The agreemente of sondry places of scripture seeming in shew to iarre, seruing in stead of commentaryes, not onely for these, but others lyke, translated out of French, and nowe fyrst publyshed by Arthure Broke. Seene and allowed, accordyng to the ordre appoynted in the Queenes Maiestyes iniunctions.

97 (Book 97)

Clensyng it in the lauer of vvater by the vvord.

Ephe. 5.

The bloude of Iesu Christ clen∣seth vs from al synne.

••. Ioan. 1.

WE muste not let passe that whiche was sayd before, to wete, that the Sonne of God gaue himselfe for

hys Churche, to the end he might sanc∣tifie it from al vncleānesse, which thing is done throughe the forgeuenesse of synnes, and by the regeneration of the spirite, the sanctifycation is inwarde but hee addeth an outwarde sygne in which the cōfyrmation appeareth, that is, that the pledge of this sanctification was offered in baptisme, but it is not ment that we should make vs an Idol of baptysme. We are washed & cleane sayth Saint Paule by baptysme, but it is bycause God in it geueth vs a testi∣mony of our washyng, and in y^• same instante doth that whiche he represen∣teth vnto vs. For if the truth were ad∣ioyned to the sygne, thys were no fytt manner of speakyng to saye baptysme is a washing of the soule: for who is so blockheaded to graunt that y^e outward sygne which is water hath in it y^• pow∣er to clense the ordures of the soule, if there wer nothing els in the baptysme but water. And a man could not truly saye that baptysme is the washyng of soules. The true and onely washing of them is the bloude of our Lorde Iesu,

which is applyed vnto vs by y^• power & grace of y^• holy ghost. And we must be∣ware y^t we geue not ouer to the out∣warde sygne, to the figure, or to y^e mi∣nister, y^• which belongeth to God only. The minister ought not to be accoun∣ted y^• author of thys washyng, nor wa∣ter to bee estemed as the washyng of soules, for y^• belongeth only to y^• bloud of the sonne of God. Besyde, we must take hede y^• we in no wyse trust eyther in y^e element, or in y^e man, seyng y^• only & lawfull vse of y^e sacrament is to leade vs straight as it were by the hande to Christ, & there to staye vs. So. S. Iohn sayth, that it is the bloud of Christ that washeth vs from all vncleānesse, he ex∣cepteth nothing to the end y^• no part of oure washyng howe little soeuer it bee should be attributed to any thyng ells. For thys is y^• cause of our clensyng y^• Christ hath blotted out al our offences with hys bloude, to the end y^• faythfull should be assured y^• they are pleasyng vnto hym, bycause he is appeased to∣wardes thē by y^e sacrifyce of y^e death of his sonne. And this sacrifyce cōtaineth

vnder it clensyng, washing, and sancti∣fication, wherfore y^• power & workyng of al these thyngs belongeth onely to y^• bloud of Christ. But albeit it be God y^• clenseth by the bloud of hys sonne, and that it is not lawfull to transporte hys glory to y^e sygne, or to impart it to the figure, neuerthelesse ther is no incon∣uenience or absurditie in saying y^• God vseth y^• sygne as an instrument, not y^t y^e power of God is inclosed in y^• figure but bicause according to the conceiuīg of smalnesse & weaknesse he dystribu∣tes his vertu by such an aide. And God so workes by y^• sygne that the whylest al the vertue and efficacye of the sygne dependeth on the spyrite of God, and that is to the ende we shoulde not feare that any thyng is taken from the ho∣ly ghost whiche belongeth vnto hym: for ther is nothyng therby attributed to the sygne more than that it is an in∣feriour instrumente vnprofitable of it self, sauyng in asmuch as it borroweth hys vertue els where.