heard of this We perceiue now that God hath also graunted vnto the Gentiles repentance vnto lyfe So that the necessitie of this poynt is farre greater then I can wel declare because men are geuen generally to thinke that yf they can frame them selues to do well as they tearme it and to mortifie the lustes of the fleshe that that is the onely thing the Lorde requireth and accepteth of but they are marueylously deceyued For the Lorde delighteth more that men shoulde haue the sounde knowledge of him then he doth in all the workes which we call good be they neuer so many by vs perfourmed for yf it stoode onely vpon good workes and mortification wherewith the Lorde woulde be pleased I am sure you can not denie but that all the people in the worlde were then in as good case one as an other For who can deny but that the verie Insidels for outwarde actions behaue them selues as well as men can do and yet notwithstanding they go to eternal destruction And why Because they know not God in Christ. For this is an eternall rule whch you are bounde to holde that is that who soeuer knoweth not the Sonne of God nor beleeueth in him shal neuer see lyfe but the wrath of God abydeth on him Therefore yf you be one of those which loue eternall lyfe you must haue an earnest minde to know him aright that so your beliefe in him may stande most firme and constant and then assure your selfe you haue perfourmed the chiefest worke that God requireth at your handes For when the people demaunde of our Sauiour what they shoulde do whereby they myght worke the workes of God His answere is that they shoulde Beleeue in him whom the Father had sent for that in deede was the onely worke that God required at their handes as he also telleth them Agayne when the keeper of the Prison demaundeth of Paule and Silas what he shoulde do whereby he might be saued Their answere is in like maner that yf he woulde beleeue in the Lord Iesus Christ he shoulde then be saued Now it may be you wyll say vnto me in this place yf that be all in all to beleeue in him what neede you then to bestowe such long speech in this poynt For we beleeue in the Lord Iesus and know well enough that all the workes in the worlde will not helpe vs vnles we do so Then must I say vnto you agayne yf it be so that you do beleeue in him as you say you do it must folow then of necessitie that you haue a minde to knowe him for those that beleeue in Christe the Sonne of God the Lord hath geuen a minde to knowe him sayth the Apostle Iohn therfore if you haue an earnest minde to be increasing in the knowledge of the Sonne of God then may you safely say that you are one of those that do beleeue in him and then agayne yf you be one of those that do stedfastly beleeue in him you haue then perfourmed the chiefest worke that God requireth at your handes yea then haue you also learned true mortification in deede otherwyse you haue it not For true mortification consisteth not only in humilitie or in not sparing of the body or in not satisfiyng of the fleshe to fulfill the lustes thereof Neyther do good workes as you see onely consist in the doing of that which is required vnto men for so the Papistes and many others as the forenamed woulde goe before you in that kinde but they both consist chiefly in the soundnes of your knowledge which you ought to haue of the Sonne of God Therefore whereas the most part of people are brought to this passe that is euen to thinke that yf they can say they do beleeue in Christ and learne withall to bring foorth the fruites of a christian lyfe which is to feede the hungrie to cloath the naked to visit the sicke to relieue the prisoners to do vnto all men as they woulde be done vnto and to mortifie the lustes of the flesh all which in deede are their dueties concerning the seconde Table and therefore worthy of commendation for so much But whereas they are brought to this passe I say which is to thinke that yf they can performe these thinges that they haue then performed the only thing the Lord requireth they are greatly deceyued for the Lorde requireth a great deale further matter at their handes then so For knowe you not the answere of our Sauiour vnto the Ruler who had asked what he might do to inherite eternall lyfe yf you do not this is it Yet lackest thou one thing sayth our Sauiour Now what this one thing was that he then lacked I wyll shew you First then the Ruler demaunding of our Sauiour what he myght do to inherite eternall lyfe and our Sauiour reciting the dueties of the seconde Table and he replying that he had kept them all euen from his very youth Our Sauiour trieth him then with a further and more chiefer poynt that is with his duetie concerning the fyrst Table and telleth him playnely that he lacked one thing yet and that in deede the most chiefest thing of all which was his loue towardes our Sauiour Christ and therefore sayth our Sauiour vnto him Sell all that thou hast and come and folowe me thinking thereby to try his obedience towardes the first Table that is to see whether he did so loue the Lorde in hart mynde and soule as that he coulde be contented to leaue all that he had and folow him as Abraham Moses Dauid Daniel and diuers others in the Gospell did but when he came to that poynt the case was altered whereby you may playnely see that yf men neuer so well performe their dueties concerning the seconde Table and yet misse therein as touching the chiefest poynt of the fyrst it profiteth them nothing at all Therefore this is the marke the which most earnestly I do shoote at euen this to haue you and all men well to know that the Lorde requireth most chiefly your whole duetie as touching the fyrst Table which is not fulfilled onely in saying there is but one God Father Sonne and holy Ghost nor in saying you beleeue to be saued by the seconde person in the trinitie but you must well knowe that the Lorde doth also require a most intire loue to be shewed towarde him that is he wyll haue you to loue him euen with all your hart with all your minde with all your soule with all your strength the which loue can in no wyse be so greatly expressed as when you haue a most earnest desire to heare his voyce and when as rather then you woulde be hindered from the hearing thereof by worldly matters you woulde rather be contented to forsake them all Therefore it is not enough onely to say you know this or beleeue that but you must shewe a willing minde to know beleeue according
commaund them to ouerflow the same agayne But yet they found it most true for in the seuenth age of this wicked generation the wrath of the Lord was well knowne amongst the sonnes of men for they were cut downe before the tyme and their foundation was as a Ryuer that ouerflowed So that he spared not this olde worlde which nowe had continued one thousand sixe hundred fiftie and sixe yeeres but onely saued Noe with seuen more of his familie and brought in the floud vpon the rest of the worlde of the vngodly yea he commaunded the fountaines of the great deepe to be broken vp and the windowes of heauen were opened so that all the high mountaines that were vnder the whole heauen were couered because that the wickednes of man was great on earth and all the imaginations of the thoughtes of his hart were onely euill continually And therefore did the Lorde smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lippes did he destroy the wicked Yea hee made them to perish as though they had been doung so that they which had seene them might say where are they nowe But if you will know what is become of their soules Saint Peter will tell you how that they are now in prison that is in hell for disobeying the spirit of Christ who then preached vnto them by the mouth of Noe while the Arke was in making Againe if you will know how they might know that the spirit of Christ did so the answere is that euen the very same Gospell that was preached vnto Adam and Eue in Paradise and afterwardes to Abell to Seth and the rest of the godlie was also preached vnto them And this preaching was that the Seede of the woman should breake the head of the Serpent which notwithstanding being but a verie short Sermon yet was it so effectall and so full of matter as that all the whole booke of God is no more then that But as the preaching of this Gospell was a sauour of life vnto life to all those that laide holde thereon euen so was it also a sauour of death vnto death to all those that reiected the same So that for this first age you see both the louing kindnesse and the seucritie of the Lorde The iudgements of God on Chams posteritie as also on their confederats vntill the giuing of the Lawe NOtwithstanding now the former desolation of all things breathing on earth the which a man would thinke shoulde haue been a terrour vnto men for euer after yet full soone do they forget it For an hundreth and about some thirtie yeeres after the flood in the daies of Peleg do the posteritie of Cham with their adherents reuiue the olde impietie of Kain and his wicked race in that they also despise the couenants of God and the blessing pronounced vnto Sem And so goe about to buyld a Cittie and a Towre whose top as they thought should reach vnto heauen wherby they might get vnto them selues a Sem or name But full soone was the holy Trinitie aware of this their wicked intent and so he came down from heauen in his fierce wrath to confound their most foolish deuices and also to scatter them from thence ouer the whole earth And therefore the name of it was called Babell or Confusion because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth so that they were not onely cut from the holy Language of Sem but also from the religion and true worship of the blessed God of Sem the which continued in his tents Agayne in the tenth age after the flood in the dayes of Abraham the wickednes of those fiue Cities in Canaan as Sodom Gomorrah Admah Zeboiim and Zoar brake out into such filthinesse as that the stincke thereof ascended vp into heauen and cryed for vengeance to be powred vpon them And notwithstanding the Lorde being mercifull and was intreated to haue spared them for ten◅e righteous men their sakes yet could they not therein be found so that their sinnes being so great and greeuous in the sight of GOD his great anger was so kindled against them that in his fierce wrath hee ouerthrew them and turned foure of them into ashes and condemned them and made them an e◅sample of eternall fier vnto all ages that afterwards should liue vngodly So that heere the curse of Noe vpon Cham extending to Canaan tooke effect on these some part of his wicked branches Likewise in the seuenth age from Abraham in the dayes of Moses the wrath of the Lord was manifested also in most vehement sort in Egypt euen in that land of cursed Cham vpon that proude Pharaoh and his countrie the which were other braunches euen of Cham himselfe that wicked roote I say the wrath of the Lord was manifested vpō them in most vehement sort by tenne seuerall plague◅ bestowed vpon man and beast and at last Pharaoh and all his host ouerwhelmed in the Red Sea For sayth he vnto Moses concerning the Lorde Who is he that I should