And here good reader, great cause we have to extoll the wonderous wisdome of God, and with great thankes to prayse his prouidence, considering howe he hath preserued and renued from age to age by speciall [Sidenote: Hebr. v.] miracle, the incomparable treasure of his Churche. For first he did inspire Moyses, as Iohn Chrisostome doth testifie, to wryte the stonie tables, and kept him in the mountayne fourtie dayes to giue him his lawe: after him he sent the prophetes, but they suffred many thousande aduersities, for battayles did folowe, all were slayne, all were destroyed, bookes were brent vp. He then inspired agayne another man to repayre these miraculous scriptures, Esdras I meane, who of their leauings set them agayne together: after that he provided that the seuentie interpreters should take them in hande: at the laste came Christe him selfe, the Apostles did receaue them, and spread them throughout all nations, Christe wrought his miracles and wonders: and what followed? after these great volumes the Apostles also did wryte as Saint Paul doth say, [Sidenote: 1 Cor. x.] These be wrytten to the instruction of vs that be come into the ende of the worlde: [Sidenote: Math. xxii.] and Christe doth say, Ye therefore erre, because ye knowe not the scriptures nor the power of God: and Paul dyd say, [Sidenote: Colo. iii.] Let the worde of Christe be plentifull among you: and agayne saith Dauid, [Sidenote: Psal. cxix.] Oh howe sweete be thy wordes to my throte: he saide not to my hearing, but to my throte, aboue the hony or the hony combe to my mouth. Yea, Moyses saith, [Sidenote: Deut. xvi.] Thou shalt meditate in them evermore when thou risest, when thou sittest downe, when thou goest to sleepe, continue in them he saith: and a thousand places more. And yet after so many testimonies thus spoken, there be some persons that do not yet so much as knowe what the scriptures be: Wherevpon nothing is in good state amongst vs, nothing worthyly is done amongest vs: In this whiche pertayne to this lyfe, we make very great haste, but of spirituall goodes we have no regarde. Thus farre Iohn Chrisost. It must nedes signifie some great thing to our vnderstanding, that almightie God hath had such care to prescribe these bookes thus vnto vs: I say not prescribe them only, but to maintaine them and defende them against the malignitie of the deuill and his ministers, who alway went about to destroy them: and yet could these never be so destroyed, but that he woulde have them continue whole and perfect to this day, to our singular comfort and instruction, where other bookes of mortall wise men haue perished in great numbers. It is recorded that Ptolomeus Philadelphus kyng of Egypt, had gathered together in one librarie at Alexandria by his great coste and diligence, seuen hundred thousand bookes, wherof the principall were the bookes of Moyses, which reserued not much more, then by the space of two hundred yeres, were all