Select English works of John Wyclif; edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.

ÞE GOSPEL ON PHILIPPIS DAI AND JACOB.

[SERMON CIII.]

Non turbetur [So in E; A has turbentur.] cor vestrum.—JOHN xiv. [I.]

ÞIS gospel telliþ, how Crist confortide his disciplis upon Shire Þursdaie, as he dide comunli in wordis þat he seide hem þanne. Joon telliþ in fyve capitlis wordis þat Crist spake after his soper; and, among oþer þingis, he tolde hem how he shulde be bitrayd, and how he shulde be after turmentid and deed, and how þei shulden have drede boþe wiþinne and wiþouten. And herfore he medlide wiþ al wise wordis of confort. Crist biddiþ first in þis Gospel, þat her herte be not troublid wiþinne, ne drede for perils wiþouten, for confort þat þei shal have of him. Ȝif þei ben sad in þis bileve, þat alle þes þingis moten nedis falle, and for þer betere afterward, boþe here and in hevene, þei shulden not be troublid wiþinne to leese ony vertue; for þanne þei shulden falle fro vertues, for good þat God made to hem. And, bi þis same resoun, þei shulden not drede of bodili peril; for al þis shulde turne hem to good bi þis same bileve. And, for to make hem siker of þis, Crist seiþ þis word, Ȝe trowen in God, and trowe ȝe in me. As who seiþ, ȝe moten nedis trowe in God, or ellis ȝou failiþ charite; and ȝe mai not trowe in God, but ȝif ȝe trowen in me, for Y am þe same God, þat is God þe Fadir. And so wordis þat Y telle ȝou moten nedis be soþ. Ȝif God telle us a þing, who of us wolde drede þerof, siþ we ben certyn of bileve þat God mai not disseyve us? And oonhede in Godhede, wiþ Trinite in persones, is ofte seid in þis gospel, and in oþer boþe. And þus bileve shulde be ground to conforte men in þis weie.

And men shulden not muse on þis, þat ne þer ben diverse meritis. For, as þer ben in ech man diverse degrees of bileve, so þer ben in Cristis apostlis diverse degrees of meritis. And

for to quiete hem in þis Crist seiþ to his apostlis, þat in þe hous of his Fadir ben many dwellingis; as who seiþ, Have ȝe sum degree of feiþ and hope and charite, and laste ȝe, creessyng þerinne to ȝour lyves eende, and ȝour place is ordeyned in hevene after þat ȝe ben worþe. What man shulde herfor lette to serve God wel, but raþer he shulde enforse him to encresse in Goddis service. And þes disciplis shulden truste in þis meene persone Crist; for, as he seiþ soþli, ȝif ony þing in hevenli blis were lesse, or defauty, he wolde have teld hem. And in proof of þis þing, he stieþ up in his tyme, to make hem a place redi þere, as he dide aftirward. And siþ he is boþe God and man, he woot wel how it is þere; and gabbing in sich a Lord were more synne þanne ever was.

And, for Crist mai not bigynne a þing but ȝif he make an eende þerof, þerfore he seiþ, þat ȝif he wende þus to hevene he shal come aȝen and take þes apostlis to him. And þis shal be verified at Cristis comyng at þe dai of dome, þat where Crist is evermore, boþe in stede and in blisse, þei ben þere wiþ him after þis dai wiþouten eende. And ȝe witen whidir Y go, and also ȝe knowe þe weie. And þus Crist certefiede hem þat þei witen þe ende, and þe weie how þei shulden come to blisse, over þat þe fadirs wisten in þe olde testament; and þus þei may truste in Crist as meene persone of God and man. But Thomas seid here to Crist, Sire, we witen nere whidir þou goist, and how mai we knowe þe weie? And Jesus seide to him: I am weie, truþe, and lyf. As ȝif he wolde meene to Crystene men: Knowe ȝe me, and love ȝe me, and ȝe knowe alle þes þingis. For Crist wole teche his disciplis bi litil and litil alle þes. And so þe liif þat Crist ledde here is þe weie to come to hevene; for but if we suen him in þis liif, we shal never come to blis. And þe trewe reule þat he ȝaf is treuþe, to teche men þat wolden ellis erre. And he is liif many weies to susteyne men yn þis traveile.

And so Crist seiþ soþli [So E; A includes the word in the quotation.] , þat no man comeþ to þe Fadir but bi him; for his manhede is nedeful meene to make aseeþ for mannis synne, and his Godhede mote nedis meeve to come þis weie, so fer fro erþe. And muse we not of þe knowing þat

we moten have of þis Fadir. For Crist seiþ soþli, þat ȝif þei hadde knowen him, certis þei hadden knowe his Fadir. For whoso knowiþ Cristis Godhede, he woot how God seiþ al þing; for þis word of God is his Sone and Crist, þat we shulden knowe þus; and þanne he knowiþ him þat seiþ, þe which is God þe Fadir. And after ȝe shal knowe þe Fadir beter þan ȝe ȝit done; and ȝe have saien him, bi bileve þat bringiþ in þis knowing.

And, for þese wordis weren woundirful, þerfore Philip seide to Crist: Sire, shewe us þe Fadir, and it is ynowȝ to us. And Jesus seide to Philip þanne, So longe tyme I am wiþ ȝou, and ȝit ȝe knowen not me, Philip. Whoso seeþ me, he seeþ my Fadir; how seist þou, shewe us þe Fadir? Ne trowest not þou þat I am in þe Fadir, and þe Fadir is in me? þes wordis þat I speke, I speke hem not of mysilf: but, certis, þe Fadir þat dwelliþ in me is þat ilk þat doiþ þe werkes. Ne trowe ȝe not þat Y am in þe Fadir, and þe Fadir is in me? ellis, trowe ȝe my Godhede, for þe workes þat Y do. Soþeli, soþli, I seie to ȝou, þat man þat trowiþ in me shal do þe werkes þat Y do; and þe moste of hem ['Majora horum faciet;' Vulg.] shal he do, for I go to my Fadir, and my chirche, þat is my bodi, dwelliþ ȝit stille in erþe. And I shal not be idil in hevene, for whatever ȝe axen þe Fadir in my name, þat shal Y do.

Alle þes wordis þat Crist seiþ here axen sutil undirstond|ing, ȝhe, more þan we mai have while we lyven in þis liif. It is nedeful here to knowe, how þe Godhede of Crist is oþir in kynde þan his manhede, al if þei boþe ben oo persone. And þis Godhede is so sutil þat it is comune to þre persones. And so, whoso knowiþ þis Godhede in oon mote nedis knowe it in ech of hem; for þes þree persones ben not diverse, as þree men, or þree oþer substances, but ech of hem mai no|wher be, ne ouȝt do, wiþouten ech oþer. And þis mannis witt mote be clene þat shulde knowe wel þis matere.