make men openly of counsell and witnesses of our repentance but to confesse priuately to God is a part of true repentance whiche can not be omitted For there is nothing more vnreasonable than to loke to haue God to pardon vs the sinnes in whiche we flatter our selues do hide them by Hipocrisye least he should bryng them to light And it behoueth vs not only to confesse those sinnes whiche we dayely coÌ„mit but more greuous offenses ought to drawe vs further and to cal agayne into our remembrance thynges that seme longe agoe buried Whiche lesson Dauid geueth vs by his example For beyng touched with shame of his newly committed fault he examineth himself euen to the time when he was in his mothers wombe and confesseth that euen then he was corrupted and infected with the filthinesse of the fleshe And this he doeth not to diminish the haynousnesse of his fault as many hide themselues in the multitude and seke to escape punishment by wrappyng other with them But Dauid doth far otherwise which with simple plainesse enforceth his fault in sayeng that beyng corrupt froÌ„ his first infancie he hath not cessed to heape euels vpon euels Also in an other place he likewise so examineth his passed life that he craueth the mercie of God for that sinnes of his youth And truely theÌ„ only shal we proue our drowsinesse to be shaken away froÌ„ vs if gronyng vnder our burden and bewayling our euels we aske reliâ—se of God It is moreouer to be noted that the repentance which we are coÌ„mauÌ„ded coÌ„tinually to applie differeth froÌ„ that repeÌ„tance that lifteth vp as it were from death them that either haue filthily fallen or with vnbridled licentiousnesse haue throwen forth themselues to sinne or after a certaine manner of rebellions reuoltyng haue shaken of the yoke of God For the Scripture ofteÌ„times when it exhorteth to repeÌ„tance meaneth therby as it were a passage or rising againe froÌ„ death into life when it reherseth that the people did penaunce it meaneth that they were turned froÌ„ their idolatrie other grolâ—e offences And in like maner Paul threateneth mourning vnto sinners that haue not done penance for their wantonnesse fornication vnchastitie This differeÌ„ce is to be diligently marked least while we heare that few ar called to penaÌ„ce a more thaÌ„ carelesse assuredness shuld crepe vpoÌ„ vs as though the mortifieng of the fleshe did no more beloÌ„g vnto vs the care wherof the corrupt desires that alway tickle vs the vices that coÌ„monly budde vp in vs do not suffer vs to release Therfore the speciall repentance which is required but of some whoÌ„ the Deuell hath violeÌ„tly carried away froÌ„ the feare of God fast bound with daÌ„nable snares taketh not away the ordinary repeÌ„tance which the corruptnesse of nature coÌ„pelleth vs to applie throughout all the whole course of our life Now if that be true which is most euidently certaine that all the summe oâ— the gospel is conteined in these two principall pointes Repentance forgeuenesse of sinnes doe we not see that the Lord doth therefore freely iustifie them that be his that he may also by the sanctification of his Spirit restore them into true righteousnesse Iohn the Angel sent before â— face of Christ to prepare his wayes preached Repent ye for the kyngdome of heauen is come nere at hande In callyng them to repentance he dyd put them in minde to acknowlege themselues sinners and all that was theirs to be damnable before the Lord that they might with all their heartes to desire the mortifâ—eng of their fleshe a newe regeneration in the Spirit In tellyng them of the kingdome of God he called them to faith For by the kingdome of God whiche he taught to be at hand he meant forgeuenesse of sinnes saluation and life and all that euer we get in Christ. Wherfore in the other Euangelistes it is written Iohn came preaching the Baptisme of repentaÌ„ce vnto â—orgeuenesse of sinnes And what is that els but that thei beyng oppressed weried with the burden of sinnes shold turne to the Lord conceyue good hope of forgeuenesse saluatioÌ„ So Christ also beganne his preachynges The kingdome of God is come nere at hand repent ye and beleue the Gospel First he declareth that the treasures of Gods mercie are opened in him and theÌ„ he requireth repentance and last of all coÌ„fidence in the promises of God â–ª Therfore when he meant briefly to coÌ„preheÌ„d the whole summe of the gospel he sayd that he must suffer rise agayne from the dead that repentance and forgeuenesse of sinnes must be preached in his name The Apostles also preached the same after his resurrection that he was raysed vp by God to geue to Israel repentance and forgeuenesse of sinnes Repentance is preached in the name of Christ when men do heare by the doctrine of the gospell that al their thoughtes their affections and their endeuors are corrupt and faulty and that therfore it is necessarie that they be borne againe if thei wyll entre into the kingdome of God Forgeuenesse of sinnes is preached when men ar taught that Christ is made to them redemption righteousnesse saluatioÌ„ and life in whose name they are freely accompted righteous and innocent in the sight of God whereas bothe these graces are receiued by fayth as I haue in an other place declared yet bicause the goodnesse of God whereby sinnes are forgeuen is the profe obiect of fayth therefore it shal be good that it be diligently distinguished from repentance Now as the hatred of sinne which is the beginnyng of repentaÌ„ce openeth vs the first entrie vnto Christ which sheweth himself to none but to miserable and afflicted sinners which grone labour are loden are hungry and thirsty and pine awaye with sorrowe and miserie so must we endeuor toward repentance throughout all our life applie it and follow it to the ende if we will abide in Christ. For he came to cal sinners but to repentance he was sent to blesse the vnworthy but so that euery one should turne himself froÌ„ his wickednesse The Scripture is full of such sayenges Wherefore when God offreth forgeuenesse of sinnes he likewise vseth to require on our parte repentance secretly declaryng thereby that his mercie ought to be to men a cause to repent them Do sayth he iudgement and righteousnesse bycause saluation is come nere at hand Agayne There shall come to Sion a Redemer and to them that in Iacob repeÌ„t from their sinnes Againe Seke the Lord while he may be found cal vpon him while he is nere Let the wicked leue his way the wickednesse of his thoughtes be turned to the Lord he shall haue mercie on him Againe Turne ye repent that your sinnes may be done away Where yet is to be noted that this coÌ„dition is not so annexed as though our repentance were a fundatioÌ„ to deserue pardoÌ„ but rather
Sonne but it is also spoken agaynst the holy ghost They that stumble vnware against the truthe of God not knowyng it which do ignorantly speake euell of Christ hauyng yet this minde that they would not extinguish the truth of God disclosed vnto them or ones with one worde offend him whome they had knowen to be the lordes anoynted these men sinne agaynst the father and the sonne So there are many at this day that do most hatefully detest the doctrine of the Gospell whiche if they did know it to be the doctrine of the Gospell they would be redy to worship with all their heart But thei whose conscience is conuinced that it is the worde of God whiche they forfake and fight agaynst and yet cesse not to fight agaynst it they are sayd to blaspheme the holy ghost for asmuch as they wrastle against the enlightening that is the work of the holy ghost Such were many of the Iewes whiche when they could not resist the Spirit that spake by Stephen yet endeuored to resist It is no doubt but that many of them were carried vnto it with zele of the lawe but it appereth that there were some other that of malicious wickednesse dyd rage agaynst God himselfe that is to saye agaynst the doctrine whiche they were not ignoraunt to be of God And such were those Pharisees against whoÌ„ the Lord inueyeth which to ouerthrow the power of the holy ghost defamed him with the name of Beelzebub This therfore is the Spirit of blasphemie when mans boldnesse of 〈◊〉 purpose leapeth forth to reproche of the name of God Which Paule signifieth wheÌ„ he sayth that he obteined mercie bicause he had igâ—oraÌ„tly coÌ„mitted those thinges through vnbelefe for whiche otherwise he had ben vnworthy of Gods fauour If ignoraÌ„ce ioyned with vnbelefe was yâ— cause that he obteined pardoÌ„ therupoÌ„ foloweth that there is no place for pardon where knowlege is ioyned to vnbelefe But if thou marke it wel thou shalt perceiue that the Apostle speaketh not of one or other particular fal but of the vniuersal departyng whereby the reprobate do forsake saluation And it is no maruel that they whom Iohn in his canonical epistle affirmeth not to haue ben of the elect froÌ„ whom they went out do fele God vnappeasable For he directeth his speache against them that imagined that they might reâ—urue to the Christian religion although they had ones departed froÌ„ it and calling them from this false pestilent opinion he sayth that whiche is most true that there is no way of returne open for them to the coÌ„munion of Christ that wittingly willingly haue cast it awaye But they cast it not away that only in dissolute licentiousnesse of lyfe transgresse the word of the lord but thei that of set purpose cast away his whole doctrine Therfore the deceit is in these wordes of fallyng sinning Bicause the Nouatians expound Falling to be if a man beyng taught by the law of the Lord that he ought not to steale or to coÌ„mit fornication absteineth not from stealing or fornication But coÌ„trarywise I affirme that there is a secret comparison of contraries wherein ought to be repeted althinges coÌ„trarie to that which was first spokeÌ„ so that here is expressed not any particular fault but the whole turning away froÌ„ God and as I may so cal it the Apostasie of the whole maÌ„ Therfore when he sayth they which haue fallen after that they haue ones ben enlightened haue tasted the heaueÌ„ly gift ben made partakers of the holy ghost also tasted the good worde of God and the powers of the world to come it is to be vnderstanded of them that with aduised vngodlinesse haue choked the light of the holy spirit haue spit out agayne the tast of the heauenly gift haue enstraÌ„ged themselues from the sanctificatioÌ„ of the holy ghost haue troden vnder foote the word of God the powers of the world to come And the more to expresse that aduised purpose of wickednesse in an other place afterwarde he addeth this worde by name Wilfully For when he sayth that there is left no sacrifice for them that sinne willingly after knowlege of the truthe receiued he doth not denie yâ— Christ is a continual sacrifice to purge the iniquities of the holy ones which he expresly crieth out almost in the whole epistle where he declareth yâ— priesthode of Christ but he sayth that there remaineth no other wheÌ„ that is ones forsaken it is forsaken when the truth of the gospell is of set purpose renounced But whereas some do thinke it to harde and to far from the tender merciefulnesse of God that any are put awaye that flee to beseching the lords mercie that is easily answered For he doth not say that pardon is denied theÌ„ if they turne to the lord but he vtterly denieth that they can rise vnto repentance bycause they are by the iuste iudgement of God striken with eternall blindnesse for their vnthankefulnesse And it maketh nothyng to the contrarie that afterward he applieth to this purpose the example of Esau whiche in vaine attempted with howling and wepyng to recouer his right of the firste begotten And no more doth that threatenyng of the Prophet When they crie I wil not heare For in such phrases of speache is meante neyther the true conuersion nor callyng vpon God but that carefulnesse of the wicked wherewith beyng bouÌ„d they are compelled in extremitie to loke vnto that which before they carelesly neglected that there is no good thing for them but in the Lordes helpe But this they doe not so muche call vpon as they mourne that it is taken from them Therefore the Prophet meaneth nothing els by Cryeng and the Apostle nothing els by Weping but that horrible torment which by desperation fretteth and vexeth the wicked This it is good to marke diligently for els God should disagree with himself which crieth by the Prophet that he wil be merciefull so sone as the sinner turneth And as I haue alredy sayd it is certayne that the minde of man is not turned to better but by Gods grace preuentyng it Also his promise concernyng callynge vpon him will neuer deceyue But that blinde torment wherwith the reprobate are diuersly drawen when they see that they muste needes seeke God that they may finde remedie for their euels and yet do flee from his presence is vnproperly called Conuersion and prayer But a question is moued whereas the Apostle denieth that God is appeased with fained repentance how Achab obteined pardon and turned awaye the punishment pronounced vpon him whom yet it appereth by the reste of the course of his life to haue ben onely striken amased with sodeine feare He did in deede put on sacke cloth scattered ashes vpon him laye vpon the ground and as it is testified of him he was huÌ„bled before God but it was not enough to cut his garmentes when his heart remayned thicke and swollen
mercy of God but no man can confesse Gods mercie vnlesse he haue first confessed his owne miserie Ye wee rather pronounce him accursed that doth not before God before his Angels before the Churche yea and before all men confesse himselfe a sinner For the Lorde hath concluded al vnder sinnes that al mouthes might be stopped and all fleshe humbled before God and he onely iustified and exalted But I maruell with what face thei dare affirme that the confession whereof thei speake is of the lawe of God the vse wherof we graunt in dede to be very auncient butte suche as we are able to proue in olde time to haue ben at libertie Truely euen their owne cronacles declare that there was no certaine lawe or constitution of it before the times of Innocent the thirde Surely if thei had had a more auncient lawe they wolde rather haue taken holde thereof than haue been contented with the decree of the counsell of Laterane and so made them selues to be laughed at euen of children In other things thei sticke not to come forged decrees whiche thei father vpon the most auncient Counsells that thei maie with very reuerence of antiquitie dasell the eyes of the simple In this point it came not in their minde to thrust in such a false packe Therefore by their owne witnesse ther are not yet passed three hundred yeares sins Innocent the thirde laied that snare vpon men charged them with necessitie of Confession But to speake nothinge of the time the very barbarousnesse of the woordes minisheth the credit of that law For wher these good fathers commaunde euery one of bothe kindes male female ones euery yeare to confesse all hys sinnes to his own preest pleasant men do merily take exception that in this commaundement are conteined only Hermaphrodites and sate that it belongeth not such a one as is either male or female only Sins that time a more grosse beastesnesse hathe bewrated it selfe in their scholars that can not expounde what is meant By his own prest Whatsoeuer al the Popes hyred bablers do prate we holde bothe that Christ was neuer the author of thys law that compelleth men to recken vp their sinnes and also that there passed a thousande and twoo hundred yeares from the resurrection of Christe before that any suche lawe was made And so that this tyrannie was then firste brought in when all godlynesse learning being destroied the visors of Pastors had without choise taken al licentiousnesse vpon them Moreouer there are euident testimonies bothe in hystories and other auncient writers whiche teach that this confession was a politike discipline redemed by the byshops not a lawe made by Christe or his Apostles I wil alleage but one out of many whiche shall be a plaine proofe thereof Sozomenus reporteth that this constitution of bishops was diligently kepte in all the west Churches but specialli at Rome Wherby he sheweth that it was no vniuersall ordinance of all Churches But he saith that there was one of the preestes peculiarly appointed to serue for this office Whereby he dothe sufficiently confute that which these men do falsly saie of the keyes geuen for this vse vniuersally to the whole ordre of presthode For it was not the common office of all preestes but the special duetie of some one that was chosen thervnto by the bishop The same is he whome at thys daie in all cathedrall Churches thei call Penitentiarie the examiner of haynous offenses and such wherof the punishment perteineth to good example Then he saith immediatly after that this was also the manner at Constantinople till a certaine woman faining that she came to confession was founde so to haue colored vnder that pretence the vnhonest cōpanie that she vsed with a certaine Deacon For this acte Nectarius a man notable in holines learning bishop of that Churche toke away the custome of confessing Here here let these asses lift vp their eares If auricular confession wer the lawe of God how durst Nectarius repelle and destroie it Wil thei accuse for an heretike schismatike Nectarius a holy man of God allowed by the consenting voices of all the olde fathers But by the same sentence thei muste condemne the Churche of Constantinople in whiche Sozomenus affyrmeth that the manner of confessing was not onely let slype for a time but also discontinued euen till within time of his remembrance Yea let them cōdemne of apostasy not onely the Church of Constantinople but also all the cast Churches whiche haue neglected that lawe whiche if thei saie true is inuiolable and commaunded to all Christians This abrogation Chrysostome which was also bishope of Constantinople doth in so many places euidently testifie that it is maruell that these dare mutter to the contrarie Tell saith he thy sinnes that thou mayest do them away if thou be ashamed to tel to any man the sinnes that thou hast done tell them daily in thy soule I do not say Confesse them to thy fellow seruant that may reproche thee tell them to God that taketh care of them Confesse thy sinnes vpō thy bed that there thy cōscience may daily recognise her euilles Again But nowe it is not necessary to confesse when witnesses be present let the examinatiō of thy sinnes be done with thy thought let this iudgement be without witnesse let only God se thee confessing Again I do not leade thee into a stage of thy fellow seruantes I do not cōpell thee to disclose thy sinnes to men rehearse vtter thy conscience before God Shewe thy woundes to the Lord the best surgeō aske salue of him Shew to him that wil reproche thee with nothing but wil moste gently heale thee Again Tel not man least he reproche thee for neither is it to be confessed to thy felow seruaunt that may vtter it abrode but to the Lord. To the Lord shew thy woundes which hath care of thee that is both gentle a Phisitiō Afterward he bringeth in God speaking thus I cōpel thee not to come into the mids of a stage cal many witnesses tel thy sin to me alone priuatly that I may heale thy sore Shal we say that Chrysostome did so rashly when he wrote this other like thinges that he would deliuer mens consciences from these bondes wherwith they be bond by the law of God not so But he dare not require that as of necessitie whiche he doth not vnderstand to be cōmaunded by the worde of God But that the matter may be made the plainer easier first we will faithfully rehearse what kinde of confession is taught by the worde of God thē we wil also declare their inuētions but not al for who could draw drie such an infinite sea but only those wherin thei cōprehend the som of their secret confession Here I am loth to rehearse how oft the old translatour hath geuen in translation this worde Confesse in stede of Praise whiche the grossest
vs. When therfore the holy ones do by innoceÌ„cie of coÌ„science coÌ„firme their faith gather matter of reioysing they do nothing but cal to minde by the frutes of their calling that they are adopted of the Lord into the place of children This therfore that is taught by Salomon that in the feaâ—e of the Lord is stedfast assurednesse this that somtime the holy ones vse this protestation to the entent that they may be heard of the Lord that thei haue walked before his face in vprightnes simplicititie haue no place in laying the fundatioÌ„ of stablishing of coÌ„science but are theÌ„ only of value if they be taken of the ensuing effect because both the feare is no where whiche may stablish a full assurednesse the holy ones are priuie in their conscience of such an vprightnes wherwith ar yet mingled many reÌ„naÌ„tes of the flesh But forasmuche as of the frutes of regeneration they gather an argumeâ—t of the holy Ghoste dwellynge in them they do there by not sclenderly strengthen them selues to loke for the helpe of God in all their necessities when they by experience finde hym their father in so great a matter And euen this also they canne not doe vnlesse thei haue first conceyued the goodnesse of God sealed with no other assurednesse than of the promyse For if they beginne to weye yt by good workes nothing shal be more vncertaine nor more weake forasmuche as if workes bee considered by them selues thei shall no lesse by theyr imperfection shewe profe of the wrathe of God than thei do with how soeuer vnperfect purenes testifie his good wil. Fynally thei do so set out the benefites of God that yet they tourne not awaie from the free fauoure of God in which Paul testifieth that ther is the length breadth depth and heigth of them as if he shoulde say Whethersoeuer the senses of the godly do tourne themselues howe hie soeuer thei clyme how farre and wide soeuer thei extend them yet thei ought not to goe oute of the loue of Christe but holde them selues wholy in the meditation therof bicause it comprehendeth al kindes of measures in it And therfore he saithe that it excelleth and surmounteth aboue all knowledge and that when we acknowledge howe muche Christe hathe loued vs we are fulfilled into all the fulnesse of God As in an other place when he glorieth that all the Godly are vanquishers in battell he by and by addeth a reason bycause of him that loued vs. We see now that ther ys not in the holy ones that affiance of works whiche either geueth any thinge to the merite of them forasmuche as thei regarde them none otherwise than as the giftes of God whereby thei reknowledg his goodnesse none otherwise than as signes of their calling whereby maie thinke vpon their election or whiche withdraweth not any thing from the free righteousnesse whiche wee obteine in Christe for asmuche as it hangeth vpon it and standeth not withoute it The same thing doth Augustine in few wordes but very wel set out where he writeth I do not saie to the Lorde despise not the workes of my handes or I haue sought the Lorde with my handes and haue not been deceiued But I do not commned the workes of my handes for I feare least when thou haste loked vpon them thou shalt finde moe sinnes than merites Onli this I say this I ask this I desire despise not the workes of thy hands beholde in me thy worke not mine For if thow beholdest mine thou damnest me if thou beholdest thine thou crownest me For also whatsoeuer good workes I haue they are of thee He setteth two causes why he dare not boaste of his workes to God bycause if he haue any good workes he seeth therin nothing his owne secondly bycause the same is also ouerwhelmed wyth multytude of synnes Whereupon commeth to passe that the conscience feleth thereby more feare and dismaieng than assurednesse Therfore he woulde haue God no otherwise to loke on his well doinges than that reknowledging in them the grace of his calling he maie make an ende of the worke which he hathe begonne But furthermore wheras the scripture sheweth that the good workes of the faithfull are causes why the Lorde doth good to them that is so to be vnderstanded that that which we haue before set may stand vnshaken that the Effect of our saluation consisteth in the loue of God the Father the Mater in the obedience of the Sonne the Instrument in the enlightning of the holy ghooste that is to saie in faithe that the end is the glorie of the so great kindenes of God These thinges withstande not but that the Lorde maye embrace workes as inferiour causes But whense coÌ„meth that Namely whome the Lord of his mercie hath apointed to the inheritaÌ„ce of eternal life them with his ordinarie dispeÌ„sation he doth by good workes bring into the possessioÌ„ therof That which goeth before in order of dispensatioÌ„ he calleth the cause of that which foloweth After this maÌ„ner he somtime deriueth eternal life froÌ„ workes not for that is to be ascribed to theÌ„ but bicause whome he hath chosen them he doth iustifie that he may at leÌ„gth glorifie them he maketh the grace that goeth before which is a step toward that which foloweth after a certaine maÌ„ner the cause of it But so oft as he hath occasioÌ„ to assigne the true cause he biddeth vs not to flee to workes but holdeth vs in the only thinking vpon the mercie of God For what manner of thing is this which he teacheth by the Apostle The reward of sinne is death the grace of the Lord is life euerlasting Why doth he not set righteousnesse in coÌ„parison against sinne as he setteth life agaynst death Why doth he not make righteousnesse the cause of life as he maketh sinne the cause of death For so should the comparison of contraries haue stand well together which is much broken by this turning But the Apostle meant by this coÌ„parison to expresse that which was truth that death is due to the deseruings of men that life is reposed in the only mercie of God Finally in these maÌ„ners of speaking is rather expressed the order than the cause bicause God in heaping graces vpon graces taketh cause of the first to adde the second that he may leaue nothing vndone to the enrichyng of his seruantes and he so continually exteÌ„deth his liberalitie that yet he would haue vs alway to looke vnto the free election which is fountaine beginning of it For although he loueth the giftes which he dayly geueth in so much as thei spring out of that fountaine yet it is our part to holde fast that free acceptation whiche alone is able to vpholde our soules as for such giftes of his Spirit as he afterward geueth vs so to adioyne them to the first cause that they minish nothing of it The .xv. Chapter ¶ That those thinges that are commoÌ„ly
