exhortinge them that no man defraude and oppresse his brother in any matter Wherfore if wée bée double hearted as sayth Sainct Iames let vs cleanse our hearts Forasmuch I saye as GOD is righteous let vs loue him with an entire and perfect heart that our heart may blesse the LORD and all that is within vs may praise his holy name and forget not all his benefites Let vs poure out our hearts like water before the Lorde and let vs lifte vp our handes vnto him and hee will beholde vs with pittie in the fauoure of his welbeloued sonne our LORD Iesus Christ vnto whom bée glorie for euer and euer So bée it Ecclesiastes 12. d. 13. ¶ Feare God and keepe his commaundementes for that toucheth all men 1. Iohn 2. d. ¶ The world passeth awaie and the lustes thereof but he that fulfilleth the will of God abideth euer A Prayer O Lord which hast taught vs by the mouth of Salomon the sonne of Dauyd that loue is mightie as the death and gelousie as the hell hir coales are of fire and a verie flame of the LORD So embrace our heartes in thine heauenly loue chiefly by thy holy spirite that wée knowing that thou hast loued vs first hauing sent thy sonne to make agréement for our sinnes that so of our part we may loue thée againe and shewe by our conuersation that we loue thée not in worde neither in tongue onely but in déede in trueth Honouring thée as our celestiall and heauenly father and fearing thée as our souereigne LORD all the dayes of our life In such sorte that neither death neither life neither Angels nor principialities neither powers neither thinges preseâ—â— neither thinges to come neither heigth neither depth neither any other creature shall be able to departe vs from the loue of GOD which is in Christe Iesus our LORD To the ende that when thou shalt appeare we may be bolde and not ashamed before thée at thy comming nor by the maiestie of him who béeing in the worlde loued his vnto the ende our Lord Iesus Christ vnto whom be glorie for euer So bée it ¶ A CHRISTIAN ADVERtisment vpon the commaundement to loue a mans neighbour Cap. 17. Deuterono 15. b. ¶ The land shall neuer be without poore wherefore I commaunde thee saying open thine hande vnto thy brother that is needie and poore in the lande Prouerbes 3. b. ¶ Honour the Lord with thy substaunce and with the firstlings of al thine encrease so shall thy barnes be filled with plenteousnesse and thy presses shall flowe ouer with sweete wine Iob 1. c. ¶ When the poore desireth any thing at me haue I denied it them haue I caused the widdow to stand waiting for me in vayne haue I eaten my portion alone that the fatherlesse hath had no parte with me For mercy grew vp with me fro my youth and compassion fro my mothers wombe haue I seene any man perish through nakednesse and want of clothing or any poore man for lacke of raiment whose â—ides thancked me not bicause he was warmed with the woll of my sheepe did I euer lift vp my hande to hurt the fatherlesse yea in the gate where I sawe my selfe to be in authoritie then let mine arme fall from my sholder and mine armeholes be broken from the ioyntes Iob. 29. c. ¶ I haue deliuered the poore when hee cryed and the fatherlesse that wanted helpe He that should haue bene lost gaue me a good worde and the widdowes heart praised me And why I put vppon me righteousnesse which couered me as a garment and equitie was my crowne I was an eye vnto the blinde and a foote to the lame I was a father vnto the poore and when I knewe not their cause I sought it out diligently I brake the chayers of the vnrighteous and pluckt the spoile out of their teeth ¶ An exhortation to loue towardes ones neighbour THE Apostle Sainct Paul â—peaking of the excellencie of loue sayth Though I speake with the tongues of men and Angels and haue not loue I am euen as lounding braue or as a tinckling cymball And though I coulde prophecie and vnderstand all secretes and all knowledge yea if I had all faith so that I coulde moue mountaines out of their places and yet had not loue I were nothing And though I bestowe all my goodes to to feede the poore and though I giue my bodie that I be burned and yet haue not loue it profiteth me nothing Loue lustereth long is courteous loue enuieth not loue doth not boast it selfe swelleth not disdaineth nothing as vnbeseeming seeketh not hir owne things is not prouoked to anger thincketh not euill reioyceth not in iniquitie but reioyceth in the trueth suffereth all thinges beléeueth al things hopeth al thinges endureth all thinges Loue doth neuer fall away though that all prophecyings shall be abolished And in the end of the said chapter he concludeth now abideth faith hope loue euen these three but the chiefest of these is loue And forasmuch then as the life is more worth theÌ„ meate the bodie more of value then raiment And also that Iesus Christe doth commaunde vs to séeke first the kingdome of heauen and the righteousnesse thereoff notwithout cause if wee mainteine that loue consisteth chiefly to helpe our neighbour in that whiche is necessarie for him for his life Insomuch that if the Lorde hath giuen vnto vs any talent I meane any grace perfection or vertue we ought not to hide it in the earth as vnprofitable seruaunts but ought to bestowe it to the profite of euerie man For the manifestation is giuen to euery one for to profit to the ende that as euerie man hath receiued the gifte so admister the same one to another as good ministers of the manifold graces of god And euen as in geuing some little part of our goods we do multiplie that which the Lord hath giuen vnto vs also in administring the spirituall things to our neighbour we augment in vs the fruites of pietie Iustice These are the wordes of Sainct Paul when he tolde the Corinthians that he that findeth séede to the sower will minister likewise breade for foode and multiplie their séede and increase the fruites of their beneuolence that on all partes they may be made ritch in all singlenesse And as we be not maisters nor owners of our goods Inasmuch as we enioy and possesse them of the hande of the LORDE so we are not but ministers of the giftes of the holy Spirite whiche worketh in vs all things Euen so saith Sainct Paul writing to the Corinthians Let a man so thinke of vs as of the ministers of Christe and disposers of the secretes of GOD. This declareth vnto vs what was gods prouidence in the dispensation bestowing of his giftes who woulde not that they shoulde abounde altogether in one man alone to the end that by them helping one an other euery one may
