Joan. i.

of godheide, equalle powar, and evirlastand majestie with the father, is declarit be the evangelist sanct Johne in the beginning of his evangil, sayand thus: In principio erat verbum etc. And as for al trew christin men and wemen, quhilk beleivis in Christ Jesu with ane special faith that wyrkis be lufe, ar the sonnis of God, nocht be natural generatioun, bot allanerly be faith, grace, and adoptioun, for als meki as almychty God the eternal father for the lufe and meritis of [Fol. xcxv. his natural sonne our salviour Jesus Christ, hais forgevin us (xciii.) a.] al our synnis, taking us to his favour, and maid us participant

of his eternal kingdome, with Christ Jesu his naturall sonne, as sanct Paule declaris to the Romanis, sayand: Ipse enim spiritus testimonium reddit spiritui nostro, quod sumus filii dei. The haly spreit beris witnes till our spreit, that we ar the sonnis of God. How beris the haly spreit witnes til our spreit, that we ar the sonnis of God? Trewly be lufe and cheritie, quhen we have a lufe to the commandis of God, and content to fulfil thame with joy and blythnes, principally for the lufe of God, sic a perfit lufe and spiritual affectioun declaris til our conscience that we ar the sonnis of God be Rom. viii. adoptioun. Than it followis: Si filii et heredes, heredes quidem dei, coheredes autem Christi. Gyf we be sonnis we ar also heretouris, heretouris I say of God and participant of the eternal heretage with Jesus Christ.

Our Lord. Quhy sais thow in this artikil that Jesus Christ is our Lord? Verraily he is our Lord and we ar his possessioun be double rycht. First be the rycht of creatioun, he hais creat and maid us, we ar his awin hande wark, he hais gevin us our body and our saule and all the gud that we have. Secund, he is our Lord be the rycht of redemptioun, for quhen we war in the thrildome of syn, the devil, and hell, he redemit us with his awin precious blude, sa that we ar nocht [Fol. xcxv, our awin servandis bot we suld be his servandis to serve him (xciii.) b. as our Lord and maister. Sa he said to his Apostillis: Vos vocatis me magister et domine, bene dicitis, sum etenim. Ye cal me maister and Lord, ye say weil, I am swa. Bot tak tent how he requiris of us agane to follow his exempil in meiknes, lufe and obediens, quhilk gif we do, we sall be sickar that he will as ane potent Lord, help us in all our neid, defend us fra al our ennymeis, and finally (gif we persevere in his

Joan. xiii.

service) reward us with the eternal glore, quhairof he is callit the Lord and the king: Dominus gloriæ et rex gloriæ. The 1 Cor. ii. Lord of glore, and the king of glore.

I

Psal. xxiii.

of this

I trow into Jesu Christ, the only natural sonne of God and The our Lord. That is to say, I trow nocht allanerly that Jesus sentens Christ is verrai God and allanerly Gods natural sonne, quha artikil. hais the same godheid with him, substance and nature, bot that as he said him self, the father hais maid him in his Psal. iii. manheid Lord of all, bot specially he is our Lord, he hais xxviii. deliverit us fra the devil that tyrand, syn, dede, and hell and all evil, and hais tayne us in his awin keping, that he sal 1 Cor. xv. defend us with his rychteousnes, wisdome, powar, lyfe and glore, gif we serve him trewly.

Math.

I

Now because the natural sonne of God is the eternal worde Moral

vertew

the secund

the Crede.

