example the Monke imagineth thus These works which I doe please god God will regard these my vowes and for them will saue me The Turke saith If I keepe the things that are commaunded in the Alcoran God will accept me and geue me euerlasting life The Ievve thinketh thus If I kepe those things which the law commaundeth I shall finde God mercifull to me and so shall I be saued So also a sort of fond heades at this day bragging of the spirite of reuelations of visions and such other monstrous matters I wote not what doe walke in wonders aboue their reaches These new Monkes haue inuented a new crosse and new workes and they dreame that by doing them they please god To be briefe as many as know not the Article of Iustification take away Christ the mercy seat and will needes comprehend God in his maiestie by the iudgemēt of reason and pacifie him with their workes But true Christian diuinitie as I geue you often warning setteth not God forth vnto vs in his maiestie as Moises and other doctrines do It commaundeth vs not to search out the nature of God but to know his will set out to vs in Christ whom he would haue to take our flesh vpon him to be borne and to die for our sinnes and that this should be preached among all nations For seeing the world by wisedom knew not God in the wisedom of God it pleased God by the foolishnes of preaching to saue thē that beleue 1. Cor. 1. Wherfore when thy conscience standeth in the conflict wrastling against the law sinne and death in the presence of God there is nothing more daungerous then to wander with curious speculatiōs in heauen and there to search out God in his incomprehensible power wisedom and maiestie how he created the world and how he gouerneth it If thou seeke thus to comprehend God and wouldest pacifie him without Christ the Mediator making thy workes a meane betweene him and thy selfe it can not be but that thou must fall as Lucifer did and in horrible despaire lose God and altogether For as God is in his owne nature vnmeasurable incomprehensible and infinite so is he to mans nature intolerable Wherfore if thou wouldest be in safetie and out of perill of conscience and saluation bridle this climing and presumptuous spirite and so seke God as Paule teacheth thee 1. Cor. 1. We sayth he preach Christ crucified a stumbling blocke vnto the Ievves and foolishnes vnto the Grecians but vnto thē vvhich are called both of the Ievves and Grecians vve preach Christ the povver of God the vvisedom of God. Therfore begin thou there where Christ began namely in the wombe of the virgin in the maunger at his mothers breasts c. For to this ende he came downe was borne was conuersant among men suffered was crucified and died that by all meanes he might set forth him selfe plainly before our eies and fasten the eies of our hartes vpon him selfe that he therby might keepe vs from climing vp into heauen and from the curious searching of the diuine maiestie Whensoeuer thou hast to doe therefore in the matter of iustification and disputest with thy selfe howe God is to be found that iustifieth and accepteth sinners where and in what sort he is to be sought then knowe thou that there is no other God besides this man Christ Iesus Embrace him and cleaue to him with all thy hart setting aside all curious speculations of the diuine maiestie For he that is a searcher of Gods maiestie shal be ouerwhelmed of his glory I knowe by experience what I say But these vaine spirites which so deale with God that they exclude the Mediatour beleue me not Christ him selfe saith I am the vvay the truth and the life No man commeth to the father but by me Therefore besides this way Christ thou shalt finde no way to the father but wandering no veritie but hypocrisie and lying no life but eternall death Wherefore marke this well in the matter of iustification that when any of vs all shall haue to wrestle with the lawe sinne death and all other euils we must looke vpon no other God but onely this God incarnate and clothed with mans nature But out of the matter of iustification when thou must dispute with Iewes Turkes Papistes Heretikes c. concerning the power wisdome and maiestie of God then employ all thy witte industrie to that ende and be as profound and as subtill a disputer as thou canst for then thou art in an other veine But in the case of conscience of righteousnes and life which I wish here diligently to be marked against the lawe sinne death and the deuill or in the matter of satisfaction of remission of sinnes of reconciliation and of euerlasting life thou must withdrawe thy minde wholy from all cogitations and searching of the maiestie of God and looke onely vpon this man Iesus Christ who setteth himselfe forth vnto vs to be a Mediatour and saith Come vnto me all ye that labour and are heauy loden and I vvill refreshe you Thus doing thou shalt perceaue the loue goodnes and sweetenes of God thou shalt see his wisdome power and maiestie sweetned and tempered to thy capacitie yea and thou shalt finde in this mirrour and pleasant contemplation all things according to that saying of Paule to the Colossians Chap. 2. Verse 3. In Christ are hid all the treasures of vvisedome and knovvledge Also in the second chapiter Verse 9. For in him dvvelleth the fulnes of the Godhead bodily The world is ignoraūt of this and therefore it searcheth out the will of God setting aside the promise in Christ to his great destruction For no man knovveth the father but the sonne and he to vvhom the sonne vvill reueale him And this is the cause why Paule is wont so often to couple Iesus Christ with God the father euen to teach vs what true Christian religion is which beginneth not at the highest as other religions doe but at the lowest It will haue vs to clime vp by Iacobs ladder whervpon God him selfe leaneth whose feete touch the very earth hard by the head of Iacob Wherfore when so euer thou art occupied in the matter of thy saluation setting aside all curious speculatiōs of Gods vnsearchable maiestie all cogitations of workes of traditions of philosophie yea and of Gods law too runne streight to the maunger and embrace this infant and the virgins litle babe in thine armes and behold him as he was borne sucking growing vp conuersant among men teaching dying rising againe ascending vp aboue all the heauens and hauing power aboue all things By this meanes thou maist shake of all terrours and errours like as the sunne driueth away the cloudes And this sight and contemplation wil keepe thee in the right way that thou maiest follow whether Christ is gonne Therefore Paule in wishing Grace and Peace not onely from God the
the wisedom and righteousnes of Christ moreouer it darkneth hindreth blasphemeth and persecuteth the same Therfore Paule doth rightly call it the euill or vvicked vvorld for when it is at the best then is it worst In the religious wise and learned men the world is at the best and yet in very dede in them it is double euill I ouerpasse those grosse vices which are against the second table as disobedience to parents to magistrates addulteries whoredomes couetousnes thefts murthers and maliciousnes wherin the world is altogether drowned which notwithstanding are light faultes if ye compare them with the wisedom and righteousnes of the wicked wherwith they fight against the first table This white Deuill which forceth men to commit spirituall sinnes that they may sell them for righteousnes is farre more daungerous then the blacke deuill which onely enforceth them to commit fleshly sinnes which the world acknowledgeth to be sinnes By these wordes then That he might deliuer vs c. Paule sheweth what is the argument of this Epistle to wit that we haue neede of grace and of Christ and that no other creature neither man nor Angell can deliuer man out of this present euill world For these workes are onely belonging to the diuine Maiestie and are not in the power of any either man or Angell that Christ hath put away sinne and hath deliuered vs from the tyrannie and kingdom of the Deuill that is to say from this wicked world which is an obedient seruaunt and a willing follower of the Deuill his god Whatsoeuer that murtherer and father of lies either doth or speaketh that the world as his most loyall and obedient sonne diligently followeth and performeth And therfore it is full of the ignoraunce of God of hatred lying errours blasphemie and of the contempt of God Moreouer of grosse sinnes murthers adulteries fornications theftes robberies and such like because he followeth his father the deuill who is a lier and a murtherer And the more wise righteous and holy men are without Christ so much the more hurt they doe to the gospell So we also that were religious men were double wicked in the Papacie before God did lighten vs with the knowledge of his gospell and yet notwithstanding vnder the colour of true pietie and holines Let these words then of Paule stand as they are in deede true and effectual not coloured or coūterfait namely that this present world is euill Let it nothing at all moue thee that in a great nombre of men there be many excellent vertues and that there is so great a shew of holines in hypocrites But marke thou rather what Paule sayeth out of whose wordes thou maist boldly and freely pronounce this sentence against the world That the world with all his wisedome power and righteousnes is the kingdom of the deuill out of the which God onely is able to deliuer vs by his onely begotten sonne Therfore let vs praise God the father geue him harty thankes for this his vnmeasurable mercy that hath deliuered vs out of the kingdom of the Deuill in which we were holden captiues by his owne sonne when it was impossible to be done by oure own strength And let vs acknowledge together with Paule that all our works righteousnes with all which we could not make the deuil to stoupe one hear bredth are but losse and dung Also let vs cast vnder our feete and vtterly abhorre all the power of free will all Pharasaicall wisedom and righteousnes all religious orders all Masses ceremonies vowes fastings and such like as a most filthie defiled cloth and as the most daungerous poyson of the Deuill Contrariwise let vs extoll and magnifie the glory of Christ who hath deliuered vs by his death not out of a world onely but out of an euill world Paule then by this word Euill sheweth that the kingdom of the world or the Deuils kingdom is a kingdom of iniquitie ignoraunce errour sinne death blasphemie desperation and euerlasting damnation On the other side the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of equitie light grace remission of sinnes peace consolation sauing health and euerlasting life into the which we are translated by our Lord Iesus Christ to whom be glory world without end So be it Verse 4. According to the vvill of God euen our father Here Paule so placeth and setteth in order euery word that there is not one of them but it fighteth against those false Apostles for the article of iustification Christ sayth he hath deliuered vs out of this most wicked kingdom of the deuill and the world And this hath he done according to the will good pleasure and commaundement of the father wherfore we be not deliuered by our owne will or running nor by our owne wisedom or policie but for that God hath taken mercy vpon vs and hath loued vs like as it is wrytten also in an other place Herein hath appeared the great loue of God tovvardes vs not that vve haue loued God but that he hath loued vs and hath sent his onely begotten sonne to be a reconciliation for our sinnes That we then are deliuered from this present euill world it is of mere grace and no desert of our ours Paule is so plentifull and so vehement in amplifying and extolling the grace of God that he sharpeneth directeth euery word against the false Apostles There is also here another cause why Paule maketh mention of the Fathers wil which also in many places of S. Iohns gospel is declared wher christ cōmēding his office calleth vs back to his fathers wil that in his words works we should not so much loke vpon him as vpō the father For Christ came into this world toke mans nature vpō him that he might be made a sacrifice for the sinnes of the whole world so recōcile vs to God the father that he alone might declare vnto vs how that this was done through the good pleasure of his father that we by fastning our eyes vpō Christ might be drawn caried streight vnto the father For we must not thinke as I haue warned you before that by the curious searching of the Maiestie of God any thing concerning God can be known to our saluation but by taking hold of Christ who according to the wil of the father hath geuē himself to the death for our sinnes Whē thou shalt acknowledge this to be the wil of God through christ then wrath ceaseth feare and trembling vanisheth away neither doth God appeare any other then mercifull who by his determinate coūsell would that his sonne should die for vs that we might liue thorow him This knowledge maketh the hart chearfull so that it stedfastly beleueth that God is not angry but that he so loueth vs wretched sinners that he gaue his onely begotten sonne for vs It is not for nought therfore that Paule doth so oftē repeat and beat into our minds that
Christ present But this presence cā not be comprehended of vs because it is in darknes as I haue said Wherfore wher assured trust and affiance of the heart is there Christ is present yea euen in the cloud and obscuritie of faith And this is that formall righteousnes whereby a man is iustified and not by charitie as the popish Scholemen do affirme To conclude like as the Scholemen say that charity furnisheth and adorneth faith so do we say that it is Christ the furnisheth and adorneth faith or rather that he is the very forme perfection of faith Wherefore Christ apprehended by faith and dwelling in the heart is true christian righteousnes for the which God counteth vs righteous and geueth vs eternall life Here is vndoubtedly no worke of the lawe no such charitie or loue as the Sophisters dreame of but a farre other maner of righteousnes and a certaine new world beyond and aboue the lawe For Christ or faith is not the law nor worke of the law But concernīg this matter which the Scholemen neither well vnderstood nor taught we entende to speake more largely hereafter Now it shall be enough that we haue shewed that Paule speaketh not here onely of the ceremonial law but of the whole law The true rule of Christianitie Contrary to these vaine trifles and doting dreames as we haue also noted before we teach faith and geue a true rule of Christianitie in this sorte First that a man must be taught by the lawe to knowe him selfe that so he may learne to say with the Prophet All haue sinned and haue neede of the glory of God. Also there is not one righteous no not one Not one that vnderstandeth not one that seeketh after God All haue gone astray Also against thee onely haue I sinned Thus we by a contrary way do driue men from the merite of congruence and worthines Now when a man is humbled by the law and brought to the knowledge of himselfe then followeth true repentance for true repentance beginneth at the feare iudgement of God and he seeth himselfe to be so great a sinner that he can finde no meanes how he may be deliuered from his sinne by his owne strength works or merits Then he perceaueth wel what Paule meaneth when he saith that man is the seruaunt and bondslaue of sinne Also that God hath shut vp all vnder sinne that the whole world is gilty before god c. Then he seeth that all the diuinitie of the Scholemen touching the merite of congruence and worthines is nothing els but meere foolishnes and that by this meanes the whole Papacye falleth to ruine Here then he beginneth to sigh and saith in this wise Who then can geue succour For he being thus terrified with the law vtterly despaireth of his owne strength he loketh about and sigheth for the helpe of a Mediatour and Sauiour Here then cometh in good time the holesome word of the Gospell and saith Sonne thy sinnes are forgeuen the. Beleue in Christ Iesus crucified for thy sinnes If thou feele thy sinnes and the burthen therof looke not vpon them in thy selfe but remember that they are translated and laid vpon Christ whose stripes haue made thee whole This is the beginning of health and saluation By this meanes we are deliuered frō sinne iustified made inheritours of euerlasting life not for our owne works and deserts but for our faith wherby we lay hold vpon Christ Wherfore we also doe acknowledge a qualitie and a formall righteousnes in the heart not charitie as the Scholemen doe but faith and yet so notwithstanding that the heart do behold nothing apprehend nothing but Christ the Sauiour And here it is necessary that you know the true definition of Christ The Scholemen being vtterly ignorant hereof haue made Christ a iudge and a tormentor deuising this fond fantasie concerning the merite of congruence worthines But Christ according to his true definition is no lawgiuer but he is a forgiuer of sinnes and a Sauiour This doth faith apprehend and vndoubtedly beleue that he hath wrought works and merits of congruence and worthines before and after grace abundantly For he might haue satisfied for all the sinnes of the world by one onely droppe of his bloud But now he hath shed it plentifully and hath satisfied abundantly Ebr. 9. By his ovvne bloud hath he entred into the holy place once for all and obtained eternal redemption for vs. Also Rom. 3. And vve are iustified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus vvhom God hath set forth to be a reconciliation vnto vs through faith in his bloud Wherfore it is a greate matter to lay hold vpon Christ by faith bearing the sinnes of the world And this faith alone is counted for righteousnes as the Apostle teacheth in the third and fourth Chapters to the Romaines Here is to be noted that these three things faith Christ acceptation or imputation must be ioyned togither Faith taketh hold of Christ and hath him present and holdeth him inclosed as the ring doth the precious stone And who so euer shal be found hauing this confidence in Christ apprehended in the hart him will God account for righteous This is the meane and this is the merite wherby we attaine the remission of sinnes and righteousnes Because thou beleuest in me saith God and thy faith layeth hold vpon Christ whom I haue freely geuen vnto thee that he might be thy Mediatour and high Priest therefore be thou iustified and righteous Wherefore God doth accept or accoūt vs as righteous onely for our faith in Christ And this acceptation or imputation is very necessary First because we are not yet perfectly righteous but whiles we remaine in this life sinne dwelleth still in our flesh and this remnant of sinne God purgeth in vs Moreouer we are sometimes lefte of the holy Ghost and fall into sinnes as did Peter Dauid and other holy men Notwithstanding we haue alwaies recourse to this article That our sinnes are couered and that God will not lay them to our charge Psal. 32. and Rom. 4. Not that sinne is not in vs as the Sophisters haue taught saying that we must be alwaies working well vntill we feele that there is no gilt of sinne remaining in vs yea sinne is in deede alwaies in vs and the godly doe feele it but it is couered and is not imputed vnto vs of God for Christes sake whom because we doe apprehend by Faith all our sinnes are now no sinnes But where Christ and faith be not there is no remission or couering of sinnes but mere imputation of sinnes and condemnation Thus will God glorifie his sonne and will be glorified him selfe in vs through him When we haue thus taught faith in Christ then do we teach also good works Because thou hast laid hold vpon Christ by faith through whom thou art made righteousnes begin
righteousnes and eternal life Wherfore Paule separateth Moses farre from Christ Let Moses then tary on the earth Let him be the Scholemaster of the letter and exactor of the law Let him torment and crucifie sinners But the beleuers sayth Paule haue an other Scholemaster in their conscience not Moses but Christ which hath abolished the lawe and sinne hath ouercome the wrath of God and destroyed death He biddeth vs that laboure and are oppressed with all kindes of euils to come vnto him Therefore when we flie vnto him Moses with his law vanisheth away so that his sepulcher can no where be seene sinne and death can hurt vs no more For Christ our instructor is Lord ouer the lawe sinne and death so that they which beleue in him are deliuered from the same It is therefore the proper office of Christ to deliuer from sinne and from death And this Paule teacheth and repeteth euery where We are condemned and killed by the law but by Christ we are iustified restored to life The lawe astonisheth vs and driueth vs from God but Christ reconcileth vs to God and maketh for vs an entrāce that we may boldly come vnto him For he is the Lambe of God that hath taken away the sinnes of the world Now if the sinne of the world be taken away then is it taken away from me also which doe beleue in him If sinne be taken away then is the wrath of God death and damnation taken away also And in the place of sinne succedeth righteousnes in the place of wrath reconciliation grace in the place of death life and in the place of damnation saluation Let vs learne to practise this distinction not in wordes onely but in life and liuely experience and with an inward feeling For where Christ is there must nedes be ioy of heart and peace of conscience For Christ is our reconciliation righteousnes peace life and saluation Briefly what so euer the pore afflicted cōscience desireth it findeth in Christ abundantly Now Paule goeth about to amplifie this argument and to perswade as foloweth Verse 18. For if I builde againe the things that I haue destroyed I make my selfe a trespasser As if he should say I haue not preached to this ende that I might build againe those thīgs which I once destroyed For if I should so do I should not onely labour in daine but should make my selfe also a trāsgressor and ouerthrowe altogether as the false Apostles doe that is to say of grace and of Christ I should againe make the law and Moses contrariwise of the law and Moses I should make grace and Christ Now by the ministery of the Gospell I haue abolished sinne heauines of heart wrath and death For thus haue I taught Thy conscience O man is subiect to the law sinne and death from which thou canst not be deliuered either by men or Angels But now cometh the Gospell and preacheth vnto thee remission of sinnes by Iesus Christ who hath abolished the law and hath destroyed sinne and death Beleue in him so shalt thou be deliuered from the curse of the law and from the tyrannie of sinne and death thou shalt become righteous and haue eternall life Behold how I haue destroyed the law by the preaching of the Gospell to the end that it should not reigne in thy conscience any more For when the new Gest Christ Iesus cometh into the new house there to dwell alone Moses the old inhabiter must geue place vnto him and depart some whether els Also where Christ the new Gest is come to dwel there can sinne wrath death haue no place but there now dwelleth meere grace righteousnes ioy life true affiance and trust in the father now pacified and reconciled vnto vs gracious long suffering full of mercy for his sonne Christes sake Should I then driuing out Christ and destroying his kingdome which I haue planted through the preaching of the Gospell now build vp againe the law and sette vp the kingdome of Moses In deede this should I doe if I should teach circumcision and the obseruation of the law to be necessary to saluation as the false Apostles doe and by this meanes in the steede of righteousnes and life I should restore againe sinne and death For the law doth nothing els but vtter sinne procure Gods wrath kill and destroy What are the Papists I pray you yea the best of them all but destroyers of the kingdome of Christ and builders vp of the kingdome of the Deuill and of sinne of wrath and eternall death Yea they destroy the church which is Gods building not by the law of Moses as did the false Apostles but by mens traditions and doctrines of Deuils And euen so the fantasticall heads which are at this day and shall come after vs doe destroy and shall destroy those things which we haue built doe build and shall build vp againe those things which we haue destroyed But we by the grace of Christ holding the article of iustification doe assuredly know that we are iustified and reputed righteous before God by faith onely in Christ Therfore we doe not mingle the law and grace faith and works together but we separate them farre asunder And this distinction or difference betwene the law and grace let euery man that feareth God marke diligently and let him suffer the same to take place not in letters and syllables but in practise inward experience So that when he heareth that good works ought to be done and that the example of Christ is to be followed he may be able to iudge rightly and say well all these things will I gladly doe What then followeth Thou shalt then be saued and obtaine euerlasting life Nay not so I graunt in deede that I ought to do good workes patiently to suffer troubles and aflictiōs and to shee l my bloud also if neede be for Christes cause but yet am I not iustified neither doe I obtaine saluation therby We must not therfore draw good workes in to the article of iustification as the Monkes haue done which say that not only good works but also the punishments and torments which malefactors suffer for their wicked deedes doe deserue euerlasting life For thus they comfort them when they are brought to the gallowes or place of execution Suffer willingly and patiently this shamefull death which if thou do thou shalt deserue remission of thy sinnes and euerlasting life What an horrible thing is this that a wretched theefe a murtherer a robber should be so miserably seduced in that extreame anguish and distresse that euen at the very point of death when he is now ready to be hanged or to haue his head cut of he should refuse the Gospell and sweete promises in Christ which are onely able to bring comforte and saluation and should be commaunded to hope for pardon of his sinnes if he willingly and patiently endure that opprobrious death which he suffereth
Also that Ismael is not Isaac and that he hath not that which Isaac hath A mā may easily discerne these things but in great terrours and in the agonie of death when the conscience wrastleth with the iudgement of God it is the hardest thing of all others to say with a sure and a stedfast hope I am not the sonne of Agar but of Sara that is to say the law belōgeth nothing vnto me For Sara is my mother who bringeth forth free children and heirs and not seruaunts Paule then by this testimonie of Esay hath proued that Sara that is to say the church is the true mother which bringeth forth free children heires Contrariwise that Agar that is to say the sinagoge gendreth many children in deede but they are seruauntes and must be cast out Moreouer because this place speaketh also of the abolishing of the lawe and of Christian libertie it ought to be diligently considered For as it is the most principall and speciall article of Christian doctrine to know that we are iustified and saued by Christe so is it also very necessary to knowe and vnderstand well the doctrine concerning the abolishment of the lawe For it helpeth very much to confirme our doctrine as touching Faith and to attaine sound and certaine consolation of conscience when we are assured that the lawe is abolished and specially in great terrours and serious conflicts I haue often sayd before and now I say againe for it can not be too often repeted that a Christian laying holde of the benefit of Christe through Faith hath no lawe but all the lawe is to him abolished with all his terrours and tormentes This place of Esay teacheth the same thing and therefore it is very notable and full of comfort stirring vp the barren and forsaken to reioyce which was counted worthy to be mocked or pitied according to the lawe For such as were barren were accursed according to the lawe but the holy Ghost turneth this sentence and pronounceth the barren worthy of praise and Blessing and contrariwise the frutefull and such as bring forth children accursed when he sayth Reioyce thon barren vvhich bearest not Breake forth into ioy and reioyce thou that trauailest not For the desolate hath many moe children then the maried vvife Howsoeuer then Sara that is to say the Church seeme to be forsaken and barren before the world not hauing the righteousnes and works of the law yet notwithstanding she is a most frutefull mother hauing an infinite number of children before God as the Prophet witnesseth Contrariwise although Agar seeme neuer so frutefull and to bring forth neuer so many children yet notwithstanding she hath no issue remaining for the children of the bondwoman are cast out of the house together with theyr mother and receaue not the inheritaunce with the children of the free-woman as Paule sayth afterwardes Because therefore we are the children of the freewoman the lawe our olde husband is abolished Romaines 7 who as long as he had dominion ouer vs it was impossible for vs to bring forth children free in spirite or knowing grace but we remained with the other in bondage True it is that as long as the lawe raigneth men are not idle but they labour sore they beare the burden and the heate of the day they bring forth and gender many children but as well the fathers as the children are bastardes and doe not belong to the freemother Therefore they are at length cast out of the house and inheritaunce with Ismael they die are damned It is impossible therfore that men should attaine to the inheritance that is to say that they should be iustified and saued by the lawe although they trauell neuer so much be neuer so frutefull therein Accursed therefore be that doctrine life and religion which endeuoreth to gette righteousnes before God by the lawe or the workes thereof But let vs prosecute our purpose as touching the abolishment of the law The Scholedoctors speaking of that abolishment of the law say that the Iudiciall the ceremonial lawes are pernicious since the comming of Christ and therfore are abolished but not the morall law These blind Doctors knew not what they said But if thou wilt speake of the abolishment of the law talke of it as it is in his owne proper vse office as it is spiritually taken comprehend withall the whole lawe making no distinction at all betwixt the Iudiciall Ceremoniall and Morall law For when Paule sayth that we are deliuered from the curse of the law by Christ he speaketh of the whole lawe and principally of the Moral law which only accuseth curseth condemneth the cōscience which the other two doe not Wherefore we say that the Morall lawe or the lawe of the ten commaundements hath no power to accuse and terrifie the conscience in which Iesus Christe raigneth by his grace for he hath abolished the power therof Not that the conscience doth not at all feele the terrours of the law For in deede it feeleth them but that they can not condemne it nor bring it to desperation For there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus Rom. 8. Also If the sonne shall make you free ye shall be free in deede Iohn 8. Howsoeuer then a Christian man be terrified through the lawe shewing vnto him his sinne notwithstanding he therefore despaireth not For he beleueth in Iesus Christ and being baptised in him and clensed by his bloud he hath remission of all his sinnes Now when our sinne is pardoned through Christe who is the Lord of the lawe and yet so pardoned that he gaue himselfe for it the law being a seruaunt hath no more power to accuse and condemne vs for sinne seeing it is forgeuen vs and we are now made free forasmuch as the sonne hath deliuered vs from bondage Wherfore the law is wholy abolished to them that beleue in Christe But thou wilt say I doe nothing True it is that thou canst doe nothing whereby thou maist be deliuered from the tyrannie of the lawe But heare this ioyfull tidings which the holy Ghost bringeth vnto thee out of the wordes of the Prophet Reioyce thou that arte barren c As if he would say Why art thou so heauie since there is no cause why thou shouldest so mourne But I am barren and forsaken c. Well although thou be neuer so barren and forsaken c not hauing the righteousnes of the law notwithstāding Christ is thy righteousnes he was made a curse for thee to deliuer thee from the curse of the lawe If thou beleue in him the law is dead vnto thee And so much as Christe is greater then the lawe so much hast thou a more excellent righteousnes then the righteousnes of the lawe Moreouer thou art frutefull and not barren for thou hast many moe children then she which hath an husband There is also an other abolishment of
trust in his death and victorie theyr strait and painfull life auailed them nothing at all These things sufficiently declare who be the true Sainctes in deede and which is to be called a holy life Not the life of those which lurke in caues dennes which make their bodies leane with fasting which weare hear and doe other like things with this perswasion and trust that they shall haue some singular reward in heauen aboue all other Christians but of those which be baptised and beleue in Christ which put of the olde man with his workes but not at once For concupiscence and lust remaineth in them so long as they liue the feeling wherof doth hurt them nothing at all if they suffer it not to raigne in them but subdue it to the spirite This doctrine bringeth great consolation to godly mindes that when they feele these dartes of the flesh wherewith Sathan assaileth the spirite they should not despaire As it hapneth to many in the Papacie which thought that they ought to feele no concupiscence of the flesh where as notwithstanding Hierome Gregorie Benedict Barnard and others whom the Monks set before them as a perfect example of chastitie and of all Christian vertues could neuer come so farre as to feele no concupiscence or lust of the flesh Yea they felt it and that very strongly Which thing they acknowledge and plainly confesse in diuers places of their bookes Therfore we rightly confesse in the articles of our beleefe that we beleue there is a holy Church For it is inuisible dwelling in spirit in a place that none can attaine vnto and therefore her holines can not be seene For God doth so hide and couer her with infirmities with sinnes with errours with diuers formes of the crosse and offences that according to the iudgement of reason it is no where to be seene They that are ignorant of this when they see the infirmities and sinnes of those which are baptised which haue the word and beleue it are by and by offended and iudge them not to pertaine to the Church And in the meane while they dreame that the Heremites the Monks and such other shauelings are the church which honour God with their lippes and worship him in vaine because they folow not the word of God but the doctrines and commaundements of men teach others to doe the same And because they doe certaine superstitious and monstrous works which carnal reason magnifieth and highly estemeth therfore they iudge them only to be Saincts and to be the church And in so doing they chaunge and turne this article of the Faith cleane contrary I beleue that there is a holy church c. and in the steede of this word I beleue they put in I see These kinds of righteousnes holines of mans owne deuising are nothing else but spiritual sorceries wherw t the eyes minds of mē are blinded led frō the knowledge of true holines But thus teach we that the Church hath no spot nor wrinkle but is holy and yet through Faith onely in Christ Iesus Againe that she is holy in life and cōuersation by abstaining from the lusts of the flesh and exercise of spirituall works but yet not in such sort that he is deliuered from all euill desires or purged from all wicked opinions and errours For the church alwayes confesseth her sinnes prayeth that her faults may be pardoned Also she beleueth the forgeuenes of sinnes The Saincts therfore doe sinne fall and also erre but yet through ignorance For they would not willingly deny Christe forsake the Gospell c therefore they haue remission of sinnes And if through ignorance they erre also in doctrine yet is this pardoned for in the ende they acknowledge their errour and rest onely vppon the truth and the grace of God offered in Christe as Hierome Gregorie Bernard and others did Let Christians then endeuour to auoide the workes of the flesh but the desires or lustes of the flesh they can not auoide It is very profitable therfore for them to feele the vncleane lustes of the flesh lest they should be puffed vp with some vaine wicked opinion of the righteousnes of their owne works as though they were accepted before God for the same The Monks being puffed vp with this opinion of their owne righteousnes thought thēselues to be so holy that they solde their righteousnes holines to others although they were cōuinced by the testimony of their owne hearts that they were vncleane So pernitious and pestilent a poyson it is for a mā to trust in his owne righteousnes to thinke himselfe to be cleane But the godly because they feele the vnclennes of their owne harts therfore they cānot trust to their own righteousnes This feeling so maketh thē to stoupe so hūbleth them that they cannot trust to their owne good workes but are constrained to flie vnto Christe their Mercy seat and onely succour who hath not a corrupt and sinfull but a most pure and holy flesh which he hath geuen for the life of the world in him they finde a sound and perfect righteousnes Thus they continue in humilitie not counterfet and Monkish but true and vnfained because of the vncleanes which yet remaineth in their flesh for the which if God would straitly iudge them they should be foūd giltie of eternal death But because they lift not vp thē selues proudly against God but with a broken a cōtrite heart humbly acknowledging their sinnes resting wholy vppon the benefite of the Mediatour Christ they come forth into the presence of God and pray that for his sake their sinnes may be forgeuen them God spreadeth ouer them an infinite heauen of grace and doth not impute vnto them their sinnes for Christes sake This I say to the end that we may take heede of the pernicious errours of the Papists touching the holines of life wherin our minds were so wrapped that without great difficultie we could not winde our selues out of them Wherfore doe your endeuour with diligence that ye may discerne and rightly iudge betwene true righteousnes or holines and that which is hypocriticall then shall ye behold the kingdom of Christ with other eyes then carnall reason doth that is with spirituall eyes and certainly iudge those to be true Sainctes in deede which are baptised and beleue in Christe and afterwardes in the same Faith wherby they are iustified and their sinnes both past and present are forgeuen doe abstaine from the desires of the flesh But from these desires they are not thorowly clensed for the flesh lusteth against the spirite Notwithstanding these vncleane rebellious lustes doe still remaine in them to this ende that they may be humbled and being so humbled they may feele the sweetenes of the grace and benefite of Christe So these remnauntes of vncleane lustes and sinnes doe nothing at all hinder but greatly furder the godly For the more they feele
father but also from Iesus Christ teacheth first that we should abstaine from the curious searching of the diuine maiestie for God no man knoweth and to heare Christ who is in the bosome of the father and vttereth to vs his will who also is appoynted of the father to be a teacher to the end that euery one of vs should heare him Christ is God by nature The other thing that Paule teacheth here is a confirmation of our Faith That Christ is very god And such like sentences as this is concerning the Godhead of Christ are to be gathered together and marked diligently not onely against the Arians and other heretikes which either haue bene or shal be hereafter but also for the confirmation of our faith For Satan will not faile to impugne in vs all the articles of our Faith ere we die He is a most deadly enemie to Faith because he knoweth that it is the victorie which ouercometh the world Wherfore it standeth vs in hand to labour that our Faith may be certaine and may encrease and be strengthened by diligent and continuall exercise of the word and feruent prayer that we may be able to withstand Satan Now that Christ is very God hereby it is euidently declared in that Paule attributeth the same things equally vnto him which he doth vnto the father namely diuine power as the geuing of grace the forgeuenes of sinnes peace of conscience life victorie ouer sinne death the deuill and hell This were by no meanes lawfull for him to doe nay it were sacrilege thus to doe except he were very God according to that saying I vvill not geue my glory vnto any other Againe No man geueth that to others which he him selfe hath not But seeing Christ geueth Grace Peace and the holy Ghost deliuereth from the power of the deuill from sinne and death it is certaine that he hath an infinite and diuine power equall in all poyntes to the power of the father And in that Christ geueth Grace and Peace he geueth it not as the Apostles gaue and brought the same vnto men by preaching of the gospell but he geueth it as the author and creator The father createth and geueth life Grace Peace all other good things The selfe same things also the sonne createth geueth Now to geue Grace Peace euerlasting life to forgeue sinnes to make righteous to quicken to deliuer from death and the deuill are not the workes of any creature but of the diuine Maiestie alone The Angels can neither create nor geue these things Therefore these workes pertaine onely to the glory of the soueraigne Maiestie the maker of all things And seing Paule doth attribute the selfe same power of creating and geuing all these things vnto Christ equally with the father it must nedes follow that Christ is verely and naturally God. Many such arguments are in Iohn where it is proued and concluded by the workes which are attributed to the sonne as well as to the father that the diuinitie of the father and of the sonne is all one Therfore the giftes which we receiue of the father and which we receiue of the sonne are all one For else Paule would haue spoken otherwise after this manner Grace from God the father and Peace from our Lord Iesus Christ But in knitting them both together he attributeth them equally as well to the sonne as to the father I do therfore so diligently admonish you of this thing because it is daungerous lest among so many errours and in so great varietie and confusion of sectes there might step vp some Arrians Eunomians Macedonians and such other heretikes that might doe harme to the Churches with their subteltie In deede the Arrians were sharpe and subtile fellowes They graunted that Christ hath two natures and that he is called very God of very God howbeit in name onely Christ said they is a most noble and perfect creature aboue the Angels wherby God afterward created heauē and earth and all other things So Mahomet also speaketh honorably of Christ But al this is nothing els but goodly imaginations words pleasant and plausible to mans reason wherby the fantasticall spirites do deceiue men except they take good hede But Paule speaketh otherwise of Christ Ye sayth he are rooted and stablished in this beleefe namely that Christ is not onely a perfect creature but very God who doth the selfe same things that God the father doth He hath the diuine works not of a creature but of the creator because he geueth Grace Peace and to geue them is to condemne sinne to vanquish death and to tread the deuill vnder foote These things no Angell can geue but seing they are attributed vnto Christ it must nedes folow that he is very God by nature Verse 4. VVhich gaue himselfe for our sinnes Paule in a maner in euery word handleth the argumēt of this Epistle He hath nothing in his mouth but christ therfore in euery word ther is a feruencie of spirite and life And marke how well to the purpose he speaketh He sayth not which hath receaued our works at our hāds nor which hath receaued the sacrifices of Moises law worshippings religions Masses vowes and pilgrimages But hath geuen What not golde nor siluer nor beastes nor paschall lambes nor an angel but him selfe For what Not for a crowne not for a kingdome not for our holines or righteousnes but for our sinnes These words are very thūder claps from heauen against all kindes of righteousnes like as is also this sentence of Iohn Behold the lambe of God that taketh avvay the sinnes of the vvorld Therfore we must with diligent attention marke euery word of Paule and not slenderly consider them or lightly passe them ouer for they are full of consolation and confirme fearfull consciences exceedingly But how may we obtaine remission of our sinnes Paule answereth that the man which is called Iesus Christ the sonne of God hath geuē him selfe for them These are excellēt most comfortable words are promises of the olde law that our sinnes are taken away by none other meane then by the sonne of God deliuered vnto death With such gunnes and such artillarie must the Papacie be destroyed and all the all the religions of the heathen all works all merits and all superstitious ceremonies For if our sinnes may be taken away by our owne works merites and satisfactions what needed the sonne of God to be giuen for them But seeing he was giuen for them it followeth that we can not doe them away by our owne works Againe by this sentence it is declared that our sinnes are so great so infinite and inuincible that it is impossible for the whole world to satisfie for one of them and surely the greatnes of the raunsome namely Christ the sonne of God who gaue himselfe for our sinnes declareth sufficiently that we can neither satisfie for sinne
