imagination the Monkes and Scholemen hadde of their Sainctes as though they hadde bene very senselesse blockes and without all affections The virgine Marie felt great griefe and sorowe of spirite when she missed her sonne Luke 2. Dauid in the Psalmes complaineth that he is almost swalowed vppe with excessiue sorrowe for the greatnes of his temptations and sinnes Paule also complaineth that he hath battelles without and terrours within and that in his flesh he serueth the lawe of sinne He sayeth that he is carefull for all the Churches and that God shewed great mercie towardes him in that he deliuered Epaphroditus being at the poynt of death to life againe lest he should haue had sorrow vppon sorrow Therefore the Sainctes of the Papists are like to the Stoickes who imagined such wise men as in all the world were neuer yet to be found And by this foolish and Deuelish perswasion which proceeded of the ignoraunce of this doctrine of Paule the Scholemen brought both them selues and others without number into horrible desperation When I was a Monke I did oftentimes most hartely wish that I might once be so happy as to see the conuersation and life of some Sainct or holy man But in the meane time I imagined such a Sainct as liued in the wildernes abstaining from meat and drinke and liuing onely with rootes of herbes and colde water and this opinion of those monstrous sainctes I had learned not onely out of the bookes of the Sophisters and Scholemen but also out of the bookes of the fathers For thus wryteth Hierome in a certaine place As touching meates and drinkes I say nothing for as much as it is excesse that euē such as are weake and feeble should vse cold water or eate any sodden thing c. But now in the light of the Gospel we plainly see who they are whom Christ and his Apostles call Saincts Not they which liue a sole a single life or straitly obserue dayes meates apparel such other things or in outward appearance do other great monstrous works as we read of many in the liues of the fathers but they which being called by the sound of the Gospell and baptised doe beleue that they be iustified and clensed by the death of Christ So Paule euery where wryting to Christians calleth them holy the children and heires of God c. Who so euer then doe beleue in Christe whether they be men or women bond or free are all Sainctes not by their owne workes but by the workes of God which they receiue by Faith as his word his Sacraments the passion of Christ his death resurrection victorie and the sending of the holy Ghost To conclude they are Sainctes through such a holines as they freely receaue not through such a holines as they them selues haue gotten by their owne industrie good workes and merites So the ministers of the worde the Magistrates of common weales parents children maisters seruauntes c. are true Saincts if first and before all things they assure themselues that Christ is their wisedom righteousnes sanctification and redemption Secondly if euery one doe his duetie in his vocation according to the rule of Gods word and obey not the flesh but represse the lustes and desires thereof by the spirite Now where as all be not of like strength to resist temptatiōs but many infirmities and offences are seene in the most part of men this nothing hindereth their holines so that their sinnes procede not of an obstinate wilfulnes but onely of frailtie and infirmitie For as I haue sayd before the godly doe feele the desires and lusts of the flesh but they resist them to the ende that they accomplish them not Also if they at any time vnaduisedly fall into sinne yet notwithstāding they obtaine forgeuenes thereof if by Faith in Christe they be raised vppe againe who would not that we should driue away but seeke out and bring whom the straying and lost sheepe c. Therfore God forbid that I should straighte way iudge those which are weake in Faith and maners to be prophane or vnholy if I see that they loue reuerence the word of God to come to the supper of the Lord c. For these God hath receaued counteth them righteous thorough the remissiō of sinnes to him they stand or fall c. Wherefore with great reioysing I geue thankes to God for that he hath abundantly and aboue measure graunted that vnto me which I so earnestly desired of him when I was a Monke For he hath geuen vnto me the grace to see not one but many Sainctes yea an infinite nomber of true sainctes not such as the Sophisters haue deuised but such as Christe himselfe his Apostles doe describe Of the which nomber I assure my selfe to be one For I am baptised and I doe beleue that Christ my Lord by his death hath redemed and deliuered me from all my sinnes and hath geuen to me eternall righteousnes and holines And let him be holden accursed who so euer shall not geue this honour vnto Christe to beleue that by his death his word c. he is iustified and sanctified Wherfore reiecting this foolish and wicked opinion concerning the name of Saincts which in the time of Poperie and ignorance we thought to pertaine onely to the Sainctes which are in heauen and in earth to the Heremites and Monkes which did certaine great and straunge workes let vs now learne by the holy Scripture that all they which faithfully beleue in Christ are Saincts The world hath in great admiration the holines of Benedict Gregorie Bernard Fraunces and such like because it heareth that they haue done in outward appearance and in the iudgement of the world certaine great and excellent workes Doutles Hyllarie Cyrill Athanasius Ambrose Augustine and others were Saincts also which liued not so strait and seuere a life as they did but were conuersant amongs men and did eate common meates drunke wine and vsed clenly and comely apparell so that in a maner there was no difference betwene them other honest men as touching the common custome and the vse of things necessary for this life and yet were they to be preferred farre aboue the other These men taught the doctrine and faith of Christe sincerely purely without any superstition they resisted heretikes they purged the church from innumerable errours their company and familiaritie was comfortable to many and specially to those which were afflicted and heauie harted whom they raised vppe and comforted by the word of god For they did not withdraw them selues from the company of men but they executed their offices euen where most resort of people was Contrariwise the other not onely taught many things contrary to the Faith but also were themselues the authors first inuentours of many superstitions errours abhominable ceremonies and wicked worshippings Therefore except at the houre of death they laid hold of Christe and reposed their whole
But forasmuch as we take in hand to expound this Epistle which we doe not because it is needefull or for any hardnes that is in it but that our consciences may be confirmed against heresies yet to come let it not be tedious vnto you if we repeat these things againe that elsewhere and at other times we teach preach singe and sette out by writing For if we neglect the article of iustification we lose altogether Therefore most necessary it is cheifly and aboue all things that we teach and repete this article continually Like as Moses saith of his law for it can not be beaten into our eares enough or to much Yea though we learne it and vnderstand it well yet is there none that taketh hold of it perfectly or beleueth it with his whole hart so fraile a thing is our flesh and disobedient to the spirite This greeting of the Apostle is straunge vnto the world and was neuer heard of before the preaching of the Gospell And these two words Grace and Peace cōprehend in them whatsoeuer belongeth to Christianitie Grace releaseth sinne and peace maketh the conscience quiet The two Feends that torment vs are sinne and conscience But Christ hath vanquished these two Monsters and troden them vnder foote both in this world and in the world to come This the world doth not knowe and therefore it can teach no certaintie of the ouercomming of sinne conscience and death Only Christians haue this kinde of doctrine and are exercised and armed with it to get victory against sinne despaire and euerlasting death And it is a kinde of doctrine neither proceeding of free wil nor inuented by the reason or wisedome of of man but geuen from aboue Moreouer these two words Grace and Peace doe containe in them the whole summe of Christianitie Grace containeth the remission of sinnes peace a quiet and ioyful conscience But peace of conscience can neuer be had vnlesse sinne be first forgeuē But it is not forgeuen for the fulfilling of the law For no man is able to satisfie the law but the law doth rather shew sinne accuse and terrifie the conscience declare the wrath of God and driue to desperation Much lesse is sinne taken away by the workes and inuentions of men as wicked worshippings straung religious vowes and pilgrimages Finally there is no worke that can take away sinne but sinne is rather encreased by works For the Iusticiaries Meritmongers the more they sweate and labour to bring them selues out of sinne the deeper they are plunged therin For there is no meanes to take away sinne but grace alone Therfore Paule in all the greetings of his epistles setteth grace and peace against sinne and an euill conscience This thing must be diligently marked The words are easy but in tentation it is the hardest thing that can be to be certainly perswaded in our harts that by grace alone without any other meanes either in heauen or earth we haue remission of sinnes and peace with God. The world vnderstādeth not this doctrine therfore it neither will nor can abide it but condemneth it as hereticall and wicked It braggeth of free will of the light of reason and the soundnes of the powers and qualities of nature of good workes as meanes wherby it could deserue and attaine grace and peace that is to say forgeuenes of sinnes and a quiet conscience But it is impossible that the conscience should be quiet and ioyfull vnlesse it haue peace thorowe grace that is to say through the forgiuenes of sinnes promised in Christ Many haue carefully laboured by finding out diuers and sundry religions orders and exercises for this purpose to attaine peace and quietnes of conscience but by so doing they haue plunged them selues in moe and greater miseries for all such deuises are but meanes to encrease doubtfulnes and despaire Therfore there shall be no rest to my bones or thine vnlesse we heare the word of grace and cleaue vnto it stedfastly faithfully Then shall our conscience vndoubtedly finde grace and peace The Apostle doth fittly distinguish this grace and peace from al other kinds of grace peace whatsoeuer He wisheth to the Galathians Grace Peace not from the Emperour or Kings and Princes for these doe commonly persecute the Godly and rise vp against the Lord and Christ his anointed Psal. 2. nor from the world for in the world saith Christ ye shall haue trouble but from God our father c. which is as much to say as he wisheth vnto them a heauēly peace So Christ saith My peace I leaue vnto you my peace I geue you not as the vvorld geueth it do I geue it vnto you The peace of the world graunteth nothing but the peace of our goods and bodies So the Grace or fauoure of the world geueth vs leaue to enioy our goodes casteth vs not out of our possessions But in affliction in the hower of death the grace and fauour of the world can not helpe vs they can not deliuer vs from affliction despaire and death But when the Grace and Peace of God are in the hart then is man strong so that he can neither be cast downe with aduersitie nor puffed vp with prosperitie but walketh on plainly and kepeth the hie way For he taketh hart and courage in the victory of Christes death the confidence thereof beginneth to reigne in his conscience ouer sinne and death because through him he hath assured forgeuenes of his sinnes which after he hath once obtained his conscience is at rest and by the word of Grace is comforted So then a man being comforted hartened by the Grace of God that is by forgeuenes of sinnes and by this peace of conscience is able valiantly to beare and ouercome all troubles yea euen death it selfe This Peace of God is not geuen to the world because the world neuer longeth after it nor vnderstandeth it but to them that beleeue and this commeth to passe by no other meane then by the onely Grace of God. A rule to be obserued that men ought to abstaine from the curious searching of Gods maiestie But why doth the Apostle ioyne in this salutation And from our Lord Iesus Christ Was it not enough to say And from God our father why then doth he couple Iesus Christ vvith the father Ye haue often times heard of vs howe it is a rule and principle in the scriptures diligently to be marked that we must abstaine from the curious searching of Gods maiestie which is intolerable to mans body and much more to his minde No man saith the scripture shall see me and liue The Pope the Turkes the Iewes and all such as trust in their owne merits regard not this rule and therefore remouing Christ the Mediatour out of their sight they speake onely of God before him onely they pray and doe all that they doe As for
now to worke well Loue God and thy neighbour call vpon God geue thanks vnto him praise him confesse him These are good workes in dede which flowe out of this faith and this chearefulnes conceaued in the heart for that we haue remission of sinnes freely by Christ Now what crosse or afflictiōs so euer do afterwardes ensue they are easily borne and chearfully suffered For the yoke that Christ layeth vpon vs is svvete and his burden is easie When sinne is pardoned and the conscience deliuered from the burden and sting of sinne then may a Christian beare all things easily Because he feeleth all things within sweete and comfortable therfore he doth and suffreth all things willingly But when a man walketh in his owne righteousnes what so euer he doth is greeuous and tedious vnto him because he doth it vnwillingly We therfore doe make this definition of a Christian man that he is a right christian to whom God imputeth not his sinne through faith in Christ This doctrine bringeth great consolation to poore afflicted consciences in serious and inward terrours It is not without good cause therefore that we doe so often repete and beat into your mindes the forgeuenes of sinnes and imputation of righteousnes for Christes sake also that a Christian hath nothing to doe with the law and sinne specially in the time of tentation For in that he is a Christian he is aboue the law and sinne For he hath Christ the Lord of the law present and inclosed in his heart as we haue said euen as a ring hath a Iewel or precious stone inclosed in it Therefore when the lawe accuseth and sinne terrifieth him he looketh vpon Christ and when he hath apprehended him by faith he hath present with him the conquerour of the law sinne death and the deuill who raigneth and ruleth ouer them so that they can not hurt him Wherfore a Christian man if ye define him rightly is free from all lawes and is not subiect vnto any creature either within or without In that he is a Christian I say and not in that he is a man or a woman that is to say in that he hath his conscience adorned and bewtified with this faith with this great and inestimable treasure or as Paule saith this vnspeakeable gifte which can not be magnified and praised enough for it maketh vs the children and heires of god And by this meanes a Christian is greater then the whole world For he hath such a gifte such a treasure in his heart that although it seemeth to be but litle yet notwithstanding the smalnes therof is greater then heauen and earth for Christ which is this gift and this treasure is greater then all things Whiles this doctrine pacifying and quieting the conscience abideth sound and vncorrupt Christians are made iudges ouer all kindes of doctrine and are Lords ouer the lawes of the whole world Then cā they certainly iudge that the Turke with his Alcoran is damned because he goeth not the right way that is he acknowledgeth not himselfe to be miserable and damnable nor apprehendeth Christ by faith for whose sake he might be assured that his sinnes are pardoned In like maner they boldly pronoūce sentence against the Pope that he is condemned with all his kingdome because he so walketh and so teacheth with all his religious rable of Sophisters and Scholemē that by the merite of congruence we must come to grace that afterwards by the merite of worthines we are receaued into heauen Here sayth the Christian this is not the right way to iustifie vs neither doth this way leade vs to heauen For I can not saith he by my works going before grace deserue grace nor by my works following grace deserue eternall life But to him that beleueth sinne is pardoned and righteousnes imputed This trust and this confidence maketh him the childe of God and heire of his kingdome For in hope he possesseth already euerlasting life assured vnto him by promise Through faith in Christ therefore all things are geuen vnto vs grace peace forgeuenes of sinnes saluation and euerlasting life and not for the merite of congruence and worthines Wherefore this doctrine of the Scholemen with their ceremonies Masses infinite foundations of the Papisticall kingdome are most abhominable blasphemies against God sacrileges and plaine denials of Christ as Peter hath foretold in these words Ther shal be saith he false teachers among you vvhich shall priuely bring in damnable heresies denying the Lord that hath bought them c. As though he would say the Lord hath redemed and bought vs with his bloud that he might iustifie and saue vs this is the way of righteousnes and saluation But there shall come false teachers which denying the Lord shall blaspheme the way of truth of righteousnes and saluation they shall finde out new waies of falsehode and destruction and many shall follow their perdiction Peter throughout this whole chapter most liuely painteth out the Papacie which neglecting and despising the Gospell and faith in Christ hath taught the workes and traditions of men as the merite of congruence worthines the difference of daies meates vowes inuocation of Saincts pilgrimages purgatory such like In these fantasticall opinions the Papistes are so nusled that it is impossible for them to vnderstand one syllable of the gospel of faith or of Christ And this the thing it selfe doth well declare For they take that priuiledge vnto them selues which belongeth vnto Christ alone He onely forgeueth sinnes he onely geueth righteousnes and euerlasting life and they most impudently and wickedly doe vaunte that they are able to obtaine these things by their owne merits and worthines before and after grace Peter and the other Apostles call these damnable heresies and sects of perdition For by these meanes they deny Christ treade his bloud vnder their feete blaspheme the holy Ghost and despise the grace of God. Wherefore no man can sufficiently conceaue how horrible the idolatry of the Papistes is As inestimable as the gifte is which is offered vnto vs by Christ euen so and no lesse abhominable are these prophanations of the Papistes They ought not then to be lightly esteemed or forgotten but diligently wayed considered And this maketh also very much for the amplifying of the grace of God and benefite of Christ as by the contrarye For the more we know the prophanation of the papisticall Masse so much the more we doe abhorre and detest the same and embrace the true vse of the holy communion which the Pope hath taken away and hath made marchandise of it that being bought for money it might profite others For he saith that the Massing priest an apostata denying Christ blasphemīg the holy Ghost standing at the aultar doth a good work not only for him selfe but also for others both quicke deade and for the whole church and that onely by the worke wrought and by none
to guide a shippe to build a house and to doe such other things as are subiect vnto man for these things are not taken from him We doe not then denie but that these sentences are true in the corporall kingdom But if ye wrest them to the spirituall kingdom I vtterly deny them for there as I said we are cleane ouerwhelmed and drowned in sinne Whatsoeuer is in our wil is euil whatsoeuer is in our vnderstanding is errour Wherefore in spirituall matters man hath nothing but darknes errours ignoraunce malice and peruersenes both of wil and vnderstanding How then should he worke well fulfill the lawe and loue God Wherfore Paule sayth here that Christ first began and not we He euen he sayth Paule loued me gaue him selfe for me As if he said He found in me no good will or right vnderstāding but this good Lord had mercy vpon me He saw me to be nothing els but wicked going astray contemning God and flying from him more and more yea rebelling against God taken led and caryed away captiue of the deuill Thus of his mere mercy preuenting my reason my wil and my vnderstanding he loued me and so loued me that he gaue him selfe for me to the ende that I might be freed from the law sinne the deuill death Againe these wordes The sonne of God hath loued me and geuen him selfe for me are mightie thūdrings and lightnings from heauē against the righteousnes of the law all the works therof So great so horrible wickednes errour darknes and ignorance was in my wil and vnderstanding that it was vnpossible for me to be raūsomed by any other meanes then by such an inestimable price Why do we then vaūt of the soundnes of nature of the rule of reason of free will and of doing what in vs lieth Why do I offer vnto god being angry with me who as Moses sayth is a cōsuming fire this my rotten stubble and straw yea horrible sinnes claime of him to reward me with grace euerlasting life for them since here I learne such wickednes to lie lurkīg in my nature that the whole world all creatures therin were not able to counteruaile the indignation of God but that the very sonne of God him selfe must needes be deliuered for the same But let vs consider well this price and let vs behold this captiue deliuered as Paule sayth for me the sonne of God I meane and we shal see him without all comparison to excede excell all creatures What wilt thou doe when thou hearest the Apostle say that such an inestimable price was geuen for thee Wilt thou bring thy cowle thy shauen crowne thy chastitie thy obedience thy pouertie thy works thy merites What shall all these doe Yea what shall the law of Moses auaile What shall the works of all men all the suffering of the Martyrs profite thee What is the obedience of all the holy angels in comparison of the sonne of God deliuered and that most shamefully euen to the death of the crosse so that there was no droppe of his most precious bloud but it was shedde and that for thy sinnes If thou couldest rightly consider this incomparable price thou shouldest hold as accursed all these ceremonies vowes works and merites before grace and after and throw them all downe to hell For it is an horrible blasphemy to imagine that there is any worke wherby thou shouldest presume to pacifie God since thou seest that ther is nothing which is able to pacifie him but this inestimable price euen the death bloud of the sonne of god one drop wherof is more precious then al the creatures in the world Verse 20. For me Who is this me Euen I wretched and damnable sinner so dearly beloued of the sonne of God that he gaue himselfe for me If I then through works or merites could haue loued the sonne of God and so come vnto him what needed he to deliuer himselfe for me Hereby it appereth how coldly the Papistes handled yea how they vtterly neglected the holy scriptures and doctrine of faith For if they had considered but onely these words that it behoued the sonne of God to be geuen for me it had bene vnpossible that so many monstrous sectes should haue spronge vp amongest them For faith would by and by haue aunswered why doest thou choose this kind of life this religiō this worke Doest thou this to please God or to be iustified therby Doest thou not heare O thou wretch that the sonne of God shed his bloud for thee Thus true fayth in Christ would easilie haue withstande all maner of sectes Wherefore I say as I haue often times said that there is no remedie against Sectes or power to resist them but this onely article of Christian righteousnes If we lose this article it is impossible for vs to withstand any errours or Sectes As we may see at this daye in the phanaticall spirites the Anabaptistes and such like who being fallen away from this article of iustification will neuer cease to fall erre and seduce vntill they come to the fulnes of all iniquitie There is no dout but they will raise vp innumerable sectes and still deuise new workes But what are al these things though they haue neuer so goodly a shew of holines if ye compare them to the death and bloud of the sonne of God vvho gaue himselfe for me Consider well I pray you who this sonne of God is how glorious he is how mightie he is What is heauen and earth in comparison of him Let all the Papistes and all the authors of sectes yea though the whole world take their part be throwne downe into hell withall their righteousnes workes and merits rather then the truth of the Gospell should be blemished and the glory of Christ perish What meane they they then to bragge so much of workes and merits If I being a wretched and a damned sinner could be redemed by any other price what needed the sonne of God to be geuen for me But because there was no other price either in heauen or in earth but Christ the sonne of God therefore it was most necessary that he should be deliuered for me Moreouer this he did of inestimable loue For Paule sayth vvhich loued me Wherfore these wordes vvhich loued me are full of faith And he that can vtter this litle word Me and apply it vnto him selfe with a true and constant faith as Paule did shal be a good disputer with Paule against the lawe For he deliuered neither shepe oxe golde nor siluer but euen God him selfe entierly and wholy for me euen for me I say a miserable and wretched sinner Nowe therefore in that the sonne of God was thus deliuered to death for me I take comfort and applie this benefite vnto my selfe And this maner of applying is the right force of faith in deede These wordes which are the pure preaching of grace and Christian
we doe so contemptuously refuse the grace of God and remission of sinnes offered vnto vs by Christ This blasphemy is more horrible then can be expressed There is no sinne which Paule and the other Apostles did so much detest as the contempt of grace and deniall of Christ and yet there is no sinne more common Hereof it cometh that Paule aboue the rest doth so sharply inuey against Antichrist for that he despiseth the grace of God and refuseth the benefite of Christ our high Priest who offered vp himselfe a sacrifice for our sinnes Now thus to deny Christ what is it els but to spitte in his face to treade him vnder foote to set himselfe in his place and to say I will iustifie thee and will saue thee By what meanes By masses pilgrimages pardons merits and such like We see then how proudly Antichrist hath lift vp himselfe against and aboue God and set himself in the place of Christ reiected the grace of God and denied the faith For this is his doctrine Faith auaileth nothing saith he vnlesse it be ioyned with works and by this false and detestable doctrine he hath defaced darkned and vtterly buried the benefite of Christ in the steede of the grace of Christ and his kingdome he hath established the doctrine of works and the kingdome of ceremonies and hath confirmed the same with meere trifles and doting dreames and by this meanes he hath wrested the whole world out of Christes hands who alone ought to reigne in the conscience hath throwne it downe hedlong into hell Hereby we may easily vnderstand what it is to reiect and refuse the grace of God euen to seeke righteousnes by the law Now who hath euer heard that a man by keping of the law reiecteth grace Do we then sinne in keeping of the law No forsoth But we despise grace when we obserue the law to this end that we may be iustified through it The law is good holy and profitable and yet it iustifieth not He then that kepeth the law to be iustified therby reiecteth grace denieth Christ despiseth his sacrifice and will not be saued by this inestimable price but will satisfie for his sinnes through the righteousnes of the law or deserue grace by his owne righteousnes and this man blasphemeth and despiseth the grace of god Now what an horrible thing is it to say that any man should be so deuilish as to despise the grace and mercy of God And yet notwithstanding all the world doth so Albeit it can not abide that any man should so iudge of it but will seeme to doe high seruice and honour vnto god Now followeth the second argument Verse 21. For if righteousnes come by the lavve then Christ died in vaine Here againe I admonish you that Paule speaketh not of the ceremoniall law onely for this the Papistes doe alwaies alleage but of the whole law And these words of Paule are diligently to be considered in this wise It is true that Christ suffered death or not Againe did he suffer in vaine or not Here we are constrained to aunswere except we be starke madde that he suffered in very deede and that he suffered not in vaine nor for himselfe but for vs If then he suffered not in vaine it followeth of necessitie that righteousnes cometh not by the law Take now therfore the whole law and imagine that by the merite of cōgruence or works going before grace thou hast so much profited that thou hast receaued grace and the spirite of God which is a thinge impossible vnto nature but yet admitte I say that in doing what in thee lieth thou hast obtained grace art made righteous and hast receaued the holy Ghost by the merite of congruence then hast thou no neede of Christ he is to thee vnprofitable and his death of none effect Moreouer take euen the law of the ten commaundements wherin is contained the true religion and the highest seruice of God that is to say faith the feare of God the loue of God and the loue of our neighbour and shew me any man that hath bene iustified therby yet is it true notwithstanding that Christ died in vaine For he that is iustified by the law hath power in himselfe to obtaine righteousnes For in that he doth what in him lieth he deserueth grace the holy Ghost is powred into him wherby he is now able to loue God and his neighbour This being graunted it must needes follow that Christ died in vaine For what neede of Christ hath he which both loueth Christ and geueth himselfe for him so that he is able by the merite of congruence before grace to obtaine grace and then to doe such works as by the merite of worthines after grace he is able to deserue eternall life Then take away Christ withall his benefits for he is vtterly vnprofitable But why was he borne why was he crucified why did he suffer why was he made my high Priest louing me and geuing Himselfe an inestimable sacrifice for me In vaine no doubt and to no purpose at all if righteousnes come by no other meanes then the Papistes teach for I finde no righteousnes but either in my selfe or in the law without grace and without Christ Is this horrible blasphemy to be suffered or dissembled that the diuine maiestie not sparing his owne deare sonne but deliuering him to death for vs all should not doe all these things seriously in good earnest but as it were in sport Before I would admit this blasphemie I would not only that the holines of all the Papists meritmongers but also of all the Saincts holy angels should be throwne downe into the bottome of hell condemned with the deuil Mine eies shall behold nothing els but this inestimable price my Lord Sauiour Christ He ought to be such a treasure vnto me that all other things should be but dunge in cōparison of him He ought to be such a light vnto me that when I haue apprehended him by faith I should not know whether there be any law any sinne any righteousnes or any vnrighteousnes in the world For what is al that is either in heauē or earth in cōparisō of the sonne of god Christ Iesus my lord Sauiour vvho loued me gaue hīself for me Wherfore to reiect the grace of God is an horrible sinne and commonly reigning throughout the world wherof al they are giltie which seeke righteousnes by their owne workes For whiles they seeke to be iustified by their owne works and merites or by the law they reiect the grace of God and Christ as I haue said And of all these abhominations the Pope hath bene the only author For he hath not onely defaced and troden the Gospell of Christ vnder his feete but hath also replenished the world with his cursed traditions And hereof amongest other enormities his bulles and pardons are a sufficient witnes wherby he
