¶ Three Propositions or Speeches which that excellent man M. Iohn Caluin one of the Pastors of the Church of God in Geneua had there To which also is added an exposition vpon that parte of the Catechisme which is appointed for the three and fortieth Sunday in number Translated into Englishe by T. VV. Imprinted at London for George Bishop 1580. To the right worshipfull Syr Richard Knightley Knight and the Right Honourable the Ladie Elizabeth his wyfe T. W. wisheth all growth in goodnes with constancie and continuance in the truth of God for euer and euer thorowe Christ our Lorde WHEN I Ryght woorshipfull and Honorable enter into a deepe cōsideratiō not onely of myne owne particular grieuous offences but also of the generall sinnes transgressions of the whole lande continually committed against God and good men I am wonderfully cast downe in my selfe and ouerwhelmed as it were with heauinesse for those great iudgementes that by the reason of these our iniquities wee haue as it were with gable ropes pulled from God against our owne soules But when I throughly weigh what slender meanes are vsed to bring men too God and vnfeigned repentaunce frō their former euill wayes that so the plagues hanging ouer our heades may be vtterly remooued from vs and our countrey or at the least so lessened that we be not swalowed vp of the same I am almost as a man altogeather past hope that wee can bee set free or deliuered from those iudgementes and punishmentes which the Lorde by manyfest signes and tokens from heauen and by continuall threatnings and outcries of his faithfull ministers hath nowe a long time denoūced against this proud and thanklesse generation For what between idle and Idoll ministers on the one side blind wilfull and superstitious people on the other side iniquitie is grown to so great a height that as men make little or no conscience at all of committing sinne so they seeme to be sunk deepe in their rebellion and are growne as a man woulde say senselesse of their trāsgressions insomuch that men can hardly tell what to pronounce vnlesse they shoulde say thus that by our deedes wee alow that which by woordes in popery we doe iustly condemne to wit that blindnesse and ignorance is the mother of deuotion Is it not both straunge and pitifull and yet in my perswasion I take it to bee for the most parte very true that after twenty yeeres publique preaching professing of the Gospel vnder our gracious Soueraignes raigne the people are verie litle or no whit at all edified in the knowledge of fayth lesse builded vp if lesse can bee in the fruites of obedience and holy life Not that I deny the Gospell to haue taken good roote in sundrye mens hartes but this I meane that that number is very smal yea euen as it were a cottage in a vineyarde or lyke a Lodge in a Gardeyne of Cucumbers or like a besieged Citie Isaiah 1.8 If any man would doubt of the trueth of this the matter it self is more manifest than that it needeth to bee prooued for if a man woulde but make his eyes and his eares witnesses as it were of this matter howe can he pretend ignorance Who passeth thorowe any place of the lande that beholdeth not heareth not generally and in the greatest number pestilent pride mischieuous murthers wicked whoredomes open othes beastly blasphemies against God commō contempt of magistracie and all goodnes besides a thousād such like abominations So that a man may perceiue not a window onely but a wyde wicket or barne doore rather set open to all maner of licentiousnes and naughtie behauiour And surely if these faultes were in the meanest onely they were very grieuous before God and man but what are they then when the handes of the greater mē be the chiefest in these iniquities Be it farre from vs to be Stoickes who thought all sinnes equall Christians shoulde know and the rather because the Lorde also hath reuealed the same in his worde that some sinnes bee more grieuous than other some are in his sight yea that one and the self same sinne is verie much aggrauated made more heynous euē in respect of the circumstaunces as tyme place person manner of doing c. And what I pray you is the cause of this so great disorder and licentiousnes Is not ignorāce and negligence in Priestes as they call them and people the mother and nurse of all these and such like wickednesses If wee might thorowe Gods especiall blessing once haue the pointes and principles of Christian religion diligently and purely propounded and the matter of maners sensibly and sincerely set foorth and by the meanes of our Magistrates Gods own discipline for the better fructifiyng of his worde allowed of and established amongst vs our posteritie we should no doubt see not onely these grosse iniquities vtterly banished but also the very inticemēts prouocatiōs to euil quite and cleane remooued but till then wee may not looke for any better fruites than these that we haue already reaped and rehearsed True it is that God can bring light out of darknesse and make his glory shine forth in our shameful falles but none ought therefore to loue darknesse nay wee muste haue no fellowship with the vnfruitfull works of darknsse Ephesia 5. 