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¹ What shal we saye the, that Abraha or father as pertayninge to ye flesh dyd fynde?² This we saye: Yf Abraham were made righteous thorow workes, then hath he wherin to reioyse, but not before God.³ But what sayeth ye scripture? Abraha belened God, & yt was counted vnto him for righteousnes.⁴ Vnto hi yt goeth aboute wt workes, is the rewarde not rekened of fauoure, but of dutye:⁵ owbeit vnto him, yt goeth not aboute with workes, but beleueth on him yt iustifieth the vngodly, is his faith counted for righteousnes.⁶ Euen as Dauid sayeth also, that blessednes is onely that mans, vnto who God counteth righteousnes without addinge to of workes, where he sayeth:⁷ Blessed are they, whose vnrighteousnesses are forgeuen, and whose synnes are couered.⁸ Blessed is the man, vnto whom the LORDE imputeth no synne.

⁹ Now this blessednes, goeth it ouer the circucision, or ouer the vncircumcision? We must nedes graunte, yt Abrahas faith was couted vnto hi for righteousnes.¹⁰ How was it the rekened vnto him? In the circucision, or in the vncircumcision? Doutles not in the circucision, but in the vncircumcision.¹¹ As for the toke of circucision he receaued it for a seale off the righteousnes off faith, which he had yet in ye vncircusion, yt he shulde be a father of all the yt beleue, beinge in ye vncircucisio, yt it might be couted vnto the also for righteousnes:¹² & that he might be a father of circumcision, not onely of the that are of ye circumcision, but of them also that walke in the fotesteppes of the faith, which was in the vncircumcision of oure father Abraham.¹³ For the promes (that he shulde be ye heyre of the worlde) was not made vnto Abraham or to his sede thorow the lawe, but thorow the righteousnes of faith.¹⁴ For yf they which are of the lawe be heyres, the is faith vayne, and the promes of none effecte,¹⁵ for so moch as the lawe causeth but wrath. For where the lawe is not, there is also no transgression.¹⁶ Therfore was the promes made thorow fayth, that it myght come off fauoure, wherby the promesse myghte be made sure vnto all the sede: not onely vnto him which is off the lawe, but also vnto him that is of the faith of Abraha which is the father of vs all.

¹⁷ As it is wrytten: I haue made the a father of many Heythe before God, whom thou hast beleued: which quyckeneth the deed, and calleth it which is not, that it maye be.¹⁸ And he beleued vpo hope, where nothinge was to hope, that he shulde be a father of many Heythen. Acordinge as it was sayde vnto him:¹⁹ Euen so shal thy sede be. And he was not faynte in faith, nether cosidred his awne body, which was deed allready, whyle he was almost an hundreth yeare olde, nether the deed wombe of Sara.²⁰ For he douted not in the promes of God thorow vnbeleue, but was stroge in faith, and gaue God the prayse:²¹ & was sure, that loke what God promyseth, he is able to make it good.²² And therfore was it rekened vnto him for righteousnes.

²³ But this is not wrytte onely for his sake, yt it was counted vnto him,²⁴ but also for oure sakes: vnto who it shalbe counted, yf we beleue on him, that raysed vp oure LORDE Iesus from the deed.²⁵ Which was geuen for oure synnes, and raysed vp for oure righteousnesse sake.