tribulae recondendum horreo frumentum colligitur sic per exercitia pressurarum fidelium numer us eliquatur The word that heere is translated tribulation imports a pressing out for as the iuyce of the Oliue berry is pressed out by the weight of the presse so by the exercise of Tribulation the number of faithful ones commeth out and increaseth daily Besides this let militant Saints in their afflictions remember this comfort that as tribulation hath an in-gate so hath it also an out-gate these are they who come out of tribulation if tribulation had an in-gate and not an out-gate wee might iustly be discouraged but this place plainely tels vs the contrary and Saints by experience finde it true Many are the troubles of the righteous but God deliuereth them out of them all Israel had forty two stations in forty yeares wandring through the wildernesse from Marah they marched vnto Helim in Marah were bitter waters which sore afflicted them in Helim were twelue fountaines of sweet waters and seuenty Palme-trees which much comforted them If for the present thy station be the place of bitter affliction beare it patiently and the Lord shal transport thee shortly into another station where hee shall refresh thee with the sweet water of consolation Neyther are Saints said to be in tribulation only but in great tribulation but let not this discourage vs The Lord weigheth the waight of the windes they blow not one puffe more then hee hath appointed The Lord ruleth the raging of the Sea it proceedes not one foot beyond the bounds limited it by the Lord. What-euer be the malice of Satan or his instruments the Lord bridleth them they cannot increase our crosses more then the Lord permits Rabsache may raile and blast out blasphemous boastings but the Lord hath a hook in his nose-thrils Sith all our troubles are moderated by the Lord let vs not grudge nor murmure or thinke they are too heauy or too great Physicians are not reproued for giuing a greater dose of Pilles vnto one then to another according to the diuersity of their dispositions and shal not this praise be reserued to the Lord that he knoweth best what measure of trouble is meetest for his children But of this how our troubles are measured in quantity quality and time we haue spoken in our Treatise on the eighth to the Romanes And haue washed Washing presupposeth that they were vncleane before so are wee all two maner of wayes First in respect of our conception I was borne in iniquity and in sinne hath my Mother conceiued mee Heere is the filthinesse of originall sinne Who can bring a cleane thing out of that which is vncleane Yet is there a washing to take away this vncleanenesse I saw thee polluted in thine owne bloud but I spred my skirts ouer thee and couered thy filthinesse and washed thee with water Next wee are vncleane through the filthinesse contracted in our conuersation and this is the pollution of actuall sinne Who can say I haue made cleane my heart I am cleane from sinne If wee say we haue no sinne we are lyers and the truth is not in vs. And this daily polluting of our selues with sundry sorts of sinnes requires daily purgation This was figured by these typicall oblations commaunded in the Law which were indeed as Augustine calls them lotiones laruatae shadowes of another thing warning vs to wash our selues daily in that fountaine opened to the house of Dauid for sin and for vncleannesse Of all this wee see that sinne is a vile and lothsome filthines Oh that we could see it as it isâ—… It is that leprosie which infecteth the bloud the skin the garments the house and all that a man hath It is more vgly and abominable then a menstruous cloth Our righteousnes is like a menstruous cloth said Esay Whereunto then shal our righteousnesse be compared It is pitie to see how we are blinded and deceiued with the deceit of sinne We can abide no vncleannes in our body in our garments in our meat in our drinke in our houses in the vessels wherewith we are serued yet wee feare not at the vncleannes of sinne What a folly is this thou wilt haue all things cleane yet hast no care to haue thy soule cleane thou canst not abide spots in thy face and yet wilt not abandon the filthinesse of thine heart Great need haue we to be washed for we are told that no vncleane thing can enter into heauenly Ierasalem And that which our Sauiour said to Saint Peter Except I wash thee thou shalt haue no part with me Oh that it could mooue vs as it moued himâ—… for he answered Lord rather then I should be depriued froÌ„thy fellowship wash not my feet onely but also my hands and my head In all these are we vncleane our feete are our sinfull affections by our head vnderstand our proud imaginations and in our hands our vncleane actions In all these we haue need to be washed and purged It had been better for vs if wee had needed no purgation at all Sed mansisset nobis integra dignitas illa à qua per amarum peccati gustum excidimus but this is the glory of elect Angels that they neuer sinned Now our neerest happinesse is to haue our sinnes forgiuen washed away in the bloud of the Lambe Blessed is he whose wickednes is forgiuen c. Yet remaines it to be considered how this action of washing is ascribed vnto them They haue washed their garments When Dauid had defiled himselfe with vile adultery and murther he prayed to the Lord in this manner Wash mee throughly from my sinne and cleanse mee from mine iniquitie But here it is said that the Saints haue washed their owne robes For resolution of this it is to be noted that in all the works of our saluation which by commandement of God are enioyned to vs wee should and must be dooers not idle loyterers but workers Worke out your saluation in feare and trembling A necessary obseruation for this age wherein all men looke for saluation but neuer consider with themselues as those Iewes that Iaylor did What shall we do that we may be saued They cast all the burden vpon the Lord but will not be bound to any duty they require that which he promiseth but remember not what he requires of them True it is that the principall worker is the Lord He is the author and finisher of our faith without him we can doe nothing Yet when hee worketh for vs he worketh in vs and with vs As that most comfortable word vsed by the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports whereof we haue spoken at more length on the eighth to the Romans When hee worketh with vs hee causeth vs also to worke with him for our selues For he worketh in vs both