11. but reprooue them rather or delight in sin Heb. 3.13 but rather take heede that our heartes be not hardened through the deceitfulnes thereof If any will offende that grace may aboūd Rom. 6.1 Luke 12.47 their condemnatiō is iuste and he that knoweth his maisters wil doth it not shall bee beaten with many stripes He that cānot lie hath spokē this therfore no reason at al why we shold doubt of it and he that doth what pleseth him both in heauen in earth wil in time perfourme it without speed in an vnfeigned repentance vppon vs all both hygh and lowe which also should hasten our turning Amos. 6.3 Wee see then that we haue no cause at al to dally and delaie and to put the euill day farre from vs as the wicked do Rom. 2.4 but rather while the Lord in long suffring forbeareth vs calling vs to amendement by his fatherly visitations that euerie one of vs should in time thinke of and vse all the meanes of our earnest and hartie conuersion vnto him Hebr. 3.13 and while it is called to day reuerently hearkē vnto his voice speaking vnto vs out of his word least otherwise wee bee shut out of his heauenly rest for mine own parte how vile so euer I bee I may I thanke my God for it in singlenes of heart protest thus much that it grieueth me to the heart to see the great defectes and wantes that I know in that behalfe And that I haue some care though not so great as many other good brethrē haue neither I able to doe so much as they by trauaile in writings of
mine owne translating of other mens labours to helpe forwarde the increase of knowledge iudgement and practise that so Gods glorie may be aduaunced and his Churche furthered in the way of life and saluation Amongest the testimonies whereof besides that which I haue alreadie published to the view of the godly I would haue this my simple smal translation accompted also wherein what I haue perfourmed though I my selfe would say nothing yet other men might both iudge and report specially if they were able and woulde conferre it with the French copie This they shall assuredly finde that where as fewe or almost no places of scripture were quoated therein I haue added a great number setting besides in the margēt some shortnotes which do serue both for the clearyng of some darke places and also comprehend the summe as it were of the whole matter All that I haue done whatsoeuer it be I offer vnto you right worshipful Honorable in you to the whole church of God in this lād beseeching the Lord in mercy to remoue all my sinnes and so to make it profitable both to you and all those into whose handes it shall come The considerations inducing me to offer it vnto you are indeed particular as first to testifie the vnfeigned good will which I beare towards you in Christ in whome to bee short I haue a mynde chearefully to trauayle what in melyeth and by al the meanes that possibly I can to builde you vp in sincere knowledge sound zeale and carefull obedience of Gods blessed trueth though the meanes and abilitie that I haue to performe the same be very small and slender Secondly to set out my duetifull thankfulnesse for sundry kindnesses and good turnes receiued from you which I confesse to be more than I am able to requite the least part leauing the full recompence thereof too the Lorde who hath faithfully promised in his woord and therefore will assuredly perform it plētifully to reward it euē in this life if he see it so good but speciallly in the resurrectiō of the righteous and yet thinking it meete and cōuenient to shew my self at the least thankful in words by such weake presentes as I am able to yelde 2. Cor. 8. 12. Wherein I take this to be no small comfort vnto mee that I deale with them in whome I am persuaded this part of Gods image amongest the rest shineth foorth very clearely to witte that you accept of mee and the thinges that come from me according to that I haue and not according to that I haue not But the causes which haue led mee to publish the same for the benefite and behoofe of Gods Sainctes are as generall so many but chiefly three First that thereby I myght giue some light of knowledge to the poore ignorant people of our land who knowe not because I feare mee they haue seldome or neuer hearde the same sundrie excellent points of doctrine here propounded and namely these great articles of our religion to wit the vnitie of the Godhed the trinitie of the persons the inseparable vniting of the two natures in the persō of our sauiour Christ from the tyme of his conception in the wombe of his mother his offices of kingdome Priesthoode and prophesie Gods euerlasting election and his free iustification of vs in Christ with such lyke If any man thinke these pointes ouer hygh for our rude people as I knowe there are some men otherwise greatly to be reuerenced which stand muche vppon that I would wish them to consider not onely this that the Lorde hath reuealed these pointes in his word to the ende that they should be taught vnto the people but also to weigh howe that without the sound knowledge therof it is impossible for men euer to attain saluation So that they which stande so nicely vpon these matters doe not onely bewray great either ignorance if they can not preache them or vnfaithfulnes if they doe not vtter them Acts. 20.27 because they keepe backe some part of the most necessary pointes of Gods counsell but also testifie what little hunger and thirst they haue for the saluation of their brethren who ought to bee as deare vnto them as them selues Iohn 17.3 Doth not Christ him selfe say that this is lyfe eternall that men knowe God to bee the onely very God and him whom he hath sent Iesus Christ And doeth not Paul pray Ephes 3.18 that the Ephesians may knowe the breadth length depth and height that is all perfection if it were possible Oh but it is not yet tyme to propounde them say they Hebr. 5. 