nor haue dominion ouer it The force and power of sinne is set forth and amplified by these words excedingly vvhich gaue himself for our sinnes Therfore here is to be marked the infinite greatnes of the price bestowed for it and then will it appeare euidently that the power of it is so great that by no meanes it could be put away but that the sonne of God must needes be geuen for it He that considereth these things well vnderstandeth that this one word Sinne comprehendeth Gods euerlasting wrath the whole kingdome of Sathan and that it is a thing more horrible then can be expressed which oughte to moue vs and make vs affraide in deede But we are carelesse yea we make lighte of sinne and a matter of nothing which although it bring with it the sting and remorse of conscience yet notwithstanding we thinke it not to be of such weight and force but that by some litle worke or merite we may put it away This sentence therefore witnesseth that all men are seruaunts and bondslaues of sinne as Paule saith in an other place are sould vnder sinne And againe that sinne is a most cruell mighty tiraunt ouer all men which can not be vanquished by the power of any creatures whether they be Angels or men but by the soueraine and infinite power of Iesus Christ who hath geuen him selfe for the same Furthermore this sentence setteth out to the consciences of all men which are terrified with the greatnes of their sinnes a singular comfort For albeit sinne be neuer so inuincible a tyraunt yet notwithstanding forasmuch as Christ hath ouercome it through his death it can not hurt thē that beleue in him Moreouer if we arme our selues with this beliefe and cleaue with all our harts vnto this man Iesus Christ then is light opened and a sounde iudgement geuen vnto vs so as we may most certainly and freely iudge of all kindes of life For when we heare that sinne is such an inuincible Tyraunt thus incontinent by a a necessary consequence we inferre Then what do the Papists Monkes Nunnes Priests Mahometists Anabaptists and al such as trust in their workes which will abolish and ouercome sinne by their owne traditions workes preparatiue satisfactions c Here forthwith we iudge all those sectes to be wicked and pernicious wherby the glory of God and of Christ is not onely defaced but also vtterly taken away and our owne aduaunced and established But wey diligently euery word of Paule and specially marke well this pronoune Our For the effect of altogether consisteth in the well applying of the pronownes which we finde very oftē in the scriptures Wherin also there is euer some vehemencie and power Thou wilt easely say and beleue that Christ the sonne of God was geuen for the sinnes of Peter of Paule and of other Sainctes whom we accompt to haue bene worthy of this grace But it is a very hard thing that thou which iudgest thy selfe vnworthy of this grace shouldest from thy hart say and beleue that Christ was geuen for thine inuincible infinite and horrible sinnes Therfore in generall and without the pronowne it is an easie matter to magnifie and amplifie the benefite of Christ namely that Christ was geuen for sinnes but for other mens sinnes which are worthy But when it commeth to the putting too of this pronowne Our there our weake nature and reason starteth backe and dare not come neere vnto God nor promise to her selfe that so great a treasure should be freely geuen vnto her and therfore she will not haue to doe with God except first she be pure and without sinne Wherfore although she read or heare this sentence vvhich gaue himselfe for our sinnes or such like yet doth she not apply this pronowne Our to her selfe but vnto others which are worthy holy And as for her selfe she will tary till she be made worthy by her owne workes This then is nothing else but that mans reason faine would that sinne were of no greater force and power thē she her selfe dreameth it to be Hereof it commeth that the hypocrites being ignorāt of Christ although they feele the remorse of sinne do thinke notwithstāding that they shal be able easely to put it away by their good works merits secretly in their harts they wish that these words vvhich gaue himself for our sinnes were but as words spoken in humilitie and would haue their sinnes not to be true very sinnes in deede but light small matters To be short mans reason would faine bring and present vnto God a fained and a counterfet sinner which is nothing afraid nor hath any feeling of sinne It would bring him that is whole and not him that hath neede of a Phisician and when it feeleth no sinne then would it beleeue that Christ was geuen for our sinnes The whole world is thus affected specially they that would be counted more holy and religious then others as Monkes and all Iusticiaries These confesse with their mouth that they are sinners and they confesse also that they commit sinnes daily howbeit not so great many but that they are able to put them away by their owne works yea and besides all this they will bring their righteousnes and deserts to Christes iudgement seat and demaund the recompēce of eternal life for them at the iudges hand In the meane while notwithstanding as they pretend great humilitie because they wil not vaunt themselues to be vtterly voide of sinne they faine certaine sinnes that for the forgeuenes therof they may with great deuotion pray with the publican God be mercifull vnto me a sinner Vnto them these words of S. Paule for our sinnes seme to be but light trifeling Therfore they neither vnderstand them nor in temptation when they feele sinne in deede can they take any cōfort of them but they are compelled flatly to despaire This is then the cheefe knowledge true wisedom of Christians to count these wordes of Paule that Christ was deliuered to death not for our righteousnes or holines but for our sinnes which are very sinnes in dede great many yea infinite and inuincible to be most true effectual of great importaūce Therfore thinke them not to be smal such as may be done away by thine owne works neither yet despair thou for the greatnes of them if thou feele thy selfe oppressed therwith either in life or death but learne here of Paule to beleue the Christ was geuen not for fained or counterfait sinnes nor yet for small sinnes but for great huge sinnes not for one or two but for all not for vāquished sinnes for no man no nor Angell is able to ouercome the least sinne that is but for inuincible sinnes And except thou be found in the nūber of those that say Our sinnes that is which haue this doctrine of faith teach heare learne loue beleue the same ther
may see how farre from the truth these blinde guides and leaders of the blinde haue strayed and how by this wicked and blasphemous doctrine they haue not onely darkned but taken away the Gospell and buried Christ vtterly For if I being in deadly sinne can doe any litle worke which is not onely acceptable in Gods sight according to the substaunce but also is able to deserue grace of congruence and when I haue receaued this grace I may do workes according to grace that is to say according to loue and gette of right and duetie eternall life what neede haue I now of the grace of God forgeuenes of sinnes of the promise and of the death and victorie of Christ Christ is now to me in vaine and of none effect For I haue freewill and power to doe good works wherby I deserue grace of congruence and afterwards of duety and by the worthines of my worke eternall life Such monstrous horrible blasphemies should be set forth rather to the Turkes and Iewes then to the church of Christ And this plainly declareth that the Pope with his Bishops Doctors priests with all his religious rable had no knowledge or regard of holy matters and that they were not careful for the health of the seely and miserably scattered flocke For if they had seene but through a cloud what Paule calleth sinne and what he calleth grace they would neuer haue compelled the people to beleue such abhominations execrable lies as they haue done By deadly sinne they vnderstoode onely the externall worke committed against the law as murther theft and such like They could not see that ignoraunce hatred and contempt of God in the heart ingratitude murmuring against God and resisting the will of God are also deadly sinne and that the flesh can not thinke speake or do any thing but that which is deuelish and altogether against god If they had seene these mischeefes fast rooted in the nature of man they would neuer haue deuised such impudent and execrable dreames touching the desert of congruence and worthines Wherefore we must properly and plainly define what a wicked man or a deadly sinner is He is such a holy and bloudy hypocrite as Paule was whē he went to Damascus to persecute Iesus of Nazareth to abolish the doctrine of the gospel to murther the faithful vtterly to ouerthrow the church of Christ And who will not say but that these were horrible sinnes Yet could not Paule see them For he was so blinded with a peruerse zeale of God that he thought these abhominatiōs to be perfect righteousnes and high seruice vnto God and shall we say that such as defend these horrible sinnes to be perfect righteousnes doe deserue grace Wherfore with Paule we vtterly deny the merite of congruence worthines and affirme that these speculatiōs are nothing else but mere deceites of Satan which were neuer done in dede nor notified by any examples For God neuer gaue to any man grace and euerlasting life for the merite of congruence or worthines These disputatiōs therfore of the Scholemen touching the merite of congruence worthines are nothing else but vaine toyes dreames of idle braines to no other end and purpose but to draw men from the true worship of God. And herevpon is the whole papacie grounded For there is no religious person but he hath this imagination I am able by the obseruation of my holy order to deserue grace of congruence and by the workes which I doe after that I haue receiued this grace I am able to heape vp such treasure of merite as shall not onely be sufficient for me to obtaine eternall life but also to geue or sell vnto others Thus haue all the religious orders taught and thus haue they liued And to defend this horrible blasphemie against Christ the Papists doe at this day attempt against vs what they can And there is not one of them all but the more holy hypocrite and meritemunger he is the more cruell and deadly enemy he is to the Gospell of Christ The true vvay to Christianitie Now the true way to Christianitie is this that a man aboue al things doe acknowledge him selfe to be a sinner by the lawe and that it is impossible for him to doe any good worke For the lawe sayth Thou art an euill tree and therefore all that thou thinkest speakest or doest is against god Thou canst not therefore deserue grace by thy workes Which if thou goe about to doe thou committest yet a more greeuous offence For since thou art an euill tree thou canst not but bring forth euill frutes that is to say sinnes For vvhat so euer is not of Faith is sinne Wherfore he that would deserue grace by workes going before Faith goeth about to please God with sinnes which is nothing else but to heape sinne vpon sinne to mocke God and to prouoke his wrath When a man is thus instructed by the law then is he terrified humbled then he seeth in deede the greatnes of his sinne and can not finde in him selfe one iote of the loue of God therefore he iustifieth God in his word and confesseth that he is giltie of death and eternall damnation The first part then of Christianitie is the preaching of repentance and the knowledge of our selues The second part is If thou wilt be saued thou maist not seeke saluation by works for God hath sent his onely begotten sonne into the world that we might liue through him He was crucified and died for thee and offred vp thy sinnes in his owne body Here is no congruence or worke done before grace but wrath sinne terrour and death Wherfore the lawe doth nothing else but vtter sinne terrifie and humble and by this meanes prepareth vs to iustification and driueth vs to Christ For God hath reueled vnto vs by his word that he will be vnto vs a merciful father without our desertes seing we can deserue nothing wil freely geue vnto vs remission of sinnes righteousnes life euerlasting for Christ his sonnes sake For God geueth his gifts freely vnto all and that is the praise glory of his diuinitie But the Iusticiaries will not receaue grace euerlasting life of him freely but wil deserue the same by their workes For this cause they would vtterly take from him the glory of his Diuinitie To the ende therfore that he may maintaine and defend the same he is cōpelled to send his law before which as a lightning and thundring from heauen may bruse and breake those hard rockes This briefly is our doctrine as touching Christian righteousnes against the abominations and monstrous dreames of the Papists concerning the merite of congruence and worthines or workes before and after grace For a sort of idle monks which neuer had any regard of God or his glory nor of the health of their owne soules which were neuer exercised with any tentations neuer had
him and sheweth vnto him his sinnes his cōscience by and by saith Thou hast sinned If then thou take good hold of that which Paule here teacheth thou wilt answere I graunt I haue sinned Then will God punish thee Nay he will not so doe Why doth not the lawe of God so say I haue nothing to doe with that lawe Why so Because I haue an other lawe which striketh this lawe dumme that is to say libertie What libertie is that The libertie of Christ for by Christ I am vtterly freed from the lawe Therfore that lawe which is remaineth a law to the wicked is to me libertie and bindeth that law which would condemne me And by this meanes that lawe which would bind me and hold me captiue is now fast bound it selfe and holden captiue by grace and libertie which is now my lawe which sayth to that accusing law Thou shalt not hold this man bound captiue for he is mine but I wil hold thee in captiuitie and bind thy hands that thou shalt not hurt him for he liueth now vnto Christ and is dead vnto thee This to do is to dash out the teeth of the lawe to wrast his sting and all his weapons from him and to spoile him of all his force And yet the same law notwithstanding continueth and remaineth stil to the wicked and vnbeleuers And to vs also that be weake so farre forth as we lacke faith it continueth yet still in his force here it hath his edge teeth But if I do beleue in Christ although sinne driue me neuer so much to despaire yet staying vpō this libertie which I haue in Christ I confesse that I haue sinned but my sinne which is a cōdemned sinne is in Christ which is a condemning sinne Now this condemning sinne is stronger then that which is condemned for it is iustifying grace righteousnes life saluation Thus when I feele the terrour of death I say Thou hast nothing to doe with me O death for I haue an other death which killeth thee my death that death which killeth is stronger then that which is killed Thus a faithfull man by faith onely in Christ may raise vppe him selfe and conceaue such sure and sound consolation that he shall not neede to feare the deuill sinne death or any euils And although the Deuill set vpon him with all might and maine and goe about with all the terrours of the world to oppresse him yet he conceaueth good hope euen in the middes therof and thus he sayth Sir Deuill I feare not thy threatninges terrours for ther is one whose name is Iesus Christ in whom I beleue he hath abolished the law condemned sinne vanquished death and destroyed hell and he is thy Tormentor O Satan for he hath boūd thee and holdeth thee captiue to the end that thou shouldest no more hurt me or any that beleueth in him This faith the Deuill can not ouercome but is ouercome of it For this is the victorie sayth S. Iohn that ouercometh the vvorld euen our faith Who is it that ouercometh the world but he which beleueth that Iesus is the sonne of God Paule therfore through a vehement zeale and indignatiō of spirit calleth grace it selfe the lawe which notwithstanding is an exceding inestimable libertie of grace which we haue in Christ Iesu Moreouer he geueth this opprobrious name vnto the law for our consolation to let vs vnderstand that there is a new name geuen vnto it to witte that it is not now aliue any more but dead and condemned And here which is a pleasant sight to behold he bringeth forthe the lawe and setteth it before vs as a theefe and a robber which is already condemned and adiudged to death For he describeth it as it were a prisoner hauing both handes and feete fast bound and all his power taken away so that it can not exercise his tyrannie that is to say it can not accuse and condemne any more And with this most pleasaunt sight he maketh it odious and contemptible to the conscience so that now he which beleueth in Christ dare boldly and with a holy pride triumph ouer the lawe after this maner I am a sinner If thou canst doe any thing against me O lawe nowe doe thy worst So farre of is it then that the law is now terrible vnto him which doth beleue Since Christ is risen from death why should he nowe feare the graue Since Peter is deliuered from the prison why should he now feare it When the maiden was at the point of death then might she in deede feare the bedde but being now reised vp why should she feare it In like maner why should a Christian which enioyeth and possesseth Christ by faith feare the law True it is that he feeleth the terrours of the law but he is not ouercome of them but staying vpon the libertie which he hath in Christ he saith I heare thee murmuring O law that thou wouldest accuse and condemne me but this troubleth me nothing at all Thou art to me as the graue was vnto Christ For I see that thou art fast bound hand and foote and this hath my lawe done What law is that libertie which is called the law not because it bindeth me but because it bindeth my law The law of the ten commaundements did bind me But against that law I haue an other law euen the law of grace which notwithstanding is to me no law neither doth it bind me but setteth me at liberty And this is a law against that accusing and condemning law which law it so bindeth that it hath no power to hurt me any more So against my death which bindeth me I haue an other death that is to say life which quickneth me in Christ and this death looseth and freeth me from the bondes of my death and with the same bondes bindeth my death So death which bound me is now fast bound which killed me is now killed by death that is to say by life it selfe Thus Christ with most sweete names is called my law my sinne my death against the law against sinne against death wheras in very deede he is nothing els but meere libertie righteousnes life and euerlasting saluation And for this cause he is made the law of the law the sinne of sinne the death of death that he might redeme me from the curse of the law iustifie me and quicken me So then whiles Christ is the lawe he is also libertie whiles he is sinne he is righteousnes and whiles he is death he is life For in that he suffered the law to accuse him sinne to condemne him and death to deuoure him he abolished the law he condemned sinne he destroied death he iustified and saued me So is Christ the poison of the law sinne and death and the remedy for the obtaining of libertie righteousnes and euerlasting life This maner of speach which
apart which driue vs to the consideration of our selues onely to turne our eies wholy to that brasen serpent Christ Iesus crucified assuredly beleue that he is our righteousnes and life not fearing the threatnings and terrours of the law sinne death and the iudgement of god For Christ on whom our eies are fixed in whom we liue who also liueth in vs is Lord and conquerour of the law sinne death and all euils In whom most certaine and sure consolation is set forth vnto vs and victory geuen Verse 20. Thus I liue yet not I novv but Christ liueth in me Wher he saith Thus I liue he speaketh it as it were in his owne person Therfore he by and by correcteth himselfe saying yet not I now That is to say I liue not now in mine owne person but Christ liueth in me In deede the person liueth but not in himselfe nor for his owne cause nor for any thing that is in him But who is that I of whom he sayeth yet not I. This I is he which hath the lawe and is bound to doe the workes therof who also is a certaine person seperate from Christ This person Paule reiecteth For as he is seperate from Christ he belongeth to death and hell Therfore he sayeth Novve not I but Christ liueth in me He is my forme my furniture and perfection adorning and beutifying my faith as the colour the cleare light or the whitnes do garnish and beutifie the wall Thus are we constrained grossely to set forth this matter For we can not spiritually conceaue that Christ is so nerely ioyned vnited vnto vs as the colour or whitenes are vnited vnto the wall Christ therfore sayth he thus ioyned and vnited vnto me and abiding in me liueth this life in me which I now liue yea Christ him selfe is this life which I now liue Wherefore Christ and I in this behalfe are both one Now Christ liuing in me abolisheth the lawe condemneth sinne and destroyeth death for it can not be but at his presence all these must nedes vanish away For Christ is euerlasting peace consolation righteousnes and life and to these the terrour of the law heauines of mind sinne hell and death must nedes geue place So Christ liuing and abiding in me taketh away and swalloweth vp all euils which vexe and afflict me This vnion or coniunction then is the cause that I am deliuered from the terrour of the law and sinne am seperate from my self and translated vnto Christ and his kingdom which is a kingdom of grace righteousnes peace ioy life saluation eternal glory Thus I now abiding and dwelling in him what euill is there that can hurt me In the meane season the old man abideth without and is subiecte to the lawe but as concerning iustification Christ and I must be entierly conioyned and vnited together so that he may liue in me and I in him And this is a wonderful maner of speech Now because Christ liueth in me therefore looke what grace righteousnes life peace and saluation is in me it is his and yet notwithstanding the same is mine also by that vnseparable vnion and coniunction which is throughe Faithe by which Christe and I are made as it were one bodye in spirite For as much then as Christ liueth in me it foloweth that as I must nedes be with him pertaker of grace righteousnes life and eternall saluation so the lawe sinne and death can haue no place in me yea the lawe is crucified and swallowed vp of the lawe sinne of sinne and death of death Thus Paule goeth about to draw vs from the beholding of our selues the law workes and to plant in vs true faith in Christ so that in the matter of iustification we should thinke vpon nothing else but grace separating the same farre from the law and works which in this matter ought to haue no place Paule hath his peculiar phrase or kind of speach which is not after the maner of men but diuine and heauenly nor vsed of the Euangelistes or of the rest of the Apostles sauing only of Iohn who also is wont sometimes so to speake And if Paule had not first vsed this phrase and set forth the same vnto vs in plaine words the very Saincts thēselues durst not haue vsed it For it seemeth a very straunge and a monstrous maner of speaking thus to say I liue I liue not I am dead I am not dead I am a sinner I am not a sinner I haue the law I haue not the law Which phrase is sweete and comfortable to all those that beleue in Christ For in that they behold themselues they haue both the law and sinne but in that they looke vnto Christ they are dead to the law and haue no sinne If then in the matter of iustification thou separate the person of Christ from thy person then art thou in the law thou abidest in the law thou liuest in the law and not in Christ and so thou art condemned of the law and dead before God. For thou hast that faith which as the Sophisters dreame is furnished with charitie Thus I speake for examples sake For there was neuer any one found that was saued by this faith And therfore what things soeuer the Sophisters haue written touching this faith are nothing els but vaine toyes and meere deceites of Sathan But let vs graunt that such there be as haue this faith yet are they not therfore iustified For they haue but an historicall Faith concerning Christ which the Deuill also and all the wicked haue Faith therfore must be purely taught namely that thou art so entirely and nerely ioyned vnto Christ that he and thou are made as it were one person so that thou maiest boldly say I am now one with Christ that is to say Christes righteousnes victory and life are mine And again Christ may say I am that sinner that is his sinnes and his death are mine because he is vnited and ioyned vnto me I vnto him For by faith we are so ioyned together that we are become one flesh one bone Eph. 5. we are the members of the body of Christ flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones So that this faith doth couple Christ and me more neare together then the husband is coupled to his wife This faith therfore is not an idle qualitie but the excellencie therof is such that it vtterly confoundeth these foolish dreames of the Sophisters touching their formed faith and counterfeit charitie their merits workes and worthines These things I would gladly set forth more amply if by any meanes I could Hitherto we haue declared this to be the first argument of Paule that either Christ must needes be the minister of sinne or els the lawe doth not iustifie when he had finished this argument he set forth himselfe for an example saying that he was dead vnto that old law by a certaine new law Now he
that we thought those works which men had deuised not onely without the will of God but also contrary to his commaundement to be much better then those which the magistrate the houshoulder the childe the seruaunte did at the commaundement of God. Doubtles we ought to haue learned by the word of God that the religious orders of the Papistes which onely they call holy are wicked since there is no commaundement of God at al or testimony in the holy scriptures approuing the same Contrariwise other orders of life which haue the word and warrant of God are holy ordained of god But we were then wrapped in such horrible darkenes that we could not truely iudge of any thing But now at the appearing of the cleare light of the Gospell all kindes of life in the world are vnder our iudgement which is most certaine infallible We may boldly pronounce out of the word of God that the condition of seruauntes which before the world is most vile is farre more acceptable vnto God then all the religious orders of the Papistes For by his word he commendeth approueth and setteth forth the state of seruauntes and so doth he not the orders of Monkes Friers and such other Therfore this argument grounded vpon experience ought to stand in much force with vs also For although diuers men in popery wrought sundry and diuers works both great and painefull yet could they neuer be sure what was the will of God towards them but they were alwaies in doubt they could neuer attaine to the knowledge of God of themselues of their calling nor felte the testimony of the spirite in their heartes But now that the truth of the Gospell appeareth they are fully instructed by the onely hearing of faith in all these things It is not without cause that I doe so largely intreate of these matters For it seemeth to mans reason but a light and a small matter to purchase the holy ghost by the onely hearing of faith and that nothing els is required of vs but that we setting a parte all our works should geue our selues onely to the hearing of the Gospell Mans hearte doth not vnderstand nor beleue that so greate a price namely the holy Ghost is geuen by the onely hearing of faith but reasoneth after this sorte Forgeuenes of sinnes deliueraunce from death the geuing of the holy Ghost of righteousnes and euerlasting life are greate things therfore if thou wilt obtaine these inestimable benefites thou must performe some other greate and weighty matter This opinion the deuill doth wel like and approue also encreaseth the same in the heart Therfore when reason heareth this Thou cāst doe nothing for the obtaining of sinnes but must onely heare the word of God by and by it crieth out saith Fie thou makest too small a count of the remission of sinnes c. So the inestimable greatnes of the gift is the cause that we can not beleue it and because this incomparable treasure is freely offered therfore it is despised But this must we learne that forgeuenes of sinnes Christ and the holy Ghost are freely geuen vnto vs at the onely hearing of faith preached notwithstanding our horrible sinnes and demerits And we must not wey how greate the thing is that is geuen and how vnworthy we are of it for so should the greatnes of the gift our vnworthines terrefie vs but we must thinke that it pleaseth God freely to geue vnto vs this vnspeakeable gifte vnto vs I say which are vnworthy as Christ in Luke sayeth Feare not litle flocke for it is your fathers pleasure to geue vnto you Loe to geue vnto you saith he a kingdome To whom To you vnworthy which are his litle flocke If I then be litle and the thing great nay rather of all things the greatest which God hath geuen vnto me I must thus thinke that he also is great and onely greate which geueth it If he offer it and will geue it I consider not mine owne sinne vnworthines but his fatherly good will towardes me which is the geuer and I receaue the greatnes of the gift with ioy and gladnes am thankful for so inestimable a gifte geuen freely vnto me to me I say vnworthy by the hearing of faith Here againe foolish reason is offended and reproueth vs saying Where ye teach men to do nothing at all for the obtaining of so greate and vnspeakeable a gift but to heare the word of God this seemeth to tend to the greate contempt of grace and to make men secure idle and dissolute so that they slacke their handes and doe no good at all Therfore it is not good to preach this doctrine for it is not true but men must be vrged to labour and to exercise themselues vnto righteousnes and then shall they obtaine this gift This selfe same thing the Pelagians in times past obiected againste the Christians But heare what Paul saith in this place Ye haue receaued the holy Ghost not by your owne labour and trauell not by the workes of the law but by the hearing of faith Briefely heare what Christ himselfe saith and what he aunswereth to Martha being very carefull and hardly bearing that her sister Marie sitting at the feete of Iesus and hearing his worde should leaue her to minister alone Martha Martha saith he thou carest and art troubled about many things but one thing is needefull Marie hath chosen the good parte vvhich shall not be taken from her A man therfore is made a Christian not by working but by hearing Wherfore he that will exercise himselfe to righteousnes let him first exercise himselfe in hearing the gospel Now when he hath heard and receaued the Gospell let him geue thankes to God with a ioyfull and a glad hearte and afterwardes let him exercise him selfe in those good workes which are commaunded in the lawe so that the lawe and workes may follow the hearing of faith So may he quietly walke in the light which is Christ and boldely choose and doe works not hypocriticall but good workes in deede such as he knoweth to please God and to be commaunded of him and contemne all those hypocriticall shadowes of freewill workes Our aduersaries thinke that faith whereby we receaue the holy Ghost is but a light matter but how high and harde a matter it is I my selfe doe finde by experience and so doe all they which with me doe earnestly embrace the same It is soone saide that by the onely hearing of faith the holy Ghost is receaued but it is not so easily heard laied holde on beleued and retained as it is said Wherefore if thou heare of me that Christe is that Lambe of God sacrificed for thy sinnes see also that thou heare it effectually Paule purposely calleth it the hearing of faith and not the worde of faith although there be small difference that is such a word as thou hearing doest beleue
wise belongeth vnto faith because the lawe is not the promise But faith resteth onely vpon the promise Wherefore as there is a difference betwene the lawe and the promise so is there also betwene workes and faith And therefore that glose of the Scholemen is wicked and false which ioyneth the law with faith yea rather it quēcheth faith and setteth the law in the place of faith And here note that Paule alwaies speaketh of such as would do the law morally and not according to the Gospell But whatsoeuer is said of good workes according to the meaning of the Gospell the same is attributed to faith alone Verse 12. But the man that shall doe those things shal liue in them I take this clause to be spoken by way of derision And yet I denye not but that it may be also expounded morally to wit that they which doe the law ciuilly and externally that is without faith shal liue in it that is to witt they shall not be punished but shall haue corporall rewardes through it But I vnderstand this place generally as I doe that saying of Christ Doe this and thou shalt liue so that a man may take it to be spoken in manner of a taunt or derision Now Paule here goeth about to shew what is the very true righteousnes of the law and of the Gospell The righteousnes of the law is to fulfill the law according to that saying He that shall doe those things shall liue in them The righteousnes of faith is to beleue according to that saying The righteous man doth liue by faith The law therfore requireth that we should yeeld somwhat vnto god But faith requireth no works of vs or that we should geue any thing vnto God but that we beleuing the promise of God should receaue of him Therfore the office of the law in his highest perfection is to worke as the office of faith is to assent vnto the promises For faith is the faith of the promise and the worke is the worke of the law Paule therefore standeth vpon this worde Doing and that he may plainly shew what is the confidence of the lawe and what is the confidence of workes he compareth the one with the other the promise with the law and faith with workes He saith that of the law ther cometh nothing els but only Doing but faith is a cleane contrary thing namely that which receaueth and holdeth the promise Fye vpon these Sophisters therfore with their cursed glose and with their blinde distinction of faith formed and vnformed For these newe forged termes faith formed faith vnformed faith gottē by mans industry and such like are very monsters of the Deuil inuented to no other ende but to deface and destroy the true Christian doctrine and faith to blaspheme and to treade downe Christe and to establishe the righteousnes of workes In deede workes must follow faith but faith must not be workes or workes faith but the limites and kingedomes both of the law or workes and of faith must be rightly distinguished the one from the other When we beleue therefore then doe we liue simply by faith in Christ who is without sinne who is also our couerture our propitiation and remission of sinnes Contrarywise when we doe the lawe we worke in deede but we haue not righteousnes nor life For the office of the law is not to make righteous and to geue life but to shew forth sinne and to destroy In deede the lawe saith He that shall doe these thinges shall liue in them But where is he which doth the lawe that is which loueth God with all his hearte and his neighbour as himselfe Therefore no man doth the lawe and although he goe about to doe it neuer so much yet in doing it he doth it not therefore he abideth vnder the Curse But faith worketh not but beleueth in Christ the Iustifier Therefore a man liueth not because of his doing but because of his beleuing But a faithfull man performeth the lawe and that which he doth not is forgeuen him through the remission of sinnes for Christes sake and that which is remaining is not imputed vnto him Paule therefore in this place and in the tenth chapter to the Romaines compareth the righteousnes of the lawe and of faith together where he saith He that shall doe those thinges shall liue in them As though he would say It were indeede a goodly matter if we could accomplish the law but because no man doth it we must flie vnto Christ vvho is the ende of the lavve to righteousnes to euery one that beleueth He vvas made vnder the lavve that he might redeeme vs that vvere vnder the lavve Beleuing in him we receaue the holy Ghost and we begin to doe the lawe and that which we doe not is not imputed vnto vs because of our faith in Christ But in the life to come we shall no more haue neede of faith For then we shall not see darkely through a glasse as we now doe but we shall see face to face that is to say there shall be a most glorious brightnes of the eternall Maiestie in which we shall see God euen as he is There shall be a true and a perfect knowledge and loue of God a perfect light of reason and a good wil not such a morall and philosophicall will as the popish Scholemen dreame of but an heauenly diuine and eternall will. Here in the meane time in spirite by faith we looke for the hope of righteousnes Contrariwise they that seeke forgeuenes of sinnes by the lawe and not by Christ doe neuer performe the lawe but abide vnder the Curse Paule therefore calleth them onely righteous which are iustified through the promise or through faith in the promise without the lawe Wherefore they that are of the workes of the lawe and will seeme to doe the lawe doe it not For the Apostle simply concludeth that all they which are of the workes of the lawe are vnder the Curse vnder the which they shoulde not be if they fulfilled the lawe In deede it is true that a man doing the workes of the law shall liue in them that is shall be blessed but such a one can not be founde Now seeing there is a double vse of the lawe the one politike and the other sptrituall he that will vnderstande this sentence ciuilly may doe it after this sorte He that shall doe those thinges shall liue in them that is if a man obey the magistrate outwardly and in the politike gouernment he shall auoid punishment and death For the ciuill magistrate hath no power ouer him This is the politike vse of the lawe which serueth to bridle those that are rude and vntractable But Paule here speaketh not of this vse but entreateth of this place like a Diuine therefore there is a condition necessarily included As if he saide If men could keepe the lawe they should be
no man can obtaine life except first he be righteous then in deede righteousnes should come by the law Moreouer if there were any state of life any worke any religion whereby a man might obtaine remission of sinnes righteousnes and life then should these thinges in deede iustifie and geue life but this is impossible for Verse 22. The scripture hath concluded all men vnder sinne Where First in the promises them selues as touching Christ as Genesis 3. The Seede of the vvoman shall breake the head of the serpent And Genesis 22. In thy Seede c. Whersoeuer then is any promise in the scriptures made vnto the fathers concerning Christ there the Blessing is promised that is righteousnes saluation and eternall life Therefore by the contrary it is euident that they which must receaue the Blessing are subiect to the Curse that is to say sinne eternall death for els to what ende was the Blessing promised Secondly the Scripture shutteth men vnder sinne and vnder the Curse especially by the law because it is his peculiar office to reueale sinne engender wrath as we haue declared throughout this Epistle but chiefely by this sentence of Paule VVhosoeuer are of the vvorks of the lavv are vnder the Curse Also by that place which the Apostle alleaged out of the .27 chapt of Deut Cursed is euery one that abideth not in all the vvordes of this lavve to doe them c. For these sentences in plaine wordes doe shut vnder sinne and vnder the Curse not onely those which sinne manifestly against the law or doe not outwardly accōplish the law but also those which are vnder the law and with all endeuour go about to performe the same and such were the Iewes as before I haue sayd Much more then doth the same place of Paule shut vppe vnder sinne and vnder the Curse all Monkes Friers Heremites Carthusians and such like with their professions rules and religions to the which they attributed such holines that when a mā had once made a vowe of his profession if he died by and by they dreamed that he went streight to heauen But here ye heare plainly that the Scripture shutteth all vnder sinne Therefore neither the vowe nor religion of the Carthusian be it neuer so angelicall is righteousnes before God for the Scripture hath shutte all vnder sinne all are accursed and damned Who pronounceth this sentence The Scripture And where First by this promise The Seede of the vvoman shall bruse the Serpentes head In thee shall be blessed c. and such like places Moreouer by the whole lawe whereof the principall office is to make men giltie of sinne Therefore no Monke no Carthusian no Celestine bruseth the head of the Serpent but they abide brused and broken vnder the Serpents head that is vnder the power of the Deuill Who will beleue this Briefly what so euer is without Christ and his promise whether it be the lawe of God or the lawe of man the Ceremoniall or the morall lawe without all exception is shut vnder sinne For the Scripture shutteth all vnder sinne Now he that saith all excepteth nothing Therefore we conclude with Paule that the policies and lawes of all nations be they neuer so good and necessary with all ceremonies and religions without faith in Christ are and abide vnder sinne death and eternall damnation except faith in Iesus Christ goe withall or rather before all as followeth in the texte Of this matter we haue spoken largely before Wherfore this is a true proposition Onely faith iustifieth without works which notwithstanding our aduersaries can by no meanes abide For Paule here strongly concludeth that the lawe geueth not life because it is not geuen to that ende If then the lawe doe not iustifie and geue life much lesse doe workes iustifie For when Paule sayth that the lawe geueth not life his meaning is that workes also doe not geue life For it is more to say that the law quickeneth geueth life then to say that works doe quicken geue life If then the law it selfe being fulfilled although it be impossible that it should be accomplished doe not iustifie much lesse doe workes iustifie I conclude therefore that faith onely iustifieth and bringeth life without workes Paule can not suffer this addition faith ioyned with works iustifieth but he proceedeth simplie by the negatiue Rom. 3. and before in the second chapiter Therefore by the vvorkes of the lavv sayeth he shall no flesh be iustified And againe in this place The lavve is not geuen to bring life Verse 22. That the promise by the faith of Iesus Christ shoulde be geuen to them that beleue He saide before that the Scripture hath shutte all vnder sinne What for euer No but vntill the promise shoulde be geuen Nowe the promise is the inheritaunce it selfe or the Blessing promised to Abraham to witte the deliueraunce from the lawe sinne death and the Deuill and a free geuing of grace righteousnes saluation and eternal life This promise saith he is not obtained by any merite by any law or by any worke but it is geuen To whom To those that beleue In whom In Iesus Christ who is the blessed Seede which hath redeemed all beleeuers from the Curse that they might receaue the Blessing These wordes be not obscure but plaine enough notwithstanding we must marke them diligently and way well the force and weight therof For if all be shutte vnder sinne it followeth that all nations are accursed and are destitute of the grace of God Also that they are vnder the wrath of God and the power of the Deuill and that no man can be deliuered from thē by any other meanes then by faith in Iesus Christ With these words therfore Paule fighteth strongly against the fantasticall opinions of the Papistes and all Iusticiaries touching the lawe and workes when he sayth that the promise by faith in Iesus Christ might be geuen to all beleeuers Nowe how we shoulde aunswere to those sentences which speake of workes and the rewarde thereof I haue sufficiently declared before And the matter requireth not now that we should speake any thinge of workes For we haue not here taken in hande to entreate of works but of Iustification to witte that it is not obtained by the lawe and works since all things are shutte vnder sinne and vnder the Curse but by Faith in Christ When we are out of the matter of Iustification we can not sufficiently praise and magnifie those workes which are commaunded of god For who can sufficiently commend and set forth the profite fruit of one onely worke which a Christian doth through Faith and in Faith In deede it is more precious then heauen or earth The whole world therefore is not able to geue a worthy recompence to such a good worke Yea the world hath not the grace to magnifie the holy works of the faithfull as they are worthy
of that excellent glory of your newe birth and your adoption and call you backe to your olde birth and to the moste miserable seruitude of the lawe making you of the free children of God bonde children of the lawe whiles they will haue a difference of persons according to the lawe In deede there is a difference of persons in the lawe and in the worlde and there it ought to be but not before god All haue sinned and are destitute of the glory of God. Let the Iewes therefore the Gentiles and the whole world keepe silence in the presence of god God hath in deede many ordinaunces lawes degrees and kindes of life but all these helpe nothing to deserue grace and to obtaine eternall life So many as are iustified therefore are iustified not by the obseruation of mans lawe or Gods lawe but by Christe alone who hath abolished all lawes Him doth the Gospell set forth vnto vs for a pacifier of Gods wrath by the sheeding of his owne bloud and a Sauiour And without Faith in him neither shall the Iewe be saued by the law nor the Monke by his order nor the Grecian by his wisedom nor the Magistrate or Master by his vpright gouernement nor the seruaunt by his obedience Verse 28. For ye are all one in Christ Iesu These are excellent wordes In the world and according to the flesh there is a great differēce and inequalitie of persons and the same must be diligently obserued For if the woman would be the man if the sonne would be the father the seruaunt would be the master the subiect would be the magistrate there should be nothing else but a cōfusion of all states and of all things Contrariwise in Christe there is no lawe no difference of persons there is neither Iewe nor Grecian but all are one For there is one body one spirite one hope of vocation There is but one Gospell one Faith one Baptisme one God and Father of all one Christ Lord of all We haue the same Christ I thou and all the Faithfull which Peter Paule and all the Sainctes had Here therefore the conscience knoweth nothing of the lawe but hath Christ onely before her eyes Therfore Paule is alwayes wont to adde this clause In Christe Iesu Who if he be taken out of our sight then commeth terrour The Popish Schoole diuines doe dreame that Faith is a qualitie cleauing in the heart without Christe This is a deuelish errour But Christe should be so set forth that thou shouldest see nothing besides him and shouldest thinke that nothing cā be more nere vnto thee or more presently within thy heart then he is For he sitteth not idly in heauen but is present with vs working and liuing in vs as he sayth before in the .2 chap. I liue yet not I but Christe liueth in me And here likewise Ye haue put on Christe Faith therefore is a certaine stedfast beholding which looketh vppon nothing else but Christe the conquerour of sinne and death and the geuer of righteousnes saluation and eternal life This is the cause that Paule nameth setteth forth Iesus Christe so often in his Epistles yea almost in euery verse But he setteth him forth by the word for otherwise he can not be comprehended then by the word This was notably and liuely represented by the brasen Serpent which is a figure of Christe Moises commaunded the Iewes which were stong of Serpents in the desert to doe nothing else but stedfastly behold the brasen Serpent and not to turne away their eyes They that did so were healed onely by that stedfast and constant beholding of the Serpent But contrariwise they died which obeied not the commaundement of Moises but looked vppon their woundes and not vppon the Serpent So if I would find comfort when my conscience is afflicted or when I am at the poynt of death I must doe nothing but apprehend Christe by Faith and say I beleue in Iesus Christe the sonne of God who suffered was crucified and died for me c in whose woundes and in whose death I see my sinne and in his resurrection victorie ouer sinne death the Deuil also righteousnes and eternall life Besides him I see nothing I heare nothing This is true Faith concerning Christe and in Christe Whereby we are made members of his body flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones In him therefore vve liue vve moue and vve haue our being Christe and our Faith must be thoroughly ioyned together We must be in heauen and Christ must liue and worke in vs Nowe he liueth and worketh in vs not by speculation and naked knowledge but in deede and by a true and a substantiall presence Verse 29. And if ye be Christes then are ye Abrahams Seede and heires by promise That is to say If ye be beleue and be baptised into Christ if ye beleue I say that he is that promised Seede of Abraham which brought the Blessing to all the Gentiles then are ye the childrē of Abraham not by nature but by adoption For the Scripture attributeth vnto it not onely the children of the flesh but also of adoption and of the promise and foresheweth that they shall receaue the inheritāce and the other shall be cast out of the house So Paule in few wordes translateth the whole glory of Libanus that is to say of the nation of the Iewes vnto the desert that is vnto the Gentiles And this place comprehendeth a singuler consolation to witte that the Gentiles are the children of Abraham and consequently the people of god But they are the children of Abraham not by carnall generation but by the promise The kingdom of heauen then life and the eternall inheritaunce belongeth to the Gentiles And this the Scripture signified long before when it sayeth I haue made thee a Father of many nations Againe In thy Seede shall all nations be blessed Nowe therefore because we which are Gentiles doe beleue and by Faith doe receiue the Blessing promised to Abraham exhibited by Christ therfore the Scripture calleth vs the children and heires of Abraham not after the flesh but after the promise So that promise In thy seede c. belongeth also to all the Gentiles and according to this promise Christ is become ours In dede the promise was made onely to the Iewes and not to vs that are Gentiles Psal. 147. He shevveth his vvorde vnto Iacob c. He hath not delte so vvith euery nation c. Notwithstandyng that which was promised commeth vnto vs by faith by the which onely we apprehende the promise of god Albeit then that the promise be not made vnto vs yet is it made as touching vs and for vs for we are named in the promise In thy seede shall all nations be blessed For the promise sheweth plainely that Abraham should be the father not onely of the Iewish nation but of many
