Treatise of Good Works, Commandment 5
¶The fyfth cōmaundement of god.
THe foure fyrſte commaundementes hauehave theyr workes in reaſon / that is, they take, rule & gouerne man, and ſubdue hym / that he rule not hym ſelf / yt he thynke not hym ſelfe good, that he iudge no great thynge of hym ſelf / but that he knowlege hym ſelfe demure and lowe / ſufferynge to be ruled / wherby pryde is withſtande and reſyſted. But theſe cō maundemētes, that folowe, medle with the luſtes and deſyres of men / to ſlee theyr luſtes alſo.
And fyrſte of all this angrye luſt and deſyre of punyſſhement / of the whiche ſpeketh this fyfth cō maundement, thou ſhalt not ſlee This cōmaundement hathe one worke / conteynynge many / and puttynge awaye many vyces / & it is called gentylnes or pacyence / the whiche is two maner of wayes. Wherof ye one apperyth goodly & beautefull / but it hath nothynge inwarde. This gentylnes or pacyence / we hauehave to our frendes, & to them whiche be profytable vntounto vsus, in ryches, fame dygnyte, labour & fauour. This gentylnes alſo we hauehave to them that nother dyſpleaſe nor hurte vsus in worde nor deade, ſuche gē tylnes is alſo in dombe beeſtꝭ as Lyons and ſerpens / in hetahen men, Iewes, Turkes, Knaues, manſleers, and harlottes. For al theſe be peaceable and quyet / yf thou folow theyr wyl / or yf thou dyſpleaſe them not / And yet manye be deceyued by ſuche tryfelynge gentylnes / clokynge theyr yre / and excuſe them ſelfe after this facyon / ſaynge I wold not be angry yf I myght be in reſte for other / euen ſo the deuyll wolde be content / gentyll and peace able / yf all myght come after his mynde / But to this entent do dyſſenſyon and dyſpleaſure inuade the / that they maye ſhewe the to thy ſelfe / howe full of yre and malyce thou arte / that thou ſo warned / mayſt labour for gē tylnes and pacyence / and to caſt out wrath / The other gentylnes is good and cōmeth from ye rote and grounde of the herte / and ſheweth hym lelfe to his aduerſaryes and enemyes not hurtīge them / not iudgynge them / not abhorrynge them / not curſynge them, not backebytynge them, not ſpekynge or thynkyng euyll of them / ye though they had taken from vsus / goodes, fame, bodye, frendes / and to be ſhorte all that euer we had / but rather in what ſoeuer we maye / we do good to them for euyll / ſpekyng the beſt of them / thynkynge the beſte of them / and prayenge for theym. Of the whiche ſpeaketh Chryſt in the .6. chapitre of Mathewe. Do ye good to thē, that do euyll to you / praye for them that perſecute and trouble you. And ſaynt Paule to ye Romanes the .12. chapytre / ſay well & curſe not / yeldynge euyll for euyll to no man.
NOw ſe howe this excellēt and hyghe worke is gone to nought amonges chryſtē mē, that nowe nothyng reyneth but ſtryfe, chydyng, warre, yre, hate, enuye, backbytyng, curſyng, abhorrynge, hurtes, vengeaunce, and all maner of yre and dyſdayne / bothe in worde and deade in eueryevery place. And yet neuertheleſſe we procede ſtyll / with many holy dayes / hearynge maſſes / mumblyng of prayers / buyldynge of churchs / and garnyſſhynge the ſame, albeit wihout any cōmaundement of god / and ſo vnmoderatly as though we were moſte holy of all chryſten men that euer were / ſuffrynge vnderunder theſe glaſſes & dyſfygured workes / the cōmaundementꝭ of god to loſe and decaye. In ſo moche that there is not one that thynketh or remembreth howe nygh he is vntounto gentylnes, kyndneſſe, pacyentnes, and vntounto the fulfyllynge of this cōmaundement of god. Notwithſtandyng yet that god ſayd not, he that doth theſe workes, but he that kepeth his cōmaundementes / ſhulde entre in to the kyngdome of heauen.