and that we are his children with whom he will not be angry but will deliuer vs from sinne from death and all euils and will geue vnto vs righteousnes life and eternall saluation Of this Blessing as I haue said doe the Prophetes preach in euery place who did not so coldly consider those promises made vnto the fathers as the wicked Iewes did and as the popish Scholemen and Sectaries doe at this day but did reade them and way them with greate diligence and also drew out of those promises whatsoeuer they prophecied of Christ or his kingedome So the prophecie of Hoseas 13. chapter I vvill redeeme them from the povver of the graue I vvill deliuer them from death O death I vvill be thy death O graue I vvill be thy destruction and suche like places of the other Prophetes did all spring out of these promises in which God promised to the fathers the brusing of the serpentes heade and the blessing of all nations Moreouer if the nations be blessed that is to say if they be accounted righteous before God it followeth that they are free from sinne and death and are made pertakers of righteousnes saluation and euerlasting life not for their works but for their faith in Christ Therfore that place of Genesis the .12 chapter In thee shall all the nations be blessed speaketh not of the blessing of the mouth but of such a blessing as belongeth to the imputation of righteousnes which is auaileable before God and redemeth from the curse of sinne and from all those euils that doe accumpany sinne Now this Blessing is receaued onely by faith For the text saith plainely Abraham Beleued and it vvas accounted vnto him for righteousnes Wherefore it is a meere spirituall Blessing there is no Blessing in deede but this which although it be cursed in the world as in deede it is yet is it auaileable before god This is therefore a mightie place that they which are of faith are become partakers of this promise of the Blessing made vnto the beleeuing Abraham And by this meanes Paule preuenteth the cauillation of the Iewes which bragge of a begetting and a working Abraham and iust before men and not of a beleeuing Abraham Now like as the Iewes doe glorie onely of a working Abraham euen so the Pope setteth out onely a working Christ or rather an example of Christ He that will liue godly saith he must walke as Christ hath walked according to his owne saying in the .13 of Iohn I haue geuen you an example that you should doe euen as I haue done to you We deny not but that the faithful ought to follow the example of Christ and to worke well but we say that they are not iustified therby before god And Paule doth not here reason what we ought to doe but by what meanes we are made righteous In this matter we must set nothing else before our eies but Iesus Christ dyinge for our sinnes and risinge againe for our righteousnes and him must we apprehende by faith as a gift and not as an example This reason vnderstandeth not therfore as the Iewes follow a working and not a beleuing Abraham euen so the Papistes and all that seeke righteousnes by workes doe behold and apprehend not a iustifying but a working Christ by this meanes they swarue from Christ from righteousnes and saluation And like as the Iewes which were saued ought to follow the beleuing Abraham so we also if we will be deliuered from our sinnes and be saued must take holde of the iustifying and sauing Christ whom Abraham him selfe also by faith did apprehend and through him was blessed It was in deede a greate glorie that Abraham receaued circumcision at the commaundement of God that he was endued with excellent vertues that he obeied God in all things as it is also a greate praise and felicitie to follow the example of Christ working to loue thy neighbour to doe good to them that hurt thee to pray for thine enemies patiently to beare the ingratitude of those which render euill for good but all this auaileth nothing to righteousnes before god The excellent deedes and vertues of Abraham were not the cause that he was counted righteous before God So likewise the imitation and following of the example of Christ doth not make vs righteous before god For to make vs righteous before God there is a farre more excellent price required which is neither the righteousnes of man nor yet of the law Here we must needes haue Christ to blesse vs and saue vs like as Abraham had him to be his blesser and Sauiour Howe Not by works but by faith Wherfore as the beleuing Abraham is a thing farre differing from the working Abraham so is Christe blessing redeming a thing farre differing frō Christ working or geuing example And Paule here speaketh of Christ redeming and Abraham beleuing and not of Christ geuing example or of Abraham working Therefore he addeth purposely and that with greate vehemencie They vvhich are of faith are blessed vvith faithfull Abraham Wherefore we must separate the beleuing and the working Abraham as farre asunder as there is distance betwixt heauen earth A man beleuing in Christ is altogither a diuine man the child of God the inheritour of the world a conquerour of sinne death the world and the Deuill therefore he can not be praised and magnified enough Let vs not suffer this faithfull Abraham to lie hid in his graue as he is hid from the Iewes but let vs highly extoll and magnifie him and let vs fill both heauen and earth with his name so that in respect of this faithfull Abraham we see nothing at al in the working Abraham For when we speake of this faithfull Abraham we are in heauen But afterwards doing those things which the working Abraham did which were carnall and earthly and not diuine and heauenly but in as much as they were geuen vnto him of God we are among men in earth The beleuing Abraham therefore filleth both heauen and earth So euery Christian through his faith filleth heauen and earth so that besides it he ought to behold nothing Now Paule of this word shal be blessed gathereth a contrary argument For the scripture is full of oppositions or contrary relations And it is a great point of cunning to marke wel these kindes of speach in the scriptures and by them to expound the sentences therof as here this word blessing by and by inferreth the contrary that is to say malediction For when the scripture saith that all nations are blessed in faith or with faithfull Abraham it followeth necessarily that all aswel Iewes as Gentiles are accursed without faith or without this beleuing Abraham For the promise of Blessing was geuē to Abraham that in him all natiōs should be blessed There is no Blessing then to be looked for but onely in the promise made vnto Abraham now published by the Gospell
promise so long before the law Which he did of purpose and to this ende that it should not be sayd that righteousnes was geuen through the lawe and not through the promise For if he would that we should haue ben iustified by the lawe then would he haue geuen the law 430. yeares before the promise or else together with the promise But nowe at the first he speaketh not a worde as concerning the lawe but at the length after 430. yeares he geueth the lawe In the meane while all that time he speaketh onely of his promises Therfore the Blessing and free gift of righteousnes came before the lawe through the promise The promise therfore is farre more excellent then the lawe And so the law doth not abolish the promise but Faith in the promise whereby the beleuers euen before Christes time were saued which is now published by the Gospell throughout the whole world destroyeth the law so that it can not encrease sinne any more terrifie sinners or bring them into desperation laying hold vpon the promise through Faith. And in this also lieth a certaine vehemencie specially to be noted that he expressely setteth downe the number of .430 yeares As if he would say Cōsider with your selues how long it was betwene the promise geuen and the lawe It is plaine that Abraham receaued the promise a long time before the lawe For the lawe was geuen to the people of Israel .430 yeares after And this is an inuincible argument gathered and grounded vpon a certaine time And he speaketh not here of the lawe in generall but onely of the written lawe As if he would say God could not then haue regarde to the Ceremonies and workes of the law and geue righteousnes to the obseruers thereof For as yet the lawe was not geuen which commaundeth ceremonies requireth workes and promiseth life to those that obserue them saying The man that shall doe these things shall liue in them And although it promise such things yet it foloweth not therfore that we obtaine these promises For it sayeth plainly The mā that shal do these things c. Now it is certaine that no man can doe them Moreouer Paule sayth that the lawe can not abolish the promise therefore that promise made vnto Abraham .430 yeares before the law remaineth firme and constant And that the matter may be better vnderstand I will declare the same by a similitude If a rich man not constrained but of his owne good will should adopte one to be his sonne whom he knoweth not and to whom he oweth nothing and should appoynt him to be the heire of all his lands and goods certaine yeres after that he hath bestowed this benefite vpon him he should lay vpon him a law to do this or that he cā not now say that he hath deserued this benefite by his owne workes seeing that many yeres before he asking nothing had receaued the same freely and of mere fauour So God could not respect our workes and desertes going before righteousnes for the promise and the gift of the holy Ghost was .430 yeares before the lawe Hereby it appeareth that Abraham obteined not righteousnes before God through the lawe For there was yet no law If there were yet no lawe then was there neither worke nor merite What then Nothing else but the mere promise This promise Abraham beleued and it was counted to him for righteousnes By the selfe same meanes then that the father obteined this promise the children doe also obteine it and holde it So say we also at this day Our sinnes were purged by the death of Christ aboue a thousand and fiue hundreth yeres agoe when there were yet no religious Orders no Canon or rule of Penance no merites of congruence and worthines We can not nowe therfore begin to abolish the same by our owne workes and merites Thus Paule gathereth arguments of similitudes of a certaine time and of persons so sure strong on euery side that no man can deny them Let vs therfore arme and fortifie our consciences with such like arguments For it helpeth vs excedingly to haue them alwayes ready in tentations For they lead vs from the lawe and workes to the promise and to faith from wrath to grace from sinne to righteousnes and from death to life Therfore these two things as I doe often repeate to witte the lawe and the promise must be diligently distinguished For in time in place and in person and generally in all other circumstances they are separate as farre asunder as heauen and earth the beginning of the world and the later ende In deede they are neare neighbours for they are ioyned together in one man or in one soule but in the inward affection as touching their office they ought to be separate farre asonder so that the lawe may haue dominion ouer the flesh and the promise may sweetely and comfortably raigne in the conscience When thou hast thus appoynted vnto them both their own proper place then thou walkest safely betwene them both in the heauen of the promise and in the earth of the lawe In spirite thou walkest in the Paradise of grace and peace In the flesh thou walkest in the earth of workes and of the crosse And nowe the troubles which the flesh is compelled to beare shall not be hard vnto thee because of the sweetenes of the promise which comforteth and reioyceth the hart excedingly But now if thou confound and mingle these two together and place the lawe in the conscience and the promise of libertie in the flesh then thou makest a confusion such as was in Poperie so that thou shalt not knowe what the lawe what the promise what sinne or what righteousnes is Wherfore if thou wilt diuide the worde of truth aright thou must put a great difference betwene the promise and the lawe as touching the inward affections and whole practise of life It is not for naught that Paule prosecuteth this argument so diligently For he foresawe in spirite that this mischiefe should creepe into the Church that the word of God should be confounded that is to say that the promise should be mingled with the lawe and so the promise should be vtterly lost For when the promise is mingled with the lawe it is nowe made nothing else but the very lawe Therefore accustome thy selfe to separate the promise and the law asunder euen in respect of time that when the lawe cometh and accuseth thy conscience thou mayest say Lady lawe thou comest not in season for thou comest to soone Tarry yet vntil .430 yeres be expired and when they are past then come and spare not But if thou come then yet shalt thou come to late For then hath the promise preuented thee .430 yeres to the which I assent and sweetely repose my selfe in the same Therefore I haue nothing to doe with thee I heare thee not For nowe I liue with the beleuing Abraham or
no man can obtaine life except first he be righteous then in deede righteousnes should come by the law Moreouer if there were any state of life any worke any religion whereby a man might obtaine remission of sinnes righteousnes and life then should these thinges in deede iustifie and geue life but this is impossible for Verse 22. The scripture hath concluded all men vnder sinne Where First in the promises them selues as touching Christ as Genesis 3. The Seede of the vvoman shall breake the head of the serpent And Genesis 22. In thy Seede c. Whersoeuer then is any promise in the scriptures made vnto the fathers concerning Christ there the Blessing is promised that is righteousnes saluation and eternall life Therefore by the contrary it is euident that they which must receaue the Blessing are subiect to the Curse that is to say sinne eternall death for els to what ende was the Blessing promised Secondly the Scripture shutteth men vnder sinne and vnder the Curse especially by the law because it is his peculiar office to reueale sinne engender wrath as we haue declared throughout this Epistle but chiefely by this sentence of Paule VVhosoeuer are of the vvorks of the lavv are vnder the Curse Also by that place which the Apostle alleaged out of the .27 chapt of Deut Cursed is euery one that abideth not in all the vvordes of this lavve to doe them c. For these sentences in plaine wordes doe shut vnder sinne and vnder the Curse not onely those which sinne manifestly against the law or doe not outwardly accōplish the law but also those which are vnder the law and with all endeuour go about to performe the same and such were the Iewes as before I haue sayd Much more then doth the same place of Paule shut vppe vnder sinne and vnder the Curse all Monkes Friers Heremites Carthusians and such like with their professions rules and religions to the which they attributed such holines that when a mā had once made a vowe of his profession if he died by and by they dreamed that he went streight to heauen But here ye heare plainly that the Scripture shutteth all vnder sinne Therefore neither the vowe nor religion of the Carthusian be it neuer so angelicall is righteousnes before God for the Scripture hath shutte all vnder sinne all are accursed and damned Who pronounceth this sentence The Scripture And where First by this promise The Seede of the vvoman shall bruse the Serpentes head In thee shall be blessed c. and such like places Moreouer by the whole lawe whereof the principall office is to make men giltie of sinne Therefore no Monke no Carthusian no Celestine bruseth the head of the Serpent but they abide brused and broken vnder the Serpents head that is vnder the power of the Deuill Who will beleue this Briefly what so euer is without Christ and his promise whether it be the lawe of God or the lawe of man the Ceremoniall or the morall lawe without all exception is shut vnder sinne For the Scripture shutteth all vnder sinne Now he that saith all excepteth nothing Therefore we conclude with Paule that the policies and lawes of all nations be they neuer so good and necessary with all ceremonies and religions without faith in Christ are and abide vnder sinne death and eternall damnation except faith in Iesus Christ goe withall or rather before all as followeth in the texte Of this matter we haue spoken largely before Wherfore this is a true proposition Onely faith iustifieth without works which notwithstanding our aduersaries can by no meanes abide For Paule here strongly concludeth that the lawe geueth not life because it is not geuen to that ende If then the lawe doe not iustifie and geue life much lesse doe workes iustifie For when Paule sayth that the lawe geueth not life his meaning is that workes also doe not geue life For it is more to say that the law quickeneth geueth life then to say that works doe quicken geue life If then the law it selfe being fulfilled although it be impossible that it should be accomplished doe not iustifie much lesse doe workes iustifie I conclude therefore that faith onely iustifieth and bringeth life without workes Paule can not suffer this addition faith ioyned with works iustifieth but he proceedeth simplie by the negatiue Rom. 3. and before in the second chapiter Therefore by the vvorkes of the lavv sayeth he shall no flesh be iustified And againe in this place The lavve is not geuen to bring life Verse 22. That the promise by the faith of Iesus Christ shoulde be geuen to them that beleue He saide before that the Scripture hath shutte all vnder sinne What for euer No but vntill the promise shoulde be geuen Nowe the promise is the inheritaunce it selfe or the Blessing promised to Abraham to witte the deliueraunce from the lawe sinne death and the Deuill and a free geuing of grace righteousnes saluation and eternal life This promise saith he is not obtained by any merite by any law or by any worke but it is geuen To whom To those that beleue In whom In Iesus Christ who is the blessed Seede which hath redeemed all beleeuers from the Curse that they might receaue the Blessing These wordes be not obscure but plaine enough notwithstanding we must marke them diligently and way well the force and weight therof For if all be shutte vnder sinne it followeth that all nations are accursed and are destitute of the grace of God Also that they are vnder the wrath of God and the power of the Deuill and that no man can be deliuered from thē by any other meanes then by faith in Iesus Christ With these words therfore Paule fighteth strongly against the fantasticall opinions of the Papistes and all Iusticiaries touching the lawe and workes when he sayth that the promise by faith in Iesus Christ might be geuen to all beleeuers Nowe how we shoulde aunswere to those sentences which speake of workes and the rewarde thereof I haue sufficiently declared before And the matter requireth not now that we should speake any thinge of workes For we haue not here taken in hande to entreate of works but of Iustification to witte that it is not obtained by the lawe and works since all things are shutte vnder sinne and vnder the Curse but by Faith in Christ When we are out of the matter of Iustification we can not sufficiently praise and magnifie those workes which are commaunded of god For who can sufficiently commend and set forth the profite fruit of one onely worke which a Christian doth through Faith and in Faith In deede it is more precious then heauen or earth The whole world therefore is not able to geue a worthy recompence to such a good worke Yea the world hath not the grace to magnifie the holy works of the faithfull as they are worthy
still an eye to moe workes and so by heaping vppe of workes he goeth about to appease the wrath of God and to iustifie him selfe vntill he be driuen to vtter desperation Wherfore whosoeuer falleth frō Faith and foloweth the law is like to Esopes dogge which forgoeth the flesh and snatcheth at the shadow Wherfore it is impossible that such as seeke righteousnes saluation by the lawe wherevnto men are naturally enclined should euer finde quietnes and peace of conscience yea they doe nothing else but heape lawes vpon lawes whereby they torment both themselues and others and afflict mens consciences so miserably that through extreme anguish of heart many die before their time For one lawe alwayes bringeth forth ten moe and so they encrease without number and without ende Now who would haue thought that the Galathians which had learned so sound and so pure a doctrine of such an excellent Apostle and teacher could be so suddenly ledde away from the same and vtterly peruerted by the false Apostles It is not without cause that I repete this so often that to fall away from the truth of the Gospel is an easie matter The reason is because men doe not sufficiently consider no not the very faithfull what an excellent and a precious treasure the true knowledge of Christ is Therefore they doe not labour so diligently so carefully as they should doe to obtaine to retaine the same Moreouer the greater part of those that heare the word are exercised with no crosse or affliction they wrastle not against sinne death the Deuill but liue in securitie without any conflict Such men because they are not proued and tried with tentations and therefore are not armed with the word of God against the subtilties of the Deuill neuer feele the vse and power of the word In dede whilest they are among faithfull ministers and preachers they cā folow their words say as they say perswading themselues that they perfectly vnderstand the matter of iustification But whē they are gone wolues in sheepes clothing are come in their place it hapneth vnto them as it did to the Galathians that is to say they are suddenly seduced easily turned backe to weake and beggerly rudiments Paule hath here his peculier maner of speech which the other Apostles did not vse For there was none of them besides Paule that gaue such names to the lawe to witte that it is a weake and a beggerly rudiment that is to say vtterly vnprofitable to righteousnes And surely I durst not haue geuen such termes vnto the lawe but should haue thought it great blasphemy against God if Paule had not so done before But of this I haue entreated more largely before where I shewed when the lawe is weake and beggerly and when it is most strong and rich c. Now if the law of God be weake and vnprofitable to Iustification much more are the lawes and decrees of the Pope weake and vnprofitable to Iustification Therefore we geue sentence against the ordinaunces lawes and decrees of the Pope with such boldnes assurance as Paule did against the law of God that they are not onely weake and beggerly rudiments and vtterly vnprofitable to righteousnes but also execrable accursed deuilish dānable for they blaspheme grace they ouerthrow the Gospel abolish faith take away Christ c. For as much then as the Pope requireth that we should kepe his lawes as necessary to saluation he is very Antichrist and the Vicar of Sathā And as many as cleaue vnto him cōfirme his abhominatiōs blasphemies or kepe them to this ende that therby they may merite the forgeuenes of their sinnes are the seruaunts of Antichrist of the Deuil Now such hath the doctrine of the Papisticall church ben of a lōg time that these lawes ought to be kept as necessary to saluatiō Thus the Pope sitteth in the temple of God vaunting him selfe to be God he setteth him selfe against God and exalteth himselfe aboue all that is called God or worshipped c And mens consciences more feared reuerenced the lawes and ordinaunces of the Pope then the word of God his ordinaūces By this meanes he was made the Lord of heauen of earth and of hell and bare a triple crowne vpon his head The Cardinals also Bishops his creatures were made Kings Princes of the world And therfore if he did not burden mens consciences with his lawes he could not long maintaine his terrible power his dignitie and his riches but his whole kingdom would quickly fall This place which Paule here handleth is weightie and of great importance and therefore the more diligently to be marked to witte that they which fall from grace to the law doe vtterly lose the knowledge of the truth they see not their owne sinnes they neither know God nor the Deuill nor them selues and moreouer they vnderstand not the force and vse of the lawe although they bragge neuer so much that they keepe and obserue the same For without the knowledge of grace that is to say without the Gospell of Christ it is impossible for a man to geue this definition of the lawe that it is a weake and a beggerly rudiment and vnprofitable to righteousnes But he rather iudgeth quite contrary of the law to witte that it is not onely necessary to saluation but also that it strengthneth such as are weake and enricheth such as are poore and beggerly that is to say that such as obey and obserue the same shall be able to merite righteousnes and euerlasting saluation If this opinion remaine the promise of God is denied Christe is taken away lying impietie and idolatrie is established Now the Pope with all his Bishops his Schooles and whole Sinagoge taught that his lawes are necessary to saluation Therfore he was a teacher of weake and beggerly elements wherwith he made the Church of Christ thorow out the whole world most weake beggerly that is to say he burdened and miserably tormented the Church with his wicked lawes defacing Christ and burying his Gospell Verse 9. VVhervnto ye vvill be in bondage againe This he addeth to declare that he speaketh of proud and presumpteous hypocrites which seeke to be iustified by the law as I haue shewed before For otherwise he calleth the law holy and good As 1. Timot 1. VVe knovv that the lavv is good if it be rightly vsed to witte ciuily to bridle euill doers and spiritually to encrease transgressions But whosoeuer obserueth the lawe to obtaine righteousnes before God maketh the lawe which is good damnable and hurtfull vnto him selfe He reproueth the Galathians therefore because they would be in bondage to the lawe againe which doth not take away sinne but encreaseth sinne For whilest a sinner being weake and poore of himself seeketh to be iustified by the lawe he findeth nothing in it but weakenes and pouertie it selfe And
vpō this their fall vnlesse they repented This fatherly and Apostolicall care and admonition of Paule moued some of them nothing at all For many of them acknowledged Paule no more for their teacher but preferred the false apostles farre aboue him of whom they thought them selues to haue receaued the true doctrine and not of Paule Moreouer the false apostles no doubt sclaundered Paule among the Galathians saying that he was an obstinate and a contentious fellow which for a light matter would breake the vnitie of the churches and for no other cause but that he alone would be counted wise and be magnified of them Through this false accusation they made Paule very odious vnto many Some other which had not yet vtterly forsakē his doctrine thought that there was no daunger in dissenting a litle from him in the doctrine of iustification Faith. Wherfore when they heard that Paule made so hainous a matter of that which seemed vnto them to be but light and of small importance then maruelled and thus they thought with themselues Be it so that we haue swarned something from the doctrine of Paule and that there hath bene some fault in vs yet that being but a small matter he ought to winke thereat or at least not to vehemently to amplifie it lest by the occasion thereof the concord of the Churches should be broken Wherevnto he answereth with this sentence A litle leuen leueneth or maketh sovver the vvhole lumpe of dough And this is a caueat or an admonition which Paule stādeth much vppon And we also ought greatly to esteme the same at this day For our aduersaries in like maner obiect against vs that we are contentious obstinate and intractable in defending our doctrine and euen in matters of no great importance But these are the craftie fetches of the Deuill whereby he goeth about vtterly to ouerthrow our doctrine To this we answer therefore with Paule that a litle leuen maketh sovver the vvhole lumpe In Philosophie a small fault in the beginning is a great and a foule fault in the ende So in Diuinitie one litle errour ouerthroweth the whole doctrine Wherefore we must separate life and doctrine farre asunder The doctrine is not ours but Gods whose ministers onely we are called therefore we may not chaunge or diminish one tittle therof The life is ours therefore as touching that we are ready to doe to suffer to forgeue c. what so euer our aduersaries shall require of vs so that Faith and doctrine may remaine sound and vncorrupt of the which we say alwayes with Paule A litle leuen leueneth c. A small mote in the eye hurteth the eye And our Sauiour Christ sayeth The light of the body is the eye therefore vvhen thine eye is single then is thy vvhole body light but if thine eye be euill then thy body is darke Againe If thy body shall haue no part darke then shall all be light By this allegorie Christe signifieth that the eye that is to say the doctrine ought to be most simple cleare and sincere hauing in it no darknes no cloud c. And Iames the Apostle sayth He that faileth in one poynt is giltie of all This place therfore maketh very much for vs against these cauillers which say that we breake charitie to the great hurt and damage of the churches But we protest that we desire nothing more then to be at vnitie with all men so that they leaue vnto vs the doctrine of Faith entire and vncorrupt to the which all things ought to geue place be it charitie an Apostle or an angell from heauen Let vs suffer them therfore to extoll charity and concord as much as they list but on the other side lette vs magnifie the maiestie of the word and Faith. Charitie may be neglected in time and place without any daunger but so can not the word and Faith be Charitie suffereth all things geueth place to all men Contrariwise Faith suffereth nothing geueth place to no man Charitie in geuing place in beleuing in geuing and forgeuing is oftentimes deceaued and yet notwithstanding being so deceaued it suffereth no losse which is to be called true losse in deede that is to say it loseth not Christe Therefore it is not offended but continueth still constant in well doing yea euen towards the vnthankfull and vnworthy Contrariwise in the matter of Faith and saluation when men teach lies and errours vnder the colour of the truth and seduce many here hath charitie no place For here we lose not any benefite bestowed vppon the vnthankfull but we lose the word Faith Christe and euerlasting life Let it not moue vs therfore that they vrge so much the keping of charitie and concord For who so loueth not God his word it is no matter what or how much he loueth Paule therfore by this sentence admonisheth as well teachers as hearers to take heede that they esteme not the doctrine of Faith as a light matter wherw t they may dally at their plesure It is as a bright sunne beame comming downe from heauen which lightneth directeth and guideth vs Now like as the world with all the wisedom and power thereof is not able to stoppe or turne away the beames of the sunne comming downe from heauen directly vnto the earth euen so can there nothing be added to the doctrine of Faith or taken from it for that is an vtter defacing and ouerthrowing of the whole Verse 10. I haue trust in you through the Lord. As if he would say I haue taught admonished and reproued you enough so that ye would hearken vnto me Notwithstanding I hope wel of you in the lord Here riseth a question whether Paule doth wel whē he sayth he hath a good hope or trust of the Galathians seing the holy Scripture forbiddeth any trust to be put in men Both Faith and charitie haue their trust and beleefe but after diuers sorts by reason of the diuersitie of their obiectes Faith trusteth in God and therfore it can not be deceaued charitie beleueth man and therefore it is often deceaued Now this Faith that springeth of charitie is so necessary to this present life that without it life can not continue in the world For if one man should not beleue trust an other what life should we liue vpon earth The true Christians doe sooner beleue and geue credite through charitie then the childrē of this world doe For faith towards men is a fruite of the spirit or of christian Faith in the godly Herevpon Paule had a trust of that Galathians yea though they were falne frō his doctrine but yet through the lord As if he should say I trust vnto you so farre forth as the Lord is in you ye in him that is to say so farre forth as ye abide in the truth From which if you fall away seduced by the ministers of Sathan I will not trust vnto you any more Thus it is