imputed to him for righteousnesse Sith therfore it is said that the acte done by Phinees was imputed to him for righteousnesse what Paule affirmeth of faith the same may we also conclude of works Whervpon our aduersaries as though thei had wonne the victorie determine that we are in dede not iustified without faith but that we are also not iustified by it alone and that workes accomplish our righteousnesse Therefore here I beseache the godly that if thei knowe that the true rule of righteousnesse is to be taken out of the Scripture only thei will religiously and earnestly weie with me how the Scripture may without cauillations be rightly made to agree with it selfe For asmuch as Paul knewe that the iustificatioÌ„ of faith is the refuge for them that ar destitute of their own righteousnesse he doth boldly coÌ„clude that al thei that ar iustified by faith ar excluded from the righteousnesse of works But sith it is certayne that the iustification of faith is common to all the faithfull he dothe thereof with like boldenesse conclude that no man is iustified by works but rather contrariewise that men are iustified without any helpe of workes But it is one thing to dispute of what value works are by themselues and an other thing what accompt is to be made of them after the stablishing of the righteousnesse of faith If we shal set a price vpon works according to their worthinesse we saie that thei are vnworthy to come into the sight of God and therefore that man hath no workes whereof he may glorie before God then that being spoiled of al helpe of works he is iustified by only faith Now we define righteousnesse thus that a sinner being receiued into the communion of Christ is by hys grace reconciled to God when being cleansed with his bloode he obteineth forgeuenesse of sinnes and being clothed with his righteousnesse as with his own he staÌ„deth assured before the heauenly iudgment â—eate WheÌ„ the forgeuenesse of sinnes is set before the good workes which folowe haue now an other valuation than after their own deseruing bycause whatsoeuer is in them vnperfect is couered with the perfectioÌ„ of Christ whatsoeuer spottes or fylthinesse there is it is wyped away wyth hys cleannesse that it maye not come into the examination of the iudgement of God Therfore when the giltines of al trespasses is blotted out whereby men are hindred that thei can bring forthe nothing acceptable to God and when the faulte of imperfection is buried whiche is wonte also to defile good workes the good workes which the faithful do are compted righteous or which is all one are imputed for righteousnesse Now if any man obiect this against me to assaile the righteousnesse of faithe first I will aske whether a man be compted righteous for one or two holy works being in the rest of the works of his life a trespasser of the law This is more than an absurditie Then I will aske if he be compted righteous for many good works yf he be in any parte founde gilty This also he shal not be so bolde to affirme when the penal ordinaâ—ce of the law crieth oute against it proclameth al them accursed which haue not fulfilled all coÌ„maundementes of the lawe to the vttermost Moreouer I wil go further ask whether ther be any work that deserueth to be accused of no vncleannesse or imperfection And howe could there be any such before those eies to whom eueÌ„ the very starres are not cleane enough nor the Angeles righteous enough So shal he be compelled to graunt that there is no good worke which is not so defiled with transgressions adioyned with it with the corruptnesse of it selfe that it can not haue the honoure of righteousnesse Nowe if it bee certaine that it proceedeth from the righteousnesse of faith that woorkes which are otherwise vnpure vncleane and but halfe workes not worthy of the sight of God much lesse of his loue are imputed to righteousnesse why do thei with boasting of the righteousnesse of workes destroye the iustification of faith wheras if this iustification were not thei shold in vaine boaste of that righteousnes Wyll thei make a vipers birthâ— For therto end the saiengs of the vngodly meÌ„ Thei can not denie that the iustificatioÌ„ of faith is the beginning foundatioÌ„ cause matter substance of the righteousnesse of works yet thei coÌ„clude the man is not iustified by faith bycause good workes also are accoÌ„pted for righteousnesse Therfore let vs let passe these follies confesse as the truth is that if the righteousnesse of works of what sort soever it be accoÌ„pted hangeth vpon the iustificatioÌ„ of faith it is by this not onely nothing minished but also coÌ„firmed namly wherbi the strength therof appeareth more mighty Neither yet let vs think that works ar so coÌ„meÌ„ded after fre iustificatioÌ„ that thei also afterward come into the place of iustifieng a maÌ„ or do parte that office betwene them faithe For vnlesse the iustificatioÌ„ remaine alway whole the vncleannes of workes shal be vncouered And it is no absurditie that a man is so iustified by faith that not only he himself is righteous but also his woorkes are esteemed righteous aboue their worthynesse After this maÌ„ner we wil grauÌ„t in workes not only a righteousnes in parts as our aduersaries theÌ„selues wold haue but also that it is alowed of God as if it wer a perfect ful righteousnesse But if we remeÌ„bre vpoÌ„ what fouÌ„datioÌ„ it is vpholdeÌ„ al the difficultie shal be disolued For then noâ— til their beginneth to be an acceptable worke wheÌ„ it is receiued with pardoÌ„ Now whense coÌ„meth pardoÌ„ but bicause God beholdeth both vs â—amp al our thinges in Christe Therefore as we when we are graffed into Christ do therfore appeare righteous before God bicause our wickednesses are couered with his innocence so our workes are be taken for righteous bicause whatsoeuer faultines is otherwise in theÌ„ being buried in the cleannesse of Christe it is not imputed So we may rightfully sai that bi onli faith not oÌ„ly we but also our works ar iustified Now if this righteousnes of works of what sorte soeuer it be hangeth vpoÌ„ faith tree iustification is made of it it ought to be included vnder it and to he sette vnder it as the effect vnder the cause therof as I may so cal it so farre is it of that it oughte to bee raysed vp either to destroy or darken it So Paule to dryue men to confesse that oure blessednesse coÌ„sisteth of the mercy of God not of works chefli enforceth that saying of Dauid Blessed are thei whose iniquitties are forgeuen and whose sinnes are couered Blessed is he to whom the Lord hath not imputed sinne If any maÌ„ do thrust in to the contrary innumerable sayings wherin blessednesse seemeth to be geuen to works as are these Blessed is the man whiche feareth the Lord whiche hath pitie on the poore
a crooked figure as men sometime speake mingle him selfe with the multitude as one of the people but rather seuerally confesseth his owne gyltinesse humbly fleeth to the sanctuarie of forgeuenesse as he expresly sayth When I coÌ„fessed my sinnes the sinnes of my people And thys humblenesse Dauid also setteth out with his own example when he saith Entre not into iudgement with thy seruant bicause in thy sight euery one that liueth shall nat bee iustified In suche manner Esaie prayeth Loe thou art angry bicause wee haue sinned the worlde is founded in thy waies therefore we shal be saâ—ed And we haue been all filled with vncleannesse al our righteousnesses as a defiled cloth and wee haue al withered away as a leafe our iniquities do scatter vs abroade as the winde and there is none that calleth vpon thy name that rayseth vp himselfe to take holde of thee bycause thou hast hidde thy face froÌ„ vs and hast made vs to pine awaie in the hande of oure wyckednesse Now therfore O Lord thou art our father we are claye thou art our fasshioner we are the worke of thy hand Be not angry O Lord neither remembre wickednes for euer Behold loke vpon vs we ar al thy people Loe how thei stand vpoÌ„ no affiance at al but vpon this onely that thinking vpon this that thei be Gods thei despire not that he wil haue care of them Likewise Ieremie If our iniquities answer against vs do thou for thy names sake For it is bothe most truely most holyly written of whome soeuer it be which being written by an vnknoweÌ„ author is fathered vpon the Prophet Baruch A soule heauy deosolate for the greatnes of euel croked weake a hungrye soule fainting eies geue glorie to thee O Lord. Not according to the righteousnesses of our fathers doe we poure out praiers in thy sight aske mercie before thy face O Lord our God but bicause thou art merciful haue mercie vpon vs bicause we haue sinned before thee Finally the beginning also the preparing of praieng rightly is crauing of pardoÌ„ with an humble plaine confession of fault For neither is it to be hoped that euen the holiest man may obteine any thinge of God vntil hee bee freely reconciled to him neither is it possible that God may be fauourable to any but theÌ„ whom he pardoneth Wherfore it is no maruel if the faithful do with this keie opeÌ„ to theÌ„selues the dore to pray Which we learne out of many places of the Psalmes For Dauid wheÌ„ he asketh an other thing saith Remembre not the sinnes of my youthe remember me according to thy mercie for thy goodnesses sake O lord Again Loke vpoÌ„ my afflictioÌ„ my labore forgeue al my sinnes Wher we also see that it is not enough if we euery seuerall day do cal our selues accoÌ„pt for our new sinnes if we do not also remeÌ„bre those sinnes which might seeme to haue been long agoe forgotten For the same Prophet in an other place hauing coÌ„fessed one haynous offense by this occasioÌ„ returneth eueÌ„ to his mothers wombe wherin he had gathered the infectioÌ„ not to make the faulte seme lesse by the corruptioÌ„ of nature but the heaping together the sinnes of his whole life how much more rigorous he ys in coÌ„demning himself so much more easy he maye finde God to entreate But although the holy ones do not alwaye in expresse woordes aske forgeuenesse of sinnes yet if we diligently weie their praiers whiche the Scripture rehearseth we shal easily finde that which I say that thei gathered a minde to praie of the only mercy of God so alwaye toke their beginning at appeasing him bicause if euery man examine his owne conscience so far is he froÌ„ being bold to open his cares familiarlie with God yâ— he trembleth at euery coÌ„ming toward him except that he standeth vpoÌ„ trust of mercie pardon Ther is also an other special confession wher thei aske release of peines that thei also praie to haue their sinnes forgeuen bicause it weare an absurditie to will that the effecte to be takeÌ„ awaye while the cause abideth For we muste beware that God be fauourable vnto vs before that he testifye hys fauoure wyth outwarde signes bycause boothe hee hymselfe wyll keepe thys ordre and yt should lytle profyte vs to haue hym benefytiall vnlesse oure conscience feelynge hym appeased shoulde througely make hym louelye vnto vs. Whyche wee are also taughte by the aunswere of Christe For when hee hadde decreed to heale the manne sycke of the Palsey hee sayde Thy sinnes are forgeuen thee lifting vp our mindes therby to that which is chefely to be wisshed that God first receiue vs into fauoure and then shew forth the frute of reconciliation in helping vs. But byside that speciall confession of present gyltynesse wherby the faithful make supplication to obteine pardon of euery speciall faulte peine that general preface which procureth fauour to praiers is neuer to be omitted bicause vnlesse thei be grounded vpon the free mercie of God they shall neuer obteine any thing of God Whereunto maye be referred that sayeng of Ihon If we confesse oure sinnes he is faithfull righteous to forgeue vs and cleanse vs from al iniquitie For which cause it behoued praiers in the time of the law to be hallowed with expiatioÌ„ of bloode that they might be acceptable and that so the people sholde be put in minde that thei are vnworthy of so great a prerogotiue of honour til being cleansed from their defilinges thei shold of the onely mercie of God conceiue affiance to praye But wheras the holy ones seme somtime for the entreating of God to allege the helpe of their owne righteousnes as when Dauid saith Kepe my soule bicause I am good Again Ezechias RemeÌ„bre lord I beseche thee that I haue walked before thee in truthe haue done good in thyne eyes by such formes of speaking thei meane nothing els than by their very regeneratioÌ„ to testifie theÌ„selues to be the seruants childreÌ„ of God to whom he himselfe pronounceth that he wil be mercifull He teacheth by that prophet as we haue already seen that his eies are vpon the righteous his cares vnto their praiers Againe by the apostle that we shal obteine whatsoeuer we ask if we kepe his coÌ„maundemeÌ„ts In which sayenges he doth not value praier by the worthines of works but his will is so to stablish their affiance whose own coÌ„scieÌ„ce wel assureth theÌ„ of an unâ—ayned vprightnes inocenci such as al the faithful ought to be For the same is taken out of the very truth of God which the blindeman that had his sight restored saith in Ihon that God heareth not sinners if wee vnderstaÌ„d sinners after the coÌ„moÌ„ vse of the scripture for such as wtout al desire of righteousnesse do altogether slepe rest vpoÌ„ their sinnes forasmuch as no heart can
of our lyfe or as though it were written in vaine that godlinesse hath promyses not only of the life to come but also of this presēt lyfe But although the forgeuenesse of synnes is of much greater value than the sustenances of the body yet Christ hath set the inferior thing in the first place to the entent to lift vs vp by degrees to y◠other twoo petitions which do properly belong to the heauenly lyfe wherin he had regarde to our grossenesse We are commaunded to aske Our bred that we shoulde be contente with the quantitie which our heauenly Father vouchesaueth to geue to vs and shoulde not seke for gayne by vnlawful crafty meanes In the meane tyme we muste learne that it is made Ours by title of gifte because neither our diligence nor our trauaill nor our handes as it is sayed in Moses doe by themselues gett vs any thing vnlesse the blessing of God be presente yea the plentie of bred shoulde nothing at al profit vs vnlesse it were by God turned into nourishmente And therefore thys liberalitie of God is no lesse necessarie for the riche than for the poore because hauing their cellers their barnes full they should yet fainte for drynesse and emptinesse vnlesse they did by hys grace enioy their bred The word This day or Euery day as it is in the other Euangelist and also the adiectiue Daily doe bridle the to muche gredines of fraile thinges wherwith we are wont to burne out of measure and wherunto are ioyned other euells sithe if we haue plētifull abundance we do gloriously poure it out vppon pleasure delites boasting and other kindes of riotous excesse Therefore we are commaunded to aske only so much as is enough for our necessitie and as it were from day to day with this affiance that whē our heauenly Father hath fed vs thys day he wil also not faile vs to morrow Therfore how great plentie of thinges so euer doe flowe vnto vs yea whē our barnes be stuffed and our cellers ful yet we ought alway to aske our daily bred because we must certainly beleue that al substance is nothing but in somuche as the Lord doth by pouring out of his blessing with continuall encreasce make it frutefull and that the very same substance that is in our hand is not our own but insomuch as he doth euery houre geue vs a portion and graunt vs the vse of it This whereas the pride of men doth most hardly suffer it selfe to be persuaded the Lord testifieth that he hath shewed a singular example therof for all ages when he fed hys people with Manna in the wildernesse to teache vs that mā liueth not in bred onely but rather in the worde that cometh out of hys mouth Whereby is declared that it is his power alone by which our lyfe and strengthes are susteined although he doe minister it vnto vs vnder bodily instrumentes As he is wont also to teache vs by the contrarie exāple when he so oft as he wil breaketh the strength and as he calleth it the staff of bred that men eating may pine with hunger and drynkyng may be dried vp with thirst But whoso not being cōtēted with daily bred but with vnbrideled gredinesse are gaping for endlesse store or whoso being ful with their abundance and carelesse by reason of the heape of their richesse doe neuerthelesse sue to God with this praier they do nothing ells but mocke hym For the firste sorte of suche men aske that whiche they woulde not obteine yea that whiche they moste of all abhorre that is to haue only daily bred and so much as in them lyeth they dissemblingly hide from God the affection of their couetousnesse wheras true prayer oughte to poure out before him the very whole mynde it selfe and whatsoeuer inwardly lieth hydden But the other sort do aske that whiche they loke not for at his hande namely that whiche they thinke that they haue with themselues In this that it is called Oures the bountifulnesse of God as we haue sayd so muche more appeareth which maketh that oures that is by no righte due to vs. Yet that exposition is not to be reiected whiche I haue also touched that by our bred is meante that whiche is earned with rightfull and harmelesse trauail and not gotten with deceites and extorcious because that is alwaye Other mens which we get to our selues with any yl doing Wheras we praye that it be geuen vs thereby is signified that it is the only and fre gifte of God from whense soeuer it come to vs yea when it shall moste of all seme to be begotten by our owne policie and trauail and earned with our own handes forasmuch as it cometh to passe by his only blessing that our labors prosper wel Nowe foloweth Forgeue vs our dettes in whiche petition and the nexte folowing Christe hath brefely conteined whatsoeuer maketh for the heauenly lyfe as in these twoo partes aboue standeth the spirituall couenant whiche GOD hath made for the saluation of hys Chirche I will wryte my lawes in their hartes and I will be mercyfull to their iniquitie Here Christ beginneth the forgeuenesse in sinnes after this he will by and by adioyne the seconde grace that God defende vs with the power of hys Spirite and susteine vs with hys helpe that we maye stande vnouercome againste all tentations And sinnes he calleth dettes because we are dett bounde to pay the penaltie of them and were by no meanes able to satisfie it vnlesse we were acquited by thys forgeuenesse Whiche pardon is of hys free mercie when he himselfe liberally wypeth out these dettes taking no payment of vs but with his own mercie satisfieng himselfe in Christe which hath ones geuen himselfe for recompense Therfore whoso trust that God shal be satisfied by their owne or other mennes merites and that with such satisfactiōs the forgeuenesse of sinnes is recompensed and redemed they haue no parte of communicating of thys free forgeuenesse and when they call vppon GOD in thys manner they doo nothing but subscribe to their owne accusation yea and seale their owne condemnation with their owne witnesse For they confesse themselues detters vnlesse they be acquited by the benefit of forgeuenesse whiche yet they doo not receiue but rather refuse when they thrust vnto God their owne merites and satisfactions For so they doo not beseche his mercie but doe appeale to his iugement As for them that dreame of a perfection in themselues whiche taketh away nede to craue pardon lett them haue suche disciples whome the itching of their eares driueth to errors so that it be certaine that so many disciples as they gett are taken away from Christ forasmuche as he instructing all to confesse their giltinesse receiueth none but synners not for that he cherisheth sinnes with flatteringes but because he knewe that the faythful are neuer throughly vnclothed of the vices of their fleshe but that they alway remayne subiect to
sought without hymselfe maketh the one sorte differing from the other so that not al the children of Israel be true Israelites it is vainly fayned that euery mans estate hath beginning in hymselfe Then he further foloweth the mater vnder the example of Iacob and Eâ—au For when they bothe were the sonnes of Abraham bothe together enclosed in one mothers wombe it was a monsterlyke change that the honor of firste birth was remoued to Iacob by whiche change Paul affirmeth that there was testified the election of the one and the reprobation of the other The originall and cause of it is enquired whiche the Teachers of foreknowlege wyll haue to be sett out in the vertues and vices of men For thys is an easy shorte way wyth them that God shewed in the persone of Iacob that he chooseth the worthy of hys grace and in the persone of Esau he refuseth them whom he foreseeth to be vnworthy Thus they saye boldly But what sayeth Paule when they were not yet borne and had not done any good or euell that according to election the purpose of GOD mighte abyde not of workes but of hym that calleth it is sayed The elder shall serue the yonger as it is written Iacob I haue loued but Esau I haue hated If foreknowlege were of any force in this difference of the brethren then verily mention were vnfittly made of the tyme. Let vs graunt that Iacob was chosen because he had worthinesse gotteÌ„ by workes to come to what purpose should Paul say that he was not yet borne And this now should be vnaduisedly added that he had yet done no good because this shal be a redy answer that nothiÌ„g is hidden from God and that so the godlinesse of Iacob was presente before hym If workes do win grace they shold then worthily haue had their price before that Iacob was borne as if he had ben growen to full age But the Apostle goeth forwarde in vndoing this knot and teacheth that the adoption of Iacob was not made of workes but of the calling of God In works he enterlaceth not the time to come or time past then he directly setteth them against the calling of God meaning by stablishiÌ„g of the one expresly to ouerthrow the other as if he had sayd that it is to be considered what hath pleased God not what men haue brought of themselues Last of al it is certayne that by the wordes of Election and Purpose al causes whatsoeuer men are wont to faine ellswhere than in the secret counsel of God are quite remoued from thys mater What color wil they bring to darkeÌ„ these things who in electioÌ„ assigne some place to workes either past or to come For this is vtterly to mocke out that which the Apostle affirmeth that the difference of the brethreÌ„ hangeth not vpon any consideration of works but vpon the mere calling of God because it was put betwene them wheÌ„ they wer not yet borne Neither had he ben ignorant of this their sutteltie if it had had any soundnesse in it but because he very wel knewe that God can foresee no goodnesse in man but that which he hath first determined by the benefit of his election to geue him he fleeth not to that vnorderly order to set good workes before the cause of theÌ„selues Thus haue we by the words of the Apostle that the saluation of the faythful is founded vpon the wil of the only electioÌ„ of God and that the same fauor is not gotten by workes but cometh of free calling We haue also as it were an image of that thing sett before vs. Esau and Iacob are brethreÌ„ issuing bothe of one the same pareÌ„tes enclosed yet bothe in one wombe not yet brought out into the world In them al thinges are egal yet of them the iugement of God is diuerse For he taketh the one and forsaketh the other There was nothing but the only first birth by right wherof the one excelled the other But this also being passed ouer that thyng is geuen to the yonger which is denied to the elder Yea and in other also God semeth alway as of set purpose to haue despised first birth to cutt of from the fleshe al mater of gloryeng Refusing Ismaell he cast hys mynde to Isaac Plucking backe Manasse he more honored Ephraim If any maÌ„ interrupt me with sayeng that we must not by these inferior smal benefites determine of the summe of the lyfe to come that he which hath ben aduaunced to the honor of first birth should therefore be reckned to be adopted into the inheritance of heauen for there be some which spare not Paul himselfe as though in alleging these testimonies he had wrested the Scripture to a strange sense I answere as I haue done herebefore that the Apostle nether slipped by vnaduisednesse nor wilfully abused the testimonies of the Scripture But he sawe whiche they can not abide to consider that God minded by an earthly signe to declare the spiritual election of Iacob which otherwise was hidden in his inaccessible throne For vnlesse we refer the first birth graunted to him vnto the worlde to come it shoulde be a vaine and fonde forme of blessyng wherby he obteined nothyng but manyfolde miseries discommoties grefefull banishement and many bitternesse of sorow and cares Therefore when Paule sawe without douting that God by outwarde blessyng testified the blessing whiche he had in his kyngdome prepared spirituall and neuer decayeng for his seruant he douted not for profe of this spirituall blessyng to fetche an argument from that outward blessyng This also we must remembre that to the land of Canaan was adioyned the pledge of the heauenly dwellyng so that it ought not at al to be douted that Iacob was graffed with the Angels into the body of Christ that he might be partaker of the same lyfe Iacob therefore is chosen when Esau is reiected and by the Predestination of God is made different from hym from whom he differed not in any deseruyngs If you aske a cause the Apostle rendreth this because it is sayde to Moses I wyll haue mercie vpon whom I will haue mercie and I wil vouchsaue to graunt mercie to whome soeuer I will vouchsaue to graunt mercie And what I beseche you meaneth this Uerily the Lord himself most plainly pronouÌ„ceth that men haue in themselues no cause why he shold do good to them but he fetcheth the cause from his owne mercie onely and therfore that the saluation of his is his own worke When God setteth thy saluation in himselfe alone why wilt thou descende to thy self When he appointeth to thee his mercie alone why wilte thou runne to thyne owne deseruinges When he holdeth thy thoughte wholly in his merciefulnesse alone why wilt thou turne part to the beholding of thyne owne works Therfore we must nedes come to that lesser people which Paule in an other place saith to haue ben foreknowen to God not in suche sort as these men imagine to
