God bad the redde fee devide,
Which stood upright on every fide
And yaf unto his people a wey,
That they on foot it paffed drey
And gone fo forth into defert,
Where for to kepe hem in covert
The daies whan the fonne brent
A large cloude hem over went,
And for to wiffen hem by night
A firy piller hem alight.
And whan that they for hunger pleigne,
The mighty god began to reine
Manna fro heven down to grounde,
Wherof that eche of hem hath founde
His food, fuch right as him list.
And for they shuld upon him trist
Right as who fet a tonne abroche,
He percede the harde roche
And fpronge out water all at wille,
That man and befte hath dronk his fille.
And afterward he yaf the lawe
To Moises, that hem withdrawe
They shulde nought fro that he bad.
And in this wife they be lad,
Til they toke in poffeffion
The londes of promiffion,
Where that Caleph and Jofue
The marches upon fuch degre
Departen after the lignage,
That eche of hem as heritage
His purparty hath underfonge.
And thus ftood this beleve longe,
Whiche of prophetes was governed.
And they had eke the people lerned
Of great honour, that fhuld hem falle,
But ate mofte nede of alle
They faileden, whan Crift was bore.
But how that they her feith have lore,
It nedeth nought to tellen all,
The matere is fo generall.
Whan Lucifer was beft in heven And ought most have ftonde in even, Towardes god he toke debate, And for that he was obftinate
And wolde nought to trouth encline He fel for ever into ruine.
And Adam eke in paradis, Whan he stood moft in all his pris After the state of innocence, Ayein the god brake his defence And fell out of his place awey. And right by fuch a maner wey The Jewes in her befte plite, Whan that they sholden most parfite Have ftonde upon the prophecy,
Tho fellen they to most foly
And him, which was fro heven come And of a maid his flesh hath nome And was among hem bore and fed, As men that wolden nought be sped
Of goddes fone with o vois
They heng and flough upon the crois,
Wherof the parfite of her lawe
Fro thenne forth hem was withdrawe,
So that they ftonde of no merit,
But in a truage as folk subgit
Withoute proprete of place
They liven oute of goddes grace,
Difpers in alle londes oute.
And thus the feith is come aboute,
That whilome in the Jewes ftood,
Whiche is nought parfitliche good.
To fpeke as it is now befalle
There is a feith aboven alle,
In which the trouthe is comprehended,
Wherof that we ben all amended.
The high almighty mageste
Of rightwifneffe and of pite
The finne, which that Adam wrought,
Whan he figh time ayein he bought
And fend his fone fro the heven
To fette mannes foule in even,
Which thanne was fo fore fall
Upon the point which was befall,
That he ne might him self arise.
Gregoire faith in his apprise :
It helpeth nought a man be bore,
If goddes fone were unbore,
For thanne through the firfte finne,
Which Adam whilom brought us inne,
De fide Chriftiana, in qua perfecte legis complementum, fummi mifterii facramentum noftreque falvacionis fundamentum infallibiliter confiftere creditur.
Gregorius. Oneceffarium Ade peccatum. O felix culpa, que talem
ac tantum meruit habere redempto
There fhulden alle men be loft,
But Crift reftoreth thilke loft
And bought it with his flesshe and blood.
And if we thenken, how it stood
Of thilke raunson, which he paid,
As faint Gregoire it wrote and faid,
All was behovely to the man.
For that, wherof his wo began,
Was after cause of all his welth,
Whan he, which is the welle of helth,
The highe creatour of life
Upon the nede of such a strife
So wolde he for his creature
Take on him felf the forfeiture
And fuffre for the mannes fake.
Thus may no refon wel forfake,
That ilke finne original
Ne was the cause in speciall
Of mannes worship ate last,
Which fhall withouten ende last.
For by that cause the godhede
Affembled was to the manhede
In the virgine, where he nome
Our flesshe and verray man become
Of bodely fraternite,
Wherof the man in his degre
Stant more worth, as I have told,
Than he stood erft by many fold,
Through baptisme of the newe lawe,
Of which Crift lord is and felawe.
And thus the highe goddes might,
Which was in the virgine alight,
The mannes foule has reconciled,
Which hadde longe ben exiled.
So ftant the feith upon beleve,
Withoute which may non acheve.
But this beleve is fo certain
To bigge mannes foule ayein,
So full of grace
and of vertu,
That what man clepeth to Jesu
In clene life forth with good dede,
He may nought faile of heven mede,
Which taken hath the righte feith.
For elles, as the gospel faith,
Salvacion there may be none.
And for to preche therupon
Crift bad to his apostles alle,
The whos power as now is falle
On us, that ben of holy chirche,
If we the gode dedes werche,
For feith only fufficeth nought,
But if good dede alfo be wrought.
Now were it good, that thou forthy,
Which through baptifme proprely
Art unto Criftes feith profeffed,
Beware that thou be nought oppreffed
With anticriftes lollardie.
For as the Jewes prophecie
Was fet of god for avauntage,
Right fo this newe tapinage
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