A Comfortable Epistle to Gods Faithful People in England, Chapter 4 – Chapter 5
¶ The. iiij. Chapter.
BUt / what is now to be done? shall we Hovv… the Christen … ligion … be reco… red.caste away all hope? Shal we yelde our self to the pri…e of darknes? Shal we suffer our selfs cōtinually to be wrapped & couered in with the dredefull cloudes of popysh blyndenes? God forbid. Yea / rather let vsus with a lusty courage & bold spirite hunte out & seke some meanes / wherby we may be dispatched of this moste miserable plague / wherewith we are at this present iustly stryken for our vnthākefulnes & wicked lyfe / & so recouer the fauor of God / that we may once agayn walke in the heauēly light of his moste glorious cōtenaūce. Synne / as we hearde afore / drowe awaye Sin….frō vsus the benefite of Goddes moste blessed worde / & of hys true religiō / as the prophet sayth: Your wickednesses hauehave made a wal Esa. 59.betwen you & your God / & your sines hyde his face frō you. Now must we therfor seke how to apease the wrathe of God kyndled agaīst vsus. Uerely the meane / how to make God merciful vntounto vsus / is frōhensforth to Remedies againste the vvrathe o… God.auoide that / which was the cause of Gods displeasur agaīst vsus / & of the takīg away of his blessed worde frō vsus / I meane syn. Syn must be takē awai frō amōg vsus / or els c…we neuer be recōciled vntounto God / nor obtaī his fauour / so far is it of / that we shall recouer the heauēly benefite of his glorious gospel. For the Lorde our God is suche a God / as … wickednes. The euell can not Psalm. 5.dwell by hym / nor the vnrighteous abyde in hys sight. Sy…e therfore which droue God out of oure host… / and with hym the …ght of hys blessed worde / muste be weded o… bothe of oure ha…e and lyfe / that we maye be pure before the Lorde oure God / & 1. Cor. 6.… hym in spirite and bodye. So shall we … … … …emples for his godly … to dwel in / whom yf we once receyue i…to oure hartes / with hym we maye be sure to enioye all good thynges. Nowe to put awaye synne / the fyrste remedye is ear… and vnfayned repentaunce. Let vsus all Repētaūce.euen from the very hart be inwardly sorye for oure vnthākefulnes and disobedience agaynst Gods moste blessed will. Let vsus euē with teares / as Peter and Magdalene dyd Matt. 26. Luc. 7.lament and bewayle oure wretchednesses / beyng moste hartely sory / that we euer offended so louyng a father / and so mercifull a Lorde. For this vnfayned repentaunce & harty …ewayling of our synnes / is an accep table sacrifice vntounto God / as Dauid sayth: A sacrifice vntounto God is a troubled spirite / a Psal. 51.broken and humble hart God will not despys…. Yea / God him selfe sayth by the Prophet: Unto whome …hall I loke / but vntounto hy… that is …owe brought / and of a broken Esa. 66.spirite / …nd standeth in awe of my wordes? this way of obtayning Gods fauor taught Esa. 55. Iere. 3. Eze. 18. Math. … Mar. 1.Moses and all the Prophetes / Ihon Baptiste / Christ and al his disciples / as the holy scriptures testefie. For with out repentaūce nothing is to be had of God but wrath / dis pleasure and euerlasting damnatiō / as our sauiour Christ sayth: Except ye repent / all sorte of you shall perysh. But where true repentaunce cometh / & an earnest hate off Luc. 1….synne / with a feruent studye of innocency & amendement of lyfe / there lyghe the grace / mercy / fauour and good wil of God / bent out for the penitent synner / as God hym self sayth by the Prophet: If the vngodlye turne awaye frome all hys synnes that he Ezec. 18.hath done / and shall kepe all my statutes / & do iudgement and righteonsnes / he shal su…ely lyue and not dye. All hys offences shal nomore be layde before hym / but in hys righteousnes that he hath done / shal he lyue For I hauehave no pleasure in the deathe of a synner / sayth the Lord God / but rather that he turne from hys wicked wayes and lyue. Agayn / as surely as I lyue / sayth the Lorde Ezech. …God / I hauehave no delighte in the deathe of a synner / but rather that he should turne frō hys waies and lyue. Turne ye / turne ye frō your euell wayes / and why will ye dye O ye house of Israel? Diuers examples hauehave we hereof in the holy scripture / as the Examples of repētāce.chyldren of Israel / the Niniuites / Dauid / …anasses / Peter / Magdalene / the thefe / and suche other▪ which after they repēted / foūd fauoure at the mercifull hande of God. As we hauehave folowed them in synning & doyng euel / so let vsus folow them in repenting and doyng wel. Than maye we be sure to fynde lyke fauour with them. For it is written: Psal. …4the Lorde is at hande for them / that are off a troubled hart / and the broken in spirite will he heale and saue.