the morall lawe before Faith. Verse 5. That vve might receaue the adoption of the sonnes Paule setteth forth amplifieth very largely this place of Gen. 22. In thy Seede shall all the natiōs of the earth be blessed A litle before he called this Blessing of the seede of Abraham righteousnes life the promise of the spirit deliuerance from the law the testament c. Here he calleth it the adoption and inheritance of euerlasting life All these this word Blessing doth comprehend For when the Curse which is sinne death c. is abolished then in the stede thereof succedeth the Blessing that is righteousnes life and all good things But by what merite haue we receaued this Blessing that is to say this adoption and inheritaunce of euerlasting life By none at all For what can men deserue that are shutte vnder sinne subiect to the curse of the lawe and worthy of euerlasting death We haue then receiued this Blessing freely and being vtterly vnworthy therof but yet not without merite What merite is that Not ours but the merite of Iesus Christ the sonne of God who being made vnder the lawe not for him selfe but for vs as Paule sayd afore that he vvas made a curse for vs redemed vs which were vnder the lawe Wherfore we haue receaued this adoption by the onely redemption of Iesus Christe the sonne of God which is our rich and euerlasting merite whether it be of congruēce or worthines going before grace or comming after And with this free adoption we haue also receaued the holy Ghost which God hath sent into our hearts crying Abba Father as foloweth Verse 6. And because you are sonnes God hath sent forth the spirite of his sonne into your hearts The holy ghost is sent two maner of wayes In the primatiue church he was sent in a manifest visible appearāce So he came vpon Christ at Iordane in the likenes of a Doue and in the likenes of fire vpon the Apostles and other beleuers And this was the first sending of the holy Ghost which was necessary in the primatiue church for it was expedient that it should be established by manifest myracles because of the vnbeleuers as Paule witnesseth 1. Cor. 14. Straunge tongues sayth he be for a signe and a token not to them that beleue but to them that beleue not But after that the Church was gathered together and cōfirmed with those myracles it was not necessary that this visible sending of the holy Ghost should continue any longer Secondly the holy Ghost is sent by the word into the hearts of the beleuers as here it is sayd God sent the spirite of his sonne c. This sending is without any visible appearance to witte when by the hearing of the externall word we receaue an inward feruencie and light wherby we are chaunged become new creatures wherby also we receaue a new iudgement a new feeling a new mouing This chaūge this new iudgemēt is no worke of reason or of the power of mā but is the gift operation of the holy Ghost which commeth with the word preached which purifieth our hearts by faith and bringeth forth in vs spirituall motions Therefore there is a great difference betwixt vs those which with force subteltie persecute the doctrine of the gospell For we by the grace of God can certainly iudge by the word of the will of God towardes vs also of all lawes and doctrines of our owne life and of the life of others Contrariwise the Papists and Sectaries can not certainly iudge of any thing For they corrupt they persecute and blaspheme the word Now without the word a man can geue no certaine iudgement of any thing And although it appeare not before the world that we be renewed in spirit and haue the holy Ghost yet notwithstanding our iudgemēt our speech our confession do declare sufficiently that the holy Ghost with his giftes is in vs For before we could iudge rightly of nothing We spake not as now we doe We confessed not that all our works were sinne and damnable that Christe was our onely merite both before grace after as now we doe in the true knowledge and light of the Gospell Wherefore let this trouble vs nothing at all that the world whose workes we testifie to be euill iudgeth vs to be most pernicious heretikes and seditious persons destroyers of religion and troublers of the common peace possessed of the Deuill speaking in vs and gouerning all our actions Against this peruerse and wicked iudgement of the world let this testimonie of our conscience be sufficient wherby we assuredly know that it is the gift of God that we doe not onely beleue in Iesus Christ but that we also openly preach and confesse him before the world As we beleue with our heart so do we speake with our mouth according to the saying of the Psalm I beleued therfore haue I spoken Moreouer we exercise our selues in the feare of God and auoide sinne as much as we may If we sinne we sinne not of purpose but of ignorance and we are sory for it We may slippe for the Deuill lieth in wait for vs both day and night Also the remnantes of sinne cleaue yet fast in our flesh therefore as touching the flesh we are sinners yea after that we haue receaued the holy Ghost And there is no great difference betwixt a Christian and a ciuill honest man. For the workes of a Christian in outward shew are but base and simple He doth his duetie according to his vocation he guideth his familie he tilleth the ground he geueth counsell he aideth and succoureth his neighbour These workes the carnall man doth not much esteme but thinketh them to be common to all men and such as the heathen may also doe For the world vnderstandeth not the things which are of the spirite of God and therefore it iudgeth peruersly of the workes of the godly But the monstrous superstition of hypocrites and their will workes they haue in great admiration They count them holy works spare no charges in maintaining the same Contrariwise the workes of the faithfull which although in outward appearance they seeme to be but vile nothing worth yet are they good works in dede and accepted of God because they are done in Faith with a cherefull heart and with obedience and thankfulnes towards God these works I say they do not onely not acknowledge to be good works but also they despise and condemne them as most wicked and abhominable The world therfore beleueth nothing lesse then that we haue that holy Ghost notwithstanding in the time of tribulation or of the crosse and of the cōfession of our faith which is that proper principall worke of those that beleue when we must either forsake wife children goodes and life or else deny Christ then it appeareth that we make confession of
triumphant With these trifeling and foolish fables they rent the Scriptures into so many and diuers senses that seely poore consciences could receaue no certaine doctrine of any thing But Paule sayeth here that the olde and earthly Ierusalem belongeth vnto Agar and that it is in bondage with her children and is vtterly abolished But the new and heauenly Ierusalem which is a Queene and a freewomā is appoynted of god in earth and not in heauen to be the mother of vs all of whom we haue bene engendred and yet daily are gendred Therefore it is necessary that this our mother should be in earth among men as also her generation is Notwithstanding she gendreth by the holy Ghost by the ministery of the word and sacraments and not in the flesh This I say to the ende that in this matter we should not be caried away with our cogitations into heauen but that we should know that Paule setteth the Ierusalem which is aboue against the earthly Ierusalem not locally but spiritually For there is a distinction betwene those things which are spirituall and those which are corporall or earthly The spirituall things are aboue the earthly are beneath So Ierusalem which is aboue is distinguished from the carnall and temporall Ierusalem which is beneath not locally as I haue sayd but spiritually For this spirituall Ierusalem which tooke her beginning in the corporall Ierusalem hath not any certaine place as hath the other in Iudea but it is dispersed thorow out the whole world and may be in Babylon in Turkie in Tartarie in Scythia in Iudea in Italie in Germanie in the Isles of the sea in the mountaines and valleis and in all places of the world where men dwel which haue the Gospel and beleue in Iesus Christ Wherfore Sara or Ierusalem our free mother is the Church it selfe the spouse of Christe of whom we all are gendred This mother gendreth free children without ceasing to the ende of the world as long as she exerciseth the Ministerie of the word that is to say as long as she preacheth and publisheth the Gospell for this is truely to gender Now she teacheth the Gospell after this maner to witte that we are deliuered from the Curse of the lawe from sinne death and all other euils through Iesus Christ not by the law neither by workes Therefore Ierusalem which is aboue that is to say the Church is not subiect to the law and works but she is free and a mother without the law sinne and death Now such a mother as she is such children she gendreth This allegorie teacheth very aptly that the Church should doe nothing else but preach and teach the Gospell truely and sincerely and by this meanes should gender children So we are all fathers and children one to an other For we are begotten one of an other I being begotten by other through the Gospell doe now beget other which shall also beget other hereafter and so this begetting shall endure to the ende of the world Now I speake of the generation not of Agar the bondmaid which gendreth her bondseruauntes by the lawe but of Sara the freewoman who gendreth heires without the law and without mans workes or endeuours For in that Isaac is heire and not Ismael albeit notwithstāding that both of them were the naturall sonnes of Abraham Isaac had the inheritaunce by the word of promise namely Sara thy vvife shall bring thee a sonne and thou shalt call his name Isaac This did Sara well vnderstand and therefore she sayeth Cast out the bondvvoman and her sonne And Paule also aledgeth these words afterwards Wherfore as Isaac hath the inheritance of his father onely by the promise and by his birth without the law and without works euen so we are borne through the Gospel of that freewomā Sara true heires of the promise She that is to say the church enstrueteth vs nourisheth vs and carieth vs in her wombe in her lappe and in her armes she formeth and fashioneth vs to the image of Christe vntill we grow vppe to a perfect man c. So all things are done by the ministerie of the word Wherefore the office of the freewoman is to gender children to God her husband without ceasing and without end that is to say such children as know that they are iustified by Faith and not by the lawe Verse 27. For it is vvrytten Reioyce thou barren that bearest no children breake forth and crie thou that trauailest not for the desolate haue many moe children then she vvhich hath an husband Paule aledgeth this place out of Esay the Prophet which is altogether allegoricall It is wrytten sayeth he that the mother of many children and she which hath an husband must be sicke and die and contrariwise that the barren she which hath no children must haue aboundance of children After the same maner Hanna singeth in her song out of that which Esay the Prophet tooke his Prophesie 1. Sam. 2. The bovve and the mightie men are broken and the vveake haue girded them selues vvith strength They that vvere full are hired forth for bread and the hungrie are no more hired so that the barren hath borne seuen and she that had many children is feeble A maruellous matter sayth he she that was frutefull shal be made barren and she that was barren frutefull Moreouer such as before were strong full rich glorious righteous and blessed shall become feeble hungrie poore ignominious sinners subiecte to death and damnation And contrariwise the feeble and hungrie c. shal be strong and satisfied c. The Apostle sheweth by this allegorie of the Prophet Esay the difference which is betwixt Agar and Sara that is to say betwixt the sinagoge and the church or betwixt the lawe and the Gospell The lawe being the husband of the frutefull woman that is to say of the sinagoge begetteth very many children For men of all ages not onely idiotes but also the wisest and best that is to say all mankinde except the children of the freewoman doe neither see nor know any other righteousnes then the righteousnes of the law much lesse doe they know any which is more excellent Wherefore they thinke them selues righteous if they folow the lawe and outwardly performe the workes thereof Now although these be frutefull haue many disciples and shine in the righteousnes and glorious workes of the lawe yet notwithstanding they be not free but bondseruauntes For they are the children of Agar which gendreth to bondage Nowe if they be seruauntes they can not be pertakers of the inheritance but shall be cast out of the house for seruauntes remaine not in the house for euer Yea they are already cast out of the kingdom of grace and libertie For he that beleueth not is iudged alreadie They remaine therefore vnder the malediction of the lawe vnder sinne and death vnder the power of the Deuill and vnder the wrath and iudgement of
of tentation experiēce and practise to applie them to him selfe and to feele the excellencie of this libertie and the frute thereof it is a harder matter then can be expressed Therfore our conscience must be enstructed and prepared before hand that when we feele the accusation of the lawe the terrours of sinne the horrour of death and the wrath of God we may remoue these heauie sightes and fearfull fantasies out of our mindes and set in the place thereof the freedome purchased by Christ the forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes life and the euerlasting mercy of god And albeit the feeling of the contrary be very strong yet let vs assure our selues that it shall not long endure according to that saying of the Prophet For a moment in mine anger I hidde my face from thee for a litle season but vvith euerlasting mercy I haue compassion on thee But this is very hard to doe Wherefore that libertie which Christ hath purchased for vs is not so soone beleued as it is named If it could be apprehended with a sure and a stedfast Faith then no rage or terrour of the word of the law sinne death or the Deuill could be so great but by by it should be swalowed vp as a litle drop of water is swallowed of the maine sea And certainly this Christian libertie swalloweth vp at once taketh quite away the whole heape of euils the law sinne death Gods wrath and briefly the serpent him selfe with his head and whole power and in the stead therof it placeth righteousnes peace euerlasting life c. But blessed is he that vnderstandeth and beleueth Let vs learne therefore to magnifie this our libertie purchased by Iesus Christe the sonne of God by whom all things were created both in heauen and earth Which libertie he hath purchased with no other price then with his owne bloud to deliuer vs not from any bodely or temporall seruitude but from a spirituall and euerlasting bondage vnder mighty and inuincible tyrannes to witte the lawe sinne death and the Deuil and so to reconcile vs vnto God his father Now since these enemies are ouercome and we reconciled vnto God by the death of his sonne it is certaine that we are righteous before God and that what so euer we doe pleaseth him And although there be certaine remnantes of sinne yet still in vs they are not laid to our charge but pardoned for Christes sake Paule vseth wordes of great force and vehemencie Stand sayth he in that libertie vvherin Christe hath made you free This libertie then is not geuen vnto vs by the law or for our righteousnes but freely for Christes sake Which thing Paule here witnesseth and plainly declareth thorow out his whole Epistle Christe also in the .8 of Iohn sayth If the sonne shall make you free there shall ye be free in deede He onely is sette betwixt vs and the euils which trouble and afflict vs he hath ouercome them and taken them away so that they cā no more oppresse vs nor condemne vs In the sted of sinne and death he geueth vnto vs righteousnes and euerlasting life and by this meanes he chaūgeth the bondage and terrours of the law into the liberty of cōscience and consolation of the Gospel which sayeth Be of good comfort my sonne thy sinnes are forgeuen thee Whosoeuer then beleueth in Christ the sonne of God he hath this libertie Reason can not perceaue the excellencie of this matter which when a man considereth in spirite he shall see that it is inestimable For who is able to conceaue in his minde how great and vnspeakable a gift it is to haue the forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes euerlasting life in the sted of the law sinne death and the wrath of God to haue God him selfe fauourable and merciful for euer The Papists and the hypocrites that seeke the righteousnes of the lawe or their owne righteousnes doe glory that they likewise haue remission of sinnes righteousnes life and the grace of god For they vaunt that they also haue this libertie and they promise the same vnto others but in very deede they are the seruauntes of corruption and in the time of tentation all their vaine confidence vanisheth away euen in a moment For they trust vnto the workes and satisfactions of men and not to the word of God nor vnto Christe Wherefore it is impossible for the Iusticiaries which seeke to winne heauen life and saluation by workes and merites to know what the libertie and deliuerance from sinne is Contrariwise our libertie hath for her foundation Christe him selfe who is our euerlasting high Bishop sitting at the right hand of God making intercessiō for vs Wherfore the forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes life libertie which we haue through him is sure certaine perpetual so that we beleue this Wherefore if we cleaue vnto Christ with a stedfast Faith and stand fast in that libertie wherein he hath made vs free we shall obtaine those inestimable gifts but if we be carelesse and negligent we shall lose them It is not without cause that Paule biddeth vs watch and stand fast for he knew that the Deuil seeketh nothing more then to spoile vs of this libertie which cost Christe so great a price and to entāgle vs againe by his ministers in the yoke of bondage as foloweth Verse 1. And be not entangled againe vvith the yoke of bondage Paule hath spoken most effectually and profoundly as concerning grace and Christian libertie and with high and mighty wordes hath exhorted the Galathians to continue in the same for it is easily lost Therefore he biddeth them stand fast lest that through negligence or securitie they fall backe againe from grace and Faith to the law and workes Now because reason iudgeth that there can be no daunger in preferring the righteousnes of the law before the righteousnes of Faith therefore with a certaine indignation he enueyeth against the lawe and with great contempt he calleth it a yoke yea a yoke of bondage So Peter calleth it also Acts. 15 VVhy tempt ye God to lay a yoke on the disciples neckes vvhich neither our fathers nor vve vvere able to beare And thus he turneth all things to the contrary For the false Apostles did abase the promise and magnified the law and the works thereof in this wise If ye will be made free say they from sinne and death and obtaine righteousnes and life fulfil the law be circumcised obserue dayes moneths times and yeres offer sacrifices and doe such other like things then shall this obedience of the law iustifie and saue you But Paule sayth the contrary They sayth he that teach the law after this sort do not set mens consciences at libertie but snare and entangle them with a yoke yea and that with a yoke of bondage He speaketh therfore of the law very basely and contemptuously and calleth it an hard bondage and a seruile yoke
of our neighbour In the meane time notwithstanding that we may be righteous in this life also we haue Christe the Mercie seat and throne of grace and because we beleue in him sinne is not imputed vnto vs Faith therfore is our righteousnes in this life But in the life to come when we shall be thorowly clensed and deliuered from all sinnes and concupiscence we shall haue no more neede of Faith and hope but we shall then loue perfectly It is a great errour therfore to attribute iustification or righteousnes to loue whiche is nothinge or if it be any thinge yet is it not so great that it can pacifie God for loue euen in the faithfull as I haue sayd is imperfect and impure But no vncleane thing shall enter into the kingdom of god Notwithstanding in the meane while this trust and confidence sustaineth vs that Christe who a lonely committed no sinne and in whose mouth was neuer foūd any guile doth ouershadow vs with his righteousnes We being couered with this cloud and shrouded vnder this shadow this heauen of remission of sinnes throne of grace doe begin to loue and to fulfill the law Yet for this fulfilling we are not iustified nor accepted of God whilest we liue here But whē Christ hath deliuered vp the kingdom to God his father abolished all principalitie and God shall be all in all then shall Faith and hope cease and loue shall be perfect and euerlasting 1. Cor. 13. This thing the popish Schoolemen vnderstand not and therfore when they heare that loue is the summe of the whole lawe by and by they inferre Ergo the law iustifieth Or contrariwise when they read in Paule that Faith maketh a man righteous yea say they Faith formed and furnished with charitie But that is not the meaning of Paule as I haue largely declared before If we were pure from all sinne and were inflamed with perfect loue both towardes God and our neighbour then should we in deede be righteous and holy through loue and God could require no more of vs This is not done in this present life but is differred vntill the life to come In deede we receaue here the gift and first frutes of the spirite so that we begin to loue howbeit very slenderly But if we loued God truely and perfectly as the law of God requireth which sayeth Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God vvith all thy heart vvith all thy soule and vvith all thy strength then should we be as well contented with pouertie as with wealth with paine as with pleasure with life as with death Yea he that could loue God truly and perfectly in dede should not long continue in this life but should straight way be swalowed vp by this charitie But now mans nature is so corrupt and drowned in sinne that it can not haue any right sense or cogitation of god It loueth not God but hateth him deadly Wherfore as Iohn sayth VVe loued not god but he loued vs sent his sonne to be a reconciliation for our sinnes And as Paule sayth before in the second Chap Christe hath loued me and geuen him selfe for me And in the .4 Chap. But vvhen the fulnes of time vvas come God sent forth his sonne made of a vvoman and made vnder the lavve that he might redeme them vvhich vvere vnder the lavv We being redemed and iustified by this Sonne begin to loue according to that saying of Paule in the .8 to the Romains That vvhich vvas impossible to the lavv in as much as it vvas vveake because of the flesh God sending his ovvne sonne in the similitude of sinnefull flesh and for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh that the righteousnes of the lavv might be fulfilled in vs that is might begin to be fulfilled They are mere dreames therfore which the Sophisters and Schoolemen haue taught concerning the fulfilling of the lawe Wherfore Paule sheweth by these words VValke in the spirit how he would haue that sentence to be vnderstād where he sayd Serue ye one an other through loue And againe Loue is the fulfillīg of the lavv c. As if he should say When I bid you loue one an other this is it that I require of you that ye walke in the spirit For I know that ye shall not fulfill the law because sinne dwelleth in you as lōg as ye liue and therfore it is impossible that ye should fulfill the law Notwithstādīg in the meane while endeuor your selues diligētly to walk in the spirit that is wrastle in spirit against the flesh folow spiritual motions c. It appeareth then that he had not forgotten the matter of iustifition For when he biddeth them to walke in the spirit he plainly denieth that works do iustifie As if he shuld say When I speake of the fulfilling of the law I meane not that ye are iustified by the law but this I meane that there be two contrary capitaines in you the spirite and the flesh God hath stirred vp in your bodies a strife and a battaile For the spirite wrastleth against the flesh the flesh against the spirit Here I require nothing else of you but that ye folow the spirit as your captaine and guide that ye resist that captaine the flesh for that is all that ye be able to doe Obey the spirit and fight against the flesh Therfore when I teach you to obserue the lawe and exhort you to loue one an other thinke not that I goe about to reuoke that which I haue taught concerning the doctrine of Faith and that now I attribute iustification to the lawe or to charitie but my meaning is that ye should walke in the spirite and that ye should not fulfill the lustes of the flesh Paule vseth very fitte wordes and to the purpose As if he would say we come not yet to the fulfilling of the lawe therefore we must walke in the spirite and be exercised therein that we may thinke say and doe those things which are of the spirite and resist those things which are of the flesh therfore he addeth Verse 16. And ye shall not fulfill the lustes of the flesh As if he would say The desires or lustes of the flesh be not yet dead in vs but spring vppe againe and fight against the spirite The flesh of no faithful man is so good which being offended would not bite and deuour or at the least omitte somewhat of that commaundement of loue Yea euen at the first brunt he can not refraine him selfe but is angrie with his neighbour desireth to be reuenged and hateth him as an enemie or at the least loueth him not so much as he should doe and as this commaundement requireth And this hapneth euen to the faithfull Therefore the Apostle hath geuen this rule for the faithfull that they should serue one an other through loue that they should beare the burdens and infirmities one of an
A COMMENTARIE OF M. DOCTOR MARTIN LVTHER VPON THE EPIstle of S. Paul to the Galathians first collected and gathered vvord by vvord out of his preaching and novv out of Latine faithfully translated into English for the vnlearned WHEREIN IS SET FORTH MOST EXCELLENTLY THE GLORIOVS RICHES OF Gods grace and power of the gospell with the difference betwene the law and the gospell and strength of faith declared to the ioyfull comfort and confirmation of all true Christian beleevers especially such as inwardly being afflicted and greeued in conscience doe hungre and thirst for iustification in Christ Iesu For whose cause most chiefely this booke is translated and printed and dedicated to the same Whilest ye haue light walke in the light Iohn 12. ANCHORA SPEI Imprinted at London by Thomas Vautroullier dvvelling vvihtin the Blacke frears by Ludgate CVM PRIVILEGIO 1575. To the Reader THIS booke being brought vnto me to peruse and to consider of I thought it my part not onely to allovve of it to the print but also to commend it to the Reader as a treatise most comfortable to all afflicted consciences exercised in the Schole of Christ The Author felt vvhat he spake and had experience of vvhat he vvrote and therefore able more liuely to expresse both the assaultes and the saluing the order of the battell and the meane of the victory Satan is the enemy the victorie is by onely faith in Christ as Iohn recordeth If Christe iustifie vvho can condemne saith S. Paule This most necessarye doctrine the author hath most substantially cleared in this his comment VVhich being vvritten in the Latine tounge certaine godly learned men haue most sincerely translated into our language to the great benefite of all such as vvith humbled hartes vvil diligently reade the same Some beganne it according to such skill as they had Others godly affected not suffering so good a matter in handling to be marred put to their helping hands for the better framing and furthering of so vvorthy a vvorke They refuse to be named seeking neither their ovvne gaine nor glory but thinking it their happines if by any meanes they may releue afflicted mindes doe good to the church of Christ yealding all glory vnto God to vvhom all glory is due Aprilis 28. 1575. Edvvinus London TO ALL AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES VVHICH GRONE FOR SALVATION AND VVRASTLE VNDER THE crosse for the kingdome of Christ grace peace and victorie in the Lorde Iesu our Sauiour IN fewe wordes to declare what is to be sayd for the commendation of this worke although in fewe wordes all can not be expressed that may be said yet briefly to signifie that may suffice this much we thought good to certifie thee godly reader that amongest many other godly english bookes in these our daies printed and translated thou shalt finde but fewe wherein either thy time shall seeme better bestowed or thy labour better recompensed to the profite of thy soule or wherein thou mayest see the spirite and veine of S. Paule more liuely represented to thee then in the diligent reading of this present commentary vpon the epistle of S. Paule to the Galathians In which as in a myrrour or glasse or rather as S. Stephen in the heauens being opened thou mayst see and behold the admirable glory of the Lord and all the riches of heauen thy saluation freely and onely by faith in Christe his loue and grace toward thee so opened thy victory and conquest in him so proued the wrath of God so pacified his lawe satisfied the full kingdome of life set open death hell and hell gates be they neuer so stronge with all the power of sinne flesh and the world vanquished thy conscience discharged all feares and terrours remoued thy spirituall man so refreshed and set at libertie that either thy heart must be heuier then lead or the reading hereof will lift thee vppe aboue thy selfe and giue thee to knowe that of Christe Iesu that thy selfe shalt say thou neuer knewest before though before thou knewest him right well Such spiritual comfort such heauenly doctrine such experience and practise of conscience herein is contained such triumphing ouer Sathan and al his power infernall such contempt of the lawe compared with the Gospell such an holy pride and exaltation of the beleuinge man whom here he maketh a person diuine the Sonne of God the heire of the whole earth conquerour of the world of sinne of death and the deuill with such phrases and speeches of high cōtemplation of Christ of grace of iustificatiō and of faith which faith saith he transfigureth a man into Christ and coupleth him more nere vnto Christ then the husband is coupled to his wife and maketh a man more then a man with such other mighty voices full of spirituall glory and maiestie as the like hath not bene vsed lightly of any writer since the Apostles time neither durst he euer haue vsed the same him selfe had not greate experience and exercise of conscience by inward conflictes and profound agonies framed him thereunto and ministred to him both this knowledge of spirite and boldenes of speech And this commonly is the working and proceeding of Godes vocation euer to worke thinges by the contrary of infidelitie to make faith of pouertie to make riches in misery to shew mercye to turne sorrowe to solace mourning to mirth from afflictions to aduaunce to glory from hell to bring to heauen from death to life from darkenes to light from thraldome to libertie in wildernes to geue waters the barren to make frutefull of thinges that be not to make thinges to be briefely to make all thinges of nought Thus began God first to worke thus he proceeded thus he continueth and so will to the worldes ende The firste seede of promise next to Eue was geuen to Sara yet in what case was Eue before she had the promise And in vvhat barrennes and despaire vvas Sara before she enioyed her welbeloued Isaac The like is to be said of the two mothers of two most excellent children Samuel Iohn Baptiste and yet what griefes sorrowes past ouer their heartes being both past all hope in nature before the goodnes of God did worke Howe longe did Iacob the Patriarke serue in miserable thraldome for his Rachel In what excellent glorye was Ioseph exalted yet what suffered he before of his brethren and how longe imprisonment In what and howe longe seruitude were the sonnes of Israell before Moses was sent vnto them and afterward in what distresse were they cōpassed on euery side whē the sea was forced to geue them place After that againe what an excellent land was promised and geuen vnto them floweing with milke and hony but how were they scourged before in the desert and yet neither had they the lande but their children To ouerpasse many thinges here by the way what an excellent worke was it of God to set vppe Dauid in his kingedome Also what excellent promises were geuen to his throne Yet
haue so litle feeling liking of Luthers doctrine and all because they commonly are neuer greatly vexed in spirite with any deepe affliction but rather deride them that be beaten downe with such conflictes and tētations of Sathan as they did by Luther whom because God suffered to to be tried and exercised with the buffets of the enemie they say therefore that he learned his diuinitie of the Deuill But how he learned his diuinitie let vs heare what he him selfe in this booke fol. 197. 198. cōfesseth in these wordes saying Vnlesse we had bē exercised with violēce and craftie assaultes by tirannes heretikes and in our heart with terrors and fiery dartes of the deuill Paule had bene to vs no lesse obscure then he was in times past to the whole world and yet is to this day to our aduersaries the papistes the Anabaptistes and other our aduersaries And therefore the gifte of knowledge of the scripture and our studies through such inward and outward conflictes open vnto vs the minde of Paule and of all the Scriptures c. But let these ignorant papistes who so euer they be tast a litle the same or like as Luther did and then see what they will say Experience geueth demonstration For howe many of them doe we see for all their auricular confession which puffeth them vp in false securitie but at length when they lie at the point of death where death on the one side and Gods iustice on the other side is before their eies for the most part either they despaire or ells leauing all other helpes they onely sticke to faith and the blood of Christ Iesus and in very deede many of them are glad to die Lutherans how so euer they hated Luther before And what shall we say then of this doctrine of Luther If the papistes them selues be glad to die in it why are they vnwilling to liue in it And if it be true at one time how can alteration of time make that false which is once true And therefore where these men so stoutely wihstand this doctrine of iustification by faith onely they are much deceaued And where they alledge S. Iames for them that is soone aunswered if we rightly discerne the meaning of S. Iames and of S. Paule Of whom the one speaketh of mans righteousnes or iustification onely before men which is a demonstration of a true faith or a true beleuer before man rather then the working of true iustification before god And so is it true which S. Iames saith how that faith without workes doth not iustifie whose purpose is not to shewe vs what maketh a iust man before God but onely to declare the necessary coniunction of good workes in him that by faith is iustified The other speaketh of righteousnes or iustification not before men but onely before God meaning not to exclude good workes from true faith that they should not be done but to teach vs wherin the true stay and hope of our saluation ought to be fixed that is in faith onely And so is it true likewise that S. Paule saith that faith onely without workes doth iustifie The which proposition of S. Paule the better to vnderstand and to ioine it with S. Iames here is to be noted for the satisfying of the cauilling aduersary that the proposition is to be taken full and whole as S. Paule doth meane it so that with the right subiect we ioyne the right predicatum as the Scholemen terme it that is so that faith of Christ in iustifying euer haue relation to the true penitent and lamenting sinner And so is the article most true that faith onely without workes doth iustifie But whom doth it iustifie the worldlīg the licentious ruffen the voluptuous Epicure the carnall gospeller Paule meaneth no such thing but onely the mourning and labouring soule the greeued conscience the repenting heart the mending sinner And in him the proposition is true according to the doctrine of S. Paule Credenti in eū qui iustificat impium fides eius imputatur ad iustitiam that is to him that beleueth in him vvhich iustifieth the vngodly his faith is counted for righteousnes Contrarywise let faith haue relation to the obstinate and willfull rebel who contrary to conscience continueth and deliteth in sinne and in him it is true likewise that S. Iames saith non ex fide tantum that is and not by faith onely meaning therby that faith auaileth not to iustification but onely in such persons as haue a good will and purpose to amend their liues Not that repentance and turning from iniquitie doth saue them but that faith in Christ worketh iustification in none but onely in such as heartely repent and are willing to amend So that Credite Euangelio beleue the gospell hath euer agite poenitentiam repent and amend going withall Not that repentance saueth any malefactor from the law but onely sheweth the person whom faith in Christ onely doth saue and iustifie But of this enough and more then greatly needed especially seeing the booke it selfe here following will satisfie the reader at large in all such doutes to this matter appertaining And thus ceasing to trouble thee gentle reader with any longer preface as we commend this good worke to thy godly studies so we commend both thee and thy studies to the grace of Christ Iesu the Sōne of God hartely wishing and crauing of his maiestie that thou mayest take no lesse profite and consolation by reading hereof then our purpose was to doe thee good in setting the same forth to thy comfort and edification which the Lord graunt Amen Amen Faultes escaped in the printing and to be amended before the reading of this booke Leafe Page Line  11. 2. 1. put out this vvhole line 21. 2. 28. put out our 23. 1. 29. for to erre in the faith reade to fall in faith 25. 2. 20. for gon reade God. 37. 1. 9. for the God reade God. 39. 1. 22. reade still goeth about 68. 2. 22. for any other reade an other 88. 2. 30. for slime read slymy body 91. 1. 1. for vvere reade neuer 128. 1. 23. for the ciuill reade then the ciuill 151. 1. 13. reade would haue hated 201. 1. 37 for he is reade he was 216. 2. 26. reade but we onely suffer 226. 1. 38. reade likenes of Christ 226 2. 12. reade I haue ouercome 232. 2. 15. for syirite reade spirite 235. 1. 17. for amply reade amplifie 237. 2. 9. for I trust to you reade I haue a trust of you 244. 2. 28. for vnderstand vvel reade know well 267. 2. 17. for lost reade decayed The Preface of Martine Luther vpon the Epistle to the Galathians I My selfe can scarcely beleeue that I was so plentifull in wordes when I did publikely expounde this Epistle of S. Paule to the Galathians as this booke sheweth me to haue bene Notwithstanding I perceaue all the cogitations which I finde in this treatise by so great diligence of the brethren
But forasmuch as we take in hand to expound this Epistle which we doe not because it is needefull or for any hardnes that is in it but that our consciences may be confirmed against heresies yet to come let it not be tedious vnto you if we repeat these things againe that elsewhere and at other times we teach preach singe and sette out by writing For if we neglect the article of iustification we lose altogether Therefore most necessary it is cheifly and aboue all things that we teach and repete this article continually Like as Moses saith of his law for it can not be beaten into our eares enough or to much Yea though we learne it and vnderstand it well yet is there none that taketh hold of it perfectly or beleueth it with his whole hart so fraile a thing is our flesh and disobedient to the spirite This greeting of the Apostle is straunge vnto the world and was neuer heard of before the preaching of the Gospell And these two words Grace and Peace cōprehend in them whatsoeuer belongeth to Christianitie Grace releaseth sinne and peace maketh the conscience quiet The two Feends that torment vs are sinne and conscience But Christ hath vanquished these two Monsters and troden them vnder foote both in this world and in the world to come This the world doth not knowe and therefore it can teach no certaintie of the ouercomming of sinne conscience and death Only Christians haue this kinde of doctrine and are exercised and armed with it to get victory against sinne despaire and euerlasting death And it is a kinde of doctrine neither proceeding of free wil nor inuented by the reason or wisedome of of man but geuen from aboue Moreouer these two words Grace and Peace doe containe in them the whole summe of Christianitie Grace containeth the remission of sinnes peace a quiet and ioyful conscience But peace of conscience can neuer be had vnlesse sinne be first forgeuē But it is not forgeuen for the fulfilling of the law For no man is able to satisfie the law but the law doth rather shew sinne accuse and terrifie the conscience declare the wrath of God and driue to desperation Much lesse is sinne taken away by the workes and inuentions of men as wicked worshippings straung religious vowes and pilgrimages Finally there is no worke that can take away sinne but sinne is rather encreased by works For the Iusticiaries Meritmongers the more they sweate and labour to bring them selues out of sinne the deeper they are plunged therin For there is no meanes to take away sinne but grace alone Therfore Paule in all the greetings of his epistles setteth grace and peace against sinne and an euill conscience This thing must be diligently marked The words are easy but in tentation it is the hardest thing that can be to be certainly perswaded in our harts that by grace alone without any other meanes either in heauen or earth we haue remission of sinnes and peace with God. The world vnderstādeth not this doctrine therfore it neither will nor can abide it but condemneth it as hereticall and wicked It braggeth of free will of the light of reason and the soundnes of the powers and qualities of nature of good workes as meanes wherby it could deserue and attaine grace and peace that is to say forgeuenes of sinnes and a quiet conscience But it is impossible that the conscience should be quiet and ioyfull vnlesse it haue peace thorowe grace that is to say through the forgiuenes of sinnes promised in Christ Many haue carefully laboured by finding out diuers and sundry religions orders and exercises for this purpose to attaine peace and quietnes of conscience but by so doing they haue plunged them selues in moe and greater miseries for all such deuises are but meanes to encrease doubtfulnes and despaire Therfore there shall be no rest to my bones or thine vnlesse we heare the word of grace and cleaue vnto it stedfastly faithfully Then shall our conscience vndoubtedly finde grace and peace The Apostle doth fittly distinguish this grace and peace from al other kinds of grace peace whatsoeuer He wisheth to the Galathians Grace Peace not from the Emperour or Kings and Princes for these doe commonly persecute the Godly and rise vp against the Lord and Christ his anointed Psal. 2. nor from the world for in the world saith Christ ye shall haue trouble but from God our father c. which is as much to say as he wisheth vnto them a heauēly peace So Christ saith My peace I leaue vnto you my peace I geue you not as the vvorld geueth it do I geue it vnto you The peace of the world graunteth nothing but the peace of our goods and bodies So the Grace or fauoure of the world geueth vs leaue to enioy our goodes casteth vs not out of our possessions But in affliction in the hower of death the grace and fauour of the world can not helpe vs they can not deliuer vs from affliction despaire and death But when the Grace and Peace of God are in the hart then is man strong so that he can neither be cast downe with aduersitie nor puffed vp with prosperitie but walketh on plainly and kepeth the hie way For he taketh hart and courage in the victory of Christes death the confidence thereof beginneth to reigne in his conscience ouer sinne and death because through him he hath assured forgeuenes of his sinnes which after he hath once obtained his conscience is at rest and by the word of Grace is comforted So then a man being comforted hartened by the Grace of God that is by forgeuenes of sinnes and by this peace of conscience is able valiantly to beare and ouercome all troubles yea euen death it selfe This Peace of God is not geuen to the world because the world neuer longeth after it nor vnderstandeth it but to them that beleeue and this commeth to passe by no other meane then by the onely Grace of God. A rule to be obserued that men ought to abstaine from the curious searching of Gods maiestie But why doth the Apostle ioyne in this salutation And from our Lord Iesus Christ Was it not enough to say And from God our father why then doth he couple Iesus Christ vvith the father Ye haue often times heard of vs howe it is a rule and principle in the scriptures diligently to be marked that we must abstaine from the curious searching of Gods maiestie which is intolerable to mans body and much more to his minde No man saith the scripture shall see me and liue The Pope the Turkes the Iewes and all such as trust in their owne merits regard not this rule and therefore remouing Christ the Mediatour out of their sight they speake onely of God before him onely they pray and doe all that they doe As for
