auncient seeing it hath not alwaies beene in the Church neither hath it beene instituted and receiued at one time but being brought in by little and little was augmented with newe additions dayly So to that to the Masse neither lesse nor more hath happened then to a pilgrimes scrippe or to an old cloake of a begger that beggeth from doore to doore vpon such a Cloake the elder that it is the more patches doe they set vpon it so that in time nothing is seene but heere a little peece there another of the cloath whereof it was first made And this clothe is so vsed so wasted so discoloured and so without being that it no way appeareth to be that which it was In this cloake are not seene but patches of cloth corrupt and rotten very ill placed and worse sowed together so that it causeth loathing to those that haue bin delicately brought vp Such another cloake is the Popish Masse The cloath whereof it was made was the Supper of the Lord which men not celebrating according to the institution of Christ waxed olde lost it colour being nothing worth Then commeth one and casteth a peece vnto it afterwarde comes another and casteth vnto it c. So that now it is not the Supper of the Lord but the masse of the Pope now it is not the robe of an honourable man but the cloak of a shamelesse begger In conclusion their Masse is their Helen for whom they trouble the whole world What wee haue spoken of all the aforesaid popish trumperies the like may also bee saide of the Inuocation of Saints Inuocation of Saints which they can prooue by no testimonie nor example of the scripture For by the scripture wee are taught to inuocate one God through the onely Mediator Christ Iesus neither hath any one of the Saints either of the olde or newe Testament being aliue prayed vnto any of the Saints in heauē Now the Leyturgie which Durandus makes to be twofolde to wit the maior the minor is also confessed to be instituted by men the one by Mamertus vnder the raigne of Zeno in the yeare of Christ foure hundred foure-score and ten the other by Gregorie the great in the yeare of Christ fiue hundred fourescore and tenne The hymne of Salue regina was made by Hermannus Contractus and Gregorie the ninth commaunded it to bee sung to the prayse of the Virgin at certaine houres of the day in the yeare of Christ 1241. The verie same may bee spoken of the whole worshippe of the Saints which how great soeuer it is yet it is nothing but onely the inuention of superstitious men But if wee should come vnto other points of their popish religion as of monkish orders choyse of meates single life of their Priests fire of Purgatorie prayer for the dead satisfactions popish pardons and multitudes of such matters it would then appeare that they were all the inuentions of man and had their beginning when the pure doctrine of the trueth was for the most part extinguished by the corruptions traditions of men In conclusion then if the lawe which was 400 and 30 yeares after the promise was not able to disannull the couenant that was confirmed before of God in respect of Christ to make the promise of none effect much lesse the Popes supremacie the worshipping of Images the sacrifice of the Masse the inuocatiō of Saints or any popish superstition whatsoeuer shall be able to corrupt abrogate or disannull it but that the promise should bee performed to the seede of Abraham that is to the faithfull in all ages That then which wee our selues must hold concerning faith onely iustifying the sole sauiour Christ Iesus is all grounded vpon the eternall couenant of God which in the beginning was made with our first parents Secondly renued with Abraham Thirdly set forth by the Prophets Fourthly confirmed and fulfilled in the death of the Sonne And lastly divulged by the ministrie of the Apostles through the whole world This faith was kept by all those that pleased and serued God before the comming of Christ in the flesh the martyrs sealing the same with their bloud Who thē cā deny but that the Papists doe wickedly shamefully slāder vs who tax vs with nouelty because they would vnder a lying title of antiquitie thrust vpon the common sort their popish superstitions which indeed are newe and altogether vnknowen vnto Antiquitie But it is more then time for vs to come to our Apostle who being about to confirme that which before hee had spoken sayth for if the enheritance be of the law it is no more by promise but God gaue the inheritāce to Abrahā by promise In which words the Apostle opposeth the law the promise one against another as things cōtrarie and diuided which cannot stand tother in the cause and action of our Iustification For the lawe requireth workes saying Qui fecerit ista praecepta viuet in eis Lev. 18. 5 hee that shall doe these commaundements shall liue in them but the promise requires that wee should beleeue neither is it apprehended by any other meanes then by faith Therefore as merite and grace cannot stand together no more can the lawe and the promise To sette forth the sense of the words we wil frame this argument If wee deserue the inheritance of life by the workes of the lawe then it is not obtained freely nor by faith onely But God gaue the inheritance vnto Abraham by promise Therefore this inheritance comes vnto vs not by merite but by the free promise of God The Apostle cōfirmes this argument by the word of giuing whereby is vnderstood a free gift and euerie gift excludes all merit of euery worke whatsoeuer on our part Againe the Apostle fitly vseth the example of Abraham because hee did not sustaine a priuate but a publike person in whom God was willing to propose to the whole world an example of all that were to bee saued together with an assured common meanes of saluation to all the elect The Apostle handling this example in the Romanes after the same saith thus Rom. 4. 