the will and the deed And hereby may yee know that the Lord in mercy is working your saluation when hee worketh in you both a will and a deed to doe all that yee can that yee may be saued sorrowing for sins past euer fearefull for sinnes to come continuall in prayer feruent in thanksgiuing and euery way carefull to keepe your selues in your spirit and so to be at peace vvith GOD and vnder the sence of his loue Their garments or their robes here come to be considered Seeing the garments of Saints is the righteousnesse of Christ according to that Put ye on the Lord Iesus and againe Christ is made vnto vs righteousnes how is it that their garments neede washing Truth it is indeed the righteousnesse of Iesus imputed to vs by which wee are iustified is perfit holy like vnto himselfe without all spot or blemish but our inherent righteousnes which by his Spirit he worketh in vs and whereby we are sanctified in this life is imperfit not without spot but all the defects thereof are destroyed in death by the clensing vertue of the bloud of Iesus and we then shall bee presented blamelesse to the Lord. Our Lord hath fulfilled the righteousnesse of the Law for vs but he shall also fulfill it in vs and this is it which heere is to bee vnderstood by the washing of their garments And made them white in the bloud of c. The Lambe as we haue spoken before is the Lord Iesus who takes away the sinnes of the world his Disciples are also called Lambs Behold I send you forth as Lambs in the middest of Wolues yea all Christians are so called Peter louest thou mee feede my Lambs they are also called the Light of the world but not that true Light which lighteth euery maÌ„ that commeth into the world and so he is called a Lamb in a speciall respect Agnus singulariter solus sine macula non cuius maculae abstersae sunt sed cuius macula nulla fuerit onely without spot not because they are washt away but because he had none to wash away Agnus quem lupi timent qui lâ—…onem occisus occidit a Lambe of whom Wolues are afraid and who being slaine slew the Lyon But of him we haue spoken before As to his bloud the efficacy thereof appeares in this that it is medicinall to them who shed it the same Iewes of whom S. Peter saith that they crucisied Christ by the preaching of his Crosse were conuerted to the faith of Christ three thousand of them at one Sermon Ipsoredempti sanguine quem fuderunt redeemed by the same bloud which theÌ„selues shedde Sic enim Christi sanguis in remissionem peccatorum Iesus est vt ipsum etiam peccatum delâ—…re possit quofusus est For the bloud of Christ was in such sort shed for the remission of sinnes that it is able to put away that same sinne by which it was shed What a wonder is this the Physician comes to cure a frantique patient the frantique slayes the Physician and yet the Phisician of his bloud makes a sufficient medicine to cure the frantique qualis insania eius qui medicum occidit quanta verò bonitas potentia medici qui de sanguine suo insano interfectori suo medicamentum fecit O how great was his madnesse who slewe his mediciner and how great is the goodnes and power of the mediciner who of his owne bloud hath made a healing medicament to him that shed it Yea the very manner of phrase vsed by the Seignior or Elder le ts vs see how the worke of our redemption wrought by the bloud of Iesus is full of miracles for is not this strange that where all other bloud defiles and pollutes that wherevpon it lights this bloud purifies and cleanses them on whom it lighteth Other bloud maketh the whitest linnen vgly vnpleasant and lothsome to behold but this bloud makes a menstruous cloth pleasant white Though your sinnes were as crimson they shal be made white as snow though they were red as scarlet they shall be made white as wooll But to this cleansing of vs there is no need of the naturall or corporall sprinkling of that bloud vpon vs No the sprinkling of that bloud that purifies vs is spirituall Let vs drawe neere with a true heart in assurance of faith sprinkled in our hearts from an euill conscience No word here is as we see of any Papall purgations Indulgences or fire of Purgatorie or holy Water these are the Merchandize and wares of whoorish Babel such trumperie is not knowne in heauenly Ierusalem onely the bloud of Iesus must wash thee All other washing pollutes and defiles thee Though thou wash thee with â—…itre and take thee much Sope yet thine iniquity is marked before me saith the Lord God But the bloud of Iesus cleanseth vs from all sinne With Scripture Fathers are consonant to cry out against this blasphemous purgation of sin by any infernall fire Piorum animâ—… recta in beatas seâ—…es impiorum in gehennam abeunt the soules of godly men goe the high way into heauen the wicked straight vnto hell Anima vbicunque eâ—…olauerit è corpore aut à daemonibus in infernum aut ab Angelis in coelum abripâ—…tur the soule so soone as it fleeth out of the body is either reft and carried to hell by Diuels or to heauen by Angels Sinne they grant is forgiuen here but the punishment of it must be sustained there Against this let them mark what S. Cyprian saies Quando istine excessum fuerit nullus iam poenitentiâ—… locus nullus satisfactionis effectus vita hic aut tenetur aut amittitur from the time we go out of this life there is no more place of repentance nor effect of satisfactioÌ„ by suffering here life is either kept or lost Qualem te inuenit Deus cum vocat talem pariter indicat such as God findes thee when by death he cals on thee such he iudges thee Vnusquisque cum causa sua dormit cum causa sua resurget euery man sleepeth with his cause and with his cause shall he rise againe there is no changing nor bettering of it betweene his death and his resurrection PostquaÌ„ discesserimus non est in nobis situm poenitere neque commissadiluere From time we goe out of this life wee are not able to repent nor to wash away the sinnes which we haue done It were tedious to rehearse all And therfore I returne conclude this point In the bloud of Christ there is a threefold vertue First a purging vertue next a protecting vertue thirdly a pacifying vertue What need haue we theÌ„ of any other thing or to seeke any other merit or bloud beside his Of his purging vertue we haue spoken already His protecting
