meanynge and wyll of oure mynde whyche semeth good vnto vs a stop be made by goddes prouision and worckynge For it is God the whyche as he ruleth al so also prouideth for all And berynge a fatherly loue to al those y t beleue in Christ he doth w t so great care kepe thē that he maketh prouision lōg before y ◠nothing come vnto them y t may be cōtrary to their helth Wherfore if in some thin ges he let thē not haue their wyll he doth it not to do them hurt but to do thē good to bring to thē greater cō modities than they at that tyme are hable to perceyue Do ye not se how ernestlye the Carnall fathers wrythe oute of their yonge Chyldrens hādes kniues litle swerdes which thei by chaūce haue gottē And they in dede wepe striue against thē asmuch as they can yet do the parentes stil breke thē of their mynds not because they hate their litel children but because they loue them feare lest w t these kniues thei should hurt them selfe vnwares or parauenture kyl them selues so also god y ◠father letteth the desiars of his childrē not to destroye thē but to saue thē Ther is no more therfore whē that god is agaynst oure purpose be it neuer so good but that we shoulde knoweledge hys fatherly affeccion and suffer hys hande pacientelye Further Iesus whan he had sente away his Disciples to shyppe and the people were gone hym selfe alone went vnto the mountayne to praye And his Disciples nyght beynge at hande began to passe ouer the sea towarde the towne Capernaū Let vs heare nowe what happened to hys Dysciples in the sea whan Christe was awaye It was nowe darcke sayeth he and Iesus was not yet come vnto them And there blewe a greate wynde and the sea began to ryse So when they sailed almost ▪ xxv or xxx furlōges they sawe Iesus walking vpon the sea draw yng ◅ie to the ship were afeard And he said vnto theym It is I feare ye not So they woulde haue take hym into the shyppe and forthwith the shyp was at the shore whyther they wente We haue rehearsed that which Iohn hath towched in a fewe wordes but we woll ioyne those thinges also whyche the other Eu◅gelistes wright more largely of this historye that we maye ◅e more diligently consider the multitude of the miracles that were here and the maiestye of Christe So the Dysciples cōpelled by theyr master sayled ouer the sea But behold whan they were nowe come into the deapth and that it was verye darcke a greate winde arose the sea waxed so big that the Disciples were in extreme ◅eopardy What trowe you the Dysciples thought now what coūcel toke thei Truely it is lykely y t they thoughte thus in their minde Behoulde oure master by hys straite commaundement hath cast vs into these so great ieopardies He hath thruste vs from hym to be drowned in these floudes Wherefore of al men we be the most folish that both before thys we haue folowed his doctrine and now haue obeyed hys commaundemente For whither be we brought but into vtter destrucciō But Christ although he was far of and that it was verye darcke yet sawe he in what ieopardy his Dysciples were and they had de serued in dede to be lefte in this ieoperdye and to haue be drowned because that boeth forgettynge Christes teachynge and hys miracles they dyd dispayre But Christe hath a greater regarde of hys owne mercy and goodnes than of their desert Wherefore whan that nowe they were gone wyth greate laboure and studye aboute xxx furlonges Iesus came vnto them walkynge vpon the sea as if he had gone vpon the hard grounde By whiche miracle he dyd not signifye that he had not a verye and naturall bodye of a man but he signified that as he was the Lorde of heauen and yearth so was he also the Lorde of the sea Well what do the Disciples than At the fyrst they knowe not it is Iesus Christe but they thinke it is a spirite they thinke it a diuell wythoute a bodye whyche came to take from theym their lyfe And therefore theyr feare was dowbled and they horriblye cryed out Here is no fayeth no callynge for healpe but as the hert was blynded so was it in despaire For they dyd not vnderstande as Marke sayeth of the loues that is they had not cōceyued by the miracle whyche the same day was shewed wyth fyue loues and two fishes so greate knowledge of Christe that they trusted theym selues to be salfe by hys forecare power and healpe aswel in the perils of the sea as also in the middell route of diuylles