A COMMENTARIE OF M. DOCTOR MARTIN LVTHER VPON THE EPIstle of S. Paul to the Galathians first collected and gathered vvord by vvord out of his preaching and novv out of Latine faithfully translated into English for the vnlearned WHEREIN IS SET FORTH MOST EXCELLENTLY THE GLORIOVS RICHES OF Gods grace and power of the gospell with the difference betwene the law and the gospell and strength of faith declared to the ioyfull comfort and confirmation of all true Christian beleevers especially such as inwardly being afflicted and greeued in conscience doe hungre and thirst for iustification in Christ Iesu For whose cause most chiefely this booke is translated and printed and dedicated to the same Whilest ye haue light walke in the light Iohn 12. ANCHORA SPEI Imprinted at London by Thomas Vautroullier dvvelling vvihtin the Blacke frears by Ludgate CVM PRIVILEGIO 1575. To the Reader THIS booke being brought vnto me to peruse and to consider of I thought it my part not onely to allovve of it to the print but also to commend it to the Reader as a treatise most comfortable to all afflicted consciences exercised in the Schole of Christ The Author felt vvhat he spake and had experience of vvhat he vvrote and therefore able more liuely to expresse both the assaultes and the saluing the order of the battell and the meane of the victory Satan is the enemy the victorie is by onely faith in Christ as Iohn recordeth If Christe iustifie vvho can condemne saith S. Paule This most necessarye doctrine the author hath most substantially cleared in this his comment VVhich being vvritten in the Latine tounge certaine godly learned men haue most sincerely translated into our language to the great benefite of all such as vvith humbled hartes vvil diligently reade the same Some beganne it according to such skill as they had Others godly affected not suffering so good a matter in handling to be marred put to their helping hands for the better framing and furthering of so vvorthy a vvorke They refuse to be named seeking neither their ovvne gaine nor glory but thinking it their happines if by any meanes they may releue afflicted mindes doe good to the church of Christ yealding all glory vnto God to vvhom all glory is due Aprilis 28. 1575. Edvvinus London TO ALL AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES VVHICH GRONE FOR SALVATION AND VVRASTLE VNDER THE crosse for the kingdome of Christ grace peace and victorie in the Lorde Iesu our Sauiour IN fewe wordes to declare what is to be sayd for the commendation of this worke although in fewe wordes all can not be expressed that may be said yet briefly to signifie that may suffice this much we thought good to certifie thee godly reader that amongest many other godly english bookes in these our daies printed and translated thou shalt finde but fewe wherein either thy time shall seeme better bestowed or thy labour better recompensed to the profite of thy soule or wherein thou mayest see the spirite and veine of S. Paule more liuely represented to thee then in the diligent reading of this present commentary vpon the epistle of S. Paule to the Galathians In which as in a myrrour or glasse or rather as S. Stephen in the heauens being opened thou mayst see and behold the admirable glory of the Lord and all the riches of heauen thy saluation freely and onely by faith in Christe his loue and grace toward thee so opened thy victory and conquest in him so proued the wrath of God so pacified his lawe satisfied the full kingdome of life set open death hell and hell gates be they neuer so stronge with all the power of sinne flesh and the world vanquished thy conscience discharged all feares and terrours remoued thy spirituall man so refreshed and set at libertie that either thy heart must be heuier then lead or the reading hereof will lift thee vppe aboue thy selfe and giue thee to knowe that of Christe Iesu that thy selfe shalt say thou neuer knewest before though before thou knewest him right well Such spiritual comfort such heauenly doctrine such experience and practise of conscience herein is contained such triumphing ouer Sathan and al his power infernall such contempt of the lawe compared with the Gospell such an holy pride and exaltation of the beleuinge man whom here he maketh a person diuine the Sonne of God the heire of the whole earth conquerour of the world of sinne of death and the deuill with such phrases and speeches of high cōtemplation of Christ of grace of iustificatiō and of faith which faith saith he transfigureth a man into Christ and coupleth him more nere vnto Christ then the husband is coupled to his wife and maketh a man more then a man with such other mighty voices full of spirituall glory and maiestie as the like hath not bene vsed lightly of any writer since the Apostles time neither durst he euer haue vsed the same him selfe had not greate experience and exercise of conscience by inward conflictes and profound agonies framed him thereunto and ministred to him both this knowledge of spirite and boldenes of speech And this commonly is the working and proceeding of Godes vocation euer to worke thinges by the contrary of infidelitie to make faith of pouertie to make riches in misery to shew mercye to turne sorrowe to solace mourning to mirth from afflictions to aduaunce to glory from hell to bring to heauen from death to life from darkenes to light from thraldome to libertie in wildernes to geue waters the barren to make frutefull of thinges that be not to make thinges to be briefely to make all thinges of nought Thus began God first to worke thus he proceeded thus he continueth and so will to the worldes ende The firste seede of promise next to Eue was geuen to Sara yet in what case was Eue before she had the promise And in vvhat barrennes and despaire vvas Sara before she enioyed her welbeloued Isaac The like is to be said of the two mothers of two most excellent children Samuel Iohn Baptiste and yet what griefes sorrowes past ouer their heartes being both past all hope in nature before the goodnes of God did worke Howe longe did Iacob the Patriarke serue in miserable thraldome for his Rachel In what excellent glorye was Ioseph exalted yet what suffered he before of his brethren and how longe imprisonment In what and howe longe seruitude were the sonnes of Israell before Moses was sent vnto them and afterward in what distresse were they cōpassed on euery side whē the sea was forced to geue them place After that againe what an excellent land was promised and geuen vnto them floweing with milke and hony but how were they scourged before in the desert and yet neither had they the lande but their children To ouerpasse many thinges here by the way what an excellent worke was it of God to set vppe Dauid in his kingedome Also what excellent promises were geuen to his throne Yet
therof as the childe of Adam where the law accuseth me death reigneth ouer me and at length will deuoure me But I haue an other righteousnesse and life aboue this life which is Christ the sonne of God who knoweth no sinne nor death but is righteousnesse and life eternall by whome this my body being dead and brought into dust shal be raised vp againe and deliuered from the bondage of the lawe and sinne and shal be sanctified together with the spirite So bothe these continue whilest we heere liue The flesh is accused exercised with temptations oppressed with heauinesse and sorrowe brused by this actiue righteousnesse of the law but the spirit reigneth reioyceth and is saued by this passiue and christian righteousnesse because it knoweth that it hath a Lord in heauen at the right hand of his father who hath abolished the law sinne death and hath troden vnder his feete all euils led them captiue and triumphed ouer them in him selfe Coloss 2.15 S. Paule therfore in this Epistle goeth about diligētly to instruct vs to comfort vs to holde vs in the perfect knowledge of this most excellent and christian righteousnesse For if the article of Iustification be once lost then is all true christian doctrine lost And as many as are in the world that holde not this doctrine are either Iewes Turkes Papists or heretikes For betwene the righteousnesse of the law and the christian righteousnesse there is no meane He then that strayeth from this christian righteousnesse must needes fall into the righteousnesse of the law that is to say when he hath lost Christ he must fall into the confidence of his owne workes Therfore doe we so often repeate and so earnestly set forthe this doctrine of Faith or Christian righteousnesse that by this meanes it may be kept in continuall exercise and may be plainly discerned from the actiue righteousnesse of the law Otherwise we shall neuer be able to holde the true diuinitie for by this onely doctrine that Church is built and in this it consisteth but by by we shall either become Canonists obseruers of Ceremonies obseruers of the law or papists and Christ so darkened that none in the Churche shall be either rightly taught or comforted Wherfore if we will be teachers and leaders of other it behoueth vs to haue a great care of these matters and to marke well this distinction betweene the righteousnesse of the law and the righteousnesse of Christ And this distinction is easie to be vttered in wordes but in vse and experience it is very hard althoughe it be neuer so diligently exercised and practised for that in the houre of death or in other agonies of the conscience these two sortes of righteousnesse do encoūter more nere together then thou wouldest wishe or desire Wherfore I doe admonishe you especially such as shall become instructers and guiders of consciences and also euery one apart that ye exercise your selues continually by studie by reading by meditation of the worde and by prayer that in the time of temptation ye may be able to instruct and comfort bothe your owne consciences and others and to bring them from the law to grace from the actiue and working righteousnesse to the passiue and receiued righteousnesse and to conclude from Moises to Christ For the deuill is wont in affliction and in the cōflict of conscience by the law to make vs afraide and to lay against vs the conscience of sinne our wicked life past the wrathe and iudgement of God hell and eternall death that by this meanes he may driue vs to desperation make vs bondslaues to him selfe plucke vs from Christ Furthermore he is wont to set against vs those places of the gospell wherin Christ him selfe requireth workes of vs with plaine wordes threatneth danmation to those that doe them not Nowe if here we be not able to iudge betwene these two kinds of righteousnes if we take not hould of Christ by fayth sitting at the right hand of God who maketh intercession vnto the father for vs miserable sinners then are we vnder the lawe and not vnder grace and Christ is no more a Sauiour but a lawe geuer so that now there remaineth no more saluation but certaine desperation and euerlasting death except repentance follow Let vs then diligently learne to iudge betwene these two kindes of righteousnes that we may know how farre we ought to obey the law Now we haue sayd before that that law in a Christian ought not to passe his bounds but ought to haue dominion onely vpon the flesh which is in subiection vnto it remaineth vnder the same When it is thus the lawe is kept within his bounds But if it shall presume to creepe into thy conscience there seeke to raigne see thou play the cunning Logician and make true diuision Geue no more to the lawe then is conuenient but say thou O lawe thou wouldest clime vp into the kingdome of my conscience and there reigne and reproue it of sinne and wouldest take from me the ioy of my hart which I haue by faith in Christ and driue me to desperation that I might be without all hope and vtterly perish This thou doest besides thine office keepe thy selfe within thy boundes and exercise thy power vpon the fleshe but touch not my conscience for I am baptised by the gospell am called to the pertaking of righteousnes of euerlasting life to the kingdome of Christ wherin my conscience is at rest where no law is but altogither forgeuenes of sinnes peace quietnes ioy health and euerlasting life Trouble me not in these matters for I will not suffer thee so intollerable a tyrante and cruell tormenter to reigne in my conscience for it is the seate and temple of Christ the sonne of God who is the King of righteousnes peace and my most sweete Sauiour and Mediatour he shall keepe my conscience ioyfull and quiet in the sound and pure doctrine of the gospell and in the knowledge of this Christian heauenly righteousnes When I haue this righteousnes reigning in my hart I descend from heauen as the raine making frutefull the earth that is to say I come forth into an other kingdome and I doe good workes how and whensoeuer occasion is offered If I be a minister of the word I preach I comfort the broken harted I administer the sacraments If I be a housholder I gouerne my house and my family I bringe vp my children in the knowledge feare of god If I be a magistrate the charge that is geuen me from aboue I diligently execute If I be a seruant I doe my masters busines faithfully To conclude whosoeuer he be that is assuredly persuaded that Christ is his righteousnes he doth not only chearefully and gladly worke well in his vocation but also submitteth him selfe through loue to the magistrates and to their lawes yea though they be seuere sharpe and cruell and if necessitie doe so
them became a cast away saue Iudas because theyr calling is holy This is the first assault that Paule maketh against the false Apostles which ranne when no man sent them Calling therfore is not to be despised For it is not enough for a man to haue the word pure doctrine but also he must be assured of his calling and he that entreth without this certaintie entreth to no other ende but to kill and to destroy For God neuer prospereth the labour of those that are not called And although they teach some good and profitable matters withall yet they edifie not So our fantasticall spirites at this day haue the wordes of Faith in their mouthes but yet they yeelde no frute but their cheefe ende and purpose is to draw men to their false and peruerse opinions They that haue a certaine and holy calling must sustaine many and great conflictes as they must do whose doctrine is pure and sound that they may constantly abide in their lawfull calling against the infinite and continuall assaultes of the Deuill and rage of the world Heere what should he doe whose calling is vncertaine and doctrine corrupte This is then our comforte which are in the Ministerie of the worde that we haue an office which is heauenly and holy to the which we being lawfully called doe triumph against all the gates of hel On the other side it is an horrible thing when the conscience saith This thou hast done without any lawfull calling Herein such terrour shaketh a mans minde which is not called that he would wish he had neuer heard the word which he teacheth For by his disobedience he maketh all his workes euill were they neuer so good in so much that euen his greatest workes and labours become his greateste sinnes We see then how good and necessary this boasting and glorying of our ministerie is In times past when I was a yong deuine and teacher me thought Paule did vnwisely in glorying so oft of his calling in all his Epistles but I did not vnderstand his purpose For I knew not that the ministerie of Gods word was so waightie a matter I knew nothing of the doctrine of faith and a true conscience in deede for that there was then no certaintie taught either in the Schooles or Churches but al was ful of Sophistical subtilties of the Schoolemē And therfore no man was able to vnderstand the dignitie and power of this holy and spirituall boasting of the true lawfull calling which serueth first to the glory of God and secondly to the aduauncing of our office and moreouer to the saluation of our selues and of the people For by this our boasting we seeke not estimation in the worlde or praise among men or mony or pleasures or fauour of the world But for as much as we be in a diuine calling and in the worke of God and the people haue great neede to be assured of our calling that they may know our word to be the word of God therfore we proudly vaunt and boast of it It is not then a vaine but a most holy pride against the deuil and the world and true humilitie before God. Verse 1. And by God the Father vvhich hath raised him from the dead Paule is so enflamed heere with zeale that he can not tary till he come to the matter it selfe but forthwith in the very title he bursteth out and vttereth what he hath in his heart His intent in this Epistle is to treate of the righteousnes that cometh by faith and to defend the same Againe to ouerthrowe the lawe and the righteousnes that cometh by workes Of such cogitations he is full and out of this wonderfull and exceeding great abundance of the excellent wisedome and knowledge of Christ in his heart his mouth speaketh This flame this great burning fire of his heart cā not be hid nor suffer him to hold his tongue and therfore he thought it not enough to say that he was an Apostle sent by Iesus Christ but also addeth by God the Father vvhich raised him vp from the dead But the adding of these words And by God the father c semeth not necessary But because as I sayd Paule speaketh out of the abundance of his heart his minde burneth with desire to set forth euen in the very entrie of his Epistle the vnsearchable riches of Christ and to preach the righteousnes of God which is called the resurrection of the dead Christ who liueth and is risen againe speaketh out of him and moueth him thus to speake therfore not without cause he addeth that he is also an Apostle By God the father vvhich hath raised vp Iesus Christ from the dead As if he would say I haue to deale with Satan and with those vipers the instrumēts of Satan which go about to spoile me of the righteousnes of Christ who was raised vp by God the to spoile me of the righteousnes of Christ who was raised vp by God the father frō the dead by which alone we are made righteous by which also we shal be raised vp in the last day from death to euerlasting life But they that in such sort goe about to ouerthrow Christes righteousnes do resist the father and the sonne and the worke of them bothe Thus Paule euen at the first entrance bursteth out into the whole matter wherof he treateth in this Epistle For as I sayd he treateth of the resurrection of Christ who rose againe to make vs righteous and in so doing he hath ouercome the lawe sinne death and all euels Christes victorie then is the ouercōming of the law of sinne our flesh the world the deuil death hel all euils and this his victorie hath he geuen vnto vs Although then that these tyraunts and enemies of ours do accuse vs and make vs afraid yet can they not driue vs to despaire nor condemne vs For Christ whom God the father hath raised vp frō the dead is our righteousnes and victory Therfore thanks be to God who hath geuen vs victorie by our Lord Iesus Christ Amen But marke how fitly and to the purpose Paule here speaketh He sayth not by God that hath made heauen and earth which is Lord of the Angels which commaunded Abraham to goe out of his owne coūtrey which sent Moises to Pharao the king which brought Israel out of Egypt as the false Apostles did who boasted of the God of their fathers the creator maintainer and preseruer of all things working wonders among his people but Paule had an other thing in his hart namely the righteousnes of Christ therfore he speaketh words that make much for this his matter saying I am an Apostle neither of men nor by men but by Iesus Christ and God the father vvho hath raised him vp from the dead Ye see then with what feruencie of spirit Paule is led in this matter which he goeth about to establish and maintaine against
father but also from Iesus Christ teacheth first that we should abstaine from the curious searching of the diuine maiestie for God no man knoweth and to heare Christ who is in the bosome of the father and vttereth to vs his will who also is appoynted of the father to be a teacher to the end that euery one of vs should heare him Christ is God by nature The other thing that Paule teacheth here is a confirmation of our Faith That Christ is very god And such like sentences as this is concerning the Godhead of Christ are to be gathered together and marked diligently not onely against the Arians and other heretikes which either haue bene or shal be hereafter but also for the confirmation of our faith For Satan will not faile to impugne in vs all the articles of our Faith ere we die He is a most deadly enemie to Faith because he knoweth that it is the victorie which ouercometh the world Wherfore it standeth vs in hand to labour that our Faith may be certaine and may encrease and be strengthened by diligent and continuall exercise of the word and feruent prayer that we may be able to withstand Satan Now that Christ is very God hereby it is euidently declared in that Paule attributeth the same things equally vnto him which he doth vnto the father namely diuine power as the geuing of grace the forgeuenes of sinnes peace of conscience life victorie ouer sinne death the deuill and hell This were by no meanes lawfull for him to doe nay it were sacrilege thus to doe except he were very God according to that saying I vvill not geue my glory vnto any other Againe No man geueth that to others which he him selfe hath not But seeing Christ geueth Grace Peace and the holy Ghost deliuereth from the power of the deuill from sinne and death it is certaine that he hath an infinite and diuine power equall in all poyntes to the power of the father And in that Christ geueth Grace and Peace he geueth it not as the Apostles gaue and brought the same vnto men by preaching of the gospell but he geueth it as the author and creator The father createth and geueth life Grace Peace all other good things The selfe same things also the sonne createth geueth Now to geue Grace Peace euerlasting life to forgeue sinnes to make righteous to quicken to deliuer from death and the deuill are not the workes of any creature but of the diuine Maiestie alone The Angels can neither create nor geue these things Therefore these workes pertaine onely to the glory of the soueraigne Maiestie the maker of all things And seing Paule doth attribute the selfe same power of creating and geuing all these things vnto Christ equally with the father it must nedes follow that Christ is verely and naturally God. Many such arguments are in Iohn where it is proued and concluded by the workes which are attributed to the sonne as well as to the father that the diuinitie of the father and of the sonne is all one Therfore the giftes which we receiue of the father and which we receiue of the sonne are all one For else Paule would haue spoken otherwise after this manner Grace from God the father and Peace from our Lord Iesus Christ But in knitting them both together he attributeth them equally as well to the sonne as to the father I do therfore so diligently admonish you of this thing because it is daungerous lest among so many errours and in so great varietie and confusion of sectes there might step vp some Arrians Eunomians Macedonians and such other heretikes that might doe harme to the Churches with their subteltie In deede the Arrians were sharpe and subtile fellowes They graunted that Christ hath two natures and that he is called very God of very God howbeit in name onely Christ said they is a most noble and perfect creature aboue the Angels wherby God afterward created heauē and earth and all other things So Mahomet also speaketh honorably of Christ But al this is nothing els but goodly imaginations words pleasant and plausible to mans reason wherby the fantasticall spirites do deceiue men except they take good hede But Paule speaketh otherwise of Christ Ye sayth he are rooted and stablished in this beleefe namely that Christ is not onely a perfect creature but very God who doth the selfe same things that God the father doth He hath the diuine works not of a creature but of the creator because he geueth Grace Peace and to geue them is to condemne sinne to vanquish death and to tread the deuill vnder foote These things no Angell can geue but seing they are attributed vnto Christ it must nedes folow that he is very God by nature Verse 4. VVhich gaue himselfe for our sinnes Paule in a maner in euery word handleth the argumēt of this Epistle He hath nothing in his mouth but christ therfore in euery word ther is a feruencie of spirite and life And marke how well to the purpose he speaketh He sayth not which hath receaued our works at our hāds nor which hath receaued the sacrifices of Moises law worshippings religions Masses vowes and pilgrimages But hath geuen What not golde nor siluer nor beastes nor paschall lambes nor an angel but him selfe For what Not for a crowne not for a kingdome not for our holines or righteousnes but for our sinnes These words are very thūder claps from heauen against all kindes of righteousnes like as is also this sentence of Iohn Behold the lambe of God that taketh avvay the sinnes of the vvorld Therfore we must with diligent attention marke euery word of Paule and not slenderly consider them or lightly passe them ouer for they are full of consolation and confirme fearfull consciences exceedingly But how may we obtaine remission of our sinnes Paule answereth that the man which is called Iesus Christ the sonne of God hath geuē him selfe for them These are excellēt most comfortable words are promises of the olde law that our sinnes are taken away by none other meane then by the sonne of God deliuered vnto death With such gunnes and such artillarie must the Papacie be destroyed and all the all the religions of the heathen all works all merits and all superstitious ceremonies For if our sinnes may be taken away by our owne works merites and satisfactions what needed the sonne of God to be giuen for them But seeing he was giuen for them it followeth that we can not doe them away by our owne works Againe by this sentence it is declared that our sinnes are so great so infinite and inuincible that it is impossible for the whole world to satisfie for one of them and surely the greatnes of the raunsome namely Christ the sonne of God who gaue himselfe for our sinnes declareth sufficiently that we can neither satisfie for sinne
to be vndoubtedly accursed if they teach any thing contrarie vnto the first Gospell For the voice of the Gospell once sent forth shall not be called backe againe til the day of iudgment Verse 9. As vve said before so say vve novv againe if any man preach vnto you othervvise then that you haue receaued let him be accursed He repeteth the selfe same thing onely chaunging the persons Before he cursed him selfe his brethren and an Angell from heauen Here if there be any saith he besides vs which preach vnto you any other Gospell then that ye haue receaued of vs let them also be accursed Therefore he plainly excommunicateth and curseth all teachers in generall him selfe his brethren an Angell moreouer all others whatsoeuer namely all those false teachers his aduersaries Here appeareth an exceeding greate feruencie of spirite in the Apostle that dare curse all teachers thorow out the whole world and in heauen which peruert his Gospel teach any other For all men must either beleue that Gospel that Paule preached or els they must be accursed and condemned O would to God this terrible sentence of the Apostle might strike a feare into their harts that seeke to peruert the Gospel of Paule of which sorte at this day the more it is to be lamented the world is full The chaunging of persons is here to be marked For Paule speaketh otherwise in his first cursing then he doth in this second In the first he saith If vve or an Angell from heauen preach vnto you any other Gospell then that vve haue preached vnto you In the second then that you haue receaued And this he doth of purpose lest the Galathians should say We o Paule do not peruert the gospell that thou hast preached vnto vs we vnderstood thee not rightly but the teachers that came after thee haue declared vnto vs the true meaning therof This saith he wil I in no case admitte They ought to adde nothing neither to correct it but that which you heard of me is the sincere word of God let this onely remaine Neither doe I desire my selfe to be an other maner of teacher then I was nor you other disciples Wherefore if ye heare any man bringing any other Gospel then that ye haue heard of me or bragging that he will deliuer better things then ye haue receaued of me let him and his disciples be both accursed The first two chapters in a maner containe nothing els but defences of his doctrine and confutations of errours For in the ende of the second chapter at the last he beginneth to handle the article of iustification Notwithstanding this sentence of Paule ought to admonish vs that so many as thinke the Pope to be the iudge of holy scripture are accursed Which thinge the Popes Scholemen haue wickedly taught standing vpon this ground The church hath allowed foure Gospels onely therefore there are but foure For if it had allowed more ther had ben more Now seeing the Church might receaue and allowe such and so many Gospels as it would therefore the Church is aboue the Gospell A goodly argument forsoth I approue the scrpture Ergo I am aboue the scripture Iohn Baptist acknowledgeth and confesseth Christ and pointeth to him with his finger therfore he is aboue Christ The Church approueth the Christian faith and doctrine therefore the Church is aboue them For the ouerthrowing of this their wicked and blasphemous doctrine against God thou hast here a plaine text like a thunderbolt wherein Paule subiecteth both him selfe and an Angell from heauen and Doctours vpon earth and all other teachers and maisters whatsoeuer vnder the authoritie of the scripture For they ought not to be maisters iudges or arbiters but onely witnesses disciples and confessours of the Church whether it be the Pope Luther Augustine Paule or an Angell from heauen Neither ought any doctrine to be taught or heard in the Church besides the word of God that is to say the holy scripture Otherwise accursed be both the teachers and hearers together with their doctrine Verse 10. For novve preach I mans doctrine or Gods These words are spoken with the same vehemencie that the former were As if he would say Am I Paule so vnknowen amongest you which haue preached so openly in your churches Are my bitter conflicts and so many sharpe battails against the Iewes yet vnknowne vnto you It appeareth I thinke sufficiently vnto you by my preaching by so many and great afflictions which I haue suffered whether I serue men or God. For all men see that by this my preaching I haue not onely stirred vp persecution against me in euery place but haue also procured the cruell hatred both of mine owne nation and of all other men I shew therefore plainely enough that I seeke not by my preaching the fauour or liking of men but to set forth the goodnes and glory of God. Neither doe we be it spoken without bragge seeke the fauour of men by our doctrine For we teach that all men are wicked by nature and the children of wrath We condenme mans freewill his strength wisedome and righteousnes and all religion of our deuising And to be shorte we say that there is nothing in vs that is able to deserue grace and the forgeuenes of sinnes but we preach that we obtaine this grace by the free mercy of God onely for Christes sake For so the heauens shevv forth the glory of God and his vvorkes condemning all men generally with their works This certes is not to preach for the fauour of men and of the world For the world can abide nothing lesse then to heare his wisedome righteousnes religion and power condemned And to speake against those mighty and glorious gifts of the world is not to flatter the world but rather to procure hatred and indignation of the world For if we speake against men or against any such things as pertaine to their glory it can not be but that cruell hatred persecutions excommunications murthers and condemnations therevpon must needes follow If then saith Paule they see other matters why see they not this also that I teach the things that are of God not of men that is to say that I seeke no mans fauour by my doctrine but I set out Gods mercie offred vnto vs in Christ For if I sought the fauour of men I would not condenme their workes Now for as much as I condemne mens workes that is to say because I shew Gods iudgement out of his word whereof I am a Minister against all men how that they are sinners vnrighteous wicked children of wrath bondslaues of the deuill and damned and that they are not made righteous by works or by circumcision but by grace onely and faith in Christ therfore I procure vnto my selfe the deadly hatred of men For they cā abide nothing lesse than to be taken for such maner of men nay rather they would be
so highly esteeme the Popes authoritie that to dissent from him euen in the least point I thought it a sinne worthy of euerlasting death And that wicked opinion caused me to thinke that Iohn Hus was a cursed heretike yea and I accounted it an heinous offence but once to thinke of him And I would my selfe in defence of the Popes authoritie haue ministred fire sword for the burning destroying of that heretike thought it an high seruice vnto God so to do Wherfore if you compare Publicanes harlots with these holy Hipocrits they are not euill For they when they offend haue remorse of conscience do not iustifie their wicked doings but these men are so farre of frō acknowledging their abhominatiōs idolatries wicked wilworshippings ceremonies to be sinnes that they affirme the same to be righteousnes a most aceptable sacrifice vnto god yea they adore thē as matters of singular holines thorow them do promise saluation vnto others also sell thē for mony as things auaileable to saluation This is then our goodly righteousnes this is our high merite which bringeth vnto vs the knowledg of grace to wit that we haue so deadly so deuelishly persecuted blasphemed trodē vnder foote condēned God Christ the gospell faith that sacramēts al godly men the true worship of God haue taught stablished quite cōtrary things And the more holy we wer the more wer we blinded the more did we worship the deuil Ther was not one of vs but he was a bloudsucker if not in deede yet in hart Verse 15. VVhen it pleased God. As though he would say It is the alone and inestimable fauour of God that not onely he hath spared me so wicked so cursed a wretch such a blasphemor a persecutor a rebell against God but besides that also hath giuen vnto me the knowledge of saluation his spirit Christ his sonne the office of an Apostle and euerlasting life So God beholding vs giltie in the like sinnes hath not only pardoned our impieties blasphemies of his mere mercy for Christes sake but hath also ouerwhelmed vs with great benefits spiritual gifts But many of vs are not onely vnthankfull vnto God for this his inestimable grace and as it is written 2. Pet. 1. Do forget the clensing of their old sinnes but also opening againe a window to the Deuill they beginne to loth his word and many also corrupt it and so become authors of new errours The ends of these men are vvorse then the beginnings Verse 15. VVhich had seperated me from my mothers vvombe This is an Hebrew phrase As if he sayde which had sanctified ordained prepared me That is GOD had appoynted when I was yet in my mothers wombe that I should so rage against his church and that afterwards he should mercifully call me backe againe from the middest of my cruelty and blasphemy by his meere grace into the way of truth and saluation To be short when I was not yet borne I was an Apostle in the sight of God and when the time was come I was declared an Apostle before the whole world Thus Paule cutteth of all deserts and giueth glory to God alone but to himselfe all shame and confusion As though he would say All the gifts both smale and great as well spirituall as corporall which God purposed to giue vnto me and all the good things which at any time in all my life I should doe God himselfe had before appointed when I was yet in my mothers wombe where I could neither wish thinke nor doe any good thing Therefore this gift also came vnto me by the meere predestination and free mercy of God before I was yet borne Moreouer after I was borne he supported me being loden with innumerable and monstrous euils and iniquities And that he might the more manifestly declare the vnspeakeable and inestimable greatenes of his mercy towards me he of his meere mercy forgaue me my greate and innumerable sinnes and moreouer replenished me with such plenty of his grace that not onely I my selfe should know what things are giuen vnto vs in Christ but that I should preach the same vnto others also Such then were the deserts and merits of all men and especially of those old dotards who exercised themselues farre aboue others in the stincking dunghils of mans righteousnes Verse 15. And called me by his grace Marke the diligence of the Apostle He called me sayth he Hovve Was it for my pharisaicall religion or for my blameles and holy life for my praiers fastings and works No. Much lesse then for my blasphemies persecutions oppressions Hovv then By his meere grace Verse 16. To reueile his sonne in me You heare in this place what maner of doctrine is giuen and committed to Paule to witte the doctrine of the Gospel which is the reuelation of the sonne of god This is a doctrine quite contrary to the lawe which reueileth not the sonne of God but it sheweth fourth sinne it terrifieth the conscience it reueileth death the wrath and iudgement of God and hell The Gospell then is such a doctrine as admitteth no law Now he that in this case could rightly distinguish would not seeke the Gospell in the lawe but would separate the Gospell as farre from the law as there is distāce betwene heauen and earth This difference in it selfe is easie certaine and plaine but vnto vs it is hard and almost not to be comprehended For it is an easie matter to say that the Gospell is nothing els but the reueiling of the sonne of the God or the knowledge of Iesus Christ and that it is not the reueiling of the law But in the very agony and conflict of conscience to hold this fast and to practise it in deede it is a hard matter yea to them also that be most exercised therein Now if the Gospell be the reueiling of the sonne of God as Paule defineth it in this place then surely it accuseth not it feareth not the conscience it threateneth not death it bringeth not to despaire as the law doth but it is a doctrine concerning Christ which is neither law nor worke but our righteousnes wisedome sanctification redēption Although this thing be more cleare then the sunne light yet notwithstanding the madnes and blindnes of the Papistes hath bene so great that of the Gospell they haue made a lawe of charitie and of Christ a lawegiuer which should giue more streit and heauy commaundements then Moses himselfe But the Gospell teacheth that Christ came not to set forth a newe law and to geue commaundements as touching maners but that he came to this end that he might be made an oblation for the sinnes of the vvhole vvorld and that our sinnes might be forgeuē and euerlasting life giuen vnto vs for his sake and not for the works of the lawe or for our rightesousnes sake Of this
