THE TRVE CATHOLIQVE FORMED ACCORDING TO THE TRVTH OF THE SCRIPTVRES and the shape of the ancient Fathers and best sort of the latter Catholiques which seeme to fauour the Church of Rome The Contents vvhereof are to be seene in the Page following Exod. 12.35.36 And the children of Israel did according to the saying of Moses and they asked of the Egyptians iewels of siluer and iewels of gold and rayment And the Lord gaue the people fauour in the sight of the Egyptians and they graunted their requests so they spoyled the Egyptians Cyprian lib. 2. Epist 3. And because now his second comming drawes neere his bountifulnesse and the great account that he makes of vs doth lighten our hearts vvith the light of truth euery day more and more Ambros de Abrah pat lib 2. cap. 9. We reade of a fire kindled at the sunne-setting which should lighten the euening of the world and should shine in the darknes and should reueale things which were hidden AT LONDON Printed by PETER SHORT dwelling at the signe of the Starre on Bredstreet hill 1602. THE CONTENTS OF this Booke 1 A Preface to the Reader 2 The true Catholikes Alphabet or A B C. 3 His Pater-noster or Lords prayer 4 His Catechisme or briefe summe of Religion wherein the Papists opinion concerning Antichrist is refuted and the true meanes of the calling of the Iewes is declared 5 His house or the notes and marks of the true Church drawne out of the Scriptures 6 Certaine godly Prayers which dayly he may vse 7 The liues maners of the ancient Christians drawne out of the Scriptures and Fathers To the Christian Reader I Offer vnto thee good Christian Reader in this Treatise the summe of our Religion And if forraine things delight thee as now adayes they do all men most commonly I do offer vnto thee I say our Religion proceeding out of the mouthes of the verie enemies thereof For as the people cried and said in Darius his dayes 1. Esd 4.41 Truth is the greatest and strongest thing of all others Euen so this sentence shall stand true for euer And here thou shalt see that performed in deed which Dauid did but prefigurate that Goliah his head is stricken off with his owne sword 1. Sam. 17.51 And surely if the bodie and the shadow bee relatiues as the Philosophers teach and that euerie shadow hath a bodie then truly Dan in the law may be also a figure of Antichrist in the Gospel Gen. 49.17 2. The. 2.2 and the Madianites of the Papists Dan as his name imports in Hebrew is a Iudge He will vsurpe the office of a Iudge amongst his brethren And euen so doth the Pope this spirituall Dan Leuit. 13.3 Matt. 8.4 He will be a Iudge also by vsurpation he will not iudge only betweene leprosie and leprosie that is betwixt notorious sinnes as the law commanded but he will iudge euerie light disease which the law commands not Hee will not bee iudge onely of those knowne sins which goe before to iudgement 1. Tim. 5.22.24 which Saint Paul bids Timothie that he should take heede of but also of those which follow after He will know the secrets of mens hearts of which Saint Paul saith Iudge nothing before the time 1. Cor. 4.5 vntill the Lord come who will lighten things that are hid in darkenesse and make the counsels of the hearts manifest and then shall euerie one haue praise of God And is not this to be Dan Is not this to be a Iudge Madian signifies iudging And as hee is Dan so also his armie and souldiers are Madianites they come of Dan that is their name For they take their name of him as the Papists do of the Pope and they shal perish also as did the Madianites Of whose ouerthrow thus we reade Iudg. 7.22 When the three hundreth blewe with trumpets the Lord set euery mans sword vpon his neighbour and vpon all the host which fled to Beth-hashittah Tsererah to the borders of Abel-Meholah vnto Tabbah Here first is the small number of the Lords armie the small number of the professours of the Gospell in comparison of the Madianites of Papists Friers Here are also the Lords weapons the trumpets of the Gospell against Madian and their destruction by one of them drawing swords against another Here is to make perfect this victorie and to conquer also Sathan the father of Dan the breaking of pitchers that is the mortification of the flesh Rom. 6.19 Col. 3.5 Matth. 16.24 and of the lusts thereof which Saint Paul so often teacheth and the denying of our selues and the following of him with our crosse on our backes which our Sauiour also commands And they fled to Beth-hashittah Tsererah and to the border of Abel Meholah vnto Tabbah Here is that verified which our Sauiour saith of the eternitie of the Scriptures That heauen and earth shall perish Mat. 5.18 2. Tim. 3.16 Rom. 15.4 but not one ioâ—te or tittle of the word of God shall perish And that Saint Paul writes of the excellencie of them That all the whole Scriptures are giuen by inspiration from God And againe That whatsoeuer is written is written for our learning And againe Nowe all these things came vnto them for examples 1. Cor. 10.11 and were written to admonish vs vpon whom the ends of the world are come Euerie verse and word in them doe edifie and are of force nay they edifie and teach vs And in this one point they surpasse almost all other writings The lawes of Iustinian manie of them are not conuenient for our age nor Galens prescriptions of medicines for our bodies 1. Pet. 1.25 but the word of the Lord is the same for euer The Madianites fled to Beth-hashittah Tsererah as to their castle of refuge and that is in our language to the afflicted house now readie to fall on their heads And do not euen now the Papists so Ierem. 7.4 Do they not crie as the Iewes did The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord So now they The Church of Rome the Church of Rome Is not the continuance thereof so manie yeares and the great glorie of it their Refuge Is not this one of their chiefest arguments But what is Rome Is it not Beth-hashittah Tserarah that is 2. Thes 2.8 that afflicted house now readie to fall on their heads It consumes daily by the Spirit of God as Saint Paul prophesieth that it should do and euerie day is it in declining And ere it belong in one day Reu. 18.8 that is sodainly as Saint Iohn prophesieth shall her plagues come vpon her death and sorrow and famine and she shall be burnt with fire For it is the mightie Lord euen God himself that iudgeth her And she shall fall into that miserable sorow and destruction which here also followeth euen to the very border or lippe as it is in the Hebrew of Abel Meholah
anie thing and excellent personages and the dignitie of the things themselues The things themselues oftentimes do speake and witnesse And here concerning the certaintie of our saluation first that plaine and short Epistle which saint Iohn writes to all that beléeue in Iesus Christ as a most ancient record doth testifie Ioh. Epist 1. ca. 5.13 Secondlie saint Iohn himselfe who wrote the Epistle who was the beloued Disciple on whome Iesus Christ leaned and lastlie the dignitie of Christians all that beléeue in Iesus Christ must know that they haue eternall life Faith in Iesus Christ is no small iewell it bringes with it this vertue euen the assurance and knowledge of our saluation They diminish and take the dignitie both of faith and of Christians from them that deny this which saint Iohn repeates twise in that his short Epistle as a thing not lightly to be regarded as a thing which the diuell should go about to steale from Christians and to deface for he cannot abide the dignitie of faith These things haue I written to you sayeth saint Iohn which beleeue on the name of the son of God that ye may know that ye haue eternall life and that ye may beleeue on the name of the Sonne of God Let vs marke here first that he sayth that all Christians must know that they haue eternall life now that they shall haue it but that they must now know that they are assured of it euen as if they had it already Secondlie that he repeates that they which beléeue on the name of the sonne of God haue this knowledge and this assurance And he vrgeth this knowledge and assurance as a spur and a mightie cause to make them beléeue on the name of the sonne of God Who would not to be assured of his saluation to know certainly that he should be saued doe any thing Nowe saint Iohn teacheth all true Christians that to the obtaining of this so waightie a matter there is one thing necessary and that is To beleeue on the name of the sonne of God who will not now beléeue and euery day pray for increase of faith that heares and beleeues this In ca. 5. Epi. Io. Ferus also as I haue noted before affirmeth that as Christ had witnesse from heauen and on earth that he was the onely true Sauiour of the world so euery Christian hath the same Testimonie that he is the sonne of God And shal any christian doubt then whether he be the sonne of God or no First the Father from heauen witnesseth they shall be my sonnes and my daughters and I wil be their father Secondly the holy Ghost witnesseth to our spirits that we are the sonnes of God And thirdly the Sacrament of Baptisme wherewith we are washed and the Sacrament of the Eucharist wherewith we are sed doth witnesse the same what can then be more happie then a Christian saith Ferus that hath so manie Testimonies Master Bellarmine that Salomon spake generally of the vncertainty which iust men haue of their proper grace either as men or as the sonnes of God may be gathered of two things first of these words that all things are kept vncertaine or before their faces But here Bellarmine must not mistake Salomon for all things are not kept vncertaine as the words seeme to import for then the Articles of our faith should bee vncertaine which I thinke Bellarmine will not affirme among which Articles also are contained the remission of sinnes and the resurrection of the bodie I maruell why they will not make the one of these as certaine to euerie mans conscience as the other So that then these words of Salomon that all things are vncertain must be restrained within their limits and to bee vnderstood in that respect hee spake them which the words following doe declare that is that by these externall euents a man cannot iudge anie thing but all things are vncertaine Secondlie Master Bellarmine saieth that of the intent or purpose of Salomon this may be gathered which was to shew that this was one of the miseries of this life and that not the least that euen iust men might iustly feare least peraduenture they were not iust but if they knew they were iust howsoeuer they know it then saieth hee all things were not reserued as vncertaine to come But what was Salomons purpose appeareth by the Chapter going before And I see all the worke of God saieth hee that man cannot find it out the worke that is done vnder the Sunne Eccl ca. 8. v. 17 the which man studies to search out and cannot find the same yea though a wise man saie he will search it out yet he cannot find it And then followes I gaue my mind to this whole matter and to declare it all Here is first Salomons purpose that Gods works are woonderfull and that no man can attaine to the depth or to the reason of them not to teach as master Bellarmine teacheth that this is not the least misery of man to feare whether he be iust or no. And then after Salomon hath put downe this his intent and purpose he sets downe this foundation concerning the matter propounded That all men whether wise or iust whether seruants or masters are in the hands of God How soeuer God dealeth with men this is a sure ground That be they wise and iust they are in the hands of God and therefore are sure to be saued whatsoeuer befall them But his loue or hatred saieth hee man knowes not for all things happen to the good and wicked alike so woonderfull are the works of God that by them no man can tell his loue or his hatred This is Salomons drift and purpose as most euidentlie appeares out of this Text whereas that first ground That the iust and wise men are in the hands of God whatsoeuer befalles them seemes to inferre necessarilie this certaintie of our saluation But to conclude this place doth not that saying of the Apostle prooue euidentlie the certaintie of our saluation That the feruent desire of the creature waiteth Rom. 8 20.21.22 when the sonnes of God shall be reuealed For wee know that euery creature groneth with vs also and trauelleth in paine together vnto this present And not onely the creature but we also which haue the first fruits of the spirit euen we doe sigh in our selues waiting for the adoption euen the redemption of our bodies If all the godlie doe sigh and grone for the daie of Iudgement with the earth which then shall most assuredlie be restored to the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God doe wee thinke that they doe doubt of their saluation or doe wee thinke God deales more hardlie with them then with the earth It is sure of deliuerance and liberty euen now which causeth it to grone and are not they That saying also of Peter confirmes the same That all Christians should looke for 2. Pet. 4 12. hasten vnto the day of God
our Lord Iesus doth hee not now euer gouerne the worlde with his Father and whether to this matter doth he call any man making him his imitator or follower that with him he should gouerne heauen and earth and all Christ by S. Austines iudgement calles no man to bee partaker with him in his gouernement of heauen and earth therefore not the Pope Primasius also S. Austines scholler writes thus Let no man glorie in men in false Apostles no nor in any eyther king or priest for all thinges are yours In 1. ep ad Cor. cap. 3. eyther Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world or life or death we are yours you are not ours c. Nowe if Peter had béen Christs vicar then the saints had béene his as they were Christs whose place he sustained But Primasius saith plainly that the Corinthians were Christs they were not Peters Therefore Peter was not in any respect their head but their seruant or minister That Christ alone is the head of the Church Theodoret writes thus Theod. in 2 ca. ad Col. Againe saith he he cals Christ the head and the congregation of the faithfull the bodie And he hath put downe all this place metaphorically for euen as in the bodie the braine is the root of the sinewes and by the sinewes the bodie hath feeling so the bodie of the Church by Christ our Lord receiues both fountaines of Doctrine and matter of saluation And that thing which sinewes are in the bodie that are Apostles prophets and teachers in the assemblie of the Church Thus much Theodoret the Apostles are but ligaments or sinewes by his iudgement nowe it is monstrous and against all reason to make a sinew a head In 1 ep Co. 10 And in another place he writes thus This is required of Stewards that they bee founde faithfull not that hee should take vnto him the honour o◠dignitie of his maister but that he should keepe his maisters good will In 1 ep ad Cor. cap. 9. And in another place of S. Paul hee writes thus Am I not free that is as much to say I am vnder no mans iurisdiction I am not in the place of a disciple But to whose credite the whole world was committed because he was called after Christs assumption And the same prerogatiue he yeelds also to S. Paul in another place vpon these words whereof I am made a minister The saluation of the Church was committed to me meaning S. Paul to me was committed the office of preaching that I should fill you all with heauenly doctrine And that word you doth not onely meane them but also the faithfull that are in the world Gregorie also writes thus In 5. psal penit Christ is one person with his whole Church which either now is conuersant here on earth or is in heauen now with him And as there is one soule which quickens the diuers members of the bodie so one onely holie spirit quickens and lightens the whole Church And as Christ which is the head of the church was conceiued by the holy Ghost so the holy Church which is his bodie is filled with the same holy spirit that it may liue and by his power is strengthned that it may stand in the ioining or coupling togither of one faith and charitie By which the whole bodie being ministred vnto built by ioints and couplings growes to the increase of God Gregorie here makes plainly Christ his Church whether in heauen or in earth to be but one bodie And that by the holie spirite he quickens strengthens and gouernes the same euen as our soule quickens and gouernes our bodies And that by ioints couplings not by any ministeriall head as the papists do imagine nay he saith that his triumphant and his militant Church is but one bodie So that then if they will make Peter the head of the militant Church he must also be the head of the triumphant which I thinke they will not graunt Lastlie to conclude to make the matter more plaine and to shew how farre Gregorie was from imagining Peter to bee the head of the whole Church he writes thus in another place In psal penit 3. 5. The Apostles were called feet because that as feet carrie the bodie so the Apostles carried Christ into the knowledge of al nations which were moued when they doubted that he whom they saw did suffer was the sonne of God In the bodie of the Church he compares Apostles to féete not to heades and that verie fitlie alledging that place of the Apostle Ro. 10.15 How beautifull are the feete of thē which bring glad tydings of peace And of the gouernment of his Church by his holie spirit our sauiour most manifestly speaketh himselfe And I will praie the Father and hee shall giue you another comforter that he may abide with you for euer Io. 14.15 euen the spirite of truth As though he should say you are discomforted because I goe from you but I in my stead will send you a comforter which shall neuer forsake you but shall abide with you for euer And after I wil not leaue you like Orphans without a guide or gouernour but I will come vnto you meaning by his holie spirite The holie spirit then is the gouernour and guardian of Christs Church here on earth wee are not orphanes And the same lesson he taught al his Apostles again immediatlie before his ascension It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father hath put in his owne power Act. 1.7.8 But you shall receiue the power of the holy ghost when he shall come on you Héere is the authoritie heere is the power and the gouernment of the Church And you shall be witnesses vnto me both in Ierusalem and in all Iudea and in Samaria and vnto the vttermost part of the earth Héere also is the estate and condition of all the Apostles put downe no one of them is made better then an other They are all appointed witnesses of him no one of them Lord or Iudge And this authoritie and office of gouernment in the Church to declare that it was of God giuen to the spirit of God the spirit of God expresly oftentimes executed As when Peter doubted what the vision ment Act. 10.19 the spirit sayd vnto him Behold three men seeke thee Arise therfore and get thee downe and goe with them doubt nothing For I haue sent them What can be more plaine then this The holie ghost sent those thrée men from Caesarea to Ioppe and also sent Peter with them Is not this to gouerne If Peter had béen head appointed by Christ vnder him he might haue gone by his owne authoritie but here he is namelie sent of another to declare that the authoritie was not in himselfe And when Peter came again to Ierusalem Act. 11.3 They of the Circumcision contended with him about this matter And he alleadgeth this
one state and therfore they who do build their faith vpon the Church build vpon no sure foundation Master Bellarmine also concerning Antichrist agrées with their Catholicon and writes thus Adde this also saith he that as we haue shewed before Antichrist shall be a Iew and shall be Messias and King of the Iewes And therefore without all doubt shall make his seat in Ierusalem and shall go about to restore Salomons temple For the Iewes dreame of nothing else thē of Ierusalē the temple neither do they seeme that they will euer acknowledge any for their Messias which sits not in Ierusalem and after some sort repaires againe the Temple Thus farre Master Bellarmine But Stella contrarie to this assertion of M. Bellarmine writes thus If God promised by Aggee In ca. 2. Luc. that Messias should come to that Temple while it remained and that Temple now is ouerthrowen neither is there now any such Temple nor one stone thereof left vpon another how madde are the Iewes that will looke yet for a Messias To what second Temple shall he come if it be vtterly ouerthrowen if no signe thereof remaine Neither can the Iewes say that they shall haue another temple to which their Christ should come For Aggee their Prophet speakes of that Temple which then was built in Ierusalem and not of any other as his words plainly testifie nay he saith plainly that there shal neuer be any other Thus much Stella out of Aggee And where is then Master Bellarmines temple which he affirmes after a sort Antichrist shall restore Where is his Antichrist which shall lacke a seat by Stellas iudgement Nay vnlikelie is this to common experience Iulian the Apostata Egnat ca. 6. when he came to Ierusalē and saw the temple quite ouerthrown by Titus in despight of Christian religion he commaunded Philip of Antioch that he should make fit the place and should lay such a foundation of the temple that it might be compared with the former in statelinesse The which things pleased Iuliā the Iewes wonderfully But sodainly there were heard terrible rorings in the earth hot burning firebrands rose vp among the foundations which in a moment dispersed all things and consumed both the workemen and their tooles and the signe of crosses appeared in many mens garmēts which could not be put out If God so resisted then Iulian do we think he wil now suffer Antichrist to build the temple againe But the seate of Antichrist the seat of the Babylonish whore Who shall make all men drunke with the wine of her abominations Saint Iohn saith shall be a citie with seuen hils And what other citie in the world can that be else but Rome And what other heretique can this be then Antichrist who shall make the chast spouse a whore Re◠17.4 and that by wine of fornication what religion more pleasant or like wine then the Romish religion As their ordinarie musicke of singing and Organs playing of censing their precious Robes and Ornaments they vsed wherein not the least part of their seruing of God consisted do declare besides their guilds feastings their fraternities of euerie trade and occupation But to let all these passe All things amongst them were pardonable for mony And what more pleasant wine could be then this to flesh and bloud But as this their wine wherewith they made all men drunken is manifest so is also their fornication no lesse manifest It is spirituall fornication to trust in anie to call vpon anie to reueale the secrets of the heart to anie but to God Honest matrons know thus much For so they behaue themselues towards their husbands Hos 2.16 And God is the husband of his Church as he oftentimes protesteth But the Church of Rome hath taught men to trust in others to cal vpon others to reueale the secrets of the heart to others then to God And can this be anie thing else then spirituall fornication But they did this to saints and therefore it was no sinne neither can it be rightly iudged fornication Psal 73.25 Thus they say But let all true Catholikes marke what Dauid saith Whom haue I in heauen but thee and I haue desired none on earth with thee Here is the true spouse declared and the true Catholike religion grounded Now followes the whore 27 for lo they which withdraw themselues from thee or as it is in the Hebrew go farre from thee shall perish thou destroiest all them that go a whoring from thee To haue anie other yea in heauen to trust in to giue our hearts vnto but God is to commit fornication And therefore let all true Catholickes that meane to be saued take héed how they call vpon or repose their trust in anie no though he be in heauen but in God alone Reu. 14.8 as did Dauid lest they commit fornication against him and so be destroyed all The same doctrine plainely the angell crieth out To all nations kinreds and people against the kingdome of Antichrist and shall we be deafe will we not heare him Ibid. 6.7.8 Then saw I another Angell saith Saint Iohn flie in the midst of heauen hauing an euerlasting gospell to preach to them that dwell on earth and to euerie nation and kinred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice Feare God giue glorie to him For the houre of his iudgement is come worship him that made heauen and earth and the sea and the fountaines of waters And there followed another Angell saying It is fallen it is fallen Babylon that great citie for she made all nations to drinke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication Here first is the euerlasting gospell preached with a loud voice of an Angel which is feare God and worship him that made heauen and earth and not anie creature or saint whatsoeuer And shall we not imbrace this gospell shall we not beléeue this Angell this no doubt is the true Catholike faith this is the euerlasting gospel whatsoeuer all the Iesuites in the world teach to the contrarie And Babylon the mother of fornications which taught a doctrine contrarie to this is fallen What can be more plain then this To worship anie but him that made heauen earth is fornication This Dauid and the Angell teach And Babylon who hath taught the contrarie is fallen And as the wine of this whore is manifest so is her seat also as I noted before so that as he is deafe that will not heare the crying of the Angell concerning her poisoned wine so he is blind wilfully that will not see her seuen hils whereon she is situated Neither Saint Iohn onely but other prophecies haue taught the destruction of Rome and haue by these seuen hils portraied her out vnto vs Vae tibi septicollis c. Vaticinium Leonis Wo to thee O Citie built on seuen hils saith a prophecie going vnder the name of Leo the Emperour printed lately in Briscia
heresie now discourage anie of Gods children So did they reuile and hate the verie names of the true prophets of God Luk. 6.22 as our Sauiour witnesseth So at this day the Papists goe about by all means possible to defame and discredite the persons of the professours of the Gospell But as Saint Paul passed not for the name of Heretike no more let vs. Beleeuing all that is written in the Law and the Prophets Here is another marke of the true Church here is a ground of a true Christians conscience concerning his faith and religion To beleeue all that is written in the lawe and the Prophets This was Saint Paules ground he beléeued no more and according to that he worshippeth God and he cares not let them cal him what they wil. Whosoeuer lacks this ground shall be caried about with euery blast of vaine doctrine Ephe. 4.14 like children To confirme and strengthen vs in our faith God hath put in his Church Apostles and Euangelists Ephes 2.20 and Wee are built vpon the foundations of the Prophets and Apostles Iesus Christ himselfe being the chiefe corner stone The like marks of the true Church Saint Paule setteth downe in the Epistle to the Romans as arrowes out of the same quiuer of our Sauiour to confound the enemies that would craftily créepe into Gods house Rom. 1.9 2. Pet. 2.1 God is my witnesse saith he whom I serue in my spirit in the Gospell of his Sonne Here also is the platforme of the true Church and a patterne of a true Christian God is only my witnesse saith Saint Paul not anie Saint or Angell The true Church must here with Saint Paul attribute this knowledge and searching of hearts to God alone and not to anie Saint or Angell else whatsoeuer Act. 1.24 15.8 Secondly she must serue this God onely and none els for to whom this knowledge belongeth to him also diuine seruice and Latria as they call it belongs Thirdly Whom I serue in my spirit saith Saint Paule not with anie outward or externall things or ceremonies like a Iew but with my heart as Iesus Christ now hath taught all men to worship the Father Fourthly in the Gospell of his Sonne here he describes the maner how the true Church of God must worship him Our seruice of God must be according to the Gospell of his Son And hereunto Dauid also agréeth in the Psalme There is no speech nor language Psal 19.3 where their voices are not heard speaking of the preaching of Gods word And he addeth Kauam as it is in the Hebrew that is their line their leuell their square is gone through all the earth and their words vnto the ends of the world To teach vs that Gods word is a line leuell square to rule limit and square the faiths of all nations by But to conclude Let vs marke what Saint Paule also writes concerning this matter to the Thessalonians and how he describes the Church and Gods house there From you the word of God was spread 1. Thes 1.10 not only in Macedonia and Achaia but your faith towards God came into euerie place So that we neede say nothing thereof for they shew and declare what an entrance we had vnto you how you turned vnto the Lord from idols to serue the liuing and true God and to looke for his sonne from heauen whom he raised from the dead euen Iesus who deliuereth vs from the anger to come Here are most manifestly set downe the markes of the true Church and the Catholike faith which was in Saint Paules dayes preached through the whole world To turne from Idols and to serue the true and liuing God And here first that blind distinction of Dulia and Latria which the Papists make to cloak the worshipping of creatures is quite ouerthrowne not onely Latria but as by this place appeareth Dulia is due vnto God Secondly we must serue the true and liuing God These two Adiuncts take away all worshipping of false gods and also of Images We must worship no false nor dead thing whatsoeuer we worship it must be liuing and true And therefore we must worship no Images which are dead stockes nay wee must worship nothing but God alone Those Images which the Prophet Dauid describeth Psal 115. what are they els but Papists Images That Psalme followeth the 114. Psal which containeth Israels going out of Egypt it may séeme to describe the spirituall Egypt Thirdly we must now euery day waite and looke for the comming of his Sonne Iesus Christ from heauen We must not thinke that he will not come yet as the Papists teach by their doctrine of Antichrist Fourthly wee must constantly beléeue that Iesus hath not onely deliuered vs by his passion from the guilt of sinne but from the punishment also thereof and anger to come And lastly if the Papists will thereof conclude that the Church of Rome is the mother Church of all the worlde Rom. 1.8 because Saint Paule saith that their faith was published throughout all the world Then the Church of Thessalonica must be her elder sister 1. Thess 1.8 because her faith also was spread through all the worlde and that before hers as should seeme For Saint Paul mentions in his Epistle to the Romans when hee giues this testimony to the Roman Church Rom. 15.26 1. Thess 1.8 the fruits of Macedonia and Achaia which was planted by the Church of Thessalonica And in a word to make an end of this matter let all men marke that plaine lesson which Dauid teacheth them in the Psalme Kings of the earth and all people Psal 148.11 Princes and all Iudges of the world young men and maides old men and children let them praise the name of the Lord. For his name onely is to bee exalted and his praise is aboue the heauens and the earth All Gods seruants must praise his name and they must praise it alone and they which praise anie thing else do not rightlie vnderstand as yet the maiestie of God his praise is aboue heauen earth that is all heauen and earth is not able to expresse the greatnesse of his praise And here is the reason Because he exalts the horne of his people he aduanceth to honor and makes mightie and strong which is a praise for all his saints euen for the children of Israel Gnam kerovo a people that drawes néere vnto him as it is in the Hebrew Would you haue God exalt your horne would you be his people then you must praise him alone then you must draw neere to him and not fly from him to any other The which God giue all grace to do for Iesus Christs sake to whom be praise for euer Amen Certaine Prayers fit for euerie true Catholique dayly to vse both for himselfe and his family taken out of the scriptures Granatensis and others Matt. 7 7. Aske and it shal be giuen you seeke and ye shall find knocke and
that is of the sorrowes of a woman trauelling with child eueÌ„ to Tabbaath to the last moneth in the yeare which answereth to our December which for the abundance of waters Psal 137.8 1. Pet. 5.3 which commonly are â—herein is called in Hebrue Tabbah which signifieth to be drowned Surely such flouds of sorowes and calamities remaine for Rome the daughter of Babylon Reue. 17.2 which Saint Peter calleth Babylon as the prophesies of the holie Scriptures do teach Nay Saint Iohn describeth her most manifestly That great citie which is built vpon seuen hilles and raignes ouer the kings of the earth Psal 73.27 Ier. 3 1. made them drinke the wine of her fornication What citie in the world is thus built and hath had this authoritie ouer Kings Reuel 17.17 and hath made them drinke wine of fornication that is Idolatrie which is so called in the Scripture but Rome The day shall come that these her louers those kings which with one consent haue giuen their kingdome to the beast shall hate her and shall eate her flesh and shall burne her with fire Wee see now the former of these fulfilled so no doubt wee shall see the latter also When God shall put it into their hearts and when his wordes are fulfilled and that euen in one day If Rome be in this case may shee not fitly be called the afflicted tottering house And therefore as the father and prince of the Madianites Dan may resemble the Pope and the Madianites his souldiers which shall one of them kill another so Beth-hashittah may resemble Rome their castle of refuge And God deales euen now as mercifully with his Church 2. Chro. 20.22 as he did in the dayes of good king Iehoshaphat against whom when manie nations had conspired and came to make warre it is thus written When they began to shout and praise the Lord the Lord himselfe laid ambushmeÌ„ts against the children of Ammon Moab mount Seir which were come against Iudah they slew one another 1. King 18.13 Ioh. 3.1 Luke 25 50. Matth. 27.19 euen so the enemies of the Church of God at this day by Gods speciall grace and mercy one of them kill another And euen as in the law Obadiah Ahabs steward nourished the Prophets of the Lord and Nichodemus and Ioseph of Arimathea princes amongst the Iewes Phil. 4.22 Ierem. 38.7 and euen Pilates wife fauoured Iesus Christ euen so now also in the Gospell the Popes darlings and Friers some of them fauour the truth And as Saint Paul also had some friends in Caesars house and Ieremie in the kings court so now hath the Gospell some friends among the Popes traine and that in no smal matters There is no one thing I am perswaded at this day doth so dazell the eyes of a great nuÌ„ber that they cannot behold the cleare light of the Gospel keeps theÌ„ stil in the obedience of the Church of Rome as the reading of Granatensis Stella Ferus Philippus de diez such like But all shall clearly see in this book how that in the principall points of religion they ioyne hands with vs. And that we may say of them 1 King 22.43 as we reade in the booke of the Kings of Iehoshaphat that he walked in all the wayes of Asa his father and declined not therefrom but did that was right in the eyes of the Lord neuerthelesse the high places were not taken away and the people offered still and burnt incense in the high places Good men haue their imperfections So these follow the way of the Fathers in preaching and setting forth zealously the word of God in maintaining the authoritie thereof as also the knowledge reading and meditation thereof they teach also the true vse of prayer with faith deuotion vnderstanding our perfect redemption by Christ and the assured faith that we ought to haue in him and how that we ought to trust in his merits and not in our owne works his exceeding great loue towards vs and the great corruption of our nature without his grace In these points they worship God aright with good king Iehoshaphat and they followe the wayes of their fathers But yet the high places are not taken away they burne incense there still They maintaine the Popes supremacie their patron Col. 2.18 2. King 9.20 10.28 they make prayers to Saints and Angels through their ouermuch humilitie as Saint Paul teacheth vs. Their great and good zeale is like to that wee reade of Iehu And the marching is like the marching of Iehu the sonne of Nimshie for he marcheth furiously And againe So Iehu destroyed Baal out of Israel but from the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat which made Israel to sinne he departed not He was the founder of his kingdome The policie which he deuised to maintaine his estate and kingdome hee also although it were against the word of God embraced So these are zealous Mark 12.34 but they also maintaine their founder the Pope and his authoritie We may say of these truly as our Sauiour Christ in the Gospel sayd of that Scribe Thou art not far from the kingdom of God no more surely are these So that heere good gentle Reader thou maist see Popery pulled vp euen by the roots by the hands of Papists themselues The true Catholike faith out of the Scriptures out of the Fathers out of the mouthes of them who seeme to be the verie enemies therof this small Treatise teacheth Euery one therefore that tendereth his own saluation let him mark wel that faith which herein is taught In the time of ignorance God might and no doubt did shew mercy but now at midday in the most cleare sunshine of the Gospell now I say to shut the eyes is wilful murther Reu. 14.8 For in the Reuelation our daies are most liuely expressed Then I saw saith S. Iohn another Angel fly in the midst of heauen hauing an euerlasting Gospell to preach vnto them that dwel on the earth and to euery nation and kinred tongue and people saying with a loud voice Feare God giue glorie to him for the houre of his iudgement is come and worship him that made heauen and earth the sea and the fountaines of waters Are not here our daies most euidently declared The preaching of the euerlasting Gospell the worshipping of God alone that made all things and not of any creature nay the verie time For the houre of his iudgement is come This preaching of these doctrines and this preaching of the Gospell shall be immediately before the iudgement Hee that is not starke blind cannot choose but see this Now followes the Church of Antichrist And there followed another Angell saying It is fallen it is fallen Babylon the great citie for she made all nations to drinke of the wine of her fornication Here is likewise the Church of Antichrist most euidently described She shall make all nations drinke of the wine
mette in anie man since Adams fall till now Truth now hath flourished out of the earth Verse 11. O happie earth that bore at length such a blossome All men before were liars till Iesus Christ was borne Psal 12.2.62.9 In whose mouth was no deceit So that now it maie be said that trueth hath flourished out of the earth and neuer till now And righteousnes hath looked downe from heauen Euen nowe also to impart her selfe to men who were all before vnrighteous who were altogither naked as their great grandfather Adam confessed to cloath and adorne them Gen. 3.10 O happie assembly of heauenly vertues Oh blessed natiuitie of Iesus Christ Without this earth had still brought forth lies man had béene still vnrighteous anger and displeasure of God had raigned in the world Luk. 2.24 Esay 53.5 punishments and all manner of plagues had taken hold of all men Oh happie Metamorphosis and exchange That for lies truth for sinne righteousnesse for anger peace for punishment mercie and louing kindnesse is bestowed vpon man Naie this our king is such a king as that Righteousnesse shall go before him Vers 13. it shall direct his goings in the way he shall not once treade awrie So that to the verie faces of his enemies he shall saie Iohn 8.46 Which of you can rebuke me of sinne And none of them shall be able to accuse him He shall iustifie sinners that trust in him Esay 53.11 He is able to pay their debts and minister iustice for all those that are oppressed to their oppressors as he did to Naboth and Ahab 1. King 21.21 Luk. 16.25 to Diues and Lazarus This is the meaning of this Psalme Granatensis as he is full of holie meditations so especiallie he excéedes in this matter so that although the places I shall take out of him be verie long yet I hope the excellencie of the matter will make them séeme short Euen as it is written of Iacob Gen. 29.20 That he serued seuen yeeres for Rahel and they seemed to him but a few daies because he loued her So all they which loue Iesus Christ all the paines they shall take in reading things that concerne him it should séeme nothing vnto them Granatensis first therefore in a discourse he makes vpon the Lords prayer writes thus verie excellentlie of mans iustification by Christ in the sight of God But O Father doest thou forgiue vs our sinnes freely and without any recompence Truely thou forgiuest them freely not freely not freely for although mercy be readie to forgiue yet iustice will be satisfied freely because thou hast giuen vs freely that wherwith to repaie iustice that is that great and inestimable treasure which thy onely begotten sonne the whole space of xxxi j yeeres did laie vp as treasure for vs An entrance to the which he hath purchased for vs with his bloud We offer to thee this treasure O Father take thereof as much as thou wilt There may be drawn out thereof abundantly but it can neuer be drawne drie we may spend thereof but it can neuer be diminished All his merits are ours his satisfaction is ours his bloud is our ransome Therefore we beseech thee O Lord that being pacified with the bloud and merits of thy sonne that thou wouldest winke at our sins the which if thou shalt call into a streight account there is no man shall be able to abide the fauour much lesse the rigour of thy iustice Let thy mercie helpe vs who acknowledge our selues worthie to be damned for a thousand sinnes by thy iustice Purge vs with the feruent fire of thy loue take vs againe to thy fauour be friendes with vs Forgiue vs our trespasses Thus farre Granatensis And this which he teacheth must all Gods Saints pleade at the tribunall seate of Gods iustice They must saie with Dauid Pleade thou my cause O Lord Psal 35.1 with them that striue with me fight thou against them that fight against me And againe And now truely what is my hope 39.7.38.15 Truelie my hope is euen in thée And againe For in thee O Lord haue I put my trust thou shalt answere for me O Lord my God This must be their plea if they minde to be saued against all the accusations of their owne consciences and enditements of Sathan And this is that which our Sauiour teacheth Verely verely Ioh. 5.24 I say vnto you he that heareth my worde and beleeueth in him that sent me hath euerlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but hath passed from death to life Granatensis concludes the Lords prayer thus Behold most louing Father how our childishnesse hath plaied her part as well as she can in vttering the words which thy only begotten sonne hath taught vs but now we powre out altogither and at once without wordes our whole hearts that thou wouldest mercifully grant vnto vs those things which we desire of thee O Father we most humbly beseech thee that thou wouldest mercifully bestow vpon vs all those benefites and graces before recited not respecting our vnworthinesse but the worthinesse of thy onely begotten sonne Iesus Christ For he is our aduocate our priest our sacrifice and our patrone before thee For we doe not prostrate our prayers before thy face trusting in our owne righteousnesse as the Prophet saith but in the multitude of thy mercies and in the merites of thy sonne our Lorde For whatsoeuer he hath done or suffered all that he hath giuen vnto vs he hath suffered and done al that for vs therfore for his sake we desire thee that thou wilt grant vs all these our requests By him thou hast created all things and by him thou hast restored all things that were lost by him thou hast created man to thine owne image and likenesse and by him thou hast reformed man againe to the same image He is the foundation of our being he is the foundation of our righteousnesse and the cause of our merites he is our intercessor with thee he is our aduocate and the strength of our hope Therefore whatsoeuer hitherto O heauenly Father we haue asked we haue asked all that by thy sonne for that which is not due to our righteousnesse is due to his merites If thou shalt finde no goodnesse in vs truely thou canst finde no wickednesse in him If there be no merites in vs behold his merites without estimation or number By him therefore we pray thee by him we beseech thee honour him in vs. For that which thou giuest to vs the verie same thou giuest to him for whatsoeuer is bestowed vpon the members redounds to the head whereof they are members We confesse O Father we confesse our pouertie we haue nothing of our owne that we may offer vnto thee least notwithstanding that we should appeare emptie before thee which thing thou forbiddest in thy law behold we offer vp in sacrifice vnto thee thy onely begotten sonne with all his labors
declares the great zeale that they shall haue and the loue to Iesus Christ when as they are once conuerted they shall be like Marie Magdalen as zealous of him at his second comming as she was at his resurrection Peter and Iohn when as they had come to the graue and found not his bodie there went home againe by and by Ioh. 20.10.11 but Marie tarried still by the graue weeping shée loued him better then so so zealous of Christ shall the Iewes be when as he shall arise also to them And here also is insinuated to vs a good lesson why God wil then shew them such mercie and to make vs beware least we fall from Gods mercie Oh saith Dauid Psal 59.5 bee not mercifull to those that offend of malicious wickednesse Rom. 10.2 As though he should saie those that offend ignorantly yet zealously but not according to knowledge as Saint Paul witnesseth that the Iews doe now be mercifull to those O Lord. But be not mercifull to those that offend maliciously which knew their masters will Luk. 12.47 and yet will not doe it such shall be beaten with many stripes And this lesson concernes vs those sins are the sins which Dauid cals the greatest sins sinnes of presumption Psal 14.13 1. Tim. 1.13 And so Saint Paul also writes of himselfe that he obtained mercie because that he sinned ignorantly through vnbeliefe And so also it séems here by Dauids prayer that the Iewes also shall obtaine mercie The man also that appeared to Daniel Dan. 10.14 that was cloathed in linnen whose loines were girded with fine gold of vphaz telles Daniel that he is sent to shew him what shall come to his people in the latter day but yet the vision is for many daies And Daniel thus is instructed of this man verie manifestly of the calling of the Iewes Cap. 12.1 At that time Michael the great prince shall stand vp who stands for the children of thy people and there shall be such a time of trouble as there was neuer since there was any people till this time and in this verie time shall the people be deliuered all that shall be found written in this booke And many that sleepe in the dust of the earth shall awake some to euerlasting life and some to shame and perpetuall contempt Thus much this heauenly man reueiled to Daniel that the Iewes shall be called in that troublesome time And our Sauiour referres this troblesome time both to the destruction of Ierusalem and also to the ende of the world as we maie plainly sée in Saint Markes Gospell Chap. 13. v. 20. 24. And those daies shal be shortned for the elects sake or els no flesh should be saued Therfore by this prophesie of Daniel it maie be verie necessarily collected that séeing this troublesome time shall immediatly precede Christs comming and that in that time they shall be conuerted and that those daies shall be shortned that they maie be conuerted euen immediatly before the comming of Christ For he addes the Resurrection as the next thing that should follow their calling and what is that els but the verie appearance of Christ himselfe Ier. 30.7 Ieremy also agrees with Daniel both concerning the day and the Iewes deliuerance Alas for this day is great none hath bin like it it is euen the time of Iacobs trouble yet shall he be deliuered from it Ieremie séemes here to come néerer then Daniel and to saie that not onely in that troublesome time but in the latter daie thereof which no doubt is the daie of iudgment that then Iacob shall be deliuered What great daie is this then the which none hath béene like but the daie of iudgement And so the Prophet Ioel also describes that daie A day of blacknesse and of darknesse Ioel. 2.2 a day of cloudes and obscuritie And Zacharie also of this strange daie writes thus Zach. 14.7 And there shall be a day it is knowne to the Lord neither day nor night but about the euentide it shall be light In this strange and great daie saith Ieremy shall Iacob be deliuered Thus we maie plainly sée how that all the other Prophets almost do agrée with the prophet Zacharie that the Iewes shall be called at the day of iudgement But to let passe the scriptures and to come to the fathers Iust ◠apol and to shew what some of them haue thought concerning this matter Iustine the martyr affirmes that this generall wéeping the Prophet Zacharie speaks of shal be at the second comming of Christ who writes thus The prophet Zacharie hath foretolde what words the people of the Iews shal say when as they shal see him comming in his glory I will commaund the foure winds saith God that they may gather togither my dispersed children And then in Ierusalem shall be great mourning not mourning of countenance and face but of heart And then they shall not rent their garments but their minds And they shal lamēt tribe to tribe And they shall see him whom they haue pierced Thus farre Iustine And he plainly referres this prophecie of Zachary to be fulfilled in the end of the world To whom agrées also Theodoret who writes thus Theo. in ca. 12. Zach. And it shall come to passe that at that day I will destroy all nations that fight against Ierusalem and I will powre vpon the house of Dauid and the inhabitants of Ierusalem the spirit of grace and mercie c. Vpon these words Theodoret writes thus I haue euen loaden them with all kind of benefits I haue killed their enemies by diuers meanes And contrariwise to them I haue opened the fountaines of my mercy and haue filled them with all kind of graces But they haue betraied me comming into this world into the hands of mine enemies and hauing nailed me and lifted me vp vpon a crosse they haue thrust me to the heart with a souldiers speare and haue railed vpon me and haue laughed me to scorne but notwithstanding when as within a little while after they shall see me comming in my diuine maiestie then they shall bewaile and lament this their madnes And a little after speaking of their lamentation he saith Lastly he inferres that all the other tribes shall also seuerally weep and lament This selfe same thing the Lord in his gospell also hath foretolde Then they shall see the signe of the sonne of man in heauen and then all the kinreds of the earth shall lament It is most certaine that all they which haue not receiued the preaching of the gospell shall lament looking for nothing else but vtter destruction But these things shal be fulfilled in the time of the verie end yet I will defend them meaning the Iewes although I am not ignorant how they shall crucifie me and kill me comming into this world for my benefits bestowed vpon them c. He referres the fulfilling of this prophecie plainly vnto the end of the world
