Besides the manifold and continuall benefits which Almightie God bestowed upon us, both corporall and spirituall, we are especially bound (deare brethren) to giue him thankes without ceasing for his great grace and vnspeakable mercies, in that it hath pleased him to call vs vnto this marueilous light of his Gospell, and mercifully to regarde vs after so horrible backesliding and falling away from Christ to Antichrist, from light to darknesse, from the liuing God to dumme and dead idoles, and that after so cruell murther of God’s saints, as alas, hath bene among vs, wee are not altogether cast off, as were the Israelites, and many others for the like or not so manifest wickednesse, but receiued againe to grace with most evident signes and tokens of God’s especiall loue and fauour. To the intent therefore that wee may not be vnmindfull of these great mercies, but seeke by all meanes (according to our duetie) to bee thankefull for the same, it behoueth vs so to walke in his feare and loue, that all the dayes of our life we may procure the glorie of his holy name. Nowe forasmuch as this thing chiefely is atteined by the knowledge and practising of the worde of God (which is the light to our paths, the keye of the kingdome of heauen, our comfort in affliction, our shielde and sworde against Satan, the schoole of all wisdome, the glasse wherein we beholde Gods face, the testimonie of his fauour, and the onely foode and nourishment of our soules), wee thought that wee coulde bestowe our labours and studie in nothing which coulde be more acceptable to God and comfortable to his Church then in the translating of the holy Scriptures into our natiue tongue: the which thing albeit that diuers heretofore haue endeuoured to atchieue; yet considering the infancie of those times and imperfect knowledge of the tongues in respect of this ripe age and cleere light which God hath now reueiled, y{e} translations required greatly to be perused and reformed. Not that we vendicate anything to our selues aboue the least of our brethren (for God knoweth with what feare and trembling we haue bene for the space of two yeeres and more day and night occupied herein), but being earnestly desired and by diuers, whose learning and godlinesse we reuerence, exhorted and also encouraged by the ready willes of such, whose hearts God likewise touched, not to spare any charges for the furtherance of such a benefite and fauour of God towarde his Church (though the time then was most dangerous, and the persecution sharpe and furious), we submitted our selues at length to their godly judgements, and seeing the great opportunitie and occasions, which God presented unto vs in his Church, by reason of so many godlie and learned men: and such diuersities of translations in diuers tongues, we vndertooke this great and wonderfull worke (with all reuerence, as in the presence of God, as intreating the word of God, whereunto we thinke our selues