What shal we saye th&ebar;, that Abrah&abar; o&highr; father as pertayninge to þe; flesh dyd fynde? This we saye: Yf Abraham were made righteous thorow workes, then hath he wherin to reioyse, but not before God. But what sayeth þe; scripture? ^noteAbrah&abar; belened God, ∧ þt; was counted vnto him for righteousnes. Vnto h&ibar; þt; goeth aboute &wt; workes, is the rewarde not rekened of fauoure, but of dutye: Howbeit vnto him, þt; goeth not aboute with workes, but beleueth on him þt; iustifieth the vngodly, is his faith counted for righteousnes. Euen as Dauid sayeth also, that blessednes is onely that mans, vnto wh&obar; God counteth righteousnes without addinge to of workes, where he sayeth: Blessed are they, whose vnrighteousnesses are forgeuen, ^note and whose synnes are couered. Blessed is the man, vnto whom the LORDE imputeth no synne.

B   Now this blessednes, goeth it ouer the circ&ubar;cision, or ouer the vncircumcision? We must nedes graunte, þt; Abrah&abar;s faith was co&ubar;ted vnto h&ibar; for righteousnes. How was it th&ebar; rekened vnto him? In the circ&ubar;cision, or in the vncircumcision? Doutles ^note not in the circ&ubar;cision, but in the vncircumcision. As for the tok&ebar; of circ&ubar;cision ^note he receaued it for a seale off the righteousnes off faith, which he had yet in þe; vncirc&ubar;sion, þt; he shulde be a father of all th&ebar; þt; beleue, beinge in þe; vncirc&ubar;cisi&obar;, þt; it might be co&ubar;ted vnto th&ebar; also for righteousnes: ∧ that he might be a father of circumcision, not onely of th&ebar; that are of þe; circumcision, but of them also that walke in the fotesteppes of the faith, which was in the vncircumcision of oure father Abraham.

C   For the promes (that he shulde be þe; heyre of the worlde) was not made vnto Abraham or to his sede thorow the lawe, but thorow the righteousnes of faith. ^noteFor yf they which are of the lawe be heyres, th&ebar; is faith vayne, and the promes of none effecte, for so moch as the lawe causeth but wrath. For where the lawe is not, there is also no transgression. 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 Abrah&abar; ^note which is the father of vs all. As it is wrytten: ^note I haue made the a father of many Heyth&ebar; before God, whom thou hast beleued: which quyckeneth the deed, and calleth it which is not, that it maye be.

D   And he beleued vp&obar; hope, where nothinge was to hope, that he shulde be a father of many Heythen. Acordinge as it was sayde vnto him: ^note Euen so shal thy sede be. And he was not faynte in faith, nether c&obar;sidred his awne body, which was deed allready, whyle he was almost an hundreth yeare olde, nether the deed wombe of Sara. For he douted not in the promes of God thorow vnbeleue, but was str&obar;ge in faith, and gaue God the prayse: ∧ was sure, that loke what God promyseth, he is able to make it good. And therfore was it rekened vnto him for righteousnes. ^noteBut this is not wrytt&ebar; onely for his sake, þt; it was counted vnto him, but also for oure sakes: vnto wh&obar; it shalbe counted, yf we beleue on him, that raysed vp oure LORDE Iesus from the deed. Which ^note was geuen for oure synnes, and raysed vp for oure righteousnesse sake.

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