Gods stede, by nomen  

God these three heryings,   & maketh men louen him and his lawes, more then Christ and Christes law, and dreden him also. And there as the people shulden yeelde to God their vowes, he sayth he hath power to asloylen   them of theyr avowes, and so this sacrifice he * Marginalia* Nemeth, that is, taketh. nemeth   away from God. And there as the people shoulde cry to God in the day of tribulation, he letteth them of their cryeng to God and bynemeth God that worship. This day of tribulation is whan man is fallen thorowe sinne into the deuils seruice, and than we shulden cry to God after help, and axen forgeuenes of our sinne, and make great sorow for our sinne, and ben in full will to do so no more ne none other sinne, and that our Lord God wole forgeuen vs our sinne, & maken our soule clene. For his mercy is endlesse.

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But Lord, here men haue bynomen  

thee much worshyp: For men seyn that thou ne might not cleane assoylen   vs of our sinne. But if we knowlegen our sinnes to priests, & taken of them a penance for our sinne gif we mowen   speake with them. MarginaliaAgainst auricular confession.

A Lord thou forgaue somtime Peter his sinnes and also Mary Magdaleine, and many other many sinfull men without shriuing  

to priests, MarginaliaSinnes forgiuen without shrift. & taking penance of priests for their sinnes. And Lord thou art as mighty now as thou were that time, but gif any man haue bynomen thee thy might. And we lewed men beleuen, that there nys no man of so great power, and gif any man maketh him selfe of so great power he * Marginalia* Heigheth, that is, exalteth.heighteth himselfe aboue God. And S. Paul speaketh of one that sitteth in the temple of God & highten him aboue God, and gif any such be, he is a false Christ.

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But hereto seyn priests, that wh? Christ made cleane leprous men, he bade them goe and shewe them to priests. And therefore they seyn that it is a commandement of Christ, that a man should shewen his sinne to priests. MarginaliaObiection of the priestes to maintain shrift. For as they seyn, lepre in the olde lawe betoketh sinne in this new lawe. A Lorde God, whether thine Apostles knew not thy meaning as well as men done nowe? And gif they hadden yknow that thou haddest c?manded men to shriuen  

them to priests, and they ne taught not that commandement to the people, me thinketh they hadden ben to blame: But I trow they knewen wel that it was none of thy commaundements, ne nedeful to heale of mans soule. And as me thinketh the law of lepre, is nothing to the purpose of shriuing:   for priestes in the olde law hadden certain poynts and tokens to know whether a man were leprous   or not: and gif they were leprous,   they hadden power to putten them away from other cleane men, for to that they weren cleane, & then they hadden power to receiuen him among his brethren, and offeren for him a sacrifice to God.MarginaliaAnswere to the obiection.

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This nis nothing to the purpose of shriuing.  

For there nis but one priest, that is Christ, that may knowe in certaine the lepre of the soule.   Ne no priest may make the soul cleane of her sinne, but Christ that is priest after Melchisedekes order: ne no priest here beneath may ywit for certaine whether a man be cleane of hys sinne or cleane assoyled,   but gif God tell it him by reuelation. Ne God ordeined not that his priestes should set men a penance for their sinne after the quantitie of the sinne, but this is mannes ordinaunce, MarginaliaPenaunce for sinne, is mans ordinance and not Gods. and may well be that there commeth good thereof. But I wote well that God is much vnworshipped thereby. For men trust more in his absolutions, and in his yeres of grace, than in Christs absolutions, and thereby is the people much appaired.   For now, the sorow a man should make for his sinne, is put away by this shrift: and a man is more bold to do sinne for trust of thys shrift, and of this bodilich penance.

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An other mischiefe is, that the people is ybrought into thys beleefe, that one priest hath a greater power to assoylen  

a man of his sinne and clennere, then an other priest hath.MarginaliaMischiefes that come by auricular confession.

An other mischiefe is this, that some priest may assoylen  

them both of sinne and paine, and in this they taken them a power that Christ granted no man in earth, ne he ne vsed it nought on earth himselfe:

MarginaliaPopish priestes charged with Simony. An other mischiefe is, that these priestes sellen forgeuenes of mens sinnes and absolutions for money, and this is an heresie accursed that is ycleped  

simonie: and all thilke priestes that axeth price for graunting of sprituall grace, * Marginalia* Beth, that is, bee. beth by holy lawes depriued of their priesthode, and thilke that assenteth to this heresy. An be they ware, for Helyse the prophet toke no mony of Naaman when he was made cleane of his lepre, but Giesi his seruant: and therefore * the lepree of Naaman abode with him and wyth his heires euermore after.

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Here is much matter of sorow, to see the people thus far ylad  

away from God and worshupen a fals god in earth, that by might and by strength hath ydone away the great sacrifice of God out of his temple: of which mischiefe and discomfort, Daniel maketh mention, and Christ beareth thereof witness in the gospell. Who that readeth it vnderstand it. Thus we haue ytold apertie, how he that saith he sitteth in Christs stede, * Marginalia* Bynemeth. that is, taketh away. binemeth Christ his worship and his sacrifice of his people, and maketh the people worshepen him as a God on earth.