feare for feare hath painefulnesse and hee that feareth is not perfect in loue Let vs propose the example of Sainct Paul who beeing aduertised by the holy Ghost that bands and troubles abide him at Hierusalem aunswered that none of these things moued him neither is his life deare vnto himselfe so that hee might fulfill his course with ioy and the ministration whiche hee receiued of the Lord Iesus to testifie the Gospell of the grace of God the whiche hée did not onely of mouth but also hee accomplished it by workes Let vs remember those good women I meane Marie Magdalen and Marie the mother of Iames and Salome who were not only assistent to Iesus Christ before his afflictions But also in his crosse and after his death bought sweete oyntementes of Aromatica for to embalme him yea they folowed him long time after his death I do speake vnto those who making profession of the true Christian religion and beeing drawen from the cares of the world thorow the knowledge of our Lord and sauior Iesus Christ for a smal occasion afterwards are fallen into them againe haue beene ouercome Insomuch that that is happened vnto them according to the true prouerbe The dogge is turned to his owne vomit againe and the sow that was washed to hir wallowing in the mire Truely such people are like vnto the young man which told our Lord Iesus Christ that hee hath obserued al these coÌ„maundements from his youth but when Iesus saide vnto him that he must sell all that he had and giue it to the poore for to get a treasure in heauen hée went away mourning We must alâ—o note that there is an other regarde or â—espect to the amitie which we doe beare vnto GOD and to the amitie whih we doe beare vnto men for GOD ought â—o be loued for his regarde onely I doe meane bicause that of himselfe hée is altogether good perfect puissaunt and mercifull Man ought to bée loued for the respect that we haue vnto GOD that is to saye forasmuch as he is created to the image of GOD as wée endued with the giftes and graces of GOD aswell as wée and called to the ecclesiastical heritage as wée For he that wil consider man in himselfe he is nothing els but altogether vnrighteous ful of impietie and imperfection The Prophet Esaie shall be my witnesse when he saith we are all as an vncleane thing al our righteousnesse are as a stained cloth The which the roiall Prophet Dauyd doth speake off more at large in his verses saying The Lord looked downe froÌ„ heauen vpon the children of men to sée if ther were any that would vnderstand and séeke after god But they are all gone out of the way they are altogether become vnprofitable there is none that doth good no not one The like matter we do read off in Iob wheÌ„ hée confessed most cléerely that man cannot iustifie himselfe towardes god And how saith hée can hee bée cleane which is borne of a woman Behold the moone shineth nothing in comparison to him the starres are vncleane in his sight How much more then man that is but corruption and the sonne of man which is but a worme wherefore man of himselfe is not amiable but inasmuch as he is regenerate of God who through the merite of his welbeloued sonne doth couer hide wholy all those imperfections and impieties And in that respect wee haue greatly to consider the ingratitude and miscognisaunce of those which loue not the Lord but for their proper respect I do meane when the Lord doth sende them the thinges euen as they demaund and desire as great abundance of worldly goods a blessed life great prosperitie of the thinges which appertaine vnto them and also to their friendes kinsfolke and other pleasures of mans life of whom saith Dauid happie are the people that bée in such a case but when any affliction happeneth vnto them then they murmure against God and do demaund if there bée any prouidence in Heauen The whiche Salomon forbiddeth expressely when hée saith vse not thy mouth to cause thy flesh for to sinne that thou say not before the Angell my foolishnesse is in the faulte Such manner of people are like vnto those which séeke Iesus Christ not bicause they sawe his miracles but because they eate of his loaues were filled For he which is a friend as Salomon reciteth vnto vs alway loueth and in aduersitie a man shall know who is his brother Which if it bée so that loue ought to bée loued againe truely wée haue most greatest occasion to loue God and which is more wee cannot without the vice of ingratitude but that wee should loue him inasmuch as hee loued vs first And herein is loue not that wee loued God but that hee loued vs and sent his sonne to make agréement for our sinnes For God so loued the world that hee hath géeuen his onely begotten sonne that none that beeléeue in him shoulde perish but haue euerlasting life If a man demaund what is the goodnesse that hée hath done vnto vs at this present Saint Paul doth aunswer vnto the same saying that he spared not his owne sonne but gaue him for vs all to death how shall hee not with him géeue vs all things also In this matter what can wee render vntâ— the LORD which may bee equiualenâ— to the amitie that he hath borne vnto vs for the iniuries that his sonne our LORD Iesus Christe hath suffred in his flesh for the stripes that hée hath receiued on his bodie for the crosse for his death for his buriall woe bee vnto mée if I doe not saye it I dare well saye it Peter hath not rendered or restored neither Paul hath rendred or restored although he hath restored death for death but yet neuerthelesse he hath not altogether restored for he oweth a great deale Marke when he him selfe confesseth who hath giuen vnto him first and hee shall bee recompensed againe For of him and through him and for him are all things to him bee glorie for euer And although wee restore vnto him the crosse for the crosse and the graue for the graue that is to say whether wee restore vnto him that whiche wee haue receiued of him and through him no truely Wherefore the same Author concludeth let vs restore vnto him loue for loue for debte loue for the goodnesse that he hath doone vnto vs a géeuing of thanks for the price of his bloud I say moreouer that from our birth nature hath put in vs a certaine mouing and pricking forward to the end to incitate and stirre vs to loue our God. Forasmuche then as by the same saying of Plato beautie hath gained that aduauntage aboue all other things that of her selfe shée is very much amiable and for that cause wee desire verie much the faire things Yet truely the heauenly beawtie excelleth and passeth
mouth of thy welbeloued disciple that hée which loueth not his brother whō he hath séene that he can not loue GOD whom hee hath not seene Imprinte so through thy grace and fatherly goodnesse such loue in our heartes that we considering that we are all members of one head That wée may haue also one selfe care the one for the other and may acknowledge that if thou hast so much loued the world as to giue thy onely sonne that none that beléeue in him should perish but haue euerlasting life that we also of our part bearing one an others burthen and that also we distributing vnto the necessities of the Saincts we may shewe by our example and good conuersation that we doe loue thée of déede truth yea that we are the true successours and disciples of him which hath taught vs not to gether vp treasure vp the earth but to make vs friends with the riches of iniquitie that when we shall depart they may receiue vs into euerlasting habitations Hee I say whiche though he were ritch yet for our sakes became poore that wée through his pouertie might be made ritch our Lorde Iesus Christ vnto whome be glorie for euer Amen ¶ A CHRISTIAN ADVERtisement vpon the commaūdement to honour our father mother Chap. 18. Exodus 20. c 12. Deut. 5. b. 16. ¶ Honour thy father and thy mother that thy dayes may be long in the lande which the Lord thy God giueth thee THE Apostle Sainct Paul writing vnto the Ephesians saith children obey your fathers and mothers in the Lorde For so is it righte And in an other place he sayth Honoure thy Father thy Mother which is the first cōmaundement that hath any promise thou maist bee in good estate liue lōg on earth The which