12. Surely then I know not whē it wil be tyme. I feare me least that may be iustly verified in vs which the Apostle speaketh of the Iews that whereas in respecte of time we ought to haue been teachers to others yet wee haue neede againe to haue the first principles of the woorde of God laide amongst vs and are become such as haue need of milke and not of strong meate Is it not a shame to be children alwayes and are not those nurses much to be blamed that either cānot or will not in xx yeeres space teach their chyldren to speake readily and to goe strongly Would to God wee might once set aside the doctrine of the beginning of Christe Heb. 6.1 and be leade forwarde to perfection And yet in all this I alowe not of their curiositie that with vnwashen handes and voide of reuerence to the end they may be thought profounde and deepe in iudgement amongest men wil enter into vaine speculations concerning these some other points of which sorte are the Popishe Schoole Doctours yea and many amongst vs that to much do tread in their steppes There is a meane if we coulde see it and GOD woulde geue vs grace to embrace and vse the same betweene fantasticall curiositie and beastly blindnesse It behooueth all but specially those that professe godlines as on the one side to know proue what that good acceptable perfect will of God is Rom. 12. 2.3 so to take heede on the other side that they presume not to vnderstand aboue that which is meete to vnder stand but that they vnderstand according to sobrietie and as GOD hath dealt to euery man the measure of saith and seeing secreate things belōg to the Lord our God to leaue thē to him alone Deut. 29 29. least otherwise entering into the curious searching of them out we be ouer whelmed of his glory and again seeing that the things reuealed belong to vs and to our children for euer in care and conscience to labour all the dayes of our life to a diligent perfourmāce of the same rather then to entangle our selues with fables genealogies and friuolous questions which breede contētions and brawlinges rather than godly edifiyng 1. Tim. 1.4 which is by faith Secondly that by this meanes I might stopp if it were possible the mouthes of brawling and contentious
conscience to walke before him and others which are afflicted in vs by vs Christianlie comforted thorow Christ But touchyng this point and the particular consolations that God hath left vs in his worde to cheare vs vp when we shal be so cast downe I shal say more hereafter God willing in a seuerall treatie that I haue begun if the Lorde strengthen me to finish it of that question and argument In the mean while I beseech all Gods children and amongest the rest you Right woorshipfull and Honorable as most deare vnto me to accept of that louingly which I haue presētly don published vnder your names whatsoeuer it be Wherof this is all that I minde to say at this tyme that as the Authors worthie name iust credite can not but commend the matter So these fewe lines that I haue writtē as my bodely weaknes inwarde grieues would suffer mee touchyng some pointes wherein I might haue bene long and large I confesse will bee sufficient I hope to stirre vp the Christian Reader the better to loue and lyke and the more willingly and diligently to read and peruse this presēt treatise that so he may profite in sound knowledge and blessed obedienee which if it shall please God in mercy to graunt I shall haue that which I greatly desire and so shall thinke my poore paines well bestowed besides all that I shal be thereby incouraged to goe forwarde with some other work as occasion shal serue the Lord shal inable me either of this excellent mans or mine own The god of al grace blesse you both al yours with the whole houshold of faith wheresoeuer making vs al thorow the single sight of our spiritual bodily wāts whatsoeuer in assured persuasiō to repaire vnto him who hath a plētiful supply for all distresses that so we may in the end truely magnifie the riche grace and mercy of this our good God in Christ So be it At London the 20. day of this December 1579. Your Worships Honors alwayes readie and humble T. W. The Lords most vnworthie ¶ A Proposition or speach made by M. Iohn Caluin vppon the beginning of the Gospell accordyng to Saint Iohn in which the deitie or Godhead of our Lord Iesus Christ is excellently prooued 1 In the beginning was that woord and that woorde was with GOD and that word was God 2 This same was in the beginning with God 3 Al things were made by it and without it was nothing made of that which was made 4 In it was life and that life was the light of men 5 And that light shineth in the darknesse and the darknesse comprehended it not THis woorde Gospel The word Gospell what it meaneth signifieth the declaration that God hath shewed vs of his loue in our Lord Iesus Christe when hee sent hym into the worlde which thing we ought well to marke because it is very much to know the vse of the holy Scripture euen in respect of the wordes it vseth It is true that wee ought not to stande simply or onely vpon the wordes and yet for all that we are not able to comprehend how excellent Gods doctrine is vnlesse wee knowe the proceeding that it vseth and also what is the style and speach thereof And indeede wee are so muche the more to mark weigh this word because it is a very cōmon receiued sentēce to distinguish the holy Scripture into the law the Gospel Diuision of the Scripture those that speake thereof in that sort meane that all the promyses which are cōteined in the old Testament ought too bee referred to this word Gospel True it is that theyr meaning is good but for all that the holy Scripture vseth not such maner of speache If any man speake let hym speake as the words of God 1. Pet. 4.11 and we ought to be sober in that respect and to yeelde such a reuerence too Gods spirite as to keepe suche a maner of speaking as hee himself vseth to teach vs withall Behold thus muche then concerning the woorde Gospell which is a publishing that God hath made vnto vs at the commyng of our Lorde Iesus Christe his sonne declaring himself a father to all the world as also Saint