For as moch then as there is no man lyuynge in this worlde / to whom god hath not gyuē an vtterar of his owne yre and malyce, that is to wyt, his enemye or aduerſary hurtyng hym in goddes dygnytie, honour, and frendes to proue whither there be any yre lefte in hym or no / whyther he can louelove his ennemye / ſpeake well of hym / do for hym do good to hym / thynkynge no euyll agaynſt hym / Nowe lette hym come that wyll, and aſke / what good workes he ſhall do, that may be pleſaunt to god and helthfull to hym felfe / & let hym ſette his enemye before his face / let hym hauehave hym contynuallye in the ymage and iye of his herte / for this cauſe / that he maye ouercome hym ſelfe / vſynge his herte to thynke frendly of hym, to fauoure hym after the beſte maner / to care & praye for hym: and after whan ther is occaſyon or tyme / not onelyonly to ſpeake wel of hym / but alſo to do him good lette hym proue this / that wyll and yf he hauehave not ynoughe to do all the dayes of his lyfe / lette hym reproue me of a lye / and let hym ſaye / this ſayenge is falſe. But nowe whan god wyll hauehave this thynge done and admytteth nor requyreth no leſſe payment / but this kyndnes to our enemye what I beſeche you doth it profyt vsus to be buſye in other great workes not cōmaunded / and to leaue theſe cōmaunded vndone, therfore ſayth Chryſt, Mathew the fyfte chapytre. I ſaye vntounto you / he that is angrye with his brother, is gylty of iugement / he that ſaith to his brother Racha, that is / whiche gyueth an abhomynable angry, and cruel ſygne of wrathe, is gylty of counſell. He that ſayth foole / that is / he yt gyueth any maner of cheke, backebyteth, ſlaundreth or curſeth, is gyltye of euerlaſtynge fyre / where abydeth than the vyolent layenge of hādes? as to ſtryke, to cut, to wounde, to kyll and to hurt, yf the thoughtes & wordes of yre be ſo greuouſly dampned.
BVt where as is the inward gētylnes, kyndnes, & pacyence of the herte / there the herte hath petye of all yt troubles that happen to his enemye / and ſuch be the true chyldren and heyres of god and bretherne of Chryſt, whiche dyd the ſame for vsus vponupon the croſſe. Euyn lykewyſe, as we ſe in a good iudge whiche is ryght ſory and lothe to gyue ſentence vponupon the gyltye perſon / & is heuye of the deth put to hym by the lawe. Here in the iudge is a ſhew in the worke, as though there were yre, dyſdayne, & impacyētneſſe / but in wardly there is very ſorow and pacyence abydynge vnderunder ſuche ioyfull workes / and it than ſwarmeth moſt quyckely & louyngly in ye herte, whan it is conſtrayned ſo to be angrye and to exercyſe ſeueryte But here we muſt beware, that we be not gentyll and peace agaynſt the glorye and cōmaunementes of god. For it is wrytten, that Moyſes was gentyleſt of all men / & yet whā the Iewes had prouoked and moued god, by the worſhyppyng of a golden calfe he kylled many of them / & by that gate agayne the fauour of god. So the offycers and ſuperyours ought not to kepe the holy day, and ſuffre ſynne to reygne / & they in the meane tyme to ſay nothyng vntounto it. I ought to deſpyce my honoure / my rythes, my loſſe, my hurte, nor to be angrye yf any aduerſytie happen vntounto me / but we muſt regarde the commundementes of god, and alſo defende and put awaye the hurte and wronge of our neyghboure. And the offycers and rulers muſt punyſſhe other / that is to ſaye, priuate perſones with wordes and rebukes. And yet al theſe ought to be done with compaſſyon vponupon them that hauehave deſerued punyſſhement / For this hyghe goodlye and pleaſaunte worke, ſuffereth her ſelfe to be obtaygned eaſely yf we do it in faythe, and exercyſe faythe in it / not doubtyng in the fauour and grace of god / it ſhall be a lyghte thynge for hym to be mercyfull and kynde to his neyghboure / howe moche ſoeuer he hathe offended hym / for we hauehave offended god more greuouſlye and cruelly.
Lo howe ſhorte a commaundement this is. But there is a longe & great exercyſe of good workes & faythe ſet forthe in it.