mandments of the Lord and follow idols." Even so the preachers of the truth, which rebuke sin, are not the troublers of realms and commonwealths, but they that do wickedly; and namely high prelates and mighty princes, which walk without the fear of God, and live abominably, corrupting the common people with their ensample. They be they that bring the wrath of God on all realms, and trouble all commonwealths with war, dearth, poverty, pestilence, evil luck, and all misfortune.

will be the

Christ, must

meekness

ence to the

powers.

suffer with

ye may joy

the life to

And unto all subjects be it said, if they profess the law As many as of God and faith of the Lord Jesus, and will be Christ's disciples of disciples; then let them remember that there was never man learn of him so great a subject as Christ was; there was never creature that and obedisuffered so great unright so patiently and so meekly as he. higher Therefore, whatsoever they have been in times past, let them now think that it is their parts to be subject in the lowest kind of subjection, and to suffer all things patiently. If the high powers be cruel unto you with natural cruelty; then with softness and patience ye shall either win them, or mitigate their fierceness. If they join them unto the pope, and Ye must persecute you for your faith and hope which ye have in the Christ, that Lord Jesus; then call to mind that ye be chosen to suffer with him in here with Christ, that ye may joy with him in the life to come. come with joy everlasting, that shall infinitely pass this your short pain here. If they command that God forbiddeth, or forbid that God commandeth, then answer as the apostles did, (Acts v.), "That God must be obeyed more than man." If Acts v. they compel you to suffer unright; then Christ shall help you to bear, and his Spirit shall comfort you. But only see that neither they put you from God's word; nor ye resist them with bodily violence. But abide patiently awhile, till the hypocrisy of hypocrites be slain with the sword of God's word, and until the word be openly published and witnessed unto the powers of the world, that their blindness may be without excuse: and then will God awake as a fierce lion, God will be against those cruel wolves which devour his lambs; and will upon cruel play with the hypocrites, and compass them in their own wiles; and send them a dasing in the head, and a swimming in their brains; and destroy them with their own counsel. And then those malicious and wilful blind persecutors, which, refusing mercy when they were called thereto, chose rather to have their part with hypocrites in shedding of innocent

revenged

tyrants.

In the trea

tise following is shewed

blood, shall be partakers with them also in having their own blood shed again, God giving an occasion that one wicked shall destroy another.

And as for wickedness, whence it springeth, and who is the cause of all insurrection, and of the fall of princes, and causers of in- the shortening of their days upon the earth, thou shalt see

who are the

surrection.

in the glass following, which I have set before thine
eyes, not to resist the hypocrites with violence (which
vengeance pertaineth unto God); but that thou
mightest see their wicked ways and abominable
paths, to withdraw thyself from after them,
and to come again to Christ, and walk in
his light, and to follow his steps, and to
commit the keeping both of thy body
and soul also unto him, and unto
the Father through him,

whose name be glorious

for ever. Amen.

[1 S. and S. edition omits after; but it is found in M. and in Day's edition.]

THE PRACTICE OF PRELATES.

Prelates appointed to preach Christ may not leave God's word, and minister temporal offices; but ought to teach the lay-people the right way, and let them alone with all temporal business.

of Christ's

not have any

OUR Saviour Jesus Christ answered Pilate, that his kingdom John xviii. was not of this world. And (Matthew, in the tenth,) he saith, Matt. x. "The disciple is not greater than his master; but it ought to suffice the disciple, that he be as the master is." Wherefore if The ministers Christ's kingdom be not of this world, nor any of his disciples doctrine may may be otherwise than he was; then Christ's vicars, which temporal minister his kingdom here in his bodily absence, and have the oversight of his flock, may be none emperors, kings, dukes, lords, knights, temporal judges, or any temporal officer, or under false names have any such dominion, or minister any such office as requireth violence.

offices.

where Matt. vi.

And, (Matt. vi.) "No man can serve two masters Christ concludeth, saying, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon;" that is, riches, covetousness, ambition, and temporal dignities.

in Christ's

And (Matt. xx.) Christ called his disciples unto him, and said: Matt. xx. "Ye know that the lords of the heathen people have dominion over them; and they that be great do exercise power over them. Howbeit, it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister; and he that will be chief shall be your servant: even as the Son of man came not that men should minister unto him, but for to minister and give his life for the redemption of many." Wherefore the The officers officers in Christ's kingdom may have no temporal dominion kingdom or jurisdiction, nor execute any temporal authority or law of temporal violence, nor may have any like manner among them: but clean contrary, they must cast themselves down under all, and become servants unto all, suffer of all, and bear the burden of every man's infirmities, and go before them, and fight for them against the world with the sword of God's word, even unto the death, after the example of Christ.

may have no

dominion.

