because he coulde not expresse that which he had in his hart Chap. 4. The Texte 1I Nebuchadnezer beyng at rest in myne house and flourishyng in my palace 2 Saw a dreame which made me afrayde and thoughtes vppon my bed and the visions of myne head troubled me 3 Therefore made I a decree that they should bryng all the wise men of Babel before me that they might declare vnto me the interpretation of the dreame HEre doth Nebuchadnezer declare how hée did know the hye God at length He doth not shew what lessons he had receaued before but because his pride was tamed at lēgth by this dreame therfore doth he onely make mention thereof Yet there is no doubt but he called into memory also his former dreames and condemned him selfe of ingratitude that he had buried so great power of God and that he had blotted out with wicked obliuion so great benefites as God had geuen him Here then onely he speaketh of the last dreame as we shall sée afterward But before he come to the dreame he sayth that he was quiet Whereby he noteth the circumstance of the tyme that we may know that hee was corrected of God because prosperitie had made him dronken and as it were brought him in sléepe It is no maruell though it were so with him for it is an old prouerbe that fulnes engendreth fiercenes as we do sée horses when they are much pampered to kicke to be fierce and not to abide the rider The same also is séene amongest men For if God treat them fauourably and bountifully they waxe fiece they are outragious agaynst all men they shake of the yoke of God him selfe and in the end they forget that they are men And seyng Dauid did so what will prophane men do or such as are ouer much addicted to the word For Dauid doth confesse that he was deceiued with hys quietnes and felicitie that he thought nothyng was more to be feared I sayd in my felicitie or in my quiet state J shall not bee moued And afterward he sayth O Lord thou hast chastised me and J was amased Seyng that Dauid then promised vnto him selfe perpetuall quietnes in the world because God had spared him for a time how ought our tranquillitie to be suspected lest we settle in our dregges Nebuchadnezer therefore doth not recite in vayne that he was quiet in his house and florishyng in his palace for this was the cause of his boldenes and pride that caused him to despise God so carelesly Afterward he addeth that he saw a dreame and that he was troubled He would here without doubt distinguish his dreame from common dreames which do often rise either of the troubling of the braine or of cogitations in the day or of other causes euen as it hath bene seene in an other place Neither is it nedeful here to repeate those things which we haue largely spoken of before Let this be sufficient to perceiue briefly how the dreame may be descerned whereby GOD did admonish him of the punishment to come from other dreames which are either of troubles or vayne or without effect Therfore he sayth that he saw a dreame and yet he was waken For he addeth that he had thoughtes vppon hys bed and then he was troubled wyth the visions of hys head This heape of words doth tēde none other way but that that vision was an heauenly oracle of the which we will speake agayne more largely It foloweth that he made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be called which myght expounde or make open the interpretation of the dreame The kyng no doubt did dreame often neither yet did he cal vnto him euery day the Mages Southsayers and Astrologians and others which excelled in the science of prophecying or at the least did professe it He did not aske thē of al his dreames but because God grafted in his hart a sure note wherby he marked this dreame therefore the kyng could not rest vntill he heard the interpretatiō therof So we haue séene before that the authoritie of the first dreame of the foure Monarchies and of the euerlastyng kingdome of Christ was established so that the kyng perceaued that it came from heauen And there is some differēce betwixt this dreame and that which we expounded before For God did blot out of the remembraunce of kyng Nebuchadnezer the dreame of the foure Monarchies so that it was necessary that Daniel should bryng before the kyng the very dreame and also should interprete it for thē Daniel was more vnknowen For although he had profited so much that he excelled amōg all the Chaldees yet Nebuchadnezer the kyng would lesse haue marueiled at him if he had bene onely an interpreter of the dreame Therfore God would get the greater reuerence to his Prophet and his doctrine when he gaue him two partes that is that hee should foresée what the dreame was and then expound the sense and the end of it In the other dreame Daniel was onely the interpreter But now God did sufficiently proue that he was indued with a heauenly spirite so that Nebuchadnezer should call him no more as one of the Mages but should discerne him from all the residue 4 So came the enchaunters the Astrologians the Chaldeans and the Southsayers to whom I told the dreame but they could not shew me the interpretation therof Here Nebuchadnezer doth confesse that the Mages were called in vayne Whereby it appeareth that all their knowledge was deceiuable or at the least that Daniel could expounde the dreame that came not by mans study or industry but by an heauenly reuelation And I do embrace this sentence that Nebuchadnezer would expresse plainly that Daniel was taught by God to interprete dreames that this was a singular gift of his spirite For he doubted not but that if there were any arte of diuination his Mages enchaunters and Chaldees which boasted vpon the title of perfect knowledge had it This then was without controuersie with him that they knew all thinges that man could know and seyng they could not know this thyng it appeared that Daniel was taught of God and so Nebuchadnezer did extoll him aboue all the Mages as though he should say that he was a Prophet from heauen as appeareth afterward 5 Till at the last Daniel came before me whose name was Beltsazar according to the name of my God which hath the spirite of the holy Gods in him and before him I told the dreame saying 6 O Beltsazar chief of the enchaunters because I know that the spirite of the holy Gods is in thee and no secrete troubleth thee tell me the visions of my dreame that I haue sene and the interpretation therof Here doth the kyng of Babylon speake gently vnto Daniel because hee perceaueth him selfe destitute of his owne Doctours And hereby we perceaue that hee neuer came to the true God but when he was compelled by necessitie Daniel was not vnknowē vnto him neither was
he was a valiant warrior and was in great estimation yet is there no mention made of hym in thys place But whereas Xenophon doth rehearse that Cyaxares who is here called Darius was the father in law of Cyrus and that he was in great honor and authority it is no meruaile though Daniel do name the kyng himselfe because Cyrus was content wyth the power the prayse and the renowme of the victory and he was well cōtent that his father in law should haue the title whom he saw to be aged and worne But thys is vncertayne whether thys were the sonne of Astyages and so the vncle of Cyrus or no. For many historiographers consent together in thys that Astiages was the Grādfather of Cyrus that he maried his daughter to Cambyses because he had learned of the Astrologians that the childe that should be borne of her should be the Lord of all Asia And they tell many things beside how he commaunded Cyrus in hys infancy to be slayne but because these things are vncertayne I do passe ouer them Me thinke this is like to be true that Darius was both vncle and father in law to Cyrus Although if we do beleue Xenophon he was not yet maryed when Babylon was woonne For this hys father in law or vncle being vnable to deale wyth the Babylonians and Assyrians called Cyrus to ayde hym Howsoeuer it is thys that the Prophet sayth may agrée well enough that Darius the kyng of the Medes receaued the kyngdome because that Cyrus although he was more mighty and of greater authority yet wyllingly yelded vnto hym to be the kyng of Babylon and so was he kyng but by title onely ouer the Chaldees ¶ The Prayer GRaūt almighty God that that example of thy wrath which