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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	article_n	holy_a	salvation_n	2,633	5	7.5054	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13837	The exercise of the faithfull soule that is to say, prayers and meditations for one to comfort himselfe in all maner of afflictions, and specially to strengthen himselfe in faith: set in order according to the articles of our faith, by Daniell Toussain, minister of the worde of God: with a comfortable preface of the author, vnto the poore remnant of the Church of Orlians; containing a short recitall of extreme and great afflictions which the said church hath suffered. Englished out of French, almost word for word, by Ferdenando Filding.; Exercice de l'âme fidele. English.	Tossanus, Daniel, 1541-1602.; Filding, Ferdenando.	1583 (1583)	STC 24144; ESTC S100748	160,179	397

brethren A citie is not vnhappie to be vnwalled spoyled A city whē he is vnhappie robbed and outwardly ruined and sacked but if it be depriued of the fauor of God if it be filled full of ydolatrie with vanitie with theft bloud and with pride Furthermore if we doe feele our selues verie weake to sustaine the assaults threateninges and feares amongest cruell Idolaters why doe we tempt God in dwelling amongest them Heb. 13. Why doe wee not come out of our tentes to beare the rebuke of Christ Why goe we not out of Babylon to the ende we be not partakers of her sinnes and that wee receiue not of her plagues Howe many meanes might a man haue had since this fiue yeares to haue retired himselfe from amongest these fleshlie people so thirstie after the bloud of the faithfull Who is he that would abide one night amongest Scorpions Who is hee which would not quickelie vnharbour himselfe Dwelling amongest Idolaters verie dangerous seeing his house on a fire how deere soeuer it were vnto him Who is hee which would remaine in the fairest citie of the world in which hee could haue no bread What order then is there that they shoulde soiourne amongest them so long time Dwelling amongest Idolaters is verie daungerous amongest whom there can be founde no true bread and amongest whom there is neither faith nor loue nor yet respect of anie person We are in this worlde to knowe and serue God and the time of our life being so short ought we not to enforce our selues to the vttermost to bestowe that as well as is possible For as S. Cyprian hath verie well sayde in his treatise of twofoulde Martyrdome All the life of man ought to giue witnesse to GOD not that he hath any neede or maketh much reckoning of our Martyrdome or witnessing of him but that it pleaseth him that his glorie should be thus aduaunced and declared amongest men by men Nowe my brethren Whence infirmities proceede considering that these great infirmities which are at this day founde in many proceede from no other thing but onely through default of not being well grounded and rooted in the faith and also because we pray not vnto God Mark 9.23 so often and so earnestlie as were requisite For all thinges are possible to the beleeuer and the beleeuer also hath this aduauntage that God heareth and fulfilleth his desires I haue thought to comfort and to strenthen more and more those which through the grace of GOD remaine firme and constant vntill this present Psal 145. The purpose of the Author in this booke as also to giue courage againe vnto them which haue lost it and suffer themselues willinglie to be borne with the tempest of Idolatrie that there is nothing more fitte and to the purpose than to set before your eies the Articles of our faith with short meditations and prayers that shall giue vnto you a briefe knowledge and vnderstanding thereof being as it were the verie iuice and substance to the ende also that this may shortly put you in remembraunce of the pure doctrine which was preached vnto you For this is our glorie 2. Cor. 1. euen of vs all which haue beene your Pastors the testimonie of our conscience that in simplicitie and godlie purenesse wee haue beene conuersant amongest you preaching vnto you the word of God And wee are not ignorant in meane while that this is an auntient subtiltie and craft of the Diuel and of the wicked The slaūders of the aduersaries in the middest of their greatest wickednesse to slaunder good men and the trueth So was Elias slaundered by Achab as a seditious person so was Iesus Christ charged with faultes So did that abhominable Nero who hauing set the citie of Rome on fire layd all the fault vpon the poore Christians Wee doe not doubt at all but a man may finde some of our renegates which to receiue the seruice to the contrarie side and to reape the benefite of a flattering tongue both haue and doe straine themselues to misuse vs