But these holy and godly learned men did see that thinge in this historie / which our men do not consider / namely this / that Naamã now newly cõuerted to the faithe was a smoking flaxe which was not to be putt out / a weake and shaken reade which was not to be brosed in peices / and that as yet he was very weake / for he was not yet prepared and readye to denye and forsake hymself and all that was his for goddes sake. He thought that it might cõme to pas that he shuld together with the knowledge of the Lyuing godd / easili holde and keape still his old place / office / and dignitie / if he coulde happen to haue that / which he desired of the prophet: And when he did well perceyue that this was his infirmitie and synne / it trobled himso that therfor he desired the prayers and helpe of Heliseus: he desired hym / that if he shuld happen to fall into this euill / yeat that he might be fauored / that he mighte finde mercie / ãd that Heliseus wold praye that the Lorde wolde forgyue hym. Who doth at ony tyme aske forgyuenes for that which he accõptithe Lawfull? forgyuenes is asked for synnes only / Naaman therfor acknowledged this his acte to be a synne: And if I so fall (quod he) then praye the Lorde to forgyue me. This 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 doĩge 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 mẽ frõ grace which thus do fall: Yeat must we sharply reproue their doinges that they may acknowledge their fault and synne / and vnfaynedly lament and repẽt 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 ẽtitled Baruch. The wordes ar theise. [[Bar. 6.]]