heare his voyce and let Israell go I know not the Lord neyther will I let Israell go neyther do I regarde his words by you spoken for they are but vaine But the right hand of the glorious Lorde ouerthrewe these rebellious treatours which in this sort rose against him and sent foorth his wrath which consumed them as the stubble and also by the blast of his Nosethrils the waters were gathered and the floods stoode still as an heape yea the depthes congealed together in the hart of the Sea to intice them in but presently the waters couered them and they sancke to the bottome as a stone And why so because indeede they had forsaken the hope of Israell euen that most precious fountaine of liuing waters But he brought foorth them his chosen Israell through the middest of the Sea on drie ground and made the waters vnto them a wall both on the one side and on the other So that heere you may see againe both the louing kindnesse and the seueritie of the Lord his louing kindnes on Sem and his posteritie as also on all others that held the same fayth His most seuere seueritie on Cham and his posteritie as also on all other their confederats Now if you will knowe the chiefe cause why these horrible plagues befell them the aunswere is because they regarded not the preaching of the Gospell of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ. For as he was made the author of eternall saluation vnto all them that did beleeue in him and obey him euen so is it sayd that he that beleeueth not in y e Sonne of God nor giueth due obedience vnto him shall neuer see life but the wrath of God abideth on him But the very same Gospel that was preached vnto Sem ◅aphet and their posteritie was also preached vnto Cham and his posteritie Now
houre of the day when Christe the King the most holy that Lambe of God shoulde be killed which was the ende and summe of all Moses sactifices and ceremonies and therefore they shoulde ceasse accordyng as the Angell sayth when Christ shoulde perfourme this the which fell out according to Gods decree vpon the very same day that the Lambe we now speake of was killed And lykewyse that the promyse was made to Abram and also that the commaundement came foorth for the Iewes to returne from Babell and therefore no maruell though Moses tell them it is a woonderfull day yea suche a day as is to be obscru◅d throughout their generations So that yf they shoulde haue had no more teaching but onely this to ha◅e ledde them vnto Christ they myght haue seene him most clecrely herein and had been enough to haue made them voyde of all excuse But many and manifolde wayes besides this was Christ preached vnto them as in all other their bloudie sacrifices For they might well knowe that notwithstanding the bloud of bulles and of goates and the ashes of an heifer being sprinckled sanctified as touching the purifiyng of the flesh yet was it not able be it neuer so often ◅princkled to purge and make cleane their consciences and therefore they were driuen to looke for one to come who through his eternall spirite would offer hymselfe without spot to God that so hee might purge their consciences from dead workes to serue the liuing Lord. Agayne they might well know it was neither burnt offring nor sinne offring that the Lord required or delighted in For what great pleasure could it be vnto the Lord to haue the bodie of a poore beast wholy burnt and therefore they were driuen to looke for one to come who would fully doe the will of God and in whose heart his whole lawe should fully rest and who by offering his owne body once for all should runne through all the fire of afflictions and torments due vnto man Againe he was preached vnto them by y e scape Goate for they might well knowe it was not the backe of a poore goate that could so carrie away their sinnes as neuer to be burthensome againe vpon their owne backes and therfore they were driuen to looke for one to come who should be able being cast down with the burden thereof to raise himselfe vp againe and to carry them so cleane away vppon his backe as that their owne backs should neuer be troubled againe with the weight thereof Furthermore he was preached vnto them by the cloude and pillar of fire in the wildernesse for they might well knowe that he was that pillar that gaue them the true light also that cloude that led them the right way Againe he was preached vnto them by the rocke that followed them and also by the Manna for they might well knowe that he was that spiritual rocke from whom flow gush out waters of life to all those that aske of him and likewise they might as wel know that he was that true Manna which came down from heauen of the which who so eateth spiritually shall liue for euer Againe he was preached vnto them by the brasen serpent for they might wel knowe it was he that must so ◅e lifted vp as that he that beleeueth in him should not perishe but haue eternall life Againe he was preached vnto them by the high sacrificer his whole office for they might well knowe that he was but a figure for the time present because he was not suffered to indure by reason of death and therefore they were driuen to looke for one to come whiche shoulde not be made priest after the lawe of the carnall commandement but after the power of the endlesse life that is one who should liue for euer after the order of Melchisedech being made with an othe by him who will not repent Againe seeing there came no suche perfection by the giftes and sacrifices which their high priest once a yeere offered as to take away either his owne sinnes or the sinnes of the people but that euery yeere there must be a remembrance againe because of this imperfection I say they were driuen to looke for one to come who should be able perfectly to saue those that would come vnto God by him and who would in the end appeare to take away their sinnes by the sacrifice of his owne bodie once made and so enter not into the holy places made with handes but euen into y ◠very heauen it selfe to appeare in the sight of God and there to sit for euer to make intereession for them and by whose bloud they might be bold to enter into that holy place themselues euen by that newe and liuing way which he would prepare for them not through the vaile of silke but euen through the very vaile of his owne flesh And thus was Christ preached vnto them by all the sacrifices and ceremonies done according to the law for they might well know that they were al but as shadowes of those good things which were to come Againe hee was preached vnto them in most plaine speeches euen in the first saying deliuered on the mountaine for whereas the Lord sayth vnto them I am Iehouah thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt out of the house of boudage it must needes be in respect of Christ that he calleth himselfe their God for otherwise he is vnto men euen A consuming fire Againe and so to conclude this speeche Christ was preached vnto them in most comfortable and also most terrible sort as by the effect they found it Behold saith the Lord I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into the place which I haue prepared Beware of him saith the Lord and heare his voyce for I tel thee he will not spare your misdeedes because my name is in him But if thou hearken vnto his voyce and doe all that I speake then I will be an enimie vnto thine enimies and will afflict them that afflict thee for mine angell shall go before thee and bring thee into the land of the Ammorites y ◠Hethites the Peresites the Cananites the Heuites and the Iebuzites and I will destroy them but if ye turne from me and serue their Gods surely it shall be your destruction Now here you see againe in what plaine words Christ was preached vnto thē for they might well know that this Angel must needes be Christ the sonne of God and so the Apostle expoundeth it euen of this Angel of the couenant which Malachie also speaketh of For who is the brightnesse of the glorie or thē ingrauen forme or the verie character of the person of the father but onely Christ In whome as the Apostle saith dwelleth all the fulnesse of the Godhead euen corporally Who although he had not as yet taken the nature of man yet he
in him no although he had done so many great workes and myracles before them but still despised the councell of God agaynst themselues and would not daunce nor leape for ioy no although y ◠prophets as you see had cōtinually piped vnto them Now if you maruell how they could be so blinde as not to see since the light was so bright and Christ so plainly manifested vnto them I will shew you why in few wordes that is because they knewe not the scriptures for so our sauiour doth tel thē saying Ye erre not knowing the scriptures For whereas they should haue made the word of God their onely meditation they had established in stead thereof the precepts and doctrines of men and so made the word of God of no authoritie as our sauiour also telleth them Besides it was so far from their delight as that they had skarce read so much thereof as that one part which told them that the stone which they would refuse should be made the head of the corner And therefore because they had thus cast off the law of the Lord of hostes and would not beleeue the writinges of Moses and the prophetes all which would haue lead them vnto Christ No maruell was it though he cast off them neyther that he should take from them that little vnderstanding which they seemed to haue according as he telleth hys Disciples saying To him that hath shall be giuen in more aboundance and to hym that hath not shall be taken away euen that little which hee seemeth to haue So that to those that had a desire to know the booke of God which paynted them out the Messias to them it was giuen to know the secretes of y ◠kingdome of heauen but to al those that cast it off to them it was not giuen So that in them was fulfilled y ◠prophcie of Esaias which prophesie saith by hearing they should heare but not vnderstande and seeing they should see but not perceiue And the reason was for that their hearts were waxen fat and their eares were dul of hearing also with their eyes they winked least they should see and stopped their eares least they should heare and so vnderstand w t theyr heartes should haue returned that hee might haue healed thē And therfore as y ◠apostle saith when men regard not to know the Lord aright by his holy word no more doth he regard to know them but giueth thē vp into reprobate minds and also to follow their own inuentions in al things and so to runne to their owne destruction for not obeying the sonne of God For as it is eternall life to knowe one true and euer-liuing God and to beleeue in hys sonne whom he the father would or nowe hath sent so he that beleeueth not in the sonne nor obeyeth hys voyce shall neuer see life but the wrath of God abideth on hym Now his voyce was that they should continually meditate in his lawe the which shoulde lead them vnto Christ but they did not and therefore well worthy to be blinded as you see for men must learne to heare the voyce of the Lord while it is called to day and to take heede howe they harden their