hym oure saluation by lyttle and lyttle vanisheth awaie whiche wholly resteth in hym so that all they wilfully spoile them selues of all grace that reste not in him And that admonition of Bernarde is worthy to be rehersed that the name of Iesus is not onely lyght but also meate yea and oile also without which al the meate of the soule is drye and that it is also salte without the seasoning wherof al that is set before vs is vnsauorie Fynally that it is hony in the mouth melodie in the eare and ioyfulnesse in the hearte and also medicine and that whatsoeuer is spoken in disputation is vnsauorie but where thys name soundeth But here it behoueth to weie diligently howe saluation is purchased by him for vs that we may not onely be perswaded that he is the author of it but also embracing such thinges as are sufficient to the stedfast vphold in of our faithe wee maye refuse all suche thinges as myghte drawe vs awaye hether or thether For sithe no man can descende into him selfe and earnestly consider what he is but feelinge God angry and bent agaynste hym he hathe neede carefully to seeke a meane and waye to appease him whiche demaundeth satisfaction there is no common assurednesse required bicause the wrathe curse of God lyeth alwaie vpon sinners tyll they be loose from their gyltenesse who as he is a righteous iuge suffereth not his lawe to be broken without punishment but is ready armed to reuenge it But before we goe any further it is to be seen by the waye howe it agreeth together that God whiche preuented vs wyth his mercie was oure enemie vntyll he was reconciled to vs by Christe For howe could hee haue geuen vs in hys onely begotten Sonne a syngular pledge of his loue vnlesse he had already before that embraced vs wyth hys free fauoure Bycause therefore here ariseth some seminge of contrarietie I will firste vndo this knotte The holy ghoste commonly speaketh after this manner in the Scriptures that God was enemye to men tyll they were restored into fauoure by the deathe of Christ that thei were accursed till theyr iniquitie was purged by his sacrifice that thei were seuered from God tyll they were receyued into a conioyninge by hys bodie Suche manner of phrases are applied to oure capacitie that we maie the better vnderstande howe miserable and wreatched our estate is beinge oute of Christe For if it were not spoken in expresse woordes that the wrathe and vengeance of God and euerlastinge death did rest vpon vs we woulde lesse acknowledge howe miserable we shoulde bee without Gods mercie and woulde lesse regarde the benefite of deliuerance As for example If a man heare this spoken to him If God at suche time as thou wast yet a sinner had hated thee and cast thee away as thou hadst deserued thou shouldest haue suffered horrible destruction but bicause he hath willingly of his owne free kindenesse kept the in fauoure and not suffered thee to be estranged from hym he hathe so deliuered thee from that perill truely he will bee moued with and in some parte feele howe muche he oweth to the mercie of God Butte yf hee heare on the other syde that whyche the Scripture teacheth that hee was by synne estraunged from God the heyr of wrathe subiect to the curse of eternall deathe excluded from all hope of saluation a stranger from all blessing of God the bondslaue of Satan captiue vnder the yoke of synne Fynally ordeined vnto and already entangled wyth horrible destruction that in this case Christe became an intercessor to entreate for him that Christ toke vpon him suffered the punyshment whiche by the iuste iudgement of God did hange ouer al sinners that he hathe purged with his bloode those euels that made them hatefull to God that by this expiation is sufficient satisfaction and sacrifice made to God the father that by this intercessor his wrath was appeased that within thys foundation resteth the peace betweene God and men that vpon this bonde is conteined his good wyll towarde them shall not he be so muche the more moued with these as it is more liuely represented out of howe greate miserie he hathe been deliuered In a summe bicause oure minde can neither desirously enoughe take holde of life in the mercie of God nor receiue it with suche thankefulnesse as we ought but when it is before striken and throwne downe wyth the feare of the wrath of God and dreade of eternal death we are so taught by holy Scripture that wythout Christe wee maye see God in manner wrathfully bent againste vs and his hande armed to our destruction that wee maye embrace hys goodwyll and fatherly kindnesse no otherwhere but in Christe And althoughe this bee spoken according to the weakenesse of oure capacitie yet is it not falsly saide For God whyche is the hyghest ryghteousnesse can not loue wickednesse whiche he seeth in vs all Therfore we al haue in vs that which is worthy of the hatred of God Therfore in respect of oure corrupted nature and then of euell life added vnto it truely we are all in displeasure of God gylty in his sight and borne to damnation of hell But bicause the Lorde wyll not lose that whiche ys his in vs he fyndeth yet somwhat that he of hys goodnesse maye loue For howesoeuer we be sinners by our owne faulte yet we remaine hys creatures Howesoeuer we haue purchaced death to oure selues yet he made vs vnto lyfe So is he moued by meere and free louinge of vs to receiue vs into fauoure But sith there is a perpetuall and vnappeasable disagreement betweene righteousnesse and iniquitie so longe as we remayne sinners hee canne not receiue vs wholy Therefore that taking a waie all matter of disagreement he might wholy reconcile vs vnto him he doth by expiation sette forth in the deathe of Christe take away whatsoeuer euel is in vs that wee which before weare vncleane and vnpure may nowe appeare righteous and holy in hys sight Therfore God the Father dothe wyth hys loue preuent and goe before oure reconciliation in Christe yea bycause he fyrste loued vs therefore hee afterwarde doothe reconcile vs vnto hymselfe But bycause vntyll Christe wyth hys deathe come to succoure vs there remaineth wickednesse in vs whiche deserueth Gods indignation and is accursed damned in his sight therefore wee are not fully and fyrmely ioyned to God vntill Christe do ioyne vs. Therefore if wee will assure oure selues to haue God made well pleased and fauourable vnto vs we muste fasten oure eyes and myndes vpon Christe onely as in deede we obteyne by him onely that oure synnes be not imputed to vs the imputing whereof draweth with it the wrathe of God And for this reason Paule saith that the same loue wherwith God embraced vs before the creation of the worlde was staied grounded vpō Christ. These things are plaine agreable with the scripture do make
the guidynge thereof Whoe can choose but be astonished at these monstruous thinges Yet it is a common learnyng amonge them whiche blynded wyth madnesse of lustes haue put of all common reason but what Christ I beseche you doe they frame vnto vs and what spirite doe they belche out For we reknowledge one Christ and his only Spirit whome the Prophetes haue commended whom the Gospell geuen vs doth preache of whome we there heare no such thyng That Spirit is no patrone of manslaughter whoredom droÌ„kennesse pride coÌ„tentioÌ„ couetousnesse gutle but the author of loue chastitie sobrietie modestie peace teÌ„peraÌ„ce truth It is not a giddy spirit and runneth hedlong without consideration through right and wrong but is ful of wisedome vnderstanding that discerneth rightly betwene iust and vniust It stirreth not vnto dissolute and vnbridled licentiousnesse but maketh difference betwene lawefull and vnlawfull and teacheth to kepe measure and temperance but why doe we labour any longer in confutynge this beastly rage To Christians the Spirit of the Lord is not a troublesome phantasie whiche eyther themselues haue brought forth in a dreame or haue receyued beyng forged of other but they reuerently seeke the knoweledge of him at the Scriptures where these two thynges be taught of hym First that he is geuen vs vnto sanctificatioÌ„ that he might bryng vs into the obedience of Gods wil beyng purged from vncleannesse defilinges whiche obedience can not stand vnlesse lustes be tamed and subdued wherunto these men would geue the bridle at libertie Secondly we are taught that we are so cleansed by his sanctification that we are still besieged with many vices and much weakenesse so longe as we are enclosed in the burden of our bodye whereby it coÌ„meth to passe that beyng farre distant from perfection we haue neede alwaye to encrease somewhat and beyng entaÌ„gled in vices we haue neede dayly to wrastle with them Whereupon also foloweth that shakynge of slouth and carelesnesse we muste watche with heedeful mindes that we be not compassed vnware with the snares of our fleshe Unlesse paraduenture we thinke that we haue proceded further than the Apostle which yet was weried of the Angel of Satan that his strength might be made perfecte with weakenesse and whiche did vnfaynedlye represent in his fleshe that diuision of the flesh and of the spirit But whereas the Apostle in describynge of repentance reckeneth seuen eyther causes or effectes or partes thereof he doth that of a very good cause and these they be endeuour or carefullnesse excusyng indignation feare desire zele punishement Neyther ought it to seme any absurditie that I dare not certainely determine whether they ought to be compted causes or effectes For both may be defended in disputation They maye bee also called affections ioyned wyth repentance but bicause leauynge out those questions we maye vnderstande what Paule meaneth we shal be content with a simple declaration of them He sayth therefore that of the heauinesse whiche is accordynge to God ariseth carefulnesse For he that is touched with an earnest felynge of displeasure bycause he hath sinned agaynst his God is therewithall stirred vp to diligence and heedefulnesse to winde himselfe clerely out of the snares of the Deuell to take better heede of his snares to fall no more from the gouernance of the holy ghost not to be oppressed wyth securitie Nexte is Excusyng whiche in this place signifieth not the defense whereby a sinner to escape the iudgement of God eyther dothe denye that he hath offended or diminisheth the hainousnesse of his faulte but a purgation whiche standeth rather in crauyng of pardon than in defense of his cause Lyke as the children that are not reprobate when they acknowledge and confesse their faultes doe yet vse entreatynge and that it maye take place they protest by all meanes that they can that they haue not cast awaye the reuerence that they owe to their parentes Finally they so excuse them as they goe not about to proue themselues righteous and innocent but only that they maye obteyne pardon Then foloweth Indignation wherby the sinner fretteth inwardly with hymselfe quareleth with hymselfe is angry with hymselfe when he recordeth his owne peruersnesse and his owne vnthankfulnesse to God By the name of feare he meaneth that tremblynge that is stryken into our mindes so ofte as we thynke bothe what we haue deserued and howe horrible is the seueritie of Gods wrathe agaynste sinners For we muste needes then be vexed wyth a maruellous vnquietnesse whiche bothe instructeth vs to humilitie and maketh vs more ware agaynst the time to come Nowe yf out of feare doe sprynge that carefulnesse whereof he had spoken before then we see with what lynkyng they hange together It semeth to me that he hath vsed this worde Desire â—or diligence in our dutie and redy cherefulnesse to obeye whereunto the acknowledgynge of our owne faultes ought chiefely to prouoke vs. And thereunto also belongeth zele which he ioyneth immediatly next vnto it For it signifieth a feruentnesse wherwith we be kindled when we be spurred forwarde with these pryckyng thoughtes what haue I done whether had I throwen my selfe hedlonge yf the mercie of God did not help me The last of all is punishment for the more rigorous that we be to our selues and the streightlier that we examine our owne sinnes so much the more we ought to trust that God is fauorable and merciful vnto vs. And truely it is not possible but that the soule beyng striken with horrour of the iudgement of God muste needes do some execution in the punishyng of it self Truely the godly hoâ—â—e what punishmeÌ„tes are shame confusion mourning lothyng of theÌ„selues other affections that spring out of earnest acknowleging of sinnes But let vs remeÌ„ber that there is a measure to be kepte that sorrow do not swallow vs vp bicause nothing more redily happeneth to fearefull consciences than fallyng to despeire And also by that crafty meane whom so euer SataÌ„ findeth ouerthroweÌ„ with dreade of God he more and more drowneth them in the gulfe of sorrowe that they maye neuer rise vp againe Truely the feare can not be to great which endeth with humilitie and departeth not from hope of pardon But alwaye as the Apostle teacheth the sinner must beware that while he moue himselfe to the lothyng of himselfe he despeire not oppressed with to great feare for so doe we flee awaye from God whyche calleth vs in him by repentance Upon whiche point this lesson of Bernarde is very profitable Sorrowe for sinnes is necessarie yf it bee noâ— contâ—nuall I counsell you sometime to returne your faute from gâ—â—nous and paynefull remembrance of your owne wayes and to 〈◊〉 vp to the playne grounde of cherefull remembrance of benefites of God Let vs mingle honye with wormâ— wood that the holsome â—â—tternesse may bring vs health when it shal be dronke tempered wâ—â—â— swetenesse And if ye thinke of your selues in humilitie thinke also of the
moue and tosse and wherewith thei miserably encomber themselues that they prate of thinges that thei know not As for example whether the repentance of our sinne pleaseth God whē obstinacie endureth in other Againe whether the punishmentes laied vpon man by God do auaile to satisfaction Againe whether repentance maye be oftentimes reiterate for deadly sinnes wher thei fowly wickedly define that penance is dayly done but for veniall sinnes Likewise thei very much torment themselues with a grosse erroure vpon the saieng of Hierome that repentance is a second bourde after shipperack Wherin thei shewe that thei neuer waked from their brutish dulnesse to feele so much as a farr of the thousandth part of their faultes But I wold the readers shold note that here is not a quarel about the shadow of an asse but the most earnest mater of al other is entreated of that is to saie forgeuenesse of sinnes For wheras thei require three things to repentance contrition of heart confession of mouth satisfaction of worke thei do therwithal teache that those three thinges are necessarie to the obteining of forgeuenes of sinnes But if it behoue vs to know any thing at all in all oure religion this truely behoueth vs moste of all I meane to vnderstand and knowe well by what meane with what lawe vpon what condition with what easinesse or hardnesse the forgeuenesse of sinnes is obtained If this knowledge stande not plaine and certaine the conscience can haue no rest at all no peace with God no confidence or assurednesse but continually trembleth wauereth is troubled is tormented is vexed horriblye dreadeth hateth and fleeth the sight of God But if the forgeuenesse of synnes hange vpon those conditions to whiche thei do binde it then nothing is more miserable nothinge in more lamentable case than we They make Contrition the firste parte of obteining pardon and they require that to be a due contrition that is to saie perfect and full but in the meane time thei do not determine when a man may be assured that he hathe to the full measure perfectly perfourmed this contrition Truely I graunt that euery man ought diligently and earnestly to enforce hymselfe with bitterly weping for his synnes to whett himselfe more and more to a lothing and hatred of them For this is a sorrowe not to be repented y◠breedeth repentance vnto saluation But when there is suche a bitternesse of sorrowe requyred as maie proportionally aunswer the greatnesse of the fault and suche as maye in balaunce counterpaise with the trust of pardon here the pure consciences are maruelously tormented and troubled when they see them selues chaunged with a due contrition of sinnes and doe not so atteine the measure of that due that they can determine with them selues that they haue duely perfourmed so muche as they duely oughte If they saie that we muste do as muche as lyeth in vs then come we still to the same pointe that we were at before for howe dare any manne assure himselfe that he hath employed all his force to bewaile his synnes So when the consciences hauinge longe wrastled with them selues and longe been exercised with battailes doe at length finde no heauen to reste in yet somewhat to ease them selues thei enforce them selues to a sorrowe and wringe out teares to make perfect their contrition But yf they saie that I slaundre them Let them come forthe and shewe any one man that by suche doctrine of contrition hathe not eyther ben driuen to despeire or hath not set for his defense a counterfaiting of sorrowe in steede of true sorrowe againste the iudgemente of God We haue also oure selues saide in one place that forgeuenesse of synnes neuer commeth without repentance bycause none but the afflicted and wounded with conscience of synnes can syncerely call vpon the mercie of God but we haue therewithall further saide that repentance is not the cause of the forgeuenesse of sinnes As for those tormentes of soules whiche they saie muste be perfourmed of duetie we haue takē them awaie we haue taught the sinner not to loke vpon his owne contrition nor his owne teares but to fasten bothe his eyes vpon the onely mercie of God We haue onely putte him in minde that Christ called the laboring loden when he was sent to publish glad tidinges to the poore to heale the contrite in heart to preache remission to captiues to deliuer prisoners to comforte them that mourne From whiche shold be excluded both the Pharises that filled with their own righteousnesse doe not acknowledge their owne pouertie and also the despisers that carelesse of Gods wrath do seke no remedy for their euels For suche doe not laboure nor are loden nor contrite in hearte nor bounde nor captiue But there is greate difference betweene teaching a man to deserue forgeuenesse of sinnes with due and full contrition whiche the sinner can neuer perfourme and instructing him to hunger and thirste for the mercie of God that by the acknowledging of hys owne miserie by his owne vnquietnesse wearinesse and captiuitie it maie be shewed him where he ought to seeke for releefe rest and libertie and finally he maie be taught in the humbling of himselfe to geue glorie to God Concerning Confession ther hath been alwaie great strife betwene the Canonistes and Scholediuines while the one sorte affyrme that confession is commaunded by the special commaundement of God and the other sorte denie it and saie that it is commaunded onely by the Ecclesiasticall constitutions But in this contention hathe appeared the notable shamlessnesse of the diuines that haue corrupted and violently wrasted as many places of Scripture as thei alleaged for their purpose And when thei sawe that thei coulde not so obteine that which they required thei which woulde be thought more suttle than the rest escaped away with this shifte that confession came from the lawe of God in respect of the substance of it butte afterwarde receiued frome of the lawe Positiue Euen as the foolishest sorte amonge the laweyers doe saie that Citations came from the law of God bicause it is said Adam wher arte thou And likwise Exceptions bicause Adam aunswered as if were by waie of exception saieng The wife that thou gauest me c. but that bothe citations and exceptions receiued forme geuen them by the Ciuile law But lette vs see by what argumentes thei proue thys confession either formed or Unfourmed to be the commaundement of God The Lorde saie thei sent the leprous men to the preestes But what Sente he them to confession Whoe euer hearde it spoken that the Leuiticall preestes were appointed to heare confessions Therfore thei flee to Allegories and saie It was commaunded by the lawe of Moses that the preestes shoulde discerne betwene leprosie and leprosie sinne is a spirituall leprosie therfore it is the preestes office to pronounce vpon it Before that I aunswer them I aske this by the waie If this place make thē iudges of the spiritual leprosie
I speake now of grosse and blockish hypocrites that thinke thei haue done sufficiently if they haue noted three or sower of the greatest sinnes but I speake of the true worshippers of God whiche when thei see themselues oppressed with the examinatiō that they haue made do adde also this saieng of Ihon If oure owne heart do accuse vs God is greater than oure heart and so thei quake for feare at the sight of that iudge whose knowledge farre sourmounteth oure vnderstandinge But whereas a greate parte of the worlde rested them vpon suche flatteries wherewith so deadely a poyson was tempered thys came not so to passe bycause they beleued that God was satisfied or bycause they them selues were fully satisfied but that the anchor caste as y◠were in the midde sea shoulde reste a lyttle from saylinge or as a wayfaringe man weary and fainetynge shoulde lye downe in the waye I laboure not muche in prouinge thys For euery man maie be witnesse to hym selfe I will in a shorte summe shewe what manner of law thys was Fyrst simply it is impossible and therefore it can do nothinge but destroy damne confounde and cast in ruine and desperation And then when it hath ledde sinners from the true feeling of their sinnes it maketh then hypocrites and ignoraunce of God and themselues For whyle they are wholy busyed in reckenynge vppe of theyr synnes in the meane tyme they forgette the secrete sinke of vyces their hydden Iniquities and inwarde fylthynesse by knowledge whereof they shoulde cheefely haue weyed their myserie But thys was a moste certaine rule of confession to acknowledge and confesse the bottomlesse depth of our euell to be so great as passeth our vnderstandyng After thys rule wee see that the Publicanes confession was made Lorde be mercifull to me a synner as if he shoulde saie All that euer I am I am altogether a sinner and I can not atteine with witte or expresse with tongue the greatnesse of my sinnes let the bottomlesse depthe of thy mercie swallow vp the bottomles depth of my sinne But then thou wilt saie what are not all oure sinnes to be confessed is no confession acceptable to God but that whiche is knitte vp in these twoo woordes I am a sinner No but rather we muste endeuoure our selues as much as in vs lieth to poure out oure heart before the Lorde and not onely in one worde confesse oure selues sinners but also truely and heartyly acknowledge oure selues to be suche and with al oure thought record howe greate and diuerse is oure filth of sinnes not onely that wee bee vncleane but what howe great and in howe many partes is oure vncleannesse not onely that we be detters but with howe greate dettes wee bee loden and howe manie waies charged not onely that we bee wounded but also with howe manie deadly strokes we be wounded With this reknowleging when the sinner hath wholy poured out himselfe before God lette him earnestly and syncerely thinke that yet there remaine moe sinnes that the secret corners of their euels are so depe that thei can not be throughly disclosed And he crieth out with Dauid Whoe vnderstandeth his errours Lorde cleanse me from my hidden sinnes Now wher thei affirme that sinnes are not forgeuen but with an intent of confessing firmely conceiued and that the gate of paradise is shutte against him that neglecteth occasion offered when he may be confessed God forbidde that we shoulde graunt them that For there is no other forgeuenesse of sinnes than alwaie hath ben It is not reade that all thei haue confessed their sinnes in the eare of some preste that wee reade to haue obteined forgeuenesse of sinnes at Christes hande And truely thei coulde not confesse where there were neither any prestes confessors nor any confessing at all And in many ages after thys confession was vnhearde of at which time sinnes weare forgeuen with out thys condition But that we may not nede to dispute longer about this as about a doubtfull matter the worde of God is plaine which abideth for euer Whensoeuer the synner repenteth I will no more remembre all his iniquities He that dare adde any thinge to this worde byndeth not sinnes but the mercie of God For whereas thei saie that Iudgement canne not be geuen but when the cause is heard we haue a solution in readinesse that they doe presumptuously take that vpon them selues which haue made themselues iudges And it is a maruell that thei do so boldely frame to themselues suche principles as no man in his right wit wil graunt Thei boaste that the office of Binding and Loosing is committed to them as though it weare a certain iurisdictiō ioyned with Inquisition Moreouer their whole doctrine crieth oute that this authoritie was vnknowen to the Apostles Neither doth it belong to the preeste but to him whiche desireth absolution to knowe certainly whether the synner be loosed or no forasmuche as he that heareth can neuer know whether the reckning be iust perfect So shold ther be no absolution but suche as is restrained to his words that is to be iudged Moreouer the whole ordre of loosing stādeth of faith repētance which two things are hidden from the knowledg of man when sētence must be geuē vpō an other man It foloweth therfore ▪ that the assurāce of binding and loosing is not subiect to the iudgment of an earthly iudge bicause the minister of the worde when he dothe his office can not geue absolution but conditionally but that this is spoken for the sinnes sake Whose sinnes ye forgeue ▪ c. that thei should not doubte that the pardon whiche is promised by the commaundement and worde of God shall be ratified in heauen Therefore it is no maruel if we condemne and desire to haue vtterly taken awaie this Auricular confession a thinge so pestilent and so many waies hurtfull to the Churche but if it were a thinge by it selfe indifferent yet for asmuche as it is to no vse nor profite hathe geuen cause to so many wickednesses sacrileges and erroures whoe will not thinke that it ought to be presently abolished Thei do in deede recken vp some good vses whiche thei boaste vpon as very profitable butte these either false or of no valewe at all Due onely thei commend with a singular prerogatiue that shame is a great punishment of him that cōfesseth wherby the sinner both is for time to com made warer preuenteth the punishment of God in punishing himselfe As thoughe we dyd not humble a man with shamefastnesse enoughe when we call him to that hie iudgement seate of heauen I meane to the hearing of God It is forsoothe very wel profited if for shame of one mans knowledge we cesse to sinne and bee not ashamed to haue God witnesse of oure euell conscience Althoughe the very same is also moste false for it is to bee seen that by nothinge groweth greater confidence or licentiousnesse to sinne than when men hauing made