beir the

of God, and be incarnatioun was maid man in the wayme of lessons of the glorious virgin Marie, and also the word of God temporal gadderit of contenit in haly scripture, is bot ane similitude, demonstra[Fol.xcxvi. tioun and furth schawing of that eternal word, we suld in (xciv.) a.] this artikil leir to consaive and beir the temporal word of God artikl of in our myndis, be the exempil of the virgin Marie, quhilk consaivit and buir the eternal word of God be incarnatioun. First, the glorious virgin Marie hard the messingeir of God How we the Angel Gabriel, exponand the will of God to her, behald suld be exempil of thow sall consaive in thi wayme and beir ane barne, and sal the glorious virgin call his name Jesus, etc. Secund, sche consentit to that same Mari, cowill of God, sayand: Ecce ancilla domini, fiat mihi secundum saif and verbum tuum. Behald heir I am the handmaidin of our Lord, word of it mot be to me as thow hais said. Thridly, sche buir him in God. hir wayme certane monethes. Fourtly, she buir and brocht him furth be byrth. And quhen he was borne sche nurissit him: Sa suld we first heir the word of God proponit to us be the messingeir of God, the trew prechour, for it is a takin that we lufe God, gif we heir his word blythly: Qui ex deo est Joan. viii, verba dei audit. He that is of God heiris the word of God. Secund, we suld geve ferme credite to the word, and consent to do as the word biddis us do, or ellis we heir in vaine: Non Heb. iv. profuit sermo auditus, non admixtus fidei, ex his qui audierunt. The worde of preching helpit thame nocht, quhen thai hard it, that beleivit it nocht. Thridly, we suld beir the word in our remembrance, be meditatioun and studie, according as the

Luc. i.

Psal. cxviii.

Col. iii.

[Fol. xcxvi. Prophet sais in the Psalme: In corde me abscondi eloquia tua, (xciv.) b.] ut non peccem tibi. I have hyd thi wordis in my hart, that I suld nocht syn agane the. Fourtly we suld bring furth the word of God, to the edificatioun of our nychtbour, be admonitioun, exhortatioun, cheritabil reprehensioun, and also be preching, gif we be callit to that office: Verbum Christi habitet in vobis abundantur, in omni sapientia, docentes et commonentes vosmetipos. Lat the word of Christ dwell in yow largely, Ephes. iv. warning and teching ane ane uthir: Omnis sermo malus ex ore vestro non procedat, sed si quis bonus ad ædificationem. Lat na evil wordis cum out of your mouth, bot that quhilk is gud for the edificatioun of your nychtbour. Last of all, the word of God suld be nurissit be doing gud deidis, proponit and schawin in the same word, according as sanct James byddis us, sayand: Estote factores verbi et non auditores tantum. Be ye the doaris of the word and nocht heiraris allanerly. And gif ony wald speir how is Jesus Christ maid my Lord and quhat gaif he for my ransoume? I answeir be thir special artikillis that followis.

Jac. i.

[Fol. Xcxvii. (xcv.) a.]

We suld

beleive or trow in

of God

incarnat.

Q

THE THRID ARTIKIL.

The fift Cheptour.

UI conceptus est de spiritu facto, natus ex Maria virgine. I beleive that Jesus Christ was consaivit be the haly spret,

borne of the Virgin Marie. In this thrid artikil God requiris of us to haif a special trew faith in the Incarnatioun of the sonne the sonne of God, without the quhilk na man may be saiffit. For as the excellent doctour Cyrillus sais, our salvatioun standis in the faith of the blissit Trinitie, that is to say, to trow in God the father, in God the sonne incarnat, and also in God the haly spret. So that quhen we say, I beleive in the sonne of God, we suld eik this worde incarnat, sayand: I beleive or I traist in the sonne of God incarnat. Sa, efter that in the secund artikil we beleif with our hart, and confesse with our mouth, the eternal generatioun and nativitie of the sonne of God, quhairby he is trew God with God the father. In the thrid

artikil, we beleive with our hart and confesse with our mouth the temporal generatioun and nativitie of the sonne of God, quhairby he was maid man lyke to us in our nature, except ignorance and syn, and uthir imperfectionis of our saule.

Xcxvii.