of faith where neither the law nor reason do shine but onely the light of Faith which assureth vs that we are saued by Christ alone without any law Thus the gospell leadeth vs beyond and aboue the light of the law and reason into the inward and deepe secretes of Faith where the lawe and reason haue nothing to doe Notwithstāding we must hearken also vnto the law but in place and time Moises whiles he was in the mountaine where he talked with God face to face had no law made no law ministred no law but when he was come downe from the mountaine he was a lawgeuer and gouerned the people by the law So the conscience must be free frō the law but the body must be obedient vnto the law Hereby it appeareth that Paule reproued Peter for no light matter but for the chiefest article of all Christian doctrine which by Peters dissimulation was in great daunger For Barnabas and the other Iewes dissembled togither with him which did all offend not through ignorance or malice but for feare of the Iewes wherby their hearts were so blinded that they did not see their sinne And certainly it is much to be maruelled that such excellent men as Peter Barnabas and others should so sodenly and so lightly fall especially in that thing which they knew to be well done had also before taught vnto others It is a perilous thing therefore to trust to our owne strength be we neuer so holy neuer so well learned and although we thinke our selues neuer so sure of that we know For in that wherof we thinke our selues most sure we may erre and fall bring our selues and other into great daunger Let vs therefore diligently and with all humilitie employ our selues in the studie of the holy scriptures and let vs heartely pray that we neuer lose the truth of the gospell Thus we see then that we are nothing with all our giftes be they neuer so great except God assist vs When he leaueth vs to our selues our wisedom and knowledge is nothing For in the houre of tentation it may suddenly come to passe that by the subteltie of the Deuil all the comfortable places of the scripture shal be taken out of our sight and such places onely as containe threatnings shal be set before our eies shal oppresse vtterly confound vs Let vs learne therfore that if God withdraw his hand we may soone be ouerthrowne Neither let any man vaunt and glory of his owne righteousnes wisedome and other gifts but let him humble himselfe and pray with the Apostle Lord encrease our faith Verse 14. But vvhen I savv that they vvent not the right vvay to the truth of the Gospell This is a wonderfull example of such excellent men and pillers of the church There is none but Paule that hath his eies open and seeth the offence of Peter Barnabas and the other Iewes which dissembled with Peter On the other side they doe not see their owne offence nay they rather thinke that they doe well in bearing with the infirmitie of the weake Iewes Wherefore it was very necessary that Paule should reproue their offence and not dissemble it and therefore he accuseth Peter Barnabas and other that they went not the right way to the truth of the Gospell that is to say they swarued from the truth of the Gospell It is a greate matter that Peter should be accused of Paule as one that was falne from the truth of the Gospell He could not be more greuously reprehended Yet he suffered it patiently and no doubt but he gladly acknowledged his offence I sayde before that many haue the Gospell but not the truth of the Gospell So Paule saith here that Peter Barnabas and other of the Ievves vvent not the right vvay to the truthe of the Gospell that is to say they had the Gospell but they walked not vprightly according to the Gospell For albeit they preached the Gospell yet through their dissimulation which could not stand with the truth of the Gospell they established the law but the establishing of the law is the abolishing of the Gospell Who so then can rightly iudge betwene the lawe and the Gospell let him thanke God and know that he is a right Diuine In the time of tentation I confesse that I my selfe doe not know how to doe it as I ought Now the way to discerne the one from the other is to place the Gospell in heauen and the lawe on the earth to call the righteousnes of the Gospell heauenly and the righteousnes of the law earthly and to put as greate difference betwene the righteousnes of the gospell and of the law as God hath made betwene heauen and earth betwene light and darknesse betweene daye and night Lette the one be as the light and the day and the other as the darkenes and the night And would to God we could yet further separate the one from the other Wherefore if the question be concerning the matter of faith or conscience let vs vtterly exclude the law and leaue it on the earth but if we haue to doe with works then let vs lighten the lanterne of works and of the righteousnes of the law So let the Sunne the inestimable light of the Gospell and grace shine in the day and the lanterne of the law in the night Wherefore if thy conscience be terrified with the sense and feeling of sinne thinke thus with thy selfe Thou art now remaining vpō earth there let the Asse labour and trauel there let him serue and carry the burthen that is laid vpon him that is to say let the body with his members be subiect to the law But when thou mountest vp into heauen then leaue the Asse with his burthen on the earth for the conscience hath nothing to doe with the law or works or with the earthly righteousnes So doth the Asse remaine in the valley but the cōscience ascendeth with Isaac into the mountaine knowing nothing at all of the law or workes thereof but onely looking to the remission of sinnes and pure righteousnes offered and freely geuen vnto vs in Christ Contrariwise in ciuill policy obedience to the law must be seuerely required There nothing must be knowne as concerning the Gospell conscience grace remission of sinnes heauēly righteousnes or Christ himselfe but Moses onely with the law and the works thereof If we marke well this distinction neither the one nor the other shall passe his bounds but the law shall abide without heauen that is without the heart and conscience and contrariwise the libertie of the Gospell shall abide without the earth that is to say without the body and members thereof Now therfore as soone as the law and sinne come into heauen that is into the conscience let them by and by be cast out For the conscience being feared with the terrour of the wrath and iudgement of God ought to know nothing of the
law and sinne but of Christ onely And on the other side when grace and liberty come into the earth that is into the body then say thou oughtest not to dwell in the dregges and dunghill of this corporall life but thou belongest vnto heauen This distinction of the law and the Gospell Peter confounded through his dissimulation and therby perswaded the beleuing Iewes that they must be iustified by the Gospell and the law together This might not Paule suffer and therefore he reproued Peter not to put him to any reproch but to the ende that he might againe establish a plaine difference betwene these two namely that the Gospell iustifieth in heauen and the lawe on earth The Pope hath not onely mixed the law with the Gospell but also of the Gospell hath made meere lawes yea and such as are ceremoniall onely He hath also confounded and mixed politicall and ecclesiasticall matters together which is a deuilish and an hellish confusion This place touching the difference betwene the law and the Gospell is very necessary to be knowne for it containeth the summe of all Christian doctrine Wherfore let all that loue and feare God diligētly learne to discerne the one from the other not only in words but in effect practise that is to say in heart conscience For as touching the words the distinction is soone made but in time of tentation thou shalt finde the Gospell but as a straunger and a rare gest in thy conscience but the law contrariwise thou shalt finde a familiar and continuall dweller within thee for reason hath the knowledge of the law naturally Wherfore when thy conscience is terrified with sinne which the law vttereth and encreaseth then say thou There is a time to die and a time to liue there is a time to heare the law and a time to despise the law there is a time to heare the Gospel and there is a time to be ignorant of the Gospell Let the law now depart and let the Gospell come for there is now no time to heare the lawe but the Gospell But thou hast done no good nay thou hast done wickedly hast greuously sinned I graūt notwithstanding I haue remission of all my sinnes for Christes sake But out of the conflicte of conscience when externall duties must be done there is no time to harken to the Gospell then must thou follow thy vocation and the works thereof Verse 14. I said vnto Peter openly If thou being a Ievve liuest as the Gentiles and not as the Ievves vvhy constrainest thou the Gentiles to doe like the Ievves That is to witte thou art a Iewe and therfore art bound to liue like a Iewe that is to abstaine from meates forbidden in the law Notwithstanding thou liuest like a Gentile that is to say thou doest contrary to the law and transgressest the law For as a Gentile which is free frō the law thou eatest common vncleane meates therin thou doest well But in that thou being afraid at the presence of the brethren conuerted from the Iewish religion abstainest from meates forbidden in the law and keepest the law thou compellest the Iewes likewise to keepe the law that is thou constrainest them of necessitie to obserue the law For in that thou abstainest from profane meates thou geuest occasion to the Gentiles thus to thinke Peter abstaineth from those meates which the Gentiles vse to eate which also he himselfe before did eate therefore we ought likewise to auoid the same and to liue after the māner of the Iewes otherwise we can not be iustified or saued We see thē that Paule reproueth not ignorance in Peter for he knew that he might freely eate with the Gentiles all maner of meates but dissimulation wherby he compelled the Gentiles to liue like the Iewes Here I say againe that to liue as the Iew is not euil of it selfe for it is a thing indifferent either to eate swines flesh or any other meates But so to play the Iewe that for conscience sake thou abstainest from certayne meates this is to deny Christ to ouerthrowe the Gospell Therfore when Paule saw that Peters act tended to this end he resisted him and said Thou knowest that the keeping of the lawe is not necessary to righteousnes but that we are iustified onely through faith in Christ and therfore thou keepest not the law but transgressest the law and eatest all maner of meates Notwithstanding by thy example thou constrainest the Gentiles to forsake Christ and to returne to the lawe For thou geuest them occasion thus to thinke Faith onely is not suffient to righteousnes but the law and works are also required And this Peter teacheth vs by his example Therfore the obseruation of the law must needes be ioyned with faith in Christ if we wil be saued Wherefore Peter by this example is not onely preiudicial to the purity of doctrine but also to the truth of faith and christian righteousnes For the Gentiles receaued this of him that the keping of the law was necessary to righteousnes which errour in case it be admitted then Christ profiteth nothing Hereby it plainly appeareth to what end this discord betwene Paule and Peter tendeth Paule doth nothing by dissimulation but dealeth sincerely and goeth plainly to worke Peter dissembleth but this dissimulation Paule reproueth The controuersie was for the maintenance of pure doctrine and the veritie of the Gospell and in this quarell Paule did not care for the offence of any In this case all people and nations all Kings and Princes all Iudges Magistrats ought to geue place Since then it is so daungerous a thing to haue to doe with the law and that this fall was so sodaine and so greate as if it had bene from heauen aboue euen downe into hell let euery Christian diligently learne to discerne betwene the law and the Gospell Let him suffer the law to rule ouer the body and members therof but not ouer the conscience For that Queene and spouse may not be defiled with the lawe but must be kept without spot for her onely husband Christ as Paule sayth 2. Cor. 11. I haue espoused you to one husband c. Let the conscience then haue her bride chamber not in the lowe valley but in the high mountaine in the which let Christ lie and there rule reigne who doth not terrifie and afflict sinners but comforteth them pardoneth their sinnes and saueth them Wherefore let the afflicted conscience thinke vpon nothinge know nothing set nothinge againste the iudgement of God but the worde of Christ whiche is the worde of grace of remission of sinnes of saluation and euerlasting life But this to performe in deede is a hard matter For mans reason and nature can not stedfastly cleaue vnto Christ but oftentimes it is caried away with the cogitations of the lawe and sinne and so alwayes seeketh to be at libertie after the flesh but according
Paule here vseth and is proper vnto him alone is full of consolation Likewise in the .7 chapter to the Romaines he setteth the law of the spirite against the law of the mēbers And because this is a straunge and a maruelous manner of speaking therfore it entreth more easily into the mind and sticketh faster in the memorie Moreouer when he saith I through the lavv am dead to the lavv it soundeth more swetely then if he should say I through libertie am dead to the law For he setteth before vs as it were a certaine picture as if the law were fighting against the law As though he should say O law if thou canst accuse me terrifie me and bind me I will set aboue and against thee an other law that is to say an other tormentor which shall accuse thee bind thee and triumph ouer thee Whē thou art thus bound and suppressed then am I at libertie So then grace is a law not to me for it bindeth me not but to my law which this law so bindeth that it can not hurt me any more Thus Paule goeth about to draw vs wholy from the beholding of the law sinne death all other euils and to bring vs vnto Christ that there we might behold this ioyfull conflict to witte the law fighting against the law that it may be to me libertie sinne against sinne that it may be to me righteousnes death against death that I may obtaine life Christ fighting against the Deuill that I may be the child of God and destroying hell that I may enioy the kingdome of heauen Verse 19. That I might liue vnto God. That is to say that I might liue before god Ye see then that there is no life vnlesse ye be without the law yea vnlesse ye be vtterly dead vnto the law I meane in conscience Notwithstanding in the meane season as I haue often said so long as the body liueth the flesh must be exercised with lawes and vexed with exactions and penalties of lawes as were the Egyptians But the inward man not subiect to the law but deliuered and freed from it is a liuely iust and holy person not of himselfe but in Christ because he beleueth in him as foloweth Verse 20. I am crucified vvith Christ This he addeth to declare that the law is a deuourer of the law Not onely saith he I am dead to the law through the law that I may liue to God but also I am crucified with Christ But Christ is Lord ouer the law because he is crucified and dead vnto the law Therfore am I also Lord ouer the law for I likewise am crucified and dead vnto the lawe for as much as I am crucified and dead with Christ By what meanes By grace and faith Through this faith because I am nowe crucified and deade vnto the law therfore the law looseth all his power which it had ouer me euen as it hath lost all his power which it had ouer Christ Wherfore euen as Christ himselfe was crucified to the law sinne death and the Deuill so that they haue no further power ouer him euen so I through faith being now crucified with Christ in spirite am crucified and deade to the law sinne death and the Deuill so that they haue no further power ouer me but are now crucified and deade vnto me Paule speaketh not here of crucifying by imitation or example for to follow the example of Christ is also to be crucified with him which crucifying belongeth to the flesh Wherof Peter speaketh in his 1. epistle and .2 chapter Christ suffered for vs saith he leauing vnto vs an example that vve should follovv his steppes But he speaketh here of that high crucifying wherby sinne the deuil and death are crucified in Christ not in me Here Christ Iesus doth all himselfe alone But I beleuing in Christ am by faith crucified also with Christ so that all these things are crucified and dead vnto me Verse 20. Thus I liue I speake not so saith he of my death and crucifying as though I now liued not Yea I liue for I am quickned by this death and crucifying through the which I die That is for as much as I am deliuered from the law sinne and death I now liue in deede Wherfore that crucifying and that death wherby I am crucified and dead to the law sinne death and all euils is to me resurrection and life For Christ crucifieth the Deuill he killeth death condemneth sinne and bindeth the law and I beleuing this am deliuered from the law sinne death and the Deuill The law therfore is bound dead and crucified vnto me I againe am bound dead crucified vnto it Wherfore euen by this death and crucifying that is to say by this grace or liberty I now liue Here as before I haue sayd we must obserue Paules maner of speaking He saith that we are dead and crucified to the law where as in very deede the law it selfe is dead and crucified vnto vs. But this maner of speach he vseth here of purpose that it may be the more sweete and comfortable vnto vs For the law which notwithstanding continueth liueth and reigneth in the whole world which also accuseth and condemneth all men is crucified and dead vnto those onely which beleue in Christ and therfore to them alone belongeth this glory that they are dead to sinne hell death and the Deuill Verse 20. Yet novv not I. That is to say not in mine owne person nor in mine owne substance Here he plainly sheweth by what meanes he liueth And he teacheth what true Christian righteousnes is namely that righteousnes wherby Christ liueth in vs and not that which is in our person Therefore when we speake of Christian righteousnes we must vtterly reiect the person And here Christ and my conscience must become one body so that nothing remaine in my sight but Christ crucified and raised from the dead But if I behold my selfe only and set Christ aside I am gone For by and by I fall into this cogitation Christ is in heauen and thou art on the earth how shalt thou now come vnto him Forsoth I will liue holily and doe that which the law requireth so shall I enter into life Here returning to my selfe and considering what I am what I ought to be and what I am bound to doe I lose Christ out of sight who is my righteousnes and life Who being lost there is no counsell nor succour now remaining but certaine desperation and destruction must needes follow And this is a common euil among men For such is our misery that when tentation or death cometh by and by setting Christ aside we consider our owne life past and what we haue done Here except we be raised vppe againe by faith we must needes perish Wherefore we must learne in such conflicts terrours of conscience forgetting our selues and setting the law our life past and all our works
absolueth not such as beleue but such as are contrite make confession to a Priest and reach out their helping hand to the maintenance of his pompe and his traditions Yet notwithstanding in this greate light of the Gospell the blind and obstinate Papistes doe continue still in their damnable doting dreames saying that the qualities of nature doe remaine sound and vncorrupt that men are able to prepare themselues to grace or to deserue grace by their owne works and merits And so farre of is it that they will acknowledge their errour and impietie that they doe yet still obstinatly defend the same euen against their owne conscience But we doe constantly affirme with Paule for we will not reiect the grace of God that either Christ died in vaine or els the law iustifieth not But Christ died not in vaine therfore the law iustifieth not Christ the sonne of God of his owne free grace and mercy hath iustified vs therfore the law could not iustifie vs for if it could then had Christ done vnwisely in that he gaue himselfe for our sinnes that we therby might be iustified We conclude therfore that we are iustified neither by our owne works and merites before grace or after neither yet by the law Now if my saluation was so costly and deare a price vnto Christ that he was constrained to die for my sinnes thē all my works with all the righteousnes of the law are but vile and nothīg worth in comparison of this inestimable price For how can I bie that for a farthing which cost many thousand talents of gold Now the law to speake nothing of other matters which are of much lesse valew with all the works and righteousnes therof is but as a farthing if ye compare it vnto Christ who by his death hath vanquished my death and hath purchased righteousnes and euerlasting life Should I then despise and reiect this incomparable price and by the law or by the works and merites of mē vile drosse and dung for so Paule calleth them if they be cōpared vnto Christ seeke that righteousnes which Christ freely of meere loue hath geuen vnto me already hath cost him so greate a price that he was constrained to geue himselfe and euen his owne hart bloud for me This as I haue said the whole world doth and specially such as will be counted more holy and religious then others Wherby they plainly witnes that Christ died in vaine although with their mouthes they confesse the contrary neuer so much Which is most horribly to blasphemie the sonne of god to spit in his face to tread him vnder foote to count the bloud of the testament as an vnholy thing vtterly to despise the spirite of grace Paule here disputing of righteousnes hath no ciuill matter in hand that is he speaketh not of ciuill righteousnes which God notwithstanding alloweth and requireth and geueth certaine rewards therunto accordingly which also reason is able in some part to performe But he entreateth here of the righteousnes that auaileth before God whereby we are deliuered from the law sinne death and all euils and are made partakers of grace righteousnes and euerlasting life and finally are now become Lords of heauen and earth and all other creatures This righteousnes neither mans law neither the law of God is able to performe The lawe is geuen besides and aboue reason to be a light a helpe to man and to shew him what he ought to doe what to leaue vndone Notwithstanding man with all his strength and reason yea with this great light also and heauenly benefite the law I meane can not be iustified Now if that which is the most excellent thing in the world the law I say which as a bright shining sunne is ioyned to the dimme and obscure light of mans reason to lighten and to direct it is not able to iustifie what can reason doe I pray you without the lawe What Doutles nothing else but that which the Pope with his dreaming Sophisters and his whole Sinagoge hath done who with their owne traditions haue darkned the light euen of the first cōmaundement Wherfore there is not one of them that is able rightly to vnderstand any one syllable of the lawe but euery man walketh in mere darknes of mans reason And this errour is much more pernicious and deadly then that which procedeth of the doctrine of workes and the lawe These words therfore are very effectuall and full of power where he sayth If righteousnes come by the lavv then Christ died in vaine He speaketh here nothing of mans strength reason or wisedom be it neuer so great for the greater it is the sooner it deceaueth a man but he sayth plainly without all condition If by the lavv c. Wherefore reason lightned aided and directed by the lawe yea euen by the law of God is so vnable to attaine righteousnes that it draweth a man from righteousnes reiecteth Christ Set thou therfore the death of Christ simplie against all lawes and with Paule know nothing but Iesus Christ crucified Receaue no light either of reason or of the lawe or of any thing else then of Christ alone Then shalt thou be learned in dede righteous and holy and shalt receaue the holy Ghost which shall preserue thee in the puritie of the word and faith but set Christ aside and all things are but vnprofitable and vaine what so euer they be Here againe we see what a goodly commendation Paule geueth to the righteousnes of the lawe or mans owne righteousnes in that he teacheth it to be a contempt and reiecting of the grace of God and an abolishing of the death of Christ Paule is no great Rhetorician and yet see what matter he ministreth to him that listeth to play the Rhetorician What eloquence is able sufficiently to set out these wordes To reiect grace the grace of God Also that Christ died in vain The horriblenes whereof is such that all the eloquence in the world is not able to comprehend it To say that any man dieth in vaine it is but a small mater but to say that Christ died in vaine it is to take him quite away and make of him nothing at all Who so listeth to play the Rhetorician hath here mater enough to dilate and amplifie at large what an horrible blasphemous doctrine it is to set vp the righteousnes of the law and workes For what can be more blasphemous and horrible then to make the death of Christ vnprofitable and what doe they els which obserue the law to the end they may be iustified therby Now to make the death of Christ vnprofitable is also to make his resurrection his victory his glory his kingdome heauen earth God himselfe the maiesty of God and briefly all things els whatsoeuer but vnprofitable and of none effect This thundring and lightning from heauen against the righteousnes of the law and mans owne
of faith in god Let him that is a Rethorician amplifie this place and he shall see that faith is an almighty thing that the power therof is inestimable and infinite For it geueth glory vnto God which is the highest seruice that can be geuen vnto him Nowe to geue glory vnto God is to beleeue in him to count him true wise righteous merciful almighty briefly to acknowledge him to be the author and geuer of all goodnes This reason doth not but faith That is it which maketh vs diuine people and as a man would say it is the creator of a certaine diuinitie not in the substaunce of God but in vs For without faith God loseth in vs his glory wisedom righteousnes truth and mercy To conclude There no maiestie or diuinitie remaineth vnto God where faith is not And the cheefest thing that God requireth of man is that he geue vnto him his glory and his diuinitie that is to say that he take him not for an idoll but for God who regardeth him heareth him sheweth mercy vnto him and helpeth him This being done then hath God his full and perfect diuinitie that is he hath whatsoeuer a faithfull heart can attribute vnto him To be able therfore to geue that glory vnto God it is the wisedom of wisedomes the righteousnes of righteousnesses the religion of religions and sacrifice of sacrifices Hereby we may perceaue what an high and excellent righteousnes faith is and so by the contrary what an horrible and greeuous sinne infidelitie is Whosoeuer then beleeueth the word of God as Abraham did is righteous before God because he hath faith which geueth glory vnto God that is he geueth to God that which is due to him For faith saith thus I beleeue thee O God when thou speakest And what sayth God Impossible things lies foolish weake absurde abhominable hereticall and deuillish things if ye beleeue reason For what is more absurde foolish and vnpossible then when God saith to Abraham that he should haue a sonne of the harren and dead body of his wife Sara So if we will follow the iudgement of reason God setteth forth absurde and impossible things when he setteth out vnto vs the Articles of the Christian faith In deede it seemeth to reason an absurde and a foolish thing that in the Lordes supper is offred vnto vs the body and bloud of Christ that baptisme is the Lauer of the new birth and of the renewing of the holy Ghost that the dead shall rise in the last day that Christ the sonne of God was conceiued and caried in the wombe of the virgin Marie that he was borne that he suffered the most reprochefull death of the crosse that he was raised vp againe that he nowe sitteth at the right hand of God the father and that he hath power both in heauen and in earth For this cause Paule calleth the Gospell of Christe crucified the worde of the crosse and foolish preaching which to the Iewes was offensiue and to the Gentiles foolish doctrine c. Reason therfore doth not vnderstand that to heare the worde of God and to beleeue it is the cheefest seruice that God requireth of vs but it thinketh that those thinges which it chooseth and doth of a good entent as they call it and of her owne deuotion please god Therefore when God speaketh reason iudgeth his word to be heresie and the word of the Deuill for it seemeth absurde and foolish But faith killeth reason and slaieth that beast which the whole world and all creatures cannot kill So Abraham killed it by faith in the worde of God by which word seede was promised him of Sara who was barren and now past childe bearing Vnto this word reason yeelded not streight way in Abraham but doubtles it fought against faith in him iudgeing it to be an absurde a foolish and vnpossible thing that that Sara who was nowe not onely 90. yeares of age but also was barren by nature should bring forth a sonne Thus faith no doubt wrestled with reason in Abraham but heerein faith got the victory killed and sacrificed reason that most cruell and pestilent ennemie of god So all the godly entring with Abraham into the darkenes of faith doe kill reason saying Reason thou art foolish thou doest not sauour those things which belong vnto God therefore speake not against me but hold thy peace iudge not but heare the word of God and beleeue it So the godly by faith kill such a beast as is greater then the whole world and thereby doe offer to God a most acceptable sacrifice and seruice And in comparison of this sacrifice of the faithfull all the religions of all nations and all the workes of all Monkes and meritemongers are nothing at all For by this sacrifice first as I said they kill reason a greate and mightie ennemie of God. For reason despiseth God denieth his wisedome righteousnes power truth mercie maiestie and diuinitie Moreouer by the same sacrifice they yeeld glory vnto God that is they beleeue him to be righteous good faithfull true c they beleeue that he can doe all things that all his wordes are holy true liuely and effectuall c. which is a most acceptable obedience vnto god Therefore there can be no greater or more holy religion in the world nor more acceptable seruice vnto God then faith is Contrariwise the Iusticiaries and such as seeke righteousnes by their owne woorkes lacking Faithe in deede doe many things They fast they pray they watch they lay crosses vppon themselues But because they thinke to appease the wrath of God and deserue grace by these things they geue no glory to God that is they doe not iudge him to be mercifull true and keeping promise c. but to be an angrie iudge which must be pacified with woorkes and by this meanes they despise God they make him as a lier in all his promises they denie Christe and all his benefites to conclude they thrust God out of his seate and set them selues in his place For they reiecting and despising the worde of God doe choose vnto them selues such worshippe and woorkes as God hath not commaunded They imagine that God hath a pleasure therin and they hope to receiue a reward of him for the same Therefore they kill not reason that mightie enemie of God but quicken it and they take from God his maiestie and his diuinitie and attribute the same vnto their owne woorkes Wherfore onely faith geueth glory to God as Paule witnesseth of Abraham Abraham sayeth he vvas made strong in the faith and gaue glory to God being fully assured that vvhatsoeuer God had promised he vvas able to performe and therefore it vvas imputed to him for righteousnes Christian righteousnes consisteth in Faith of the hearte and Gods imputation It is not without cause that he addeth this sentence out of the fiftene Chapiter of Genesis And it
