MarginaliaAnno. 1555. October.brought into the wrestlyng place, to striue in Christes cause for the best game, that is, to confesse the truth of the Gospell, and of the christian faithe, in hope of euerlastyng life) should not shrinke, nor relent one inche, or geue backe, whatsoeuer shall befall, but stande to their tackle, and sticke by it euen vnto death, as they will Christ shall sticke by them at the latter daie: so likewise I dare not wishe nor councell any, either brother or sister of their owne swinge, to starte vp into the stage, or to cast them selues either before, or farther in daunger then tyme and nede shall require: for vndoubtedly whē God seeth his tyme, and his pleasure is, that his glorie shall be sette forthe, and his Churche edefied by thy death and confession, meanes shall be found by his fatherly vniuersall prouidence, MarginaliaPresumptuous prouocatiō and rash running into danger forbidden.that thou without thyne owne presumpteous prouocation, shalt be lawfully called to doe thy feate, and to plaie thy part. The miserable ende that one Quintus came vnto, maie bee a warnyng, and a fearfull example for all men, to beware of presumption, and rashenesse in suche thynges (as Eusebius writeth in Eccle. historiaMarginaliaEuseb. hist. Eccle. lib. 4. cap. 15.) for euermore,

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But  

a third sort of men there bee, whiche also will be counted fauorers of Gods worde, and are (I feare) in number farre mo, and worse to be persuaded to that whiche is the godlie meane. I meane of suche as will peraduenture saie or thinke, that my former councell, whiche was to flie the infection of the Antichristiā doctrine, by departyng out of the realme, is more then nedeth, and other waies and meanes maie bee founde, bothe to abide, and also to be cleare out of daunger of the foresaied plague. If that could be founde in deede truely agreable to Gods worde, I would bee as glad to heare it (God is my witnesse) as who is the other. Yes peraduenture will some saie. Thus it maie bee. Thou maiest kepe thy self, thy faithe, and thy religion close to thy self, and inwardly and priuately worshippe God in spirit and in truthe, and outwardly se thou be no open medler, nor talker, nor transgressour of common order: so maist thou be suffered in the common wealth and yet vse thy religion without offence of thy conscience. In other countreis somwhere this peraduenture might bee vsed, but in Englande what shall bee, God wot, but it was neuer yet, so farre as euer I haue knowen or heard. And also how can it bee, MarginaliaConscience in religiō would not be dissembled.but either thou muste transgresse the common order, and the Romishe lawes & customes, whiche haue been vsed in England, in the tymes past of Poperie, and now (it is certaine) thei retourne again: I saie, thou must either be a breaker of these rites, lawes, and customes, and so bewraie thy self, or els if thou bee in deede a man of God, thou shalte offende thy conscience, for in obseruyng of them, thou shalt be compelled to breake Gods lawe, whiche is the rule of conscience to the man of God. For how canst thou resort euery holy daie to the churche, & beare a face to worship the creature for the creatour, as thou must do, & peraduenture confesse it to with thy mouth, and to sprinkle thy self with thy coniured water?

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Thou muste bee contributor also to the charges of all their poperie, as of bookes of Antichristes seruice, of lightes of the roode loft,  

of the sepulchre, for setting vp and paintyng of Images (naie in deede of Idols) and thou must beare a face to worship them also, or els thou must be had by þ^e backe.   Thou must serue þ^e turne, to giue the holy loues (as thei cal it) whiche is nothing els but a very mockerie of the lordes holy table. Thou must be a contributor to the charges of all the disgised apparell, that the Popishe sacrificyng Prieste, like vnto Aaron,   must plaie his part in. Yea when the Pardoner cōmeth about, or the flatteryng Frier to begge for the maintenaunce of superstition, excepte thou doe as thy neighbours doe, looke not long to liue in reste. If any of thy housholde dye, if thou wilte not paie money for ringyng and syngyng, for Requiem Masses, Dirige, and Commendations, and suche like trumperie of the Antichristian religion, thinkest thou that thou shalt be reckened for a catholike manne, or for amicus Cæsaris?   A hundred thynges moe maie be reckened, and many of more weight, & of more euident superstitiō and Idolatrie, then some of these which I haue now rehearsed, whiche God knoweth be ill enough: but these are enough to declare, and to set before thine eyes, the thing that I intende: that is, MarginaliaA hard dwelling in Englād for a good man, either without danger of conscience or peril of life.if thou abide and wilte dwell in Englande, thou must either doe these, and many other mo cōtrary to Gods worde, which forbiddeth not onely the thing whiche is euill, but also saith: Ab omni specie mali abstinete vos,  

Latin/Greek Translations     Close

Ridley, citing II Thessalonians, 5. 20.