is no saluatiō for thee Labour therfore diligently that not onely out of the time of tentation but also in the daunger and conflict of death when thy conscience is thorowly afraide with the remembraunce of thy sinnes past and the Deuill assaileth thee with great violence going about to ouerwhelme thee with heapes floudes and whole seas of sinnes to terrifie thee to draw thee from Christ and to driue thee to despaire that then I say thou maist be able to say with sure confidence Christ the sonne of god was geuē not for the righteous holy but for the vnrighteous sinners If I were righteous and had no sinne I should haue no neede of Christ to be my reconciler Why then O thou peuish holy Satan wilt thou make me to be holy and to seke righteousnes in my selfe when in very deede I haue nothing in me but sinnes and most greuous sinnes not fained or trifeling sinnes but such as are against the first table to wit great infidelitie douting despaire contempt of God hatred ignoraunce and blaspheming of God vnthankfulnes abusing of Gods name neglecting lothing and despising the word of god and such like And moreouer these carnall sinnes against the second Table as not to yelde honour to my parents not to obey the magistrates to couet an other mans goods his wife and such like howbeit that these be light faults in respect of those former sinnes And admit that I haue not cōmitted murther whoredom theft and such other sinnes against the second table in fact yet I haue committed them in hart and therfore I am a transgressour of al Gods commaundements and the multitude of my sinnes is so great that they cā not be numbred For I haue sinned aboue the number of the sands of the sea Besides this satan is such a cunning iuggler that he can make of my righteousnes and good workes great sinnes Forsomuch then as my sinnes are so waightie so infinite so horrible and inuincible and that my righteousnes doth nothing further me but rather hinder me before God therfore Christ the sonne of God was geuen to death for them to put them away and to saue me and all men which beleue Herein then consisteth the effect of eternall saluation namely in taking these words to be effectuall true of great importaunce I say not this for naught for I haue oftentimes proued by experience and I daily finde what an hard matter it is to beleue especially in the conflict of conscience that Christ was geuen not for the holy righteous worthy such as were his frends but for wicked sinners vnworthy and his enemies which haue deserued Gods wrath and euerlasting death Let vs therfore arme our harts with these such like sentēces of the holy scipture that we may be able to answer the deuil accusing vs saying thou art a sinner therfore thou art dāned in this sort Because thou saist I am a sinner therfore wil I be righteous saued Nay saith the deuil thou shalt be dāned No say I for I flie vnto Christ vvho hath geuen himself for my sinnes Therfore satā thou shalt nothing preuail agaīst me in that thou gost about to terrifie me in setting forth the greatnes of my sinnes so to bring me into heauines distrust despair hatred cōtempt and blaspheming of God yea rather by this that thou sayst I am a sinner thou geuest me armour weapon against thy selfe that with thine owne sword I may cut thy throte and tread the vnder my feete for Christ died for sinners Moreouer thou thy selfe preachest vnto me the glory of God. For thou puttest me in minde of Gods fatherly loue towards me wretched and damned sinner vvho so loued the vvorld that he gaue his onely begotten sonne that vvhosoeuer beleueth in him might not perish but haue euerlasting life Also as oft as thou obiectest that I am a sinner so often thou callest to my remembraūce the benefit of Christ my redemer vpon whose shoulders and not vpon mine lie all my sinnes For the Lord hath laied all our iniquitie vpon him Againe For the transgression of his people vvas he smitten Wherefore when thou obiectest that I am a sinner thou doest not terrifie me but comfort me aboue measure Who so knoweth this one point of cunning well shall easely auoide all the engins and snares of the Deuill who by putting man in minde of his sinnes driueth him to despaire and destroieth him vnlesse he withstand him with this cunning and with this heauenly wisedome wherby onely sinne death and the Deuill are ouercome But the man that putteth not away the remembraunce of his sinne but keepeth it stil and tormenteth him self with his owne cogitations thinking either to help him selfe by his owne strength and policie or to tarry the time till his conscience may be quieted falleth into Sathans snares and miserably afflicteth him selfe and at length is ouercome with the continuance of the tentation For the Deuill will neuer cease to accuse his conscience Against this tentation we must vse the words of Paule in the which he geueth a very good and a true definition of Christ in this maner Christ is the sonne of God and of the virgine deliuered and put to death for our sinnes Here if the Deuill aledge any other definition of Christ say thou The definition and the thing defined are false therefore I will not receaue this definition I speake not this without cause For I know what moueth me to be so earnest that we should learne to define Christ out of the words of Paule For in deede Christ is no cruel exactor but a forgeuer of the sinnes of the whole world Wherefore if thou be a sinner as in deede we are all set not Christ downe vpon the raigne bowe as a iudge for so shalt thou be terrified and despaire of his mercy but take hold of his true definition namely that Christ the sonne of God and of the virgine is a person not that terrifieth not that afflicteth not that condemneth vs of sinne not that demaundeth an account of vs for our life euill passed but gaue him selfe for our sinnes and with one oblation hath put away the sinnes of the whole world hath nailed them to the crosse and put them cleane out by him selfe Learne this definition diligently and especially so exercise this pronoune our that this one sillable being beleued may swallow vp all thy sinnes that is to say that thou maist know assuredly that Christ hath takē away the sinnes not of certaine men only but also of thee yea of the whole world Thē let not thy sinnes be sinnes only but euen thy own sinnes That is to witte beleeue thou that Christ was not onely geuen for other mens sinnes but also for thine Hold this fast suffer not thy selfe by any meanes to be drawne away frō this most sweete definition of Christ which reioyceth euē the very angels
to bring into contempt yea and vtterly to abolish the law of God and the kingdom of the Iewes contrary to the law of God contrary to the custome of the Iewish nation contrary to the example of the Apostles and to be short contrary to his owne example Wherefore he was to be shunned as an open blasphemer against God and a rebell against the whole common weale of the Iewes saying that they themselues ought rather to be heard who besides that they preached the Gospell rightly were also the very disciples of the Apostles with whom Paule was neuer conuersant By this policie they defamed and defaced Paule among the Galathians so that by this their peruerse dealing of very necessitie Paule is compelled with all his mighte to set him selfe againste these false Apostles whom he boldly reproueth and condemneth say-ing that they are the troublers of the Churches and ouerthrowers of Christes gospell as followeth Verse 7. And intendeth to peruert the Gospell of Christ That is to say they doe not onely goe about to trouble you but also vtterly to abolish and ouerthrow Christes Gospell For these two things the Deuill practiseth most busily First he is not contented to trouble and deceaue many by his false Apostles but moreouer he laboureth vtterly to ouerthrow the Gospell by them and neuer resteth till he haue brought it to passe Yet such peruerters of the Gospell can abide nothing lesse then to heare that they are the Apostles of the Deuill nay rather they glory aboue others in the name of Christ and boast themselues to be the most sincere preachers of the Gospell But because they mingle the law and the Gospell together they can not but be the peruerters of the Gospell For either Christ must remaine and the law perish or the law must remaine and Christ perish For Christ and the law can by no meanes agree and raigne together in the conscience Where the righteousnes of the law ruleth there can not the righteousnes of grace rule And againe where the righteousnes of grace raigneth there can not the righteousnes of the lawe raigne for one of them must needes geue place vnto the other And if thou canst not beleeue that God will forgeue thy sinnes for Christes sake whom he sent into the world to be our high priest how then I pray thee wilt thou beleeue that he will forgeue the same for the works of the law which thou couldest neuer performe Or for thine owne workes which as thou must be compelled to confesse be such as it is impossible for them to counteruaile the iudgement of God Wherefore the doctrine of Grace can by no meanes stande with the Doctrine of the Lawe The one must simplye be refused and abolished and the other confirmed and stablished For as Paule sayeth here to mingle the one with the other is to ouerthrow the Gospell of Christ And yet if it come to debating the greater parte ouercommeth the better For Christ with his side is weake and the Gospell is but a foolish preaching Contrariwise the kingdome of the world and the Deuill the prince thereof are strong Besides that the wisedom and righteousnes of the flesh cary a goodly shew And by this meanes the righteousnes of grace and Faith is lost and the other righteousnes of the law and workes aduaunced and maintained But this is our comforte that the Deuill with all his limmes can not doe what he would He may trouble many but he can not ouerthrow Christes Gospell The truth may be assailed and may come in daunger but pearish it can not It may be assailed but vanquished it can not be For the vvord of the Lord indureth for euer It seemeth to be a light matter to mingle the lawe and the Gospell faith and works together but it doth more mischiefe then mans reason can conceaue For it doth not onely blemish and darken the knowledge of grace but also it taketh away Christ with all his benefits and it vtterly ouerthroweth the Gospell as Paule saith in this place The cause of this great euill is our flesh which being plunged in sinnes seeth no way how to get out but by works therefore it would liue in the righteousnes of the lawe and rest in the trust and confidence of her owne works Wherefore it is vtterly ignoraunt of the doctrine of faith and grace without which notwithstanding it is impossible for the conscience to finde rest and quietnes It appeareth also by these words of Paule And intend to peruert the Gospell of Christ that the false Apostles were exceeding bolde and shamelesse which with all their might set them selues against Paule Wherefore he againe vsing his spirite of zeale and feruencie and being fully perswaded of the certaintie of his calling setteth him selfe strongly against them wōderfully magnifieth his ministery saying Verse 8. But though that vve or an Angell from heauen preach vnto you othervvise then that vve haue preached vnto you let him be accursed Here Paule casteth out very flames of fire and his zeale is so feruent that he beginneth also almost to curse the Angels Although sayth he that we our selues euen I and my brethren Timothy and Titus and as many as teach Christ purely with me I speake not now of those seducers of cōsciences yea or if an angel from heauen preach vnto you c. notwithstanding I would rather that I my selfe my brethren yea the very Angels from heauen also should be holden accursed then that my Gospel should be ouerthrowen This is in deede a vehement zeale that he dare so boldly curse not onely him selfe and his brethren but also euen an Angell from heauen The Greke word Anathema in Hebrew Herem signifieth a thing accursed execrable and detestable which hath nothing to doe no participation or communion with god So the citie Hierico saith Iosua shal be accursed for euer that it neuer be builded vp againe And in the last of Leuiticus it is written Nothing separate from the common vse vvhich shal be separate from man shal be redemed but die the death vvhether it be man or beast So God had appointed that Amalech certaine other cities accursed by gods owne sentence should be vtterly rased and destroied This then is Paules minde I had rather that my selfe and other my brethren yea and an Angell from heauen should be accursed then that we or others should preach any other Gospell then that which we haue preached already So Paule first curseth him selfe for cunning artificers are wont first to finde faulte with themselues that they may the more frely and sharply afterwards reproue others Paule therfore concludeth that there is no other Gospell besides that which he himselfe had preached But he preached not a Gospell which he had him selfe deuised but the same which God promised before by his Prophets in the holy scriptures Rom. 1. Therefore he pronounceth him selfe and others yea euen an Angell from heauen
did whom also here he toucheth by the way which durst not speake euill of him in his presence but in his absence sclaundered him most spitefully So did not I sayeth he speake euill of Peter but frankly and openly I withstoode him not of any colourable pretence ambition or other carnall affection but because he was to be blamed Here let other men debate whether an Apostle may sinne or no. This say I that we ought not to make Peters fault lesse then it was in deede The Prophets themselues haue sometimes erred and ben deceiued Nathan of his owne spirite sayd vnto Dauid that he should build the house of the lord But this Prophecie was by and by after corrected by a reuelation from God that it should not be Dauid because he was a man of warre and had shed much bloud but his sonne Salomon that should build vppe the house of the lord So did the Apostles erre also For they imagined that the kingdom of Christ should be carnall and worldly as we may see in the first of the Actes And Peter him selfe although he heard this commaundement of Christ Goe into the vvhole vvorld c. Yet he had not gone vnto Cornelius if he had not ben admonished by a vision But in this matter he did not onely erre but also committed a great sinne and if Paule had not resisted him all the Gentiles which did beleue had ben constrained to receiue circumcision and to kepe the lawe The beleuing Iewes also had ben confirmed in their opinion to witte that the obseruation of these things was necessary to saluation and by this meanes they had receiued againe the lawe in stede of the Gospell Moises in stede of Christ and of all this great enormitie and horrible sinne Peter by his dissimulation had ben the onely occasion Therfore we may not attribute to the Sainctes such perfection as though they could not sinne Luke witnesseth that there was such great dissention betwene Paule and Barnabas which were put a part together for the ministerie of the gospell among the Gentiles and had traueled through many regions and preached vnto them the gospell that the one departed from the other Here we must nedes say that there was a fault either in Paule or in Barnabas And doubtles it could not be but that the discord was exceeding great which seperated these two companions being ioyned together in such a holy felowship as the text witnesseth Such exāples are written for our consolation For it is a great cōfort vnto vs when we heare that euen the saincts which haue the spirit of god do sinne Which cōfort they would take from vs which say that the sainctes doe not sinne Sampson Dauid and many other excellentmen full of the holy Ghost fell into greate sinnes Iob and Ieremy curse the day of their natiuitie Elias and Ionas are wery of their life and desire death Such errours and offences of the sainctes the scripture setteth forth to the comfort of those that are afflicted and oppressed with desperation and to the terrour of the proude No man hath so greuously fallen at any time but he may rise againe And on the other side no man taketh so fast footing but he may fall If Peter fell I may likewise fall If he rose againe I may also rise againe And such examples as these are the weake harted and tender consciences ought to make much of that they may the better vnderstand what they pray for when they say forgeue vs our trespases and I beleue the forgeuenes of sinnes We haue the selfe same spirite of grace and prayer which the Apostles and all the saincts had neither had they any prerogatiue aboue vs We haue the same gifts which they had the same Christ baptisme word forgeuenes of sinnes all which they had no lesse neede of then we haue and by the same are sanctified and saued as we be Verse 12. For before that certaine came from Iames he did eate vvith the Gentiles The Gentiles which were conuerted to the faith did eate meates forbidden by the law and Peter being conuersant with the Gentiles which were conuerted did eate with them and drunke wine also which was forbidden knowing that herein he did well and therefore boldly transgressed the law with the Gentiles Paule confesseth that he also did the like when he saith that he became as a Iewe to the Iewes and to them that were without law as though he were without law That is to say with the Gentiles he did eate and drinke like a Gentile and kept no law at all with the Iewes according to the lawe he abstained from all things forbidden in the law For he laboured to serue please all men that he might gaine all Wherefore Peter in eating and drinking with the Gentiles sinned not but did well and knew that it was lawfull for him so to doe For he shewed by this transgression that the law was not necessary to righteousnes and also deliuered the Gentiles from the obseruation of the lawe For if it were lawful for Peter in one thing to breake the law it was lawfull for him to breake it in al things And Paule doth not here reproue Peter for his transgression but for his dissimulation as followeth Verse 12. But vvhen they vvere come he vvithdrevve and separated himselfe fearing them vvhich vvere of the circumcision Here then ye see Peters offence as Paule plainly setteth it forth Paule accuseth him not of malice or ignorance but of dissimulation and infirmity in that he absteined from meates forbidden in the law fearing lest the Iewes which came from Iames should be offended therby and had more respect to the Iewes then to the Gentiles wherby he gaue occasion as much as in him was to ouerthrow the Christian libertie truth of the Gospell For in that he did withdraw and vtterly separate himselfe abstaining from meates forbidden in the lawe which notwithstanding he had eaten of before he ministred a scruple of conscience to the faithfull thus to gather vpon his example Peter abstaineth from meates forbidden in the law therefore he that eateth meates forbidden in the law sinneth and transgresseth the law but he that abstaineth is righteous and kepeth the law for els would not Peter haue withdrawn himselfe But because he did so and of purpose refused those meates which before he did eate it is a sure argument that such as eate against the law doe sinne and such as abstaine from meates which the law forbiddeth doe keepe the law and are iustified thereby Here note that the end of this facte of Peter is reproued of Paule not the fact it selfe for the facte in it selfe was not euill To eate and drinke or not to eate drinke is nothing But the end that is If thou eate thou sinnest If thou abstaine thou art righteous is euill So circumcision of it selfe is good but this end is euill If thou be not
of faith where neither the law nor reason do shine but onely the light of Faith which assureth vs that we are saued by Christ alone without any law Thus the gospell leadeth vs beyond and aboue the light of the law and reason into the inward and deepe secretes of Faith where the lawe and reason haue nothing to doe Notwithstāding we must hearken also vnto the law but in place and time Moises whiles he was in the mountaine where he talked with God face to face had no law made no law ministred no law but when he was come downe from the mountaine he was a lawgeuer and gouerned the people by the law So the conscience must be free frō the law but the body must be obedient vnto the law Hereby it appeareth that Paule reproued Peter for no light matter but for the chiefest article of all Christian doctrine which by Peters dissimulation was in great daunger For Barnabas and the other Iewes dissembled togither with him which did all offend not through ignorance or malice but for feare of the Iewes wherby their hearts were so blinded that they did not see their sinne And certainly it is much to be maruelled that such excellent men as Peter Barnabas and others should so sodenly and so lightly fall especially in that thing which they knew to be well done had also before taught vnto others It is a perilous thing therefore to trust to our owne strength be we neuer so holy neuer so well learned and although we thinke our selues neuer so sure of that we know For in that wherof we thinke our selues most sure we may erre and fall bring our selues and other into great daunger Let vs therefore diligently and with all humilitie employ our selues in the studie of the holy scriptures and let vs heartely pray that we neuer lose the truth of the gospell Thus we see then that we are nothing with all our giftes be they neuer so great except God assist vs When he leaueth vs to our selues our wisedom and knowledge is nothing For in the houre of tentation it may suddenly come to passe that by the subteltie of the Deuil all the comfortable places of the scripture shal be taken out of our sight and such places onely as containe threatnings shal be set before our eies shal oppresse vtterly confound vs Let vs learne therfore that if God withdraw his hand we may soone be ouerthrowne Neither let any man vaunt and glory of his owne righteousnes wisedome and other gifts but let him humble himselfe and pray with the Apostle Lord encrease our faith Verse 14. But vvhen I savv that they vvent not the right vvay to the truth of the Gospell This is a wonderfull example of such excellent men and pillers of the church There is none but Paule that hath his eies open and seeth the offence of Peter Barnabas and the other Iewes which dissembled with Peter On the other side they doe not see their owne offence nay they rather thinke that they doe well in bearing with the infirmitie of the weake Iewes Wherefore it was very necessary that Paule should reproue their offence and not dissemble it and therefore he accuseth Peter Barnabas and other that they went not the right way to the truth of the Gospell that is to say they swarued from the truth of the Gospell It is a greate matter that Peter should be accused of Paule as one that was falne from the truth of the Gospell He could not be more greuously reprehended Yet he suffered it patiently and no doubt but he gladly acknowledged his offence I sayde before that many haue the Gospell but not the truth of the Gospell So Paule saith here that Peter Barnabas and other of the Ievves vvent not the right vvay to the truthe of the Gospell that is to say they had the Gospell but they walked not vprightly according to the Gospell For albeit they preached the Gospell yet through their dissimulation which could not stand with the truth of the Gospell they established the law but the establishing of the law is the abolishing of the Gospell Who so then can rightly iudge betwene the lawe and the Gospell let him thanke God and know that he is a right Diuine In the time of tentation I confesse that I my selfe doe not know how to doe it as I ought Now the way to discerne the one from the other is to place the Gospell in heauen and the lawe on the earth to call the righteousnes of the Gospell heauenly and the righteousnes of the law earthly and to put as greate difference betwene the righteousnes of the gospell and of the law as God hath made betwene heauen and earth betwene light and darknesse betweene daye and night Lette the one be as the light and the day and the other as the darkenes and the night And would to God we could yet further separate the one from the other Wherefore if the question be concerning the matter of faith or conscience let vs vtterly exclude the law and leaue it on the earth but if we haue to doe with works then let vs lighten the lanterne of works and of the righteousnes of the law So let the Sunne the inestimable light of the Gospell and grace shine in the day and the lanterne of the law in the night Wherefore if thy conscience be terrified with the sense and feeling of sinne thinke thus with thy selfe Thou art now remaining vpō earth there let the Asse labour and trauel there let him serue and carry the burthen that is laid vpon him that is to say let the body with his members be subiect to the law But when thou mountest vp into heauen then leaue the Asse with his burthen on the earth for the conscience hath nothing to doe with the law or works or with the earthly righteousnes So doth the Asse remaine in the valley but the cōscience ascendeth with Isaac into the mountaine knowing nothing at all of the law or workes thereof but onely looking to the remission of sinnes and pure righteousnes offered and freely geuen vnto vs in Christ Contrariwise in ciuill policy obedience to the law must be seuerely required There nothing must be knowne as concerning the Gospell conscience grace remission of sinnes heauēly righteousnes or Christ himselfe but Moses onely with the law and the works thereof If we marke well this distinction neither the one nor the other shall passe his bounds but the law shall abide without heauen that is without the heart and conscience and contrariwise the libertie of the Gospell shall abide without the earth that is to say without the body and members thereof Now therfore as soone as the law and sinne come into heauen that is into the conscience let them by and by be cast out For the conscience being feared with the terrour of the wrath and iudgement of God ought to know nothing of the
law and sinne but of Christ onely And on the other side when grace and liberty come into the earth that is into the body then say thou oughtest not to dwell in the dregges and dunghill of this corporall life but thou belongest vnto heauen This distinction of the law and the Gospell Peter confounded through his dissimulation and therby perswaded the beleuing Iewes that they must be iustified by the Gospell and the law together This might not Paule suffer and therefore he reproued Peter not to put him to any reproch but to the ende that he might againe establish a plaine difference betwene these two namely that the Gospell iustifieth in heauen and the lawe on earth The Pope hath not onely mixed the law with the Gospell but also of the Gospell hath made meere lawes yea and such as are ceremoniall onely He hath also confounded and mixed politicall and ecclesiasticall matters together which is a deuilish and an hellish confusion This place touching the difference betwene the law and the Gospell is very necessary to be knowne for it containeth the summe of all Christian doctrine Wherfore let all that loue and feare God diligētly learne to discerne the one from the other not only in words but in effect practise that is to say in heart conscience For as touching the words the distinction is soone made but in time of tentation thou shalt finde the Gospell but as a straunger and a rare gest in thy conscience but the law contrariwise thou shalt finde a familiar and continuall dweller within thee for reason hath the knowledge of the law naturally Wherfore when thy conscience is terrified with sinne which the law vttereth and encreaseth then say thou There is a time to die and a time to liue there is a time to heare the law and a time to despise the law there is a time to heare the Gospel and there is a time to be ignorant of the Gospell Let the law now depart and let the Gospell come for there is now no time to heare the lawe but the Gospell But thou hast done no good nay thou hast done wickedly hast greuously sinned I graūt notwithstanding I haue remission of all my sinnes for Christes sake But out of the conflicte of conscience when externall duties must be done there is no time to harken to the Gospell then must thou follow thy vocation and the works thereof Verse 14. I said vnto Peter openly If thou being a Ievve liuest as the Gentiles and not as the Ievves vvhy constrainest thou the Gentiles to doe like the Ievves That is to witte thou art a Iewe and therfore art bound to liue like a Iewe that is to abstaine from meates forbidden in the law Notwithstanding thou liuest like a Gentile that is to say thou doest contrary to the law and transgressest the law For as a Gentile which is free frō the law thou eatest common vncleane meates therin thou doest well But in that thou being afraid at the presence of the brethren conuerted from the Iewish religion abstainest from meates forbidden in the law and keepest the law thou compellest the Iewes likewise to keepe the law that is thou constrainest them of necessitie to obserue the law For in that thou abstainest from profane meates thou geuest occasion to the Gentiles thus to thinke Peter abstaineth from those meates which the Gentiles vse to eate which also he himselfe before did eate therefore we ought likewise to auoid the same and to liue after the māner of the Iewes otherwise we can not be iustified or saued We see thē that Paule reproueth not ignorance in Peter for he knew that he might freely eate with the Gentiles all maner of meates but dissimulation wherby he compelled the Gentiles to liue like the Iewes Here I say againe that to liue as the Iew is not euil of it selfe for it is a thing indifferent either to eate swines flesh or any other meates But so to play the Iewe that for conscience sake thou abstainest from certayne meates this is to deny Christ to ouerthrowe the Gospell Therfore when Paule saw that Peters act tended to this end he resisted him and said Thou knowest that the keeping of the lawe is not necessary to righteousnes but that we are iustified onely through faith in Christ and therfore thou keepest not the law but transgressest the law and eatest all maner of meates Notwithstanding by thy example thou constrainest the Gentiles to forsake Christ and to returne to the lawe For thou geuest them occasion thus to thinke Faith onely is not suffient to righteousnes but the law and works are also required And this Peter teacheth vs by his example Therfore the obseruation of the law must needes be ioyned with faith in Christ if we wil be saued Wherefore Peter by this example is not onely preiudicial to the purity of doctrine but also to the truth of faith and christian righteousnes For the Gentiles receaued this of him that the keping of the law was necessary to righteousnes which errour in case it be admitted then Christ profiteth nothing Hereby it plainly appeareth to what end this discord betwene Paule and Peter tendeth Paule doth nothing by dissimulation but dealeth sincerely and goeth plainly to worke Peter dissembleth but this dissimulation Paule reproueth The controuersie was for the maintenance of pure doctrine and the veritie of the Gospell and in this quarell Paule did not care for the offence of any In this case all people and nations all Kings and Princes all Iudges Magistrats ought to geue place Since then it is so daungerous a thing to haue to doe with the law and that this fall was so sodaine and so greate as if it had bene from heauen aboue euen downe into hell let euery Christian diligently learne to discerne betwene the law and the Gospell Let him suffer the law to rule ouer the body and members therof but not ouer the conscience For that Queene and spouse may not be defiled with the lawe but must be kept without spot for her onely husband Christ as Paule sayth 2. Cor. 11. I haue espoused you to one husband c. Let the conscience then haue her bride chamber not in the lowe valley but in the high mountaine in the which let Christ lie and there rule reigne who doth not terrifie and afflict sinners but comforteth them pardoneth their sinnes and saueth them Wherefore let the afflicted conscience thinke vpon nothinge know nothing set nothinge againste the iudgement of God but the worde of Christ whiche is the worde of grace of remission of sinnes of saluation and euerlasting life But this to performe in deede is a hard matter For mans reason and nature can not stedfastly cleaue vnto Christ but oftentimes it is caried away with the cogitations of the lawe and sinne and so alwayes seeketh to be at libertie after the flesh but according
now to worke well Loue God and thy neighbour call vpon God geue thanks vnto him praise him confesse him These are good workes in dede which flowe out of this faith and this chearefulnes conceaued in the heart for that we haue remission of sinnes freely by Christ Now what crosse or afflictiōs so euer do afterwardes ensue they are easily borne and chearfully suffered For the yoke that Christ layeth vpon vs is svvete and his burden is easie When sinne is pardoned and the conscience deliuered from the burden and sting of sinne then may a Christian beare all things easily Because he feeleth all things within sweete and comfortable therfore he doth and suffreth all things willingly But when a man walketh in his owne righteousnes what so euer he doth is greeuous and tedious vnto him because he doth it vnwillingly We therfore doe make this definition of a Christian man that he is a right christian to whom God imputeth not his sinne through faith in Christ This doctrine bringeth great consolation to poore afflicted consciences in serious and inward terrours It is not without good cause therefore that we doe so often repete and beat into your mindes the forgeuenes of sinnes and imputation of righteousnes for Christes sake also that a Christian hath nothing to doe with the law and sinne specially in the time of tentation For in that he is a Christian he is aboue the law and sinne For he hath Christ the Lord of the law present and inclosed in his heart as we haue said euen as a ring hath a Iewel or precious stone inclosed in it Therefore when the lawe accuseth and sinne terrifieth him he looketh vpon Christ and when he hath apprehended him by faith he hath present with him the conquerour of the law sinne death and the deuill who raigneth and ruleth ouer them so that they can not hurt him Wherfore a Christian man if ye define him rightly is free from all lawes and is not subiect vnto any creature either within or without In that he is a Christian I say and not in that he is a man or a woman that is to say in that he hath his conscience adorned and bewtified with this faith with this great and inestimable treasure or as Paule saith this vnspeakeable gifte which can not be magnified and praised enough for it maketh vs the children and heires of god And by this meanes a Christian is greater then the whole world For he hath such a gifte such a treasure in his heart that although it seemeth to be but litle yet notwithstanding the smalnes therof is greater then heauen and earth for Christ which is this gift and this treasure is greater then all things Whiles this doctrine pacifying and quieting the conscience abideth sound and vncorrupt Christians are made iudges ouer all kindes of doctrine and are Lords ouer the lawes of the whole world Then cā they certainly iudge that the Turke with his Alcoran is damned because he goeth not the right way that is he acknowledgeth not himselfe to be miserable and damnable nor apprehendeth Christ by faith for whose sake he might be assured that his sinnes are pardoned In like maner they boldly pronoūce sentence against the Pope that he is condemned with all his kingdome because he so walketh and so teacheth with all his religious rable of Sophisters and Scholemē that by the merite of congruence we must come to grace that afterwards by the merite of worthines we are receaued into heauen Here sayth the Christian this is not the right way to iustifie vs neither doth this way leade vs to heauen For I can not saith he by my works going before grace deserue grace nor by my works following grace deserue eternall life But to him that beleueth sinne is pardoned and righteousnes imputed This trust and this confidence maketh him the childe of God and heire of his kingdome For in hope he possesseth already euerlasting life assured vnto him by promise Through faith in Christ therefore all things are geuen vnto vs grace peace forgeuenes of sinnes saluation and euerlasting life and not for the merite of congruence and worthines Wherefore this doctrine of the Scholemen with their ceremonies Masses infinite foundations of the Papisticall kingdome are most abhominable blasphemies against God sacrileges and plaine denials of Christ as Peter hath foretold in these words Ther shal be saith he false teachers among you vvhich shall priuely bring in damnable heresies denying the Lord that hath bought them c. As though he would say the Lord hath redemed and bought vs with his bloud that he might iustifie and saue vs this is the way of righteousnes and saluation But there shall come false teachers which denying the Lord shall blaspheme the way of truth of righteousnes and saluation they shall finde out new waies of falsehode and destruction and many shall follow their perdiction Peter throughout this whole chapter most liuely painteth out the Papacie which neglecting and despising the Gospell and faith in Christ hath taught the workes and traditions of men as the merite of congruence worthines the difference of daies meates vowes inuocation of Saincts pilgrimages purgatory such like In these fantasticall opinions the Papistes are so nusled that it is impossible for them to vnderstand one syllable of the gospel of faith or of Christ And this the thing it selfe doth well declare For they take that priuiledge vnto them selues which belongeth vnto Christ alone He onely forgeueth sinnes he onely geueth righteousnes and euerlasting life and they most impudently and wickedly doe vaunte that they are able to obtaine these things by their owne merits and worthines before and after grace Peter and the other Apostles call these damnable heresies and sects of perdition For by these meanes they deny Christ treade his bloud vnder their feete blaspheme the holy Ghost and despise the grace of God. Wherefore no man can sufficiently conceaue how horrible the idolatry of the Papistes is As inestimable as the gifte is which is offered vnto vs by Christ euen so and no lesse abhominable are these prophanations of the Papistes They ought not then to be lightly esteemed or forgotten but diligently wayed considered And this maketh also very much for the amplifying of the grace of God and benefite of Christ as by the contrarye For the more we know the prophanation of the papisticall Masse so much the more we doe abhorre and detest the same and embrace the true vse of the holy communion which the Pope hath taken away and hath made marchandise of it that being bought for money it might profite others For he saith that the Massing priest an apostata denying Christ blasphemīg the holy Ghost standing at the aultar doth a good work not only for him selfe but also for others both quicke deade and for the whole church and that onely by the worke wrought and by none
treasure which is Christ and apprehend him in our heartes by Faith although we feele our selues to be full of sinne These words therfore of the Apostle that vve might be iustified by faith and not by the vvorkes of the lavve are very effectual and not in vaine or vnprofitable as the Scholemen thinke and therefore they passe them ouer so lightly Hetherto ye haue heard the wordes of Paule which he spake vnto Peter wherein he hath briefly comprised the principall article of all Christian doctrine which maketh true Christians in deede Now he turneth to the Galathians to whom he wryteth and thus he concludeth Since it is so that we are iustified by faith in Christ then by the workes of the lawe shall no flesh be iustified Verse 16. Because by the deedes of the lavve no flesh shall be iustified Flesh in Paule doth not signifie as the Scholemen dreame manifest and grosse sinnes for those he vseth to call by their proper names as adultery fornication vncleanes and such like but by flesh Paule meaneth here as Christ doth in the third chapter of Iohn That vvhich is borne of flesh sayeth he is flesh Flesh therfore signifieth the whole nature of man with reason and all other powers what so euer doe belong to man This flesh sayth he is not iustified by workes no not of the lawe Flesh therefore according to Paule signifieth all the righteousnes wisedome deuotion religion vnderstanding and will that is possible to be in a naturall man So that if a man be neuer so righteous according to reason and the lawe of God yet withall his righteousnes workes merites deuotion and religion he is not iustified This the Papistes doe not beleue but being blinde and obstinate they defend their abhominations against their owne conscience continuing in this their blasphemie and hauing yet still in their mouthes these execrable wordes He that doth this good worke or that deserueth forgeuenes of his sinnes who so euer entreth into this or that holy order and kepeth his rule to him we assuredly promise euerlasting life It can not be vttered what an horrible blasphemie it is to attribute that to the doctrine of Deuilles to the decrees and ordinaunces of men to the wicked traditions of the Pope to the hypocriticall workes and merites of Monkes and Friers which Paule the Apostle of Christ taketh away from the lawe of god For if no flesh be iustified by the workes of the lawe much lesse shall it be iustified by the rule of Benedict Fraunces or Augustine in which there is not one iote of true Faith in Christ but this onely they vrge that who so euer kepeth these things hath life euerlasting Wherefore I haue much and often marueled that these sectes of perdition raigning so many yeres in such great darknes and errours the Church could endure and continue as it hath done Some there were whom God called by the letter of the Gospell and by baptisme These walked in simplicitie and humblenes of heart thinking the Monkes and Friers and such onely as were anoynted of the Bishops to be religious and holy and them selues to be prophane and secular and not worthy to be compared vnto them Wherfore they finding in them selues no good workes to set against the wrath and iudgement of God did flie to the death passion of Christ and were saued in this simplicitie Horrible and vnspeakeable is the wrath of God in that he hath so long time punished the contempt of the Gospell and of Christ in the Papistes and also their ingratitude geuing them ouer into a reprobate sense in so much that they blaspheming and denying Christ altogether as touching his office in stede of the gospell haue receaued the execrable rules ordinaunces and traditions of men which they haue deuoutly adored and honoured yea and preferred the same farre aboue the word of God vntill at length they were forbidden to marry and were bound to that incestuous single life wherein they were outwardly polluted and defiled with all kindes of horrible wickednes as adultrie whoredom vncleanes Sodomitrie and such other abominations This was the frute of that filthie single life So God punishing sinne with sinne inwardly gaue them ouer into a reprobate minde and outwardly suffered them to fall into such horrible abominations and that iustly because they blasphemed the onely sonne of God in whom the father would be glorified and whom he deliuered to death that al which beleue in him might be saued by him and not by their owne execrable rules and orders Him that honoureth me sayth he I vvill honour Nowe God is honoured in his sonne Who so thē beleueth that the sonne is our Mediatour and Sauiour he honoureth the father and him againe doth God honour that is to say adorneth him with his giftes forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes the holy Ghost euerlasting life Cōtrariwise They that despise me sayth he shall be despised This is then a generall conclusion Because by the deedes of the lavv no flesh shal be iustified The law of God is greater then the whole world for it comprehendeth all men and the works of the law do farre excel euen the most glorious wilworkes of all the Meritmongers and yet Paule sayth that neither the lawe nor the workes of the law do iustifie Therfore we conclude with Paule that faith only iustifieth This proposition he goeth about to confirme in this maner Verse 18. If then vvhile vve seeke to be made righteous by Christ vve our selues are found sinners is Christ therefore the minister of sinne God forbid If this be true sayth he that we are iustified by Christ then is it vnpossible that we should be sinners or should be iustified by the lawe On the contrary if this be not true but that we must be iustified by the lawe and the workes of the lawe it is then vnpossible that we should be iustified by Christ One of these two must needes be false Either we are not iustified by Christ or we are not iustified by the lawe But the truth is that we are iustified by Christ therefore we are not iustified by the lawe He reasoneth therefore after this maner If then vvhile vve seeke to be made c. That is If we seeke to be iustified by Christ and so being iustified we are yet foūd sinners hauing neede of the lawe to iustifie vs being sinners If we haue neede I say of the obseruation of the lawe to iustifie vs so that they which are righteous in Christ are not righteous but haue yet neede of the lawe to iustifie them Or if he that is iustified by Christ must yet further be iustified by the lawe then is Christ nothing else but a lawgeuer and a minister of sinne Therfore he that is iustified and holy in Christ is not iustified or holy but hath yet neede of the righteousnes and holines of the lawe But we are in deede iustified and made righteous in
Christ For the truth of the Gospell teacheth vs that a man is not iustified in the lawe but in Christ Nowe if they which are iustified in Christ are yet found sinners that is doe yet still belong to the lawe and are vnder the lawe as the false Apostles teach then are they not yet iustified For the lawe accuseth them and sheweth them to be yet sinners It requireth of them the workes of the lawe as necessary to their iustification and so it foloweth that Christ is not a iustifier but a minister of the lawe With these wordes he vehemently chargeth the false Apostles and all Meritemongers that they peruerte altogether for they make of the lawe grace and of grace the lawe of Moses Christ and of Christ Moses For they teach that besides Christ and all the righteousnes of Christ the obseruation of the lawe is necessary to iustification And thus we see that by their intolerable peruersnes they make the lawe Christ for by this meanes they attribute that to the lawe which properly belongeth vnto Christ If thou doe the workes of the lawe say they thou shalt be saued but if thou doe them not thou shalt not be iustified although thou doe beleue in Christ neuer so much Now if it be so that Christ iustifieth not but is the minister of sinne as it must needes folowe by their doctrine then is Christ the lawe for we haue nothing else of him seeing he teacheth that we are sinners then that we haue by the lawe So Christ being the minister of sinne sendeth vs to the lawe and to Moses as to our iustifier It can not be therfore but that the Papists and all such as are ignorant of the righteousnes of Christ or haue not the true knowlege therof must nedes make of Christ Moses and the law of the law Christ For thus they teach It is true say they that faith in Christ iustifieth but withall we must needes kepe the commaundements of god For it is wrytten If thou vvilt enter into life kepe the commaundementes Here euen at the first dash Christ is denied and Faith abolished because that is attributed to the commaundements of God or to the lawe which belongeth to Christ alone For Christ according to his true definition is a Iustifier and a Redemer from sinnes If I attribute this to the lawe then is the lawe my Iustifier deliuering me from my sinnes because I do the workes therof and so nowe the lawe is Christ and Christ vtterly loseth his name his office and glory and is nothing else but a minister of the lawe reprouing accusing terrifying presenting and sending the sinner to an other that may iustifie him which is the proper office of the lawe But the proper office of Christ is after the lawe hath pronounced a man to be giltie to raise him vp againe and to loose him from his sinnes if he beleue the Gospell For to all that doe beleue Christ is the ende and full finishing of the lavve vnto righteousnes He is the Lambe of God that taketh avvay the sinnes of the vvorld But the Papistes and Anabaptistes because they vnderstand not this doctrine doe peruert altogether making of Christ Moses and of Moses Christ And this is in deede although they will say otherwise their principall proposition That Christ is Moses Moreouer they deride and mocke vs because we doe so diligently teach and so earnestly require Faith. Ha ha say they faith faith wait thou the time vntil thou come to heauen by faith Nay thou must striue to doe greater waightier matters Thou must fulfill the law according to that saying Doe this and thou shalt line Faith which ye so highly extoll doth nothing else but make men careles idle and negligent Thus are they become nothing else but ministers of the law and laweworkers calling backe the people from baptisme faith the promises of Christ to the law and workes turning grace into the law and the law into grace Who would euer beleue that these things could so easily be confounded and mingled together There is no man so vnsensible which dothe not perceaue this distinction of the lawe and grace to be most plaine and manifest For the very nature and signification of the wordes maketh this distinction and difference For who vnderstandeth not that these words Lavve and grace do differ in name and signification Wherefore it is a monstrous thing that this distinction being so plaine the aduersaries should fall to such deuelish peruersenes so to mingle together the lawe and grace and to transforme Christ into Moses For this cause I do often repete and teach that this doctrine of faith is very plaine and that euery man may easely vnderstand this distinction of the law and grace as touching the wordes but touching the vse and inward practise it is very hard The Pope and his Scholedoctors doe plainly confesse that the lawe and grace are diuers and distinct things and yet when they come to the vse and practise thereof they teach cleane contrary Faith in Christ say they whether it be gotten by the strength operation and qualities of nature or whether it be Faith infused and poured into vs of God yet is it but a dead Faith if charitie be not ioyned therewith Where is nowe the distinction and difference of the lawe and grace In deede they doe distinguish them in name but in effect they call grace charitie Thus doe all they which so straitly require the obseruation of the lawe and attribute iustification to the law and works Wherfore who so euer do not perfectly vnderstand the article of iustification must needes confound and mingle the lawe and grace together Let euery man therfore diligently learne aboue all things to put a difference betwene the lawe and grace in deede and in practise not in words onely as the Pope and the fantasticall Anabaptists do Who as touching the words doe confesse that they are two distinct things but in very deede as I haue sayd they confound mingle them together for they will not graunt that faith iustifieth without workes If this be true then Christ profiteth me nothing For though my faith be neuer so perfite yet after their opinion if this faith be without charitie I am not iustified And thus Christ apprehended by faith is not a iustifier grace profiteth nothing neither can faith be true faith without charitie or as the Anabaptistes say without the crosse without suffering and effusion of bloud but if charitie be ioyned withall then is it true faith and iustifieth With this doctrine these lying spirites and sects of perdition doe darken againe the benefite of Christ at this day they take away from him the glory of a iustifier and make him a minister of sinne They are in all things like to the false Apostles For euen as they throughout all the Churches did require circumcision and the obseruation of the lawe besides faith in
