostles were neither

shaven nor shorn, nor anointed with oil.

Christ when he had fulfilled his course, anointed his apostles and disciples with the same spirit, and sent them forth, without all manner [of] disguising, like other men also, to preach the atonement and peace which Christ had made betwen God and man. The apostles likewise disguised no man, but chose men anointed with the same spirit: one to preach the word of God, whom we call Bishop, an after the Greek tongue, a bishop or a priest; that is, in English, an overseer and an elder. How he was anointed, thou readest, (1 Tim. iii.) A bishop or an overseer must of a priest. be faultless, the husband of one wife. (Many Jews, and also Gentiles, that were converted unto the faith, had at that time divers wives, yet were not compelled to put any of them away; which Paul, because of ensample, would not have preachers, forasmuch as in Christ we return

overscer.

The true anointing

again unto the first ordinance of God, that one man and one woman should go together) he must be sober, of honest behaviour, honestly apparelled, harborous; that is, ready to lodge strangers; apt to teach, no drunkard, no fighter, not given to filthy lucre; but gentle, abhorring fighting, abhorring covetousness, and one that ruleth his own household honestly, having children under obedience, with all honesty. For if a man cannot rule his own house, how can he care for the congregation of God? He may not be young in the faith or as a man would say, a novice, lest he swell and fall into the judgment of the evil speaker; that is, he may not be unlearned in the secrets of the faith. For such are at once stubborn, and headstrong, and set not a little by themselves. But alas, we have above twenty thousand that know no more Scripture than is written in their portesses, and among them is he exceeding well learned that can turn to his service. He must be well reported of them that are without, lest he fall into rebuke, and into the snare of the evil speaker; that is, lest the infidels which yet believe not, should be hurt by him, and driven from the faith, if a man that were defamed were made head or overseer of the congregation. He must have a wife for two causes; one, that it may thereby be known who is meet for the room. He is unapt for so chargeable an office, which had never household to rule. Another cause is, that chastity is an exceeding seldom gift, and unchastity exceeding perilous for that degree. Inasmuch as the people look as well unto the living as unto the preaching, and are hurt at once, if the living disagree, and fall from the faith, and believe not the word.

This overseer, because he was taken from his own business and labour, to preach God's word unto the parish, hath right by the authority of his office, to challenge an honest living of the parish, as thou mayest see in the Evangelists, and also in Paul. For who will have a servant, and will not give him meat, drink, and raiment,

This oil is

not among

our bi

shops.

Priests

ought to

have wives,

and why.

What the priest's

duty is to do and

what to have.

Men are not bound

to pay the priest in tithes, by God's law. Deacon,

what it sig nifieth, and what is his

office.

No beggars.

How holy days and offerings

came up.

Saints

and all things necessary? How they would pay him, whether in money, or assign him so much rent, or in tithes, as the guise is now in many countries, was at their liberty.

Likewise in every congregation chose they another after the same ensample, and even so anointed, as it is to see in the said chapter of Paul, and Acts vi. Whom after the Greek word we call deacon; that is to say in English, a servant or a minister, whose office was to help and assist the priest, and to gather up his duty, and to gather for the poor of the parish, which were destitute of friends, and could not work: common beggars to run from door to door, were not then suffered. On the saints' days, namely, such as had suffered death for the word sake, came men together into the church, and the priest preached unto them, and exhorted them to cleave fast unto the word, and to be strong in the faith, and to fight against the powers of the world, with suffering for their faith's sake, after the ensample of the saints. And taught them not to believe in the saints, and to trust in their merits, and to make gods of them: but took the saints for an ensample only, and prayed God to give them like faith and trust in his word, and like strength and power to suffer therefore, and to give them so sure hope of the life to come, as thou mayest see in the collects of St. Lawrence and of St. Stephen, in our lady matins. And in such days, as we now offer, so gave they every man his portion according to his ability; and as God put in his heart, to the maintenance of the priest, deacon, and other common ministers, and of the poor, and to find learned men to teach, and so forth. And all was put in the hands of the deacon, as thou mayest see in the life of St. Lawrence, and in the histories. And for such purposes gave men lands afterwards, to ease the parishes; and made hospitals, and also places to teach their children, and to bring them up, and fore we fell to nurture them in God's word; which lands our monks

were not yet Gods.

