Page [unnumbered]
A Friendly Counsell to the Christian Reader, touching the vse and benefit of this Booke.
WOuldst thou, as all Gods children would, conceiue & vnderstand
What thou doost read in holy writ, as God doth thee command?* 1.1
Wouldst thou attaine true sence of words, and matter in them hid,
What meaning each word doth containe, from error to be rid?
Doost thou delight to haue in-sight into the Sacred Treasure
Of Christs riches, and with thy ••ill therein to take thy pleasure?
Then read this worke, which painfull hand hath wrought to ease thy paine,
That in reading Gods holy word, thou mayst reape greater gaine.
Our English tongue, from many tongues, a snatch and smacke hath taken:
As English-men, from forraigne men, their Coats and Sutes haue shapen.
Some words from French, and some from Greeks, mo from the Latines flow.
Some new, some olde; some darke, some plaine, some hard & strange to know.
Some, to some place do giue great light; some darken much ••o••e Text;
Some generall in the first place, some speciall in the next.
Some properly sound in this clause, improperly in that:
What some words sound thou knowest right well; some sound thou knowst not what
So, oft-times thou leau'st off to read and search the holy Scriptures,
Because thou vnderstand'st not words, which hide their heauenly Treasures.
But lay this Booke on thy left hand, and Bible on thy right;
When doubt ariseth from a word, on Booke straight cast thy sight.
It will soone helpe to cleare thy doubts, and make plaine Text to thee▪* 1.2
That thou shalt know what God doth meane, and well his counsell see.
So shalt thou read, and in reading, encrease thy knowledge da••l••,
And knowledge of our God and Christ, with practise, makes men happy.