23. 24 Now it was not writtē for him onely that it was imputed to him for righteousnesse but also for vs to whom it shal be imputed for righteousnes which beleeue in him that raysed vp Iesus our Lord from the dead which was the very cause that those promises that were made vnto Abraham are extended vnto the seede of Abraham that is vnto all the posteritie of Gods children For vnlesse it were so there would bee no profit of that sacred and holy historie But at this instant the Apostle doth thus strongly vrge this example of Abraham that he might presse and beate to the ground the hautinesse of the confidence of the Iewes who whereas they boasted themselues to bee the children of Abraham yet would they not enter into the inheritaunce promised by the faith that Abraham did The Apostle therefore teacheth
23 verse of this Chapter doth more apparently set downe saying that the Iewes before faith came were kept vnder the lawe and shut vp vnto that faith which should afterwarde bee reuealed And in the Ephesians it is said Ephe 2. 13. 13. â—4 that the partition wall of the law is taken away from the Gentiles that hitherto had been strangers from the Common-wealth of Israell and now called vnto the faith that of Iewes and Gentiles there might be one Church of Christ Iesus For which cause afterward it was called a Catholicke Church by reason it was extended to the elect of all ages and places Now as touching the doctrine and vse hereof the Apostle doth teach vs that they doe offend and sinne that extend the law beyond the bound of it now seeing the true seede Christ Iesus is already come are stil willing to thrust the law vpoÌ„ Gods children For as S. Augustine saith Qui dedit 1. Cap. in Episto Galat. seipsum pro peccatis nostris apertè c. That is He that gaue himselfe for our sinnes doth plainely shewe that the law did profit nothing seeing it saith that Christ gaue himself that he might suffer for vs that he might Iustifie vs whom the law made guilty that being deliuered froÌ„ the lawe by the faith of Christ wee should bee no longer sinners but righteous by our second birth the children of God Obiect But some obiect against this and say that Christ whilst hee liued vppon the earth kept the lawe and therfore contrarie to the example of Christ they bring in a damnable libertie of sinne who doe affirme the lawe to bee abrogated But to Christ fulfilled the law this I aunswere that Christ indeede kept the whole lawe because hee became subiect vnto it when he was made man of the Virgin and the lawe had not as yet attained to his full end which followed onely in the death of Christ by whose merite and power the vaile of the Temple rent asunder that all men might knowe that the legall worship was now abolished Secondly Christ kept the law not by constraint but willingly not for himselfe but for vs that he might both free vs from the intolerable yoake burden of the law also might abrogate that sorrowful sentence of condemnation which the lawe denounced against vs because so long as the same endured blessing and saluation whereof he is the meane for vs could take no root in vs. Nether by this is there opened any window for the libertie of sin For although they that are in Christ are to feare no more condemnation from the law yet is there remaining a dutie of obedience wherunto we must alwayes be subiect which they onely truely hartily performe that are endued with a true and liuely faith Now we come vnto the third part of this place wherein is showed by whom how the law was giuen of which the Apostle doth in such sort speake that therby we may vnderstand how far more excellent the Gospell is then the law that therby it may be manifest how much they are deceiued that secke for righteousnesse and saluation in the law Of this point the Apostle auerreth two things first that it was ordained and giuen by Angels or as Steuen speakes by the disposition and ministrie of Angels And being thus giuen vpon necessitie it must bee glorious But much more glorious is the Gospel because it was preached by the onely son of God Christ Iesus by the which argument the Apostle commends the doctrine of Christ vnto vs in the beginning of his Epistle to the Hebrews Therfore as much as Christ Heb. 1. 1. 2. doth excell the Angels so far doth the Gospell excell the law Neither is this any hinderance vnto the comparison That God when hee gaue the lawe did speake For in holy scripture ofteÌ„times doth God speak to men by the ministry of Angels Obiecti But some will obiect say why might not the Gospel be preached by an Angel but vpon necessitie the Son of God must come into the world to be the preacher of it To this I answere In the law are contained precepts with promises threatnings al which might haue been proposed by an Angel But the Gospel hath in it not onely precepts of faith and promises of eternall saluation but it bestowes life and saluation itselfe vpon vs. For it is the power of God Rom. 1. 16 to saluation to euery one that beleeueth It is the word of reconciliation and of eternall 2. Cor. 5. 18. Act. 10. 