heartes when the voyce of God doth call least when they would they shall often call them selues and not be hard Nowe if iudgement began at the house of the Lord in this sorte as you see what shall wee thinke befell the rest of the nations before the comming of our sauiour into the world Surely they escaped not for the Lord hath rendred vengeance vnto all those that haue not knowne him which haue not obeyed vnto the Gospel of our Lord and sauiour Iesus Christ not onely vnto the Iewes and the citie Iersusalem where his name shoulde haue bene called on who moste of all deserued it because most graces were offered vnto them but also vnto all nations in the world hath hee sent the cup of the wine of the greatnesse of his indignation and hath entered into iudgement with all flesh forasmuch as they haue not desired the knowledge of hys holy lawes and for as much as hee left not hymselfe without witnesse to any nation in as much as he gaue them rayne from heauen and fruitfull seasons and filled them with all good things in great aboundance Therfore all those nations or people that haue refused the knowledge of hym he hath also refused them And as they regarded not to knowe hym a right by his holy word neyther had anie delight at al therin but cast it off euen so hath he cast off them and giuen them vp into reprobate minds as the apostle saith And thus hauing layd his iudgementes before our eyes hitherto we see what is become of all those that haue sayd vnto God depart from vs haue not desired aboue gold y e knowledge of hys holy lawes the which lawes shoulde haue bene esteemed of them aboue gold yea aboue much fine gold and also haue bene more sweeter vnto theyr heartes then the hony or the hony combe vnto theyr mouthes and looke how pretious it should haue been vnto y e Iewes so ought it to haue been to all other nations in the world for all nations heard therof or at leastwise might haue done and thus much of the iudgementes of God from the beginning of the world to the vtter casting off of the Iewes The iudgementes of God vpon the Romaine Emperours the first beast Apoc. 13. as also vpon the Popes theyr successours the latter beast and on all them that receiue the beasts marke SInce we haue seene the iudgementes of God from the beginning of the world hitherto and also the cause why whiche was the neglect of hys holy worde in the which worde they might haue seene hys will and so haue knowne hys true worship let vs proceede in briefe sort and lay the like before our eies euen frō our sauiour hys time vnto the end of the same First then we are to remember that after the destruction of y ◠low Ierusalem was that to be fulfilled which was spoken of by the prophets that is That a Ierusalem should be built the name whereof shoulde be called The Lord is there and that this citie should be lifted vp aboue al mountaines and that from the Sanctuary therof should go waters of life which should runne to the east sea and to the west sea and that there should be plentie thereof both in sommer and winter and that whatsoeuer tree should be planted by the riuer of waters which should runne out of the sanctuary of this citie the leafe thereof shoulde neuer fade neyther should the fruit thereof at any time fayle and that the waters of this riuer should be so wholesome that whither soeuer they should runne the fi◅h that should be nourished therewith should liue thereby
if he spared not the Iewes which were the naturall branches but hath cut them off euen from theyr natural roote from whence they should haue had theyr life and y ◠through theyr vnbeliefe which vnbeliefe befell them through the hardnesse of theyr owne heartes and the hardnesse of theyr heartes through the contempt of the word of God much more then will he not spare vs if we harden our heartes agaynst the delight we should take therein because that we by nature are but as a wilde Oliue tree and are but graft vppon theyr stocke and therefore let vs take heede in what case wee stand for feare least we also fal by the like example of disobedience and so bring the wrath of God vpon vs as the former haue done vpon thē For you must not be ignorant of this one thing in anie wise that is that the Lord will be slacke concerning his threatnings as some men count slackenesse but that he is patient toward vs and would haue no man to perishe but woulde that all men shoulde come to repentance because he is a mercifull God and full of compassion And to assure men that he is so he hath giuē his most holy word vnto them whereby they may perceiue that hee greatly loueth them because therby he offereth eternall life vnto them so that if they will imbrace that they may finde eternall life but if not they shall be sure to finde eternall death because they can not see without that in what sort to walke as to please the Lord therwith neyther can they without that see the loue wherewith the Lord loueth them that is without that they cānot see how that God so loued the world that he gaue hys onely begotten so◅ to suffer for their sinnes To the intent that if they would beleeue in hym they shoulde not perishe but haue eternall life Therfore al those that haue delighted in hys most holy word and layd hold on his promises therein contayned and by faith imbraced hys couenantes concerning Christ and thought vpon hys commaundementes to indeuour to doe them he hath neuer fayled to thousandes of generations For when as our first parents had brought vpō themselues swift damnation by reason of their owne disobedience yet neuertheles imbracing the holy worde of couenant wherein all grace consisted by fayth receiued life againe In this fayth Abell offered vnto God a greater sacrifice then Kaine by the which he obtained witnes that he was righeous God testifiyng of his gifts by the which faith also he being dead yet speaketh In this fayth was Enoch taken away that he should not see death being a figure of y e resurrection by the which fayth he was reported of to haue pleased God In this fayth Noe being warned of God of the thinges whiche were as yet not seene being moued with reurence prepared the Arke to the sauing of his houshold through the whiche Arke hee condemned the world and was made heyre of the righteousnesse which is by fayth In this fayth Abram when he was called obeyed God to goe into a place which afterwardes hee shoulde receiue for inheritance and he went out not knowing whether he went and in this faith he abode in the land of promise as in a strange country as one that dwelt in tentes with Isaak and ◅acob heyres with hym of the same promise and looked for a City hauing a foundation whose builder and maker is God In this fayth also Sara receiued strength to conceiue seede and was deliuered of a childe when she was past age because she iudged him faythful which had promised therfore sprang thereof one euen of one which was dead so many as the stars of the skye in multitude and as the sand of the sea shore which is innumerable In this fayth Abraham offered vp Isaak when he was tryed and he that had receiued the promise offered his onely begotten sonne to whome it was sayd in Isaak Shall thy seed be called for he considered that God was able to rayse hym vp euen from the dead from whence also after a sort he had receiued hym In this fayth Isaak blessed Iacob Esau concerning things to come In this fayth Iacob when he was a dying blessed both the sons of Ioseph In this faith Ioseph when he died made mention of the departing of the children of Israel out of y ◠land of Egypt In this fayth Moses whē he came to age refused to be called the sonne of Pharaohes daughter and chose rather to suffer aduersitie with the people of God then to inioy the pleasures of sinne for a season esteeming the rebukes of Christ greater riches then all the creasures of Egypt for he had respect vnto the recompence of the reward And in this fayth he forsooke Egypt and feared not the kings fiercenesse for he indured as he that saw him which is inuisible and in this fayth he ordayned the passeouer and the effusion of bloud least hee that destroyed the first borne should touch them In this fayth they passed through the red Sea as on drie land which when the Egyptians assayed to doe they were drowned In this fayth Ioshua or Iesus brought in the people of God into the land of promise and in this fayth he conquered one and thirtie kinges In this faith the walles of Iericho beyng compassed about seuen dayes fell downe In this fayth Rahab the harlot perished not with them which obeyed not when she had receiued the spyes peaceably In this fayth Gedeon Barac Samp◅on Iephte Dauid Samuel and all the prophetes subdued kindgdomes wrought righteousnesse obtained the promises and stopped the mouthes of Lyons In this fayth Shadrach Meshach and Abednego quenched the heate of fire And in this fayth Daniel refused the glory of Babell and Paras by the which faith he abode constant in the true worship of his God though amongest the Lyons hee should be cast In this fayth many that were weake in the dayes of Antiochus were made strong and waxed valiant in battell and turned to flight the armies of the allients In this fayth women receiued theyr dead raised to lyfe and others also were racked and would not be deliuered because they looked for a better resurrection In this fayth o◅hers haue bene tryed by mockinges and scourginges yea moreouer by bondes and imprisonmentes they were staned and hewen asunder and were tempted and slaine with the sword and wandered vp and downe in sheepes skinnes and in goat skinnes being destitute afflicted and tormented whom the world was not worthy of they wandered in wildernes mountaynes and dennes and caues of the earth And these all through fayth obtayned good report and receiued not the promise God prouiding a better thing for vs that they without vs should not be perfit Yet al these dyed in fayth and saw the promises a farre off and receiued them thankefully and