in speach and not onely with the like speach falselie to misuse vs but also to make odious euen the whole doctrine of the holie Gospell But he whome we doe serue knoweth vs and we call none other but the conscience of those who haue hard vs and haue seene our behauiours in witnesse of our affection towards you of our chearefulnesse and readines wherewith all we haue beene alway accōpanied preaching vnto you the pure word of God so much as was possible for vs and that you could be suffered to heare the same The worlde hath also seene knowen of long time the impieties of this seat of Rome many Emperours yea and many kinges of Fraunce haue prooued their insolencie and crueltie Fraunce alas seeth at this day the detestable vntrustinesse treasons violences and murthers the like not hearde which that Apostaticall Romish seate hath bredde and brought forth vnto vs and for the which they haue many times made bonfires yea and great triumph but all in vaine wee shall weepe and the worlde shall laugh in the meane time our heauinesse shall one way bee turned into ioy which the world shall not be able to spoile vs of And how much better shall it bee to weepe in this world than in the other and to reioyce in the life to come than in this vale of miseries The order then that wee keepe in this booke is The order kept in this booke that wee drawe to the Articles of the faith as close as is possible certaine places of the holie scripture which serue best to explane them and make them cleare with prayers and meditations to that purpose to the end that as faith and prayer ought to be ioyned together so euerie one might bee resolued in the faith be pricked forward to prayer True it is that in that which tyed me to those prayers and meditations which were before imprinted I haue not altogether kept such order as I desired neuerthelesse these prayers nowe are brought into a better order than those that were before and are augmented with manie goodlie places And this booke will serue as a Christian Manuel to the end to teach euerie one to see euerie houre of the day and euerie Moneth of the yeare that is to say continuallie what hee ought to beleeue and meditate vpon as also what was the whole Catechisme or maner of instruction of youth vsed by the ancient fathers like as Augustine witnesseth in his Enchiridion that is to say in his Manuel that it contained the meaning and exposition of the Creede and the Lordes prayer Wherefore I hope that this little treatise so reuiewed and digested into such order will serue not onelie to direct vs how to make our prayers for all kinde of necessities and wantes but also for an instruction more and more to confirme those that are the true faithfull in the principal pointes of our saluation

vncleannesse filth and sinne that hee may bring vs into all trueth and that hee may sanctifie and strengthen vs vnto the ende comforting vs in this Article of death praying Rom. 8. and sighing for vs with gronings that cannot be expressed Witnesses out of the holie Scripture concerning the Holie Ghost Out of the 12. of Zacharie verse 10. I will powre vppon the house of Dauid and vppon the inhabitantes of Ierusalem the spirit of grace and of compassion and they shal looke vpon me whom they haue pearced MEDITATION BY the first Adam alas wee become barraine and vnprofitable were shut out of the grace of God but the Lorde promising the establishmēt of his Church againe by Christ promised to poure out his giftes and graces in great abundance For although that in our fathers dayes God had wrought great fauour vnto the people yet so it is that this is proper vnto Christ to giue vnto vs the spirit of grace mercie and inuocation And this is the richest gift that GOD could impart vnto vs for so much as it is said in the 8. Chapter to the Romans That wee could not knowe how wee were Christes and the children of GOD without this spirit For hee was woonderfullie and extraordinarilie giuen in the day of Pentecost But yet dooth hee dailie ioyne together his woorking with the preaching of the Gospell and woorketh in vs that wee doe call vppon God with full assurance Oh that this spirit of grace is to bee desired 1. Sam. 18. It is not this euill spirit which was giuen vnto Saul that vexed and troubled him but it is the spirit of grace and of compassion This is the Lord that we must woorship in spirit and trueth Out of the 4. Chap. of the Euangelist S. Iohn Iesus said vnto the Samaritane Whosoeuer drinketh of this water shall thirst againe But the water that I shall giue him shall bee in him a well of water springing vp into euerlasting life A MEDITATION OH how hath Dauid truelie felt the vertues of these liuing waters when as he said in the 42. Psalme Like as the thirstie Hart runneth with swift