Paule speaketh thereof in his Epistle to the Ephesians Ephe. 2 1◠when he saith that Iesus Christe came to preache the Gospell vnto them that were nigh to those that were farre of from God nigh to wit the Iewes who were alredye entred into the Couenaunt with God and far to wit of the Pagans and Heathen who are as it were far remoued from his Church Nowe when wee shall haue looked euery where we shall finde that this woorde Gospell is not taken in any other signification And beholde also wherfore men haue giuen this name or title to the iiii histories that are written touching our Lord Iesus Christ howe hee came into the worlde and was conuersant therein howe he dyed rose agayne and went vp into heauen men I say haue giuē the name or title of the Gospell to this And why so because the substance of the Gospell is comprehēded in the person of God his sonne as I haue already said The anciēt fathers had in deede the promyses of saluation they were also very well assured that God woulde be their father The difference betwene the fathers vnder the law and vs vnder the gospel but yet they had not in such plaine sort as we haue the gage and pledge of Gods loue towardes them and of their owne adoption For when Iesus Christe came intoo the worlde then God signed and sealed his fatherly loue vnto vs and wee had the full testimonie of life and in deede haue also the substaunce thereof in Iesus Christe 2. Cor. 1.20 as I haue already sayde And this is the cause why S. Paule sayth that all Gods promises are in him yea and Amen to wit because then God ratified and confirmed all that which he had spoken before had promised to men So then it is not without cause that these foure histories wherein is declared vnto vs how the sonne of God was sent that he tooke mans fleshe also that hee liued heere vppon earth amongest men haue beene so named Men then haue comprehended all this vnder the worde Gospell 2. Tim. 2.8 because therein it is declared and set out vnto vs how God hath made perfect and accomplished al that which was requsite for mens saluation and that wee haue had the fullfilling of al in the persō of his sonne Indeede S. Paul speaketh of his Gospell but after what sort It is not as though he had writtē an history of the Gospell but because his doctrine was conformable and agreeable to all that which is conteined therin So according to that which I haue already said when the Gospell was preached vnto vs S. Paules Epistles not called the gospell in what sence it is a plaine manifesting of
this worde nature importeth not the common creation of all men for the Iewes came from Adam and descended from Noah also after the flood So that there was in that respect a common nature betwene the Iewes the gētiles Moreouer it is certayne that in Adam all both Iewes and Gentyles are accursed corrupted Psalm 51.5 was not Dauid a Iewe and yet notwithstanding hee confesseth that from his mothers wombe he was a sinner and cōceiued in iniquitie Wherfore when S. Paul speaketh thus of the Iewes sheweth that they are Iewes by nature hee meaneth that they are not peruerse and corrupted not considering them There is a double nature in men Ephe. 2.3 as descending from Adams lyne or race but as comming frō Abrahams race Wherefore to make a short resolution there is a double nature The first is common to all the second is speciall or particular For when S. Paule saith in another place to the Ephesians that wee are by nature the children of wrath then hee doeth indifferently comprehende and meane aswell the Iewes as the Gentyles Behold then that aswel Abrahās race as others are subiecte to Gods vengeance and that of nature as S. Paule sayth Rom 11.16 21 But in the xi Chapter to the Romans he saith that the Iewes are the natural braunches of the holy roote or stock when he saith naturall branches of a holy roote it is a speciall priuiledge that God gaue to that race of Abraham whē he adopted and receiued the same to him selfe And why so For God hath not only declared that he wyll bee the people of Israels Sauiour but a Sauiour of all that Line or Stocke And thus much concerning this woorde Also this worde sinners is not there to bee taken as wee commonly vnderstand it What the Apostle meaneth by this woorde sinners Iohn 9.31 but it signifieth in this place prophane persons and such as are altogeather defiled before God as when it is sayde that hee heareth not sinners and yet we know indeede that he heareth them And indeede the doctrine that our Lord Iesus Christ hath taught vs must needes be inuiolable and it behoueth vs to haue our mouthes wyde open to confesse our sinnes whatsoeuer come of it for otherwyse wee shoulde be lyars as S. Iohn saith in his Canonical Epistle to wit Iohn 1.8.10 that if we confes not that we are sinners the trueth is not in vs yea and it is of necessitie required that God couer our sinnes So then sinnes is often times taken for a Prophane man and one that is reiected of GOD as also in this place But nowe let vs come to that which Saint Paul saith we are Iewes by nature Deu. 32.8.9 wee haue a special priuilege for in asmuch as GOD hath chosen the rase of Abraham beholde howe wee are placed in a degree of honour God could haue doone this to all the worlde but as it is sayde in Moyses song God cast his worde to separate his owne inheritance from other nations And this is it that S. Paule meaneth in this place to wit that the Iewes had a certain special dignitie and were not of that common sorte or order that the Gentiles were who abode in theyr first nature and were as it were reiected and accursed This distinction is more plainely set out in the thirde Chapter of the Apostle Sainte Paules Epistle to the Romans For after that he