and often strike vpon your thygh with sorowe of hart as the Prophet Ieremie also speaketh Now it may be you wyll say agayne Euery one can not reade neyther hath euery one leysure to get suche great and perfect knowledge as you speake of And moreouer many dye before they come to yeeres of discretion as also many in their mothers wombe How then shall all these do shall none be saued but those that vnderstande the whole Bible Yes forsooth for yf they do in steadfast fayth but touch the hemme of Christ his garment they shalbe saued for aswell doth he accept the poore Wydowes myte as the Riche mans great gyft especially yf it come with such willingnes of hart that yf they had or coulde get more more they woulde geue But seeing that fayth is the gyft of God and seeing also that the ordinarie meanes that he hath appoynted to come thereby is the hearing and reading of his holy worde we must euery one of vs desire the sincere Milke thereof as the Apostle Peter sayth that so we may growe thereby both in fayth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christ. And most meete and necessarie it is that so we shoulde do for seeing that Satan goeth about lyke a roaring Lion continually seeking whom he may deuoure How muche more needefull therefore is it that we should continually be as carefull to get such skill in the handling of the sworde of the spirite which is the worde of God as that we may be able not onely to resist him but also to wounde him most deadly therewithall for otherwyse yf we shall be founde ignoraunt in the vse of our weapon we shall be sure to receiue most deadly woundes our selues because that ignoraunce therein shall not excuse any man Therefore whether a man can read or no that shall not excuse him for yf he can not he must haue the more care to be taught by others that in any wyse he may get some knowledge in this spirituall weapon offered for his helpe least when he shoulde geue the woundes he receiue them most deadly him selfe And as for Chyldren which die in their mothers wombe or before they come to be of discretion to vse y â— ordinarie meanes we must commende them vnto the Lord who is able without the meanes to saue whom pleaseth him being elected in Christ before the worlde was made the which Babes elected it pleaseth the Lorde to inlighten their mindes by the working of his holy spirite euen in their mothers wombes as well you may perceiue by Iohn y e Baptist who when he heard but onely the voyce of the mother of our Lord sprang for ioy as also by the Prophet Ieremie of whom the Lord sayth before thou camest out of the wombe I sanctified thee and so foorth Now as it pleaseth the Lorde to inlighten such Infantes as are elected by such secrete meanes as pleaseth him so is he able to do the lyke vnto all others of greater yeeres But since that he hath appoynted an ordinarie meanes for such to come by the knowledge of his Sonne we must looke to that and desire of the Lord that it woulde please him to inlighten our mindes thereby And whereas you say that all men haue not tyme and leysure to attayne vnto skill and knowledge in the booke of God That is not so for yf they woulde bestowe but that one day of seauen which the Lord hath commaunded them eyther in hearing the worde or reading therein themselues they myght attaine vnto very great knowledge yea so great as that they might be able at the least to geue a sound reason of their fayth yea and to auoyde the deadly blowes of Satan although not able to cast off al especially if that one day were bestowed with like delyght and desire of the atteyning thereunto as they woulde do yf it were a worldly commoditie or vayne desire they shoulde seeke after How much more knowledge trow you myght then be attayned vnto yf men woulde bestow all the houres therein the which they bestow in vayne delights as huntyng hauking tabling dicing carding bouling shooting or any such lyke no doubt but to a woonderful great knowledge euen to so great as that they shoulde be able then to bryng foorth as the Lorde speaketh euen their most strong reasons wherby they myght so foyle Satan and his ministers as that they woulde be ashamed and afrayde to offer combate with them any more So that if men woulde consider with them selues how short the tyme of their abode is here and also how vncertaine and so learne with Moses to pray vnto the Lord that it woulde please him to teach them to number these their few dayes aright that so they myght apply their hartes vnto wysedome No doubt but they shoulde attayne vnto plenty thereof For the Lorde hath so promised But the Deuyll hath so bewitched men and so blinded them and beareth such sway with them that they had rather spende a whole yeere yea all their lyfe tyme in those vayne thinges which tende to none other ende then to draw them vnto him who seeketh for them which is the Deuyll then they woulde bestow one houre yea one minute of an houre in those thinges that shoulde tende to their saluation and to the pleasing of their maister and Sauiour Christ so that in them is fulfilled the saying of the Apostle For in the last dayes sayth he Men shall be louers of pleasures more then louers of God And notwithstanding our Sauiour doth dayly call and seeke for them euen to shroude them as the Henne woulde do her Chickens yet wyll they not come vnder the couert of his winges for ought that he can do but thinke it is enough yf they can say as commonly they do I beleeue in Christe and hope to be saued by hym as well as you although I take no such paynes to get this great knowledge for what neede I so to do For is it not sayd He that beleeueth in him shall neuer perishe but haue eternall lyfe Which is true in deede yf they knewe what they spake but they must well know it is not enough to speake the bare wordes for so much one myght make a Parrat to do but their beliefe must be setled vpon him accordyng to the testimonie which Moses and the Prophetes haue geuen of hym that so they may say with Peter We beleeue and also know that thou art the Christ the Sonne of the lyuing God therefore this speech of theirs doth import nothing els but euen to contemne Christ so for men to content them selues with slothfulnes And therefore the holy Ghost doth geue vnto such a maruellous great reproofe saying O you foolyshe how long will you loue foolyshnes and you skornefull how long wyl you hate knowledge So that by this their hating of knowledge it may well appeare they are none of Christes
if you will knowe agayne what this preaching was it was no more but euen this Blessed be the Lord God of Sem. And tenne ages after that an other In thy seede O Abraham shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Now out of all doubt two meruellous short Sermons as possible can be heard and yet so full of vertue and grace that whosoeuer wroung out the iuice therof and applied it to his sores found euerlasting lyfe thereby but he that trode them vnder foote a biting Serpent whose sting was vnto eternall death and destruction The iudgements of God vpon the Israelits in the time of their being in the wildernes and also vpon their successors vnto the time of Samuel and Saule THus you see then the louing kindnes of the Lord towards the Israelites the seede of Abraham the seede of Sem in that he deliuered them from the Iron furnace the lande of Egypt the house of bondage according to his promise made vnto Abram which was That they should be straungers in a lande that was not theris where they should be afflicted and euill intreated for the space of foure hundreth yeeres But in the ende he woulde iudge that nation and bring them againe to the lande of Canaan in the fourth generation euen so it came to passe For all the host of Israell came out of the lande of Egypt by the blood of a Lambe figuring the seede that was promised to Abraham euen the selfe same day foure hundreth and thirtie yeeres before by whose bloud they were deliuered from that spirituall Pharaoh the Diuell Yet notwithstanding all this this grudging Israell the sonnes of Iacob the seede of Abraham who had seene the meruellous workes of God in the land of Egypt and his wonders in the fielde of Zoan and howe he had brought them thence as vpon the winges of an Eagle and howe he went before them by day in a pyller of a cloude to leade them the way and by night in a pyller of fire to giue them light and how he came downe vpon mount Sina and spake vnto them from heauen and gaue vnto them right iudgements and true lawes ordinaunces and good commaundements and declared vnto them his holy Sabothes and commaunded them precepts ordinances and lawes by the hand of Moses his seruaunt and how he gaue them bread from heauen for their hunger and brought foorth water for them out of the rocke for their thirst and how he rayned flesh vpon them as dust and fethered foule as the sande of the Sea and how he suffered them to lacke nothing for theyr clothes waxed not olde and their feete swelled not And all this hee did to teach them that man liueth not by bread onely but by euerie worde that proceedeth from him Yet notwithstanding I say all these his great benefites bestowed vpon them full soone did they forget his noble actes and the woonderfull workes that he had shewed them and styll they rebelled agaynst him yea full often did they prouoke him in the wyldernesse and greeue him in the Desart they made a Calfe in Horeb and woorshyped the molten Image and thus they turned their glorie into the similitude of a Calfe that eateth Haye Wherefore his wrath was so greatly kindled agaynst them that the fyre burnt vp the wicked yea they prouoked hym so greeuously in misbeleeuyng styll his worde that he swore in his wrath that onely two of sixe hundreth thousande shoulde enter into his rest which by the tyme that fourtie yeeres was expired in the Wildernes their chyldren whom they had sayd shoulde be a pray for the enimie they I say sawe the performaunce of this othe For they saw this wicked company consumed and their Carkeises ouerthrowen in the Wildernesse So that not one of the sixe hundreth thousande was left saue Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh and Ioshua the sonne of Nun. Here then might you pause a lytle and consider with your selfe of the ingratitude of man and how that yf the Lord shoulde deale with vs according to our desertes we shoulde be sure to fynde that we shoulde deserue no better then here you see because as the Apostle sayth these men are euen as very stampes of our owne natures But because I would not haue you to tarry in this Booke I wyl proceede to the rest that when you haue heard all you may consider the drynes of your owne soule and so get you with all speede to the fountayne it selfe wherein you may drinke yf you wyll euen your fyll of those waters of lyfe the which sprang out of the Rocke that here folowed them and also learne to auoyde that vnholsome pit of mistrust the which became vnto them their onely poyson Agayne then when as now it had pleased the Lord to bryng in the younger sort as all vnder twentie by Ioshua or Iesus euen into the borders of his Sanctuarie and to the holy Mountayne which his right hand had purchased that so he myght perfourme his promyse made vnto their fathers and had cast out the Heathen before them and geuen them their possessions and lykewyse had fylled them with all good thinges in great abundance although not of theyr owne desertes Iwis but through his great goodnes Yet notwithstanding they also became disobedient and rebelled agaynst the Lord and cast his heauenly Lawes behinde their backes yea they tempted and prouoked him and kept not his testimonies but turned backe and dealt falsly lyke vnto their fathers yea they turned euen lyke vnto a deceitfull Bowe So that he gaue them vnto the handes of most cruell oppessours that greatly vexed them as vnto the Aramites Moabites Canaanites Midianites Ammonites and the Philistimes Yea they prouoked him to anger in such sort with their high places and moued him to wrath with their grauen Images that in the ende he greatly abhorred Israel euen so farre as that in the dayes of Ely he forsooke the habitation of Shilo euen the Tabernacle where he dwelled amongst them and so he deliuered his power the Arke so called into captiuitie and his beautie into the enimies handes Yea he gaue vp his people to the sworde and was marueylous angrie with his owne inheritaunce For sixe tymes now since they came into the Land had the Lorde suffered them to be most cruelly oppressed by the a forenamed So that here we may say agayne O beholde both the louing kindnes and the seueritie of the Lord. His louing kindnes towardes Israel whyle they tooke good heede vnto the couenaunt that he the Lorde their God made with them and his seueritie when so euer they began to tempt Christ in not obeying his voyce according as the Lord had tolde them Now yf you wyll know in what sort Christe was preached vnto them that they were thus destroyed for not obeying his voyce The answere is euen in as