descripta qui soli quid in Deo sit viderunt True Religion is described in the writings of the Apostles and Prophets who onely did see what is in God Credere debemus quod Scripturae perfectae sunt quippe à verbo Dei Spiritu eius dictae Wee ought to beleeue that the Scriptures are perfect as being endited by the Word and Spirit of God His niti firma est Petra his derelictis alijs niti quibuslibet doctrinis est in effusa arena aedisicare To depend on the holy Scripture is to build on a sure Rock but to leaue them and depend vpon any other doctrine is to build vpon sand Si fidelis est Dominus in omnibus sermonibus suis fidelia omnia mandata eius manifesta est elapsio à side superbiae crimen aut reprobare quid ex his quae scripta sunt aut superinducere quid ex non scriptis Sith God is faithfull in all his words and all his commandements are true it is a manifest falling from the faith either to reiect any thing that is written or to receiue any thing that is not written Many more might be added but that it were tedious But their other assertion is much more blasphemous Is the satisfaction that Christ hath made to the Father for vs imperfect Must it be supplyed by humane satisfactions Did not the Cup which our Sauiour dranke for our sinnes in the Garden make his Soule heauy and his Body to sweat bloud Who is it that dare drinke out that which our Sauiour hath left vndrunken If the brimme of the cup so troubled him who is able to drinke out the bottome Certainely none at all If the most holy man that euer liued were appointed to beare the punishment that is due to one of his smallest sinnes it would vtterly confound him If they knew this and were touched with the smallest sense of the wrath of God they would close their blasphemous mouthes from speaking of the insufficiency of Christ his satisfaction or of any help or supply to be adioyned to his merits VERSE 3. And no man in heauen nor in earth nor vnder the earth was able to open the Booke nor to looke thereupon THE answer of the Angels Proclamation is here subioyned in a strong negation that none in heauen nor in earth nor vnder the earth could open the Booke This speech hath in it a Propheticall amplification which makes the amplification the stronger to exclude all creatures from this dignity that it may be reserued to Iesus Christ alone hee onely is worthy to open the Booke The Iesuites of Rhemes shew themselues ridiculous in the exposition of this place these are their words Hee speakes not of the damned in hell of whom there could be no question but of the faithfull in Abrahams bosome and in Purgatorie I pray you is there any question at all when he had said None in heauen could do it what needed him to subioyne Nor in earth Was there any question that could be found on earth worthy to open the Booke sith none in heauen could do it Is this spoken by way of question No but as I haue said it imports a strong negation Now as to your faithfull that you bring in here to be in Limbo which wrongfully yee call Abrahams Bosome was Abraham or any of the faithfull at this time in Limbo According to your doctrine when Christ descended to hell then hee harried hell hee left not a soule there but loosed them all out of that prison This Proclamation was more then fifty yeeres after Christs resurrection and will yee now haue any faithfull soules to bee still there euen contrary to your owne doctrine No better is your other allegation of your faithfull in Purgatorie Sith none in heauen could open this Booke I am sure it was neuer the Angels purpose to seeke any in any house of hell to do it It is your shame that in so impudent a manner against so cleere light yee abuse and deceiue the world with your forgeries VERSE 4. Then I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to reade the Booke neither to looke thereon IN this is declared the louing affection of S. Iohn toward the Church hee mournes for that shee should be depriued of the comfort of this Reuelation all that are true and feeling members of the Church are grieued for the troubles of the Church her wants her losses and the least obscuring of her glorie is the matter of their mourning and of all losses they apprehend this most the want of the comfort of the Word for where no Vision is there the people perish Eli was not so much moued at the report of the death of his two sonnes as when he heard that the Arke of the Lord was captiued Then hee fell from his seate backeward and died And his daughter in Law when she in like manner heard that the Arke was captiued brake her heart through displeasure notwithstanding they comforted her because she had born a son yet she answered not nor regarded it but named the childe Ichabod No glorie saying The glory is departed from Israel Nehemiah was for himselfe in a good estate in the seruice of King Artashaste but when Hanani told him of the desolation of Ierusalem the sorrow of his heart made his countenance sad before the King the welfare of Ierusalem was dearer vnto him then the welfare of his owne estate But now the Church is full of bastard children who haue no compassion of her estate if they as the Prophet speakes of carnall Israelites be at ease themselues they sorrow not for the affliction of Ioseph Againe here is a plaine difference betweene such as are inspired with the Spirit of Christ and others possessed with the spirit of Antichrist the opening of the Bible to the one is a matter of their ioy to the other a matter of their griefe Iohn weepes because the Booke was closed Antichrist and his crue grudge and rage this day because the Booke is opened These are the brood of these Heretiques whom Tertullian of old called Lucifugae they hate the light because it conuinceth them of darkenesse VERSE 5. And one of the Elders said vnto me Weepe not behold the Lyon which is of the Tribe of Iuda the Roote of Dauid hath obtained to open the Booke and to loose the seuen Seales thereof VVE haue heard before S. Iohn mourning now we heare him comforted This is God his order Blessed are they who mourne for they shall be comforted Mourning must go before consolation sorrowfull teares are the seed of plentifull ioy No man putteth new wine into old bottels The consolations of the Lord are better then wine they comfort they refresh they strengthen the soule but the old heart is not capable of them we must therefore by mourning empty our hearts of our old sinnes before