like to the doctrine of the false apostles of that time If thou wilt liue to God say they liue to the law or after the law But contrariwise we say If thou wilt liue to God thou must be vtterly dead to the law Mans reason and wisedom vnderstandeth not this doctrine therefore it teacheth alwayes the contrary that is If thou wilt liue vnto God thou must kepe the law for it is wryten Do this and thou shalt liue And this is a speciall principle amongst all Diuines he that liueth after the law liueth vnto god Paule sayth the contrary that is we can not liue vnto God vnlesse we be throughly dead to the law Wherfore we must mount vp to this heauenly altitude that we may be assured that we are far aboue the law yea that we are vtterly dead vnto the law Now if we be dead vnto the law then hath the law no power ouer vs as also it hath no power ouer Christ who hath deliuered vs from the same that we might liue vnto god All these things tende to this ende to proue that we are not iustified by the lawe but by faith onely in Iesus Christ And here Paule speaketh not of the ceremoniall lawe onely as before we haue declared more at large but of the whole law whether it be ceremoniall or morall which to a Christian is vtterly abrogate for he is dead vnto it Not that the lawe is vtterly taken away nay it remaineth liueth and raigneth still in the wicked But a godly man is dead vnto the lawe like as he is dead vnto sinne the Deuill death and hell which notwithstanding doe still remaine and the world with all the wicked shall still abide in them Wherfore when the Papist vnderstandeth that the ceremoniall lawe onely is abolished vnderstand thou that Paule and euery Christian is dead to the whole lawe and yet the lawe remaineth still As for example Christ rising from death is free from the graue and yet the graue remaineth stil Peter is deliuered from the prison the sicke of the palsey from his bed the yong mā from his coffen the maiden from her couch and yet the prison the bed the coffen the couch doe remaine still Euen so the lawe is abolished when I am not subiect vnto it the law is dead when I am dead vnto it yet it remaineth still But because I die vnto it by an other law it dieth also vnto me As the graue of Christ the prison of Peter the couch of the maiden c. do still remaine and yet Christ by his resurrection dieth to the graue Peter by his deliueraunce is freed from the prison and the maid through life is deliuered from the couch Wherfore these words I am dead to the lavv are very effectuall For he sayeth not I am free from the law for a time or I am Lord of the lawe but simplie I am dead to the lawe that is to say I haue nothing to do with the law Paule could haue vttred nothīg more effectually against iustification of the law then to say I am dead to the law that is I care nothing at all for the law therfore I am not iustified by it Now to die to the law is not to be bound to the law but to be free from the law not to know it Therfore let him that will liue to God endeuour that he may be found without the law let him come out of the graue with Christ The souldiers were astonished whē Christ was risen out of the graue and they also which saw the maiden raised vp from death to life were amazed So mans reason and wisedom is astonished and becometh foolish when it heareth that we are not iustified except we be dead to the law for it is not able to reach vnto this mysterie But we know that when we apprehend Christ by faith inwardly in conscience we enter into a certain new law which swaloweth vp the old law that held vs captiues As the graue in which Christ lay dead after that he was risen againe was voide and emptie and Christ vanished away so when I beleue in Christ I rise againe with him and die to my graue that is to say the lawe which held me captiue So that now the law is voide and I am escaped out of my prison and graue that is to say the lawe Wherefore the lawe hath no right to accuse me or to hold me any longer for I am risen againe It is necessary that mens consciences should be diligently instructed that they may wel vnderstand the difference betwene that righteousnes of the law grace The righteousnes of grace or the libertie of cōscience doth in no wise pertaine to the flesh For the flesh may not be at liberty but must remaine in the graue the prison the couch it must be in subiection to the law and exercised by the Egyptians But the christian cōscience must be dead to the law that is to say free from the law must haue nothing at all to doe with it It is good to know this for it helpeth very much to the comforting of poore afflicted consciences Wherfore when you see a man terrified and cast downe with the sense and feeling of his sinne say vnto him Brother thou doest not rightly distinguish Thou placest the lawe in thy conscience which should be placed in the flesh Awake arise vp and remember that thou must beleue in Christ the conquerour of the lawe and sinne With this faith thou shalt mount vp aboue and beyond the lawe into that heauen of grace where is no law nor sinne And albeit the law sinne doe still remaine yet they pertaine nothing to thee for thou art dead to the lawe and sinne This is easily sayd but blessed is he which knoweth howe to lay sure hold on these things in time of distresse that is which can say when sinne ouerwayeth him and the law accuseth him what is this to me O lawe that thou accusest me and sayest that I haue committed many sinnes In deede I graunt that I haue committed many sinnes yea and yet stil I doe commit sinnes daily without number This toucheth me nothing I am now deafe and can not heare therefore thou talkest to me in vaine for I am dead vnto thee But if thou wilt needes dispute with me as touching my sinnes get thee to the flesh and members my seruaunts teach them exercise and crucifie them But trouble not me Conscience which am a Ladie and a Queene and haue nothing to doe with thee for I am dead to thee and now I liue to Christ with whom I am vnder an other lawe to witte the lawe of grace which ruleth ouer sinne and the lawe By what meanes By faith in Christ as Paule declareth hereafter But this semeth a straunge and a wonderfull definition that to liue to the lawe is to die to God and to die to the lawe is to liue to god
These two propositions are cleane contrary to reason and therefore no craftie Sophister or lawworker can vnderstand them But learne thou the true vnderstanding thereof He that liueth to the lawe that is seketh to be iustified by the workes of the lawe is and remaineth a sinner therfore he is dead condemned For the law can not iustifie and saue him but accuseth terrifieth killeth him Therfore to liue vnto the law is to die vnto God and contrariwise to die to the law is to liue vnto god Wherefore if thou wilt liue vnto God thou must die to the lawe but if thou wilt liue to the lawe thou shalt die to god Now to liue vnto God is to be iustified by grace or by faith for Christes sake without the lawe and workes This is then the proper and true definition of a Christian that he is the childe of grace and remission of sinnes because he is vnder no lawe but is aboue the lawe sinne death and hell And euen as Christ is free from the graue and Peter from the prison so is a Christian free from the lawe And such a respect there is betwene the iustified conscience and the lawe as is betwene Christ raised vp from the graue and the graue and as is betwene Peter deliuered from the prison and the prison And like as Christ by his death and resurrection is dead to the graue so that it hath now no power ouer him nor is able any lōger to holde him but the stone being rolled away the seales broken and the kepers astonished he riseth againe and goeth away without any let and as Peter by his deliueraunce is freed from the prison goeth whether he will euen so the conscience by grace is deliuered from the law So is euery one that is borne of the spirite But the flesh knoweth not from whence this cometh nor whether it goeth for it can not iudge but after the lawe But on the contrary the spirite sayeth let the law accuse me let sinne and death terrifie me neuer so much yet I doe not therfore despaire for I haue the lawe against the lawe sinne against sinne and death against death Therefore when I feele the remorse and sting of conscience for sinne I behold that brasen serpent Christ hanging vppon the crosse There I finde an other sinne against my sinne which accuseth and deuoureth me Now this other sinne namely in the flesh of Christ which taketh away the sinnes of the world is almightie it condemneth and swaloweth vp my sinne So my sinne is condemned by sinne that is by Christ crucified vvho is made sinne for vs that vve might be made the righteousnes of God through him In like maner I finde death in my flesh which afflicteth and killeth me but I haue in me a contrary death which is the death for this death crucifieth and swaloweth vp my death These things be not done by the lawe or workes but by Christ crucified vppon whose shoulders lie all the euils of mankinde the lawe sinne death the Deuill and hell and all these doe die in him for by his death he hath killed them But we must receaue this benefite of Christ with a sure faith For like as neither the lawe nor any worke thereof is offered vnto vs but Christ alone so nothing is required of vs but Faith alone whereby we apprehend Christ and beleue that our sinnes and our death are condemned and abolished in the sinne and death of Christ Thus haue we alwayes most certaine and sure arguments which necessarily conclude that iustification cometh by faith alone For how should the lawe and workes auaile to iustification seeing that Paule is so earnest both against the lawe and workes and sayeth plainely that we must be dead to the lawe if we will liue to god But if we be dead to the lawe and the lawe be dead to vs then hath it nothing to doe with vs How then should it auaile any thing at all to our iustification Wherefore we must needes say that we be iustified by grace alone or by faith alone in Christ without the lawe and workes This the blinde Sophisters doe not vnderstand and therefore they dreame that Faith iustifieth not except it doe the workes of charitie By this meanes Faith which beleueth in Christ becometh vnprofitable and of none effect for the vertue of iustifying is taken from it except it be furnished with charitie But let vs nowe set aparte the lawe and charitie vntil an other time let vs rest onely vpon the poynt of this present matter which is this that Iesus Christ the sonne of God died vpon the crosse did beare in his body my sinnes the lawe death the Deuill and hell These inuincible enemies and tyrannes doe oppresse vexe and trouble me and therefore I am carefull howe I may be deliuered out of their handes iustified and saued Here I finde neither lawe worke nor charitie which is able to deliuer me from their tyrannie There is none but the Lord Iesus onely and alone which taketh away the lawe killeth and destroyeth my death in his body and by this meanes spoyleth hell iudgeth and crucifieth the Deuill and throweth him downe into hell To be briefe all the enemies which did before torment and oppresse me Christ Iesus hath brought to naught Hath spoyled them and made a shevv of them openly triumphing by him selfe ouer them in such sort that they can nowe rule and raigne no more ouer me but are constrained to obey me By this we may plainely see that there is nothing here for vs to doe Onely it belongeth vnto vs to heare that these things haue bene wrought and done in this sort and by faith to apprehend the same And this is the true formed and furnished faith in dede Now when I haue thus apprehended Christ by faith and through him am dead to the lawe iustified from sinne deliuered from death the deuill and hell then I doe good works I loue God I geue thankes to him I exercise charitie towardes my neighbour But this charitie or workes folowing do neither forme nor adorne my faith but my faith formeth and adorneth charitie This is our diuinitie which seemeth straunge and maruelous or rather foolish to carnall reason to witte that I am not onely blinde and deafe to the lawe yea deliuered and freed from the law but also wholy dead vnto the same This sentence of Paule Through the lavv I am dead to the lavv is full of consolation Which if it may enter into a man in due season take sure hold in his heart with good vnderstanding it may so worke that it will make him able to stand against all daungers of death and all terrours of conscience and sinne although they assaile him accuse him and would driue him to desperation neuer so much True it is that euery man is tempted if not in his life yet at his death There when the law accuseth
Paule here vseth and is proper vnto him alone is full of consolation Likewise in the .7 chapter to the Romaines he setteth the law of the spirite against the law of the mēbers And because this is a straunge and a maruelous manner of speaking therfore it entreth more easily into the mind and sticketh faster in the memorie Moreouer when he saith I through the lavv am dead to the lavv it soundeth more swetely then if he should say I through libertie am dead to the law For he setteth before vs as it were a certaine picture as if the law were fighting against the law As though he should say O law if thou canst accuse me terrifie me and bind me I will set aboue and against thee an other law that is to say an other tormentor which shall accuse thee bind thee and triumph ouer thee Whē thou art thus bound and suppressed then am I at libertie So then grace is a law not to me for it bindeth me not but to my law which this law so bindeth that it can not hurt me any more Thus Paule goeth about to draw vs wholy from the beholding of the law sinne death all other euils and to bring vs vnto Christ that there we might behold this ioyfull conflict to witte the law fighting against the law that it may be to me libertie sinne against sinne that it may be to me righteousnes death against death that I may obtaine life Christ fighting against the Deuill that I may be the child of God and destroying hell that I may enioy the kingdome of heauen Verse 19. That I might liue vnto God. That is to say that I might liue before god Ye see then that there is no life vnlesse ye be without the law yea vnlesse ye be vtterly dead vnto the law I meane in conscience Notwithstanding in the meane season as I haue often said so long as the body liueth the flesh must be exercised with lawes and vexed with exactions and penalties of lawes as were the Egyptians But the inward man not subiect to the law but deliuered and freed from it is a liuely iust and holy person not of himselfe but in Christ because he beleueth in him as foloweth Verse 20. I am crucified vvith Christ This he addeth to declare that the law is a deuourer of the law Not onely saith he I am dead to the law through the law that I may liue to God but also I am crucified with Christ But Christ is Lord ouer the law because he is crucified and dead vnto the law Therfore am I also Lord ouer the law for I likewise am crucified and dead vnto the lawe for as much as I am crucified and dead with Christ By what meanes By grace and faith Through this faith because I am nowe crucified and deade vnto the law therfore the law looseth all his power which it had ouer me euen as it hath lost all his power which it had ouer Christ Wherfore euen as Christ himselfe was crucified to the law sinne death and the Deuill so that they haue no further power ouer him euen so I through faith being now crucified with Christ in spirite am crucified and deade to the law sinne death and the Deuill so that they haue no further power ouer me but are now crucified and deade vnto me Paule speaketh not here of crucifying by imitation or example for to follow the example of Christ is also to be crucified with him which crucifying belongeth to the flesh Wherof Peter speaketh in his 1. epistle and .2 chapter Christ suffered for vs saith he leauing vnto vs an example that vve should follovv his steppes But he speaketh here of that high crucifying wherby sinne the deuil and death are crucified in Christ not in me Here Christ Iesus doth all himselfe alone But I beleuing in Christ am by faith crucified also with Christ so that all these things are crucified and dead vnto me Verse 20. Thus I liue I speake not so saith he of my death and crucifying as though I now liued not Yea I liue for I am quickned by this death and crucifying through the which I die That is for as much as I am deliuered from the law sinne and death I now liue in deede Wherfore that crucifying and that death wherby I am crucified and dead to the law sinne death and all euils is to me resurrection and life For Christ crucifieth the Deuill he killeth death condemneth sinne and bindeth the law and I beleuing this am deliuered from the law sinne death and the Deuill The law therfore is bound dead and crucified vnto me I againe am bound dead crucified vnto it Wherfore euen by this death and crucifying that is to say by this grace or liberty I now liue Here as before I haue sayd we must obserue Paules maner of speaking He saith that we are dead and crucified to the law where as in very deede the law it selfe is dead and crucified vnto vs. But this maner of speach he vseth here of purpose that it may be the more sweete and comfortable vnto vs For the law which notwithstanding continueth liueth and reigneth in the whole world which also accuseth and condemneth all men is crucified and dead vnto those onely which beleue in Christ and therfore to them alone belongeth this glory that they are dead to sinne hell death and the Deuill Verse 20. Yet novv not I. That is to say not in mine owne person nor in mine owne substance Here he plainly sheweth by what meanes he liueth And he teacheth what true Christian righteousnes is namely that righteousnes wherby Christ liueth in vs and not that which is in our person Therefore when we speake of Christian righteousnes we must vtterly reiect the person And here Christ and my conscience must become one body so that nothing remaine in my sight but Christ crucified and raised from the dead But if I behold my selfe only and set Christ aside I am gone For by and by I fall into this cogitation Christ is in heauen and thou art on the earth how shalt thou now come vnto him Forsoth I will liue holily and doe that which the law requireth so shall I enter into life Here returning to my selfe and considering what I am what I ought to be and what I am bound to doe I lose Christ out of sight who is my righteousnes and life Who being lost there is no counsell nor succour now remaining but certaine desperation and destruction must needes follow And this is a common euil among men For such is our misery that when tentation or death cometh by and by setting Christ aside we consider our owne life past and what we haue done Here except we be raised vppe againe by faith we must needes perish Wherefore we must learne in such conflicts terrours of conscience forgetting our selues and setting the law our life past and all our works
righteousnes should feare vs and make vs to abhorre it And here with this thunderbolt falleth downe all the orders of Monkes and Friers with all the rablement of such supersticious religion For who will not detest his owne vowes his cowle his shauen croune all mens traditions yea the very law of Moses also if he heare that for these things he reiecteth the grace of god and maketh the death of Christ vnprofitable The world hearing this doth not beleue that it is true It thinketh that such horrible wickednes can not enter into any mans heart that he should reiect the grace of God esteme the death of Christ as a thing of nought And yet this sinne commonly reigneth For whosoeuer seeketh righteousnes without Christ either by workes merites satisfactions afflictions or by the law reiecteth the grace of God and despiseth the death of Christ whatsoeuer he protesteth with his mouth to the contrary The third Chapter Verse 1. O foolish Galathians PAVLE here sheweth his Apostolicall care and feruent zeale which he beareth to the church so that in disputing and confuting he intermixeth sometimes gentle exhortations and sometimes he sharply chideth according to his owne rule geuē to Timothy Preach saith he the vvord be instant in season and out of season Improue rebuke exhort 2. Timot. 4. Here the simple reader haply may be deceaued if he be not circumspect to thinke that Paule in teaching keepeth no order at all And surely after the maner of the Rhetoricians he obserueth none but as concerning the spirite he vseth a goodly order Now after that he hath sufficiently proued and with two strong arguments confirmed this article that Christian righteousnes cometh not by keeping of the law but by faith in Christ and withall hath confuted the doctrine of the false Apostles in the middes of this discourse he turneth his talke to the Galathians and reproueth them saying O ye foolish Galathians c. As if he should say Alas from whence are ye falne O ye miserable Galathians I haue most carefully and diligently taught you the truth of the Gospell and ye also haue receaued the same of me with feruent zeale and greate diligence How then cometh it to passe that ye are so suddainly falne away from it who hath bewitched you He rebuketh the Galathians very sharply as it seemeth when he calleth them fooles bewitched and disobedient to the truth Now whether he did this of zeale or compassion I will not here contend both may be true A carnall man would interprete this to be a reuiling rather then a godly reprehension Did Paule then geue an euill example or was he spitefull against the churches of Galatia because he called them foolish and bewitched No not so For with a Christian zeale it is lawfull for an Apostle pastour or preacher sharply to reproue the people committed to his charge and such reprouings are both fatherly godly So parents of a fatherly and motherly affection do sharply reproue and rebuke their children which they would not beare if an other should doe it The Scholemaster sometimes is angry with his scholler he rebuketh him and beateth him with roddes all which he taketh in good parte and would not beare it at the handes of his equall The magistrate likewise is angry he reproueth and punisheth such as are vnder his charge And this discipline is not onely good but also very necessary without the which nothing can be well done Wherfore vnlesse the magistrate the minister the father and mother be angry and vse to reproue or rebuke when case requireth he is vnprofitable and neuer shall discharge his office rightly Wherfore sharpe chidings bitter words are as necessary in euery kind of life as any other vertue els Yet notwithstanding this anger must be so tempered that it procede not of any enuy or malice but onely of a fatherly affection and Christian zeale that is to say it ought not to be childish or womanlike seking reuenge but onely for the correcting of the faulte As the father correcteth not his childe with desire to reuenge but only that the childe therby may be the better And these kindes of anger are good and are called in the scripture ielousies or zeales For in chastising my brother my child my scholler or subiect in this sort I seeke not his destruction but his profite and welfare It may be then that Paule here rebuketh the Galathians either of a very zeale not to destroy them but by this meanes to reduce them into the way againe and to amend them or els of pitie and compassion as it were by way of complaint for that it greueth him that the Galathians should be so miserably seduced As if he should say I am sory and ashamed to heare of this your miserable case your wretched doings c. In like maner doe we also reproue the miserable not that we treade them downe or vpbraide them with their misery but as hauing compassion on them and seeking their amendment This I say lest any man should cauill that Paule railed vpon the churches contrary to the rule of the Gospell In like maner Christ rebuketh the phariseis calling them serpents the generation of vipers the children of the deuil But these are the rebukings of the holy Ghost They are fatherly and motherly and as the chidings of a faithfull frend As it is said also in the prouerbes Better are the vvoundes of a frend then the kisses of an enemy Thus one and the selfe same rebuke if it come out of the mouth of a father may be a great benefite but if it procede out of the mouth of our equall or enemy it is a spitefull reproch When two men doe both one thing in the one it is commendable and in the other it is cleane contrary When Christ and Paule doe reproue it is done with singular vertue and commendation but when a priuate man shall doe the like in him it is a greate vice Therfore one and the selfe same word in the mouth of Paule is a great vertue and a singular benefite but in the mouth of an other it is a shamefull reproch Here is a great vehemencie to be noted in this word Galathians For he calleth them not brethren as els where he is wont to doe but he calleth them by the name of their coūtrey And it should seeme that it was the naturall vice of that nation to be foolish like as it was the fault of the Cretenses to be liars As if he should say As ye are called euen so are ye in deed and so ye continue that is to say foolish Galathians and this ye proue euen now in this busines of the Gospell wherin notwithstāding ye ought to haue shewed your selues most wise but ye continue still in your old nature and shew your selues no changelings Thus Paule by way of correction putteth them in mind of their corrupt nature Moreouer we are here admonished
that according to the flesh there are yet certaine naturall vices remaining euen in Christian churches Grace maketh not such a chaung in the faithfull that by and by they become altogether new creatures and perfect in all things but there remaine yet certaine dregges of their old and naturall corruption As if a man that is naturally enclined to anger be conuerted to Christ although he be mollified by grace the holy Ghost so framing his heart that he is now become more meeke and gentile yet this naturall vice is not vtterly quenched in his flesh Likewise such as are by nature stubborne and stout harted men although they be conuerted to the faith yet notwithstanding they can not vtterly forsake this stubbernes Hereof it cometh that the holy scriptures which doe containe all one truth of diuers spirites are diuersly handled One in teaching is mild and gentle an other more rough and rigorous Thus the spirite of god being powred into diuers vessels doth not quench at once the vices of nature but by litle litle during this life he purgeth that sinne which is rooted not onely in the Galathians but also in all men of all nations Albeit then that the Galathians were lightned and did beleue and had now receaued the holy Ghost by the preaching of faith notwithstanding this remnant of vice this foolishnes I meane and the originall corruption which afterward did easily burst out in to the flame of false doctrine remained in them still Wherfore let no man trust so much in himselfe to thinke that when he hath receaued grace he is thorowly purged from his old vices In deede many things are purged in vs and principally the head of the Serpent that is to say infidelitie ignorance of God is cutte of and brused but the slime and the relikes of sinne remaine still in vs Let no man therfore presume so much of himselfe that when he hath once receaued faith he can by and by be thorowly chaunged into a new man Nay he shall keepe somewhat of his old vices still hanging vpon him though he be neuer so good and perfect a Christiā For we are not yet dead but we stil liue in the flesh which because it is not yet pure continually lusteth against the spirite Gal. 1. Rom. 7. I am fleshly sayth Paule sould vnder sinne I see an other lavv in my members rebelling against the lavv of my minde Wherfore the naturall vices that were in vs before we receaued faith doe still remaine in vs after that we haue receaued faith sauing that nowe they are subdued to the spirite which hath the vpper hande to keepe them vnder that they rule not and yet not without great conflict This glory is due to Christ alone and this title he beareth that he is pure and without blemish 1. Pet. 2. VVho did no sinne neither vvas there any guile found in his mouth Vers 1. Vvho hath bevvitched you that ye should not beleue the truth Here haue we an other commendation of this goodly righteousnes of the lawe and of our selues namely that it maketh vs to despise the truth that it bewitcheth vs in such sort that we obey not the truth but rebell against it Of the bodily and spirituall witchcraft Paule calleth the Galathians foolish and bewitched comparing them to children to whom witchcraft dothe much harme As though he should say It hapneth to you as it doth to children whom witches sorcerers inchaunters are wont to charme by their enchauntments and by the illusion of the deuill Afterwardes in the .5 chapter he reherseth sorcerie among the workes of the flesh which is a kinde of witchcraft whereby he plainly testifieth that such witchcrafte and sorcerie there is and that it may be done Moreouer it can not be denied but that the deuill liueth yea and raigneth throughout the whole world Witchcraft and sorcerie therfore are the works of the deuil wherby he doth not onely hurt men but also by the permission of God he sometimes destroyeth them Furthermore we are all subiect to the Deuill both in body and goodes and we be straungers in this world wherof he is the Prince god Therfore the bread which we eate the drinke which we drinke the garments which we weare yea the aire whatsoeuer we liue by in this flesh is vnder his dominion But he doth not onely bewitch men after this grosse maner but also after a more subtile sort and much more daungerous wherein he is a maruelous cunning workeman And hereof it cometh that Paule applieth the charming and bewitching of the senses to the bewitching of the spirite For by this spirituall witchcraft that olde serpent bewitcheth not mens senses but their mindes with false wicked opinions which opinions they that are so bewitched do take to be true and right godly Briefly so great is the malice of this sorcerer the deuil desire to hurt that not onely he deceaueth those secure and proud spirits with his inchauntments but euen those also which are professors of true Christianitie and well affected in religion yea as touching my selfe to say the truth he sometimes assaileth me so mightely and oppresseth me with such heauie cogitations that he vtterly shadoweth my Sauiour Christ from me and in a manner taketh him cleane out of my sight To be briefe there is none of vs al which is not oftentimes bewitched with false perswasions that is to say which doth not feare trust or reioyce where he ought not or doth not sometimes thinke otherwise of God of Christ of faith of his vocation of the Christian state c. then he should doe Let vs therfore learne to know the subtile sleights of this Sorcerer lest if he finde vs sleping in securitie he deceaue vs by his enchauntments True it is that by his sorcerie he can doe no hurt to our ministerie yet is he with vs in spirite Day and night he raungeth vp and downe and seeketh how he may deuoure euery one of vs alone and vnlesse he finde vs sobre and armed with spirituall weapons that is to say with the word of God and faith he will deuoure vs. This is the cause that he oftentimes stirreth vp new battails against vs. And in deede it is very profitable for vs that he thus assaileth vs by his subtil traines exerciseth vs For by this meanes he confirmeth our doctrine he stirreth vp encreaseth faith in vs In deede we haue bene many times cast downe yet stil are cast downe in this cōflict but we perish not for Christ hath alwayes triumphed and doth triumph thorough vs Wherfore we conceaue assured hope that by Iesus Christ we shall obtaine the victorie against the deuil And this hope bringeth forth in vs sure consolation so that in the mids of our tentations we take courage say Behold Satan hath heretofore tempted vs by his false illusiōs hath prouoked vs to vnbeleefe to the
To whom be glory for euer This bewitching and sorcerie then is nothing else but a plaine illusion of the Deuill printing in the hearte a false opinion of Christ and against Christ and he that is deluded with this opinion is bewitched They therfore that haue this opinion that they are iustified by the workes of the lawe or traditions of men are bewitched for this opinion is against faith and against Christ Paule vseth this word bevvitching in contempt of the false Apostles which so vehemently vrged the doctrine of the lawe and workes As if he should say what a deuelish bewitching is this For as the senses are peruerted by bodely witchcrafte so are the mindes of men also deluded by this spirituall with craft Verse 1. That ye should not obey the truth The Galathians at the first did gladly heare and obey the truth Therfore where he sayth VVho hath bevvitched you he sheweth that they were bewitched by these false apostles and were fallen away from that truth which they before did obey But this seemeth yet a more bitter and vehement kinde of speech when he sayeth that they doe not beleeue the truth For he signifieth by these wordes that they are bewitched and that he would deliuer them from this witcherie and yet they will not acknowledge nor receaue this benefite For it is certaine that he did not reduce all from the errour of the false Apostles vnto the truth but that many of them remained yet still bewitched Therfore he vseth these sharpe and vehement wordes VVho hath bevvitched you As if he would say Ye are so deluded and bewitched that nowe ye can not obey the truth I feare lest many of you are vtterly lost and so falne away that ye will neuer returne againe to the truthe Here haue ye yet an other goodly commendation of the lawe and mans owne righteousnes that it so bewitcheth men that they can not obey the truth Hereof the Apostles and the fathers of the primitiue Church did oftentimes make mention There is a sinne vnto death for vvhich I say thou shouldest not pray 1. Iohn 5. And againe It is impossible that they vvhich vvere once lightned and haue tasted of the heauenly gift and vvere made pertakers of the holy ghost and haue tasted of the good vvorde of God and of the povvers of the vvorld to come if they fall avvay should be renued againe by repentaunce c. Heb. 6. These wordes sound at the first as if some Nouatian had spoken them But the Apostles were constrained to speake after this maner because of the Heretikes And yet notwithstanding they did not hereby denie but that they which were fallen might returne againe to the fellowship of the faithfull After the same manner must we also speake at this day because of the authors and maisters of errours sectes that such shall neuer retourne to the truth Notwithstanding some there are which doe retourne but such as are not greatly bewitched or strongly deluded But the captaines and the authors of this sorcerie doe neuer retourne For to them we may well attribute this title which Paule here geueth vnto them that they can not heare nor abide the truth but studie rather how they may resist it Verse 1. To vvhom Iesus Christ before vvas described in your sight It was bitterly spoken where he said before that they were so bewitched that they could not obey the truth But it is more bitterly said when he addeth that Christ was so liuely described before them that they might handle him with their handes and yet they would not obey the truth Thus he conuinceth them euen by their owne experience As though he would say Ye are so bewitched and deluded with the deuillish opinions of the false apostles that now ye will not obey the truth And wheras I haue with great trauel and diligence set forth Christ plainly before your eyes yet doth this profit you nothing at al. In these wordes he hath respect to the former arguments wherby he proued that to those that will be iustified by the lawe Christe is but the minister of sinne that such doe reiect the grace of God and that to them Christ died in vaine Which arguments he had before more vehemently prosecuted and more largely amplified in their presence as if a painter had purtred Christ Iesus before their eies Now being absent he putteth them in minde of the same things saying To vvhom Iesus Christ vvas described in your sight As if he said There is no painter that with his colours can so liuely set out Christ vnto you as I haue painted him out by my preaching and yet notwithstāding ye still remaine most miserably bewitched Verse 1. And vvas among you crucified What did I then paint out Euen Christ him selfe How was that done In this sort that he is crucified in you or among you He vseth here very rough and sharpe wordes Before he said that they sought righteousnes by the lawe reiected the grace of God and that to them Christ died in vaine Now he addeth moreouer that they crucifie Christ who before liued raigned in them As if he should say Ye haue now not onely reiected the grace of God not onely to you Christ died in vaine but also he is most shamefully crucified among you After the same maner he speaketh Heb. 6. Crucifying to them selues againe the sonne of God and making a mocke of him c. If a mā do but heare the name of a Monke of his shauen croune of his cowle of his rule it should make him to tremble howe much so euer the Papists doe adore these abominations and bragge that they are perfect religion and holines as I and others did iudge of them before God reuealed his Gospell vnto vs for we were brought vp in the traditions of men which darkened Christ and made him vtterly vnprofitable vnto vs when he heareth Paule say as here he doth that euen they which seeke to be iustified by the lawe of God be not onely deniers and murtherers of Christ but also they doe most wickedly crucifie him againe Nowe if they be crucifiers of Christ which seeke to be iustified by the righteousnes of the law of God and the works therof what are they I pray you which seeke saluation and eternall life by the dregges and filthie dunge of mans righteousnes and by the doctrine of Deuils But who could euer beleeue or thinke that it was so horrible and so abhominable a sinne to be made a religious man for so they call thē namely to be made a Massing priest a Monke a Frier a Nunne Doutles no man Yea they them selues say moreouer that Monkerie is a new baptisme Can there be any thing more horrible then that the kingdome of the Papists is the kingdome of such as spitefully spitte in the face of Christ the sonne of God and crucifie him againe For in deede they crucifie him a fresh who
so that the worde be not onely my voice but may be hearde of thee and may enter into thy hearte and be beleued of thee then is it truly and in deede the hearing of faith thorowe the which thou receauest the holy Ghost which after thou hast once receaued thou shalt also mortifie thy flesh The faithfull doe finde by their owne experience howe gladly they would hold and embrace the word when they heare it with a full faith and abandon this opinion of the lawe and of their owne righteousnes but they feele in their flesh a mightie resistaunce against the spirite For reason and the flesh will needes worke together This saying Ye must be circumcised and keepe the lavve can not be vtterly rooted out of our mindes but it sticketh fast in the hearts of all the faithfull There is therfore in the faithfull a continuall conflict betwene the hearing of faith and the workes of the lawe For the conscience alwayes murmureth and thinketh that this is too easie a way that by the onely hearing of the word righteousnes the holy ghost and life euerlasting is promised vnto vs But come once to an earnest trial therof and then tell me how easie a thing it is to heare the word of faith In deede he which geueth is great moreouer he geueth great things willingly and freely and vpbraideth no man therwith but thy capacitie is hard and faith weake still striuing against thee so that thou art not able to receaue this gift But let thy conscience murmure against thee neuer so much let this Must come neuer so oftē into thy minde yet stand fast hold out vntill thou ouercome this Must So as faith encreaseth by litle and litle that opinion of the righteousnes of the lawe will diminish But this can not be done without great conflict Verse 3. Are ye so foolish that after ye haue begone in the spirite ye vvould novv finish or be made perfect by the flesh This argument being concluded how that the holy ghost cometh not by the workes of the lawe but through the preaching of faith he beginneth here to exhort the Galathians and to terrifie them from a double daunger and incommoditie The first is Are ye so foolish that after ye haue begone in the spirite ye vvould novv ende in the flesh The other followeth Haue ye suffred so great things in vaine As if he said Ye began in the spirite that is your religion was excellently well begone As also a litle after he saith Ye ranne vvel c. But what haue ye gotten therby Forsoth ye will nowe ende in the flesh yea rather ye are ended in the flesh Paule here setteth the spirite against the flesh He calleth not the flesh as before I haue said lust beastly passions or sensual appetites for he intreateth not here of lust or of other fleshly desires but of forgeuenes of sinnes of iustifying the conscience of obteining righteousnes before God of deliueraunce from the lawe sinne and death and yet notwithstanding he sayth here that they forsaking the spirite doe now ende in the flesh Flesh therfore is here taken for the very righteousnes and wisedome of the flesh and the iudgement of reason which goeth about to be made righteous by the law Whatsoeuer then is best and most excellent in man as the wisedome of reason yea and the righteousnes of the law it selfe the same here Paule calleth flesh And this place must be well weyed and considered because of the slaunderous and cauilling Papists which wrest the same against vs saying that we in Poperie began in the spirite but now hauing maried wiues we ende in the flesh As though a single life or not to haue a wife were a spirituall life and as though it nothing hindred their spirituall life if a man not contented with one whore haue many They are mad men not vnderstanding what the spirite or what the flesh is The spirite is whatsoeuer is done in vs through the spirite The flesh whatsoeuer is done in vs according to the flesh without the spirite Wherfore all the dueties of a Christian man as to loue his wife to bring vp his children to gouerne his familie and such like which vnto them are worldly and carnal are the frutes of the spirite These blinde buzzardes can not discerne the things which are the good creatures of God from vices Here also is to be noted that the Apostle sayth the Galathians did begin in the spirite He should here haue added actiuely Nunc carne consummatis that now ye ende in the flesh But he doth not so but sayth passiuely carne consummamini that ye ende yea or rather are ended in the flesh The righteousnes of the law which Paule here calleth the flesh is so farre of from iustifying that they which after the receauing of the holy ghost through the hearing of faith fall backe againe vnto it are ended in it that is to say are vtterly destroyed Therfore who so euer teach that the lawe ought to be fulfilled to this ende that men might be iustified thereby whiles they goe about to quiet their consciences they hurt them whiles they would iustifie them they condemne them Paule euermore by the way hath a glaunce at these false apostles for they stil vrged the law saying Faith onely in Christ taketh not away sinne pacifieth not the wrath of God iustifieth not Therfore if ye will obtaine these benefites ye must not onely beleeue in Christ but therwith ye must also keepe the law be circumcised keepe the feastes sacrifices c. Thus doing ye shall be free from sinne from the wrath of God from euerlasting death yea rather sayth Paule by the selfe same things ye establish vnrighteousnes ye prouoke the wrath of God ye adde sinne to sinne ye quench the spirite ye fall away from grace and vtterly reiect the same and ye together with your disciples doe ende in the flesh This is the first daūger from the which he terrifieth the Galathians lest if they seeke to be iustified by the lawe they lose the spirite and forgoe their good beginnings for a wretched ende Verse 4. Haue ye suffered so many things in vaine The other daunger and incommoditie is this Haue ye suffred so many things in vaine As though he would say Consider not onely howe well ye began and howe miserablie ye haue forsaken your good beginnings and your course well begone moreouer that not onely ye haue lost the first fruites of the spirite being fallen againe into the ministerie of sinne and death and into a dolefull and a miserable bondage of the lawe but consider this also that ye haue suffered muche for the Gospels sake and for the name of Christe to witte the spoiling of your goodes railings and reproches daungers both of bodies and liues c. All things were in a happie course and great towardnes with you Ye taught purely ye liued holily and ye endured many euils constantly
