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THE

JEWEL OF JOY,

BY

THOMAS BECON.

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TO THE

MOST EXCELLENT PRINCESS AND VIRTUOUS LADY ELIZABETH'

HER GRACE, SISTER TO THE KING HIS MAJESTY, HER MOST HUMBLE
AND FAITHFUL ORATOR, THOMAS BECON, WISHETH TRUE

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S MOST HOLY WORD, AND

A LIFE AGREEABLE TO THE SAME.

WHOSOEVER Considereth and deeply weigheth the state of this our time, most gracious Lady, shall easy espy out urgent causes both of joy and sorrow. For what is he (except an enemy to true and godly religion, a friend to superstition and papistry) that, considering the too much miserable state wherein we lived under the tyranny of the Roman bishop, rejoiceth not to see the most comfortable light of Christ's glorious gospel in these our days to brast out of the thick clouds of popish ignorancy, and clearly to shine among us unto the great consolation of the faithful?

Before God lightened his holy countenance upon us by restoring the light of his most blessed word to this realm of England, how wretchedly were we led captive of that Romish antichrist, whom we reputed not only a man of great excellency and The tyranny singular virtue, passing all other mortal creatures, but almost a god, calling him Romish Christ's vicar, Peter's successor, supreme head of the universal church throughout christendom, and at the last, what not!

How was his power believed to be equal with God's! How took he upon him to forgive sin, to dispense with the law of God, nature, and man, to bless and curse, to interdict lands for not obeying his tyrannical power, to depose kings and emperors, to appoint rulers at his pleasure, to deliver souls out of purgatory, (a place of his own making,) to stablish new religion, to make saints, chiefly such as maintained his antichristian kingdom, &c. !

of the

bishop.

sects.

Again, what a swarm of popish shavelings brought he forth, as it were out of the Monastical bottomless pit of hell, some white, some black, some grey, some russet, some blue, some red, some bearded, some unbearded, some shaven, some unshaven, some booted, some shoed, some crossed, some uncrossed, some close, some open, some flesh-cormorants, some fish-devourers, some Dominicans, some Augustinians, some Minorites, some Carmelites, some Bernardines, some Benedictines, some Antonians, some Paulians, some Clarians, some Brigidians, some and all altogether monstrous,-I mean, monks, friars, canons, nuns, hermits, anchors, anchoresses, votaries, vowesses, lewd brethren, lewd sistren, &c.; which were divided into more than five hundred sects among themselves; whom we esteemed to be of so angelic perfection, that at their hands, at their prayers, watchings, fastings, yea, at their lousy cowls and beggarly observances, we sought salvation and remission of sins, thinking that to do God most high sacrifice, when we were most beneficial to those monstrous sects, idle lubbers, bellied hypocrites, careless caterpillars, and unprofitable clods of the earth, although we robbed our heirs of their right inheritance, spoiled our neighbours, neglected the poor, and despised our needy parents and friends!

How ran we from post to pillar, from stock to stone, from idol to idol, from place Pilgrimages. to place, to seek remission of our sins, and to make God amends for our sinful living! How called we upon dead mawmets for relief and succour! How gilded we images, Images. painted their tabernacles, and set up candles before them, thinking in so doing to do a more meritorious deed than if we had bestowed our goods in helping the poor members of Christ!

[ Afterwards queen Elizabeth.]

[2 The folio has antichristie. Perhaps, therefore, it should be antichristy.]

[3 In one of his other treatises, the Reliques of Rome, Becon gives a detailed account of these and many other religious orders.]

Men's traditions.

of saints.

Purgatory.

Masses.