course vnto the riuers of water euen so dooth my soule also long and pant after thy diuine grace For what is it likewise to inioie all the pleasures of the world since that they take not away his thirst neither yet quench this alteration but doe increase and make the people like vnto men filled with dropsies which the more they drinke the more thirstie they are But behold two thinges that this water dooth greatlie recommend vnto vs whereof Iesus Christ talked with the Samaritane It is that they which drinke thereof are no more tormented with thirst feeling in them a well of liuing water that springeth vp alwayes without ceasing and cannot be drawen drie Besides this water that man feeleth in his soule and that runneth about his heart dooth neuer forsake vs but quickeneth vs vnto euerlasting life Therefore blessed are they which doe feele in their soules such a running water which dooth not for a trueth spring out of the vaines of the earth but from the hiest heauens and out of the true heauenlie paradise Now as S. Chrysostome saith This water is the strength and woorking of the spirit of God working by the word of the Gospell For it behooueth that we take heede of the errour of the Massalians and Scuencfieldians Against the Massalians who doe separate the spirite from the worde and doe dreame in the reuelations of the spirite But S. Paule teacheth vs in the 3. to the Galathians That we receiue the spirite through the preaching of faith and in the second Chap. of the 2. Epistle to the Thessalonians hee ioyneth together the sanctification of the spirite and the faith of trueth Moreouer this spirite hath diuers effectes and is by this occasion some times called fire Matth. 3. because that it purifieth and consumeth our euill affections and kindleth in vs a zeale as in the disciples going to Emaus Luke 24. whose heartes burned within themselues hearing Iesus speake Nowe it is also called water thorough his working because that this holy spirite refresheth vs against the burning heat of temptations and also doeth wash and serue to quench the firie dartes of Sathan let it then neuer come to passe Ephes 6. for vs to doe as the ydolaters of whom God complaineth in the 2. Chap. of Ieremiah Who forsaking the fountaine of liuing water digged to themselues dead pittes and drie cesterns that can hold no water Out of the 7. Chap. of S. Iohn vers 38. Ioel. 2. He that beleeueth in me as sayeth the scripture out of his belly shall flowe riuers of water of life Nowe this spake he of the spirit which they that beleeued in him should receiue Out of the 15. of S. Iohn A witnesse of the spirite and of the preaching ioyned together When the comforter shal come whom I will sende vnto you from the father euen the spirite of trueth which proceedeth of the father hee shall testifie of me and yee shall witnesse also because ye haue beene with me from the beginning Out of the 16. of S. Iohn When he is come which is the spirit of trueth hee will leade you into all trueth for hee shall not speake of himselfe but whatsoeuer he shall heare shall he speake Out of the 8. Chap. of the Epistle to the Romanes For if you liue after the flesh yee shall die but if ye mortifie the deedes of the bodie by the spirite yee shall liue For as many as are lead by the spirit of God they are the sonnes of God S. Paule prayeth by the spirite Out of the 15. Chap. to the Romans vers 30. I beseech you for our Lorde Iesus Christs sake and for the loue of the spirite that ye would striue with me by praiers Out of the 3. Chapter of the 1. to the Corinth Knowe ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the spirite of God dwelleth in you Out of the 12. to the Corinth 1. Epistle There are diuersities of giftes but the same spirite and there are diuersities of administration but the same Lorde and there are diuersities of operation but God is the same which worketh all in all But the manifestation of the spirite is giuen to euery man to profite withall Out of the 13. Chap. of the 2. to the Corinth and 13. vers The grace of our Lorde Iesus Christ and the loue of God and the communion of the holy Ghost be with you all Out of the 4. Epistle to the Ephesians vers 30. Griue not the spirite of God by whom ye are sealed vnto the day of redemption Out of the 5. Chap. and the 1. to the Thes Quench not the spirite Despise not prophesying Out of the 1. of S. Iohn 2. Chap. The annointing which yee receiued of me dwelleth in you and ye neede not that any man teache you for the same annointing

