The summe of the holye scripture and ordinarye of the Christen teachyng, the true Christen faithe, by the whiche we be all iustified. And of the vertue of baptesme, after the teaching of the Gospell and of the Apostles, with an informacyon howe all estates shulde lyve accordynge to the Gospell.

¶Howe servauntes shulde lyve a doctrine after the Gospell. Chaptre .xxx. (Book 30)

SErvauntes that serve theyr lor¦des / mastres / ladyes and mastre¦sses / shalbe true vnto theym as vnto theym silves and shall al∣weyes do the proufit of theyre lordes and mastres as though it touched theym sil∣ves / They shall nor do theyre service one¦ly for temporall rewardes. For thou ma∣yst by the service that thou doest vnto thy master please god as wele as though thou were no servaunt and as though thou we¦re in the churche ••prayng on thy knees.

Therfore thou shalt do thy service by faith and love in god thus thinking in thy silf. Behold dere lorde God I thanke the that thou hast not made me riche / I am well content with the state that I am yn. I will with a good wil•• for the love of the serve all the worlde. And I thanke the that thou hast made me worthy to suffereny thing for thy love / and that I may in this worlde be one of the lest and le••t este∣med when thou serve•••• thy lorde in suche a faith with a good will thou receivest not

onely the rewarde or wages of men / to∣whome thou servest / bnt that more is of God.

Therfore thou shalt do thy laboure di¦ligently and ioyfully / not as though thou didest sarve a man / but as though thou di∣dest serve God / as truely thou doest.

For so doeth saint Paul teche the writing to the Ephesians where he saieth:* 1.1 Serva¦untes obey vnto youre carnall mastres / with feare and trembling in ynnocency of your hartes as vnto Iesu christ / not with service in the yie ••ight as men pleasers / but as the servauntes of Christ doing the will of god with all your hartes with go∣od will / even as though ye served the lord and not men.

Remembre also that whatesoever good eny man doth / that shall he receyve ageyn* 1.2 of the lorde whether he be bonde or fre, and ageyn vnto the Colossians. Servaun¦tes (saieth he) obey vnto your bodily ma∣stres in all thinges / not with yie service as mē plesers / but in simplicite or ynnocency of hert fearing the lord god. Do all that ye do with a good will / as though ye dyd it vnto the lorde God / and not as vnto

men / knowing that ye shall receive of the lord the reward of enherifaunce for ye vo serve the lord Christ. But he that doth wrong shall receyve for the wrong that he hath done: for there is no respect of par∣sones.* 1.3 And also saint Petre saieth in hys first epistle. Servauntes be subiect in all feare vnto your lordes not onely vnto the good and courteys / but also though they be froward. For it comith of grace if a mā for conscience toward God endure griefe suffering wrongfully. For whate preyse is it if when ye be beten for your fautes ye take it paciently? But and if when ye do well ye suffer wrong and take it pacient∣ly / then are ye grete thank worthy byfore god. Therfore thou shalt in all thinges ha¦ue god alweyes bifore thyne yies and not the men whome thou servest outwardly. As did Paule the bisshoppe whiche put hī¦silf into the service of the lordes for the son¦ne of a widowe. And bicause that he had given all his goodes for the will of God. He gaue also him silf into service for the lo¦ve of God / for to deliver the sonne of the wydowe.

Be not sory that thy mastre both not

suffre the to go to the churche to here masse For thou mayst please god aswell in do∣yng thy worke by suche a good intent as though thou were in the churche whē th∣ou belevest: but thou must do thy laboure in suche a faith as is bifore sayd. God re∣gardeth not whate thing we do or in wha¦te place we be: but of whate courage ād in whate feith we do it.

The servauntes shall take good hede that they anger not theyre maystre or ma∣stresse. And when it shall so happon that then incontinent they axe theym forgy ve∣nesse. He shall alweys honoure his mastre bering his hasty wordes / keping him silfe that he do not rebell and answer spitefully vnto his master.* 1.4 For thou art bounde to support him and to gyve place vnto hym As the aungell taught vnto Agar the ser∣vaunt of Sara•• the whiche fled from her mastresse as it is writen in the .xvi. chaptre of Geneūs where the aungell came vnto her and sayde: Go and tourne toward thy lady and humble thy silf vnder her honde So shulde the servaunt humble him stife vnder his lord / and when he hath angred him / to appayse him ageyn with humble

demeanure and obedience. So did Saint Paule make agremēt bitwixt Onesimus and Philemon from whome he was fled awey:* 1.5

The lordes & mastres shall vse theyre servauntes as mē / not as asses. They shal entreate theym lovingly and softly / & not as tirauntes / for they be theyre christē bre¦theren and membres of one body (that is) of Iesus Christ wherfore thou shalt not overcharge theym with thinges not con∣venient or vnreasonable: but thou shalt v∣se theym as membres of thine owne body For Christ is oure hede / and we all to gy¦ther be his body / & every one of vs by him silf is a membre of his body be he man / or woman / lord or servaunt / riche or pore: as writeth saint Paule vnto the Corinth••ēs For this cause as no mā hateth his owne* 1.6 membres / but kepeth theym a•• well as he can: So shall we loue the one the other / & shall serve by charite and socoure the one the other as one membre socoureth an o∣ther. It was sometyme the custume that all parsones did call the one the other bre∣theren and sisters. This did ••••appostles institute to thintent that the hethen might

knowe whate love there was emong the Christen. we may finde many mastres nowe a dayes that vse theyre servauntes like asses / not like men / nor like theyre ow¦ne membres / wherof they shall yelde vnto god a full streyte accompt.* 1.7 Saint Paule exhorteth you to entrete your servauntes with all swetenesse. Ye masters (saieth he) shewe the same love & dilection vnto your servauntes that they shewe vnto you / ab∣steyning your silf from threteninges remē¦bring that theire mastre and yours is in he¦ven / And there is no respect of persones bi¦fore him. And vnto the Colossians: ye ma¦sters do vnto your servauntes that whi∣che* 1.8 is iust ād egall remembring that ye ha¦ue also a master in heven. Neverthelesse although the mastres be rigorous & hard yet I counceile (with Saint Petre in his first epistle) all servauntes that they take all that theire masters & mastresses ley vn¦to theire charge paciently / & that for the lo∣ve of god / if it be not so that they commaun¦de to do a thing that is ageinst the cōmaū∣dement of god / for in suche a case they must rather obey god then men. As saieth saint Pe••er in the actes of thappostles.* 1.9

Notes

• * 1.1

  Ephe.
• * 1.2

  Col. 3
• * 1.3

  1. Pe. ••
• * 1.4

  Gen
• * 1.5

  〈◊〉〈◊〉 Phile ••onē,
• * 1.6

  Cor. 12
• * 1.7

  Ephe.
• * 1.8

  Col. 1
• * 1.9

  Act.