The spelling and word divisions are inconsistent throughout theoriginal. No changes have been made, but some possible typographicalerrors are marked with a mouse-hover like this and listed at the end of the etext.
There are no page are numbers in the original. The introduction has"The Prologe." as a running header.
As ye ēvious Philistenes stopped ye welles of Abraham ād filledthem vpp with erth / to put ye memoriall out of mīde / to ye ententyt they might chalenge ye grounde: even so the fleshly mīdedypocrites stoppe vpp the vaynes of life which are in ye scripture /wt the erth of theyr tradiciōs / false similitudes & liengeallegories: & yt of like zele / to make ye scripture theyr awnepossessiō & marchaundice: and so shutt vpp the kingdome of heven whichis Gods worde nether enterīge in thē selues nor soferinge them thatwolde.
¶ The scripture hath a body with out / ād within a soule / sprite & life.It hath wt out a barke / a shell ād as it were an hard bone for yefleshly mynded to gnaw vppon. And within it hath pith / cornell / mary &all swetnesse for Gods electe which he hath chosen to geve them hisspirite / & to write his law & ye faith of his sonne in their hertes.
¶ The scripture cōteyneth .iii. thīges in it first ye law to cōdemneall flesh: secōdaryly ye Gospell / yt is to saye / promises ofmercie for all yt repent & knowlege their sinnes at the preachīgeof ye law & cōsent in their hertes that the law is good / & submittethem selues to be scolers to lern to kepe the lawe & to lerne to beleueye mercie that is promised thē: & thridly the stories & liues ofthose scolars / both what chaunces fortuned thē / & also by what meanestheir scolemaster taught thē and made them perfecte / & how he tried thetrue from the false.
¶ When ye ypocrites come to ye lawe / they put gloses to ād make nomoare of it then of a worldly law which is satisfied with ye outwardeworke and which a turke maye also fulfill. Whē yet Gods law neverceaseth to cōdemne a man vntill it be written in his herte and vntill hekepe it naturally without cōpulsion & all other respecte saue only ofpure love to God and his neyboure / as he naturally eateth whē he is anhongred / without cōpulsiō & all other respecte / saue to slake his hongreonly.
¶ And whē they come to the Gospell / there they mīgle their leuen & saye /God now receaueth vs no mo