and man's laws with an exterior ceremony and pomp, crowned any other man, he should have been an adulterous and wrong King, with all his solemnities and coronation. Though this ceremony confirm and manifest a King in his kingdom, yet it maketh not a King, but the laws of God and of the land that give by succession the right of the kingdom to the old King's first heir male in England and other realms. And the babe in the cradle hath as good a right and claim, and is as true a King in his cradle uncrowned, as his father was, though he reigned a crowned King forty years. And this right of the babe should be defended and manifested, not only by the ceremony of coronation, but with all obedience and true sub-. jection.

So it is in the church of Christ: man is made the brother of Christ, and heir of eternal life by God's only mercy received by faith, before he receive any ceremony to confirm and manifest openly his right and title. He saith, he believeth in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and believeth (he saith) the remission of sin; he doth not only deny the devil, the world, and sin, but saith, he will forsake him for ever, and serve his Master, the Lord of virtue, King of heaven and earth. Thus assured of God, and cleansed from sin in Christ, he hath the livery of God. given unto him, baptism, the which no Christian should neglect; and yet not attribute his sanctification unto the external sign. As the King's Majesty may not attribute his right unto the crown, but unto God and unto his Father, who hath not only given him grace to be born into the world, but also to govern as a King in the world; whose right and title the crown confirmeth and sheweth the same unto all the world. Whereas this right by God and natural succession precedeth the coronation, the ceremony availeth nothing. A traitor may receive the crown, and yet be true King nothing the more. Sq

an hypocrite and infidel may receive the external sign of baptism, and yet be no Christian man any the more, as Simon Magus and others.

Sacraments must be used holily, and yet not to have the office of Christ added unto them. Solely it is his office to sanctify and purge from sin.. I take nothing from the sacraments, but honour them and extol them in all things, as they be worthy; howbeit not too much. I call a sacrament, a ceremony instituted in the law of God to this end, that it should be a testimony of God's promise unto all such as believe; and a sign of God's good will and favour towards us. As Paul saith, that Abraham received a testimony, by the which God testified that he was received into grace. (Rom. iv.) And as the promise of God, the remission of sin, is received by faith, so must these sacraments that be signs, tokens, and testimonies of the promise, be received in faith. Thus by Christ we are sanctified only, and as Peter saith,The chosen people, a princely priesthood, a holy people, and peculiar nation, to declare the power of Him that hath called us from the darkness. of error and sin into his wonderful light." These words declare the manner how we are sanctified, and what our office is after we are sanctified: to preach the power of Him that hath called us from the darkness of sin as it is written (Isa. xlii.), "This people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise:" and likewise in chap. lxvi. The Prophets and Apostles do use many times this word, annunciare," for " laudare," and "gratias agere." So doth Paul (1 Cor. xi.), Mortem Domini annunciabitis, donec veniat; "ye shall shew the death of the Lord until he come:" i. e. ye shall celebrate the death of Christ with all praises and giving of thanks.

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Such as be sanctified by Christ must live an honest and holy life, or else their sanctification availeth not.

As God forsook the children of Israel for sin, so will he do us. They were elected to be his people with this condition, "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people." (Exod. xix.) He that favoured not the Israelites, but took cruel vengeance upon them, because they walked not in their vocation, will do and doth daily the same unto us. (Rom. xi.) Therefore one of these two we must needs do, that say we be justified and sanctified in Christ either from the bottom of our hearts amend, or else be eternally lost with all our ghostly knowledge. For the axe is put to the root of the tree. So far has the malice of man proceeded, that the ire of God can be no longer deferred. A great time hath the Gospel been known of many men, yet the life of the Gospel as new to seek, as though it were but now begun.

Therefore we see how God beginneth again to permit the darkness of error to overwhelm the world. Such blindness ever followeth the contempt of God's word and the unthankful receiving thereof. Therefore as we be sanctified by Christ, so let us bear him and sanctify him in our breasts, or else we perish. (Rom. vi.) For faith intendeth and always maketh haste unto this port, as Paul saith (Tit. ii.), " that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly."

Men know not what the Gospel is. They read it, as they read "Sir Bevis of Southampton," or "The Jests of Robin Hood." If they may know what the Scripture saith, they judge it sufficient: whereas it is clean contrary. Men should not only read the Scripture to be wiser, but to be better. We bear the name of Christ, and confess him. We must therefore be those persons in whose life the stamps of Christ must appear, or else we blaspheme our Master, whose name we bear. (Rom. vi. 13.) Be

cause after baptism we should live a modest and temperate life, Christ departed into the desert, and fasted, making this answer unto the devil; "Man liveth not by bread alone." Man is not created to the fond pleasures of the world, but to regard what the will of God requireth.

They deceive themselves that trust to faith, where honesty of life followeth not. Faith is mistress in the soul of the Christian, and entertaineth no such servants as be adulterers, thieves, slanderers, drunkards, covetous persons, swearers, ill and unoccupied raveners of the meat of the poor: but charity, peace, temperance, prayer, liberality, and avoiding all occasion of ill. (2 Pet. i. James, ii. 1 Cor. xii.)

CHAPTER XI.

Of Christ as a King.

As the Scripture teacheth Christ to be the very true priest and bishop of the church, who prayeth for the church, satisfieth the ire of God for the sins of the church, and who only sanctifieth the church: so doth it prove Christ to be the King, Emperor, and Protector of the church, and that by the office and property of a King that defendeth his subjects, not only by his godly laws, but also by force and civil resistance, as the enemies of his commonwealth shall minister occasion. By these two means every commonwealth is preserved, as the Scripture teacheth every where.

Pharaoh, that would the church of God and commonwealth of the Israelites to be destroyed, was lost with all his army in the sea. The idolaters, that would make the commonwealth of Christ's church one with the commonwealth of Egypt, were destroyed.

Such as rebelled, as Korah and the Reubenites,

against the governors of God's church, Moses and Aaron, were destroyed with the artillery of God's ire.

All the princes and nations, that possessed the land' of Canaan, God destroyed, to set his commonwealth in due order.

In the latter days, when the King of this commonwealth should be born, the angel declared unto the blessed Virgin of what puissance and power this kingdom of Christ should be; "He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke, i.) Although now the commonwealth of the church hath no certain place appointed where it shall remain, as it was appointed in the old law; yet certain we be, that this kingdom of Christ remaineth upon the earth, and shall do, till the earth be burned. (Matt. xvii. 28. 1 Cor. xv.) Howbeit, as Christ won and obtained this kingdom in the latter days without shield or spear, so doth he preserve it with his holy Spirit, and not with carnal As Christ said unto Pilate (John, xviii.), My kingdom is not of this world:" meaning, that he would not reign in this world, as a prince of this world with pomp and pride; but defend his people with his holy Spirit, that neither the devil nor the world should break their patience, though many afflictions and sorrows should fight against them for the truth's sake. Christ did not deny himself to be the King of the world before Pilate, but asserted, that he meant not to reign in a worldly manner to the hindrance and defacing of the Emperor's dignity and title, as the Jews falsely accused him. So Cyril (lib. xii. cap. x.) on John saith: and so is the mind of St. Austin in the same place.

weapons.

This kingdom is spiritual. Christ sitting at the right hand of God the Father prayeth for us, giveth us remission of sin, and the Holy Ghost, to fight and overcome the world. He hath left here in the