professe himselfe a schoolmaister of good dealing and integritie condemning all euill actions whereof he himselfe is the author and principall actor That thing which he greatliest desireth he will make a shew as that he could in no wise abide it and that thing which he abhors and detests he will seeme greatly to long for and desire that he may more easily take vs at his pleasure This is another point of his cunning by vrging thy iustice to make the mind sorrowfull and to perswade desperation and againe by shewing thy mercie and clemencie to make the mind presumptuous and slothfull Againe of the consideration of euerie ones dignitie to make them proude and arrogant Againe he will procure hatred against thy law that is euen against thine owne selfe as though thou wast an enemie to the lawful desires of the flesh It were to be wished that these sleights of sathan were knowne to all Christians It would make coniurers take héed how they trusted Sathan It would make simple christians also take heed how they beléeued any apparition of spirits or vaine fables although it had a smocke or some sauour of truth or vertue For this is one of sathans sleights as here we may learne to season his lies sometimes with some shew of vertue and goodnes that he may beguile simple soules and draw them on and so cause them to beleeue lies But here all those that are wise in Iesus Christ must know that all is not gold that glistereth And no doubt this was the root of that golden Legend which the Papistes make so great account of and wherein are manie fables tending to vertue and religion but they are but sathans lies burnished ouer with a shew of truth and vertue As Ludouicus Viues here teacheth all Christians that sathan can do cunningly 2 Cor. 2.11 And saint Paul also saith We are not ignorant of his sleights or deuises Of Apparitions and Reuelations Granatensis writes thus Gra. de Deu. lib. 1. cap. 53. If we ought not saith he to seeke for spiritual comforts delights that we may wholy giue our selues vnto them and delight in them much lesse are reuelations visions inspirations and such like to be desired for they truly are the beginnings of diuellish illusions neither let any man fear that herein he is disobedient to God if he shut all his gates against these For God knoweth if he mind to reueale any thing to man to finde an entrie to come in at and to open the gates so that men need not doubt but know assuredly that God is there So he dealt with Samuel being yet a child whenas he called once and twise and the third time and he told him all things which he would that he should know so plainly that there now was no cause of doubting left nor the Prophet now should doubt of his embassage Granatensis here suspects reuelations and he plainly affirms that they are the verie beginnings of sathans illusions Therefore true Christians must not easily giue credit to such but examine them alwaies by Gods word If he agrée not with that it is sathan which appeares though he appeare like an Angell of light 14. Of Inuocation THe common receiued opinion of the Papistes is that we may inuocate the saints in heauen Poligranes a papist writes thus Polig de com sanctorum If they forsake Christ their aduocate and mediator in heauen which call vpon saints then much more they forsake him which do require the praiers of saints on earth The which thing Christ hath not onely forbidden but commanded He makes no difference betwéene inuocation and a request men may request one another to do anie thing but to call vpon anie man is idolatrie and forbidden by Gods word But I would not haue them ignorant saith he that it is one thing to be a mediator of saluation another of intercession onely Christ is the mediator of saluation but there may be more of intercession c. As though Christ had said onely for your saluation if you begin it in my name you shall obtaine it and not generally of all things Whatsoeuer you shall aske the father in my name he will giue it you If he be a Mediator then he is a mediator of all things There is no exception in his most bountifull large promise made to vs. But after as should seeme not being bold to giue inuocation to saints he partly reclaimes his former sentence so saith he After some sort mans name may be called vpon For Iacob sâ—ith to the sons of Ioseph Let my name be called vpon them c. That is I account them as my children though they were borne in Egypt Doth this place proue that they should in their prayers call vpon Iacob but rather that they should of men be accounted the children of Iacob It makes nothing for inuocation or prayer Other papistes more sound haue defined prayer farre otherwise Granatensis defines prayer thus That prayer rightly made is nothing else then a drawing neere of man to God De orat lib. 2. cap. 5. and an vnion of both their spirits If this definition be true then the praiers we do make to saints are no prayers Stella in 5. Luc. And Stella defines prayer thus Prayer is a climing or flying vp of the soul that liues in this world to God And it is as it were a suit which we offer to our God and to our King Our God as he is a most mightie so he is a most mercifull and bountiful prince He will haue all suits to be made to himselfe alone Psal 68.19 He himselfe will bestow all his benefits to make vs praise him alone Praised be the Lord euen the God of our saluation which ladeth vs daily with benefits saith Dauid And Vocabularium Scholasticum defines inuocation to be calling of a thing into it selfe by effects and diuine worship But Stella teacheth That the diuell cannot take any thing from our vnderstanding or will because the operation of the diuell cannot directly reach vnto the substance of our soule Stella in 8. ca. Luc. no nor any Angell can do that because it is only God which can enter into our soule is truly in it which also can worke in it So that then God is only to be inuocated who can enter into our soule and not any Saint or Angell Leu. 10.1 First of all that terrible example of Gods iudgement vpon Nadab and Abihu Aarons sonnes should terrifie all Christians They offering incense to the Lord with a good intent no doubt with strange fire not with that which came downe from heauen thorow their own blind deuotion breaking and transgressing Gods most holy commaundement were sodainly of God consumed with fire sent from heauen And are not our praiers now incense sacrifices of God Psal 141.2 Heb. 13.15 as both Dauid saint Paul do plainly teach and dare we presume to offer them to his maiesty otherwise
of grace is called the fulnes of time And for this cause the sonne of God is called the hand of the father because as by the hand things are wont to be distributed So the eternall father by the sonne hath giuen his heauenly gifts This hand Dauid praied so earnestly for send out thy hand from aboue c. If we lacke anie thing we are wont to receiue it at mens hands and not at their féet So here let vs receiue all things at the hands of God Almightie let vs not seeke anie thing at Saints or Angels which may resemble Gods féet In ca. 19. Esa Ierome writes thus vpon these words And they shall not remember the former things Although this may be said that in the new heauen and the new earth all the remeÌ„brance of our conuersation shall be quite blotted out least this should be some peece of euill to remember our former griefes and necessities As the saints shall not remember their former anguishes or griefes to impaire in anie respect their ioy so no doubt much more not the griefes of others And againe In all their trouble there shall be no trouble And the Angell of his face shall saue them that is Iesus Christ who is the Image of God and appeares before God now for vs or else who is like to vs and is perfect man Psal 118. v. 27. In times past as Dauid witnesseth The sacrifices were bound to the hornes of the Altar not to the postes of the house of God though they were neuer so holy and gilded So now we must binde our sacrifices that is our prayers to the Altar Iesus Christ not to the postes of the house that is to the Saints In cap. 3. Io. Ferus also writes thus Afterward Iohn expresseth the conditions of those that be Christes friends he standeth saith he as readie to doe whatsoeuer is to be done he heareth what the bride groome talketh with the bride and he reioyceth in the glorie of the bridegroome These are those thrée conditions of all the friends of Iesus Christ which were bidden to the marriage by Ferus his iudgement and of all Gods Saintes And no doubt as they performed the two former while they were here in this life that is they stood all readie to doe his commandements and they gladlie heard his words so likewise in heauen they reioice in his glorie his glorie is their glorie They all with Saint Iohn here doe put awaie all glory yéelded vnto them and attribute it vnto him And after he must increase I must decrease we are taught by this sentence that all the authorities dignities offices righteousnesses wisedomes powers of all men are to be made no account of that only Christs authoritie dignitie office righteousnesse wisedome power may be established To conclude it belongs to him to be exalted it belongs to vs to be humbled If this be true what meanes all those hymnes and songs and prayers to the glorie of Saints which the Church of Rome vseth In the councell of Rhemes cap. 2. celebrated vnder Charles the great An. dom 913. we are taught that it is not lawful for a christian not to know without booke the Lords prayer or not to vnderstand it or not too often vse it If this be true how many thousand Christians in the time of Poperie were transgressors of this lawe who vnderstood not the Lords prayer Theodoret against prayers to be made to Angels writes thus They which defended the law In 3. ca. ad Col. perswaded them to worship Angels saying that the lawe was giuen by them And this fault remained long in Phrygia and Pisidia wherefore also the synode which met at Laodicea which is the chiefe Citie of Phrygia did forbid by law that they pray to Angels And euen vnto this day we may see amongst them and amongst their borderers houses of prayer of S. Michael They gaue men counsell to doe this vsing humilitie saying the God of all things could not be seene nor comprehended nor that any man could come vnto him and that they must get them the good will of God by the means of the angels Is not this plainly the papists doctrine at this day they build Churches to Angels they teach that by the meanes of Angels we must procure the fauour of God And after vpon these words Doe all things in the name of our Lords Iesus Christ because saith Theodoret they commanded to worship Angels he commaunds the contrarie that they should make glorious or acceptable to God both their wordes and deedes by the remembrance of our Lord Christ And saith he send forth your thankesgiuing to God your father by him and not by Angels The councell of Laodicea following this law and hauing a minde to cure this olde disease decréed Conc. Lâ—od cap. 32. that they should not make any prayers vnto angels that they should not leaue out the name of our Lord Iesus Christ Here we may note that we should not make anie prayers vnto Angels and that we should neuer leaue out of our prayers the name of our Lord Iesus Christ but that we should doe all things in his name and that he alone makes our prayers glorious in the sight of God and procures vs Gods fauour Stella also of the great mercie of our Sauiour writes thus Secondly he touched the leaper In 5. ca. Luc. that he might mooue vs boldly to come to him and that he might take away all occasion of feare let no man be affraid let all come to him Christ doth not loathe our Leprosie nor filthy corruption but he pities vs more then any father doth his children because he knowes whereof we be made If a leprous sinner maie come boldly to Christ what sinner shall be affraid to come Also vpon the first of Luke he askes a question why God sent an Angell to the virgin could not God himselfe haue reuealed this mysterie to the virgin he could truely but he would send an Angell first that he might declare the loue and charitie he beares vnto vs so that he procures our redemption euen by the ministerie of Angels So Paul saith Are they not all ministring spirits for those which shall receiue the inheritance of saluation Out of which place man may drawe an argument that he may magnifie or thinke well of his owne estate because Angels are sent to minister and serue vnto him And after If any prince or noble man should prostrate himselfe on the ground that he might gather vp the crums which fell from thee were he not despised and no account made of So thou which art a noble and excellent creature of God when as thou hast Angels to be thy seruants oughtst not to bow thy selfe to these earthly things which are vile and of no reputation Thus farre Stella The same reason we make against praying to Angels If God haue so exalted vs that Angels are our seruants why should we abase our selues to knéele downe to
praie as in another place he teacheth vs we must beléeue verily that we receiue the things we praie for and then they shall be done vnto vs. So he himselfe prayed here and we in all our prayers must also follow his steppes S. Iohn also teacheth vs this is our great trust that we haue in Iesus Christ that when we pray 1. Ioh. 5.14 we know he heareth vs we haue not this assurance in anie other And Dauid saith Thou that hearest the prayer to thee shall all flesh come Psal 65.2 86.7 And in another place I will call vpon thee in the time of my trouble for I know that thou hearest me And therefore God is called onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the searcher of the heart Reu. 2.23 To make Saints and Angels heare our prayers is to make them Gods no man is sure whether they heare our prayers or no. And therefore séeing our prayers must not wauer but must be a thing certain Iam. 1.6 as S. Iames teacheth vs we maie not praie vnto them Dauid knew that the Angels pitched their tents round about the faithful Psal 34.7 and guarded them euen as well as the Papists doe now but for all that he neuer called vpon anie of them but onely vpon God and shall we now hauing our Sauiour Iesus Christ ascended vp into heauen to this purpose to be our mediator who is the beloued sonne of the father Saint Austen might haue taught also Master Campion this lesson that the Saints do not know what things are done here on eaâ—th neither that which they obiect doe now perfectlie behold the face of God and therefore do not know all things Aug. de Gen. ad lit lib. 12. cap. 35. who writes thus It is not to be doubted that the soule being taken by the force of death from the senses of the body and after death hauing now put off the flesh and hauing passed from all the shadowes of corporall things that it cannot behold that immutable essence of God as the Angels doe either for some other hid and secret cause or els for this cause that there still yet remaines in it a naturall desire of gouerning the body by which desire it is as it were hindred so that it cannot climbe vp with her whole desire to that high heauen as long as she lackes the body by the ruling whereof that desire may surcease Furthermore when as the body was such a thing as it were verie hard and troublesome to gouerne euen as this flesh which corrupts and burthens the soule comming from the ofspring of sinne and transgression much more is the soule quite turned away from the beholding of that most high heauen wherein God dwels therefore it was necessarie that she should be pluckt away from those senses of the flesh that it might be shewed her how she might be able to attaine vnto that Therefore when she shall receiue againe this body not fleshly but by exchange made spirituall being now made equall with Angels then both the master and seruant shall haue the perfection of their nature both the quickner and that also which is quickened with such vnspeakeable facilitie that that now shal be a glorie which before was a burthen Here S. Austen plainelie teacheth that the souls of the faithfull before the daie of iudgment doe not perfectly behold the face of God and that they are hindred by a certaine loue and desire which they haue to their bodies and therfore that he quite ouerthrowes here that same coÌ„mon ground of Popish inuocation That euen now they behold the face of God and therefore know all things No Saint Austen saith plainlie that that shall be fulfilled at the daie of iudgement and not before no not in anie Saint no not in S. Iohn Baptist and therefore we are not sure now that they heare our prayers And that then shall be verified that saying of our Sauiour That then the Saints shall be equall to the Angels at the daie of iudgement and not before because still they naturallie loue the bodie they cannot climbe vp to that hie heauen where God himselfe dwels O that all catholiques would learne this lesson of S. Austen It would make them praie more to God and not so much to the Saints as they doe Who would venture but earthlie treasure but he will know how he bestowes it Our praiers passe al the treasures in the world And therefore Dauid saith Psa 69.30 I will praise the name of God with a song and magnifie him with thanksgiuing This also shall please the Lord better then a young bullocke that hath hornes and hoofs And S. Bernard saieth Ser. 5. de quadrages Let none of you my brethren make a light account of your prayers For I tell you that he to whom we pray makes no small account of it For before it goes forth of our mouth he commaunds it to be written in his booke And shall we praie to them whom we are not sure whether they heare vs or not What is this els but as it were to cast our golde in the stréets Let vs offer our golde to God we are sure he is readie to receiue it As for Saints and Angels we are not sure whether they receiue our prayers and whether they heare vs or not But to make the matter more plaine Aug. de cura pro mortuis agend cap. 13. Saint Austen in another booke writes thus of his mother to the same effect which he wrote before Let euerie one saith he take this that I write as he list Belike he thought he should offend some with this his doctrine there were some then that began to trust in them which were dead If the soules which are dead knew what we did which are aliue surely then they would speake vnto vs when as we see them in our sleepes And that I may let others passe surely my louing mother would neuer a night forsake me which followed me both by sea and by land that she might liue with me God forbid that now hauing obtained a more happy life she should become cruell and should not now comfort her sonne whom she loued so dearely whom she could neuer abide to see sorrowfull But surely that which the holy Psalme sounds in our eares is true because my father and my mother haue forsaken me but the Lord hath taken me vp If therefore our parents haue forsaken vs how know they our cares and affaires And if our parents know not this what other dead men know what we doe or what we suffer Esay the Prophet saith Thou art our father for Abraham is ignorant of vs and Israel knowes vs not If such great Patriarkes knew not what became of the people which sprang of them to whom beleeuing in God God promised that a people should spring of their stocke how shall other dead men be present and intermingle theÌ„selues to help know the actions and affaires of theirs How
sighing and groning Ro 8 15.16.26 with faith and assurance For all these are the fruits of the holy Ghost Thirdly keep your selues in the loue of God that is be sure that God loues you Be sure and know that you haue eternall life Let not that subtil serpent euer perswade you to doubt of Gods loue towards you as he did Eue your grandmother And who goes about still teaching the same lesson to them that will beléeue him Gen. 3.5 And lastly looke for the mercie of our Lord Iesus Christ to eternall life Do not trust in your workes challenge nothing of desert Confesse that you are vnprofitable seruants Trust onely in his mercie Luke 17.10 These are the markes of the true Church by saint Iudes iudgement And they which lacke these are Sathans synagogue are the false Church what markes soeuer else they doe bragge of Psal 119.142 For Gods word is the word of truth And the markes of the Church that are in it set downe are onely the true markes But to conclude although many other cleare and manifest marks of the Church might be gathered out of the scriptures yet these markes are especially to be marked of vs which saint Iohn puts downe in the Reuelation For they concerne our daies they are those marks of Gods house which Babylon had defaced Antichrist had raced out so as in mans iudgement it séemed impossible that euer they should haue béene brought to light againe Antichrist heere dealt so cunningly euen as Pharaoh did in murthering the Israelites children intending to destroye their posteritie Exod. 1.14 and Herode in murthering the young innocēts Mat. 2.16 thinking thereby also to haue murthered Iesus Christ But God that dwelleth in heauen laughes all these their counsailes all this their wisedome to scorne And therefore saint Iohn saw an Angell flie in the midst of heauen Psal 2.4 Reue. 14.8 hauing an euerlasting gospell to preach to them that dwell on the earth and to euerie nation kinred and tongue and people Here is the first marke of the Church the preaching of the gospell This marke Antichrist had quite abolished And although in his kingdome that he might not séeme to be quite opposite to Iesus Christ vtterly to disallow preaching he had his Friers that preached yet the pastors of congregations Luk. 12.42 1 Pet. 5.2 whom Iesus Christ and Peter also commaunded to feede their flocke themselues in those daies seldome preached And these Friers preached not the Gospell but their legends of Saints commonly And therefore the second marke of the true Church is to preach not legends or olde wiues tales but an euerlasting Gospell that which was from the beginning not a new faith deuised of mans braine in the succession of manie ages Iesus Christ is the same yesterday and to day and for euer Heb. 13.8 Iud. 1.3 And all Gods true Saints must striue to maintaine that faith which was once giuen to the Saints in the beginning by Christ Iesus himselfe and by his Apostles That gospell which the Church of Rome now teacheth is not such a gospell And this gospell must be preached to the inhabitants of the earth to euerie nation and kinred and tongue and people Antichrist had seduced all these Reu. 17.2 all these were drunken with the pleasant wine of Babylons fornication Antichrist had not seduced the nation of the Iewes as the Papists thinke hee shall What néede the Diuell go about that they are his alreadie they are alreadie seduced as much as can be but he shall seduce all nations tongues kinreds and people he shall peruert the gospell of Iesus Christ And therfore to them it behooueth that this euerlasting gospell should be preached againe The plaster must be applied to the sore And here that marke which the Church of Rome woulde make men beléeue is a true marke of the true church is quite ouerthrowne and approoued to be a false marke Shall all nations be made drunken with Antichrists poisoned and pleasant wine why then Vniuersalitie is not a sound and a true marke of the Church Saying with a lowd voice Feare God Reu. 14.7 and giue glorie to him c. Now followes the doctrine and chiefe points of this euerlasting gospell as also by the contrarie most euidently may appeare the points of Antichrists doctrine for contraries make one another more manifest and cléere So that then if this be the euerlasting gospell to feare God and giue him the glorie the gospell which Antichrist preached was contrarie to this Not to feare God and not to giue him glorie Deut. 10 1◠And now Israel what doth thy Lord thy God require of thee saith Moses but to feare thy Lord thy God to walke in all his waies and to loue him and to serue thy Lord thy God with all thy hart and with all thy soule And God himselfe speaketh thus by the Prophet Ieremy Ier. 5.21.22 Heare now this O foolish people and without vnderstanding which haue eies and see not which haue eares and heare not Feare ye not me saith the Lord or will yee not be afraid at my presence which haue placed the sand for the bounds of the sea by the perpetuall decree that it cannot passe it and though the waues thereof rage yet can they not preuaile though they roare yet can they not passe ouer it And of man the Prophet Esay saith Esay 2.22 Cease you from the man whose breath is in his nostrels Marke 7.7 And our Sauiour saith of the Pharisees They worship me in vaine teaching the doctrines and commandements of men For ye lay the commandement of God apart and obserue the traditions of men as the washing of pots and of cups and many other such like things yee doe Such feare to breake mans lawes and commandements they had also most manifestly in the time of Poperie As concerning Gods glorie also the Prophet Esay writeth thus Esay 42.8 I am the Lord this is my name and my glorie will I not giue to another neither my praise to grauen images And after Behold I haue fined thee Esay 48.10 but not as siluer I haue chosen thee in the furnace of affliction For mine owne sake for mine owne sake will I doe it for how should my name be polluted Surely I will not giue my glorie to another And so Ieremy counsails the people Ier. 13.16 Giue glorie to the Lord your God before he bring darknesse and or euer your feet stumble on the darke mountaines And Dauid saith Psal 65.1 To thee O Lord praise keeps silence or vpon thee it waites in Sion So that whereas God by his eternall word commandeth to feare him and to be afraid to break his commandements and to giue all glorie to him the gospell of Antichrist was to feare man and to kéepe his commandements and to giue glorie to creatures And did not we sée this fulfilled in the time of Poperie how
did they then kéepe Gods people in awe how afraid were they then to breake anie of the Popes or his cleargies commandements whatsoeuer And as for God the most part of his commandements they knew not and those which they knew were so corrupted by them that they had as good almost not to haue knowne them at all They did as the Pharisées did teach the people Gods commandements but the kéeping of them after their expositions was a breaking of them Matt. 23.16.17.18 So they taught in those daies as may seeme not to sweare by God but by creatures by cocke apie and such like they made no account to sweare by which was horrible blasphemy against the maiestie of God to giue his glorie to a vaine thing to cocke apie or a mouse foote For to sweare by God Deut. 10.20 is a part of his honour and therefore euen as he that should set the crowne of a king vpon a swineheards head did more hainously offend against the maiestie of the king then he that should put it on the head of some of his nobles in anie rebellion so did they more grieuously offend in giuing gods honor to these base creatures Psal 63.11 Ier. 5 7. whereas it is a most hainous offence to giue it to anie creature So they taught to keepe holy the Sabaoth from bodilie labours but to doe the workes of the Sabaoth they regarded not as to heare Gods word and such like They gaue also Gods glorie to creatures by calling vpon Angels and Saints naie euen to stocks and stones by kneeling downe and putting off their cap◠vnto them Psal 76.11 nay by their offrings and making their vowes vnto them And in these consisted the chiefe part of Antichrists religion And this lesson concernes vs for it followes For the houre of his iudgement is come There be some that shall erre in these points euen immediately before the daie of iudgement But let such take héede for as I haue noted before God at the day of iudgement shall command all those his Saints to be gathered togither to him Psal 50.5 that haue made a league and couenant with him with their sacrifices And Dauid commandeth all Gods Saints to binde their sacrifices with cordes Psal 118.27 Heb. 13.10 Psal 82.1 to the hornes of the Altar now the Altar is Iesus Christ as who knowes not This is that which that Psalme teacheth also Sing we merily vnto God our strength make a cheerfull noise vnto the God of Iacob for this is a statute to Israel and a iudgement of the God of Iacob This he ordained in Ioseph for a testimonie when he came out of the land of Egypt This law of God must we obserue also comming out of the spirituall Egypt where also we heard a language that we vnderstood not To the hornes of that Altar Iesus Christ and to the mightie promises of this Altar must al Gods Saints binde all their sacrifices and all their praiers The houre of his iudgement is come nowe worship him that made heauen earth the sea and the fountaines of waters Here is an Antithesis or contrarietie betwéene God and his works As though the holy Ghost should say Worship now the creator and no creature whatsoeuer no not Saint or Angell Let al true catholiques obey this commandement and go no further Let them worship him that made heauen and earth let them worship the creator Thus farre the passage is sure If they shall go anie further they haue no warrant the passage is dangerous 1. Sam. 15.23 2. Sam. 6.7.8 1. King 13.24 22.28 they maie perchance be drowned in the sea of disobedience with king Saul and others which durst venture further then they had commission These are then the markes of the true Church reformed from the corruptions of Antichrist To preach the Gospell and the euerlasting Gospell to teach men to feare God and to feare to offend to breake his commaundements and to giue all glorie to God and to worship him that made heauen and earth Laye this rule to the Church of Rome and euerie one maie see howe farre out of square she is Reu. 14.8 And another Angel followed saying it is fallen it is fallen Babylō the great Citie for she made all nations to drinke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication Here now followes Babylon here followes the false church that hath doctrines contrarie to those which was alofte as should seeme before and in great glorie Oh let not this her great glorie beguile anie For it is fallen it is fallen shee shall come to the ground shee shall not alwaies be alofte howe sure and firmely soeuer in mans eies she séems to be vnderpropped and therefore her fall here is doubled And although her doctrine might sufficiently haue béene gathered by the contrarie of those which haue béene taught before yet here also are some principall parts thereof manifested and declared least that Gods people should be deceiued and that in two words Here doctrine is called wine because it was pleasant to flesh and bloud as their Church seruice their guildes their pilgrimages doe most plainlie prooue Secondly it was wine of fornication She withdrew mens hearts from the only loue of the seruice and worship of God by this her wine and so made man to commit fornication euen as Israel did by ioyning euer some Idoll or deuise of their owne with the true worship of God Dauid saith in the Psalmes Psal 73.25 Whom haue I in heauē but thee meaning to worship to trust in to call vpon For thou hast destroyed all them that commit fornication against thee That is that trust in worship or call vpon any other yea though they be in heauen besides thee Exod. 20.3 And this also is the meaning of the first commandemēt Thou shalt haue no other Gods but me And the third Angell followed them saying with a loude voice If any man worship the beast and his image and receiue his marke in his forehead or in his hand Vers 9. the same shall drinke of the wine of the wrath of God yea of the pure wine that is powred into the cup of his wrath and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy Angels and before the Lambe Now the gospell being preached it is a daungerous thing to follow Antichrist now light being come into the world still to embrace darkenes is death So that here followes a third Angell that threatens a most terrible sentence against all such And here also are put down markes of the false Church the first is to worship the beast and the image of the beast This beast is the Roman Emperour as appeareth in the chapter going before whose deadly wound the beast that came out of the earth healed Reu 13.12 and to him it was permitted to do wonders in the sight of the beast saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make
wiues for parents and children for maisters and seruants Before the men slept she went vp vnto them Heerof we may learne the zeale the true Church hath of hearing the word of God She makes no delay she goes vp to them presently She is desirous to heare the doctrine of her saluation She prefers this ioyfull newes before her sléepe And she saith to the men Vers 9 I know that God hath giuen you the land for the feare of you is fallen vpon vs c. Here is the confession of a true faith and here is also first the first propertie of a true faith not to doubt to know to be assured I know saith she that you shall conquere this land though as yet their wals stand and there many mightie kings being linked togither in leagues liued and flourished All these fleshly arguments could not daunt her faith I know saith she you shall haue the victorie For we haue heard how the Lord dried vp the red sea before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites which were beyond Iordan Sehon and Og whom ye killed 1. King 10.1 Ro. 10.14 Here is the ground of faith Faith commeth by hearing She hearing the wonderfull works of God beléeued to teach vs the meanes to obtaine faith by hearing also Now followes the confession of her faith Wee haue heard and our heart is quite gone and there is no courage left in any one of vs against you For your God is a God in deed in heauen aboue and in the earth beneath Deut. 64. Mat. 28.18 Psal 136.13.14.15.16 First her faith is grounded on one God and of his omnipotencie that he alone is of all power in heauen and earth he can drie vp the red sea he can destroy mightie kings euen Sheon and Og kings of the Amorites And here also the true Church may learne in her iourney out of Egypt with what enemies she must encounter For euerie true Israelite must now also come out of Egypt euen as those auncient Israelites did Reu. 11.8 Ps 114.1 1. Cor. 10.11 and the red sea must be dried vp before him and those two kings of the Amorites conquered and subdued And here first the red sea in Hebrew is called the sea of Rushes or the sea of consumption or ending And surely this world also for these two respectes may fitly be called the red sea First it is a sea neuer quiet but in it still one waue of afflictions followes another Secondly it is a sea of Rushes There is nothing sound in it Though the honours riches and pleasures thereof seeme great gréene to flourish yet they are but rushes they are not sound within they are but vanitie As that great king Salomon who had experienced all these things teacheth al men in his booke called the Preacher All saith he is but vanitie And if that were all it were well but he addeth further Eccles 1.14 and vexation of spirit This is worse then the former that such vaine things should vex a mans heart should trouble him should make him hurt his neighbour nay euen offend his most gratious God This world also is a consumption Ia. 5.4 2. Ti. 4.10 2. Sa. 20.10 a destruction to all that do loue it The louers of this world are enemies to God and he that embraceth this world with Demas it will in the end slay him as Ioab did Amasa traiterously and Iudasly This Rushie sea God dries vp by the mightie operation of the holy spirit to all his faithfull seruants 1. Cor. 7 31. 1. Pet. 2.11 before they enter into his land of Canaan They despise the world they vse it as though they vsed it not They account themselues here but as pilgrimes And to this agréeth that which is said in the Reuelation when the first Angell blew his trumpet there were haile and fire mingled with bloud cast into the earth Reu. 8.7 and the third part of the trees were burnt and all greene grasse was burnt This is not meant literally but spiritually That is that in all Gods children all worldly pompe and vanitie is now quite consumed The world is to them crucified and they to the world Gal. 6.14 The other two enemies which also must be destroyed are two kings Sehon and Og kings of the Amorites Whose names declare their natures Sehon signifies in Hebrew a rooter vp and Og signifies fine māchet And they may fitly resemble our flesh and our spirit our appetite and our senses Our senses delight in vanitie and therfore Dauid saith Psal 119.37 Col. 3.5 Turne away mine eies least they behold vanity And our appetites or fleshly desires must be mortified which are the rooters vp of all vertue This Sehon is king of Hesbon which signifies Reason so in the carnall man is will and lustes of the flesh And so also Og that is the flesh that delights in fine delicates in manchet is king of Basan that is ouer the spirit of God which is compared to oyle and fatnes the which also Basan signifies in Hebrew These two kings must be conquered of all Christians before they enter into the land of promise and Hesbon that is reason now must rule ouer Sehon that is affections And Basan that is Gods spirit must rule ouer Og that is Num. 21.23 33. the pleasures of the flesh And Sehon fightes with Israel in Lasha that is the field of saluation Og in Edrai that is on the mount of strength Mans carnall wisedom thinkes it selfe able to saue Psal 20.7 Psal 44 3. Reue. 7.10 and the flesh thinks her arme of force But Gods children must acknowledge another arme to be their strength euen the arme of the Lord and their saluation also not to be of themselues but of the Lord. And these are two kings of the Amorites which signifies rebellious These two kings are in man that do daily rebell against that onely and great king God Almightie And these two Rom. 7.33 saint Paul called the law of his members No doubt for their kingly authoritie which without Gods spirit they do challenge in vs. And these two kings must be killed nay as the Hebrew word which Rahab vseth Hekeramtem signifieth must be euen vowed to destructiō Psal 119.106 1. Pet. 3.21 And what doth this note else but our baptisme Wherein euerie one vowes himselfe a souldier against these kings And now sweare vnto me in the Lord because I haue shewed you mercie Ios 2. that you also will shew mercie vnto my fathers house and that you will giue me a signe of this truth And you shall cause to liue my father and my mother and my brethren and my sisters and all things that they haue and ye shall deliuer our soules from death Here is another marke of the true Church all her doctrines must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Tim. 1.15 3.1 Mat. 5.18
with the holy Ghost And this is that which Christ promised once If two of you shall agree vpon earth whatsoeuer thing they shall aske it shall be done vnto them Ferus would haue common praiers made with the common consent of the whole Church or else saith he they are of no force Contrarie to the common practise of the Roman Church amongst vs in times past Againe he writes thus of the euill life of the Church which offends manie Ferus in cap. Act. 23. Although it be a great imperfection and defect where the life is not approued and vertuous yet there is lesse danger if the faith be right and sound then if the life were good and the faith euill For without faith it is impossible to please God and he that comes to God must beleeue Therefore it is of more force if the faith be pure and good then if thy works were good Thus farre Ferus He preferres that Church which hath a right faith although in some respect she faile in good workes before that Church which hath good works and an euill faith And of the Church Ferus in Act 21. and of the sacrifices thereof he writes thus Paul taught that Gods house was the Church and that now the true sacrifice was to bee offered in euerie place So Theodoret expounds it in cap 1. Malach. alleageth this place of S Paul and that of our Sauiour Ioh 4.23 1. Tim. 2.8 the which thing also Malachie prophesied Ferus séemes to expound the sacrifice which Malachie speaks of to be Christian prayer as Saint Paul doth also who saith I will that men pray in all places lifting vp pure hands without wrath or doubtfulnesse S. Paul here without all doubt alludes to Malachie Here is pure hands and that pure sacrifice void of wrath and doubtfulnesse Here is in all places And expounds that place of Malachie of Prayer and not of the Eucharist as some of the Papists do Iacob Vshanskus Guesnensis Archiep. Heb. 13.15 Ose 14 3. And for all Iewish sacrifices for that sacrifice Mincha which was drawn to the altar now Saint Paul puts downe in another place the fruit of our lips which sentence he takes out of Osee who cals prayers and giuing of thanks the calues of our lips And of religion maintained by warres he writes thus He that maintaines his cause by seditions and tumults of the people Ferus in Act. 21. discouers and bewrayes himselfe that he hath not a iust cause A good cause needs not vproares or mans authority who hath God the fauourer and protector of it And doth not the Pope vse these meanes to further his cause In this he declares he is not of God But in this waightie matter to let all mens testimonies passe which are light vpon the ballance as Dauid termes them Psal 62.9 yea lighter then vanitie it selfe and to returne to that vndoubted fountaine of all truth the word of God with which I began That is an euident and infallible marke of Gods Church which the Angell taught Saint Iohn Reu. 19.10 Who when as he would haue worshipped him said See thou do it not for I am thy fellow seruant and one of thy brethren which haue the testimonie Iesus Worship God Here is an euident marke of Gods Church she worships only God and not Angels And secondly here is a reason why we should not worship Angels we debase our selues in worshipping them they are our fellow seruants And who in common sense will worship his equals By worshipping Angels we forget that great dignitie whereunto Iesus Christ hath aduanced vs. We are now Iesus Christs we are his members 1. Cor. 3.23 1. Cor. 6.15 Therfore as he doth not no more should we worship Angels A second mark of Gods Church here also we may learne She hath the testimonie of Iesus And what is that that is the spirit of prophesie as the Angell after expounds it that is the Spirit of God wherby all Gods children are able in some measure to vnderstand and expound the scriptures For as all Gods children haue Gods Spirit so it is no doubt a fire in them and therefore it will burne through Christian charitie it will lighten their knowledge and disperse the mysts of darknesse This fire hath Antichrist quenched by taking the wood and matter of it awaie I meane the Scriptures from the common people And to this that of Saint Paul hath relation no doubt 1. Thes 5.19 Quench not the Spirit But here they thinke that because they worship Saints and Angels therefore they shall be blamelesse But that shall not excuse them Reu. 14 7. because they are plainly taught and commanded to worship him onely that made heauen and earth And by these words God onely is signified and all other creatures are excluded And this Epithite is commonly attributed to God in the Scriptures Psal 124.8.134.3 Our help standeth in the name of the Lord who hath made heauen and earth Here is as it were a distinction put betwéene the workes and the workman all the works iointly must worship their maker they must not begin one to magnifie or worship another Nay the more to conuince them in this their errour all the Saints and angels haue refused this seruice Act. 10.26 Act. 14.15 Peter to Cornelius Paul to the men of Lystra saying We are men like to your selues why do you honour vs And the angell twise in the Reuelation wheras S. Iohn did not forget himselfe and would haue yéelded to the angell the honour due to God but euen this ciuill outward honor which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the angell twise refused alleaging my former reason Reu. 19.10 22.9 that he was one of our fellow seruants and fellow seruants must not worship one another but only their master Teaching vs to be very warie in worshipping yea euen angels least our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grow into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as amongst the Papists it hath done These two are easily in words distinguished but not so easily in déed To bowe the knée is but a ciuill honor but yet to bow the knee to Baal Rom. 11.4 God accounts part of his honor And S. Paul writes thus most manifestly of the worshipping of angels Let none ouer-rule you Col. 2.18 or spoile you of your prize which by the worshipping of God you obtaine by humblenesse of mind and worshipping of Angels aduancing himselfe into those things hee neuer saw rashly puft vp with his fleshly mind As though hée should saie No man knowes the estate of angels whether they heare our prayers at all times and can helpe vs at their pleasures or not and who will then pray vnto them nay this shall make vs lose our prize We all in this life as Saint Paul teacheth runne as it were in a race 1. Cor. 9.24 now he that runneth in a race must haue his eyes still fixt on the goale
of her fornication She is contrarie to the true Church which teacheth to worship God alone the Creator but this Synagogue hath causâ—d men to drinke of the wine of her fornication that is to worship others besides God and to worship the creatures and this is spirituall fornication And hath not the Church of Rome done so Who seeth it not Hee is onely to bee worshipped according to the truth of the Gospell that made heauen and earth but what Saint or Angell had any fellowship with God in that worke And therefore the Church of Rome in teaching the worship of these is Babylon and therefore she dissenteth most manifestly from the truth of the Gospell And therefore she is that whoore whose fornication is rather in doctrine then in maners Now she being thus manifestly descried the third Angell followed them saying with a loud voyce If any man worship the Beast and his image and receiue his marke in his forhead or on his hand the same shall drinke of the wine of the wrath of God yea of the pure wine that is poured out of the cup of his wrath and he shal be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy Angels and before the Lambe c. O terrible sentence for all obstinate Papists which as yet the Gospell being so long and so manifestly preached will worship the image of the beast that is which will acknowledge the Popes supremacie or put their trust in his characters and consecrated creatures For as S. Iohn hath taught before He shall make an image of the Beast Reu. 13.14 that is as the Roman Emperor was Monarch ouer the world so he shall challenge a Monarchy ouer the Church And hath not the Pope done thâ—s God giue all men eyes to see this And here gentle Reader if peraduenture in this Treatise I do dissent in some points from the godly brethren I must desire thee to beare with me patientlie I dissent not with a contentious mind but with a mind longing and searching for the truth and according to my simple Talent deliuering it to thee and to thy iudgement Our dissensions are as diuers boughes proceeding from the same roote of the tree and as diuers arrowes shot out of the same quiuer aiming at the same marke shot against Babel Thou which art endued with Gods Spirit Ierem. 50.14 Rom. 8.9 1. Cor. 2.15 and art Iesus Christs iudge charitably who comes neerer the marke condemne not any Gods souldiers are commanded to shoote not on one side against Babel but round about her I vrge the fasts of Wednesdayes Fridayes and of Lent which the Fathers and the Primitiue Church solemnly obserued Who as they were not superstitious in these their fasts as the Papists were so they were not so curious in the numbring of the dayes of Lent as wee are They fasted about fortie dayes which was called of them Quadragesima and euerie weeke the fourth and sixt day not superstitiously but religiously to studie the Scriptures and to came the flesh The which fasts I vrge now againe in our dayes to rouse out of the sleepe of security the men of our age which eate and drinke as the men did in the dayes of Noe Luke 17.27 of whom our Sauiour giueth vs warning to beware least we perish with them I wish that all men would watch in their priuate prayers and that publike prayers also might be early in the morning which times of praying are both agreeing with the Scripture and to the Primitiue Church I commend the signe of the Crosse as an holy signe which diuers godly learned men haue thought to be that signe of the Sonne of man which shall appeare before the day of iudgement whereof mention is made in the 24. of Saint Matthewes Gospell If that sword of Goliah that killed him were kept reuerently lapt vp in a cloath and that in no obscure place but behind the Ephod in the Tabernacle Why should not that sword which killed the true Goliah indeed which vaunted himselfe against all Israel I meane the Crosse with which sword the diuell had thought to haue killed our Sauiour Iesus Christ 1. Sam. 21.9 1. Sam. 17.10 and wherof that other Goliah was but a shadowe bee had in reuerence in Christs Church amongst vs Christians And here we may note also that the Ephod may signifie Christ as the signification of the name it selfe may seeme to import which signifies to put on aboue or to couer ouer all And all Christians must put on this Ephod aboue all their other garments of their good works be they neuer so perfect And in this respect also they may bee called Kings and Priests Then Goliah his sword must not be placed before the Ephod or lapt vp with the Ephod but lapt vp in a cloath behind the Ephod So the Crosse is not to be made equall with Christ as the Papists haue made it but to be placed behind the Ephod lapt in a cloath that is as a reuerend and sacred thing to be accounted of So that this estimation of the signe of the Crosse for there is a mutuall relation betweene the signe and the thing signified makes nothing for Popery As concerning the testimonies of the Scriptures which concerne these points of doctrine which are handled in this Treatise in some places I alleage them not because I haue handled them else where in the exposition of the Epistle of Saint Iude. And I haue here alleaged the sayings of manie of the Romish Writers whom they call Catholikes In translating of whose sayings I protest I haue vsed as great faithfulnesse as can be and that I haue many times stucke so vnto the letter that I haue lost the grace of the sense Thus fare thou well good Christian Reader and the Lord Iesus giue thee a right iudgement and vnderstanding in all things Thine in the Lord FRANCIS TRIGGE Faults escaped amend thus Pag. 25. line 36. for sonne read sum of all Hammashe p. 94. l. 8. merit r. mercie p. 96 l. 37. put out onely pag. 103 in margin Dom. 18. post c. r. Dom. 8. pag. ibid. l. 33. works r. worlds p. 133. adde in margin De orat med die Lunae p. 148. l. 31. r. that they may c. p. 160. l. 25. now r. not p. 161. l. 11. adde saith p. 163. l. 20. after declared r. often deceiued p. 174. l. 4. meanes r. names p. 187. l. 30. the r. this p. 227. in margin cap. 40. r. cap. 4. p. 242. lin 5. It is not r. Is it not p. 247. l. 26. count r. cannot p. 255. in margin adde Ferus in Acta Apost cap. 1. p. 293. lin 33. caried r. cured p. 307 l. 8. dele foure p. 326. l. 4 dele the first in p. 342. l. 13. â—o r. to p. 370. l. 36. as r. is p. 441. l. 29. r. Lash vak 462. l. 21. r. Banah p. 577. l. 8 r. Stater p. 585. l. 3. r. out of their c. p. 586.