nature that is he must needes hate sinne and sinners and this he doth of necessity for otherwise he shoulde be vnrighteous and loue sinne How then can these two contradictories stand together I am a sinner and most worthy of Gods wrath and indignation and yet the father loueth me Here nothing commeth betwene but onely Christ the mediatour The father saith he doth not therfore loue you because ye are worthy of loue but because ye haue loued me and haue beleeued that I came out from him Thus a Christian man abideth in true humilitie feeling sinne in him effectually and confessing himselfe to be worthy of wrath the iudgement of God and euerlasting death for the same that he may be humbled in this life And yet notwithstanding he continueth still in his holy pride in the which he turneth vnto Christ and in him he lifteth vp him selfe against this feeling of Gods wrath and iudgement and beleueth that not only the remnants of sinne are not imputed vnto him but that also he is loued of the father not for his own sake but for Christes sake whom the father loueth Hereby now we may see how faith iustifieth without works and yet notwithstanding how imputation of righteousnes is also necessary Sinnes doe remaine in vs which God vtterly hateth Therefore it is necessary that we should haue imputation of righteousnes which we obtaine through Christ and for Christes sake who is geuen vnto vs and receaued of vs by faith In the meane time as long as we liue here we are caried and norished in the bosome of mercy and long sufferance of God vntill the body of sinne be abolished and we raised vp as newe creatures in that great day Then shall there be newe heauens and a new earth in which righteousnes shal dwell In the meane while vnder this heauen sinne and wicked men do dwell and the godly also haue sinne dwelling in them For this cause Paule Rom. 7. cōplaineth of sinne which remaineth in the Saincts yet notwithstanding he saith afterwards in the 8. chapter that there is no damnation to them vvhich are in Christ Iesu Now how shall these things so contrary and repugnant be reconciled together that sinne in vs is no sinne that he which is damnable shall not be condemned that he which is reiected shall not be reiected that he which is worthy of the wrath of God and euerlasting damnation shall not be punished The onely reconciler hereof is the mediatour betwene God and man euen the man Iesus Christ as Paule sayth There is no condemnation to them vvhich are in Christ Iesu Verse 7. Knovve ye therfore that they vvhich are of faith the same are the children of Abraham This is the generall argument and whole disputation of Paule against the Iewes that they which beleeue are the children of Abraham and not they which are borne of his flesh and his bloud This disputation Paule vehemently prosecuteth in this place and in the 4. and 9. chapit to the Rom. For this was the greatest confidence and glory of the Iewes VVe are the seede and children of Abraham He was circumcised and kept the lawe therfore if we will be the true children of Abraham we must folow our father c. It was no doubt an excellent glory and great dignitie to be the seede of Abraham For no man could denie but that God spake to the seede and of the seede of Abraham But this prerogatiue nothing profited the vnbeleuing Iewes By reason wherof Paule especially in this place mightely striueth against this argument and wresteth from the Iewes this strong affiance in them selues And this could he as the elect vessell of Christ doe aboue all other For if we at the beginning should haue disputed with the Iewes without Paule peraduenture we should haue preuailed very litle against them So then Paule reasoneth against the Iewes which stoode so proudly vpon this opinion that they were the children of Abraham saying VVe are the seede of Abraham Well what then Abraham was circumcised kept the lawe we doe the same All this I graunt What will ye therefore looke to be iustified and saued No not so But let vs come to the Patriarke Abraham himselfe and let vs see by what meanes he was iustified and saued Doutles not for his excellent vertues and holy workes not because he forsooke his countrey kinred and fathers house not because he was circumcised and obserued the lawe not because he was about to offer vp in sacrifice at the commaundement of God his sonne Isacke in whom he had the promise of posteritie but because he beleued Therfore he was not iustified by any other meanes then by faith alone If ye then will be iustified by the lawe much more ought Abraham your father to be iustified by the lawe But Abraham could not otherwise be iustified nor receaue forgeuenes of sinnes and the holy Ghost then by faith alone Since this is true by the testimonie of the scripture why stande ye so much vpon circumcision and the lawe contending that ye haue righteousnes and saluation therby when as your father Abraham him selfe euen your headspring of whom ye doe so much glory was iustified and saued without these by faith alone What can be brought against this argument Paule therfore concludeth with this sentence They vvhich are of faith are the children of Abraham that corporall birth or carnall seede maketh not the children of Abraham before God. As though he would say There is none before God accompted as the childe of this Abraham who is the seruaunt of God whom God hath chosen and made righteous by faith through carnall generation but he must haue such children geuen him before God as he was a father But he was a father of faith and was iustified and pleased God not because he could beget children after the flesh not because he had circumcision and the lawe but because he beleeued in god Therfore he that will be a childe of the beleeuing Abraham must also him selfe beleeue or else he is not a childe of the elect acceptable and iustified Abraham but onely of the begetting Abraham which is nothing else but a man conceaued borne wrapt in sinne without the forgeuenes of sinnes without faith without the holy ghost as an other man is and therfore cōdemned Such also are the children carnally begotten of him hauing nothing in them like vnto their father but flesh and bloud sinne and death therefore these are also damned This glorious boasting then Vve are the seede of Abraham is to no purpose This argument Paule setteth out plainly in the .9 to the Romains by two examples of the holy scripture The first is of Ismaell and Isaac which were both the seede and naturall children of Abraham and yet notwithstanding Ismaell which was begotten of Abraham as Isaac was yea and should also haue bene the first begotten if
vnto the law or vnto works or to the carnal generation of the fathers For not by the law but by the righteousnes of faith the promise was made vnto Abraham that he should be heire of the world that is to say that in his seede all the nations of the earth should be blessed and that he should be called the father of nations And lest the Iewes should falsly interpret this word Nations applying it vnto themselues alone the scripture preuenteth this and saith not onely a father of nations but a father of many nations haue I made thee Therefore Abraham is not onely the father of the Iewes but also of the Gentiles Hereby we may plainly see that the children of Abraham are not the childrē of the flesh but the children of faith as Paule Rom. 4. declareth vvho is the father of vs all as it is vvritten I haue made thee a father of many nations euen before God vvhom he did beleue So that Paule maketh two Abrahams a begetting Abraham and a beleuing Abraham Abraham hath children and is a father of many nations Where before God where he beleueth not before the world where he begetteth For in the world he is the child of Adam a sinner or which is more a worker of the righteousnes of the law liuing after the rule of reason that is after the manner of men but this pertaineth nothing to the beleuing Abraham This example then of the beleuing Abraham comprehendeth also the holy scripture which saith that we are counted righteous by faith This argument therfore is strong and mightie two manner of waies both for the example of Abraham also for the authority of the scripture Verse 8. For the scripture foreseing that God vvould iustifie the Gentiles through faith These things doe pertaine to the former argument As if he should say Ye Iewes doe glory in the law aboue measure ye highly commend Moses because God spake vnto him in the bush c As the Iewes doe proudly bragge against vs as I haue my selfe at sundry times heard saying ye Christians haue Apostles ye haue a Pope and ye haue Bishops but we Iewes haue Patriarkes Prophets yea we haue God him selfe who spake vnto vs in the bush in Sinai where he gaue vnto vs the law and in the temple c. Such a glory and such an excellent testimony alledge ye for your selues against vs if ye can To this aunswereth Paule the Apostle of the Gentiles This your proude bragging boasting is to no purpose For the scripture preuēted it foresaw long before the law that the Gentiles should not be iustified by the law but by the blessing of Abrahams seede which was promised vnto him as Paule saith afterwards .430 yeares before the law was giuen Now the law being geuen so many yeares after could not empech or abolish this promise of the blessing made vnto Abraham but it hath continued firme and shall continue for euer What can the Iewes aunswere to this This argument grounded vpon the certaintie of time is very strong The promise of blessing is geuen vnto Abraham .430 yeares before the people of Israell receaued the law For it is said to Abraham Because thou hast beleued God and hast geuen glory vnto him therefore thou shalt be a father of many nations There Abraham by the promise of God is appointed a father of many nations and the inheritaunce of the world for his posteritie and issue after him is geuen vnto him before the law was published Why doe ye then bragge O ye Galathians that ye obtaine forgeuenes of sinnes and are become children and doe receaue the inheritaunce through the law which followed a long time that is to say .430 yeares after the promise Thus the false Apostles did aduaunce the law and the glory therof aboue measure but the promise made vnto Abraham .430 yeares before the law was geuen they neglected and despised and would in no wise know that Abraham of whom they gloried notwithstanding as the father of their whole nation being yet vncircumcised and liuing so many ages before the law was made righteous by no other meanes then by faith onely as the scripture most plainly witnesseth Abraham beleued God and it vvas counted to him for righteousnes Afterwards when he was now accounted righteous because of his faith the scripture maketh mention of circumcision in the .17 of Genesis where it saith This is my couenaunt vvhich ye shall keepe betvvene me and you c. With this argument Paule mightely conuinceth the false Apostles and sheweth plainely that Abraham was iustified by faith onely both without and before circumcision and also .430 yeares before the lawe This selfe same argument he handleth in the fourth chapter to the Romaines to witte that righteousnes was imputed to Abraham before Circumcision and that he was righteous being yet vncircumcised much more then was he righteous before the law Therefore saith Paule the scripture did well prouide against this your glorious bragging of the righteousnes of the law and workes When before Circumcision and before the law For the law was geuen 430. yeares after the promise whereas Abraham was not only iustified without the lawe and before the lawe but also deade and buried and his righteousnes without the lawe did not onely flourish vntill the lawe but also shall flourish euen to the end of the world If then the father of the whole Iewish nation was made righteous without the lawe and before the lawe much more are the children made righteous by the same meanes that their father was Therfore righteousnes cometh by faith onely and not by the law Verse 8. Preached the Gospell before vnto Abraham saying in thee shall all the Gentiles be blessed The Iewes doe not onely lightly passe ouer but also doe deride and with their wicked gloses doe corrupt these excellent and notable sentences Abraham beleued God c. I haue appointed thee a father c and such like which highly commend faith containe promises of spirituall things For they are blinde hard harted and therfore they see not that these places do entreate of faith towards God and of righteousnes before god With like malice also they dallye out this notable place of the spirituall blessing In thee all the nations of the earth shal be blessed For say they to blesse signifieth nothing els but to praise to pray for prosperitie and to be glorious in the sight of the world After this manner they say that the Iew which is borne of the seede of Abraham is blessed and the proselyte or straunger which worshipeth the God of the Iewes and ioyneth himselfe vnto them is also blessed Therefore they thinke that Blessing is nothing els but praise and glory in this world that is to say that a man may glory and vaunte that he is of the stocke and familie of Abraham But this is to corrupt and peruert the
sentences of the scriptures and not to expouÌ„d them By these words Abraham beleued Paule defineth and setteth before our eies a spirituall Abraham faithfull righteous and hauing the promise of God an Abraham I say which is not in errour and in the old flesh which is not borne of Adam but of the holy Ghost And of this Abraham renued by faith and regenerate by the holy Ghost speaketh the scripture and pronounceth of him that he should be a father of many nations Also that all the Gentiles should be geuen vnto him for an inheritaunce when it saith In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed The scripture then attributeth no righteousnes but vnto the beleuing Abraham and it speaketh of such an Abraham as he is accounted before god Therefore such sentences of the scripture doe set forth vnto vs a new Abraham which is separate from the carnall mariage and bed and from the carnall generation and is taken for such a one as he is before God that is to say beleuing and iustified through faith to whom now God maketh this promise because of his faith Thou shalt be a father of many nations Again In thee shall all the natioÌ„s of the earth be blessed And this is the meaning of Paule where he sheweth how the scripture preuenteth the vaine presumption and proude bragges of the Iewes as touching the lawe For the inheritaunce of the Gentiles was geuen vnto Abraham not by the law and circumcision but long before the same by the onely righteousnes of faith Therfore wheras the Iewes will be counted and called blessed because they are the children and seede of Abraham it is nothing else but a vaine glorious bragge It is no doubt a great prerogatiue and glory before the wâ—â—ld to be borne of Abrahams seede as Paule sheweth Rom. 9 but not so before god Wherfore the Iewes doe wickedly peruert this place coÌ„cerning the Blessing in applying it onely to a carnal Blessing and do great iniurie to the scripture which speaketh most manifestly of the spirituall Blessing before God and neither can nor ought otherwise to be vnderstande This is then the true meaning of this place In thee shal be blessed In which thee In thee Abraham beleeuing or in thy faith or thy seede which is to come that is to say in Christ in whom thou beleuest all the nations of the earth I say shal be blessed that is all the nations shal be thy blessed children euen like as thou art blessed as it is writen So shall thy seede be Hereof it followeth that the Blessing Faith of Abraham is the same that ours is that Abrahams Christ is our Christ that Christ died aswell for the sinnes of Abraham as for vs Abraham vvhich savve my day and reioyced Io. 8. Therefore all sounde but one thinge We may not suffer this word Blessing to be corrupted The Iewes looke but through a veile into the scripture and therefore they vnderstande not what or whereof the promise is which was made to the fathers Which we notwithstanding ought to consider aboue all things So shal we see that God speaketh to Abraham the Patriarke not of the lawe nor of things to be done but of things to be beleued that is to say that God speaketh vnto him of promises which are apprehended by faith Now what doth Abraham He beleeueth those promises And what doth God to that beleeuing Abraham He imputeth faith vnto him for righteousnes and addeth further many moe promises as I am thy defender In thee shall all nations be blessed Thou shalt be a father of many nations So shall thy seede be These are inuincible arguments against the which nothing can be said if the places of the holy scripture be throughly considered Verse 9. So then they vvhich are of faith are blessed vvith faithfull Abraham All the weight and force lieth in these wordes vvith faithfull Abraham For he putteth a plaine difference betwene Abraham and Abraham of one and the selfe same person making two As if he sayde There is a working Abraham there is a beleuing Abraham With the working Abraham we haue nothing to doe For if he be iustified by works he hath to reioyce but not with god Let the Iewes glorie as much as they will of that begetting Abraham which is a worker is circumcised and keepeth the law but we glorie of the faithfull Abraham of whom the scripture saith that he receaued the Blessing of righteousnes through his faith not onely for himselfe but also for all those which beleue like as he beleued And so the world was promised to Abraham because he beleued Therefore all the world is blessed that is to say receaueth imputation of righteousnes if it beleue as Abraham did Wherfore the Blessing is nothing els but the promise of the Gospell And that all nations are blessed is asmuch to say as all nations shall heare the Blessing that is the promise of God shall be preached and published by the Gospell among all nations And out of this place the Prophets haue drawen many prophesies by a spirituall vnderstanding As Psal. 2 Aske of me and I vvill geue thee the heathen for thine inheritaunce and the endes of the earth for thy possession And againe Psal. 19 Their voice hath gone through all the earth Briefely all the prophesies of the kingdom of Christ and of the publishing of the Gospel throughout all the world haue sprong out of this place In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Wherefore to say that the nations are blessed is nothing els but that righteousnes is freely geuen vnto them or that they are couÌ„ted righteous before God not through the lawe but by the hearing of faith For Abraham was not iustified by any other meanes then by hearinge the worde of promise of blessing and of grace Therefore like as Abraham obtained imputation of righteousnes by the hearing of faith euen so did all the Gentiles obtaine and yet doe obtaine the same For the same word that was first declared vnto Abraham was also afterward published to all the Gentiles Hereby then we see that to blesse signifieth nothing els but as I saide before to preach and teach the worde of the Gospell to confesse Christ and to spread abroad the knowledge of him among all the Gentiles And this is the office of the Priesthod and continuall sacrifice of the Church in the new testament which distributeth this Blessing by preaching and by ministring of the sacrameÌ„ts by comforting the broken harted by distributing the worde of grace which Abraham had and which was also his Blessing which when he beleued he receaued the Blessing So we also beleuing the same are blessed And this blessing is a greate glorie not before the world but before god For we haue heard that our sinnes are forgeuen vs and that we are accepted of God that God is our father
selfe same works saith he which the other Apostles did notwithstanding because the person was reprobate the iudgemēt of reason peruerse therefore his workes were hypocriticall and not true as were the workes of the other Apostles how like soeuer they seemed to be in outward shewe Wherfore they them selues are constrained to graunt that in politike and externall matters workes doe not iustifie vnlesse there be ioyned withall an vpright heart will and iudgement Howe much more are they compelled to confesse the same in spirituall matters where before all things there must be a knowledge of God and faith which may purifie the hearte They walke therefore in workes and in the righteousnes of the law as Iudas did in the works of the Apostles not vnderstanding what they say or what they affirme And although Paule saith plainely euery where that the law iustifieth not but causeth wrath vttereth sinne reueileth the indignation and iudgement of God and threateneth euerlasting death yet notwithstanding reading these things they see them not much lesse doe they vnderstand them Therefore they deserue not to be called hypocrites but visours and shadowes of disguised hypocrites moste miserably bewitched in that they dreame that they are made righteous by the workes of the lawe Wherefore as I haue said this worde Doer of the lavv as they define it is an imagined terme a very monster and no where to be founde Wherefore when Paule proueth this place VVhosoeuer are are of the vvorks of the lavv are vnder the curse by this sentence of Moises Cursed is euery one that abideth not in all that is vvrytten in this booke he proueth not one contrary by an other as at the first sight it may appeare but he proueth it rightly and in true order For Moises meaneth and teacheth the selfe same thing that Paule doth when he sayeth Cursed is euery one vvhich shall not doe all c. But no man doeth them therfore whosoeuer are of the workes of the lawe keepe not the lawe If they keepe it not they are vnder the curse But seeing there be two sortes of men that are doers of the lawe as before I haue sayde true doers and hypocrites the true doers must be seperated from the hypocrites The true doers of the lawe are they which through Faith are the good tree before the fruite doers and workers before the works Of these speaketh Moises also and except they be such they are vnder the Curse But the hypocrites are not of this sorte for they haue this opinion that they will obtaine righteousnes through their workes and thereby make the person iust and acceptable For thus they thinke We that are sinners and vnrighteous will be made righteous Howe shall that be By good woorkes Therefore they doe euen like as a foolish builder which goeth about of the rouffe to make the foundation of the fruites to make the tree For when they seeke to be iustified by woorkes of the woorkes they would make the worker which is directly against Moises which maketh such a worker subiect to the curse as well as Paule doth Therefore whiles they goe about to doe the lawe they not onely doe it not but also denie as I haue sayd the first commaundement the promises of God the promised Blessing of Abraham they renounce Faith and they goe about to make them selues blessed by their owne workes that is to say to make them selues righteous to deliuer them selues from sinne and death to ouercome the Deuill and by violence to lay holde vppon the kingdome of heauen And this is plainly to renounce God and to set them selues in the place of god For all these are the workes of the diuine Maiestie alone and not of any creature either in heauen or in earth Hereupon Paule was able easily to foreshewe out of the first commaundement the abhominations that were to come which Antichrist should bring into the Church For all they which teach that any other worshippe is necessary to saluation then that which God requireth of vs by the first commaundement which is the feare of God Faith and the loue of God are plaine Antichristes and set them selues in the place of god That such should come Christe him selfe foretolde when he sayeth in the xxiiii Chapter of Mathew Many shall come in my name saying I am Christ So we also at this day may boldely and easily pronounce that who soeuer seeketh righteousnes by workes without faith denieth God and maketh him selfe god For thus he thinketh If I doe this worke I shall be righteous I shall be a conquerer of sinne death the Deuill the wrath of God and of hell and shall obtaine life euerlasting And what is this els I pray you but to chalenge that worke vnto him selfe which doth belong to God alone and to shew in deede that he him selfe is God Therefore it is an easie matter for vs to prophesie and most certainely to Iudge of all those which are without faith that they are not onely Idolaters but very Idols which denie God and set them selues in the place of god Vpon the same grounde Peter also prophecieth when he saith There shal be amongest you false teachers vvhich priuely shall bringe in damnable heresies and shall denie the Lorde c. and make marchandise of the people And in the olde testament all the prophesies against Idolatry sprang out of the first commaundement For all the wicked kings and Prophetes with all the vnfaithfull people did nothing els but that which the Pope and all hypocrites alwaies doe They contemning the first commaundement and worship appointed of God and despising the promise of Abrahams seede euen that seede in whom all nations should be blessed and sanctified ordained a wicked worshippe cleane contrary to the worde of God and saide With this worship will we serue God and set out his praise which hath brought vs out of the land of Egypt So Ieroboam made two golden calues and saide Beholde thy Gods O Israell vvhich brought thee out of the land of Egypt This he saide of the true God which had redeemed Israell and yet both he and all the people were Idolaters For they worshipped God contrary to the first commaundement They onely regarded the worke which being done they counted them selues righteous before god And what was this els but to deny God him selfe whom they confessed with their mouth and saide that he had brought them out of the lande of Egypt Paule speaketh of such Idolaters when he saith They confesse that they knovv God but in their deedes they denie him Wherfore all hypocrites idolaters goe about to doe those workes which do properly pertaine to the diuine maiestie doe belong to Christ onely and alone In deede they say not in plaine wordes I am God I am Christ and yet in very deede they proudly chalenge vnto themselues the Diuinitie office of Christ and therfore it is as much in effect as if
the person of Habel which pleased the Lord because of his Faith and afterwardes to his offrings Therfore in Diuinitie we speake of faithfull workes sacrifices oblations and giftes that is to say which are offred vp and done in Faith as the Epistle to the Hebrewes declareth saying Through Faith Habel offered vp a better sacrifice Through Faith Enoch vvas taken avvay Through Faith Abraham obeyed God c. We haue here then a rule set forth in the .11 to the Hebrewes how we should simply answer to the argumentes obiected of the aduersaries as touching the law and workes that is to say this or that man did this or the worke in Faith. And by this meanes thou geuest a solution to all their arguments and so stoppest their mouthes that they can haue nothing to replie againe Hereby it appeareth manifestly that in Diuinitie diuine matters the worke is nothing worth without Faith but thou must needes haue Faith before thou begin to worke For vvithout Faith it is impossible to please God but he that will come vnto God must beleeue Therfore in the Epistle to the Hebrewes it is sayd that the sacrifice of Habel was better then the sacrifice of Caine because he beleeued Therfore the worke or the sacrifice of Habel was Faithfull Contrariwise in Caine because he was wicked and an hypocrite there was no Faith or trust of Gods grace and fauour but mere presumption of his owne righteousnes and therfore his worke wherby he went about to please God was hypocriticall and vnfaithfull Wherefore the aduersaries them selues are compelled to graunt that in all the workes of the Sainctes Faith is presupposed for the which their workes doe please God and are accepted of him Therfore in Diuinitie there is a newe Doing cleane contrary to the morall Doing Moreouer we are wont also to distinguish Faith after this sort that Faith is sometime taken without the worke sometime with the worke For like as an artificer speaketh diuersly of the matter whervpon he worketh and likewise a Gardiner of the tree being either barren or frutefull euen so the holy Ghost speaketh diuersly of Faith in the Scripture sometime of an absolute Faith sometime of a compound or as a man would say an incarnate Faith. Nowe an absolute Faith is this when the Scripture speaketh absolutely of iustification or of the iustified as is to be seene in the Epistles to the Romaines to the Galathians But when the Scripture speaketh of rewardes and workes then it speaketh of the compounde or incarnate faith We will rehearse some exāples of this Faith As Faith vvhich vvorketh by loue Doe this and thou shalt liue If thou vvilt enter into life keepe the commaundementes He that shall doe these shall liue in them Decline from euill and doe that vvhich is good In these such like places as there are many like in the holy Scriptures where mētion is made of Doing the Scripture alwayes speaketh of Faithfull Doing As when it sayeth Doe this and thou shalt liue it meaneth thus See first that thou be faithful that thou haue a right reason and a good will that is to say Faith in Christ when thou hast this Faith worke on a Gods blessing What maruell is it then if rewardes be promised to this incarnate Faith that is to say to the working faith as was the faith of Abel or to faithfull works And why should not the holy Scripture thus speake diuersly of faith when it speaketh diuers wayes of Christ as he is God and man that is to say sometime of his whole person sometime of his two natures a parte either of his diuine or of his humaine nature If it speake of the natures apart it speaketh of Christ absolutely but if it speake of the diuine nature vnited in one person to the humaine nature then it speaketh of Christ compound and incarnate There is a commō rule among the Schoolemen of the cōmunication of the proprieties when the proprieties belōging to the diuinitie of Christ are attributed to the humanitie which we may see euery where in the Scriptures As Luke 2. the Angel calleth the infant borne of the virgine Marie the Sauiour of men and the vniuersall Lord both of the Angels men And chap. 1. the Sonne of god Herevpō I may truely say that that infant which lay in the maūger in the lappe of the virgine created heauen earth and that he is Lord of the Angels Here I speake in dede of a man but man in this proposition is a new word as the Scholemen them selues do graūt it is referred to the diuinitie that is to say This god which is made mā hath created al things Creation is attributed onely to the diuinitie of Christ for the humanitie doth not create yet notwithstanding it is very wel said mā created because the diuinitie which only createth is incarnate with the humanitie and therfore the humanitie together with the diuinitie is partaker of the same proprieties Wherefore it is wel godly said This man Iesus Christ brought Israel out of Egypt stroke Pharao wrought all the wonders from the beginning of the world Therfore when the Scripture saith If thou vvilt enter into life keepe the commaundemēts of God Do this and thou shalt liue c. First we must see of what manner of keeping and Doing he speaketh For in these and such like places as I haue said he speaketh of a compound faith and not of a naked and simple faith And the meaning of this place Do this and thou shalt liue is this Thou shalt liue because of this faithful Doing or this Doing shall geue vnto thee life because of thy faith alone After this manner iustification is attributed to faith alone as creation is to the diuinitie And yet notwithstanding as it is truly saide Iesus the sonne of Marie created all thinges so also iustification is attributed to the incarnate faith or to the faithfull Doing Therefore we must in no wise thinke with the Sophisters and Hypocrites that workes doe absolutely iustifie and that rewardes are promised to morall workes but to faithfull workes onely Let vs therefore suffer the holy Ghost to speake as he doth in the Scriptures either of naked simple absolute faith or of compound and incarnate faith All thinges which are attributed to workes doe properly belong vnto faith For workes must not be looked vpon morally but faithfully and with a spirituall eie Faith is the diuinitie of workes and is so spread throughout the workes of the faithfull as is the diuinitie throughout the humanitie of Christ Faith therefore if I may so say is Fac totū in faithful works Abraham is called faithfull because faith is spread throughout the whole person of Abraham so that beholding him working I see nothing of the carnall Abraham or of the working Abraham but of the beleuing Abraham Wherfore when thou readest in the
