out any anointing or ceremony were they his apostles ; that is to wit, ministers chosen to be sent to preach his Testament unto all the whole world. And after the resurrection, when he had opened their wits, and given them knowledge to understand the secrets of his Testament, and how to bind and loose, and what he would have them to do in all things, then he sent them forth with a commandment to preach, and bind the unbelieving that continue in sin, and to loose the believing that repent. And that commandment or charge made them bishops, priests, popes, and all thing. If they say that Christ made them priests at his maundy, or last supper, when he said, Do this in the remembrance of me: I answer, Though the apostles wist not then what he meant, yet I will not strive nor say thereagainst. Neverthelater the commandment and the charge which he gave them made them priests.

And (Acts the first,) when Matthias was chosen by lot, it is not to be doubted but that the apostles, after their common manner, prayed for him that God would give him grace to minister his office truly; and put their hands on him, and exhorted him, and gave him charge to be diligent and faithful, and then was he as great as the best. And (Acts vi.) when the disciples that believed had chosen six deacons to minister to the widows, the apostles prayed and put their hands on them, and admitted them without more ado. Their putting on of hands was not after the manner of the dumb blessing of our holy bishops, with two fingers; but they spake unto them, and told them their duty, and gave them a charge, and warned them to be faithful in the Lord's business as we choose temporal officers, and read their duty to them, and they promise to be faithful ministers, and then are admitted. Neither is there any other manner or ceremony at all required in making of our spiritual officers, than to choose an able person, and then to rehearse him his duty, and give him his charge, and so to put him in his room. And as for that other solemn doubt, as they call it, Whether Judas

Judas is

was a priest or no? I care not what he then was; but of What
this I am sure, that he is now not only priest, but also
bishop, cardinal, and pope.

PENANCE.

Metanoyte, in you.

Of re

A point of

PENANCE is a word of their own forging, to deceive us withal, as many others are. In the Scripture we find, Penitentia, repentance. Agite penitentiam, do repent; Peniteat vos, let it repent you. Greek, forthink ye, or let it forthink pentance they have made penance, to blind the people, practice, and to make them think that they must take pains, and do some holy deeds to make satisfaction for their sins; namely, such as they enjoin them. As thou mayest see in the chronicles, when great kings and tyrants (which with violence of sword conquered other kings' lands, and slew all that came to hand) came to themselves, and had conscience of their wicked deeds, then the bishops coupled them not to Christ; but unto the pope, and preached the pope unto them, and made them to submit themselves, and also their realms, unto the holy father the pope, and to take penance, as they call it; that is to say, such injunctions as the pope and bishops would command them to do, to build abbeys, to endote them with livelihood, to be prayed for for ever: and to give them exemptions, and privilege, and license, to do what they lust, unpunished.

Repentance goeth before faith, and prepareth the way to Christ, and to the promises. For Christ cometh no but unto them that see their sins in the law, and repent. Repentance, that is to say, this mourning and sorrow of the heart, lasteth all our lives long. For we find ourselves all our lives long too weak for God's law, and therefore sorrow and mourn, longing for strength. Repentance is

Repen.

tance.

Repentance is signified by baptism.

no sacrament: as faith, hope, love, and knowledge of a man's sins are not to be called sacraments. For they are spiritual and invisible. Now must a sacrament be an outward sign that may be seen, to signify, to represent, and to put a man in remembrance of some spiritual promise, which cannot be seen but by faith only. Repentance, and all the good deeds which accompany repentance, to slay the lusts of the flesh, are signified by baptism. For Paul saith, (Rom vi.) (as it is above rehearsed) Remember ye not (saith he) that all we which are baptized in the name of Christ Jesus, are baptized to die with him? We are buried with him in baptism for to die; that is, to kill the lusts and the rebellion which remaineth in the flesh. And after that he saith, Ye are dead, as concerning sin, but live unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. If thou look on the profession of our hearts, and on the spirit and forgiveness which we have received through Christ's merits, we are full dead; but if thou look on the rebellion of the flesh, we do but begin to die, and to be baptized; that is, to drown and quench the lusts, and are full baptized at the last minute of death. And as concerning the working of the Spirit, we begin to live, and grow every day more and more both in knowledge, and also in godly living, according as the lusts abate. As a child receiveth the full soul at the first day, yet groweth daily in the operations and works thereof.