well or to obtaine by our good deeds Therefore in Saint Matthewes Gospell the Lords prayer seemes to containe in it seuen petitions in three whereof eternall things are desired and in the other foure temporall things but yet such as are necessarie to the obtaining of those heauenly things For when as we say Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdome come let thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen All which petitions some haue verie conueniently vnderstood that we shall keepe them in our body and soule altogether world without end and that here being but as it were begunne in vs how greatly soeuer we shall profit in them they are but increased in vs but that which we all hope for being perfected in another life wee shall enioy them for euer But that we say Giue vs this day our daily bread and forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them that trespasse against vs and lead vs not into temptation but deliuer vs from euill who seeth not but that these doe belong to the necessities of this present life Therefore in that euerlasting life where we hope we shall be for euer both the sanctification of the name of God and his kingdome and his will shall remaine in our soules perfectly and euerlastingly But it is therfore called our Daily bread because that here it is necessarie for vs in as much as it is to be giuen both to our soules and bodies whether it be vnderstood either corporally or spiritually or both waies Here also is that Forgiuenesse which we desire where also is all forgiuenesse of sinnes Here also are those Temptations which either allure or moue vs to sinne Here also is that Euill from which wee desire to be deliuered But there that is in heauen there are none of all these The Euangelist Saint Luke in the Lordes prayer makes mention not of seuen but of fiue petitions neither doth he for all that dissent from Saint Matthew but by his breuitie he teacheth vs how these seuen are to be vnderstood The name of God is sanctified in spirit And the kingdome of God shall come at the resurrection of the flesh therefore Saint Luke shewing that the third petition is but as it were a repetition of the two former by omitting that would teach vs thus much Then he addes the other of our daily bread and remission of sinnes and of eschuing temptation but that which Saint Mathew hath last but deliuer vs from euil that he hath not mentioned that we might vnderstand that it belonged to that other which Saint Mathew spake of concerning temptation And therefore Saint Mathew saith but deliuer vs he doth not say and deliuer vs shewing it to be but one petition He did not say that I say but this that euery one might know that then they are deliuered from euill if they were not ledde into temptation Thus farre Augustine In this short summe of the Lords prayer euerie true Catholique maie learne these lessons First to make al their prayers to God alone if they minde to be blessed and not accursed as saint Austen here plainly teacheth And that this prayer containes in it seuen petitions thrée wherof are for heauenly things and foure for the things of this present life And the first thrée by Saint Austens iudgement we must begin to learne here in this life and that although we learne them neuer so well and praie for them all our life yet we shall neuer perfectlie learne them as long as we liue here they shall be onelie perfectlie learned in heauen How farre then shall those be from learning these lessons which all their liues neuer knew what they meant which said Paternoster in Latine in a toong they vnderstood not We maie learne here also out of Austen that all remission of sinnes is in this life and therefore that there is no remission of sinnes as the Papists teach now in the life to come And therefore the Popes pardons and purgatorie are nothing worth Euerie true Catholique must learne here out of Austen that all remission of his sinnes is to be had in this life and that after his death to giue anie thing whereby to hope to bee relieued is in vaine Againe here we maie learne to reconcile Matthew and Luke and not to thinke that euerie thing that séemes contrarie at the first sight is contrarie These two Euangelists though they séeme to disagrée yet they agrée most excellentlie as Saint Austen teacheth Thus much S. Austen teacheth all Catholiques in this briefe summe of the Lords prayer But to come more particularlie to it and to handle euerie part thereof these good lessons brieflie and dailie euerie true Catholique maie learne out of it being said in English which by the latine Pater noster they could neuer haue learned First when as they saie Our Father by these words they may learne that God is now their father and therefore loues them and cares for them yea and that so déerelie as that in comparison of his great loue and care which he hath of them our sauiour Christ saith Mat. 23.9 Call no man father now vpon earth for there is but one your father which is in heauen All the fathers in the world loue not their children so déerely nor are so carefull for them as God our heauenlie father is for euerie one euen the meanest of vs that be his children euen for poore Lazarus And this also was the first lesson our Sauiour taught his after his resurrection when as he appeared first of all others to Marie Magdalen who continued wéeping at his Sepulchre when as Peter and Iohn were gone home againe Io. 20.15.17 A speciall and a comfortable lesson how all true penitent sinners shall finde Christ euen nowe also after his ascension Go saith he and tell my brethren and saie vnto them I ascend to my father and to your father to my God and to your God Oh happie newes the gladdest tydings that euer was brought to men And this is the fruit of Christs passion To purchase this for vs he endured all those torments This we should most assuredlie beléeue and euer haue this opinion of God and euer carrie this in our mindes This is a comfortable lesson This should make vs forsake our olde Pater noster if we should haue said it all our life long it could neuer haue taught vs thus much This should make vs feare nothing This should make vs trust in God in all our dangers and to come to him boldlie and with great confidence euen as children are woont to doe to a most louing father in all our necessities The forgetfulnesse of this Mat. 6.32 causeth vs often to begin to sinke as Peter did when he sawe a great waue of the sea comming against him Mat. 14.30 Secondlie we maie learne by this that if we accompt God our father then also we should accompt one another as brethren and so deale with them as with brethren He is a
common father to vs all so we should be all as brethren one to another and it is greatly to be feared that at this daie that the lacke of this naturall and brotherly loue amongst our selues makes God withdrawe this his fatherlie loue and care from vs. Wilt thou not accompt the poore thy brethren and deale with them as with brethren Surely then God will not be thy father Oh what a losse is this We had better make leases of our lands for nothing nay léese all the goods in the world then léese this Mat. 16.26 Which art in heauen Here is his Maiestie declared vnto vs we haue a mightie father a father of the greatest maiestie in the world The winde the raine the thunder that comes from heauen how mightie how terrible how forcible are they But our father whose dwelling is in heauen 1. King 8.27 naie whom the heauen of heauens cannot containe is of farre greater might These are but his seruants as the Psalmist saith Psal 104.4 He makes the spirits or windes his messengers and his seruants the flames of fire He is most terrible when he is angrie Psal 18.7.2.12 yea if his anger be kindled but a little Oh let vs feare him let vs not sinne presumptuouslie euen the smallest sinnes He is most mercifull Psal 19.13 where hee loues Oh let vs praie vnto him he is able to helpe Heb. 10.26 Psal 103.8 let vs trust in him Let vs not thinke that the darkenesse or anie worldlie pretence whatsoeuer can couer or hide our sinnes Ps 94.9 139.1 The sunne which is but a little aduanced in the heauens we sée howe his beames will pierce into euerie corner much more the power of our God which dwelleth aboue all the heauens his eies his brightnesse his maiestie is in euerie place Hallowed be thy name We will not name the Emperor nor anie king nor anie meane gentleman without reuerence 1. Tim. 1.17 Psal 138.2 and without his titles We cannot sée God he is inuisible he hath onely giuen vs his name here amongst vs to see how we will vse it Hereby are we tried as we accompt of his name so we accompt of him as we esteeme it so we estéeme himselfe Let it be of the greatest accompt amongst vs aboue the names of all Kings and Princes let it be our greatest iewell let vs alwaies vse it most reuerentlie and holilie Let here all Ruffians and Atheists and blasphemous swearers and periured persons quake and tremble that make so light accompt of the name of God This is such a sinne that now although they make light accompt thereof yet God hath tolde them most plainlie in his lawe which if they were not starke deafe they would marke and remember that he that committes it Psal 58.4 he will not accompt him guiltlesse but at that great daie of iudgement when as he will pardon other sinnes he will most assuredlie condemne this Exod. 20.7 Thy kingdome come who hauing land purchased for him would not long to be in the possession of it who being an apprentice would not gladlie be at libertie who hearing his sonne to be a King Gen. 45.27.28 would not now gladlie make haste to go to sée him Did not Iacob thinke you when as he heard that Ioseph his sonne was a Prince in Egypt thinke euerie daie a yeere till he were with him Such are all our estates here in this world we haue not great lands or possessions purchased for vs but euen a kingdome yea and that such a kingdome as farre surpasseth all the kingdomes and monarchies of the world Reu. 1.6 who would not desire to be in the possession of such a kingdome who would not long to sée it we are here all apprentices watching and manie times wanting and euer warring and labouring Who would not gladly be at liberty Iob. 7.1 be deliuered from this bondage be in franchised into that citie where there is not want nor watching nor warring Reu. 21.4 nor labouring but ioie rest peace plenty and fréedome for euermore We doe not onelie heare good newes as Iacob did that our son is a Prince in Egypt but that we our selues are made Kings and Priests by the meanes of Iesus Christ Reu. 1.6 1. Pet. 2.9 and that of the kingdome of heauen and that we are now fellowe heires with him 1. Co. 3.21.22 Rom. 8.17 This is the summe of the Gospell This is our ioyfull newes And did Iacob make hast to go into Egypt and shall not we hasten to our heauenlie kingdome O we of little faith Reu. 22.17 and therefore in the Reuelation the spirit and the spouse say Come Lord Iesu As though they should saie Come Lord Iesu and end this our apprentiship finish this our pilgrimage giue vs now possession of that kingdome which we beléeue that thou hast purchased for vs. And it is all one with that our Sauiour here teacheth vs to praie O Lord let thy kingdome come Iacob was not so sure of his sonne Iosephs kingdome in Egypt nor anie apprentice is so sure after his yeeres expired of his fréedome nor anie purchaser of the landes he hath purchased as we are sure of this our kingdome Mark 16.16 1. Ioh. 5 13. Mat. 5.18 our libertie our heauenlie inheritance The Gospell witnesseth it vnto vs it assures vs thereof Heauen and earth shall passe away but one tittle or iot thereof shall not passe away And therefore being thus assured we saie boldly let thy kingdome come and therefore as Saint Paul teacheth Wee groane and sigh for that great day of our deliuerance out of this bondage and apprentiship with all the creatures of God Rom. 8.22 which also grone with vs that they may be deliuered also into the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God And thinking therefore of that great daie of iudgement which is terrible to all Infidels wicked persons and Idolaters Psal 97.7 Esay 2.20 Confounded at that daie saith Dauid and let them hide their faces all such as worship carued Images and delight in vaine gods Reu. 9.20 And to Dauid agrees Esay and S. Iohn Let all papistes marke this then wee are not dismaide but lift vp our heads because we know then that our redemption drawes neere Luke 21.28 Wée praie also O Lorde let thy kingdome come Rom. 6 12. let not sinne raigne in our bodies let vs not delight in it let vs not submit our selues vnto it let not the law of our mēbers Rom. 7.23 which manie times is so imperious and with authoritie euen commands and with necessitie forceth vs that we must néedes doe this or that let not this law O good Lord euer preuaile against vs Eph. 5.18 but be thou our king Let thy holie spirit euer beare rule in our hearts Psal 2.6 Rom. 8.14 Psal 119. 105. Ioh. 18.12 let thy most holie law be a lanterne to our waies and a
light to our paths in whatsoeuer we shall goe about or take in hand We saie O good Iesu which for our sakes was content to bee bound with coards giue vs also grace that wee maie be bounde with the coards and commandements of thy law and that wee cast them not awaie as the wicked doe who said Let vs breake their bonds in sunder and cast away their coards from vs. Psal 2.3 Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen Psal 19.5 The sunne euerie daie as we sée runned his most swift and stéepe race without wearinesse The earth yéelds not onlie her flowers to delight vs but her fruits also to feede vs yea she openeth her verie bowels to doe vs good the seas and the waters also neuer stand still Gen. 4 9. Ier. 5.12 in the beginning they receiued a law that they should kéepe them within their bounds and not couer the face of the earth 1. Kin. 17.4 against their nature and yet euen to this daie they obeie it God commanded the greedie Rauens to feed Elias and they obeied his commandement To conclude all creatures obeie the will and commandements of God only man Esay 1.3 who is of all others most bound to him and for whome hee hath doone most is most disobedient The Angels and those mighty powers which excell in strength as Dauid saith are readie at his becke and doe his commandements onely man a vile worme dare presume to rebell against him Psal 103.20 and to disobey him Iob. 17.14 O let vs not onely praie thus but also labour studie and endeuour with all our might and maine that the wil of this our louing and most mightie father maie be done as wel in earth as in heauen It is a shame for sonnes that seruants should go beyond them in dutifulnesse and obedience towardes their father Mal. 1.6 Eph. 3.20 it is a shame for men endewed with reason naie enriched and strengthned with Gods spirit that vnreasonable creatures should excell them in dutifulnesse and obedience to their maker and creator And let vs for Gods sake learne to bridle our owne wils our owne natures The earth doth so as S. Paul teacheth vs Rom. 8.20 and against the will thereof is subiect to our vanities for him that hath subdued it through hope It would neuer suffer vs els cruell couetous and vaine men not so much as to treade on it and wickedly and vainelie to abuse it It would swallowe vs vp quicke Num. 16.31 as it did Corah Dathan and Abiram The sea doth so also or els we should haue no houses to dwell in nor lands to lette Psal 104.9 Let vs also in our vaine curious and stately buildings of our houses and in letting our lands also bridle our couetous cruell and vncharitable willes These great and mightie and excellent creatures doe bridle and containe their owne natures at Gods commandement as we sée and yet man will not bridle his nature for Gods sake he will haue his will Let all men learne to pray and practise also be it neuer so vnpleasant or vnprofitable vnto them that prayer of our blessed Sauiour Luke 22.42 Not my will but thy will be done O Father Giue vs this daie our dailie bread What maie we learne by these words surely that the best and richest of vs all are but beggers before the maiestie of God It maie be truely said to euerie one of vs 1. Cor. 4.7 what hast thou that thou hast not receiued We must not be ashamed to begge of God euer our daily bread We haue not so much of our owne as a shiue of bread and yet we proude peacocks the sonnes of Adam how proude are we how deale we in the world how doe we accompt of our selues as though we were lordes of all things Psal 12.4 We saie in our dealings with the wicked 1. Sam. 25.10 who is Lorde ouer vs So we liue so we deale in all our earthly affaires we saie with Naball who is Dauid and who is the sonne of Ishai There are many seruants now adaies that breake away euerie man from his Maister shall I then take my bread and my water and my flesh that I haue killed for my shearers and giue it vnto men whom I know not whence they be This Naball is a right patterne of a worldling he will not know his brethren he forgets that we haue all one father he can finde excuses enow when he will not doe good as all the wicked doe to make emptie the hungrie soule Esay 32.6 He accompts all his my bread and my water and my flesh saith he so doe all worldlings they forget that they are to begge of God euen their dailie bread Such poore beggers they are indéede how rich soeuer they séeme in their owne eye yet they accompt all their owne Nay the more to condemne this harde dealing of worldlings towards the faithfull and Gods children be they neuer so base and poore that saying of Dauid also concerning Naball is now verified in these rich worldlings ver 21. Truely I haue kept in vaine all this mans cattell in the wildernesse saith Dauid and not any thing that belonged to him perished and he hath requited me euill for good No doubt euen nowe for the godly and poores sakes God preserues the liues and all the goods and cattels of the rich and wicked men and yet they will deale hardly with them Is hee a good man and the seruant of God that thou dealest withall whosoeuer art rich deale well with him Thinke verily that for his sake God will preserue thy life and all that thou hast Gen. 18.32 Remember how that if there had béene tenne good men found in all Sodome it had not béen destroied And how that God blessed Putiphar no doubt a prophane man for Iosephs sake 39 2. God gaue Saint Paul all their liues that sailed with him Act. 27.24 Deale well with Gods children which are in neede and flie to thee for succour whosoeuer hast this worlds goods Know this assuredlie that as Dauid here preserued Naball and his cattell so shall these preserue thee and all thine 1. Sam. 25.37 And as in the ende his churlishnesse to poore Dauid killed him so be thou affraid of his ende Let vs not forget that lesson which Peter teacheth vs 1. Pet. 4 7. that liue now in the end of the world Now the ende of all things is at hand saith he Be ye therefore sober and watching in praier but aboue all things haue feruent loue amongst your selues for loue shall couer the multitude of sinnes Be harborous one to another without grudging Men in those daies as should séeme would make no conscience to turne their brethren out of dores or to kéepe their gates shutte that none might come in at them They doe not fulfill that same generall lawe of all christendome Mat. 7.12 and of all
nature flies euer aloft and makes her nest in high places so if man had continued in that first estate he had euer beene occupied in the contemplation of high and heauenly things and had had his delight and dwelling in these But after that hee became also euen subiect to that curse of the old Serpent which was that he should go vpon his belly and eate earth all the dayes of his life by and by he made an exchange of heauen for earth and became altogether earth hee loues now earth he eates earth he talkes of earth on earth he hath his treasure laid vp and he takes so deepe roote now on earth that with no chaines or mattockes now he can be pulled from thence And how great this necessity is of continuall praying no man can vnderstand but he that knowes the great pouertie which man fell into through sinne which is so great as with no words it can sufficiently be expressed It is written that the eyes of our first parents were opened Gen. 3.7 and that they knew themselues to be naked by which words the miserable spoiling and extreame nakednesse and pouerty into which mankind through sinne was throwne headlong may easily be gathered For man was robbed of all grace of originall righteousnesse and of all those free gifts which he had receiued of God But if he hauing lost those free gifts yet if he had remained safe and sound in the gifts of nature it had beene a great comfort vnto him but in these also he was so corrupted and weakned that from the sole of the foot to the crowne of the head there was no sound part found in him So that of man may truly be verified that saying of the Prophet And he hath put on cursing like a garment and it hath entred as water into his bowelles and as Oyle into his bones It had been enough to haue said that man had put on cursing and that he was cladde with it from top to toe for that had beene a great miserie but least any man should thinke that onely his outward parts were accursed hee beeing hole and sound within the Propet addeth that it entred also like water into his inward parts that he might declare that nothing in him neither within nor without was safe and free from that curse Furthermore because water doth not pierce so greatly into anything least any should think that some thing perchance lay hid in man which was not subiect to that curse the Prophet addeth And as Oyle into his bones Oyle of all liquours pierceth the most The curse therefore as Oile entred into his bones which are the more secret and hid parts of man This curse reacheth euen to the very marrow that is to the inward and most secret parts of the soule or to that chiefe spirituall part thereof which we call the mind which is a kinne as we say to the Angelles and was made according to the image of God which as it is a spirit naturally loues spiritual things and hates those thinges which are of the flesh But it also being defiled and tainted through sinne doeth also now encline to fleshly thinges Therefore when as in man there are three principall parts his bodie his soule and his spirite they are all infected weakned and corrupted through sinne The curse as a garment couereth the flesh with all hir senses and like water it enters into the soule and into all her affections and like Oyle it pierceth into the inward parts of the spirit and into all her powers Wherefore our vnderstanding is blinde our will weake our freedome feeble our memory corrupted and forgetting hir creator seeing man therefore is throughout corrupted destroied and as it were become flesh how can he keepe the law of God which is altogether spirituall We know saith the Apostle that the law is spirituall but I am carnall solde vnder sinne What proportion is there betweene a spirituall law and a carnall man What fitnesse can a beast haue which is altogether flesh that he may liue according to the rule of the law which is altogether spirituall If therefore man through sin be become like vnto a beast altogether now enclined to the flesh what fitnes can hee haue to keepe the law which is altogether spirituall which is the law of Angels and altogether heauenly Yea he is so vnapt and vnfit to keepe the lawe that hee cannot doe any worke or speake any worde that pleaseth God vnles from heauen speciall grace be giuen him By these things it is manifest that on the one side if you consider the bodie of man that neither in the Sea nor in the aire nor on the earth you can find any creature standing in so great neede as man doth and subiect to so many miseries and calamities as he is againe on the other side if you respect his soule you shall find hir so weake and miserable that she is scant able to open hir mouth worthily to call vpon the name of Iesus By these things we may see where and in what state man was in the beginning created of God and into what miseries through sinne he is now fallen that his ingratitude and proude disobedience against his Creator deserued such a medicine God created him in great prosperity honour and blessednes and thereof hee tooke an occasion of waxing proude wherefore by good right he is left so miserable naked and voide of all goodnes that through his pouerty he might become humble and through his neede diligent and that the remedy of this need which is prayer might the more delight him Thus farre Granatensis In which words he saieth somwhat more then Andradius and the councell of Trent that man is not onelie as it were asléepe through sinne but that euen the curse of God is entred into his bones and that it hath like Oile euen pierced quite thorough him If this be true then man néedes a new Oile to be giuen him before he can doe anie good and this curse must be taken out of his bones and out of his marrow and sinewes before he be able to doe anie worke that pleaseth God Nay he is vnapt and vnfit now to that which is good saith Granatensis he must not onely haue his yron fetters taken from him as Andradius affirmeth but that he maie go straight forward he must haue new féete giuen him his olde féete will not serue the turne and the refore the Samaritan set the wounded man vpon his owne beast for his owne legs would not beare him He is become a beast and therefore he néedes not only loosing from the cribbe to doe God seruice as Andradius seemes to affirme but there must also a change and a Metamorphosis bee made hee must now of a beast be made a man for our God will not bee serued with beasts but with men And such a feeble fréedome Granatensis giues to man to make him humble they which teach contrarie doe make him proud
Sixtly she must go out by absolution and come into the citie of Ierusalem that is into the holy Church and be reconciled to her againe by a spirituall life Lastly she must confesse and testifie both in word and worke that Christ is the sonne of God as did also the Centurion Here truely Ferus declares what mans hart is before regeneration It is a rocke there is no softnesse nor aptnesse to goodnesse in it before grace And it is euen now as great a miracle for God to conuert a sinner Exod. 16. ver 6 as it were for him to make the water to runne out of the hard rocke Fer. in 9. cap. Act. Ferus also on this matter writes verie excellently vpon these wordes O Lorde what wilt thou haue me to doe This is the speech of a changed heart See here what Gods correction can doe what grace can doe what the spirit can doe In one word it makes a wolfe a sheepe For by and by he cries what wilt thou haue mee doe O Lord For I am now readie hereafter to obey thy commandements I would to God we were made all so ready by the Lords correctiō Surely then it would fare better with vs. For God strikes vs that he might by by heale vs and if we be not healed that comes of our own wickednes frowardnes Therfore we must praie thus that he will conuert vs also Conuert vs O God of our saluation c. Thou seest that this beginning of true repentance doth proceede of none other cause but from God when as he doth touch our heart with the feeling of sinne and doth also so vnderproppe it that it despaire not as we heare here that he did to Paul For he being so terrified had runne from Gods presence and had vtterly despaired vnlesse by Gods spirit he had been called backe againe that he might crie O Lord what wilt thou haue me doe Thou seest therefore how true repentance differs from that which is false and counterfeit For vnlesse all the hart be kindled with this earnest desire that it say O Lord I couet to forsake mine owne euill waie and to doe that which thou wouldst haue me doe it is but hypocrisie it is no repentance But this earnest desire no man can frame to himselfe vnlesse God touch his heart Therfore the beginning the middle and the end is of God and is Gods worke Here we may learne what we were before grace we were wolues we were no shéepe and therefore not a helping vppe or pricking forward was necessarie for vs but as our Sauiour teacheth a regeneration And this is that which God himselfe promiseth by the Prophet Ezechiell Ezech. 11.19 I will take away their stonie heart and I will giue them a heart of flesh God had néede shewe his most mightie power as well in mans regeneration as in his creation His heart was become a stone and therefore vnapt to mooue and apply it selfe to the grace of God as the Papists teach What fitnesse is there in a stone to receiue into it anie moisture or to mooue it selfe vpward and such like were all mens hearts to grace before regeneration as God himselfe here plainlie teacheth by his Prophet Ezechiell And hereof also is that which Iohn saith in the Gospell to the proud and bragging Iewes of their carnall descent from Abraham Matth. 3.9 That God was able of stones to raise vp children to Abraham no doubt by these stones he meant all Abrahams spirituall sons who by the preaching of the Gospell and by faith in Iesus Christ should be borne vnto him And doe we not sée now this prophesie of Iohn verified The proud bragging Iewes are reiected and the Gentiles who before were as stones are by Gods grace now become Abrahams children This also that vision that God shewed Peter As Ferus also notes hereafter Act 10.11 when as hee would call the Gentiles prooues most euidently He saw heauen opened and a certaine vessell came downe vnto him as it had been a great sheete knit at the foure corners and was let downe to the earth wherein were all manner of foure-footed beasts of the earth and wilde beasts and creeping thinges and foules of the heauen No doubt these beasts as Peter himselfe also after expounds this vision signified the Gentiles Into such monsters we were growen by reason of sinne Psalm 49.12 Man being in honour had no vnderstanding euen Adam that first man and in him all men and so became as the beasts that perish so that man must be killed and quickened againe as God here commands Peter he must haue new life put into him before he can please God So farre off is he of his owne nature to assent fréelie to the grace of God offering it selfe vnto him sinne being onely done away And this is that which Ferus here teacheth men must become of wolues shéepe before they can be acceptable sacrifices vnto God The beginning of the desire which they haue to serue God and the middle and continuance thereof when as they haue once begun and the ende also thereof is of God Not the beginning onely as the Papists doe teach And this is that also which Saint Peter teacheth all true Catholiques 1. Pet. 1.5 in his Catholique Epistle That we are kept by the power of God through faith vnto saluation He not onely at the beginning workes fréely our iustificaon as the Councell of Trent teacheth but euen also fréelie through the same faith he then wrought in our hearts he continually preserueth vs. So that our whole saluation the beginning and the middle and the end thereof we must only and wholy ascribe vnto God This great worke is his worke alone no man what soeuer maie challenge anie part in it with him hee alone must haue all the glorie of it Ibid. And to this effect the same Ferus writes thus againe Marke here that God is not onely the beginning but also the perfection of all goodnesse in vs. For he that begins the same also finisheth He workes in vs both to will and also to finish he giues the increase To this maie be applied that which Moses saith The land which the Lord will giue you is not like the land of Egypt c. The forces and powers of nature are sufficient to externall workes but to those things which concerne our saluation we must looke for a shower from heauen that is grace Therefore euerie godlie man must say I will not trust in mine owne bowe And after The light of nature seemes to be reason but in diuine matters they are but scales hindering the sight as thou seest here in Paul These scales signifie that couering which is ouer Moses face yea ouer the hearts of all the Iewes before faith Those scales also which claue together in the body of Leuiathan are wicked men amongst whom Saul was All these when the light commeth fall downe to the ground c. The light
them plainelie who is this Sunne not the Pope and his Cardinalles and prelates but that great light-bringer Iesus Christ who lighteneth euery man that comes into the world Ioh. 1.9 And dare they abridge the beames of this Sunne Dare they measure his merites dare they pinch his power O blasphemous doctrine Doth not the Pope herein declare plainlie who he is that is that starre that fell from heauen and hath striken the third part of the sun who hath done this but he Ioh. 17.19 Hath not Christ alone himselfe wholie and sufficientlie redéemed vs Iesus Christ did not onely sanctifie himselfe for vs that we might be freed from sinne and cleansed from our faults but he also suffered for vs that we might also be acquited from punishment And therefore Esay saieth verie excellently The chastisement of our peace was vpon him Esay 55.3 And our Sauiour himselfe saith vpon the Crosse Iohn 19.20 It is finished No doubt meaning that great worke of our redemption It was the last word he spake and shall we not beléeue him And Saint Peter saith that wee were not in part but wholie redeemed not with gold or siluer but with the precious bloud of Iesus Christ 1. Pet. 1.18.19 20. And this Granatensis also affirmes speaking of Christ when as he did sweate water and bloud Medit. vitae Christi 22. Is not thine anger appeased O holy Father with this so miserable a spectacle of thy son Behold what he suffers which neuer deserued any euill he hath satisfied thee for our sinnes he hath paid for our redemption a most excellent price For one droppe of this most holy sweat is more precious and of more valew then all the treasures in the world Thus farre Granatensis What shall we thinke then of his heart bloud shed for vs vpon the Crosse And therefore Peter saith 1. Pet. 2.24 By his stripes our woundes were not onely bound vp and now brought to some good perfection that after we our selues might heale them as the Papists teach but they were perfectlie healed And Dauid also prophesying of Christs passion Psal 130.67 faith Let Israell waite on the Lord for with the Lord is mercie Iohn 10.10 and with him is plenteous redemption and he shall redeeme Israell from all his sinnes And the same also our Sauiour testifieth of himselfe That he is comen that they might haue life and that they might haue it more abundantly There is nothing remaining to our saluation it is abundantly accomplished that which remaines is to our conformation Rom. 8.29 We must be like fashioned to the Image of Iesu Christ No doubt they which denie this abundance of Christs redemption which was the end of his comming as he himselfe here witnesseth denie that he is comen And therefore we maie sée here as in a glasse what is that spirite of Antichrist 1. Iohn 4.3 that shall denie Iesus Christ to be comen in the flesh Surely euen they who although they confesse he be comen to giue life yet shall denie that he is comen to giue it abundantlie He is comen as himselfe witnesseth that we might haue life and that abundantly Let vs marke this well and let vs take heede least by pinching his merites that we denie not that hee is comen Saint Paul himselfe taketh awaie all parts of iustification from man I knowe nothing by my selfe saith he 1. Cor. 4.4 yet am I not hereby iustified but he that iudgeth me is the Lord. As though he should saie with Dauid Although as concerning this my ministerie I know nothing to accuse my selfe of Act. 20.26.27 I haue declared all the counsels of God c. yet there are secret sinnes which man cannot espie from which Dauid praieth to be cleansed Psal 19.12 and therfore no man can iustifie himselfe no not the holiest man in the world It is God that iudgeth And after he accompts his stricte kinde of life wherein he liued euen a Pharisée and his integritie of life among all men but euen as doung Philip. 3.5.8 that he might bee found in Christ Iesus not hauing his owne righteousnesse which is of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ euen the righteousnesse which is of God through faith He repeates twise wherein true righteousnesse consisteth euen through faith in Christ If Saint Paul accompted his owne righteousnesse but as doung in Gods sight and all the good workes he had done and durst not trust in them what shall we accompt of the merits of Friers and such others Can they profit to the saluation of others Shall we accompt them as treasures of the Church Paul accompted not so of his workes as here we maie learne of him Matth. 25.4 and shall we accompt better of our owne workes or of the workes of any others The wise virgins also teach all Gods Saints this lesson They plainly confesse that they were afraid least they had not oyle enough for themselues and therefore they would impart none thereof to others and shall wee accompt our selues more rich then they Surely then we shall shew our selues to be foolish and not wise virgins And no doubt such wise virgins are all Gods Saints and yet Poligranes will make them to haue merites enow not onely to serue their owne turnes but also to be laide vp in the treasure of the Church to profit others and that for others also they wrought their workes All Christs seruants must say Luke 17.10 that they are vnprofitable seruants when as they shall haue done all things that are commanded them which who is able to doe if they were able to doe all Gods commandements yet euen then they must saie and confesse and that not with mouth onely but with their hearts also that they are vnprofitable seruants much more then now they must confesse and acknowledge this when as they are not able to doe the least part of those things which are commanded them and when as those things also which they doe they do verie vnperfectly Where are then those workes which they haue done for others where is that wages of desert which other Papists teach An vnprofitable seruant can challenge no wages at all much lesse of due desert Nay our Sauiour in that place teacheth all his what accompt to make of their workes Say saith hee wee haue done but that which was our duety to haue done This our Sauiour teacheth all Christians to saie and beléeue and shall we not obey him All Christians workes they are but dueties they are no merites or deserts they are rewarded of mercie and not of merit Luk. 12.33 of promise and not of performance They are laide vp for themselues as treasures in heauen and not as the Papistes teach in the Popes treasurie here on earth to profit others But let vs consider what other sounder Catholiques then Poligranes hath written of Christs redemption Gagneius expounds that place of Saint
would deny Sée how fitlie Christ applieth plasters vnto our woundes Sinne first is conceiued in the hart for concupiscence begets sinne Fer. de pass part 1. and after it is by our works finished So Christ is first sorrowfull in heart and after outwardly that he might take away all sinne and fully make satisfaction for vs. So that by Ferus iudgement Christs saluation was full and perfect for vs. All men were like those two debters whereof our Sauiour speakes in the Gospell To whome when they had nothing to pay the lender forgaue mercifully so hath God fréelie forgiuen vs our sinnes for the satisfaction of Iesus Christ All our teares and kneeling downe Luke 7 4◠and workes of mercie and repentance for our sinnes are but signes to so mercifull a Lorde and of the loathing of our sinnes And after Ferus writes thus I am he by this word Christ puts himselfe in our stead patiently about to endure whatsoeuer the iustice of God should endure for our sinnes And a little after Idem part 8. For this cause especially hee would not haue his Apostles die with him least we should think that his death alone had not sufficed and therefore he would die alone that hee alone might be acknowledged our Sauiour Esay 63. Deut. 33. I haue troden the Winepresse alone saith he and of all nations there was none with mee And therefore Moyses also saith God alone was his God neither was there any other God with him Therefore he redeemed vs and not we our selues c. But the Church of Rome addes the Apostles and Martyres merites to Christs as though hee alone had not redeemed vs and calles those the treasure of the Church Fer. part 2. pass In these manifold sufferings of Christ we see as it were with our eyes our vniustice how wicked how full of sinnes we are but especially wee were For how vile here Christ outwardly appeared to men so vile were we before God in our soules yea what kind of one Christ is here such should we haue beene for euer vnles he had taken these things on him Part. 3. pass And after Here let vs consider our selues as here Christ with one consent and with great ioy of his enimies without all pitie without all hope of deliuerance or of returning backe againe no man assisting him or knowing him is led to the iudgment of death So we should haue beene ledde to that horrible iudgment of God vnles Christ had put himselfe in our stead Therefore if thou mind to stand in Gods iudgement rely vpon Christ then by faith For without him none can stand in the iudgement of God For no man liuing is iustified or found righteous in the sight of God And after speaking of those things which Christ had suffered at the handes of the Iewes Although saieth hee those things which we haue heard already had been enough for the redemption of all the world yet he would suffer more then these that he might fully satisfie for our sinnes that considering the greatnesse of the remedy no man might euer haue cause to despaire And speaking of his whipping hee writes thus He that clothes all things is spoiled of his clothes and he that hides all our shame is openly put to shame in the sight of all men least that we should be put to a perpetuall shame which surely we should haue beene if Christ had not endured this nakednes and shame for vs. Part. 2. pass But that agony of Christ signified nothing else hut the feare of our conscience before the iudgment seat of God for the soule now the time of the iudgement drawing neare is touched with the feeling of our sinnes which being touched begins now altogether to tremble and quake and euen to perish being now alone before the tribunall seat of God Of which trembling Iob said If he shall sodainly cal man to an account who is able to answere him This feare was also shewed in that feast of the Gospell whereas he who hauing no wedding garment being examined of the Lord was straightwaies dumbe The godly are sometime possessed with this feare as appeareth in Iob and Dauid saith O Lord chasten me not in thy wrath because there is no health in my flesh by reason of thy displeasure So also Ezechias I saieth hee said in the middest of my daies I shall go to the gates of hell Least therefore that wee should bee euer in danger of this feare Christ was for our sakes in this agony Therefore when that temptation shall inuade vs let vs pray with Ezechias O Lord I am violently afflicted answere thou for me and with Dauid vnder the shadow of thy wings protect me Man is not able no not the holiest man to appeare before the tribunall seate of God without this feare and quaking his best works are vnperfect And therefore Christ was in this agony for him c. And after the same Ferus writes thus Yea Fer. pass part 3. speaking of Barrabas and Christ that vvhich vvas doone in Pilates iudgement the same falles out in the iudgement of God On the one side stood that notable theefe Adam with all his posterity who all of them had deserued death on the other side stood the most innocent Sonne of God Now one of these by Gods iustice was to suffer death and God of his great mercie spared Adam and yeelded his most innocent Sonne vp to death for him Let vs embrace this great mercy of God brethren and be thankfull to God for it And of Christs spoiling of his garmentes he writes thus Ibidem He is turned naked out of his garmentes which cloathes the heauens with Starres and the earth with flowers and what kind of one the first man was when he dwelt in Paradice such a one the second Adam entred into Paradise againe He suffered therefore himselfe to be spoiled of his garments that he might receiue for vs the garment of innocency he was not ashamed to stand naked before all men least we should be found naked before god the endured shame that he might couer the guiltines of our consciences for he is blessed whose sins are couered And vpon these wordes He that is washed Part. 1. pass needs not but that his feet only should be washed he writes thus This second washing is not doone at the Font but by repentance which cleanseth our daily sins For repentance is as it were a second board by which they which after baptisme haue suffered shipwracke may swimme out Of this washing Esay speaketh Be ye washed be ye cleane and this washing of our feet by repentance must be doone euer For the way wherein we walke is mirie as Dauid saith and Ieremy 1. King 21. Lam. 1. 2. Tim. 2. the mire sticks to Hierusalems feet and saint Paul He that shall cleanse himselfe from them shall be a vessell of honour But this may trouble some perchance that Christ addeth But is all cleane
