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A04463 Certaine sermons preached before the Queenes Maiestie, and at Paules crosse, by the reuerend father Iohn Ievvel late Bishop of Salisburie. Whereunto is added a short treatise of the sacraments, gathered out of other his sermons, made vpon that matter, in his cathedrall church at Salisburie Jewel, John, 1522-1571.; Garbrand, John, 1542-1589. 1583 (1583) STC 14596; ESTC S107761 183,421 378

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to GOD. And therefore God blessed his doinges as wee see this daye For it is the cause of GOD and not of man The zeale of the Lord of hostes hath done this I wil bring this to passe saith the Lord not for your sakes but that my name may bee glorified among the nations For God chooseth y e weake thinkes and the foolish thinges of the world As for the Aduersaries be they neuer so strong he that dwelleth in the heauens laugheth them to scorne These through feare and dispaire keepe backe from building the temple Some there be that confesse that manye things are out of frame and ought to be looked on but they say it is no time to fall a buylding We must looke for a generall Councel And God graunt we may once see that daye that a general Councel may be called wherein Christ may sit president and all these matters that are nowe in question maye haue indifferent hearing and maye bee decided by the woorde of God But alas they that make a face and shewe of general Councels them selues stoppe and staye that there may be no generall Councell When Luther made his first appeale from the Pope that then was to a generall councell they made him answeare that it was against the decree of Pope Iulius and Pope Pius that anye appeale shoulde bee made from the Pope to any councel When the Emperour had compelled them to a Councel and the Princes of Germanie common weales had sent learned men thither the Bishops that were there assembled woulde not heare any of them preache or dispute or declare their minde For onely bishops may sit speake in their councel and suche as are sworne to mainteine the Pope Aeneas Syluius otherwise called Pope Pius the second saith if a Bishop speake against the Pope yea although hee speake the truth yet neuertheles hee sinneth against the othe that he hath made vnto the pope And last of all when the Councell hath done all that it can the whole conclusion of the matter hangeth vpon y e determination of the Pope Now iudge you what sentence there is like to be where as hee shalbe iudge in his owne cause Thus when they crye out and speake of Councels they seeke delay they mocke with God and man and indeed meane to haue no councel Saint Paul after hee was called of God and touched in his heart and couscience with Gods trueth appealed not to a generall Councel but saith Non acquieni carni sanguini I communicated not with fleshe and blood The kingdome of heauen suffereth violence and the violent take it by force There is no Councel aboue God A Councel may testifie the trueth to be truth but it cannot make falshood to be truth Augustine aunsweared most indifferently writing to Maximinus a Bishop of y e Arrsans y t alleaged a general councel holden at Ariminum Nec ego Nicenum nec tu debes Arimincuse tan quā praeiudicaturus proferre cōcilium c. Neither may I lay to thee the councel of Nice nor maiest thou lay to me the coūcel of Ariminum either of vs thinking therby to find preiudice against the other But let vs laye matter to matter cause to cause and reason to reason by the authority of the Scriptures whiche are indifferent witnesses for both Whē Agisilaus minded to make his passage with his army through his neighbors lande he desired licence of the prince of that countrie the prince saide he coulde make him no ready aunswere but that he would take aduise of his councel Wel then said Agesilaus take you aduisement in the meane season I wil passe through So when our aduersaries delay off soiourne til they may take their deliberation in a councel let them deliberate while they wil but in the meane season let vs passe on in the busines of God and take the occasion offered vs to buylde by a house to the Lord. Some other say it is not yet time y e Bishops be they that should redresse the church Would to God they would For they should be Lux mūdi The light of the world they should be shepheards Watchmen they should be builders of Gods church But what if the light become darknes What if the shepheardes become wolues What if the Watchmen lye asleepe what if the builders become ouerthrowers Ieremie saith the Pastours haue ouerthrowen the Uineyard and is it likely that they wil reare it vp again Christ said vnto y e bishops you haue made my house a denne of theeues is it likely that they wil bring it againe to the former state and make it a place of prayer But O merciful God what a building is that like to bee where ignorance is the foundation where ignoraunce is deuotion and the greatest corner stone of the buylding I pray God lighten their hearts w t his holy spirite and make them to bee that they professe themselues to be the light of the world and true labourers in Gods Uineyarde faithful buylders of his house In the meane season let vs remember that in the olde Lawe whensoeuer the Byshoppe grewe out of order God raysed vp sometimes Prophetes sometimes