Iesus the sonne of Siraac declareth more at large when hée said that the Lord would haue the Father honored of the children and looke what a mother commaundeth her children to do hée will haue it kept Who so honoreth his father his sinnes shalbée forgeuen him and he that honoreth his mother is like one that geathereth treasure together Whoso honoreth his Father shall haue ioye of his owne children and when hee maketh his praier he shal be heard he that honoreth his Father shal haue a long life And hee that is obedient for the Lordes sake his mother shall haue ioy of him Hee that feareth the Lorde honoreth his Father and Mother and doth them seruice as it were vnto the Lord him selfe Now when we do speake in this matter of honor wee take not simply the honor for an honor by the which we do go the one before the other be it by any outward signe or by friendely amiable wordes But wée doe take it as the holie Apostle Sainct Paul when hee saith The Elders that rule well are worthy of double honor most specially they whiche labour in the worde and teaching And in the same place he saith further honor widowes whiche are true widowes Insomuch that that honour doth comprehend a subiection and obedience also a naturall bond the which doth constraine vs to assist those with necessarie thinges in this present life vnto whom wee owe honor and obedience The which the Lorde himselfe rebuked sometimes the Iewes For although the lawe commaundeth that the children should nourishe their fathers and mothers to rēder vnto them pleasures in their olde age the which they haue first receiued of them in their youth The Scribes and Pharises learned the children to say vnto their fathers by euery gift that proceedeth from mee thou shalt be holpen though hee honor not his father or his mother And thus haue they made that the commaūdement of God is without effect through their traditiones And so by that meanes they defraude their fathers of the duetie the nature cōmaundeth them But marke what the sonne of Siraac saith honor thy father in déede in worde and in all patience that thou maist haue his blessing for the blessing of the father buildeth vp the houses of the children but the mothers curse rooteth out the foundations Reioyce not when thy father is reproued for it is no honour vnto thée but a shame For the worship of a mans father is his owne worshippe and where the father is without honour it is the dishonestie of the sonne My son make much of thy father in his age and gréeue him not as long as he liueth And if his vnderstanding faile haue patience with him dispise him not in thy strēgth For the good déede that thou shewest vnto thy father shall not be forgotten when thou thy selfe wantest it shal be rewarded thée And verie well for this purpose a certeine auncient authour saide that the sonne of GOD honoured his parentes As we reade that he came into Nazareth and was subiect vnto them and honoured Marie and Ioseph not by duetie of nature but by office of pietie hath honoured his father being obedient vnto him to the death euen the death of the crosse Nourishe then thy father and thy mother and when thou hast nourished them thou hast not done that which thou owest vnto thy mother thou hast not rendred vnto her all the paines and trauailes that she hath suffered for the loue of thee thou hast not also rendred vnto her the seruices that she hath done for thee bearing thee in her belly thou hast not rendered vnto her the aliments and nurrishments that she hath giuen vnto thee of a tender affection and motherly loue pressing her pappes vnder thy lippes thou hast not rendred vnto hir the hunger that she hath suffered for thee fearing least that she shoulde eate any thing which should hurte thee or that she shoulde eate any thing which shoulde bee noysome and hurtefull to her milke shee hath fasted for thy loue and for thy loue she hath eaten and for the loue of thee she hath not eaten the meate that she louid wilt thou suffer her to be in neede and to lacke that whiche thou hast thou owest vnto her vnto whome thou owest that whiche thou arte The like matters we do reade off in Xenophon when he declared that there was noe people that receiued more greater goodes then the children doe of their parentes the whiche are the cause that they liue Furthermore there are not that see so greate goods and are also partakers of that which God hath geuen vnto men The wife as that good author saith in conceauing her child suffereth that charge with most great werinesse and daungers of hir life and of hir proper substaunce nourishing hir fruite goeth about the day that she must trauaile and bring foorth hir childe with great and diuerse trauailes and afterwarde she nourisheth him and besides she is carful for him of whom shee neuer receiued any pleasure and who not onely forgetteth what he was which did him good but also can not onely expresse
grounde before that we doe plant but when we doe sée and perceiue the budde or sciences begin for to growe it is verie harde and diffcctle to perceiue and kéepe it vntill that it doth bring foorth fruite Euen so is it of man for the generation is verie easie but the bringing vp of him is full of great trauaile and wearinesse Also we wil not counsaile those which haue a certeine charge to instruct or teach the children to conduct and guide them with force feare or with too greate bondage For as the same author witnesseth euen as too much laboure and trauaile is noisome and hurtfull vnto the bodie chiefly when it is taken by feare and compulsion euen so no manner discipline of the soule forced and compelled is profitable Wherefore he concludeth that wée must nourish and bringe vp the children in learning not as compelled but as a playe and pastime to the ende that we may the easelier knowe the propertie of the spirites and mindes of the children And to a verie good purpose hath the Poet Terence spoken which saide that it is better to kéepe the children by shame and liberalitie then by feare That is the cause wherefore in the time of the Lacedemonians the childe béeinge taken in any faulte was compelled to make certaine Towers ouer against the temple and to pronounce and declare a prayer the which was composed and written to his shame and dishonoure which was none other thing but to blame himselfe of his owne mouth géeuing vs to vnderstand by the same edict statute that the children who of themselues are cleane are ledde to honest thinges through shame and gentlenesse and that it is the propertie of seruauntes to be conducted and ledde by feare Finally this shall serue to the fathers for to aduertise and warne them not to slacke so much the bridle to their children that they doe not committe a thing which maye tourne to their shame and dishonour as it chaunced vnto Hely as it appeareth in the first booke of Samuel who for that he had borne too much with his children in their faultes was rebuked by the Prophet afterwards hee and his children cruelly punished And the same which Sainct Paul speaketh off is greatly to be noted in the instruction and demonstracion of the LORD from the difference of some panimes who haue the power of life and of death towardes their children may sell them for certaine occasions The which the christian lawe doth not permit and suffer for the correction and discipline of the fathers ought