merites and these benefits why should I not therefore henceforth hope for grace glory and the forgiuenes of my sinnes seeing I haue such a treasure and such a bountifull treasurer who is euery day ready to satisfie his father for all my debts For if it shall be a thing iust and conuenient that the innocent should be punished and that the honourable should be despised that he should make satisfaction for sinnes and should cancell the bond and obligation openly in the sight of all men shal it not be a thing also both iust meet that the guilty persons for whom he suffered and made satisfaction should now bee acquited from all their debts and pronounced iustified before God Iustice found out a way and meanes to enter into the holy mans house who ought nothing and was not indebted and he executed his great rigor there and shall not mercie then finde out a waie which leades to the debters house that she may blot out our sinnes and pardon our offences It is a greater miracle that God should be taken scourged and condemned and die vpon a Crosse then to receiue an enemie for a friend and to vse a traitour as a sonne if he would repent him and be conuerted vnto the Lord. If therefore that be done which is the greater why should we doubt then of that which is the lesser Now therefore O Lord thy mercie is extold and lift vp verie high and thy bounteous liberality is proued and tried vpon sinners thy iustice also is magnified it hath exercised and executed her rigour and seueritie vpon the innocent and harmelesse without fault wherefore although grace be not giuen to a sinner to him as he is a sinner yet notwithstanding let it be giuen him for thy deerely beloued sonnes sake who redeemed him with so deere a price and at so great a rate It is thy mercie that a sinner should be saued if we looke into and consider the basenesse and vilenesse of sinners but it is thy iustice if we respect Christ and we hauing the one haue the other also And againe Blessed be therefore that condemned innocencie which hath absolued and set free so many condemned persons Ibidem and blessed be that blamed iustice which hath iustified so many reprobates Therefore if his merites haue neither ende nor number and all of them belong to the health and saluation of our soules without all doubt this his petition shall neuer be denied him being our mediator and making nowe intercession for vs. For it were great wrong that he who had indured so many iniuries should not obtaine that which he askes least peraduenture his pitifull and mercifull father should againe torment and afflict the soule of his sonne by denying him that which he desires whose body before he grieued with diuers torments he receiued woundes in his bodie that they might effect and worke saluation in our soules which he deserued and purchased for vs by his patience and sufferings he was taken apprehended handled as a sinner who notwithstanding was iust that we sinners might be accepted of God as iust He died and indured the punishment due to vs and descended euen as it were into the depth of the sea with griefes which he suffered It were an vniust thing that the father should twise iudge one thing and should punish one fault with double punishment but it is meete that the debter should now be restored to his former libertie if he would but only repent seeing that his surety hath paied his debt so liberally and bountifully for him whom he was suretie for And againe Looke vpon O Lord the face of thine annointed Iesus Christ who was made obedient vnto the death Med vitae Christi 25. euen vnto the death of the Crosse and let not his woundes and scarres euer depart out of thy sight but let them alway stil remaine before thine eies that thou maiest remember what a great recompence and satisfaction thou hast receiued of him for our sinnes and transgressions I would to God thou O Lord wouldest way in a paire of ballance the sinnes wherewith we haue deserued thy wrath and indignation and the griefe and punishment which thy innocent sonne suffered for vs Surely it will appeare a farre greater and worthier cause that thou shouldest powre downe thy mercie vpon vs for that his suffering and punishment then was that transgression that thou shouldest hide thy mercies in anger and displeasure for our sinnes Let all tongues giue thankes vnto thee O Father for the exceeding great abundance of thy goodnes who hast not spared thine onely sonne thy best beloued the ioy of thy heart in whom thou art well pleased but hast giuen him ouer vnto death for vs all that we might haue him as a most faithfull aduocate before thee in heauen And what thankes shall I offer and render worthily vnto thee O Lord Iesu thou most zealous louer of mankinde who am a man dust and vile clay for what couldest thou more haue done for my soule that thou hast not done what hast thou left vndone Granatensis in all these places hath most manifestlie set before our eies the great benefit of Christs Redemption not onelie by the example of a suretie who would paie another mans debts but also of a most déere and faithfull friend who would endure punishment and would die for his friend And doth Poligranes saie that he hath onely taken awaie the fault and not the punishment How doth this doctrine diminish the merites of Christs passion and his excéeding great loue towards vs and that to maintaine the Popes pardons for without this they fall to the ground Againe Granatensis whatsoeuer he teacheth of satisfaction by our owne workes in other places Orat. 5. de vita Christi for himselfe hee praies thus O bloud that giues life and saluation O Lord vouchsafe to wash me with that bloud and to sanctifie and purifie me with that most precious liquor O Lord offer it to thy father for a perfect satisfaction and remedie of all my wickednesses What can be saide more manifestly then this No doubt this was his faith thus he praied to God for himselfe And in another place writing of the worthie receiuing of the Eucharist De sanct euch sacra lib. 3. cap 2. he praies thus O my most sweete Lord God so huge is the greatnesse of my sinnes that I can neither amend them nor make satisfaction to thee for them Therefore I desire to receiue thy welbeloued sonne who vpon the altar of the Crosse offered to thee for me a most perfect sacrifice the same I offer vnto thee now for my sinnes that he may make satisfaction for me For I know that there is nothing els neither in heauen nor in earth that is more gratefull vnto thee or can by anie meanes requite thee the debt I owe thee Granatensis here plainlie distrusts in his owne paiment either in part or in whole of his debts and sinnes and
flies onelie to Iesus Christ and his satisfaction He saies he knowes none other thing in the world that can paie his debts but his bloud and so must all true Catholiques saie with him That same conclusion and definitiue sentence of Saint Augustine concerning our iustification is worth the marking against all Popish mystes and cauilles which he writes in his booke De spiritu Lit. Cap. 13.14 These things saith he being considered and handled according to the habilitie which God hath giuen vs we gather that a man is not iustified by keeping the commandements of a good life but by faith in Iesus Christ that is not by the lawe of workes but by the lawe of faith not by the letter but by the spirit And although the Apostle when as he would correct and reforme those which tooke pleasure in circumcision called circumcision by the name of the lawe and other such ceremonies of the lawe all which now as shadowes of that which was to come the Christians refuse holding that which was figuratiuely promised by those shadowes yet he wil haue the law to be vnderstood whereby he saith that no man is iustified not onlie in those mysteries which had figuratiue promises but also in those workes which whosoeuer shall doe liues iustlie Saint Augustine here plainely teacheth that not onelie by the workes of the Ceremoniall law we are not iustified as some Papists séeme to expound that place of Saint Paul but not also by the workes of the morall lawe And so Gagneius goes about to expound Saint Paul in his exposition vpon Saint Paul to the Romaines Out of the former Chapter saith he whereas S. Paul saide We thinke that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the Lawe and out of the Text of this present Chapter wherin he shewes that faith was imputed to Abraham not in circumcision but whenas he was vncircumcised before his circumcision it is euident that it is meant in this place that Abraham was not iustified of the workes of the lawe and after he was iustified of workes that is those workes hee spake on before meaning Circumcision And in his exposition vpon the Epistle to the Galathians he alleadgeth the Gréeke Scholiast to confirme this his assertion Nature her selfe taught those things which were necessarie in the lawe saith the Scholiast as thou shalt not commit adulterie Gag in 2. cap. ad Gal. thou shalt not kill thou shalt not steale but those things which concerne the Sabboth circumcision and leprosies and sacrifices and sprincklings those are the proper workes of the lawe And of these saith the Apostle that of the workes of the lawe no flesh shall be iustified But if there be any such opinion in the Scholiast here we may sée that S. Austen is of a contrarie opinion And Gagneius himselfe as should séeme mislikes this opinion for in his preface vpon the Epistle to the Romans he writes thus But if any man will vrge when as verie often in this Epistle and also in other his Epistles that Paul saith that we are iustified by faith without workes that not onely the workes of the lawe are excluded but also all other things els whatsoeuer I will not greatly say against him if he wil patiently endure to heare that iustification is taken in the scripture two waies First to be iustified is of one that is wicked to be made iust the which thing is doone in a moment and without any merites of our works yea and without any works of ours going before it And here marke that I say going before it for together with that iustification must needs come the mouing of free-will repenting of her former life and beleeuing in Iesus beeing of God drawne and stirred vp to that motion And of this Iustification Paul speakes as often as he saith that men are iustified and saued without works Here he seemes to saie plainelie that our first iustification is without anie workes that it saues vs and yet after he saieth that it is but a saluation imperfect and begun in vs when as a man ariseth from infidelity and sinne to grace which he deserues by no work but yet it is not doon without a good work and mouing of the will which freely is powred into it of God Here hee seemes to be contrarie to saint Paul when as hee saith that without the works of the law we are iustified and he will haue euen in our first iustification one concurrent Secondly he seemes to disagree from the councell of Trent which teacheth that our free-will beeing stirred vp agrees willinglie and iointlie workes with grace but hee saieth it must be drawne and this argues a violence and thinges extorted and not voluntarie 2. Cor. 9.5 haue no reward with God as saint Paul plainlie teacheth But after hee makes a second iustification and to this iustification hee saieth Good workes are required And hee alleadgeth that one place for proofe hereof out of the Reuelation He that is iustified let him as yet be iustified But he might as well haue considered how that as in that one place the holie Ghost exhorts all them that are iustified that they bee iustified still so it teacheth all Christians to praie for the increase of faith Roman 1.16 And againe Saint Paul saieth I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ for it is the power of God to saluation to all that beleeue it to the Iewe first and then to the Gentile Here is the first iustification but it followes The righteousnesse of God is reuealed in it from faith to faith as it is written The iust shall liue by faith And here is also the second iustification if hee will needes haue a second From faith to faith The iustified man is more iustified from faith to faith as his faith increaseth so his righteousnes And hereof it is said here that the iust man liues by faith not onelie the first moment of his iustification but all his life long And Saint Peter saith 1. Pet. 1.5 That through faith we are kept by the power of God euen vnto saluation Faith not onelie liftes vs vp from hell as the papists teach but it preserues vs euen to euerlasting life It is our first and our last iustification Christ is α and ω the beginning and the ending as Saint Iohn in his Reuelation teacheth But the papists by this their distinction would make him be but Alpha onelie And here of we are saide Reuelat. 7.8 Mat. 17.20.15.28 to haue faith like a graine of Mustardseed And some are saide to haue a great faith and some the greatest faith of all as our Sauiour witnesseth of the Centurion I haue not found so great faith no not in Israel Luke 7.9 Rom. 4.11.12 And againe saint Paul saieth That Abraham receiued circumcision as a seale of righteousnesse of the faith which he had when as he was vncircumcised that he might be a father of the circumcision not vnto them onelie
thou art yet thou hast somewhat wherein thou must confesse thy selfe a sinner before God Here is our saluation the free mercie of God bestowed vpon vs in Iesus Christ that we should knowledge our selues euen damned creatures if Christ had not deliuered vs and howe perfect soeuer we are still to acknowledge our selues sinners before God and therfore of our selues deseruing damnation And after he writes thus By these it appeareth that of Adam we are borne euill and wicked for euen as a field of it selfe without seede brings foorth no fruit if any thing growe it is either Tares or if it be like good fruit yet there is nothing in it it is but meate for beasts so truely the sonnes of Adam vnlesse they be regenerate by Christ bring foorth nothing but euill fruit and if they shall seeme to bring foorth good fruit as the Philosophers taught morall vertues yet they are vaine they iustifie truely and haue their glorie In cap. 13. mat but with men not with God Whereas Ferus saith that the sonnes of Adam vnlesse they bee regenerate by Christ bring forth nothing else but euill fruites the Romane Corrector bids put out nothing but as though man could doe some good without Christ What is this els but to gainsaie the Gospell Iohn 15.5 where Christ saith meaning of good without me you can do nothing In cap. mat 14. And of Christ in another place he writes thus Neither by any other meane meaning Christ Iesus saieth Ferus canst thou passe ouer the sea especially at the extremitie of death which on the one side will make thee affraid and the Diuell on the other side and behinde thee the multitude of thy sinnes what wilt thou doe in this case If thou respect these daungers thou seest nothing but the sea and the depth therefore thou must needes despaire remember therefore that thou looke onely vpon Christ neither doubt any thing for by this meanes thou maiest passe ouer as Peter did Thus farre Ferus And hee teacheth plainelie that by no other meanes then by Christ we can passe ouer the sea of death But the Roman Corrector bids put out that and put in without this meane we cannot passe ouer death And whereas Ferus bids vs onely haue an eie to Iesus Christ the Corrector bids put out onlie They must haue an eie to their owne workes and an other to Christ as it should séeme so iniurious are they euen to Christ himselfe who is our only Sauiour Esai 63. who alone trode the wine presse for vs as himselfe witnesseth Of iustification also Ferus writes thus In cap. 16. Io. The holy Ghost shall reproue the world of righteousnesse because I go to the father my righteousnesse can pierce the heauens and come before God and not any other righteousnesse And after The holy Ghost sheweth that the righteousnesse of the world sufficeth not to saluation And then he shewes that there is one only true righteousnesse with God that Christ is gone to the father that is that his death and resurrection iustifieth vs. And of faith he very excellently writes thus I require no great price but as I haue promised freely so I will giue freely onely if thou canst but beleeue in me In Ioh. cap. 11. Faith therefore is the meane whereby we obtaine the life and resurrection and all the goods of Christ Ferus of mans righteousnesse writes thus In cap. 4. Ioh. All mens righteousnesses are more vncleane then that they may iustifie vs or may commend vs to God If any man seeke righteousnesse out of the lawe howe much good soeuer hee doth yet he cannot obtaine thereby peace of conscience yea thereby also his conscience is the more disquieted the law often times accusing him that at length he is compelled to trust onely to the mercie of God and to say we are vnprofitable seruants and no flesh shall be iustified in thy sight Also in another place he writes thus In cap. 3. Ioh. Furthermore also by this word may be vnderstood that onely Christ by right and merit ascended into heauē for to him by right belongs the kingdome of heauen because he is the naturall sonne of God And therefore he saith all thine are mine And Dauid saith The heauen of heauens are the Lordes but the earth hath he giuen to the children of men All others which haue ascended or shall ascend haue this onely of grace by no right but because God onely hath promised this of his mercie neither our works of what kinde soeuer they be are so great that they may deserue this reward either of right or of desert but in as much as God accepts them in mercie Hereof it is that Saint Paul saith The sufferings of this life are not worthy the glorie we shall haue And the same Paul saith The waight of eternall glorie aboue all measure surpasseth all the sufferings of this life And of these he collecteth That we are saued by grace and not of workes least any man should glorie And lastly so that word may be vnderstood that no man by his owne righteousnesse may stand or appeare before God but onely Iesus Christ neither any maruell For all are gone out of the way and are altogether become vnprofitable And also if any good workes of righteousnesse appeare in vs yet we haue euer more sinnes so that Dauid iustly cried out If thou Lord shall extreamely marke what is done amisse who may abide it Furthermore our good workes haue some imperfections in them yea for the most part they are infected with vain glory or with some other fault of the old man so that it is truely said All our righteousnesses are like a defiled cloth And for this cause also Dauid praied Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant for in thy sight shall no man liuing be iustified If therefore our righteousnesse cannot stand in Gods sight how could it open heauen vnto vs or deserue the holy Ghost to reconcile vs to God But Christ dare appeare before God because he is the sonne of God and all other being damned and quite vndone he onely hath the fauour and grace of God he onely possesseth righteousnesse and to conclude he onely hath in himselfe all the good gifts of God Also onely his righteousnesse is acceptable to his father because it is mingled with no sinnes yea it is most pure hauing proceedeed from the great loue and charitie of his father That all the world may know saith he that I loue the father I doe as the father hath commanded And Saint Paul saith he was obedient euen to death Therefore he alone could deserue for vs the opening of heauen the loue of his father and the holy ghost By this word therefore Christ would humble vs that we should neuer presume of our selues nor of our owne righteousnesse not that we should doe no good but that we should acknowledge our selues vnprofitable seruants although we shall haue done all that
Ferus a Papist and a Frier of this matter writes thus This brings saith he great comfort to an afflicted conscience to know that Christs promises such like as these are Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee and againe it is your fathers pleasure to giue you a kingdome and againe your father knoweth that you stand in neede of these things doe not belong onely to the Apostles but do belong also to him Ferus ser 57. in cap. 19. Iob. But most plainly in his Sermons vpon Iob he teacheth this doctrine Thirdly saith he he doth not say onely a redeemer liues but that my redeemer liues and not without an expresse signification of his mind as we say that not coldly or for fashion sake For what good doth it me that Christ is a redeemer vnlesse he be also my redeemer vnlesse he haue made me partaker of his redemption Sathan knew that Christ was a redeemer but he cannot call him his redeemer therefore all the force of this sentence consists in this word mine let vs therfore endeuor to fashion our faith to this Neither is it sufficient if we doe beleeue vnlesse we beleeue with a certaine hope and assurance If I beleeue that there is a God and do not beleeue that he is my God that faith brings me no comfort for the Diuels beleeue the same and tremble Such a faith profiteth nothing But then I beleeue aright with a ioyfull assurance of my hart if I can not only say I beleeue that there is a God but I beleeue he is my God nor only I beleeue that God is a father but I beleeue that he is my father This to conclude is that that makes the hart merrie this is the true confession of the faith this God requires Heare O Israell I am thy Lord God that is to say I will not that thou account me for a God onely but that thou haue me for thy God but then thou shalt acknowledge that I am thy God if thou shalt boldly call vpon me in thy necessities so Christ will not that we shall onely say Father which art in heauen but Our Father as he himselfe hath praied in the garden After this manner also Thomas made a confession of his faith my God and my Lord acknowledging Christ not onely to be a God and a Lord but also his God and his Lord. So doth also Iob in this place I know that he is a redeemer and I know that he is mine Let vs marke how plainlie he teacheth this doctrine and strongly he confirmes the same against Maister Bellarmines former position Philippus de Dies a Frier also of this matter Domin 3. post pent conc 2. agréeing with Ferus writes thus O immutable God saith he wherefore when as there are so many wicked men in the world some for gaming some for pleasures some for pride some for couetousnesse thou saiest there is but one lost sheepe because the most sweete Iesus wils that thou shouldest beleeue that he sought thee so that if thou hadst beene in all the world alone he would for thy sake onely haue died Therefore euerie one is to account himselfe as that lost sheep and should thinke these benefits of his redemption not as vniuersal but as particular euen done for him And as for such like benefits should shew himselfe thankefull What can be more plaine then this that euerie man ought to account himselfe that lost shéepe And that Christ died for him alone And that not for a generall benefit as Maist Bellarmine teacheth but for such a particular benefit bestowed vpon him alone he should be thankfull Surely their doctrine diminisheth this thankfulnesse Philippus de Dies of speciall grace writes thus Conc. 1. in fest pet Pauli In euery temptation of our faith we must flie to this point saying My Lord Iesus Christ is the naturall sonne of God and the same is also God with the father and the holy Ghost and therefore whatsoeuer he hath taught or said concerning the Sacraments of grace of the glory of heauen of the paines of hell is a most certaine and infallible truth Stella of speciall grace writes thus In cap. 12. Luc. Marke that he saith to them which waite for their Lord. Wherein thou must take heede that the God which shall come vnto thee both that he be thine and that thou be Gods So that thou maiest truely say with Dauid I am thine O saue me because I haue sought thy righteousnesse It is a bird seldome seene vpon earth that can say to God I am thine He can saie so truely which cleaues to God with his whole heart and affection Can he say so which is greedie of money or which cleaues to a whore He which thinkes of the world and seekes after worldly things without doubt is the worlds as also they are the Diuels that serue the Diuell Lust comes and saith thou art mine because thou thinkest of those things which concerne the body concupiscence Couetousnesse comes and saith thou art mine because thou takest care for money And so other vices Howe canst thou which art such a one say to God I am thine And he addeth by and by Because I haue sought thy righteousnesse that is I haue sought nothing els I haue sought but that which belongs to thee Some seeke iewels golde siluer and precious stones dignities pleasures of the flesh reuenge of their enemies but I haue sought for thy righteousnesse I cannot possesse but that which belongs to thee I am thine because my portion is not in these earthly things but only in thee c. As we are Gods so also we must euerie one of vs accompt God to be ours by Stella his iudgement De Iacob vita beata ca. 6 Ambrose speaking of that place of S. Paul Rom. 8. writes thus He hath wonderfully added that that he gaue him to die for vs all that he might declare that he loued vs all so that he gaue his dearely beloued sonne euen for euerie one of vs. And in another place speaking of Christ he writes thus He died but once Ambr. de fuga seculi cap. 9. but he died for euery one that is baptized into the death of Christ that we may be buried with him and may rise againe with him may walke in the newnesse of his life And after the chiefe Priest is dead for thee is crucified for thee that thou mightest sticke fast to his nayles for he tooke thee and thy sins vpon him on that Crosse the obligations of thy sins were fastned to that gibbet that now thou shouldest owe nothing to the world which thou hast renounced Ferus also of the same matter writes thus Fourthly as it was said to Christ Fer. part 3. pass Let God deliuer him if he will haue him so this is the fourth temptation of the godly when they are tempted whether God loue them or not Where this word him hath a great force let him deliuer him
of them writes thus Granat Med. in orat dom Who can euer cast the account of my vaine thoughts who can number my euill works and idle words For the iust men scant know how to bridle their tongue And the number is infinite also of the sinnes of my transgression and commission in doing that which I should not haue doon and in omitting of that which I ought to haue doone And after But doest thou so forgiue vs our sinnes freely O Father and without any recompence Truely thou forgiuest them freely and not freely not freely for although mercy bee ready to forgiue yet iustice will be satisfied and yet freely because thou offerest vs that freely wherewith iustice is satisfied that is that huge incomparable treasure which thine only begotten son laid vp for vs the space of three and thirty yeares to the which he made a way to vs by his bloud This treasure we offer vnto thee O Father take thereof as much as thou wilt it may be drawne but it cannot bee drawne drie it may be spent but it cannot be diminished His merites are ours his satisfaction is ours his bloud is our ransome Therefore we beseech thee O Lord that being pacified with the blood and merites of thy Sonne that thou wouldest winke at our faults the which if thou wilt call to a strict account no man is able to abide the fauour of thy iustice much lesse the seuerity of it Therefore let thy mercy helpe vs who acknowledge our selues be damned of thy iustice of many hainous offences And againe in another place hee writes of the sinnes of all men thus That thou maiest better marke what thinges wee haue said thou must diligently consider the multitude of the sinnes of thy life past especially of those which thou committedst when as thou hadst lesse knowledge of God for if so be that thou shalt come to the perfect knowledge of them al thou shalt vnderstand that they are moe in number then the haires of thy head and that thou hast liued like a Pagan or Ethnike which knew not what God was After that runne ouer both the Tables of the tenne Commandements and those seauen deadly sinnes and thou shalt learne that there is no Commandement of God which thou hast not often broken and no deadly sin into the which thou hast not often fallen by work word and thought Remember the first man Adam that because he did eate the forbidden meate he did commit the most grieuous sinne in the world and there is no kind of sinne wherein thou hast not diuers waies and oftentimes offended Call to thy remembrance all the benefits of God which thou hast receiued all thy ages and the whole course of thy life and see how thou hast behaued thy selfe in all these For a most strict account of all these one day will be demanded of thee Therefore if thou wilt be ruled by me thou shalt doe most vvisely if thou shalt now presently iudge thy selfe least hereafter thou be more seuerely iudged of God Go to therfore tel me how thou hast past ouer thy childhood how thy youth how thy mans estate and that I may say all in a vvord how thou hast liued from thy mothers wombe til this day To what things hast thou emploied thy appetite and other powers of thy mind which thou hast receiued of God that thou shouldest know him and serue him withall How hast thou vsed thine eies no other wise then that thou mightest delight them in vaine things and fond shewes What hast thou delighted in to heare with thine eares surely vaine fables filthy talke and lies What hast thou broched with thy tongue but periuries murmurings and such things as are not seemely Thy tast touching and smelling in what other thinges haue they delighted then in those which were pleasant to the appetite delightful to flesh bloud and which might satisfie their pleasures Tel me how thou hast vsed the diuine Sacraments giuen thee of God as medicines to cure thy wounds what thankes hast thou giuen God for his infinite benefites bestowed vpon thee How hast thou kept his diuine commandements how hast thou employed thy health thy strength thy courage thy riches the prosperitie of this world and other commodities giuen thee of God that thou shouldest with them lead a godly life What care hast thou had of thy neighbour as concerning whom the Lord hath giuen thee a speciall charge what and how many workes of mercy hast thou doone which God hath so highly commended vnto vs Of all these will God call thee to account in that terrible day of iudgement when as he shall say vnto thee Giue an account of thy Stewardshippe Giue account of those riches which thou hast receiued of me For thou maiest be no longer a Steward O withered tree fit for hell fire What aunswere wilt thou make when account shall be demanded of thee of all thy life and of euery point and minute thereof Thus farre Granatensis Euerie one by his iudgement must pronounce himselfe guiltie at that great daie of assises of the immortall GOD and must flie to the winges of his mercie and must craue pardon And a little after speaking of mans vilenesse hee writes thus After thou hast weighed all these things with thy selfe in a iust ballance go forward to examine thine owne selfe and be not ashamed to thinke of thy selfe most vilely and most basely Thinke thy selfe to be no better then a reede which is shaken with euery wind which hath nothing in it without any vertue without any strength without any constancy without any stablenesse or firmenesse of mind Remember that thou art Lazarus now foure daies laide in his graue a stinking Carion full of wormes at the sauour whereof all they which passe by stoppe their noses and turne awaie their eies Thinke thy selfe thus to stinke before God and his Angels account thy selfe vnworthie who should lift vppe his eies to heauen an vnprofitable clodde of claie and vnworthie whom the earth should beare or whom the creatures of God should serue vnworthie of the bread thou eatest the Aire thou breathest the light by the meanes whereof thou seest but farre more vnworthy of the comfort of the Holy ghost I wil not say the adoption of a Sonne and that heauenly prouidence and care of thy heauenly Father which so dearely and tenderly cares for thee Be in thine owne eies the vilest of all other creatures and who hath abused all Gods benefites most abominably Thinke with thy selfe that if God had doon in Tyre and Sydone that is in other most notable sinners the works which he hath doone in thee they would euen now haue repented in sackcloth and ashes Confesse thy selfe to be the grieuousest sinner of al other sinners that thou knowest And the more that thou shalt be displeased with thy selfe when as now thou shalt thinke that thou hast comen to the vttermost thou shalt find more things which will giue thee occasion
shall neuer be confounded deliuer me in thy righteousnesse Thuâ— farre Ferus Here is the true Catholiques righteousnesse by Ferus his iudgement that is Christes merites and righteousnesse communicated and imputed to him And after hee writes thus Fiftly he enioyeth heauen by inheritance No man ascended into heauen but he that came downe from heauen For by good right heauen is due to him for hee is the naturall Sonne of God And therefore he saith All thine O Father are mine And Dauâ—d saith The heauen of heauens are the Lords and the earth hath he giuen to the children of men Whome therefore he shall take into part of this inheritance with him he shall enter into heauen We obtaine this by no right but onely of grace and because he hath mercifully promised it vnto vs. For our works what kind soeuer they are doe not deserue such a reward of equality or worthinesse but in as much as God mercifully accepts them And therefore Paul saith The sufferings of this life are not worthy the glory to come And the same saith againe That the weight of that glory to come aboue all measure exceedes all that we suffer in this life And of them he concludes and saith By grace ye are saued not of works least any one should bragge Again of faith and good works he writes thus Fer. in cap. 4. Act. They are builders which with holesome doctrine doe erect and mainetaine the house of God But as all men cannot tell how to build so nor how to preach He that will be a builder must know what is to be placed beneath and what aboue also hee must take care that his building be not only beautifull but also firme and strong They which teach faith without works build their wal with vntempered morter for the righteousnesse of the law cannot stand against the iudgment of God and therefore it must needes fall They which teach faith without works they laie truly a foundation but they build nothing on it therefore they refuse this stone which teach to trust in workâ— which teach righteousnesse to come by works as the Pharisies â—d Thus farre Ferus And do not the papists so now And a little after vpon these words There is no other nâ—â—e God hath appointed no other meanes to the world by which men must be saued then the name power and merite of Christ Our name is sinne lying vanity curse death but the name of Christ is that he is the Sonne of God holy iust the Authour of life Also his name is righteousnesse wisedome sanctification and redemption c. He that calles vpon this name that is hee which trusts by Christ and his onely righteousnesse and merites to be saued he truly obtaines saluation hee that goes about to be saued by any other thing beguiles himselfe No man comes to the father but by me saith Christ And S. Paul saith By him we haue accesse to the Father Therefore he which by his owne righteousnesse onely striues to go to God and to his goods shall neuer come to them So Israel following the law of righteousnesse attained not to the law of righteousnesse because he sought it of works onely and not of faith VVee must doe good works but we must not trust in that righteousnesse Good men may pray for vs but they cannot saue vs. Therefore when all is doon we must put all our trust in Christ and we must cleaue to him with hearty loue And after In this name the fathers of the old Tastament were saued For although the Sacraments by reason of the time do differ yet one and the selfe same faith agreeth Also Austen saith To the old iust men something was hidden when as notwithstanding they should be saued by the same faith which at their times should be reuealed whereof the Apostle saith Hauing the same Spirit of faith and therefore it is written I beleeued and therefore I spake And we beleeue and therefore we also speake He would not haue said the same vnlesse they had had the same Spirit of faith But as they when as that Sacrament was hidden beleeued that Christ should be incarnate and we beleeue that he is incarnate his comming to iudgement is looked for both of them and of vs. Thus far Ferus Where hee teacheth plainely that all true Catholiques must trust in Christ and in his merites they must doe good workes but they must not trust in them they may one pray for another but one cannot saue another they must let that alone for euer as Dauid teacheth in the Psalmes And that the old fathers and we were saued by the same faith Psal 49.7 And after that no man can fulfill the lawe hee writes thus vpâ—n these words There was a murmur of the Grecians Marke here hat the saints want not their imperfections they are Christians and Saints by faith but sinners in themselues Fer. in cap. 5. Act. Although GOD hath giuen them grace yet he hath left in them their nature still both that we should know our selues then also that we should haue an occasion of practising charity Euery Christian hath in himselfe that he would should be borne withall of others and he sees in others which he himselfe must beare withall And hereof Saint Paul saith Beare ye one anothers burthen c. Againe of vaine confidence he writes thus Hypocrisie neglecting the righteousnesse of faith Fer. in cap. 6. Act. and as Christ sayth the greater things of the law trusts in the outward works of the law They account righteousnesse to be placed in the externall obseruation of ceremonies places and times none therefore more bragge of Temples and Sacrifices then that kind of men So Christ 16. of Luke inueies against them saying Woe be to you which iustifie your selues And of the manner of our saluation hee writes thus In cap. 7. Act. vpon these wordes The glory of God appeared to our Fatâ—er Abraham Behold the beginning of our saluation sayeth hee is of God and not of our selues No man comes to me vnlesse my Fâ—â—her draw him sayth Christ Our saluation beginnes from heâ—uen for vnlesse God first doe beginne we doe euer remaine in our sinnes And that he beginnes with his word it is a signe thaâ— our saluation is begunne of faith For the word of God cannot â—therwise be receiued then by faith faith especially is necessary He that comes to God must beleeue For to be able to please God wâ—â—hout faith it is impossible Also that besides this voice of God â—o merites of his are written therefore it is doone that we may kâ—ow that our saluation is of Gods grace and mercy For our saluatâ—â—n comes not to vs of works or merites but of the mercy of God according to that You are called of grace and not of works Tâ—us farre Ferus Where hee plainely attributes not onely thâ— beginning of our saluation to the frée mercy and grace of Goâ— but also the end thereof which other Papistes
be the greatest signe of loue to suffer for him that is beloued what else are all thy sorrowes then speciall testimonies of thy loue If then there are so many testimonies thereof as there are blowes and strokes who will doubt of this loue being confirmed with so many Testimonies Oh then how great is my incredulity which is not ouercome with so many and so great arguments Iohn maruelled at the infidelity of the Iewes saying that When as Iesus had done so manie and so great signes amongst them to confirme his doctrine yet they beleeued not in him O blessed Euangelist cease to woonder at the incredulitie of the Iewes and woonder at mine For it is no lesse an argument to perswade vs to beleeue the exceeding great loue of Christ towards vs that he suffered for vs wherefore if it be greatly to be woondred at that the Iewes beleeued not the preaching of Christ hauing seene his so many miracles how is it not farre more woonderfull that seeing Iesus hath receiued for vs more then fiue thousand wounds in his most tender body that we will yet doubt of his loue towards vs But what a matter will it be if wee shall ioine all the sorrowes and sufferings of his life to those stripes which hee suffered when as hee was bound to the pillar when as he suffered all those euilles for the loue he bare vnto vs what thing else O Lord drew thee from heauen into this valley of teares but loue what made thee come out of the bosome of the father into the wombe of thy mother and there to be cladde with earth and comming out from thence caused thee to endure all kinds of miseries but loue What droue thee into the stable and manger and caried thee after into a strange land as a banisht person but loue what caused thee to take such paines to runne vp and downe hither and thither to watch to endure all the troubles of the long night to compasse about Sea and land to seeke the lost sheepe but loue What bound Sampsons hands and feet what powled his head and bereaued him of al his strength and made him a laughing stocke to his enimies but the only loue of his spouse Dalilah And O Christ what bound thy hands and feet what powled thee and depriued thee of all thy strength and fortitude and gaue thee into the hands of thine enimies of whom thou wast mocked spit vpon and slaine was it not onely the loue wherewith thou louedst so dearly the spouse of thy Church and the soules of euery one of vs To conclude what bound thee to this Pillar where thou stoodest from the sole of thy feet to the crowne of thy head most iniuriously dealt withall with thy hands bound thy ribs torne from their flesh thy members al out of ioint thy body al to be bathed with bloud thy veines cutte in pieces thy lippes thirsting thy toong being bitter as gal and that I may say al in a word al thy body torne and rent and all thy members crusht in pieces O Christ I beseech thee what other thing forced thee into this gulfe of so rowes but onely loue O exceeding great loue O loue full of fauour O such a loue as becomes his comâ—assion and greatnesse who is infinit goodnesse it selfe bountifulnesse it selfe loue it selfe and mercie it selfe Gran. de orat med die Mer. how therefore O Lord hauing so many and so great testimonies as these are can I not beleeue that thou louest mee most dearely when as it is most certaine that in heauen now thou hast not changed thy mind from that since thou wast here vpon earth Thou art not that Pharaohs Butler who when as he saw himself restored againe to his former honor forgat his miserable friend whom he left in prison but thou now abounding with all prosperitie glory and maiesty in heauen loues more dearely thy Sonnes dwelling here on earth then before When as therefore thou hast so greatly loued me how cannot I but loue thee againe How shall I not but trust in thee how shall I not but commit my selfe wholy to thee how shal I not now account my selfe rich and happy enough seeing I haue God mine such a deare friend It is greatly to be wondered at that I should delight in any transitory things in this life or to giue my mind to any outward things when as I haue such a mighty and rich friend by whose meanes all good things both temporal and eternall are bestowed vpon me Thus farre Granatensis wherein he most excellentlie describes the excéeding great loue that Iesus Christ our most blessed Sauiour euer had and euen now hath towards vs so that he that now will doubt thereof is worse then anie Turk Pagan or Infidell for what is this else but to denie that hee suffered all these things for vs And if euerie one is to beleeue assuredlie this excéeding loue of Iesus Christ towards him then surely he is not to doubt of his saluation And after speaking of Christ when as hee was whipped and then againe shewed to the Iewes of Pilate VVee must knowe sayeth hee that Christ euen now shewes to his Father in heauen the same shape and the same countenance Med. die louis which he shewed to this furious people euen as fresh and as blew with stripes and as besprinkled with blood as he was at that day when hee liued here on earth What Image can be more forcible to pacifie the eyes of an angry father then the bloodie countenance of this his sonne This is that golden propitiatory this is that Raine-bow of diuers colours placed in the cloudes by the sight whereof God is appeased this delights the eies of God this satisfies his iustice this restores to God againe the honour that man had stolne from him this yeelds to God that seruice which his greatnes requireth Tell me O thou faint-hearted Christian whosoeuer thou art distrusting of the goodnesse of God if the shape and forme of Christ was such that it was able to pacifie the eyes of such cruell enemies how much more forcible shall it bee to pacifie the eyes of a louing Father especially when as he suffered all things which he suffered for his honor and obedience Make a comparison of eyes with eies and of person with person and thou shalt easily perswade thy selfe that thou art more secure and certaine of the mercy of this father if thou offer vnto him such a shape and figure of his sonne then Pilate was of the compassion of the Iewes then when as he bringing forth Iesus shewed him to the people Therefore in all thy prayers and temptations lay hold on this Lord for a shield and put him between thee and thy God offring him and saying Behold the man Behold O Lord God here thou hast that man whom thou soughtest for so many hundred yeares that he might be a mediator between thee miserable sinners Behold how thou hast such an excellent