thou hast once shewed against all the proude may be profitable vnto vs at this day and that we being admonished by the punishment of thys one man may learne humbly and modestly to behaue our selues and neuer to desire any such dignity as may displease thee but that we may so cōtinue in our owne state as we may serue thee and may sanctify and glorify thy holy name that we desire nothing separate frō thee that we may so beare thy yoke in this world suffer our selues to be gouerned of thee that we may come in the end to that blessed rest and enheritaunce of thy heauēly kingdome which thou hast prepared for vs and which is purchased for vs by the bloud of thyne onely begotten Sonne Amen Chap. 6. The Text. IT pleased Darius to set ouer the kingdome an hundreth and twenty gouernors which should be ouer the whole kingdome 2 And ouer these three rulers of whom Daniell was one that the gouernors myght geue accomptes vnto them and the kyng should haue no domage HEre may we beholde agayne how God alway cared for hys Prophet and that not so much for his owne sake onely or any priuate respect as for that some comfort might come to the miserable exiles and captiues by hys meanes and diligence For God purposed to reach forth his hand by Daniel And we may call hym worthely the hand of God that strēgthned the Iewes For it is certayne that the Persians as they were a barbarous people of their own nature would haue bene no more gentle Lordes vnto the Iewes had not God set vp his seruaunt Daniel as a meane to succour them Thys then is to be noted that Daniel was chosen one of the thrée gouerners by Darius He had bene now the third vnder king Beltsazar though it were but for a moment yet thys myght haue brought hym into hatred wyth the new kyng because he had such honour geuen him But it is very probable that Darius was admonished of those matters which Daniel hath declared before that is to say that a hand did appeare vpon the wall that Daniel did declare the writing and that he was as an Herald sent from the heauēs to pronounce the destruction of kyng Beltsazar For vnlesse thys report had bene brought to Darius he could neuer haue gotten such authority with Darius For Darius had in hys army very many and we know that when one is a cōquerour by the sword he hath many hungery men about hym for all men are desirous of the spoyle Wherefore Darius would neuer haue taken vnto hym thys man beyng a straunger and a captiue to set hym vp in such honour and power vnlesse he had knowne hym assuredly to be the Prophet of God and hys Heralde in declaring the destruction of the Monarchy of Babylon And hereby we gather that this was the worke of God that he should be amongest the chiefe gouerners and the third in the kyngdome whereby he myght be more easily knowē vnto Darius For if Daniel had bene cast down by kyng Beltsazar he had layne vnknowne at home but whē he séeth him in princely apparell he enquireth who he is Thē he heareth by what meanes he came to so great honor so knoweth him to be the Prophet of God appointeth him to be one of the thrée gouerners Thus do we sée Gods prouidēce wherby he doth not onely preserue hys seruaunt wythout daunger but also prouideth for the wealth of the Church lest that the Iewes should haue bene oppressed more and more by this alteration 3 Now this Daniel was preferred aboue the rulers and gouerners because the spirite was excellent in hym and the king thought to set hym ouer the whole realme 4 Wherefore the rulers and gouerners sought an occasion agaynst Daniel concerning the kingdome but they could finde none occasion nor fault for he was so faythfull that there was no blame nor fault found in hym 5 Then sayd these men we shall not finde an occasion agaynst thys Daniel except we finde it agaynst hym concerning the law of hys God. Now the Prophet setteth forth the tentation that dyd arise sodainly which might haue driuen both hymselfe and the elect people to despayre but that God worketh miraculously For although onely Daniel was cast into the denne of the Lyons as foloweth yet vnlesse he had bene deliuered the condition of the whole people had bene more greuous and rigorous For we know how impudently wicked men do rayle against miserable innocentes when they do sée any aduersity towardes them If Daniel therefore had bene deuoured by the Lyons all men would haue raged against the Iewes wyth all their power God therefore did not onely herein exercise the fayth and patience of hys seruaunt but also he proued the Iewes by the same trial because they did sée themselues ready to suffer all extremity in the person of one man vnlesse God had sodenly holpen them as he did First of all Daniel sayth That he was preferred aboue all others because a more excellent spirite was in hym This doth not alwayes come to passe that they which are excellēt in wisdome or other such giftes haue also more authoritie and fauour For in kinges courtes
moued with cruell threatnynges to pollute them selues with the worshyp of the image at the length are ready to defēd the pure worshyp of GOD not onely by their owne bloud but also by the sufferyng of most horrible tormentes As for the goodnes of God that shyneth forth in the end of this tragedy it is very profitable to arme vs with an inuincible fayth and constancy After this there doth folow the lyke battaile and victory of Daniel hym selfe whiles that he had rather to be cast to the ragyng Lyons then to absteine but three dayes from an open profession of hys fayth lest by deceitfull dissimulation he might prostitute the holy name of God to the derision of the wicked and he beyng deliuered forth of the denne as it were drawen forth of the graue most miraculously triūpheth ouer Sathan and his cōfederates Heare come not forth any Philosophers which can dispute subtily and cunnyngly of vertues in their studyes when they are quyet but here haue we the infatigable constācy of holy men in the exercise of true holynes to styrre vs vp with open cry to folow them Wherfore vnles we be altogether vncapable of doctrine we must learne of those Scholemasters diligently to take hede whether that Sathan lay hys baytes of flattery that we be not snared therewith or if that he assayle vs with violence that we may repulse and breake hys assaultes with a bold contempt of death and all daungers If any man will make excuse that the exāples of both these deliueraūces that we haue named are rare I do graunt that God doth not alwayes stretch forth his hand from the heauens to saue hys in lyke sort but which is sufficient for vs he hath hereby testified that he will be the faithfull guerdon and keper of our lyfe so oft as it shall be in any daunger and that we are not exposed to the lustes of the wicked but that God can assuage their fury and outragious enterprises when he seeth it good But we may not onely looke vpon the end and successe but we must behold how boldly courageously these holy men haue offered them selues to death for the defence of Gods glory neither doth their prompt and ready myndes in offeryng them selues as sacrifices deserue lesse prayse because they were deliuered Now amongest how many styrres and stormes was the Prophet tossed those 70. yeares that he lyued in Captiuity it will be good to consider He was so well treated of no kyng as he was of Nebuchadnezar whom he yet found a ragyng beast The other were more cruell whiles by the sodaine death of Balsazar and the wynnyng of the Citie he was brought vnder new Lordes the Persians and the Medes Who fiercely breakyng in like cruell enemyes as they made all afrayde so is there no doubt but that they wounded his heart And though he were wel vsed of Darius so that that seruitude was tolerable yet through the enuy and cursed conspiracy of the noble mē he was then in most daunger Howbeit as he was more carefull for the commune safety of the Church then for his owne quietnes in what sorow was it like that he remained and with how great grief was he troubled when that present state dyd shew none end of the cruell oppression of that miserable people He did depend assuredly vpō the Prophecy of Ieremy But this was an incomparable paciēce and constancy that his hope dyd not languish nor decay beyng so long differed yea that it was not vtterly drowned beyng drawen through so many