hath declared that all were condemned before God and that there is neither Gentile nor Iew but he ought to confesse that he demaundeth this question Rom. 3.12 Shall not the Iewe then haue somewhat more preferment yes they shal saith he for God hath declared himself to thē They haue the law that seruice which was appointed them they had also his promyses Behold great honours that God bestowed vpon thē when he declared vnto them that they were his purchased people his inheritaunce and as it were Al both Iewes and Gentiles haue neede of Gods grace his treasure that they were vnto him a priestly kingdom and that he established his seruice in the middest of them Mark how the Iewes had great preheminence aboue the Gentiles are they more excellent for that He addeth afterwardes No. For if we shold be al examined ther shoulde not be one alone amongst vs that shoulde be founde iust before God Behold then how they are condemned with the Gētiles all are deepely plūged in the curse We see then how the Iewes are not polluted and prophaned as the Gentiles are And by what meanes is this By the grace of God This is without the men yet they haue all one the self same beginning besides they are al corrupted in their persons because that they are sinners both the one the other But whatsoeuer it be Paul declareth in this place that if there bee any that ought to bee partakers of this benefite of Gods mercy that they are the Iewes And why so He sayth in another place that is Ephesians 2.17 Ephesians the seconde Chapter that they were nigh to God the Gentiles far of from him When he speketh of our Lord Iesus Christ hee saith that hee came and preached reconciliation that wee mighte haue accesse vntoo the father and this sayth he was published aswell too them that were nigh as to them that were a far of He sayth that the Gentiles were far of because God had abandoned forsaken them as it were for a whyle Beholde then the Iewes who were nigh None can com to God but thorowe the grace of Iesus christ yet had not accesse to God through the lawe but through the grace of Iesus Christe published by the doctrine of the Gospell Wherfore we must knowe that the workes of the lawe are debated For to the Iewes it is that God spok and yet the Iewes haue not their saluation therin And what Shal the Gentiles to whom God spake not and who had no promise shall they I saye haue theyr refuge and recourse to the lawe We see then Saint Paules purpose which is to shewe that none can bee iustified but by faith Hee vseth in this place these wordes to iustifie the fayth of our Lorde Iesus Christ and the makers of the lawe we must inlarge these pointes before we can comprehend and perceiue Sainct Paules purpose and the substance of that which he speaketh This worde to iustifie What the word iustifie importeth signifieth as much as to be absolued before God It is true that if we would heape vp all the testimonies of the scripture seruing for this purpose it could neuer at al or hardly be one and besides we coulde not dispatch the whole matter at this tyme. It is true that for this present tyme if it be possible wee will take and alledge two places onely to shewe and set foorth that which we haue saide Saint Paul speaking in the eight Chapter of his Epistle to the Romanes
What Rom. 8.33 may not wee stande before God saieth hee seeing hee iustifieth vs and who is it then that shall condemne vs Certaine it is that in that place this word to iustifie importeth not that God maketh vs iust but this it is that he receiueth vs to mercy and in pardoning vs our sinnes hee holdeth vs and accompteth vs as iust albeit that we be not so indeede The comparison sette against it declareth the same God iustifieth vs who is it that shal condemne vs If these two wordes be well weighed to iustifie must needes bee contrarie to condemne and that is then to absolue So to be iustified before God that is the absolutioÌ„ or losing that he giueth vs when it pleaseth him to receiue vs to mercie as is declared vnto vs in the Romanes Rom. 3.28 Rom. 4.5.6 where Saint Paul alledgeth this place out of the two and thirtie Psalme Blessed is the man whose iniquities are pardoned and whose sinnes are couered hee saieth there that wee are iustified without the woorkes of the lawe And why so because our sinnes are pardoned vs that through Gods free goodnes The other place is declared in the thirtenth Chapter of the Actes Acts. 13.38.39 to wit that we can not be iustified by the workes of the lawe but by the grace of our Lorde Iesus Christ The Gentiles then are iustified and after what sort From all thinges froÌ„ which the lawe of Moses could not iustifie them that is to say coulde not absolue theÌ„ For Moses lawe had many markes signes to testifie their reconciliation to GOD. The ceremonies of the law could not iustifie There was washinges sprincklings satisfactions and all the rest But all this was not or serued not to iustifie that is to say to acquite and discharge men in such sort that they should bee accompted iust So when in this place it is said that the Iewes founde not any thing in the lawe whereby they might be iustified he meaneth by iustified obteinyng of grace and fauor before God in summe approbation and allowance before him And thus muche concerning one worde What is ment by the faith of our Lord Iesus Christ Nowe the faith of our Lord Iesus Christ is not that whereby Iesus Christ belieued but that by which we belieue in him And howe doe wee belieue in our Lorde Iesus Christ that is in receiuing and applying him such a one vnto our selues as he hath beene sent vnto vs from God his father But he hath sent him 1. Cor. 1.30 as sayth Saint Paul to be our righteousnes our wisdome and