6. life So that truly hath the Angell spoken of Peter the teacher of Cornelius He shall speake vnto thee words wherby thou and all thy house shall be saued Finally with the Gospel is ioyned the enheritance of saluation and of the kingdom of God Now these things are of such sort that they cannot be giuen vnto vs by the benefitte of an Angell or any other creature whatsoeuer For how can he make them the heires and sonnes of God who is neither sonne nor heire himselfe but adopted by grace Therefore that the authoritie of the Gospel might be firme and certaine it was necessarie to bee preached by the eternall sonne of God Cirillus makes Cirillus an excellent difference betweene the lawe and the Gospell First saith he the lawe condemned the world and subdued all men rightly iustly to cursing But the Sauiour freed the world for he came not to iudge but to saue the world Secondly although the law graue grace to the know ledge of the true God recalling men from the worship of Idols and teaching to discerne good from euill yet it did not effect this perfectly indeede but onely in part But the grace and truth of the onely begotten sonne doth giue vs good things not in figures and shadowes but openly manifestly by his doctrin brought vs to the perfect knowledge of faith Thirdly the law gaue vs the spirit of bondage to feare But Christ the spirit of adoptioÌ„ vnto liberty Fourthly the law established the circumcision of the flesh which as saith our Apostle is nothing but Christ brought in the circumcision of the heart and the spirit by faith Fiftly the law baptizeth theÌ„ that are washed in water but Christ baptizeth with the holy Ghost and with fire Sixtly the law broght vs into a tabernacle which was a figure of true things to come But Christ hath brought vs into heauen into a tabernacle which not man but God hath created Seuenthly the law brought no perfectioÌ„ of good things but the doctrine of the Gospel bringeth full and absolute blessing And lastly Moses by the law condemnes the whole world but the Son deliuers the world froÌ„ the curse of the law with the multitude of his mercy heals cures the sicknes maladie of the world Like as Moses brought the children of Israell Theodoret out of Egypt but Iosua into the Land of promise so the law brings
men vnto a sight of their sins but the grace of the gospel hath brought vs into the kingdom of heauē And therfore saith S. Chrysost Ego Chrysostome quādo lego Euangeliū video ibi testimonia de lege testimonia de Prophetis solū christum cōsidero For the Gospel saith Theod. sheweth the reconciliation of God the destructiō Theodoret of the diuell the remission of sinnes the departure of death resurrection from the dead life eternall and the kingdome of heauen for the scope and ende of the Gospell is the saluation of men So that as well by the testimonies of Antiquitie as also by the scriptures we may see plainely how far more glorious the Gospell is then the lawe The second thing that the Apostle speakes concerning the lawe is that it was giuen in or by the hand of a Mediator Thus he cals Moyses who in the giuing of the law was vsed as a mediator betweene God and the people For when the people were not able to endure the voyce of God then God was willing to make him an interpreter of the lawe and God tendering the peoples infirmitie called Moses vnto himselfe to whom he did not onely declare his law by word but also writ downe the summe of the same in Tables of stone and gaue them to Moses to bee deliuered to the people That this is the true sense of this place appeares by the words of Moses himselfe which hee spake vnto the Israelites saying When ye hard the voyce out of the midst of the darknes Deut. 5. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. for the Mountaine did burne with fire then yee came to me all the chiefe of your Tribes and Elders and said Beholde the Lord our God hath shewed vs his glorie and his greatnes and wee haue heard his voyce out of the midst of the fire c. And afterward if wee heare the voice of the Lord our God any more we shal die For what flesh was there euer that harde the voice of the liuing God out of the midst of the fire as we haue and liued Goe thou therefore and heare all that the Lord our God saith declare thou vnto vs all that the Lord our God saith vnto thee and we will heare it and doe it Heere then obserue Note the infirmitie and weakenes of man and how far we are from God seeing wee are not able to endure the maiestie and brightnes of Angels Neither did the Israelites onely endure and suffer this but the like examples we finde in the parents of Samson in Daniell that man of desires in the welbeloued Disciples of Christ whom the taste of Gods maiesty shining in Angels did so terrifie that they fell to the ground and wist not what they said This onely argument then is sufficient to conuict the papists who trust vnto the strēgth of their free will and the merite of their workes But to let them passe and come vnto our selues we are hereby taught to embrace the goodnesse of God who for vs miserable and vnworthy wretches so far abased himselfe that he speakes vnto vs by euerie manner of meanes This goodnes Moses doth worthily commend vnto vs teaching vs to make this vse of it namely diligently and attentiuely to heare and performe those things that God speakes vnto vs. But how much greater then this was the readinesse and mercie of God towards vs who in the ende vouchsafed to speake vnto vs by his onely begotten son least any one should pretend the ignorance of his will Being mindefull hereof let vs submit our selues to his will with all our hearts alwayes remembring the saying of the Apostle to the Hebrewes For if the Heb. 2 2. 3 10. 28. 