By John Bradford
Now that thou hast taught me the service required of thee for me to observe towards the persons of all men and women, of every condition, thou begins to tell me what thou would I should do concerning their goods; and as in the commandment next before this thou did command unto me sobriety and pureness; so dost thou in this, command justice and righteousness; forbidding me to steal; under which word thou comprehends all kinds of deceit; which thou dost, because thou would that I should give over myself wholly to the study and exercise of justice; as in the precept going before, thou would I should give over myself wholly to the keeping of sobriety and pureness; so that I see thy good pleasure herein is not only that I should abstain from all theft, but also from all fraud and craft in word or deed, yea, tot I should earnestly follow and exercise all equity, truth, and justice.
By reason whereof, I see myself much bound to praise thee, who art so careful over my goods and substance, that if any man should go about to steal from me, or to defraud me in any thing, yea, whosoever goes not about to keep and care for that which I have, as he would do for his own, the same displeases thee.
O Lord, if thou hast such care for my goods, cattle, and such pelf, how great is thy care for my soul! If this commandment had not been given, I perceive, I for my own part should have done and should do much worse than I have done; and much worse would have been done to me and mine than has been done. It is thou, good Lord, I perceive, who hast both given all that I have, and also still preserves and keeps the same, and not my own polity, wisdom, and industry; for in vain were all this, except thou did vouchsafe to use and take it as a mean to work by. There is nothing therefore that I have, but whenever I look upon it, by this commandment, I learn thy goodness, strength, and power; for as thou gives it of thy mercy, so it speaks to me that at present thou still dost keep it for me, so that exceeding great cause have I to thank thee for this precept, dear God and most gracious Lord.
But, alas! I am for from thankfulness, and always have been so, for all thy care for me, and for all that ever thou hast given unto me, so that I have used subtlety and craft, yea, sometimes theft and bribery; and now, good Lord, I still exercise the same, when occasion is offered. I live also voluptuously upon that which thou hast given and lent me, and nothing consider, what equity requires; and what or how great the necessity of the poor is, whom I thus defraud by excess and prodigality. That which I borrow, I with unwillingness repay; I use it more negligently than I would do my own. Lack of justice, the great usury, robbery, oppression, and such like wickedness which are exercised among us, I lament not, I labour not after my vocation for the redress of the same, I pray not to thee thereabout, but neglect it altogether.
Yea, even those things wherewith I am entrusted, or am hired to do, those (I say) I do with great negligence; so that my sin is great herein, and I am worthy of condemnation. But, merciful God, I beseech thee, for Christ's sake, to have mercy upon me, and to pardon me my unthankfulness, thefts, frauds, deceits, avarice, negligences, and great carelessness, for the lack of justice, and for the monstrous oppression, usury, excess, and riot, which are horribly exercised in the common weal. For thy mercy's sake in Christ Jesus, O Lord, whom thou has given to fulfil the law for them that do believe, give me true faith and thy Holy Spirit, to work in me the knowledge, love, and perpetual obedience of this thy holy precept, and all thy other commandments for ever.
Dear Lord, give unto me, and to all whom thou would I should pray for, the hatred of all craft, and love of all justice; grant to the oppressed thy comfort, to wrongers repentance; to thieves and deceivers, that they may make restitution; to justices of peace, landlords, and the rich of the world, that they may have thee before their eyes, love their poor tenants and brethren, and give to labourers and artificers, that they may be diligent in their work and labours, and that wherewith they are put in trust.