Princes to refourme the churche to redresse things that were amisse and to reedifie the decayes For the Prince is keeper of the Lawe of GOD and that of both Tables as wel of the first that pertayneth to Religion as of the seconde that pertayneth to good order For he is the Head of the people not onelye of the commons and La●●y but also of the Ministers and Cleargye By that authoritye Moses beynge a Magistrate rebuked Aaron the Bishop for making the golden calfe Ioas beeing a king redressed the riot of the Priestes Salomon being King firste builded the temple of God put down the high Bishop Abiathar and set vp Sadoc Afterwarde the same Temple being polluted was restored not by the Bishoppes but by the Kings Ezechias Iosias Abias Iehosaephat at this time after the captiuitie of Babylon it was restored not by the Bishoppes but by Zorobabel the Prince of Iuda And after the comming of Christ when the Emperours became christened Constantine a Godly Emperour threatned the Bishops if they would not be ruled he would take vppon him to see them punished as hauing in deed authority and power ouer Bishoppes And Iustinianus in his law threatneth the Bishops that if they woulde not make their prayers in a loude voyce that y ● people might say Amen he would punish them with his sworde as hath been sayd before But what needeth more examples When the Arke of God was restored home Dauid being King played the chiefest part Dauid being King made Psalmes and ditties Dauid being King daunced before the Arke and being king set the Bishops Priestes in order And for this cause they are kings euen to serue y ● Lord. And therefore they doe not wel that deuide common weales in two and deuise two heads the one for the
wonne Therefore we ought as our heartes were careful and desirous to see these dayes so by our thankefulnes to God for so great blessinge and by Christian and Godlye prouidence foresee such meanes whereby wee may longe hereafter enioye the same Whē Phydias had made the pourtraiture of Iupiter Pisanus he ouerlayed it with oyle y t it might continue fresh and greene and neuer putrifie When God gaue order to Noah for making the Arke he saide Thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitche that it might be sound and sure abide the waues He which chalengeth to himselfe that proude and wanton name to be called the head of y e vniuersal church after by litle litle he was gotten into possessiō was not behind hand by al meanes to maintaine keepe the same In this policie he tooke away the reading of the scriptures frō the people he made noble men princes his Cardinals He threw downe set vp changed whom what he would The kings states of the world y e bishops professors schollers in vniuersities preachers were brought to swere allegeāce obedience vnto him I deuise not this the stories hereof are abrode y e oth which they tooke is known His authorite grew greater thē the authoritie of general councilles Nothing might be decreed in councels but what pleased him none might be admitted to speak in coūcils but such as were sworne to him He had al law in his breast There was sometimes a proclamation made in Rome y t for considerations no man should erect or builde vp any theater that if any were set vp it shold be rased pulled down Pompeius a gentleman of great wealth noble courage did build a theater such a one as before had not bene seene which would receaue 2500. men contrary to y e proclamation order taken But dubtinge least the next maiestrates should destroy it he caused a place of religion to bee set vpon it called it the tēple of Venus Whereby he prouided y t if any wold ouerthrow it because it was a Theater they might yet spare it for the temples sake for to pul down a tēple was sacrilege Euen so there haue bene proclamations cannons y t no man shoulde be called y e chiefe or y e head of al Churches or vsurpe such authoritie ouer others but when y e Pope built vp his supremacie against the meaning of suche canons hee pretēded religiō for his doing he sayde it was de iure diuino y t no man should presume or attēpt agaīst it y t so his power might cōtinue for euer If they haue bene thus carefull to mainteine falshod how much more careful should we be to maintaine y e truth If they to aduāce their owne kingdome how much more wee to set forth the kingdom of God to builde vp the Church of Christ And if they sought to do y t by lies by false meanes why should we bee slack to vse the right true good meanes wherby that good thing which God hath wrought for vs may bee established And albeit there be many wayes by which the kingdome of God may be mainteined as the fauour countenance of y e prince whiche so cōforteth cherisheth y e Church as the sunne beames cōfort cherish the earth knowledge learning discipline which are as the life the sinues without which the Church must needes fall asunder at this time I wil leaue to speak of the rest only stay vpon learninge which may truly be called y e life or y e soule of y e Church of christian religien How necessarie a thinge they haue counted learninge to the settinge foorth of Religion the stories of our old fathers of heathens and Christians in al ages doe witnesse They thought that neither Religion might stande without knowledge nor knowledge were to bee esteemed without Religion Charles the great that hee