But whome Christ by his commaundement had cast into perlis those same also dyd he saue He opened hym selfe therefore wyth hys voyce criynge oute agayne It is I be not afearde to which voyce al his Dysciples beynge conforted and in especially◅ Peter Lorde quoth he if it be thou commaunde me to come to the vpon the waters And it was wel and wyselye done of Peter that he wōulde not putte hym selfe into the waters of the sea but beynge commaunded and called of Christe For we ought to put oure selfe in no peril rashelye and not called of GOD. So Iesus called Peter and he walked vpon the waters but as there came vp on hym a greate wynde he was so afraide that hys fayeth fel from hym and beganne to syncke But whan he had called for the helpe of Christ in dede he was rebuked because he douted was of a weake faieth but Christe toke hym by the hande and saued hym And so boeth wente into the shyppe to the reste and than the tempeste dyd not onelye ceasse but the shyp was also in the hauen and was come to y t part of the shore from the whych it was farre of whā Christ came Thou hast here a great heape of miracles Iesus was far of from hys Dysciples the darckenes of the nyghte was verye greate and yet he sawe in what ieoperdye they were on the sea This agreeth w t the miracle whā Iesus saw Nathanael vnder the fig tre and sawe Lazarus whan he was deade beynge yet far of frome Iurye where Lazarus dyed And afterwardes he walked vpon the waters as vpon the drye groūde which verely was a wonder full miracle And not onelye dyd he that hym selfe wyth hys owne body but also he bad Peter to do the same and Peter obeyng hys wordes walked lykewyse vpon the water and was preserued that he was not drouned By the whyche miracle the power of Christe is manifestly proued Moreouer by hys presence he alayed the tempest of the sea whych selfe thyng also is a profe of the maiestie of Christe to whome yea the sea and the windes do obei Finally the ship was sodaynely in that hauen to the whyche they coulde not come before wyth greate labour These miracles be so great that the Dysciples whyche be in
was come thither they testifye that they dyd knoweledge the maiestie of hys power and maruayle much at him But Iesus answered theym farre other wyse than they had thought For he saide Verely verely I say vnto you ye seke me not because you haue sene y ◠miracles but bycause you haue eate of y ◠bread and are fylled Thys is a sore and earnest rebuke y t they shulde abuse y ◠miracle I haue shewed a miracle sayeth he wyth v loues and two fyshes not for thys purpose to shewe that I woulde be a worldly kynge and brynge vnto those that folow me felicitie of thys corporall lyfe and fede theym ydle and sluggish but that by this signe and miracle they beynge stirred vp shoulde knowledge the truth of my doctryne and seke for the meate of true and euerlastynge life But you folowe me not because ye se the miracles that is not to vse the miracles ryghtely and seke for in me the meate of euerlastyng life but to fat your bodies wyth idelnes and sluggishnes you seke not for iustice but for surfettes you care not for heauen but youre belye Get ye hence therefore and youre belies to I desier to haue fa◅ other folowers than suche as care for nothinge but their belies What would you than haue vs to do It foloweth Worcke not the meate that perisheth but that abydeth stil into euerlastynge lyfe whyche the sonne of man wyl gyue you For god the father hath sealed hym ▪ Thys is a necessarye admonicion For men be so corrupte wythe synne that they take muche greater care to nouryshe the bealye than to nouryshe the mynde and more folowe after the corporall breade and that whyche shall peryshe than the heauenlye and euerlastynge bread But thys is the preposterous and peruerse care for thynges For man is made not after the similitude of oxen swyne or other beastes whyche studye onelye for the bealy and do nothynge but this to folowe after corporall meate but he is made after the Image and similitude of GOD that is to knowe God and studye for diuine thynges and that shall laste for euer For whether ye behold mannes bodye or his mind we be monished by the nature and syghte of these thynges that we seke not for corporall meate onelye after the manner of beastes Other creatures gyuen to the bealye loke downewardes to the grownd but