Lorde, whiche was conceyued by the Holye Goost, borne of the Virgin Marie, suffered vnder Ponce Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell. The thirde daye he rose from death. He ascended to heauen. He sytteth on the ryghte hande of God the Father Almyghtie. From thense he shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead.

In this seconde part of the Crede we may learne to know the seconde person in Trinitie, the Sonne of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. And as in the first article ye haue learned what benefytes we receyue of God the Father to the sustentation and maintenaunce of this temporal and transitorie lyfe, so in this seconde parte we shall lerne to know, how great treasures and ryche gyftes we haue receyued by the Sonne of God Jesus Christ to the atteinyng of the perfect and euerlasting lyfe. And here you may consider good children how great was the miserie, and how horrible was the indignation of God whiche we were brought vnto by Adam. So great it was, that neyther golde nor syluer nor anye other thynge was able to bye vs out of the same, but onely Jesus Christ the Sonne of God and that by hys death and effusion of hys moost precious blod. And of this great misery and indignation of God towarde vs this was the At what tyme God had made Adam and Eue, and set them in paradyse, he intreated them lyke a most louyng and gentle father. For he made theym lordes ouer al liuely creatures, both beastes fyshe and fowle, and did giue vnto them al trees that bare fruit, that thei might feade thereon. Onely he forbad theym that they shoulde not eate of the tree of knowlege of good and ylle. And yet he gaue theym warnynge of the great losse and damage that they should suffer if they eat of that tree saying. When soeuer you shall tast of the fruyt of that tree, you shalbe made mortal and shall dye.

cause.

Their dutie had bene vnto so gentle a God and so mercifull a Father, in their hartes to haue beleued him, trusted him, and loued him, to haue obeyed hym, and to kepe all his commaundementes gladly. But our most craftye enemy Satan, enuying mans felicitie, spake to Eue by the serpent and sayde. No, you shall not dye, but you shall be lyke gods, knowyng both good and euell. And with these most poysened wordes perswaded Eue, to eate of the fruyt whiche was forbydde. And Eue gaue of the same to Adam, who also did eat therof and so did breake Gods commaundemente. Nowe I praye you marke good children, what thei lost by this their disobedience. First when Adam and Eue wer thus deceyued by the serpent, and perswaded that God dyd not fauoure theym but had enuye at theim, that they shoulde haue knowledge of good and yll, (and that for enuye he forbad them to eate of that fruit, that shoulde gyue to them so great knowlege) they did no more trust God, but beganne to trust themselues, and did study to care and prouide for themselues. Secondarily when they no more trusted God they coulde no more finde in their hartes to loue hym, but began to dote vpon themselues, and to thynke that they had no better frende neither in heauen nor earth then their awn selfes. And after that thei had thus put their trust and confidence in themselues, and dotyngly loued all that was their awne, by and by folowed feare and concupiscence. For by and by they beganne to hate and eschewe all thinges, that wer paynful or vnpleasant to the fleshe and dotynglye to lust and long for such thinges as wer delectable and pleasant to the fleshe. Hereby you perceiue good children, how our first parentes Adam and Eue, poisened with the venome of the serpente, were cast into. iiii. horrible vices or diseases. The firste is, that they dyd not trust in God. The second, that they dyd not loue God. The third that they did not feare him, but as a cruell tyranne. The fourth,

that they were replenished with concupiscence, and euyll desiers lustes and appetites. And these be the rotes of originall synne, oute of the whiche all other synnes do spryng and growe. So Adam and Eue had a very great fal, that fel from Gods benediction fauoure and loue, in to Gods curse angre and dyspleasure, that fel from original iustyce into original syn, by the which fal al the strength and powers both of their bodyes and soules were sore decaied and corrupted. And as oure firste parentes Adam and Eue were infected and corrupted euen so be we that be their children. For as we see by dayly experience, that commenly gowtie parentes begetteth gowtie children. And yf the father and the mother be infected with the leprie, we se commenly that the children borne betwene them haue the same dysease: so lykewyse as our first parentes Adam and Eue, dyd not put their trust in God, no more do they that be carnally borne of theim. And as they loued not God, so their children loue him not. And as they folowed their owne concupiscence lustes and appetytes and not the wil of God, euen so do all their So that all their posyssue. teritie vpon earth be sinners, euen in their mothers wombes. For thei haue not their truste in God, they loue not God, they haue not a fatherly feare vnto hym, they be ful of yl lustes appetites and desiers as you haue herde good children in the. ix. and tenth commaundementes. And for this cause the scripture dothe say, that all we are conceyued and borne in synne. And sainct Ephes. ii. Paule sayeth, that by nature we be the children of Gods wrathe. So that we all shuld everlastingly be damned, yf Christ by his death had not redemed vs.