paine the which also hee hath charged vppon him in short that to the end to haue pitie on vs Hebr. 2. he might partake with our flesh with our miseries to the end to make vs his brethren so to carrie into heauen our nature as the gage of our hope euen as hee hath giuen vnto vs a counterpledge that is to say the holie Ghost as Tertullian hath written verie well speaking of the resurrection and of the flesh of Christ When therefore we say that we doe beleeue in Iesus Christ it is not as if we had manie kindes of faith For there is but one God and one faith Ephe. 4. and the father and the sonne are one as it is said in 10. of S. Iohn To beleeue in Iesus Christ But this is that wee beleeue in God according as he hath shewed himselfe in the making of heauen and earth as also in his holie word that beareth record vnto vs how that the euerlasting Sonne of God Iesus Christ taking our nature in the fulnesse of time to bee the mediator of the couenant of our God the two natures diuine and humane being knitte together hee hath reconciled vs to God his father when by his merite and obedience and through his strength and incomprehensible goodnesse hee hath by his death and passion made satisfaction for our sinnes and by his resurrection ouercome death and hell and is ascended into heauē to make intercessiō for vs so as for the loue of him god loueth vs his righteousnes is imputed to vs as if it were our owne God holdeth vs for righteous so be we sure that neither the law hath power to condemne vs against which we doe set this perfect righteousnes of Iesus Christ neither death nor the diuel shall astonie vs for seeing the Christ for vs hath ouercome the world death all that which was feareful In summe we doe beleeue not onelie the historie of the birth passion death resurrection ascensiō of Iesus Christ But euerie faithful persō dooth apply all the benefits that he hath gotten for vs assuring comforting thēselues in his holie louelie promises doe lay hold vppon him as the true Iesus sauing blessing vs hauing prepared an euerlasting saluation and a most blessed life by his pretious blould For what we shall be dooth not yet appeare but we doe know that when he shal appeare V s e. 13. we shal be like vnto him shall see him as he is And whosoeuer hath this hope in him is purified as he is also pure This say I is the first Maxime first foundation that we doe set against the heretikes and others which know not Iesus Christ true God true man It is the wonderful coūsel of God which hath prouided for vs such a mediator and sauiour as did behooue vs to haue Secondlie we doe set against them the agreemēt of the old new Testamēt cōcerning Iesus Christ where wee see how that which the ceremonies of the law had figured was fulfilled in Christ as it is said in the Epistle to the Hebrewes 1. Iohn 3. for so dooth S. Paul witnesse proue how Christ was the end of the law Lastlie we doe set against thē the effects of this healthful knowledge which giueth peace rest of minde vnto the faithful So as manie haue suffered death with great ioy for the name of Iesus Now on the other part the issue of those who haue blasphemed as Cerinthus Manes Arrius and others were alwayes miserable And how soeuer it were that manie times the heresies of those which haue striuen either cōcerning the true diuine nature or cōcerning the veritie of Christs human nature were for a season maintained by violence impudēcie God in this giuing place vnto his iudgements prouing the constācie of his owne yet it is cleare by the Ecclesiasticall Histories how the Lord hath made his trueth dailie to triumph yea that manie times by weake Organes hath confounded the wise men of the world preseruing his trueth the Articles of our faith euen vnto our time whereof wee ought to thanke this good God without ceasing and to beseech him that he will likewise haue pitie also of our posteritie suffer them to inioy this wholesome treasure not suffering that for our vnthankfulnesse and by the damnable and ambitious contentions of certaine wicked members that at this day doe trouble the Churches the trueth should be darkened and this good Sauiour Iesus true GOD and true man should bee misknowne to the world Now to the end that euerie faithfull man might so much the better tast and learne what this sonne of God is and what foundation wee haue to beleeue in him and to hold him for our mediator the holie scripture dooth attribute two names chieflie vnto him Iesus Christ whereof the one is Iesus and the other is Christ to the end that wee may note and marke in the first what is the person of the sonne of God to witte that he is God the sauiour and the word of life manifested in the flesh In the second his Office because that Christ dooth signifie as much as Messias that is to say Annointed which was annointed for vs destined and ordained of the father and dwelling in him in all fulnesse that hee should bee our king our sacrificer and our Prophet and Doctor As concerning the first name which is Iesus it was giuen