How hoped we to have God merciful unto us for keeping the traditions of men, Intercession and unmerciful if we neglected them! How fled we in our prayers to such as are departed, for the relief of our necessity, sickness, care, trouble, loss of goods, forgiveness of sins, &c.! What confidence had we to be delivered out of the pope's pinfold after our departure, though we lived never so ungodly, through the popish prattling of monstrous monks, and the mumbling masses of those1 lazy soul-carriers! What trust reposed we in the masking masses of the momish mass-mongers, believing to have as plenteous remission of all our sins in them, as in the precious death of our Lord and Saviour Jesu Christ, that immaculate and undefiled Lamb of God! Into how foolish a paradise were we brought, through the crafty juggling of the spiritual sorcerers, to believe that the work of a sinful man (I mean, saying of the popish private mass for the quick and dead) was a propitiatory, satisfactory, expiatory' sacrifice for the sin of so many as it was offered for, yea, and of greater strength and virtue than the sweet-smelling sacrifice of the high bishop Christ Jesu! For was not this the doctrine of the papists, and now renewed by the apish anabaptists, that Christ satisfied only for original sin by his death; and all other sins, say the pope's chaplains, both venial and mortal, are put away by the sacrifice of the mass, and by our own works of penance?

Auricular confession.

Fasting.

What affiance did we put in auricular confession, and in the whispering absolution of the papists, believing our sins straightways to be forgiven, if ego absolvo were once spoken! How believed we to please God highly, if at the pope's commandment certain days we abstained from a piece of gross smoky bacon, or salt withered beef, and pampered our bellies with all kind of dainty fish, and such other delicate fare! Ceremonies. How were we bewitched to believe, that in observing the pope's ceremonies there was everlasting salvation, and in neglecting them eternal damnation! Who among the Vows. popish votaries thought it not a less offence to deflower virgins, to defile wives, to corrupt widows, yea, unnaturally to abuse themselves, than godly and honestly to marry? In fine, we were so overwhelmed with the clouds of blind ignorance and ignorant blindness, that we neither knew God nor ourselves aright, neither did we understand what the will of God is, nor what we ought to do to please him, nor how to walk in his holy and blessed ways.

Isai. ix.

Col. i.

1 Pet. i.

1 John i.

Rev. i.

Isai. liii.

Matt. viii.

1 Pet. ii.

Heb. vii. ix.

x.

Mark ii. Luke v.

Rom. viii. 1 Tim. ii.

1 John ii. Eph. v. Col. i.

1 Pet. ii. James i.

1 Pet. ii.

Matt. xxv.

Who seeth not in how miserable state we lived under the Romish bishop? Who perceiveth not our captivity to be no less grievous under that Roman antichrist, concerning our souls, than the corporal servitude of the Israelites was under that most cruel king Pharao in Egypt? How fervent occasion therefore have we to rejoice, and to thank our most valiant captain Jesu Christ, for this our deliverance from spiritual Egypt, that vile cage and stinking house of intolerable bondage, and for the restoring of the glorious light of his most blessed gospel to the world in these our days, that we may learn to know him, to honour, worship, and serve him aright, and to do that thing which is pleasant in his most godly sight! It may truly be verified of us that was spoken so many years past by the prophet, saying: "The people which sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung."

We sat in darkness indeed. For we knew not Christ's most precious blood to be a sufficient purgatory for all our sins. We knew not that by the one and alone sacrifice of Christ's most blessed body a perfect ransom, even at the full, was paid for all our wickednesses. We knew not that we were justified by faith alone in Christ's blood. We knew not that God alone absolveth and freely forgiveth us for Christ's sake all our sins, if we repent and believe. We knew not that Christ alone is our intercessor, mediator, and advocate. We knew not that Christ alone is the supreme head of the universal church of christendom, and under him every prince in his own realm. We knew not that the " pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is to visit the comfortless and widows in their trouble, and for a man to keep himself unspotted from the world." We knew not that the true pilgrimage is to sequester ourselves from carnal affects, from worldly lusts, and to visit and to help needy prisoners, and the poor succourless people. We knew not that God re

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Matt. xii.

Matt. vi.

