A14136:200
The Obedience of a Christian Man
The obedie[n]ce of a Christen man and how Christ[n] rulers ought to govern, where in also (if thou mark diligently) thou shalt find eyes to perceive the crafty conveyance of all jugglers.The obedie[n]ce of a Christen man and how Christe[n] rulers ought to governe, where in also (if thou marke diligently) thou shalt fynde eyes to perceave the crafty conveyance of all iugglers.
At Marlborow in the lande of Hesse i.e. Antwerp : the second day of October. Anno. M.CCCCC.xxviii, by me Hans luft i.e. J. Hoochstraten, 1528At Marlborow in the lande of Hesse i.e. Antwerp : the seconde daye of October. Anno. M.CCCCC.xxviii, by me Hans luft i.e. J. Hoochstraten, 1528
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Who slew the prophets? Who slew Christ? Who slew his Apostles?1 Who the martyrs and all the righteous that ever were slain? The kings and the temporal sword at the request of the false prophets. They deserved such murder to do and to have their part with the hypocrites because they would not be learned and see the truth them selves. 2Wherefore suffered the prophets? because they rebuked the hypocrites which beguiled the world and namely princes and rulers and taught them to put their trust in things of vanity and not in Gods word3. And taught them to do such deeds of mercy as were profitable unto no man but unto the false prophets them selves only / making merchandise of Gods word. 4wherefore slew they Christ? even for rebuking the hypocrites: because he said / woe be to you scribes and pharisees hypocrites / for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven before men Math. xxiij. it is / as it is written Luke. xj. ye have taken away the 5key of knowledge. The law of God which is the key where ⟨image 82⟩with men bind / and the promises which are the keys where with men loose have our hypocrites also taken away. They will suffer no man to know Gods word but burn it and make heresy of it: ye and because the people begin to smell their falsehood they make it 6treason to the king and breaking of the kings peace to have so much as their pater noster in englisshe. And in stead of Gods law / they bind with there own law.7 And in stead of Gods promises the loose and justify with pardons & ceremonies which they themselves have imagined for their own profit.8 They preach it were better for ye to eat flesh on good Friday than to hate thy neighbour: but let any man eat flesh but on a Saturday or break any other tradition of theirs / and he shall be bound & not loosed / till he have paid the utter most farthing / other with shame most vile or death most cruel / but hate thy neighbour as much as thou wilt & thou shalt have no rebuke of them / ye rob him / murder him / & then come to them & welcome. They have a sanctuary for thee / to save thee / ye and a neverse / if thou canst but read a little latenli though it be never so sorrily / so that thou be ready to receive the beasts mark. They care for no understanding / it is enough / if thou canst roll up a pair of matins or an evensong & mumble a few ceremonies. And because they be rebuked