to the Lord not by aduenture but by a heauēlie Oracle declared by the Angel vnto Ioseph as wee doe reade in the 1. Chap. of S. Matthew Thou shalt call his name Iesus For hee shall saue his people from their sinnes The like was said vnto Marie euen as wee doe reade in the first Chap. of S. Luke Thou shalt beare a sonne and thou shalt call his name Iesus Hee shall be great and shall bee called the sonne of the most highest and the Lorde God shall giue vnto him the Throne of his father Dauid and the Angell speaking vnto the shepheardes in the 2. Chap. of S. Luke interpreting this word of Iesus said Behold I bring you tidings of great ioy that shall be to all the people That is that vnto you is borne this day in the Citie of Dauid a sauiour which is Christ the Lord. Moreouer Irenaeus a right auncient Doctor in the second booke against the heresies of Valentinus witnesseth that the Greekes called him Soter that which the scripture called Iesus that is to say Sauiour The which Iesus Christ was in deed straightway declared himselfe so to bee healing the sicke and raising vp the dead Especiallie by this euerlasting saluation and that saluation of the soules which hee hath gotten for vs who is the true saluation of whome we ought to make reckenning of 8. Pet. 1.5 as S. Peter saith that he should be fullie reuealed in the latter dayes Now such a Sauiour was not Iosua how braue a Captaine soeuer hee

of these articles of our faith Preserue and keepe the relieuers of thy Church and giue vnto thē victorie against all assaultes of enimies for this great sauiour Iesus Christ his sake So be it Certaine notable places concerning Iesus Christ drawen out of the scripture Out of the 3. Chap. of Genesis The Serpent After the fall of Adam and Eue the Lord spake vnto Sathan which is the auncient serpent leading or tempting the world as it is said in the 12. of the Apocalyps I will put enmitie betweene thee and the woman and betweene thy seede and her seede Hee shall breake thine head and thou shalt bruse his heele The Chaldie translatiō or rather Paraphrase in stead of seede putteth thy sonne and her sonne meaning by the sonne of the Serpent Antichrist and by the sonne of the woman the promised seede By the same were the fathers comforted and namelie S. Paul saith in the 3. to the Galat. that the promised seede was Christ Out of the 49. of Genesis The seed The scepter shal not depart from Iudah not a lawgiuer from betweene his feete vntill Shiloh come and the people shal be gathered vnto him Now the Chaldey Paraphrase and the Targum Ierosolomite doe not onelie expound it of the Messias but also the most learned of the Hebrewes are constrained so to doe And in the same Chap. and the 18. ver the good Patriarch Iacob saith O Lorde I haue waited for thy saluation Thereupon writeth the Targū of Ierusalem I doe not awaite for a saluation saith Iacob or a deliuerance from a Gedeon or from a Sampson whose deliueraunces were temporall But I doe awaite for that which the Messias shall bring Out of the 18. Chap. of Deuteronomie I wil raise vp vnto them saith the Lord vnto Moses a prophet from among their brethren like vnto thee and will put my wordes in his mouth and hee shall speake vnto them all that I shall commaund him This place cannot bee vnderstoode but of Christ as also it is said by this occasion in the 1. of S. Iohn and the 45. ver how Moses hath written of Christ And in the 3. of the Actes S. Peter dooth also in the 22. ver apply there this place vnto Iesus Christ For albeit that GOD hath raised vp manie Prophets Yet so it is as it is said in the last Chap. of Deuteronomie There arose not a Prophet in Israel like vnto Moses So as a man cannot vnderstād the said place but of Iesus Christ the leader of his people and true Prophet by whome God hath spoken vnto them in these last times as it is said in the 1. Chap. to the Hebrewes Out of the 19. Chap. of Iob. I knowe well that my redeemer liueth he shall stand the last on the earth Out of the 2. Psalme Why doe the Princes assemble together against the Lorde and against his Christ I haue ordained him king vppon Sion mine holie mountaine I wil declare the decree that is the Lord hath said vnto me Thou art my sonne this day haue I begotten thee Aske of me and I shall giue thee the nations for thine inheritance and the endes of the earth for thy possession Now that this Psalme is properlie referred vnto Christ a man may plainelie see it First because that he called him his euerlasting begotten sonne as it is expounded in the 1. of the Hebrewes secondlie in the 11. ver the same sonne is called Iehoua and the kinges of the earth are exhorted to reuerence and imbrace him Thirdlie that his kingdome spreadeth forth it selfe euen vnto the endes of the earth that