¶ The. v. Chapter.
SEcondly to this harty repentaūce muste a true and Christen faythe be annexed / Faythe.whiche apprehendeth and layeth hande on the mercifull promises of God frelye setforth to all faythefull penitent synners in Christes dere harte bloude. For without this fayth and perfect perswasion of Gods fauour toward vsus / Repētaūce is vayne / as Repētaūce and faithe muste go together.the histories of Caym / Esau / Saul / Achab / Iudas / and of suche other do manifestly declare. In consideracion whereof our Sauioure Christ / whan he beganne to preach / sayde not onelyonly to hys hearers / Repente, but he added / And beleue the Gospell, teachynge that true repentaunce muste be ioyned Mar. 1.with Christen fayth / or els it profiteth nothing. An example hereof besydes many other / hauehave we in the history of the synfull womā / in the Gospel of sainct Luke / which Luce. 7.dyd not onelyonly repent earnestly / as her bitter teares / sorowefull sobbynges and depe syghynges do playnely declare / but she also faythfully beleued / beynge constantly perswaded / that she althoughe a moste wicked sy…er shoulde obtayne remission of all her synnes at God the fathers hande for Iesus Christes sake hys derely beloued sonne / whose fete at that present she ceased not too kysse / whose fete she washed with her teares / wyped with her hayre / and annoynted with moste precious pleasaunte oyle. Our Sauioure Christe / therfore beholding her true repentaunce conioyned wyth vndoubted faythe / sayde not onelyonly to her / Thy synnes are for…euen the / but he added / Thy saythe hathe saued the, departe wyth peace, that is too saye / with a quiet / free / ioyefull and merrye conscience. Let vsus brynge for the thys faythefull repentaunce Note.and repentaunte faythe / and wyth all humilitie poure oute oure synnes before the gracious throone of Goddes Maiestye / and hartel…e craue remyssyon and forgeuenes off all oure synnes / in the precious bloude off oure Sauioure Ih…u Christ / and without all doubte God wil …e fauourable vntounto vsus / hauehave pytie on vsus / and lighten hys chereful countenaunce once agayne vponupon vsus / that we on the earthe maye knowe hys wayes and hys sauinge healthe among all nations. For the Lord oure God is full of compassion and mercy / long suffering / and of great goodnes. He will not alwaye be chyding / neither kepeth he his anger Psal. 103.for euer. He wil not deale with vsus after oure synnes / nor reward vsus / accordinge too our wickednes. For loke how hye the heauē is in c…parison of the earth / so great is hys mercye also toward them that feare hym. Loke howe wyde also the Easte is f…om the West / so farre will he set our synnes from vsus. Yea / lyke as a father pitieth hys owne chyldren / euen so will the Lord be mercifull Esa. 38. Miche. 7vntounto them that feare hym. All oure synnes will he cast behynde his backe / into the bottome of the sea wil he throw them / & neuer remember them more / yea / yf oure synnes / as the Prophet sayth / be as redde as s…arlet / Esa. 1.yet shall they be made whyther then snowe. And yf they were lyke purple / yet shal they be lyke whyte wolle / yf we vnfainedly repente / turne vntounto the Lorde oure God / beleue hys promises / and craue mercye of hym for Christes sake.