Faith Justifies Us Before We Can Bring Forth any Good Work, Treatise · Part 21
MAny ſinnes ar forgevē hir for ſhe loveth moch Lu. vij. Not yt love was cauſe of forgevenes of ſinnes. But cōtrary wiſe ye forgevenes of ſinnes cauſed love / as it foloveth / to whō leſſe was forgevē / yt ſameloveth leſſe. And afore he cōmēded the iudgement of Symon / which anſwared that he loveth moſt to whō moſt was forgeuyn: and alſo ſaid at the laſt / thy faith hath ſaved the or made y• ſafe / go in peace. We can not love except we ſe ſome benefete and kyndnes. As longe as we loke on the lawe of God only where we ſe but ſinne and damnacyon and the wrath of God apō vsus / yee where we were damned afore we were borne / we can not love God: No we can not but hate hī as a tyrante vnrighteous and vniuſt / and fle from hym as dyd Cayn. But when the Goſpell that glad tidīges & ioifull promiſes are preached how that in Chriſte god loveth vsus firſt / forgeveth vsus / & hath merciemercy on vsus / thē love we againe & the deades of our love declare our fayth. This ys the maner of ſpeakyng / As we ſaye. Somer is nye / for the treys bloſome. Now is the bloſominge of the treys nor the cauſe that ſomer draweth nye / but ye drawynge nye of ſomer cauſe of the bloſomes / ād the bloſomes put vsus in remēbraunce that ſomer ys at hand. So Chriſte here teacheth Simon by the fervētnes of love in the outewarde deades …o ſe a ſtronge fayth within whence ſoe greate love ſpringeth. As the maner ys to ſave doe your charyte / ſhowe your charyte / doe a deade of charite / ſhowe your mercye do a deade of mercye / meaninge there by / that our deades declare howe we love our neyghbours ād how moch we have compaſtion on them at ther neade. Moreover it is not poſſyble to love except we ſe a cauſe. Except we ſe in our hertes the love and kyndnes of God to vsus warde in Chriſte our lorde / it is not poſſible to love God a right.
We ſaye alſo he yt loveth not my dogge loveth not me. Nor that a man ſhuld love my dogge fyrſt. But if a man loved me the love where with he loveth me / wold cōpell hī to love my dogge / though the dogge deſerved it not / yee though the dogge had done hī a diſplaiſure. yet if he loved me / ye ſame love wold refrayne him from venging him ſelfe / ād eauſe him to refer the vēgeaūce vntounto me. Soch ſp…akinges finde we in ſcripture. Ihon in the forth of hys fyrſt piſtle ſayth / he that ſaith. I love God / and yet hateth his brother is a lyar. For how cā he that loveth not his brother whom he ſeith / love god whom he ſeyth not? Tis is not ſpoken that a man ſhuld fyrſt lore hys brother and then God / but as it folowith. For this commaundement have we of hym / that he which loveth God ſhulde love hys brother alſo. To love my neyghboure is the commanndement / which commaundement he that loveth not / loveth not God. They kepinge of the commaundement declareth what love I have to God. Iff I loved God purely / no thinge that my neyghboure cowld do were able to make me eyther to hate hym eyther to take vengeaunee on hym my ſelfe / ſeing that god hath commaunded me to love him / and to remitte all vengeaunce vntounto hym. Marke now how moch I love the cōmaundement / ſo moch I love God how moch I love God / ſo moch beleve I that he is mercyfull / kind and good / yee and a father vntounto me for Chriſtes ſake / how moch I beleve that God y… mercyfull vntounto me / and that he woll for Chriſtes ſake fulfyll all his promiſes vntounto me: ſo moch I ſe my ſinnes / ſo moch do my ſinnes greve me / ſo moch do I repent ād ſorrow that I ſinne / ſo moch diſpleaſeth me that poyſon that moveth me to ſinne / and ſo greatly deſyre I to be healede. So now by the naturall order fyrſt I ſe my ſinne. Then I repēt and ſorrowe. Thē beleve I Gods promiſes / that he is mercyfull vntounto me ād forgeveth me / and will heale me at the laſt: then love I ād then I prepare my ſelfe to the commaundement.