Repentance they assigne to satisfaction wherof all that euer they babble may be ouerthrowen with one worde They say that it is not enough for him that repenteth to absteyne from his former euels and chaunge his behauior into better vnlesse he make satisfaction to God for those things that he hath done And that there be many helpes by whiche we maye redeme sinnes as wepinges fastinges oblatioÌ„s the workes of charitie With these we must winne the Lord to be fauorable with these we muste paye our dettes to the righteousnesse of God with these we must make amendes for our defaultes with these we must deserue pardoÌ„ For although by the largesse of his mercie he hath forgeuen our faulte yet by the discipline of his iustice he reteineth the peine that this is the peyne that must be redemed with satisfactions But in effect al that they say coÌ„meth to this point that we do in deede obteine pardoÌ„ of our sinnes at the mercifulnesse of God but by meanes of the deseruing of our workes by whiche the offense of our sinnes may be recoÌ„pensed that due satisfaction may be fully made to Gods righteousnesse Against such lies I set the free forgeuenesse of sinnes than whiche there is nothing more euidently spokeÌ„ of in the Scripture First what is forgeuenesse but a gift of mere liberalitie For the creditour is not sayd to forgeue that acknowlegeth by acquitance that the monye is payed but he that without any paymeÌ„t willingly of his owne liberalitie cancelleth the detters bond SecoÌ„dly why is this word Freely added but to take away al opinion of satisfaction With what coÌ„fidence therfore do they yet set vp their satisfactioÌ„s that are strickeÌ„ downe with so mighty a thuÌ„derbolt But what when the lord crieth out by Esaie It is I it is I that do put away iniquities for mine owne sake and will not be mindefull of thy sinnes dothe he not openly declare that he fetcheth the cause and fundation of forgeuenesse only from his owne goodnesse Moreouer whereas the whole Scripture beareth this witnesse of Christe that forgeuenesse of sinnes is to be receyued by his name doth it not thereby exclude all other names Nowe then do they teache that it is receyued by the name of satisfactions Neyther can they denie that they geue this to satisfactions although they saye that the same bee vsed as helpes by waye of meanes For whereas the Scripture sayth By the name of Christ it meaneth that we bryng nothyng we allege nothyng of our owne but reste vpon the only commendation of Christ. As Paule where he affirmeth that God is reconcilyng the world to him selfe in Christ for his sake not imputyng to men their sinnes he immediatly sheweth the meane and manner how bycause he that was without sinne was made sinne for vs. But suche is their peruersnesse they saye that bothe forgeuenesse of sinnes and reconciliation are performed bothe at one time when we are in Baptisme receyued into the fauour of God by Christ that after baptisme we muste rise agayne by satisfactions and that the bloud of Christ profiteth nothyng but so far as it is distributed by the keyes of the Churche Neither doe I speake of a doubtefull matter for asmuche as they haue in moste euident writinges bewrayed their owne filthynesse and not one or two of them but all the Scholemen vniuersally For their Maister after that he had confessed that Christ had payed the penaltie of sinnes vpon the tree accordyng to the doctrine of Peter immediately correcteth his sayeng with adding this exception that in baptisme all temporall penalties of sinnes are released but after baptisme they are minished by the help of penance that so the crosse of Christe and our penaunce maye worke together But Iohn sayth far otherwise yf any sinne we haue an aduocate with the Father euen Iesus Christ whiche is the propitiation for our sinnes I wryte vnto you children bycause your sinnes are forgeuen you for his names sake Truely he speaketh to the faythfull to whome when he setteth foorth Christe to bee the propitiation of sinnes he sheweth that there is no other satisfaction by whiche God beyng displeased maye bee made fauorable and appeased He doth not saye God was ones reconciled vnto you by Christe nowe seâ—ke you other meanes but he maketh hym a perpetuall aduocate alwaye to restore vs by his intercession into the fauour of his father a perpetuall propitiation by whiche our sinnes maye be cleansed awaye For this is euer true that the other Iohn sayd Beholde the Lambe of God beholde him that taketh awaye the sinnes of the worlde He taketh them awaye sayth he hymself and none other that is to say for asmuch as he alone is the Lambe of God he alone also is the oblation for sinnes he alone the propitiation sacrifice he alone the satisfactioÌ„ For wheras the right power to forgeue belongeth proprely to the father in the respect that he is distinguished from the sonne as we haue alredy sene Christ is here set in an other degree that taking vpoÌ„ himself the peine due vnto vs he hath taken away our giltinesse before the iugemeÌ„t of God WherupoÌ„ foloweth that we shal no otherwise be partakers of the satisfaction made by Christ vnlesse the same honour remayne whole with him whiche they doe wrongfully take to themselues that goe about to appease God with their owne recompensinges And here it is good to consider two thinges that Christ may haue his due honour kepte vnto hym whole and vnminished and that the consciences beyng assured of the forgeuenesse of sinne maye haue peace with God Esaie sayth that the father hath layed the iniquities of vs all vpoÌ„ his sonne that we should be healed by his stripes Which thing Peter rehearsyng in other wordes sayth that Christ did in his body beare our sinnes vpon the tree Paule wryteth that sinne was condemned in his flesh when he was made sinne for vs. That is to saye that the force and curse of sinne was slayne in his fleshe when he was geuen to bee a sacrifice vpon whiche the whole heape of our sinnes with all their malediction and curse with the dredfull iudgement of God and condemnation of death should be caste Here those trislynges are in no case to be heard that after the firste purgyng euery one of vs doth none otherwise fele the effectualnesse of the passion of Christ than after the measure of satisfactorie repentance but so oft as we fall we be called backe to the onely satisfactioÌ„ of Christ. Nowe set before thee their pestilent follies as for example That the grace of God worketh alone in the firste forgeuenesse of sinnes that yf we afterwarde fall to the obteynyng of a seconde forgeuenesse our workes doe worke with it If these thynges maye haue place do these thynges that are here before assigned to Christ remayne safe vnto him It is a maruellous greate difference betwene this that
our iniquities are layed vpon Christ that they should bee cleansed in him and this that they are cleansed by our owne workes betwene this that Christ is the procuryng of mercie and this that God muste be made mercifull by workes But yf we speake of pacifieng the conscience what pacification shal this be for a mans conscience to heare that his sinnes are redemed by satisfactions When shal he certainely knowe the measure of his satisfaction Therefore he shall alway doubte whether he haue God merciefull or no he shall alwaye bee â—exed and alwaye quake for feare For they that rest vpon light peâ— satisfactions doe to contemptuously esteme the iudgement of God â—â—d doe litle consider how great is the greuousnesse of sinne as we â—all declare in an other place But although we graunt them to redeme some sinnes with iust satisfaction yet what will they doe when they are oppressed with so many sinnes for satisfaction wherof a huÌ„red liues although they were wholy applied therunto caÌ„ not suffice Biside that all the places wherin the forgeuenesse of sinnes is affirmed do not belong to yonglinges but to the already regenerate childreÌ„ of God them that haue ben loÌ„g nourished in the bosome of the church That embassage which Paul so honorably extolleth I beseche you in the name of God be ye reconciled vnto God is not directed to strangers but to them that had ben already regenerate But he biddynge satisfactions farewell sendeth them to the crosse of Christ. So when he wryteth to the Colossians that Christ by the bloud of the crosse hath pacified all thynges in heauen or in earth he restrayneth not this to the only moment wherein we are receiued into the church but extendeth it to our whole course Whiche easily appereth by the processe of the text where he sayth that the faithfull haue a redemption by the bloud of Christ that is forgeuenesse of sinnes Albeit it is superâ—luous to heape together moe places that redily offer themselues to be founde Here they â—lie to the sanctuarie of the foolish distinction that some sinnes are veniall and some deadly that for deadly sinnes is greate satisfaction due that veniall sinnes are purged with more easy remedies as with sayeng of the Lordes prayer with sprinklyng of holy water with absolution at the masse So they mocke and trifle with God But whereas they alwaye haue in their mouthe veniall and deadly sinne yet they coulde neuer discerne the one from the other sauyng that they make vngodlinesse and vncleannesse of heart a veniall sinne But we as the Scripture the rule of right and wrong teacheth vs doe pronounce that the rewarde of sinne is death and that the soule that sinneth is worthy of death But that the sinnes of the faythfull ar veniall not for that they doe not deserue death but bycause by the mercie of God there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus bicause they are not imputed bycause they are taken awaye by pardon I know howe vniustly they sclaunder this our doctrine For they saye that it is the Stoikes strange conclusion concernyng the equalitie of sinnes But they shall easily be conuinced by their owne mouth For I demaunde of them whither among the very same sinnes that they confesse to be deadly they doe not acknowlege one to be greater than an other It doth not therfore immediatly follow that sinnes are egall bicause they are al together deadly When the Scripture definitiuely sayth that the reward of sinne is death that the obedieÌ„ce of the law is the way of life that the traÌ„sgreâ—â—â—h of the law is death they can not escape this sentence What end oâ— satisfieng then will they finde in so great a heape of sinnes If the satisfaction of one daye be the satisfaction of one sinne while they are about that one satisfaction they wrappe themselues in many sinnes siche the iustest man passeth no one day wherin he falleth not many times Now when thei shall prepare themselues to make satisfaction for these sinnes they shall heape vp great numbers yea rather innumerable Then the hope of satisfieng beyng cut of what do they staye vpon how dare they still thinke of satisfieng They goe about to winde out theÌ„selues but as the prouerbe is the water stil cleaueth vpon them The forge a distinction of fault penaltie Thei coÌ„fesse that the fault is forgeuen by the mercie of God but that when the fault is forgeuen the penaltie remaineth which the righteousnesse of God requireth to be payed that satisfactions doe properly belong to the release of the penaltie Good God what a skippynâ— lightnesse is this now they confesse that the forgeuenesse of the fault lieth freely open for men which sometime they teache men to deserue with prayers wepinges and al other kindes of preparations But yet still al that is â—aught vs in the scripture coÌ„cerning the forgeuenesse of sinnes doth directly fight against this distinction Whiche although I think that I haue alredy more than sufficieÌ„tly coÌ„firmed yet I wil adde some other testimonies wherwith these winding snakes may be holden so faste that they shall not be able ones to folde in the toppe of their taile This is the new Testament whiche the lord hath couenanted with vs in his Christ that he will not remember our iniquities What he meant by these wordes we learne by an other Prophet where the lord sayth If the righteous turne away froÌ„ his righteousnesse I wil not remeÌ„ber al his righteousnesses If the wicked depart froÌ„ his wickednesse I wil not remeÌ„ber al his iniquities Wheras he sayth that he wil not remeÌ„ber their righteousnesse this is asmuch to say that he wil haue no regard of them in respect to reward them Therfore not to remember sinnes is asmuch as not to cal them to punishmeÌ„t The same thing is called in an other place to cast it behinde his backe to wype it away like a cloude to drowne it in the bottome of the sea not to impute it to hide it By such manners of speche the holy ghost doth plainely expresse his meanyng vnto vs if we would apply vnto him willinge eares to learne Truely if God doe punysh sinnes he imputeth theÌ„ if he taketh vengeance he remeÌ„breth theÌ„ if he cal them to iudgemeÌ„t he doth not hide them if he examine theÌ„ he doth not cast them behinde his backe if he loke vpon them he hath not wiped them away like a cloude if he sift them he hath not cast them into the bottome of the sea And in this manner doth Augustine expouÌ„d it in plaine wordes If God haue couered sinnes then he wold not loke vpoÌ„ them if he wold not loke vpoÌ„ them then he wold not mark them if he wold not marke theÌ„ then he wold not punish them he would not know them he had rather pardon them Why therfore did he say that sinnes were couered that they should not be seen What
more louynge tendernesse Therfore where he mindeth to teache that he is not inmeasurable in takyng punishmentes he reprocheth to the hard hearted obstinate people that beyng striken yet they make not an ende of sinning In this meaning he complaineth that Ephraim was as a â—ake scorched on the one side and rawe on the other bycause the corrections did not pearce into their mindes that the people hauynge their vices boyled out might be made mete to receyue pardon Truely he that so speaketh sheweth that so sone as a man hath repented he wil by and by become appeasable and that by our stifnesse he is enforced to that rigour in chastisyng of faultes which should haue ben preuented with willyng amendement Yet forasmuch as we all are of suche hardnesse and rudenesse as vniuersally needeth chastisemeÌ„t it semed good to him beyng a most wise father to exercise al without exception with a coÌ„mon scourge al their life long But it is maruelous why thei so cast their eyes vpon the only example of Dauid and are noâ— moued with so many examples in which they might haue beholden free forgeuenesse of sinnes It is read that the Publicane weÌ„t out of the temple iustified Their folowed no peyne Peter obteyned pardon of his offence his teares we reade sayth Ambrose his satisâ—actioÌ„ we reade not And the man sicke of the Palsey heard it spoken to him Rise thy sinnes are forgeuen thee There was no peyne layed vpon him Al the absolutions that are rehearsed in the Scripture are set out as geuen freely Out of this great number oâ— examples a rule shoulde rather haue ben gathered than of that only example that conteyneth in it a certaine speciall matter Daniel in his exhortation wherin he counselleth Nebuchadnezer to redeme his sinnes with righteousnesse and his iniquities with pitieng of the poore his meanyng was not to saye that righteousnesse mercie are satisfactorie appeasementes of God redemption of peines for God forbidde that there were euer any redemption sauinge only the bloud of Christ but to referre this word Redeming rather to men than to God as if he had sayd O king thou hast vsed an vnrighteous and violent gouernement thou hast oppressed the humble thou haste spoyled the poore thou haste hardly and vniustly handled thy people for thy vniust exactions for thy violence and oppression nowe render to them mercie and righteousnesse Likewise Salomon sayth that with charitie the multitude of sinnes is couered not before God but among men theÌ„selues For thus is the whole verse Hatred raiseth vp contentions but charitie couereth all iniquities In whiche verse as his manner is he doth by waye of comparison of contraries compare the euels that growe of hatreds with the frutes of charitie in this meanyng they that haâ—e together do one byte barke at reproche and rayle at an other and turne all thinges to the worst but they that loue together doe dissemble many thynges amonge themselues doe wynke at many thinges and pardon many thinges one to the other not that the one alloweth the others faultes but beareth with them and helpeth them with admonishyng rather than galleth them with reprochyng them And it is not to bee doubted that Peter allegeth this place in the same sense vnlesse we will accuse him of deprauyng and wrongfully wrestynge the Scripture But whereas he teacheth that sinne is purged with mercifulnesse and liberalitie he doth not meane that recompense is therewith made for sinne before the face of the Lord so that God beyng appeased by suche satisfaction dothe release the peyne that otherwise he would haue layed vpon them but after the accustomed manner of the Scripture he declareth that they shall finde him merciefull vnto them that leauyng their former vices iniquities do turne to him by godlinesse and truthe as if he should say that the wrath of God doth cesse and his iudgement rest when we cesse from our euell doynges Neither doth he there describe the cause of pardon but rather the manner of true conuersion As many times the Prophetes doe declare that Hypocrites doe in vayne pester God with forged ceremonious vsages in stede of repentaÌ„ce whereas it is vprightnesse of life with the duties of charitie that deliteth him As also the author of the epistle to the Hebrewes coÌ„mending liberalitie gentlenesse teacheth that such sacrifices please God And when Christ tauÌ„ting the Pharisees that geuing hede only to cleansyng of dishes they neglected the cleannesse of the heart coÌ„maunded them to geue almes that all might be cleane he dyd not thereby exhorte them to make satisfaction but only teacheth what manner of cleannesse pleaseth God Of whiche kinde of speach we haue entreated in an other place As touching the place of Luke no maÌ„ that hath with sound iudgement read the parable that the Lord did there recite will make vs any controuersie therupon The Pharisee thought with himselfe that the lord did not know the woman which he had so easily receiued into his presence For he thought that Christ wold not haue receiued her if he had knowen her such a sinner as she was And thereby he gathered that Christ was not a Prophet that might in suche sorte be deceyued The lord to shewe that she was no sinner to whom her sinnes were alredy forgeuen dyd put out this parable There were two dettours to one creditour vpoÌ„ vsurie the one ought fifty the other ought fyue hundred bothe had theyr dettes forgeuen them Whether oweth more thanke the Pharisee answered he to whome moste is forgeuen The Lorde replyed learne hereby that this womaÌ„s sinnes are forgeuen her bycause she hath loued muche In whiche wordes as you see he maketh not her loue the cause but the profe of the forgeuenesse of her sinnes For they are deriued vpoÌ„ a similitude of that â—ettour to whome fyue hundred was forgeuen to whome he dyd not saye that therefore it was forgeuen bycause he had loued muche but therefore loued muche bycause it was forgeuen And hereunto muste that similitude bee applyed in this sorte Thou thynkest this woman to be a sinner but thou oughtest to knowe that she is none suche for asmuch as her sinnes be forgeuen her And that her sinnes be forgeuen her her loue ought to proue vnto thee whereby she rendreth thanke for his benefite It is an argument gathered of the folowyng effect whereby any thinge is proued by signes ensuyng By what meane she obteyned forgeuenesse of sinnes the Lord openly restifieth Thy fayth sayth he hath saued thee Therefore we obteyne forgeuenesse by fayth By charitie we geue thankes and testifie the bountiefulnesse of the Lord. As for those thinges that are commonly founde in the bookes of olde wryters concerning satisfactioÌ„ they litle moue me I see in deede that many of theÌ„ I wil speake plainely in a manner al whose bokes remayne haue eyther erred in this point or spoken to crabbedly and hardely but I will not graunt that
they were so rude and vnskilfull as to haue wrytten those thynges in that sense that the newe Satisfactionars do reade thē Chrysostome in one place writeth thus wher mercie is required examination cesseth where mercie is asked iudgement is not rigorous where mercie is craued there is no place for peine where is mercie there is no inquisition Where is mercie the answer is pardoned Whiche wordes howsoeuer they be wrested yet thei cā neuer be made to agree with the Scholemens doctrines In the boke of Ecclesiastical doctrines whiche is fathered vpō Augustine is red thus Satisfactiō of repentance is to cut of the causes of sinnes not to graunt an entrie to their suggestions Whereby appereth that the doctrine of satisfaction that was sayd to be geuen in recompense for sinnes committed was euen in those times laughed to scorne for asmuch as they referre all satisfactiō to a heedefulnesse in absteining from sinnes in time to come I will not allege that whiche the same Chrysostome sayth that he requireth of vs no more but that we shold confesse our sinnes vnto him with teares sithe suche sentences are many times founde in his wrytinges and others Augustine in deede in some places calleth the workes of mercie remedies to obteine forgeuenesse of sinnes but bicause no mā shuld stūble at that litle word he himself preuenteth it in an other place The flesh of Christ sayth he the true only sacrifice for sinnes not only these sinnes y◠are wholly put away in baptisme but also these that afterward crepe in by weaknesse for whiche the whole church crieth out at this day Forgeue vs our trespasses And they are forgeuen by that singular sacrifice They haue for the most part called satiffaction not a recompense to be rendred to God but an open declaratiō wherby they that had ben excōmunicate when they would be receiued agayne to the cōmunion did assertayne the church of their repentance For there weare enioyned vnto them when they did repēt certayne fastings other things whereby they might perswade men that they weare truely hartily wery of their former life or rather blot out the remembrance of their former doynges so they were sayd to make satiffaction not to God but to the Church Which is also expressed of Augustine in these words in his Enchirrdion to Laurēce Out of that auncient custome the cōfessions and satisfactions that are at this day vsed toke their beginning Truely very viperous birthes by whiche is brought to palle that there remayneth not so much as a shadowe of the better forme I know that the old writers doe sometime speake somewhat hardly and as I sayd euen now I do not denie that paraduenture they erred herein But those things that weare besprinkled with a few spots when thei are ones handled with these mens vnwashed handes are altogether defiled And if we must contend with authoritie of old wryters good God what olde writers do they thrust vnto vs A good part of those wherwith Peter Lombard their chāpion hath botched vp his patched Sentēces is gathered out of the vnsauorie dotages of certaine mōkes that are caried about vnder the name of Ambrose Hierome Augustine and Chrysostome As about this present questiō he taketh in a manner all out of Augustines boke of Repentāce which is foolishly botched of good and bad by some scraper together It beareth in deede the name of Augustine but such a boke as no man beyng but meanely learned would vouchesaue to acknowlege for his But wheras I do not so narrowly examine their follies let the readers pardon me whom I wold ease of that tediousnesse For to me it shuld not be very laboursome yet very plausible to bewray to their great shame those thinges that they haue heretofore bosted vpon as misteries but bycause my purpose is to teache frutefully therefore I passe them ouer The fifte Chapter ¶ Of the suppliynges whiche they adde to satisfactions as pardons and purgatory OUt of this doctrine of satisfactions do flowe indulgēces or pardons For they say that that which our power wāteth to make satisfaction is supplied by these pardōs And thei runne so far forth into madnesse that they define thē to be the distributiō of the merites of Christ of the martirs which Pope dealeth abrode by his bulles But although they haue more neede of Helleborus to purge their frētike braine thā argumētes to answer thē so that it is not much worthy that trauaile to stand vpō confuting such triflyng errors which are already shakē with many battelrammes and of them selues growe into decaied age and bende toward falling yet because a short confutation of them shal be profitable for some that be ignoraunt I will not altogether omitte it As for this that pardons haue so long stand safe and haue so long ben vnpunished hauing ben vsed with so outragious and furious licētiousnesse this may serue to teache vs in how darke a night of errors men in certaine ages past haue ben drowned They sawe them selues to be openly vncoloredly scorned of the Pope and his Bulbearers gainful markettes to be made of the saluation of their soules the price of saluatiō to be valued at a few pence and nothing set out to be frely geuen that by this colour they be wyped of offringes to be filthely spent vpon brothels bawdes and bankettinges that the greatest blowers abrode of pardons are the greatest despisers of them that this mōstre doth dayly more and more with greater licentiousnesse ouerrunne the worlde grow into outrage and that there is no ende newe lead dailye brought and new mony gotten Yet with hye reuerence they receiued they worshipped and bought pardons and suche as among the rest sawe somewhat farther yet though thē to be godly deceiptes wherby mē might be beguiled with some profit At the length sins the world suffred it selfe to be somwhat wiser pardons waxe colde and by litle and litle become frosen till they vtterly vanishe awaye But for as muche as many that se the filthy gaming 's the deceiptes theftes and robberies wherwith the pardoners haue heretofore mocked and begiled vs yet se not the very fountaine of ungodlynesse from whence they spring it is good to shewe not only of what sort pardons be but also what they be when they are wyped from all spottes They call the treasure of the churche the merites of Christe and of the holye Apostles and Martyrs The principal custody of this barne as I haue already touched thei fame to be deliuered to the byshop of Rome that he should haue the distribution of so great giftes that he might bothe geue them by him selfe and also graunte iurisdiction to other to geue them Hereupon procede frō the Pope somtime plenarie pardons some pardons for certain yeares from the Cardinalles pardons for a hundred dayes from Byshoppes pardons for forty daies But they be as I may naturally describe them the profaning of the bloude of Christe Sathans