are yet stand wee debt-bound to him in so much more as hee that died for vs is more then we are What then shall we talke of any worthinesse but his And hath redeemed vs. There is the effect of Christs death to wit our Redemption We were vnder a most fearefull seruitude and bondage of Satan and sinne we sold our selues to them most foolishly now hath our Lord bought vs againe and redeemed vs Not with any corruptible thing as gold or siluer but by the precious bloud of the Lambe of God vnspotted The greatnesse of the price giuen for vs may tell vs how great his loue was toward vs who hath redeemed vs as also how desperate our danger was from which wee could not bee any other way deliuered Other Kings make conquest by sheading the bloud of their people but Iesus Christ hath conquered for vs by the sheading of his own bloud A most rare and maruellous thing and such as hath not beene heard of before The Physician drinkes the bitter potion and the Patient is cured But of this and many notable maruels to bee marked in the worke of our Redemption wee haue spoken in that Treatise on the eighth to the Romanes and elsewhere Vnto God We are loosed from the bondage of Satan that wee should be bound seruants to our God So Zacharie in his Song God hath shewed mercy toward vs that wee being deliuered out of the hands of our enemies should serue him without feare Let Libertines marke it who turne the grace of God into wantonnesse liuing a loose and dissolute life in as much as they are not bound vnto God they manifestly declare that they are not as yet loosed from the Diuell Si Christianus es vt nominaris sicut particeps es nominis eris etiam particeps vnctionis If thou beest a Christian as thou art named one as thou art partaker of the name so wilt thou also be of the vnction If thou be a Christian then Put on the Lord Iesus and study to be like vnto him For Christianisâ—…nus imitatio est Diuinae Naturae True Christianity is an imitation of the Diuine Nature Out of euery kindred There is the amplitude of this Redemption it is not limited within any Kingdome not within Canaan Now of a truth I perceiue that God is no accepter of persons Yet vniuersality is here excluded They say not Hee hath redeemed euery Nation and Tribe but some out of euery Nation and Tribe The secret Decree of God his ElectioÌ„ is executed by his Calling wherby out of the whole lumpe and masse of lost mankinde hee separateth culleth and chuseth out to himselfe so many as in his secret counsell hee hath chosen to saluation But to eschew repetition the Reader who pleaseth may looke concerning this purpose that which is written of the golden Chaine on the eighth to the Romanes verse thirty VERSE 10. And hath made vs vnto our God Kings and Priests and we shall raigne vpon earth THE benefites we haue by our Redemption are two-fold for not onely are we deliuered from that euill and miserable estate wherein wee were but are also aduanced to an high and glorious estate whereof here is mention made hee hath saued vs from wrath we iustly deserued and hath aduanced vs to grace and glory which we could neuer deserue Pharaoh his Baker would haue thought it great fauour if the King had but spared his life but the Butler was not onely deliuered from death but aduanced to the seruice of his King Not vnlike is our case God make vs thankfull for it And hath made vs. What we are in goodnesse the Lord hath made vs Wee made not our selues wee helped nothing to our first creation farre lesse to our second It is folly to dreame of a power in Nature by which man of his owne free-will is able to do good and make himselfe congruous for the receiuing of grace Noli te extollere supra Deum Confitere illi qui fecit te Extoll not thy selfe aboue God but giue glory to him that made thee Nam si ille nos fecit homines nos autem ipsi nos fecimus saluos aliquid maius illo fecimus For if hee made vs men and we haue made our selues righteous men then haue wee done somewhat more then hee Nâ—…mo recreat nisi qui creat nemo reficit nisi qui fecit None can create ouer againe but hee who created vs first none can renew vs but he who made vs. Deus est qui operatur in nobis velle perficere It is God who worketh in vs the will and the deed that thou mightst haue a will inclined to good his Calling went before thee to worke it and his Mercy did preuent thee To thinke otherwise is as Augustine said Superbus error A proud errour Firmiter rene nâ—…llam tibi facultatem inesse posse voluntatis aâ—…t operis nisi id gratuitò munere diuinae miserationis accipias Hold this for certaine that there can be in thee no power either to will or worke any thing that good is vnlesse thou receiue it freely of the mercy of God I conclude all with the testimony of that famous Councell Si quis per naturae vigorem bonum aliquod quod ad salutem pertinet vitae aeternae cogitare aut eligere se posse confirmat absque illuminatione inspiratione Sp. Sancti haereticâ—… fallitur spiritu If any man affirme that by the strength of Nature he is able to thinke or chuse any good pertaining to eternall saluation without the illumination and inspiration of the holy Spirit he is deceiued with an hereticall spirit Ab eo quod formauit Deus mutauit Adam sed in peius per iniquitatem suam Adam changed himselfe from that which God made him but he changed himselfe to the worse by his iniquity Ab â—…o quod operatur iniquitas mutatur fidelis sed in melâ—…s per gratiam Dei from that which iniquity worketh the Christian is changed but to the better by the grace of God Illa mutatio fuit praeuaricatoris primi haec secundum Psalmistam mutatio dexterae Excelsi The first change from good to euill was made by the first Transgressor the second change as the Psalmist saith from euill to good is made by the right hand of the most High And so in this Hymne redeemed Saints confesse it Thou hast made vs. Kings and Priests There is the dignity whereunto we are called inclosed in two the most honorable Offices that euer were in the world to wit the Kingdome and Priest-hood S. Peter ioynes them both in one when he cals vs A Royall Priesthood As Kings we should fight the battels of the Lord against Satan and Sinne. And here fortitude especially is required with spirituall wisedome Non enim viribus sed prudentiâ—… Diuina vincitur serpens So long as we are wise in God