Scriptures of the Fathers Prophetes and Kings how they wrought righteousnes raised vp the deade ouercame kingdomes thou must remember that these and such like sayinges are to be expounded as the Epistle to the Hebrewes expoundeth them that is By faith they vvrought righteousnes by faith they raised vp the deade by faith they subdued Kinges and kingedomes So that faith incorporateth the worke and geueth it his perfection And this the aduersaries if they be wel in their wittes can not denye neyther haue they any thinge to saye or obiecte againste it In deede they can cry out that the scripture speaketh oftentimes of doing and walking And we alwaies aunswer them againe that it speaketh also of faithful Doing For first reason must be lightened by faith before it can worke Now when it hath a true opinion and knowledge of God then is the worke incarnate and incorporate into it so that what soeuer is attributed to faith is afterwardes attributed to works also but yet because of faith onely and alone Wherfore in reading of the Scriptures we must learn to put a difference betwene the true and the hypocriticall the morall and the spiritual Doing of the law So shall we be able to declare the true meaning of all those places which seeme to maintaine the righteousnes of works Now the true Doing of the law is a faithfull and a spirituall Doing which he hath not that seeketh righteousnes by works Therfore euery Doer of the law and euery holy morall worker is accursed For he walketh in the presumption of his owne righteousnes against God whiles he wil be iustified by mans free wil reason so in doing of the law he doth it not And this according to Paule is to be vnder the workes of the law that is to say that hypocrites do the law and yet in doing it they do it not for they vnderstād this word Doing according to the literal sense of the law which in true Christian diuinitie is nothing worth In deede they worke many things but in the presumptiō of their owne righteousnes and without the knowledge of God and faith as the Pharise did Luke 18. and as Paule did before his conuersion therfore they are blind and miserably erre and so remaine vnder the Curse Wherefore againe I admonish you that such sentences as the aduersaries doe alledge out of the scriptures concerning workes and rewards therof must be spiritually expounded As if they alledge this sentence out of Daniel .4 chap. Redeeme thy sinnes by almes deedes thou must not here expounde these wordes after the morall sense but after the meaning of the Gospell So shall thou see that this word Redeme signifieth no moral but a spirituall Doing that is to say it comprehēdeth faith For in the Scriptures the worke as I haue said requireth also a good will and right iudgement of reason to goe before not morall as they would haue it but diuine and spirituall which is faith By this meanes thou shalt be able to stoppe the mouthes of these peuish Sophisters For they them selues are compelled to graunt and so they teach also out of Aristotle that euery good worke procedeth out of mans choise or free will. If this be true in Philosophie much more must this good will and righte iudgement of reason guided by faith goe before the worke in Diuinitie and diuine matters And this doe all wordes of the imperatiue mode that is all such wordes as are commaūding signifie in the Scriptures all such words also as teach the lawe as the Epistle to the Hebrewes doth plainly declare By Faith Abel offred c. Now admit the case that this solution is not sufficient although it be in deede most sure and certaine yet notwithstanding let this be the argument of all arguments and the principall mirrour of Christians to beholde against all the tentations and obiections not onely of the aduersaries but also of the Deuill him selfe namely to apprehend and to holde fast the head which is Christ Moreouer admitte that the Sophisters being more craftie and subtill then I should so snare and entangle me with their arguments which they bring for the maintenaunce of workes against Faith that I should knowe no way how to wynde my selfe out which notwithstanding is impossible for them to doe yet wil I rather geue reuerence and credite to Christ alone then be perswaded with all the places they are able to alledge for the establishing of the righteousnes of works against the docrine of Faith. Wherfore they must be simply and plainly aunswered after this māner Here is Christ there are the testimonies of the Scripture touching the law and works Now Christ is the Lord of the Scripture and of all works He also is Lord of heauen the earth the Saboth the temple righteousnes life wrath sinne death generally of all things whatsoeuer And Paule his Apostle sheweth that he was made sinne and became accursed for me I heare then that I coulde by no other meanes be deliuered from my sinne my death and my malediction but by his death and bloudsheeding Wherefore I conclude that it properly appertained to Christ him selfe to ouercome my sinne death and malediction in his owne body and not to the workes of the law or mine owne workes And herevnto reason is constrained to agree and say that Christe is not the worke of the lawe or my worke that his bloud and death is not circumcision the obseruation of the ceremonies of the lawe and much lesse a Monkes cowle a shauen crowne abstinence vowes and such like Wherefore if he be the price of my redemption if he be made sinne and malediction that he might iustifie me and blesse me I care not if thou bring a thousand places of the Scripture for the righteousnes of workes against the righteousnes of Faith and crie out neuer so much that the Scripture is against me I haue the author and Lorde of the scripture with me on whose side I will rather stand then beleue all the rablemente of Lawworkers and meritemongers Albeit it is impossible that the Scripture should be against this doctrine vnlesse it be among the senseles and indurate hypocrites but among the godly and such as haue vnderstanding it geueth witnesse for Iesus Christ his lord See therfore how thou canst reconcile the Scripture which thou sayest is against my doctrine As for me I will sticke to the author of the Scripture Therefore if any man thinketh himselfe not well able to reconcile such places of the Scripture or aunswer vnto the same sufficiently and yet notwithstanding is constrained to heare the obiections and cauillations of the aduersaries let him aunswere simply and plainely after this sorte Thou settest against me the seruaunte that is to say the scripture and that not wholy neither yet the principall parte thereof but onely certaine places as touching workes This seruaunte I leaue vnto thee But I come with the
Lorde himselfe who is aboue the Scripture and is made vnto me the merite and price of righteousnes and euerlasting life On him I lay holde him I sticke to and leaue workes vnto thee which notwithstanding thou neuer didest This solution neither the Deuill nor any Iusticiary can euer wrest from thee or ouerthrowe Moreouer thou art in safetie before God For thy hearte abideth fixed in the obiect which is called Christ who being nailed to the crosse and accursed not for him selfe but for vs as the text saith vvas made a curse for vs. Holde fast this and lay it against all the sentences of the lawe and workes whatsoeuer and say doest thou heare this Satan Here must he needes geue place for he knoweth that Christe is his Lorde and master Verse 11. And that no man is iustified by the lavve in the sight of God it is euident For the iust shall liue by faith This is an other argument grounded vpon the testimony of the Prophet Habacucke And it is a sentence of greate weight and aucthoritie which Paule setteth against all the sentences that speake of the lawe and workes As if he should say what neede we any longe disputation Here I bringe forth a moste plaine testimonie of the Prophet againste the which no man can cauill The iust man shall liue by faith If he liue by faith then he liueth not by the lawe For the lawe is not of faith And here Paule excludeth workes and the lawe as things contrary to faith The Sophisters as they are alwayes ready to corrupt the scriptures do wrest and peruert this place after this manner The iust man doth liue by faith that is to wirte say they by a faith which is effectuall or working or formed and made perfect with charitie but if it be a faith not formed with charitie then doth it not iustifie This glose they them selues haue forged and by the same they doe iniurie to the wordes of the Prophet If they did call this formed or furnished faith the true faith which the Gospell teacheth this their glose should nothing at all offend me for then faith should not be separated from charitie but from the vaine opinion of faith As we also put a difference betwene a counterfeit faith and a true faith The counterfeit faith is that which heareth of God of Christ and of all the mysteries of his incarnation and our redemption which also apprehendeth beareth away those things which it heareth yea and can talke goodly thereof and yet there remaineth nothinge els in the hearte but a naked opinion and a sounde of the Gospell which howe farre of it is from true faith hereby it may appeare in that it neither renueth nor changeth the hearte it maketh not a new man but leaueth him in the vanity of his former opinion and conuersation and this is a very pernicious faith The morall philosopher is much better then the hypocrite hauing such a faith Wherefore if they would make a distinction betwene their formed faith and a false or counterfeit faith as I haue said their distinction should not offend me But they speake of faith in such sorte that they make charitie the forme and perfection of faith This is to preferre charitie before faith and to attribute righteousnes not to faith but to charitie wherefore when they doe not attribute righteousnes to faith but onely for charities sake they attribute to faith nothing at al. But the holy Ghost which geueth to all men both mouth tongue knoweth howe to speake He coulde haue said as the Sophisters doe wickedly imagine The righteous man shall liue by faith formed and beautified or made perfecte by charitie But this he omitteth of purpose and saith plainely The righteous man liueth by faith Let these doltish Sophisters goe therfore with this their wicked and pestilent glose We will still hold and extoll this faith which God himselfe hath called faith that is to say a true and a certaine faith which doubteth not of God nor of the diuine promises nor of the forgeuenes of sinnes through Christ that we may dwel sure safe in this our obiect Christ and may keepe still before our eies the passion and bloud of the Mediatour and all his benefites Now faith alone which â—â—ieth holde vpon Christ is the onely meane that we suffer not these benefites to be takeÌ„ out of our sight or wrested from vs by any meanes Therfore reiecting this pestilent glose we must vnderstaÌ„d this place of faith onely And this Paule himselfe declareth when he disputeth against faith formed with charitie after this sorte Verse 12 And the lavv is not of faith The Scholemen say The righteous man doth liue if his faith be formed and adorned with charitie But contrariwise Paule saith The lavv is not of faith But what is the law Is it not also a commaundement touching charity yea the law commaundeth nothing els but charitie as we may see by the texte it selfe Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God vvith all thy soule c. Againe shevving mercy vnto thousands that loue him and keepe his commaundements Also In these tvvo commaundementes consist the lavve and the Prophetes If the lawe then that commaundeth charitie be contrary to Faith it must needes follow that charitie is not of faith So Paule plainely confuteth that glose which the Sophisters haue forged touching their formed faith and speaketh onely of faith as it is separate from the law Nowe the law being separate and set aparte charitie is also set aparte with all that belongeth to the lawe and faith onely is left which iustifieth and quickneth to euerlasting life Paule therfore reasoneth here out of a plaine testimony of the Prophet that there is none which obtaineth iustification and life before God but the beleeuing man who obtaineth righteousnes and euerlasting life without the law and without charitie by faith alone The reason is because the law is not of faith that is the law is not faith or any thing belonging to faith for it beleueth not neither are the works of the lawe faith nor yet of faith therfore faith is a thing much differing from the law like as the promise is a thing much differing from the law For the promise is not apprehended by working but by beleuing Yea there is as greate a difference betwene the promise and the law and consequently betwene faith and works as there is distaunce betwene heauen and earth It is impossible therefore that faith should be of the lawe For faith only resteth in the promise it onely apprehendeth and knoweth God and standeth onely in receauing good things of God. Contrariwise the law and workes consist in exacting in doing and in geuing vnto god As Abell offering his sacrifice geueth vnto God but he beleuing receaueth of god Paule therefore concludeth mightely out of that place of Habacuck that the righteous maÌ„ liueth by faith alone For the law in no
but mortally hate and blaspheme God. Furthermore the lawe shutteth men vnder sinne not onely Ciuily but also Spiritually that is to say the lawe is also a spirituall prison and a very hell For when it reuealeth sinne threatneth death and the eternall wrath of God a man can not auoide it nor finde any comfort For it is not in the power of man to shake of these horrible terrours which the lawe stirreth vppe in the conscience or any other anguish or bitternes of spirite Hereof come these lamentable complaints of the Saincts which are euery where in the Psalmes In hell vvho shall confesse thee c. For then is a man shut vppe in prison out of the which he can not escape nor seeth howe he may be deliuered out of these bondes that is to say these horrible terrours Thus the law is a prison both Ciuily and Spiritually For first it restreineth and shutteth vppe the wicked that they runne not headlong according to their owne lust into all kindes of mischeefe Againe it sheweth vnto vs spiritually our sinne terrifieth and humbleth vs that when we are so terrified and humbled we may learne to knowe our owne miserie and condemnation And this is the true and the proper vse of the lawe so that it be not perpetuall For this shutting and holding vnder the lawe must endure no longer but vntill Faith come and when Faith cometh then must this spirituall prison haue his ende Here againe we see that although the lawe and the Gospell be separate farre asunder yet as touching the inward affections they are very nerely ioyned the one to the other This Paule sheweth when he sayeth VVe vvere kept vnder the lavv and shutte vppe vnto the Faith vvhich should be reuealed vnto vs. Wherefore it is not enough that we are shutte vnder the lawe for if nothing else should follow we should be driuen to desperatiō and die in our sinnes But Paule addeth moreouer that we are shutte vppe and kept vnder a Scholemaister which is the lawe not for euer but to bring vs vnto Christ who is the ende of the lawe Therefore this terrifying this humbling and this shutting vppe must not alwayes continue but onely vntill Faith be reuealed that is it shall so long continue as shall be for our profite and our saluation So that when we are cast downe and humbled by the lawe then grace remission of sinnes deliueraunce from the lawe sinne and death may become sweete vnto vs which are not obteined by workes but are receaued by Faith alone He which in time of tentation can ioyne these two things together so repugnant and contrary that is to say which when he is throughly terrified and cast downe by the lawe doth knowe that the ende of the lawe and the beginning of grace or of Faith which is to be reuealed is nowe come vseth the lawe rightly All the wicked are vtterly ignoraunt of this knowledge and this cunning Caine knewe it not when he was shutte vppe in the prison of the lawe that is he felt no terrour although he had nowe killed his brother but dissembled the matter craftely and thought that God was ignoraunt thereof Am I my brothers keeper sayth he But when he heard this word VVhat hast thou done Behold the voice of the bloud of thy brother crieth vnto me from the earth he began to feele this prison in deede What did he then He remained still shutte vppe in prison He ioyned not the Gospell with the lawe but sayd My punishment is greater then I can beare He onely respected the prison not considering that his sinne was reuealed vnto him to this ende that he should flie vnto God for mercy and pardon Therefore he despaired and denied god He beleeued not that he was shutte vppe to this end that grace and Faith might be reuealed vnto him but onely that he should still remaine in the prison of the lawe These words to be kept vnder and to be shut vppe are not vaine and vnprofitable but true and of great importaunce This keeping vnder and this prison signifieth the true and spirituall terrours wherby the conscience is so shutte vppe that in the wide world it can finde no place where it may be in safetie Yea as long as these terrours endure the conscience feeleth such anguish and sorrowe that it thinketh heauen and earth yea if they were ten times more wide and large then they are to be straiter and narrower then a mouse hole Here is a man vtterly destitute of all wisedome strength righteousnes counsell and succour For the conscience is a maruelous tender thing and therfore when it is so shutte vppe vnder the prison of the lawe it seeth no way howe to gette out and this streitnes seemeth daily so to encrease as though it would neuer haue an ende For then doth it feele the wrath of God which is infinite and inestimable whose hand he can not escape as the Psalme 139. witnesseth VVhether shall I flie from thy presence c. Like as therefore this worldly prison or shutting vppe is a bodily affliction and he that is so shutte vppe can haue no vse of his bodye euen so the trouble and anguish of minde is a spirituall prison and he that is shutte vppe in this prison can not enioy the quietnes of heart and peace of conscience And yet is it not so for euer as reason iudgeth when it feeleth this prison but vntill Faith be reuealed The sely conscience therefore must be raised vppe and comforted after this sort Brother thou art in deede shutte vppe but perswade thy selfe that this is not done to the ende that thou shouldest remaine in this prison for euer For it is wrytten that vve are shutte vppe vnto the Faith that shall be reuealed Thou art afflicted then in this prison not to thy destruction but that thou maist be refreshed by the blessed Seede Thou art killed by the lawe that through Christe thou maiste be quickened againe and restored to life Despaire not therefore as Caine Saule and Iudas did who being thus shutte vppe looked no further but to their darke prison and there still remained therefore they despaired But thou must take an other way in these terrours of conscience then they did that is thou must knowe that it is well done and good for thee to be so shut vppe confounded brought to nothing Vse therfore this shutting vppe rightly and as thou shouldest do that is to the ende that when the law hath done his office Faith may be reuealed For God doth not therfore afflict thee that thou shouldest still remaine in this affliction He wil not kill thee that thou shouldest abide in death I vvill not the death sayth he by the Prophet of a sinner c. But he will afflict thee that so thou maist be humbled and knowe that thou hast neede of mercy and the benefite of Christe This holding in prison
the lawe bringeth with it may daily be diminished in vs more and more As long then as we liue in the flesh which is not without sinne the lawe oftentimes retourneth and doth his office in one more and in an other lesse as their Faith is strong or weake and yet not to their destruction but to their saluation For this is the exercise of the lawe in the Sainctes namely the continuall mortification of the flesh of reason and of our owne strength and the daily renewing of our inward man as it is sayd in the .2 Cor. 4. We receaue then the first fruites of the spirite the leuen is hidde in the masse of the dough but all the dough is not yet leuened no it is yet but onely begunne to be leuened If I behold the leuen I see nothing else but pure leuen But if I behold the whole masse I see that it is not all pure leuen That is to say If I behold Christe I am altogether pure and holy knowing nothing at all of the lawe for Christe is my leuen But if I behold mine owne flesh I feele in my selfe couetousnes lust anger pride and arrogancie also the feare of death heauines hatred murmuring and impatiencie against God. The more these sinnes are in me the more is Christ absent from me or if he be present he is felt but a litle Here haue we neede of a Scholemaster to exercise and vexe this strong Asse the flesh that by this exercise sinnes may be diminished a way prepared vnto Christe For as Christe came once corporally at the time appoynted abolished the whole lawe vanquished sinne destroyed death and hell euen so he commeth spiritually without ceasing and daily quencheth and killeth these sinnes in vs. This I say that thou mayest be able to aunswere if any shall thus obiecte Christe came into the world and atonce toke away all our sinnes and clensed vs by his bloud what neede we then to heare the Gospell or to receaue the Sacramentes True it is that in as much as thou beholdest Christe the lawe and sinne are quite abolished But Christe is not yet come vnto thee or if he be come yet notwithstanding there are remnauntes of sinne in thee thou art not yet throughly leuened For where concupiscence heauines of spirite and feare of death is there is yet also the lawe and sinne Christ is not yet throughly come but when he cometh in deede he driueth away feare and heauines and bringeth peace and quietnes of conscience So farre forth then as I do apprehend Christ by Faith so much is the lawe abolished vnto me But my flesh the world and the Deuill doe hinder Faith in me that it can not be perfect Right gladly I would that that litle light of Faith which is in my heart were spread thoroughout all my body and all the members thereof but it is not done it is not by and by spreade but onely beginneth to be spreade In the meane season this is our consolation that we hauing the first fruites of the spirite doe nowe beginne to be leuened But we shall be thoroughly leuened when this body of sinne is dissolued and we shall rise newe creatures wholy together with Christe Albeit then that Christe be one and the same yesterday to day and shall be for euer and albeit that all the faithfull which were before Christ had the Gospell and Faith yet notwithstanding Christe came once in the time before determined Faith also came once when the Apostles preached and published the Gospell thoroughout the world Moreouer Christ commeth also spiritually euery day Faith likewise commeth daily by the word of the Gospel Now when Faith is come the Scholemaster is constrained to geue place with his heauy and grenous office Christ cōmeth also spiritually when we stil more and more doe knowe and vnderstand those things which by him are geuen vnto vs and encrease in grace and in the knowledge of him 2. Pet. 3. Verse 26. For ye are all the sonnes of God by Faith in Christ Iesus Paule as a true and an excellent teacher of Faith hath alwayes these wordes in his mouth By Faith In Faith Of Faith which is in Christ Iesus He sayth not ye are the children of God because ye are circumcised because ye haue heard the law and haue done the workes therof as the Iewes doe imagine and the false Apostles teach but by Faith in Iesus Christe The lawe then maketh vs not the children of God and much lesse mens traditions It can not beget vs into a new nature or a new birth but it setteth before vs that old birth wherby we were borne to the kingdome of the Deuill And so it prepareth vs to a new birth which is by Faith in Iesus Christ and not by the lawe as Paule plainly witnesseth For ye are all the children of God by Faith. c. As if he sayd Albeit ye be tormented humbled and killed by the lawe yet hath not the lawe made you righteous or made you the children of God this is the worke of Faith alone What Faith Faith in Christe Faith therefore in Christ maketh vs the children of God and not the lawe The same thing witnesseth also Iohn in the .1 chap. He gaue povver to as many as beleued in him to be the children of God. What tounge either of men or Angels can sufficiently extol and magnifie the great mercy of God towardes vs that we which are miserable sinners and by nature the children of wrath should be called to this grace and glory to be made the children and heires of God fellow heires with the sonne of God and Lordes ouer heauen and earth and that by the onely meanes of our Faith which is in Christ Iesu Verse 27. For all ye that are baptised into Christ haue put on Christ To put on Christ is taken two maner of wayes according to the law according to the gospel According to the law as it is said in the 13. chap. to the Rom Put ye on the Lord Iesus Christ that is folowe the example and vertues of Christe Doe that which he did and suffer that which he suffered And in the .1 Pet. 2. Christ hath suffred for vs leauing vs an example that vve should folovv his steppes Nowe we see in Christ a singuler patience an inestimable mildnes and loue and a wonderfull modestie in all things This goodly apparell we must put on that is to say folowe these vertues But the putting on of Christ according to the Gospell consisteth not in imitation but in a newe birth and a new creation that is to say in putting on Christes innocencie his righteousnes his wisedom his power his sauing health his life and his spirite We are clothed with the lether coate of Adam which is a mortall garment and a garment of sinne that is to say we are all subiect vnto sinne all sold vnder sinne
the poynt of desperation for then are we that brused reede smoking flaxe which Esay speaketh of notwithstanding in the meane season the holy Ghost helpeth our infirmities maketh intercession for vs with vnspeakeable gronings certifieth our spirits that we are the children of god Thus the minde is raised vp in terrors it loketh vnto his Sauiour high Bishop Iesus Christ it ouercommeth the infirmitie of the flesh it conceaueth comfort againe and sayth Abba Father This groning which then we scantly feele Paule calleth a crying vnspeakeable groning which filleth both heauē and earth Moreouer he calleth it the crying and groning of the spirite because the holy Ghost stirreth vp the same in our heartes when we are weake and oppressed with terrour and tentation Although then the lawe sinne and the Deuill crie out against vs neuer so much with great and terrible rorings which seeme to fill heauen and earth farre to excede this groning of our heart yet can they not hurt vs For the more fiercely they assaile vs accuse and torment vs with their cryings so much the more doe we grone and in groning lay hold vpon Christ call vpon him with heart and mouth cleaue vnto him and beleue that he was made vnder the law that he might deliuer vs from the Curse of the lawe and destroy both sinne and death And thus when we haue taken hold of Christe by Faith we crie through him Abba Father And this our crie doth farre surmount the roring of the lawe sinne the Deuill c. But so farre of is it that we thinke this groning which we make in these terrours and in this our weaknes to be a cry that scarsely we perceaue it to be a groning For our Faith which in tentation thus groneth vnto Christ is very weake if we consider our owne sense and feeling And this is the cause that we heare not this crie We haue but onely the word which when we apprehend in this conflict we haue a litle breathing and then we grone Of this groning some litle feeling we haue but the crie we heare not But he sayeth Paule vvhich searcheth the heartes knovveth vvhat is the meaning of the spirite c. To this searcher of the hearts this small and feeble groning as it seemeth vnto vs is a loud and a mighty cry and an vnspeakeable groning in comparison whereof the great and horrible rorings of the law of sinne of death of the deuill and of hell are nothing neither can they be once heard Paule therfore not without cause calleth this groning of a godly afflicted heart a cry and a groning of the spirite which can not be expressed For it filleth the whole heauen so that the Angels thinke they heare nothing else but this crie But in vs there is a cleane contrary feling For it semeth vnto vs that this our small groning doth not so perce the cloudes that there is nothing else heard in heauen of God and his angels Nay we thinke and especially during the time of tentation that the Deuil horribly roreth against vs that the heauens thunder the earth trēbleth that all will fall vpon vs that all creatures threaten our destruction that hel is opē and ready to swallow vs vp This feling is in our heart these horrible voices and this fearfull shew we heare and we see And this is it that Paul sayth in the .2 Corrin 12 That the strength of Christ is made perfect through our vveaknes For then is Christ almighty in dede then doth he truly raigne and triumph in vs when we are so weake that we can scarsely grone But Paule sayth that this groning is in the eares of God a most mightie cry which filleth both heauen and earth Christ also in the .18 of Luke in the parable of the wicked iudge calleth this groning of a faithfull heart a cry yea such a cry as ceaseth not day night to cry vnto God where he sayth Heare vvhat the vnrighteous iudge sayth Novv shall not God auēge his elect vvhich cry day night vnto him yea though he suffer long for them yea I tel you he vvil auenge them quickly We at this day in so great persecution cōtradiction of the Pope of tyrānes Sectaries which fight against vs both on the right hand on the left can doe nothing else but vtter such gronings And these were our gunnes artillery wherw t we haue so many yeres scattered the coūsels and enterprises of our aduersaries wherby also we haue begon to ouerthrow the kingdom of Antichrist They also shall prouoke Christ to hasten the day of his glorious comming wherein he shall abolish all rule authoritie and power and shall put all his enemies vnder his feete So be it In the .14 of Exodus the Lord speaketh vnto Moises at the red sea saying VVhy criest thou vnto me Yet Moises cried not but trembled and almost despaired for he was in great trouble It seemed that infidelitie raigned in him and not Faith. For he saw the people of Israell so compassed and enclosed with the Egyptians host and with the sea that there was no way whereby they might escape Here Moises durst not once opē his mouth How thē did he crie We must not iudge therfore according to the feeling of our owne heart but according to the word of God which teacheth vs that the holy Ghost is geuen to those that are afflicted terrified ready to despaire to raise them vp to comfort them that they be not ouercome in their tentations afflictions but may ouercome them and yet not without great terrors and troubles The Papistes dreamed that holy men had the holy Ghost in such sort that they neuer had nor felt any tentation They spake of the holy Ghost onely by speculation and naked knowledge But Paule sayeth that the strength of Christe is made perfecte through our vveaknes Also that the spirite helpeth our infirmities and maketh intercession for vs vvith vnspeakeable gronings Therefore we haue then most neede of the helpe and comfort of the holy Ghost yea and then is he most ready to helpe vs when we are most weake and nerest to desperation If any man suffer affliction with a constant and a ioyfull heart then hath the holy Ghost done his office in him And in deede he exerciseth his worke specially and properly in those which haue suffered great terrours and afflictions and haue as the Psalme sayeth approched nigh to the gates of hel As I said of Moses which sawe present death in the waters and on euery side whether so euer he turned his face He was therefore in extreme anguish and desperation and no dout he felt in his heart a mightie crie of the Deuill against him saying All this people shall this day perish for they can escape no way And of this great calamitie thou onely shalt be found to be the authour
because thou hast led them out of Egypt Besides all this the people cried out against him saying Were there no graues in Egypt Thou hast brought vs out that we should die here in the wildernes Had it not bene better for vs to haue serued the Egyptians then here wretchedly to die in the wildernes The holy Ghost was not here in Moises by bare speculation and knowledge onely but truely and effectually who made intercession for him with an vnspeakeable groning so that he sighed vnto the Lord and sayd O Lord at thy commaundement haue I led forth this people helpe vs therfore This groning or sighing vnto God the scripture calleth a crying This matter I haue the more largely prosecuted that I might plainly shew what the office of the holy Ghost is and when he specially exerciseth the same In temptatiō therfore we must in no wise iudge therof according to our owne sense feeling or by the crying of that law sinne the Deuill c. If we then folow our owne sense beleue those cryings we shall thinke our selues to be destitute of all helpe and succour of the holy Ghost and to be vtterly cast away from the presence of god Nay rather let vs then remember what Paule sayth The spirite helpeth our infirmities c. Also it crieth Abba Father that is to say it vttereth a certaine feeble sighing and groning of the heart as it seemeth vnto vs which notwithstanding before God is a loud crie and an vnspeakeable groning Wherfore in the middes of thy temptation and infirmitie cleaue onely vnto Christe grone vnto him he geueth the holy Ghost which crieth Abba Father And this feeble groning is a mighty crie in the eares of God and so filleth heauen and earth that God heareth nothing else and moreouer it drowneth the cries of all other things whatsoeuer Thou must marke also that Paule sayth that the spirite maketh intercession for vs in our temptation not with many wordes or long prayer but onely with a groning which notwithstanding can not be expressed and that he crieth not a loud with teares saying Haue mercy on me O God c. but onely vttereth a litle sound and a feeble groning as Ah Father This is but a litle word and yet notwithstanding it comprehendeth all things The mouth speaketh not but the affection of the heart speaketh after this maner Although I be oppressed with anguish and terrour on euery side and seeme to be forsaken and vtterly cast away from thy presence yet am I thy childe and thou art my Father for Christes sake I am beloued because of the beloued Wherfore this litle word Father conceaued effectually in the heart passeth all the eloquence of Demosthenes Cicero and of the most eloquent Rhetoricians that euer were in the world This matter is not expressed with words but with gronings which gronings cā not be vttered with any wordes or eloquence for no tongue can expresse them I haue vsed many wordes to declare that a Christian must assure him selfe that he is in the fauour of God and that he hath the crying of the holy Ghost in his heart This haue I done that we may learne to reiect and vtterly to abandon that deuillish opinion of the whole kingdom of the Pope which taught that a man ought to be vncertaine and to stand in dout of the grace and fauour of God towards him If this opinion be receaued then Christ profiteth nothing For he that douteth of Gods fauour towardes him must needes dout also of the promises of God and so consequently of the will of God and of the benefites of Christe namely that he was borne suffered died and rose againe for vs c. But there can be no greater blasphemie against God then to deny his promises to deny God himselfe Christ c. Wherfore it was not onely an extreme madnes but an horrible impietie that the Monks did so earnestly entice the youth both men and women to their Monasteries to their religious and holy orders as they called them as to a most certaine state of saluation and yet when they had thus done they bad them doubt of the grace and fauour of God towards them Moreouer the Pope called all the world to the obedience of the holy Church of Rome as to an holy state in the which they might vndoutedly attaine saluatiō and yet after he had brought them vnder the obedience of his lawes he commaunded them to dout of their saluation So the kingdom of Antichrist braggeth and vaunteth at the first of the holines of his orders his rules and his lawes and assuredly promiseth euerlasting life to such as obserue and kepe them But afterwards when these miserable men haue long afflicted their bodies with watching fasting and such like exercises according to the traditions and ordinaunces of men this is all that they gaine thereby that they are vncertaine whether this obedience please God or no Thus Satan most horribly dallied in the death of soules through the Pope and therefore is the Papacie a slaughterhouse of consciences and the very kingdom of the Deuill Nowe to establish and confirme this pernicious cursed errour they alleaged the saying of Salomon Eccle. 9. The iust and the vvise men are in the handes of God and yet no man knovveth vvhether he be vvorthy of loue or of hatred Some vnderstand this of that hatred which is to come and some againe of that which is present but neither of them vnderstand Salomon who in that place meaneth nothing lesse then that which they dreame Moreouer the whole Scripture teacheth vs especially and aboue all things that we should not dout but assure our selues vndoutedly beleue that God is mercifull louing and patient that he is neither dissembler nor deceauer but that he is faithfull and true and kepeth his promise yea and hath performed that he promised in deliuering his only begotten Some to death for our sinnes that euery one that beleueth in him might not perish but haue euerlasting life Here we can not dout but that God is pleased with vs that he loueth vs in dede that the hatred and wrath of God is taken away seeing he suffered his sonne to die for vs wretched sinners Although this matter be sette out and often repeted thoroughout the whole Gospell yet it profited nothing at all This one saying of Salomon peruersly vnderstand did more preuaile especially among the votaries and hypocrites of the straiter religion then all the promises and consolations of the whole Scripture yea then Christe him selfe They abused the Scriptures therfore to their owne destruction and were most iustly punished for despising the Scriptures and reiecting the Gospell It is expedient for vs to know these things First because the Papistes vaunt of their holines as if they had neuer committed any euill Therefore they must be conuinced by their owne abhominations wherewith they haue filled the whole world
