The obedie[n]ce of a Christen man and how Christe[n] rulers ought to governe, where in also (if thou marke diligently) thou shalt fynde eyes to perceave the crafty conveyance of all iugglers.

¶The obedience of Servauntes vnto their Masters.

SErvauntes obeye your carnall masters with feare & trēblinge in sīglenesse of your hertes as vnto Christ: not with service in y^e eye sight as mē pleasers: but as y^e servaūtes of christ doinge y^e wil of god frō the herte with good will / evē as though ye served the lorde & not mē. Ephe. vj. And j. Pe. ij. servaūtes obeye your masters with all feare not ōly if they be good & courteous: but also though they be frowarde. For it co∣meth of grace / if a mā for cōsciēce towarde God endure gr••ffe sofferīge wrōgfully. For what prayse is it if when ye be buffeted for your fautes / ye take it paciētly? But & if whē ye do well / ye s••ffer wrōge & take it paciētly / than is there thanke with God. Here vnto verely were ye called. For Christ also sofferd for our sakes levynge vs an example to fo∣lowe his steppes. In what so ever kynde ther¦fore thou art a seruaunte / duringe the tyme of thy covenauntes / thy master is vnto the

in y^e stede & rowme of God & god thorow hī fedeth the / clotheth the / ruleth & lerneth the his commaundemētes are Gods cōmaund¦mentes and thou oughtest to obeye him as God / and in all thinges to seke his pleasu∣re and profit. For thou art his good and possession / as his oxe or his horse in so moch that who so ever doth but desyre the in his herte from him without his love & li¦cēce is cōdēned of God / which sayeth Exo¦di. xx. se thou once covet not thy neybours servavntes.

Paule y^e Apostle sent home Onesimus vn∣to his master (as thou readest in the pistle of Paul to Philemō) In so moch y^t though the said Philemon with his servaunte also was converted by Paul & owed vnto Paul and to the worde that Paul preached / not his servaunte only / but also him selfe: yee & though that Paul was in necessite and lac∣ked ministers to minister vnto him in the bō¦des which he soffered for the Gospels sake: yet wold he not retayne the servaunt necessa¦ry vnto y^e furtheraunce of the Gospell wit∣hout the consent of the master.

O how sore differeth y^e doctrine of christ and his Apostles from the doctrine of the Pope and of his Apostles. For if any man will obeye nether father ner mother / nether lorde nor master / nether kynge ner prince / y^e same nedeth but only to take the marke of

the beest / that is / to shave him selfe a mon∣ke / a frere or a prest / and is then immediatly fre and exempted fro all service and obediē¦ce due vnto man. He that will obeye no man (as they will not) is most acceptable vn¦to them. The moare disobedient that thou arte vnto Gods ordinaunces / the moare ap¦te and mete arte thou for theirs. Nether is the professinge / vowinge and sweringe obe¦dience vnto their ordinaūces any other thin¦ge / then the defienge / denienge and forswe¦ringe obediēce vnto y^e ordinaunces of God.

Notes

• The master is vnto the ser¦vaunt ī gods sted.
• Oure spiritu¦alte reteyne mens sarva∣untes not to honoure God but there tr∣aditions ād ce¦remomonies only.
• Christes doc¦trine and the popes differ:
• If thy master please the not shave the sel∣fe a monke a frere or a prest.
• To obeye no man ys a spiri¦tuall thynge.