the Hebrewe article Lamed which is the signe of the Datiue case as though they were giuen to Dauid from aboue and not Dauids Psalmes with the signe of the Genitiue case as though they were of his owne making or inuention So saint Paul saith 2. Tim. 3.16 The whole Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God And saint Peter saith Pet. 2. ep 3.15 Iames 1.5 As our beloued brother Paul according to the wisedome giuen to him wrote to you And saint Iames saith If any man lacke wisedome let him aske of God c. Hereof is the maiestie of the holy scriptures and worde of God it descendes from aboue all mens hearts must climbe vp to it no man nor Church is aboue it so that we maie iustly saie thereof as Dauid said Psal 138.2 Thou hast magnified thy name and thy word aboue all things Osor lib. 3. de Sapientia Of the authoritie of the scriptures Osorius writes thus If thou be afraide to walke in darkenesse and desirest to be filled with the light of saluation doe not search for those causes and reasons of things thou canst neuer attaine vnto but onely giue credit to the heauenly testimonies and be content that thou maiest be sure that those thinges which thou beleeuest are confirmed by Gods â—â—ne word and sentence This is the rocke of all Christians â—â—at they knowe that those things which they doe beleeue are ratified by Gods owne word The words of all the Angels in heauen nor of all the men and Churches in the world without this word could not quiet and assure our consciences Therefore we beleeue and are assured because we know God hath spoken it and whatsoeuer hee hath spoken we doubt not of though he haue but once spoken it as Balam did Num. 22.11.20 after Gods answere he went to aske him the second time Againe of the excellent commoditie which is reaped by studying the scriptures he writes thus And that we may begin Lib. 5. de Sap. from hence it is euident by Gods owne mouth that true wisedome consists in true obedience and kéeping of the law of God For thus it is written This shall be your wisedome and vnderstanding before all people that they hearing these commandements may say Behold a wise and an vnderstanding people As though hee should say let others loue the studies of the Mathematiques let them search out with all their endeuours the hidden secretes of nature and if they thinke good let them measure out the heauens and let them endeuour to bring to light that which is shut vp in the bowels of the earth let them bragge of their wisedome and vaunt of their wits let them walke with the titles of great learned men and let them intrude themselues euerie where as correctors and amenders of common wealths But you keepe firmely with you one kinde of wisedome onely that is to say study you in the Lawe of God day and night let that neuer slippe out of your mindes Other studies can neither saue you nor aduance you nor deliuer you out of perils nor to conclude can bring you any fruit or commoditie in aduersities Nay it may so fall out that that same false opinion of wisedome may oftentimes bring you into the danger of your life and maye throw you headlong into euerlasting destruction For he is not called blessed which is skilfull in the artes which mans braine hath deuised but he that studies earnestly in the law of God day and night And after he concludes thus This Oration plainely declares that all wisedome is contained in the studying of the law of God If this be true why then are not all men in the Popes kingdome exhorted and pricked forward to this blessednesse why are some kept backe from it and forbidden it If all wisedome bee contained therein what state haue they béene in which neuer knew it And Ferus herin also agrées with Osorius Fer in c 9. act As vnreasonable beasts are guided and holden in with a bridle so to man is giuen reason and to Christians the word of God by which they may be gouerned He accounts Christians lacking the knowledge of the word of God like bruit bâ—astes without a bridle or like men without reason And againe The word of God is that sharpe and piercing sword wherewith the Diuell is repelled and put to flight He therefore that will liue without care danger let him take into his hands this sword Thus saith Ferus but the Pope saith not so he will not haue euerie one meddle with this sword In cap. 20. act And againe These are the weapons wherewith the enemies haue hurt the Church that is to say peruerse doctrine and all doctrine is peruerse wicked that agrees not with the rule and square of Gods worde Ibidem And a little after vpon these words And to the word of his grace He addes this as though he should say If any thing as yet bee wanting let it be taken out of the word of God For Gods word is a Lanterne vnto our feete Aboue all other things chiefly in all aduersities the power and authoritie of God and the word of truth doe comfort vs and doe defend vs against all inuasions of heretiques the Diuell and the world He doth not say as some Papists doe nowe saie that the wants of the Church must be supplied by traditions but by the Scriptures It is able to supplie all wants And againe vpon these words Saying none other things then those Fer. in act 24. which Moses and the Prophets did saie should come The doctrine of Christians must bee agreeable to the Scriptures And if Paul were not ashamed to preach the Scriptures how much lesse we And after speaking of Pauls Nauigation Let vs vse all fit meanes saith he but especially let vs trust in God In Act. 27. If we cannot escape the danger of our body yet let vs haue a care that our soule may be safe And marke here that the longer we are on this sea meaning the world wee doe saile the more dangerously Againe There is neuer more dangerous fayling then where there is famine of the word of God If we would then not suffer shipwrack Col. 3.16 let vs haue the anchor in our houses as Saint Paul counsels vs. And a little after As these men in so great dangers had nothing els to comfort them but the words of Paul so also now the word of God only comforts vs which God giues vs abundantly But wo be to our vnthankfulnesse which despise it The houre shall come when we shall desire to heare the word of God and it shall not be granted vs. Wo to him that despiseth it for he shall be despised Let all Recusants marke this Marke diligently also saith he that Paul spake but thrise in the shippe first he warned them that they should not saile secondly he comforted them And here thirdly he forewarneth against imminent
expounded it and shall we not beleeue him rather then Master Bellarmine he writte thus of our Sauiour Christ In. 5. Psal penit I am Α and Ω the first and last the beginning and the end In this beginning was the earth founded because in him is the Church founded and therefore the Apostle saith No man can lay any other foundation besides that which is laid alreadie which is Iesus Christ So doth Theodoret also expound it This foundation Peter laid or rather the Lord himselfe Theo. 1. Cor. 3. And therefore the mediator of God and man said to the prince of the Apostles Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke I will build my Church For he is that rocke from which Peter tooke his name and vpon the which he said he would build his Church And after But the Church founded vpon the strength of that rocke whereof I haue spoken meaning Christ Iesus neither is shaken with the stormes of threates nor moued with the waues of persecution Here we may note that Gregorie affirmes that the rocke vpon which the Church must be built must be strong and firme which no stormes nor no waues can be able to moue but such strength is in no mortall man Secondly that Christ is that rocke that no other can be put This was the Catholikes doctrine in his daies And heereby we may plainly see how now the common receiued opinion of Catholikes dissents from him And although some other of the Fathers haue called Peter the rocke vpon which our Sauiour said he would builde his Church and M. Bellarmine saith that saint Austine when as he had also sometime affirmed the same retracted it after because he vnderstood not the Hebrewe tongue and thought that Cephas did not signifie a rocke but some thing deriued from a rocke as if we should say rockish or of the nature of a rocke I answere that Austine vnderstood the Gréeke tongue which plainely expounds this word Cephas to be Petra as appeares not onely by saint Matthewes Gospell Io. 1. 42. but also by saint Iohn where our Sauiour himselfe saith Thou shalt be called Cephas which is interpreted Petrus or a stone no doubt the holy Ghost foresaw how some would goe about by this worde Cephas to make Peter the rocke whereon the Church should be builded And therefore to stop the mouthes of all such expositors whosoeuer it selfe hath expounded that Cephas is by interpretation not a rocke but a stone And this interpretation of the spirit of God is sufficient to settle anie true Christians conscience against any other mans interpretations whatsoeuer And Austin himselfe distinguisheth Peter farre otherwise then M. Bellarmine doth Tract in Ioh. 133. Forasmuch saith he as belonged properly to himselfe Peter by nature was one man by grace one Christian and by his more abundant grace Primus Apostolus that he had more then others one and the same * first Apostle But when it was said vnto him I will giue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou shalt bind on earth c. he signified the whole Church and not one person M. Bellarmine distinguisheth Peter as one person and againe as he was head of the Church But S. Augustine distinguisheth him as he is one person and in that consideration he saith by that abundant grace he had more then others he was not head of the Church as M. Bellarmine saith but onely the first Apostle And in his second consideration he represented the whole body of the Church when hee receiued the keyes which is tossed with many waues and is built vpon the rocke so in this consideration Peter himselfe was built vpon the rocke But to make the matter without all doubt not all the Catholikes as M. Bellarmine affirmeth do auouch Peter to be that Rocke whereon the Church was built For Ferus expounds Cephas to be taken for a stone and not for a rocke when it was giuen to Peter his words are these Thou art Peter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he in Greeke Cephas in the Chaldee tongue in Latine is a stone Ferus in 16. cap. Matth. Therfore we must search out the reason of this name for he did not without cause call him Peter which before was called Simon We reade in Iohn when as Andrew had brought Simon his brother to Christ by and by as soone as Christ sawe him hee said Thou art Simon the sonne of Iohn Thou shalt be called Cephas At the very first sight of him hee foretold that hee should haue another name and that not any name whatsoeuer but such a name as should signifie a stone neither did hee notwithstanding giue a reason of that name in that place neither in any other place of the Gospell as hitherto ye haue heard why he is called Peter but only in this place for when Peter had said Thou art Christ the sonne of God he heard by and by Thou art Peter As though he should say Hitherto thou hast beene called Simon and thou hast beene called the sonne of man now thou art the sonne of God and thou art Peter now thou art worthy of this name now thou art truly a stone because thou standest vpon the rocke Thou seest that Peter was so called for the confession of the faith And this changing of the name also concernes vs For thus it is prophesied of the beleeuers For Sions sake I will not hold my peace And thou shalt be called by a new name because the mouth of the Lord hâ—th spoken it It is not a newe name that one should be called Peter that is a stone It is not for man that he should be a rock euen as Iob saith My strength is not the strength of stones Nay on the contrary All flesh is grasse and euery man liuing is altogether vanitie It belongs only to Christ that he should be a rocke And he gets this new name who is built vpon this rocke as thou seest in Peter Thus far Ferus Where we may learne euidently that he agrées not with M. Bellarmine who expounds Cephas to be a rocke but he agrées with vs and with the interpretation thereof set downe in the Gospell and cals it a stone and so also makes Peter himselfe to be Nay he addes farther which quite ouerthrowes M. Bellarmines assertion that all Christians which are built vpon the rock which is Iesus Christ get to themselues this new name why then if Cephas signifie a rocke then all Christians should be rockes and vpon them also as well as vpon Peter should the Church be builded But to put the matter out of all doubt he saith plainly that it is not for any man to be called a rocke no not for the Pope then if he be a man And yet to make it more euident if it were possible what was his opinion and iudgement concerning this matter he addeth It belongeth only to Christ to be a rocke What can be more
manifest then this Therefore all Catholiques as M. Bellarmine affirmeth do not affirme Peter to be the rocke whereupon the Church was built or if they do they do erre as here Ferus forced with truth doth very manifestly proue and confesse And here I cannot let passe a sleight which some Catholikes haue vsed to salue this matter whereas in a copie printed at Paris 1594. after Ferus death we read thus as I haue alleaged It belongeth onely to Christ that he should be the rocke In a copie printed at Rome 1597 it is thus read It belongs to Christ that he should be the first chiefe rocke where the word Onely is quite left out and the word first or chiefe is put in or added What dealing is this to adde or put out at their pleasures and that to maintaine the Popes supremacie Ferus in his first copie saith that It belongs only to Christ to be a rocke And the Catholikes in their copie printed at Rome say It belongs to Christ to be the chief rocke and put out onely and adde chiefe because they would haue the Pope ioined with him And Ferus himselfe did not alter this during his life for both the copies were printed after his death That at Paris by Philippus Agricola preacher at Moguntia and as it should séeme Ferus successour But howsoeuer they would salue the matter with the word chiefe or first Ferus hath so plainely put downe his iudgement heerein as all the world may sée and perceiue their iuggling for he said before It belongs not to any man to be a rocke Therefore hee takes awaie plainly all secondarie rockes of Peters successors which they would establish But to declare plainly what Ferus meant by the chiefe Rocke which perchance sometime he vseth he addeth after vpon these words And vpon this rock I wil build my church What the Church is saith he we haue declared else where but now we must search out what is the rocke vpon which the Church is built The scripture sometime takes a rocke for strength firmity and securitie as in the Psalm He hath brought me out of the lake of miserie and hath set my feet vpon the rocke By which words he meanes nothing else then that he was placed in a safe and sure place that is in safetie So also in another place he saith Set me vpon a rocke When as Christ therfore saith I will build my Church vpon this rocke hee meanes nothing else then he will build his Church vpon a sure and vnmoueable foundation against which all the assaults of his enemies can bee able to do nothing By this it is manifest that Christ built not his Church vpon Peter as a chiefe foundation For we are built vpon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Iesus Christ himselfe being the head corner stone or vpon any other man for no man is so firme or constant that he cannot be moued as we may also see in Peter Therefore another rocke is to be sought for And truly in the Scriptures Christ himselfe is often called a rocke or stone as in Esay I will put in Sion a corner stone approued and chosen whosoeuer beleeueth in him shall not be confounded And in the Psalme The same stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner And Peter comming to Christ as to a liuing stone is to be built vpon him Thou hearest what Peter saith that Christ is that stone then he wils that we all should be stones which then is done when wee are built vpon Christ And he is built vpon Christ that beleeues in Christ and trusts vpon those things which Christ hath and is able to do Christ therefore is principally the rocke vpon whom the whole Church is built according to that Another foundation can no man lay besides that which is laid Iesus Christ Then because by a true faith we are ioined to Christ we also after a maner if wee may so speake as it were become rockes All Christians are secundarie rockes And therefore the Christian faith it selfe and the truth of the Gospell is that firme and vnmoueable rocke on which Christ hath built his Church Thus far Ferus And héere we may note first that the rock whereon Christ will build his Church must be firme sure and vnmoueable against which the assaults of no enemies can preuaile Secondly he saith that Peter was not such a rock as we may manifestly perceiue Againe whereas he saith that he built it not vpon Peter as on a chiefe foundation he addeth For we are builded vpon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Amongst whom he reckons Peter And lastlie he concludes that principally or chiefly Christ is the rocke vpon which the whole Church is built And secondly the Christian faith or truth of the Gospell is that firme and vnmoueable rocke vpon which Christ built his Church So that where Ferus doth say that Christ is the chiefe rock he meanes not to make Peter or his successours the second as the Papists doe conceiue but Christian faith and the truth of the Gospell But afterward hee also declares most euidently what was giuen to Peter To thee saith he I wil giue c. he promiseth that he wil giue him the keyes he gaue them not in this place therefore let vs seeke where he gaue him the keyes indeed And we shall find in no other place but that which is in Iohn Receiue yee the holy Ghost whose sinnes you forgiue they are forgiuen them and whose sinnes you shall retaine they shall be retained The keyes therefore of the kingdome of heauen are power to forgiue or retaine sinnes The which also is proued out of this place For Christ forthwith added Whatsoeuer thou shalt bind on earth c. But what means this here to Peter only the keyes are promised yet they are also giuen to the other Apostles Here I will alleage the sentence of S. Ierome For the ordinary Glosse alleageth him The other Apostles haue saith he power of Iurisdiction to whom it was said after the resurrection Receiue Euery Church also hath this power in her Bishops and Priests but therefore they are promised specially to Peter that all men may vnderstand that whosoeuer shall separate himselfe from the vnitie of the faith and from the fellowship of the Church which is but one neither to be loosed from his sins nor can enter into heauen Thou hast heard what be the keyes and what is the ecclesiasticall power let vs marke the vse of the keyes and the execution of this power Thus far Ferus Here we may note most manifestly both by Ferus and Ieromes iudgement that the power and authoritie here promised to Peter alone was afterward giuen indéede to all the Apostles and that euerie Church in her Bishops and Priests hath now the same power what then can the Bishop of Rome Peters successour or the Church of Rome brag of more then any other bishops or Church
of the testator giues thee none of these But what If thou bee contented with that which is conteined in them haue a more care of the inheritance and of the worke then of glorie and riches For what did the holie Apostle leaue thee that which I haue sayth he I giue thee And what is that not gold nor siluer when as he had none of that but what care ouer the Church But what did he leaue thee a Lordshippe Heare what hee sayeth not ruling as Lords ouer the Lords inheritance but being made a paterne of the flocke And that thou mayst know that these things are so in deede Christ sayth in the Gospell The kings raigne ouer the nations but you shall not do so Of these it is plaine that Lordships are forbidden the Apostles the which whosoeuer doe challenge to themselues are of the number of them of whom God complaines thus They haue raigned but not by me And after they are the ministers of Christ and so am I and hee addeth I speake as vnwise I more being in many labours O excellent ministerie if thou must glorie let the patterne of the holy Apostles be set before thine eies acknowledge thine inheritance in Christs crosse in many labours happie is hee that can saye I haue laboured more then they all Thus farre Bernard let them marke well this saith Ferus that glorie in their authoritie To Peter therefore were the keies giuen but as to a minister This Ferus alledgeth out of Bernard to beate downe the Popes idle pompe and pride and to extoll the excellencie of the ministerie of the gospell The name whereof nowe to be called a minister the catholikes cannot abide All this sentence of Bernard and Ferus haue they of Rome in their edition left quite out they like not that Peter should receiue the keies as a minister that he should be matched with other pastors as he both ioineth himselfe 1 Pet. 1. Gal. 2 9. and Paule ioineth him They like not that Bernard giueth him not a Lordshippe or dominion ouer Christs Church which Christ onelie challengeth to himselfe Iohn 23.3 I am sayth he your Lord and maister but a ministerie or seruice and therefore impaires his authoritie that he should not be Christs vicegerent here on earth Ferus repeates that twise that to Peter were the keies giuen but as to a minister This they leaue out in both places It pleaseth them not that Peter should be a minister Thirdly that is also to be marked sayth Ferus that it is expresly sayd I will giue thee the keies of the kingdome of heauen hee doth not say of the kingdome of the earth These wordes belong nothing to earthlie iurisdiction which notwithstanding they goe about to establish on these words affirming that Peter not onely in spirituall but also in externall and worldly affaires to haue receiued fulnesse of authoritie The which thing Bernard to Engenius doth manifestly reproue Ber. lib. Io. d◠consid your authoritie saith he is in trespasses not in possessiōs because for those and not for these you haue receiued the keyes of the kingdom of heauen It followeth whether power seemes greater to thee to forgiue sinnes or to deuide landes These earthly and base things haue their Iudges the kings and princes of the world neyther doe you enter into another mans bounds why doe you thrust your sickle into another mans haruest why will you be greater then your maister who being requested of one saying speake to my brother that he may deuide the inheritance with me Answered who hath ordained me a Iudge betweene you Thus far Barnard Héere most manifestly both Bernard and Ferus take one of the Popes swords from him that he hath nothing to do in worldlie matters that he cannot translate kingdoms at his pleasure which hath béen a gainefull sword to the Pope which sword gat him both his Peter pence his popes power while by this sword he made all Christian Kinges to be at his commaundement This third note of Ferus and assertion of Bernard is thus peruerted in the Roman addition Thirdly say they that is to bee marked that it is expresly sayde And I will giue to thee the keies of the kingdome of heauen as though hee should say the keies are mine therefore vse them according to my pleasure They quite leaue out that it is expresly sayd that to thee I will giue the keies of the kingdome of heauen and not of the kingdome of the earth as also all the sentence of Bernard which confirmes the same Ferus also alleadgeth Ierome To conclude saith he that is to be marked which he saith I will giue thee the keies Thus saith he Ierome writes on this place in the 16 Chapter of Matthew Bishops saith he and Priests not vnderstanding this place take some thing vnto them of the pride of the Pharisees that they thinke they maye eyther condemne the innocent or loose the guiltie when as with God not the sentence of the priests but the liues of the offenders are required Christ therefore willing to reproue this presumptiō sayth I will giue the keies as though he should say The keies are mine therfore vse thē according to my pleasure and not acccording to thine owne pleasure This saying of Ierome also is omitted in the Roman editions It séemes to giue to Bishops and priests interest in that saying of our Sauiour and I will giue to thee the keies of the kingdom of heauen which they would haue belong to Peter It quite ouerthrowes the Popes pardons The Pope cannot pardon whom he list nor sell his pardons to those whose liues he knowes not as he vseth commonly to do For with God saith Ierome not the sentence of the priests but the life of the penitent sinner is respected All the pardons in the world without true and heartie repentance are nothing auaileable to any man And true and hartie repentaunce with a liuely faith saueth without all popes pardons If all men knew this it would make the Popes pardons lesse saleable To conclude Peter saith Ferus receiued power but not any earthly power that hee might giue or take away or alienate kingdomes and gouernments nor such power that it might be lawfull for him to do what he list that which many dreame he did but he receiued power of binding and loosing of remitting and detayning sinnes of openning and shutting neyther that according to his owne pleasure but as a seruant or minister doing his maisters will This sentence also in the Roman edition is quite left out And héere all men may sée that will not wilfully shut their eies whose kingdome they maintaine that deale thus deceitfully Euen Sathans that prince of darknes who was a lier and a deceiuer from the beginning Truth needes no such shiftes And here also euerie faithfull christian may obserue another sleight which the Papists vse to maintaine their Popes authoritie Hect. Piu◠in Dan. Ca. 1. Hector Pintus a verse learned
was pierced but this which Zacharie speaks of shall be after Neither was it fulfilled in the destruction of Ierusalem as some other haue expounded it Because the incredulous Iewes hauing now quite forgotten the death of Christ when as Ierusalem was destroyed neuer thought of Christ neither that they suffered all those euils for his sake but rather for the sins of some seditious persons and of some other that then were in the citie as Iosephus himselfe thought I will not refuse to speake that saith hée which sorrow enforceth me to speake I suppose Lib. 6. de bel Iudaic. cap. 16. that if the Romans had not comed against those wicked persons that either the citie should haue beene destroyed by some earthquake or ouerflowed with some Deluge or should haue beene consumed with thunder and lightning from heauen as was Sodom For she then had brought forth a farre more wicked brood then euer Sodome did To conclude togither with their wickednes past all cure the whole people also perished So that this prophecie is to be fulfilled in the true naturall Iewes and as yet it hath not béene fulfilled in them And no doubt our blessed Sauiour himselfe in the Gospel had relation to the prophecie of Zacharie Mat. 24. â—0 who speaking of the day of iudgement saith Then shall appeare the signe of the sonne of man in heauen and then shall all the kinreds of the earth weepe And they shall see the sonne of man comming in the clouds of heauen with power and great glorie What other signe can any man iudge here to be meant then the signe of the crosse the glorie brightnes of Iesus Christ going before him cannot be that signe for of that he ads a little after Then shall they see the son of man come in the clouds of heauen with power and great glorie But before this great glorie shall this signe appeare So that it cannot be properly this great glorie They are two distinct things Let vs marke diligently here also how the Euangelist cals it the signe of the sonne of man and not the signe of the sonne of God And therefore shall be an humble and not a glorious signe All the whole life of our Sauiour was humble but especially in his death on the crosse he declared this his humilitie That he touched leapers that he talked so familiarly with that sinfull woman of Samaria that he was baptised of Iohn Mat. 8.3 Io. 4.7 Mat. 3.15 Ioh. 13.5 Phil. 2.6 nay that he washed his Apostles feete but aboue all other signes of his humilitie this was the greatest that he died vpon the crosse And therefore saint Paul saith who when he was in the shape of God and thought it no robberie to be equall with God but he made himselfe of no reputation and tooke on him the forme of a seruant and was made like vnto men and was found in shape as a man He humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto the death euen the death of the crosse Wherefore God hath also greatly exalted him and giuen him a name aboue euerie name On the crosse appeared his greatest humilitie So that the crosse in this respect may verie fitly be called the signe of the sonne of man And this also the spéeches of the Iewes spoken to our sauiour may insinnate If he be the king of the Iewes let him come down from the crosse And we will beleeue in him It was the crosse that they stumbled at Mat. 27.42 Gal. 5.11 Es 9.6 that to this day is that that offends the Iewes And that is Christs greatest glorie His principalitie is vpon his shoulder as Esay saith Nay it shall be such a signe as shall make all the tribes of the earth to wéepe which beleeue not in Christ And surely what other signe can this be then the signe of the crosse What other signe in heauen could make the Iewes to wéepe but the signe of the crosse No doubt the sight of this will euen breake their hearts make them burst out into teares and to fulfill this prophecie of Zacharie Dom. 24. Post Pent. Conc. 1. To this effect Granat hath a notable sentence and to the confirmation thereof he cites Eusebius Emissenus and he writes thus Before the comming of this heauenly king the triumphant signe of the crosse more cleere then the sunne shall appeare And then saith the Lord all the tribes of the earth shall lament because in that signe all the wicked shall manifestly see their condemnation The infidels because they haue blasphemed the crosse of Christ the faithfull which haue liued wickedly because they haue made no vse of such a great benefit and remedie For as Eusebius Emissenus saith So farre more greater shall be the sinners of men how much more Gods benefits haue stretched forth themselues vnto them Therefore saith he it is to be beleeued that the Lord will pronounce and speake to the vessels of iniquitie at his iudgement that same voice which he spake at his resurrection declaring the precious prints of the wounds which he receiued on his crosse Put thy finger in hither and behold my hands and bring hither thy hand and thrust it into my side and acknowledge O wickednes of men what for thy sake and of thee I suffered For those same signes of his nailes healthfull to the godly but terrible to the wicked which shal not be done away vntil the day of iudgment no doubt are reserued to cast men in the teeth withall Thus farre he Neither shal that crosse condemne onely our ingratitude and make it void of all excuse but our slothfulnes also and our idlenes for by what meanes possible can a wicked man excuse himselfe when as he seeth the crosse of Christ which is a most forcible remedie against that excuse of our infirmitie and all other our euils Wherefore to all other crimes wicked man may haue somthing to say but to these that is his slothfulnes and ingratitude infirmitie nothing at all for if it shall be laid to his charge Thou hast beene an extortioner an adulterer thou hast cursed forsworne blasphemed He may answere perchance I am a fraile man conceiued in sin I was prone to sin I was compassed about with sinful flesh But when the Iudge shal replie Is there not Rosine in Gilead and is not there a phisition there which is as though he should say were there not medicins in my Church were there not sacraments which flowed out of my side Was there not confession there a remedie of former sins the Eucharist a treacle and preseruatiue for those which were to come was there not in my crosse most vehement procurements of charitie and most cleare examples of most great humilitie patience obedience and of all vertues by which thou mightest haue caried thine infirmity wherfore then is not the wound of the daughter of my people healed That is wherfore hast thou not healed thy wounds with these medicines which the
heauenly phisition hath bought for thee with the price of his bloud hath bestowed freely vpon thee what to these things shall those most miserable men answere what shall they say for themselues what shall they doe surely euen that which our Sauiour euen here saith Then shall all the kinreds of the earth lament c. Thus farre Granatensis But here some will say all the infidels in the world shall wéepe at the beholding of this signe And shall they all be saued I answere The scripture saith not that all those which then wéepe shall be damned And therefore where the scriptures hold their peace let man take héed how he pronounceth sentence Let vs leaue them to the mercy of God God may among those weepers saue some if it please him as among two théeues he saued one on the crosse Luke 25.43 Hab. 3.1 That saying of Abacucke may then be fulfilled When thou art angrie thou wilt thinke vpon mercie And Dauid saith I will sing of mercie and iudgement Psal 101.1 Luke 16.9 Iudgement excludes not mercie euen in that terrible and great day of account Mercie must saue all Christians Io. 2.13 and why may it not at that time saue some Iewes also Especially séeing God promiseth here by his prophet that he will powre vpon them the spirit of grace and mercie and then they shall weepe This wéeping thall procéed of grace and therefore shall be healthfull This powring forth of the spirit of grace and mercie and this hauing respect then to him whom they haue pearced and this weeping belong all to one kind of people and are fruites and effects the one of the other The former the powring out of the spirit of grace and mercy doth belong to the elect and this latter the beholding of him whom haue they pearced and these teares to the reprobate As Ribera would haue it on that place of Zacharie And that the crosse was taken for the signe of the sonne of man in the primitiue Church Eusebius testifieth Rib. in za c. 12. For so when as the Christians admitted vnto their society one Basilides he saith they gaue him the Lords signe And the next day he was martyred And he that translated Eusebius addes in the margine that by the Lords signe he vnderstands the crosse But if we shall not admit his exposition Eus lib. ca 5. let vs heare what Sibylla an ancient Prophetesse prophecieth of Christs comming to iudgement and of this signe Sib. lib. 8. Orac fol. 383. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which Verses are thus turned into English Vnto all men a famous signe whereby they may be knowne In those daies shal be giuen euen by the wood a trumpe most dire Of all the faithfull much esteemd but to the worlds state Reposing trust in earthly things a cause of great offence Here Sibylla in her Achrostickes as she doth most truly and plainly paint out vnto vs Christes name and his merits This King saith she whom we haue described in the first letters of our verses is our God and our eternall Redeemer and Sauiour who suffered for vs And of his comming againe to iudgement why should she not also saie the truth in the appearing of this the signe of the crosse It is a great argument to make one be trusted if he shall haue borne true witnes often before in other matters The true faith of Sibylla in the former may also win her credit with vs in this latter And to confirme the authoritie of her prophecie Cic. lib. 2. de Diuin Au. de ciuit dei lib. 18. ca. 23. that it is no new thing forged of late since Christs passion Cicero makes mention of this her Achrosticks who was before Christ and Lactantius in his booke often cites her verses And saint Austen saith That a certaine noble man called Flactianus who was the Emperors Lieutenāt when as they two talked togither of Christ shewed him a Greeke booke saying that they were the verses of Sibylla Erithrea and that he shewed him in a certaine place of that booke in the beginning of euerie verse letters set in such an order that these words might be read therein Iesus Christ Son of God Sauiour This account all these famous men made of Sibylla her verses and shal we discredite them Gualter also a learned man of our daies of famous memorie so expoundes that place of saint Matthewes gospell and by the signe of the sonne of man vnderstandeth the signe of the crosse These be his wordes Most of the auncient fathers expound the crosse to be this signe whose image as Eusebius witnesseth with this inscription In this signe thou shalt ouercome appeared to Constantine when he made warre against Maxentius that he might helpe the Church which seemed then forsaken In cap. 24. Euan. secun Mat For because Christ by the merit of the crosse ouercame all the power of the enemie the signe of the crosse appeareth most fitly before any other to our victorie and by it also we shall ouercome And it is verie profitable for vs often to muse vpon this and it is a shame for vs to feare any misfortune when as the verie name of the crosse promiseth vs most certaine victory Thus farre Gualter Wherein he doth not onely declare his owne opinion but also the opinion of the fathers concerning this matter That same learned father also Thomas Cooper sometimes Byshoppe of Lincolne in his visitation there agreed with Gualter in this his exposition who spake to this effect to his cleargie in Latine in my hearing all the rest of his Sermon being in English Annon potestis ferre fratres mei Anno Dom. 1583. signum illud formari hîc in terra quod ante aduentum iudicis erit conspicuum in coelo Can you not abide my deere brethren that that signe should be made here on earth which shall appeare manifestly before the iudge come in heauen In cap. 4. Ioh. Ferus also of the conuersion of the Iewes writes thus Allegorically as the foresaid woman of Samaria was a figure of the Church of the Gentiles so this noble mans sonne was a figure of the Iewes And it makes much to the purpose that the woman came to Christ at the sixt houre but he was healed first at the seuenth houre For the Church of the Gentiles beleeued the true sonne of Righteousnesse Christ Iesus ascending into heauen but when as he shall begin to come downe againe that is when he sendeth before him the signes and wonders of his comming to iudgement then shall the people of the Iewes beleeue Ferus thinkes that the verie signes and wonders which shall immediately precede Christs comming to iudgement shall cause the Iewes to beléeue and not the preaching of Elias and Enoch And it is verie likely that he means among those signes which shall appeare immediately before the iudgement which shall conuert the Iewes shall be the signe
and grace and euen then by and by after shall follow the iudgement Lumnius devicinitate extremi iudicii lib. 1. cap. 15. Lumnius a Papist concerning the comming of Elias Enoch writes thus That although they shall preach but three yeeres and a halfe yet that the day of iudgement shall be neuerthelesse vncertaine to the world Although saith he we beleeue that Elias shall come and although the remnant of the Iewes be said to be conuerted when as the fulnes of the Gentiles shall haue entred in yet we must thinke that this must be done secretly and by little and little So that all the world shall stand in doubt of the person of Elias and of the time of the conuersion of the Iewes euen as the world stood in doubt of the persons of Iohn and of our Sauiour Iesus Thus farre Lumnius But this his exposition agrées not with the rest of the papists Reu. 11.6 for they expound those two witnesses in the Reuelation literally to be meant of the persons of Elias and Enoch And that they shall haue power in the daies of their prophecies to open and shut heauen and to turne water into bloud If they shall do these euident signes surely no man can say that they shall come secretly These signes also are so manifest that no man can doubt of their persons Nay Saint Iohn there saith Vers 9. that all people and nations shall see their bodies lie dead in the citie that spiritually is called Sodome and Egypt and that they shall be glad of their deaths and shall send presents one to another because they were slaine For they shall vexe the people of the earth and not conuert the Iewes as they imagine These prophets then shall not come secretly when they come as Lumnius imagineth but all the world shall heare of them and hate them They shall be enemies to their carnall mirth and spirituall fornication How angrie will the adulterer be to be depriued of his pleasure so pleasant also is spirituall fornication to flesh and bloud These two witnesses then are the preachers of the gospell Mat. 24.12 which shall preach the gospell to all nations In testimonium and not in patrocinium for a testimonie of their condemnation not for a helpe of their saluation as the same Lumnius alleageth out of Hilarie Lum ca. 14. Reue. 10.11 Which vnder the type of Iohn in the chapter going before haue receiued the little booke yea from the hand of the Lord to preach againe to nations peoples tongues and many kings not Elias and Enoch Ferus also of the vncertaintie of the day of iudgement writes thus If you enquire of me the daie and howre I will not tell you In 24. ca. Mat. but if you will know the seasons and beginnings I will hide nothing from you I haue shewed you in many words how that that day is not vnknowen vnto me But I haue brought you to the gates onely thereof for he had said before know ye then that it is euen in the verie gates But it is for your profit that I will not open the gates vnto you least you should waxe carelesse For so it is written of me I am thy God teaching thee profitable things onely as much as might profit you I haue taught but that which might engender in you a false securitie I conceale from you Here therefore thou seest the cause why he would haue both the day of our death and of iudgement vnknowne vnto vs least we should be more slouthfull but being alwaies vncertain of this we should euer liue in feare should euer watch being careful as though we should be iudged the next day and that we should looke for him euerie day whō we know not when he wil come Thus far Ferus Here is then a Christians life euerie day to looke and waite for Christ and so to liue as though he should not liue til to morrow according to that saying of the heathen Philosopher Who being bidden to a feast against to morrow Surely said he I neuer thought that I should liue til to morrow these many yeeres And it is reported that Saint Ierome that in all his doings he thought he heard that last trumpet sounding in his eares Then Elias comming shall not giue Christians warning thereof thrée yéeres an halfe before it come as the Papists do teach In ca. 11. Mat. Ferus also writing vpon these wordes And if ye will receiue him he is Elias which is to come saith thus As though he should say that you may plainly see that there is no other prophet to be looked for of you who should shew you that Messias should come Iohn is that verie same Elias which Malachie promised vnder the name of Elias And in these words he makes answere to a question couertly all men were perswaded that Elias should come before Messias came whom because they saw not they doubted of Christ And therefore the Apostles when they saw the Lord transfigured said Wherefore do the Pharisees say that Elias must first come To whom he answered Elias is come alreadie But who this Elias was here he signifieth Iohn himselfe is Elias not in person but in spirit and power For as Elias with great zeale was zealous that he might bring the people of Israel to the true God and for this cause he spared not kings so Iohn by the same zeale endeuoured to bring the people vnto Christ After Iohn therfore no other thing is to be looked for but that great terrible day of the Lord. The which also followes in the same prophet Thus farre Ferus If after Iohn nothing is to be looked for but that terrible day of the Lord then not Elias and Enoch according to master Bellarmines assertion Cuthbert Tunstall Bishop of Duresme thus writes in a Sermon put in print which he preached before king Henry the eight on Palme sunday vpon this text Let the same mind be in you that was in Iesus Christ These many yeeres past saith he little warre hath beene in these parts of Christendome but the Bishop of Rome either hath beene a stirrer of it or a nourisher of it and seldome any compounder of it vnlesse it were for his ambition and profit Wherfore seeing as Saint Paul saith in the four 10. chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthiās That God is not the God of dissension but of peace who commaundeth by his word alwaies peace to be kept we are sure that all those that go about to breake peace betweene Realmes and to bring them to warre are the children of the diuell what holy names soeuer they pretend to cloake their pestilent malice withall which cloaking vnder hypocrisie is double diuellishnes and of Christ most detested because vnder his blessed name they do play the diuels part And therefore since Christ is on our side let vs not feare thē at al but putting our confidence in Almightie God let vs
