Certain Precepts of the Instruction of Youth, Aphorisms 1
The Aphoriſmes (the whyche are called brefe ſentences partetly declaring the abſolute meaning of the thing) of the fyrſt Preceptes.
BEfore all thinges / ſeing it lyeth not in the power of man to drawe the harte of any one vntounto the faith of one god although any mā ſhulde paſſe in perſuading Pericies / but it lyeth only in god the heauenly father / who doth drawe vsus vntounto him. And yet nothwythſtandyng / according vntounto the ſaying of the Apoſtle / faith is by hearing (ſo that the hearing be the worde of God) not truly that the preaching of the worde is of ſo great force / except the ſpirite working in vsus / g ue vsus aduertiſement vntounto the ſame. And therfore faith muſt be inſtilled with mooſt pure wordes / and mooſt vſed to procede from the mouth of God / And prayers ioyned vntounto the ſame muſt be made vntounto hym / who onelyonly doth make the faithfull / that whome we teache with worde / he maie illuminate the ſame with his ſpirit.
And perchaunce it ſhall not be alienate from the purpoſe of Chriſte / if we bring the ſame into the knowledge of God / yea / by thinges that are viſible. As if we call before oure eyes / the ingent of the vniuerſall worlde / declarīg or ſhewing with our finger / that all thinges are ſubiect vntounto alteration / but it is neceſſary that he be immutable / and not moued / the which hath cōciled all thīgs / (ſeing they be ſo diuerſe) in ſo firme ande marvailous a concorde. Ande againe it ought not to be ſuſpected that he that hath diſpoſed al thinges with ſo great a prouidence / will he after neglect his owne handy worke / for as moch as amongeſt mortall men / it is imputed as a vice or blame / if any man be not diligēt or carefull in the thing that apparteineth vntounto his houſe.
Of this / the ſame our dearlīg ſhall learne the pouidence of God / who careth for all thinges / diſpoſeth all thinges and preſerueth all thinges. For of the two ſparrowes that are bought for a farthīge / the one falleth not vppō the grounde vntounto vsus / without his counſell. Who alſo hath nō bred the heares of oure heades / nothinge vtterly is left out of this care. Wherby it is manifeſt that the ſame doth determine… not onelyonly of thīges wherof the ſoule hath nede / but alſo the body / ſeing we ſee the Rookes ſo liberally to be entre…eined by the ſame / ande the lilies alſo ſo gally to be …ladde.
Hitherto / the minde being rightly furniſſhed or inſtructed of the prouidence of god / it cā not be that it may be at any time carefull / or oute of ordre ſtryken with couetuouſnes. The whiche affect if in our tendre age we cut from vsus than …a…e we delyuered the minde from a great daūgerous and hurtefull plage.
He ſhall knowe truly that God is not onelyonly a lorde / but alſo a father of all thoſe that beleue in him / that is / of thoſe that truſt in him and that he deſyreth that we ſhall come with as moch haſte vntounto hym / to craue for helpe / as vntounto the parent or father that hath begotten vsus / ande with his propre wordes hath promiſed helpe / becauſe certeynly he loueth to be prayed.
Wherfore if the ſycknes eyther of minde or of body do vexe or greue the / the remedye muſt be obteyned from him / if thy ennemy do trouble the / if envie do oppreſſe the / thou muſt runne vntounto hym. If we covet wiſdome or learnīg we muſt wowe him for them / yea bothe wife and children are alſo to be deſired at his hand.
If the increaſe of goodes ād honoures come a litle to plentyfully vntounto vsus / we muſt deſyre of hym / that he wyll not ſuffer our mynd to be made to tendre wyth them or effemyna…e / ande ſo to be brought oute of the right waye.
What nede many wordes? generally / he ſhall knowe that all thinges are to be aſked of him and he ſhall thinke it a wrōg / to aſke any thinge of him / that ſhall not be condecent for him to parforme / ād fynally he ſhalbe a ſhamed eyther to couet or to hauehave any thyng the which by hym is not laufull / and he ſhall onelyonly get and laye vp in treaſure thoſe thinges that maketh mē truly happie.
He ſhall vnderſtand the miſtery of the Goſpell this waies / he ſhall knowe before all other thinges the ſtate of the fyrſt manne / that is to ſaye / howe he through death is deade againe / howe after that he had trāſgreſſed the precept of God / he infected by his tranſgreſſe all his poſterite. For the dead can not beget the lyuyſh / neither hauehave we euer ſene a blacke morian borne amōgeſt Ingliſhmē. Wherby / this our frende ſhall know alſo his diſeaſe.
Alſo by this he doth knowe / if he do vnderſtand howe we do all thinges by the motions of our affectes / howe God truly is farre of from them. Wherby it followeth vndoubtedly / that we alſo ſhulde be mooſt clere without all affectes if we ſhal deſire to dwell with God. For like as eueryevery innocent / hath nothing to do with thoſe that are mooſt geuen vntounto myſchefe / ād cōtrary the wicked can not abide the iuſt. For as thoſe that are of the nature of Nero do bidde and commaund other like vntounto Seneca to be handeled / euen ſo of the contrarie / the ſame tumbe doth hyde or couer the Emyans with the S…pians / ſo none other ſhall inhabit with God / than he that is wythout ſpot ande holy / as God hym ſelf is holy / ande indued with the purenes of harte. For bleſſed are the pure in harte becauſe they ſhall ſee God. But howe ſhall we get ſo great an Innocency / the which are nedged round… aboute with mooſt impure affectes? we being here… betwixt the hammer and the ſtithe for ſo moch as God doth require ſo great an innocencie / we beyng corrupted / can of our ſelues do nothīg but vice / whether we will or not we are compelled to yelde vntounto God and to permit all thinges vntounto his grace. Here ſpringeth the light of the Goſpell.
