Page:The Holy Scripture (Myles Coverdale).djvu/4

 and iu&#383;t prynces out of theyr rowmes. who&#383;e herte wolde not putte it(yee euē with lamentacyon) to remember but onely the vntollerable wronge done by that Antychri&#383;t of Rome vnto youre graces mo&#383;t noble predece&#383;&#383;oure kynge Johne I pa&#383;&#383;e ouer his pe&#383;telent pykynge of Peter wens out of youre realme: his &#383;tealynge awaye of youre money for pardons: benefices and by&#383;&#383;hoprykes: his di&#383;ceauyng of youre &#383;ubiectes &#383;oules with his deuely&#383;he doctrynes and &#383;ectes of his fal&#383;e religions: his blond&#383;heddyng of &#383;o many of your graces peaple, for bokes of the &#383;cripture, who&#383;e herte wolde not be greded(yee and that out of mea&#383;ure) to call to remēbraūce, how ob&#383;tinate and di&#383;obedient, how pre&#383;umptuous &amp; &#383;tubburne that Antychri&#383;t made the by&#383;&#383;hoppes of youre realme agayn&#383;t your graces noble predece&#383;&#383;ours un tymes pa&#383;t, as it is manyfe&#383;t in ye Cronicles: I tru&#383;t berely there be no &#383;uche now within youre realme yf there be, let them remembre the&#383;e wordes of &#383;cripture: Pre&#383;umptuou&#383;nes goeth before de&#383;trucciō, &amp; after a proude &#383;tomacke there foloweth a fall.

What is now the cau&#383;e of all the&#383;e vntollerable and nomore to be &#383;uffred abhominacions: Truely euen the ignoraunce of the &#383;cripture of God. for how had it els ben po&#383;&#383;yble that &#383;uch blyndnes &#383;hulde haue come in to ye worlde, had not ye lyghte of Gods worde bene extyncte: How coulde men(I &#383;aye) haue bene &#383;o farre from the true &#383;eruyce of God, and from the due obedience of theyr prynce, had not the lawe of God bene clene &#383;hut vp, depre&#383;&#383;ed, ca&#383;t a&#383;yde, and put out of remembraunce? I sic was afore the tyme of that noble kyng Jo&#383;ias, and as it hath bene al&#383;o amonge vs vnto youre graces tyme: by who&#383;e mo&#383;t ryghteous admyni&#383;tracyon(thorowe the mercyfull goodnes of God) it is now founde agayne, + as it was in the dayes of that mo&#383;t vertuous kynge Jo&#383;ias. And pray&#383;ed be the father, the &#383;onne, and the holy goo&#383;t worlde without ende, which &#383;o excellently hath endewed youre Pryncely hert with &#383;uch feruentnes to his honoure, and to the welth of youre louyng &#383;ubiectes, that I maye ryghtuou&#383;ly(by iu&#383;t occa&#383;yons in youre per&#383;one) cōpare youre hyghnes vnto that noble and gracyous kynge, yt lanterne of lyghte amonge prynces, that feruent protectour and defender of the lawes of God: which cōmaunded &#383;traytly(as youre grace doth) that the lawe of God &#383;hulde be redde and taught vn to all ye people: &#383;et the pre&#383;tes to theyr office in the worde of god: de&#383;troyed Idolatry and fal&#383;e ydols: put downe all euell cu&#383;tomes and abu&#383;yons: &#383;et vp the true honoure of God: applyed all his &#383;tudye and endeuoure to the ryghtuous admyni&#383;tracyon of the mo&#383;t vncorrupte lawe of God. &amp;c. &amp; what felicite was amonge ye people of Jeru&#383;alem in his dayes: And what pro&#383;perous health both of &#383;oule &amp; body foloweth the lyke myni&#383;tracion in youre hyghnes, we begynne now(pray&#383;ed be God) to haue experience. for as fal&#383;e Doctryne is the origenall cau&#383;e of all euell plages and de&#383;truccyon, &#383;o is ye true executynge of the lawe of God ād the preachyng of the &#383;ame, the mother of all godly pro&#383;perite. The onely worde of god(I &#383;aye) is the cau&#383;e of all felicite, it bryngeth all goodnes with it, it bryngeth lernynge, it gēdreth vnder&#383;tondynge, it cau&#383;eth good workes, it maketh chyldren of obedience, breuely, it teacheth all e&#383;tates theyr office and duety. Seynge then that the &#383;cripture of God teacheth vs euery thynge &#383;ufficiently, both what we oughte to do, and what we oughte to leaue vndene: whome we are bounde to obey, and whome we &#383;hulde not obeye: therfore(I &#383;aye) it cau&#383;eth all pro&#383;perite, and &#383;etteth euery thyng in frame: and where it is taught and knowen, it lyghteneth all darkene&#383;&#383;es, cōforteth all &#383;ory hertes, leaueth no poore man vnhelped, &#383;uffreth nothynge amy&#383;&#383;e vnamended, letteth no prynce be di&#383;obeyed, permytteth no here&#383;ie to be preached: but refourmeth all thinges, ameodeth that is amy&#383;&#383;e, and &#383;etteth euery thynge in order. And why? becau&#383;e it is geuen by the in&#383;piracyon of God, therfore is it euer bryngynge profyte and frute, by teachynge, by improuynge, by amendynge and refourmyng all thē yt wyl receaue it, to make them parfecte &amp; mete vnto all good workes.