which a man cannot vnderstand of the kingdome of Dauid Last of all it is said how they are blessed which haue their hope trust in him For as S. Paul speaketh in the 10. to the Romans such shall not bee confounded Therefore the Apostes had reason to apply in the 2. of the Actes this Psalme vnto Christ Out of the 8. Psalme What is man that thou art so mindeful of him the sonne of man that thou visitest him For thou hast made him a little lower than God hast crowned him with glorie honor Thou hast made him to haue dominion ouer the workes of thine handes Thou hast put all thinges vnder his feete Howsoeuer it be that this place setteth out the dignitie excellēcie of the first Adam yet we see by the 12. Chap. to the Hebrewes how this is applyed vnto the secōd Adam that is to say vnto Christ in whom our wretched nature that was fallen frō his first glory was restored againe to honor in such sort as God hath no lesse shewed his woonderfull goodnesse euen with aduantage in the restoring of man againe as hee hath doone in the first creation And as touching the Psalmes we haue verie manie goodlie testimonies of Iesus Christ as of his death and passion in the 22. and 69. the which are alledged in the 27. of S. Matthew and in the 1. of the Actes ver 20. of the resurrection in the 16. Psalme the which is alledged in the 2. of the Actes Of his Ascensiō in the 68. Psalme that is alledged in the 4. Chap. to the Ephes Of his Priesthood in the 110. which is alledged in the 22. of S. Matthew to prooue that hee is the sonne and Lorde of Dauid altogether and in the 5. Chap. to the Hebrewes Of the calling of the Gentiles by the preaching of the Gospell in the 19. Psal and 72. which are alledged in the 10. of the Romans Of the kingdome of Christ in the 2. and 67. Psalme Out of the Prophet Isaie who is by manie called the Euangelicall Prophet And therefore S. Ambrose did exhort S. Augustine before his conuersion to read him diligentlie thereby to giue vnto him taste of the grace of God like as S Augustine doeth witnesse in the 9 booke of his Confessions Out of the 7. of Isaiah The Lorde himselfe will giue you a signe beholde a virgine shall conceiue and beare a sonne and shee shall call his name Immanuell Of this it is spoken in the first of S. Matthew verse 23. Out of the 9. of Isaiah Vnto vs a childe is borne vnto vs a sonne is giuen and the gouernement vpon his shoulders and he shal call his name wonderfull counseller the mightie God the euerlasting father the prince of peace His gouernement shal be inlarged and peace shall haue none ende there he shall sit vpon the throne of Dauid and vpon his kingdome to order it Luke 1. and to stablish it with iudgement Thus is Iesus Christ described vnto vs the sonne of Dauid Rom. 1. according to the fleshe in the 11. of Isaiah and this is alledged in 13 of the Actes and the 23. verse There shall a twig come forth of the stocke of Iessay and a branche shall increase out from his roote and the spirite of the Lorde shall rest vpon him the spirite of wisedome and of vnderstanding the

vnto vs this honor to speake of ours Thou pronouncest by thy sonne that wee are blessed in hearing thy word and that when wee haue it and heare it that doeth not come of our selues but through thy great mercie It is thou thy selfe which openest and stoppest our eares Oh heauēlie Father how great is thy mercie But wo vnto this damnable vnthankfulnesse of them that laugh and gaude thereat in place of hearing it Wo vnto this our sluggishnesse that hindereth vs to pray and to demaund none other thing but that thy word might haue his course ● Thes 3. Ephe. 6. and might be glorified and that thou raise vp good shepheardes to whome thy word may be giuen that with open mouth and with boldnesse of heart 1. Sam. 3. the secretes of the Gospel may be made knowen And that it happen not vnto vs that thy word bee take away for our vnthankfulnesse Ephe. 3. as wee doe reade that in the time of Eli it was rare in the request and there was little to be had of anie manifest vision Now vnto him which by his power may doe all in all abundance more than wee doe aske or thinke vnto him be glorie in the Church in Iesus and in all ages So be it Out of the 5. Chap. of the Gospell of S. Iohn Search the scriptures Of the profit in the true vnderstāding of the scriptures for in them yee thinke to haue eternall life and they are they which testifie of me MEDITATION MEn haue a naturall desire to the euerlasting life But where is it that they doe seeke it In themselues or in mens traditions And in so dooing they goe far off in place to drawe neere to it For it hath pleased this good God to comfort and quicken the people giuing vnto them his scriptures which is called the word of life in such sort as it is a woonderfull