might the better plant Religion in Saxonie and Heluetia did erect many places for encrease of learning He knewe well that there was no other way better to establish Religion The Cathedral Churches before such times as ignoraunce and blindenesse grewe ouer all the worlde and brought in an vniuersal corruption maintayned schooles of learning that the doctrine which was taught in those places might bee defended agaynst the gaynesayers by suche learned men as were there bred vp The Princes of Germanie and the free Cities after they had receyued the Gospell they dissolued theyr monasteries which had bene harbourers for such as liued in idlenes and set vp Schooles and colledges which should be nourceries to breede vp learned men that might bee able to teache the people and to maintaine religion Whereby it came to passe that in shorte time they had great store of worthy and learned men This did they wel see that haue bene the enemies of religion therefore vsed all meanes to hinder the encrease of learninge that they might haue the better way to ouerthrow Religion For if learning decay it is likely that Religion can not abide Beare with me if I speake that whiche may seeme more fitt for some other place then for this audience the best here vnderstandeth me wel In other countries the receiuing of the Gospell hath alwayes bene cause that learning was more set by and learninge hath euer bene the furtherance of the Gospell In England I knowe not how it commethe otherwise to passe For since the Gospell hath bene receiued the maintenaunce for learninge hath bene decayed And the lacke of learninge will be the decay of the Gospel Would God it were not so or that yet before the faulte be incurable there may be some redresse Loth I am to speake yet the case so requireth that it is needefull to be spoken I truste I shall speak in the hearing of them that wyll confider it Maintenance of learninge whereby an able and sufficient ministerie may growe and be established in al the Churches of this realme is to be wished for The good estate of this noble kingdome y ● comfort of posterytie y ● staye of Religion the continuing of the Gospell the remouing of darknes hangeth vpon it One asked sometimes howe it was that in Athens so goodly and great a citie there were no Phisitians To whom this answere was made because there are rewardes appointed for them that practise Phisicke The same answere may be made for our times the cause why y ● Church of God is so forsaken is the want of zeale in thē that should either for their curtesie or for their ability be fosterers of learning encrease the liuings where occasion is and giue hope confort to learned men What said I increase●nay the liuings and prouision which hertofore were giuen to this vse are taken away Haue patience if any such be here as I well know there are whom these things touch Suffer me to speake the truth
vessels of honour and the vessels of shame the assaultes of falshood and the glory and victory of truth Here shall we see how God leadeth euen into Hell and yet bringeth safely backe how he killeth and yet reuiueth howe he refuseth the full and feedeth the hungrye howe he is the ruine of many and the resurrection of many Here may we see the wonderfull wayes and the vnsearcheable iudgments of GOD. It is a place full of terrour and a place full of all comfort In respect hereof the Prophete Dauid saith O Lorde our Lorde how wonderful is thy name in al the world Againe he saith One thing haue I desired of the Lord that I wil require that I may dwel in the house of the Lorde al the daies of my life to behold the beauty of the Lorde and to visit his Temple Hiericho was a mighty strong Towne wel manned well victualed well walled well fenced and in affiaunce thereof it withstood the whole power of Gods army Iosuah notwithstanding he had great force of armed men during the assaulte suffered no man to vse his weapon hee willed them all to walke quietly and silent without doyng violence his strength was not in the number and courage of men but onely in the Arke that is in the presence and power of God Thus it fareth oftentimes in spirituall warfares falsehood is armed truth goeth naked falsehood maketh outcries and trueth saith title falsehood is bold and truth is outfaced Blindenesse of it selfe naturally is hardy and ventrous and falsehoode is wyly and shifting When the high priestes captaines of the temple the elvers were come to lay handes on Christ he said vnto them This is your very houre and the power of darknesse Their hearts were darkened their eyes were blynded they saw not their wayes they knewe not their daungers they would not vnderstand they woulde not be taught malice and frowardnes had made them blinde therefore the feare of God was not before their eyes Herein stoode their power therfore they were bolde and sayde Let vs breake their bandes and cast their cordes from vs Therefore they sayde Wee will not haue this man to raigne ouer vs. Therefore they sayde The word that thou hast spoken to vs in the name of the Lorde we will not heare it of thee Thus cryed they because of the blindnes which was in them and because of the folly of their hearts Yet is there no souldier so stoute in defence of Hiericho as hee that thinketh his cause is good and that his doing pleaseth God well and therefore is moued