to be ruled after the worde of GOD that is to say in all gentlenesse and loue for to proue whether God will giue them sometime repentaunce for to knowe the truth and that they may amende for to do the will of him béeing escaped from the snare of the Diuell wherein they were holden that their spirites may bée saued in the day of the LORD Iesus To conclude that they may bée sorie with a godly sorowe which causeth amendement vnto saluation not to bée repented off Briefly I desire that the father in all his life time yea vnto the last breath of his daies that hée woulde regarde asmuch as in him shal be possible to kéepe his children in the obedience and feare of the Lordes lawe the which the good patriarke Iacob doth teach vs who not onely in his life time but béeing nigh his death exhorted his children to kéepe the lawe of the Lorde And particulerly to declare and shewe vnto euery one of them their faults the which wee doe reade of Moses the conductour and leader of Gods people and spirituall father of our soules who before he died blessed the twelue tribes of Israel declaring vnto them wherein they haue varied and declined from the lawe of god To be short hée declared vnto them the great benefites of the same Lorde for to assure them more and more in his promises I will recite the aduertisement that Dauid made vnto his sonne as followeth My sonne I must walke by the way of all the world neuerthelesse be thou strong quite thy selfe manfully And sée that thou kepe the appointment of the Lord thy God that thou walke in his waies and kepe his commaundements ordinaunces lawes testimonies euen as it is written in the law of Moses that thou maist vnderstand all the thou oughtest to do al that thou shouldest meddell with Shal I sorget that good and holy man Tobiah who besides that hée instructed his sonne in all his life time in the feare of GOD counsailed him in his death to flée from Niniue and to flée and auoide the companie of the wicked also to kéepe the lawe and commaundements of the Lorde and to bee mercifull and righteous Shall I speake of that vertuous woman the mother of the seuen Machebeans béeinge enuironed and compelled on euerye side with tyrantes hangmen and neuerthelesse exhorted them with a manly and couragious heart to lay all things to the commaundements of the Lord I will ende this matter with Iesus Christ head of the church chiefe shepheard of our soules who before he yelded his soule vnto God his father when he loued his which were in the worlde vnto the ende hée loued them admonished them also to kepe obserue his commaundements and to kéepe like humilitie as they haue séene in him By these examples wée are taught that the Father ought to haue suche an eye vnto his children yea all his life time that they may haue none occasion if it bée possible to varie or decline neither to the right hande nor to the left hande from the LORDS lawe I doe speake vnto those which in their life and at their death doe make accounte of nothing els vnto their children but of their inheritaunces possessions and dominions and haue no regarde to declare and propounde vnto them the lawe of GOD his loue and his feare Cirus king of the Persians and verie riche hath not done so for he béeing nigh vnto his death spake of none other thing vnto his sonne then of the immortalitie of the soule and of the resurrection of the blessed Of his bodie he cared or set so little by that he desired his sonne not to regarde it any longer then he hath closed the eyes and not to shut or laye it in Marble Aliblaster or in any other precious sepulcher but to yelde it vp incontinently to the earth which doth bring foorth and nourish all goodly thinges good and profitable Wherfore let vs not estéeme that the principall and chiefest duetie of the fathers towards their children is to heape vp treasure for their children or to giue them the meanes not to be poore but rather to admonish them that they put not their hope trust in the vncertaintie of riches but to put it in the liuing God who doth giue vnto vs all thinges abundantly for to
hée doth giue power and strength vnto his in the vertue and power of his woord to roote out breake off destroy and make wast to build vp and plant as he promised in Ieremy and afterward confirmed by the mouth of his sonne sending his Apostles through out the whole world Then let all those bée confounded and put to shame which doe thincke to abolish the true christian religion by force of armes or with a great companie of people or by threateninges For as an auncient author hath very wel written that it is no religion to constraine the religiō the which men ought to receiue with a willing heart our religion cannot be forced and constrayned by force of armes but by woordes As for vs bicause that the Gospell hath bene preached throughout the whole worlde amonge the horrible persecutions of the martyres and that the bloode of them hath bene the séede of the Church yea that the Church is come to her perfection and greatnesse by those persecutions and hath ben crowned by the punishments and witnesses of the true faythfull christians we do make it no doubt to mainteine and defende our religion by the same meanes by the which she hath bene established I doe meane by patience and gentlenesse in such sort that although that our enimies doe yet murmure yet we are assured that the gates of hell shall not ouercome vs forasmuch as the church is the house of God the pyller and ground of truth We doe beléeue also that the persecutions which we do suffer doe not serue for any other thing then to witnesse the tyrannie and crueltie of our enimies and to assure more and more the veritie of our doctrine in our constantnesse and patience Euen as the persecution of Lot did figure none other thing but the vtter subuersion of the Citie of Sodome The affliction of the Israelites did declare and teach none other thing but the wast and destruction of the people of Aegypt to be nigh at hand To conclude the blood of the prophets did demonstrate declare the vengeaunce of God vpon that citie of Ierusalem so goodly and excelent According to that which is saide in Iesus the sonne of Siraach that bicause of vnrighteous dealing wrong blasphemies and diuers deceites a realme shal be translated from one people to an other And sainct Paule doth shewe and declare that the thinges which haue happened vnto him are tourned to the great furthering of the Gospell So that his bands in Christ were famous through out all the iudgement hall and in al other places Insomuch that many of the brethren in the Lord were boldened through his bands and dare more franckly speake the word I do speake vnto those which doe thincke to abolysh the true christian religion by the bloode of the faithfull as some which are so madde and senselesse willing to quench the fire doe put into it oyle For the Lord is come to sende fire on the earth And what desireth he more but that it be kindled If he himselfe hath embraced it in the heartes of the faithful who shall quench it Finally who shall seperate them from the loue of Christ shal tribulation or anguish or persecution either hunger either nakednesse either perill either swoord God forbid for in the same they are more thē vanquished by him which hath loued them Wherefore those are to much deceiued which doe thinck by some meanes