A Confutation of Standishs Treatise, To the reader
To all true Chriſten readers.
Faynt not thou in faith (deare reader) nether waxe colde in louelove and charite / though the enemies of gods worde be gathered together and growne in to ſuch ſwarmes. Be thou ſtrong in the lorde / and in the power of his might. And let it not diſcorage the / that the ſayd worde is ſo litle in the eſtimacion of the world / ſo greatly deſpiſed / ſo ſore perſecuted / ſo wickedly peruerted / wreſted and belyed / ſo vnthankfully receaued / ſo ſhamefully denied / and ſo ſlouthfully folowed.
Arme thy ſelfe therfore with the confortable enſamples of the ſcripture / And as touchinge thoſe ioly Nimrottes that perſecute gods worde / hunting it out of eueryevery corner / whetting ther ſwerdes and bendyng their bowes agaynſt it / Be thou ſure / that the god of oure fathers Abraham / Iſaac and Iacob ſhall do with thē as he euer was wont to do with tirauntes in times paſt. Thou ſeiſt thorow out the ſtories of the holy byble / how that like as he turneth ſome of their hartes from crueltie to mekeneſſe / Euē ſo with death / with fyre / with water / and with ſuch other his plages deſtroyeth he them that will nedes deſpiſe his warninge / Yee breaketh their bowes in peces / and killeth thē with ther own ſwerdes. As for Iamnes and Iambres thoſe wicked ſorcerers and couetous chaplens that teach cōtrary to gods worde / and diſſuade the greate mē of the world frō it / Their owne wreſtinge and belyeng of it muſt nedes cōfound thē / For though ther be many that reſiſt the truth / yet whan it is uttered and commeth to light / their madneſſe (as. S. Paul ſaieth) ſhall be manifeſt vntounto all men. And as Moſes rodd deuoured their roddes in the Kynges preſence / So likewiſe the ſame places of ſcripture that they alledge for their wicked purpoſe / ſhall deſtroye their falſe doctryne in the face of the world. Yee euen as litle honeſtie as the papiſtry hath gotten by wreſting of (Tu es Petrus et cet.) ſo ſmall profit are they like to hauehave for belyeng of other textes. Nether is it to be feared / but god will do for one parte of his worde aſmuch as for another / whan he ſeith his tyme.
Concernyng thoſe bely beaſtes / that (for no cō maundement ner promes of god / for no example / warnyng ner exhortacion) will be counſayled / but ſtill blaſpheme his holy worde thorow their vngodly conuerſacion / let not that withdrawe the from the waye of righteouſneſſe. LoueLove not thou Chriſt the worſe / though Iudas be a traytoure. Sett not thou the leſſe by his wholſome doctrine / though dogges turne to their vomite / and though ſwine walow in their ſtinking mire agayne.
I knowe (gentle reader) that to all true Chriſtē hartes / it is a great tentaciō / to ſe gods holy worde either perſecuted / belyed / or vnthankfully receaued. But firſt remembre thy ſelfe well by the practyſe of all ſtories / whan was it without perſecucion? Whan was there not one tyraunt or other / that exerciſed all his power / ſtrength / witte / and counſaill againſt it? Whan were the childrē of Iſrael without ſome bloudy Edomites / Egiptians Aſſirians / Babilonians / Philiſtines / or other?
Secōdly / Whan was not gods worde belied / peruerted or euell ſpoken of by one falſe Prophet or other? Were there not heretikes and flatringe chaplens in all ages / that withdrue men from the trueth / and miſreported the ſtraight waies of the lord? Thirdly / whan were there not ſome multitudes / that pretēding a louelove toward Chriſtes word / did but folow him for their own belies ſake? whan was the ſede of Chriſtes word ſowē / but ſome parte of it fell vpō the ſtony ground where it withred / and among the thornes that choked it vp?
Wherfore ſeynge thou art compaſed aboute with ſo great a nombre of witneſſes / Heb. xijthat is to ſaye / with the enſamples of ſo many godly and holy mē / which not onelyonly dyd choſe rather to ſuffre aduerſite with the people of god then to enioye the pleaſures of ſynne for a ſeaſon / but alſo eſchued falſe doctryne and brought forth allwaye good workes in their liuinge / folowe thou the ſame trade / folowe thou them (I ſaye) as thou ſeiſt they folowed Chriſt / and no farther. And as touchinge anye maner of doctryne / beleue no man without gods worde / acording as. S. Hierome counceleth the. In Epiſtolam ad Gal. ca. v. For certaine it is / that like as many tymes thou ſhalt ſpie euen great faultes in the conuerſaciō of gods electe / ſo readeſt thou of very few teachers ſens the Apoſtles tyme / which hauehave not erred (and that groſſely) in ſondry thinges.
Wherfore whom ſo euer thou heareſt teach / preach or wryte / or whoſe bokes ſo euer thou readeſt / trye them by gods worde / whether they be agreable ther to or no. Whan thou knoweſt them (I ſaye) and art certayne and ſure by Chriſtes doctryne / that they are falſe / ſedicious or abhominable / then hold them accurſed / avoyde them utterly / eſchue them in anye wiſe / and geue ouer thy ſelfe to the wholſome hearing and readinge of the ſcripture. But ſo / that thou be ſober and diſcrete in the knowlege and vſe therof / And that in confeſſing the true faith and beleue of Chriſt / thy hart mouth and dede go together / and that thou cōſent to none opinion contrary to the ſame / That god maye hauehave the prayſe / and thy neghboure be edified in all thy conuerſacion. So doyng / thou ſhalt not onelyonly ſtoppe the mouth of euell ſpeakers / but alſo allure and prouoke other men to be frutefully geuē to faith and good workes / and to helpe (with ſuch their vnfained faith and godly liuinge) that the tabernacle of god maye be ſet vp againe. The grace of our lorde Ieſus Chriſt be with us all. Amen.
Iacobi. iij.
Yf ye hauehave a bytter Zele / and there be contencions in youre hartes / make no boaſt / nether be lyars agaynſt the trueth.
End of the text · Miles Coverdale, A Confutation of Standishs Treatise (1541)