his place therfor doth
make most against our men / and euen the same wayes which they
go about to excuse their facte / by the same it is most playnly
proued to be synne. Let them aknowledge therfor in their doinge
that thinge / which Naaman the Sirian did. And let them begg the
mercie of godd / and the prayers of godly men / that the same
thing which they haue euell doone / and do / maye be pardoned
them. Neither did Eliseus / as our men do thincke / graunte
Naaman licence or libertie to do so as he hadd sayde / but only
he saide vnto hym / goo in peace: which manier of speaking was a
kind of takinge leaue vsed in that age. And as for any other
thinge ther can none be gathered out of thos wordes / onles it
be this that he promised to do that which Naaman required: goo
thy wayes (saithe he) I will do as thow desirest / I shall praye
for the. The prophet doth not reiect hym / if he shuld fall into
this euell. As we do not vtterly reiect nor shutt theise men from
grace which thus do fall: Yeat must we sharply reproue their
doinges that they may acknowledge their fault and synne / and
vnfaynedly lament and repent the same. And we ought also hartily
to praye that they may be raysed vpp agayn. They do obiect also
certayn wordes out of the Epistle of Ieremie / which is entitled
Baruch. The wordes ar theise.

[[Bar. 6.]]

Now shall ye see in Babilon godds of golde / of syluer / of
wodde / and of stone / borne vppon mens shulders to caste out a
fearefulnes before the heathen / But loke that ye do not as the
other: be not afrayed let not the feare of them ouercome yowe.
Therfor when ye do see the multitude of poeple worshipping them
behinde and before / saye yee in your hartes / O Lord / it is
thow that oughtest only to be worshipped / Of theise wordes our
men do gather / that it is sufficient for them when they ar
present at Idolatries / Masses / and popishe supersticions / to
saye in ther harte / O Lord it is thow that oughtest only to be
worshipped. In answer to these men: furst I saye / that this
booke entitle Baruch is none of the Canonicall scriptures: And
therfor no man is bownd to the doctrine of it. But admit the
booke wer of sufficient auctoritie / Then theise men must
vnderstonde / that the prophet doth not gyue the Iues leaue to
comme vnto the temples of Idols / that ther they might be
present at vngodly Idolatrie / bowe ther knee / and so make vpp
the matier / with sayinge in their hart to the true and lyuyng