thereto in conscience None so desperate and wilfull for the falsehoode and darkenes of Hiericho as such who haue zeale without knowledge as are blinde and followe their blinde guides who when they slaunder or persecute or kill others for righteousnesse sake thinke they make a sacrifice vnto God and that GOD is highly pleased with their doing Such were they that cryed against Christ Crucifie him crucifie him he hath blasphemed Therefore Christe maketh his prayer for thē Father forgiue them for they know not what they do They know not me they knowe not whence I come nor who it is that sent me they take light for darkenesse and darknesse for light Therefore the wise man saith Leane not vnto thine own wisdom do not the thinges that seem right in thine own eies There is a way which seemeth right to a mā but the issues therof are the waies of death It seemeth Catholique it seemeth holy but the ende thereof leadeth to death S. Paule saith of the Jewes If they had known the wisdome of God they would not haue crucified the Lord of glory If their eyes had beene open to see him if their heart and vnderstanding had been open to know him they had not been guilty of innocent blood they woulde not haue betrayed the Lord of glorie But Hiericho is not onely thus fensed with blinde zeale and wilfull ignoraunce but also oftentimes hath helpe of mans strength and the fauour and succour of worldly power The Aegyptians had mighty Chariots straked and barred with yron in the strength whereof they put their trust The people of Babylon built themselues a Tower as high as the Heauens to shew forth their pryde and get themselues a name Hereof Dauid sayth The kinges of the earth band themselues and the Princes are assembled together against the Lord against his Christ He sayeth not the vulgar people or a sort of Raskals onely but Kinges and Princes and they which beare authoritye in the worlde assemble them selues against the Lord and in this power they thinke they are inuincible When Moses and Aaron did the message of God vnto Pharao saying Thus sayeth the Lorde God of Israel Pharao sayd Who is the Lord that I should heare his voyce let Israel goe I know not the Lord neither wil I let Israel goe What is his power what hurt can he doe I knowe him not I care not for him Israel shall not depart my Countrey So said Nabuchodonosor who is that God that can deliuer you out of mine hands In like sort did Sennacherib king of the Assyriās vaunt himselfe in the pride of his strength and bidde defiance against the God of Israel Thus shal ye speake to Ezechiah king of Iuda and say Let not thy God deceiue thee in whom thou trustest saying Ierusalē shal not be deliuered into the hand of the King of Asshur Haue the gods of the heathen deliuered thē which my fathers haue destroied And euē so doeth Saint Iohn bewray the folly of Babylon She saith in her heart I sit being a Queene and am no widow and shall see no mourning In trust heereof they sayde sometymes and commāded the Apostles that in no wise they should speake or teach in the name of Iesus They sayde We are the children of Abraham wee are the sonnes of the Prophetes They sayde we cannot erre for it is written The Priestes lippes should preserue knowledge and they shoulde seeke the Law at his mouth In trust hereof they saide Doeth any of the rulers or Pharisies beleue in him but this people which know not the law are cursed In trust hereof they haue sayde Let vs cut them out of the land of the liuing let the name of Israel he had no more in remembraunce this doctrine is schismaticall this Religion is new it hath no grounde it shall not preuayle it shall not stande Such courage haue the Citizens of this ignoraunt Hiericho taken in the strength ofmannes arme and in the helpe of worldely policy Then they fell to sworde and persequution and all kinde of tormentes and cruell death the people despayred the very electe beganne to faynte Saint Paule sayeth Wee are made a gasing stocke vnto the worlde and to the Angels and vnto men The Prophet Dauid prayeth vnto GOD against suche Arise O God mainteine thine
of al them that speak agaynst vs that touchinge the very substance of religion wee teache nothinge this day but that hath bene taught before by Christ him selfe set abroade by his Apostles continued in the Primitiue Church and maintained by the olde and ancient Doctors And in one or two wordes onely to giue a taste of the same that thereby ye may the better iudge of the rest Wee saye that in the Sacrament after the consecration remaineth the substance nature of bread and wine The same saith S. Augustine S. Chrysostome Theodoretus Gelasius others Gelasius wordes are so plaine as no man can denie them Non desinit esse substantia panis vini There leaueth not to be the substance of bread and wine Thus wrote they and were Catholiques We say that Christes last Supper must be vsed as a communion frequented with more then one So Christ ordeined it so y ● Apostles the Primitiue Church and all the olde Doctors practised it and neuer was there any of them that euer made mētion of a priuate Masse Thus did they and yet were they Catholiques We say the holy Communion or sacrament of the breaking shedding of the body and blood of Christe ought of necessitie to bee vsed vnder both kindes Thus did all the Doctors vse it And Gelasius an old father