satisfaction When then we shall receiue our Lorde Iesus Christ for our righteousnes beholde howe the faith that wee haue in him iustifieth vs. And howe is hee our righteousnes hee declareth it in an other place in the second Epistle of the Corinthians 2. Cor. 5.21 where he saith that hee that knewe not what sinne ment that is to say was pure and innocent from it was made as sinne for vs to the ende that wee might bee iustified in him Marke then what this speach the fayth of our Lord Iesus Christ importeth We ought to come to Christ because he alone hath all thinges in him that we neede that is to say the assuraunce that wee haue through the fayth that we are reconciled to God his father and that wee finde in our Lorde Iesus Christ euery thing that we haue neede of to bee short that God iustifieth vs without our selues in that satisfaction and recompence which hee findeth in the sacrifice of his deare sonnes death and passion And thus farre concerning this worde There remaineth yet this worde workes of the lawe whereby some haue vnderstood barely the ceremonies as Circumcision the washings the sacrifices the sprinkeling of beastâ—â— bloud and suche like thinges And there is some shewe thereof at the first sight because that the founteine of this question which Sainct Paul handleth proceeded from this These wordes workes of the lawe conteine not onely the ceremonies but all that God commandeth in the law that the Iewes would be circumcised and obserue the ceremonies of the lawe Wherefore it should seeme by this that the workes of the lawe were nothing els but the ceremonies thereof But they import as wee shall see in a more large declaration thereof somewhat more to wit that vnder that speach is comprehended all that which God hath commaunded True it is that the first occasion which Sainct Paul had to enter into disputation and question about the matter was to set out the abuses which were in these outwarde thinges Pilgrimages feastes obseruatioÌ„ of dayes c. wicked in a double respect as at this day wherein wee are at controuersie with the Papistes touching pilgrimages feastes the obseruation of certaine dayes c. Wee doe not onely handle this question and point whither that these three things such lyke be commaunded of God yea or no but we come somewhat further and say that this is not onely not to serue God but that it is blasphemie to say so Wee see then that when men will speake of some ceremonie or some superstitious obseruation they shall come to the generall rule because they are thinges ioyned together yea thinges that can not be sundered So much also is there to be saide concerning the woorkes of the lawe For when the Iewes would that men should obserue Circumcision and that it shoulde continually abyde whole and sound that proceeded from an errour for they supposed that Circumcision was Gods seruice and that it was a meritorious woorke to bee iustified by and it is likely that they helde so muche also concerning all the rest But that is contrarie to trueth for Circumcision was a testimony of the grace of God Rom. 4.11 and a signe of faith as Saint Paul speaketh thereof in the fourth of the Romanes Beholde then how the Iewes were turned verie farre from the true institution of God when they attributed suche an vse to the ceremonies of the lawe And this is the cause also why Saint Paule stayeth so muche vpon this worde Two sortes of Papists or rather two iudgements in Papists touching merites And moreouer it is not without cause that hee standeth also vpon the word promise For the Papistes themselues confesse indeed that they merite nothing but by reason and in the strength of the promise When they say that they deserue heauen through Gods grace they meane thereby that they are not able to doe all but yet sundrie tymes you shal haue them speake thus proudly that they merite or deserue the whole They say that it is not by their works in their own nature but that God hath framed first such a preparation or dispositioÌ„ in them and so there is nothing touching faith and yet behold wherfore S. Paule addeth this word faith because they establish and erect of workes and Gods promises their owne merites Gods promises
I nowe liue in the flesh I liue in the faith of the sonne of God who hath loued me and hath giuen him selfe for me 21 I doe not abolishe or take away the grace of God for if righteousnes be by the lawe Christ then is dead in vaine WE haue seene heard howe this doctryne ought to bee vnderstood to wit that we are iustified by the faith of Iesus Christ But nowe it remaineth to handle the reason that S. Paule bringeth to wit that necessitie inforceth vs to seeke this righteousnes which is giuen vnto vs thorowe the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ for if there were any other meane thereof No righteousnes to be found in any either in heauen or in earth but in Iesus Christ alone men might receiue and take it but when we knowe that after wee haue sought aboue and beneath and that we haue made our circuites and iourneyes as it were both in heauen and in earth and yet notwithstanding behold we are shut vp and that there is no righteousnes in any man lyuing thereupon we may verie well and safely conclude that we must be saued through the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ or els that we are all lost condempned This then is that wherupon S. Paul standeth at this time So this saying ought well to be weighed that the Iewes stoode in neede to obteine righteousnes through faith because that no flesh shal be iustified by the woorkes of the lawe And indeede it is certaine No way of deliuerance from Gods curse but Iesus Christ that we shall neuer come with a good affection to our