Con&#383;iderynge now(mo&#383;t gracyous prynce) the ine&#383;timable trea&#383;ure, frute &amp; pro&#383;perite euerla&#383;tynge, that God geneth with his worde, and tru&#383;tynge in his infynate goodnes that he wolde brynge my &#383;ymple and rude laboure beren to good effecte, therfore as the holy goo&#383;t moued other mē to do the co&#383;t therof, &#383;o was I bordened in God, to laboure in the &#383;ame. Agayne, con&#383;yderynge youre Imperiall maie&#383;tye not onely to be my naturall &#383;oueraigne liege Lorde &amp; chefe heade of ye church of Englōde, but al&#383;o the true defender and maynteyner of Gods lawes. I thought it my dutye and to belange vnto my allegiaunce, whan I had tran&#383;lated this Bible, not onely to dedicate this tran&#383;lacyon vnto youre hyghne&#383;&#383;e, but wholy to commytte it vnto the &#383;ame: to the intent that yf any thynge therin be tran&#383;lated amy&#383;&#383;e(for in many thynges we fayle, euen whan we thynke to be &#383;ure) it may &#383;tōde in youre graces handes, to correcte it, to amende it, to improue it, yee &amp; cleane to reiect it, yf youre godly wy&#383;dome &#383;hall thynke it nece&#383;&#383;ary. And as I do with all humblenes &#383;ubmitte myne vnder&#383;tondynge and my poore tran&#383;lacyon vnto ye &#383;pyrite of trueth in your grace, &#383;o make I this prote&#383;tacyon(hauyng God to recorde in my cō&#383;cience) that I haue nether wre&#383;ted nor altered &#383;o moch as one worde for the mayntenaūce of any maner of &#383;ecte: but haue with a cleare con&#383;eience purely &amp; faythfully tran&#383;lated this out of fyue &#383;undry interpreters, hauyng onely the many fe&#383;t irueth of the &#383;cripture before myne eyes: Tru&#383;tynge in the goodnes of God, that it &#383;halbe vnto his wor&#383;hippe: quietnes and tranquilite vnto your hyggnes: a perfecte &#383;tably&#383;hment of all Gods ordynaunces within youre graces Domynion: a generall comforte to all Chri&#383;ten hertes, and a continuall thankfulne&#383;&#383;e both of olde and yonge vnto god, and to youre grace, for beynge oure Mo&#383;es, and for bryngynge vs out of this olde Egypte from the cruell handes of our &#383;pirituall Pharao for where were the Jewes(by ten thou&#383;ande partes) &#383;o moch bounde vnto Kynge Dauid, for fituuttynge of gteate Goliath and all theyr enemyes, as we are to yout grace, for delyuerynge vs out of oure olde Babylonycall capthayter. For ye which delyueraunce and victory I be&#383;eke oure onely medyatoure Je&#383;us Chri&#383;t, to aiske &#383;och meanes for vs vnto his heauenly father, yt we neuer be vnthankfull vnto bunner, vnto youre grace: but that we euer increace in the feare of him, in obedience vnto your hyghne&#383;&#383;e, in loue vnfayned vnto oure neghbours: and in all vertue that commeth of God. To whom for yt defendynge of his ble&#383;&#383;ed worde(by your graces mo&#383;t rightfull admini&#383;tracyon) be honoure and thankes, glory and dominyon, worlde without ende, Amen.

youre graces humble &#383;ub- iecte and daylye oratour, Mylis Couerdale. iiii.