cleaue fast to the Kings Maiestie our supreme head in earth next vnder Christ of this Church of England as faithfull subiects by Gods law ought to do Though they go about to stirre Gog and Magog and all the rauenours of the world against vs yet we trust in God verily and doubt not but they shal haue such a ruine and ouerthrow as is prophecied by Ezechiel in his 39. chapter against Gog Magog going about to destroy the people of God whom the people of God shall so vanquish and ouerthrow on the mountains of Israel that none of them shall escape but their carcasses there to lie to be deuoured by kites and crowes and birds of the aire And if they shal persist in this their pestilent malice to make inuasion into this Realme then let vs wish that their great captaine Gog I meane the Bishop of Rome may come with them to drinke with them of the same cup that he maliciously goeth about to prepare for vs that the people of God might after surely liue in peace Thus far Bishop Tunstall By whom we may learne these notable lessons that the Pope hath béene no peacemaker but a maker of wars these many yéeres and therefore he is the child of the diuell by his iudgement Secondly that all true subiects ought to trust in God and their Prince and not to feare anie inuasions he shall deuise against them Thirdly that he is that Gog that hidden and hypocriticall enemie of Christ of whom Ezechiel prophecieth and that he and all his shall be destroyed and all their attempts against Gods Church shall not prosper Tunstal a man of great learning and iudgement saw thus much in his daies when the daie of the gospel began but to shine and shal not we now in the cléere sunshine therof acknowledge so much But to returne to Master Bellarmine againe he answeres to the former place De Rom. pont lib. 3. ca. 6. that I haue alleadged out of Ierome vpon Malachie That although Ierome in this place was of this iudgement yet in his Commentaries vpon Matthew he taught the contrarie But Master Bellarmine doth mistake Ierome For Ierome himselfe doth not say vpon Matthew that Elias shall com before the second comming of Christ In Mat. ca. 11. but he there shewes the opinions of others These be his words There are some saith he which thinke that therefore Iohn was called Elias that as in the second comming of Christ according to Malachie Elias must come before must shew the comming of the Iudge So Iohn did in his first comming And so they both are messengers either of his first comming or of his second Ierome shewes here the opinion of others and not his owne why Iohn was called Elias which he had set downe before in these words That Iohn was called Elias not according to the opinion of some foolish Philosophers and certaine heretiques which bring in transmigration of soules from one bodie to another but because according to another testimonie of the gospell he came in the power and spirit of Elias and that he had the same grace or measure of the holy spirit which Elias had And also the austeritie of life and courage of mind both of Elias and Iohn were equall Hee was in the wildernesse so also was he He was girded with a girdle of a skinne so also was he He because he rebuked Ahab and Iezabell of their wickednes was compelled to flie he because he reproued the vnlawfull mariage of Herode and Herodias lost his head These are Ieromes considerations why he thought Iohn might be compared to Elias Then he addes There be some others that thinke c. As though that which followes were not his opinion but the opinion of som others whom he also makes mention of in that other place of Malachie which I haue before alleadged And there he cals them plainely Iewish heretikes And the same opinion of others concerning the comming of Elias Ierom alleadgeth in other places and he inueieth against all such followers of Iewish fables Iohannes Viualdus a Papist in opere regali de duodecima persecutione ecclesiae Dei affirmes plainly that Ierom thought In explic orat Ier. in cap. 29. Ezec. that Elias should not come in his owne person but that the vertue and power of Elias should come But he himselfe saith that he followes rather Austen Thomas and Vincentius So that Ierom in this matter is not contrarie to himselfe as Master Bellarmine would haue him but all one Nay he is so farre from being of the Papists opinion concerning Antichrist that although the booke were sealed and this matter concealed from the fathers and by degrées not all at once opened to the church as we maie note in the Reuelation yet euen by that small light of Gods word Reu. 5.2 6.1 which at that time was giuen the Church of this matter he aiming at the truth doth quite ouerthrow the Papists opinion For vpon the second Chapter of Malachie he writes thus The Iewes saith he vnderstand that which is spoken here of the prophet Behold I will send my Angell of Elias the Prophet and that which followes The Lord whom you seeke for shall by and by come to his temple and the Angell of the testament whom you would haue they referre to their Messias that is to their Christ who they say shall come in the ende of the world But I maruell how that the verie experience of the things which haue chanced hath not taught them the truth for what temple shall their Lord find which is ouerthrowne to the verie foundation Or is it to be builded vp againe of any other before Christs comming What shal their Christ do more when as all things are restored to their former state of another Our Lord in the Gospell expounding Elias to be Iohn Baptist saith If you will vnderstand he is Elias which is to come of whom also this same Prophet whom we now expound speakes of in the end of his prophesie Behold I wil send you Elias the Prophet before that great and fearefull day of the Lord come But how Iohn also might be called Elias he gaue vs also to vnderstand saying that he came in the power and spirit of Elias Thus farre Ierome Where he plainly out of the scriptures refutes the Papists opinion concerning Antichrist Whom they teach shall be borne in Babylon of the tribe of Dan and when he shall come to Ierusalem circumcising himselfe he shall say to the Iewes I am Christ promised vnto you Then all the Iewes shall flocke vnto him and they shall build againe the temple destroyed of the Romans And he shall sit there saying that hee is God and shall kill Enoch and Elias This is the Papists opinion concerning Antichrist as it is set downe in their Catholicon by Ioh. de Ianua a Frier And this their opinion Ierome in this place manifestly refutes who saith that the temple shall not be built
Anno Dom. 1596 For when as the twentie letter of the Alphabet with great shouts shall be receiued within thy wals then thy ruine and vtter ouerthrowe is at hand Let Rome take héed of this letter Cappa which in numeration standeth for twentie when as it shall be capped vnto and honourably receiued into Rome Rome shall not raigne long after Rome therefore shall be ouerthrowne And some Cardinall may fitly fulfill this prophecie And of the destruction also of the world and of Rome Sibylla prophecieth thus That when as a firie Dragon shall come vpon the waues of the sea of this world hauing her belly full to nourish her children Sibil orac lib. 8 ol 368. in a time of death and ciuill warre that then shall the ende of the world draw neere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But first saith Sibylla shall be the inexorable wrath of God against Rome O wicked Rome then whose sins shall be so grieuous as it should seeme that if all the saints and angels in heauen which now thou makes so great account of should intreat for thée they were not able to appease the heauy and grieuous wrath of God against thée Repent now therefore whilest thou hast time and space being admonished here by Sibylla And let all true Catholikes which are wont to reuerence antiquity herein beleeue Sibilla agréeing with Saint Iohn and in time forsake this wicked and sinfull Rome least they perish with her in her sins Michael ab Isselt of the great affliction that our Sauiour prophecieth of Epist nun cup. ad Torren Episc Antw. which shall come vpon the world before the ende thereof writes thus It is comed alreadie as should séeme by his writing and it is not marked And the poore feele it and the rich looke for it when it shall be His words be these But we vpon whom I may iustly say that the ends of the world are fallen haue hapned into those daies wherein though all histones and all ancient bookes hold their peace yet the world it selfe cries out that it is now set to reuenge the sins of men How often of late yeeres haue we seene the heauens inflamed as it were with terrible firebrands how many blasing starres haue beene seene threatning euils to the earth with their terrible shapes and foreshewers of great calamities Leu. 26. We haue had the heauens ouer our heads like Iron we haue not had raine enough in winter to nourish the corne nor in sommer the accustomed heat to ripen it The earth as the scripture hath foretold is become like brasse vnto vs. Our labour is employed in vain the earth bringeth not forth her buddes blossomes the trees beare not their Apples The earth is as it were parched with drought and her mould brings forth withered hearbs the haile hinders the vines we sow our lands in vaine which the enemies deuoure How many ouerflowings of the sea haue we seene how often her fortresses being broken haue we beheld the shepheard to swim with his sheepe the mother with her children and the house and the heard to swim togither with their masters and the huge sea flowing into the pleasant meadowes to haue destroyed al things Hereof we haue had of late the famine of Saguntum which hath so afflicted not onely cities but whole prouinces that it turned the pitie of mothers into madnes who gaue their deare children poyson to kill them least they should heare their miserable crying Others as in Hungarie this last yeere sold their children to the Turks and Barbarians for bread others I know not whether more pitiful least their children should serue such tyrants threw them into the water drowned them What shal I speak of wars which within these twenty yeers haue so shaken both other kingdomes but especially our Flauders in times past the paradice pleasantest countrey in the world that now townes being burnt cities sacked the stately Churches of the saints pulled downe and being robbed of their riches holy and prophane things being now accounted all one she hath not any signe almost remaining of her former glorie That now her mightie prouinces being giuen for a praie to the Germanes Frenchmen Englishmen Scots Irish men and to other forraine enemies obey now their vnsatiable and wicked pleasures Neither is heere an end of our euils But that all euils might come vpon vs at once most grieuous plagues new and straunge diseases haue taken away those whom the sword and famine had spared and haue made such great ouerthrowes of men that skant the liuing sufficed to burie the dead So that all the elements and al the miseries in the world may seeme to haue conspired against vs altogither Againe when as euerie liuing creature loues his like onely now one man is afraid of another For there are now so many publike periuries of natiōs so many truces broken so many vnderminings thefts deceits slaunders wiles that now not vnfitly one man may be called a diuell to another And if here were an end of our miserie all were well but it goes further For those euils which we haue hitherto recited are outward euils and do neither adde anie thing or take ought away from mans felicitie if his soule within him were sound and free from these daungers and miseries But the euils which are within vs are farre greater then they which are without vs. Our vnderstanding is blind our will is prone to all wickednes our memorie pliable to al earthly things And there is such a disorder and a diuersity and contrarietie among themselues of our desires that there was neuer any more troublesome kingdom seen in the world In so much that if all the creatures should fawne vpon man and should doe him seruice yet he should suffer the greatest persecution of himselfe and himselfe should be to himselfe the greatest tormentor What shall I make many words The times we liue in are such that we may truly say that saying of Silenus The best thing is neuer to be borne and the next to die quickly Thus farre Michael of Isselt And can there be any greater affliction then this What shall I adde the daungers of princes the heart burnings amongst noble men the vncontented minds of gentlemen the decaie of artificers the oppression and pouerty of the husbandman the laborers want of foode worke and wages Euerie member is sicke Es 1.6 euerie member is afflicted so that we may now truly say that of Esay From the sole of the foot to the crowne of the head there is no health What shall I adde that greatest persecution of all other of Antichrist who hath his inquisition in Spaine and in other countries where his authoritie can preuaile to persecute most cruelly all those that professe the gospell Who daily labours for nothing else by his seminaries in all places with all Kings and Princes to make warre to stirre vp rebellions against them which professe the gospell in anie countrie No doubt his hand hath
then he hath commaunded shall we not alone kindle them with that fire Luc. 12.49 Psal 119.105 Ier. 20.9 which Christ came to cast downe from heauen vpon earth which no doubt is the fire of his holy word which lightneth and inflameth all men the which fire his will is that it should burne and flame dare we prsume to fetch fire at any other be he neuer so holy or auncient Surely if Nadab and Abibu through their negligence were thus seuerely punished in the shadow we in the light being also taught most plainly and admonished concerning this point how shall we escape vnpunished Deut. 13.8 14.32 1. Sam. 15.22 Let no mans good intent or blind deuotion herein beguile him It excused not them neither shall it excuse vs. do that onely which I commaund thee saith God And obedience is better then sacrifice Ferus a Frier to exhort all Christians to call vpon the name of Christ verie excellently writes thus Fer. in ca. 13. Io. He kneeles downe at their knees he beginneth not to wash their hands which had been a more honest seruice but their feete which of all other is a duetie most abiect and most filthie And he doth all these things alone he alone powres out the water he alone washeth he alone wipeth Who will not here crie out with the Prophet I haue considered thy works and I haue beene amased I beseech thee consider with thy selfe who did this euen Iesus And whose feet washed he Of the dignitie of Christ we haue heard alreadie who were more base then the Apostles they were all poore and of no reputation besides all this one of them was a traitor another of them should denie his master yet for all this he did this seruice so louingly vnto them What can he denie vs who so greatly humbled himselfe And the same Ferus writes thus The scripture doth euer describe Christ vnto vs louing and courteous hauing no bitternes or sharpenes in him In cap. 2. Mat. but altogither seeking our commoditie that we might be the more drawen to his bountifull goodnes to embrace this king So Zacharie describeth Christ in the ninth chapter Behold thy king commeth to thee meeke and gentle And Esay Behold thy God feeds his sheepe as a shepheard And againe especially for this cause he would be made a child least any man should be affraid to come vnto him he is altogether gentle and courteous there is no sharpnes or discourtesie in him Therefore wo to him that deferreth to come vnto him how dare he behold the high Iudge that hath despised his lowly Sauiour Let vs therefore come to him while there is some time of Grace Let vs call vpon him while he is neere In cap. 4. Io. Let vs seeke him while he may be found Againe What is it to worship the father in the spirit but to haue receiued the spirit of Adoption by which we crie Abba father and what is it to worship God in truth but abiding in his son which saith I am truth to cal vpon the father and to pray in the name of the sonne It is the same as though he had said The true worshippers by a true and necessarie distinction of the persons shall worship one God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost yea they shall worship the father by the sonne in the holy Ghost This is an excellent and briefe summe of true worship and Christian religion The Iews did so despise the Samaritans yea al the Gentiles that they would not vouchsafe to speake to them Therefore this woman seeing Christ to be a Iew durst not haue spoken to him vnlesse Christ had first spoken to her So when as we all haue sinned and know that God is offended with our sinnes and therefore displeased with sinners none of vs durst haue spoken to God vnlesse he had spoken to vs first But now we speake to him safely and boldly and we can open to him all our necessities as this woman afterward durst speake boldly to Christ but in this also that he spake vnto a woman being a heathen and a sinner he declared that he despised no man God doth not onely speake to vs first as Christ did to this woman but commaunded vs to call and speake to him and if his onely speech did thus encourage the woman to speake to him though she were a sinner shall not his commandement much more encourage vs Fer. in 3. ca. Io. O we of little faith And againe the same Ferus saith in another place This is that true Ioseph whom God hath exalted ouer all Egypt hath commaunded that all should bow their knees before him This is that true Ioseph which hath his great barnes full of corne to be giuen forth to the hungrie To him the father sendeth vs euen as Pharaoh sent backe the Egyptians from himselfe to Ioseph Goe to Ioseph saith he and whatsoeuer he shall say that do So our heauenly father this is my beloued sonne heare him This is he alone who in famine can saue To him therefore let vs runne with the Egyptians saying we are thy seruants our saluation is in thy hands Thou onely haue regard vnto vs and we will serue the king willingly Ierome also of prayers writes thus Ieron in 1. ca. Mal. That sacrifice of the soule is blind which is not lightned with the light of Christ nor hath an eie looking from the gospell the prayer of him that prayeth is lame which commeth to God with a double mind which heareth that said vnto him which the Iewes heard said vnto them How long will you halt on both sides That prayer is faint and altogither weake which hath not Christ the power of God and the wisedome of God such like prayers which are made without the light of the truth and haue no sure footsteps and are as it were faint with diuers infirmities if they should be offered to any one that beareth rule in the Church to any other learned man or Teacher or Doctor would they not be reiected and turned to his shame and discredit that offereth such prayers This is Ieromes meaning we would be ashamed to offer to anie learned man doubtfull suites or requests and not vnderstood and shall we presume to offer such to God Philippus de dies a Frier of this matter writes thus Conc. 4. incarnat All the time before the comming of Christ may be called an emptie time but Christ was borne in the fulnesse of time because God to become man was to communicate himselfe more to vs then euer could haue beene Euen as one hauing often distributed his riches at last to shew the top of his liberalitie giueth his chest and all his Iewels So God before verie liberally had bestowed on the Iewes but on vs he hath bestowed the riches and chest and all that is his sonne In whom are all treasures of wisdome hid And therefore among other causes for this the time
name I am in the midst of them And he was at the same time present with Peter at Ierusalem For he fils heauen and earth And this is the comfort of the godly that God is present with them in all places and therefore in all places they may call vpon him for he is nie vnto them that call vpon him in truth Here is a forcible reason whie we should call vpon God alone because he alone fulfils heauen and earth and therfore in all places we maie boldlie call vpon him So are we not sure of the presence of anie creature els so that when we praie to them we maie perchance praie to the walles Ferus speaking of the woman that powred the pretious ointment on Christ writes thus Fer. de pass part 1. Marke with what confidence this woman comes vnto Christ whom notwithstanding that same holy man Iohn was affraid to touch at Iordan She conceiued this confidence by no other meanes then of the often tried and approued goodnesse of Christ therefore it was not rashnesse in this woman but great charitie and exceeding loue So also the faithfull although they be not now altogither without sinne yet they dare boldly say vnto God our Father Ibid. Of Peters refusall also to Christ to washe his féete he writes thus Againe in this Peter also erred that as should seeme because he would haue reuerenced Christ therefore he refused this his seruice Euen as in another place also he repelled Christ from him when as he said Depart from me Lord for I am a sinner yea but if thou shalt thinke thy selfe to be a sinner yet thou must not put the Lord from thee This seemes to be a kinde of reuerence but it is a preposterous reuerence proceeding of flesh and bloud As many for their vnworthinesse thinke that they dishonour God if they pray vnto him or receiue the sacraments But faith thinkes farre otherwise that is that he dishonors God which sins and not he which craueth pardon and vseth the meanes ordained of God to heale his sinnes so he dishonoureth God not which endures his seruice but he that refuseth him and preferres his owne iudgement before the will of God It is a good thing to confesse our owne vnworthinesse nay we ought to doe it It is a good thing also to reuerence the Maiestie of God but this goodnesse turnes it selfe into superstition if we exclude the seruice of Christ for out vnworthines Therfore let vs not feare to come vnto God because he commaunds vs to come vnto him and to call vpon him Come to me saith he all yee that trauell c. And againe Call vpon me in the time of thy trouble Nay thou yeeldest to God the greatest honour if thou shalt call vpon him faithfully And againe thou dishonourest him with the greatest dishonour that may be if he calling thee vnto him and promising thee helpe thou despise him by not comming vnto him so also thou yeeldest greatest honour vnto Christ when as thou endurest his seruice towards thee Hence it is that Marie sitting as it were quietly and idly at Iesus feete enduring Christs ministerie which he yeelded vnto her by preaching is farre more honourably commended then busie Martha To conclude if thou wouldest haue health thou maiest not put away the Physition from thee yea come thou so much the more boldly to him as thine infirmitie or vnworthines is the greater So also in our necessities concerning these our temporall and worldly things we respect neither our owne vnworthinesse not the dignitie of any other so that we may be helped and relieued So he that is hunger-bit and almost famished will not feare to speake to any be he neuer so honourable being forced with the extremitie of hunger doe thou so likewise c. And after Also hee couertly shewes his Apostles by what means and as it were greeses or steps they must climb vp to God For we cannot come to the father but by Christ for he is the way And we cannot come vnto Christ vnlesse we receiue his Apostles that is their words therfore we must begin to climbe vp to God by the hearing of his worde He that receiueth this receiueth Christ and he that hath Christ hath the Father and he that hath the Father hath all good things c. So that to heare Gods word is the first steppe to climbe to God and then in what case are they that refuse to hear Gods word preached Secondly by hearing Gods word we are taught the next steppe that is to make our praiers to Christ only for Gods word teacheth vs to make our praiers to God by the means of no other And therfore the inuocation of saints is no step of this heauenly ladder by Ferus his iudgement Ferus of Christ being whipped and spit vpon writes thus Fer. part 3. pass Thinke these things with thy selfe O Christian behold Christ in this forme and plight and thou shalt neuer despaire of his grace for he will neuer forsake thee trusting in him which suffred so great things for thee deseruing nothing at his hands And of Christs mother the blessed virgin hee writes thus For at other times Christ seemed to vse hard speeches vnto his mother that is when as the worke of God was to be done Fer. de pass part 4. as in the 2. of Iohn Mat. 12. Luk. 12. For when as Gods businesse is in hand all mans affections must cease and giue place But here on the Crosse he acknowledgeth his mother most faithfully and curteously c. In Gods affaires all motherlie affection must cease saith Ferus but the forgiuenesse of sins and such like are Gods affaires therefore in these matters the blessed virgin medleth not Of the first word that our Sauiour spake on the Crosse Father forgiue them Fer. part 4. ◠for they know not what they doe Ferus writes thus When as the Lord Iesus was made now a true sacrifice and now he was come to the fulfilling of our redemption and saluation although he were oppressed with vnspeakeable torments yet remembring wherefore he suffered such things that is for our sakes therefore forgetting all his griefes and paines he begins to encounter with his fathers anger with his prayers and now he begins to execute his office he begins his priesthood he is become a mediator betweene God and man an intercessour and a defender of vs and he sets himselfe wholy as an inuincible wall against his fathers anger for he could not forget his naturall goodnes Therefore whereas others would haue cursed blasphemed and rayled he praies and that not for himselfe but for others and not onely for others but for his most deadly enemies and his crucifiers who notwithstanding had been woorthy either to haue beene deuoured with fire from heauen or to haue been swallowed vp of the earth And a little after If Christ prayed so earnestly for his crucifiers how much more now doth he make intercession for those
to anie other The same Granatensis writes thus of himselfe Ibidem And surely the errours of my life and sinnes are so manie and so great that some men being in the same state of damnation as well as I and not considering O Lord thy omnipotencie but measuring according to their owne frailtie and wauering mindes with their forward thoughts haue entered into iudgement with thee saying Mine iniquities are greater then that they may be pardoned and giuing no credite to thy words and promises imagine that as some angrie or cruell man thou thinkest vpon punishment and reuenge and not vpon grace and pardon And such O my God when they shall see that thou wilt forgiue me my sinnes shall be ouercome and ashamed of their iudgements And they shall acknowledge that which thou spakest by thy Prophet that is As high as the heauens are exalted from the earth so are thy waies farre aboue the waies of men and thy thoughts aboue their thoughts Therefore O Lord haue mercie vpon me and blot out mine iniquitie Thus farre Granatensis He confesseth himselfe to be a damnable sinner Here is no merits then and yet for all that he hopes for pardon comes to the throne of Gods mercie nay they which think God to be an angrie God so that he will not heare sinners he plainlie teacheth that they haue a wrong opinion of God And do not the papists teach this in their doctrine of intercession to saints Angels This faith al the scriptures teach vs that when we pray in the name of Iesus Christ God doth most assuredly heare vs. And so we ought to frame our words when we pray as though we were in the presence of God and our hearts after we haue praied that God in whose presence we haue praied hath granted our requests This faith the gospell teacheth They which beléeue not this denie the faith of the Gospell And the same Granatensis that he may the more déepelie imprint and fasten this loue of God in our hearts which is the very roote of the assurance which we haue in our prayers in another place let vs marke how excellentlie he commendeth and expresseth this excéeding great loue of God towards vs. Can there be any greater argumēt of the goodnes of God wished or desired then to consider that a God of such infinite Maiestie Granat de perfect amor dei cap. 28. who not for any need but onely of his owne goodnes doth stoupe downe humble himselfe so greatly that as a steward purueyour of birds fishes and wormes he prouides all things necessary for their life Neither being content with this alone he doth humble himselfe so far that he giues them also pleasant things wherewith they may delight themselues stirring vp in them also certaine motions of pleasures That euen as thou O Lord hast not only an essence or being but also a most happie and blessed essence so also thou wouldest haue all thy creatures be they neuer so vile and base in their kinde to participate of thee and to enioy both these that they should haue both an essence and also a most happie and ioyfull essence Who is not now amased to see such a miracle who hereby acknowledgeth not the infinite kindnes nobilitie and liberalitie of Gods heart who shewes himselfe so louing and courteous to so vile creatures which if a man meet withall he will make no account to trample vnder his feet Which of vs is it that thinkes it concernes him any thing at all whether a Flie or Pismire haue food or not or whether she be merie or sad Who therefore will not maruell that a God of such great maiestie in comparison of whom all the world is no bigger almost then a little Pismire not onely to haue special care of the liues of these smal vermine but also of the delights and pleasures wherewith euerie one of these is delighted when as he lookes at the hands of these neither for praise nor thanks O wonderfull goodnes O inestimable sweetnes O my God how great incomprehensible are those things which in the bosome of thy glorie thou hast reserued for thy faithfull friends when as thou hast such a speciall care of vile wormes How can I distrust of thy prouidence mercie towards men whom thou hast bought with thy precious bloud when as that is not wanting euen to the beasts of the field Thus farre Granatensis This onelie consideration should make vs pray to God alone Chap. 29. And after of the praiers of the faithfull he writes thus What shal I say O Lord of thy readines in hearing the praiers of the iust what of thy speedines in fulfilling their desires how often doest thou promise vs this in thy holy scriptures that thou mightest take away our infidelity distresse In a certain place thou saiest which of you askes bread of his father and will he giue him a stone our askes fish and will he for fish giue him a serpent or if he aske an egge will he reach him a Scorpion If ye therefore when as ye are euill know to giue good things to your children how much more shall your heauenly father from heauen giue his holy spirit to them which aske him And in another place Aske and it shal be giuen to you seeke and ye shall finde knocke and it shall be opened vnto you But the words of our Lord which are in S. Iohns Gospell doe declare the same much more manifestly by which it is manifest that God hath at once opened to his friends all the gates of his mercie when as he saith If you abide in me and my words abide in you aske whatsoeuer ye will and it shall be done vnto you Could the heart of man if a wish were giuen him to wish whatsoeuer he would haue wished a more large or greater benefit when as in these words he hath leaue giuen him to aske whatsoeuer he will And he giues his word also that whatsoeuer he asketh he shall obtaine These are the promises of the Gospell from which they also disagree not which are found euerie where amongst the Prophets The Psalmist saith in a certaine place he will doe the will of them that feare him and he will heare their prayer and will saue them And in another place The eies of the Lord are vpon the iust and his eares are open vnto their prayers And in another place hee saith He hath regarded the prayer of the humble and hath not despised their petition Esay also sings the same song to vs. For after he had shewed with what good works God is especially serued by and by he addeth the reward that shall be giuen to them that serue him saying Then he shall call and the Lord shall heare him he shal crie and the Lord shal say Behold here am I. And as though this were but a small thing thou thy selfe O Lord addest a farre greater and more bountifull promise in the same Prophet
things that they doe not lift vp their harts to pray to him whom that Image or picture representeth Here is their opinion plainly set downe that Images are to be adored and worshipped and that we must lift vp our hearts to him whomsoeuer the Image representeth Is not this to giue Latria to creatures Dauid saith to God I lift vp my heart to thee Psal 25.1 This is a part of his honor and shall we giue it to anie other And God himselfe saith Thou shalt make thee no image of any thing Exod. 20.4 in heauen aboue nor in the earth beneath thou shalt not bow downe to them nor worship them No doubt the first branche of this commandement is as large as the second As by this all Images of earthly things are forbidden so by the other the Images of all heauenlie euen of Angels and of Saints yea of God himselfe And yet Stella here affirmes that we may worship Images and is not this Idolatrie Esay also séemes to expound this commandement thus Esay 40.18 To whom will yee liken God and what likenesse will you make for him The workman hath made an Image and the goldsmith hath couered it with gold and melts chaines of siluer for it The poore man also for an oblation chuseth a tree that will not rot and he wil seeke for a cunning workeman to make him a grauen Image that cannot mooue it selfe Will you not know will ye not heare hath it not been shewed to you from the beginning will ye not vnderstand it by the foundations of the earth He that sits vpon the spheare of the earth and the dwellers thereof are like Locustes stretcheth out the heauens like a webbe and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in God who brings the rulers of the earth to nothing and makes the iudges like a thing of nought yea they haue not been planted they haue not been sowen yea he hath not suffered their stocke to take roote in the earth and he hath but blowen vpon them with his spirit and they haue withered away and the whirlewinde doth take them away like stubble And to whom will ye liken me and I shall be like to him saith the holy one The Prophet here séemes to expound the commandement and therefore he saith hath it not been declared to you from the beginning will ye not yet vnderstand that same olde and first commandement And here he condemns not only poore mens Images made in the honor of God of wood but rich mens also of gold naie by the wonderfull works of God he prooues that they can make no Image like to him And therefore their Images are not onlie against the commandement but also against reason And yet for all these speeches and reasons the Papists will not know thus much at this day They which paint God like a iudge sitting in iudgment or like a king sitting vpon his throne doe dishonor and disgrace the Maiestie of God All the iudges and kings of the world are nothing vnto him as the prophet Esay here teacheth vs and yet thus haue the papists painted him And yet Stella in another place plainly affirmes that Images distract manie times the mindes of men In cap. 2. Luc. and hinder deuotion and that to take anie part of Gods glorie from him is flat sacriledge he would faine defend their Images and yet in truth he condemnes them For thus he writes Marke saith hee that oftentimes it chanceth that men going into houses or Churches are distracted and let by pictures and Images and such like but Christ being borne in a base cottage would haue no pompe that we should marke and behold him alone For externall trimming and decking is wont to distract the mindes that sometimes it lookes here and sometimes there that being neglected which most chiefly was to be looked vnto But Christ in his natiuitie was poore and base because that he would haue nothing but himselfe to be considered Stella here plainly confesseth that images oftentimes distract mens minds and hinder deuotion that in Bethleem where Iesus Christ was borne there were no images or pictures because that Iesus Christ alone ought to be considered and marked I would to God our Catholikes and Iesuits at this daie would also obserue this lesson that in Bethleem in the Church where as now also Iesus Christ is daily borne they would haue no images 1. Cor. 4.15 and that they would consider and marke Iesus Christ alone And againe in the same place vpon these words Glorie to God on high he writes thus By which place we must learne in all things and chances whatsoeuer to giue glorie to God alone neither let that thought euer come into thy minde that thou wouldest violently take that from him because that then thou shalt be most grieuously punished For in euerie good thing thou doest two things are to be considered the praise or honour and the profit whereof God chuseth the honor as due to himselfe but the profit or gaine he reserues for thee Therefore if thou shalt with a wicked violent hand take away the honor due to God God will also take from thee the reward which also was thine Therefore if thou shalt doe this hainous act thou shalt not only be worthy to haue no gift giuē thee of God but he wil most seuerely punish thee So the Angell strooke Herod as we read in the Acts because he gaue not the honour vnto God For it is plaine theft and robberie not to giue God his proper honor no lesse then to steale any vessell of siluer from thy neighbour And a little after That same holy Ioseph when as his vnchast Lady did entise him to sinne said thus My Lord hath giuen me al things besides thee which art his wife how then dare I sinne against my Lord So God hath giuen thee all things besides his glorie which is as it were his wife how then darest thou sin against thy Lord God in taking from him his glorie Thus far Stella It is of all sins a most hainous sin in anie part to impaire Gods glory The saints of God haue learned this lessō here on earth and shall we thinke that they haue forgotten it in heauen Shal we now worship thē or knéele to thē or call vpon them when as now they cast downe all their crownes before the lamb and giue him the glorie In one of the first miracles Reu. 4.10 that euer was done after our Sauiours ascension I would to God all true Catholikes would marke what a lesson Peter giues them when as he had healed that lame man Act. 4.12 Ye men of Israel saith he why maruell you at this or why looke you so stedfastly on vs as though by our owne power and godlinesse we had made this man go The God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob the God of our fathers hath glorified his sonne Iesus c. It was not the power or holinesse of Peter
made a league and a couenant with me with sacrifice All true christians must learne that lesson that Naaman the Syrian being now cleansed of his leprosie had learned 2. King 5.17 that he would now offer sacrifice to no other Gods saue to the Lord. As they are all Naamans by nature euen lepers through sinne 1. Cor. 6.11 and now pure by cleansing by water so they must be Naamans also in profession that they will offer sacrifice to no other gods but to the Lord. He confessed that sacrifice was a seruice due to God and that he now detesting all other vaine gods would onely doe this homage to the Lord and shall not christians know and professe as much No doubt he was a figure of christians let the truth surpasse the shadow in cleerenesse As manie as doe offer sacrifice to anie other are more leprous in soule then euer Naaman was in bodie And are not payers sacrifices Doth not S. Paul teach all christians that now the Iewish sacrifices being ceased Heb. 13.15 that they must offer to God the calues of their lippes And doth not Dauid saie euen in the shadowe Psal 141.2 let my prayer be set foorth in thy sight as the incense and let the lifting vp of my hands be an euening sacrifice Then if we will be Gods shéepe we must haue this brand if we will be his Saints we must make this vow that we will sacrifice or make our prayers to none other but to him alone And at the daie of iudgement such onlie shall be gathered into Gods shéepfould and such God shall account for his Saints howsoeuer man and the Pope now doe canunise others This word shall stand sure this word shall be approoued true at that daie Gather my Saints togither who haue made a league and couenant with me with sacrifice Wouldest thou be a Saint then most assuredly canonised not in the Popes Calendar but in heauen make a firme couenant and league with God onely with thy sacrifices and prayers Wouldest thou be at that daie a shéepe gathered into Gods shéepfolde and stand on his right hand while thou liuest here then praise him alone call vpon him alone and vpon none other On the contrarie Psal 79.6 Dauid describes the Malignant Church thus Powre out thine indignation saith he vpon the heathen that haue not knowne thee and vpon the kingdomes which haue not called vpon thy name Ephes 6.12 Here are two markes of Sathans synagogue ignorance and idolatrie Sathan is the prince of darknesse his house shall be a darke house it shall lacke light It shall be like Egypt his children shall not knowe God Exod. 10.22 and therefore neither shall call vpon him Psal 103 11. Esay 65.24 Psal 139.7 Gen. 17.1 Mâ—t. 11.28 For he that knowes what God is that he is most mercifull most ready to heare that he is in all places that he is of all power might alone that he cals euen sinners vnto him he that knowes this I say cannot chuse but he will call vpon God These are they then which shal haue Gods wrath powred vpon them which haue not knowne God nor called vpon his name Ose 2.17 The Idolaters call vpon Baal and other names Acts 4 1â— but there is no other name giuen to men in the which they must be saued but only the name of Iesus Christ Peter teacheth this and I would to God he that would be Peters successour would learne this lesson and teach it also if no other name then not of Saint or Angell And S. Paul makes plain this lesson of Peter Col. 3.17 and takes awaie all the wiles and sleights of Sathan all Popish cauils and distinctions They saie that there is no other name of saluation but there maie be other names of inuocation or intercession But Saint Paul saith plainly doe all things in the name of Iesus Christ Thankesgiuing prayers intercessions inuocations all requests whatsoeuer must be done in the name of Iesus Christ and therefore in no other name Let all Gods seruants marke well these two markes they are the markes of the false Church to be ignorant of God and not to call vpon his name let them take héede If they be signed with these markes God will not be angrie with them onely but he will powre out his wrath vpon them O fearfull sentence And doe we make no account of this matter When as God would renue to Abraham the promise made to Adam of the womans séede to take awaie the curse that Adam by his sinne had deserued and was iustly inflicted vpon him he added that in his seede should all the nations of the world be blessed Gen. 12.3.16 So that now here we maie learne another plaine marke of the true church to haue her blessednesse consist onlie in that one feede of Abraham Gal. 3.16 not in many no nor in anie thing beside God also describing the blessed estate of his church by the Prophet Esay Esay 54.17 writes thus Euerie vessell it is Celi in Hebrew which signifies properly a vessell that is made to holde anie thing against thee shall not prosper and thou shalt condemn euerie tongue that striueth against thee This is the inheritance of the seruants of the Lord that is this for euer is as it were an inheritance which shall succéede in Gods true Church that all those great learned men that shall stand vp against it shall not prosper and all those eloquent tongues that thall speake against her shall be condemned Here is a speciall priuiledge of Gods church which we maie see fulfilled in all ages The Prophet Esay here agréeing with our Sauiour Mat. 16.18 that hell gates may impugne but they shall neuer preuaile against the Church as Arrius Nestorius and other gerat learned heretikes haue testified This is the dignitie of the true Church now followes her cognisance And their righteousnesse is from me saith the Lord not of themselues And this is that which Ieremy also teacheth Behold the daies are comming saith the Lord and I will raise vp to Dauid a righteous branche Ier. 23.5 and a King shal raigne and he shall haue vnderstanding he shall deale wisely he shall doe iudgement and iustice vpon the earth Here is most euidently our Sauiour Iesus Christ described he shall be a braunch of Dauid comming of his Ioynes he shall be righteous Io. 8.46 1. Cor. 1.30 Col. 2.3 euen his verie enemies shall not be able to accuse him of sinne He shall doe wisely he is the wisedome of God the father he shall set vp iudgement and righteousnes vpon earth he shall iudge and condemne that olde Prince of this world Sathan Io. 12.31 and cast him out of doores and shall teach all men the way of true righteousnes that is faith in him And in his daies saluation shall be to Iudah and Israel they shall dwell safely And this shall be the name wherewith they shall
of the Arke is finished in a cubit as some thinke or else the eaues were round about the Arke a cubit in breadth to put awaie raine from the window and from the arke it selfe This maie teach vs mortification of the flesh If wee would iudge our selues 1. Cor. 11.31 we should not be iudged of the Lord. Fasting and prayer from a liuely faith are that narrowe roofe that repelles al stormes from Gods Church 1. King 21.27 Vnder this narrow roofe Ahab when God threatned him vengeance for his sinnes and Queene Hester Hest 4.16 when Haman like a mightie clowde and huge tempest did hang ouer her head and the heads of her people did shrowd themselues So did Niniueh at the preaching of Ionas Ionas 3.7 Wouldest thou escape the stormes then of Gods wrath let the Roofe of thy house then be narrowe Whosoeuer thou art iudge thy selfe and God will not iudge thee as S. Paul counselleth all christians And the doore of the Arke shalt thou set in the side thereof Verse 16. Here is also Iesus Christ described verie liuely vnto vs Ioh. 10.9 who is the verie doore into the church who suffered his verie side to be opened with a speare for our sakes Ioh. 19.34 that we might haue an entrance into heauen By this doore we enter boldlie into heauen and appeare before the maiestie of God In this wide wound as in the clift of a most safe rocke Cant. 2.14 we hide our selues from all the persecutions of the enemy And this doore is but one there are not manie doores into his house Ioh. 10.9 Acts 4.12 as our Sauiour himselfe tels vs I am the doore The same also Peter testifieth There is but one way to saluation and that is Iesus Christ there is but one séede Gal. 3.16 in whome all the nations of the world shall be blessed and that is Iesus Christ Ioh. 3.14 there is but one brazen Serpent lift vp in the wildernesse which cured al the Israelites from all the stingings of the Serpent whatsoeuer and that is Iesus Christ Acts 4.12 There is no other name vnder heauen giuen to men by which we must be saued but onely the name of Iesus Christ He is that one doore that was made in the side of the Arke And thou shalt make it with the low second and third Roume Verse 16. Ro. 12.6.13.1 1. Cor. 7.25 1. Pet. 4.1 There are degrées in Gods church of manie estates and conditions of Kings and other inferiour magistrates and subiects of Byshops Pastors and their flockes of virgins married folkes and widowes and therefore God commanded Noah to make hie roumes and middle and lowe roumes in the arke Euerie one of these haue their proper places in Gods Church There are also in the church children which stand need of milke 1. Cor. 3.1.2 there are also strong men which can digest stronger food which are doctors in christianitie Heb. 5.12 and some others to whom the rudiments and principles of christian religion appertaine and all these doe belong to Gods church Verse 17. And behold I will bring a floud of water vpon the earth to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life vnder heauen and all that is in the earth shall perish But with thee will I stablish my couenant and thou shalt go into the Arke thou and thy sonnes and thy wife and thy sonnes wiues with thee Here is the floud a signe and type of Gods wrath and iust iudgement for sinne Here is the onely means of saluation Gods frée mercie For it is said before That when as God saw that the wickednesse of man was great in the earth and al the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart were onely euill continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man in the earth Verse 5. and he was sorie in his heart c. That Noah yet found grace in the eies of the Lord. Noah his saluation was the frée mercie of God and his most gratious couenant They onely which doe obserue his couenant doe escape this his fierce wrath as here appeareth And this couenant Noah preached vnto those wicked men in his daies but they would not beléeue him but euerie one followed his owne wicked waies and so in the end for lacke of faith were drowned Mat. 5.7 Mar. 16.16 Luk. 6.37.38 Ioh. 16.27 The like couenants God hath made with vs let vs reade them and marke them and beléeue them if we minde to escape this deluge of the wrath of God least we perish with those men in the daies of Noah The obedience of Gods couenant is the only way of saluation no deuise of man can saue els whatsoeuer Verse 21. And take thou with thee of all meate that is eaten and thou shalt gather it to thee that it may be meate for thee and them God will not haue his pined he will haue meate in his house and therefore Iesus Christ was borne also in Bethlehem Mat. 2.1 which in the Hebrew signifies a house of bread And Noah is commanded to gather to him all manner of meates There are varietie of meates in Gods house Exod. 12.9 There is the head of the lamb the purtenance and the feete Gen. 30.14 Psal 51.7 Prou. 31 6. Psal 75.8 2. Tim. 2.15 Luk. 12.42 There are sower lettice there are mandrakes which make fruitfull there is purging Isope there is pretious balme There is wine and strong drinke for the afflicted there are dregs for the wicked And here is required the wisedome of all Gods ministers They must be stewards they must not giue all meate at once but euerie kinde of meate in his proper time Neither all kindes of meat to euerie Christian but euerie condition or state hath his proper food euen as in Noah his Arke euerie kind of liuing creatures had also The doctrine of Kings and Magistrates is not to be set before the people 2. Ti. 2.15 nor the doctrine of the people to be taught the Magistrates this were lacke of discretion This were not rightly to deuide the word of God Noah therefore did according to all that God commaunded him euen so did he Here is the conclusion and summe of all Vers 22. Noah did all according as God commaunded him Euen in this materiall worke of making the Arke of wood and timber he missed not an Inch of that length bredth or height or of anie other thing which God commaunded him much more then in the spirituall building of the Church the same is to be obserued The maister builders may not goe a haires bredth beyond the commaundement of God Mat. 28.20 1. Cor. 11.23 Gal. 1.6 2. Pet. 1.16 though that which they doe séeme in their owne eies neuer so conuenient or profitable or necessarie or stately They must learne this lesson of Noah their good predecessor and their Schoolemaster As God commannded so did Noah according to
