shall sende vnto vs, and to pray God, with feruent desier, that he suffer vs not, to perishe in the same, but mercifullye to defende vs, vntyll suche tyme, as it shall please hym clearly to delyuer vs, whiche shalbe, when we shall dye, and by Goddes power be raised agayne from death to lyfe, and be delyuered from all maner of euels. Therfore when we say in the Lordes Prayer, delyuer vs from euyll, we chiefly desyre God, to send vs a good deathe, that than aboue all other tymes we maye be delyuered from all euels.

For as muche as at that houre we be in the most daunger of all euels and temptations. Wherfore it is mooste necessarie for vs, euen from our tender age, to praye to oure Lorde, that at that laste houre chiefly he wyll be good and gratious vnto vs, delyueryng vs from all maner of euell. So that deathe maye be to vs none euyll. but a clere acquytaunce frome all euels. And this the Lordes Prayer, we must euer ende with this word. Amen. Whiche is asmuche to say, as suerly I trust it shalbe so. And it is not ynough to say Amen with our tongue onely, but also Amen muste be in oure harte, and continew and tary there, that is to saye, we ought to beleue suerly and constantlye that our prayer is hearde, and that our heauvenly Father wyll graunt vs our petitions. For so Christ hath promysed, that what soeuer we aske the Father in hys name, it shalbe gyuen to vs. And for that intente Christe confirmeth thys hys promise with an othe, sayinge Amen.

Nowe you haue hearde good children, the true and playne exposition of the seuenth and last petition, whiche I praye you to place in your memories, that when you be demaunded, howe vnderstande you the seuenth petition? you maie redely answere.

Herein we generally desyre our heauenly Father, to delyuer vs from all euell and perell, bothe of body, soule, lande, catell and riches. And that when we shall lye on

oure deathbed, he wyll than graunt vs a good houre, that we maye departe oute of this vale of miserie, in his fauour, and frome this transitorie lyfe, enter into life euerlastynge. The whiche God graunte vs all. Amen.

A SERMON OF BAPTISME.

OURE Lorde Jesus Christe good children, in the gospell of John saith thus. Except a manne be borne John iii. againe of the water and the spret, he can not enter in to the kyngdome of God. Nowe we ought to direct our hole lyfe to come to the kyngedome of heauen. For the Lorde sayth. First seke the kyngdome of God. And Matt. vi. you haue hearde heretofore that we daylye make thys petition to God, thy kyngdome come. Wherfore it is verie necessarie for vs, to knowe, howe we muste be borne agayne, and what this second birth is without the whiche we can not entre into the kyngdome of God. But when we speake of a seconde byrthe, you shal not so grossely vnderstande this sayieng, as though a man which is once borne, should entre agayne into hys mothers wombe, and so be borne agayne as he was before. (For it were greate folyshenes so to thinke) But here we meane of a second byrth which is spirituall, where by oure inwarde man and minde is renewed by the Holye Ghost, so that our hertes and myndes receaue newe de

siers, which they had not of theyr fyrst byrth or natiuitie.

And the seconde birth is by the water of baptisme, whiche Paule calleth the bathe of regeneration, because oure synnes be forgyuen vs in baptisme, and the Holy Gost is powred into vs, as into Goddes beloued children, so that by the power and wourkynge of the Holye Ghost, we be borne agayne spiritually, and made newe creatures. Titum, iii. And so by baptisme we enter into the kyngdome of God, John iii. a. and shalbe saued for euer, yf we contynewe to oure lyues Collo. ii. b. ende in the faythe of Christe.

Rom. vi. a.

1 Pet. iii. c.

Wherfore good children, consydre diligently the strength of baptisme, and marke wel, howe greate treasures and how excellent benefytes you receaued in youre baptisme, that you maye thanke God for the same, and comfort your selfes by theim in al your temptations and endeuoure youre selfes, faithfully to performe al thinges, which you promysed in your baptisme. And that you may do this the better, hear and learne the wordes of our master Christe, by the whiche he dyd ordeyne and institute baptisme. And ofentymes repete the same, that you maye learne them worde for worde without the boke. These be the wordes of our Lorde Jesus Christe, spoken Mat. xxviii. to his dysciples. Go into the whole world, and teache all Mar. xvi. nations, and baptise them, in the name of the Father,

and the Sonne, and the Holy Gost. He that wil beleue, and be baptised, shalbe saued. But he that wyll not beleue, shall be damned.