ouerthroweth whole kingdoms and Empires Therfore as many as trust to their owne strength and righteousnes doe serue a God but such a God as they them selues haue deuised and not the true God in deede For the true God speaketh thus No righteousnes wisedom nor religiō pleaseth me but that onely whereby the Father is glorified through the Sonne Whosoeuer apprehendeth this Sonne and me and my promise in him by Faith to him I am a God to him I am a Father him do I accept iustifie and saue All other abide vnder wrath because they worship that thing which by nature is no God. Whosoeuer forsaketh this doctrine must needes fall into the ignorance of God he vnderstandeth not what the true Christian righteousnes wisedom and seruice of God is he is an Idolater abiding vnder the law sinne death and the power of the Deuill and all things that he doth are accursed and condemned Therefore the Anabaptist imagining with him selfe that he pleaseth God if he be rebaptised if he forsake his house wife and children if he mortifie his flesh and suffer much aduersity and at length death it selfe yet there is not one droppe of the knowledge of Christe in him but secluding Christ he dreameth altogether of his owne workes of the forsaking of his goodes of his affliction and mortification and now differeth nothing frō the Turke Iewe or Papist in spirite or in heart but onely in the outward appearance workes and ceremonies which he hath chosen to him selfe The same confidence in workes haue all the Monkes and other religious orders notwithstanding in their apparell and other outward things there is a difference There are at this day very many like vnto these which notwithstanding would be counted among the true professors and teachers of the Gospell and as touching the words they teach that men are deliuered from their sinnes by the death of Christ But because they teach faith in such sort that they attribute more to charitie then to faith they highly dishonour Christe and wickedly peruert his word For they dreame that God regardeth accepteth vs for our charities sake wherby we being reconciled to God doe loue God and our neighbour If this be true then haue we no neede of Christ at all Such men serue not the true God but an Idol of their owne heart which they themselues haue deuised For the true God doth not regard or accept vs for our charitie vertues or newnes of life but for Christes sake c. But they make this obiection Yet notwithstāding the Scripture cōmaundeth that we should loue God with all our heart c. It is true But it foloweth not that because God cōmaūdeth vs therfore we do it If we did loue God with all our heart c. then no dout we should be iustified liue through this obedience as it is wrytten He that shal doe these things shall liue in them But the Gospel sayth Thou doest not these things therfore thou shalt not liue in them For this sentence Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God c. requireth a perfect obedience a perfect feare trust loue towards god These things men neither doe nor can performe in this corrupt nature Therfore this law Thou shalt loue the Lord thy god c. iustifieth not but accuseth condemneth all men according to that saying The lavv causeth vvrath c. Contrariwise Christ is the finishing accomplishing of the lavv to righteousnes to euery one that beleueth Of this we haue spoken largely before In like maner the Iewe keping the law with this opinion that he by this obediēce wil please God serueth not the true God but is an Idolater worshipping a dreame an idoll of his owne heart which is no where to be found For the God of his fathers whom he saith he worshippeth promised to Abraham a Seede thorough the which all nations should be blessed Therfore God is knowen the Blessing is geuē not by the lawe but by the Gospel of Christ Although Paule speake these words Thē vvhē ye knevv not God ye did seruice c. properly prīcipally to the Galathians which were Gentiles yet notwithstanding by the same words he also toucheth the Iewes who though they had reiected their Idols outwardly yet in their hearts they worshipped them more then did the Gentiles as it is sayd Rom. 2. Thou abhorrest Idols committest sacriledge The Gētiles were not the people of God they had not his word and therfore their Idolatrie was grosse But the Idolatrous Iewes cloked their Idolatrie with the name and word of God as all Iusticiaries which seeke righteousnes by workes are wont to doe and so with this outward shew of holines they deceiued many Therfore Idolatrie the more holy and spirituall it is the more hurtfull it is But how may these two contrary sayings which the Apostle here setteth downe be recōciled together Ye knevv not God ye vvorshipped God. I answer All mē naturally haue this general knowledge that there is a God according to the saying Ro. 1. Forasmuch as that vvhich may be knovvn of god vvas manifest in thē For God was made manifest vnto thē in that the inuisible things of him did appeare by the creation of the world Moreouer the ceremonies religiōs which were alwaies remained among al nations sufficiently witnesse that all men haue had a certain general knowledge of god But whether they had it by nature or by the tradition of their forefathers I wil not here dispute But here some wil obiect againe If all mē knew God wherfore thē doth Paul say that the Galathians knew not God before the preaching of the Gospel I answer There is a double knowledge of God general perticuler All men haue the generall knowledge namely that there is a God that he created heauen earth that he is iust that he punisheth the wicked But what god thīketh of vs what his wil is towards vs what he wil geue do to the end we may be deliuered from sinne death and be saued which is the true knowledge of God in dede this they know not As it may be that I know some man by sight whō yet in dede I know not thorowly because I vnderstand not what affection he beareth towards me So mē know naturally that there is a god but what his wil is or what is not his will they doe not know For it is wrytten There is none that vnderstādeth God. And in an other place No mā hath sene God that is to say no man hath knowen what is the will of god Now what doth it auaile thee if thou know that there is a God yet art ignorāt what is his will towards thee Here some thinke one thing some an other The Iewes imagine this to be the will of God if they worship him according to the rule of Moses lawe the Turke if he obserue his Alcoran the
For the law as I haue often sayd being in his owne proper vse accuseth and condemneth a man and in this respect it is not onely a strong and a rich rudiment but also most mighty and most rich yea rather an inuincible power riches and if here the conscience be compared with the law then is it most weake and beggerly For it is so tender a thing that for a small sinne it is so troubled and terrified that it vtterly despaireth vnlesse it be raised vp againe Wherefore the lawe in his proper vse hath more strength and riches then heauen and earth is able to containe in so much that one letter or one tittle of the law is able to kill all mākinde as the hystorie of the lawe geuen by Moises Exod. 19.20 doth witnesse This is the true and diuine vse of the lawe of which Paule speaketh not in this place Paule then entreateth here of hypocrites which are fallen from grace or which haue not yet attained to grace These abusing the law seeke to be iustified by it They exercise and tire themselues day and night in the workes therof as Paule witnesseth of the Iewes Ro. 10. For I beare thē record sayth he that they haue the zeale of God but not according to knovvledge for they being ignoraunt of the righteousnes of god c. Such doe hope so to be strengthened and enriched by the lawe that they may be able to set their power and riches which they haue gotten by the righteousnes therof against the wrath and iudgement of God and so to appease God and to be saued therby In this respect then we may well say that the law is a weake a beggerly rudiment that is to say which can geue neither helpe nor counsell And who so listeth to amplifie this matter may further say that the lawe is a weake and a beggerly rudiment because it maketh men more weake and beggerly Againe because that of it selfe it hath no power or riches whereby it is able to geue or to bring righteousnes And moreouer that it is not onely weake and beggerly but euē weaknes and beggery it selfe How then shall it enrich or strengthen those which were before both weake and beggerly Therefore to seeke to be iustified by the lawe is as much as if a man being weake and feeble already would seeke some other greater euill wherby he might ouercome his weaknes and pouertie which notwithstanding would bring vnto him vtter destructiō As if he which hath the falling sicknes would seeke to ioyne vnto it the Pestilence for a remedy or if a Leaper should come to a Leaper or a begger to a begger the one to helpe and to enrich the other Paule therfore sheweth that they which seeke to be iustified by the lawe haue this commoditie thereby that daily they become more and more weake and beggerly For they be weake and beggerly of them selues that is to say they are by nature the children of wrath subiect to death and euerlasting damnation and yet they lay hold vpon that which is nothing else but mere weaknes and beggerie seeking to be strengthened and enriched therby Therfore euery one that falleth frō the promise to the law from faith to workes doth nothing else but lay vpon him selfe such a burden being weake and feeble already as he is not able to beare Ac. 15. and in bearing therof is made ten times more weake so that at length he is driuen to despaire vnlesse Christe come and deliuer him This thing the Gospell also witnesseth speaking of the woman which was greeued 12. yeres with a bloudy issue suffered many things of many Phisitians vpon whom she had spent all her substance yet could not be cured but the longer she was vnder their hands the worse she was As many therfore as doe the works of the law to the end they may be iustified thereby are not onely not made righteous but twise more vnrighteous then they were before that is as I haue said more weake beggerly more vnapt to doe any good worke This haue I proued to be true both in my self in many others I haue knowen many Monks in the Papacy which with great zeale haue done many great works for the attaining of righteousnes saluation and yet were they more impatiēt more weake more miserable more faithles more fearful more ready to despaire thē any other The ciuil Magistrates who were euer occupied in great and weightie affaires were not so impatient so fearfull so faint hearted so superstitious and so faithles as these Iusticiaries and Meritmongers were Whosoeuer thē seketh righteousnes by the law what cā he imagin else but the god being angry must nedes be pacified with works Now whē he hath once cōceiued this fantasy he beginneth to work But he cā neuer find so many good works as are able to quiet his cōsciēce but stil he desireth moe Yea he findeth sinnes in those works that he hath don already Therfore his conscience can neuer be certified but must needes be alwayes in dout and thus thinke with it selfe Thou hast not sacrificed as thou shouldest doe thou hast not prayed aright this thou hast left vndone this or that sinne thou hast committed Here the heart trembleth and feeleth it selfe oppressed with innumerable sinnes which still encrease without end so that he swarueth from righteousnes more and more vntill at length he fall to desperation Hereof it cometh that many being at the poynt of death haue vttered these desperate words O wretch that I am I haue not kept mine order Whether shall I flie from the wrath of Christ that angry iudge would to God I had ben made a swinheard or the vilest wretch in the whole world Thus the Monke in the ende of his life is more weake more beggerly more faithles and fearfull then he was at the beginning when he first entred into his order The reason is because he would strengthen himselfe through weaknes and enrich him selfe through pouertie The law or mens traditions or the Rule of his order should haue healed him when he was sicke and enriched him when he was poore but he is become more feeble more poore thē the Publicanes and harlots The Publicanes and harlots haue not an heape of good works to trust vnto as the Monks haue but although they feele theyr sinnes neuer so much yet they can say with the Publicane O Lord be mercifull to me a sinner But contrariwise the Monke which hath spent all his time in weake beggerly elements is confirmed in this opinion If thou keepe thy rule thou shalt be saued c. With this false perswasion he is so deluded bewitched that he can not apprehend grace no nor once remember grace Thus notwithstanding all the works which either he doth or hath done be they neuer so many and so great he thinketh that he hath neuer done enough but hath
sawe not the condition that was annexed If ye kepe my commaundementes it shall goe vvell vvith you c. Therfore Agar the bondmaid bringeth forth but a bond seruaunt Ismael then is not the heire although he be the naturall sonne of Abraham but remaineth a bondman What is here lacking The promise and Blessing of the word So the lawe geuen in mount Sina which the Arabians call Agar begetteth none but seruauntes For the promise made as concerning Christ was not annexed to the lawe Wherfore O ye Galathians if ye forsaking the promise and faith fall backe to the law and works ye shall alwayes continue seruaunts that is ye shall neuer be deliuered from sinne and death but ye shall alwayes abide vnder the curse of the lawe For Agar gendreth not the seede of the promise and heires that is to say the lawe iustifieth not it bringeth not the adoption inheritance but rather it hindreth the inheritance and worketh wrath Verse 25. And it ansvvereth to Ierusalem vvhich novv is and she is in bondage vvith her children This is a wonderfull allegorie As Paule a litle before made Agar of Sina so now of Ierusalem he would gladly make Sara but he dareth not neither can he so doe but is compelled to ioyne Ierusasalem with mount Sina For he sayth The same belongeth to Agar seeing mount Agar reacheth euen to Ierusalem And it is true that there be continuall mountaines reaching from Arabia Petrea vnto Cades Bernea of Iurie He sayth then that this Ierusalem which now is that is to say this earthly and temporall Ierusalem is not Sara but pertaineth to Agar for there Agar raigneth For in it is the law begetting vnto bondage in it is the worship and ceremonies the temple the kingdome the Priesthoode and whatsoeuer was ordained in Sina by the mother which is the lawe the same is done in Ierusalem Therfore I ioyne her with Sina and I cōprehend both in one word to witte Sina or Agar I durst not haue bene so bolde to handle this allegorie after this maner but would rather haue called Ierusalem Sara or the new Testament especially seeing the preaching of the Gospell began in it the holy Ghost was there geuen and the people of the new Testament were there borne and I would haue thought that I had found out a very fitte allegory Wherfore it is not for euery man to vse allegories at his pleasure for a goodly outward shew may soone deceaue a man and cause him to erre Who would not thinke it a very fitte thing to call Sina Agar and Ierusalem Sara In deede Paule maketh Ierusalem Sara but not this corporall Ierusalem which he simplie ioyneth vnto Agar but that spirituall and heauenly Ierusalem in which the law raigneth not nor the carnall people as in that Ierusalē which is in bondage with her children but wherein the promise raigneth wherin is also a spirituall and a free people And to the ende that the lawe should be quite abolished and that whole kingdom which was established in Agar the earthly Ierusalē was horribly destroyed with all her ornamēts the tēple the ceremonies c. Now although the new testament began in it so was spread through out the whole world notwithstanding it appertaineth to Agar that is to say it is the citie of the law of the ceremonies of the priesthoode instituted by Moses Briefly it is gendred of Agar the bondwoman and therfore is in bondage with her children that is to say it walketh in the works of the lawe and neuer attaineth to the libertie of the spirite but abideth continually vnder the lawe sinne an euil conscience the wrath and iudgement of God and vnder the gilt of death and hell In deede it hath the libertie of the flesh it hath a corporall kingdom it hath magistrates riches and possessions and such like things but we speake of the libertie of the spirit wherby we are dead to the law to sinne and death and we liue and raigne in grace forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes and euerlasting life This can not the earthly Ierusalem performe and therefore it abideth with Agar Verse 26. But Ierusalem vvhich is aboue is free vvhich is the mother of vs all That earthly Ierusalem sayth he which is beneath hauing the policie and ordinances of the law is Agar and is in bondage with her children that is to say she is not deliuered from the lawe sinne and death But Ierusalem which is aboue that is to say the spirituall Ierusalem is Sara albeit Paule addeth not the proper name of Sara but geueth her an other name calling her the free woman that is to say that true Ladie and freewoman which is the mother of vs all begetting vs vnto libertie and not vnto bondage as Agar doth Now this heauenly Ierusalem which is aboue is the Church that is to say the Faithful dispersed thorow out the whole world which haue one and the same Gospell one and the same Faith in Christe the same holy Ghost and the same Sacraments Therfore vnderstand not this word Aboue of the triumphant Church as the Schoolemen do which is heauen but of the militant church in earth as they call it For the godly are sayd to haue theyr conuersation in heauen Philip. 3. Our conuersation is in heauen not locally but in that a Christian beleueth in that he layeth holde of those inestimable heauenly and eternal gifts he is in heauen Ephesians 1. VVhich hath blessed vs vvith all spiritual blessing in heauenly things in Christ We must therfore distinguish the heauēly spiritual Blessing from the earthly For the earthly Blessing is to haue a good ciuill gouernment both in common weales families to haue children peace riches frutes of the earth and other corporall commodities But the heauenly Blessing is to be deliuered from the law sinne and death to be iustified and quickened to life to haue peace with God to haue a faithfull heart a ioyfull conscience and spirituall consolation to haue the knowledge of Iesus Christe to haue the gift of Prophesie and the reuelation of the Scriptures to haue the giftes of the holy Ghost and to reioyce in god These are the heauenly blessings which Christ geueth to his Church Wherfore Ierusalem which is aboue that is to say the heauenly Ierusalem is the church which is now in the world and not the citie of the life to come or the Church triumphant as the idle and vnlearned Monks and the Schooledoctors dreamed which taught that the Scripture hath foure senses the literall sense the figuratiue sense the allegoricall sense and the morall sense and according to these senses they haue foolishly interpreted almost all the wordes of the Scriptures As this word Ierusalem literally signified that citie which was so named figuratiuely a pure conscience allegorically the church militāt morally the celestiall Citie or the church
triumphant With these trifeling and foolish fables they rent the Scriptures into so many and diuers senses that seely poore consciences could receaue no certaine doctrine of any thing But Paule sayeth here that the olde and earthly Ierusalem belongeth vnto Agar and that it is in bondage with her children and is vtterly abolished But the new and heauenly Ierusalem which is a Queene and a freewomā is appoynted of god in earth and not in heauen to be the mother of vs all of whom we haue bene engendred and yet daily are gendred Therefore it is necessary that this our mother should be in earth among men as also her generation is Notwithstanding she gendreth by the holy Ghost by the ministery of the word and sacraments and not in the flesh This I say to the ende that in this matter we should not be caried away with our cogitations into heauen but that we should know that Paule setteth the Ierusalem which is aboue against the earthly Ierusalem not locally but spiritually For there is a distinction betwene those things which are spirituall and those which are corporall or earthly The spirituall things are aboue the earthly are beneath So Ierusalem which is aboue is distinguished from the carnall and temporall Ierusalem which is beneath not locally as I haue sayd but spiritually For this spirituall Ierusalem which tooke her beginning in the corporall Ierusalem hath not any certaine place as hath the other in Iudea but it is dispersed thorow out the whole world and may be in Babylon in Turkie in Tartarie in Scythia in Iudea in Italie in Germanie in the Isles of the sea in the mountaines and valleis and in all places of the world where men dwel which haue the Gospel and beleue in Iesus Christ Wherfore Sara or Ierusalem our free mother is the Church it selfe the spouse of Christe of whom we all are gendred This mother gendreth free children without ceasing to the ende of the world as long as she exerciseth the Ministerie of the word that is to say as long as she preacheth and publisheth the Gospell for this is truely to gender Now she teacheth the Gospell after this maner to witte that we are deliuered from the Curse of the lawe from sinne death and all other euils through Iesus Christ not by the law neither by workes Therefore Ierusalem which is aboue that is to say the Church is not subiect to the law and works but she is free and a mother without the law sinne and death Now such a mother as she is such children she gendreth This allegorie teacheth very aptly that the Church should doe nothing else but preach and teach the Gospell truely and sincerely and by this meanes should gender children So we are all fathers and children one to an other For we are begotten one of an other I being begotten by other through the Gospell doe now beget other which shall also beget other hereafter and so this begetting shall endure to the ende of the world Now I speake of the generation not of Agar the bondmaid which gendreth her bondseruauntes by the lawe but of Sara the freewoman who gendreth heires without the law and without mans workes or endeuours For in that Isaac is heire and not Ismael albeit notwithstāding that both of them were the naturall sonnes of Abraham Isaac had the inheritaunce by the word of promise namely Sara thy vvife shall bring thee a sonne and thou shalt call his name Isaac This did Sara well vnderstand and therefore she sayeth Cast out the bondvvoman and her sonne And Paule also aledgeth these words afterwards Wherfore as Isaac hath the inheritance of his father onely by the promise and by his birth without the law and without works euen so we are borne through the Gospel of that freewomā Sara true heires of the promise She that is to say the church enstrueteth vs nourisheth vs and carieth vs in her wombe in her lappe and in her armes she formeth and fashioneth vs to the image of Christe vntill we grow vppe to a perfect man c. So all things are done by the ministerie of the word Wherefore the office of the freewoman is to gender children to God her husband without ceasing and without end that is to say such children as know that they are iustified by Faith and not by the lawe Verse 27. For it is vvrytten Reioyce thou barren that bearest no children breake forth and crie thou that trauailest not for the desolate haue many moe children then she vvhich hath an husband Paule aledgeth this place out of Esay the Prophet which is altogether allegoricall It is wrytten sayeth he that the mother of many children and she which hath an husband must be sicke and die and contrariwise that the barren she which hath no children must haue aboundance of children After the same maner Hanna singeth in her song out of that which Esay the Prophet tooke his Prophesie 1. Sam. 2. The bovve and the mightie men are broken and the vveake haue girded them selues vvith strength They that vvere full are hired forth for bread and the hungrie are no more hired so that the barren hath borne seuen and she that had many children is feeble A maruellous matter sayth he she that was frutefull shal be made barren and she that was barren frutefull Moreouer such as before were strong full rich glorious righteous and blessed shall become feeble hungrie poore ignominious sinners subiecte to death and damnation And contrariwise the feeble and hungrie c. shal be strong and satisfied c. The Apostle sheweth by this allegorie of the Prophet Esay the difference which is betwixt Agar and Sara that is to say betwixt the sinagoge and the church or betwixt the lawe and the Gospell The lawe being the husband of the frutefull woman that is to say of the sinagoge begetteth very many children For men of all ages not onely idiotes but also the wisest and best that is to say all mankinde except the children of the freewoman doe neither see nor know any other righteousnes then the righteousnes of the law much lesse doe they know any which is more excellent Wherefore they thinke them selues righteous if they folow the lawe and outwardly performe the workes thereof Now although these be frutefull haue many disciples and shine in the righteousnes and glorious workes of the lawe yet notwithstanding they be not free but bondseruauntes For they are the children of Agar which gendreth to bondage Nowe if they be seruauntes they can not be pertakers of the inheritance but shall be cast out of the house for seruauntes remaine not in the house for euer Yea they are already cast out of the kingdom of grace and libertie For he that beleueth not is iudged alreadie They remaine therefore vnder the malediction of the lawe vnder sinne and death vnder the power of the Deuill and vnder the wrath and iudgement of
famine that the ouerthrowing of common weales kingdoms and countreis that sectes offences and such other infinite euils doe procede altogether of the doctrine of the Gospell Against this great offence we must comfort arme our selues with this sweete cōsolation that the faithfull must beare this name and this title in the world that they are seditious and schismatikes and the authors of innumerable euils And hereof it commeth that our aduersaries thinke they haue a iust cause yea that they doe God high seruice when they hate persecute and kill vs It can not be then but that Ismael must persecute Isaac But Isaac againe persecuteth not Ismael Who so wil not suffer the persecution of Ismael let him not professe himselfe to be a Christian But let our aduersaries which so vehemently amplifie exaggerate these euils at this day tel vs what good thīgs ensued the preaching of the Gospel of Christ and his Apostles Did not the destruction of the kingdom of the Iewes follow was not the Romaine Empire ouerthrowne was not the whole world in an vprore And yet the Gospell was not the cause hereof which Christe and his Apostles preached for the profite and saluation of men and not for their destruction But these things folowed through the fault of the people the nations the Kings Princes who being possessed of the Deuill would not hearkē to the word of grace life and eternall saluation but detested and condemned it as a doctrine most pernicious and hurtfull to religion common weales And that this should so come to passe the holy Ghost foretold by Dauid when he sayeth Psal. 2. VVhy doe the heathen rage and the people murmure in vaine c. Such tumultes and hurly burlies we heare and see at this day The aduersaries lay the fault in our doctrine But the doctrine of grace and peace stirreth not vp these troubles but the people nations kings and Princes of the earth as the Psalme sayeth rage murmure conspire and take counsell not against vs as they thinke nor against our doctrine which they blaspheme as false and seditious but against the Lord and his annoynted Therfore all their counsels and practises are and shall be disappoynted and brought to naught He that dvvelleth in the heauen shall laugh the Lord shall haue them in derision Let thē cry out therfore as long as they list that we raise vp these tumults and seditions notwithstanding this Psalme comforteth vs and saith that they themselues are the authors of these troubles They can not beleue this much lesse can they beleue that it is they which murmure rise vp take coūsell against the Lord his anoynted nay rather they thinke that they maintaine the Lords cause that they defend his glory do him acceptable seruice in persecuting vs but the Psalme lieth not and that shall the ende declare Here we doe nothing but onely suffer as our conscience beareth vs witnesse in the holy Ghost Moreouer the doctrine for the which they raise vp such tumultes and offences is not ours but it is the doctrine of Christe This doctrine we can not deny nor forsake the defence thereof seeing Christ sayth VVhosoeuer shall be ashamed of me and of my vvordes in this adulterous and sinnefull nation of him shal the sonne of man be ashamed vvhen he shall come in his glory and in the glory of the father and of the holy angels He therfore that will preach Christ truely and confesse him to be our righteousnes must be content to heare that he is a pernicious fellow and that he troubleth all things They which haue troubled the world sayd the Iewes of Paul and Silas Acts. 17. are also come vnto vs and haue done contrary to the decrees of Caesar And in the. 24. of the Actes We haue found this pestilent fellow stirring vp sedition among all the Iewes thorow out the whole world and the authour of the Sect of the Nazarites c. In like maner also the Gentiles complaine in the. 16. of the Actes These men trouble our Citie So at this day they accuse Luther to be a troubler of the Papacie and of the Romaine Empire If I would kepe silence then all things should be in peace which the strong man possesseth and the Pope would not persecute me any more But by this meanes the Gospell of Iesus Christe should be blemished defaced If I speake the Pope is troubled and cruelly rageth Either we must lose the Pope an earthly and mortall man or else the immortall God Christ Iesus life and eternall saluation Let the Pope perish then let God be exalted let Christ raigne and triumph for euer Christe himselfe when he foresaw in spirite the great troubles which should folow his preaching cōforted himselfe after this maner I came sayth he to send fire vpon the earth and vvhat vvil I but that it be kindled In like maner we see at this day that great troubles folowe the preaching of the Gospell through the persecution blasphemie of our aduersaries and the ingratitude of the world This matter so greueth vs that oftentimes after the flesh and after the iudgement of reason we thinke it had bene better that the doctrine of the Gospell had not bene published then that after the preaching therof the publike peace should be so troubled But according to the spirite we say boldly with Christe I came to send fire vpon the earth and what will I but that it should now be kindled Now after that this fire is kindled ther folow forthwith great commotions For it is not a King or an Emperour that is thus prouoked but the God of this world which is a most mighty spirite and the Lord of the whole world This weake worde preaching Christ crucified setteth vpon this mightie and terrible aduersarie Behemoth feeling the diuine power of this word stirreth vp all his members shaketh his taile and maketh the depth of the sea to boile like a potte Iob. 41. Hereof come all these tumultes all these furious and cruell rages of the world Wherefore let it not trouble vs that our aduersaries are offended and cry out that there cometh no good by the preaching of the Gospel They are infidels they are blinde and obstinate and therfore it is impossible that they should see any frute of the Gospell But contrariwise we which beleue doe see the inestimable profites and frutes therof although outwardly for a time we be oppressed with infinite euils despised spoiled accused cōdemned as the outcasts and filthy dunge of the whole world and put to death and inwardly afflicted with the feeling of our sinne and vexed with Deuils For we liue in Christe in whom and by whom we are made Kings and Lordes ouer sinne death the flesh the world hel and all euils In whom and by whom also we tread vnder our feete that Dragon and Basiliske which is the King