1 Tim. iv.

quired of us "rather mercy than sacrifice." We knew not that the worshipping of Hos. vi. God with the traditions and commandments of men was but vain and unprofitable. Matt. xv. We knew not that the true and christian fast is moderately to taste the gifts of God Isai. Iviii. appointed to be eaten with thanksgiving, to be the more sparing of our meats from our own bellies, that we may have to give the more largely to the hungry, and to keep our minds and bodies free from sins. We knew not that the priests might Lev. xxi. lawfully marry, and ought rather so to have done, according to the law of God, 1 Cor. vii. than to fall into any fleshly uncleanness, and that it is chastity for a man, be he Tit. i. priest or otherwise, if he cannot contain, to lie with his own wife. To be short, 2 Tim. ii. the way of truth was unknown unto us; therefore trode we weary and tedious ways, unto the great discomfort of weak consciences,-would God not unto the loss of many souls!

Ezek. xxiv.

1 Tim. iii.

Heb. xiii.

Wo worth thee, thou antichrist, thou son of perdition, thou deceiver of the people, thou corrupter of men's minds, thou robber of God's glory, thou murderer of christian men's souls; wo worth thee, wo worth thee, for this thy tyranny and cruelty, which thou hast shewed against the poor and ignorant Christians! but the Lord shall destroy thee "with the breath of his mouth," yea, the Lord himself shall give judg- Isai. xi. ment on thee. Thou that wast clothed in raynes', and purple, and scarlet, and Rev. xvii. decked with gold, and precious stone, and pearls, shalt come to nought even at one tion of the hour. For with thine enchantments were all nations deceived; and "in thee hath bishops. been found the blood of the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that were slain on the earth."

2 Thess. ii.

The destruc

Romish

blessed.

O how blessed and godly fortunate are we, to whom it hath chanced, through England the singular benefit of God, to see the fall of this Romish antichrist in this our realm, to have the dark clouds of papistical ignorance dispelled and put away from us, that the true light of God's most holy truth may shine unto us, and that we walk in it without stumbling! God hath beautified England with many goodly benefits and singular gifts; but this restoring of the glorious gospel of his Son and our Lord, Christ Jesu, is a gift incomparable, a benefit inestimable, a treasure most precious; so that all the true-hearted Christians of this our nation may joyfully say with the holy psalmograph: "Thou hast blessed, O Lord, thy land, and hast turned Psal. lxxxv. away the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people thou hast covered all their sins. Thou hast mitigated all thy wrath, and turned away the heavy displeasure of thine indignation."

:

But as we have an urgent cause to rejoice for the restoring of the true light of Christ's gospel unto us, seeing by it we receive so many commodities and singular profits for the health of our souls; so likewise have we no mean cause to lament that with this precious wheat, the food of our inward man, [un]wholesome tares and Matt. xiii. noisome cockle riseth and springeth up, through the envy of Satan our enemy; whereby we may learn how studious and diligent the devil, that old adversary of 1 Pet. v. mankind, is to molest, disquiet, and trouble the congregation of Christ, and to take away from us the most comfortable food of our souls.

Christians.

What wicked and ungodly opinions are there sown now-a-days of the anabaptists, Sectaries. Davidians, libertines, and such other pestilent sects, in the hearts of the people, unto the great disquietness of Christ's church, moving rather unto sedition than unto pure religion, unto heresy than unto things godly! Again, what a number of false Christians False live there at this present day, unto the exceeding dishonour of the christian profession, which "with their mouth confess that they know God, but with their deeds Tit. i. they utterly deny him, and are abominable, disobedient to the word of God, and utterly estranged from all good works!" What a swarm of gross gospellers have we Gross also among us, which can prattle of the gospel very finely, talk much of the justification of faith, crack very stoutly of the free remission of all their sins by Christ's blood, avance themselves to be of the number of those which are predestinate unto eternal glory, &c.; but how far doth their life differ from all true Christianity! They are puffed up with all kind of pride: they swell with all kind of envy, malice, hatred, and enmity against their neighbour: they bren with unquenchable lusts of

[3 Raynes: fine cloth made at Rains, or Rheims.]

gospellers.

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