Tertullian and by the fourth Cyprian Martyr and Bishop of Carthage But we haue shewed before that as these foure liuing creatures cannot be the foure Euangelists because Saint Iohn himselfe was one of the foure Euangelists so no more can they be Preachers for Saint Iohn is here sent to waken vp both Preachers and Professors to the patient suffering of troubles which here are foretold vnto them We adhere therefore to our former exposition that these liuing creatures are Angels adding this vnto it that this first Prophecy beeing generall should neither be bound to particular times nor persons for euen in our owne dayes the rider on the white horse rideth still and the redde horse followes the vvhite to persecute him as the bloudy murthers and treasonable plots in France Germanie England and other parts of Christendome may witnes VERSE 4. And there vvent out another horse that was red and power was giuen to him that sate thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another and there was giuen vnto him a great sword AT the opening of the second seale Saint Iohn sees a sight farre different from the first the first sight was comfortable but dolefull are these which follow Our coÌ„forts on earth are not without crosses nor yet our crosses thanks be to God without comforts Alway we are forewarned here that persecution will follow preaching we must not alway promise to our selues prosperous and pleasant things When Dauid was anointed King all the Philistims came out in battell to seeke him hee was a type of our Lord. When Iesus was borne in Bethleem Herod and all Ierusalem were agast and so soone as he was baptized Satan tempted him It warnes vs saith S. Chrysostome that wee also will giue our names vnto Christ we must prepare our selues both to be persecuted of men and tempted of Satan Ab ipsis vitae initiis ad tentationes praeparamur cùm cernimus ab ipsis Christs incunabilis istud effectum c. Long and maruelous peace haue we had great hath been the Lords mercie tovvards vs vvhere shall wee find that the White Horse hath ridden so long and the red horse not following him as here in this Countrey vvhere hath there been so long preaching without heresie or persecution as among vs Satan a farre off hath shaken his bloudy sword at vs but the Lord hath restrained him and bridled his bloudy beasts that they could not come neere vs. The Spanish Army threatned to execute vpon vs the bloudy decree of the Councell of Trent but the Lord drowned them before our eyes as he drowned the Egyptians in the sight of Israel The remanent of them hee humbled also before vs and brought them into our streets that they who purposed to make vs prooue their mercilesse crueltie might prooue our Christian pitie and compassion as the Syrians vvho came to destroy Samaria by the maruelous working of God were brought within the Ports therof they were refreshed with meat and drinke and sent home againe so moued the Lord our hearts to doe vnto them God make vs thankfull for it and giue vs grace to prepare our selues the more carefully for the day of affliction because the Lord hitherto hath so long and louingly spared vs. As the vvhite horse signifies Preachers by whose ministrie Iesus is carried through the world so the red horse signifies bloudy Persecuters and he who rides vpon them is Satan a lyer and murtherer euer from the beginning The type tells vs that bastard religion is alway cruell examples of all ages proue it Cain a bastard and false vvorshipper he slew Abel a true sacrificer Ismael mocked Isaac and Esau persecuted Iacob Verberari Christianorum proprium est slagâ—…llare autem Pilati Caiaphae sunt officia To suffer is the property of Christians To you it is giuen not onely to belieue but to suffer also but to persecute and scourge are the practices of Pilate and Caiaphas The Iesuit Coster in the Preface of his Encheridion testifies that albeit the Christians of the Primitiue Church were of a sufficient number to giue battel to the persecuting Emperors yet they chose rather to propagate the Gospell by patient suffering the shedding of their own bloud theÌ„by shedding the bloud of their Persecuters Ita Catholicos pia quaedam tenuit misericordia Such was then the tender mercy of Catholiques But I pray him tell mee where was this tender mercy in pretended Catholiques Romane at the murther of Paris Is it not cleare by his own confession that the Church of Rome present is farre degenerate from Rome primitiue If there were not any other argument against them their bloudy teeth may testifie that they are not the Sheepe of Iesus but rauening Wolues But of this we haue spoken elswhere Satan thirsts for bloud and when hee hath gotten it bloud is his destruction Hee thought all should goe well and his kingdome should be in peace if once he had Iesus Christ crucified but Christ by death destroyed him who had the power of death and hee thinks by shedding the bloud of Saints to raze the Christian name out of the earth but he is farre deceiued for it hath proued true in all times which Tertullian by experience marked in his time Sanguis Martyrum semen est Ecclesiae the bloud of Martyrs is the seed of the Church This is the bush that burnes but cannot be consumed by fire it is the Arke tossed by water but still preuailes against the water Continuall were the persecutions of the Church Primitiue yet Christians increased daily deeply rooted in the doctrine of the Apostles and watred plentiously with the bloud of Saints And againe The more cruelty said Iustine is vsed against vs the more the number of Belieuers is increased No otherwise then if a man cut the Vine tree the better the branches thereof growe for the Vine tree planted by God and Christ is his people And power was giuen him This is for the comfort of the Church that howsoeuer her enemies be many and most malicious yet they can do no more then according to the power GOD giues them Yea and all the haires of your head are numbred not one of them can fall to the ground but by the will of your heauenly Father Times ne pereas cuius capillus non peribit Art thou afraid lest thou perish sith a haire of thine head cannot perish When Pilat had bragged of his power to Iesus our Lord gaue him this answere Thou couldest haue no power ouer me at all if it were not giuen thee from aboue Yea Satan himselfe confessed that albeit many times he assaied to haue harmed Iob yet hee could not because the Lord was an hedge vnto him He is indeed a roring Lyon going about seeking whom hee may deuoure but he cannot so much as enter