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Cry we to God, and knowledge we our sinnes euerichone to other as S. Iames teacheth, and pray we hartilich to God euerichone for other, & then we shulen hopen forgeuenes of our sinnes. For God that is endless in mercy sayth, that he ne wil not a sinfulmans death, but that he be turned from his sin & liuen. And therfore, when he came downe to saue mankinde, he gaue vs a lawe of loue and of mercy: and bade, gif a man do a trespas, amend him priuilich: and gif he leue not his sinne, amend him before witnes: and gif he ne amendeth not, men should tel to the church: and gif he ne amendeth not than, men shuld shone his company as a publicane, or a man that is misbeleued, and this lawe was yfigured in the lawe of lepre,  

who that readeth it, he may see the sooth.

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But Lord God, he that sitteth in thy stede, hath vndo thy lawe of mercy and of loue, Lord, thou biddest loue enemies as our self: as thou shewest in the gospell, there as the Samaritane had mercy on the Iewe. And thou biddest vs also prayen for them that cursen vs, and that defamen vs, & pursuen vs to death. And so Lorde thou didst, & thine apostles also. But he that clepeth himselfe thy vicar on earth, and head of thy church, he hath vndone thy lawe of loue and mercy. MarginaliaThe Pope breaketh the law of loue, & mercye. For gif we speaken of louing our ennemies, he teacheth vs to fight with our enemies, that Christ hath forboden. He curseth and desireth vengeance to them that so doth to hym. Gif any man pursueth him, hee curseth him, that it is a sorowe a Christen man to hearen the cursinges that they maken, and blasphemies in such cursing. Of what thing that I know, I may beare true witnes.

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But gif we speake of louing of our brethren, this is vndone by him that sayth he is Gods vicar in earth. For Christ in the gospell biddeth vs, that we shoulden clepen  

vs no father vpon earth: But clepen   God our father, to make vs loue perfitlich together. And he clepeth   himself father of fathers, & maketh many religions, & to euerich a father. MarginaliaThe Pope would be a father, but he beareth no loue.But whether is loue and charity encreased by there fathers and by their religions, or els ymade lesse? For a Friar ne loueth not a monke, ne a secular man neither, nor yet one frier a nother that is not of the order, and it is againward.

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A Lord, me thinketh that there is little perfection in these religions. For Lorde, what charity hauen such men of religion, that knowen how they mown againstand sin, and fleen away fr? their brethren that ben more vnc?ning then they ben, & suffren them to trauelen in the world withouten their co?cell as beastes? Trulich Lorde, me thinketh that there is but litle charity, and then is there litle perfection. Lorde God, when thou were on earth, thou were among sinful men to drawen them from sin, & thy disciples also. And Lord, I trow thou ne gra?test not one m? more k?ning then an other al for himself: and I wote wel that lewd m? that ben laborers, ne trauel not alonlich for himself. Lord our belief is, that thou ne wer not of the world, ne they teaching neither, ne thy seruantes that liueden after thy teaching. But all they forsaken the world, and so euery christen man must. But Lorde, whether thou taughtest menne forsake their brethrens companie and trauell of the worlde, to liuen in ease and in rest, and out of trouble and anger of the worlde, by their brethrens trauell and so forsaken the world? MarginaliaTo forsake the world is not to liue in ease from company.

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A Lord, thou ne taughtest not a m? to forsake a pore estate and trauel, to ben afterward a Lord of his brethren, or ben a lords fellow and dwelling with Lords, as doth men of these new religions. Lord thou ne taughtest not men of thy religion thus to forsake the world, to liuen in perfection by them selfe in ease, and by other mens trauell. But Lord they sayen they ben ybound to thy seruise, and seruen thee both night and day in singing their prayers, both for themselfe and for other men, that done them good both quicke and dead, and some of them gone about to teach thy people when they hauen leisure.MarginaliaTrue seruice of God st?deth not in long prayer, but in keeping Gods commandements.

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A Lord, gif they ben thy seruauntes: whose seruaunts ben we than cannot preyen as they done? And when thou were heeere on earth, for our nede thou taughtest thy seruauntes to preyen thy father priuilich and shortlich: And gif there had beene a better maner of praying, I trowe thou wouldest haue taught it in helpe of thy people. And Lorde thou reprouest hypocrites that preyen in long preyer and in open places, to ben yholden holy men. And thou seyst in the gospel, wo to you Pharisees hypocrits. And lord thou ne chargedest not thy seruaunts with such maner seruice: But thou seest in the gospel, that the Pharises worshop? thee with their lippes, and their harts is farre from thee. For they * Marginalia* Chargen,  

that is, they care for. chargen more mens traditions than thy commaundements.

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And Lord, we lewed men han a beleefe, that they goodnesse is endles: and gif we keepen thine hestes, than ben we thy true seruauntes. And though we preyen thee but a litle & shortlich, thou wilt thinken on vs, and gra?ten vs that vs nedeth, for so thou Marginalia* Behited, that is, promised.behighted  

vs somtime: And Lord I trowe, that pray a men neuer so many quaint   prayers, gif he ne kepe not thine hests he is not thy good seruaunt. But gif he keepe thine hestes   , then he is thy good seruaunt, and so me thinketh. Lorde   that praying of long prayers ne is not the seruice that thou desirest, but keping of thine hestes: and than a lewd man may serue God as wel as a man of religion: though that the Plowman ne may not haue so muche siluer for his prayer, as men of religion. For they * Marginalia* Kunnen. that is, they can.kunnen not so wel preisen their prayers as these other chapmen:   But Lorde our hope is, that out prayers be neuer the worse though it be not so wel solde as other mens prayers.

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Lorde, Ezechiel the Prophet sayth that when he spake to the