God, and keep his word, he is the temple of God, and hath God presently dwelling in him :" as witnesseth Christ John xivth, saying, "If a man love me, he will keep my word, and then my father will love him, and we will come unto him, and dwell with him. And in the xvth he saith, "If ye abide in me, and my words also abide in you, then ask what ye will and ye shall have it." If thou believe in Christ and hast the promises which God hath made thee in thine heart, then go on pilgrimage unto thine own heart, and there pray, and God will hear thee, for his mercy and truth's sake, and for his son Christ's sake, and not for a few stones' sake. What careth God for the temple? The very beasts, in that they have life in them, be much better then an heap of stones couched together.

To speak of chastity: it is a gift not given unto all persons, as testifieth both Christ and also his apostle Paul, wherefore all persons may not vow it. Moreover there be causes wherefore many persons may better live chaste at one time than at another. Many may live chaste at twenty and thirty for certain cold diseases following them, which at forty, when their health is come, cannot do so. Many be occupied with wild fantasies in their youth that they care not for marriage, which some when they be waxen sad shall be greatly desirous: it is a dangerous thing to make sin where none is, and to forswear the benefit of God and to bind thyself under pain of damnation of thy soul, that thou wouldest not use the remedy that God hath created, if need required.

God dweltemples

leth not in

man's

made with

hands.

God regardeth the heart, and not the place where

we pray.

Wilful

chastity is

not meet

for all per

sons to

YOW.

Another thing is this, beware that thou get thee not a False feignfalse feigned chastity made with the ungodly persuasions ed chastity. of St. Jerom, or of Ovid in his filthy book of the remedy against love, lest when through such imaginations thou hast utterly despised, defied and abhorred all womankind, thou come into such case through the fierce wrath of God, that thou canst neither live chaste, nor find in thy heart to marry, and so be compelled to fall into the abomination of the Pope against nature and kind.

The Pope restrained

that which

God permitted, and setteth at liberty that which God forbideth.

A good admonition to such as will

make vows.

Moreover, God is a wise father, and knoweth all the infirmities of his children, and also merciful, and therefore hath created a remedy without sin, and given thereto his favour and blessing. Let us not be wiser than God with our imaginations, nor tempt him; for as godly chastity is not every man's gift, even so he that hath it to day, hath not power to continue it at his own pleasure, neither hath God promised to give it him still, and to cure his infirmities without his natural remedy, no more than he hath promised to slake his hunger without meat, or thirst without drink. Wherefore either let all things bide free as God hath created them, and neither vow that which God permitted thee with his favour and blessing also; or else if thou wilt needs vow, then vow godly and under a condition, that thou wilt continue chaste so long as God giveth thee that gift, and as long as neither thine own necessity, neither charity toward thy neighbour, nor the authority of them under whose power thou art, drive thee unto the contrary. The purpose of thy vow must be salted also with the and how we wisdom of God. Thou mayst not vow to be justified thereby, or to make satisfaction for thy sins, or to win heaven or an higher place; for then didst thou wrong unto the blood of Christ, and thy vow were plain idolatry and How a vow abominable in the sight of God. Thy vow must be only unto the furtherance of the commandments of God, which are (as I have said) nothing but the taming of thy members, and the service of thy neighbour; that is, if thou think thy back too weak for the burthen of wedlock, and that thou canst not rule thy wife, children, servants and make provision for them godly, and without overmuch busying and unquieting thyself, and drowning thyself in worldly business unchristianly, or that thou canst serve thy neighbour in some office better being chaste than married. And then thy vow is good and lawful. And even so must thou vow abstinence of meats and drinks so far forth as God, decei- it is profitable unto thy neighbours, and unto the taming of thy flesh; but thou mayst vow neither of them unto

Whereunto

should ap

ply our

Vows,

is to be

made.

He that fasteth to any other

end than to tame his

body that

it may wait upon

veth him.

self.

All our doings must tend to the honour of

God, and

the slaying of thy body. As Paul commandeth Timothy to drink wine, and no more water, because of his diseases. Thou wilt say that Timothy had not haply forsworn wine. I think the same, and that the apostles forsware not wedlock, though many of them lived chaste; neither yet any meat or drink, though they abstained from them, and that it were good for us to follow their example. Howbeit though I vow and swear and think on none exception, yet is the breaking of God's commandments except, and all chances that hang of God. As if I swear to be in a certain place at a certain hour, to make a loveday without exception, yet if the king in the meantime com- neighbour. mand me another way, I must go by God's commandment, and yet break not mine oath. And in like case if my father and mother be sick and require my presence, or if my wife, children, or household be visited that my assistance be required, or if my neighbour's house be a fire at the same hour, and a thousand such chances; in which all I break mine oath, and am not forsworn and so forth. Read God's word diligently and with a good heart, and it shall teach thee all things.

love of our

A

PROLOGUE

INTO THE FIFTH BOOK OF MOSES CALLED

DEUTERONOMY.