OF CONFESSION.

CONFESSION is divers: one followeth true faith inseparably, and is the confessing and knowledging with the mouth, wherein we put our trust and confidence. As when we say our Credo, confessing that we trust in God the Father Almighty, and in his truth and promises; and in his son Jesus, our Lord, and in his

fession is to knowledge wherein

thou put test thy trust.

merits and deservings; and in the Holy Ghost, and in his One conpower, assistance and guiding. This confession is necessary unto all men that will be saved. For Christ saith, (Matt. x.) He that denieth me before men, him will I deny before my Father that is in heaven. And of this confession, saith the holy apostle Paul, in the xth chapter, The belief of the heart justifieth; and to knowledge with the mouth maketh a man safe. This is a wonderful text for our philosophers, or rather sophisters, our worldly wise enemies to the wisdom of God, our deep and profound wells without water, our clouds without moisture of rain; that is to say, natural souls without the Spirit of God, and feeling of godly things. To justify and to make safe are both one thing. And to confess with the mouth is a good work, and the fruit of a true faith, as all other works are.

If thou repent and believe the promises, then God's truth justifieth thee; that is, forgiveth thee thy sins, and sealeth thee with his Holy Spirit, and maketh thee heir of everlasting life, through Christ's deservings. Now if thou have true faith, so seest thou the exceeding and infinite love and mercy which God hath showed thee freely in Christ then must thou needs love again: and love cannot but compel thee to work, and boldly to confess and knowledge thy Lord Christ, and the trust which thou hast in his word. And this knowledge maketh thee safe ; that is, declareth that thou art safe already, certifieth thine heart, and maketh thee feel that thy faith is right, and that God's Spirit is in thee, as all other good works do. For if when it cometh unto the point, thou hast no lust to work, nor power to confess, how couldest thou pre- thou sure sume to think that God's Spirit were in thee?

Another confession is there which goeth before faith, and accompanieth repentance. For whosoever repenteth, doth knowledge his sins in his heart. And whosoever doth knowledge his sins, receiveth forgiveness (as saith John, in the first of his first Epistle.) If we knowledge

If when tyrants op

pose thee, power to

thou have

confess, then art

that thou art safe.

Another confession ledge thy sins in thine

is to know

heart unto

God.

Shrift.

Shrift was put down

for knavery among the

Greeks; but is stablished thereby among us.

our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; that is, because he hath promised, he must for his truth's sake do it. This confession is necessary all our lives long, as is repentance. And as thou understandest of repentance, so understand of this confession, for it is likewise included in the sacrament of baptism. For we always repent, and always knowledge or confess our sins unto God, and yet despair not; but remember that we are washed in Christ's blood; which thing our baptism doth represent and signify

unto us.

Shrift in the ear is verily a work of Satan, and that the falsest that ever was wrought, and that most hath devoured the faith. It began among the Greeks, and was not as it is now, to reckon all a man's sins in the priest's ear; but to ask counsel of such doubts as men had, as thou mayest see in St. Jerome, and in other authors. Neither went they to priests only, which were very few at that time, no more than preached the word of God, for this so great vantage in so many masses saying was not yet found; but went indifferently, where they saw a good and a learned man. And for because of a little knavery which a deacon at Constantinople played through confession with one of the chief wives of the city, it was laid down again. But we, antichrist's possession, the more knavery we see grow thereby daily, the more we stablish it. A Christian man is a spiritual thing, and hath God's word in his heart, and God's Spirit to certify him of all things. He is not bound to come to any ear. And as for the reasons which they make, are but persuasions of man's wisdom. First, as pertaining unto the keys and manner of binding and loosing, is enough above rehearsed, and in other places. Thou mayest also see how the apostles used them in the Acts, and in Paul's Epistles how at the preaching of faith the Spirit came, and certified their hearts that they were justified through believing the promises.