fruites that ye did before that is that ye teache not truely that ye beleeue not faithfully that ye liue not holily that ye worke not rightly and that ye suffer not patiently Finally who hath so corrupted you that ye beare not so louing affection towards me as ye did before that ye receaue not Paule now as an Angell of God nor as Christ Iesus that ye will not plucke out your eyes to geue them vnto me How cometh it to passe I say that this feruent zeale of yours waxeth so colde towardes me and that ye now preferre before me the false apostles which doe so miserably seduce you In like manner it hapneth vnto vs at this day When we first preached the Gospell there were very many that fauoured our doctrine and had a good and a reuerent opinion of vs and after the preaching therof followed the operations and effectes of faith But what came then A sort of light and brainsicke heads sprang vp and by and by destroyed all that we had in long time and with much trauaile plāted before and also made vs so odious vnto them which before loued vs dearely and thankfully receaued our doctrine that nowe they hate nothing more then our name But the Deuill is the aucthor of this mischiefe working in his members contrary signes which wholy fight against the operations of the holy Ghost Therfore sayth the Apostle your experience O ye Galathians ought to teach you that these great and excellent miracles proceeded not of the workes of the law For as ye had them not before the hearing of faith preached so haue ye them not nowe although the false apostles raigne in the middest of you Therfore we also may say to them at this day which vaunt them selues to be gospellers and to be freed from the tyrannie of the Pope haue ye ouercome the tyrannie of the Pope and obtained libertie in Christ through the Anabaptistes and such other fanaticall spirites or through vs which haue preached faith in Iesus Christ Here if they will confesse the truth they must needes say no doubt it was by the preaching of faith And true it is that in the beginning of our preaching the doctrine of faith had a most happy course and downe fell the Popes pardones purgatorie vowes Masses and such like abhominations which drue with them the ruine of al Poperie No man could iustly condemne vs for our doctrine was pure raising vp and comforting many poore consciences which had bene long oppressed with mens traditions vnder the Papacie which was a plaine tyrannie a racking and crucifying of consciences Many therfore gaue thankes vnto God that through the Gospell which by the grace of God we thē first preached they were so mightely deliuered out of these snares and this slaughterhouse of consciences But whē these new fond heads sprang vp who went about by all meanes to worke our discredite then began our doctrine to be euill thought of for it was commonly bruted abrode that the professors therof disagreed among themselues Wherat many being greatly offended fell quite from the truth putting the Papistes in comfort that we together with our doctrine should shortly come to naught and by this meanes they should recouer their former dignitie and authoritie againe Wherfore like as the false apostles vehemently contended that the Galathians now iustified by faith in Christ ought to be circumcised to kepe the law of Moses if they would be deliuered from their sinnes and from the wrath of God and obtaine the holy Ghost and yet notwithstanding by the selfe same meanes they burdened them the more with sinnes for sinne is not taken away by the law neither is the holy ghost geuen through it but onely it worketh wrath and driueth men into great terrours so at this day these rash heades which thought to prouide for the safetie of the catholike Church at once to driue downe all Poperie haue done no good but much hurt to the Church they haue not ouerthrowne the Papacie but haue more established it But if they had as they began with a common consent together with vs taught and diligently vrged the article of iustification that is to say that we are iustified neither by the righteousnes of the lawe nor by our owne righteousnes but by onely faith in Iesus Christ doutles this one article by litle and litle as it began had ouerthrowen the whole Papacie with al her brotherhodes pardons religious orders relikes ceremonies inuocation of Sainctes purgatorie Masses watchings vowes and infinite other like abhominations But they leauing of the preaching of faith and true Christian righteousnes haue gone an other way to worke to the great hinderaunce both of sounde doctrine and of the Churches Therfore it is happened to them much like as is said in the common Dutch prouerbe They haue driuen away the fishes which the nette was about to enclose whiles they went about to catch them with their handes Verse 6. As Abraham beleeued God and it vvas imputed to him for righteousnes Hitherto Paule groundeth his argument vpon the experience of the Galathians and with this argument he presseth them vehemently Ye saith he haue beleued beleuing haue done miracles haue shewed many notable signes and moreouer ye haue suffred many afflictiōs al which things are the effects operations not of the law but of the holy ghost This the Galathians were constrained to confesse For they could not denie these things which were before their eyes and subiect to their senses and therfore this argument grounded vpon their owne experience is very strong Now he addeth the example of Abraham rehearseth the testimony of the scripture The first is out of Genesis Abraham beleued God c. This place the Apostle here mightely prosecuteth as also he doth in his epistle to the Romaines If Abraham saith he vvas made righteous by the vvorks of the lavv he hath righteousnes and reioysing but not before God but before men For before God he hath sinne and wrath Now he was iustified before God not because he did work but because he did beleue For the scripture saith Abraham beleued God and it vvas imputed to him for righteousnes This place doth Paule there notably set out amplifie as it is most worthy Abraham saith he vvas not vveake in the faith neither considered he his ovvne body being dead vvhen he vvas almost an 100. yere old neither that Sara vvas past childe bearing Thorough vnbelefe he doubted not of the promise of God but vvas made strong in the faith and gaue glory to God being surely persuaded that whatsoeuer God had promised he was able to performe wherefore it was imputed vnto him for righteousnes And this is wrytten not onely for him that it was counted vnto him for righteousnes but for vs also c. Paule by these wordes Abraham beleeued maketh the cheefest worship the cheefest duetie the cheefest obedience and the cheefest sacrifice
vvas imputed vnto him for righteousnes For christian righteousnes consisteth in two things that is to say in faith of the heart and in Gods imputation Faith is in deede a formal righteousnes and yet this righteousnes is not enough for after faith there remaine yet certaine remnaunts of sinne in our flesh This sacrifice of faith began in Abraham but at last it was finished in his death And therfore the other part of righteousnes must needes be added also to finish the same in vs that is to say Gods imputation For faith geueth not enough to God because it is imperfecte yea rather our faith is but a little sparke of faith which beginneth onely to render vnto God his true diuinitie We haue receiued the first fruites of the spirite but not yet the tenthes Besides this reason is not vtterly killed in this life which may appeare by our concupiscence wrath impatience and other fruites of the flesh and of infidelitie yet remaining in vs Yea the holiest that liue haue not yet a full and continuall ioy in God but haue theyr sondry passions sometimes sadde sometimes mirry as the scriptures witnes of the Prophetes and Apostles But such faultes are not layde to their charge because of their faith in Christ for otherwise no flesh should be saued We conclude therefore vpon these wordes It vvas imputed to him for righteousnes that righteousnes in deede beginneth through faith and by the same we haue the first frutes of the spirite but because faith is weake it is not made perfect without Gods imputation Wherefore faith beginneth righteousnes but imputation maketh it perfect vnto the day of Christ The popish Sophisters and Scholemen dispute also of imputation when they speake of the good acceptation of the woorke but besides and cleane contrary to the scripture for they wrest it onely to workes They doe not consider the vncleanenes and inward poyson lurking in the hearte as incredulitie doubting despising and hating of God which most pernicious and perelous beastes are the fountaine and cause of all mischiefe They consider no more but outward and grosse faults and vnrighteousnes which are little riuers proceeding and issuing out of those fountaines Therefore they attribute acceptation to workes that is to say that God doth accept our workes not of dutie but of congruence Contrarywise we excluding all workes doe goe to the very heade of this beast which is called reason which is the fountaine and headespring of all mischiefes For reason feareth not God it loueth not God it trusteth not in God but proudely contemneth him It is not moued either with his threateninges or his promises It is not delighted with his wordes or workes but it murmureth against him it is angry with him iudgeth and hateth him to be short it is an enemy to God not geuing him his glorie This pestilent beast reason I say being once slaine all outward and grosse vices should be nothing Wherfore we must first and afore all thinges goe about by faith to kill infidelitie the contempt and hatred of God murmuring against his iudgement and his wrath and against all his wordes and workes for then doe we kill reason which can be killed by none other meanes but by faith which in beleeuing God geueth vnto him his glory notwithstanding that he speaketh those things which seeme both foolish absurde and vnpossible to reason notwithstanding also that God setteth forth him selfe otherwise then reason is able either to iudge or conceiue that is to say after this maner I will account thee and pronounce thee to be righteous not for the keping of the lawe not for thy workes and thy merites but for thy faith in Iesus Christ mine onely begotten Sonne who was borne suffred was crucified and died for thy sinnes and that sinne which remaineth in thee I will not impute vnto thee If reason then be not killed and al kindes of religion and seruice of God vnder heauen that are inuented by men to get righteousnes before God be not condemned the righteousnes of faith can take no place When reason heareth this by and by it is offended it rageth and vttereth all her malice against God saying Are then my good woorkes nothing Haue I then laboured and borne the burden and heate of the day in vaine Hereof rise those vprours of nations of Kings and Princes against the Lord and against his Christ For the world neither will nor can suffer that his wisedome righteousnes religions and worshippings should be reproued and condemned The Pope with all his Popish rablement will not seeme to erre much lesse will he suffer himselfe to be condemned Therefore let them which be studious of the woorde of God learne out of this saying Abraham beleeued God and it vvas counted to him for righteousnes to sette forthe truely and rightly this true Christian righteousnes after this manner that it is a faith and confidence in the Sonne of God or rather a confidence of the heart in God through Iesus Christe And lette them adde this clause as a difference Which Faith and confidence is accounted righteousnes for Christes sake For these two things as I sayde before woorke Christian righteousnes namely Faith in the heart which is a gifte of God and rightly beleueth in Christ and also that God accepteth this imperfecte Faithe for perfect righteousnes for Christes sake in whom I haue begun to beleue because of this faith in Christ God seeth not my doubting of his good will towards me my distrust my heauines of spirite and other sinnes which are yet in me For as long as I liue in the flesh sinne is verely in me But because I am couered vnder the shadow of Christes winges as is the chicken vnder the winge of the henne and dwell without all feare vnder that most ample and large heauen of the forgeuenes of sinnes which is spread ouer me God couereth and pardoneth the remnant of sinne in me that is to say because of that faith wherwith I began to lay hold vpon Christ he accepteth my imperfect righteousnes euen for perfect righteousnes counteth my sinne for no sinne which notwithstanding is sinne in deede So we shroud our selues vnder the couering of Christes flesh who is our cloudy piller for the day and our fire by the night lest God should see our sinne And although we see it and for the same doe feele the terrors of conscience yet flying vnto Christ our Mediatour and reconciler through whom we are made perfect we are sure and safe For as all things are in him so through him we haue all things who also doth supply whatsoeuer is wanting in vs When we beleue this God winketh at all our sinnes and the remnantes thereof which are yet sticking in our flesh and will haue them so couered as though they were no sinnes Because saith he thou beleuest in my sonne although thou haue many sinnes notwithstanding they must be forgeuen thee vntill thou
be cleane deliuered from them by death Let Christians learne with all diligence to vnderstand this article of Christian righteousnes And to this ende let them reade Paule and reade him againe both often and with greate diligence and let them compare the first with the last yea let them compare Paule wholy and fully with himselfe then shall they finde it to be true that Christian righteousnes consisteth in these two things faith which geueth glorie vnto God and Gods imputation For faith is weake as I haue said therfore Gods imputation must needes be ioyned withall that is to say that God will not lay to our charge the remnant of sinne that he will not punish it nor condemne vs for it but that he will couer it and wil frely forgeue it as though it were nothing at all not for our sake neither for our worthines and workes but for Iesus Christes sake in whom we beleue Thus a Christian man is both righteous and a sinner holy and prophane an enemy of God and yet a childe of god These contraries no Sophister will admit for they know not the true manner of iustification And this was the cause why they would haue men to worke well so lōg vntil they should feele no sinne at all in thē and therby they gaue occasiō to many which striuing with al their endeuour to be perfectly righteous yet not able to attaine therevnto to become starke madde And an infinite number also of those which were the authors of this wicked opinion at the pointe of death were driuen into desperation Which thinge had happened vnto me also if Christ had not mercifully looked vpon me and holpen me out of this errour On the otherside we teach and comfort the afflicted sinner after this māner Brother it is not possible for thee to become so righteous in this life that thou shouldest feele no sinne at all that thy body should be cleare like the Sunne without spotte or blemish but thou hast as yet wrinkles and spots yet art thou holy notwithstanding But thou wilt say How can I be holy when I haue and feele sinne in me I aunswere in that thou doest feele and acknowledge thy sinne it is a good tokē geue thanks vnto God despaire not It is one steppe to health when the sicke man doth acknowledge and confesse his disease But how shall I be deliuered from sinne Runne to Christ the Phisition which healeth them that are broken in hearte and saueth sinners Follow not the iudgement of reason which telleth thee that he is angry with sinners but kill reason and beleue in Christ If thou beleue thou art righteous because thou geuest glory vnto God that he is almighty merciful true c thē doest thou iustifie praise god To be briefe thou yeldest vnto him his diuinitie and al things else The sinne which remaineth in thee is not laid to thy charge but is pardoned for Christs sake in whom thou beleuest who is perfectly iust whose righteousnes is thy righteousnes and thy sinne is his sinne Here we see that euery Christian is an high Priest for first he offereth vp and killeth his owne reason and the wisedome of the flesh Then he geueth glory to God that he is righteous true patient pitifull and merciful .. And this is that daily sacrifice of the new testament which must be offered euening and morning The euening sacrifice is to kill reason The morning sacrifice is to glorifie god Thus a Christian daily and continually is occupied in this double sacrifice and in the exercise therof And no man is able to set forth sufficiently the excellencie and dignitie of this Christian sacrifice This is therefore a straunge and a wonderfull definition of Christian righteousnes that it is the imputation of God for righteousnes or vnto righteousnes because of our faith in Christ or for Christs sake When the popish Scholemen heare this definition they laugh at it For they imagine that righteousnes is a certaine quality powred into the soule and afterwards spread into all the partes of man They can not put away the vaine imaginations of reason which teacheth that a right iudgement and a good wil or a good intent is true righteousnes This vnspeakeable gifte therefore excelleth all reason that god doth account and acknowledge him for righteous without workes which embraceth his sonne by faith alone who was sent into the world was borne suffered and was crucified for vs. This matter as touching the words is easie to wit that righteousnes is not essentially in vs but without vs in the grace of God onely in his imputation and that there is no essentiall substance of righteousnes in vs besides that weake faith or first frutes of faith whereby we haue begon to apprehend Christ and yet sinne in that meane time remaineth verely in vs but in very deede it is no such smal or light matter but earnest of weighty importance For Christ which was geuen for vs and whom we apprehend by faith hath done no small thing for vs neither hath he dalied with vs but as Paule said before He hath loued vs and geuen him selfe in very deede for vs He vvas made accursed for vs c. And this is no vaine speculation that Christ was deliuered for my sinnes and was made accursed for me that I might be deliuered from euerlasting death Therfore to apprehend that Sonne by faith and with the heart to beleue in him geuen vnto vs and for vs of God causeth that God doth account that faith although it be vnperfect for perfect righteousnes And we are altogether in an other world farre from reason where we dispute not what we ought to doe or with what works we may deserue grace and forgeuenes of sinnes but we are here in a matter of high and heauenly diuinitie where we doe heare this Gospell or glad tidings that Christ died for vs and that we beleuing this are counted righteous though sinnes notwithstanding do remain in vs and that horrible sinnes So our Sauiour Christ also defineth the righteousnes of faith The father saith he loueth you Wherfore doth he loue you Not because ye were Phariseis vnreproueable in the righteousnes of the law circumcised or because ye did good works and fasted c but because I haue chosen you out of the world ye haue done nothing but that ye haue loued me and beleued that I came out from the father This obiect I being sent from the father into the world pleased you And because you haue apprehended and embraced this obiect therfore the father loueth you and therefore ye please him And yet notwithstanding in an other place he calleth them euil and cōmaundeth them to aske forgeuenes of their sinnes These two things are quite contrary to wit that a Christian is righteous and beloued of God and yet notwithstanding he is a sinner For God cānot deny his owne
nature that is he must needes hate sinne and sinners and this he doth of necessity for otherwise he shoulde be vnrighteous and loue sinne How then can these two contradictories stand together I am a sinner and most worthy of Gods wrath and indignation and yet the father loueth me Here nothing commeth betwene but onely Christ the mediatour The father saith he doth not therfore loue you because ye are worthy of loue but because ye haue loued me and haue beleeued that I came out from him Thus a Christian man abideth in true humilitie feeling sinne in him effectually and confessing himselfe to be worthy of wrath the iudgement of God and euerlasting death for the same that he may be humbled in this life And yet notwithstanding he continueth still in his holy pride in the which he turneth vnto Christ and in him he lifteth vp him selfe against this feeling of Gods wrath and iudgement and beleueth that not only the remnants of sinne are not imputed vnto him but that also he is loued of the father not for his own sake but for Christes sake whom the father loueth Hereby now we may see how faith iustifieth without works and yet notwithstanding how imputation of righteousnes is also necessary Sinnes doe remaine in vs which God vtterly hateth Therefore it is necessary that we should haue imputation of righteousnes which we obtaine through Christ and for Christes sake who is geuen vnto vs and receaued of vs by faith In the meane time as long as we liue here we are caried and norished in the bosome of mercy and long sufferance of God vntill the body of sinne be abolished and we raised vp as newe creatures in that great day Then shall there be newe heauens and a new earth in which righteousnes shal dwell In the meane while vnder this heauen sinne and wicked men do dwell and the godly also haue sinne dwelling in them For this cause Paule Rom. 7. cōplaineth of sinne which remaineth in the Saincts yet notwithstanding he saith afterwards in the 8. chapter that there is no damnation to them vvhich are in Christ Iesu Now how shall these things so contrary and repugnant be reconciled together that sinne in vs is no sinne that he which is damnable shall not be condemned that he which is reiected shall not be reiected that he which is worthy of the wrath of God and euerlasting damnation shall not be punished The onely reconciler hereof is the mediatour betwene God and man euen the man Iesus Christ as Paule sayth There is no condemnation to them vvhich are in Christ Iesu Verse 7. Knovve ye therfore that they vvhich are of faith the same are the children of Abraham This is the generall argument and whole disputation of Paule against the Iewes that they which beleeue are the children of Abraham and not they which are borne of his flesh and his bloud This disputation Paule vehemently prosecuteth in this place and in the 4. and 9. chapit to the Rom. For this was the greatest confidence and glory of the Iewes VVe are the seede and children of Abraham He was circumcised and kept the lawe therfore if we will be the true children of Abraham we must folow our father c. It was no doubt an excellent glory and great dignitie to be the seede of Abraham For no man could denie but that God spake to the seede and of the seede of Abraham But this prerogatiue nothing profited the vnbeleuing Iewes By reason wherof Paule especially in this place mightely striueth against this argument and wresteth from the Iewes this strong affiance in them selues And this could he as the elect vessell of Christ doe aboue all other For if we at the beginning should haue disputed with the Iewes without Paule peraduenture we should haue preuailed very litle against them So then Paule reasoneth against the Iewes which stoode so proudly vpon this opinion that they were the children of Abraham saying VVe are the seede of Abraham Well what then Abraham was circumcised kept the lawe we doe the same All this I graunt What will ye therefore looke to be iustified and saued No not so But let vs come to the Patriarke Abraham himselfe and let vs see by what meanes he was iustified and saued Doutles not for his excellent vertues and holy workes not because he forsooke his countrey kinred and fathers house not because he was circumcised and obserued the lawe not because he was about to offer vp in sacrifice at the commaundement of God his sonne Isacke in whom he had the promise of posteritie but because he beleued Therfore he was not iustified by any other meanes then by faith alone If ye then will be iustified by the lawe much more ought Abraham your father to be iustified by the lawe But Abraham could not otherwise be iustified nor receaue forgeuenes of sinnes and the holy Ghost then by faith alone Since this is true by the testimonie of the scripture why stande ye so much vpon circumcision and the lawe contending that ye haue righteousnes and saluation therby when as your father Abraham him selfe euen your headspring of whom ye doe so much glory was iustified and saued without these by faith alone What can be brought against this argument Paule therfore concludeth with this sentence They vvhich are of faith are the children of Abraham that corporall birth or carnall seede maketh not the children of Abraham before God. As though he would say There is none before God accompted as the childe of this Abraham who is the seruaunt of God whom God hath chosen and made righteous by faith through carnall generation but he must haue such children geuen him before God as he was a father But he was a father of faith and was iustified and pleased God not because he could beget children after the flesh not because he had circumcision and the lawe but because he beleeued in god Therfore he that will be a childe of the beleeuing Abraham must also him selfe beleeue or else he is not a childe of the elect acceptable and iustified Abraham but onely of the begetting Abraham which is nothing else but a man conceaued borne wrapt in sinne without the forgeuenes of sinnes without faith without the holy ghost as an other man is and therfore cōdemned Such also are the children carnally begotten of him hauing nothing in them like vnto their father but flesh and bloud sinne and death therefore these are also damned This glorious boasting then Vve are the seede of Abraham is to no purpose This argument Paule setteth out plainly in the .9 to the Romains by two examples of the holy scripture The first is of Ismaell and Isaac which were both the seede and naturall children of Abraham and yet notwithstanding Ismaell which was begotten of Abraham as Isaac was yea and should also haue bene the first begotten if
carnall generation had any prorogatiue or could haue made children to Abraham is shut out and yet the scripture saith In Isaac shall thy seede be called The second is of Esau and Iacob who when they were as yet in their mothers wombe and had done neither good nor euill it was said The elder shall serue the yonger I haue loued Iacob and Esau haue I hated Therfore it is plaine that they which are of faith are the children of Abraham But some will here obiecte as the Iewes doe and certaine vnskilfull persons at this day which will seeme to know much and say that this worde faith in the Hebrew signifieth truth and therfore we doe wrongly alleage it in this matter and moreouer that this place out of Genesis 15. speaketh of a corporall thing namely of the promise of posteritie and therfore is not wel applied of Paule to faith in Christ but ought simplie to be vnderstand of the faith of Abraham wherby he beleeued according to the promise of God that he should haue seede And hereby they would proue that the arguments and allegations of Paule doe conclude nothing In like manner they may cauill also that the place which Paule a litle after alledgeth out of Habacuc speaketh of faith concerning the accomplishing of the whole vision and not of faith onely in Christ for the which Paule alledgeth it Likewise they may wrest all the .11 chapter to the Hebrews which speaketh of faith and the examples of faith By these things such vaineglorious and arrogant spirites doe hunt for praise and seeke to be counted wise and learned where they least of all deserue it But because of the simple and ignoraunt we will briefly answer to their cauillations To the first I aunswere thus that faith is nothing else but the truth of the hearte that is to say a true and a right opinion of the hearte as touching god Now faith only thinketh and iudgeth rightly of God and not reason And then a man thinketh rightly of God when he beleueth his word But when he will measure God without the word and beleue him according to the wisedome of reason he hath no right opinion of God in his heart and therfore he cā not thinke or iudge of him as he should doe As for example when a Monke imagineth that his Cowle his shauen croune and his vowes doe please God that grace and euerlasting life is geuen vnto him for the same he hath no true opinion of God but false and full of impietie Truth therfore is faith it selfe which iudgeth rightly of God namely that God regardeth not our works righteousnes because we are vncleane but that he will haue mercy vpon vs looke vpon vs accept vs iustifie vs and saue vs if we beleue in his Sonne whom he hath sent to be a sacrifice for the sinnes of the whole world This is a true opinion of God and in very deede nothing else but faith it selfe I can not comprehend nor be fully assured by reason that I am receaued into gods fauour for Christes sake but I heare this to be pronounced by the Gospell and I lay hold vpon it by faith To the seconde cauillation I answere that Paule doth rightly alledge the place out of the .15 of Genesis applying it to faith in Christ For with faith alwayes must be ioyned a certaine assurance of Gods mercy Now this assurance comprehendeth a faithfull trust of remission of sinnes for Christes sake For it is impossible that the conscience should looke for any thing at Gods hand except first it be assured that God is mercifull vnto it for Christes sake Therfore all the promises are to be referred to that first promise concerning Christ The seede of the vvoman shall bruse the serpents head So did all the Prophetes both vnderstand it and teach it By this we see that the faith of our fathers in the olde Testament and ours nowe in the newe is all one although they differ as touching their outward obiectes Which thing Peter witnesseth in the Actes when he sayth vvhich neither vve nor our fathers vvere able to beare But vve beleeue through the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ to be saued euen as they did And Paule sayth Our fathers did all drinke of that spirituall rocke that folovved them vvhich rocke vvas Christ And Christ himselfe sayth Abraham reioyced to see my day and he savve it and vvas glad Notwithstāding the faith of the fathers was grounded in Christ which was to come as ours is nowe in Christ which is now reuealed Abraham in his time was made righteous through faith in Christ to come but if he liued at this day he should be made righteous by faith in Christ now already reuealed and present Like as I said before of Cornelius who at the first beleeued in Christ to come but being instructed by Peter he beleeued that Christ was already come Therfore the diuersitie of times neither chaungeth faith nor the holy Ghost nor the gifts therof For there hath bene is and euer shal be one will one meaning and vnderstanding concerning Christ as well in the auncient fathers as in the faithfull which are at this day and shall come hereafter So we also haue aswell Christ to come and beleeue in him as the fathers of the olde Testament had For we looke for him to come againe in the last day with glory to iudge both the quicke and the dead whom nowe we beleue to be come alredy for our saluation Therfore this allegation of Paule offendeth none but those blinde and ignorant cauillers Paule therfore as I haue said rightly alledgeth that place out of Genesis of faith in Christ when he speaketh of the faith of Abraham For all the promises past were contained in Christ to come Therfore as well Abraham and the other fathers as also we are made righteous by faith in Christ They by faith in him to come we by faith in him now present For we entreate now of the nature and manner of iustification which is all one both in them and vs concerning Christ to come and being come It is enough therfore that Paule sheweth that the law iustifieth not but onely faith whether it be in Christ to come or in Christ already come At this day also Christ to some is present to other some he is to come To al beleuers he is present To vnbeleuers he is not yet come neither doth he profit them any thing at all but if they heare the Gospel and beleue that he is present vnto them he iustifieth saueth them Verse 7. Ye knovv therfore that they vvhich are of faith the same are the children of Abraham As if he would say Ye know by this example of Abraham and by the plaine testimony of the scripture that they are the children of Abraham which are of faith whether they be Iewes or Gentiles without any respect either
sentences of the scriptures and not to expouÌ„d them By these words Abraham beleued Paule defineth and setteth before our eies a spirituall Abraham faithfull righteous and hauing the promise of God an Abraham I say which is not in errour and in the old flesh which is not borne of Adam but of the holy Ghost And of this Abraham renued by faith and regenerate by the holy Ghost speaketh the scripture and pronounceth of him that he should be a father of many nations Also that all the Gentiles should be geuen vnto him for an inheritaunce when it saith In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed The scripture then attributeth no righteousnes but vnto the beleuing Abraham and it speaketh of such an Abraham as he is accounted before god Therefore such sentences of the scripture doe set forth vnto vs a new Abraham which is separate from the carnall mariage and bed and from the carnall generation and is taken for such a one as he is before God that is to say beleuing and iustified through faith to whom now God maketh this promise because of his faith Thou shalt be a father of many nations Again In thee shall all the natioÌ„s of the earth be blessed And this is the meaning of Paule where he sheweth how the scripture preuenteth the vaine presumption and proude bragges of the Iewes as touching the lawe For the inheritaunce of the Gentiles was geuen vnto Abraham not by the law and circumcision but long before the same by the onely righteousnes of faith Therfore wheras the Iewes will be counted and called blessed because they are the children and seede of Abraham it is nothing else but a vaine glorious bragge It is no doubt a great prerogatiue and glory before the wâ—â—ld to be borne of Abrahams seede as Paule sheweth Rom. 9 but not so before god Wherfore the Iewes doe wickedly peruert this place coÌ„cerning the Blessing in applying it onely to a carnal Blessing and do great iniurie to the scripture which speaketh most manifestly of the spirituall Blessing before God and neither can nor ought otherwise to be vnderstande This is then the true meaning of this place In thee shal be blessed In which thee In thee Abraham beleeuing or in thy faith or thy seede which is to come that is to say in Christ in whom thou beleuest all the nations of the earth I say shal be blessed that is all the nations shal be thy blessed children euen like as thou art blessed as it is writen So shall thy seede be Hereof it followeth that the Blessing Faith of Abraham is the same that ours is that Abrahams Christ is our Christ that Christ died aswell for the sinnes of Abraham as for vs Abraham vvhich savve my day and reioyced Io. 8. Therefore all sounde but one thinge We may not suffer this word Blessing to be corrupted The Iewes looke but through a veile into the scripture and therefore they vnderstande not what or whereof the promise is which was made to the fathers Which we notwithstanding ought to consider aboue all things So shal we see that God speaketh to Abraham the Patriarke not of the lawe nor of things to be done but of things to be beleued that is to say that God speaketh vnto him of promises which are apprehended by faith Now what doth Abraham He beleeueth those promises And what doth God to that beleeuing Abraham He imputeth faith vnto him for righteousnes and addeth further many moe promises as I am thy defender In thee shall all nations be blessed Thou shalt be a father of many nations So shall thy seede be These are inuincible arguments against the which nothing can be said if the places of the holy scripture be throughly considered Verse 9. So then they vvhich are of faith are blessed vvith faithfull Abraham All the weight and force lieth in these wordes vvith faithfull Abraham For he putteth a plaine difference betwene Abraham and Abraham of one and the selfe same person making two As if he sayde There is a working Abraham there is a beleuing Abraham With the working Abraham we haue nothing to doe For if he be iustified by works he hath to reioyce but not with god Let the Iewes glorie as much as they will of that begetting Abraham which is a worker is circumcised and keepeth the law but we glorie of the faithfull Abraham of whom the scripture saith that he receaued the Blessing of righteousnes through his faith not onely for himselfe but also for all those which beleue like as he beleued And so the world was promised to Abraham because he beleued Therefore all the world is blessed that is to say receaueth imputation of righteousnes if it beleue as Abraham did Wherfore the Blessing is nothing els but the promise of the Gospell And that all nations are blessed is asmuch to say as all nations shall heare the Blessing that is the promise of God shall be preached and published by the Gospell among all nations And out of this place the Prophets haue drawen many prophesies by a spirituall vnderstanding As Psal. 2 Aske of me and I vvill geue thee the heathen for thine inheritaunce and the endes of the earth for thy possession And againe Psal. 19 Their voice hath gone through all the earth Briefely all the prophesies of the kingdom of Christ and of the publishing of the Gospel throughout all the world haue sprong out of this place In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Wherefore to say that the nations are blessed is nothing els but that righteousnes is freely geuen vnto them or that they are couÌ„ted righteous before God not through the lawe but by the hearing of faith For Abraham was not iustified by any other meanes then by hearinge the worde of promise of blessing and of grace Therefore like as Abraham obtained imputation of righteousnes by the hearing of faith euen so did all the Gentiles obtaine and yet doe obtaine the same For the same word that was first declared vnto Abraham was also afterward published to all the Gentiles Hereby then we see that to blesse signifieth nothing els but as I saide before to preach and teach the worde of the Gospell to confesse Christ and to spread abroad the knowledge of him among all the Gentiles And this is the office of the Priesthod and continuall sacrifice of the Church in the new testament which distributeth this Blessing by preaching and by ministring of the sacrameÌ„ts by comforting the broken harted by distributing the worde of grace which Abraham had and which was also his Blessing which when he beleued he receaued the Blessing So we also beleuing the same are blessed And this blessing is a greate glorie not before the world but before god For we haue heard that our sinnes are forgeuen vs and that we are accepted of God that God is our father
thinke them selues able thereby vtterly to ouerthrowe the doctrine of Faith which we teach and maintaine Therefore we must be well furnished and armed that we may be able not onely to instruct our brethren but also to aunswer the obiections of our aduersaries The Schoolemen and all such as vnderstand not the Article of Iustification doe knowe no other righteousnes then the ciuile righteousnes and the righteousnes of the lawe which after a sorte the Gentiles also doe know Therfore they borrow certaine words out of the lawe morall Philosophie as to Doe to Worke and such like and they applie the same vnto spirituall matters wherein they deale most peruersly and wickedly We must take good heede that we make a difference betweene Christian Diuinitie and humane Philosophie The Schoolemen them selues graunt and teach that in the order of nature Being goeth before Working for naturally the tree is before the fruite Againe they graunt that a worke morally wrought is not good except there be first a right iudgement of reason and a good will or a good intent So then they wil haue a right iudgement of reason and a good intent to goe before the work that is to say they make the person morally righteous before the worke Cōtrariwise in Diuinitie and in spiritual matters where they ought most of all so to doe such dull and senseles asses they are that they peruert and turne all quite contrary placing the worke before right reason and the good intent Wherfore this word Doing is one thing in nature an other in moral Philosophy an other in Diuinitie In nature the tree must be first and then the fruite In moral Philosophie Doing requireth a good entent sound reason to worke wel to goe before and here all the Philosophers stay go no further Therfore the Diuines say that moral Philosophie hath not God for the obiect final cause For Aristotle a Sadduce or a mā of any ciuile honesty calleth this a right reason a good intēt if he seeke the publike cōmoditie of the cōmon wealth the quietnes honestie therof A Philosopher or Lawworker ascēdeth no higher He thinketh not through right reason a good intent to obtaine remission of sinnes euerlasting life as the Sophister or the Monke doth Therfore the heathen Philosopher is much better thē such an hypocrite For he abideth within his limites hauing only consideration of the honestie and tranquillitie of the cōmon wealth not mingling heauenly and earthly things together Cōtrariwise that Sophister imagineth that God regardeth his good intent and workes Therefore he mingleth earthly and heauenly things together and polluteth the name of god And this imagination he learneth out of morall Philosophie sauing that he abuseth it much worse then the Heathen man doth We therfore that be Christiās must rise vp higher then nature Philophie with this word Doing so that now it must be made altogether new ioyned with a right iudgemēt of reason a good wil or good intent not morally but diuinely which is that I know beleue by the word of the gospel that God hath sent his sonne into the world to redeeme vs frō sinne death Here Doing is a new thīg vnknown to reasō to Philosophers to Lawworkers vnto al men For it is a wisedō hidden in a mysterie Therfore in Diuinitie the work necessarily requireth faith goīg before Therefore when our aduersaries doe alleage against vs the sentences of the Scripture touching the lawe and works where mention is made of Working and Doing thou must aunswer them that they are termes pertaining to Diuinitie and not to naturall or morall things If they be applied to naturall or morall things they must be taken in their own signification But if they be applied to matters of Diuinitie they must include such a right reason and good will as is incomprehēsible to mans reason Wherefore Doing in diuinitie must be alwaies vnderstande of a faithfull Doing So that this faithfull Doing is altogether as it were a newe kingdom separate from the naturall or morall Doing Therefore when we that are Diuines speake of Doing we must needes speake of that faithfull Doing for in Diuinitie we haue no other right reason and good wil or intent besides Faith. This rule is wel obserued in the .11 chap. to the Hebrues There are recited diuers and many workes of the Saincts out of the holy Scripture As of Dauid who killed a Lion and a Beare and slew Goliath There the Sophister or Schooleman that foolish Asse looketh vpon nothing else but the outward appearaunce of the worke as doth the Oxe vpon a newe gate But this worke of Dauid must be so loked into that first thou doe consider what manner of person Dauid was before he did this work Then thou shalt see that he was such a person whose heart trusted in the Lord God of Israell as the text hath plainly The Lord that deliuered me out of the pavve of the Lion and out of the pavve of the Beare he vvill deliuer me out of the hande of this Philistian Moreouer Thou comest to me vvith a svvorde and vvith a speare and vvith a shielde but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hostes the God of the hoste of Israel vpon vvhom thou hast railed this day This day shall the Lord close thee in my hande and I shall smite thee and take thine head from thee c Because the Lord saueth not vvith svvord nor speare for the battle is the Lordes and he vvill geue you into oure handes You see then that he was a righteous man accepted of God strong and constante in Faith before he did this worke This Doing of Dauid therefore is not a naturall or morall Doing but a faithfull Doing So it is sayd of Abell in the same Epistle that through Faith he offred vp a better sacrifice vnto God then Caine. If the Schoolemē fall into this place as it is read in Genesis where it is simplie set out how that both Caine Abell offred vp their gifts and that the Lord had respect vnto Abell and his offrings by and by they take hold of these wordes They offred their oblations vnto the lord The Lord had respect to the offerings of Abell and crie out saying Here ye see that God had respect to offrings therfore workes doe iustifie So that these filthie swine doe thinke that righteousnes is but a morall thing onely beholding the visour or outward shewe of the worke and not the heart of him that doth the worke whereas notwithstanding euen in Philosophie they are constrained not to looke vpon the bare worke but the good will of the worker But here they stande altogether vpon these wordes They offred vp giftes The Lord had respect vnto Habel and to his offrings and see not that the text sayth plainly in Genesis that the Lord had respect first to
but for that he receaued them being committed or done of vs and layed them vpon his owne bodie that he might make satisfaction for them with his owne bloude Therefore this generall sentence of Moses comprehendeth him also albeit in his owne person he was innocente because it found him amongest sinners and transgressours Like as the magistrate taketh him for a theefe punisheth him whom he findeth amonge other theeues and transgressours though he neuer committed any thinge worthy of death Nowe Christ was not onely founde amonge sinners but of his owne accorde and by the will of his father he woulde also be a companion of sinners takinge vpon him the flesh and bloud of those which were sinners theeues and plunged in all kindes of sinne When the lawe therefore founde him among theeues it condemned and killed him as a theefe The Sophisters and Scholemen doe spoile vs of this knowledge of Christe and moste heauenly comforte namely that Christe was made a Curse to the ende he might deliuer vs from the Curse of the lawe when they separate him from sinnes and sinners and onely sette him out vnto vs as an example to be followed By this meanes they make Christ not onely vnprofitable vnto vs but also a Iudge and a Tyraunte which is angry with our sinnes and condemneth sinners But we must as well wrappe Christ and knowe him to be wrapped in our sinnes in our malediction in our death and in all our euils as he is wrapped in our flesh and in our bloud But some man will say It is very obsurde and sclaunderous to call the Sonne of God a cursed sinner I aunswere If thou wilt denye him to be a sinner and to be accursed deny also that he was crucified and died For it is no lesse absurde to say that the Sonne of God as our faith confesseth and beleeueth was crucified and suffered the paines of sinne and death then to say that he is a sinner and accursed But if it be not absurde to confesse and beleue that Christ was crucified betwene two theeues then is it not absurde to saye also that he was accursed and of all sinners the greatest These wordes of Paule are not spoken in vaine Christ vvas made a Curse for vs God made Christ vvhich knevve no sinne to become sinne for vs that vve in him might be made the righteousnes of god 2. Cor. 5. After the same maner Iohn the Baptist calleth him The Lambe of God vvhich taketh avvay the sinnes of the vvorlde He verely is innocente because he is the vnspotted and vndefiled Lambe of god But because he beareth the sinnes of the worlde his innocencie is charged with the sinnes and gilte of the whole worlde Whatsoeuer sinnes I thou and we all haue done or shall doe hereafter they are Christes owne sinnes as verely as if he him selfe had done them To be briefe our sinne must needes become Christes owne sinne or els we shall perish for euer This true knowledge of Christ which Paule and the Prophetes haue moste plainely deliuerede vnto vs the wicked Scholemen and Sophisters haue darkened and defaced Esay in the .53 chapter speaketh thus of Christ God saith he laid the iniquitie of vs all vpon him We must not make these wordes lesse then they are but leaue them in their owne proper signification For God dallieth not in the wordes of the Prophet but speaketh earnestly of greate loue to wit that Christ this Lambe of God shoulde beare the sinnes of vs all But what is it to beare The Sophisters aūswere to be punished Wery well But wherfore is Christ punished It is not because he hath sinne and beareth sinne Nowe that Christe hath sinne the holy Ghoste witnesseth in the 40. Psalme My sinnes haue taken suche holde of me that I am not able to looke vppe yea they are more in number then the heares of my heade In this psalme and certaine others the holy Ghost speaketh in the person of Christe and in plaine wordes wittenesseth that he had sinnes For this testimonie is not the voice of an innocent Christ but of a suffering Christ which tooke vpon him to beare the person of all sinners and therefore was made giltie of the sinnes of the whole worlde Wherefore Christ was not onely crucified and died but sinne also through the diuine loue was laide vpon him When sinne was layed vpon him then cometh the lawe and saith euery sinner must dye Therefore O Christ if thou wilt aunswere become giltie and suffer punishment for sinners thou must also beare sinne and malediction Paule therefore doth very well alleadge this generall sentence out of Moses as concerning Christ Euery one that hangeth vpon the tree is the accursed of God but Christ hath hanged vpon the tree therefore Christ is the accursed of God. And this is a singular consolation for all Christians so to cloth Christ with our sinnes and to wrappe him in my sinnes thy sinnes and in the sinnes of the whole world and so to beholde him bearing all our iniquities For the beholdinge of him after this manner shall easilie vanquish all the fantasticall opinions of the Papistes concerning the iustification of workes For they doe imagine as I haue sayde a certaine faith formed and adorned with charitie By this say they sinnes are taken away and mē are iustified before God. And what is this els I pray you but to vnwrappe Christ and to strip him quite out of our sinnes to make him innocente and to charge and ouerwhelme our selues with our owne sinnes and to looke vpon them not in Christ but in our selues Yea what is this els but to take Christ cleane away and to make him vtterly vnprofitable vnto vs For if it be so that we put away sinne by the workes of the law and charitie then Christ taketh them not away For if he be the Lambe of God ordained from the beginning to take away the sinnes of the world and moreouer if he be so wrapped in our sinnes that he be became accursed for vs it must needes followe that we can not be iustified by workes For God hath laide our sinnes not vpon vs but vpon his Sonne Christ that he bearing the punishment thereof might be our peace and that by his stripes we might be healed Therefore they can not be taken away by vs To this all the Scripture beareth witnesse and we also doe confesse the same in the Articles of the Christian beleefe when we say I beleue in Iesus Christ the Sonne of God which suffered was crucified and died for vs. Hereby it appeareth that the doctrine of the Gospel which of all other is most sweete and ful of singular consolations speaketh nothing of our workes or of the workes of the lawe but of the inestimable mercy and loue of God towardes vs most wretched and miserable sinners to witte that our most mercifull father seeing vs to be oppressed and ouerwhelmed with