of the freewoman and shall at length be cast into vtter darknes Paule therefore by these wordes bondwoman and freewoman tooke occasion as we haue heard to reiect the righteousnes of the lawe and to confirme the doctrine of Iustification And of purpose he taketh hold of this word freewoman vehemently vrging and amplifying the same especially in the beginning of the chapter folowing Whervpon he taketh occasion to reason of Christian libertie the knowledge whereof is very necessary For the Pope hath in a maner quite ouerthrowne it and made the Church subiect to mans traditions and ceremonies and to a most miserable and filthie bondage That libertie which is purchased by Christ is vnto vs at this day a most strong fort and munition wherby we defend our selues against the tyrannie of the Pope Wherfore we must diligently consider this doctrine of Christian libertie as well to confirme the doctrine of iustification as also to raise vppe and comfort weake consciences against so many troubles offences which our aduersaries doe impute vnto the Gospell Now Christian libertie is a very spirituall thing which the carnall man doth not vnderstand Yea they which haue the first frutes of the spirite and can talke well therof doe very hardly retaine it in their heart It seemeth to reason that it is a matter of small importance Therefore if the holy Ghost do not magnifie it adde a waight vnto it it is conteÌ„ned The fifth Chapter PAVLE now drawing towardes the ende of his Epistle disputeth very vehemeÌ„tly in defence of the doctrine of Faith and Christian libertie against the false apostles the enemies and destroyers of the same against whom he casteth out very thundring wordes to beate them downe and vtterly to vanquish them And therewithall he exhorteth the Galathians to flie their pernicious doctrine as a dangerous poyson In his exhortation he intermingleth threatnings and promises trying euery way that he may kepe them in that libertie which Christ had purchased for them saying Verse 1. Stand fast therefore in that libertie vvherein Christe hath made vs free That is to say Be ye stedfast So Peter sayeth Be sober and vvatch for your aduersarie the Deuill as a roaring Lion vvalketh about seeking vvhom he may deuoure vvhom resist being stedfast in the Faith. Be ye not carelesse sayth he but stedfast and constant Lie not downe and sleepe but stand vp As if he would say It standeth you in hand to be watchfull and constant that ye may keepe and hold fast that libertie wherin Christe hath made you free They that are secure and negligent can not kepe this libertie For Satan most deadly hateth the light of the Gospell that is to say the doctrine of grace libertie consolation and life Therfore when he seeth that it beginneth once to appeare forthwith he fighteth against it with all might and maine stirring vppe stormes and tempests to hinder the course therof and vtterly to ouerthrow it Wherefore Paule warneth the Faithfull not to sleepe not to be negligent but constantly and valiantly to resist Satan that he spoile them not of that libertie which Christe hath purchased for them Euery word hath here a certaine vehemencie Stand sayth he As if he should say Here haue ye neede of great diligence vigilancie In that libertie In what libertie Not in that wherwith the Emperour hath made vs free but in that wherwith Christ hath made vs free The Emperour hath geuen or rather was compelled to geue to the Bishop of Rome a free citie and other landes also immunities priuileges and prerogatiues c. This is also a libertie but it is a ciuill libertie whereby the Pope with all his cleargie is exempt from all publicke charges Moreouer there is a fleshly or rather a deuilish libertie wherby the Deuill chiefly raigneth thorow out the whole world For they that inioy this libertie obey neither God nor lawes but doe what they list This libertie the people seeke and embrace at this day and so doe the Sectaries which will be at libertie in their opinions and in all their doings to the ende they may teach and doe whatsoeuer they dreame to be good and sound without reprehension These stand in that libertie wherein the Deuill hath made them free But we speake not here of this libertie albeit the whole world seeketh no other libertie Neither doe we speake of the ciuill libertie but of a farre other maner of libertie which the Deuill hateth and resisteth with all his power This is that libertie whereby Christe hath made vs free not from an earthly bondage or from the Babylonicall captiuitie or from the tyrannie of the Turkes but froÌ„ Gods euerlasting wrath And where is this done In the conscience There resteth our libertie and goeth no farther For Christe hath made vs free not ciuily nor carnally but diuinely that is to say we are made free in such sort that our coÌ„science is now free and quiet not fearing the wrath of God to come This is that true and inestimable libertie to the excelleÌ„cie maiestie wherof if we compare the other they are but as one droppe of water in respect of the whole sea For who is able to expresse what a thing it is when a man is assured in his heart that God neither is nor will be angry with him but will be for euer a mercifull and a louing father vnto him for Christes sake This is in deede a maruelous and an incomprehensible libertie to haue the most high and soueraigne Maiestie so fauourable vnto vs that he doth not onely defend maintaine and succour vs in this life but also as touching our bodies wâ—ll so deliuer vs that our bodies which are sowen in corruption in dishonor and infirmitie shall rise againe in incorruption in glory and power Wherfore this is an inestimable libertie that we are made free from the wrath of God for euer and is greater then heauen and earth and all other creatures Of this libertie there foloweth an other whereby through Christe we are made free from the lawe sinne death the power of the Deuill hell c. For as the wrath of God can not terrifie vs for that Christe hath deliuered vs from the same so the lawe sinne and death can not accuse and condemne vs And although the law accuse vs and sinne terrifie vs yet they can not driue vs to desperation For Faith which ouercometh the world by and by sayeth These things belong not vnto me for Christe hath made me free and deliuered me from them all Likewise death which is the most mighty and most dreadful thing in all the world is vtterly vanquished in the conscience by this libertie of the spirite Wherfore the maiestie of this Christian libertie is highly to be estemed and diligently considered It is an easie matter for a maÌ„ to speake these words freedome from the wrath of God sinne and death but in the time
of tentation experiēce and practise to applie them to him selfe and to feele the excellencie of this libertie and the frute thereof it is a harder matter then can be expressed Therfore our conscience must be enstructed and prepared before hand that when we feele the accusation of the lawe the terrours of sinne the horrour of death and the wrath of God we may remoue these heauie sightes and fearfull fantasies out of our mindes and set in the place thereof the freedome purchased by Christ the forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes life and the euerlasting mercy of god And albeit the feeling of the contrary be very strong yet let vs assure our selues that it shall not long endure according to that saying of the Prophet For a moment in mine anger I hidde my face from thee for a litle season but vvith euerlasting mercy I haue compassion on thee But this is very hard to doe Wherefore that libertie which Christ hath purchased for vs is not so soone beleued as it is named If it could be apprehended with a sure and a stedfast Faith then no rage or terrour of the word of the law sinne death or the Deuill could be so great but by by it should be swalowed vp as a litle drop of water is swallowed of the maine sea And certainly this Christian libertie swalloweth vp at once taketh quite away the whole heape of euils the law sinne death Gods wrath and briefly the serpent him selfe with his head and whole power and in the stead therof it placeth righteousnes peace euerlasting life c. But blessed is he that vnderstandeth and beleueth Let vs learne therefore to magnifie this our libertie purchased by Iesus Christe the sonne of God by whom all things were created both in heauen and earth Which libertie he hath purchased with no other price then with his owne bloud to deliuer vs not from any bodely or temporall seruitude but from a spirituall and euerlasting bondage vnder mighty and inuincible tyrannes to witte the lawe sinne death and the Deuil and so to reconcile vs vnto God his father Now since these enemies are ouercome and we reconciled vnto God by the death of his sonne it is certaine that we are righteous before God and that what so euer we doe pleaseth him And although there be certaine remnantes of sinne yet still in vs they are not laid to our charge but pardoned for Christes sake Paule vseth wordes of great force and vehemencie Stand sayth he in that libertie vvherin Christe hath made you free This libertie then is not geuen vnto vs by the law or for our righteousnes but freely for Christes sake Which thing Paule here witnesseth and plainly declareth thorow out his whole Epistle Christe also in the .8 of Iohn sayth If the sonne shall make you free there shall ye be free in deede He onely is sette betwixt vs and the euils which trouble and afflict vs he hath ouercome them and taken them away so that they cā no more oppresse vs nor condemne vs In the sted of sinne and death he geueth vnto vs righteousnes and euerlasting life and by this meanes he chaūgeth the bondage and terrours of the law into the liberty of cōscience and consolation of the Gospel which sayeth Be of good comfort my sonne thy sinnes are forgeuen thee Whosoeuer then beleueth in Christ the sonne of God he hath this libertie Reason can not perceaue the excellencie of this matter which when a man considereth in spirite he shall see that it is inestimable For who is able to conceaue in his minde how great and vnspeakable a gift it is to haue the forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes euerlasting life in the sted of the law sinne death and the wrath of God to haue God him selfe fauourable and merciful for euer The Papists and the hypocrites that seeke the righteousnes of the lawe or their owne righteousnes doe glory that they likewise haue remission of sinnes righteousnes life and the grace of god For they vaunt that they also haue this libertie and they promise the same vnto others but in very deede they are the seruauntes of corruption and in the time of tentation all their vaine confidence vanisheth away euen in a moment For they trust vnto the workes and satisfactions of men and not to the word of God nor vnto Christe Wherefore it is impossible for the Iusticiaries which seeke to winne heauen life and saluation by workes and merites to know what the libertie and deliuerance from sinne is Contrariwise our libertie hath for her foundation Christe him selfe who is our euerlasting high Bishop sitting at the right hand of God making intercessiō for vs Wherfore the forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes life libertie which we haue through him is sure certaine perpetual so that we beleue this Wherefore if we cleaue vnto Christ with a stedfast Faith and stand fast in that libertie wherein he hath made vs free we shall obtaine those inestimable gifts but if we be carelesse and negligent we shall lose them It is not without cause that Paule biddeth vs watch and stand fast for he knew that the Deuil seeketh nothing more then to spoile vs of this libertie which cost Christe so great a price and to entāgle vs againe by his ministers in the yoke of bondage as foloweth Verse 1. And be not entangled againe vvith the yoke of bondage Paule hath spoken most effectually and profoundly as concerning grace and Christian libertie and with high and mighty wordes hath exhorted the Galathians to continue in the same for it is easily lost Therefore he biddeth them stand fast lest that through negligence or securitie they fall backe againe from grace and Faith to the law and workes Now because reason iudgeth that there can be no daunger in preferring the righteousnes of the law before the righteousnes of Faith therefore with a certaine indignation he enueyeth against the lawe and with great contempt he calleth it a yoke yea a yoke of bondage So Peter calleth it also Acts. 15 VVhy tempt ye God to lay a yoke on the disciples neckes vvhich neither our fathers nor vve vvere able to beare And thus he turneth all things to the contrary For the false Apostles did abase the promise and magnified the law and the works thereof in this wise If ye will be made free say they from sinne and death and obtaine righteousnes and life fulfil the law be circumcised obserue dayes moneths times and yeres offer sacrifices and doe such other like things then shall this obedience of the law iustifie and saue you But Paule sayth the contrary They sayth he that teach the law after this sort do not set mens consciences at libertie but snare and entangle them with a yoke yea and that with a yoke of bondage He speaketh therfore of the law very basely and contemptuously and calleth it an hard bondage and a seruile yoke
lawfull for the godly to trust and beleue men Verse 10. That ye vvill be none othervvise minded To witte concerning doctrine Faith then I haue taught you ye haue learned of me That is to say I haue a good hope trust of you that ye will not receaue any other doctrine which shal be contrary to mine Verse 10. But he that troubleth you shall beare his condemnation vvhatsoeuer he be By this sentence Paule as it were a iudge sitting vpon the iudgement seat coÌ„demneth the false apostles calling them by a very odious name troublers of the Galathians whom they estemed to be very godly men and farre better teachers then Paule And withall he goeth about to terrifie the Galathians with this horrible sentence whereby he so boldly condemneth the false apostles to the ende that they should flie their false doctrine as a most daungerous plague As if he should say What meane ye to geue eare to those pestilent felowes which teach you not but onely trouble you The doctrine that they deliuer vnto you is nothing else but a trouble vnto your consciences Wherefore how great so euer they be they shall beare their condemnation Now a man may vnderstand by these words VVhosoeuer he be that the false apostles in outward appearance were very good and holy men And peraduenture there was amongst them some notable disciple of the Apostles of great name and aucthoritie For it is not without cause that he vseth such vehemeÌ„t pithie words He speaketh after the same maner also in the first Chapter saying If vve or an Angell from heauen preach vnto you othervvise then vve haue preached vnto you let him be accursed And it is not to be doubted but that many were offended with this vehemencie of the Apostle thinking thus with them selues Wherfore doth Paule breake charitie why is he so obstinate in so small a matter why doth he so rashly pronounce sentence of eternall damnation against those that are ministers as well as he He passeth nothing of all this but procedeth on still and boldly curseth and condemneth all those that peruert the doctrine of faith be they neuer so highly estemed seeme they neuer so holy and learned Wherefore as I geue often warning we must diligently discerne betwene doctrine and life Doctrine is heauen life is the earth In life is sinne errour vncleanes and miserie mingled with vineger as the prouerbe sayth There let charitie winke forbeare be beguiled beleue hope and suffer all things there let forgeuenes of sinnes preuaile as much as may be so that sinne and errour be not defended and maintained But in doctrine like as there is no errour so hath it no neede of pardon Wherfore there is no comparison betwene doctrine and life One litle poynt of doctrine is of more valew then heauen and earth and therefore we can not abide to haue the least iote thereof to be corrupted But we can very well wincke at the offences and errours of life For we also doe daily erre in life and conuersation yea all the sainctes erre and this doe they earnestly confesse in the Lordes prayer and in the Crede But our doctrine blessed be God is pure we haue all the articles of our Faith grounded vppon the holy Scripture Those the Deuill would gladly corrupt and ouerthrow Therefore he assaileth vs so craftely with this goodly argument that we ought not to breake charitie and the vnitie of the churches Verse 11. And brethern if I yet preach circumcision vvhy doe I yet suffer persecution Then is the sclaunder of the crosse abolished Paule labouring by all meanes possible to call the Galathians backe againe reasoneth now by his owne example I haue procured to my selfe sayeth he the hatred and persecution of the Priestes and Elders and of my whole nation because I take away righteousnes froÌ„ circumcision which if I would attribute vnto it the Iewes would not onely cease to persecute me but also would loue and highly commend me But now because I preach the Gospel of Christ the righteousnes of Faith abolishing the law circumcision therfore I suffer persecution Contrariwise the false apostles to auoide the crosse and this deadly hatred of the Iewâ—sh nation doe preach circumcision and by this meanes they obtaine and reteine the fauour of the Iewes as he sayeth in the .6 Chapt. folowing They compell you to be circumcised c. Moreouer they would gladly bring to passe that there should be no dissention but peace and concord betwene the Gentiles and the Iewes But that is impossible to be done without the losse of the doctrine of Faith which is the doctrine of the crosse and full of offences Wherefore when he sayeth If I yet preach circumcision vvhy doe I yet suffer persecution Then is the sclaunder of the crosse abolished he meaneth that it were a great absurditie and inconuenience if the offence of the crosse should cease After the same maner he speaketh 1. Cor. 1. Christe sent me to preach the Gospell not vvith vvisedom of vvordes lest the crosse of Christ should be made of none effect As if he sayd I would not that the offence and crosse of Christe should be abolished Here may some man say The Christians then are madde men to cast them selues into daunger of their owne accord For what doe they else by preaching and confessing the truth but procure vnto them selues the hatred and enimitie of the whole world and raise offences This sayth Paule doth nothing at all offend or trouble me but maketh me more bolde and causeth me to hope wel of the happie successe and increase of the church which flourisheth and groweth vnder the crosse For it behoueth that Christe the head and spouse of the Church should raigne in the middes of all his enemies Psal. 110. On the contrary part when the crosse is abolished the rage of tyrannes heretikes ceaseth on that one side and offences on the other side all things are in peace the Deuill keping the entrie of the house this is a sure token that the pure doctrine of Gods word is taken away Bernard considering this thing sayeth that the Church is then in best state when Sathan assaileth it on euery side as well by subtill sleights as by violence and coÌ„trariwise that it is then in worst case when it is most at ease And he aledgeth very well and to that purpose that sentence of Ezechias in his song Behold for felicitie I had bitter greefe applying it to the church liuing in ease and quietnes Wherfore Paul taketh it for a most certaine signe that it is not the Gospel if it be preached in peace Contrariwise the world taketh it for a most certaine signe that the Gospell is hereticall and seditious doctrine because it seeth great vprours tumults offences and sectes and such like to folow the preaching therof Thus God sometimes sheweth him selfe in the similitude of the
Deuil and the Deuil likewise sheweth him selfe in the likenes of God And God will be knowen vnder the similitude of the Deuill and will haue the Deuil knowen vnder the likenes of God. The crosse immediatly foloweth the doctrine of the word according to that saying Psal. 116 I beleued and therfore haue I spoken and I vvas sore troubled Now the crosse of the Christians is persecution with reproch and ignominie and without any compassion and therfore it is very offensiue First they suffer as the vilest people in the world so did the Prophet Esay foreshew euen of Christ himself cap. 53. He vvas reputed amōgst the vvicked Moreouer murtherers and theues haue their punishments qualified and men haue compassion on them Here is no offence or sclaunder ioyned with the punishment Cōtrariwise like as the world iudgeth the Christiās to be of all other mē the most pestilent pernicious so doth it thinke that no torments are sufficient to punish them for their hainous offences Neither is it moued with any compassion towardes them but putteth them to the most opprobrious and shamefull kinds of death that can be And it thinketh that it gaineth hereby a double commodity For first it imagineth that it doth high seruice vnto God in killing of them secondly that the cōmon peace and tranquillitie is restored and stablishing by taking away such noisome plagues Therfore the death and crosse of the Faithfull is full of offences But let not this reprochfull dealing sayeth Paule and the continuance of Christes crosse and offence therof moue you but rather let it confirme you For as long as the crosse endureth it shall goe well with the Gospell In like maner Christe also comforteth his disciples in the .5 of Math. Blessed are ye sayeth he vvhen men reuile you and persecute you and shall falsely say all maner of euill against you for my names sake Reioyce and be glad for great is your revvard in heauen For so persecuted they the Prophets vvhich vvere before you The church cā not suffer this reioysing to be wrested frō her Wherfore I would not wish to be at concord with the Pope the bishops the princes and the Sectaries vnlesse they would consent vnto our doctrine For such concorde were a certaine token that we had lost the true doctrine To be short as long as the church teacheth the Gospell it must suffer persecution For the Gospell setteth forth the mercy and glory of God It discloseth the malice and sleightes of the Deuill painting him out in his right coulours and plucking from him the counterfet visour of Gods Maiestie wherby he deceaueth the whole world that is to say it sheweth that all worshippings religious Orders inuented by men and traditions concerning single life meates and such other things wherby men thinke to deserue forgeuenes of sinnes euerlasting life are wicked things and deuelish doctrine There is nothing then that more stirreth vppe the Deuill than the preaching of the Gospell For that plucketh from him the dissembled vizour of God and bewrayeth him to be as he is in deede that is to say the Deuil not god Wherfore it can not be but that as long as the Gospell flourisheth the crosse and the offence thereof must needes folow it or else truely the Deuill is not rightly touched but slenderly tickled But if he be rightly hitte in deede he resteth not but beginneth horribly to rage and to raise vp troubles euery where If Christians then will hold the word of life let them not be afraid or offended when they see that the Deuill is broken lose and rageth euery where that all the world is on an vprour that tyrannes exercise their crueltie and heresies spring vppe but lette them assure them selues that these are signes not of terrour but of ioy as Christe himselfe expoundeth them saying Reioyce and be glad c. God forbid therefore that the offence of the crosse should be taken away Which thing should come to passe if we should preach that which the Prince of this world and his members would gladly heare that is to say the righteousnes of workes Then should we haue a gentle Deuil a fauourable world a gracious Pope and mercifull Princes But because we set forth the benefites and glory of Christe they persecute and spoile vs both of our goodes and liues Verse 12. VVould to God they vvere cutte of that doe disquiet you Is this the part of an Apostle not onely to denounce the false apostles to be troublers to condemne them and to deliuer them to Sathan but also to wish that they might be vtterly rooted out and pearish And what is this else but plaine cursing Paule as I suppose alludeth here to circumcision As if he would say They compell you to cutte of the foresakin of your flesh but I would that they themselues might be vtterly cutte off by the roote Here riseth a question whether it be lawfull for Christians to curse Why not howbeit not alwayes nor for euery cause But when the matter is come to this poynt that Gods word must be euill spoken of and his doctrine blasphemed and so consequently God him selfe then must we turne this sentence and say Blessed be God and his word and what so euer is without God and his word accursed be it yea though it be an Apostle or an Angell from heauen So he sayd before in the first Chapter Although vve or an Angell from heauen preach othervvise vnto you then that vvhich vve haue preached let him be accursed Hereby it may appeare how great a matter Paule made of a litle leauen which for the same durst curse the false apostles who in outward appearance were men of great authoritie and holines Let not vs therefore make litle account of the leauen of doctrine For although it be neuer so litle yet if it be neglected it will be the cause that by litle and litle the truth and our saluation shall be lost and God himselfe be denied For when the word is corrupted and God denied and blasphemed which must needes folow if the word be corrupted there remaineth no hope of saluation But for our partes if we be cursed railed vppon and slaine there is yet one that can raise vs vppe againe and deliuer vs from the curse death and hell Wherefore lette vs learne to aduaunce and extoll the Maiestie authoritie of Gods word For it is no small trifle as brainsicke heades surmise at this day but euery title thereof is greater then heauen and earth Wherefore in this respect we haue no regard of Christian charitie or concord but we sitte as it were on the iudgement seat that is to say we curse and condemne all men which in the least poynt deface or corrupt the Maiestie of Gods word For a litle leauen maketh sovver the vvhole lumpe But if they leaue vs Gods word entire and sound we are not onely ready to keepe charitie
The heauenly Ierusalem vvhich is yet vpon earth The heauenly Ierusalem is set against the earthly not locally but spiritually The spirituall Ierusalem dispersed thorovv out the vvhole vvorld The Church begetteth children by teaching Isaac is heir through the promise Genes 17.19 Ephes 4.13 Esay 54.1 Esay 54. The song of Anna. 1. Sam. 2.4.5 The differeÌ„ce betvvixt the sinagoge and the church Iohn 8 3â— Iohn 3.18 1. Timot. 4.1 The teachers of the lavve gender bond-seruaunts Reason is taken vvith hypocrisie The church seemeth to be barren 1. Cor. 1.18 The Gospell hath but fevv disciples Actes 21.22 Hovv many yeares dayes times haue our Papistes appoynted vvhen the gospel should be ouerthrovne and they receaue their idolatrous Masse other abhominations againe The church in heauines The church barren before the vvorld The people of grace The difference betvvixt the lavv and the gospell The people of grace vvithout the lavve and the people of the lavv vvithout grace The lavve is abolished to all christians Esay 54.1 The church is barren and forsaken before the vvorld The childreâ— of the bondvvomaÌ„ vvith their mother are cast out of the house Rom. â— 4.5.6 Math. 10.12 The people of the lavv laborious and painfull The vvhole lavv is abolished A godly man feeleth the terrours of the lavve but by faith in Christ he is comforted Rom. 3.1 Iohn 3.36 The lavve hath no povver ouer a hose that beleue 1. Cor. 1.30 Galath 3.13 The outvvard abolishment of the lavve The gospell doth not release vs from all lavves * He speaketh of such gouernment as God hath appoynted vvhich no priuate man may conteÌ„ne vvith out the brâ—ch of conscience 1 Pet. 2.13.14 Rom. 13 5. The ceremonies of Moses lavv doe not bind vs much lesse the ceremonies of the Pope 1. Cor. 14.40 Tvvo things to be taken hede of in the keping or coÌ„maunding of ceremonies the offence of the vveake the pernicious opinion of merite The church is barren * No spirituall birth vvhich is vvrought by the vvord and spirite of God. * That is their regeneration in Christe by Faith and the holy Ghost Ioh. 8.37.40.42 Of children some be as Ismael some as Isaac The children of the promise The iudgemeÌ„t of the vvorld concerning the gospell VVhat the faithfull must be content to be called in this vvorld Iohn 16.2 VVhat folovved the preaching of the Gospell Psal. 2.2.3 Psal. 2.2.3 Psal. 2.4 The blindnes of the aduersaries Iohn 16.2 Rom. 9.1 Luke 9.26 Paule a pestiferous felovv Actes 17.6.7 Actes 24.3 Actes 16.20 Luke 11 21.2â— Luke 12.49 Hovv Christ comforteth him selfe against the euils that shuld folovv his preaching 2. Cor. 4.4 * He meaneth the Deuill Iob. 41.14.22 The faithfull see infinite profites by the Gospell Psal. 91.13 The article of iustification comforteth vs against al sclaÌ„ders and tentations 1. Cor. 2.12 The vvorld caÌ„ not but be offended at the preaching of the Gospel VVhy our aduersaries doe condemne vs. Greefe after the flesh and glory after the spirite Rom. 5.3 Gene. 21.9 The expositioÌ„ of the Ievves VVhat maner of man Ismael vvas Ismael vvould be preferred before Isaac for tvvo causes Ismael alvvayes persecuteth Isaac The spirituall persecution The Deuil persecuteth the church by violence subteltie Ephes 6.16 The spirituall and corporall persecution of the godly Iohn 1.44 1. Cor. 11.19 False brethreÌ„ at the first are frendes but aftervvardes they become most deadly enemies The brethern borne after the flesh must persecute the brethern that are borne after the spirit Psal. 41.9 The true doctrine of the gospel is the cause of persecution Christe comforteth his against the hatred and persecutions of the vvorld Iohn 15.19 Math. 10.24 Iohn 15.20 The name of Christe is the cause vvhie the vvorld rageth against the godly Iohn 16.33 Christ remaineth king and conquerour though the gates of hell fight against him Gen. 21 2â— Gen. 21.11 God coÌ„firmed the sentence of Sara Gen. 21.12 The sentence pronounced against the Ismalites is effectuall c. The vaine hope of hypocrites in condemning others The children of the bondvvoman haue no inheritaÌ„ce vvith the children of the freevvoman Iohn 10.35 The vineyard shal be let out to other husbandmen They that are borne of the bondvvoman are borne seruaunts of the lavve The Pope and all that seeke righteousnes by vvorkes are children of the bondvvoman Philip. 3.19 The vvorld embraceth the righteousnes of vvorks and condemneth the righteousnes of Faith. A comparison of the old Papacie and of the Papacie at this day The Iusticiaries make such a shevv of holines as if they vvere angels and no men Coloss 2. â—â— The contemplatiue life of Monkes and such other vvhich sequestred themselues froÌ„ the vvorld and all vvorldly affaires The deuotion and discipline of the old Poperie No holines of life can be set against Gods iudgement The Papistes at this day do not defend their vvicked life but their doctrine The Papists diuide the Gospell into precepts and couÌ„sels The precepts they are bouÌ„d to kepe say they but not the counsels and therfore if they kepe them it is a vvorke of superogation that is more then nedeth Bernards confession Phil. 3.9 The children of the bondvvoman are vnder the lavv The children of the bondvvoman shall at length be cast out Math. 25.29 Christian libertie Rom. 9.23 Paule trieth euery vvay to kepe the Galathians in the liberty of the Gospell 1. Pet. 5.3 â— The godly must staÌ„d fast that they lose not their libertie in Christe Satan deadly hateth the light of the Gospell The freedome of the Papists The fleshly libertie The Anabaptists and Libertines vvill be free to doe vvhat they list Freedom from the vvrath of God to come To haue God fauourable vnto vs for Christes sake is an incomprehensible freedome 1. Cor. 15.41.43.44 Freedom from the lavv sinne and death c The fruites of Christian liberty are not easily felt and laid hold of in tentations A remedy against the terrours of the minde in tentations Esay 54.8 Luke 11 28. Iohn 13.17 Christian libertie Liberty is frely geuen vnto vs for Christes sake Iohn â— 36 Math. 9. â— Iohn 5.24 Hypocrites bragge of God. Actes 15. â—0 Actes 10.43 The lavve is a yoke of bondage Galat. 4.10 Thei that seke righteousnes by the lavve are compared to oxen tied to the yoke No greater bondage then the bondage of the lavve VVho be the Deuils Martyrs Iohn 16.23 The corporall libertie of the Papistes This may truely be said also of our Libertines and carnal gospellers at this day Galath 6.6 The iudgemeÌ„t of the godly touching all doctrines religions and ceremonies VVho they be to vvhom Christ is vnprofitable Nothing is more hurtfull then the doctrine of mens traditions vvorkes Coloss 2.3 Coloss 2.9 The lavve of God the yoke of bondage Good vvorks are not condemned but confidence in good vvorks is coÌ„demned Reuel 12.10 VVhat vve must ansvver the Deuill vvhen he accuseth and tempteth vs. The true picture of Christ Math. 12.20 Esay 42.3 Math.