A Direction to the waters of lyfe Come and beholde How CHRIST shineth before the Law in the Law and in the Prophetes and withall the iudgements of God vpon all Nations for the neglect of his holy worde wherein they myght haue seene the same Both which are layde before your eyes in this litle discourse by ROGER COTTON Draper Imprinted at London for Gabriell Simson and William White and are to be solde at their house in Fleete lane 1590. TO THE GODLIE AND LEARNED MAISTER HVGH BROVGHTON TEACHER OF DIVINITIE GRACE AND peace in Christ. FOR as much as it hath pleased the Lorde Right reuerent to make your selfe vnto me a most comfortable Father in that you haue begotten me vnto Christe euen as Paule did Tymothie nay rather as he did Onesimus that is much more then from a seruant of Philemon to be a brother of Pilemon euen from a seruaunt of sinne to be a seruaunt of Iesus Christe For as much I say as it hath pleased the Lord you shoulde beget me after this sort I thought good to present vnto your learned view some part of the fruites of your owne labour in me begotten not to the intent in any respect to benefite your selfe therewith sauing that you wyll reioyce to see that your labour on me bestowed is not altogeather lost but onely to the intent to incourage others to the studie of the most absolute perfect word of God because that Satan our old enimie striueth styl most lyke a subtle Serpent especially to perswade men to the contrarie Therefore so much as in me lyeth I labour to ouerthrow him therein and to styrre vp others in lyke sort to take vp the weapon of their warfare the worde of God against him and to haue them constantly to hold on in the meditation thereof vntyll such time as they shaâ—…l haue skill to handle that sworde of the spirite aright and vntyll such tyme as they shall attayne vnto the sounde knowledge of euery poynt of that heauenly mysterie of our saluation vnto the which high mysterie of saluation you haue ful often as a most heauenly Orator not onely called me but also many more to their vnspeakable comfort euer warnyng vs in lyke maner to geue attendaunce for the furtheraunce thereof vnto the reading of the same most pure and holy worde of God Euen for this cause only haue I put foorth this lytle and vnlearned Treatise VVherefore seeing the Lorde hath made you a Paule from the Apostle Paule and other his felowes to plant in me these thinges and that it hath pleased his heauenly maiestie to geue the increase I thought it meete to dedicate these some part of the fruites vnto you a speciall meanes thereof humbly beseeching you to shielde them vnder your most graue learned protection that so the benefite thereof may redownde to them for whose sakes I brought them foorth The summe whereof is to shew the brightnes of our sauiour Christ in all ages according as it is sayd by the Apostle Christ yesterday and to day and the same for euer As also to what ende the Lord hath created man which is to set soorth his praise and glory aboue all the creatures that he hath made and lykewyse how that can not be done but by the knowledge and direction of his owne most perfect worde and howe that all nations and people that haue delighted or not delighted herein haue founde accordingly the louing kindnes or the seueritie of the Lord. And thus I cease beseeching the Lord to blesse you with a long and happie lyfe euen to the begettyng of thousandes more vnto the kingdome of the euer-lyuing God that so your selfe may shine as a most glorious starre in the life to come Amen Yours begotten in the Lord Roger Cotton TO THE READER I Finde in the Booke of GOD most gentle Reader that a man shoulde not be ashamed to speake of the testimonies of the Lorde yf it were before Kinges as also a charge geuen that a man shoulde not let to delyuer those glorious thynges whiche hee hath heard of by many witnesses to iust and faythfull men to the intent that they also might be able to teach and to delyuer the same vnto others accordyng as other Prophetes commaunde saying Tell you your children of them and let your children shew to their children and their children to an other generation For as much then as I finde suche a charge there geuen I thinke it no shame to speake thereof at this time vnto you but holde my selfe bounde according to that talent which God hath geuen me to make a rehearsall of those glorious thinges which to me haue been reuealed to the intent that you also may come to the Booke of God where you shalbe compassed with such a cloude of heauenly witnesses both of perfect skill and also willingnes that yf you will you may be made able to describe at large vnto others both the wysedome prayse power glory and state of that euerlastyng King and kingdome Therefore as some haue sayd vnto me Come and see the Booke of God for there shall you finde the Messias yea there shall you finde that gloryous King whose wysedome is so great that it farre exceedeth the wysedome of all the sonnes of the East or of Egypt Nay there shall you see him whose wysedome so much excelleth other mens that it farre surmounteth the wysedome eyther of Ethan Heman Chalcole or Derda I say as some haue sayde vnto me Come and see the booke of God that so you may beholde this glorious King whose fame is spread throughout all the nations euen so throughout this litle Discourse say I vnto you Therefore yf you will so do I doubt not but that you wyll say the lyke vnto others and also say vnto me it was a true report indeede that we heard of by you concernyng the wysedome of this King and also the glory of his kingdome how be it we scarce beleeued it vntyll we came and that our owne eyes had seene it But now we perceyue that you tolde vs not the one halfe of the wysedome of this great King nor yet of the glory of his kingdome for indeede it farre surmounteth the fame that we heard thereof by you Therfore happy are those men that stande in the courtes of this King yea thrise happy are his seruauntes which alwayes stande before his presence to heare his wysedome I meane in the presence of that heauenly King who farre excelleth Salomon euen Salomon who so farre surmounted those aforenamed and in whose presence is the fulnes of all ioy and gladnes But yf you wyll not come to heare the wysedome of this great King nor yet to see the glorie of his kingdome which so farre excelleth Salomons he hath pronounced with his owne mouth that the Queene of the South shall ryse in iudgement against you And this is the summe of my lytle and vnlearned Treatise Therefore yf you looke vnto
all his sayinges because that some Prophecies in y e holy Scriptures there are whose euent is not altogether in Scripture shewed and yet by those Prophane stories you may see they tooke effect as namely the Prophet Daniel and also the Reuelation of S. Iohn the which by eye sight we are also able to witnes how that Booke is fulfilled by the Popes in all their dealinges But yf you thinke that you can not attayne vnto perfect wysedome and knowledge of Christe without the helpe of other Books then are you greatly deceyued for the Worde of God is an absolute perfect rule sayth the Apostle and fully able to make you wyse in Christ and by it onely may you attayne to the perfect knowledge of Christ without the helpe of any other and is also playne and easie of it selfe for your vnderstanding yf you wyll the Lord beleeue as I sayde before especially yf you wyll come in simplicitie of hart and cast off your owne wysedome for in very deede that is the onely hinderance of the attayning thervnto Agayne some Bookes there are which take vpon them to lay downe preceptes for your lyfe conuersation which bookes yf you thinke you are bounde to read as well as the Scriptures then are you also as greatly deceiued for the Lord hath commaunded you vpon payne of damnation to reade the Scripture because in deede it is the very lyfe and norishment of your soule but as for the reading of such kinde of Bookes you haue no such charge neyther was it needefull for you so to haue because there is nothing that the hart of man can thinke on eyther for vertue to imbrace or vice to eschew but the Booke of God doth contayne a rule and precept for it and therefore what neede we the helpe of man to lay downe preceptes for our lyfe when as the Lorde him selfe hath taken vppon him to be our Guyde and Teacher Therefore in the name of God take heede of the subtiltie of Satan in this poynt aboue all others that is that he deceiue you not so herein as to make you beleeue that you shall attayne vnto as great wysedome or holynes by the wrytinges of men as you shall do by the booke of God or that the booke of God is not perfect of it selfe to instruct you fully in all thinges touching your saluation for then hath he you euen as he woulde therefore rather then he shoulde make you so to thinke better were it for you with them of Ephesus to burne them all yea though the price of all such Bookes were founde to be in value worth fiftie thousande peeces of siluer And God doth know a most heynous sinne it is and reigneth most abundantly amongst vs here in Englande euen this that we esteeme a great deale more of the preceptes and doctrines of men then we do of the Booke of God so that as that hath been the very cause of the destruction of all the worlde greatly it is to be feared least the lyke plague wyll befall vs and our Nation for how fewe haue we that doth take so great delight in the booke of God as to make it the chiefe ioy and reiocing of their hartes as the Prophet Ieremie did make it vnto his Therefore much more fewe there be to be founde that do make so rare accompt thereof as the holy man Iob did that is to esteeme of the wordes of God euen much more then he did of his appoynted foode but in the contrary multitudes do take euen that delyght therefore take heede of that in any wyse Now it may be that you wyll aske me agayne What part of the Scripture it is that you were best to reade The answere is euen all for so you may learne by the last Commaundement of our Sauiour that I spake of for be commandeth to search the Scriptures so that al which is called Scripture you must search for all that doth testifie of him And so you see S. Luke sayth he began at Moses and all the Prophetes that is from the beginning of Genesis to the ende of Malachie for the old Testament which only then was written and all that was nothing els but to teach Christ And now you haue also the new Testament which tendeth to none other ende then the former did and that is to teache