whatsoeuer it bée to put out and quench in vs that lyght knowledg of Christ and celestiall veritie and doe not consider that sure loue is mightie as the death and gelousie as the hell her coales are of fire and a very flame of the Lord so that many waters are not able to quench loue neither may the streames drowne it Héere some will saye vnto me that the dooing of the religion ought to mainteine it selfe not by force of armes but by patience and méekenesse who haue moued and stirred vp those of the reformed religion to put themselues with force armes against the tyrannie of their enimies I doe aunswere that as it was lawefull by the olde lawe for the people of God to take weapons against the Philistians Moabites Madianites and other nations contrarie vnto the people of the Iewes then for that they were forced and constrained of them in their religion personnes or goodes Also it hath not bene lesse lawfull vnto those of the reformed religion hauing expresse commaundement of the king to kéepe defend by weapons that which hath bene concluded and determined so holily by the priuie counsayle for the dooing of the religion and the ecclesiasticall pollicie Inasmuch as all was confirmable and agreeing to gods lawe and expresse commaundement of the king who dyd aduowe them to doe the same by many letters and writings Euen as Dauid did take the weapons against Goliath forcing and troubling the people of God. And Gedeon did rise vp against the Madianites for to deliuer his people Iudith against Holophernes willing altogether to destroy and exterminate the Iewes Furthermore if the warre bée lawefull as it appeareth that the LORD did alowe so many warres of the Israelites And our LORD Iesus Christ dyd not despise the estate of the souldiers and of the Centurian In the Gospell chiefly and principally in two thinges weapons may be lawefull As king Alphonsus doth very well declare that is to say for the lawe and for the flocke I doe meane for the religion and the tuition of his person and of hys subiectes and for that the consciences the bodyes and the goodes haue bene forced and compelled euery where and that there was no more redyer helpe for to remedy that disease then to take weapons Not without cause then wée following the expresse commaundement of the king the aduise of the best reformed Churches together wyth the counsell of the most learned straungers of the realme haue taken the weapons for to withstand such iniuries and violences pretending none other thinge but the honoure of GOD the aduauncement of his kingdome and the health of his with the preseruation of the scepter of our king Which if the Painim or Heathen man hath wrytten that men ought to take weapons to the ende that without wrong they maye liue in peace In such sorte that the intente of those whyche doe carie them is none other thing but to séeke peace Who shall bée so shamelesse or madde that dare say that it is euill done to haue vpholden and mainteined by weapons the assaultes and force of our enimies for to liue in rest both of our goodes and of our consciences Furthermore if those children of the Machabeans are praised to haue constantly suffred death for to mainteine the lawes of their countrey shal it be compted vnto vs dishonoure shame to haue bestowed our life and our goodes for to mainteine the lawefull christian lawes of the king Without the
he was not dicomforted but blessed the name of GOD which gaue him grace to suffer for him Let vs leaue off then al such excuses when it is a question to obey the commaundement of the LORD for when the will is readie the powre is lacking Forasmuch as wée doe staye all in the strength of him which hath loued vs bicause that he which is in vs is greater then he that is in the worlde Let vs haue for example that liitle Dauyd who going to fight with that great Goliah measured not his strengthes but the power of him in whose name hée did fight Let vs remember that the Apostles hauing expresse cōmaundement of the Lord to go into a towne that lieth ouer against thē to the ende to vnlose an Asse and hir colte did not consider the difficultnes of the cōmaundement but staying themselues vpon the authoritie of him which commaunded them did execute incontinently their charge When Iesus Christ did send his Apostles thorow out the whole worlde for to preach declare his gospell they regarded not the daungers that might haue happened vnto them by the way the force and puissaunce of the enemies of the crosse of Christe Furthermore they excused not themselues of their ignoraunce but fortefying themselus in this word I wil giue vnto thée a mouth and wisedome to the which your enemies cannot resist did execute incontinently the commaundement of the Lorde Let vs then take example of those whom Iesus Christ hath sometime called for to followe him whereof the one excused himselfe saying suffer me first to burye my father the other sayde suffer me firste to bidde them farewell which are at home at my house Vnto whome the LORD aunswered no man that putteth his hande to the ploughe and loketh backe is apte to the kingdome of god Wherefore when the LORDE doth commaunde vs any thinge or when he doth call vs let vs doe as that good Samuel did who as often times as hée was called of the Lord as often times aunswered I am here for thou diddest call me Or as sainct Paule who sodeinly at the voice of the LORD aunswered What wilt thou haue me doe To conclude let vs kepe simplie that which is commaunded vs for to doe without putting too or taking from the word Dooing not that which seemeth good in our eies but that which God hath ordeined For the Lord doth protest by his Angell vnto euery man that heareth the wordes of the prophesie of this booke that if any man shall adde vnto these thinges GOD shall adde vnto him the plagues that are written in this booke And if any man shall minish of the words of the booke of this prophesie God shall take awaie his part out of the booke of life and out of the holy Citie and from those thinges which are written in this booke Deuteronomium 30. c. The commaundement which I commaund thee this day is not separated from thee neither farre off It is not in heauen that thou needest to say who shall go vp for vs to heauen and fet it vs that we may heare it and doe it Romaines 10. b. The word is nigh thee euen in thy mouth and in thine heart This is that worde of faith which we preach A Prayer O Lorde which hast made fast for euer and euer all thy commaundements in all truth and equitie and which puttest in man both the will and the desire to fulfill them Teach vs the way of thy statutes and shed and poure into our hearts thy loue through thy holy spirite by the which thou doest helpe our infirmities that we distrusting in our strengthes and despising the assaultes of the flesh the world and the diuel we may stay altogether vpon the loue of him which was once offered vp for vs for to accomplish thy will. And hast made vs more then vanquishers through the victorie which doth surmount the worlde that is to say our faith thy welbeloued sonne our LORD Iesus Christ vnto whom bée glorie for euer Amen ¶ A BRIEFE DEMONSTRATION vnto those which doe make profession of the true christian Religion and neuerthelesse doe refuse the ecclesiastical discipline wherein is described somewhat the vse fruite thereoff Cap. 