mans body is vpryght to loks vpon heauen Man therfore ought to care for heauenlye thynges not yearthlye And of the mynde what shoulde we saye more It is the chie fest parte ōf man whyche in verye dede is not preserued by bodilye su stenaunce but by other that is farre more excellent that is heauenly of God Wherefore whither ye cōsider eyther the body or the minde of mā it is mete by no reason that a man should studye chiefelye and special ly of al to saue and trim the bodye And if mā had not synned he shuld haue led suche a lyfe as shuld haue bene troubled wyth no affliccions at all and shoulde so haue vsed his corporal meate that for al that with all hys mynd and thought he shuld haue bene in the contemplacion of heauenlye and Godlye thynges Thys shoulde haue bene the lyfe in Paradise But after that man had synned for synne he was cast out of Paradise into this woful wretched life not to tary in it foreuer but for a tyme as it were in a prisonne and dongen because he should conceiue a desiar to be deliuered and should thyncke to recouer the happines y t he had lost But he that drowneth hym selfe wholly in the cares of cor poral and earthly thynges I praie you what other thynge doth he thā if a man thrust and shutte in to an horyble prison woulde not laboure for thys to be deliuered out but rather to tarye longe ther and delight in fylthynes stinke What thyng should be more folysh or more mad than thys And yet the same playne ly do they whyche neglectinge and despising heauenly thinges droune theim selues altogether vpon these earthely But marke thou me what the fyrste and chiefe commaundement of God meaneth I sayeth he am thy Lorde God Thou shalt not haue any other goddes in my sight And agayne Thou shalte loue thy Lorde God wyth all thy herte with al thy mynd with al thy strength Althoughe no man in thys worlde can perfectelye fulfyll thys commaundemente yet doeth it put euerye man in remembraunce of hys dutye that he shoulde knowe what he oughte to do to hys true Lorde God For it techeth y t this is the office of man not that he shuld make of his bely a GOD and serue only for hys bealy profit as swine do but that he shoulde worshyppe the true omnipotente and heauenlye God our lord and seke for heauenlye and Godlye thynges wyth all hys herte Thys seruyce we owe to God fyrst for hys creacion because he hath made vs menne after hys owne Image and similitude and after because he hathe made vs agayne by an other creaciō hath redemed vs by hys only sōne our lord Iesus Christe by whom he hath de liuered vs from the power of darknes borne vs vp to his kingdō What is thā more fowle or shameful than despisynge God and neglectynge the seruice that we owe vn to God to folowe onely after manny she bodily and earthly thynges Well go to we woll counte some part of the tyme of our lyfe and we wyll compare wyth that our study that it maye be playne howe greate our sluggyshenes and dulnes is in learnynge and considerynge those thynges which pertayne to our very hauenly and euerlasting health One weke is made of seuen dayes and one naturall daye is of xxiiii houres Nowe number the howres of one weke and thou hast an hundred lx and right howres What is done now There is commonly among men so greate negligence of heauenly thinges that in so many howers of one weke they take not an hour or two in the whiche earnestly they thinke of theyr heauenlye saluacion But let vs speake also of the yere One of oure common yeares is made of three hundreth threscore and fyue dayes And where euerye daye is of xxiiii howers there are numbered in one yere eyght thousande seuen hundred and threescore howres And you shall fynde some that in so manye thousande howers wyll not take theym three or foure in the whyeh with al their minde and all theyr thoughte they wyll talke of heauenlye thynges eyther wyth them selues or wyll heare them talked of openlye of the ministers of the church yet for al that bestowe all theyr howres in slepe in meate in handy laboure in feastes in bathes in talke of mooste vayne thynges in walkyng abrode in iorneis in beinge and sellinge of marchaūdise and who is hable to reherce vp all bodilye mens occupacions Is not thys not onelye a verye foule thynge but also a mooste perilous thynge The hystorye Ecclesiasticall