Quhilk was consaivit be the haly spret. Quha was the formar, makar and wyrkar of this blissit incarnatioun of the sonne of God? Trewly the haly spret, thairfor thow sais I beleive that Jesus Christ was consaivit be the haly spret, [Fol. for undoutandly he was nocht consaivit be the seid of man, (xcv.) b.] bot be the operatioun and vertew of the haly spret, for als soine as the glorious virgin Marie hard the will of God send and declarit to hir be the hevinly messengear the angel Gabriel, that sche suld consaive in hir wayme and beir the sonne of God, sche consentit to the samyn blissit incarnatioun, sayand: Ecce ancilla domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum Luc. i. tuum. Behald heir I am the hand maidin of our Lord, sa be it to me as thow hais said. Incontinent, as sche had expremit thir wordis, the haly spret wrocht the incarnatioun of the sonne of God, in the wayme of the glorious virgin. For he gaderit certane of the maist pure and clein droppis of blud, quhilk was in the bodie of the virgin, and of thame fassionit and formit the perfit body of our salviour, within hir wayme, and sa sehe consaivit the sonne of God, nocht be the seid of man, bot be the operatioun of the haly spret. Nocht theles ye suld beleive that the haly spret wrocht this blissit incarnatioun, nocht without the wyrking of the father and the sonne, for doutles all the hail Trinitie, the father, the son and the haly spret, wrocht the same blissit haly incarnation, as we gadder of the wordis, quhilk the angel Gabriel said to the glorious virgin. Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Luc. i, altissimi obumbrabit tibi. The halye spreit sall cum upon the, and the powar of the hiast sal ouir schadow the. As ye heir [Fol. plainely the haly spreit expremit, sa quhen he said this word (xcvi.) a.] powar, he speikis of the sonne of God, quhilk is callit virtus et 1 Cor. i. sapientia Dei, the powar and the wisdome of God, quhen he said this worde heast, he spak of the father eternal, quhilk is the heast.

Sa in thir wordis we may leir that the haly Trinitie, the father, the sonne and the haly gaist, was the wyrkar of this incarnatioun, suppose be attribution it is ascrivit

L

Xcxviii.

to the haly spreit, because that the sonne of God was incarnat, for the gret lufe that God had to mankind, and to schaw his gudnes and mercy in redemptioun of mankind, Joan. iii. according as our salviour sais in the evangil of S. Johne Sic deus dilexit mundum, ut filium suum unigenitum daret. Sa God luffit the warld, that he hais gevin his only sonne. And thairfor as powar is ascrivit to the father, and wisdome to the sonne, sa is gudnes and lufe attribut to the haly spreit, be reasone quhairof we say, that the sonne of God was consaivit be the haly spreit.

Declara

tioun of

the blissit nativitie of our salviour.

[Fol. xcxviii.

(xcvi.) b.]

The first circumstance.

Borne. Now christin pepil, we exhort yow to tak tent and considder devotly how plainly the haly evangelistis sanct Mathew and sanct Luke discrivis to yow the blissit nativitie or byrth of our salviour Jesus Christ, leivand na circumstance untald, quhilk makis for the trew knawledge of the same misterie. Declarand in quhat tyme he was borne, quha was Emperour of al the warld in the tyme of his byrth, quha was Levetenent in the land of Jewry in the tyme of his byrth, of quhat clan or househald was he borne? quhat citie was he borne in, and in quhat ludgin of the citie? quha was messengearis quhilk first declarit and tald the same byrth? to quhem was this blissit nativitie first schawin and manifest, quhat was the propir name of his mother, quhat was the name of his father putative? All thir circumstancis we sall twiche brevely, that ye may the bettir remember the blissit nativitie of our salviour Jesus Christ.

The time of this blissit nativitie, efter the computatioun of Eusebius, was fra the beginning of the warld 5,199, quhen Herode sonne of Antipater had regnit in the land of Jewry 30 yeiris and that be the favour and auctoritie of the Senat of Rome, quhen the empyre of the Grekis was put doune, and the Romanis had empyre and dominatioun in the warld, fra the tyme of Abraham (to quhom Christ was promissit) 2,025 in the xxv. day of the moneth of December, the salviour of the warld Jesus Christ was borne. That he suld be borne in siclyk tyme, it was prophesit lang afore be the Prophet Daniel, Daniel ii. schawand, that in the last moneth or universal empyre of the warld, quhilk was the empyre of the Romanis, Christ suld be borne. Quhem he signifiit be ane stane quhilk without handis was hewin doune off a Hyll, quhilk signifyit and betaknit,