Lord Iesus Christ if this be not rightly imprinted in our hartes to wit that the curse of God holdeth vs faste locked vp inclosed and that we can not any maner of way come out of it but by this meane Euen as a sicke partie when his disease presseth wringeth him and that he is not able any lōger to indure it A fit similitude well pursued and applied he will submit him selfe to the Phisition and wil binde and tye him self to receiue these things which shal be sharp bitter vnto him He that is mery maketh good cheare will not goe to seeke the Phisition when he is wel disposed to drinke and to eate and that hee findeth him selfe to haue a good appetite or stomacke euen so is it with vs None can come rightly to Christ but such as are wounded with Gods iudgements for vntill suche time as Gods iudgement haue in such sort wounded vs that we be as it were poore scattered lost people to be short that we be as it were drowned or swalowed vp in death wee will neuer come in good earnest to our Lord Iesus Christ It is true that this doctrine may well be receiued and that they which shall heare thereof will bowe their eares and hearken when some shall say to them that there is no other righteousnes but the grace of God There are verie many scoffers and iesters that allowe this but it shall not bee in trueth for there is nothing but hypocrisie and dissimulation amongest them Let vs then holde this fast that we must beginne at this ende when wee woulde knowe wherein our saluation standeth and howe so For wee must of necessitie striue to atteine that Feeling of death in our selues bringeth vs to life before God we must I say beginne at death to the ende that that may leade vs to life And this is the cause wherefore Saint Paule largely laying out the matter which wee haue to handle in this place summoneth and proceedeth against all mankinde On the one side he sheweth that though the Gentiles had not the lawe written yet that theyr conscience did suffice to condemne them and that God exercised in the same his iudgement to their condemnation Rom. 2.12.14.15 and that theyr owne very thoughtes were so many Summons to bring them before the heauenly iudgement seat to declare vnto them that they were altogeather accursed On the otherside concerning the Iewes if they woulde glory and boast in the lawe Rom. 2.1.2 that is it that doeth condemne them as S. Paule saith Thereupon he concludeth that it behoueth euery mouth to bee stopped and shut vp and that wee shoulde confesse that there is nothing in vs but confusion and shame of face and that if wee shoulde yeelde vp an accounte before God They that flatter them selues in theyr sinnes had neede to be rowsed vp wee shoulde be so muche the more drowned in dispayre And indeede because that men rocke them selues a sleepe as it were in their owne hypocrisie S. Paule doth in a maner thunder against them that iustifie themselues and flatter themselues saying Thinkest thou that God accepteth mens persons Thou presumest indeede to condemne others and who or what art thou Verily dust yet thou takest vpō thee the office of iudging and wilt needes haue this authoritie when thou thy selfe canst not be exempted frō the iudgement of God Mark then how it behooueth vs to be awaked and stirred vp that we seeke not our righteousnesse any where else nor by any other meane but onely by our Lord Iesus Christe and that we learne rightly to examime our life and not onely to goe beyonde a certaine free and willing condemnation of our selues as transgressours of the lawe and blame worthie before God Before Gods mercy can bee sweete vnto vs we must be wōderfully cast down in our selues but to bee altogeather confounded and moued with such an astonishmēt that we shoulde not knowe on which side to turne Beholde I say howe wee may geue opening and entertainement to the doctrine which is handled in this place by S. Paul And so let vs wel and rightly weigh these woordes That no flesh shal be iustified by the woorkes of the law and also let vs marke that this is it that ought to bring vs too our Lorde Iesus Christe and to the faith of the Gospel to the end that through the grace of GOD we may at the last be saued And moreouer that which some stand so much vpon touching these wordes The workes of the law as though S. Paul spake of nothing but the Ceremonies that I say hath bin in part reprooued and handled and wee haue declared that so to take the woorde is an ouerfoule folly And indeede Paule meneth no other thing in this place then that which is saide in the hundred fortie and third Psalme Psalm 143.2 when Dauid beseecheth GOD that hee woulde not enter into iudgement and accounte with him for hee addeth the reason that no man liuing shal be iustified in his sight Dauid speaketh not in that place of the woorkes of the lawe but it is to shewe that if GOD woulde exercise the office of a Iudge that then our lyfe ought to bee aunswearable thereto And to knowe wheather wee shoulde bee acceptable before him or no what shoulde bee