saith that otherwise to vse it is open sacriledge And for y ● space of 1000. yeeres after Christ there can no example be found to the contrary Thus did they and yet were Catholiques We say the publique prayers ought to be in the common tongue that the Bishop of Rome ought not to take vpon him to be the head of the vniuersal Church that the prince is of right by the authority that god hath giuen hym the hiest ruler of his Church and Realme as well of the ecclesiasticall officers as of the temporall And all these thinges bee aduouched confirmed by y e examples of the primatiue Church by the olde general Councels and by the Doctors And the contray here of shall neuer be proued nor by old father or Doctor nor by aucient councel nor by example of y ● primatiue Church nor by any sufficient authoritie of the Scriptures I leaue the rest for it were an infinite labour to say as much as might be saide Thus they taught thus dyd they were catholikes alas are we sayinge the same onely because we say y e same become heretiques that was once true is it now become false that was once Catholique doctrine is it now at last become heresie O mercifull God was it thy wil y t thy trueth should be true but for a season vntil there should come men to decree the contrary If we be heretiques that teach the same that the olde Doctours of the Church taught what then are they that teach contrary to the Doctours Christ our Sauiour to reproue the Pharises thought it sufficient to say to them Hoc Abraham non fecit This thing Abrahā neuer did Therefore are you not the children of Abraham Euen so may we truely say to such as holde not themselues contented with this doctrine these things that you do Saint Augustine neuer did Saint Hierome neuer did none of the ancient fathers euer did the Apostles in the Catholike primatiue Church neuer did therefore yee are not the children of S. Augustine ye are not the children of S. Hierome ye are not the children of any of the olde catholique doctors ye are not the children of Christes primatiue Catholyke and vuiuersal Church It may not become me to sette order in these thinges yet if it were lawfull I woulde wysh that once agayne as time shoulde serue there might be had a quiet and a sober disputation that eche parte might be required to shew their groundes without selfe wyll and without affection not to mayntayne or breede contention for I trust it should be the way to take away al contention but onely that the trueth may bee knowen many consciences quieted and the right stone tryed by comparison of the counterfaite For at the last disputation that should haue bene you know whiche partie gaue ouer and would not meddle Some will saye the Iudges wyll not be indifferent And alas what man that doubteth his owne matter wyll euer think the Iudges indifferent Let the whole worlde let our our aduersaries them selues bee Iudges heerm affection put apart let our aduersaries themselues be Iudges What can wee offer more if this bee not sufficient what can there be sufficient Pompeius a noble Gentleman of Rome at what time he shoulde goe into the fielde against Caesar that then was his enemie and some of his counsell told him he lacked men and should neuer be able with so small a number to stande in fielde agaynst Caesar beinge well furnished Tushe quoth hee when so euer I shall but beate the ground with my foote I shall by and by rayse vp a swarme of souldiers Afterward it befell that Pompey was vanquished and glad to flee Then Marcus Cato an old gentleman and one of his army sayd to hym O sir remember your promise you lacke men now let vs see your swarme of Souldiers It is wel knowne that it hath bene spoken both in this place and in other lyke that al the Doctours and al the general councels were against vs. Nowe the armie is discomstted nowe they stande in neede of men nowe let them call for their Doctours and Councels if they come but with one sufficient Doctour or Councell they may haue the field I speake not this to boast my self of any learning but the goodnes of the cause maketh me y e holder Neither woulde I haue in this behalfe said so much as I haue sauing that the matter it selfe very necessitie inforced me so to doe Alas it were great pitie that Gods trueth shoulde be defaced w t priuy whisperings It were great pitie that whole houses shoulde be ouerthrowen mēs consciences wounded the people deceiued Gods trueth and the loue thereof pulled from your heartes his woorke blasphemed as if it came from Beelzebub w tout any good ground without any authorytie of the Scripture without any example of the Primatiue Churche without Counsell without any auncient Doctour or father But they haue another kinde of learuynge which because wee haue not therefore they say we are vnlearned For if controuersies might haue bene tryed by learnyng you shoulde neuer haue seene the Masse agayne after it was once downe If there euer come another change as I pray God wee may neuer see nor surely euer shall wee vnlesse our vnkindnesse pull downe Gods plague vppon vs but if a change come suche a one as they looke for you shall see with what argument they wyll proue their Masse We reade that Christ dyd put the Pharises to silence yet afterwarde when their tyme came they sayde We haue a lawe and by our law he must die But Gods name be praysed no persecutions no