not I receyue theym not that in thys worlde they shoulde haue none affliccion or that they shoulde not be ouerthrowen wyth death but that althoughe they be troubled and seeme to dye yet they shoulde not peryshe but be saued wyth euerlastynge lyfe For I wyll rayse theym vp agayne in the laste daye that they may liue eternallye wyth me in ioye in my heauenlye kyngdome This is the meaning of the sermon of Christe Nowe wyll we touche a lytel the partes therof And fyrste Chryste teacheth that he hathe not come into this world to take and en crease hys kyngedome wyth outewarde corporall and violente power For the Iewes looked for suche a Messyas or Chryste whyche ioynynge vnto hym an armye of the Iewes shuld beare about harnesse thorowe all contreyes and subdue vnto hym all nacyons whyther they woulde or not as eyther Cyrus or Alexander Magnus or some other greate kyng was Men that haue no knowledge mar uayle also howe it happeneth that when Christ is endued with diuine maiesty he bryngeth not to passe by hys omnipotent power y t al his ad uersaryes blasphemers agaynst hys name either be not slayne wyth lyghtenynge or be maruelouslye drawen to beleue and obey Christ. But Christe in thys place doeth refute the vayne expectacion of the Iewes and a reason why he wyll compel no man violently to submit hymself vnto hym telleth he saying Al y t my father giueth me shal come vnto me and hym y ◠shal come vnto me I wil not cast out that is I am not come into this worlde to make men vnder me by violente power but I loke vpon the hande of God my father and I hange vpon hys wyll Whom soeuer he shall gyue vnto me and whom that he shall raise vp by his spirite thorowe my Gospell to confesse acknoweledge me he receyueth me and I wyll receiue and kepe hym agayne And what is the cause that thou doest not cōpell men by thy kyngly power to knowledge the and submit thē selues vnto the Because I am come downe sayeth he not to do my wyll but the wyl of hym that hath sente me I am come downe from heauen not as a master but as a seruaunt And it is the dutye of a seruaunte to applye hym selfe not after hys owne wyll but after the wyl and becke of his master I am come downe from heauen not as a cheyfe Lorde and Emperoure but as a messanger or one that is sente And it is his office that is sente to do and perfourme not hys owne opynyons but the commaundements of him that hath sente hym Wherefore in thys myne Embassye it is not lawefull for me to do anye thynge besyde the wyll of my father whose Messengare I am Tell vs than I praye the what is the wil of thy father Thys saythe he is the wyll of my father that hath sente me that I lose not annye of those menne whyche he hath gyuen me but rayse them vp in the later daye It is not my fathers wyll that I shoulde take vpon me the rule of a kynge in thys world and by stronge hande to subdue men vnto me but that I should saue theym whyche he by hys holye spirite hath broughte vnto me and that I shoulde kepe them that they perish not but although they shuld seme to dye yet that they be raysed vp agayne and lyue a ioyfull lyfe for euer To thys pertayneth also that Christe sayeth in another place of hys owne offyce The sonne of man is come not that he shoulde be serued but to serue hym selfe and to gyue hys lyfe a redempcion for manie that is Christ came not that horsemen and soldiars should fight for him shuld get for him by their lyfe and their bloude victorie that he after the maner of a kyng should beare rule in y ◠world as an Emperours armie shedeth theyr bloud y ◠Emperour may be defended may haue the victorye of hys enemyes hym selfe beynge safe but he came that he hym selfe shoulde gyue hys soule and his lyfe and shed out his owne bloud that they that acknow ledge hym myghte be redemed and saued from theyr enemies And in an other place when the Dysciples exhorted Christe to be reuenged vp on theim that set lyght by him with fire from heauen he answered You can not tel of whose spirite you are The sonne of manne is not come to destroye the soules of men but to saue theim Wherefore it is an obedience of goddes vocacion that he wyl not subdue men by kyngly and stronge power But thou wylt say Christ is ascended nowe into heauē hath layed awaye the fourme of a seruaunte and sytteth in the glory of God hys father why than doeth he nowe suffer blasphemers why now that he is in such maiesty doth he not compel