ragyng floudes and tempestes after such sondry sortes Now come I to the Prophecies wherof the former were sent vnto the Babilonians partly because God would adourne his seruaūt with certaine speciall markes which should compell that most proude nation though now in conquest to reuerence and honour hym partly because it was conuenient that his name should be had in reuerēce amongest those prophane persons that beyng in authoritie he might exercise the office of a Prophet more freely towardes hys owne nation And after that his name was famous amongst the Chaldees God committed vnto hym Prophecies of great importance which should peculiarly belong to the elect people but God dyd so apply them to the vse and commoditie of the auncient people that they should both mitigate the sorowes with cōfortable remedyes and comfirme the waueryng myndes vntill the commyng of Christ and also he had no lesse regarde of our tymes For that which he dyd speake before of the transitory and vanishyng shew of the Monarchies and of the euerlastyng stability of Christes kyngdome is no lesse profitable to be knowne of vs this day then of old For God declareth that earthly power which is not founded in Christ is transitory and he threatneth a sodeine ruine to all kyngdomes which set them selues vp in pride to obscure or hynder the glory of Christ The Kynges that now reigne in so great kyngdomes vnles they willyngly come vnder Christes dominion shall feele in the end by dolefull experiēce that this horrible iudgement doth also apperteine vnto them For what is more intolerable then to robbe hym of his right and authoritie by whose protection their dignitie is preserued yet do we see how few of that number do receiue the Sonne of God offering hym selfe vnto them yea how they busie them selues how they seeke all shiftes and try all extremities rather then they will suffer hym to enter into their borders and many of their Counsellours diligently apply their whole industry endeuour and study to shut vp all passages And yet in the meane season that they pretende the name of Christianity and do boast them selues the chief defenders of the Catholicke faith it may easely bee confuted as a vayne bablyng if it be once knowne what the kyngdome of Christ is by a true and right definition For the scepter of his kyngdome or hys throne is nothyng els but the doctrine of the Gospell neither doth hys Maiesty shyne any where els neither doth he otherwayes atteine his empire then where all both high and low with quyte myndes to learne lyke shepe do heare his voyce and folow whether so euer he calleth But they do not onely euerywhere reiect this doctrine wherin true Religion and the lawfull worship of God is conteined wherin the euerlastyng saluation of man and the true felicitie consisteth but they banishe it and driue it farre from them with manaces and terrors with fire and with sword and leaue no force vnattempted to driue it forth of their borders And what a blindnes is this and how monstruous that they whom the onely begotten Sonne of God doth call most louyngly vnto him selfe cā not abide to receaue him and to imbrace him But many such is their pride thinke their authoritie nothyng if they submit their scepters to the hye Kyng Others will not suffer theyr lustes to be brideled and as hypocrisy doth blinde the wittes of them all they desire darknes and are afrayd to
So then doth God shew as it were in a glasse that he is the reuenger of hys people as he had promised seuenty yeares before 7 Wherefore the kyng cryed loude that they should bring the Astrologians the Chaldeans and the soothsayers And the king sayd to the wise men of Babel Whosoeuer can read this writing and declare me the interpretation therof shal be clothed with purple and shall haue a chayne of gold about his necke and shal be the third ruler in the kyngdome The Prophet declareth that there was a redemy sought of kyng Beltsazar for his sorow And hereby we gather agayne that his minde was so depely wounded that he perceaued that he could not escape the hand of God for hée would not els haue called the wise men so sodenly in the mids of the feast Furthermore when the Prophet sayth that he cryed loude hereby it appeareth that he was so astonished that he forgot that he was a kyng for it was not agreyng to his dignitie to cry so loude at the table But God had shakē of all his pride therfore was he cōpelled to burst forth in an outcry as though he were a mad man. But now let vs sée what was his remedy He commaunded that the Chaldeans soothsayers and Astrologians should be called Hereby we gather how ready the wits of men are to vanitie lyes and deceites Daniel should haue bene the first among the Chaldeans and that aunswere was worthy to be remembred when hee shewed to the grandfather of kyng Beltsazar before that he should be lyke the wilde beastes Seyng then that this prophecy was thus approued by the successe the authoritie therof ought to haue stand in force euē aboue a thousand yeares He was also dayly in the kyngs sight yet was hee despised and the kyng called for all the Chaldeans Astrologiās Sothsayers and Mages In déede the Sothsayers Astrologiās and Chaldeans were in such high estimation that they might easely darken the fame of Daniel For they counted it an vnworthy thyng that a prisoner should be preferred before their Doctours whē they now knew that they did excell in this glory amongest all people that they were onely wyse Seyng then they would kéepe that estimation that they were as it were the counsellers of God it is no meruell though they despised a straunger Howbeit this thyng hath no colour before god For what can bee alledged for the defence of the wicked kyng His grandfather was set forth as a spectacle of Gods vengeance neuer to be forgotten when he was cast forth of the company of men when hee dwelt with the brute beastes yea with the wilde beastes of the forest And this could not seme to come by chaunce For God had admonished hym hereof in a dreame and also made his Prophet an interpreter of the oracle and vision wherefore the fame of this matter ought to haue bene in perpetuall remembrance amongest the Chaldees The Nephue of king Nebuchadnezer forgetting thys example doth rage agaynst the God of Israell doth pollute the vessels of the temple and maketh a triumph wyth hys Idols But when God setteth forth a signe of his iudgemēt he calleth for the Chaldees and Mages and forgetteth Da niel Can thys be excused by any meanes We sée therefore that mens myndes are ouer prone to the craftes of Sathan and this prouerbe is true the world would be deceaued And thys is worthy to be noted because that many men now a dayes would gladly pretend ignoraunce in the stead of a shield in doubtful matters But they may easely be answered that they are willingly blinded yea that they shut their eyes agaynst the manifest light For if God did count king Beltsazar inexcusable because he had a Prophet once offered vnto hym what shall it auayle vs at thys day to pretend these colourable excuses Oh if I knew certainely which were the will of God I would straight wayes obey For God dayly cryeth openly and calleth vs vnto hym and sheweth the way but there is none that answereth or followeth or at the least very feawe Therefore we ought diligently to consider the example of the kyng of Babylon when we sée that he is very diligēt yet in the meane season doth not séeke God as he ought Wherefore He wandreth about the bush he séeth that he is taken and that he can not escape Gods iudgement but in the meane tyme he séeketh comfort at the Mages and Chaldees that is to say at the deceauers For they had bene already found so to be once or twise as we haue séene before and thys ought to haue bene published and knowen vnto all We sée then that king Beltsazar was blynde because he shut hys eyes against the light offered as all the world is blind at this day almost because it doth not wāder in darknes but when the lyght is offered it shutteth the eyes as though it refused the grace of God and would cast it selfe downe wilfully And this is ouer common Now whereas the Prophet sayth that the king promised to the wise mē that whoseuer could read the writing should haue a golden chayne furthermore he should be clothed with purple and should