all things he adbed nothing of his owne Again heereby it plainly appeareth that the word is the rule and square of the Church by which it is to be builded and gouerned and not the Church of the word as the Papists would haue it And that is Psal 138.2.87.1 Eph. 2.20 to beare rule in the Church and that the Church is not to rule it By this also that great pillar which the Papists doe obiect for the defence of the Church fals to the ground The Church say they is the pillar of truth and therefore whatsoeuer the Church teacheth must of necessitie be beléeued The Church cannot erre But they must marke here that as the Church is called a pillar 1. Ti 3.15 so the word of God is also called truth Thy law is the truth saith Dauid And therefore if she keepe not the word of God Psal 119.143 Gen. 19.26 she may erre she may be a pillar of salt without it as was Lots wife but a piller of truth without it she cannot be Now if this be the true Church which hitherto vnder the type of Noahs Arke I haue described let vs a little compare the Church of Rome to this and sée how they agrée togither Who brags that she is this Arke of Noah and that whithout her there is no saluation And first to beginne with the name she is not Tebah She is not a building she hath not taught her children one to build another in the common and holy faith as saint Iude counselleth Iud. ep vers 2. Ephes 4.12 Her Pastors haue not built the bodie of Christ as saint Paul teacheth they should do They haue accounted their chiefe office to be to sing masse and not to preach the gospell And in her building when she did build she hath not builded Tebah that is the Arke with the word of God Ezech 13.10 Mar. 7.7 but with the clay and morter of man Also she teacheth and thinketh that this worke of building is finished alreadie But saint Paul teacheth that the word of God is able to builde further Act. 20.32 Fer. in 1. c Act. and to giue an inheritance among all them that are sanctified And Ferus saith verie excellently That if all the things which our Sauiour Iesus did should be written all the world could not containe the bookes which should be written Containe saith he that is vnderstand For if saith he the world cannot nor all the men that euer shall be in the world containe that is vnderstand that which is written alreadie being so small in volume how were it able to vnderstand if all things that Iesus did were written Iesus our Sauiour his works were manie in number Psal 36.7 1. Pet 3.18 and profound in mysteries Gods word is a bottomlesse pit no man can euer come to the bottome of it We must grow and may grow in the knowledge thereof daily And therfore manie at this day are deceiued in this point They wil beleeue no more they say then the fathers beléeued and that which they saw not they will not sée But if God lift vp his cloud giue light true Israel must go forward in their pilgrimage They may not say Exod. 40.38 because we haue staied in this place thus long therefore we will stay here still Lastly the Church of Rome is not this Arke of God she kéepes not these Iewels of Gods word in her heart she as a ship rather 1. King 22.48 she sailes with Iehosaphat vnder pretence of religion for gold She is wealthie The Pope cannot now say as Peter said siluer and gold haue I none or as Ferus notes on that place I will haue none if I might haue it the custodie of greater Iewels and treasures is committed vnto me Act. 4.6 She deuoures with the Pharisees vnder pretence of long prayers Mat. 23.14 widowes houses causing the husband to giue his house vnkindly euen from his wife a poore desolate widow that they might pray for him And thus they are become great landlords here vpon earth whereas Christ saith plainely my kingdome is not of this world Iohn 1◠36 But they haue gotten Christ now by their praying and massing euen an earthlie kingdome here in this world The Arke was made of Pine trées that would neuer be rotten and is the Church of Rome built of such timber Looke but a little into the liues of her Popes and you shall sée most euidently the contrarie Their Popes haue béene notorious in all kind of wickednes Some of them sorcerers coniurers as a Fascic temporum Homagium fecit Diabolo An Do. 1004. Siluester secundus Some proud who haue made compelled Kings and Superiours to stoope vnto them b Baleus in vita Pontificum as Adrianus quartus Some enuious who haue not onely ouerthrowne the actes of al their predecessors but euen vnburied their bodies againe as c Fascic temp An. Do. 904. Pontac Bur. in Chron. An. Do. 1159. ex Platin◠Sergius tertius Some ambitious insomuch that there haue béene three Popes at once Fasciculus temporum Anno Domini 1034. The pride of Alexander the third Pontacus Burgedalensis a Papist in his Chronicle reports thus At his feete Fredericke the Emperour fel down desiring the absolution of his excommunication And they say that two d Pontac ibid. kings Lewes king of France Henrie 2. king of England did wait vpon him a foot as yeomen of his stirtope holding his horse by the bridle on his right hand and on his left and to haue conducted him thorow the citie Totiacum with great pomp Of Pope Ioan the woman Fasc temp An. Christi 954. Fasciculus Temporū writes thus This was called Ioan English by name but by countrey was borne at Moguntia and is reported to haue beene about this time And she was a woman that went in mans apparrell And she so greatly profited in the holy Scriptures that there was none like to be compared with her and she was chosen Pope But after being gotten with child as she went solemnlie in procession she trauelled and died And this seemes saith he to be the sixt Pope that hitherto had the name of holy father without the thing and was plagued of God as the rest were And she is not placed in the Catalogue of Bishops Some heere make a tale and say that for this cause no German is chosen Pope which is most certain that it is a lie So that if this woman were no Pope yet there were fiue Popes by his iudgement that had the title of Holinesse giuen them which were wicked Of Bonifacius the eight the same Author writes thus Anno Christi 1294 This Boniface in matters concerning the Popes courts was most expert And because he had none that might be compared to him in wisdome he became so arrogant that he called himselfe the Lord of the whole world as well in temporall as in spiritual causes And
and sisters home vnto this house Euerie one must exhort his brother we must exhort one another as S. Paul commands Againe 1. Pet. 3.21 Ephes 4.4 Iosuah 6.25 Rom. 16.17 we must bring them all into one house There is but one Arke of Noah that saueth but one house in all Iericho that shall escape but one church of God wherein is saluation And therfore we must beware of schismes in the Church we must not be more cruell then the souldiers Ioh. 19.24 which would not rent in pieces Christs coate without seame but cast lots for it He that departs out of this house into the streete Verse 19. his bloud shall be on his owne head We must kéepe vs within the limits of the Church we must also follow her holie precepts that we go not foorth into the stréetes They which shall followe the world which shall doe as the most part doe Luk. 13.24 Rom. 12.2 shall be in danger of death But whosoeuer shall continue within the house Verse 19. shall be assuredly safe his bloud say they be on our heads if any touch him The ministers of the Gospell to all faithfull and obedient hearers ought and maie safely warrant them of their saluation they maie euen venture soule for soule they are so sure thereof they maie warrant their hearers And they ought not now to doubt thereof but to beleeue their preaching And lastly we must beware of Apostasie of Reuolting from the faith when persecution comes for the Gospell or when Sathan shall with faire promises go about to make vs forsake it we maie not be turnecoats we must be Peters that is stones not reeds 1. Pet. 2.5 Ephes 4.14 vnremoueable in the faith Though the king of Iericho terrifie vs or our friends flatter vs Gal. 1 16. or reason and flesh and bloud go about to perswade vs yet we must not be ledde by anie of them Wee must keepe the faith with Paul 2. Tim. 4 7. wee must finish our race we must not giue ouer as they saie in the plaine fielde And shee said according to your words so be it Verse 21. And shee let them downe and they departed And shee tied the red threed in her windowe Here is to conclude the last but not the least marke of the true Church according to your words so be it So Marie the blessed virgin answered the Angell Luk. 1.38 Behold the seruant of the Lord be it vnto me according to thy words And after when she was purified according to the lawe Luk. 2.22.23.24 and she presented him to the Lord as it is written in the lawe and she gaue an oblation as it was commaunded in the lawe So should the Church of Christ do all according to the scripture Gal. 1.8 But now let vs consider a little how vnlike Rahabs house the Church of Rome is Rahab placed the line of that trée that is the Scriptures of Iesus Christ in the roofe of her house She makes greatest account of them but the Church of Rome doth not so Concil Trid. Sess 3. she makes equall all her traditions and vnwritten verities with them She couers and hides the spies of Iosuah in them 2. Tim. 3.9 Acts 20.32 1. Pet. 5.2 Gen. 3.7 2. Tim. 4.4 the ministers of Iesus Christ should be cunning in the scriptures but the Church of Rome hath not couered her pastors with his holie line but hath rather with hurds of her own with Adams figge leaues with rags of mans deuises with the Master of the sentences and such like She doubts not of Gods word she knowes that Iericho shall be destroied and that Israel shall be Lords thereof The Church of Rome doth not teach her children this assurance grounded vpon Gods promises neither in their saluations neither in their prayers they make to God She mingles the drosse of mans frailtie Iam. 1.6 with the pure gold of faith and when as this colde water of doubtfulnesse is ready enough of it selfe to créepe in at the riftes of our weake shippe she bids vs not to stoppe it out but let it haue frée passage Rom. 10.11 Deut. 6.4 Mat. 28.18 Deut. 10.20 Ier. 5.7 Sophon 1.5 Her faith is grounded only vpon God that he is God alone that hath all power in heauen and earth and she requires an oath of them in his name as though this were a chiefe part of his honour But the Church of Rome hath vsually sworne by creatures in her thicke and palpable darknesse and her children as yet can hardly be drawne from it She dwels in the wal she reposeth all her trust in Iesus Christ 1. Pet. 1.21 The Church of Rome dwels farre from this wall reposing part of her trust and confidence in other things 1. Cor. 11.26 Rom. 10.9 She hangs the purple coard in her window she is able with her mouth to confesse Iesus Christ and him crucified the Church of Rome for lacke of the knowledge of the scriptures 1. Cor. 11.26 is not able to shew foorth the Lords death She brings her father and mother and brethren and sisters home to her house but the church of Rome doth not exhort one another Heb. 10.24 for the thicke darknes that raigned therein no man did sée his brother And lastly according to their words so she did shee added nothing of her owne when they were gone Mat. 28.20 but the Church of Rome hath added manie things of her owne to the commandements of Iesus Christ which he commanded his Apostles to go and preach to all nations and therfore in this point also as in the former she is vnlike to Rahab Exod. 25.3 The Tabernacle also which Moses builded for the children of Israel maie teach vs as a shadow which is the true bodie and as a type which is the true Church of Christ It was moueable and caried on the Priests backs from place to place Num. 4.15 Exod. 25.2 It was called the Tabernacle of the appointment because there God promised to answere them concerning all matters and in no place else Vers 9. 40. It was made of the voluntarie offerings of the people It was made according to the fashion and forme that God shewed Moses in the mount according to all that I shall shew thee saith God shall ye make the forme of the tabernacle and the fashion of all the instruments thereof And to the building of this his tabernacle God admitted as well haire of Goats as silke as well yron and brasse as gold And here first the consideration of this Tabernacle ouerthrowes the doctrine of the Roman Church Exod. 25.3.4 who teacheth that the Church in this world shall be alwaies visible and that at no time she shall loose her glorie And therefore they teach all men to beléeue the visible Church and then they shall be sure of their saluation But this Tabernacle which the people of Israel had here in the
chanced to his Apostles Let vs not therefore be troubled if there be now great dissension and quarels about religion Neither for this cause must we neglect to go to godly sermons but rather let vs diligently do this First call vpon God with the kingly Prophet saying Shew me thy wayes O Lord and teach me thy paths Then compare the doctrines diligently together and that which thou shalt perceiue more forcible to drawe thee from the world to God from the flesh to the Spirit from euill to goodnesse and from idolatrie to the true worshipping of God embrace that without anie feare with tooth and naile as they say nothing respecting the gainesayings of others The diuell hath euer gone about this That good deeds and words might bee made none account of least men beleeuing should bee saued Therefore by his ministers he sowes errours and sometimes also hee doth worke miracles that by errours he might make Gods word and by false signes Gods works to be lightly set by that by this means he may rather draw men quite frō the word or at least wise he may make them distrust and doubt of it God suffers this first that the godly may be tried according to that If a Prophet rise among you c. beleeue him not Deut. 13.1 for God tries you And hereof also Christ saith that in the end of the world so great shall be the beguilings of false Prophets that if it vvere possible the very elect should be seduced And hereof Saint Iohn saith Beleeue not euerie spirit but proue the spirits whether they be of God or no. The doctrin of the Gospell which we haue receiued is the word of God which hath been confirmed by many signes and with the bloud of many thousands Wherefore let no man doubt of that although an Angell from heauen should perswade the contrarie Againe therefore God suffers the diuell to shew lying signes that the wicked may be more blinded For it is done by the iust iudgement of God that they which will not beleeue the truth should be seduced and should cleaue to lies Thus far Ferus Where he plainly teacheth that it is no maruell that after the preaching of the Gospell contention and heresies haue sprung in the Church he saith it hath béene alwaies so and shall be euer And that for this cause no man ought to refuse to go and heare sermons And he loues the doctrine of the Gospell not anie lying miracles as the ground-worke of true Christian religion And after concerning the same matter he writes thus vpon these words The citie was deuided Ferus in 14. cap. Act. Here thou seest fulfilled that which Christ foretold I came not to send peace into the world but a sword The Gospell teacheth not seditions nor soweth discords but because it reprooueth their sinnes it cannot choose but the worldlings should repine against it I came to send fire vpon the earth maruell not therefore if there spring vp and be sects in the world for it hath beene euer so yea there must be heresies that the elect may be proued As much more as we see sects to arise so let vs striue earnestly to find and search out the truth and to stand firmely and vnmoueably in the confessed truth and to professe it boldly vnto our liues end And after he writes thus of the ground of euerie true Christians faith Ferus in cap. Act. 15. Euerie Christian ought to bee so sure of his faith that if all the world were of a contrarie opinion yet he could say I am sure this is Gods word let other men think what they will God cannot deceiue or beguile Yea if an Angell frō heauen should preach the contrarie let him be accursed Vnles thou be thus grounded thou canst not stand stedfastly when the false Apostles shall teach the contrarie And hereof Christ saith My sheepe heare my voyce and they will not heare stangers but run from them Gods word by Ferus iudgement is the onely Rocke of Christians faith and religion in these doubtful daies And againe in another place he makes these steps of Christianitie Marke in the foresaid words this order in Christianitie Ferus in cap. 22. Act. First is the predestination of God For it is not of him that willeth but of God that sheweth mercie Reade the ninth chapter to the Romans And we are predestinate not to idlenesse or wantonnesse but that wee may know the will of God what kind of one he is towards vs what he requires and willes at our hands Then wee are sent to Christ in whom alone we see how God is affected to vs. By him also we receiue the holy Ghost that we may be able to doe the will of God After we haue knowne Christ it remaines that in our life maners and words we testifie his goodnesse towards vs and that we are his disciples And this testimonie cōsists in foure things First that we rise vp from our old conuersation Secondly that we be baptized and bee partakers of the Sacraments Thirdly that we wash away the sinnes whereinto wee haue fallen by Christs bloud Fourthly that we call vpon his name that is his righteousnes and merits Here Ferus doth as it were make a perfect anatomie of a Christian man I would to God euery true Christian would marke well euerie part thereof and sée whether himselfe were sound in that faith or no. And in another place of Christian conuersation he writes thus Ferus in cap. Act 20. Marke here the manners of Christians First of all hee prayes the Saints alwayes giue themselues diligently to prayers both in the beginning and end of their work yea all their work thorough For we euer stand neede of the helpe of God for without him we can do nothing We are not sufficient of ourselues to thinke any thing that is good And againe He workes in vs both the will and to finish And in Osee O Israel thy destruction comes of thy selfe but thy helpe comes of me Let no man therefore trust in his owne strength Cursed is he that puts flesh his arme Therefore Paul neuer tooke any thing in hand nor finished anie thing without the helpe of prayer Secondly he kneeles downe against those which make a iest at all ceremonies in prayers He that goes about to make his prayers vnto God must haue well profited first in the schoole of humility otherwise he shall not be heard The prayers of him that humbleth himselfe pierceth the clouds And hereof it is said by the Prophet Vpon whom shall my Spirit rest but vpon the humble and peaceble And thirdly he prayes not alone but with all the companie The prayers of the holy Church is of great force So when the Apostles continued praying with one accord and consent the holy Ghost came vpon them and filled them all In like maner after the Iewes had threatned them when they had prayed altogether the place moued and they were all filled
he runnes to that he maie run straight vnto it or else he shall hardly win the prize So must all Christians haue alwaies their minds fixed vpon God Psal 123.2 euen as the eyes of seruants to the eyes of their maisters as Dauid teacheth they must euer walke with God as Enoch did if they mind to win that prize A little looking aside Gen. 5.22 will make them lose all though it be to worship an angell God only is their prize is their mark they must shoote at They must direct their eies only to him S. Austen very excellently teacheth vs this lesson O strange thing and greatly to be wondred at Med. 27. Of God the Creator of all things who is incomprehensible and vnspeakable all doubt set apart we reade speak and write high and wonderfull things but of Angels and soules whatsoeuer wee say we cannot so manifestly auouch But let our mind passe beyond these and let it passe ouer all that is created and let it runne and climbe vp and flie and passe ouer and with all her force let her direct the eyes of her faith vpon him which hath created all things Therefore I will make as it were a ladder in my heart and by the staues thereof I will climbe vp to my soule and by my soule and my mind I will climbe vp to my God which is aboue ouer my head Whatsoeuer is visibly seen whatsoeuer is spiritually imagined with force let it be far remoued from the sight of my soule and heart my vnderstanding alone by it selfe going forward let it fly swiftly to him who is the creator of Angels and souls and of all things That is a happie soule which forsakes these base things and seekes after those which be aloft which in the highest places makes the place of her dwelling and from the highest rockes beholds the sunne of righteousnesse with eagles eyes Nothing is so delectable or pleasant then to behold God alone with the sight of the mind and longing of the hart and after a strange maner inuisibly to see him who is inuisible And so to taste of another and not of this worlds sweetnesse and to behold another and not this worlds light For this our light which is shut vp in houses which in time ends which euery night alters which is common to vs with wormes and bruit beasts in comparison of that most excellent light is not to be called light but night Here Austen plainly teacheth that no man knowes the estate of soules Angels therfore we cannot pray with assured faith vnto them but we must climbe vp beyond them euen to God the maker of soules and Angels And herein Saint Austen agrées with Saint Iohn in the Reuelation and with Saint Paul to the Colossians but in some other places of Saint Austen I know how some haue made him disagrée from both these and from himselfe also in this place * Cap. 40. as appeares in these meditations But our Sauiour himselfe doth draw out the platforme of his Church most manifestly to all Christians that will giue but a little héed to his words euen to the capacity of a simple woman in Iohn 4. Ioh. 4.20 And the woman said to him after that he had tolde her of her fiue husbands Now I know assuredly that thou art a Prophet And vpon this ground she begins to enquire of him concerning true religion and the true meanes of the worshipping of God And euen here in the verie beginning shée ouerthrowes that Popish Maxime that it is sufficient to beléeue as the Church beléeueth she desires to be instructed further Our fathers saith she worshipped in this mountaine And you say that at Ierusalem is the place where we must worship 2. King 18.22 As though she should haue said We follow the steps and religion of our fathers in our worshipping of God But herein she câ—red and all such like that follow the tradition of the fathers for it was true perchance that she said that Abraham Isaac and Iacob had worshipped God in that hill but now the law of God comming after and commanding all sacrifices to be brought to Ierusalem they following the traditions of their fathers against the lawe of God erred as our Sauiour here teacheth this woman in her all posterities We must not respect what our fathers haue done but what Gods word teacheth But Iesus said to her Amos. 2.4 Woman beleeue me because the houre shall come when ye shall neither in this mountaine nor at Ierusalem worship the Father Here Christ teacheth her two principall notes and marks of the true Church First concerning the place thereof that it shall not be tied to anie one place no more as it had beene And therefore Rome falsely makes her selfe the mother Church and a second Ierusalem as it were Secondly concerning the obiect and end All religion and worship must bee done to God and to no creature else Psal 65.2 Matt. 4.10 This homage of our religion worship he challengeth as onely due to himselfe You worship you know not what we know what we worship This is a third mark of the true Church It must know what it worshippeth it must not serue God in ignorance and blindnesse Leuit. 21.18 Matth. 10.16 Luk. 17.33 He refused and condemned in the law as well blind as lame sacrifices And Gods people are compared to Doues and Eagles which both haue most cleare eies And god himself although before he had created heauen and earth Gen. 1 4. 1. Ioh. 5.1 yet he pronounced nothing good before he had created light And Saint Iohn saith that God himselfe is light he can abide no darkenesse And hereof all the faithfull are called children of light And Dauid now prophesying of the Church of Christ after his ascension saith speaking as it should séeme of our Church seruice Sing ye praises with vnderstanding And Saint Austen saith De mirab Scripturae that the holy Ghost came in all tongues to consecrate and make holy all tongues And our Sauiour said to the mother of Zebedees children Matth. 20.22 when she requested that her two sons might sit the one at his right hand and the other at his left you aske you know not what And do we not thinke that he will saie the same euen now to all Popish Latine prayers not vnderstood of them which make them And Saint Peter in his Catholique epistle 2. Pet. 3.18 writes to all Christians Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Iesus Christ And againe Ioine to your faith vertue 2. Pet. 1.5 and to your vertue knowledge And our Sauiour in the Gospell Ioh. 17.3 This is life eternall to know thee the true God and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ To know God is true Religion nay is eternall life And therefore the Church of Rome which did not nor as yet doth not teach her children to séeke for this knowledge
2. The. 2 3. was the mother of that sonne of perdition and neither taught true Christian religion nor yet eternall life That saluation comes of the Iewes Here our Sauiour doth teach this woman also what thee must know and in her all Christians They must know their saluation from whence it comes and be thankfull to God for it The Church of Rome hath erred in this point also who hath taught that saluation hath not comed of the Iewes that is by the means only of Iesus Christ but by the bloud of Martyrs She hath added here in England euen the bloud of Thomas which euē Ferus condemnes vpon these words of Saint Iohn Ferus in 1. cap. ep Io. And the bloud of Iesus Christ cleanseth vs from all our sinnes Mark saith he that he mentioneth not anie bloud but the bloud of Christ For no other bloud can or euer could do this Act. 4.12 c. There is no other name giuen vnder heauen saith Peter in which we must be saued To Iesus Christ alone the people and the children crie Hosannah that is saue vs Lord and as it is also in the Psalme Matt. 21.9.15 Hashlikah and O Lord send vs now prosperitie Matt. 28.18 He alone blesseth the works of our hands and also saues our soules He hath all power in heauen and earth And so must all true Catholikes crie also to him alone and to none else This is also a marke of the true Church But the houre comes and is euen now when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth Reu. 22.17 Here is another euident mark of the true Church She still waites for the cōming of Iesus Christ she accounts the time of this world but an houre euen then when Christ spake this and that now the houre is almost quite runne a small time or nothing thereof remaines She thinks that this world is of no great continuance as the Popish Church doth not thinke who teacheth that as yet Antichrist is not comed She thinks that those things which S. Iohn said should be fulfilled shortly Reu. 1.3 are fulfilled alreadie She thinkes not that the greater part of them are yet to be fulfilled as the Church of Rome doth She euer stands in the doore of her tent with Abraham Gen. 18.1 1. King 19.13 and in her caues mouth with Elias still looking when the Lord will come When the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth For such worshippers the Father now lookes for Here is another marke of the true Church Ioh. 4.23 To worship the Father God alone and also the maner how in spirit truth In spirit that is with our hearts and in truth that is without all types and shadowes Iohn 19.30 The law now hath an end the sunne shines all shadowes must vanish awaie Our humble hearts now must bée those sacrificed bulles Rom. 12 1. and our chast hearts those sacrificed Turtles and our good hearts those sacrificed Rammes and our bountifull hearts those sacrificed sheepe and our ioyfull hearts those sacrificed calues which God requires Heb. 13 15. God will not be worshipped now with those Iewish shadowes Col. 2.17 which he himselfe commanded the true sonne of Righteousnesse Iesus Christ being comed into the worlde much lesse with Popish shadowes and mysteries and mans deuise Reu. 14.9 or with Popish Images Exod. 20 4. Esa 40 25. which his Lawe and Prophets flatly condemne God is a Spirit and therefore he will be worshipped in spirit and truth Those externall things 2. King 12.28 which séeme pleasant to flesh and bloud as Ieroboams golden calues which he made as some thinke because that God would more highly esteeme golden calues Dan. 3.15 2. King 10.22 then calues of flesh Nebuchadnetzars Psalterie and musicke Baals Priests gay garments and robes frankinsence and such like thinges whatsoeuer wherein flesh and bloud takes so great pleasure and delight are an abomination to the Lord as our Sauiour Christ tels vs in the Gospell Luke 16.15 That which is verie highly esteemed amongst men is abominable before God Hée requires the loue of thy heart the faith and trust of thy soule Eccle. 9.10 Heb. 13.16 the knowledge of thy vnderstanding the obedience of thy will the praise of thy mouth and the good workes of thy handes And this is that which Dauid saith in the Psalme Psal 50.8 that at that great day of iudgement God shall not reproue the people for their burnt offrings of bullocks or goats but if they shal not haue offred him praise and thankesgiuing Let all true Catholikes feare this reproofe God hath foretold vs like a good Maister what hée will reproue vs for and what he will finde fault with in his house when he comes againe and shall we not take héede thereof O carelesse and disobedient seruants Let vs offer to him alone our praise and thankesgiuing and all our prayers least we be reproued and condemned of him when hée comes The true worshippers This proues that there shall be false worshippers in Gods house Esa 1 22. Mat. 13.25 25 33. there shall bee there copper as well as gold there shall be tares as well as wheate there shall be goates as well as sheepe O let vs marke this point well here is the brand wherewithall the Lords shéepe are discerned here is the touchstone whereby the Lords gold is tried from copper Matt. 3.12 here is the sieue and fanne which tries the Lords wheat from the chaffe that we may be shéepe and not goates gold and not copper wheat and not chaffe Let vs take diligent heed of this Vers 25. And the woman said vnto him I know that Messias shall come which is called Christ and when he shall come he shall shewe vs all things This opinion shée had of Christ that he should teach thē all things when he came And shall we beléeue lesse of him Shall we beléeue any doctrine which he neuer taught in his word And our Sauior himself agrees to this her spéech saying I will call you no more seruants Ioh. 15.15 because the seruant knoweth not what his maister doth but I haue called you friends because I haue made manifest to you all things that I haue heard of my father He testifieth here plainlie that he fulfilled her spéech that he had told them all things necessarie to their saluation he kept nothing backe to be reuealed after by the meanes of the Church and therefore he commands his Apostles to go and preach to all nations Matt. 28.10 baptizing them and teaching them to obserue all things whatsoeuer he had commanded them and nothing els And Saint Paul saith 1. Tim. 6.3.4 He that teacheth anie other doctrine and agrees not with the whole some words of our Sauiour Christ and that doctrine which agrees with godlinesse is puft vp and knowes nothing how wise
it shall be opened vnto you Luk. 18.1 And he spake a parable vnto them to the end that they ought alwayes to pray and not to waxe faint and not to giue ouer saying There was a iudge c. Reioyce euermore Pray continually in all things giue thanks For this is the will of God in Iesus Christ towards you 1. Thess 5.16.17 Ioh. 16.24.24 Ephes 5.20 Col. 3.17 Iames 4.2 that is these are the things that God would haue you doe these are the things that hee delightes in so that they bee done in the name of Iesus Christ Ye haue not because ye aske not A Thanksgiuing vnto Iesus Christ for the benefites he hath bestowed on vs taken out of Granatensis which may be called the true Catholikes Graces Gen. 1.26 I Giue thée heartie thankes most swéete Iesu for that thou hast created me according to thine owne image and likenesse Psal 104.30 139.15 for this bodie which thou hast giuen me with all the senses thereof for this my soule with all the powers of it that with them I might both knowe thée Col. 3.5 and loue thee Giue me grace O Lord so to serue thée my creator and heauenly Father that all my sinfull passions vaine affections being mortified killed in me 1. Cor. 3.17 thy image maie be renued in me againe vnto the which I was created and that I may be made like thee in the innocencie of life Psal 22.10 I thanke thée O my swéete Sauiour for the benefite of my preseruation for euen thou the same who hast created me doest euer preserue and kéepe me in this essence and being which thou hast giuen me Moreouer I giue thée most humble thankes because also for this same preseruation of mine thou hast created all things whatsoeuer are in the world Psal 115.16 1. Cor. 3.22 as the heauen the earth the sea the sunne the moone the starres beastes fishes birds trees and in a word all creatures els whereof thou hast made some to sustaine and féede me some to heale me some to refresh and delight me some to teach me and other some to correct me I beséech thée O Lord giue me grace that I may so vse all these in this world as I ought to do and according to that right vse whereunto thou hast made them that is Rom. 1.20 that I may by thē come vnto the knowledge of thée my onlie true God and Lord and that by them there may be stirred vp and kinled in my heart an admiration and wonderfull loue of thy holy name O Lord Iesu 1. Pet. 1.19 I thanke shée for the benefit of my redemption that is for that incomprehensible goodnesse and for that exceeding great mercie which thou hast shewed towards me Also for that most feruent loue Phil. 2.7 wherewith thou hast redéemed me descending downe into the earth that thou mightest lift me vp to heauen being made man Rom. 15.7 that thou mightest make me God and suffering most cruell death that I might haue true life Ioh. 14.6 Luke 2.7.21 Matth. 1.14 4.2 Luke 6.12 9 58. I thanke thée for the humilitie of thy incarnation for the pouertie of thy birth for the bloud of thy circumcision for thy flight into Egypt for thy fasting in the wildernes for thy watching all night in prayer lastly for the pouertie humilitie and miserie of all thy whole most holy life I giue thée thanks for the labours paines reproches mockes Luk. 22 64.23 33.22.44.54.64 Matth. 26.67 Matt. 26.21 Luk. 22.64 Ioh 19.2 Mark 15.32.26 Ioh. 20.25.19.24.30 Mat. 11.35.16 17. Act. 12.28 and taunts which thou enduredst for me in thy most sorrowfull and shamefull death I thanke thée for thy prayer in the garden for thy bloudie sweat for thy attachment for thy buffettings for thy spittings vpon for thy slaunders for thy stripes for thy crowne of thornes for thy purple robe for thy railings vpon for the gall vineger thou drankest for the nailes for the speare for the crosse and for thy death which for me and my saluation thou enduredst I giue thee thanks O swéete Iesu that euen from my cradle thou hast receiued me into the lap and bosome of thy Church that thou hast instructed and taught me in the Catholike faith that thou hast made me a Christian and that thou hast sustained and preserued me both in bodie and soule euen till now I desire thy gratious goodnesse graunt me thy grace that thou onlie maist be the most pleasant and sweete meat of my heart Ioh. 6.27 Ioh. 7.37 and that my soule may alwaies thirst for thée the verie fountaine of the water of life that when the course of this my pilgrimage is ended I may then reioyce in thy most blessed happinesse and felicitie 2. Tim. 4.7 Psal 17.15 Reu. 22.1 and taste of that plentifull and euerflowing floud of delights which comes from the well of life and of all good things els I giue thée thanks most louing Iesu who hast deliuered me from manie and verie great perils and daungers both of soule and bodie Psal 68.20 euen vnto this present day without all my forecast or wisedome when as I in the meane time was worthie to be neglected and reiected of thée I giue thée thankes that when as I lay snorting and as it were buried in the filthinesse of my sinnes that thou hast waited for my repentance so long Rom. 12.11.2.4 and with such great patience notwithstanding that I haue offended thee so often and haue resisted thy holy inspirations Act. 7.51 Graunt vnto me O Lord that hereafter I may follow thée with an humble affection and that with all readinesse and obedience I may obey and embrace thy heauenlie inspirations and good motions Psal 119.122 and that I may driue out of my heart the loue of all visible things 1. Ioh. 2.15 that so being wholie occupied and employed in thy seruice I may neuer be separated from thée hereafter I giue thée hartie thankes O Lord that besides all these benefites thou hast done and 〈◊〉 vpon me thou hast instituted and ordained such most excellent and wonderfull sacraments for my saluation 1. Cor. 11.25 Ephes 4.5 and for a remedy to cure and heale my wounds that thou hast visited me with so manie good holie thoughts and inspirations Also for the blessednesse of eternall glorie Psal 40.5 which thou hast prepared for me if I make not my selfe vnworthie thereof through my manifolde sinnes and wickednesse 2 Pet. 2.22 These O Lord are but thy common benefites which I haue remembred There are manie other which I neither remember nor knowe for the which I giue thée no lesse thanks then for these I haue now reckoned vp yea so much the greater thanks I giue thée for them as the greatnes of thy goodnesse appeares in them more manifestlie For at what time I slept thou didst wake to defend me
from a thousand dangers Psal 121.4 and euen as it were to loade me with many graces for all which as it is méete that I should craue pardon at thy hands Psal 19.12 not only for the forgiuenesse of these sins which I know but also of those which I know not so it is méete that I should in like sort giue thee as great and bounden thankes as possiblie I can not onlie for the benefites I know but also for those I know not And therefore I worship thee I praise thee I giue thanks to thee in them and for them all Giue me grace O my Redéemer that I may so learne to vse all these thy benefits hereafter Mat. 25.24 that they be not occasions of pride and slouthfulnesse in me but of greater humilitie and thankfulnesse and that they may kindle in me a greater desire and zeale of thy seruice To thee therefore who liuest and raignest with the Father and the holy Ghost be all honor and glorie both now and for euer and euer Amen A Forme of Morning Prayer taken out of Granatensis for Christian families O Lord God of Israel which dwellest betweene the Cherubins 2. King 19.15 thou art the verie God alone ouer all the kingdomes of the earth thou hast made heauen and earth thou hast made winter and sommer Psal 74.16 Gen. 1.1 the day is thine and the night also is thine O Lord God our most bountifull most mercifull and most louing Father wee most wretched sinners here gathered together in thy most holie name humblie prostrate our selues before thy throne of mercie crauing pardon and forgiuenes for al our sins And although we be vnworthie through our manifolde iniquities Luke 18.13 to present our selues before thy glorious Maiestie much lesse to offer to thée any oblation of praise thāksgiuing considering our owne basenesse demerits yet we know that thou art a Lord most bountifull a God most merciful a Father most louing and a sauior most swéet comfortable Luk. 15.20 whose propertie is euer to saue and haue mercie on the humble sorowfull penitent persons that come to thee in the name of thy beloued son Iesus Christ We confesse O Lord our wretchednesse Psal 32.5 wee acknowledge O Father our vnworthinesse wee are hartilie sorie for our sinnes we most humbly craue pardon for them euen for Iesus Christs sake Esay 59.2 we know that our sinnes stand before vs as great huge heaps like walles of iron and gates of brasse which hinder our petitions so that they cannot come before thee Esa 1.18 we do account our sinnes as red as scarlet in thy sight wee feele our burthen is so heauie and intolerable that we are not able to beare it Psal 40.12 we sée in our selues to be no frée spot from the crowne of the heade to the sole of the foote but all is spotted and corrupted with sores and vlcers Esa 1.6 whose great vengeance which they worthily deserued would haue fallen vpon vs long agoe Lam. 3.22 but that it was stayed and kept backe by thy mercifull hand Wee giue thee O most gratious God and louing Father humble and heartie thankes for this thy fatherlie loue in the name of thy dearely beloued Sonne Iesus Christ beséeching thee for his sake to continue this thy loue and mercy towards vs all the daies of our liues Psal 84.9 O most louing Father looke not vpon vs but looke vpon the face of this thy annointed Iesus Christ and for his sake haue mercie vpon vs Remoue O Lord our sinnes as farre from vs as the East is from the West Psal 103.12 that they bee neither hinderances to let thy mercie for falling on vs or our prayers Psal 51.7 for comming vp into thy sight Purge vs with Isop dipped not in the bloud of the lambe but in the bloud of thy Son Iesus Christ and we shall be as white as snowe O good Lord sprinckle not only the vppermost poste Exod. 12.7 Rom. 10.9 and the two side postes of the doores of our houses but the whole houses of our hearts and soules with that most precious bloud with the Isop of thy Gospell now preached and wée doe beleeue verily that the destroyer shall passe ouer vs he shall in no wise hurt vs. Ease we beséech thée O swéete Sauiour our burthens as thou hast promised Matt. 11.28 who callest all to thée that are heauie loaden and burthened We confesse O Sauiour euerie one of vs that we carie on our backes the greatest burthens that euer were borne 1. Tim. 1.25 Heb. 13.20 Rom. 8.33 Ephes 5.16 And graunt to vs we beséech thee O mercifull Father that by the bloud of the euerlasting testament sprinkled in our harts by a liuely faith all the inditements and accusations of Satan against vs maie be quite blotted out and all his fir is darts quenched Make this couenant with vs O sweete Sauiour that so long as we serue thée that thou wilt be our God 1. Sam. 2.30 Psal 119 32. our guide and protectour And graunt vs euer therefore thy grace that we may be able to do thée seruice and willing minds to do it with chéerefulnesse 2. Cor. 5.25 And because O Lord Ephes 1.6 the whole course and end of our life should be no other thing but to delight to do thy will and pleasure Psal 5.3 giue vs grace to begin to praise and serue thée the first thing we do in the morning and let vs account and make it the principall ground-worke of all other whereon we should laie all other businesses and affaires whatsoeuer And that we may do it more effectuallie giue vs the holie Ghost the seale of our saluation 2. Cor. 1.22 to seale and shut vp the doores of our hearts and minds from all earthly thoughts and worldly cogitations And close O good Lord Ier. 9.21 the windowes of al our senses frō the vaine appetites of the world the concupiscence of the flesh and the baites of the diuell first of all in the morning when we awake so that all these being excluded and shut out of doores our hearts and minds may be open onlie to thee and to receiue and admit thy Son our Sauiour Iesus Christ into them before all things else 1. Thess 2.13 Reu. 14.4 That so wee may offer vnto thee the firstlings of this day and of all the dayes of our liues And here we giue thee deare Father Psal 137.2 most humble and heartie thankes for the quiet rest and swéete sléepe that thou hast giuen vs this night and for that thou hast deliuered vs from all vaine dreames and foolish fantasies and from all the subtill snares and illusions of our enemy the diuell Psal 91.3 and for all other the benefits of our creation our redemption 1. Cor. 1.30 our election our iustification our sanctification that thou hast called vs vnto the knowledge of