Christ. For so the Apostle sayth I taught nothing but what Moses and the Prophetes did say shoulde come And in an other place I kept nothing backe but haue shewed you all the counsell of God and what was that To wit that Christ shoulde suffer and that he shoulde be the fyrst that shoulde rise from the dead and shoulde shewe lyght vnto the people and to the Gentiles So that you may see that all the Scripture tendeth to none other purpose but to teach you that and therefore you must of necessitie reade all that so you may as S. Luke sayth Acknowledge the certaintie of those thinges whereof you haue been instructed not onely by the Euangelistes and the Apostles who haue declared vnto you the thinges of Christe from the day that Zacharias went into the Temple and that the Angell tolde Marie concerning her conception but also what you haue been instructed by Moses and the Prophetes euen from the day that he was first promised that so you may be able to deliuer the glory thereof from poynt to poynt and to stande firme your selfe agaynst all the assaultes of the Deuyll Yea but you wyll say agayne S. Paule of whom you spake before forbids vs Genealogies and commaundes that we shal geue no heede vnto them because they are endles and breede questions rather then godly edifiyng which is by fayth And so in deede a great number of our Guydes wyll tell vs. For many times because we fynd them very hard we go to them to aske the meaning thereof then their answere is that the Genealogies tende not to edification but rather to strife and contention and therefore is it that S. Paule forbiddes them And so likewyse for many other harde places in the Bible when we goe to aske them whose lyppes shoulde preserue knowledge What is the meaning of such and suche places in steade of resoluing vs they cast them off as superfluous not tending to our saluation Therefore why do you say that all the Scripture testifieth of Christ and is profitable for our saluation and must of necessitie of vs be read and learned I wyll tel you why no not I but the holy Ghost wyll tell you how that all the Wordes of the Lorde are most pure wordes yea more pure then golde which in the fire seauen times is tryed And moreouer the same Apostle that you say speaketh agaynst them wyll tell you the contrarie for sayth he What so euer thinges are written aforetyme meaning in the Scriptures are written for our learnyng Therefore woo be vnto those blinde Guydes
the Law and how that at y â— very houre of his death al those were to ceasse according as Daniel long before had told In token whereof the vaile that separated the two holy places rent a sunder because then Christe passed through the vaile of his owne fleshe from the Crosse vnto the holyest of all euen vnto the very heauen it selfe Wherefore they were to be ledde forward vnto all such high poyntes of knowledge and to learne to know how that Christ entering into that holy place which was not made with handes made a more perfect reconciliation betwixt God and the people then euer coulde Aaron do in the holy places made with handes And also they were to know that Christe was a sacrificer after another maner of order then was Aaron euen one after the order of Melchizedek the which Melchizedek is described in Scripture as though he were without father and without mother and as concerning that name as though he had no beginning of dayes nor ende of lyfe but continuing a Sacrificer for euer And yet notwithstanding though some would haue him kept in obscuritie because their owne wittes are dul of conceite and not exercised in the booke of God the Scripture is playne enough concerning the person who he was and in what sence he is sayd to be without father without mother without beginning of dayes without ende of lyfe yea and geueth a straight commaundement to consider how great a man he was that so the Hebrewes and all others myght see how farre he excelled Abraham on whom the Iewes so much relyed and also how farre his Priesthood excelled the Priesthood of Aaron or any other of the sonnes of Leuie For wheras they had a commaundement according to the Law to take Tythes of the people their brethren though they came out of the loynes of Abraham yet he whose kinred is not counted amongst them receiued tythes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promises And moreouer here men that die receiue tythes but there he receiued them of whom it is witnessed that he lyueth for euer And to say as the trueth is Leuie also which receiueth tythes payde tythes in Abraham for he was yet in the loynes of his father Abraham when Melchizedek met him After the order of this Melchizedek I say were the Hebrewes and all others to knowe that our Sauiour Christ was made a Sacrificer who as concerning his humane nature was without a father and as concerning his diuine nature without a mother and who also in proper signification had no beginning of dayes nor ende of lyfe but continueth a Sacrifices for euer and sitteth at the right hand of God to make continuall intercession for all those that will come vnto God by him and who also is able perfectly to saue them that do so seeing he euer liueth to make intercession for them Unto these and such lyke high poyntes of knowledge beseeming a Christian doth the Apostle vrge the Hebrewes vnto of the which two or three more I wyl note vnto you as to know how Christ had been proclaymed heyre of al thinges euen from the very day of Adam his creation and how that by him the father made the worlde and how that he being the bryghtnes of his glory and the ingraued forme of his person beareth vp all thinges by his mightie worde and how that he hath by hym selfe and his owne blood purged our sinnes from dead workes to serue the lyuing God and howe that notwithstanding he was made a litle inferiour to the Angels through the sufferyng of death yet was he crowned with glory and honour in that through death he destroyed him that had the power thereof that is to say the Deuill And is also made much more excellent then the Angelles inasmuch as he hath obteyned a more excellent name then any of them and in as much as they must all do worshyp vnto him and are but his messengers And in asmuch as it was not sayd vnto any of them Sit at my ryght hand vntill I make thine enimies thy footestoole but vnto him it was and so he doth euen at the right hand of God in the heauenly and highest places far aboue all principalitie and power and might and dominion and euery name that is named not in this worlde only but also in that that is to come and hath made all thinges subiect vnder his feete They were also to knowe howe that he was worthy of much more glory then was Moses in asmuch as he which hath buylded the house hath more honour then the house and in asmuch as he was as the sonne ouer his owne house and Moses but as a faythfull seruaunt in the house euen a seruaunt to beare witnes of those thinges which afterwardes should be done by him These and thousandes of suche lyke heauenly poyntes of knowledge were the Hebrewes to be led forwarde vnto and not only they but also you and all men in the worlde that looke to appeare with Christ in glory must set their chiefest affection on these heauenly thinges Therefore when you haue subdued your affection from delighting in the thinges of this worlde and brought it to delight only in the booke of God that so your hart may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all these heauenly poyntes of wysedome and spiritual vnderstanding then may you walke worthy of the Lord and shall please him in all thinges otherwyse it is vnpossible you shoulde neyther wyl your mortification be accepted in the sight of God no although you neuer so much pull downe your selfe for God delighteth not in fooles but in those that loue to heare his voyce and desire to know him aright in them doth he delight And therefore to conclude this speech you must know that of necessitie you are first bounde to learne Christe before you can know how to put him on and then when you haue by him founde lyght you must endeuour your selfe to walke as chyldren of the lyght for otherwyse the wrath of God wyl come vpon you as vpon all the chyldren of disobedience it hath for God is holy and therefore must we be holy or els be sure he wyll not spare our misse-deedes as he speaketh vn to Moses but euery transgression and disobedience shall be sure to finde a iust recompence of rewarde So that the more knowledge you haue in his holy worde wherein you shall vnderstande that not one iot of his iustice passeth vnperformed the more yf any sparke of grace you haue will you learne to mortifie your earthly members and also to do those workes that God requireth for as God is knowen euen so is he feared sayth the Prophet Therefore in any wise desire to be instructed in the worde of God aboue all other thinges and then no doubt but you wyll be ashamed yf any thing be done amisse yea
deceiued by them Saint Paul telleth the Thessalonians who had been put in mind that the last day of iudgement was at hand that that day shoulde not come vntill there came a departing from the fayth and vntill that man of sinne the sonne of perdition shoulde be disclosed the which sayth he shall come to passe when the withholder meaning the Romaine Empire shall be taken away euen then sayth hee shall this man of sinne appeare whose comming shall be by the power and working of Satan as the formers was yea and in a farre more dangerous sort then the former did because he will come with lying signes and great woonders yea and with all sleightes of deceipt and guile euen with suche as if it were possible the ver elect should be deceiued therwith yet notwithstanding marke you well what followeth and then if you will not take heede of them wel worthy are you to be deceiued by thē He telleth them further then that this man of sinne or companie of beastly popes woulde set themselues as aduersaries to the trueth the worde of God and that they would set themselues in the temple of God as if they were God and that they would forbid marriages and the eating of meates which thinges God had commanded to be done euen thus sayth the Apostle will they teach the doctrine of that olde serpent their father the deuill therfore if you should haue had no more markes giuen you to know thē by then these they had bin sufficent for you but since it hath pleased the holy ghost to giue you more you were best to take notice of them all Heare you therefore in what sort saint Iohn hath described them he telleth you that he saw another beast of the same forme of the Empire beast that is with seuen heades and tenne hornes and with some addition more to betoken further crueltie that is he saw this beast to be of a skarlet colour to haue a woman sitting vpon hym full of names of blasphemie whiche woman was arayed also in purple and skarlet and a cup of golde in her hand full of abhominations and filthinesse of her fornications and besides in her forehead was a name written a misterie great Babylon the mother of whoredomes and abhominations of the earth and that with her should the kings of the earth commit fornication