And (Matt. xviii.), when the disciples asked who should be Matt. xviii. greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Christ "called a young child unto him, and set him in the midst among them, saying, Except ye turn back, and become as children, ye shall not enter in the

To receive a child in Christ's name, what it is.

kingdom of heaven." Now young children bear no rule one over another, but all is fellowship among them. And he said moreover: "Whosoever humbleth himself after the ensample of this child, he is greatest in the kingdom of heaven;" that is, to be (as concerning ambition and worldly desire) so childish that thou couldst not heave thyself above thy brother, is the very bearing of rule, and to be great in Christ's kingdom. And, to describe the very fashion of the greatness of his kingdom, he said, "He that receiveth one such child in my name, receiveth me." What is that, to receive a child in Christ's name? Verily, to submit, to meek, and to humble thyself, and to cast thyself under all men; and to consider all men's infirmities and weaknesses; and to help to heal their diseases with the word of truth, and to live purely, that they see no contrary ensample in thee to whatsoever thou teachest them in Christ; that thou put no stumbling-block before them, to make them fall while they be yet young and weak in the 1 Thess. v. faith: but that thou abstain, as Paul teacheth, (1 Thess. v.) ab omni specie mala', from all that might seem evil, or whereof a man might surmise amiss; and that thou so love them, that whatsoever gift of God in thee is, thou think the same theirs, and their food, and for their sakes given unto thee, as the truth is; and that all their infirmities be thine, and that thou feel them, and that thine heart mourn for them; and that with all thy power thou help to amend them, and cease not to cry to God for them, neither day nor night; and that thou let nothing be found in thee, that any man may rebuke, but whatsoever thou teachest them, that be thou; The pope is a and that thou be not a wolf in a lamb's skin, as our holy lamb's skin. father the pope is, which cometh unto us in a name of hy

wolf in a

pocrisy, and in the title of cursed Cham, or Ham2, calling himself Servus servorum, the servant of all servants, and is yet found Tyrannus tyrannorum, of all tyrants the most [1 From every evil appearance.]

[2 The first letter in the name of this son of Noah having no exact representative in our alphabet, the Latin vulgate puts ch for it, writing the name Cham: but ch, as pronounced in English, produces a sound more unlike that which belongs to heth, than is the sound of our h. Hence Tyndale thought it better to write the name Ham; and that improvement in the spelling of this and various other names, which his knowledge of Hebrew enabled him to introduce into the English Old Testament, has been preserved in our authorised version.]

cruel. This is to receive young children in Christ's name; and to receive young children in Christ's name is to bear rule in the kingdom of Christ. Thus ye may see, that Christ's kingdom is altogether spiritual; and the bearing of rule in it is clean contrary unto the bearing of rule temporally. Wherefore none that beareth rule in it may have any temporal jurisdiction, or minister any temporal office that requireth violence to compel withal.

Peter was not greater than the other apostles by any authority given

him of Christ.

was called

apostles.

They say that Peter was chief of the apostles: verily, as Why Peter Apelles was called chief of painters for his excellent cunning chief of the above other, even so Peter may be called chief of the apostles for his activity and boldness above the other. But that Peter Peter had no had any authority or rule over his brethren and fellow above the аро- rest of the stles, is false, and contrary to the scripture. Christ forbade apostles. it the last even3 before his passion, and in divers times before, and taught alway the contrary, as I have rehearsed.

authority

kingdom is of

the pope's

wear his

Thou wilt say, 'thou canst not see how there should be any good order in that kingdom, where none were better than other, and where the superior had not a law and authority to compel the inferior with violence.' The world, truly, can see no other way to rule than with violence: for there no man abstaineth from evil, but for fear; because the love of righteousness is not written in their hearts. And The pope's therefore the pope's kingdom is of the world: for there one the world. sort are your grace, your holiness, your fatherhood; another, A rabble of my lord bishop, my lord abbot, my lord prior; another, guard, that master doctor, father, bachelor, master parson, master vicar, badge. and at the last cometh in simple sir John3. And every man reigneth over other with might; and have every ruler his prison, his jailor, his chains, his torments; even so much as the friars Observants observe that rule, and compel every man other with violence above the cruelness of the heathen tyrants: so that what cometh once in may never out, for fear of telling tales out of school. They rule over the body with violence, and compel it, whether the heart will or not, to observe things of their own making.