THIS is a book worthy to be read in, day and night, and never to be out of hands. For it is the most excellent of all the books of Moses. It is easy also and light, and a very pure Gospel, that is to wit, a preaching of faith and is a preachlove: deducing the love to God out of faith, and the and love.

This book

Here thou mayest

meditation

love of a man's neighbour out of the love of God. Herein also thou mayest learn right meditation or contemlearn a right plation, which is nothing else save the calling to mind, and a repeating in the heart, of the glorious and wonderful deeds of God, and of his terrible handling of his enemies and merciful entreating of them that come when he calleth them, which thing this book doth, and almost nothing else.

or contem

plation.

The works

of God are supernatu

ral.

We must abstain from outward evil though not for love,

yet for fear

of the vengeance of God.

Unto the

we may not add nor diminish.

We are command

In the four first chapters he rehearseth the benefits of God done unto them, to provoke them to love, and his mighty deeds done above all natural power, and beyond all natural capacity of faith, that they might believe God, and trust in him, and in his strength. And thirdly he rehearseth the fierce plagues of God upon his enemies, and on them which through impatience and unbelief fell from him; partly to tame and abate the appetites of the flesh which alway fight against the Spirit, and partly to bridle the wide raging lusts of them in whom was no Spirit; that though they had no power to do good of love, yet at the least way, they should abstain from outward evil for fear of wrath, and cruel vengeance which should fall upon them and shortly find them out, if they cast up God's nurture and run at riot beyond his laws and ordinances.

Moreover he chargeth them to put nought to, nor take law of God ought away from God's words, but to be diligent only to keep them in remembrance, and in the heart, and to teach their children for fear of forgetting. And to beware either of making imagery, or of bowing themselves unto images, saying, Ye saw no image when God spake unto you, but heard a voice only, and that voice keep, and thereunto cleave, for it is your life and it shall save you. And finally if (as the frailty of all flesh is) they shall have fallen from God, and he have brought them into trouble, adversity, and cumbrance and all necessity; yet if they repent and turn, he promiseth them, that God shall remember his mercy, and receive them to grace again.

ed to ab stain from images.

God is merciful to

them that repent.

In the fifth he repeateth the ten commandments, and

that they might see a cause to do them of love, he biddeth them remember that they were bound in Egypt, and how God delivered them with a mighty hand, and a stretched out arm, to serve him, and to keep his commandments : as Paul saith that we are bought with Christ's blood, and therefore are his servants, and not our own, and ought to seek his will and honour only, and to love and serve one another for his sake.

For

Paul

Christ hath and there

delivered us

fore we ought to serve him and our neighbour for his

sake.

Love only

He

is the fulfilling of the laws of

In the sixth he setteth out the fountain of all commandments: that is, that they believe how that there is but one God that doth all, and therefore ought only to be loved with all the heart, all the soul, and all the might. love only is the fulfilling of the commandments, as also saith unto the Romans, and Galatians likewise. warneth them also that they forget not the commandments, but teach them their children, and to shew their children also how God delivered them out of the bondage of the Egyptians, to serve him and his commandments, that the children might see a cause to work of love likewise.

The seventh is altogether of faith: he removeth all occasions that might withdraw them from the faith, and pulleth them also from all confidence in themselves, and stirreth them up to trust in God boldly and only.

For

Of the eighth Chapter thou seest how that the cause of temptation is, that a man might see his own heart. when I am brought into that extremity, that I must either suffer or forsake God, then I shall feel how much I believe and trust in him, and how much I love him. In like manner if my brother do me evil for my good, then if I love him when there is no cause in him, I see that my love was of God, and even so if I then hate him, I feel and perceive that my love was but worldly, and finally he stirreth them to the faith and love of God, and driveth them from all confidence of their own selves.

In the ninth also he moveth them unto faith, and to put their trust in God, and draweth them from confidence of themselves, by rehearsing all the wickedness which they

God.

We must trust only in God and

not in ourselves.

How a man

may try

and exa

mine him self how

much be and his neighbour.

loveth God

God stirreth up his people unto faith.