and that the inhabitantes of the earth should be drunkē with the wyne of the same And moreouer that this whore her selfe shoulde be drunken with the bloud of saintes and with the bloud of the martyrs of Iesus so that here you haue a description of the Empire beast again reuiued by the popes yea and that in so plaine a maner that euery litle childe may know who is meant hereby For the angell expoundeth it in this sort The seuen heades of the beast which thou hast seene sayth y ◠angel vnto Iohn are vii kings wherof fiue are fallen and one is and another is not yet come and when hee commeth hee must continue but a short space And the beast that was and is not is euen the eight and yet is one of the seuen the whiche beast shall goe into destruction with the former so that all the world whose names were not written in the booke of life wondered at this mistery that is they wondered to see the beast that was and afterward was not and yet now to be agayne For indeede heere is the minde as saint Iohn sayth that hath wisedome which to him that can dig out the meaning thereof and beware of the policie here described it shalbe farre more worth then the golde which hee can digge eyther out of the East or West Indies Thus it is you are to vnderstād that Rome had her policie or gouernement altered fiue times before the Caesars and they made the sixt whiche was the gouernement when Iohn had this reuelation shewed hym The which Caesars or part of Kittim began to afflict the chiefest of the sonnes of Heber our sauiour Christ and continued it vpon his sonnes by faith the Christians about the time of three hundreth yeares the whiche three hundreth yeares was noted by two and fortie monethes by an allusion to the time of our sauiour his affliction the whiche was also two and fortie monethes or three yeares and an halfe beeing the full tyme of hys preaching and publicke life so that all ages after that halfe seuen wherein our Lord finished all ceremonies and all thinges touching our saluation and wherein hee suffered intollerable affliction are called by an allusion vnto that tyme eyther a time two times and halfe or monthes two and fortie or dayes a thousand two hundreth and sixtie the first for Sathan his whole rage the second for the Romaine Empire and the popes for it is sayd that both of them had power giuen them to doe hurt vnto the holy citie two and fortie monethes So that as our sauiour y ◠head of y ◠Church was himself most cruelly afflicted by the Dragon and also by his ministers for these three yeeres and a halfe the which began at his baptisme and ended at his death euen so shoulde his members be after the same maner while the world should stand For wheras this sixt gouernement these prophane Emperours were rooted out as if the beast had had the wound of a sword one head cut off or as if he had been dead for a long time by means first of Constantinus that good christian Emperour and afterwardes of other nations who greatly spoyled Rome yet now by these popes is hee reuiued agayne For they setting themselues in the temple of God as if they were God and causing all nations to worship them in the same maner that they had done the former beast and ruling themselues ouer the Empire are sayde heere to make the seuenth policie in Rome and likewise after a sorte to be an eight the whiche policie is sayd to haue the whole power of Sathan as the former had euen to haue the strength as it were of warlike horses to make battle against y ◠citie of Saints Now if you thinke that the former exposition by the angel concerning the seuen heades of the beast be not plaine inought he will let you haue it yet more plaine for he telleth you further that y e seuen heades are also seuen hilles whereon the woman sitteth and he also telleth you that the woman is the great citie that raigneth ouer the kinges of the earth If this be true as most true it is then can you not doubt of the plainnesse heereof for you are to vnderstand that Rome standeth vpon seuen hils and you are to vnderstand also that when saint Iohn had this reuelation shewed hym that Rome was then the great citie that raygned ouer the kinges of the earth and likewise that now it is and therefore moste fitly was it sayd that the latter beast had ten hornes as
or his image or receiue hys marke eyther in hys hand or in hys forhead yea or so muche as the prynt of hys name in any part they shoulde then drinke of the pure wyne of the wrath of God and should haue no rest neyther day nor night but be tormented in fire brimstone before the holy Angels and before the lambe of God for euer and euer And yet dare the voyce of this counterfeit Lambe command and forbid the contrary saying vnto al men See that you worship the beast and the image of the beast and that you receiue his marke either in your right hand or in your forheads or at leastwise beare his name or the number of his name for as many as wil not thus do shal neither buy nor sel no nor liue vpon y â— earth And thus you see how plainly God hath noted vnto you the markes not only of the first beast but also of this counterfeyte Lambe the second whose voyce is all one with the thirde that deceiued Adam all three speake the wordes of the Dragon that is of the very deuill himselfe whose rage notwithstanding was most fiercely exercised in the first beast the Romaine Emperours for the space of three hundreth yeares yet coulde he not so preuaile by them but that many stoode as couragious Lyons most manfully to y â— trueth But after that he had bene thus tyed by good christians for the space of a thousand yeares from the dayes of our Lord so that he could not haue his full sway yet then doth he so preuayle by the second beast this lambe the popes whose commings were as you see with all lying signes and wonders and vnder the pretence of religion that al the worlde was made drunken with the wyne of their fornication and deceiued with their inchantmentes But as kinges then gaue their power and authoritie vnto this second beast so God hath told vs that in the end he will put into the heart of kinges to hate the beast and to eate her fleshe and to make her desolate naked and bare The which we giue hym thankes for we see begunne in diuers countries and I trust we dayly more and more shall see for notwithstanding all their strength hitherto yet know you that they are but that Kittim that shall perish in the end euen as Moses the seruant of the Lord from Baalam doth tel you who although he were but a false prophet like vnto these we nowe speake of yet the Lord made hym to speake the trueth herein in spight of hys heart Knowe you agayne that the Lord will consume them with the spirite of his mouth as that holy Apostle saint Paul doth also tell you yea and knowe you once agayne that the holy Ghost doth assure you that he will giue vnto them and their mountayne the discomfiture of Sisera at Magedon yea and that hee will giue vnto them the cup of the wyne of the fiercenesse of his wrath and that the deuill whiche deceiued them I meane the Romaines the first beast as also the false prophets the second beast with all that haue receiued y â— beastes marke I say all these with their author the deuill shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone where they shalbe tormented euen day and night for euermore So that here we may say agayne with the holy Apostle O let vs often behold and beholde agayne the louing kindnesse and the seueritie of the Lord hys louing kindnesse towardes vs in that it hath pleased hym so graciously and louingly to giue vs hys most holy worde by the which wee may see as by a glasse the spottes of this moste filthy state of Rome And his seuere seueritie towardes all those that are depriued of the same Now if you will know the cause here why the Lord doth so deale as to take hys holy word from so many thousandes of people and so by that meanes to suffer them to runne headlong to eternall destruction The answere is because they themselues haue not a loue of the trueth for so speaketh the Apostle when men haue not a loue to the trueth sayth he which is the word of God by the which worde they might be saued it pleaseth the Lord to send them strong delusions that so they shoulde beleeue lyes and also to suffer them to giue heede vnto the spirites of error and doctrines of deuils and so by that meanes to depriue themselues of the true light which should giue them life wherby in y â— end they might be damned and onely because they would neyther receiue nor beleeue the trueth but rather delighted in the preceptes and doctrines of men and as concerning the doctrine of lyfe had no courage to goe on forward but rather delighted to remayne therin as children euer ready to wauour and to be carryed about with euery winde of straunge doctrine and to bee as wandering starres who easily fall from theyr standing And therefore well worthy is the blackenesse of darkenesse reserued to such for euer Wherefore let vs that account our selues Christians be thankfull vnto the Lord that it hath pleased hym to call vs from the power of this damnable darkenesse euen to the most cleere light of the glorious Gospel and let vs not onely be thankfull vnto the Lord for that it hath pleased him to call vs out of this mysticall Babylon but let vs also be much more carefull then heretofore wee haue bene to let the heauenly lerusalem come into our mindes and let vs in any wise giue an entrance to the building of this spirituall worke by the moste holy word of God and euermore hold fast that sworde of the spirite in the one hand while we worke with the other that so we may put in feare al such enemies as would hinder or keep backe this spirituall building And let vs also giue more diligent heede as the Apostle commandeth vs vnto the thinges which we haue heard least at anie time wee should let them slip for if the wordes spoken by Angels was steadfast and euery transgression and disobedience receiued a iust recompence of reward as before we haue seene howe then shall we escape if wee neglect so great saluation since the Lord hath spoken vnto vs in these last dayes by the sonne hymself whose doctrine was further confirmed vnto vs by them that heard hym Therefore let vs in any wise I say giue more aboundant heede vnto the thinges which we haue heard of hym least we also be plucked away with the error of the wicked and so fall from our owne steadfastnesse for assuredly in the same condemnation are all they who liue in ignorance of his truth and despise the knowledge of hys holy word Therefore it is meete you learne to redeeme the tyme euen this very houre and not to moue the patience of God any longer for assure your selfe