Foxe text Latin

Ab omni specie mali abstinete vos

Foxe text translation

abstaine from all thynges that haue any apparaunce of euill

Actual text of I Thessalonians, 5. 20 (Vulgate)

ab omni specie mala abstinete vos.

[Accurate citation, except for a partitive genitivemaliinstead of the accusative plural objectmala.]

abstaine from all thynges that

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haue any apparaunce of euill: or els if thou wilt not do them, how thou canst liue in Englande in rest saufe frō the stake, truely I can not tell.

But peraduenture (as a man is ready to finde, and inuent some colour to cloke his conscience, to doe that thyng that his harte desireth) thou wilt saie, though at any time I shall be forced, to doe any of these thynges and suche like, yet wil I haue no confidence in thē, but outwardly with my bodie: I will keepe my harte vnto God, and will not doe that of myne owne mynde willyngly neither, but to auoyde an other inconuenience: I trust therefore God will hold me excused, for he shal haue my harte, what can I doe more?

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O my frende, beware for Gods sake, and knowe that the subtelties of Sathan are depe. He that is not able by Gods worde to perceiue them, is heauely ladē. Praie therefore with Dauid: Lorde let me not haue a mynde, to inuente excuses for to cloke my synne.MarginaliaInuent no excuses to cloke sinne. Examine my deare frende, these thy wilie waies with the woorde of God, and if thei doe agree, thou maiest vse them: if not, knowe, though they maie seem neuer so fine and goodlie, yet in deede thei bee of Sathans broode. Gods worde is certaine, that forbiddeth to worshippe the creature for the creatour, for that is hainous Idolatrie, and against the first commaundemente of God, and it is also against the seconde commaundemente of the first table to bowe downe, or to doe worship vnto any Images of God, or of any other thyng: And Gods woorde requireth not onely the belefe of the harte, but also the confession of the mouthe:MarginaliaConfession of mouth must go with belief of hart. and to beare parte of the charges, to the mainteinaunce of thynges vngodly, what is that, but in thy so doyng, a consente to the thyng doen? Now consenters and the doers, Goddes worde accounteth to be giltie bothe. And it is not lawfull by Saincte Paules doctrine, whiche was inspired hym by the spirite of GOD, to doe ill that thereof the thyng, whiche is good maie come.

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Thy harte (thou saiest) God shall haue, and yet wilt thou suffer thy body to do the thing that God doth abhorre. Beware O man, take hede what thou sayest. Man may be deceiued, but no man may deceiue God, for he is called and is truely καρδιογνωςής, that is to say, the searcher of the hart. Now, to geue God thy harte, is to geue him thy whole harte, to loue him, to dread him, and to trust in him aboue all other things. He that hath my commaundementes (sayth Christ) and obserueth and kepeth them, it is he that loueth me: and to dread God aboue al other, is rather willingly to incurre the daunger and perill of all fearefull thinges, then wittingly to do that thing which is cōtrary to his blessed will and commaundement: and to trust in him aboue all things, is assuredly to trust to his promise of his rewarde, and of his tuition, and of his goodnes and mercy, and to preferre that aboue all things in the world, seeme they neuer so strong, so wise, or so good. MarginaliaTo trust in god what it is.Now, how canst thou say truly, that God hath thy hart after this maner of sort (which is to haue thy harte in dede) whē thy dedes do declare farre an other thing? Thy body, O man, is Gods, and all the parts thereof, euen as thy soule is: hee made them both, and Christ with his bloud hath redemed them both, and is Lord of both, for he hath bought them both dearely, & darest thou suffer any part of eyther of them to doe seruice to Sathan? Surely in so doing, thou committest sacriledge and doest robbe God: thou defilest the liuely temple of the liuing God if thou suffer thy body to do sathan seruice. Doe you not know (sayth S. PaulMarginalia1. Cor. 3. 2. Cor. 6.) that your body is a liuely temple of God? And may a man then take and vse any parte therof but in the seruice of God? No surely, it is not lawfull so to do for the man of God, neither with hand, tongue, nor foote, nor any part of the whole body.

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Doth not Paule cōmaund to the Romaines, which pertayneth to euery christian soule: MarginaliaRoma. 6.As you haue in tymes past (sayth he) geuen your members to doe seruice vnto vncleanes and wickednes, from one wickednes to another: so now geue your members to doe seruice vnto righteousnes, that you may be sanctified. And I pray thee good brother, what doest thou thinke is to beare the marke of the beast in the forhead, and in the hand that S. Iohn speaketh of? I know we ought warely to speake of gods mysteries which he shewed by the spirite of prophesying to his seruaūt Iohn, yet to redd them with reuerence, and to pray for the same so much as God knoweth is necessary for our tyme to know, I thinke it necessary and good. Wherfore, what I sup-

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