15. Psalme 32. d. ¶ I will knowledge my sinne vnto thee and mine vnrighteousnesse haue I not hid And I saide I will confesse my sinnes vnto the Lord and so thou forgauest the wickednesse of my sinne 2. Timothe 4. a. ¶ Preach the worde be feruent in season and out of season improue rebuke exhort with all long suffering and doctrine 2. Corinth d. ¶ So write I nowe beeing absent to them which in times past haue sinned and to all others that if 〈◊〉 come againe I will not spare THe Prophet Ioel did complaine of his people calling them to repentaunce saying Tourne you vnto the Lord with al your hearts with fasting wéeping and mourning rent your heartes and not your clothes and tourne vnto the LORD your God for he is gracious and mercifull long suffering and of greate compassion and readie to pardon wickednesse Then no doubt he also shall tourne and forgiue and after his chastening he shall let your encrease remaine for meate and drincke offerings vnto the Lorde your God blowe out with the trumpet in Sion proclaime a fasting call the congregation and gather the people together warne the congregation gather the elders bring the children sucklings together Let the bridegrome goe foorth of his chamber and the bride out of hir closet Let the priestes serue the Lord betwixt the porch and the aulter wéeping and saying bée fauorable O Lord be fauorable vnto thy people let not thine heritage be brought to such confusion least the heathen be Lords thereof Wherefore should they say amonge the heathen Where is now their God Nowe goe to sayth the Lorde we will talke together It is not so though your sinnes be as redde as scarlet shall they not be whiter then snowe And though they were like purple shal they not be like white woll The Lorde standeth waiting that he may haue mercy vppon you and lifteth himselfe vp that he may receiue you to grace Be conuerted and tourne you cleane from all your wickednesse so shall there no sinne doe you harme Cast away from you al your vngodlinesse that ye haue done make you newe heartes and a newe spirite Wherefore will yee die O ye house of Israel séeing I haue no pleasure in the death of him that dyeth saith the Lorde God. Tourne you then and ye shall liue Forasmuch then as the voice of the Lorde is commune to all as that of his sonne Iesus Christ hath bene commune who hath sayd Come vnto me all yée that are wearie and laden and I will ease you Take my yoke on you and learne of me that I am méeke and lowly in heart and that God is not parciall But in all people he that feareth him
The same Philosopher did crie out sometime on the people of Athens O ye people of Athens I do loue you greatly but I loue rather to obey God then you Wherevnto we will aunswere that we will not depriue the Philosophers from the grace which the Lorde hath promised vnto the blessed for the Lambe hath béene killed from the beginning of the worlde But forasmuch as there is none other name giue vnder heauen vnto men whereby we must be saued then the name of Iesus We do say in this matter that the philosophers do differ from the loue which the true christians do beare vnto the Lorde forasmuch as the true christians doe acknowledge one Iesus Christ and him crucified which is the brightnesse of the glorie and the image of the personne of the father of whom the same father hath saide This is my welbeloued sonne heare him Also for to knowe perfectly the father and his wil we must know the sonne for this is life eternall that they do knowe the onely very God he whom the Lord hath sent to witte our Lord Iesus Christ according to that that the same Iesus Christ doth protest that the world knew him not that he hath giuen the name of his father to be knowē of his that the loue which the father hath loued be in them and he in them Wherefore if the onely begotten sonne which is in the bosome of the father hath declared him Who doubteth but that the Christians haue a more perfecter knowledge of the will of the father séeing the sonne by whome the father hath spoken vnto them in these later dayes and hath left vnto them the sacramentes as seales markes of his promises are not I say more moued to loue him then the Philosophers Inasmuch as the sonne hath said vnto Philippe Philip he that hath séene me hath séene my father Beleuest thou not that I am in my father my father in me And yet although that some Philosophers by the law natural haue had knowledge of God consequently they haue béene moued to loue him yet as saith Saint Paul they glorified him not as god Finally some may here say inasmuch as the Lorde desireth his that they do loue him perfectly that he desireth of them a thing either impossible or els too harde Wherevnto we will aunswere that the great perfection that the Lord desireth to loue him is not for vs to commaunde a thing which is too rigorous for he hath said that his yoke is easie and his burthen light But he hath regard to our imperfection fearing that thorough our infirmitie we should forsake him for to declare vnto vs the care that he hath of vs to gather what is the greatnesse of the precept Furthermore in that that he saith with all thy heart with all thy soule with all thy strength he requireth of vs a perfect obediēce insomuch that he would that we should consecrate our selues to his obedience loue The which also Saint Paul requireth of vs when he saith let not sinne reigne therfore in your mortall body that ye should obey sinne in the lustes of the bodie Neither giue ye your members as weapons of vnrighteousnes vnto sinne but giue your selues vnto God as they that are aliue from death giue your members as weapons of righteousnesse vnto God. And in an other place I beséech you therefore brethren by the mercifulnesse of God that ye offer your bodies a quicke sacrifice holy acceptable vnto GOD which is your resonable seruing of god And fashion not your selues like vnto this world but be ye chaunged in your shape by the renewing of your minde that yée may proue what is the will of God which is good acceptable and perfect in such sorte that the Lord would not that we shoulde lende him the tongue onely as the hipocrites do who do make profession to know God but with their déedes denie him But he would that we shoulde giue him both the word and the worke Vnto this Saint Iohn exhorteth vs saying my litle children let vs not loue in worde neither in tongue onely but in déede and in trueth That is the cause wherefore the lorde rebuked the Iewes by his Prophet that his people did approch nigh vnto him with their mouth and praised him highly with their lippes where as their heart neuerthelesse is farre from him Furthermore in this he comprehendeth a singuler perfection for the regarde of his commaūdementes For whosoeuer shall kéepe the whole lawe and yet faileth in one point he is guiltie in al. Forasmuch as he which hath said Thou shalt not commit adulterie he hath also said Thou shalt not kill At the end he concludeth So speake ye so do as they that shal be iudged by the law of liberty He would also by this cōmaūdemēt that w◠should loue him aboue al things yea aboue our owne life For he protesteth that he that loueth his father or mother more then him is not méete for him And he that taketh not his crosse and foloweth after him is not méete for him To conclude by these wordes he requireth of vs that we may be so carefull