For God will punish all such, that abuse his holy

name.

It grieveth all good men to hear the great swearing that is used commonly of all men; and specially of soldiers, serving men, and courtiers; how at every word God's holy name shall be blasphemed, and that they, when rebuked for it, will not, or can not, leave off swearing, because they have accustomed themselves to blasphemy of God. But if they will continue still in their evil custom, it will bring them to the devil, everlasting death, and damnation. It were better for them to leave their evil customs betimes, than to go to the devil.

Also God will not suffer such blasphemers to be unpunished; but he will either punish them here in this world, or else in the world to come, or peradventure in both; as ofttimes it chanceth, that swearers be both punished here, and in the world to come. Here God punisheth such with poverty, hunger, cold, imprisonment, sickness, evil and sudden deaths; yea, and with this punishment they be punished here, so that all good men fly their company, abhor their communications, and hate their blasphemous words. And this thing are great swearers sure of, that those, that be great swearers, be less trusted: therefore, if fear of God will not withdraw evil men from swearing and blasphemy, let the worldly punishment pluck them from it.

Let high rulers make strict laws for perjury and swearing; let them swear not themselves, but when need shall require, let them use few oaths; for the multitude of oaths maketh oaths less set by, and perjury unpunished maketh it to be counted as no sin, or offence to God, nor to man. What quest, impannelled and sworn by an oath upon a book, will not do something contrary to their oath, at the request of them, that bear the rule and swing in that

shire they are in? What thing shall not go on their side, and at their pleasure? Examples may be seen in too many places and shires; God amend it, and make high rulers to look upon the matter, that perjury and blasphemy of God's holy name may be avoided, and this evil use of swearing left; that God's name may not be called on, but in a true matter, when need shall be, with great honour and reverence according.

Ver. 9-11. And for the same I pray, that your love may increase more and more, in all manner of knowledge, and in all experience; that ye may prove, what is best, that ye may be pure, and such as hurt no man's conscience unto the day of Christ; filled with the fruits of righteousness, which come by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Consider here, good reader, what Paul desireth in his prayers to the Philippians. He desireth them. to be increased more and more in charity, and in all knowledge and spiritual understanding of God, and of Christ Jesu. And in these he teacheth us what things we should desire to others, and how to wish charity and spiritual knowledge to be increased more and more to others.

He also teacheth, that it is the office of every good Christian to desire and get more and more knowledge of God and of Christ Jesu: and that we may, as long as we live, ever get more and more knowledge of God; that no man, be he never so well learned, should think himself to have all knowledge of God, or to be so sufficiently learned, that he should desire no more knowledge. And as they do increase in spiritual knowledge, so he would have them increase in faith, and in charity, and in godly living.

And this place is against those men, that would the lay people, that be very ignorant of God and of

his word, should have no more knowledge than they have; and be sorry they have so much knowledge in God's word as they have.

This place reproveth all them, that be idle, and will not learn and study to have spiritual knowledge; but be so idle, that they had rather spend the whole day, yea, the whole week, and month, at tables, cards, and dice, than to hear a sermon, to read a chapter of the New Testament, or of the Old. Such be many curates, and blind priests, and pastors in England, that be ignorant in God's word, and will not study to have more knowledge; but will spend the whole day and week at tables and cards, railing upon learned men, and true preachers of God's word, calling them heretics, and saying it was a merry world, when there was not so much spoken of God's word, nor so much knowledge; cursing and banning them that brought so much knowledge of it to men; saying, they would go a hundred miles barefoot to burn such heretic knaves. Well, howsoever they rail at true preachers, that seek only God's glory, the health of such blind guides, or blind priests, and the salvation of the people committed to their spiritual charge; such idle curates or people be here reproved and admonished, to study to get more spiritual knowledge of Christ Jesu.

Also this place checketh all them that contemn and despise holy Scripture, and the holy learning of it; that will not come to sermons, and lectures of holy Scripture, when they may; but will walk in the church in the time of the sermon, or keep them idle at home, or evil occupied, when they know there is a sermon of God's word; or will at that time get them to breakfast, that they may absent themselves from the sermon: so they flee from God to the devil, forsake their salvation, and run headlong into death and damnation, except they repent and amend.

This place also maketh against all them, that go about to persuade the lay people, that it is sufficient knowledge for them to learn and know their Paternoster, so they call our Lord's prayer: and that they have no need to know any more of God's holy doc

trine.

But those that be wise, let them leave such doctrine, and they themselves use all diligence to learn more and more knowledge of God's holy word, and teach all others so to do, and increase in the same, and as they increase in learning, so let them increase in godly living.

That you may prove, what is best, that you may be pure, and such as hurt no man's conscience unto the day of Christ: filled with the fruits of righteousness, which come by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. Here is the cause declared, why he desired them to get all spiritual learning and increase in the same; that they might discern and truly judge what is good, what is evil, what is for their salvation, what is against it; that they might know light from darkness, and darkness from light; sweet from sour, and sour from sweet: and not to judge light darkness, and darkness light, life to be death, and death life and so to run into damnation threatened to such evil judges (Is. v.).

And here he requireth of every man, that they should have a pure and just judgment, which cannot be without true knowledge of God's holy word; by the which good is known from evil, light from darkness, and life from death. And this place reproveth and condemneth all untrue, false, and preposterous judgments in matters pertaining to the salvation of the soul.

Lack of knowledge of holy Scripture is and hath been the cause of much mischief, and of many pe rilous and false judgments in the world. Such had

all they, that judged Christ Jesus (that innocent lamb, that never did in, in whose mouth was found no deceit, falsehood, or craft) to be a sinner, a drunkard, a devourer of meat, like in sin to publicans and sinners, whose company he used to make them good, as he did in deed: and that also called him a blasphemer of God, a deceiver of the people, that cast out devils in the name of Beelzebub, saying, that he had a devil within him. Such were the false judgments here reproved of the scribes and pharisees by Christ Jesus. So Tertullus, the orator (Acts, xxiv.), called Saint Paul an heretic and a pestilent man, and his doctrine, heresy.

So now-a-days, many call the doctrine of the Gospel of God, new doctrine and heresy, and the teachers of it heretics. All such false judgments the Apostle here reproveth, and condemneth them that so judge, to hell fire (Is. v.), if they do not here repent, and amend, and learn better knowledge, so that they may judge better and more truly. Also here are reproved all preposterous judgments as were all the judgments of them, that preferred voluntary works (as pilgrimages, offerings up of candles to images, gilding of images, and such like, not commanded of God), before the works of mercy commanded of God to the Christians to do.

Ignorance was the cause, why voluntary works were preferred before God's commandments. If men had known works of mercy to be more thankful to God, better to have pleased him, and been more acceptable to him; I think many good men, much given to voluntary works, more than to works of mercy, would have done differently, than what they did. More they did bestow upon such voluntary works, than they did give for the relief of the poor; yea, they were much more ready to do voluntary