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrimes on earth for they that say such thinges declare plainly that they seeke a country not hereupon earth but the desire a better that is an heauenly wherefore God is not ashamed of them to be called theyr God and hath prepared for them an heauenly eitie Now then seeing that fayth is the ground of thinges hoped for and the euidence of thinges whiche are not seene Let vs in any wise vse the meanes that God hath appoynted to come therby And seeing we are compassed with so great a cloud of witnesses Let vs also cast away euery thing that presseth downe and the sinne that hangeth on so fast and let vs runne the race with patience that is set before vs still looking vnto our Lord and Souiour Iesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our fayth And let vs aboue all thinges take heede that we despise not him that speaketh For if all these whiche before I spake of and manie more escaped not which refused those that spake on earth much more shall not we escape if we turne away from him that speaketh from heauen And seeing we know that the iudgementes of God are according to truth agaynst all them that haue so lyghtly regarded to heare and knowe and haue counted them worthy of death which haue done so let vs not thinke if we doe the same that we shall escape the iudgementes of God but that the like famine will befall vs and our nation that hath befallen others I do not meane a famine of bread as made of corne but of that heauenly bread the worde of God Therfore seeing his word is no vaine word as Moses saith concerning men but is euen their very life Let vs as y ◠Apostle sayth as new borne babes desire the sincere milke therof that so we may grow thereby both in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and sauiour Iesus Christ especially forasmuche as that in the knowledge of him standeth our eternal life no where els is he to be found but in the holy scriptures for so he hymselfe hath sayd in these words Search the scriptures for in them ye thinke to haue eternall life so you shal for they are they that testifie of me by whō you haue your life breath being and that eternally but you will not come vnto me sayth hee that ye might haue life Therefore hath the holy Ghost sayd in another place hee that obeyeth not the sonne of God shall neuer see life but the wrath of God abideth on hym Seeing therefore that the sonne hath giuen commandement to search the Scriptures and the father that we should not let them depart out of our mouthes and the holy Ghost hath pronounced a blessing onely on them whiche doe therein delight Let vs in anye wise take vnto vs as the Apostle commandeth euen the whole armour thereof and with the holy Prophet make it our onely meditation continually then shall we be sure to prosper and to haue good successe for so the Lord himselfe hath tolde vs yea then shall we be like a tree that florisheth beeing planted by the riuer side which bringeth forth her fruit in due season yea then shall our prosperitie be as a floud and our righteousnesse as the waues of the sea for then will the sonne of righteousnesse hymselfe ouershadow vs vnder whose winges we shall be sure to finde euerlasting health and safetie whereas otherwise we see that God is a consuming fire and hath troden downe the wicked that would not delight herein as wee haue seene in all ages Therfore most heartily I beseech you yea and beseech you agayne and agayne that you will alwayes remember that great commandement of the Lord our God whiche is this Euen to remember the law of Moses his seruant the which he hath commanded with al his statutes and iudgementes and also that most sure word of the holy prophetes with the commandementes of the apostles of our Lord and sauiour and to labour therein both day and night that so you may remayne no longer as children without vnderstanding but to bee of a most ripe age therin and that so it may be sayde of you This people is onely wise and of an vnderstanding heart For they haue knowne the holy scriptures from their childhood which are onely able to make them so to be Come therefore I beseeche you and let vs with the holy prophet confesse before all men say Oh how loue we the law of the Lord It is our onely meditation continually we haue had as great delight in the way of his testimonies as in all maner of riches Therefore shall our eyes preuent the night watches to meditate in hys word because the law of hys mouth is better vnto vs then thousandes of gold siluer yea we hys seruants wil continually meditate in hys statutes and hys testimonies shall be our delight and our onely councellors And because that by hys preceptes hee hath quickened vs wee will neuer forget his word but wee will still hearken vnto hys voyce that so wee may learne to feare it and diligently to obey it all the dayes of our life And we wil also set vp the Lord this day to be our God we wil walke in his wayes and keepe his ordinances hys commaundementes and his lawes for euer and his voice alone will we obey And so doing the Lord our God will set vp vs to be a pretious people vnto himselfe as he hath promised yea so shall wee be set on high aboue all nations of the earth in prayse in name and in glory yea so shall we be counted an holy people vnto the Lord whiche in time past were not a people so shall our enemies that dayly rise agaynst vs fall before our faces yea where as they come out one way agaynst vs they shall flie before vs seuen wayes yea so shall fiue of vs chase an hundreth of them and an hundreth of vs put ten thousand of them to flight as in good part of late we haue seene yea so will the Lord open vnto vs his heauenly treasure and giue vs rayne in due season whereby our land shall yeeld her increase and the trees of the field shall yeeld their fruit yea so shall our thressing reach vnto the vintage the vintage shall reache vnto sowing time yea so shall wee eate our bread in great plenteousnesse and dwell in our land in safetie yea so shall wee haue peace in our land and our sleepe be in quiet and none shall make vs afrayd yea so shall all the blessinges contained in the whole booke of God come vpon vs and ouertake vs if we shall hearken vnto the voyce of the Lord our God and obey it and delight in hys holy worde as in the chiefest
first yeere Dan. 1. 2. ‡ This is it Dan. 9. 4. to 20 His whole prayer wylbe no small ornament to my Booke and lyght to my Discourse Marke wel that Daniel confesseth here that the cause of all these plagues that befel them was for that they vnderstoode not the trueth the word of God Leuit. 26. 40. to the ende and 1. King 8. 46. to 54. Dani. 9. 21. 22. 23. 24. Gen. 12. 3. and 17. 7. to 〈◊〉 Esai 56. â—… 1â—… Rom. 4. 〈◊〉 12. 16. 17. 23. 2â—… Math. 26. 28. Dan. 9. 27. Hebr. 10. Dan. 1. 8. to end 6. 1. to ende The summe of Mosâ—…s doctrine was to shew that Christe was to suâ—…fer and being risen from the dead should gene lyfe to the people and to the Gentiles as you may see in Actes 26. 22. 23. Zacha. 9. 11. â—…ere 16. 14. 15 Psal. 126. Nehe. 13. 15. to 22. Ezâ—…a 10 10. to endâ—… Hagg. 1. 2. chapters Hagg. 2. 15. Hag. 1. 6. to 12 Zacha. 7. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Mala. 3. 13. 14. 15. Mala. 4. 4. Mala. 1. 1. According to Dâ—…n 2. 31. to 46. 7. 1. to the ende 8. 1 to the ende 11. 1. to the ende 12. Esaâ—… 42. 19. 20 21. Gen. 1. Iohn 1. Iohn 1. 11. Luke 1. 78. Iohn 1. 9. Iohn 3. 19. Iere. 30. 9. 10. Ezek. 37. 22 24. 25. Iere. 23. 5. 6. Psal. 132. 11. to the ende Luk. 1 68. to the ende Hose 13. 14 Iohn 1. 49. Hebre. 5. 16. 26 Hebr. 9. 9. 10. 11. 12. 24. Math. 27. 28. to 32. Mark 6. 3. according to Isai. 53. Math. 2. 7. 23. 33. Math. 27. Mark 15. Luk. 23. Iohn 18. 19 Actes 3. 13. 14. 15. Mar. 10. 33. 34. Luk. 23. Act. 4. 25. to 30. Luk. 23. 4. 13. 14. 15. Iohn 19 14. 15. 21. Mark 1. 24. 3. 11. 5. 2. to 18. Luke 4. 34. Luke 23. 21. Math. 23. 13. to the ende 1. Thess. 2. 16. Math. 24. 34. Math. 24. 15. Dan. 9. 27. Luke 21. 20. Rom. 11. 22. Iohn 8. 39. Gene. 12. 3. 15. 6. Iohn 8. 40. 56. Math. 13. 17. Luk. 10. 24. Mark 15. 43. Luk. 23. 51. Luk. 2. 25. 38. Dan. 9. 21. to ende Math. 11. 13. 14. 0 20. and Actes 3. 24. Hebr. 1. 1. Gen. 2. 16. 17. 3. 1. to end and Rom. 5. 12 to end Gen. 3. 15. Reuel 12. 7. to 11. Iohn 16 33. Rom. 16 20. Colo. 2. 15 Hebr. 2. 14. 15. 12. 31. Gen. 9. 26. and Rom. 9. 5. Gen. 12. 3. and 26. 4. 28. 14. Actes 3. 25. Luk. 19. 9. Gen. 49. 10. Reue. 5. 5. and Maâ—…h 5. 1. and Iohn 6. 5. 10. Iob. 19. 25. 26. 27. 1. Cor. 15. 12. to end Exod. 23. 20. Heb. 8. 6. 13. 20. Num. 24. 17. Math. 2. 2. Deu. 18. 15. 18 19. Actes 3. 22. 23. Iohn 12. 47. 48. and Math. 17. 5. 2. 2. Sa. 7. 13. 14. Luk. 1. 32. 33. Heb. 1. 5. Psalm 2. 7. Heb. 1. 5. Actes 13. 32. 33. Psal. 40. 6. 7. 8. to 12. Hebr. 10. 5. to 10. Psal. 22. 22. Hebr. 2. 12. and Iohn 17. 26. Psal. 2. Actes 4. 25. Reuel 2. 27. and Luk 23. 6. to 13. Actes 4. 25. to 29. Psal. 22. 6. 7. 8. 12. 16. â—…8 and Math. 27. 9. 24. and 26. 66. 67 68. Mar. 15. and. Luke 22. and 23. Math. 12. 14. and Mark 11. 18. and. 14. 1. Iohn 19. 34. Exo. 12. 46. Zach. 12. 10. Luk. 23. 34. 36 and. Iohn 19. 23. 24. Psal. 2. 6. 8. 12 and 18. 43 and Reue. 14. 1. Psal. 2. 8. Psa. 72. 10. 11. Math. 2. 1. 2. 10 Psal. â—… 8. 44. Math. 8. 5. to 14. and. 9. 18. * Psa. 2. 12 But not with an hipocriticall kisse as Iudas Mark 14. 44. but with such a one as was Maries in Luke 7. 45. and Iohn II. 2. Psal. 45. 7. Psal. 69. 9. Math. 21. 12. 13. Marke 11. 15. 16. 17. Psal. 45. 7. and Iohn 3. 34. Psal. 45. 17. 17. 18. 19. Psalm 91. 11. 12. Math. 4. 6. Psal. 118. 22. Actes 4. 10. 11 Psal. 16. 10. Actes 2. 22. to 37. 13. 35. to 40. Psal. 8. Hebr. 2. 6. to end Psal. 68. 18. Ephe. 4. 8. and Actes 1. 9. 10. 11. and 2. 34. 35. 36. Psal. 110. 1. Math 22. 42. to end Luk. 22 69. 70. Actes 7. 56. Psal. 110. 4. Heb. 5. 6. and. 6 20. and. 7. 1. to ende and. 10. 12. 13. Cant. 1. 6. Cant. 1. 3. Cant. 3. 11. Esai 11. 1. 2. Rom. 15. 12. Esai 7. 14. and Math. 1. 22. 23 Esai 9. 6. and Luk. 1. 31. to 34. Esai 1. 21. Esai 9. 7. and Luk. 1. 32. 33. Esai 40. 3. 5. Math. 3. 1. 2. 3. Mark 1. 3. Luk. 3. 4. Esai 42. 1. and 61. 1. 2. 3. and Iohn 1. 33. Math. 3. 16. 17 Mark 1. 10. 11. and Act. 10 38. Math. 9. 35. 11. 1. Mark 1. 38. 39. Esai 35. 5. Math. 15. 30. 31. Esai 61. 1. 2. 3. and Luk. 4. 17. to 24. Esai 25. 6. 7. Math. 26. 26. to 31. Mark 14 22. to 27. and Luk. 22. 14. to 22. Math. 22 2. to 15. and Reue. 19. 9. Esai 9. 2 and Math. 4. 13. to 18. Esai 42. 6. and 49 6. 8. Luk. 2. 32. Esai 53. 6. Esai â—…3 and â—… Pet. 2. 24. 25. Actes 8. 26. to 40. Esai 50. 6. 7. 8. and Math. 26. 66. 67. and Mark 15. 18. 19. Esai 53. and Math. 8. 17. and Mar. 9. 12. * A farre greater more greeuous burden to be 〈◊〉 then euer bare the scape Goate in Leuâ—…t the. 16. 21. 〈◊〉 Esai 53. 12. Mark 15. 28. and Luke 22. 37. * But who so euer stumbleth thereat as they did it grindeth him to pouder as you may see in Luk. 20. 18. Act. 4. 10. 11. 12. Esai 11. 10. to ende Mark 6. 3. Esai 8. 14. Esai 56. 8. Esai â—…1 1. to ende Math. 2. 1. â—… 10. 11. and 8. 10. 11. Mark 11. 17. Esai 25. 8. 9. and Reue. 7. 17 and Luke 2. 26. to 33. Esai 22. 2o to end and Râ—…ue 3. 7. Esai 16. 3. Esai 42. â—… 4. and Math. 1â—… 17. to 22. Esai 40. 5 6. and Actes 1â—… 46. 47. Esai 6. Iohn 12. 41. Esai 62. 11. Esai 60. 1. Mich. 5. â—… and Math 2 5 6. Iohn 7 41. 42. Hose 3. 5. Hose 11. 1. Math. 2. 14. 15 Iere. 30. 21. Iere. 23. 5. and 3â—… 14. 15. and Rom. 1. 3. 4. Luke 2. 68. to 76. * He cam not only to feede their bodies but also their soules with the true bread of lyfe which was him selfe Ioh. 6. Ezek. 21. 26. 27 Dan. 12. 1. Ezech. 34. 23. 24. 29. and Mark 6. 34. to 45. Dan.