to loue him and with such affection that we may referre all our thoughtes wordes workes to his glory Whether therefore we eate or drincke or whatsoeuer we do let vs doe all to the praise of god For none of vs liueth to himselfe neither doth any of vs die to himselfe For whether we liue we liue vnto the Lord or whether we die we die vnto the Lord whether we liue therefore or die we are the Lordes One may finde at this day such a man vnto whom if one demaunde if he loue God he will aunswere franckly and fréely that which Sainct Peter aunswered vnto Iesus Christ Yea Lord thou knowest that I loue thée yea will say with the same Apostle I loue thée so much Lord that I am readie to go with thée into prison and to death And neuerthelesse if it were a question to endure and suffer some daunger for the Lord he will protest with an othe yea at the worde of a simple maiden I meane for a small occasion that he knew him not It maketh mee to remember for this matter of the same Apostle who seeing Iesus Christe transfigured in the mountaine his face shining as the sunne and his clothes as white as the light said vnto Iesus Maister here is good beeing for vs if thou wilt let vs make here three tabernacles but when the Lord said vnto him that hee must goe to Hierusalem and suffer many things did finde the things so straunge that hee began to rebuke Iesus saying maister looke to thy selfe this shall not bee vnto thee Those are they who in prosperity willingly loue the LORDE and in aduersitie doe denie him For there is no feare in loue but perfect loue casteth out
it is saide when thou art come into the lande which the LORD thy GOD giueth thée sée that thou learne not to do after the abhominations of these nations Let there not be founde among you that maketh his sonne or daughter to go thorowe the fire or that vseth Witchcrafte or a chooser out of dayes or that regardeth the flying of foules or a Sorcerer or a charmer or that councelleth with spirites or a prophecier or that asketh the aduise of the deade The which also the Prophet Esay confirmeth by the like wordes saying and therefore if they say vnto you aske counsell of the Southsayers Witches Charmers ▪ and Coniurers then make them this aunswere Is there a people any where that asketh not counsell at his GOD whether it be concerning the deade or the liuing If any man want light let him looke vpon the lawe and the testimonie whether they speake not after this meaning Also the Prophet Ieremie saith in this manner And therefore followe not your Prophetes Southsayers Expounders of dreames Charmers and Witches which say vnto you Ye shall not serue the king of Babilon For as righteousnesse hath no felowshippe with vnrighteousnesse neither light with darkenesse or Christe agréeth not with Belial or the faithfull hath no part with the infidell or the temple of GOD agréeth not with idols and no man can serue two maisters for either hee shall hate the one and loue the other or els he shall leane to the one and dispise the other Such people doe euidently declare that they loue not God perfectly That is the cause wherefore the LORDE rebuked his people bicause they haue plaied the harlotte ▪ with many louers And in the Prophet Oseas the Lorde threatneth the same people that he will discouer their foolishnesse euen in the sight of her louers These thinges are so muche more dampnable of our time that the sonne of God manifested him selfe to vs for to declare vnto vs the eternall lawe of his father For as saith the Apostle writing vnto the Hebrewes If the worde whiche was spoken by Angels was stedfast and euerie transgression disobedience receiued a iust recompence of rewarde How shal we escape if we dispise so greate saluation asmuch will we say of those whiche giue their bodies to an other kinde of vngodlinesse and of sinne For as long as they giue themselues to vices so long doe they drawe themselues from the loue and obedience that they owe vnto the lord These are the wordes of the prophet Esaie when he saith your misdéeds haue seperated you from your God and your sinnes hide his face from you that he heareth you not Forasmuch then as our members are the temple of god yet truely in consecrating them both to the one the other we make them members and temples of an other then of god And consequently forsaking the LORDE for our true spouse we doe altogether so as harlottes who committe fornication with all sortes of men That is the sentence of Saint Paul writing vnto the Corinthians know ye not saith he that your bodies are the members of Christ shall I then take the members of Christe and make them the members of an harlotte GOD forbid the bodie is not for the harlotte but for the Lorde and the LORDE for the bodie ye are dearely bought for a price therefore glorifie GOD in your bodie and in your spirite for they are Gods. Knowe ye not saith the same Apostle that to whome soeuer ye commit your selues as seruauntes to obey his seruaunts ye are to whom ye obey whether it be of sinne vnto death or of obedience vnto righteousnesse Euen so Iesus Christ séeing that the Iewes aduaunced themselues saying we are of Abrahams séede and were neuer bounde to any man aunswered them that whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruaunt of sinne For as the same Apostle witnesseth for to bee the séede of Abraham they are not therefore all children but in Isaac shall the séede be called that is to say those which are children of the flesh are not therefore children of God but those which are children of promise are reputed and taken for children and in vaine doe they promise libertie which are themselues the bonde seruauntes of corruption for of whomsoeuer a man is ouercome vnto the same he is in bondage Let not sinne reigne therefore in your mortall bodie that we shoulde obey sinne in the lustes of the bodie neither giue we our members as weapons of vnrighteousnes vnto sinne but giue our selues vnto God as béeing dead béeing made aliue and let vs giue our members as weapons of righteousnesse vnto god Let vs here conclude that as the Lord is perfect he desireth also of vs a perfect loue and a whole and sounde heart I meane not fayned nor dissmbled In such sort that those which thincke to loue God and the worlde together those I say abuse themselues greatly For as saith saint Iohn if any man loue the world the loue of the father is not in him Knowe yée not saith Sainct Iames that the friendship of the worlde is enmitie to God ward Whosoeuer therefore will bée a friende of the world is made the enimie of god Beholde that which moued S. Paul to confesse that if he studied to please men he should not bée the seruaunt of Christ The which is also figured in the olde lawe where it was commaunded not to offer vnto the Lord no oxe or shéepe wherein is any deformitie And cursed be the dissembler which hath in his flock one that is male and when he maketh a vowe offereth a spotted one vnto the Lord. As also the same lawe woulde that we should not haue in our bagge two manner of weightes that is to say a great and a small But that we must haue a perfect a iust measure For that cause was Ananias greatly punished as we doe reade in the Actes of the Apostles who hauing solde a possession and kept away parte of the price his wife also being of counsell and brought a certeine part and laide it downe at the Apostles féete Then said Peter Ananias Howe is it that Sathan hath filled thine heart that thou shouldest lye vnto the holy Ghost and kéepe away part of the price of the possession Thou hast not lyed vnto men but vnto god When Ananias heard these wordes he fell downe and gaue vp the ghost The like happened vnto his wife The same doth sufficiently declare vnto vs that we ought not to offer vnto GOD a heart that is vicious and full of dissimulation As the lawe doth not permitte that wée shoulde offer vnto GOD a foule thing and vncleane And as it desireth and commaundeth that wée shoulde haue a iust measure and weight so the LORDE woulde that man shoulde kéepe towarde his neighboure all fidelitie and equalnesse following the saying of the Apostle Sainct Paul writinge vnto the Thessalonians
