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
ceremoniall nor morall neither in those that go afore iustification neither in those that follow but onely in the grace of Christ And this is one of the chiefest pointes of Christian religion to knowe whereunto one maie trust in his saluation and in this he plainelie agrees with our doctrine And againe in another place he sayeth expresselie That the woman comming for another thing In cap. 2. Ioh. that is for vvater found Christ so God deales with vs. Our saluation chanceth to vs without desert and commonly neither desiring it nor seeking it yea being busied about other matters and seeking other things So the Kingdome fell to Saul seeking his fathers Asses So Christ was preached vnto the Shepheards keeping their flocks So Andrew and Peter casting their nets into the Sea were called of Christ So Matthew and Paul and others going about other matters receiued saluation of Christ To conclude so long wee are carefull for our owne affaires that is for carnall things till Christ of his owne freewill offer himselfe vnto vs beyond all our expectation And hence it is that the Bride crieth Draw me after thee and the prophet Turne vs O God of our saluation For if Christ should not preuent vs with his grace we do still remaine in our sins euen as that woman had returned euen as she came if Christ had not preuented her In cap. 3. Ioh. And in another place hee writes thus Vnlesse a man be borne againe Nicodemus asked Christ nothing expressely and yet Christ first of all answeres him of regeneration By this he hath taught all Preachers that first they make the tree good and then that they require good fruites that is to say that first they teach faith whereby a man may be iustified and afterward good workes and in this one short word he comprehendeth the whole summe of Christian religion Man truly was created to euerlasting felicity but because thorough his sinne he became accursed it came to passe that not onely himselfe and all things that he had but that also all his posterity became accursed therefore because wee are borne of Adam we are all become vnprofitable and abhominable both in body and soule in all our power and hability Vnlesse therefore by the grace of God we be borne againe and of Adams Sonnes bee made the Sonnes of God all things are in vaine that we doe or endeuour or thinke or speake yea our selues are vaine and all our reason will strength and works Therefore he that desires to enter into the kingdome of God must become a new man so also he that desires to see the kingdome of God that is to vnderstand the mysteries of the kingdome of God and his heauenly doctrine as God shewed to Iacob the kingdome of God in that ladder lift vp which reached to heauen he must lay aside all fleshly wisedome he must deny his owne reason he must despise his owne strength and must yeelde himselfe wholy as it were a bondslaue to the word of God By this word therefore Christ condemnes vs and all things that wee haue that hee might prouoke vs more forcibly to seeke helpe of him Againe by this word he wrests from vs all confidence in our selues or in our owne works and takes from vs that staffe of a reede that we may learne to trust in the onely mercy of God For faith is the sure staffe of our old age by which alone we may passe ouer this Iordan of temptation the figure whereof was shewed before in Iacob Here therefore learne why God in the Scriptures oftentimes condemnes our works and our endeuours for he doth not this to bring vs into despaire or because good works do not please him but that he may teach vs to trust only in the mercy of God And a little after hee writes thus Although one man beeing compared to another one may seeme more nobler or wiser or more iust then another yet if we respect the power wisedome and iustice of God we are all alike weake ignorant and sinners neither one not so much as an haire excels another For we all stand need of the grace of God And after It is no maruell if Nicodemus vnderstood not the words of Iesus For the fleshly man vnderstands not those things which are of God For they are foolishnesse vnto him Ferus here plainelie teacheth that a right faith must bee the roote of all good workes and that is such a faith as the Gospell teacheth that is that Iesus Christ is both able and willing to cure all diseases both of bodie and soule and with such a faith all sinners should come to him alone and that this faith should be planted in euerie Christians heart which the Papistes haue not doone heretofore in their Church And after this faith then good works should bee taught and required Secondlie hee teacheth that we haue no power to doe good left in vs wee are not like Birdes in a Cage which if the stoppe of sinne were taken awaie would voluntarilie flie out as other Papistes teach but euen deade Birdes and Carions hauing no strength or power at all to doe good and that Christ condemnes vs to make vs more forciblie to flie to him and that wee must not put anie confidence or trust in our workes and that before God there is not anie one man a haire better then another but all are alike sinners not excepting the blessed Virgine Marie of her owne nature What doctrine can bee more agreeable to the Gospell then this or to that wee nowe teach in the Church of England I woulde to GOD all Papistes woulde marke it and beléeue it Philippus de Dies also writes thus King Ezechias asking life of God Sermone 2. de resur recites his benefits saying O Lord I beseech thee behold I haue walked before thee in truth and in a perfect hart that I haue don that which is right in thy eies Why O holy King sayeth hee doest thou alleadge thy seruices that thou hast done to God It had seemed better if thou hadst alleadged thy miseries thy pouerty So poore men are wont to doe that may moue them to pity of whome they hope for an almes they shew them their wounds and miseries To this Saint Gregory answeres that the holy King here doth not alleadge his vertues as deserts but as all Gods benefites for all the good thinges wee doe they are Gods benefites And so saieth Saint Austen expounding the Psalme Who crowneth thee with mercie and louing kindnes saieth hee Is there not a crowne due to good works But because he works in vs all our good works therefore he sayth which crowneth thee with mercy and louing kindnes because al our good workes are the mercies of God And in another place hee writes thus Conc. 2. in fest Matth. One of the holy fathers being asked who was holy answered He that was humble And beeing asked againe who was more humble answered Hee that was more holy Lastly
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