signifies the Lord Iesus in whose happy fellowship and societie now they liue sub Altari id est in secretario laudis aeternae quod est sublime Altare triumphantis Ecclesiae vel sub Christi custodia et quiete This Altar is in heauen not in earth it is the high Altar of the Church triumphant their soules are in custody and quiet rest with Christ. Againe another of their owne so expounds it Sub Altari id est sub protectione et confortio Christi Vnder the Altar that is vnder the protection and fellowship of Christ. This Altar is otherwise called Paradise This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise and The bosome of Abraham and the hands of the Lord Into thine hands O Lord I commend my spirit It is also called A place before the Throne where the Lord and the Lambe and the seuenfold Spirit is Of it speakes our Sauiour Father I will that those whom thou hast giuen mee be where I am This is the place of glorified soules Neither doe those Diuines reason very diuinely who say Christ cannot be this Altar because he is the Sacrifice for he is both the Sacrifice the Sacrificer and the Altar For he offred himselfe by his eternall Spirit There it is plaine that hee is the Sacrifice or thing offred and the Sacrificer also The Altar in like manner hee must be for the Altar sanctifies the Sacrifice Now by none other was our Sauiour sanctified but by himselfe none other Altar could commend him or make him acceptable to his Father his Diuinitie sanctified his humanity and his humanity was offred by his Diuinitie and vpon it Therefore to say that another not himselfe can sacrifice him or that he can be sacrificed vpon any other Altar but vpon himselfe is as great blasphemy as to bring in another sacrifice whereby the iustice of God may be satisfied Let presumptuous blinded Masse Priests consider this That were killed that is he sawe the soules of those bodies that were killed for the Word of God Death then wee see strikes but the body Feare not them who kill the body and can do no more It is like to Nebuchadnezzar his fire which burnt the cords wherewith the three children were bound but burnt not their bodies so death can do no more but loose our bands and set our soules at liberty What shall separate vs from the loue of Christ shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or perill or sword No in all these things wee are more then Conquerors through him that loued vs. For I am perswaded neither death nor life can separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ. Let it come and disioyne the soule from the body that it may conioyne vs with Christ. For the Word of God There is no Religion so false but it hath its own Patrones who will defend it yea and dare die for it Satan as he hath his owne Apostles so hath he also his owne Martyrs Martyres Satanicae virtutis wee must alway take heed to the cause of suffering Non poena sed causa facit Martyrem therefore he ioynes these two For the Word and testimonie which they maintained It is nothing to stand to a testimonie nay though thou shouldst die for it vnlesse thou iustifie by the Word that thy testimony is true VERSE 10. And they cryed with a lowd voice saying How long Lord Holy and True Dost thou not iudge and auenge our bloud on them that dwell on the earth NOW followes in this Verse the supplication which these soules of Martyrs send vp to God in the next verse the answer which is giuen thē The voice by which they send vp their supplication is called a crying not vocall but spirituall noting the feruencie of their desires for the words of soules whereby they speake vnto God are their feruent desires Magnus eorum clamor magnum est desiderium tum Resurrectionis tum Iudicii Their great cry is their great desire both of the Resurrection and of the Iudgement to come A small desire makes but a small voice in the Lords eares but a seruent desire causes a lowd voice Animarum igitur verba ipsa sunt desideria si desiderium sermo non esset non diceret Propheta Desiderium cordis eorum andiuit auris tua that is If the desire of the soule were not a speech vnto God the Prophet would not haue said Thou hast heard the desire of their heart How long Lord It is here demanded How is this that Saints cry for vengeance Are we not commanded to loue our enemies and to pray for them To this some Diuines answer that it is not they but the sinnes of the wicked done to them that cryes for a vengeance And they obserue that there are foure crying sinnes first the filthy sin of Sodome Because the cry of Sodome and Gomorah is great I will go downe now and see whether if or not they haue done altogether according to the cry which is come vnto me Next the oppression of the widdow and fatherlesse Thou shalt not trouble any widdow nor fatherlesse childe if thou trouble such and he cry vnto me I will heare his cry Thirdly the detaining fraudulently of the wages of worke-men is also a crying sinne Thou shalt giue an hired seruant his hire for his day for hee is poore and therewith sustaineth his life lest he cry against thee vnto the Lord and it be sinne vnto thee And againe The hire of the labourers holden back by fraud cryes and enters into the eares of the Lord of Hosts Fourthly innocent bloud cryes to the Lord for vengeance against them that shed it The voice of thy brothers bloud cryes to me from the ground And so here the bloud of Martyrs cryes But there is here further to be added that this cry of theirs is their own and proceeds not of any passion or desire of their priuate reuenge but onely of a zeale to the glory of God whose holinesse and truth they desire to be manifested as may be perceiued by the titles they giue the Lord in their prayer Non carnali sensu credendum est eos animositate vltionis accendi sed manifestum est contra potestatem regnum peccati or asse Adueniat regnum tuum Wee are not with carnall sense to beleeue that they were kindled with any heat of reuenge it is manifest they pray against the kingdome of sinne And in effect the summe of their prayer is Lord let thy Kingdome come Quid est animas vindictae petitionem dicere nisi diem extremum Iudicii resurrectionem corporum desiderare What else is it that Saints are said to cry for to be auenged but that they earnestly desire the day of Iudgement and Resurrection of their bodies Hoc dicunt non poenam malis optando sed voluntati Dei
