lasting life, and title whereby we challenge our inheritance.

And though faith in Christ's blood make the marriage between a soul and Christ, and is properly the marriage garment, yea, and the sign Thau, that defendeth us from the smiting and Thau. power of the evil angels, and is also the rock whereon Christ's church is built, and whereon all that is built standeth against all weather of wind and tempests; yet might the profession of the faith in Christ's blood, and of the love to the law, and longing for the life to come, be called all these things, were malice and froward understanding away; because that where one of them is, there will be all three, and where all are not, there is none of them.

And because that the one is known by the other, and is impossible to know any of them truly, and not be deceived, but in respect and comparison of the other.

Faith, charity, are

hope, and

inseparable.

charity are

known one

by the

other.

For if thou wilt be sure that thy faith be Faith, perfect, then examine thyself whether thou love hope, and the law. And in like manner, if thou wilt know whether thou love the law aright, then examine thyself whether thou believe in Christ only for the remission of sin, and obtaining the promises made in the Scripture. And even so compare thy hope of the life to come unto faith and love, and to hating the sin of this life; which hate, the love to the law engendereth in thee. And if they accompany not one another, all

The office of faith.

The office of love.

three together, then be sure that all is but hypocrisy.

If you say, seeing faith, love, and hope be three virtues inseparable: ergo, faith only justifieth not. I answer, though they be inseparable yet they have separate and sundry offices, as it is above said of the law and faith. Faith only, which is a sure and an undoubted trust in Christ and in the Father through him, certifieth the conscience that the sin is forgiven, and the damnation and impossibility of the law, taken away (as it is above rehearsed in the conditions of the covenant.) And with such persuasions mollifieth the heart and maketh her love God again and his law.

And as oft as we sin, faith only keepeth that we forsake not our profession, and that love utterly quench not, and hope fail, and only maketh the peace again. For a true believer trusteth in Christ only, and not in his own works or aught else, for the remission of sin.

And the office of love is to pour out again the same goodness that she hath received of God upon her neighbour, and to be to him as she feeleth Christ to herself. The office of love only is to have compassion, and to bear with her neighbour the burthen of his infirmities. And as it is written (1 Pet. 4.) Operit multitudinem peccatorum covereth the multitude of sins. That is to say, considereth the infirmities and interpreteth all to the best, and taketh for no sin at all, a thousand things of which the least were

enough (if a man loved not) to go to law for and to trouble and unquiet an whole town, and sometime an whole realm or two.

of hope.

And the office of hope is to comfort in adver- The office sity and make patient, that we faint not, and fall down under the cross, or cast it off our backs. And thus ye see that these three inseparable in this life, have yet separable and sundry offices and effects, as heat and drith being inseparable in the fire, have yet their separable operations. For the drith only expelleth the moistness of all that is consumed by fire, and heat only destroyeth the coldness. For drith and cold may stand together, and so may heat and moistness. It is not all one to say, the drith only, and the drith that is alone; nor all one to say, faith only, and faith that is alone.

of our salvation is

Go to then, and desire God to print this profession in thine heart, and to increase it daily more and more, that thou mayest be full shapen like unto the image of Christ in knowledge and love, and meek thyself, and creep low by the ground, and cleave fast to the rock of this profession, and tie to thy ship this anchor of faith The anchor in Christ's blood, with the cable of love, to cast it out against all tempests; and so set up thy hin sail, and get thee to the main sea of God's word. Christ's And read here the words of Christ with this exposition following, and thou shalt see the law, faith, and works, restored each to his right use and true meaning. And thereto the clear difference between the spiritual regiment

faith

blood.

and the temporal, and shalt have an entrance and open way into the rest of all the Scripture. Wherein, and in all other things the spirit of verity guide thee, and thine understanding. Amen.

AN EXPOSITION

UPON

THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS

OF

MATTHEW.

THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW.

WHEN he saw the people, he went up into a mountain

and sat him down, and his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed be the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

CHRIST here in his first sermon beginneth to restore the law of the ten commandments unto her right understanding, against the scribes and pharisees which were hypocrites, false prophets, and false preachers; and had corrupt the Scripture with the leaven of their glosses. And it is not without a great mystery that Christ beginneth his

preaching at poverty in spirit, which is neither beggary nor Poverty of against the possessing of riches. But a virtue contrary spirit. to the vice of covetousness, the inordinate desire and love of riches, and putting trust in riches.

riches nor

poverty ex

clude, or

assure us of

God's bles

sing.

Riches is the gift of God, given man to maintain the Riches. degrees of this world, and therefore not evil; yea, and some must be poor and some rich, if we shall have an order in this world. And God our father divideth riches and poverty among his children according to his godly pleasure and wisdom. And as riches doth not exclude Neither thee from the blessing, so doth not poverty certify thee: but to put thy trust in the living God, maketh thee heir thereof. For if thou trust in the living God, then if thou be poor, thou covetest not to be rich, for thou art certified that thy Father shall minister unto thee food and raiment, and be thy defender; and if thou have riches thou knowest that they be but vanity, and that as thou broughtest them not into the world, so shalt thou not carry them out; and that as they be thine to day, so may they be another man's tomorrow; and that the favour of God only both gave, and also keepeth thee and them, and not thy wisdom or power: and that they, neither ought else can help at need, save the good will of thy heavenly Father only. Happy and blessed then are the poor in spirit, that is to say, the rich, that have not their confidence nor consolation in the vanity of their riches; and the poor, that desire not inordinately to be rich, but have their trust in the living God, for food and raiment, and for all that pertaineth either to the body or the soul; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who are poor in spipithily

rit is here

declared.

And contrariwise, unhappy and accursed, and that with the first and deepest of all curses, are the rich in spirit, Rich in that is to say, the covetous that being rich, trust in their spirit. riches, or being poor, long for the consolation of riches; and comfort not their souls with the promises of their heavenly Father, confirmed with the blood of their Lord Christ. For unto them it is harder to enter into the kingdom of heaven, than for a camel to enter through the eye