By these wordes oure Lorde Jesus Christe dyd institute baptisme, wherby we be borne agayne to the kyngdom of God. And you good children shal gyue dilygence, not onely to reherse these wordes, but also to vnderstand, what Christ ment by the same. That when you be demaunded any questyon herein, you maye bothe make a dyrecte answere, and also in tyme to come be able to teache your children, as you your selues are nowe

instructed. For what greater shame can ther be, then a man to professe himselfe to be a Christen man, because he is baptised, and yet he knoweth not what baptisme is, nor what strength the same hath, nor what the dyppyng in the water doth betoken? wher as all oure lyfe tyme we ought to kepe those promises, which there we solemply made before God and man, and all oure profession and lyfe ought to agre to our baptisme. Wherefore good children, to thentent you may the better know the strength and power of baptisme, you shall first vnderstande, that our Lorde Jesus Christ hath instituted and annexed to the gospel, thre sacraments or holy seales, of his couenant and lege made with vs. And by these thre, Gods ministers do worke with vs in the name and place of God (yea God himselfe worketh with vs) to confirme vs in our faith, and to asserten vs, that we are the lyuely membres of Gods trew churche, and the chosen people of God, to whome the gospell is sent, and that all those thinges belong to vs, wherof the promises of the gospel make mention. The first of these sacramentes is baptisme, by the whiche we be borne again to a new and heauenly lyfe, and be receaued into Gods churche and congregation, whiche is the foundation and pyller of the trueth. The seconde is absolution or the authoritie of the kayes, wherby we be absolued from suche synnes, as we be fallen into after our baptisme. The thirde sacrament is the communion or the Lordes supper, by the whiche we be fedde and nourished, and fortified in the faith of the ghospell and knowlege of Christ, that by this fode we maye growe more and more in newnes of lyfe, so that we maye be no longer children, but maye waxe perfecte men, and ful growen in Christ. For I wold you should wel know this good children, that a Christen mans knowlege and lyfe, is a more excellent thing, than vnlerned people can iudge. For a Christen man hathe the certen worde of God, where vpon he maye grounde hys

conscience, that he is made a Christen man, and is one which he is of Christes members assured of by baptisme. For he that is baptysed, maye assuredlye saye thus. I am not now in this waueryng opinion; that I only suppose my selfe to be a Christian man, but I am in a sure beleue, that I am made a Christen man. For I know for a surety that I am baptised, and I am sure also, that baptysme was ordeyned of God, and that he whiche baptysed me, did it by Gods commission and commaundement. And the Holy Gost doth witnes, that he whiche is baptised, hath put vpon hym Christ. Wherfore the Holy Gost in my baptisme assureth me, that I am a Christen man. And this is a true and syncere faith, whiche is able to stande againste the gates of hell, for asmuche as it hath for it the euydence of Gods worde, and leaneth not to any mans saying or opinion. Furthermore good chyldren, you shall dylygentlye learne, the cause, wherefore we are baptysed. You haue alredy herde, that by baptisme we be borne agayne. The cause of this our second birth, is, the synfulnes and filthynes of our first birth. For by our first natiuitie (whan we were borne of our fathers and mothers) all we were borne in synne, and when we yssued out of oure mothers woumbe we were laden with synne and Gods angre, as it was at large declared vnto you in the exposition of the Ten Commaundements, and speciallye in the last commaundement. For as Adam did synne, and by synne was so corrupted both in his body and soule, that by his awne power or strength he was not able to do any good thynge, euen so all the children and of spring of Adam be borne synners, so that they can not be iustified by themselues or by their awn strength, but are inclined and bent to synne at all tymes. And as saynt Paule Ephe. ii. saieth, by nature they be the children of Gods wrath. That is to saye, God is angrye with vs for those synnes, whiche by nature be, as it wer, a kinne to vs, and we be