The texte.

For all these dyed when they as yet had not the promysses perfourmed, but lawe them a farre of by fayth, and beleued them: and for greate desyre saluted them, puttyng so lytle trust in this lande, wherein no man maye lyue anye long space, that they confessed them selfes straungers and pylgrymes, not onely in Palestyne, but in the whole worlde. For oftetymes they call this lyfe a pil∣grimage and straunge dwellyng. And Dauid in the mystical! Psalme confes∣seth himselfe to be a pylgryme on the lande as all his forefathers and elders were, and yet reigned he in Palestine, and builded there a citie. And verely this countre y was compassed about with very narrowe lymites, and a great parte thereof came not to the possession of the Hebrues the ofspryng & successours of Abraham, bycause they coulde not driue out the olde possessioners: neyther dyd Moyses entre into the same, but behelde and saluted if a farre of from a moun∣tayne, when he was aboute to passe out of the world, and yet had he no mistrust of the promyses. Therefore sence they confesse themselues to be pylgrymes, they sufficiently declare that they desyre and long for a countrey. What coun∣trey seke they after vnto whom all this worlde is an exile and banishement? They forsoke their countrey of Chaldey, the whiche, if they had so sore longed for it, was not so farre of, but that they myghte haue had conueniente recourse thider at pleasure. Therfore they longed not for that, but for an other coūtrey better then it, wherin they myght liue for euer, quite exempte and deliured from all greuous sorowes and paynes of this wretched worlde. This was that hea∣uenly countrey, into the whiche God called them out from theyr owne, for the loue wherof he wylled them so to lyue in this worlde, as thoughe they were not therin. And for this cause almyghtie God, where he is the maker & soueraigne Lorde of all men, calleth himselfe speciallye the God of Abraham, Isaac and Iacob.

Page  [unnumbered]For he is properly the God of those that haue put their whole trust, and all aydes of felicitie in him. And vnto suche hath he prepared, not an earthly, but a celestiall citie in the whiche they reygne alwayes in blysse with him, for whose sake they contemned all thynges.