every diocese, in so much that in every Cathedral Church the Dean, Chancellor, and Archdeacon, are commonly Doctors or Bachelors of law) do endeavour themselves justly to judge, and spiritually to give sentence according to charity, upon all the acts and deeds done of their Diocesans, after the example of the Chancellor of Worcester, which after M. Tracy was buried (of pure zeal and love hardly), took up the dead carcass and burnt it. Wherefore he did it, it shall evidently appear to the reader in this little treatise: read it therefore, I beseech thee, and judge the spirits of our spiritualty, and pray that the Spirit of Him that raised up Christ, may once inhabit them, and mollify their hearts, and so illumine them, that they may both see and show true light, and no longer to resist God nor his truth. Amen. THE TESTAMENT ITSELF. IN the name of God, Amen. I William Tracy, of Todington, in the county of Gloucester, Esquire, make my Testament and last Will, as hereafter followeth. First, and before all other thing, I commit me unto God, and to his mercy, trusting without any doubt or mistrust, that by his grace and the merits of Jesus Christ, and by the virtue of his passion, and of his resurrection, I have and shall have remission of my sins, and resurrection of body and soul, according as it is written, (Job xix.) I believe that my Redeemer liveth, and that in the last day I shall rise out of the earth, and in my flesh shall see my Saviour. This my hope is laid by in my bosom. And as touching the wealth of my soul, the faith that I have taken and rehearsed, is sufficient (as I suppose) without any other man's work or works. My ground and my belief is, that there is but one God, and one Mediator between God and Man, which is Jesus Christ. So that I do accept none in heaven nor in earth to be my mediator between me and God, but only Jesus Christ, all other be but petitioners in receiving of grace, but none able to give influence of grace. And therefore will I bestow no part of my goods for that intent, that any man should say or do to help my soul; for therein I trust only to the promise of God, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark, the last chapter.) And touching the burying of my body, it availeth me not what be done thereto, wherein St. Augustine, De cura agenda pro mortuis, saith, that they are rather the solace of them that live, than the wealth or comfort of them that are departed; and therefore I remit it only to the discretion of mine executors. And touching the distribution of my temporal goods, my purpose is, by the grace of God, to bestow them to be accepted as fruits of faith. So that I do not suppose that my merit be by good bestowing of them, but my merit is the faith of Jesus Christ only, by which faith such works are good, according to the words of our Lord, (Matt. xxv.) I was hungry, and thou gavest me to eat, and it followeth, that ye have done to the least of my brethren ye have done to me, &c. And ever we should consider the true sentence, that a good work maketh not a good man, but a good man maketh a good work, for faith maketh the man both good and righte ous, for a righteous man liveth by faith. (Rom. i.) And whatsoever springeth not out of faith, is sin. (Rom. xiv.) And all my temporal goods that I have not given, or delivered, or not given by writing of mine own hand, bearing the date of this present writing, I do leave and give to Margaret my wife, and to Richard my son, which I make mine executors. Witness this mine own hand, the 10th day of October, in the twenty-second year of the reign of King Henry the Eighth. tion of God. TYNDALE. A descrip- NOW let us examine the parts of this Testament sentence by sentence. First, to commit ourselves to God, above all, is the first of all precepts, and the first stone in the foundation of our faith, that we believe and put our trust in one God, one all true, one almighty, all good, and all merciful, cleaving fast to his truth, might, mercy, and goodness, surely certified and fully persuaded, that he is our God, yea ours, and to us all true, without all falsehood and guile, and cannot fail in his promises. And to us almighty, that his will cannot be let to fulfil all the truth that he hath promised us. And to us all good, and all merciful, whatsoever we have done, and howsoever grievously we have trespassed, so that we come to him the way that he hath appointed, which way is Jesus Christ only, as we shall see followto his Fa- ingly. This first clause, then, is the first commandment, or at the least, the first sentence in the first commandment, and the first article of our creed. Jesus Christ the only way ther. And that this trust and confidence in the mercy of God is through Jesus Christ, is the second article of our creed, confirmed and testified throughout all scripture. That Christ bringeth us into this grace, Paul proveth, (Rom. 5.) saying, Justified by faith we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ our Lord: by whom we have an entering in unto this grace in which we stand. And, (Eph. iii.) By whom, saith Paul, we have a bold entering in, through the faith that is in him and in the second of the said Epistle, By him we have an entering in unto the Father; and a little before in the same chapter, He is our peace. And John in the first chapter, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, which sin was the bush that stopped the entering in, and kept us out, and the sword wherewith was kept the entering unto the tree of life from Adam and all his offspring. And in the second of the first of Peter, Which bear our sins in his body, and by whose stripes we are made whole. By whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of our sins; (Collos. i. and Ephes. i.) (And Rom. iv.) He was delivered for our sins and rose again for our justifying. And concerning the resurrection, it is an article of our faith, and proved there sufficiently; and that it shall be by the power of Christ, is also the open scripture. The belief surrection of the re is an article of our (John vi.) This is the will of my father which sent faith. me, that I lose nothing of all that he hath given me, but that I raise it up again in the last day. And again, I am the resurrection. (John xi.) That this lively faith is sufficient to justification without adding to of any more help, is this wise proved: The promiser is God, of whom Paul saith, (Rom. viii.) If God be on our side, what matter maketh it who be against us? he is thereto all good, all merciful, all true, and all mighty, wherefore sufficient to be believed by his oath; moreover Christ, in whom the promise is made, hath received all power in heaven and in earth. (Matt. the last.) He hath also a perpetual priesthood, and therefore able perpetually to save. (Heb. vii.) Faith is sufficient to justify us. Christ the only media tor between 1 Tim. ii. God and man. Arguments And that there is but one mediator, Christ, as Paul, And by that word understand an atonemaker, a peacemaker, and bringer into grace and favour, having full power so to do. And that Christ is so, is proved at the full. It is written (John iii.) The father loveth the son, and hath given all into his hand. And he that believeth the son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him. All things are given me of my father. (Luke x.) And all whosoever call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts ii.) Of his fulness have we all received. (John i.) There is no other name given to man in which we must be saved. (Acts iv.) And again, unto his name bear all the prophets record, that by his name shall all that believe in him receive remission. (Acts x.) In him dwelleth all the fulness of God bodily. (Col. ii.) All whatsoever my father hath are mine. (John xvi.) Whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do for you. (John xiv.) One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, which is above all, through all, and in you all. (Ephes. iv.) There is but one whose servant I am, to do his will; but one that shall pay me my wages. There is but one to whom I am bound, ergo, but one that hath power over me to damn or save me. I will add to this Paul's argument, Gal. iii. God sware unto Abraham four hundred years before the law was given, that we should be saved by Christ. Ergo, the law given four hundred years after cannot disannul that covenant. So dispute I. Christ, when he had suffered his passion, and was risen again and entered into his glory, was sufficient for his Apostles, without any other means or help, ergo, the holiness of no saint since hath diminished aught of that his power, but that he is as full sufficient now: for the promise is as deeply made to us as to them. Moreover, the treasure of his mercy was laid up in Christ for all |