A christall glasse of christian reformation wherein the godly maye beholde the coloured abuses vsed in this our present tyme. Collected by Stephen Bateman Minister.

¶Our loue toward God.

LEt vs loue God, for he hath loued vs first, and redemed vs from all euill, if we diligently follow his preceptes and com∣maundementes, he was before all things he created all thinges, by his only power

and might, and none but he, without him was made nothing y^t was made. In him is life light and verity: a God without beginning and without ending, he came among his owne, and his owne receiued hym not, but as many as receyued hym, to them gaue he power to be the sonnes of God. Therefore harken vnto me, O ye children, blessed are they that keepe my wayes, O geue eare vnto nurture, be wyse and refuse it not, blessed is the man that heareth me, wai∣ting dayly at my gate, and geuing attendaunce at at the postes of my doores, for who so findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtaine fauour of the Lorde, but who so offendeth against me saith God, hur∣teth his owne soule, all they that hate me, is the workers of death, and deadly louers. Harken also & be stedfast in beliefe, and seeke for none other helper and mediato••r, but onely Iesus Christs, which is the mediatour for all mankinde, to God his father, and he it is the which is the preseruer & none but he. In the fourth of Saint Iohn, it is euidently shewed, in the ••••uing communication, the which our Sauiour Christ had with the woman of Samari••, by the well side, declaring plainly that he himelfe was the sonne of God, and sauiour of the worlde, who so therefore thatseeketh to any other mediatour, redemer, or pre∣seruer then the onely god and Christ, is vtterly decei∣ued, and except speedy returne, voyde from all ioye & felicitie, I am the Lord God, which brought thee out of the land of Egipt, that thou shouldest not knowe no God but me onely, and y^t thou shouldest haue no sauiour but only me. I haue loued you sayth the lord,

and yet ye say, where in hast thou loued vs: was not Esau Iacobs brother saith the lorde, yet haue I loued Iacob, and hated Esau. Thou wilt saye vnto me, why then blameth he vs yet, for who hath benne able to resiste his will. But O ••an, what art thou, which disputeth with God, shall the worke say to the workeman why hast thou made me on this fashion: hath not the potter power ouer the claye, euen of the same lumpe to make one vessel vnto honour, and an other to dishonour. Euen so God wil••inge to shewe his wrath, and to make his power knowne, suffreth with long patience, the vessels of wrath, ordayned to damnatiō, and to declare the riches of his glory on y^e vessels of mercy, which he hath prepared vnto glorye. They that feare the Lord wil not mistrust his word, and they that loue him, will ••eepe his commaunde∣mentes: they that feare the Lord, will seeke out the thinges that are pleasaunt vnto him, and they that loue him, shall fulfill his lawe. They that feare the Lord will prepare their hartes, & humble their soules in his sight, they that feare the Lord, keepe his com∣maundements, and wilbe pacient til they se himselfe, saying, better it is for vs, to falle into the hands of the Lorde, then into the handes of men, for his mercy is as great as himselfe. Shoulde not a sonne honour his father, & a seruitant his maister, if I be now a fa∣ther, wher is now mine honor, if I be y^e Lord where then am I feared, saith the Lord of hostes. Now to you priestes that depise my name, and if ye say, where in haue we despised thy name. In thys, that ye offer vncleane bread, vppon mine alter And when thy son

asketh thee intime to come, saying: what meaneth these witnesses, ordinaunces, and lawes, which the Lord our God hath commaunded you: thē thou shalt saye vnto thy sonne▪ we were Pharaos bondmen in Egipt; and the Lord brought vs out of Egipt, wyth a mighty hand, and the Lord shewed signes & won∣ners, great and euill vppon Egipt, vnto Pharao and all his housholde, before our eyes, and brought vs out from thence, to bring vs in, and to geue vs the land, which he sware vnto our forefathers. Maruailous thinges did he in the sight of our forefathers in the land of Egipt, euen in the fielde of Zoan, he deuided the sea and let them goe through, he made the waters to stand on an heape, he rayned downe Manna also vppon them for to eate, and gaue them foode frō hea∣uen. But for all this they sinned more and more, and beleued not his wondrous workes, therefore did he consume their dayes in vanity: & their yeares in trou∣ble, but he remembred his mercy towardes vs, that he forgaue their misdeedes, and destroyed not them vtterlly. Yet for all that they greeued him with their hil alters, and prouoked him to displeasure with their Images. Whē God heard this, he was wrouth, and tooke sore displeasure at Israel. While y^e phariseyes were gathered together, Iesus asked them saying: What thinke ye of Christ? whose son is he? They said vnto him, the son of Dauid: He saide vnto them: How then doth Dauid in spirite, call him Lord, saying, the Lord sayde to my Lord, sitte on my right hand, till I make thyne ennemies thy foote stoole. If Dauid call him Lord, how is he then his sonne, and none coulde