leaue the Faith of the Church It is Satan his subtilty with a fable of a false Antichrist to blinde the world that they should not know the true Antichrist who indeed is come already The wiser and more learned among them are ashamed of this fable and are forced by the euidence of Scripture to confesse that Antichrist is not to sit in Ierusalems Temple but it may very well be that hee shall sit at Rome as God-willing shall be declared hereafter The true causes of Dan his omission we are rather to thinke to be these two first of all the 12. Tribes they fell first to Idolatry continued therin vntill the day of the captiuity of the Land as is plainely told vs in the eighteenth of Iudges Secondly they were carelesse to prouide for themselues inheritance in Canaan after that the remnant Tribes were all settled yet had they a great part of their inheritance to seeke Now wee must remember that earthly Canaan to them was a type of the heauenly Canaan they were carelesse of the one and now no more remembred in the roule of them that shall be in the other It is a dangerous thing to despise types of mercy when God offereth them for by so doing men depriue themselues of the Truth figured by them Carnall Iewes counted no more of Canaan and regarded nothing but the commodity of the soile for habitation and benefits temporall which they enioyed therein but such as were spirituall loued it much more because it was a type and pledge of better A necessary warning for the men of this age who esteeme it a small sinne or no sinne to neglect the holy Communion wherein the Lord giueth earthly types of heauenly things they thinke little of them with Naaman the Syrian that the waters of Iordan are no better then the vvaters of Damascus but he till hee learned to reuerence the meanes ordained by God was not healed of his Leprosy and they cannot come to the participation of the Truth so long as they despise the types therof Yet as the most generall threatning of iudgement hath included in it an exception so are we not to thinke that here all Danites are excluded froÌ„ the benefit of this seale for Samson of the tribe of Dan had the honor to be a Iudge in Israel and is reckoned by the Apostle in the Catalogue of them who were renowned for their faith Onely the omission of Dan teacheth vs how farre the Lord abhorreth and detesteth Idolatry we are not to stretch it further and to gather out of it a determinate exclusion from mercy and grace of all particular persons belonging to that Tribe Now concerning Ephraim wee know that Ieroboam who first rent the ten tribes froÌ„ the kingdom of Dauid and erected them in a seuerall kingdom in the dayes of Rehoboâ—…m was of the Tribe of Ephraim he founded his kingdome vpon idolatry fearing if the people had reforted to the Temple which was in Iuda they would in time râ—…uolt againe to the house of Dauid Hee raised vp two Calues one in Bethel the other in Dan so not onely became an Apostat himselfe but also drew all the tenne Tribes to defection and therefore is he commonly in holy Scripture remembred with this note to his shame that he caused Israel to sin That sinful kingdome as the Prophet calls it continued but two hundred fifty and eight yeers The number of their Kings all this time vvere nineteen Kings euery one of them more wicked idolatrous then another The Lord for this shooke them like a Reede beateâ—… with the wind and consumed them like a Moth. So that among ninetâ—…en Kings nine or tenne times was the bloud Royall changed yet neuer any one of them learned by example of Gods wrath vpon others to repent of their idolatry and returne to the Lord. They kept precisely the fundamentall Law of the Kingdome layd by Ieroboam and would not forsake the calues of Dan and Bethel but it was to their owne destruction Woe to him that buildâ—… his house by iniquity Ieroboam their first King had a sonne Nadab but none mo of his race enioyed the kingdom 〈◊〉 of another bloud slaieth Nadab raigneth in his stead Ela also his sonne succeedeth after him but Zimri of another bloud cutteth away Elah And hee had scarce sitten downe in the royall chaire seuen dayes when Omri of anoâ—…er bloud dispatched him Omri hath three of his race that succeedes him in his kingdome Achab the son of Omri Ochosiâ—… the sonne of Achab and Ioram the brother of Ochosiah Then commeth in Iehu of another bloud he slayes Ioram and all the posterity of Achab and hath foure after himselfe lineally succeeding him to wit Ioachâ—… his sonne againe Ioas and his sonne Ieroboam the second and his sonne Zacharias he scarce reigned sixe moneths when Shallum of another bloud slayeth him and reigneth in his stead Menahen againe of another bloud he slayeth Shallum after Menaheâ—… reigneth his sonne Pekahiah two yeares then Pekah of another bloud the sonne of Remaliah hee slaieth Pekahiah then Hoshea of another bloud he conspires against him and slaieth Pekah he is the last of the Kings for the Lord raised vp Salmaneser against him who destroyed Samaria the chiefe City of the kingdom of Israel and carried away the whole ten tribes in captiuity to Assyria Thus was their idolatry the destruction of their kingdome where they thought by it to stablish it If any man thinke this cannot be the true cause why Ephraim is omitted in this Catalogue because the other Tribes were involued in the same Apostacy with Ephraim let him consider that their first King Ieroboam of Ephraim led all the rest vnto this horrible defection and therefore as I said is alway remembred with this reproach That hee made Israel to sinne But in this I will contend with no man Sure it is it should be a warning to all States and Kingdomes to beware of Idolatry specially of Apostasie and corruption of Gods vvorshippe and namely in such a Land where God is purely worshipped beside them This sinne shaketh subuerteth houses from the foundation and makes theÌ„ to spew out their old inheritors men of a base and vncouth bloud possesse the place of ancient Nobles Proofes heereof are many in this Land whereof I cease to speake VERSE 9. After these things I beheld and â—…o a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kinreds and people and tongues stood before the Throne and before the Lambe clothed with white long robes and Palmes in their hands HAuing spoken of the sealing of Iewes lest we should thinke the saluation of God belonged to the Iewes only here are brought in an innumerable company of Gentiles who do also belong to the election of God Concerning them 3. things are noted vnto vs first their