be the third ruler in the kingdome hereby it appeareth that he was not sincerely touched with the feare of god And this resisting is worthy to be marked in the reprobate because they feare the iudgement of God and yet in the meane season the pride which is in their hartes is not corrected but it bursteth forth euen as we sée in thys king For his knees did smite one an other Furthermore the ioyntes of his loynes were loosed and to conclude there was no part of hys body which did not tremble Therefore the king was as it were dead because that feare had oppressed all hys senses Yet sée we in the meane tyme a secret pride lying hyd in hys hart which burst forth afterward when he promised that he should be the third in hys kingdome whosoeuer should interprete the writing God had now cast hym downe from the dignity of a king yet wil he set vp others in dignity fighting as it were agaynst god What meaneth thys We sée hereby that whensoeuer the wicked are terrified yet do they cherish wythin themselues a secret pride and stubbernes so that God can neuer bring thē vnder They do shew many signes of repentaunce but in the meane space if any mā do wisely cōsider all theyr déedes wordes he shal finde that which the Prophet here speaketh of kyng Beltsazar that they do euē rage against God and that they will neyther learne nor be obediēt although they be vtterly astonished We haue séene thys thyng partly in this verse we shall sée it more manifestly in the end of the chapter Now forasmuch as belongeth to the end of the verse where he sayth he shall rule as the third in the kingdome it is not sure whether he promise the third part of the kingdome or whether he
as I haue sayd he should haue depriued him selfe of the gift of prophecy For we must sée what is lawful for vs to do We know that we are prone to nothyng more then to be drawē away with the entisementes of the world especially with ambition which blindeth vs and troubleth all our senses and there is no greater pestilence For when any man séeth that he can either get some honour or some gayne he doth not consider what is lawfull or what God permitteth but is caryed away as it were with a blynd madnes The same thyng might haue come vnto Daniel if hee had not bene holden backe through a hartie zele of true pietie But he refused that honour offered vnto hym of kyng Nebuchadnezer Therfore would he neuer be counted amōg the Sooth-sayes Astrologians and such lyke deceauers which did delude that nation with their enchauntmentes Hereof commeth it that now the Quéene sayth that there is a certaine man named Daniel But the kyng was not blameles by this pretence because as we haue sayd Daniel had gotten him a famous name for many yeares and God would note him forth with a sure note that mēs mindes should be bent vpon hym as vpon an heauenly Angell For as much then as kyng Beltsazar knew not that there was such a Prophet in his kyngdome it is the signe of a shamefull beastly carelesnes Therfore God would cast this in the téeth of kyng Beltsazar by a womā when she sayth Let not thy thoughtes trouble thee She calleth vpon him gently because she saw hym to be afrayd But in the meane season she sheweth that he erreth ouer grossely because he wandereth about the bush and yet might soone come to hys purpose for as much as God had geuen to his Prophet a light in his hand to lighten hym except hee desired willyngly to wander in darkenes as all the reprobate do Furthermore we may sée in this kyng the common vice of all mankind that is that none doth runne out of the way but he which either flattereth him selfe in ignoraūce or els that would haue all light extinguished Now whereas the Quéene sayth That the spirite of the holy Gods is in Daniell we haue declared in an other place what is men therby For it is no marueile though prophane mē do speake so because they are not able to discerne betwixt the onely God the Angels Wherfore they called Gods indifferētly what so euer came from God or from the heauens Hereby it commeth then that the Quéene calleth the Angels holy Gods in the meane season she setteth God but amongest the commō sort Howbeit it is our part so to knowledge the onely God that hée alone should haue the préeminence and that the very Angels be brought vnder him and that there is no excellency neither in heauen nor in earth which can obscure hys glory For the Scripture laboureth to this end to set God in most high degrée and also that nothyng should be of such excellency which should not geue place to his Maiesty But here we sée how necessary it is that we be taught of the one onely essence of God because from the begynnyng of the world men were alwayes persuaded of this that there was some one most hye power but afterward they all vanished away in their owne cogitations so that they dyd forget God moreouer did ioyne him with the Angels so that all thynges were confounded Seyng then we sée this let vs know that we haue néede that the Scripture should be our guide and teacher to shine before vs to geue vs light that we imagine nothyng of God but so farre as he calleth vs vnto him by his word doth willingly opē him selfe vnto vs. ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seyng thou doest continually call vpon vs by thy Prophetes and doest not suffer vs to wander in the darkenes of errours graunt we besech thee that we may diligently hearken to thy voyce and that we may shew our selues willyng to learne and to be obedient especially seyng thou doest set forth vnto vs such a master and teacher in whom all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge are enclosed Graunt O Lord that we may so submit our selues to thyne onely begotten sonnne that we may continue in the right course of our holy vocation and that wee may alway bend our selues to that marke vnto the which thou doest call vs whiles that we hauyng ouercome all the battailes of this life may in the end attaine to that blessed rest which is purchased for vs with the bloud of the same thy sonne So be it We haue sayd before that the kyng was admonished by the Quéene and that he was conuinced of ingratitude so playnly as might be in that hee had suffered that excellent Prophet of God to be despised whereas that worthy prophecy wherof we haue treated ought to haue bene renowmed and published amongest all mē to mainteine a perpetuall authoritie to this holy man Now that Daniel sayth that the Quéene entred into the house of the banket hereby we may take a probable coniecture that she was not the kynges wife but rather his grandmother I sayd that I wil not contend about that matter because in doubtfull thyngs euery man may fréely vse his owne iudgement But these thinges séeme not to agrée betwixt thē selues that the king did banket with his wife and concubines and also that the Quéene entred into the banket house Therefore here we gather that she was called Quéene for honour sake who though she had no power yet was she in authoritie and fauour And the testimonie of Herodotus doth also confirme this which prayseth the wife of kyng Nebuchadnezer whom he calleth Labynetus He prayseth her for her singular prudence and he calleth her Nitocris Therfore these thynges will agrée well enough that this matrone was absent from the feast because it was not mete for her age and grauitie to feast with others which did delight in riotousnes She then entred into the banket house and admonished the kyng of Daniel now she addeth the cause wherfore Daniel was ruler ouer the Mages Soothsayers Diuiners and all the Chaldees 12 Because a more excellent spirite and knowledge and vnderstandyng for hee did expounde dreames and declare hard sentences and dissolued doubtes were found in him euen in Daniel whom the kyng named Beltsazar now let Daniel be called he will declare the interpretation The Quéene doth here shew the cause wherfore Daniel gotte that dignitie that he might be counted the prince and master of all the wise men Because sayth she the excellency of the spirite was founde in him so that he did interpret dreames and declare secretes and open doubtfull matters Here she reckeneth thrée giftes wherin Daniel was excellent and so she proueth that he passed all the Mages and that none was able to bee compared vnto him The Mages in déede did boast that they were interpreters of dreames that they could