benefit that God bestoweth on a people when hee giueth vnto them his word Luke 10. And as it was said vnto Martha that it was needefull for vs to labour with care after so manie things But there is one thing that is truelie in euerie respect necessarie Iohn 6.27 To labour after the heeuenlie foode All the rest is but as an accessarie Let vs therefore trauaile and labour after the foode that shall neuer perish For there is no question to labour much the sonne of God presenteth it to vs. Let vs seeke into it Let vs here applie our studies and there let vs imbrace it and let vs choose as Marie did the better part Wee must not heare make readie neither armes teeth nor mouth to labour after this heauenlie meate We must beleeue as S. Augustine saith in the 25. treatise vpon S. Iohn But what manie doe reade the word of God but as it were to runne from it so that this is as a booke closed vp and out of the which they bring no profit For it behooueth to inquire thereof truelie to sound weigh and conferre the one with the other with calling vppon it in the name of God All euen as they doe which digge for the treasure of the earth they must imploy their labour and trie with all diligence the mettales For if they doe but scratch the earth aboue they shall neuer finde out the Ore or Mettall Other some doe reade it as the Iewes but it is with a veile and without seeking him there who is the end of the lawe to wit Iesus Christ The heritickes doe reade and read againe the scriptures as the Anabaptistes and others In what manner the heritiques doe alledge the scripture But as faith Clement Alexādrine in his 7. booke Stromat Although the heretickes doe in deede alledge the scriptures yet may a man by and by see their deceite for either they doe not conferre the scripture with scripture or they doe alledge it by peece meale and by little and little morsels and not wholie or else they will not acknowledge the phrase or manner of speaking of the scripture neither the scope or end of it And as an other verie auncient Doctor named Irenaeus saith in his third booke and 15. Chapter against heresies The heritickes to the end they might not bee discouered doe alledge the scripture well at the beginning to drawe on the people vnto them But so soone as they haue gotten scholers they wrest the scriptures to their owne side and make men beleeue that their rauing or raylinges bee the scripture and doe scorne at all the good Doctors Of correction Donat. falselie accusing and slaundering them Now the Lord saith S. Augustine suffereth heritickes to be that our faith and loue might be tried together Our faith whether we doe suffer our selues to be led away Our loue when as wee seeke to reforme instruct them Therefore let vs beware of such a companie of scoffers which say What haue we to doe to torment our selues after the reading of the scriptures One cannot know at these dayes what to beleeue some expound it thus othersome so Euerie heriticke doeth alledge the scripture It is true But as it is said if wee be deceaued it is for that wee will be beguiled because we will not truelie seeke out the scriptures Is it not easie enough to discerne the Spider from the Bee The one turneth all into poyson The other into honie Such is the difference betweene the heretickes and the true faithfull How the scripture ought to be read Now the faithfull reading the scripture will reade it with prayer that God may open his vnderstanding to know the woonders of his Lawe such prayers Dauid made in the 119. Psalme Then hee will reade it not to bee turned away from the preaching of the word But rather so much the more to knowe and vnderstand the doctrine which is preached Thirdlie hee will not reade the scripture to halues but will compare the old and the newe Testament together Lastlie hee will not seeke out there in subtilties nor curiosities but hee will seeke there Iesus Christ for whose loue all was written as wee doe reade in the 20. Chap. of S. Iohn And therefore will he reade the scripture to strengthen him in the faith alwayes hauing before his eyes the Articles of our faith as a guide to which hee will referre that which hee readeth as vnto certaine cōmon places Therefore Christ is the end of the lawe and of sacrifices Christ is hee to whome the Prophetes haue yeelded witnesse and this is the scripture that reuealeth it vnto vs and not Philosophie or humane reason Of the true ofspring of sectes and heresies Out of the 8. Chap. of S. Iohn verse 44. The diuel hath beene a Murtherer from the beginning abode not in the trueth for the trueth is not in him If anie keepe my word saith Iesus Christ hee shall neuer tast of death CONSIDERATION THey who haue knowen Martin Luther that seruant of God in his time write how hee hauing long