the curse of the lawe and so to be holden vnder the same that we could neuer be deliuered by our owne strength out of it he sent his onely sonne into the world and laied vpon him all the sinnes of all men saying Be thou Peter that denier Paule that persecuter blasphemer and cruell oppressor Dauid that adulterer that sinner which did eate the apple in Paradise that theefe hanginge vpon the crosse and briefely be thou the person which hath committed the sinnes of all men See therefore that thou pay and satisfie for them Here now cometh the law and saith I finde him a sinner and that such a one as hath taken vpon himselfe the sinnes of all men and I see no sinnes els but in him therefore let him die vpon the crosse and so he setteth vpon him and killeth him By this meanes the whole world is purged and clensed from all sinnes so deliuered frō death and all euils Now sinne being vanquished and death abolished by this one mā God would see nothing els in the whole world if it did beleue but a meere clensing righteousnes And if any remnaunts of sinne should remaine yet for the great glory that is in Christ God would winke at them not behold thē Thus we must magnifie the article of Christian righteousnes againste the righteousnes of the lawe and workes albeit no eloquence is able sufficiently to set forth the inestimable greatnes therof Wherfore the argument that Paule handleth in this place of al other is most mighty against all the righteousnes of the lawe For it containeth this inuincible opposition which can not be denied that is if the sinnes of the whole world be in that one man Iesus Christ then are they not in the world But if they be not in him then are they yet in the world Also if Christ be made giltie of all the sinnes which we all haue committed thē are we loosed from all sinnes but not by our selues nor by our owne workes or merites but by him But if he be innocent and beare not our sinnes then doe we beare them and in them we shall die and be damned But thankes be to God vvho hath geuen vs victorie by our Lorde Iesus Christ Amen But now let vs see by what meanes these two thinges so contrary so repugnant may be reconciled together in this one person Christ Not onely my sinnes and thine but also the sinnes of the whole world either past present or to come doe take holde vpon him and goe about to condemne him as also they do in deede condemne him But because in the self same person which is the highest the greatest and the onely sinner there is also an euerlasting and inuincible righteousnes therefore these two doe encounter together the highest the greatest and the onely sinne and the highest the greatest and the onely righteousnes Here one of them must needes be ouercome and geue place to the other seeing they fight together with so great force and power The sinne therfore of the whole world cometh vpon righteousnes with all maine might In this combate what is done Righteousnes is euerlasting immortall and inuincible Sinne also is a most mightie and cruell Tyranne ruling and raigning ouer the whole world subduing and bringing all men into bondage To conclude sinne is a strong and a mightie God which deuoureth all mankinde learned vnlearned holy mightie and wise men This Tyranne I say flieth vpō Christ will needes swallow him vp as he doth all other But he seeth not that he is a person of inuincible and euerlasting righteousnes Therefore in this combate sinne must needes be vanquished and killed and righteousnes must ouercome liue raigne So in Christ all sinne is vanquished killed buried righteousnes remaineth a conquerour and raigneth for euer In like manner death which is an omnipotent Queene and Emperesse of the whole world killing Kings Princes and generally all men doth mightely encounter with life thinking vtterly to ouercome it and to swallow it vp and that it goeth about it bringeth to passe in deede But because life was immortall therefore when it was ouercome yet did it ouercome and get the victory vanquishing and killing death Death therfore through Christ is vanquished abolished throughout the whole world so that now it is but a painted death which losing his stinge can no more hurte those that beleue in Christ who is become the death of death as Hoseas the prophet saith O death I vvil be thy death So the Curse which is the wrathe of God vppon the whole world hath the like conflict with the Blessing that is to say with grace and the eternall mercye of God in Christe The Curse therefore fighteth against the Blessing and would condemne it and bring it to nought but it can not so doe For the Blessing is diuine and euerlasting and therfore the Curse must needes geue place For if the blessing in Christ could be ouercome then should God himselfe also be ouercome But this is impossible therefore Christ the power of God righteousnes Blessing grace and life ouercometh destroieth these monsters sinne death and the Curse without warre or weapōs in his owne body and in himselfe as Paule deliteth to speake Spoiling saith he all principalities and povvers and triumphing ouer them in himselfe so that they can not any more hurt those that doe beleue And this circumstāce In him selfe maketh that combate much more wonderfull glorious For it sheweth that it was necessary that these inestimable things should be accōplished in that one only person Christ to witte that the Curse sinne death should be destroied the Blessing righteousnes and life should succede in their place and that so the whole creature through this one person should be renued Therefore if thou looke vpon this person Christ thou shalt see sinne death the wrath of God hell the Deuill and all euils vanquished and mortified in him Forasmuch then as Christ reigneth by his grace in the heartes of the faithfull there is no sinne no death no curse but where Christ is not knowne there all these thinges doe still remaine Therefore all they which beleue not doe lacke this inestimable benefite and glorious victory For this as S. Iohn saith is our victory that ouercometh the vvorld euen our faith This is the principal Article of all Christian doctrine which the popish Scholemen haue altogether darkened And here ye see how necessary a thing it is to beleue and to cōfesse the Article of the Diuinitie of Christ which when Arrius denied he must needes also deny the Article of our redemption For to ouercome the sinne of the world death the Curse and the wrath of God in himselfe is not the worke of any creature but of the diuine power Therefore he which in him selfe should ouercome these must needes be
truly and naturally god For against this mightie power of sinne death and the curse which of it selfe reigneth throughout the world and in the whole creature it was necessary to set a more high and mightie power But besides the soueraigne and diuine power no such power can be found Wherfore to abolish sinne to destroy death to take away the curse in himselfe and againe to geue righteousnes to bringe life to light and to geue the Blessing are the workes of the diuine power onely and alone Now because the Scripture doth attribute all these to Christe therefore he in him selfe is life righteousnes and Blessing which is naturally and substantially god Wherefore they that denye the Diuinitie of Christ doe lose all Christianitie and become altogether Gentiles and Turkes We must learne therfore diligently the Article of iustification as I often admonish you For all the other Articles of our faith are comprehended in it and if that remaine sounde then are all the rest sound Wherfore when we teach that men are iustified by Christ that Christ is the conquerour of sinne death and the euerlasting Curse we witnes therewithall that he is naturally and substantially God. Hereby we may plainely se how horrible the wickednes and blindnes of the Papistes was which taught that these cruell and mightie Tirauntes sinne death and the Curse which swallowe vp all mankinde must be vanquished not by the righteousnes of the law of God which although it be iust good and holy can doe nothing but bring men vnder the Curse but by the righteousnes of mannes owne workes as by fasting pilgrimages masses vowes such other like paltrie But I pray you was there euer any founde that being furnished with this armour ouercame sinne death and the Deuill Paule in the .6 chapter to the Ephesians describeth a farre other manner of armour which we must vse against these most cruell and raging beastes Therefore in that these blind buzzardes and leaders of the blind haue set vs naked and without armour before these inuincible and most mightie Tyrauntes they haue not onely deliuered vs vnto them to be deuoured but also haue made vs ten times greater and more wicked sinners then either theeues whores or murtherers For it belongeth onely to the diuine power to destroy sinne and to abolish death to create righteousnes and to geue life They haue attributed this diuine power to our owne workes saying If thou shalt doe this worke or that thou shalt ouercome sinne death and the wrath of God And by this meanes they set vs in Gods place making vs in very deede if I may so say euen naturally God himselfe And herein the Papistes vnder the name of Christe haue shewed them selues to be seuen folde more wicked Idolaters then euer were the Gentiles For it hapneth to them as it doth to the Sowe which after she is washed walloweth her selfe againe in the myre And as Christ sayth After they are falne away from faith an euill spirite entreth againe into the house out of that which he was driuen and taketh vnto him seuen worse spirites then him selfe and there dwelleth And then the later ende of that man is worse then the beginninge Let vs therfore receaue this most sweete doctrine and full of comfort with thankes geuing and with an assured Faith which teacheth that Christ being made a Curse for vs that is a sinner subiecte to the wrath of God did put vpon him our person and laid our sinnes vpon his owne shoulders saying I haue committed the sinnes which all men haue committed Therefore he was made a Curse in deede according to the lawe not for him selfe but as Paule sayeth for vs For vnlesse he had taken vpon himselfe my sinnes and thine and the sinnes of the whole world the law had had no right ouer him which condemneth none but sinners onely and holdeth them vnder the Curse Wherfore he coulde neither haue ben made a Curse nor die sith the onely cause of the Curse and of Death is sinne from the which he was free But because he had taken vpon him our sinnes not by constraint but of his owne good wil it behoued him to beare the punishment wrath of God not for his owne person which was iust and inuincible and therfore could be found in no wise giltie but for our person So making a happie chaunge with vs he tooke vpon him our sinnefull person and gaue vnto vs his innocente and victorious person Wherwith we being now clothed are freed from the Curse of the lawe for Christ was willingly made a Curse for vs saying As touching mine owne person I am blessed and neede nothing But I will put of mine owne person and will put vppon me your person and your apparell that is your humane nature and will walke in the same among you and will suffer Death to deliuer you from Death Nowe he thus bearing the sinne of the whole world in our person was taken suffered was crucified and put to death became a Curse for vs But because he was a person diuine and euerlasting it was impossible that death should holde him Wherefore he rose againe the third day from death and now liueth for euer and there is neither sinne nor death nor our shape founde in him any more but meere righteousnes life and euerlasting blessednes This image and this myrrour we must haue continually before vs and beholde the same with a stedfast eye of Faith. He that doth so hath this innocencie and victory of Christ although he be neuer so great a sinner By Faith onely therefore we are made righteous for Faith layeth hold vpon this innocencie this victorie of Christ Loke then howe much thou beleuest this so much thou doest enioy it If thou beleeue sinne death and the Curse to be abolished they are abolished For Christ hath vanquished and taken away these in him selfe and will haue vs to beleue that like as in his owne person there is now no appearaunce of a sinner nor token of death euen so is there none in ours seeing he hath performed all things for vs. Wherfore if sinne vexe thee and death terrifie thee thinke that it is as it is in deede but an imagination a false illusion of the Deuil For in very deede there is now no Sinne no Curse no Death no Deuill any more for Christ hath vāquished and abolished all these things Therefore the victorie of Christ is most certaine and there is no defect in the thing it selfe since it is most true but in our incredulitie for it is a hard matter to reason to beleeue these inestimable good things and vnspeakeable riches Moreouer the Deuill also with his vaine spirites ceaseth not to assaile vs. The Deuill with his fiery dartes his ministers with their wicked and false Doctrine goe about to wrest from vs and vtterly to deface this doctrine And specially for this Article which we doe so
diligently teach we sustaine the hatred and cruell persecution of the Deuill and of the world For Sathan feeleth the power and fruite of this Article And that there is in deede no more sinne death or malediction since Christ nowe raigneth we confesse daily in the Creede of the Apostles I beleue that there is an holy Church Which is in deede nothing else but as if we should say I beleue that there is no sinne no malediction no death in the Church of god For they which do beleue in Christ are no sinners are not giltie of death but are holy and righteous lordes ouer sinne and death liuing for euer But Faith onely seeth this for we say I beleeue an holy Church But if thou beleue reason and thine owne eyes thou wilt iudge cleane contrary For thou seest many things in the Godly which offend thee Thou seest them sometime to fall into sinne and to be weake in Faith to be subiect vnto wrath enuie and such other euill affections therefore the Church is not holy I deny the consequēce If I looke vpon mine owne person or the person of my brother it shall neuer be holy But if I behold Christ who hath sanctified and clensed his Church then is it altogether holy for he hath taken away the sinnes of the whole world Therfore where sinnes are seene and felt there are they in deede no sinnes For according to Paules Diuinitie there is no sin no death no maledictiō any more in the world but in Christ who is the Lambe of God that hath taken away the sinnes of the world who is made a Curse that he might deliuer vs from the Curse Contrariwise according to Philosophie and reason sinne death and the Curse are no where else but in the world in the flesh or in sinners For a Sophisticall Diuine can speake no otherwise of sinne then doth the Heathen Philosopher Like as sayeth he the colour sticketh in the wall euen so doth sinne in the world in the flesh or in the conscience therfore it is to be purged by contrary operations to witte by charitie But true Diuinitie teacheth that there is no sinne in the world any more for Christ vpon whom the Father hath cast the sinnes of the whole world hath vanquished and killed the same in his owne body He once dying for sinne and raised vp againe dieth nowe no more Therefore whersoeuer is a true faith in Christ there sinne is abolished dead and buried in deede But where no Faith in Christ is there sinne doth still remaine And albeit the remnaunts of sinne be as yet in the Saintes because they beleue not perfectly yet are they dead in that they are not imputed vnto them because of their Faith in Christe This is therfore a strong and a mighty argument which Paule here prosecuteth against the righteousnes of workes It is not the lawe nor workes that doe deliuer vs from the euerlasting Curse but Christe alone See therefore good Christian reader I beseech thee that thou distinguish Christ from the law and diligently marke how Paule speaketh and what he sayth All sayth he which doe not fulfil the law are necessarily vnder the Curse But no man fulfilleth the law therfore all men are vnder the Curse He addeth moreouer an other proposition Christ hath redemed vs frō the Curse of the law being made a Curse for vs It followeth then that the lawe and workes doe not redeeme vs from the Curse but doe bring vs rather vnder the Curse Charitie therefore which as the Schoolemen say geueth forme and perfection vnto Faith hath not onely not redemed vs from the Curse but rather it wrappeth vs more and more in the Curse This text then is plaine that all men yea the Apostles Prophets and Patriarks had remained vnder the Curse if Christ had not set him selfe against sinne death the Curse of the law the wrath and iudgemēt of God and ouercome them in his owne body for no power of flesh and bloud could ouercome these huge and hideous Monsters But now Christ is not the law or the worke of the law but a diuine and humane person which tooke vpon him sinne the condemnation of the lawe and death not for him selfe but for vs Wherfore all the weight and force hereof consisteth in this word For vs. We must not thē imagine Christ to be innocent as a priuate person as doe the Schoolemen and almost all the Fathers haue done which is holy and righteous for him selfe onely True it is in deede that Christe is a person most pure and vnspotted but thou must not stay there for thou hast not yet Christe although thou knowe him to be God and man but then thou hast him in deede when thou beleeuest that this most pure and innocent person is freely geuen vnto thee of the Father to be thy high Priest and Sauiouer yea rather thy seruaunt that he putting off his innocentie and holines and taking thy sinnefull person vpon him might beare thy sinne thy death and thy Curse and might be made a sacrifice and a Curse for thee that by this meanes he might deliuer thee from the Curse of the lawe Ye see then with what an Apostolike spirite Paule handleth this argument of the Blessing and of the Curse whilest he not onely maketh Christ subiect to the Curse but sayth also that he is made a Curse So in the. 2. Corrin 5. he calleth him Sinne when he sayth He hath made him to be Sinne for vs vvhich knevv no sinne that vve shoulde be made the righteousnes of God in him And although these sentences may be well expounded after this maner Christ is made a Curse that is to say a sacrifice for the Curse and Sinne that is a sacrifice for sinne yet in my iudgement it is better to keepe the proper signification of the words because there is a greater force and vehemencie therin For when a sinner cometh to the knowledge of him selfe in deede he feeleth not onely that he is miserable but misery it selfe not onely that he is a sinner is accursed but euen sinne and malediction it selfe For it is in deede a great matter to beare sinne the wrath of God malediction and death Wherefore that man which hath a true feeling of these things as Christ did truely effectually feele them for all mākinde is made euen sinne death and malediction it selfe Paule therefore handleth this place with a true Apostolicall spirite There is neither Sophister nor Lawyer nor Iew nor Anabaptist nor any other that speaketh as he doeth For who durst alleage this place out of Moises Accursed is euery one that hangeth on tree and applie it vnto Christ Like as Paule then applied this sentence to Christ euen so may we apply vnto Christe not onely that whole 27. chap. of Deuteronomie but also may gather all the Curses of Moises lawe together and expound the same of Christ For as
promise made vnto Abraham In thy seede shall all nations be blessed might so be fulfilled Therfore by no other meanes could this be done that is here promised but that Iesus Christ must needes become a Curse and ioyne him selfe to those that were accursed that so he might take away the Curse from them and through his Blessing might bring vnto them righteousnes and life And here marke as I haue also forewarned you that this word Blessing is not in vaine as the Iewes dreame who expoūd it to be but a salutation by word of mouth or by wryting But Paule entreateth here of sinne and righteousnes of death and life before god He speaketh therefore of inestimable and incomprehensible things when he sayth that the Blessing of Abraham might come vpon the Gentiles through Iesus Christ Ye see moreouer what merits we bring by what meanes we obtain this Blessing This is the merite of Congruence worthines these are the works preparatiue wherby we obtain this righteousnes that Christ Iesus was made a Curse for vs For we are ignorant of God enemies of God dead in sinne accursed and what is our desert then What can he deserue that is accursed ignorāt of God dead in sinnes and subiect to the wrath iudgement of God When the Pope excōmunicateth a man whatsoeuer he doth is counted accursed How much more then may we say that he is accursed before God as all we are before we know Christ which doth nothing else but cursed things Wherefore there is no other way to auoide the Curse but to beleue and with assured confidēce to say Thou Christ art my sinne my Curse or rather I am thy sinne thy Curse thy death thy wrath of God thy hell and contrariwise thou arte my righteousnes my Blessing my life my grace of God and my heauen For the text sayeth plainely Christe is made a Curse for vs. Therefore we are the cause that he was made a Curse nay rather we are his Curse This is an excellent place full of spiritual consolation albeit it satisfie not the blind hard harted Iewes yet it satisfieth vs that are baptised and haue receaued this doctrine and concludeth most mightely that we are blessed through the Curse the sinne the death of Christ that is to say we are iustified and quickned vnto life So long as sinne death and the Curse do abide in vs sinne terrifieth death killeth and the Curse condemneth vs But when these are translated and laid vpon Christes backe then are these euils made his owne and his good thinges are made ours Let vs therefore learne in all tentations to translate sinne death the Curse and all euils which oppresse vs from our selues vnto Christ and againe from him vnto our selues righteousnes mercy life and blessing For he beareth all our euils vpon him God the father cast the iniquities of vs all as Esay the Prophet saith vpon him And he hath taken them vpon him willingly for he was not giltie But this he did that he might fulfill the will of his father by the which we are made holy for euer This is that infinite and vnmeasurable mercy of God which Paule would gladly amplifie with all eloquence and plentie of wordes but the slender capacitie of mans heart can not comprehende and much lesse vtter that vnsearchable deapth and burning zeale of Gods loue towards vs And verely the inestimable greatnes of Gods mercy not only engendreth an hardnes to beleue but also incredulitie it selfe For I doe not onely heare that almightie God the creatour and maker of all things is good and merciful but also that the same high souereigne Maiestie was so careful for me a damnable sinner a child of wrath and of euerlasting death that he spared not his owne deare Sonne but deliuered him to a most opprobrious and shamefull death that he hāging betwene two theeues might be made a Curse and sinne for me a cursed sinner that I might be made blessed that is to say the childe and heire of god Who can sufficiently praise and magnify this exceeding great goodnes of God Not all the Angels in heauen Therfore the doctrine of the Gospell the booke of God speaketh of farre other matters then any booke of policie or philosophie yea or the booke of Moses himselfe to wit of the vnspeakeable and most diuine giftes of God which farre passe the capacitie and vnderstanding both of men and Angels Verse 14. That vve might receaue the promise of the spirite through faith This is a phrase of the Hebrewes The promise of the spirite that is to say the spirite promised Now the spirite is freedom from the law sinne death the Curse hel and from the wrath and iudgement of god Here is no merite or worthines of ours but a free promise and a gifte geuen through the Seede of Abraham that we may be free from all euils and obtaine all good things whatsoeuer And this libertye gift of the spirite we receiue not by any other merites then by Faith alone For that onely taketh holde of the promise of God as Paule plainly sayth in this place that vve might receaue the promise of the spirite not by vvorkes but by Faith. This is in dede a sweete and a true Apostolike doctrine which sheweth that those things are fulfilled for vs now geuen to vs which many Prophets Kings desired to see to heare And such like places as this one is were gathered together out of diuers sayings of the Prophets which forsaw long before in spirite that all things should be chaūged repaired and gouerned by this man Christe Therfore the Iewes hauing the law of God did notwithstanding besides that law looke for Christ None of the Prophets or gouernours of the people of God did make any new lawe but Elias Samuel Dauid all the other Prophets did abide vnder the law of Moses they did not appoint any new tables or a new kingdom priesthode for that new chaunge of the kingly priesthoode of the law the worship was referred kept to him only of whom Moises had prophesied longe before The Lord thy God shal raise vp a Prophet vnto thee of thine ovvne nation and from among thy brethren Him shalt thou heare As if he should say Thou shalt heare him onely and none besides him This the Fathers well vnderstode for none could teach greater and higher poynts then Moises him selfe who made excellent lawes of high and great matters as are the ten commaundemēts especially the first commaundement I am the Lord thy God Thou shalt haue no other Gods but me Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God vvith all thy heart c. This law concerning the loue of God doth comprehend the very Angels also Therfore it is the headspring of all diuine wisedom And yet was it necessary notwithstanding that an other teacher should come that is to say
promise so long before the law Which he did of purpose and to this ende that it should not be sayd that righteousnes was geuen through the lawe and not through the promise For if he would that we should haue ben iustified by the lawe then would he haue geuen the law 430. yeares before the promise or else together with the promise But nowe at the first he speaketh not a worde as concerning the lawe but at the length after 430. yeares he geueth the lawe In the meane while all that time he speaketh onely of his promises Therfore the Blessing and free gift of righteousnes came before the lawe through the promise The promise therfore is farre more excellent then the lawe And so the law doth not abolish the promise but Faith in the promise whereby the beleuers euen before Christes time were saued which is now published by the Gospell throughout the whole world destroyeth the law so that it can not encrease sinne any more terrifie sinners or bring them into desperation laying hold vpon the promise through Faith. And in this also lieth a certaine vehemencie specially to be noted that he expressely setteth downe the number of .430 yeares As if he would say Cōsider with your selues how long it was betwene the promise geuen and the lawe It is plaine that Abraham receaued the promise a long time before the lawe For the lawe was geuen to the people of Israel .430 yeares after And this is an inuincible argument gathered and grounded vpon a certaine time And he speaketh not here of the lawe in generall but onely of the written lawe As if he would say God could not then haue regarde to the Ceremonies and workes of the law and geue righteousnes to the obseruers thereof For as yet the lawe was not geuen which commaundeth ceremonies requireth workes and promiseth life to those that obserue them saying The man that shall doe these things shall liue in them And although it promise such things yet it foloweth not therfore that we obtaine these promises For it sayeth plainly The mā that shal do these things c. Now it is certaine that no man can doe them Moreouer Paule sayth that the lawe can not abolish the promise therefore that promise made vnto Abraham .430 yeares before the law remaineth firme and constant And that the matter may be better vnderstand I will declare the same by a similitude If a rich man not constrained but of his owne good will should adopte one to be his sonne whom he knoweth not and to whom he oweth nothing and should appoynt him to be the heire of all his lands and goods certaine yeres after that he hath bestowed this benefite vpon him he should lay vpon him a law to do this or that he cā not now say that he hath deserued this benefite by his owne workes seeing that many yeres before he asking nothing had receaued the same freely and of mere fauour So God could not respect our workes and desertes going before righteousnes for the promise and the gift of the holy Ghost was .430 yeares before the lawe Hereby it appeareth that Abraham obteined not righteousnes before God through the lawe For there was yet no law If there were yet no lawe then was there neither worke nor merite What then Nothing else but the mere promise This promise Abraham beleued and it was counted to him for righteousnes By the selfe same meanes then that the father obteined this promise the children doe also obteine it and holde it So say we also at this day Our sinnes were purged by the death of Christ aboue a thousand and fiue hundreth yeres agoe when there were yet no religious Orders no Canon or rule of Penance no merites of congruence and worthines We can not nowe therfore begin to abolish the same by our owne workes and merites Thus Paule gathereth arguments of similitudes of a certaine time and of persons so sure strong on euery side that no man can deny them Let vs therfore arme and fortifie our consciences with such like arguments For it helpeth vs excedingly to haue them alwayes ready in tentations For they lead vs from the lawe and workes to the promise and to faith from wrath to grace from sinne to righteousnes and from death to life Therfore these two things as I doe often repeate to witte the lawe and the promise must be diligently distinguished For in time in place and in person and generally in all other circumstances they are separate as farre asunder as heauen and earth the beginning of the world and the later ende In deede they are neare neighbours for they are ioyned together in one man or in one soule but in the inward affection as touching their office they ought to be separate farre asonder so that the lawe may haue dominion ouer the flesh and the promise may sweetely and comfortably raigne in the conscience When thou hast thus appoynted vnto them both their own proper place then thou walkest safely betwene them both in the heauen of the promise and in the earth of the lawe In spirite thou walkest in the Paradise of grace and peace In the flesh thou walkest in the earth of workes and of the crosse And nowe the troubles which the flesh is compelled to beare shall not be hard vnto thee because of the sweetenes of the promise which comforteth and reioyceth the hart excedingly But now if thou confound and mingle these two together and place the lawe in the conscience and the promise of libertie in the flesh then thou makest a confusion such as was in Poperie so that thou shalt not knowe what the lawe what the promise what sinne or what righteousnes is Wherfore if thou wilt diuide the worde of truth aright thou must put a great difference betwene the promise and the lawe as touching the inward affections and whole practise of life It is not for naught that Paule prosecuteth this argument so diligently For he foresawe in spirite that this mischiefe should creepe into the Church that the word of God should be confounded that is to say that the promise should be mingled with the lawe and so the promise should be vtterly lost For when the promise is mingled with the lawe it is nowe made nothing else but the very lawe Therefore accustome thy selfe to separate the promise and the law asunder euen in respect of time that when the lawe cometh and accuseth thy conscience thou mayest say Lady lawe thou comest not in season for thou comest to soone Tarry yet vntil .430 yeres be expired and when they are past then come and spare not But if thou come then yet shalt thou come to late For then hath the promise preuented thee .430 yeres to the which I assent and sweetely repose my selfe in the same Therefore I haue nothing to doe with thee I heare thee not For nowe I liue with the beleuing Abraham or
owne dreames and vnder the name of the gospell ceremonies and lawes They are like therfore vnto themselues and so they still continue that is to say Monks workers of the lawe and teachers of ceremonies sauing that they deuise newe names and newe workes It is not then a matter of small importance to vnderstand rightly what the law is and what is the true vse and office therof Now for as much as we teach these things both diligently and faithfully we doe therby plainly testifie that we reiect not the law and works as our aduersaries doe falsely accuse vs but we do altogether stablish the law and require the works therof and we say that the law is good and profitable but in his owne proper vse which is first to bridle ciuill transgressiōs and then to reueile and to encrease spiritual transgressions Wherfore the law is also a light which sheweth reueileth not the grace of God not righteousnes and life but sinne death the wrath and iudgement of god For as in the Mount Sina the thundring lightning the thicke darke cloud the hill smoking flaming all that terrible shew did not reioyce nor quicken the children of Israell but terrified and astonished them and shewed howe vnhable they were with all their puritie and holines to abide the Maiestie of God speaking to them out of the cloud euen so the law when it is in his true vse doth nothing else but reueale sinne engender wrath accuse and terrifie men so that it bringeth them to the very brinke of desperation This is the proper vse of the lawe and here it hath an end and it ought to goe no further Contrariwise the Gospel is a light which lightneth quickneth comforteth raiseth vp fearful consciences For it sheweth that God for Christes sake is merciful vnto sinners yea to such as are most vnworthy if they beleue that by his death they are deliuered frō the Curse that is to say from sinne and euerlasting death and that through his victorie the Blessing is freely geuen vnto them that is to say grace forgeuenes of sinnes righteousnes euerlasting life Thus putting a difference betwene the law the Gospel we geue to them both their owne proper vse office Of this differēce betwene the law the gospel there is nothīg to be found in the bokes of the Monks Canonists Scholemen no nor in the bokes of the auncient fathers Augustine did somewhat vnderstand this difference and shewed it Ierome and others knew it not Briefly there was wonderfull silence many yeres as touching this difference in all Schooles and Churches And this thing brought mens consciences into great daunger For vnlesse the gospell be plainly discerned frō the lawe the true Christian doctrine can not be kept sound and vncorrupt Contrariwise if this difference be well knowne then is also the true meane of iustification knowne and then is it an easie matter to discerne faith from workes Christ from Moses and all politike workes For all things without Christe are the ministers of death for the punishment of the wicked Therefore Paule aunswereth to this question after this maner Verse 19. The lavve vvas added because of transgressions That is to say that transgressions might be more encreased knowne and seene And in deede so it cometh to passe For when sinne is reuealed to a man through the law death the wrath and iudgement of God and hell it is vnpossible but that he should become impatient but that he should murmure against God and despise his will. For he can not beare the iudgement of God his owne death and damnation and yet notwithstanding he can not escape them Here he must needes fall into the hatred of God and blasphemie against god Before when he was out of tentation he was a very holy man he worshipped and praised God he bowed his knee before God and gaue him thanks as the Pharisey did Luke 18. But now when sinne and death is reuealed vnto him he wisheth that there were no god The law therfore of it selfe bringeth a special hatred of god And thus sinne is not onely reuealed and knowne by the lawe but also is encreased and stirred vp by the lawe Therfore Paule sayth Rom. 7. Sinne that it might appeare to be sinne vvrought death in me by that vvhich vvas good that sinne might be out of measure sinneful by the commaundement There he entreateth of this effect of the law very largely Paule aunswereth therfore to this question If the lawe doe not iustifie to what end then serueth it Although sayth he it iustifie not yet is it very profitable necessary For first it ciuily restraineth such as are carnall rebellious and obstinate Moreouer it is as a glasse that sheweth vnto a man him selfe that he is a sinner giltie of death and worthy of Gods euerlasting wrath indignation To what profit serueth this humbling this brusing beating downe by this hammer the law I meane To great profite namely that we may haue an entrance vnto grace So then the lawe is a minister that prepareth the way vnto grace For God is the God of the humble the miserable the afflicted the oppressed the desperate and of all those that are vtterly brought to nothing and his nature is to exalt the humble to feede the hungry to geue sight to the blind to comfort the miserable the afflicted the brused and broken harted to iustifie sinners to quicken the dead and to saue the very desperate and damned For he is an almightie creatour making all things of nothing Now that pernicious and pestilent opinion of mans owne righteousnes which will not be a sinner vncleane miserable and damnable but righteous and holy suffreth not God to come to his owne naturall and proper worke Therefore God must needes take this maule in hand the law I meane to driue downe to beat in peeces to bring to nothing this beast with her vaine confidence wisedom righteousnes power that she may so learne at the lēgth by her owne miserie and mischief that she is vtterly forlorne lost and damned Here now when the conscience is thus terrified with the law then cometh the doctrine of the Gospell and grace which reiseth vppe and comforteth the same againe saying Christ came in to the world not to breake the brused reede nor to quench the smoking flaxe but to preach the Gospell of glad tidings to the poore to heale the broken and contrite in heart to preach forgeuenes of sinnes to the captiues c. But here lieth all the difficultie of this matter that when a man is terrified and cast downe he may be able to raise vp him selfe againe and say Now I am brused and afflicted enough the time of the lawe hath tormented and vexed me sharply enough Nowe is the time of grace now is the time to heare Christ out of whose mouth procede the wordes of grace
then vnder the lawe must not alwayes endure but must onely continue to the cōming or reuealing of Faith which this sweete verse of the Psalme 147. doth teach vs The Lord deliteth in those that feare him that is to say which are in prison vnder the lawe But by and by after he addeth and in those that attend vppon his mercy Therfore we must ioyne these two things together which are in deede as contrary the one to the other as may be For what can be more contrary then to hate and abhorre the wrath of God and againe to trust in his goodnes mercy The one is hell the other is heauē and yet they must be nerely ioyned together in the heart By speculation and naked knowledge a man may easily ioyne them together but by experience and inward practise so to doe of all things it is the hardest which I my selfe haue often proued by mine owne experience Of this matter the Papistes and Sectaries know nothing at all Therefore these wordes of Paule are to them obscure and altogether vnknowne And when the lawe reueileth vnto them their sinne accuseth and terrifieth them they can finde no counsell no rest no helpe or succour but fall to desperation as Caine and Saule did Seeing the lawe therfore as is sayd is our tormentour and our prison certaine it is that we can not loue it but hate it He therefore that sayth he loueth the lawe is a liar and knoweth not what he sayth A theefe and a robber should shewe him selfe to be starke madde that would loue the prison the fetters and chaines Seing thē the law shutteth vs vppe and holdeth vs in prison it can not be but we must needes be extreme enemies to the lawe To conclude so well we loue the lawe and the righteousnes thereof as a murtherer loueth the darke prison the streit bondes and irons How then should the law iustifie vs Verse 23. And shut vp vnder the faith vvhich should after be reueiled This Paule speaketh in respect of the fulnes of the time wherin Christ came But we must applie it not onely to that time but also to the inward man For that which is done as an hystorie and according to the time wherin Christe came abolishing the lawe and bringing libertie and eternall life to light is alwayes done spiritually in euery Christian in whom is found continually somewhile the time of the law and somewhile the time of grace For the Christian man hath a body in whose members as Paule sayth in an other place sinne dwelleth and warreth Nowe I vnderstand sinne to be not onely the deede or the worke but also the roote and the tree together with the fruites as the Scripture vseth to speake of sinne Which is yet not onely rooted in the baptised flesh of euery Christian but also is at deadly warre within it and holdeth it captiue if not to geue consent vnto it or to accomplish the worke yet doth it force him mightely thervnto For albeit a Christian man doe not fall into outward and grosse sinnes as murther adultery theft and such like yet is he not free from impatiencie murmuring hating and blaspheming of God which sinnes to reason and the carnall man are altogether vnknowne These sinnes constraine him yea sore against his will to detest the lawe they compell him to flie from the presence of God they compell him to hate and blaspheme god For as carnall lust is strong in a yong man in a man of full age the desire and loue of glory and in an old man couetousnes euen so in a holy and a faithfull man impatiencie murmuring hatred and blasphemie against God doe mightely preuaile Examples hereof there are many in the Psalmes in Iob in Ieremie and throughout the whole Scripture Paule therfore describing and setting forth this spirituall warfare vseth very behement words and fitte for the purpose as of fighting rebelling holding and leading captiue c. Both these times then of the lawe and the Gospell I meane are in a Christian as touching the affections and inward man The time of the lawe is when the lawe exerciseth me tormenteth me with heauines of heart oppresseth me bringeth me to the knowledge of sinne and encreaseth the same Here the law is in his true vse and perfect worke which a Christian oftentimes feeleth as long as he liueth So there was geuen vnto Paule a pricke in the flesh that is the angell of Satan to buffet him He would gladly haue felt euery moment the ioy of conscience the laughter of the heart and the sweete tast of eternall life Againe he would gladly haue ben deliuered from all trouble and anguish of spirite and therefore he desired that this tentation might be taken from him Notwithstanding this was not done but the Lord sayd vnto him My grace is sufficient for thee For my povver is made perfect through vveaknes This battaile doth euery Christian feele To speake of my selfe there are many howers in the which I chide and contend with God and impatiently resist him The wrath and iudgement of God displeaseth me and againe my impaciencie my murmuring and such like sinnes doe displease him And this is the time of the lawe vnder the which a Christian man continually liueth as touching the flesh For the flesh lusteth continually against the spirite and the spirite against the flesh but in some more and in some lesse The time of grace is when the heart is raised vppe againe by the promise of the free mercy of God and sayeth VVhy art thou heauie O my soule and vvhy doest thou trouble me Doest thou see nothing but the lawe sinne terrour heauines desperation death hell and the Deuill Is there not also grace remission of sinnes righteousnes consolation ioy peace life heauen Christe and God Trouble me no more O my soule What is the lawe what is sinne what are all euils in comparison of these things Trust in God who hath not spared his owne deare sonne but hath geuen him to the death of the crosse for thy sinnes This is then to be shutte vppe vnder the lawe after the flesh not for euer but till Christe be reuealed Therefore when thou art beaten downe tormented and afflicted by the law then say Lady law Thou art not alone neither art thou all things but besides thee there are yet other things much greater and better then thou art namely grace faith and blessing This grace this faith and this blessing doe not accuse me terrifie me condemne me but they comfort me they bid me trust in the Lord and promise vnto me victorie and saluation in Christe There is no cause therfore why I should despaire He that is skilfull in this arte and this cunning may in deede be called a right Diuine The fantasticall spirites their disciples at this day which continually bragge of the spirite do perswade them selues that they are very expert