almost throughout the East For the Medes and Persians bare rule from the Sea vnto Aegypt Seyng then the Empire was so large Daniel doth not without cause say that the decrée was proclamed throughout the earth Peace be multiplied vnto you We know that kynges do thus faune vpon their subiectes and vse gentle prefaces that they may more easily obteine their purposes and also that they may haue them more obedient subiectes And this is a thyng that costeth them nought to wish peace to their subiectes And in the meane tyme as I haue sayd by this bayte they do often times séeke fauour to prepare their subiectes to further bondage By the name of peace it is wel knowen that a prosperous state is vnderstand as though hee should say I wishe you to do well and prosperously Afterward hee addeth That a decree is made in his presence that is to say that he of his authoritie doth comman̄de all his subiectes that they all do feare and tremble before the God of Daniel By the which feare and tremblyng he vnderstandeth nothyng but reuerence and worship But thus vse all prophane mē to speake which are afrayde at the naming of god Yet it semeth that he would expresse that the power of the God of Israel was euident which ought to moue them all to reuerence and worship him and that with feare and trembling And this maner of speach semeth to be taken of a true principle because God is neuer truly worshipped but when men are humbled and brought downe Therfore God nameth him selfe many tymes terrible not that he would driue his seruauntes to worship him by feare but because as I haue sayd the mindes of men can neuer be well prepared to due reuerence vnlesse they fully perceaue the power of God so that they are afrayde of his iudgement But if feare onely should haue place in the mindes of men he could not frame them to true holines For that sentence of the Psalme is to be considered There is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared God can not therfore be rightly worshipped or feared vnlesse we be persuaded that hee wil be entreated and that we be sure that he wil be mercyfull vnto vs Yet is it necessary that feare and tremblyng go before which may humble and bring downe the pride of the flesh This is signified by these wordes That all may feare and tremble before the God of Daniel The king calleth him the God of Daniel not that Daniel had made him but because he worshipped him We may rightly say that Iupiter is the God of the Grecians because he was made a God by their foolishnes thereby gate his name and authoritie in the residue of the world And so Iupiter and Minerua and that multitude of the false Gods take their names of their originall There is an other cause why king Darius calleth him the God of Daniel whom Daniel worshipped because hee reueled him selfe to Daniel as he is called the God of Abraham because hee reueled him selfe vnto Abraham But to explicate this thing more manifestly why is hee called the God of Daniel rather then the God of the Babylonians Doubtles because Daniel as hee had learned by the law of Moses so did hee worship God purely which had made his conuenaunt with Abraham and the holy fathers and which had adopted the Israelites for a peculiare people vnto him selfe This did therfore depend of the worship prescribed in the law and the worship did depend of the couenaunt Wherfore the name of Daniel is not put here as though he had libertie to fayne or imagine a God but because he worshipped that God that had reueled him selfe by his word Finally this maner of speach must be thus vnderstand that all mē must feare that God that hath made his couenaunt with Abraham and his posteritie and which hath chosen that nation as a peculiar people to him selfe who hath taught the maner and forme of the true and right worship and hath declared it by his law and whom also Daniel worshipped Therefore let vs learne to discerne the true God from all Idols and mens fantasies if we desire to haue our seruice and worship allowed before him For many imagine that they worship God which yet do wander in all kinde of errours and are not addicted to one true god This is a wicked thing yea it is nothyng but a prophanation of true Religion so confusedly to worship god Therefore we must marke this difference which I haue spoken of that our mindes may euer bee kept within the boundes of the word lest we erre from the true God if so be we couet to reteine him and to folow the Religion that hee alloweth I say that we must abide within the boundes of the word and may neither decline hether nor thether for we shall fall into innumerable deceites of the deuill vnlesse the word kepe vs as it were fast bound vnto it As concerning Darius he did know that there was one most high God but as is sayd before he did not cast away his fayned and wicked Religion wherunto he was accustomed But such mixture of Religiō is intolerable before God. He addeth Because he is the liuyng God and remaineth for euer Here he semeth to bring all the false Gods to nothing But as I sayd all prophane men do so lift vp their mindes to the most high God that yet by and by after they vanish away Therefore if they did acknowledge the true God aright they would immediatly exclude all fayned Gods. But they thinke it enough if God haue the first place and in the meane season they ioyne lesser Gods to him that he may lie hid as it were amōgest the number and yet haue some kinde of préeminence Such was the reason and such was the purpose of Darius for hee vnderstode nothing purely and sincerely of the onely essence of God but supposed the most hye power to be in the God of Israel how soeuer other nations worshipped their Gods. So do we sée that hee departed not from the superstitiōs which he had receiued in his childhode Wherfore there is no cause why we should prayse his godlynes saue onely in this particular action Yet God doth wrast forth of his mouth a confession wherin his nature is described vnto vs He calleth him the liuing God not onely because he hath lyfe in him selfe but also of himself because he is the fountaine and originall of life Wherfore this adiectiue must be taken actiuely because God doth not onely liue but he hath life also of him selfe agayne he is the cause of life because there is no life beside him or without him Afterward hee addeth That he remaineth for euer and so doth he disseuer him from all creatures amongest whom there is nothyng stable nor stedfast For we do know that not onely euery thyng which is vnder the heauen is subiect to chaunges but also the heauen it selfe In this point therfore doth
vpon thy bed is this 29 O king whē thou wast in thy bed thoughts came into thy minde what should come to passe hereafter and he that reueileth secretes telleth thee what shall come ¶ The Meditation Daniel still laboureth to cause the king and all others to geue all glory vnto god Therefore he affirmeth that none of those whom they counted wise men neither any man by arte and science is able to vnderstand Gods secretes but God who is in the heauens doth onely reueile them as he pleaseth And with this poynt he beginneth with the king to smite a reuerence and feare of Gods maiesty into the kinges hart that he might more diligently heare feare the wordes that should after follow and so be the more apte to receiue the mysteries that should be reueiled For this is it that wanteth amongst the worldlinges that they can not thinke that it commeth of God which Gods messengers do bringe vnto them Many now a dayes are willing to heare what can be sayd of the Gospell and what may be brought agaynst popishe supersticion and error but they are not inwardly touched nor moued therefore what so euer they conceiue doth but vanish without profite and goeth forth of theyr remembrance Wherefore this reuerence of God and his word is most necessary as the beginning of wisedome and the preparation of the minde to right vnderstanding So doth Daniel then prepare the kinges minde and abbaseth him selfe and his owne knowledge that God only may haue the glory ¶ The Prayer GRaunt almighty God seing thou wilt haue vs to differ from the brute beastes and therefore hast grafted in our hartes the light of vnderstanding that we may learne to know this to be thy