Produced by Free Elf, Louise Pryor, Early English Books Online and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net {Transcriber's note: The spelling and word divisions are inconsistent throughout the original. No changes have been made, but some possible typographical errors are listed at the end of the etext. There are two places in the original where paragraphs start with a decorative initial capital letter, instead of the usual ¶ sign. These paragraphs are preceded in this etext with a row of asterisks. Several contractions are used in the original. - Vowels with a line over them, usually indicating an omitted m or n, are represented in this etext by ā, ē, ī, ō, ū. - The words "the" and "that" are often printed in the original as a y with a very small e or t over the top. These contractions are represented in this etext by "[the]" and "[that]". - The word "with" is sometimes printed in the original as a w followed by a superscript t. This contraction is represented in this etext by "[with]". - The word "thus" is once printed in the original as a y followed by a superscript s. This contraction is represented in this etext by "[thus]". } ¶ The prophete Ionas/ with an introducciō before teachinge to vnderstōde him and the right vse also of all the scripture/ and why it was written/ and what is therin to be sought/ and shewenge wherewith the scripture is locked vpp that he which readeth it/ can not vnderstōde it/ though he studie therin neuer so moch: and agayne with what keyes it is so opened/ that the reader can be stopped out with no sotilte or false doctrine of man/ from the true sense and vnderstondynge therof. W. T. vn to the Christen reader. As [the] ēvious Philistenes stopped [the] welles of Abraham ād filled them vpp with erth/ to put [the] memoriall out of mīde/ to [the] entent [that] they might chalenge [the] grounde: even so the fleshly mīded ypocrites stoppe vpp the vaynes of life which are in [the] scripture/ [with] the erth of theyr tradiciōs/ false similitudes & lienge allegories: & [that] of like zele/ to make [the] scripture theyr awne possessiō & marchaundice: and so shutt vpp the kingdome of heven which is Gods worde nether enterīge in thē selues nor soferinge them that wolde. ¶ The scripture hath a body with out/ ād within a soule/ sprite & life. It hath [with] out a barke/ a shell ād as it were an hard bone for [the] fleshly mynded to gnaw vppon. And within it hath pith/ cornell/ mary & all swetnesse for Gods electe which he hath chosen to geve them his spirite/ & to write his law & [the] faith of his sonne in their hertes.