death to make vs a new creature For we se that oftentimes specially of the Apostle the goodnes of god is set foorth vnto vs by this title God saith he which is riche in mercy for the great loue wherw t he loued vs euen whē we were dead by sinnes hath made vs aliue together in Christ. c. In an other place wher vnder the figure of Abrahā he entreateth of the general calling of the faithful he saith it is God that geueth life to the dead calleth those thinges that are not as though they were If we be nothyng what I beseche you can we do Wherfore the lord strongly beateth downe this arrogancie in the historie of Iob in these wordes who preuenteth me I shal rendre it him for al thinges ar mine Which sentēce Paul expoūding applieth it to this that we shold not think that we bring ani thīg to the lord but mere shame of needines emptines Wherfore in the place aboue cited to proue that we ar come into the hope of saluatiō by his grace alone not by works he allegeth that we ar his creatures bicause we ar new begottē in Christ Iesus to the good works which he hath prepared that we shuld walk in thē As if he had said which of vs may boaste that he hathe with his righteousnes prouoked God sith our first power to do good procedeth out of regeneratiō For as we ar made by nature oyle shal soner be wrong out of a stone thā a good work out of vs. Truly it is wonderful if mā being condēned of so great a shame dare yet say that ther remaineth ani thing with him Therefore let vs confesse with this noble instrumēt of God that we ar called of God with a holy callīg no◠accordīg to our works but accordīg to his purpose grace that the kindnes loue of God our sauior toward vs hath appeared bicause he hath saued vs not by the works of righteousnes which we haue don but according to his own mercie that being iustified by his grace we might be made the heires of eternal life Bi this confessiō we dispoil mā of al righteousnes euē to the least litle pece therof til he be bi only merci regenerate into hope of eternal life forasmuch as if the righteousnes of works do brīg any thīg toward the iustifyīg of vs it is falsly said that we ar iustified by grace Truly thapostle had not forgottē hīself whē he affirmed iustificatiō to be of fre gift which in an other place resoneth that grace is now not grace if works do any thing auail And what other thīg doth the lord mean whē he saith that he came not to cal righteous mē but sinners If only sinners ar receaued why seeke we an entry by fained righteousnesses Stil this same thought hath now thē recourse to my mind that it is peril least I shold do wrong to the mercies of God which do so carefully trauail in prouīg of this thīg as though it wer doutful or darke But bycause our enuiousnes is such as vnlesse it be most straightli thrust out of place it neuer yeldeth to God that which is his I ā cōpelled to tary sōwhat the lōger vpō it Yet for asmuche as the scripture is clere inough in this matter I wil in fighting rather vse the words therof thē mine own Esai whē he hath described the vniuersal destructiō of mākind doth īmediatly after veri fitly adioyn the ordre of restoring The lord hath seen it semed 〈◊〉 in his eyes And he saw that ther is no mā he maruailed that there is none that offereth himself he hath set saluatiō in his own arm hath strēgthned hīself with his own righteousnes Where are our righteousnesses if it be true which the prophet saith that ther is no mā that helpeth the lord in recouerīg his saluatiō So an other prophet wher he bringeth in the lord discoursīg of the recōciling of sīners to hīself saith I wil espouse the to me for euer in righteousnes iudgmēt grace mercie I wil sai to hir that hath not obteined merci thou hast obtained merci If such couenāt which it is certain to be the first cōioyning that we haue with God stādeth vpō the mercy of god ther is left no foūdatiō of our own righteousnes And I wold fain learn of those mē which fame that mā meteth God with sō righteousnes of works whether thei think that ther is ani righteousnes at al but that which is acceptable to God If it be madnes to thīk so what acceptable thīg to god cā procede frō his enemies whō he wholli abhorreth with al their doings That al we I sai ar the dedli professed enemies of our god the truth it self testifieth til being iustified we ar receiued into frēdship If iustified 〈◊〉 the beginnīg of loue what righteousnes of works shal go before 〈…〉 Ihon to turne away that pestilent arrogance dothe diligently put vs in mind how we did not first loue him And the self same thing the lord had long before taught bi his prophet I wil loue thē saih he with a fre loue bicause mine anger is turned Certainly his loue is not prouoked by workes if it hath of his owne accorde inclined it self vnto vs. But the rude cōmon sorte of men think it to be nothing els but that no mā hathe deserued that Christ shoulde performe oure redēption yet that to the entring into the possession of redemptiō we be holpen by our owne works Yea but hosoeuer we be redemed of Christ yet till we be by the calling of the Father graffed into the communion of him we are bothe heires of darkenesse and death and the enemies of God For Paul teacheth that we are not cleansed wasshed from our vncleannesses by the blood of Christ vntill the holy ghoste worketh y◠cleansing in vs. Whiche same thing Peter minding to teache declareth that the sancrifinge of the Spirite auaileth vnto obedience the sprinkling of the bloode of Christ. If we be by the Spirite sprinkled with the bloode of Christ vnto cleansing lette vs not thinke that before such watering we be any other than a sinner is without Christ. Let this therfore remaine certaine that the beginning of oure saluatiō is as yt were a certain resurrectiō frō death to life bicause when for Christes sake it is geuē to vs to beleue in him thē we first begin to passe frō death into life Under this sort are comprehended they whyche haue in the diuision aboue set ben noted for the second third sort of men For the vncleannesse of conscience proueth that both of them ar not yet regenerate by the Spirit of God And againe wheras there is no regeneration in them this proueth the want of faith Wherby appeareth that thei are not yet reconciled to God nor yet iustified in his sight forasmuch as these good
haue we shewed that there commeth not so muche as one good woorke out of holy men whiche if it be iudged in it selfe deserueth not iuste rewarde of shame SecoÌ„dly I say that if it wer possible that we shold haue som throughly pure perfect works yet one sinne is enough to blot our quench al the remeÌ„brance of the former righteousnes as the prophet saithe With whome also Iames agreeth He that offeÌ„deth saith he in one is made gilty of al. Now fith this mortal life is neuer pure or void froÌ„ siÌ„ne whatsoeuer righteousnes we shold purchace being froÌ„ time to time with sinnes folowing corrupted oppressed lost it shold not com into the sight of God nor be accoÌ„pted to vs for righteousnes Finalli wheÌ„ the righteousnes of works is entreted of we must not haue respect to the work of the law but to the coÌ„maundement Therfore if we â—eke righteousnes by the law we shal in vain bring forth one or two works but a perpetual obedience of the law is there necessarie Wherfore the Lord doth not but ones as many foolishlythinke impute to vs righteousnesse that same forgeuenes of sinnes wherof we haue spoken that hauing ones obteined pardon of oure life past we should afterwarde seeke righteousnesse in the lawe bicause he shoulde so do nothing els butte bringe vs into a false hope and mocke and laughe vs to scorne For sith no perfectioÌ„ cold com to vs so loÌ„g as we are clothed with this flesh sith the law thretneth death iudgmeÌ„t to al theÌ„ that performe not ful rightousnes in work it shal alway haue wherof it mai accuse coÌ„deÌ„ne vs vnlesse the mercie of God on the other side did wtstand it to acquite vs froÌ„ time to time with coÌ„tinual forgeuenes of sinnes Wherfore this staÌ„deth alwaye certain which we said at the beginning that if we be weied by our own worthines whatsoeuer we purpose or go about yet we with al our trauailes endeuours are worthy of death and destruction UpoÌ„ these two points we must strongly staÌ„d fast that ther was neuer any work of a godli maÌ„ which if it wer examined by the seuere iudgmeÌ„t of god was not daÌ„nable Again if ther be any such shewed which is not possible for maÌ„ yet being corrupted defiled with the sinnes wherw t it is certaine that the doer of it is loden it looseth the grace And this is the cheefe point of our disputatioÌ„ For about the beginning of iustification there is no striâ—e betwene vs the souÌ„der sort of Scholmen but that a sinner being freely deliuered froÌ„ damnation obteineth righteousnes that by the forgeuenes of sinnes sauing that thei vnder the worde of Iustification comprehende the renewing wherw t we are newly formed by the Spirite of God vnto the obedience of the law thei thus describe the righteousnes of a maÌ„ regenerate that man being ones recoÌ„ciled to God by the faith of Christ is by good workes iudged righteous before God and by theyr deseruynge vs accepted But the lord contrariwise pronouÌ„ceth that he imputed to AbrahaÌ„ faithe for righteousnes not at the time wheÌ„ he yet serued idols but wheÌ„ he had al ready mani years excelled in holines of life Therfore AbrahaÌ„ had long worshiped God froÌ„ a pure hart had performed that obedieÌ„ce of the law whiche mai be performed of a mortal maÌ„ yet he hath righteousnes reposed in faithe WherevpoÌ„ we gather accordiÌ„g to the argumeÌ„t of Paul that it was not of works Likewise wheÌ„ it is said in the prophet The righteous maÌ„ shal liue by faith it is not spokeÌ„ of wicked prophane men whoÌ„ the lorde iustifieth by coÌ„uerting theÌ„ to faith but the speach is directed to the faithfull to them is promised life by faith Paul also taketh away all Doubt wheÌ„ for coÌ„firming of that senteÌ„ce he taketh this verse of Dauid Blessed ar they whose iniquities are forgeueÌ„ But it is certein that Dauid speaketh not of the wicked but of the faithful such as him self was bicause he spake out of the feliÌ„g of his own coÌ„science Therefore this blessednes we must not haue ones in our life but hold it throughout al our life Last of all he testifieth that the embassage coÌ„cerning the fre reconciliatioÌ„ with God is not published for one or two daies but is perpetual in the church Therfore the faithfull haue euen to the end of their life no other rigteousnesse than that which is there set foorth For Christ euerlastyngly remaineth the mediatour to reconcile the father to vs the effectualnesse of his death is euerlasting namely washing satistactioÌ„ expiation finally perfect obedience wherw t al our iniquities are couered Neither doth Paul to the Ephesians say that we haue the beginning of saluation out of grace but that we are saued by grace not of workes that no man should glorie The starting holes whiche the scholemen do here seke to escape by do not deliuer theÌ„ They say the good workes are not by inward worthinesse in theÌ„selues of so great ualue that they be sufficieÌ„t to purchace righteousnesse but this that thei be of so great value is of grace accepting theÌ„ TheÌ„ because they be driuen to coÌ„fesse that the righteousnesse of workes is in this life alway vnperfect they grauÌ„t that we so long as we liue do nede forgenesse of sinnes wherby the way of workes may be supplied but that the defautes which are coÌ„mitted are recoÌ„pensed with workes of supererogation For I answere that the accepting grace as they cal it is none other thaÌ„ his fre goodnes wherwith the father embraceth vs in Christ wheÌ„ he clotheth vs with the innoceÌ„cie of Christ accompteth the same ours that by the beneficial meane therof he may take vs for holy pure innocent For the righteousnesse of Christ which as it only is perfect so only can abide the sight of God must be set in our stede and be presented at the barre as a suretic Herewith we beyng furnished to obteine coÌ„tinual forgeuenesse of sinnes in faith With the purnesse herof our filthinesses vnclenesses of imperfections being couered are not imputed but are hidden as if they were buried that they may not come into the iugement of god vntil the houre come wheÌ„ the olde maÌ„ being slain vtterly destroied in vs the goodnesse of god shal receiue vs into blessed peace with the new Adam where let vs loke for the day of the Lorde in whiche receiuing vncorrupt bodies we shal be remoued into the glorie of the heauenly kingdome If these thinges be true verily no workes of ours can of them selues make vs acceptable pleasing to god neither can the workes theÌ„selues please but in respect that maÌ„ being couered with the righteousnes of Christe pleaseth god obteineth forgeuenes of his siÌ„nes For god hath not promised the rewarde of eternal life to some certaine workes but only promiseth that he which doth these things shal liue settiÌ„g the
for this purpose deliuered from sinne that we should obey to righteousnesse Can we be pricked forward to charitie with any more liuely argument thā that of Iohn that we shold mutually loue one an other as God hath loued vs that herein his children do differ from the childrē of the Deuell the children of light from the children of darknesse bycause they abide in loue Againe with that argument of Paule that we if we cleaue to Christ are the members of one body which it is mete to be holpen one of an other with mutuall duties Can we be more strongly prouoked to holinesse than when we heare agayne of Iohn that all they that haue this hope do sanctifie thēselues bycause their God is holy Agayne of the mouth of Paule that hauyng the promise of adoptiō we should cleanse our selues from all the defilyng of the flesh spirit than when we heare Christ settyng forth himself for an example vnto vs that we should follow his steppes And these fewe thinges I haue set forth for a taste For yf I should entēd to goe through all I should be dryuen to make a long volume The Apostles are all full of encouragementes exhortatiōs and rebukynges whereby they maye instruct the man of God to euery good worke and that without any mention of merit But rather they fetch their chefe exhortations from this that our saluation standeth vpon the only mercie of God and vpon no merite of oures As Paule after that he hath in a whole Epistle discoursed that there is no hope of life for vs but in the righteousnesse of Christ when he cōmeth downe to morall exhortations he besecheth them by that mercie of God whiche he hath vouchesaued to extēd to vs. And truely this one cause ought to haue ben sufficient that God may be glorified in vs. But if any be not so vehemently moued with the glorie of God yet the remembrāce of his benefites ought to haue ben most sufficient to stirre vp such mē to do well But these men whiche do paraduenture with thrustyng in of merites beate out some seruile and constrayned obediences of the lawe do falsly saye that we haue nothing whereby we maye exhorte men to good workes bicause we goe not the same waye to worke As though God were much desired with such obediences whiche protesteth that he loueth a cherefull geuer and forbiddeth any thyng to be geuen as it were of heauinesse or of necessitie Neyther doe I speake this for that I doe eyther refuse or despise that kinde of exhortation whiche the Scripture oftentimes vseth that it maye leaue no meane vnattempted euery way to stirre vp our mindes For it rehearseth the reward which God will render to euery mā according to his workes But I denie that that is the only thing yea or the chefe amōg many And then I graunt not that we ought to take beginning therat Moreouer I affirme that it maketh nothing to the settyng vp of such merites as these men boste of as we shal hereafter see Last of all I saye that is to no profitable vse vnlesse this doctrine haue first taken place that we are iustified by the only merit of Christ which is cōceyued by faith but by no merites of our workes bicause none can be fit to the endeuour of holinesse vnlesse they haue first digested this doctrine Which thing also the Prophet very wel signifieth when he thus speaketh to God with thee is mercie that thou mayest be feared For he sheweth that there is no worshippyng of God but whē his mercie is acknowleged vpon which alone it is bothe founded and stablished Which is very worthy to be noted that we maye know not only that the beginning of worshippyng God aright is the affiance of his mercie but also that the feare of God whiche the Papistes will haue to be meritorious can not haue the name of merite bicause it is grounded vpon the pardon and forgeuenesse of sinnes But it is a moste vayne sclaunder that men are allured to sinne when we affirme the free forgeuenesse of sinnes in whiche we saye that righteousnesse consisteth For we saye that it is of so great value that it can with no good of oures be recompensed and that therefore it should neuer be obteyned vnlesse it were freely geuen Moreouer that it is to vs in deede freely geuen but not so to Christ which bought it so derely namely with his owne moste holy bloud byside whiche there was no price of value enough that might be payed to the iudgement of God When menne are taught these thinges they are put in minde that it is no thanke to them that the same moste holy bloud is not shed so oft as they sinne Furthermore we learne that our filthinesse is suche as is neuer washed awaye but with the fountaine of this moste pure bloud Ought not they that heare these thynges to conceyue a greater horrour of sinne than yf it were sayd that it is wyped awaye with the sprynklyng of good workes◠And yf they haue any thynge of God howe can they but dred beyng ones cleansed to wallowe themselues agayne in the myre as muche as in them lieth to trouble and infect the purenesse of this fountayne I haue washed my feete sayth the faythfull soule in Salomō how shal I againe defile them Now it is euident whether sort doe bothe more abace the forgeuenesse of sinnes and do more make vile the dignitie of righteousnesse They babble that God is appeased with their owne trysting satisfactions that is their donge We affirme that the giltinesse of sinne is more greuous than can bee purged with so light trifles that the displeasure of God is more heauie than can be released with these satisfactions of no value and that therefore this is the prerogatiue of the only bloud of Christ. They say that righteousnesse if it fayle at any time is restored repaired by satisfactorie workes we thynke it more precious than that it can be matched with anye recompense of workes and that therfore for the restoryng thereof we must flee to the only mercie of God As for the rest of those things that perteyne to the forgeuenesse of sinnes let them be sought out of the next chapter The .xvii. Chapter ¶ The agreement of the promises of the lawe and the Gospell NOw let vs also goe through the other argumētes wherwith Satan by the soldiars of his garde goeth about eyther to ouerthrowe or batter the iustification of fayth This I thinke we haue already wrong frō the sclaunderers that they can no more charge vs as enemies of good workes For iustification is taken awaye from good workes not that no good workes should be done or that those which be done shold be denied to be good but that we should not put affiāce in them not glorie in them not ascribe saluatiō to them For this is our affiance this is our glorie and the only authour of our saluation that
Christ the sonne of God is oures and we likewise are in him the sonnes of God and heyers of the heaueÌ„ly kingdome beyng called by the goodnesse of God not by our owne worthinesse into the hope of eternal blessednesse But bicause they do biside these assayle vs as we haue sayd with other engines goe to let vs goe forward in beatyng awaye these also First they come backe to the promises of the lawe which the Lord did set forth to the kepers of his law and they aske whether we wil haue them to be vtterly voyde or effectuall Bycause it were an absurditie and to be scorned to say that they are voyde they take it for confessed that they are of some effectualnesse Hereupon they reason that we are not iustified by only faith For thus sayth the Lord And it shal be yf thou shalt heare these commaundementes and iudgementes and shal kepe them and do them the Lord also shall kepe with thee his couenant and mercie whiche he hath sworne to thy fathers he shall loue thee and multiplie thee and blesse thee c. Agayne If ye shall wel direct your wayes and your endeuors yf ye walke not after strange Gods yf ye do iudgement betwene man and man and goe not backe into malice I will walke in yâ— middest of you I will not recite a thousand peces of the same sorte whiche sithe they nothyng differ in sense shal be declared by the solutioÌ„ of these In a summe Moses testifieth that in the lawe is set forth blessyng and curse death and life Thus therfore they reson that eyther this blessyng is made idle frutelesse or that iustification is not of fayth alone We haue already before shewed how if we sticke faste in the lawe ouer vs beyng destitute of al blessing hangeth only curse which is thretened to al transgressors For the Lord promiseth nothyng but to the perfect kepers of his law such as there is none found This therefore remaineth that all mankinde is by the law accused and subiect to curse the wrath of God from whiche that they maye be loosed they must needes goe out of the power of the law and be as it were brought into libertie from the boÌ„dage therof not that carnall libertie whiche should withdraw vs froÌ„ the kepyng of the law should allure vs to thinke all thinges lawfull and to suffer our lust as it were the stayes beyng broken with loose reynâ—s to runne at riot but the spiritual libertie whiche may comfort and rayse vp a dismayed and ouerthrowen conscience shewyng it to be free from the curse and damnation wherewith the lawe helde it downe bond and fast tied This deliuerance from the subiection of the law and Manâ—mission as I may cal it we obteyne wheÌ„ by fayth we take holde of the mercie of God in Christ whereby we are certified and assured of the forgeuenesse of sinnes with the felyng whereof the law did prick and bite vs. By this reason euen the promises that were offred vs in the lawe should be all vneffectuall voyde vnlesse the goodnesse of God by the Gospell did help For this condition that we kepe the whole law vpoÌ„ which the promises hang and wherby alone thei are to be performed shal neuer be fulfilled And the Lord so helpeth not by leauyng part of righteousnesse in our workes and supplyeng part by his mercieful bearyng with vs but when he setteth only Christ for the fulfillyng of righteousnesse For the Apostle when he had before sayd that he and other Iewes beleued in Iesus Christ knowing that man is not iustified by the workes of the lawe addeth a reason not that they should be holpen to fulnesse of righteousnesse by the fayth of Christ but by it should be iustified not by the workes of the law If the faythfull remoue from the law into fayth that they may in fayth finde righteousnesse which they see to be absent from the law truely they forsake the righteousnesse of the lawe Therefore now let him that list amplifie the rewardinges whiche are sayd to be prepared for the keper of the law so that he therewithall coÌ„sider that it coÌ„meth to passe by our peruersnesse that we fele no frute thereof till we haue obteyned an other righteousnesse of faith So Dauid when he made mention of the rewardyng whiche the Lord hath prepared for his seruantes by and by descendeth to the reknowledging of sinnes wherby that same rewarding is made voyde Also in the xix Psalme he gloriously setteth forth the benefites of the law but he by by crieth out Whoe shall vnderstand his faultes Lord cleanse me froÌ„ my secret faultes This place altogether agreeth with the place before where when he had sayd that all the wayes of the Lord are goodnesse and truth to them that leaue him he addeth For thy names sake Lorde thou shalt be mercifull to my peruersnesse for it is muche So ought we also to reknowledge that there is in deede the good will of God set forth vnto vs in the lawe if we might deserue it by workes but that the same neuer coÌ„meth to vs by the deseruyng of workes How then Are they geuen that they should vanish awaye without frute I haue eueÌ„ now already protested that the same is not my meaning I say verily that they vtter not their effectualnesse toward vs so long as they haue respect to the merit of workes and that therfore if they be considered in themselues they be after a certayne maÌ„ner abolished If the Apostle teacheth that this noble promise I haue geuen you commauÌ„dementes which who so shal do shall liue in them is of no value if we stand still in it and shal neuer a whit more profit than if it had not ben geuen at all bicause it belongeth not euen to the most holy seruauntes of God whiche are all far from the fulfillyng of the lawe but are compassed about with many transgressions But when the promises of the Gospel are put in place of them which do offre free forgeuenesse of sinnes they bryng to passe that not only we our selues be acceptable to God but that our workes also haue their thanke and not this only that the Lord accepteth them but also exteÌ„deth to them the blessinges whiche were by couenant due to the keping of the law I graunt therefore that those thinges whiche the Lord hath promised in his lawe to the folowers of righteousnesse holinesse are rendred to the workes of the faythfull but in this rendryng the cause is alway to be coÌ„sidered that powreth grace to workes Now causes we see that there be three The first is that God turnyng away his sight froÌ„ the workes of his seruaÌ„tes which alway deserue rather reproche than praise embraceth them in Christ and by the only meane of faith reconcileth them to himself without the meane of workes The secoÌ„d that of his fatherly kindnesse and tender mercifulnesse he lifteth vp workes to so great