singular grace and gift and that we may reuerence and magnify thee for the same and that we may alwayes exercise our selues in the knowledge of those thinges which may bring vs reuerently to regard thy word and thy maiesty and also that we may put such difference betwixt the commō sense that thou hast geuen vs and the light of thy spirite that thou mayst be glorified and that we may alwayes especially praise thee for thy gift of faith wherby we are made thy childrē engrafted into the body of thy sonne and that we may continually craue encrease of the same fayth of thee whiles in the end thou do bring vs to that full reuelation of light when we being made like thee shall beholde thy glory face to face and shall haue the fruition therof through the same our Lord Iesus Christ Amen 30 As for me this secret is not shewed me for any wisedome that is in me more then in other but only to shew the king the interpretation and that thou mightest know the thoughtes of thy hart 31 O kyng thou sawest and beholde there was a great Image This image of excellent glory stoode before thee and the forme therof was terrible 32 This images head was of fine golde hys breast and armes of siluer his belly and thighes of brasse 33 His legges of yron and his feete were part of yron and part of clay 34 Thou beheldest it till a stone was cut without handes which smote the image vpon hys feete that were of yron and clay and brake them to peeces ¶ The Meditation vpon the .31 c. By this dreame of Nebuchadnezer Daniel as before declareth all the mutations of kynges kyngdomes to be done by Gods prouidence And though they be neuer so rich and pompous though they be neuer so proude fierce or terrible yet GOD by hys secrete counsell doth plucke them downe at hys tyme appoynted because they magnifie them selues agaynst the kyngdome of hys sonne Christ whom he hath determined without mans helpe in the myddes of his enemyes to rayse vp to hys great and eternall kyngdome Now these foure Monarchies the Babilonians or Chaldees the Medes or Persians the Macedonians or Greciās were destroyed one of an other and the last by the Romanes before the kyngdome of Christ was reueiled vnto the world Now the Romanes fell by ambition auarice crueltie and ciuill sedition And Christ who is the iust iudge of the world from all eternitie as he by hys diuine prouidence dyd iustly make the mutations of the other Monarchies so doth he in this last of all when he most euidently setteth vp hys spirituall kyngdome vpon the earth Christ is the eternall wisedome of his father by whom kyngs do raigne and haue their authoritie approued if they séeke that he may raigne amongest them but if they be opē enemyes to hys kyngdome and shew them selues cruell tyrauntes to hys people he then hath power with his yron scepter to breake them downe and destroy them And this dreame of Nebuchadnezer of the destruction of these Monarchies was sent especially for the comfort of Gods people that they should not dispayre when they dyd sée the glytteryng pompous kyngdome of the Chaldees after that of the Persians then of the Macedonians last of all of the Romanes ouerwhelmyng the whole earth but that they should still looke for the kyngdome of Iuda and of Christ which God had once promised to be performed how miserable ruines so euer in the meane space should appeare Therfore then was this dreame sent to the kyng with the interpretation by Daniel that all the East partes of the world might know it that the Iewes there dispersed might still norish their fayth and hope in Gods promises seyng all thynges done by hys appointement and that the same God which had tolde Nebuchadnezer before what should come afterward had also determined what he would do in tyme to come whose purpose could not be chaūged though it were long differred Whereas then the Iewes did know that the Chaldees dyd then raigne ouer them and all the world by the appointmēt of God and that after them there should come an other worse then they and thyrdly that vnder the Macedonians they should be still in troubles and that the Romanes also should be Lordes ouer all and kéepe the world in cruell subiection and last of all that their Messias whom they looked for should be the eternall kyng for euer and that none of the Monarchies had any assured stabilitie this was vnto them a singular comfort and confirmation Thus do we sée for what cause God would haue this thyng to be published euery where which was as then vnknowen that the Iewes might deliuer that from hand to hand vnto their childrē and posteritie which they heard of the mouth of Daniel and that hys prophecie might be extāt and remaine for them a continuall monument in all ages Wherfore when the Iewes that then were captiues dyd sée this terrible Image of their enemy in great admiration vnto all the world what could they then thinke but that they were as it were swallowed vp without recouery And so lykewise vnder the other mighty Monarchies Therefore God of hys great mercy doth offer them this consolation
the beastes of the fielde that is to say let hym haue some portion of meat to sustaine hys lyfe and let hym be washed wyth the rayne of heauen God doth signifie the though he would punish this kyng and shew an horrible tokē of hys wrath yet doth he regarde what he is able to beare and doth so temper the payne that there remayneth hope in the end This is the cause that he hath meate wyth the beastes of the fielde and hath also comfort of the heauenly dew The Prayer GRraunt almighty God that whereas we see how hard a thing it is for vs to beare prosperity and not to be demēted therewith to forget that we are mortall that our frailty and wretchednes may euermore be before our eyes which may retaine vs in true humility whereby we may glorifie thee and beyng admonished by thee may learne to walke wyth carefulnes and feare and submit our selues vnto thee and that we may liue modestly wyth our brethren that none of vs despise an other but study by all meanes to do hys office and duty whyles at the length thou gather vs vnto that glory which is purchased for vs by the bloud of thyne onely begotten Sonne Amen 14 In the decree of the watchmen is the sentence and in the word of the holy ones is the request to the intent that the liuing mē may know that the most hygh hath power ouer the kingdome of men and geueth it to whom so euer he will and appoynteth ouer it the most abiect among men God doth confirme by this verse that which he had shewed in a dreame to Nebuchadnezer Daniel therfore sayth that the king was certified of a matter of truth because it was decréed before God and his Angels The purpose is that Nebuchadnezer should know that he could not escape that punishment whereof he did sée the figure in his dreame There is some darkenes in the wordes but we perceaue the minde of the Prophet Yet is here a doubt for it semeth an absurditie to geue vnto the Angells thys power and authority for this is to make them equall with god We know that God is the only iudge and therefore that it pertayneth to him alone to decrée and to pronounce what sentence he pleaseth If this be attributed to the Angels so much séemeth to be taken away from Gods hygh dignity for it is not méete for hys maiesty to admit any companions But we know by the scripture that it is no strange thing that God taketh hys Angels vnto hym not as equals but as ministers to whom yet he geueth so much honor that he will admit them to hys counsaile And so are the Angels called Gods counsellers Wherfore they are named in this place to decrée with God not of them selues at theyr own pleasure but because they doo subscribe vnto Gods iudgement And here must we note two persons to be attributed vnto them For in the first place Daniel maketh them to subscribe vnto Gods decrée afterward he sayth that they require or demaunde And thys may well be that the Angels doo require in theyr peticions that all mortall creatures may be abased that God alone may haue the preeminence and that al things may thus be brought downe that obscure the glory of god It is méete and right that the Angels require thys continually seing we know that there is nothing that they doo more desire then that they them selues should worshyp God and all creatures with them And when they do sée Gods