aunswere him agayne one worde, neither durste any from that day forth aske him any moe questions, not∣wythstanding, that Christ, in y^t he was man, was the sonne of Dauid, that is desended of the stocke of Da∣uid, yet Dauid seing in spirit that he was God, called him Lord, but the Phariseyes who were all flesly, coulde not perseiue so much of y^e spirit. Beholde a cer∣taine lawyer stoode vp & tēpted him saying, maister what shal I do to enherit eternall life: He sayde vnto him, what is writtē in y^e law, how readest thou. And he answered & said: loue thy lord thy God with al thy hart, and with all thy soule, and with all thy strēgth, and with all thy mynde, & thy neighbour as thy selfe: And he sayde vnto him, thou hast aunswered right, this do and thou shalt liue, he willing to iustifie him∣selfe, saide vnto Iesus. Who is then my neighbour: Ie¦sus answered and sayde. A certayne man desended from Ierusalem to Ierico, and fell into the hands of theues, which robbed him by the way, and wounded him, and left him halfe deade, and by chaunce there came a certaine priest that same way, which saw him and passed by, and likewise a Leuit, which also loked vppon him, and passed by. Then a certayne Sama∣ritan, as he iornied by, came nigh vnto him, & whē he saw him he had compassion on him, and went to and bound vp his wounds, and set him on his own beast and brought him to a common Inne, and made pro∣uision for him, and on the morrow whē he departed, he tooke out two pence, and gaue to the host, and said vnto him, take cure of him, and whatsoeuer thou spē∣dest more, when I come agayne I will recompence

thee. Which now of these three thinkest thou, was neighbour vnto him that was wounded, and he said he y^t shewed mercy on him. The Lawyer perceiued not y^t it was himselfe the which was wounded with extreame woundes of fained hope, ignoraunce, and sinne, and the same whiche profered to heale those woundes, was the Samaritan Christ, which profe∣red not health vnto him onely, but also vnto all such as had confidence and trust in him. But he iustifiyng himselfe, therein condemned himselfe, because there is none righteous but Christ alone. And now Israell what doth thy Lord thy God require of thee, but to feare y^e Lord thy God, and to walke in all his wayes, to loue him, and to serue thy Lord thy God, with all thy hart and with all thy soule. Namely that thou keepe the commaundementes of the Lord and his or∣dinaunces which I commaunde thee this day, for thy wealth. God geueth to mā that which is good before him, wisdome, vnderstanding, and gladnes, but vnto the sinner werines, and superfluous care, that he may gather and heape together, the thing that afterward shalbe geuen vnto him, whome it pleaseth God, thys is now a vaine thing: yea a very disquietnes and vex¦ation of minde. Marke also the wordes of our Saui∣our Christ to Philip. Philip saith vnto him, shew vs the father and it suffiseth vs: Iesus sayde vnto hym, haue I bene so long time with you, & yet hast thou not knowen me, Philip. He that hath seene me hath ••eene the father, and how sayest thou then shewe vs the father, beleuest thou not that I am in the father, and the father in me. At the least beleue me, for the ve¦ry

workes sake. If ye loue me, keepe my commaun∣dementes, and I will praye the father, and he shall geue you another comforter, that he may abide wyth you euer, which is the spirit of truth, whom y^e worlde cannot receiue, because the world seeth him not, ney∣ther knoweth him, but ye know him, but he dwelleth with you and shalbe in you. I will not leaue you cō∣fortles, but will come vnto you. All transitory things shall faile at the last, and the workers thereof shal go withall. Euery chosen worke shalbe iustified, and he that medleth withall, shall haue honour therein: bles∣sed is the man that keepeth himselfe in wisdome, and exerciseth himself in vnderstanding, and with discre∣tion, shall he thinke vpon the foreknowledge of God, which considereth the wayes of wisdome in his hart, hath vnderstanding in his secretes, goeth after her, as one that seeketh her out & cōtinueth in her wayes, he looketh in at her windowes, and harkeneth at her doores, he taketh his rest besides her house, and faste∣neth her stake into her walles, he shall pitch his tente nigh vnto her hand, and in his tent shall good things rest for euermore, he shall set his children vnder her couering, and shal dwell vnder her braunches, vnder her couering shall he be defended from the heat, and in her glory shall he rest. For I suppose that the afflic∣tions of this life, are not worthy of the glory which shalbe shewed vpon vs. Also the feruent desire of the creatures abideth looking when the sonnes of God shall appeare, because y^e creatures are subdued to va∣nitie against their will: but for his will which subdu∣ed them in hope, for the very creatures shalbe deliue∣red

from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sonnes of God.

Notes

• Iohn. ••.
• Prou. 8.
• Iohn. 4.
• Exod. 20. Os••. 13.
• Malach. 1. Rom. 9.
• Eccl. 2.
• Malach. 1.
• Deut. 6.
• Psal. 98.
• Math. 22.
• Note.
• Luke. 1••.
• Note.
• Deut. 10.
• Eccl. 2.
• Deut. 6. Math. 22. Iosu. 22.
• Iohn. 14.
• Eccle. 14.
• Rom. 8.