so by consequent of his righteousnes Nowe Saint Paul sheweth that this temporall lyfe hindereth not but that we may alwayes lyue that is to say may alwayes haue full assurance in our Lorde Iesus Christ And why so He bringeth vs here the worde of fayth which is a word verie worthie to be well weighed for he meaneth and sheweth by the worde fayth in this place that selfe same thing which is described and set out at large vnto vs in the Epistle to the Hebrewes where it is sayde Hebr. 11.1 that fayth is the euidence of things that are not seene and the substance or ground of thinges that appeare not and yet are hoped for Wherfore seeing that faith respecteth that which is inuisible cannot be seene let vs not dismaie our selues or wonder at this that we liue in death and that we are in heauen be citizens of the kingdō of God although we should dwel in this world shold walk creepe vpō the earth with bruit beasts And this also is that which S. Paule speaketh wel of Rom. 8.24 in the eight of the Romās for that which he speaketh there of hope may also be vnderstoode that rightly of faith because they are things that cannot bee sundred for hee sayeth that we hope not for those thinges which we see for I ought not to hope for that which I holde in my hand and haue in possession because that I beholde see and enioy the same but I hope for that which is helde from me Wherefore our saluation must needes be hidde otherwise wee should haue neither fayth nor hope Our mortalitie and weake state here hindereth vs not from the enioying and possessing of eternal life which is also declared vnto vs in this place Albeit then that we be in the fleshe that is to say that we haue a mortall lyfe subiect to so many infirmities as nothing more can be yea such a lyfe as is but a shadowe which passeth into smoke yet for all that wee cease not to haue an abiding and eternall life which is grounded setled on Gods righteousnes and therefore it behooueth vs to repaire to fayth that is to say to that apprehension or taking holde which we haue Gods word reuealeth matters beyond the reach of our reason of thinges which appeare not and to that certeintie and sight that wee haue of thinges which are not seene for we beholde in the worde of GOD as it were in a glasse that which is hyd from our witte and can not be atteined vnto by our vnderstanding Behold then how this place of Saint Paul must be vnderstood Nowe presently hee addeth who hath loued me and giuen him selfe for me Here Saint Paul yet better declareth and more fully howe it is that we liue by fayth and out of our selues that is because Iesus Christ our Lorde hath giuen him selfe for vs. Nowe by this worde he bringeth vs backe to the death and passion of our Lorde Iesus Christ Our prayers are not profitable tyll we bee washed in Christes blood from our transgressions wherof he concludeth that when we will call vpon God and present our selues before him we must be plunged as it were ouer head and eares in the bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ that wee may be washed from our spottes and that we must fetch from thence our cleansing that wee may be absolued and losed from the condemnation wherein we are And as he saith that our Lorde Iesus Christ gaue him selfe for him so he declareth the cause for he commeth to his founteine of the free loue of God Iohn 3.16 Rom. 8.32 Rom. 5.6.7.8.9.10 True it is that in other places this loue is ascribed to the father as God hath not spared his sonne yet that hindereth not but that Iesus Christ loueth vs also as it is saide in the eight Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans Marke then what we haue to learne and beare away when it is sayd that our lyfe is out of our selues that is that we shall finde the matter of life in Iesus Christ who hath suffered to the ende that wee might bee discharged before him And after wee haue knowen this Christes free loue the fountaine of all goodnes to vs ward to wyt that the satisfaction which our Lorde Iesus Christ hath made is our righteousnes we must come also to the fountaine from whence all proceedeth that is to say to that free loue of his in as muche as hee hath loued vs. And yet further this was not done because he was moued thertoo by any thing that hee knewe to be in vs but it was his onely mercy by which we haue beene redeemed yea it behooueth vs to be in suche sort voide of all righteousnes in our selues that we must not so much as presume or thinke that hee had respect to our persons or that he found so much as one droppe of goodnes in it Not one drop of goodnes in man till Christ bestow it vpon him Behold howe we are made partakers of the bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christ I perceiue that I haue alreadie ben ouer long but I wil go no further And because this place deserueth to be better handled I will pray my brethren to speake thereof euery one of them that which hee shall know to be meet for the edification of the Church An effectuall prayer for increase of knowledge and true feeling of our own wretchednes and misery Now we wil thāk this our good God for the knowledge which hee hath giuen vs of his holie word praying him that he would more and more increase vs in it and make vs profit in this doctrine and that we may be taught in such sort to be cast down that we may not onely confesse that wee are poore faultie persons before him and that wee bring nothyng but condemnation with vs but that wee may also learne to detest and hate our sinnes and to be in such sort afraid of his iudgement that being paste hope in our selues wee may confesse that earnestly the miseries corruptions that are in vs to the end we may imbrace our Lord Iesus Christ altogether sticke fast vnto him not to mingle our filthines with his puritie holines but that we may know that he is the roote Christ the roote and fountaine of all righteousnes the fountaine of all righteousnes that there is in him suche perfection as nothing can bee sayde against it neither added thereto And that with all we may beat back ouerthrow the false opinions of these The holy Ghost knitteth Christ and his people together that slaunder the Gospell in such sort that we may approoue to our selues and shewe foorth to others that we are vnited and knitte to our Lorde Iesus Christ by his spirite and that wee may more and more profite and proceede in his feare vntyll such tyme as wee haue well learned to