dure." If thou read the book that wise Solomon wrote of the contempt or vanity of the world, called Ecclesiastes, thou shalt not only learn what the world and man is, but also take adversities in the better part, if thou follow his counsel. The book containeth but twelve chapters: read and mark every month one, then at the year's end thou shalt read it over.

If thou put the riches thereof into thy head, think thou hast gained well that year, though by the punishment of God thou hast lost otherwise all thy goods in the world, unto thy shirt.

Now followeth the second part of the first commandment.

Thou shalt have no strange gods before my face.

This part of the commandment removeth all false religion and superstition, wherewithal the glory and majesty of God might happen to be diminished or darkened in the soul of man; which chanceth as many times as man attributeth unto any creature the thing that is due only unto God; or when we would honour God, or do any thing acceptable unto him, as we feign of our own brains, and not as his word teacheth. This honour we owe only God, faith, love, fear, and prayer. Now to attribute any of these to any creature is idolatry, and to have false gods before his face. Only God should be our hope, faith, love, and fear, and him only should we pray unto. (Isa. viii. 13.)

To pray or trust in any dead saint departed out of this world is idolatry against this commandment; and they that do it have neither commandment nor example in the Scripture to approve their doing. Such as fear the menaces and threatenings of the devil and of the devilish people, who wish the subversion of God's holy word and the persecution of such as

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follow it, and believe not that God hath power to keep them under, and will do so for his word's sake, have false gods before their faces, for he only is to be feared. (Matt. iv. 10. Psa. x. 31. Isa. li. 7.)

Such as be given to astrology, or others, who superstitiously observe the course and revolution of the heavens, and think they can do good or harm, give good fortune or ill, as they think and judge; that elevate the figure of heaven to judge what shall follow them, when they perceive by their nativities under what sign they were born, offend against this commandment. The which abomination hath not only been used before our time by superstitious persons, but also now-a-days by them, who have not a right knowledge of God.

Such as give over-much faith unto medicines, or the nature of stones and herbs (2 Chron. xvi. 12), commit idolatry.

Such as give faith unto the conjuration or sorcery of superstitious persons; as to priests, who bless water, wax, bones, bread, ashes, candles; or others to witches or soothsayers, where they abuse the name of God to singe out the fire of him who hath burned his hand, to stanch blood, to heal man or beast; or to such as by destiny will shew what shall happen unto man, and what plenty shall follow of grain or fruit in the earth, health, or sickness in the air, commit idolatry. (Levit. xx. 27. Deut. xviii, 10, 11.)

I speak not against the knowledge that man seeketh for, whether it be in heaven or in the earth, so that they extend their study to this end, to glorify God in his works, and not to make his works God. Well we be assured by the Scripture, and also by those who knew not the Scripture, that no constellation of heaven, intemperance of the air, water, or earth, can hurt him who feareth God; as the testi

monies of the Scripture declare. Only the disobedience of man towards God maketh man subject to those diseases and sicknesses that man is troubled with. Read the Psalm that beginneth, "Whoso dwelleth in the secret of the Highest shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty." In which Psalm is shewed how sure and free from all ill and diseases he is, that putteth his trust in God; and that neither heaven nor earth, nor any thing that is in them, shall molest him. Read and sée.

Cicero mocketh these blind conjectures and foredestinies, asking in derision of those soothsayers, how it happened that Jupiter commanded the crow to sing at the left hand, and the raven at the right hand.

Isaiah (xxx. 2. and xxxi. 1) sheweth another kind of idolatry, which was used and furnished in our fathers and likewise daily we see with our eyes the same confidence and trust in the power of the flesh, when such as be in league and confederacy together too much trust in their own strength and power. Read those two chapters how the Israelites entered league with the Egyptians, and what was their end, and confer the same into our time. What cities, what princes, and what strength, after the judgment of this world, were united together! But because God was out of the league, see the end, how it availed nothing. To the same confusion shall at length come all kings and kingdoms that trust more in their riches, munitions, and confederacy with men, than in God.

There is forbidden in this part of the commandment, that any man should give thanks for any thing received in this world to any other saving to God. Therefore Hosea the Prophet calleth the synagogue of the Jews, a whore, because she attributeth the gifts she received of God unto her false

gods. The same teacheth Isaiah, lvii. 9. This idolatry is at large written in Jeremiah, ii. Read the chapter, and confer it with our time, that parteth the thanks and praises, that only should be given unto God, with the saints departed out of this world. Every man, as his superstition leadeth him, commendeth his riches to God and St. Erasmus; his ox to God and St. Luke; his horse to God and St. Loie; for every disease he hath a diverse patron, and honoureth him with the prayer that only should be said unto God Almighty in the name of Christ.

This idolatry hath in a manner infected all the Latin church. The nature of this secret and pernicious ill must be by the word of God well marked, lest under the cloak and shadow of true religion it deceive men out of the truth. For this idolatry saith and beareth men in hand, that she doth not so desire help of saints, or thank them for the benefits received, as though she neglected or offended the high and only God but granteth and confesseth God to be the chief giver of all things; howbeit not only for his mercies sake and the merits of Christ his only Son our Saviour, but also at the intercession and prayers of the dead saints. Thus craftily and under a pretence of true religion doth she sunder and divide the glory and the honour due only unto the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, with the saints in heaven, that know nothing of our condition and state in this world. (Isa. Ixiii. 16.)

By this means our elders both the Jews and the gentiles mingled the rabble and multitude of gods with the only God and Maker of all things; not that they thought the idols or images to be God: but thought that by that way God would be honoured. The which is very idolatry: for the law saith, "Thou shalt not do the thing that seemeth good in thine eye, but the thing I have commanded thee to do,"

Therefore to avoid all false religion and superstition of the mind and inward man, God saith, "Thou shalt have no strange gods before me." The conscience therefore must be pure and clean from all private and secret thoughts of idolatry, apostacy, or defection, if we would that God should approve our religion to be true. Every thing that we do for the honour of God, not commanded by his word, is strange and not acceptable to God: as all good intentions, feigned works by man, and all things commanded by general councils not expressed in the word of God, by the Patriarchs, Prophets, Christ, and the Apostles, which be and ever were before God the holy and catholic church, and shew us that whosoever doth add any thing to their laws are the church of antichrist. (Deut. iv. 2. and xii. 13. Rev. xxii. 18, 19.) So called God the fire of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, a strange fire, that is to say, such as he commanded not. God will have none other works of man, than he requireth in his express word.

He condemneth by this law the wicked sacrifice and idolatry committed in the private masses, wherein people do not only take from God and Christ their due honour, but also make another god of bread, which is no more the living God, than the golden calf of the Israelites; as not only the Scripture, but also the reason of man and the senses of all brute beasts of the field, ox and sheep, with all others the birds of the air and fishes of the water, do bear record.

This unspeakable and most abominable ill is taken for the principal article and chief pillar of the true and apostolical church by such as believe not the Apostles' writings. But how can it be the apostolical church, when it repugneth and is clean contrary to the Apostles' writings; likewise contrary to the testa