disquieted within me O put thy trust in God For I will yet giue him thankes which is the helpe of my countenance and my God The ioy of the Lord is your strength Nehe. 8.10 Rom. 15.13 O Lord of hope fill vs with all ioy and peace through faith that we may abound in hope through the power of the holie Ghost When we shall heare the clocke strike let vs say Blessed be the houre wherein our Lord Iesus Christ was borne and died for vs. When as we shall haue done any thing well let vs say Not vnto vs O Lord not vnto vs Psal 115.1 but vnto thy name giue the glorie For thy louing mercie and for thy truths sake When we shall take a iourney I will go forth in the strength of the Lord God Psal 71.16 and I wil make mention of thy righteousnes only In a doubtfull matter let vs pray thus In silence and confidence is our strength Esa 30.15 In dangers let vs pray thus Our helpe standeth in the name of the Lord Psal 124.8 who hath made heauen and earth For Faith let vs pray thus with the Apostles O Lord increase our faith Luke 17.5 For the loue of God O Lord poure thy loue abundantly into our hearts Rom. 5.5 by thy holy Spirit For remission of sinnes Haue mercie vpon me O God after thy great goodnesse Psal 51.1 according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Psal 19.13 Who can tell how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou mee from my secret sinnes Psal 25.7 O remember not the sinnes and offences of my youth but according to thy mercie thinke vpon me O Lord for thy goodnes For good thoughts Psal 19.14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be alwayes acceptable in thy sight O Lord God my strength and my redeemer For good workes Psal 119.122 Make thy seruant delight in that which is good that the proud do me no wrong At the houre of death Psal 31.5 Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of truth For the Church pray thus Psal 28.10 O saue thy people giue thy blessing vnto thine inheritance feede them and set them vp for euer Psal 80.7 Turne vs againe thou God of hosts shewe the light of thy countenance and we shall be saued Psal 85.4 Turne vs O God our Sauiour let thine anger cease from vs. In the afflictions of the Church Amos 7.2 O Lord God spare vs I beseech thee who will raise vp Iacob for he is small Psal 51.18 O be fauourable and gracious vnto Sion build thou the wals of Ierusalem Psal 122.6 7 8 O pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall prosper that loue thee Peace be within thy walles and plenteousnesse within thy pallaces for my brethrens and companions sake I will wish thee prosperitie Saint Gregorie his Prayer Greg. post Psalmos poenitent O good Iesu the word of the Father the brightnesse of the Fathers glorie on whom the Angels do desire to looke teach me to doe thy will that being led by thy good Spirit I may come to that blessed Citie where is an euerlasting day and one spirit of all men where is certaine securitie and secure eternitie and eternall tranquilitie and quiet felicitie and happie pleasure and pleasant ioy where thou God liuest with the Father and the holie Ghost for euer and euer Amen He that shall vse these short prayers no doubt as arrowes they shall mount vnto the skies and enter euen into the eares of God A View of Gods houshold and of all his Seruants THis is set downe by king Dauid very excellently in the Psalme They haue seene O Lord Psal 68.25 thy goings how thou my God and king hast walked in the Sanctuarie Here Dauid teacheth vs that the Lord God as a mightie Prince sometimes as it were euen walketh in his Sanctuarie and among the faithfull in the congregation Now followeth his traine The singers Sharim go before the Musitians Nogenim they which play with the hand on instruments of musicke follow after in the middest are virgins playing on timbrels or drummes Here is Gods traine first singers then virgins and lastly they which plaie with the hand And these may signifie vnto vs thrée sorts of men in Gods Church Singers maie represent Martyrs or Confessors of the faith Virgins those that next to them though they haue not shed their bloud for the loue of Christ yet for his sake they haue abandoned all the vaine and fleshly delights and pleasures of this world and therefore by good right they challenge to themselues the middle or second place And lastly are those cunning Musitians which play with the hand Gal. 5.6 these are those Christians whose faith worketh through charitie Who haue sowne plentifully with their handes the Lords talents that he hath blessed them withall 2. Cor. 9.6 as Saint Paul exhorteth them to doe And they which haue done so do receiue plentifully againe as our Sauiour witnesseth Matt. 25.34 Come ye blessed of my Father inherite the kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world for I was an hungrie and ye gaue me meate c. And how fitly agrées all these together Martyrs may bée rightly called Singers for as Prudentius writeth of Romanus the martyr when as the cruell persecutor had bored through his chéekes he spake thus to him Prudent in Rom. mart O Ruler fierce I yeeld thee thanks that for one mouth too straite Now manie mouthes thou hast me made my Christ his praise to speake Virgins may bee said to play with Drummes For their praise soundeth farre and wide Matth. 19.12 Of virginitie Christ said He that can comprehend it let them comprehend it As though hée should say it is a price propounded of me to all my disciples to runne for 1. Cor. 7.32 Happie is he that can attaine it And S. Paul erhorting all men to virginitie I would haue you without care saith he But this thing can only virginitie afford you The vnmaried man careth for the things of the Lord how he may please the Lord But hee that is maried careth for the things of the world how he may please his wife Yea there is difference betweene a virgin and a wife They are not all one the one farre excelleth the other The vnmaried woman careth for the things of the Lord that she may be holy both in body and spirit but she that is maried careth for the things of the world how shee may please her husband Here is the excellencie of virginitie put downe weighed as it were in a paire of ballance and compared with mariage that euerie one maie sée the excellency and difference of the one before the other The virgin careth only for the Lord the maried person for the world The virgin
shall not we doe the like for our selues Let vs follow his example But what speak I of shedding teares when we pray some are now growne so stiffe-necked that they will hardlie how their knées when they praie That is now accounted of manie superstition they saie it is sufficient to bow the knées of their hearts But howsoeuer they saie it is superstition I saie it is lacke of reuerence to the Maiestie of God and of deuotion O come let vs worship and fall downe and kneele before the Lord our maker Psal 9◠6 saith Dauid We say this euerie daie at our prayers with our mouthes do it not with our bodies What is this but euen as it were to mocke God S. Paul is said to bow his knees to the father of our Lord Iesus Christ of whom is named all the families in heauen and earth Ephes 3.14 Nay Iesus Christ himselfe is said to haue prostrated himselfe vpon the earth to God his Father Matt. 26.39 And shall we thinke much to bow our knées to him Or is it to stoupe a little with their heads when they praie as some vse to do to knéele Is that superstition which Saint Paul and our blessed Sauiour vsed To conclude then this second dutie of a Christian Thus he is taught manifestlie in the word of God to praie continuallie thrise a daie at least To watch in the night in his prayers to praie earlie in the morning and to ioyne with his prayers fasting wéeping and knéeling And then when he prayeth the Lord shall heare him as hee did Dauid and endue his soule with much strength Psal 138.3.109.7 Without these let him take héede his prayers be not turned into sin A third dutie which concernes all Christians is to exhort one another to good workes and to reprooue their brethren when they sée them to commit sinne and especiallie of maisters to catechize and instruct their families And this is that which Ecclesiasticus saith And hee saide vnto them Eccles 17.12 Beware of all vnrighteous things Hee gaue also euerie man a commandement concerning his brother Euery man must haue a care of his brother to exhort him to goodnesse and to keepe him from sinne And this is that allegorie of a bodie which Saint Paul also vseth and teacheth vs Rom. 10.4 We are all members of Christs bodie Now euerie member will not onelie labour for and helpe another but also if it be hurt will haue a care to heale it againe The same care should euerie Christian haue of his brother And hence it is that Saint Paul saith Heb. 3.12 Take heed brethren least at anie time there bee in anie of you an euill heart and vnbeleeuing to depart from the liuing God But exhort one another dayly while it is called to day least any of you bee hardened by the deceitfulnesse of sinne No doubt for lacke of this daily exhortation so manie at this daie amongst vs are hardened with sin No man now adaies exhorteth his brother to do good A man maie do what he list no man will reproue him And the same lesson he repeates againe as a lesson worthie the learning Heb. 10.24 Let vs consider one another to prouoke vnto loue and good workes not forsaking the fellowship that we haue amongst our selues as the maner of some is but let vs exhort one another and that so much the more because yee see that the day draweth neere c. The néerer that the day of iudgement approcheth the more we stand in néed of this exhortation and prouocation one of another forward to good works For then as should séeme Reu. 12.12 Sathan shall labour mightily as we find by experience to draw all men to sinne And therefore all men had neede to ioyne hands together and to labour against him We fight against mightie enemies Ephes 6.12 against principalities and powers as the Apostle telleth vs. And yet the iudge being now at the verie doores Iam. 5.9 and the day no doubt béeing at hand and this enemie béeing so mightie euen now raging so fiercelie because he knowes that hee hath but a short time to raigne Reue. 12.12 No man almost exhorteth his brother to good workes as loue and charitie but rather vnto pride and couetousnesse by his euill example No man reprooueth the sinne of his brother Men are nowe become like Caine who said Gen. 4.9 Am I my brothers keeper What haue I to doe with my brother This is a Caines and not a Christians voice The holy Ghost fell vpon the Apostles in the forme of fitie tongues Act. 2.3 To teach all Christians that are indued with the holie Ghost what their duties are they must be tongues they must not be dumbe they must exhort they must teach they must speake yea they must be firie tongues that is they must reproue also But now adaies that saying of King Dauid is verified Psal 94.16 Who will rise vp with me against the wicked Or who will take my part against the euil doers Perchance one amongst an hundred endued with this firie zeale of Gods Spirit will rebuke sinne will stand vp against the wicked but no man will take his part no man will ioine with him And so by that meanes his godly zeale doth little good One man is no man as the prouerbe is And without manie be ioined and coupled together there is no strength there is no force Secondlie as euery man is bound to exhort his brother so especiallie euerie Master his familie as appeareth by Gods owne spéech to Abraham when as hee reuealed to him the destruction of Sodome Ge. 18.17 c. And the Lord said Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do Seeing that Abraham shall be indeed a great and a mightie nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him For I know him that he will command his sonnes and his houshold after him that they keepe the way of the Lord to doe righteousnesse and iudgement that the Lord may bring vpon Abraham that hee hath spoken vnto him Let vs mark here all that will be accounted Abrahams children what God himselfe pronounceth of Abraham that hee will teach his sonnes and his familie to feare God do righteousnesse and let vs follow his steps then shall all that God hath promised Abraham come vnto vs. Would we then be partakers of Gods promises and of his blessings let vs then instruct our children and families Here is a condition or limitation prescribed to vs by Gods own mouth All men condemne Herod that killed the Innocents and yet they which catechize not their families and children are more cruell then he Matth. 2.16 for he killed other mens children and these men kill their owne Nay hee killed but their bodies only and these kill their soules O cruell Herods Let all true Christians beware of this crueltie and be rather Abrahams true children in instructing
Abrahams sonnes whose sonne whosoeuer is not Rom. 4.11 is Sathans sonne and shall surelie be damned But to the vtter confusion of all worldlie minded Christians Putiphar the Egyptian maie teach them this contempt of the world Gen. 39.8 Behold saith Ioseph my maister knoweth not what he hath in the house with me but hath committed all that he hath to mine hand Surelie if this Egyptian had made account of the world he would haue beene more circumspect about his affaires he would haue knowne euerie light matter who ate and dranke in his house c. This Egyptian shall condemne our suspitious Christians who will trust no bodie and our couetous worldlings who will look so narrowly to their affaires who will not léese the parings of their nailes Possidon in vita Aug. Saint Austen neuer did weare or carie about either keie or ring or signet but committed all the care of the Church and of his houshold to some faithfull clergie men who at the yeares end made him an account And hence springs two other duties of Christians They should giue to their poore brethren They should lend to their néedy neighbours He that despiseth the world and riches will be liberall to the poore and will lend to his neighbour but he that loues and sets his mind on these will neither giue nor lend fréelie Saint Paul willeth Timothie to command rich men that they bee rich in good workes 1. Tim. 6.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and readie to giue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and imparting and communicating to their brethren some part of those blessings God hath bestowed on them not keeping all to themselues Pro. 5.15.16 Salomon compares riches to a riuer Drinke saith hee of the waters of thy cesterne and of the riuers out of the middest of thine owne well Let thy fountaines flow forth and the riuers of waters in the streets As though he should say O thou rich man God hath giuen thée a pleasant fountaine wilt thou now kéepe it wholie to thy selfe Wilt thou damme and stop it vp No but rather take so much thereof as will serue thine owne turne let the rest flow into the stréets let thy neighbor also haue part thereof And do so likewise with thy riches But Saint Paul addeth a forceable reason to moue all rich men to this liberalitie and readinesse to distribute these their riches Laying vp in treasure saith he for themselues a good foundation against the time to come 1. Tim. 6.19 that they may obtaine euerlasting life And here he yéelds two excellent commendations to these riches thus distributed they are first a mans treasure in heauē No treasure here on earth shall so delight thée nor so comfort thée at the day of iudgement as these their riches thus employed on the poore shall doe nay they are a foundation that thou maist attaine eternall life by most assuredly Mat. 5.7 Iude 21. for blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtaine mercie Vpon this foundation depends all our saluations euen of Gods mercie And if we be mercifull we shall most assuredly obtaine Gods mercie if we be not mercifull we shall neuer haue Gods mercie For Saint Iames hath plainly foretold vs Iam. 2.18 that iudgement shall bee without mercie to him that now sheweth no mercy So that our workes of mercie grounded vpon these promises of God are a most sure foundation to vs that we maie attaine euerlasting life They which shall doe no workes of mercie shall haue no mercie at Gods hands and therefore lack the verie foundation of their saluation In our earthly buildings we will be sure to laie the foundations of our houses most firmelie Let vs do the same in the foundation of our saluation Shewe mercie and thou shalt be sure to haue mercie this is the onlie foundation thou must leane vnto And this also our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell teacheth all rich men Make you friends of your vnrighteous Mammon Luk. 16.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that * when you depart hence and shall faile in your accounts they may receiue you into euerlasting tabernacles God calleth that last daie a day of iudgement Now in a iudgement there are guiltie persons and witnesses and pleaders or lawyers So in this great iudgement of God there shall be guiltie persons Rom. 3.19 euen all men liuing All mouthes there must bee stopped At that day saith our Sauior make the poore your friends O you rich men that when you shall faile in your accounts and cannot answere one for a thousand they maie plead for you they may witnesse your mercie to the Iudge Iob. 9.1 that so you maie find mercie Without this testimonie of theirs you shall neuer haue mercie In your other earthly actions and affaires you will diligentlie séeke for witnesses to proue your causes O doe the same in great matters of your saluation be sure that you haue good store of witnesses which maie testifie your mercie shewed vpon them that you maie obtaine mercie And this is that sure foundation which S. Paul counselleth you there to lay that you maie bee sure to obtaine euerlasting life Tremel in 6. cap. Mat. And héereof it is also as I thinke that in the Hebrewe and Syriacke as Tremelius noteth our almes is called our righteousnesse And whereas the Gréeke text saith Do your almes the Hebrew and Syriake text saith Do your righteousnesse because that mercie is our inherent righteousnesse Our righteousnes is in pardoning not in performing in God his gracious pardon not in the works wee haue performed Iude 20. In Gods sight shall no man liuing bee iustified But the mercifull shall then obtaine mercie Mercie must bee all our righteousnesse And this is that which Saint Iude teacheth all Christians in a little bundle as it were knitting vp the summe of all Christian religion But you beloued edifie your selues in your most holy faith praying in the holy Ghost And keepe your selues in the loue of God looking for the mercie of our Lord Iesus Christ vnto eternall life Héere is plainelie put downe the saluation of all Christians euen the mercie of our Lord Iesus Christ This wee must all waite for this wee must trust in and not in our owne workes But nowe who dare trust for anie thing or looke for anie thing at Gods hand but by promise Now the promise of the mercie of Iesus Christ is annexed to our mercifull dealing with our brethren as I haue noted before Therefore they which are not mercifull nowe maie looke for the mercie of Iesus Christ but they shall neuer obtaine it because they haue no promise they haue not fulfilled this condition they lacke mercie which in the Hebrewe and Syriacke tongue is called our righteousnesse This is that also which wee reade in the Psalme for the Scripture is a golden chaine it is all linked and knit together Hee hath dispersed abroade saith Dauid and giuen to the poore Psal
would haue perished in the earth is preserued in heauen Therefore that which is preserued we shall receiue Thy desert is preserued thy merit is become a treasure For marke what thou shalt receiue Receiue ye the kingdom that was prepared for you from the beginning of the world On the contrarie they that would not lend what shall they heare Goe yee into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the diuell and his Angels Thus farre Augustine Where he plainly sets downe the great blessing that the merifull lender shall obtaine at Gods hands and the terrible punishment which not the vsurer only but he that will not lend shall be sure to haue I would to God all Christians would but marke what censures the verie Heathens haue giuen concerning vsurie WheÌ„ as one asked Cato Censorius Cic. lib. 2. Off. what were the chiefe points of good husbandrie He answered To feed well to cloath wel and to till well And to him that asked What is it to commit vsurie Is not that also a point of good husbandrie Cato answered What is it to kill a man He thought that an vsurer sinned as greatly as a murtherer Did Cato iudge thus of vsurie by the light of nature and shall Christians professe it or thinke better of it in the light of the Gospell Panor lib. 4. Alphonsus king of Aragon compared vsurers to greedie birds which snatched catched all things And surely no doubt verie iustlie For vsurers are the cruellest Kites and vultures in the world They consume mens patrimonies they often kill their bodies and vndoe their heires And this they do to their brethren to whom they were bound to open euen their verie hearts and bowels to do them good 1. Ioh. 3.17 as Saint Iohn teacheth And will not then these cruell hearted men open to them their coffers or purses Another compares Vsurers to the diuell for what els saith he do Vsurers but that which the diuell perswaded Christ to haue done when as hee would haue had him to haue made stones bread for by their lending Pet. Greg. de Rep. lib. 2. cap. 20. they gaine of stones and mettalles that which nature cannot bring forth For naturally a peece of gold or any other money engendreth not money O wicked age that we liue in now vsurie amongst some is accounted the gainfullest and surest trade of liuing And wheras lending was commanded of God to profit our brethren now the vsurer thereby peruerting this order of God profits himselfe To conclude that interpretation of the two edged sword in the Reuelation of Victorinus an ancient Bishop Victor in Apocal is worth the marking By the two-edged sword glistering out of his mouth is meant that it is he that now shewed to the world the glad tydings of the Gospell and by Moses the knowledge of the lawe But because by the same word hee shall iudge hereafter all mankind that were both vnder the law and vnder the Gospell therefore it is said to be a two edged sword A sword armes a souldier kils a mans enemie and punisheth a reuolter or a turnecoate And that he might shew his Apostles that he preached iudgement he saith I came not to send peace into the world but a sword And after that he had ended his parables he saith vnto them Haue you vnderstood all these things And they said yea Therefore euerie Scribe learned in the kingdome of God is like to a housholder bringing out of his treasure new and old things that is the new words of the Gospell and the old of the law and Prophets And that these come out of his mouth He said to Peter Go to the sea and cast in an angle and the fish that thou shalt first take opening his mouth thou shalt find a stavre that is two pence giue it for me and thee And Dauid also by the holy Ghost saith God hath spoken once I haue heard these two things That God hath once determined that in the beginning that shall continue to the end To conclude when as he is appointed of his Father to be Iudge he minding to shew that through the word which is preached to them men should be iudged he saith Do you thinke that I will iudge you in the last day But the word which I haue spoken vnto you that shall iudge you in the last day And Paul against Antichrist saith to the Thessalonians 2. Thes 2.8 Whom the Lord shall kill with the spirit of his mouth This is therefore that two-edged sword proceeding out of his mouth c. I would to God all men would marke this exposition By Gods word all men at the last daie shall be iudged whether they haue directed their liues according to that which they haue heard with their eares or no And therefore our Sauiour saith so often Matt. 11.15 13.9.43 Mark 4.24 Hee that hath eares to heare let him heare And againe Take heede what you heare As though he should saie one daie ye shall giue an account of it And here that is verified that our Sauiour saith You are cleane for the word that dwelleth in you Ioh. 15.3 Gods word maketh our faith and religion pure and cleane and also our liues cleane But we must not be like those that can say Lord Lord Mat. 7.22 and haue done wickedlie which haue professed Christ with their mouthes and haue denied him with their works Wee must not onlie embrace the promises of saluation which the Gospell teacheth vs but also the precepts of life We must eate the whole Paschal Lâ—mbe or else it will do vs no good Exod. 12.9 As well the feete as the head and purtnance Manie at this daie eate gréedily the head and purtnance of Christ that is his diuine promises and his heauenly miracles they are verie desirous to eate these but few eate the féete that is his precepts and commandements Matt. 24.14 To such the Gospell shall be preached as a testimonie of their condemnation at that day of iudgement and not of their saluation Let vs beware that we be not hearers but doers Iam. 1.22 and not onely desirous to eate the head and purtnance but also the féete of Christ and let vs as willinglie learne his precepts and commandements and do them as we are content to beléeue his promises and remaine in them These are the waies which Gods word teacheth all Christians to walke in These are plaine waies here are no tropes or figures yet manie which will séem to professe Gods word make no account of these let such take héed at the day of iudgement they stand not among those to whom God shall saie Why didst thou preach my lawes Psal 50.16 or take my couenant in thy mouth Why didst thou professe my word and wouldst not bee reformed by it All such hypocrites shall then be condemned The manners and conuersation of the ancient Christians drawne out of the Fathers IVstine the Martyr thus describes
greedilie sought for so farre off was he to hurt or oppresse anie man to obtaine or maintaine this These Pagans condemne the curiositie and pompe of the world which now raignes amongst vs They shall condemne vs vnlesse wee repent at the daie of iudgement It is a shame for Christians that Pagans should go beyond thē in anie vertue We haue had Christians that haue excelled them euen of late Panorm lib. 4. de reb gestis Alphons I reade of Alphonsus king of Aragon when as one brought him ten thousand French crownes And one that stood by perchance said O that I had so much gold it would make me rich and happy Goe thy way saith the king and take it how much soeuer it is and bee happie Surely this Christian king and that not long since He liued in the raigne of Henry the 6. excéeded all these Pagans And shall hee haue no schollers All Christians should herein be his schollers should learne by his example to despise the world to despise money and gold It is a Christian and kinglie lesson But this Christian philosophie is now quite banished and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Tim. 3.2 that loue of our selues and loue of money whereof Saint Paul prophesieth are now in their kingdome and raigne amongst men We will not now giue thousands of Crownes no nor of pence or shillings no not to our brethren We loue our selues and mony and gold so well that no man almost loues his brother The first Christians had learned this lesson and therefore they laid not the rents Act. 4.35 but euen the prices of their lands at the Apostles feete They gaue it not them in their hands to declare no doubt this contempt of the world and their loue to the Apostles The like loue had the Galathians to Saint Paul I beare you record saith he that if it had beene possible Gal. 4.15 you would haue pulled out your very eyes and haue giuen them to me Phile. vers 19. And he writes to Philemon that he owes him his owne self This condemnes those that loue the world so well that now they are so farce from giuing anie thing to the Church that they rather studie and deuise how they maie take that awaie that hath beene well giuen of others which come not to the Church now ad offerendum sed ad auferendum not to offer but to take away The like contempt of the world had those Iewes which when as Christ rode to Ierusalem Matth. 21.8 spread their garments in the way And no doubt they were a figure of vs rather then Christ should go barefoote we should cast euen our verie garments in the waie But now to maintaine their sutes of apparell and their braue garments manie make Christ in his members to go barefoot and ill clothed and with manie a hungrie meale And do these spread their garments in the waie Nay Amos. 2.6 these sel the poore euen for a paire of shooes as the Prophet speaketh They make no account of the poore members of Iesus Christ They despise not the world Neither haue the Heathen onelie taught vs this contempt but euen nature her selfe Oyle if it be put in water will not be mingled with it but will swim aboue Such excellent oyle should Christians be whereof they take their names They should swimme aboue all the waters that is of riches pleasures and delights of this world whatsoeuer All which maie be fitlie compared to water for their vncertaintie they flowe like water they are not stable and permanent and for their dangers they do drowne men if they take not great héede of them Cast a trée into the water it will not sinke at the first but it will swim aloft Such trées should all the Lords trées be though they be here placed in this world and as it were cast into the water yet they should swimme aloft alwayes they should not sinke downe therein But now all men almost sink downe into these waters they are ouer the eares in them they swim not aloft they despise them not Where the bodie is Luke 17.37 there will the Eagles bee saith our Sauiour comparing all his to Eagles Now the Eagle doth mount on high and hee compares himself to a bodie because he was slaine for our sakes And therefore with him in heauen should the hearts the desires the loues the studies of all his Eagles be not here on earth Col. 3.1 and on these earthly things Christians cannot serue God and Mammon together Matth. 6.24 Esa 28.20 The bed of loue is too streight as Esay saith it cannot hold two and the cloake or garment is too short it cannot couer two Christ onely must be in our bed and in our bosome This contempt of the world deuotion of obeying the commandement of God Amb. lib. 1. de Abrah cap. 1. was the first thing that Abrahā pleased God in as Ambrose noteth Abrahā was surely saith Ambrose a great mighty man famous in the highest degree for his many vertues whom all the Philosophers could not wish a man that might match him And to conclude it was farre lesse that they imagined or fained in all their excellent men then that he did indeed And the plaine faith of the truth was greater then the stately lie of eloquence Therefore let vs first consider what kind of deuotion was in him for this vertue is the first in order and the foundation of the rest And by good right God requires this of him saying Go out of thy countrie and of thy kinred and of thy fathers house It had beene enough to haue sayd Go ou◠of thy country For that had beene to haue gone out of his kinred and out of his fathers fathers house But therefore he added euery one of these that hee might proue his loue least peraduenture he should haue seemed to haue taken a matter in hand vnaduisedly or else should fraudulently haue fulfilled the commandements of God But as the precepts were to be heaped one of another least hee should bee ignorant of anie thing so also rewards were set before him least he should despaire He is tried as a valiant souldier He is pricked forward as a faithful seruant He is challenged vnto the combat as a iust man he went out Here in him is that which among those seuen wise men of Greece was so highly commended for a wise saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Follow God Abraham indeede preuented that saying of the wise men and followed God before they were borne Let vs now also consider by his example what we ought to follow least perduenture that it be also said to vs Go out of your country that is go out of this dwelling we haue in this body out of which Saint Paul went also who sayd Our conuersation is in heauen and out of the entisements and pleasures of the body which he called
as the kinred of our soule which she must endure as long as she is coupled in league and fellowship with the bodie Therefore we must goe out of this earthly conuersation by the acts and maners of that heauenly life in so much that wee must not change our places as Abraham did but euen our soules If we desire to cleaue to Christ let vs forsake all corruptible things c. Thus by Ambrose iudgement euerie Christian is herein to follow Abrahams steps and the same commandement which was then giuen to Abraham remaines euen to euerie one of vs as yet still Depart out of thy countrie and from thy kinred and from thy fathers house that is forsake this world renounce the pleasures of the flesh and delight in heauenly works and pleasures And this is also that lesson that Dauid giueth to the whole Church of Christ Psal 45.10 Forsake thine owne people and thy Fathers house so shall the king haue pleasure in thy beautie Forsake this earth the house of thy father Adam And the pleasant apples that thy mother Eue so greatly longed after Gen. 3.6 that is all the pleasures and delights thereof And then shall the king haue pleasure in thy beautie Iam. 5.4 They which loue the world and the pleasures thereof are adulterers and doe not loue their husband Iesus Christ as he commandeth and therefore he hath no pleasure in their beautie And also in that generall muster of all Gods souldiers Psal 108.7 Manasses that is forgetfulnesse is one of them God hath spoken in his holinesse I will reioyce therfore saith Dauid I will take to my lot Shechem that is them that shall serue me earlie as Abraham did when as he rose vp early and went to offer his sonne Isaac Gen. 22.3 And I will measure out the vallie of Succoth that is humble and mercifull men which giue harbor to poore trauellers as Lot did who sate at the gate of Sodome in the euening to intertaine strangers Gen. 19.1 who seeing two men come towards him rose vpto meete them c. Gilead is mine that is he that kéepeth my testimonies in his heart as Marie did Luke 2.19 But Marie kept all these sayings and pondered them in her heart And Manasses is mine that is obliuion or forgetfulnesse that is he that forgetteth his fathers house and his kinred and goeth out of his countrie as Abraham did Ephraim is the strength of my head that is he that is fruitfull in all good workes as was Cornelius a deuout man Act. 10.2 and one that feared God with all his houshold which gaue much almes to the people and prayed God continually Iudah that is he that confesseth me and praiseth me with workes and words as king Dauid did shall bee my lawgiuer shal be a Prince with me Here is the Catalogue as it were of all Gods souldiers Let all Christians liue so and deale so and fight so that they maie be accepted amongst the number of them Granatensis by certaine excellent similitudes describeth vnto vs the contrarietie betwixt the loue of God Granat de perf amoris dei lib. 1. ca. and the loue of the world If a table saith he haue any image grauen in it how can it receiue another vnlesse the former be blotted out How can the land which the husbandman hath sown with barley bring forth wheat So how can the soule which is in loue with the world contain in it also the loue of God which is quite contrarie to it Wherfore it is excellently said of Seneca He that loues indeed can loue but one thing And againe Ibid. Imagine my brother loue to be as it were a hand which if it hold any thing cannot receiue another thing And that it may receiue any other thing it is necessarie that it first let that go which it held first So he that loueth the world cannot loue God for the hand of his soule is full now already with that loue Ibid. These two loues therefore are like a paire of ballance whereof if the one skale do descend the other must needs ascend if the one be lifted vp it caÌ„not chuse but the other must descend downe Euen so how much the more the loue of our selues encreaseth so much the more the loue of God decreaseth in vs And how much more the loue of God increaseth in vs so much more the loue of our selues is diminished c. And after Euen as a waxe candle being put into water Cap. 7. is taken out from thence as drie as it was before so the heart of the seruant of God although he liue in the midst of the world yet he tasteth no more of worldly things then fishes do of the sea And after Plotinus a Platonist maketh three as it were Cap. 10. steps or degrees to climbe vp to God by first to abstaine from euill then to abstaine from all earthly and vile things and lastly not to meddle with manie matters c. This meddling with maniâ— matters hinders vs so that we can haue no time to serue God And surely this is a great policie that Sathan vseth â—â—â—â—with he entangleth the men of our age they must haue manie things in their hands then when they haue them they flatter themselues with this conceit that they must néedes looke vnto them And so they haue almost no time to spend in the seruice of God O that the couetous Christians of our age would but marke this which will not be content with sufficient liuings as their forefathers were Ecclesiasticus teacheth them a good lesson Eccle. 11.10 O my sonne saith he meddle not with many matters Plato his scholler had this opinion of the things of the world And shall Christs schollers thus busie themselues with them And after Granatensis writeth that in the Scriptures the iust men are called heauen Lib. de perfect amoris Dei cap. 12. because they are freed from the imperfections and passions of this life And againe For the same cause it is said in the Psalme that God maketh his ministers and seruants a flaming fire For euen as the flame euer burneth vpward so the iust men euer pant or breath are caried also as a burning flame to those good things of that heauenly rest cap. 14. And in another place he saith Let the seruant of God perswade himselfe that hee is as hee is indeed the liuely temple of God and as that place is kept shut from all buying and selling and prophane businesses and affaires because it is consecrated to God alone so let him also thinke of his heart And after The children of Israel had not Manna giuen them from heauen cap. 20. till all their meale and flower that they brought out of Egypt were consumed Neither shall any man haue the sweetnesse of Gods loue but he that hath first renounced quite the delights of the loue of this world And the Prophet meant both
these when as he said Shake off this dust arise and sit now O Ierusalem By which words the Prophet meanes that first she must shake off the dust of all earthly things and that all the snares of worldly affections must be takē from her neck the which things being done then wee may without any let arise to the contemplation of heauenly things and sit downe in the rest and comfort of them Saint Paul prophesieth of some 1. Tim. 3.5 that in the latter times shal haue a shew of godlines but haue denied the power thereof Which prophesie I feare me toucheth many at this time who make a shew of Christian religion in words but haue denied the power thereof which is as members to ioyne vs to Christ our head in heauen what member would not long to bee with the head and to haue vs vnited as spouses to Iesus Christ our heauenly husband what wife would not long to be with her husband and to draw men from the loue of this world to account this world but as an Inne in a mans iourney and to account heauen their countrey Our excessiue purchasing of land our couetousnesse about this vile earth our great cost spent thereon argues plainly that we are not so affected towards it Would a man bestow so much cost or be so busie in his Inne where he was to lodge but a night as men do now on the earth Our Sauiour hath said It is as hard for a rich man to goe to heauen Matt. 19.24 as for a camell to go thorough a needles eye But now all men studie to be rich many times they passe not how As though he had said It is as easie for a rich man to go to heauen as for a twine thréed to go thorowe a néedles eye But let all such worldly minded rich men take héede they shall one daie finde his saying true what excuses and pretence soeuer they make now And Saint Paul also saith They that will bee rich 1. Tim. 6. ◠shall fall into temptations and snares of the diuell He doth not say they that deale hardly with their brethren to become rich And how will hard dealing landlords here créepe out Who would fall into the hands but euen of a mortall Prince but to fall into the snares of the diuell what a madnes is it Surely we beleeue not Saint Paules words for if we did we would not do as we do And againe the same Granatensis writes thus Although the affaires of this world saith he do somtimes draw thy mind down to these earthly things cap. 11. yet by and by the spirit which is in it rebounds backe againe and is againe lift vp to heauen no otherwise then wood that is violently kept vnder the water yet by and by according to the naturall lightnesse that is in it it will appeare and swimme aloft againe That which nature doth here good conditions and the grace of God should work there which are of faire greater power then nature And here is a doubt resolued which perchance in reading the Scriptures may trouble some Sphinx Philosophica cap. 39. Often times you will thinke that in the Scriptures the answeres which are there made do not concerne the matter proposed or doe not fully answer the question are nothing to the purpose because indeed they answer not to those things which we enquire for but to those things that we ought to haue enquired for Christ being asked of the restoring againe of the kingdome of Israel Act. 1.7 answered of the heauenly kingdome We are troubled about the cares of this life but wee are instructed of the life to come If at anie time the Prophets do make mention of the calling of the people backe againe from Babylon of restoring the kingdom of Israel or of the repairing of the Temple by and by as it were forgetting themselues they are rapt to speake of the spirituall deliuerance from the yoke of Sathan of the kingdom of Christ and of the description of the true Temple that is of the Church Hereby signifying vnto vs that wee must not cleaue to and rest in these momentarie and transitorie things which are nothing else but a shadow and that we should not haue our kingdome here in this world but that Christ should raigne in vs by the scepter of his word and power of his spirit This lesson these impertinent answers in the Scriptures do teach vs. Orat. adhort ad gentes Clemens Alexandrinus thus also describeth a Christians conuersation Come to me all yee that be wearie and laden and I will refresh you Take my yoke vpon you and learne of me for I am meeke and humble in heart and yee shall find rest for your soules for my yoke is pleasant and my burthen is light Let vs that are religious and like to the word of God make haste and runne O men O his images let vs make haste let vs runne Let vs take his yoke vpon vs let vs take vpon vs incorruption Let vs loue Christ that most excellent carter and driuer as it were of men hee yoked the foale and the old Asse vnder one yoke together and likewise he made two yokes of men and he driues his chariote to immortalitie making haste to God that hee might now euidently fulfill that that mystically before he signified in Ierusalem doing now the same in heauen The eternall Sonne being a Conquerour is the brauest shew that can be to God the Father Therefore let vs with great studie and zeale be caried to those things which are vertuous and let vs become holy and religious men and then wee shall obtaine the chiefest of all those thinges which are free from all affections and perturbations that is God and immortall life The Word is our helper and therefore let vs be of good comfort and let vs put all our confidence in him Let neuer the desire of siluer and gold so possesse vs as of the word of truth For we greatly displease God if so be we make no account of those things which are precious and if we shall highly esteeme follies ignorances idlenesse pleasures idolatrie manifest shame and reproofe and extreame wickednesse The verie Philosophers verie iustly say whatsoeuer fooles doe thinke that they doe wickedly and iudge them wicked for their labours And also defining ignorance to be a kind of madnesse what doe they els but teach that manie are mad Therefore the word will say there is no doubt whether of these be better to bee wise and sober or to be mad Therefore we must cleauing to the truth valiantly followe God with all our strength behauing our selues soberly and to account all his things such as they are indeed And further when as we shall know that it is the greatest and gloriousest thing in the world to possesse God let vs commit our selues vnto God louing the Lord God and accounting this to be our dutie all our whole life And if