Why lands were given unto the spiritual

officers be

from the

faith.

now devour.

ANTICHRIST.

False a

ANTICHRIST of another manner hath sent forth his disciples, those false anointed of which Christ warneth us before, that they should come and show miracles and nointed. wonders, even to bring the very elect out of the way, if it were possible. He anointeth them after the manner of

borrowed of the hea

then, and oiling of the Jews.

False

names.

No wife

but an

whore.

the Jews, and shaveth them and sheareth them after the Shaving is manner of the heathen priests, which serve the idols. He sendeth them forth not with false oil only, but with false names also. For compare their names unto their deeds, and thou shalt find them false. He sendeth them forth, as Paul prophesied of them, (2 Thess. ii.) with lying signs and wonders. What sign is the anointing? that they Lying signs. be full of the Holy Ghost. Compare them to the signs of the Holy Ghost which Paul reckoneth, and thou shalt find it a false sign. A bishop must he faultless, the husband of one wife. Nay, saith the pope, the hushand of no wife, but the holder of as many whores as he listeth. God commandeth all degrees, if they burn, and cannot live chaste, to marry. The pope saith, If thou burn, lake a dispensation for a concubine, and put her away when thou art old, or else, as our lawyers say, Si non caste, tamen pensation. caute; that is, If ye live not chaste, see ye carry clean, and play the knave secretly. Harbourous, yea to whores and bauds; for a poor man shall as soon break his neck as his fast with them, but of the scraps and with the dogs, when dinner is done. Apt to teach, and as Peter saith, (1 Pet. ii.) Ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that ye have, and that with meekness. Which thing is signified by the boots which doctors of divinity are created in, because they should be ready always to go through thick and thin, to preach God's word, and by the bishop's two-horned mitre, which betokeneth Mitres. the absolute and perfect knowledge that they ought to

Take a dis

Knaveate.

Boots.

have in the new Testament and the old. Be not these false signs? For they beat only, and teach not. Yea Cite them. saith the pope, If they will not be ruled, cite them to appear, and pose them sharply, what they hold of the pope's power, of his pardons, of his bulls, of purgatory, of ceremonies, of confession, and such like creatures of our most holy father's. If they miss in any point, make them here heretics of them, and burn them. If they be of mine

Pose them.

Make

tics.

Burn them.

Curse them.

an

ointed, and bear my mark, disgrace them, I would say disgraduate them, and (after the ensample of noble Antiochus, 2 Mach. vii.) pare the crowns and the fingers of them, and torment them craftily, and for very pain make them deny the truth. But now say our bishops, because the truth is come too far abroad, and the lay people begin to smell our wills, it is best to oppress them with craft secretly, and to tame them in prison. Yea, let us find the means to have them in the king's prison, and to make treason of such doctrine: yea, we must stir up some war one where or another, to bring the people into another imagination. If they be gentlemen, abjure them secretly.

Curse them four times in the year. Make them afraid of every thing; and namely, to touch mine anointed; and Fear them. make them to fear the sentence of the church, suspensions,

excommunications and curses. Be they right or wrong, bear them in hand that they are to be feared yet. Preach me and mine authority, and how terrible a thing my curse is, and how black it maketh their souls. On the holidays, which were ordained to preach God's word, set up long ceremonies, long matins, long masses, and long evensongs, and all in Latin, that they understand not and roll them in darkness, that ye may lead them whither Roll them. ye will. And lest such things should be too tedious, sing some, say some, pipe some, ring the bells, and lull them and rock them asleep. And yet Paul (2 Cor. xiv.) forbiddeth to speak in the church or congregation, save in the tongue that all understand. For the layman thereby

All in Latin.

Sing. Ring.

Lull thein.

Rock them a-sleep.

is not edified or taught. How shall the layman say Amen,