Psal. li.

Wherfore good children marke well this parte of youre Crede, that teacheth you bothe to knowe Christe, and by what meanes he dyd redeme you. For firste in the Crede he is called, the only Sonne, or onely begotten Sonne of God. Whereof it muste nedes folowe, that he is

very God by nature, borne of God the Father, before the foundacion of the worlde was layde. He is the euerlastyng wisedome, and worde of God, by the whiche God the Father made all thinges. That he is also verye man, it is euidently expressed in these wordes. I beleue in Jesus Christe, whiche was conceyued by the Holy Gooste, borne of the Virgyne Marye, suffered vnder Ponce Pilate, was crucified deade and buried. And these. ii. forsaide thinges I can not comprehende more shortely nor aptely, than by these wordes. Christ our Lorde is verye God and very man. Secondly learne this also, by what meanes Christ dyd redeme vs. For what soeuer God hath commaunded in the Ten Commaundementes whiche we haue not fulfylled because we be all synners, that Christe himselfe hathe fulfylled for vs. And what soeuer punishment we haue deserued to suffre of God for oure synnes and offences, that Christe hath taken vpon himself and suffered for vs. By this you may perceyue howe requisite it was, that Christ God and man, should be conceyued by the Holy Gooste, and borne of a pure virgyn. For if Christ shoulde redeme vs, and satisfye for our synnes, than must he nedes be holy and without synne. For yf he had bene gyltye and a synner, then coulde not he haue holpen his owne selfe, but he must nedes haue had an other Sauyor and Redemer for him aswel as we haue for vs. For what soeuer he had done or suffred, shuld haue bene worthely for hys owne offences, and yet could he not haue satisfied for hym selfe, muche lesse then he coulde haue satysfyed for other. Wherfore it was necessary (yf he should satisfye for vs) that he should be conceyued of the Holy Gooste, and borne of a virgyn, that his natyuitie myght be pure wythout synne and not corrupte, as ours is. That oure corrupte and damnable natiuitie, myghte be purified and made holy by the holy and pure natiuitie of Christ. Therfore we say in the Crede. He was conceyued of the Holy Goost,

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borne of the Virgyn Marye, that Christe beynge pure and cleane frome all synne, mighte redeme synners and satisfye for theim. Now for asmuch as the iustice of God dydde require that Christe should suffer and make satisfaction for vs, and do all thynges that we were bound to do, it was necessarie that he should be made man. For if he had not bene a veray naturall man, he coulde not haue done for vs, all those thynges, which we were bound to do.

And agayne, yf he had not bene veraye God, he coulde not haue bene pure and cleane from al syn, and so haue made a true and perfect satisfaction for oure synnes. For no man can perfectly fulfyll the wyl of God, but God himself alone. Wherfore in that he suffered for our synnes, therby he declared, that he was a verye pure and natural manne. Agayne he gaue moost certayne and euydente tokens of hys godhed, in that he ouercomed and vanquyshed the Deuell synne and deathe. For yf he hadde not bene veraye God, he coulde not haue losed the bandes of death, nether haue raysed himselfe from death to lyfe. So you hear good children, that our Lorde Jesus Christ was very God and very man, not conceyued in syn (as we be) but conceyued by the Holye Goost, and borne of the moste pure Virgyn Marie. And as man he suffred deathe for vs, and descended into hell. But as naturally God he losed the bandes and paynes of hell, he destroyed the kyngdome of death, he rose from deathe to lyfe, and so payed the raunsome for our synnes, and toke away all the gylthynes of the same. Therfore when we beleue in Christ and stedfastly cleuyng to the worde of God, suerly perswade oure selues in oure hartes, that we be thus redemed by Christe, then God is no more angry or displeased with vs for our synnes, but freely and mercyfullye he forgyueth vs all our offences, for the deathe and passion of his Sonne Jesus Christ, and he gyueth vs also the Holye