ioyne these two peces together as if he had sayd Suffer vs not to be oppressed with tentation but rather helpe our weakenesse deliuer vs that we faynt not The olde writers also think on our syde so that nowe that whiche is in Mathew added in the seuēth place is by way of declaration to be ioyned to the sixt petition But although the whole praier is such that in euery parte of it regarde is specially to be had of the glorie of God yet the three first petitions are peculiarly appoynted to Gods glorie whiche alone we ought in them to loke vnto without any respect as they say of our owne profite The other thre haue care of vs and are proprely assigned to aske those thinges that are for our profite As when we pray that the name of God be halowed because God will proue whether he be loued and honored of vs freely or for hope of reward we must thē think nothyng of our own commoditie but his glorie must be sett before vs which alone we must beholde with fixed eies and no otherwise ought we to be mynded in the other praiers of this sort And euen this tourneth to our great profite that when it is sanctified as we pray it is also likewise made our sanctification But our eyes as it is saied must winke and after a certayne maner be blinde at suche profite so as they may not ones loke at it that if all hope of our priuate benefite were cut of yet we should not ceasse to wishe and pray for this sanctification and other thynges which perteine to the glorie of God As it is sene in the examples of Moses and Paule to whom it was not greuous to turne away their myndes and eies from themselues with vehement and enflamed zele to wish their owne destruction that though it were with their owne losse they might auaunce the glorie kyngdome of God On the other side when we pray that our dayly bread be geuen vs although we wyshe that which is for our owne commoditie yet here also we ought chefely to seke the glorie of God so that we would not aske it vnlesse it might turne to his glorie Now let vs come to the declaryng of the praier it selfe Our Father whiche art in heauen First in the very entrie we mete with this which we said before that all prayer ought none otherwise to be offred of vs to God than in the name of Christe as it can by no other name bee made acceptable vnto him For sins we call him Father truely we allege for vs the name of Christ. For by what boldnesse myght any man call God Father who should burst foorth into so great rashnesse to take to hymselfe the honor of the Sonne of God vnlesse we were adopted the children of grace in Christ Which being the true Sonne is geuē of him to vs to be our brother that that which he hath propre by nature may by the benefit of adoptiō be made oures if we do with sure faith embrace so great bountifulnesse As Iohn saith that power is geuē to thē which beleue in the name of the only begottē Sonne of God that they also may be made the childrē of God Therforē he both calleth himself our Father will be so called of vs by this swetenesse of name delyuering vs from all distrust sithe there can no where be found any greater affection of loue than in a Father Therfore he coulde by no surer example testifie his vnmeasurable deere loue towarde vs than by this that we are named the sonnes of God But his loue is so much greater more excellent toward vs than all loue of our parentes as he passeth all men in goodnesse and mercy that if all the fathers that are in the earth hauing shaken of all feling of fatherly naturalnesse wold forsake their children yet he wyll neuer faile vs because he can not denie hymselfe For we haue his promise If you beyng euell can geue good giftes to your children howe muche more can your Father which is in heauen Agayn in the Prophet Can a mother forget her children Though she forget them yet I will not forgett thee If we be his children then as a childe can not geue hymselfe into the tuition of a stranger and forein man vnlesse he complain either of the crueltie or pouertie of his father so we can not seke succors from ells where than from him alone vnlesse we reproche hym with pouertie and wante of abilitie or with crueltie or to extreme rigorousnesse Neither let vs allege that we are worthily made fearefull with conscience of sinnes whiche may make a Father be he neuer so mercyfull and kynde daily to be displeased For if among men the sonne can with no better aduocate pleade his cause to his father by no better meane gett and recouer his fauor beyng loste than if he hymselfe humbly and lowly acknowlegyng his fault doo beseche his fathers mercie for then the fatherly bowels can not hide themselues but must be moued at such prayers what shall that father of mercies do and the God of all comfort shall not he rather heare the teares and gronynges of his children intreatyng for themselues specially sith he dothe call and exhorte vs to do so than any other intercessions whatsoeuer they be to the succor wherof they do so fearefully flee not withoute some shewe of despeire because they distrust of the kyndnesse and mercifulnesse of their father This ouerflowyng plentie of fatherly kyndnesse he depainteth and setteth out vnto vs in the parable where the Father louyngly embraceth the sonne that had estranged hymselfe from him that had riotously wasted his substance that had euery way greuously offended against him and he tarieth not till he do with wordes craue pardon but he hymselfe preuenteth hym knoweth hym afarre of returnyng of his owne wyll goeth to mete hym comforteth him and receiueth hym into fauor For settyng out in a man this example of so great gentlenesse he mynded to teache vs howe muche more plentifull kindnesse we ought to loke for at his hande who is not only a Father but also the best and most mercyfull of all Fathers howsoeuer we be vnkynde rebellious and noughty children so that yet we cast our selves vppon his mercie And that he myght make it to be more assuredly beleued that he is suche a Father to vs if we be Christians he willed not only to be called Father but also by expresse name Our father as if we myght thus talke with hym O Father which hast so great naturall kyndnesse towarde thy chyldren so great easynesse to pardon we thy children call to thee and pray to thee beyng assured and fully persuaded that thou bearest no other affection to vs than fatherly howsoeuer we be vnworthy of suche a Father But because the small capacities of our hart conceiue not so great vnmeasurablenesse of fauor not onely Christe is to vs a
the iugement of God It is in dede to be wished yea and to be earnestly endeuored that we hauing performed all the partes of our dutie may truely reioyse before God that we are cleane from all spott but forasmuch as it pleaseth God by litle and litle to make againe his image in vs that there alwaye remayneth some infection in our fleshe the remedie ought not to haue been despised If Christ by the authoritie geuen to him of hys Father commaundeth vs throughout the whole course of our life to fle to crauing of pardoÌ„ of our giltinesse who shal be able to suffer these new maisters which goe about with this imagined ghost of perfect innoceÌ„cie to dasel the eyes of the simple to make them to trust that they may be made free froÌ„ all faultâ— Which as Ihon witnesseth is nothing ells but to make God a lier And withal one worke these lewde men by cancilling one article do feare in sonder and by that meane do weaken from the very fundation the whole couenant of God wherin we haue shewed that our saluatioÌ„ is coÌ„teined so as they be not only robbers of God because they seuer those thinges so coÌ„ioyned but also wicked cruel because they ouerwhelme poore soules with despeire and traytors to themselues and other that be like them because they bryng themselues into a slouthfulnesse directly contrary to the mercy of God But wheras some obiect that in wishing the coming of the kyngdome of God we do also aske the putting away of synne that is to childishe because in the firste table of thys prayer is set forth vnto vs most hye perfection but in this part is set fourth our weakenesse So these twoo thinges do fittly agree together that in a spring toward the marke we despise not the remedies which our necessitie requireth Finally we pray that we may be forgeuen as we our selues doe forgeue our dettors that is as we do forgeue and pardon al of whomsoeuer we haue ben in any thing offended either vniustly handled in dede or reprochefully vsed in worde Not that it lyeth in vs to pardoÌ„ the giltinesse of the fault and offense which perteineth to God alone but thys is our forgeuing of our owne willingnesse to lay away out of our mynde wrath hatred and desire of reuengement and with voluntarie forgetfulnesse to treade vnder fote the remembrance of iâ—iuries Wherefore we may not aske forgeuenesse of synnes at the hande of God if we doe not also forgeue their offenses towarde vs which either do or haue done vs wrong But if we kepe any hatreds in our hartes and purpose any reuengementes and imagine by what occasion we may hurt yea and if we do not endeuor to come into fauor againe with our enemies and to deserue well of them with all kynde of frendly doinges and to winne them vnto vs we do by thys prayer beseche God that he do not forgeue vs. For we require that he graunt to vs the same forgeuenesse whiche we graunt to other But this is to pray that he graunt it not to vs vnlesse we graunt it to them Whoso therfore be such what doe they obtein by their prayer but a more greuous iugemeÌ„t Last of al it is to be noted that this condition that he forgeue vs as we forgeue our dettors is not herefore added for that we deserue his forgeuenesse by the forgeuenesse which we graunt to other as if that cause of forgeuenesse to vs were there expressed but by thys worde partly the Lordes will was to comforte the weakenesse of our Fayth for he added this as a signe whereby we may be assured that he hath as surely grauÌ„ted to vs forgeuenesse of our synnes as we surely knowe in our conscience that we haue grauÌ„ted thesame to other if our mynde be voyde and cleansed of al hatred enuye reuengement and partly by thys as it were by a marke he wipeth them out of the number of his children that they may not be bolde to call vpoÌ„ him as their Father which being hedlong hasty to reuenge and hardily entreated to pardon doe vse stiffly continuing enmites and doe cherishe in themselues the same displeasure towarde other which they pray to be turned from themselues Whiche is also in Luke expresly spoken in the wordes of Christ. The sixt petitioÌ„ as we haue sayd answereth to the promise of engrauing the lawe of God in our hartes But because we doe not without continual warrfare and hard and great striuinges obey to God we do here pray to be furnished with such wepons and defended with suche succor that we may be able to get the victorie whereby we are warned that we stande in nede not only of the grace of the Spirite whiche may soften how and direct our hartes to the obedience of God but also of hys helpe wherby he may make vs vnuicible against bothe al the trayterous entrappinges and violeÌ„t conflictes of Satan But now of tentations there are many and diuerse sortes For both the peruerse thoughtes of minde prouoking vs to trespassing against the law which either our owne luste doth minister vnto vs or the deuell stirreth vp are tentations and also those thinges which of their owne nature are not euell yet by the craft of the deuel are made tentations wheÌ„ they are so set before our eyes that by the occasion of them we be drawen awaye or do swarue from God And these tentations are either on the ryghte hande or on the left On the righte hande as richesse power honors which commonly do with their glistering and shewe of good so dasel the sight of men and catche them with the bayted hoke of their flatterings that beyng entrapped with suche deceites or dronke with suche swetenesse they may forget their God On the left hande as pouertie reproches despisinges trobles and suche other that they being greued with the bitternesse and hardnesse therof may be vtterly discouraged caste away Fayth and hope and finally be altogether estranged from God To these tentations of both sortes which fighte with vs eyther being kindled in vs by our owne luste or being set against vs by the craft of Satan we pray to our heavenly Father that he suffer vs not to yelde But rather that he vpholde vs and rayse vs vp with his hande that being strong by his strength we may stande fast against all the assaultes of the malicious enemie whatsoeuer thoughtes he put into our mynde then that whatsoeuer is sett before vs on either side we maye turne it to good that we neither be puffed vp with prosperitie nor throwen downe with aduersitie Neither yet doe we here require that we may fele no tentations at al with which we haue great nede to be stirred vp pricked and pinched least by to muche reste we growe dull For not in vaine did Dauid wishe to be tempted and not without cause the Lord daily tempteth hys electe chastising them by shame pouertie troble and other
be wheate we must vse diligeÌ„ce and endeuour as muche as we may that we may be a golden or syluer vessell But to breake the earthen vessels is the only work of the Lord to whom also is geuen an iron rodde And let no man chalenge to hym selfe that whiche is proprely belongyng to the Sonne onely to be able alone to fanne the floore and clense the chaffe and seuer all the tares by mans iudgement This is a prowde obstinacie and a presumption full of sacrilege which a peruerse furour taketh to it selfe c. Therfore let bothe these thynges remayn certainly fixed First that he hath no excuse that of his owne will forsaketh the outward coÌ„munion of the Church â–ª where the word of God is preached the sacraments ministred then that the faultes of a few or of many are no hindraÌ„ce but that we may therin rightly professe our faith by the Ceremonies institute by God bicause a godly conscience is not hurt by the vnworthines of any other ether pastor or priuate man and the misteries are to a holy vpright maÌ„ neuerthelesse pure holsome because they are together handled of vncleane meÌ„ Their precisenesse and disdainfulnesse procedeth yet further because they acknowledge no Chirche but such a one as is pure from al spottes be they neuer so smal yea they are angry with good teachers for that in exhorting the faithful to goe forwarde they teache them al their life long to grone vnder the burden of vices and to flee vnto pardon For they prate that by this meane meÌ„ be led froÌ„ perfection I graunte in dede that in earnest calling vpon perfection we ought not slowly or coldely to trauail much lesse to be idle but to fil our mindes with confidence therof while we be yet in our course I say it is a deuelish inuention Therefore in the Crede the forgeuenesse of synnes is aptly ioyned next after the Chirche For none do atteine it but only they that are citezens and of the household of the Chirch as it is red in the Prophete Therfore the bilding of the heaueÌ„ly HierusaleÌ„ ought to go before wherin afterward this mercifulnesse of God maye haue place that whosoeuer come vnto it their iniquitie may be takeÌ„ away I say that it ought first to be bilded not for that there caÌ„ be any Chirch wtout the forgeuenesse of synnes but because the lord hath not promised his mercy but in the CoÌ„munion of Sainctes Therfore the fyrst entry for vs into the Chirch kingdome of God is the forgeuenesse of synnes wtout which we haue no couenauÌ„t or coÌ„ioyning wyth God For thus he sayeth by the Prophete In the day I wil strike you a couenant with the beast of the feld with the fowle of the aire with the vermin of the earth I wil breake the sword war from out of the earth I wil make men to slepe wtout feare I wil espouse you vnto me for euer I wil espouse you I say in righteousnesse in iudgement in mercy and in coÌ„passions We see how by his mercy the lord recoÌ„cileth vs to himselfe And so in an other place when he foresayth that the people shal be gathered together agayne whoÌ„ he had scattered abrode in his wrath he saieth I wil cleanse theÌ„ froÌ„ al wyckednesse wherewith they haue synned agaynst me Wherfore by the signe of washing we enter into the felowshyp of the Chirch wherby we may be taught that there is no entrie open for vs into the householde of God vnlesse our fylthynesse be fyrst wiped away with hys goodnesse But by the forgeuenesse of sinnes the Lord doth not only receiue and adopt vs ones into the Chirch but by the same he also preserueth maynteineth vs stil in it For to what purpose wer it to haue suche a pardon grauÌ„ted vs as should serue for no vse But euery one of the godly is a wytnesse to himselfe that the mercy of God should be vain and mocking if it should be grauÌ„ted only but ones because there is none that is not in his own coÌ„scieÌ„ce priuie throughout his whole life of many weakenesses which nede the mercy of God And truly not in vain God promiseth thys grace peculiarly to theÌ„ of his own household not in vain he coÌ„maundeth the same message of recoÌ„ciliatioÌ„ to be daily offred vnto theÌ„ Therefore as throughout al our life we carry about vs the râ—nantes of sine vnlesse we be susteined with the coÌ„tinual grace of the lord in forgeuing oure synnes we shal scarcely abide one momeÌ„t in the Chirch But the lord hath called his vnto eternal saluatioÌ„ Therfore they ought to thike that there is pardon alway ready for their sinnes Wherfore we ought to holde assuredly that by the liberalitie of God by meane of Christes deseruing through the Sanctification of the Spirite sinnes haue been and are daily pardoned to vs which be called graffed into the body of the Chirch To deale this benefite vnto vs the keyes were geuen to the Chirch For when Christ gaue the Apostles commaundemeÌ„t deliuered them power to forgeue sinnes he meante not this onely that they shoulde loose them froÌ„ sinnes that wer froÌ„ vngodlinesse coÌ„uerted to the faith of Christ but rather that they should continually execute this office among the faythful Which thing Paule teacheth when he writeth that the embassage of reconciliation was left with the ministers of the Chirche wherby they should oftentimes in Christes name exhort the people to reconcile themselues to God Therfore in the CoÌ„munion of Sainctes by the ministery of the Chirch it self sinnes are coÌ„tinually forgeueÌ„ vs when the Priestes or Bishops to whom the office is committed doe with the promyses of the Gospel coÌ„firme godly consciences in hope of pardoÌ„ forgeuenesse and that as wel publikely as priuately according as necessitie requireth For there be very many which for their weakenesse do nede a singular atonemeÌ„t And Paul reporteth that not only in commoÌ„ preaching but also in houses he had testified the Fayth in Christ and seuerally admonyshed euery one of the doctryne of saluation Therfore we haue here three thyngs to be noted First that with how great holynesse soeuer the children of God do excel yet they be alway in this estate so long as they dwel in a mortal body that without forgeuenesse of sinnes they can not staÌ„de before God Secondly that this benefite is so proper to the Chirche that we can not otherwise enioy it but if we abide in the CoÌ„munion therof Thirdly that it is distributed vnto vs by the ministers Pastors eyther by preaching of the Gospel or by ministryng of the Sacramentes that in thys behalfe principally appeareth the power of the keyes which the Lord hath geuen to the felowship of the faythful Wherfore let euery one of vs thinke this to be his duty no where els to seke forgeuenesse of sines than where the Lord hath set it Of publyke recoÌ„ciliation
which belongeth to discipline we shal speake in place fyt for it But forasmuch as those phrentyke Spirites that I haue spoken of doe goe about to plucke away froÌ„ the Chirch this only anchore of saluatioÌ„ consciences are the more stroÌ„gly to be confyrmed against a so pestilent opinion The Nouatians in old time troubled the Chirch with this doctrine but not much vnlyke to the Nouatians our age also hath many of the Anabaptistes which fal to the same dotages For they faine that the people of God are in Baptisme regenerate into a pure Angelyke lyfe that is corrupted with no filthinesse of the flesh But if any man offende after Baptisme they leaue vnto him nothing but the vnappeasable iudgement of God Briefely they graunte no hope of pardon to a sinner falleÌ„ after grace receiued because they acknowlege no other forgeuenesse of synnes but that wherby we be first regenerate But although there be no lye more clerely confuted by the Scripture yet because these men finde some whoÌ„ they may deceiue as also in olde tyme Nouatus had many folowers let vs shortly shew how mad they be to their own and others destruction First wheras by the commaundement of the Lord the holy ones do dayly repete this prayer forgeue vs our dettes truely thei do coÌ„fesse theÌ„selues detters Nether do thei craue it in vain because the Lord hath alway appointed no other thyng to be asked than that whiche he himselfe woulde geue Yea wheras he hath testified that the whole prayer shal be heard of his father yet he hath also sealed thys 〈◊〉 solution with a peculiar promise What wyll we more The Lorde requireth of the holy ones all theyr lyfe long a confession of synnes â–ª Yea and that continuall and promyseth pardon That boldnesse is it eyther to exempte them from synne or if they haue stumbled vtterlye to exclude them from grace Nowe whom doeth he will vs to forgeue seuenty tymes seuen tymes not to oure brethren To what ende did he commaunde it but that we should folow his clementie He forgeueth therfore not ones or twise but as often as being striken downe wyth the acknowlegyng of synnes they sighe vnto hym But that we maye begin in a maner at the very swadlyng cloutes of the Chirche the Patriarches were circumcised being allured into partaking of the couenaunt hauing vndoutedly by their fathers diligence ben taught righteousnesse and innocence when they conspired to murder their brother this was a mischeuous acte to be abhorred euen of the most desperate theues At the last being mekened with the monitions of Iudas they solde him this was also an intolerable hapnousnesse Simeon and Leui with wicked reuenge and suche as was also condemned by their own fathers iudgement vsed crueltie againste the Sichemites Ruben with most vnclene lust defiled his fathers bed Iudas when he would geue hymselfe to fornication agaynst the lawe of nature went into his sonnes wife And yet so farre are they from being wiped out of the chosen people that they be rather raised vp to be heds of it But what dyd Dauid when he was a gouernoure of iustice with howe greate wickednesse did he by sheding of innocent bloud opeÌ„ the way to hys blynde luste He was alredy regenerate and among the regenerate garnished with notable prayses of the Lorde neuerthelesse he committed that haynous offence which is horrible euen among the Gentiles and yet he obtained pardon And that we may not tarry vpoÌ„ single examples how many promyses there are in the law and the Prophetes of Gods mercy toward the Israelites so oft it is proued that the Lord sheweth himselfe appeasable to the offenses of his people For what doth Moses promyse to come to passe when the people being â—allen into Apostasie shal returne vnto the Lorde He shall bryng thee backe out of captiuitie and shall haue mercy on thee and shall gather thee together out of the peoples to whom thou hast been dispersed If thou be scattered euen to the borders of the heauen I wil from 〈◊〉 agayne gather thee together But I wyll not beginne a renâ—all that shoulde neuer be ended for the Prophetes are full of suche promyses whiche done yet oâ—â—â—r mercie to the people couered with infinite wicked doinges What 〈◊〉 is there more hainous than rebellion for it is called a 〈◊〉 betweâ—â— God and the Chirch But this is ouercome by the goodnesse of God What man is there sayeth he by Ieremy that if hys wife geue 〈◊〉 her body in common to adulterers can abyde to returne into 〈◊〉 with her but with thy fornications all the wayes are polluted O â—â—da the earth hath been fylled with thy filthy loues But returne vnto me and I wil receiue thee Returne thou turne away I wil not turne away my face from thee because I am holy and am not angry for euer And truely he can be no otherwise minded whiche affirmeth that he willeth not the death of a sinner but rather that he should be conuerted and liue Therfore when Salomon did dedicate the temple he appointed it also to this vse that the praiers made for obteining pardon of sinnes should be heard from thense If sayd he thy sonnes shall synne for there is no man that sinneth not and thou beyng angry shalt deliuer them to their ennemies and they shal repente in their hart and being turned shal entreate thee in their captiuitie saying we haue sinned we haue done wickedly and shal pray toward the land which thou hast geuen to their fathers and towarde this holy temple thou shalte heare their praiers in heauen and shalt be made mercifull to thy people that hath sinned against thee and to all their wickednesses wherewith they haue offended thee And not vainly the Lorde ordeined in the law daily Sacrifices for sinnes For if the Lord had not forseen that hys people should be troubled with continuall diseases of sinnes he would neuer haue appointed these remedyes for them Was thys benefite taken away from the faythful by the comming of Christ wherin the fulnesse of grace was shewed forth so that they dare not now pray for pardon of synnes that if they offende the Lorde they may not obteine any mercy What shal this be els but to saye that Chryste came to the destruction of them that be his and not to their saluation if that mercifulnesse of God in pardoning sinnes which in the olde testament was continually redy for the holy ones be now sayd to be vtterly taken away But if we beleue the Scriptures which expresly cry out that in Chryst only the grace and kyndnesse of the Lord fully appeared that the plentifulnesse of mercy was poured oute that the reconciliation of God and men was fulfilled let vs not dout that there floweth vnto vs a more bountiful mercifulnesse of the heauenly father than that it is cut of or shortened And hereof there want not examples Peter whiche had heard that he should