violentlye or by hys almyghty power the inobediente to the obedience of his gospel Of this thing Peter preacheth thus Iesus Christe muste nedes take heauen euen vntyll the tyme of restitucion of al thynges whiche God spake by the mouth of al sayntes euen frō the tyme of the Prophetes For although that Chryst sit at the right hande of God and hathe hys omnipotent maiestie yet wyl he not shew that maiesti openli before the world before y ◠last day but he will gather together hys churche by hys Gospell thorowe oute all the worlde vntyll the laste daye do come in the whyche he wyll come openlye wyl so in dede caste vnder hys ennemies y ◠they shall be thruste downe into perpetuall prysones and neuer be let oute but hys fryndes and those that beleue in hym he wyll axate vnto perpetual kingdom and ioye He muste sayeth Paulle raigne vntyll he hath put al his ennemies vnder hys fete And then shall all be put vnder his fete whan death which is the last enemie shal be put awaye Wherfore as longe as thys worlde shal stande and that Christ shall not apere manifestlye for he shal not appere so til the last day he doeth not compell menne vnto the obedience of ◅ayeth by worldelye power but he calleth theym by preachynge hys Gospell that as manye as beynge moued vppe by the holye Gooste do receyue hym maye be saued What shall wee saye than of the offycer and master of an howseholde Bycause Christe doeth not by violente hand subdue men vnto hym is it not therfore the offyce of a good magistrat to cōpel hys subiectes to lyue an honest ly◅e and to heare the Gospell of God Is it not also the duetye of a good housekeper to enstruct wyth threatnynges and roddes his seruauntes whither they wyll or no in the instrucciō of Christen learning God forbyd for as touchinge this purpose y e vocaciō of christ is noe thing and an offycer or housekeper is an other For Christe came not into thys worlde to vse an outewarde offyce So he sent not hys Apostels also into the worlde to take vpon them externall gouernaunce
in the myddes amongest theym that wyll make the leage whych fyrst doeth cut wyth a sharpe stone the palme of the hande that is nexte the thombe than takyng a shred of either of theyr garmentes he anoyntethe wythe the bloude stones that be set in the middes before theym By the which custome you maye se that couenauntes and bondes wer not made suar wythout the bloude of those y ◠were confederate or ioyned together In some other countreis it was a common maner in makynge couenauntes not onely to shede bloud but also to dryncke it For they that came into y t felowship together be wonte to bynde theyr ryghte handes and their thombs together wyth a knot and thā to let out wyth a litle stroke and to licke the bloud that was ga thered at the later ende of the rybbes That bonde was counted a secreate and very sure bonde because it was consecrated and halowed wyth eche others bloude The Romayne hystorye doeth testifye in the sedicion of Cateline howe y t it was vsed that Cateline the begynner of the sedicion bare aboute in greate boles the bloud of mās body ming led with wine dyd to dryncke of it al that knewe of y ◠conspiracye that by thys dryncke the othe made amongeste theym shoulde be confyrmed and to be more fayethfull amonge them selues You haue now that the drynckynge of mans bloud was vsed in makyng bondes or couenauntes and in doynge treason Wherefore when the Capernaites hearde Iesus preache of the drynckynge of hys bloude I doute not but they thoughte vpon suche a custome and thoughte that Iesus required of theim such a bond whereby they shoulde so bynde theim selues wyth hym that onely thei shuld healpe him to get a worldely dominion thorowe out al the worlde not onely by venturyng all their goods but theyr liues also And althoughe the Iewes were verye desirous and soughte principallye for thys thynge in theyr Messias that they shoulde beare rule in thys worlde yet because they thoughte that Iesus dyd thys thynge not that they liuynge in rest and wythout the arrowe shot he woulde get worldlye felicitye they abhorred hys sermon and toke councell to go awaye What Say they we thought that seyng he prophesied hym selfe to be Messias he woulde haue made vs happye in thys worlde wyth out all oure losse or hurte But nowe bycause we perceyue that he goeth aboute a conspiracye to make vs