authoritie to be diminished by mans pride and arrogancy then doubtles they require thys that God would bring downe vnder his obedience and yoke those proude men that set vp theyr creastes agaynst hym Now do we sée why Daniel sayth that thys sentence is in the decrée of the watchmen and in theyr word a request as though he should say thou hast all the Angels thine aduersaries For with one consent and as it were with one mouth they do accuse thee before God that thou doest obscure his glory as much as in thee lyeth and God agreing to theyr requestes hath decreed to cast thee away and to make thee contemptible shamefull before al the world and thys decree is ratified by all the Angels as it were common with him and them For their consent and subscription might haue some authority with this prophane king And doubtles God as he doth many tymes doth now accommodate the vision to this mans capacitie who was neuer taught in the law but had only a confused knowlege of the diuinity so that he dyd not discerne betwix God and the Angels And yet thys sentence is also true that the sentence was published by the common decree of al the heauenly army and that together by supplication and request because doubtles the Angels did take it greuously that any thing should be withdrawne from Gods glory that there should be such madnes in men that they would draw and catch to them selues that which is proper and peculiar to God alone This seemeth to be the true sense And so that which followeth dependeth well hereof that mortall men may know that God hath power ouer the kingdomes of men For Daniel doth note the end of theyr request that the Angels would haue Gods authoritie to remayne wholly to himselfe and that nothing should be taken away therefrom by mans churlish ingratitude For man can chalenge to him selfe neuer so little but he robbeth God of hys due prayse and glory Therefore do the Angels craue of God continually that he would cast downe all the proud and that he would not suffer hym selfe to be defrauded of hys authority but that all power may remayne with hym wholly And this is diligently to be noted that all mortall men may know that the most high doth beare rule in the kingdoms of men For the most wicked will graunt that God hath the chiefe power and authoritie for they dare not draw him downe from his heauēly throne with theyr blasphemies but in the meane season they imagine that they can both get and defend kingdomes in this world either by theyr owne power or riches or other meanes Therefore the vnbeleuers would gladly shut vp God in heauen euen as the Epicure fayneth that God vseth his delicates in idlenes Therfore Daniel sheweth that God is spoyled of his right except he be acknowledged to be the ruler in the kingdome of men that is in the earth that he may humble whō he pleaseth So is it also sayd in the Psalme Power is neither from the east nor from the west but from the heauen And in an other place also It is God that lifteth vp the poore from the doung Agayne in the song of the holy virgin He casteth downe the proude from their throne and exalteth the humble and abiectes They all do confesse this thing but yet scarcely the hundreth man doth thorowly féele in his mynde that God doth rule in this world so that
wee sée very beastes in the chiefe offices And at this day to leaue of old histories as all kinges almost are foolish and bruttsh so also are they the horses and asses of brute beastes Wherefore the more proude and dissolute euery man is the more authoritie hath hee in Princes courtes But when Daniel sayth that he was excellent he commendeth two benefites of God the one that he was endued with more aboundaunce of Gods spirite the other that Darius did knowledge this and therefore set hym in honour when he did sée hym to be a man of great vertue wisdome We perceaue then that which the Prophet would here teach that he was endued from heauen with wisdome and other giftes and also that king Darius iudged a right in weighing hys wysdome and other vertues and therefore set him in honour Because then a more aboundaunt spirite was in hym therfore did he excell all others Yea the king minded to set hym aboue all his kyngdome euen aboue those thrée gouerners Now although this was a singular priuiledge which God did thē vouchsafe to bestow vpō his people his Prophet yet haue we great cause at thys day to lament that kynges do so proudly contemne the giftes of God in all the best men which might be most profitable rulers of the people and in the meane season set so much by blockeheades like themselues and mē that are geuen to couetousnes and extortion yea most cruell and dissolute in all wickednes Seyng then we sée that there is no wisdome or discretion in kynges to discerne who are worthy of rule and authority we may worthely bewayle the state of the world for thys is vnto vs a manifest spectacle of the vengeaunce of God when kinges are so destitute of wisdome But king Darius alone shal be sufficient at the great day to condemne them who had so great a iudgement that he doubted not to set ouer all hys officers a man that was a straunger and a captiue This was therefore a right princelike and heroicall vertue that Darius preferred one captiue before all his familiars But now kynges regard nothing els but to set in authority their baudes their iesters their flatterers So in the meane tyme they set none vp but euill men of no valewe and whom God hath marked wyth some note of ignominy who though they be vnworthy to be counted in the number of men yet are they kynges of kinges for kynges are at thys day for the most part but seruauntes And this commeth vpon them for their slouthfull negligence which refuse and cast away from them all cares and will take no paynes Therefore are they compelled to commit the gouernment vnto others retayning onely the title to themselues These things as I haue sayd are certayne tokens of Gods wrath because the world is vnworthy that God should stretch forth hys hand to gouerne it Now as concernyng the enuie of the nobles we sée that this vice hath reigned in all ages that they despise vertue which do ambitiously aspire to honour For seyng they are giltie in their owne consciences they can not but hate the vertue of others Yet this may be though nothyng straūge that the Persians which had susteined great labours and vndertaken great daungers could not suffer a base and an vnknowen man not onely to be made a companiō vnto them but also to be set ouer thē as a superiour Their enuy therfore séemed to haue some grounde or at the least some colour But this is a thyng most worthy to be condemned that any man should so be addicted to his own commoditie that he should not regard the common profite For who so euer desireth authoritie and doth therein regarde his owne profite onely and not the commō commoditie of the people he must nedes be couetous a briber cruel vnfaithful do nothyng lesse then his office Seyng then that the nobles of the kyngdome enuie Daniel they bewray their wickednes therby that they haue no regard of the commō wealth but that they couet to scrape to catch all thinges to thē selues Now in this example we may sée what commeth of enuy And this is diligently to bee noted because there is nothyng more easie then to fall from one vice to an other He that enuieth an other can bee restreined by no equitie but that he will try all meanes possible how he may ouerthrow his aduersary These nobles do stomake the matter that Daniel should be preferred before them Now if they went no further yet that fault as I haue sayd were a signe of a wicked nature Howbeit they do burst forth further for they séeke some quarell or some crime in Daniel We may sée therfore how enuy doth styrre thē vp to search some crime So are all enuious men as it were in continuall watch and warde to catch them in a snare whose prosperitie they do enuy and to ouerthrow them by any meanes This is one point But when they finde no crime then tread they all equity vnder foote and without all shame and humanitie no lesse cruelly then traiterously they giue thē selues wholly to destroy their aduersary Daniel vttereth this of those that enuyed him He sayth first That they sought an occasion and founde none Then he sheweth the occasion which they tooke of no