Page:The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe Volume 3.djvu/155



"ashamed of the true witnesse of lesu Christ;" for Christ our God sayes in his gospel, "Hee that shames me and my wordes, him shall mans sonne ashame when he shall come for to set in the siege of his Maiestie. And each man," he sayes, "that knowes me and my wordes before men, in this sinefull generation and whorish, mans sonne shall knowledge him before my father," sayes Christ himself, "when he shal come with hys aungels in the glorie of his father." Sithe ye therefore bene Christen men, that is to say, Christes men, shew in deede that ye bene such as ye daren shew you the kings men; "for hit had bene," as Peter sayes, "better not to haue knowen the way of trueth, then after the knowing thereof to bee conuerted backward there from." We knowen Christ, that is trought, we sayn all through our beliefe, if we turne from him for drede, truely we denie the troth. And therefore sith our time is short, (how short no man knowes but God,) do we the good that wee may to Gods worship, "when we haue time." "Be true" (saies God) "to the death, and you shall haue the crowne of life." And thinke on ludas Machabeus, that was God's true knight, that comforted hartely Gods true people, to be the followers of his law." And geue ye," hee said, "your liues for the Testament of your fathers. And ye shullen winne," he said, "great ioy, and a name for euermore." "Was not Abraham," hee said, "in temptation founden true, and was arectet vnto him euermore to righteousnesse; Ioseph in time of his anguish hee kept truely Gods hest, hee was made, by Gods prouidence, lord of Egypt, for his trouth. Phinees our fadure louing," hee saith, "the zeale of God, tooke the testament of euerlasting priesthoode. losue for hee fulfillet the worde of God was domes man in Israel. Caleph that witnessed in the church, he took therefore the heritage," he saith: "Dauid, in his mercie, he gat the siege of the kingdom in worlds. Hely for that he loued the zeale of Gods lawe, was taken vppe into heauen. Ananie, Azarye, and Misael," hee saies, " weren deliueret thoore through true beliefe out of the hot flame of lire. True Daniel in his simplenes was deliueret from the lyons mouthe. Bethinke ye therefore," he saies, "by generation and generation, and thou shalt neuer finde that he fayled that man that truely trusted in him. And therefore dread you nought," he saies, "of the words of a sinfull man: his glory is," he saies, "but wormes and tordes: hee is to day," he saith, "y made hie, to morow he saies he is not founden, for he is turned," he sayes, "into his earth againe, and the mind of him is perishet. Sonnes therefore" he saies, " be ye comfortet, and die manly in the law: for when ye han done that that God commaunds you to doe, ye shulen be glorious in him" And Dauid the king saies also on this wise in the Psalter booke: " blesset be they (Lord) that keepen thy law, in worldes of worldes they shall praise thee." And in Leuiticus sayes God thus: "gif that yee wenden in mine hestes and keepen my commaundementes, and done hem, I shal bring forth their fruit, and trees shall be fulfilled with apples. And ye shallen eate your bread in fulnesse, ye shoulen dwell in your land without drede, I shall giue peace in your costes, ye shal sleepe and no man shall feare you. Euill beastes I shal done away from you, and sword shal not passe your termes, ye shuln pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you; fiftie of yours shulne pursue an hundreth of heren, an hundret of yours, a thousand of theirs: your enemies," he saith, "shulen fal through sword, and your sute. I shall" he sayes, "behold you and make you to waxe, and yee shall be multipliet: And I shall strength with you my couenant, ye shall eat the aldest, and the new shull come in thereon. And yee shuln cast forth the olde, I shall dwell in the midst of you. And I shal wend amonges you, and shal be your God, and ye shulne be my people. If that yee heare me not, ne done nought all my hestes, but dispisen my law, and my domes, and that ye done not the things that of me bene ordenet, and breaken my commaundements and my couenant: I shall doe these things to you. I shall visite you surely in nede and brenning, which shal dimme your eghenen, and shal wast your liues about nought: Ye shulne sowe your sede, for hit shal be deuouret of enemies; I shal put my face against you, and ye shall fall before your enemies. And ye shulden be vnderlinges to them that ban hatet you, ye shall flee, no man pursuing. And if ye will not be buxome to me, I shall adde, therevnto, thornes, and seuenfold blame. And I shall all to brast the hardnes of you, I shall geue the heauen aboue you as yron, and the earth as brasse. About nought shall your labour be, for the earth shall bring you forth no fruit, ne tree

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