be denied before the Angels of God that confessed not the name of Christ before men denied him thrise in one nighte and that not without execration yet he was not put away from pardon They that liued inordinatly among the Thessalonians are so chastised that yet they be gently called to repentaunce Euen Symon the Magician hymselfe is not cast in desperation but he is rather cōmaunded to hope well when Peter counselleth hym to slee to prayers Yea most haynous sinnes haue sometime possessed whole Chirches out of which Paul rather gētly vnwrapped thē thā pronounced thē accursed The faling away of the Galathians was no meane offense The Corinthians wer so much lesse excusable thā they as they abounded in moe those nothyng lighter sinnes yet neyther of thē are excluded frō the mercy of God Yea euē they that had synned aboue the rest in vncleannesse fornication and vnchastitie are namely called to repentance For the couenant of the Lord remaineth shal remaine for euer inuiolable which he solēnely made with Christ the true Salomō his mēbers in these wordes If hys sonnes shal forsake my lawe and shall not walke in my iudgementes if they shall defile my righteousnesses and not kepe my commaundementes I wil visite their iniquities wyth a rod and their sinnes wyth stripes but my mercye I wyll not take away from hym Fynally by the very order of the Crede we be taughte that there remaineth in the Chirch of Christ continual pardon of synnes for that when the Chirche is as it were stablished yet forgeuenesse of sinnes is adioyned Some that be somwhat wiser when they see the doctryne of Nouatus to be confuted with so great plainnesse of Scripture make not euery synne vnpardonable but wilful transgressing of the lawe into whiche a man wittingly and willingly falleth Now they that say so do vouchsaue to graunt pardon to no synne but where a man hath erred by ignorance But wheras the Lord in the law commaundeth one sorte of Sacrifices to be offred for clensing of the wilful synnes of the faythful and other to redeme their ignorances how great lewdenesse shall it be to graunt no clensyng to wilful synne I say that there is nothing plainer than that the only Sacrifice of Christ auaileth to forgeue the wylfull synnes of the holy ones forasmuche as the Lord hath testified thesame by carnal Sacrifices as by signes Againe who can excuse Dauid by ignorance whom it is euident to haue been so wel instructed in the law Dyd Dauid not knowe how great was the faulte of adultrie and māslaughter which dayly punished the same in other Did brotherslaughter seme to the Patriarches a lawfull thyng Had the Corinthyans so ill profyted that they thought that wantonnesse vncleannesse whordome hatreds and contentions pleased God Dyd Peter beyng so diligently admonished not knowe how great a matter it was to forsweare hys maister Therfore let vs not wyth our owne enuyousnesse stoppe vp the way agaynst the mercy of God that so gently vttereth it selfe Truely I am not ignorante that the olde writers expounded those synnes that are dayly forgeuen to the faythfull to be the light offenses that crepe in by weakenesse of the fleshe and that they thought that the soleme repentance whiche was then required for haynous misdedes myght no more be iterate than Baptysme Which sayeng is not so to be taken as though they would eyther throwe thē down hedlong into desperation that after their first repentance had fallen agayne or extenuate those other synnes as though they wer smal in the syght of God For they knew that the holy ones do oftentymes stagger by infidelitie that superfluous othes do somtymes fall from them that they now and then are chafed vnto anger yea that they breake out euē into manifest raylinges and besyde these be troubled wyth other euils which the Lord not sclenderly abhorreth but they so called them to put a difference betwene them and publyke crymes that wyth great offense came to the knowledge of the Chirche But wheras they did so hardly pardō them that had committed any thyng worthy of ecclesiasticall correction they did not this therfore because they thought that such should hardly haue pardon with the Lord but by thys seueritie they meant to make other afraied that they should not rashly runne into wycked doinges by the deseruing wherof they myght be estranged from the Communion of the Chirche howbeit truely the worde of the Lord whych herein ought to be the only rule vnto vs appoynteth a greater moderation For it teacheth that the rigor of discipline is so farre to be extended that he that ought chefely to be prouided for be not swallowed vp wyth heuinesse as we haue before declared more at large The .ii. Chapter A comparison of the false Chirche with the true Chirche OF howe greate value the ministery of the worde and Sacramentes ought to be with vs and howe farre the reuerence of it ought to procede that it be vnto vs a perpetuall token wherby to discerne the Chirche it hath been already declared That is to say whersoeuer that ministery abideth whole and vncorrupted there the faultes or diseases of maners are no impediment but that it may beare the name of a Chirche Thē that the very ministery it selfe is by small errors not so corrupted but that it may be estemed lawfull Moreouer we haue shewed that the errors that ought so to be pardoned are those wherby the pryncipal doctrine of religion is not hurt wherby those chefe poyntes of religion that ought to be agreably holden among the faythful are not destroyed and in the Sacramentes those that do not abolish nor empaire the lawful institution of him that ordeined thē But so sone as lying is broken into the chefe tower of religion so sone as the summe of necessarye doctryne is peruerted and the vse of the Sacramentes falleth truely the destruction of the Chirch foloweth like as a mans lyfe is at an ende when his throte is thrust through or his hart deadly wounded And thys is clearely proued by the wordes of Paul when he teacheth that the fundation of the Chirch is layed vpon the doctrine of the Apostles Prophetes Christ himselfe being the hed corner stone If the fundation of the Chirche be the doctrine of the Prophetes and Apostles by which the faythfull are commaunded to repose their saluation in only Christ then take awaye that doctrine and how shal the bilding stande any longer Therfore the Chirche muste nedes fall downe where that summe of religion falleth which is only able to vpholde it Againe ▪ if the true Chirche be the piller and slay of the trueth it is certaine that there is no Chirche where lyeng and falshode haue vsurped the dominion Sith it is in such case vnder the Papistrie we may vnderstand how much of the Chirche is there remayning In stede of the ministery of the worde there reigneth a peruerse gouernement made of lyes
that Baptisme is nothing ells but a marke and token wherby we professe our religion before men as soldiars beare the conufance of their capitaine for a marke of their profession wey not that which was the chefe thing in Baptisme That is this that we shoulde receiue it with this promise that whosoeuer beleue and are Baptised shal be saued In this sense is that to be vnderstode which Paule writeth that the Chirch is sanctified of Christ her spouse and cleansed with washing of water in the worde of lyfe And in an other place that we are saued according to his mercy by the washing of regeneration and of the renewing of the Holy ghost And that which Peter writeth that Baptisme saueth vs. For Paules will was not to signifie that our washing and saluation is perfectly made by water or that water conteyneth in it self the power of cleanse regenerate and renew Neither did Peter meane the cause of saluation but only the knowlege certaintie of such giftes to be receiued in this Sacrament which is euidently enough expressed in the wordes themselues For Paul knitteth together the word of lyfe Baptisme of water as if he had sayd that by the Gospel the message of washing sanctifieng is brought vs that by Baptisme such message is sealed And Peter immediatly adioyneth that that Baptisme is not the putting away of the filthinesse of the flesh but a good cōscience before God which is of Fayth Yea Baptisme promiseth vs no other cleansing but by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ which is figured by water for the lykenesse of cleansing washing Who therefore can say that we be cleansed by thys water which certainly testifieth that the blood of Christ is oure true onely washing So that frō no where ells can be fetched a surer reason to confute their blinde error which referr al thinges to the power of the water thā from the signification of Baptisme it selfe which doth withdraw vs as wel from that visible element which is set before oure eies as from all other meanes that it may bynde our mindes to Christ alone Neither is it to be thought that Baptisme is applied only to the time past that for new fallinges into whiche we fall backe after Baptisme we must seke new remedies of clensing in I wote not what other Sacramentes as thoughe the force of Baptisme were worne out of vse By this error it came to passe in old time that some would not be Baptised but in the vttermost peril of life and at their laste gaspinges that so they might obteine pardon of their whole life Against whiche waywarde suttle prouision the olde Bishops so oft inuey in their writinges But thus we ought to thinke that at what time soeuer we be Baptised we are at ones washed and cleansed for al our life Therfore so ofte as we fal we must goe backe to the remembrance of Baptisme and therewith we must arme our minde that it may be alway certaine and assured of the forgeuenesse of sinnes For though when it is ones ministred it semeth to be past yet by later sinnes it is not abolished For the cleannesse of Christ is therin offred vs that alway florisheth is oppressed with no spottes but ouerwhelmeth wypeth away al our filthinesse yet oughte we not to take therof a libertie to sinne in tyme to come as verily we be not hereby armed to such boldnesse but this doctrine is geuen onely to them which when they haue sinned doe grone weryed and oppressed vnder their sinnes that they may haue wherwith thei may raise vp and comfort themselues least they should fal into confusion and desperatiō So Paule sayth that Christ was made to vs a propitiator vnto the forgeuenesse of faultes going before Wherin he denieth not that therin is obteined perpetual continual forgeuenesse of sinnes euē vnto death but he meaneth that it was geuē of the Father onely to poore synners which wounded with the searing iron of conscience to sighe to the Phisitian To these the mercy of God is offred They whiche by escaping of punishment do hunt for mater and libertie to sinne dooe nothing but prouoke to themselues the wrath and iugement of God I knowe in dede that it is commonly thought otherwise that by the benefite of repentance and of the keyes we do after Baptisme obteine forgeuenesse which at our first regeneration is geuen vs by only Baptisme But they which deuise this do erre herin that they do not remember that the power of the keyes wherof they speake doth so hang vpon Baptisme that it ought in no wise to be seuered The sinner receiueth forgeuenesse by the ministerie of the Chirch namely not without the preaching of the Gospell But what maner of preaching is that That we be cleansed from sinnes by the blood of Christ. But what signe and testimonie is there of that washing but Baptisme We se therfore how that absolution is referred to Baptisme And this error hath bredde vs the fayned Sacrament of Penance of which I haue touched somwhat before and the residue I wil make an ende of in place fit for it But it is no maruell if men which according to the grossenesse of their witt were immeasurably fast tyed to outwarde thynges haue in this behalfe also bewrayed that faulte that not contented with the pure institution of God they did thrust in newe helpes fayned of themselues As thoughe Baptisme it selfe were not a Sacrament of repentance But if repentance be commended to vs for our whole life the force also of Baptisme ought to be extended to the same boundes Wherfore it is also no doute but that all the godly throughout all their life long so oft as they be vexed with knowlege in conscience of their owne sinnes dare calle backe themselues to the remēbrance of Baptisme that therby they may confirme themselues in the affiance of that onely and continuall washing which we haue in the blood of Christ. It bringeth also an other fruit because it sheweth vs our mortificatiō in Christ and new life in hym For as the Apostle saith we are baptised into his death beyng buried together with hym into death that we may walke in newnesse of life By whiche wordes he doth not only exhort vs to the folowyng of hym as though he did saye that we are by Baptisme put in mynde that after a certaine example of the deathe of Christ we should die to our lustes and after the example of his resurrection we shold be raised vp to righteousnesse but he fetcheth the mater muche deper that is to say that by Baptisme Christ hath made vs partakers of his death that we may be graffed into it And as the graffe receiueth substāce and nourishmēt of the roote into which it is graffed so they that receiue Baptisme with such faith as thei ought do truly fele the effectualnesse of the death of Christ in the mortifiyng of their flesh and therwithall
wholly to the obedience of the lawe of God Therfore he is compelled with gronyng to crie out Unhappie am I. Who shall delyuer me out of this body subiect to death If the children of God be holden captiue in prison so long as they lyue they must nede be muche carefully greued with thinkyng vpon their owne perill vnlesse this feare be mette withall Therefore he adioyneth to this vse a comfort that there is no more damnation to them that are in Christ Iesu. Where he teacheth that they whome the Lorde hath ones receiued into fauor engraffed into the communion of his Christ hath by Baptisme admitted into the felowship of his Chirch while they continue in the faith of Christ although they be besieged of sinne yea and carry sinne about within them yet are acquited from giltinesse and condemnation If this be the simple and natural exposition of Paule there is no cause why we should seme to teache any ▪ new vnwonted thyng But baptisme so serueth our confession before men For it is a marke whereby we openly professe that we wold be accompted among the people of God wherby we testifie that we agree with all Christians into the worshippyng of one God and into one religion finally wherby we openly affirme our faith that not onely our hartes shoulde breathe out the praise of God but also our tong and all the membres of our bodye should sound it out with suche vtterances as they be able For so as we ought all our thyngs are emploied to the seruice of the glorie of God wherof nothyng ought to be voyde and other may by our example be stirred vp to the same endeuors Hereunto Paule had respect when he asked the Corinthians whether they had not ben baptized into the name of Christ meaning verily that euen in this that they wer baptised into his name they auowed themselues vnto hym swore to his name and boūd their faith to him before men that they coulde no more confesse any other but Christ alone vnlesse they would forsake the confession whiche they had made in Baptisme Now sithe it is declared what our Lord had regard vnto in the institution of Baptisme it is plaine to iudge what is the waye for vs to vse and receiue it For so farr as it is geuen to the raisyng nourishyng and confirmyng of our faith it is to be takē as from the hande of the author himselfe we ought to holde it certaine and fully persuaded that it is he which speaketh to vs by the signe that it is he which clēseth vs washeth vs and putteth away the remēbrance of our sinnes that it is he whiche maketh vs partakers of his death which taketh away from Satan his kingdome which febleth the forces of our lust yea which groweth into one with vs that being clothed with him we may be reckened the children of God that these thynges I say he doth inwardly so truely and certainly performe to our soule as we certainly see our body outwardly to be washed dipped and clothed For this either relation or similitude is the most sure rule of Sacramentes that in bodily thynges we should beholde spirituall thynges as if they were presently set before our eies forasmuch as it hath pleased the Lord to represēt them by such figures not for that suche graces are bounde and enclosed in the Sacramente that they should be geuen vs by the force therof but onely because the Lorde dothe by this token testifie his will vnto vs that is that he will geue vs all these thynges Neyther dothe he onely fede our eyes with a naked syght but he bryngeth vs to the thyng present and together fulfilleth that which it figureth Hereof let Cornelius the capitayne be an example which was baptised ▪ hauyng before receiued forgeuenesse of sinnes and visible graces of the Holy ghost seking not by baptisme a larger forgeuenesse but a more certaine exercising of Faith yea an encreasce of confidence by a pledge Paraduenture some man will obiect why therfore did Ananias say to Paule that he shoulde washe away his sinnes by Baptisme if sinnes be not washed away by the power of Baptisme it selfe I answere We are sayd to receiue to obteyne to gette that whiche so farre as concerneth the felyng of our faith is geuen vs of the Lorde whether he doo then fyrst testifie it or beyng testified dothe more and certainlier confirme it This therfore onely was the meanyng of Ananias that thou mayest be assured Paule that thy sinnes are forgeuen thee be baptised For the Lorde dothe in Baptisme promise forgeuenesse of synnes receiue this and be out of care Howbeit I mean not to diminishe the force of baptisme but that the thyng and the truthe is present with the signe so farre as God worketh by outwarde meanes But of this sacrament as of all other we obteyne nothyng but so muche as we receiue by Faith If we want faith it shal be for a witnesse of our vnthākfulnesse wherby we may be declared giltie before God because we haue not beleued the promise there geuen But so farre as it is a sygne of our confession we ought by it to testifie that our affiance is in the mercy of God and our cleannesse is in the forgeuenesse of sinnes which is gotten vs by Iesus Christe and that by it we entre into the Chirche of Christe that we may with one consent of Faith and charitie liue of one mynde with all the faithfull This laste poynte dydde Paule meane when he sayeth that we are all baptised in one Spirite that we may be one bodye Nowe if this be true which we determine that a Sacrament is not to be weyed accordyng to his hande of whome it is ministred but as of the very hands of God from whome without dout it proceded herupon we may gather that nothing is added to it nor takē from it by the worthinesse of hym by whoe 's hande it is deliuered And euen as among men if a letter be sent so that the hand and the seale be well knowen it maketh no matter who or what maner of man be the carrier so it ought to suffice to acknowe the hande and seale of our Lord in his Sacramentes by what carrier soeuer they be brought Hereby the error of the Donatistes is very well confuted whiche measured the force and value of the Sacrament by the worthinesse of the minister Such at this day are our Catabaptistes whiche deny that we be rightly baptised because we were baptised by wicked men idolatrers in the popishe kingdome therfore they furiously cal vpon vs to be baptised again Against whoe 's follies we shal be armed with a reason strong enough if we thinke that we were professed by baptisme not into the name of any man but into the name of the Father the Sonne and the Holy ghost and that therfore it is not the Baptisme of man but of God of whomsoeuer it be ministred Althoughe they
vnto the forgeuenesse of synnes â–ª which when it is graunted wil largely make for defense of our sentence For sith we be borne sinners we do euen from our mothers wombe nede forgeuenesse and pardon Now seing the Lord doth not cut of but rather assure to that age the hope of mercy why should we take froÌ„ them the signe which is much inferior than the thing it selfe Wherfore that which they go about to throwe against vs we thus throwe backe against themselues infantes haue remission of synnes geueÌ„ them therfore they ought not to haue the signe taken froÌ„ them They allege also thys out of the Epistle to the Ephesians that the Chirch is clensed of the Lord with the washing of water in the worde of lyfe ThaÌ„ which there could nothing be alleged more fit to ouerthrow their error for the rupoÌ„ groweth an easy profe of our syde If the Lorde will haue the washyng wherewith he clenseth his Chirch to be testified by Baptisme it semeth not rightful that it should want the testimonie of it in infantes â–ª whiche are rightfully accompted part of the Chirch forasmuch as they be called heires of the heauenly kingdome For Paule speaketh of the whole Chirch where he sayth that it was cleansed with the Baptisme of water Likewise of this that in an other place he sayth that we be by Baptisme graffed into the body of Christ we gather that infantes whom he reckeneth among hys members oughte to be Baptised least they be plucked away from hys body Beholde with what violence with so many engines they assault the fortresses of our fayth TheÌ„ they come down to the practise custome of yâ— time of the Apostles wherin none is fouÌ„d to haue ben admitted to Baptisme but he whiche hath before professed Faith repentance For where Peter was asked of them that were mynded to repent what was nedeful to be done he couÌ„selled them first to repent then to be Baptised into the forgeuenesse of synnes Likewise Philip wheÌ„ the Eunuche required to be Baptised answered that he might be Baptised if he beleued with al his hart Hereby they thinke that they may winne that it is not lawfull that Baptisme be grauÌ„ted to any but where Fayth and repentance goe before Truely if we yelde to thys reson the first of these twoo places where is no mention made of Faith wil proue that repeÌ„taÌ„ce alone sufficeth and the other place wherin repentance is not required will proue that Fayth onely is enough I thinke they will answer that the one place is holpen with the other and therfore must be ioyned together I say also likewise that other places must be layed together which make somwhat to the vndoing of thys knot for asmuch as there be many seÌ„tences in Scripture the vnderstanding wherof hangeth vpon the circuÌ„stance of the place As this presently is an example For they to whoÌ„ Peter and Philip spake these thynges were of age sufficient to haue practise of repentance and to coÌ„ceiue Faith We earnestly deny that such ought to be Baptised vntil after perceiuing of their conuersion and Fayth at least so farr as it maye be searched out by the iugement of men But that infantes ought to be accompted in an other nomber it is more than euident enough For in olde tyme if any man did ioyne himselfe into communion of religion with Israel it behoued that he should first be taught the couenant of the lord and instructed in the law before that he wer marked with circumcision because in birth he was a stranger from the people of Israel with whome the couenante had ben made whiche circumcision stablished As also the lord â–ª when he adopteth Abraham to himselfe doth not begin at circumcision hyding in the meane time what he meaneth by that signe but first he declareth what couenante he entendeth to make with him and then after Fayth geuen to the promise he maketh hym partaker of the Sacrament Why doth in Abraham the Sacrament follow Fayth and in Isaac his sonne it goeth before all vnderstanding Because it is mete that he which beyng in full growen age is receiued into felowship of the couenant from which he had ben hetherto a stranger should first learne the conditions therof but an infante begotten of him neded not so which by right of inheritance according to the forme of the promise is euen from his mothers wombe conteined in the couenant Or that the mater may be more clerely and brefely shewed if the children of the faithful without the helpe of vnderstanding are partakers of the couenante there is no cause why they shoulde be debarâ—ed from the signe for thys that they can not sweare to the forme of the couenant This verily is the reason why in some places God affirmeth that the infantes whiche are issued of the Israelites are begotten borne to hym For without dout he estemeth as hys children the children of them to whoe 's sede he promiseth that he wil be a Father But he which is vnfaithfull issued of vngodly parentes till he be by Fayth vnited to God is iudged a stranger from the communion of the couenant Therfore it is no maruell if he be not partaker of the signe the signification whereof shoulde be deceitfull and voyde in hym To this effecte Paule also wryteth that the Gentiles so long as they were drowned in theyr idolatrie were oute of the testamente With this shorte summe as I thynke the whole mater may be clerely opened that they whiche in growen age embrace the Fayth of Christ forasmuche as they were hetherto strangers from the couenante are not to be marked with Baptisme but wheras Fayth and repentance come betwene which onely can open them the entrie into felowship of the couenant but the infantes that are issued of Christians as they are receiued of God into the inheritance of the couenant so sone as they be borne so oughte to be receiued to Baptisme Hereunto muste that be applyed whiche the Evangelist speaketh of that they were Baptised of Ihon whiche confessed their sinnes Whiche example at this day also we thinke mete to be kept For if a Turke offer himselfe to Baptisme he shoulde not bee rashly Baptised of vs namely not til after confession wherby he maye satisfie the Chirch Moreouer they bring fourth the wordes of Christ which are rehearsed in the thirde Chapter of Iohn wherby they thinke that a presente regeneration is required in Baptisme Unlesse a man be borne againe of water and the Spirite he can not enter into the kingdome of God Loe say they howe Baptisme is by the Lordes own mouth called regeneration Them therefore whome it is more than enough knowen to be vnable to receiue regeneratioÌ„ by what color do we admit to Baptisme which can not be without regeneration First they are deceiued in thys that they thinke that in thys place mention is made of Baptisme because they heare the