sinceritie the which is ioyned to an obedience due to the pure worde of the LORD Such hath bene and is yet at this day the custome and manner of those which doe tourne all things into the euil euen as did of late the Iewes who seeing that Iesus Christ healed him which was possessed with a Diuell sayd that he driueth the Diuels no otherwise out but through Beelzebub the prince of the Diuels And then as he magnified and declared his mercy in the conuersion of sinners murmured and sayde within themselues that he was the friende of publicans sinners and harlots yea they cryed with a loude voice beholde a glutton and drincker of wine a friende vnto publicans and sinners To be short when hée declared the kingdome of GOD his father and that hée did miracles his owne rebuked him and sayd that hée was madde and besides himselfe The which also was afterwardes obiected against Sainct Paul by Festus then bicause he declared the Christ shoulde suffer and that he shoulde bée the first that should rise from the dead and should shewe light vnto the people and to the Gentiles And as he thus aunswered for himselfe Festus sayde with a loude voyce Paul thou art besides thy selfe much learning doth make thée madde Héerein wée sufficiently declare what we be I meane but of small charitie when the thinges the which ought to moue vs to pitie and compassion doe incitate and pricke vs forwarde to a more greater crueltie and in humanitie The which I will more at large declare by a familier example One can not denie that the right of burying among the christians but that it is a worke verie charitable and pitifull for the which Tobiah is greatly praysed in the holy scripture and in whose fauour the Iabanites were greatly agréeable vnto king Dauyd for the burying of the bodie of Saul Insomuch that the olde lawe would not suffer the the bodies of those which were put to death by authoritie shoulde abide any long time hanging vppon the gybet But it would that they should be incontinently taken downe and buried And neuerthelesse a man shall finde at this daye among the christians so much vnkindnesse and vngentlenesse that they are not content to haue put to death their neighboures without the leaue of the Magistrate and authoritie of the Iustice But they exercise towardes their bodies of cruelties more then Barbarous or Sithian the which of late the kingly Prophet Dauyd lamented of his people when he sayd the dead bodies of thy seruauntes haue they giuen vnto the foules of the ayre to be deuoured and the flesh of thy Sainctes vnto the beastes of the lande Their bloud haue they shed like water on euery side of Hierusalem there was no man to burie theÌ„ Furthermore I would willingly demauÌ„d if it be not a work of pitie or loue to burie a dead bodie What crueltie is that to rage on a dead bodie if he bée cast into the fire as sayth Sainct Augustine which hath not giuen meate vnto the néedie where shall he be sent which shall steale the breade of the poore if hée which hath not clothed the poore be put into eternall punishment where shall he be placed which shall spoile the poore of his raiment if hée be dampned with the diuell who harboured not the wayfaring man and the trauailer where shall hée become which hath pilled and deuoured the house of the trauayler Finally if hee ought to perish which hath not visited them that are in prison what shall one doe with him which hath wrongfully imprisoned them Beholde my brethren saith that good man what hope can they haue which doe euill when they are dampned and cast into euerlasting fire which doe no good What shal I say in this matter woe be vnto mée If I do not speake it if an hâ—athen Poet named Ampedocles hath written that all things were established and kept by amitie As also an other Historigrapher hath taught that through concorde and amitie little thinges become great And greate thinges through discorde and enmitie do come to decay and perish According to the same which our Lorde Iesus Christ doth witnesse the euery kingdome deuided against it selfe is desolate and a house deuided against it selfe falleth Insomuch by this marke the LORD doth knowe his true desciples forasmuch as they haue â–ª peace and loue one to an other how much is the charitie or loue of the true Christians to be praysed by the which not onely humaine thinges are kept but all thinges are reconciled to GOD through Iesus Christ The which hath moued Salomon to saye that loue is mightie as the death and gelousie as the hel Hir coales are of fire and a verie flame of the lord And although that that loue be agréeable vnto God and men yet truely such are the debates and diuisions amonge the christians insomuch that it should séeme that we are come to the time of which the Prophet Micheas speaketh off saying There is not a godly man vppon the earth there is not one righteous amonge men They laboure all to shedde bloode and euery man hunteth his brother to death yet they say they doe well when they doe euill As the Prince will so saith the Iudge that hée may doe him a pleasure againe The great man speaketh what his heart desireth and the hearers allowe him The best of them is but as a thistle the most righteous of them is but as a brier in the hedge And doe giue none eare vnto the voyce of him which sayth that if wee bite and deuoure one an other Let vs take héede that we be not consumed one of another Wherfore forasmuch as it is so that this commaundement is so much commended off in the holy Scripture as Iesus Christ himselfe doth call it a newe commaundement sometime also he calleth it his commaundement And the Apostle Sainct Paul doth call it the bonde of perfection saying let vs forbeare one an other and forgiue one an other if any man haue a quarell to an other Euen as Christ hath forgiuen vs euen so doe wée And aboue all these thinges put on loue which is the bonde of perfectnesse and the peace of GOD rule in our heartes to the which peace wée are called in one bodie of our LORD Iesus Christ vnto whom be glorie for euer and euer So bée it 1. Iohn 4. c. 16. ¶ God is loue and he that dwelleth in loue dwelleth in God and GOD in him and this commaundement haue wee of God that he which loueth God should loue his brother also Beloued let vs loue the one the other for loue commeth of god euerie one that loueth is borne of GOD and knoweth god He that loueth not knoweth not God for God is loue Psalme 41. d. ¶ Blessed is he that considereth the poore the Lord shall deliuer him in the time of trouble A Prayer O Lord which hast sayde by the