sworne to hym by drynckynge hys bloude and that he wyll cause vnto vs most extreme ieoperdi who cā be hys scholar or folowe hym For he sayeth He that eateth my flesh and dryncketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in hym What other thynge is thys than if he sayde that we oughte so to bynde oure selfe wyth hym that we shoulde sticke vnto hym and neuer go awaye but folowe hym whyther soeuer be it thorowe sworde or fyarre he shall leade vs whither it be to the besigeynge of the citye of Hierusalem or the citye of Rome Let vs fly therefore and let vs leaue hym and hys bloud to least euen wyth hym as it hath chaūsed to other sedicious persons we lese also oure owne bloude and oure lyfe You se here a greate prudēce in dede of the Capernaites but a naughtie and carnal wit For prudence is not to be partaker of an other mans wyckednes and not to make anye bonde wyth sedicious personnes but it is wyckednes that whom they did knowe to haue the wytnes of Iohn Baptiste a verye holy man and whome they sawe to haue the authoritye of hys doctryne confyrmed wyth so manye miracles they dyd not giue so great credence vnto hym to beleue that hys Sermon was true althoughe they vnderstode it not and woulde not vouchesafe to gyue hym so muche honoure to axe reuerentelye of the meanynge of thys Sermon Wherefore they are worthye not onelye of a verye greate rebuke but also of a sore punyshemente And yet Christe accordynge to hys Gentilnes handleth theym Gentilye For Iesus knowynge wyth hym selfe that hys Dysciples murmured for thys thynge ◅e sayde vnto theym Doeth thys offend you If then you se the sonne of manne ascendyng vp thither where he was before we must vnderstand you shal perceyue in dede y ◠I haue sayd trueth In this pla◅e fyrst is signified that the secretes of menne be knowen to Christe oure Lorde For althoughe hys hea◅ers dyd not obiecte vnto hym manifestlye the absurditye of hys sermon but priuilye murmured wythin theym selues yet he seeth and hereth their thoughtes and theyr murmurynges We are warned therefore that before the maiestye of Chryst wherwith nowe heauen and earth is filled not onely we do nothynge but not once thyncke anye thynge fylthilye and synfullye Also Christe sygnifieth that he wyl proue in dede hys sermon to be true He sayde that he was come downe from heauen Why sayeth he doeth that offend you so greatelye that you wyll fal from me But be contente That that I haue spoken in wordes I wyl proue in dede For there is no man that ascendeth into heauen but he that dyscended from heauen as it is sayed before But I wyll ascende into heauen Wherefore if you shall se me ascendynge into heauen than you shall proue in dede that I dyscended from heauen But that we may ryghtelye vnderstande that that is sayed of commynge downe from heauen and goynge vp to heauen we muste marcke that in thys sermon to come downe from heauen is t◅◅aue of hys owne nature an hea◅enlye and diuyne begynnynge that is to be verye God For except thys were the meanynge of the com mynge downe from heauen howe shoulde the Iewes haue bene offended They woulde not haue bene offended if they hadde vnderstande that Iesus hadde so come downe from heauen that he hadde an heauenly vocacion as was the vocacion of Moyses or Elias or of the other Prophetes And whan by thys speach they were so greatelye offended yea they fel awaye from Iesu there is no doubte but that they vn derstode Iesus by these wordes to attribute vnto him selfe a diuinitie whyche thynge whan they iudged to be vngodly blasphemous they thoughte nothynge to be more for theyr saftye than to forsake Christe euen wyth his doctrine And to ascend into heauen in thys place is not to be vnderstande of suche a go yng vp as Elias went into heauen nor of that ascencion only of Christ whyche was made in the mount O liuete the. xl daye after his resurreccion but thys assencion of the whyche we speake now comprehendeth al thinges wherewyth Christe dyd proue hys diuynitye that is that he rose the thirde daye from the deade that he ascended the xl daye after hys resureccion into heauen that he sente the holye spirite that he shewed in hys name manye and greate miracles by hys Apostles y ◠he hath spread by the ministrye of hys Apostles hys Gospell into the whole worlde and hath defended it in the myddes of the pe◅sequutors aswell