Sacrament is extreme vnctioÌ„ which is not done but of the Prest that in extremes so thei terme it with oile coÌ„secrate of the Bishop with this forme By thys holy anointing by his most kind mercy God pardoÌ„ thee whatsoeuer yâ— hast offeÌ„ded by seing by hearing by smelling feling tasting They faine that there be twoo vertues of it the forgeuenesse of sinnes ease of bodily sicknesse if it be so expedieÌ„t if not the saluation of the soule They say that the institution of it is set of Iames whose wordes are these Is any sicke among you Let hym bryng in the Elders of the Chirch and let them pray ouer hym anointing him with oyle in the name of the Lorde and the prayer of Fayth shal saue the sicke man and the Lord shal rayse hym by and if he be in synnes they shal be forgeuen hym Of the same sorte is thys anointing of which we haue aboue shewed that the other layeng on of handes is namely a playerlike hypocrisie whereby without reason and without frute they woulde resemble the Apostles Marc rehearseth that the Apostles at their first sending according to the commaundement whiche they haue receiued of the Lord raised vp dead meÌ„ cast out deuils cleansed leprous meÌ„ healed the sicke and that in healing of the sicke they vsed oyle They anointed sayth he many sicke meÌ„ with oyle and they were healed Hereunto Iames had respect when he commauÌ„ded the Elders to be called together to anoint the sicke man That vnder such Ceremonies is conteined no hyer mysterie they shall easily iudge which marke how great libertie the Lorde and his Apostles vsed in these outwarde thinges The Lord going about to restore sight to the blinde maÌ„ made cley of dust spittle some he healed with touching other some with his word After the same maner the Apostles healed some diseases with the word only some with touching other some with anointing But it is likely that this anointing was not as al other things also wer not causelesly put in vre I graunt yet not that it shold be a meane of healing but only a signe that the dulnesse of the vnskilful myght be put in mynde from whense so great power proceded to thys ende that they should not geue the prayse therof to the Apostles And that the Holy ghost and hys gyftes are signified by oyle it is a common and vsual thing But that same grace of healinges is vanished awaye like as also the other miracles which the Lord willed to be shewed for a tyme wherby he might make the new preaching of the Gospel maruelous for euer Therefore though we grauÌ„t neuer so much that anoynting was a Sacramente of those powers which wer theÌ„ ministred by the hands of the Apostles it now nothing perteineth to vs to whom the ministratioÌ„ of such powers is not coÌ„mitted And by what greater reasoÌ„ do they make a SacrameÌ„t of this anointing than of al other signes that are rehearsed to vs in the Scripture â–ª Why do they not appoint some Siloah to swymme in wherinto at certaine ordinarie recourses of tymes sicke men may plunge themselues That say they should be done in vaine Truely no more in vayne than anoyntyng Why do they not lye along vpon dead men because Paule raysed vp a dead childe with lyeng vpon hym Why is not cley made of spittle dust a Sacrament But the other wer but singular examples but this is geueÌ„ of Iames for a commaundemeÌ„t Uerily Iames spake for the same time when the Chirch yet stil enioied such blessing of God They affirme in dede that there is yet stil the same force in their anointingâ— but we finde it otherwise by experieÌ„ce Let no maÌ„ now maruel how thei haue with such boldnesse mocked soules which they know to be senslesse blinde when they are spoyled of the word of God that is of their life light sith they are nothing ashamed to go about to mocke the liuing and feling senses of the body Therfore they make themselues worthy to be scorned whyle they bost that they are endued with the grace of healinges The Lord verily is present with his in al ages and so oft as nede is he helpeth their sicknesses no lesse thaÌ„ in olde tyme but he doth not so vtter those manifest powers nor distributeth miracles by the handes of the Apostles because this gift both was but for a tyme and also is partly falleÌ„ away by the vnthankfulnesse of men Therfore as not wtout cause the Apostles haue by the signe of oile opeÌ„ly testified that the grace of healinges coÌ„mitted to them was not their owne power but the power of the Holy ghost so on the other side they are wroÌ„gdoers to the Holy ghost which make a stinking oile of no force to be hys power This is altogether like as if one would say that al oyle is the power of the Holy ghost because it is called by the name in Scripture that euerye doue is the Holy ghost because he appered in that forme But these thiÌ„gs let them loke to So much as for this preseÌ„t is enough for vs we do most câ—rtainly perceiue that their annointing is no Sacrament whiche is neyther a Ceremonie ordeined of God nor hath any promise For when we require these twoo thinges in a Sacrament that it be a ceremonie ordeined of God that it haue a promise of Godâ— we do there wtal require that the same Ceremonie be geuen to vs and that the promise belong vnto vs. For no man doth affirme the Circumcision is nowe a Sacrament of the Christian Chirch althoughe it both was an ordinance of God and had a promise knitt vnto it because it was neither commaunded to vs nor the promise which was adioyned to it was geueÌ„ to vs wiâ—h the same conditioÌ„ That the promise which they proudely bost of in their annointing is not geuen to vs we haue euidently shewed and they theÌ„selues declare by experience The Ceremonie ought not to haue ben vsed but of them that were endued with the grace of healinges not of these butchers that can more skill of slayeng and murthering than of healing Howbeit althoughe they obteyne thys that that which Iames commaundeth concerning annointing agreeth with thys age which they are most farr from yet eueÌ„ so they shal not haue much preuailed in prouing of their vnction wherwith they haue hetherto annointed vs. Iames wylleth that all sicke men be annointed these men infecte with their fatt liquor not sicke men but corpses half dead when the lyfe lieth alredy laboryng at the toppe of their lippes or as they themselues terme it in extremes If they haue in their Sacramente a present medicine wherby they may either ease the sharpenesse of diseases or at the least may bryng some comfort to the soule they ar to cruel that do neuer heale in time Iames willeth that the sicke maÌ„ be annointed of the Elders of the
bicause the Lord hath determined to haue mercie vpoÌ„ men to this ende that they shuld repeÌ„t he teacheth men whether they shall trauaile if they will obteine grace Therfore so long as we shall dwell in the pryson of our body we must continually wrastle with the vices of our corrupt flesh yea with our own naturall soule Plato sayth in certayne places that the life of a Phylosopher is a meditation of death but we may more truely say that the life of a Christian maÌ„ is a perpetuall studie and exercise of mortifieng the fleshe till it beyng vtterly slayue the Spirit of God get the dominion in vs. Therefore I thinke that he hath much profited that hath learned much to mislyke himself not that he should sticke faste in â—hat myre and goe no further but rather that he should haste and long toward God that being graffed into the death life of Christ he should studie vpon a continuall repentance as truely they can not otherwise do that haue a naturall hatred of sinne for no man euer hated sinne vnlesse he were first in loue with righteousnesse This doctrine as it was most simple of all other so I thought it beste to agree with thâ— truthe of the Scripture Nowe that Repentance is a singular gift of God I thinke it be so wel knowen by the doctrine aboue taught that I neede not to repete a long discourse to proue it agayne Therfore the church prayseth and hath in admiratioÌ„ the benefit of God that he hath geuen the Gentiles repentance vnto saluation And Paule commaundyng Timothee to be patieÌ„t and milde toward the vnbeleuers sayth If at any time God geue them repentance that they maye repent from the snares of the Deuel God in deede affirmeth that he willeth the conuersion of al meÌ„ and directeth his exhortations generally to all men but the effectual workyng therof hangeth vpon the Spirit of regeneration Bicause it were more easy to create vs men than of our owne power to put on a better nature Therfore in the whole course of regeneration we are not without cause called the worke of God created to good workes which he hath prepared that we should walke in them Whom soeuer the lordes will is to deliuer from death those he quickeneth with the Spirit of regeneration not that repentance is properly the cause of saluation but bycause it is alredy seen that it is vnseparable froÌ„ fayth and from the mercie of God sithe as Esaye testifieth there is a redemer come to him and to those that in Iacob are returned from their wickednesse This truely standeth stedfastly determined that were so euer liueth the feare of God there the Spirite hath wrought vnto the saluation of man Therfore in Esaie when the faithful complaine and lament that they are forsaken of God they recken this as a token of beyng reprobates that their heartes were hardened by God The Apostle also meanyng to exclude apostataes from hope of saluation apointeth this reason that it is impossible for them to be renewed vnto repentance bicause God in renewyng them whom he wil not haue perish sheweth a tokeÌ„ of his fatherly fauour and in a maÌ„ner draweth them vnto him with the beames of his cherefull and mery contenaÌ„ce on the other side with hardenyng them he thundereth agaynst the reprobate whose wickednesse is vnpardonable Whiche kinde of vengeance the Apostle threateneth to wilfull apostataes whiche when they depart from the faith of the Gospell do make a scorne of God reprochefully despise his grace and defile treade vnder feete the bloud of Christ yea as much as in them is they crucifie him agayne For he doth not as some fondly rigorous men would haue it cut of hope of pardon from all wilfull sinnes but teacheth that apostasie is vnworthy of all excuse so that it is no maruell that God doth punish a contempt of himself so full of sacrilege with vnappeasable rigour For he sayth that it is impossible that they which haue ones ben enlightened haue tasted of the heauenly gift haue ben made partakers of the holy ghost haue tasted of the good word of God the powers of the world to come yf they fall shuld be renewed to repeÌ„tance crucifiyng againe of newe and makyng a scorne of the sonne of God Againe in an other place If sayth he we willingly sinne after knowledge of the truth receyued there remayneth no more sacrifice for sinnes but a certayne dreadfull expectation of iudgement c. These also be the places out of the wroÌ„g vnderstandyng wherof the Nouatians in old time haue gathered matter to play the mad men with whose rigorousnesse certaine good meÌ„ beyng offended beleued this to be a counterfait Epistle in the Apostles name whiche yet in all partes doth truely fauour of an Apostolike spirite But bycause we contend with none but with theÌ„ that allowe it it is easy to shewe how these sentences do nothing mainteine their errour Firste it is necessarie that the Apostle agree with his maister whiche affirmeth that all sinne and blasphemie shal be forgeueÌ„ except the sinne agaynst the holy Ghost which is not forgeuen neyther in this world nor in the world to come It is certaine I saye that the Apostle was contented with this exception vnlesse we will make him an aduersarie to the grace of Christ. Whereupon foloweth that pardon is denied to no special offenses but only to one whiche procedyng of a desperate rage can not be ascribed to weakenesse and openly sheweth that a man is possessed of the Deuell But to discusse this it behoueth to enquire what is that same so horrible offense that shall haue no forgeuenesse Whereas Augustine in one place defineth it an obstinate stifnesse euen vnto death with despeire of pardon that doth not well agree with the very wordes of Christ thaâ— it shall not be forgeuen in this world For eyther that is spoken in vaine or it maye be coÌ„mitted in this life But if Augustines definition be true then it is not committed vnlesse it continue euen vnto death Wheras some other saye that he sinneth against the holy ghost that enuieth the grace bestowed vpon his brother I see not froÌ„ whense that is fetched But let vs bring a true definitioÌ„ which beyng ones proued with sure testimonies shall easily by it selâ—e ouerthrowe all the reste I saye therefore that they sinne agaynst the holy ghost which of set purpose resist the truthe of God with brightnesse wherof they are so daseled that they can not pretend ignorance whiche they do only to this ende to resâ—st For Christe meanynge to expounde that whiche he had sayd immediatly addeth He that speaketh a worde agaynst the sonne of man it shal be forgeueÌ„ him but he that blasphemeth agaynst the holy ghost shal not be forgeuen And Matthew for the blasphemie against the holy Spirit putteth the spirit of blasphemie But how can a maÌ„ speake a reproche against the
righteousnesse that is of God by faith coÌ„pting not his righteousnesse that which is by the law but yâ— whiche is by the faith of Iesu Christ. You see that here is also a coÌ„parison of coÌ„traries that here is declared the he which wil obteine the righteousnesse of Christ must for sake his owne righteousnesse Therefore in an other place he sayth that this was the cause of fal to the Iewes yâ— goyng about to stablish their owne righteousnesse they were not subiect to yâ— righteousnesse of God If in stablishyng our owne righteousnesse we shake away the righteousnesse of God therefore to obteine Gods righteousnesse our owne must be vtterly abolished And he sheweth the same thyng when he fayth that our glorieng is not excluded by the law but by faith Wherupon foloweth that so long as there remaineth any righteousnesse of workes how litle soeuer it be there still remaineth to vs some 〈◊〉 to glorie vpoÌ„ Now if faith exclude al glorieng then the righteousnesse of workes can no wise be coupled with the righteousnesse of faith To this effect he speaketh so playnely in the .iiij. chapter to the Romanes that he leaueth no roume for cauillations or shiftes If sayth he Abraham was iustified by workes he hath glorie And immediatly he addeth but he hath no glorie in the sight of God It foloweth therefore that he was not iustified by workes Then he vryngeth an other argument by contraries when reward is rendred to workes that is done of det and not of grace But righteousnesse is geuen to fayth accordyng to grace Therefore it is not of the deseruinges of workes Wherfore farewell their dreame that imagine a righteousnesse made of faith and workes mingled together The Sophisters thinke that they haue a suttle shifte that make to themselues sport and pastime with wrestyng of Scripture and with vayne cauillations For they expoÌ„nd workes in that place to be those which men not yet regenerate doe only literally by the endeuour of free will without the grace of Christ and do saye that it beloÌ„geth not to spiritual workes So by their opinion a man is iustified bothe by faith and by workes so that the workes be not his own but the giftes of Christ and frutes of regeneration For they saye that Paule spake so for none other cause but to conuince the Iewes trusting vpoÌ„ their owne workes that they dyd foolishly presume to clayme righteousnesse to theÌ„selues sithe the only Spirit of Christ doth geue it vs and not any endeuour by our owne motion of nature But they doe not marke the in the coÌ„parison of the righteousnesse of the law the righteousnesse of the gospell which Paule bringeth in in an other place all workes are excluded with what title so euer they be adorned For he teacheth that this is the righteousnesse of the law that he shuld obteâ—â—e saluation that hath performed that whiche the law coÌ„maundeth and that this is the righteousnesse of fayth yf we beleue that Christ died and is risen againe Moreouer we shall her after shewe in place fitioâ— it that sauctification righteousnesse are seuerall benefites of Christ Whereupon foloweth that the very spirituall workes come not into the accompt when the power of iustifieng is ascribed to fayth And where Paule denieth as I eueÌ„ now alleged that Abraham had any thing wherupoÌ„ to glorie before God bicause he was not made righteous by workes this ought not to be restrayned to the literall and outward kinde of vertues or to the endeuour of free will But although the life of the Patriarch Abraham were spirituall and in manner Angelike yet he had not sufficient deseruynges of workes to purchace him righteousnesse before God The Scholemen teach a litle more grosâ—y that mingle their preparations but these do lesse infect the simple and vnskilfull with corrupt doctrine vnder pretense of Spirit and grace hydyng the mercie of God whiche only is able to appease tremblyng consciences But we confesse with Paul that the doers of the law are iustified before God but bicause we are all far from the keping of the law herupon we gather that the workes which should most of al haue auailed to righteousnesse do nothing help vs bicause we lacke them As for the coÌ„mon Papistes or Scholemen they are in this point doubly deceiued both bicause they cal faith an assuredneâ—se of conscieÌ„ce in loking for reward at the hand of God for deseruinges and also bicause they expound the grace of God not to be a free imputation of righteousnesse but the holy ghost helpyng to the endeuour of holinesse They reade in the Apostle that he which coÌ„meth to God muste first beleue that there is a God then that he is a rendrer of reward to them that seke him But they marke not what is the manner of seking And that they are deceyued in the name of grace is plamely proued by their owne writings For Lombarde expoundeth that iustification by Christ is geuen vs two wayes First sayth he the death of Christ doth iustifie vs when by it charitie is stirred vp in our heartes by which we are made righteous Secondly that by the same death sinne is destroyed whereby Satan helde vs captiue so that nowe he hath not whereby to condemne vs. You see how he considereth the grace of God principally in iustification to be so far as we are directed to good workes by the grace of the holy ghost He would forsoth haue folowed the opinion of Augustine but he foloweth him a far of goth far out of the waye froÌ„ rightly folowing him bicause if Augustine haue spokeÌ„ any thing plainly he darkeneth it if there be any thing in Augustine not very vnpure he corrupteth it The Scholemen haue stil strayed from worse to worse till with hedlong fall at length they be rolled downe into a Pelagian errour And the very sentence of Augustine or at least his manner of speakyng is not altogether to be receyued For though he singularly wâ—ll taketh from man all prayse of righteousnesse and assigneth it wholly to the grace of God yet he referreth grace to sanctificatioÌ„ wherby we are renewed into newnesse of life by the holy ghost But the Scripture when it speaketh of the righteousnesse of faith leadeth vs to a far other end that is to say that turnyng away from the loking vpoÌ„ our owne workes we should only loke vnto the mercie of God and perfection of Christ. For it teacheth this order of iustificatioÌ„ that first God vouchsaueth to embrace maÌ„ beyng a sinner with his mere and free goodnesse consideryng nothing in him but miserie whereby he may be moâ—ed to mercie for asmuch as he seeth him altogether naked voide of good workes fetchyng from himself the cause to do him good then that he moueth the sinner himself with feling of his goodnesse which desperyng vpon his owne workes casteth all the summe of his saluation vpon Gods mercie This is the felyng of fayth by
which felyng the sinner commeth into possession of his saluatioÌ„ when he acknowlegeth by the doctrine of the Gospel that he is reconciled to God that obteyning forgeuenesse of sinnes by meanes of the righteousnesse of Christ â—e is iustified and although he be regenerate by the Spirit of God he thinketh vpon continuall righteousnesse layed vp for him not in the good workes to which he applieth himself but in yâ— only righteousnesse of Christ. When these thinges shal be euery one particularly weyed they shal geue a perfect declaratioÌ„ of our senteÌ„ce Albeit thei might be better disposed in an other order than they are set forth But it maketh litle mater so that they hang together in such sort that we may haue the whole mater truely declared surely proued Here it is good to remember the relation that we haue before sayd to be betwene faith and the Gospell bycause it is sayd for this cause that faith iustifieth for that it recemeth embraceth the righteousnesse offred in the gospel And whereas it is sayd to be offred by the gospel therby al coÌ„sideratioÌ„ of workes is excluded Which thing Paule declareth many times els where but most plainly in two places For to the Romanes comparing the lawe and the gospell together he sayth the righteousnesse that is by the law is thus the man that doth these thinges shal liue in them But the righteousnesse that is of faith offreth saluation if thou beleue in thy heart and confesse with thy mouth the Lord Iesus and that the father hath raysed him vp from the dead See you not how he maketh this the difference of the law and the Gospel that the lawe geueth righteousnesse to workes and the Gospel geueth tree righteousnesse without helpe of workes It is a notable place and that maye deliuer vs out of many harde doubtes yf we vnderstande that the same righteousnesse that is geuen vs by the Gospell is free from all conditions of the lawe This is the reason why he doth more than ones with great seming of contrarietie set the promise by way of opposition against the law as it the inheritance be of the law then is it not of the promise all the rest in the same chapter to the same effect Truely the lawe it selfe hath also her promises Therefore there must needes be in the promises of the gospel somthing different diuerse froÌ„ the promises of the lawe vnlesse we will confesse that the comparison is very sond But what diuersitie shall this bee vnlesse it be that they are freely geuen and vpholden by the only mercie of God whereas the promises of the lawe hange vpon the condition of workes Neyther let any manne here carp agaynst me and saye that in this place the righteousnesse is reiected whiche menne of their owne force and freewill would compell God to receiue for asmuch as Paule without exception teacheth that the law in coÌ„maunding profiteth nothing bicause there is none not only of the coÌ„mon multitude but also of the perfectest that fulfilleth it Loue vndoubtedly is the chefe point of the law when the Spirit of God frameth vs vnto it why is it not to vs a cause of righteousnesse but for that euen in the holy ones it is vnperfect and therefore of it self deserueth no reward The second place is this It is manifest that no man is iustified by the lawe before God Bicause the righteous man shall liue by fayth But the law is not of faith but the man that doth these thynges shall liue in them Howe coulde this argument otherwise stande together vnlesse we agree vpon this point that workes come not into the accompt of faith but are vtterly to be seuered from it The lawe sayth he differeth from fayth Why so bicause workes are required to the righteousnesse thereof Therefore it foloweth that workes are not required to the righteousnesse of faith By this relation it appereth that they which are iustified by faith are iustified byside the deseruing of workes yea without the deseruyng of workes bycause faith receyueth that righteousnesse which the Gospel geueth And the gospel differeth from the law in this point that it bindeth not righteousnesse to workes but setteth it in the only mercy of God Like herunto is that whiche he affirmeth to the Romanes that Abraham had nothyng to glorie vpon bycause fayth was imputed to him vnto righteousnesse he addeth a confirmation bycause then there is place for the righteousnesse of faith when there are no workes to whiche a rewarde is due Where bee workes sayth he due rewarde is rendred vnto them that whiche is geuen to faith is freely geuen For the very meanyng of the wordes that he vseth in that place serue to proue the same Wheras he adioyneth within a litle after that therefore we obteyne the inheritance by fayth as accordynge to grace hereupon he gathereth that the inheritance is of free gift bicause it is receyued by fayth and how commeth that but bicause fayth without any help of workes leaneth wholy vpon the mercie of God And in the same meanyng without dout he teacheth in an other place that the righteousnesse of God was openly shewed without the law although it haue witnesse borne of it by the law the Prophetes bicause excludyng the lawe he sayth that it is not holpen by workes and that we obteyne it not by workyng but come empty that we maye receyue it By this time the reader perceiueth with what equitie the Sophisters do at this daye cauill at our Doctrine when we saye that man is iustified by faith only They dare not denie that man is iustified by faith bicause it is so often fouÌ„d in Scripture but bicause this word Only is neuer expressed they can not abide to haue such an addition made Is it so But what will they answer to these wordes of Paule where he affirmeth that righteousnesse is not of fayth except it be freely geuen Howe can free gift agree with workes And with what cauillations will they mocke out that whiche he sayth in an other place that the righteousnesse of God is manifestly shewed in the Gospell If righteousnesse be manifestly shewed in the Gospell surely therein is conteyned not a torne or halfe righteousnesse but full and perfect Therefore the lawe hath no place therein And they stande vpon not only a false but also a foolish shifte about this exclusine word Only Doth not he perfectly enough geue al things to only faith that taketh al thinges from workes What I praye you meane these sayenges that righteousnesse was manifestly shewed without the law that maÌ„ is iustified freely and without the workes of the law Here they haue a witty shifte to escape withall whiche although they deuised it not themselues but borowed it of Origene certaine of the old writers yet is very foolish They prate that the ceremoniall workes of the law not the moral are excluded They profit so with