When we are incloſed wyth theſe ſtrayghtes / Chriſt doth take vsus oute / the whiche hath deliuered vsus farre better / than any great God of the Gentyles that was thought to preſerue them / aboue all thinges / erecting the conſcience nere vntounto deſperation / ande ſone after when by mooſt aſſured hope he hath ioyned the ſame vntounto hym / makyng it fortunate. For ſeyng he is moſt clere without all blotte of all corrupted affectes conceiued truly of the holighooſt / and borne of a pure virgin. Firſt to deliuer vsus he did ſett forth this his innocency for vsus. For truly he ſuffered oure labours and paynes / ande afterwarde he maketh thoſe which vndoubtedly beleue thys / bleſſed.
For he that ſhall beleue this lyberall pardon / graunted of God by Chriſt / vntounto the miſerable kinde of mortall mā / he ſhalbe ſaued / ande beyng made the coheyre of Chriſt / he ſhalbe in ioye with the father euerlaſtinge. For he wyll that where hym ſelfe is / there alſo his miniſter ſhalbe
The innocency of Chriſt that was put in daunger for thoſe that were gylte / yea for the dampned / hath abſolued vsus / and hath made vsus worthy vntounto God for this cauſe ſpecially / becauſe he was able to fulfyll the maner and meaſure of the dyuine iuſtice. For he was mooſt clere without all corrupted affectiō. And where as he is ſoche and ſo great of him ſelf / that is to ſaye God / yet was he made oures. Wherof it followeth / that his iuſtice (the whych onelyonly thinge we …acke) was alſo made oures. For he was made vntounto vsus from god… wiſdome / iuſtice / holines and redemptiō.
Nowe / by him we hauehave an entraunce vntounto God. For he is oures the pledge of the grace of God / our Aduocate / oure ſufere oure head / interceſſour ande mediatour. He is our whole truſt and affiaunce both fyrſt and laſt.
Thoſe that hetherto vnderſtand the miſtery of the Goſpell ād truſt vppon the ſame / are borne of God for the capacite of mannes weakenes can not attaine vntounto ſo profounde a coūſell of the grace of god.
Out of this it commeth / that thoſe that are borne a newe of the Goſpell / can not ſynne. For eueryevery ſoch one as is borne of God doth not ſynne. But he that beleueth the Goſpell / is borne of God / wherfore they do not ſynne that are borne newe of the Goſpell. That is to ſaie / the ſinnes are not impu…ed vntounto them vntounto dāpna…ion and death becauſe Chryſt hath redemed them with the price of his death. For albeyt that we (as longe as we are in this body trauaylyng as it were in pilgrimage from God) cannot be wythout affectes / ād ſo by that means alſo / not wythout ſynne. Ye… Chryſt notwythſtandīg becauſe he is ours / doth ſupply or amend all this our impotēcye or weakenes. For ſeīg he is god aeternal ād a ſpirite / he is more precyous to redeme the ſines of all mē / than they them ſelues are able to deſerue.
For Ood trulye as he is a ſubſtanciall forme or power that turneth and moueth all thynges in it ſelfe / not beynge moued / wyll not ſuffer hī alſo / whoſe hart he hath drawen vntounto him / to be ſlouthful or ydle. The which ſentence truly is not knowen by probaciōs but by vſe. For onelye thoſe that are faythfull hauehave in experience how Chryſte geueth no ydlenes at all vntounto hys ſervauntes / and wyth howe glad a ſpirite and wyth howe moche ioye they travayle and are exerciſed in thys buſynes.
Wherfore / who ſo ever vnderſtandeth the miſterie of the Goſpel / he goeth about to liue wel. Wherfore that muſt be taught as moche as maye be very purely ād dilygently.
And thys alſo muſt as the tyme requireth he taught / by what kynde of meanes ſpeciallye we maye deſerue the fauoure of God / by thoſe things certeynly / whych he him ſelfe vſeth alwayes towardes vsus / by iuſtice / fayth and mercy. For ſeing God is a ſpirite / he can no otherwyſe be worſhipped rightly with any other ſacrifice / than wyth the ſpirituall ſacrifice of an humble mynd. Wherfore let our derling or yoūgman bende his intente to this ende / howe with all maturite he maye be a good man; howe he maye be innocent / ād as nere lyke vntounto God as maye be.
He doth good vntounto all menne / he doth hurte no man / except a man fyrſt hurte hī ſelfe. So he that doth ſtudie to do good vntounto all men / and to be eueryevery thinge vntounto all men / ād doth abſtaine vtterly his hande from all iniurie / he is mooſt like vntounto God. Theſe thīges are harde / if thou hauehave an eye vntounto oure owne ſtrength / but vntounto him that beleueth / all thinges are poſſyble.