multitude for it is said No man could number them Next their varietie they are of all Nations and people Thirdly their vnity in their action and song common to them all These three coniunctly doe greatly augment the glory and felicity of Saints redeemed As for their multitude The Lord promised to make the seed of Abraham in number like the stars of heauen and sand of the sea Some of the Fathers by the starres of heauen will haue Israelites to be figured and by the sand of the sea Gentiles Howeuer that be it is plaine out of this place that the number of elected Gentiles doth farre exceed the number of elected Iewes Multitude as I said doth greatly increase the glory of Saints Euery one of them by themselues are beautifull glorious and maruelous creatures but all of them coniunctly in one multitude and fellowship make their beautie and glorie farre greater For one of them hinders not another one of them derogates not from another it is so with multitudes of men on earth but not so with the multitude of Saints in heauen the moe in nuÌ„ber they be the greater is the ioy glory of all Thus in the first creation the Lord considering euery one of his works seuerally said of them And the Lord saw it was good But when he looked vpon all coniunctly then it is said And God saw all that he had made loe it was very good Their variety is noted here that they were of all nations kindreds people tongues and yet their variety is no impediment to their vnity for they all sing one song as we shal heare shortly Of this we learn that the Church in not bound to any one nation or place as the Donatists of old would haue it included in such places of Afric as pleased them and Papists now will acknowledge no church but Romane Shall Churches of other Nations Tongues be no Churches because they are not Romane I know all Churches are of one communion but the band of their coÌ„munion is their faith in Christ who is the head of them all and not their profession of subiection to the Sea of Rome that is but the Beast his vsurpation and can no way be shewed or proued to descend from Diuine dispensation Shall that most ancient Church of the East composed of Grecians a Nation acknowledged by her aduersaries to be a Mother Church in whose language the new Testament was written of Syrians in which tongue the Son of God pronounced his Oracles of Slauonians Russians 〈◊〉 and others in whose bosome are almost all the Apostolike Seas and in whose Iurisdiction were celebrate souen Vniuersall Councelâ—… shall 〈◊〉 East Church I say be no Church because it speakes not the Romane tongue Or shall the Patriarch of Constantinople President thereof be no Patriarch because he is not subject to the Pope of Rome No sure it is many thousands of good Christians are among them Or shall the South Church which containeth the Nubians the Abyssines subiects of the King of Ethiop otherwise called Prester-Iohn beside many other scaâ—…ered in Egypt Arabia Caldea with their Primate resident in Caire called Patriarch of Alexandria and his deputy or substitute in Ethiop called Abuâ—… that is Our Father who look for the remission of their sins in the bloud of Iesus haue their Leiturgies not so agreeable to the Church of Rome as to the Churches reformed And beside those shall the Christians of Tartaria in the North Persâ—… and the Kingdomes of the East Indies with their Prelate resident at Seleucia Shall all these bee no Churches no Christians Sith they hold the Christian faith suppose with different Ceremonies Shall these be reiected because they are not Romane and professe not subiection to the Bishop of Rome I speake not of the Churches reformed in Germany England Scotland France Flanders Swethia Poland I know the Church of Rome accounts these for hereticall But it is now more then three hundred yeeres since Reinerius an Inquisitor gaue vnto them this testimonie atleast to their fathers and predecessors They called them Waldenses Leonistae and by other such like opprobrious names But this Sect hath beene of longer continuance then any other for some say it hath endured since the time of Siluester others say it hath endured since the Apostles time Secondly it is more generall then any other for there is almost no Land to which this Sect doth not creepe Thirdly all other Sects do bring in an horrour with the haynousnesse of their blasphemies against God but this Sect of the Leonists hath a great shew of godlinesse because they liue iustly before men and beleeue all things well concerning God and all the Articles contained in the Creed Onely they blaspheme and hate the Church of Rome It is not then to be thought that the Christian Church of Gentiles is to be restrained to the Church of Rome No but the Christian Church hath in her bosome some of all Nations Kindreds People and Tongues who keep the faith of Iesus and are not for that no Christians because not Romane Stood before the Throne Their standing notes their firmenesse and stabilitie in glory they shall neuer fall from it againe Adam was created in a happie estate hee continued not long in it hee had his saluation in his owne keeping and he easily lost it but with Saints redeemed it is not so Secondly it notes that they are in great fauour with the Lord gracious and acceptable to him They are not licenced to stand in the presence of Princes with whom Princes are displeased therefore Haman when they saw the King angry with him they couered his face and carried him out to the Gibbet and hanged him In the end of the last Chapter the wicked cryed out Who can stand but heere Saints are brought in standing before the Throne For the Lord loueth them hee delights in his Saints yea he hath promised that hee himselfe shall bee a Crowne of glory and Diademe of beautie to his people But of this God willing more hereafter And thirdly their standing may imporâ—… their promptnesse and readinesse to attend the praise and the seruice of the Lord our God Cloathed in long white Robes The white Robe is ascribed to them to note first that they are holy pure and vndefiled for Christ loued his Church and gaue himselfe for it that hee might sanctifie it and clense it by the washing of water through the word that he make it vnto himselfe a glorious Church not hauing spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blame So are the soules glorified in heauen and so shall our bodies be also without any spot of vncleannesse and therefore represented to S. Iohn couered with white Robes Next the white Robe hath in it some signification of their blessed estate in glory immortality