29. word spoken by Angels was steadfast and euerie transgression and disobedience receiued a iust recompence of reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great saluation which at the first began to bee preached by the Lord and afterwarde was cōfirmed vnto vs by them that heard him And againe if hee that despised Moses lawe dyed without mercy vnder two or three witnesses of how much sorer punishment suppose yee shall hee bee worthy which treadeth vnder foote the sonne of God and counteth the blood of the new Testament as an vnholy thing wherewith hee was sanctified and doth despight the spirite of grace But to the last part of this Text wherein because the Apostle had made mention of Moses the mediator hee now drawes an argument from the person or condition of a mediator wherewith hee confutes them who would be iustified by the lawe A mediator is not a mediator of one that is to say hee is not a mediator betweene such as are at vnitie and peace one with another but rather hee is one with them betwixt whom he doth mediate But our Fathers when the law was giuen stood in need of a mediator lest they should be compelled to endure those greeuous and terrible voices of God himselfe proclaiming the law of which their neede whereas before they were ignorant then they onely vnderstoode it when the lawe was to be giuen By this argument the Apostle euidently gathers that the lawe is not that meanes by which we are reconciled with God but rather by the lawe our miserable estate as before hath beene declared is made knowen vnto vs Namely that being separated from God we haue nothing in our selues that can defend vs before Gods tribunal seate For God indeed professed himselfe to be their God and deliuered vnto them a law but vnto the same he added such conditions which whereas they were impossible to bee performed they did terrifie rather then comfort miserable men Therefore Moses himself did send them to that great Prophet Christ Iesus of whom as touching his office of mediatorship hee did beare a type and figure But now some will obiect say Had God then broken his couenant Deut. 18. 15. that there must be a new reconciliation and therefore a mediator But the Apostle maketh answer hereunto saying But God is one as if hee should haue said God neuer hath broken his couenant for as he is one in essence so is hee constant in himselfe and is neuer changed But because men doe not alwayes stand to those conditions which GOD prescribes vnto them he deales after another manner with them And therefore then also for matters before spoken of there was a Lawe giuen which continued for a time so long as there was vse of it But now is the time of the new Testament when the Lawe the Prophets doe yeeld vnto the Gospell that there might be a place as wel for the Gentiles as the remnant of the Iews who forceably entred into the kingdome of God I knowe that others doe expound this place otherwise and speake much of Christ the Mediatour of the vnity of God and equality of the Sonne with the Father but the whole Text of the words doth sufficiently teach vs that it is not agreeable to the purpose of the Apostle Therfore let vs ayme at the true scope of the Apostle which is to shew that righteousnesse and peace of conscience cannot be looked for from the Lawe seeing the ancient Fathers to whom the Lawe was giuen were not able to endure the giuing of the same much lesse then shall we be able to abide it if God should be willing to iudge vs according to the rigour of it Therefore as the Iewes stoode in neede of Moses to be their Mediator so we stand in need of Christ whō God hath made the Mediator of the new Testament for vs. Let vs therefore acknowledge this so great a benefit and least wee should make the goodnes of God vnprofitable for vs let vs with a true and constant faith embrace Christ Iesus that he being truely vnited vnto vs may liue in vs and that wee may lead in him a life beseeming the profession of Christ applying alwayes vnto our selues that which Christ said vnto his Apostles vpon the Mount Oliue that Luk. 22. 39. 40. they should watch and pray Let vs therefore apply our selues vnto that vocation whereunto God hath called vs let vs watch against the deceites of the world and the diuell Let vs continually meditate in the word of God that is able to comfort vs and teach vs. Let vs giue place to the spirit which God hath made an aduocate for vs. Let vs pray continually that he will not suffer vs to faint vnder temptations Finally let all our hope bee fixed and fastned in Christ Iesus who is the good shepheard and wil suffer no man to take his sheepe which he hath redeemed with his blood out of his hands To him therfore with the Father and the holy Ghost be all honour and glory for euer Amen FINIS Vnderstand Christian Reader that part of the matter contained in the ninetenth and twentith pages aforegoing was by him that copied out this Sermon for the Presse set downe in the Margent without certaine direction for vs where to bring it into the body of the Book And consequently for want of a guide we haue somwhat failed as we vnderstand since of the due order obserued by the Authour in his originall Copy which was as followeth Symmacchus the Gloria in excelsis Deo Ierome the Epistle and Gospell Alleluia was taken out of the Church of Ierusalem the Creed in the Councell of Nice Pelagius the Commemoration of the dead Leo the third Frankincense Innocent the first the kissing of the Pax Sergius the Agnus Dei Nicolas the first the Sequences Gelasius Africanus as saith Nauclerus the Hymnes Collects Responsories Graduals and Prefaces Gregory the third to the secret of the Masse Quorum solemnitas hodie in conspectu tuae Maiestatis celebratur Domine Deus noster in toto orbe terrarū Leo the first so forward in order as it standeth in the booke Furthermore In the 3 page line 27 reade 430 page 14. line 10 reade Anablatha