iust groūde but traiterously For there is no doubt but that they did know Daniel to bee an holy man and approued of god Wherfore when they lay snares for this holy Prophet they fight agaynst God as it were of set purpose but they are blinded with that wicked affection of enuy And whence commeth enuy but of ambition So do we sée ambition to be a most wicked poyson wherof springeth enuy and of this doth falshode and cruelty grow vp But Daniel doth admonish vs by hys example that we must labour to lyue vprightly that the occasion which the enuious and the wicked do séeke for may be takē away Wherfore there can be no better defense agaynst the enuious and the sclaunderers then to behaue our selues vprightly and innocently For how soeuer they lay snares agaynst vs they shall not preuaile for our innocency shall be like a shield to repulse all their malice Yet do we sée by the way that Daniel did not escape cleare for a quarell was sought agaynst hym in an other matter euen in the worshyp of god But here must we learne also that holynes and the care therof ought to be more estemed of vs then our owne lyues Daniel was faithfull and vpright in his gouernment he did execute his office so that he stopped the mouthes of hys enemyes and euilwyllers Wherfore vpright dealyng as I haue sayd is the best shield Agayne Daniel was in daunger because he would not forsake the pure worshyp of God and his profession Therfore must wee suffer daungers boldly and constantly when the question shal be touchyng the worshyp of god For this transitory lyfe ought not to be more deare
be drawen forth into the light Yet is there no more wicked pestilēce thē the feare which Herode had as though he would take away earthly dominions from the Monarches which offereth the heauenly kyngdome to euery one of the least and poorest of the people The next is that whiles one doth looke at the doynges of an other their mutuall league doth reteine them all fast bound vnder the yoke of impiety with a deadly knot For if they would earnestly apply their mynde to enquire what is truth and right yea though they would but onely open their eyes the knowledge therof were euident But because this is perceiued vsually for the most part when Christ springeth forth with his Gospell that also great styrres do aryse vnder an honest pretence they cast away the heauenly doctrine to prouide for publike tranquillity I must graunt in deede that such alterations chaunges as do engender publicke disturbance may be iudged odious but God hath great iniury offered vnles we attribute thus much to his power that he can establish the kyngdome of his sonne and assuage all tumultes that boyle forth agaynst him Although heauen and earth should rolle together the worshyp of God is farre more precious then that the least diminishing therof can be recompensed with any ransome How be it they do burden the Gospell with a false sclander which do imagine that it is the matter cause of tumultes and vproares It is true in dede that God doth therein thunder with the vehemency of his word wherby he shaketh the heauen and the earth but whiles the Prophet bryngeth in this sentence to commend the word and to bryng credit therunto that shakyng is blessed and much to be wished And assuredly vnles Gods glory be set aloft in his due place whiles all flesh be humbled and brought downe the pride of men which doth lift vp it selfe agaynst it will neuer giue place but forced and throwne downe by the strong and mighty hand of god And if so be that the earth trembled at the publishyng of the law it is no maruaile if the power and office of the Gospell appeare more glisteryng and glorious Wherfore we ought more louyngly to embrace the Gospell which whiles it rayseth the dead from the helles and openeth the heauēs to them that were vnworthy to lyue vpon the earth it sheweth a straunge power and vertue as though all the elementes dyd agree to our saluation But loe the tumultes and tempestes do spryng forth of an other fountaine because that some tymes the nobility and such as are in hygh honor in the world do not willyngly suffer the yoke of Christ sometymes the foolish multitude spitteth forth what soeuer is for saluation before they haue any taste what it is and part like porkes delite them selues in their filthynes And others as though they were enraged with infernal furies are outragious in slaughters And the deuil doth pricke forth those that he hath wholly to be his slaues with most excessiue fury and outrage to bryng all to hurly burly Hereof commeth the soundyng of the trumpets hereof come battailes and warres whiles that Heliogabalus that Prelate of Rome with hys red and bloudy route and horned beastes rageth so fiercely agaynst Christ and seketh for helpe on euery side of his filthy Clergy the which altogether although it be not fedde in like daynty sort yet doth it eate browys and collaps out of the same pot and many hungry companiōs flye vnto thē to offer their seruice A great number of the iudges which were wōt to stuffe their bellyes with Idolatrous feastes do fight for their kitchyns bellycheare but chiefly the deuill sendeth raylers out of the cloysters of Monkes and Friers and forth of the dennes of dimsicall Doctours who are like bellowes to kindle the fire I do passe ouer the priuy craftes and wicked conspiracies wherof they can be the best witnesses vnto me that are the greatest enemies to Religion I name no man it is enough to haue pointed them with the finger who are but ouer well knowne It is no maruaile though they which depend of the chaungeable state and the diuerse ishue of thynges continue doubtfull in this confused inuasion of so many beastes But they reiect the blame of their infidelity iniustly and wickedly vpon the holy Gospell of Christ Let vs graunt that all hell with the infernall furies do enter into battayle will God sit idle in the heauēs to forsake and betray his owne cause And when he shall stand vp agaynst them can the craftes of men be they neuer so subtill or yet their forces be they neuer so great let God to haue the victory The Pope they say will bryng with hym a long trayne of confederates It is a iust reward of incredulity to tremble at the sounde of the fall of the leafe And what say you vnwise and vnprouident counsaylers let Christ go that no new straungenes do trouble vs Therfore shall you perceaue shortly after this how much better it had bene to haue God mercyfull and despisyng all vayne terrours to rest vpon his protection then to prouoke hym to open warre lest they should offend and displease the euill and wicked spirites Surely when all thynges are examined to the vttermost by the Popes defenders the superstition which hetherto hath reigned is none other but an euill thyng well and cunnyngly layd vp and placed which they thinke ought not to be styrred because it semeth that it can not be touched without some losse and detriment But vnto them which desire Gods glory and which are setled in true Religion there must be a farre contrary purpose that is that they do so offer their labours vnto God that they commit all the ishues therof to his prouidence who if he had promised nothyng vnto vs peraduenture there might be some iust cause to feare and continually to doubt but seing that he hath so oft testified that hys assistance shall neuer fayle in the settyng forth of the kyngdome of his Christ it is the onely way to do well to settle our selues in this confidence Now it is your partes good brethren as farre as euery mans power and office shall lead hym to be carefull with all his harte that true Religion may recouer hys pure and perfect state I nede not to rehearse how diligently hetherto I haue endeuored my selfe to cut of all occasions of tumultes so that I haue the aungels and you all my witnesses before the hye iudge that the faulte was not in me that the kyngdome of Christ hath not had a peaceable procedyng without any hinderance and I suppose that my diligence hath somethyng profited that priuate men should not passe theyr boundes Now although God by his merueilous power hath spread the restoryng of the Church farther then I durst hope for it yet is it mete to remember what Christ commaundeth his scholers euen to possesse their soules in patience Vnto the which purpose also the vision