our Faith that we confesse Christ and his word by the power of the holy Ghost We ought not therfore to dout whether the holy Ghost dwelleth in vs or not but to be assuredly perswaded that we are the temple of the holy Ghost as Paule sayth For if any man feele in himselfe a loue towardes the word of God willingly heareth talketh wryteth thinketh of Christe let that man know that this is not the worke of mans will or reason but the gift of the holy Ghost For it is impossible that these things should be done without the holy Ghost Contrariwise where hatred and contempt of the word is there the Deuill the God of this world raigneth blinding mens heartes and holding them captiue that the Gospell the glory of Christe should not shine vnto them Which thing we see at this day in the most part of the commō people which haue no loue to the word but presumpteously contemne it as though it pertained nothing at all vnto them But who so euer doe feele any loue or desire to the word let them acknowledge with thākfulnes that this affection is powred into them by the holy Ghost For we are not borne with this affection and desire neither can we be taught by any lawes how we may obtaine it but this chaunge is plainly and simply the worke of the right hand of the most highest Therfore when we willingly and gladly heare the word preached concerning Christe the sonne of God who for vs was made mā and became subiect to the law to deliuer vs from the malediction of the law hell death damnation then let vs assure our selues that God by and with this preaching sendeth the holy Ghost into our hearts Wherfore it is very expedient for the Godly to know that they haue the holy Ghost This I say to confute that pernicious doctrine of the Papists which taught that no man can certainly know although his life be neuer so vpright blameles whether he be in the fauour of God or no. And this sentence commonly receaued was a speciall principle and article of Faith in the whole Papacie wherby they vtterly defaced the doctrine of Faith tormented mens consciences banished Christ quite out of the Church darkened and denied all the benefites of the holy Ghost abolished the whole worship of God set vp Idolatrie cōtempt of God and blasphemie against God in mens heartes For he that doubteth of Gods good will towards him and doth not assure him selfe that he is in the fauour of God this man can not beleue that he hath forgeuenes of his sinnes that God careth for him or that he shall be saued Augustine sayth very well and godly that euery man seeth most certainely his owne Faith if he haue Faith. This doe they deny God forbid say they that I should assure my selfe that I am vnder grace that I am holy and that I haue the holy Ghost yea although I liue godly and doe all good workes Ye which are yong and are not infected with this pernicious opinion whervpon the whole kingdom of the Pope is groūded take heede flie from it as from a most daungerous plague We that are old men haue ben trained vp in this errour euen from our youth and haue ben so nusled therein that it hath taken deepe roote in our hearts Therefore it is to vs no lesse labour to vnlearne and forget the same then to learne and lay hold vpon true Faith. But we must be assured out of dout that we are vnder grace that we please God for Christes sake and that we haue the holy Ghost For if any mā haue not the spirite of Christ the same is none of his Wherfore whether thou be a Minister of Gods word or a Magistrate in the common wealth thou must assuredly thinke that thy office pleaseth God but this canst thou neuer doe vnlesse thou haue the holy Ghost But thou wilt say I doubt not but that my office pleaseth God because it is Gods ordinaunce but I doubt of mine owne person whether it please God or no. Here thou must resort to the word of God which teacheth and assureth vs that not onely the office of the person but also the person it self pleaseth god For the person is baptised beleueth in Christ is purged in his bloud from all his sinnes liueth in the communion and felowship of his Church Moreouer he doth not onely loue the pure doctrine of the word but also he is glad and greatly reioyceth when he seeth it aduaunced and the nomber of the faithfull encreased Cōtrariwise he detesteth the Pope all Sectaries with their wicked doctrine according to that saying of the Psalme I hate them that imagine euill things but thy lavve doe I loue We ought therefore to be surely perswaded that not onely our office but also our person pleaseth God Yea whatsoeuer it sayth doth or thinketh particularly the same pleaseth God not for our owne sakes but for Christes sake who was made vnder the law for vs Now we are sure that Christe pleaseth God that he is holy c. For as much then as Christe pleaseth God and we are in him we also please God and are holy And although sinne doe still remaine in our flesh and we also daily fall and offend yet grace is more aboundant and stronger then sinne The mercy and truth of the Lord raigneth ouer vs for euer Wherfore sinne cā not terrifie vs and make vs doutfull of the grace of God which is in vs For Christe that most mighty Giaunt hath quite abolished the law condemned sinne vāquished death and all euils So long as he is at the right hand of God making intercession for vs we can not doubt of the grace and fauour of God towardes vs. Moreouer God hath also sent the spirite of his sonne into our hearts as Paule here sayth But Christe is most certaine in his spirite that he pleaseth god c therefore we also hauing the same spirite of Christe must be assured that we are vnder grace for his sake that is most assured This I haue sayd concerning the inward testimonie wherby a Christian mans heart ought to be fully perswaded that he is vnder grace hath the holy Ghost Now the outward signes as before I haue said are gladly to heare of Christ to preach teach Christ to render thanks vnto him to praise him to confesse him yea with the losse of goodes and life Moreouer to doe our duetie according to our vocatiō as we are able to do it I say in faith ioy c Not to delite in sinne nor to thrust our selues into an other mans vocation but to attend vpon our owne to helpe our needy brother to comfort the heauy harted c. By these signes as by certein effects cōsequēts we are fully assured confirmed that we are in Gods fauour The wicked also do imagine that they haue the same signes but they
haue nothing lesse Hereby we may plainly see that the Pope with his doctrine doth nothing else but trouble and torment mens consciences at length driueth them to desperation For he not onely teacheth but also cōmaundeth men to dout Therfore according to the Psalme There is no truth or certaintie in his mouth And in an other place vnder his tōge is iniquitie mischeefe Here we may see what great infirmitie is yet in the Faith of the Godly For if we could be fully perswaded that we are vnder grace that our sinnes are forgeuen that we haue the spirit of Christ that we are the children of God then doubtles we should be ioyfull and thankfull to God for this inestimable gift But because we feele cōtrary motions that is to say feare doutfulnes anguish and heuines of heart such like therfore we can not assure our selues hereof yea our conscience iudgeth it a great presumption and pride to chalenge this glory Wherfore if we will vnderstand this thing rightly and as we should doe we must put it in practise for without experience and practise it can neuer be learned Wherfore let euery man so practise with him selfe that his conscience may be fully assured that he is vnder grace and that his person and his workes doe please god And if he feele in himselfe any wauering or douting let him exercise his Faith and wrastle against this douting and let him endeuour to attaine more certaintie so that he may be able to say I know that I am accepted and that I haue the holy Ghost not for mine owne worthines my worke my merite but for Christes sake who of his inestimable loue towardes vs made him self thrall and subiect to the lawe tooke away the sinnes of the world In him do I beleue If I be a sinner erre he is righteous and can not erre Moreouer I gladly heare read sing wryte of him and I desire nothing more then that his Gospel may be knowne to the whole world and that many may be conuerted vnto him These things doe plainly witnesse that the holy Ghost is present with vs in vs For such things are not wrought in the heart by mans strength nor gotten by his industrie exercise or trauell but are obtained by Christ alone who first maketh vs righteous by the knowledge of him in his holy Gospel and afterwardes he createth a new heart in vs bringeth forth new motions geueth vnto vs that assurance wherby we are perswaded that we please the father for his sake Also he geueth vs a true iudgement whereby we proue trie those things which before we knew not or else altogether despised It behoueth vs therefore to wrastle against this douting that we may daily ouercome it more and more attaine to a full perswasion certainty of Gods fauour towardes vs rooting out of our heartes this cursed opinion that a man ought to dout of the grace fauour of God which hath infected the whole world For if we dout whether we be vnder grace whether we please God for Christes sake or not we deny that Christe hath redemed vs we deny simply all his benefits Ye that are yong mē may easily apprehēd this pure doctrine of the Gospel and abādon this pernicious opinion because ye are not yet poysoned therwith Verse 6. Crying Abba Father Paule might haue sayd God sent the spirite of his sonne into our hearts calling Abba Father Now he sayth not so but crying Abba Father that he might shew and set forth the temptation of a Christian which yet is but weake and weakly beleueth In the .8 to the Rom. he calleth this crying an vnspeakeable groning Likewise he sayeth The spirite helpeth our infirmities For vve knovv not hovve to pray as vve ought but the spirite maketh intercession for vs vvith vnspeakeable gronings c. And this is a singuler consolation when he sayeth here that the spirite of Christ is sent into our hearts crying Abba Father And againe that he helpeth our infirmities making intercession for vs with vnspeakeable gronings He that could assuredly beleue this should neuer be ouercome with any affliction were it neuer so great But there are many things that hinder this Faith in vs First our heart is borne in sinne Moreouer this euill is naturally grafted in vs that we doubt of the good will of God towardes vs and cannot assure our selues that we please God. c. Besides all this the Deuil our aduersarie raūgeth about with terrible rorings and sayeth Thou art a sinner therefore God is angrie with thee and will destroy thee for euer Against these horrible and intolerable rorings we haue nothing whervpon to hold stay our selues but only the word which setteth Christ before vs as a conquerour ouer sinne and death and ouer all euils But to cleaue fast to the word in this tentation and these terrours of conscience herein standeth all the difficultie For then Christe appeareth to no sense We see him not the heart feeleth not his presence or succour in temptation but rather it seemeth that Christ is angrie with vs and that he forsaketh vs Moreouer when a man is tempted and afflicted he feeleth the strength of sinne and the infirmitie of the flesh he douteth he feeleth the flerie dartes of the Deuill the terrours of death the anger and iudgement of god All these things cry out horribly against vs so that we see nothing else but desperation and eternall death But yet in the middest of these terrours of the lawe thundrings of sinne assaultes of death and rorings of the Deuill the holy Ghost sayth Paule cryeth in our hearts Abba Father And this crie surmounteth those mighty and horrible cries of the lawe sinne death the Deuill c it perceth the cloudes and the heauens and ascendeth vp vnto the eares of God. Paule therfore signifieth by these words that there is yet infirmitie in the godly As he doth also in the .8 chap. to the Rom. when he sayeth The spirite helpeth our infirmities For as much therfore as the sense and feeling of the contrary is strong in vs that is to say for as much as we feele more the displeasure of God then his good will and fauour towardes vs therefore the holy Ghost is sent into our heartes which doth not only sigh and make request for vs but mightely crieth Abba Father and praieth for vs according to the wil of God with teares and vnspeakeable gronings And how is this done When we are in terrours and in the conflict of conscience in deede we take hold of Christ and beleue that he is our Sauiour but then doe the law and sinne terrifie and torment vs most of all Moreouer the Deuill assaileth vs with all his engines and fierie darts and goeth about with all his power to plucke Christ from vs and to take from vs all consolations Here we feele our selues almost ouercome and at
the poynt of desperation for then are we that brused reede smoking flaxe which Esay speaketh of notwithstanding in the meane season the holy Ghost helpeth our infirmities maketh intercession for vs with vnspeakeable gronings certifieth our spirits that we are the children of god Thus the minde is raised vp in terrors it loketh vnto his Sauiour high Bishop Iesus Christ it ouercommeth the infirmitie of the flesh it conceaueth comfort againe and sayth Abba Father This groning which then we scantly feele Paule calleth a crying vnspeakeable groning which filleth both heauē and earth Moreouer he calleth it the crying and groning of the spirite because the holy Ghost stirreth vp the same in our heartes when we are weake and oppressed with terrour and tentation Although then the lawe sinne and the Deuill crie out against vs neuer so much with great and terrible rorings which seeme to fill heauen and earth farre to excede this groning of our heart yet can they not hurt vs For the more fiercely they assaile vs accuse and torment vs with their cryings so much the more doe we grone and in groning lay hold vpon Christ call vpon him with heart and mouth cleaue vnto him and beleue that he was made vnder the law that he might deliuer vs from the Curse of the lawe and destroy both sinne and death And thus when we haue taken hold of Christe by Faith we crie through him Abba Father And this our crie doth farre surmount the roring of the lawe sinne the Deuill c. But so farre of is it that we thinke this groning which we make in these terrours and in this our weaknes to be a cry that scarsely we perceaue it to be a groning For our Faith which in tentation thus groneth vnto Christ is very weake if we consider our owne sense and feeling And this is the cause that we heare not this crie We haue but onely the word which when we apprehend in this conflict we haue a litle breathing and then we grone Of this groning some litle feeling we haue but the crie we heare not But he sayeth Paule vvhich searcheth the heartes knovveth vvhat is the meaning of the spirite c. To this searcher of the hearts this small and feeble groning as it seemeth vnto vs is a loud and a mighty cry and an vnspeakeable groning in comparison whereof the great and horrible rorings of the law of sinne of death of the deuill and of hell are nothing neither can they be once heard Paule therfore not without cause calleth this groning of a godly afflicted heart a cry and a groning of the spirite which can not be expressed For it filleth the whole heauen so that the Angels thinke they heare nothing else but this crie But in vs there is a cleane contrary feling For it semeth vnto vs that this our small groning doth not so perce the cloudes that there is nothing else heard in heauen of God and his angels Nay we thinke and especially during the time of tentation that the Deuil horribly roreth against vs that the heauens thunder the earth trēbleth that all will fall vpon vs that all creatures threaten our destruction that hel is opē and ready to swallow vs vp This feling is in our heart these horrible voices and this fearfull shew we heare and we see And this is it that Paul sayth in the .2 Corrin 12 That the strength of Christ is made perfect through our vveaknes For then is Christ almighty in dede then doth he truly raigne and triumph in vs when we are so weake that we can scarsely grone But Paule sayth that this groning is in the eares of God a most mightie cry which filleth both heauen and earth Christ also in the .18 of Luke in the parable of the wicked iudge calleth this groning of a faithfull heart a cry yea such a cry as ceaseth not day night to cry vnto God where he sayth Heare vvhat the vnrighteous iudge sayth Novv shall not God auēge his elect vvhich cry day night vnto him yea though he suffer long for them yea I tel you he vvil auenge them quickly We at this day in so great persecution cōtradiction of the Pope of tyrānes Sectaries which fight against vs both on the right hand on the left can doe nothing else but vtter such gronings And these were our gunnes artillery wherw t we haue so many yeres scattered the coūsels and enterprises of our aduersaries wherby also we haue begon to ouerthrow the kingdom of Antichrist They also shall prouoke Christ to hasten the day of his glorious comming wherein he shall abolish all rule authoritie and power and shall put all his enemies vnder his feete So be it In the .14 of Exodus the Lord speaketh vnto Moises at the red sea saying VVhy criest thou vnto me Yet Moises cried not but trembled and almost despaired for he was in great trouble It seemed that infidelitie raigned in him and not Faith. For he saw the people of Israell so compassed and enclosed with the Egyptians host and with the sea that there was no way whereby they might escape Here Moises durst not once opē his mouth How thē did he crie We must not iudge therfore according to the feeling of our owne heart but according to the word of God which teacheth vs that the holy Ghost is geuen to those that are afflicted terrified ready to despaire to raise them vp to comfort them that they be not ouercome in their tentations afflictions but may ouercome them and yet not without great terrors and troubles The Papistes dreamed that holy men had the holy Ghost in such sort that they neuer had nor felt any tentation They spake of the holy Ghost onely by speculation and naked knowledge But Paule sayeth that the strength of Christe is made perfecte through our vveaknes Also that the spirite helpeth our infirmities and maketh intercession for vs vvith vnspeakeable gronings Therefore we haue then most neede of the helpe and comfort of the holy Ghost yea and then is he most ready to helpe vs when we are most weake and nerest to desperation If any man suffer affliction with a constant and a ioyfull heart then hath the holy Ghost done his office in him And in deede he exerciseth his worke specially and properly in those which haue suffered great terrours and afflictions and haue as the Psalme sayeth approched nigh to the gates of hel As I said of Moses which sawe present death in the waters and on euery side whether so euer he turned his face He was therefore in extreme anguish and desperation and no dout he felt in his heart a mightie crie of the Deuill against him saying All this people shall this day perish for they can escape no way And of this great calamitie thou onely shalt be found to be the authour
because thou hast led them out of Egypt Besides all this the people cried out against him saying Were there no graues in Egypt Thou hast brought vs out that we should die here in the wildernes Had it not bene better for vs to haue serued the Egyptians then here wretchedly to die in the wildernes The holy Ghost was not here in Moises by bare speculation and knowledge onely but truely and effectually who made intercession for him with an vnspeakeable groning so that he sighed vnto the Lord and sayd O Lord at thy commaundement haue I led forth this people helpe vs therfore This groning or sighing vnto God the scripture calleth a crying This matter I haue the more largely prosecuted that I might plainly shew what the office of the holy Ghost is and when he specially exerciseth the same In temptatiō therfore we must in no wise iudge therof according to our owne sense feeling or by the crying of that law sinne the Deuill c. If we then folow our owne sense beleue those cryings we shall thinke our selues to be destitute of all helpe and succour of the holy Ghost and to be vtterly cast away from the presence of god Nay rather let vs then remember what Paule sayth The spirite helpeth our infirmities c. Also it crieth Abba Father that is to say it vttereth a certaine feeble sighing and groning of the heart as it seemeth vnto vs which notwithstanding before God is a loud crie and an vnspeakeable groning Wherfore in the middes of thy temptation and infirmitie cleaue onely vnto Christe grone vnto him he geueth the holy Ghost which crieth Abba Father And this feeble groning is a mighty crie in the eares of God and so filleth heauen and earth that God heareth nothing else and moreouer it drowneth the cries of all other things whatsoeuer Thou must marke also that Paule sayth that the spirite maketh intercession for vs in our temptation not with many wordes or long prayer but onely with a groning which notwithstanding can not be expressed and that he crieth not a loud with teares saying Haue mercy on me O God c. but onely vttereth a litle sound and a feeble groning as Ah Father This is but a litle word and yet notwithstanding it comprehendeth all things The mouth speaketh not but the affection of the heart speaketh after this maner Although I be oppressed with anguish and terrour on euery side and seeme to be forsaken and vtterly cast away from thy presence yet am I thy childe and thou art my Father for Christes sake I am beloued because of the beloued Wherfore this litle word Father conceaued effectually in the heart passeth all the eloquence of Demosthenes Cicero and of the most eloquent Rhetoricians that euer were in the world This matter is not expressed with words but with gronings which gronings cā not be vttered with any wordes or eloquence for no tongue can expresse them I haue vsed many wordes to declare that a Christian must assure him selfe that he is in the fauour of God and that he hath the crying of the holy Ghost in his heart This haue I done that we may learne to reiect and vtterly to abandon that deuillish opinion of the whole kingdom of the Pope which taught that a man ought to be vncertaine and to stand in dout of the grace and fauour of God towards him If this opinion be receaued then Christ profiteth nothing For he that douteth of Gods fauour towardes him must needes dout also of the promises of God and so consequently of the will of God and of the benefites of Christe namely that he was borne suffered died and rose againe for vs c. But there can be no greater blasphemie against God then to deny his promises to deny God himselfe Christ c. Wherfore it was not onely an extreme madnes but an horrible impietie that the Monks did so earnestly entice the youth both men and women to their Monasteries to their religious and holy orders as they called them as to a most certaine state of saluation and yet when they had thus done they bad them doubt of the grace and fauour of God towards them Moreouer the Pope called all the world to the obedience of the holy Church of Rome as to an holy state in the which they might vndoutedly attaine saluatiō and yet after he had brought them vnder the obedience of his lawes he commaunded them to dout of their saluation So the kingdom of Antichrist braggeth and vaunteth at the first of the holines of his orders his rules and his lawes and assuredly promiseth euerlasting life to such as obserue and kepe them But afterwards when these miserable men haue long afflicted their bodies with watching fasting and such like exercises according to the traditions and ordinaunces of men this is all that they gaine thereby that they are vncertaine whether this obedience please God or no Thus Satan most horribly dallied in the death of soules through the Pope and therefore is the Papacie a slaughterhouse of consciences and the very kingdom of the Deuill Nowe to establish and confirme this pernicious cursed errour they alleaged the saying of Salomon Eccle. 9. The iust and the vvise men are in the handes of God and yet no man knovveth vvhether he be vvorthy of loue or of hatred Some vnderstand this of that hatred which is to come and some againe of that which is present but neither of them vnderstand Salomon who in that place meaneth nothing lesse then that which they dreame Moreouer the whole Scripture teacheth vs especially and aboue all things that we should not dout but assure our selues vndoutedly beleue that God is mercifull louing and patient that he is neither dissembler nor deceauer but that he is faithfull and true and kepeth his promise yea and hath performed that he promised in deliuering his only begotten Some to death for our sinnes that euery one that beleueth in him might not perish but haue euerlasting life Here we can not dout but that God is pleased with vs that he loueth vs in dede that the hatred and wrath of God is taken away seeing he suffered his sonne to die for vs wretched sinners Although this matter be sette out and often repeted thoroughout the whole Gospell yet it profited nothing at all This one saying of Salomon peruersly vnderstand did more preuaile especially among the votaries and hypocrites of the straiter religion then all the promises and consolations of the whole Scripture yea then Christe him selfe They abused the Scriptures therfore to their owne destruction and were most iustly punished for despising the Scriptures and reiecting the Gospell It is expedient for vs to know these things First because the Papistes vaunt of their holines as if they had neuer committed any euill Therefore they must be conuinced by their owne abhominations wherewith they haue filled the whole world
Isaack but onely the word of Sara it is euident enough that Ismael was the sonne of Abraham after the flesh onely without the word of God therefore he was borne at aduenture and vnlooked for as an other childe is This Paule obserued and diligently considered In the .9 Chapt. to the Romaines he prosecuteth the same argument which here he repeteth and setteth forth in an allegorie and concludeth strōgly that all the sonnes of Abraham are not the sonnes of god Abraham saith he hath two sorts of childrē Some are borne of his flesh bloud but the word and promise of God goeth before as Isaack Other are borne without the promise as Ismael Therefore the children of the flesh sayth he are not the children of God but the children of the promise c. And by this argument he mightely stoppeth the mouthes of the proud Iewes which gloried that they were the seede children of Abraham As also Christ doth in the .3 of Math. and in the 8. of Iohn As if he said It foloweth not I am the carnal sede of Abraham therfore I am the childe of god Esau is the naturall sonne therfore the heire Nay rather sayth he they that will be the children of Abraham besides their carnall byrth must be also the sonnes of the promise and must beleue And they are the true children of Abraham and consequently of God who haue the promise and beleue But Ismael because he was not promised of God to Abraham is a sonne after the flesh only and not after the promise and therfore he was borne at aduēture as other children be For no mother knoweth whether she shall haue a childe or no or if she perceaue her selfe to be with childe yet she can not tel whether it shal be a sonne or a daughter But Isaac was expresly named Genesis 17. Sara thy vvife sayth the angell to Abraham shall beare thee a sonne and thou shalt call his name Isaac Here the sonne and the mother are expresly named Thus for this humilitie of Sara because she gaue vp her right and suffred the cōtempt of Agar Genesis 16. God requited her with this honor that she should be the mother of the promised sonne c. Verse 24. The vvhich things are spoken by allegories Allegories doe not strongly proue and perswade in Diuinitie but as certaine pictures they beutifie and sette out the matter For if Paule had not proued the righteousnes of Faith against the righteousnes of workes by strong and pithie arguments he should haue litle preuailed by this allegorie But because he had fortified his cause before with inuincible arguments taken of experience of the example of Abraham the testimonies of the Scripture and similitudes now in the ende of his disputation he addeth an allegorie to geue a beautie to all the rest For it is a seemely thing sometime to adde an allegorie when the foundation is well laide and the matter thorowly proued For as painting is an ornament to set forth and garnish an house already builded so is an allegorie the light of a matter which is already otherwise proued and confirmed Vers 24.25 For these mothers are the tvvo Testamentes the one vvhich is Agar of mount Syna vvhich engendreth vnto bondage For Agar or Syna is a mountaine in Arabia Abraham is a figure of God which hath two sonnes that is to say two sortes of people are represented by Ismael and Isaac These two are borne vnto him by Agar and Sara the which signifie the two Testaments the olde and the new The olde is of mount Syna begetting vnto bondage which is Agar For the Arabians in their lāguage call Agar the same mountaine which the Iewes call Sina which semeth to haue that name of brambles and thornes which also Ptolomaeus and the Greeke commentaries doe witnesse After the same maner diuers names are geuen to many mountaines according to the diuersitie of nations So the mounte which Moses calleth Hermon of the Sidonians is called Sirion and of the Amorites Senir Now this serueth very well to the purpose that mount Sina in the Arabians language signifieth as much as an handmaid and I thinke the likenes of this name gaue Paule light and occasion to seeke out this allegorie Likewise then as Agar the bondmaid brought forth to Abraham a sonne and yet not an heire but a seruaunt so Sina the allegoricall Agar brought forth to God a sonne that is to say a carnall people Againe as Ismael was the true sonne of Abraham so the people of Israel had the true God to be their father which gaue them his law his oracles religion and true seruice and the temple as it is said in the Psalme 147 He shevveth his vvord vnto Iacob his statutes and his iudgements vnto Israel Notwithstanding this onely was the difference Ismael was borne of a bondmaid after the flesh that is to say without the promise and could not therfore be the heire So the misticall Agar that is to say mount Sina where the lawe was geuen and the old Testament ordained brought forth to God who is that great Abraham a people but without the promise that is to say a carnall and a seruile people and not the heire of god For the promises as touching Christ the geuer of all Blessing and as touching the deliuerance from the curse of the law from sinne and death also as touching the free remission of our sinnes of righteousnes and euerlasting life are not added to the lawe but the lawe sayth He that shall doe these things shall liue in them Therefore the promises of the lawe are conditionall promising life not freely but to such as fulfill the law and therefore they leaue mens consciences in doubt for no man fulfilleth the law But the promises of the new Testament haue no such condition ioyned vnto them nor require any thing of vs nor depend vppon any condition of our worthines but bring and geue vnto vs freely forgeuenes of sinnes grace righteousnes and life euerlasting for Christes sake as I haue sayd more largely in an other place Therfore the law or the old Testament containeth onely conditionall promises for it hath alwayes such conditions as these are ioyned to it If ye harken to my voice If ye kepe my statutes if ye vvalke in my vvayes ye shall be my people c. The Iewes not considering this layd hold of those conditionall promises as if they had bene absolute and without all condition which they supposed that God could neuer reuoke but must needes kepe them Herevpon when they heard the Prophets foreshew the destruction of the citie of Ierusalem of the temple of the kingdom and priesthoode which could well discerne betwixt the corporall promises of the lawe and the spirituall promises concerning Christe and his kingdom they persecuted and killed them as heretikes and blasphemers of God For they
famine that the ouerthrowing of common weales kingdoms and countreis that sectes offences and such other infinite euils doe procede altogether of the doctrine of the Gospell Against this great offence we must comfort arme our selues with this sweete cōsolation that the faithfull must beare this name and this title in the world that they are seditious and schismatikes and the authors of innumerable euils And hereof it commeth that our aduersaries thinke they haue a iust cause yea that they doe God high seruice when they hate persecute and kill vs It can not be then but that Ismael must persecute Isaac But Isaac againe persecuteth not Ismael Who so wil not suffer the persecution of Ismael let him not professe himselfe to be a Christian But let our aduersaries which so vehemently amplifie exaggerate these euils at this day tel vs what good thīgs ensued the preaching of the Gospel of Christ and his Apostles Did not the destruction of the kingdom of the Iewes follow was not the Romaine Empire ouerthrowne was not the whole world in an vprore And yet the Gospell was not the cause hereof which Christe and his Apostles preached for the profite and saluation of men and not for their destruction But these things folowed through the fault of the people the nations the Kings Princes who being possessed of the Deuill would not hearkē to the word of grace life and eternall saluation but detested and condemned it as a doctrine most pernicious and hurtfull to religion common weales And that this should so come to passe the holy Ghost foretold by Dauid when he sayeth Psal. 2. VVhy doe the heathen rage and the people murmure in vaine c. Such tumultes and hurly burlies we heare and see at this day The aduersaries lay the fault in our doctrine But the doctrine of grace and peace stirreth not vp these troubles but the people nations kings and Princes of the earth as the Psalme sayeth rage murmure conspire and take counsell not against vs as they thinke nor against our doctrine which they blaspheme as false and seditious but against the Lord and his annoynted Therfore all their counsels and practises are and shall be disappoynted and brought to naught He that dvvelleth in the heauen shall laugh the Lord shall haue them in derision Let thē cry out therfore as long as they list that we raise vp these tumults and seditions notwithstanding this Psalme comforteth vs and saith that they themselues are the authors of these troubles They can not beleue this much lesse can they beleue that it is they which murmure rise vp take coūsell against the Lord his anoynted nay rather they thinke that they maintaine the Lords cause that they defend his glory do him acceptable seruice in persecuting vs but the Psalme lieth not and that shall the ende declare Here we doe nothing but onely suffer as our conscience beareth vs witnesse in the holy Ghost Moreouer the doctrine for the which they raise vp such tumultes and offences is not ours but it is the doctrine of Christe This doctrine we can not deny nor forsake the defence thereof seeing Christ sayth VVhosoeuer shall be ashamed of me and of my vvordes in this adulterous and sinnefull nation of him shal the sonne of man be ashamed vvhen he shall come in his glory and in the glory of the father and of the holy angels He therfore that will preach Christ truely and confesse him to be our righteousnes must be content to heare that he is a pernicious fellow and that he troubleth all things They which haue troubled the world sayd the Iewes of Paul and Silas Acts. 17. are also come vnto vs and haue done contrary to the decrees of Caesar And in the. 24. of the Actes We haue found this pestilent fellow stirring vp sedition among all the Iewes thorow out the whole world and the authour of the Sect of the Nazarites c. In like maner also the Gentiles complaine in the. 16. of the Actes These men trouble our Citie So at this day they accuse Luther to be a troubler of the Papacie and of the Romaine Empire If I would kepe silence then all things should be in peace which the strong man possesseth and the Pope would not persecute me any more But by this meanes the Gospell of Iesus Christe should be blemished defaced If I speake the Pope is troubled and cruelly rageth Either we must lose the Pope an earthly and mortall man or else the immortall God Christ Iesus life and eternall saluation Let the Pope perish then let God be exalted let Christ raigne and triumph for euer Christe himselfe when he foresaw in spirite the great troubles which should folow his preaching cōforted himselfe after this maner I came sayth he to send fire vpon the earth and vvhat vvil I but that it be kindled In like maner we see at this day that great troubles folowe the preaching of the Gospell through the persecution blasphemie of our aduersaries and the ingratitude of the world This matter so greueth vs that oftentimes after the flesh and after the iudgement of reason we thinke it had bene better that the doctrine of the Gospell had not bene published then that after the preaching therof the publike peace should be so troubled But according to the spirite we say boldly with Christe I came to send fire vpon the earth and what will I but that it should now be kindled Now after that this fire is kindled ther folow forthwith great commotions For it is not a King or an Emperour that is thus prouoked but the God of this world which is a most mighty spirite and the Lord of the whole world This weake worde preaching Christ crucified setteth vpon this mightie and terrible aduersarie Behemoth feeling the diuine power of this word stirreth vp all his members shaketh his taile and maketh the depth of the sea to boile like a potte Iob. 41. Hereof come all these tumultes all these furious and cruell rages of the world Wherefore let it not trouble vs that our aduersaries are offended and cry out that there cometh no good by the preaching of the Gospel They are infidels they are blinde and obstinate and therfore it is impossible that they should see any frute of the Gospell But contrariwise we which beleue doe see the inestimable profites and frutes therof although outwardly for a time we be oppressed with infinite euils despised spoiled accused cōdemned as the outcasts and filthy dunge of the whole world and put to death and inwardly afflicted with the feeling of our sinne and vexed with Deuils For we liue in Christe in whom and by whom we are made Kings and Lordes ouer sinne death the flesh the world hel and all euils In whom and by whom also we tread vnder our feete that Dragon and Basiliske which is the King
the godly beforehand that they be not offended with those persecutions sectes and offences saying But as then he that vvas borne after the flesh c. As if he would say If we be the children of the promise and borne after the spirite we must surely loke to be persecuted of our brother which is borne after the flesh that is to say not only our enemies which are manifestly wicked shall persecute vs but also such as at the first were our deare frendes with whom we were familiarly conuersant in one house which receaued from vs the true doctrine of the Gospell shall become our deadly enemies and persecute vs extremely For they are brethren after the flesh and must persecute their brethern which are borne after the spirite So Christ in the .41 Psalme complaineth of Iudas The man of my peace vvhom I trusted vvhich did eate of my bread hath lifted vp the hele against me But this is our consolation that we haue not geuen any occasion to our Ismaelites to persecute vs The Papistes persecute vs because we teach the pure and sincere doctrine of the Gospel which if we would forsake they would persecute vs no more Moreouer if we would approue the pernicious heresies of the Sectaries they would praise vs But because we detest and abhorre the impietie both of the one and the other therefore doe they so spitefully hate and so cruelly persecute vs. But not onely Paule as I haue sayd armeth vs against such persecutions and offences but Christ himselfe also most sweetely comforteth vs in the .15 of Iohn saying if ye vvere of the vvorld the vvorld vvould loue you but because ye are not of the vvorld but I haue chosen you out of the vvorld therfore the vvorld hateth you As if he would say I am the cause of all these persecutions which ye endure and if ye be killed it is I for whose sake ye are killed For if ye did not preach my word and confesse me the world would not persecute you But it goeth well with you For the seruaunt is not greater then his master If they haue persecuted me they vvill also persecute you for my names sake By these wordes Christe layeth all the fault vpon himselfe and deliuereth vs from all feare As if he would say Ye are not the cause why the world hateth persecuteth you but my name which ye preach and confesse is the cause thereof But be of good comfort I haue ouercome the vvorld This comfort vpholdeth vs so that we dout nothing but that Christe is strong enough not onely to beare but also to vanquish all the crueltie of tyrannes and the subtill sleightes of heretikes And this he hath declared in shewing forth his power against the Iewes and Romaines whose tyrannie and persecutions he suffered for a time He also suffered the subtelties and craftie practises of heretikes but in time and place he ouerthrew them all and remained King and conquerour Let the Papistes then rage as much as they will let the Sectaries sclaunder and corrupt the Gospell of Christe as much as they can notwithstanding Christe shall raigne eternally and his word shall stand for euer when all his enemies shal be brought to nought Moreouer this is a singular consolation that the persecution of Ismael against Isaac shall not alwayes continue but shall endure for a litle while and when that is ended the sentence shall be pronounced as foloweth Verse 30. But vvhat sayeth the Scripture Cast out the seruaunt and her sonne For the sonne of the seruaunt shall not be heire vvith the sonne of the freevvoman This word of Sara was very greeuous to Abraham and no doubt when he heard this sentence his fatherly bowels were moued with compassion towards his sonne Ismael for he was borne of his flesh And this the Scripture plainly witnesseth Genes 21. when it sayeth And this thing vvas very greeuous in Abrahams sight because of his sonne But God confirmed the sentence which Sara pronounced saying to Abraham Let it not be greeuous in thy sight for the childe and for thy bondvvoman In all that Sara shall say vnto thee heare her voice For in Isaac shall thy Seede be called The Ismaelites heare in this place the sentence pronounced against them which ouerthroweth the Iewes Grecians Romanes and all such other as persecute the Church of Christe The selfe same sentence also shall ouerthrowe the Papistes and as many as trust in their owne workes which at this day boast them selues to be the people of God and the Church which also trust that they shall surely receaue the inheritance and iudge vs which rest vppon the promise of God not onely to be barren and forsaken but also heretikes cast out of the Church and that it is impossible that we should be sonnes and heyres But God ouerthroweth theyr iudgement and pronounceth this sentence against them that because they are the children of the bondwoman and persecute the children of the freewoman therefore they shall be cast out of the house and shall haue no inheritaunce with the children of promise to whom onely the inheritaunce belongeth because they are the children of the freewoman This sentence is ratified and can neuer be reuoked wherefore it shall assuredly come to passe that our Ismaelites shall not onely lose the Ecclesiasticall and politike gouernment which now they haue but also euerlasting life For the Scripture hath foretold that the children of the bondwoman shall be cast out of the house that is to say out of the kingdom of grace for they can not be heires together with the children of the freewoman Now here is to be noted that the holy Ghost calleth the people of the lawe and workes as it were in contempt the childe of the bondwoman As if he sayd Why doe ye vaunt of the righteousnes of the lawe and workes and why doe ye glory that ye are the people and children of God for the same If ye know not of whom ye are borne I will tell you Ye are borne bondseruauntes of a bond-woman And what seruauntes The bondseruauntes of the lawe and consequently of sinne of death and of euerlasting damnation Now a seruaunt is no inheritour but is cast out of the house Wherfore the Pope with all his kingdom and all other Iusticiaries what outward appearance of holines so euer they haue which hope to obtaine grace and saluation by the lawe are seruauntes of that bond-woman and haue no inheritaunce with the children of the freewoman I speake now not of the Popes Cardinals Bishops Monks that were manifestly wicked who haue made their bellies theyr God and haue committed such horrible sinnes as I will not willingly name but of the best of them such I meane as liued holily and went about through great labour and trauaile by keeping of theyr Monkish order to pacifie the wrath of God and to merite remission of their sinnes and
also for by them hope is stirred vppe But Faith as also I haue shewed before goeth before hope for it is the beginning of life and beginneth before all tribulation For it learneth Christe and apprehendeth him without the crosse Notwithstāding the knowledge of Christ can not be long without the crosse without troubles and conflictes In this case the minde must be stirred vppe to a fortitude of spirite For hope is nothing else but a spirituall fortitude as Faith is nothing else but a spirituall prudence which consisteth in suffering according to this saying That through patience c. These three things then dwell together in the faithful Faith which teacheth the truth defendeth from errours Hope which endureth ouercōeth al aduersities as well bodely as ghostly Charitie which worketh all good things as it foloweth in the text And so is a man entire and perfect in this life as wel within as without vntill the righteousnes be reuealed which he waiteth for and this shal be a perfect an euerlasting righteousnes Moreouer this place containeth both a singuler doctrine consolation As touching the doctrine it sheweth that we are made righteous not by the workes sacrifices or ceremonies of Moises lawe much lesse by the works and traditions of mē but by Christ alone What so euer is in vs besides him is of the flesh and not of the spirite What so euer then the world counteth to be good and holy without Christe is nothing else but sinne errour and flesh Wherfore circumcision and the obseruation of the lawe also the workes religions and vowes of the Monkes and of all such as trust in their owne righteousnes are altogether carnall But we sayth Paule are farre aboue all these things in the spirite and inward man For we possesse Christe by Faith and in the middes of our afflictions through hope we wait for that righteousnes which we possesse alredy by Faith. The comfort is this that in serious conflicts and terrours wherin the feeling of sinne heauines of syirite desperation such like is very stronge for they enter deepely into the hearte and mightely assaile it thou must not folow thine owne feeling For if thou doe thou wilt say I feele the horrible terrours of the lawe and the tyrannie of sinne not onely rebelling against me but also subduing and leading me captiue and I feele no comfort or righteousnes at all Therefore I am a sinner and not righteous If I be a sinner then am I giltie of euerlasting death But against this feeling thou must wrastle and say Although I feele my selfe vtterly ouerwhelmed and swalowed vp with sinne and my heart telleth me that God is offended and angrie with me yet in very deede it is not true but that mine owne sense and feeling so iudgeth The word of God which in these terrours I ought to folow and not mine owne sense teacheth a farre other thing namely that God is neare vnto them that are of a troubled heart and saueth them that are of an humble spirite Also he despiseth not an humble and a contrite heart Moreouer Paul sheweth here that they that are iustified in spirite by Faith doe not yet feele the hope of righteousnes but wait still for it Wherfore when the lawe accuseth and sinne terrifieth thee and thou feelest nothing but the wrath and iudgement of God despaire not for all that but take vnto thee the armour of God the shield of Faith the helmet of hope and the sword of the spirite and trie how good and how valiant a warriour thou art Lay hold of Christe by Faith who is the Lord of the law and sinne and of all things else which accompanie them Beleuing in him thou art iustified which thing reason and the feeling of thine owne heart when thou art tempted doe not tell thee but the word of god Moreouer in the middest of these conflictes and terrours which often returne and exercise thee waite thou patiently through hope for righteousnes which thou hast now by Faith although it be yet but begun and imperfect vntill it be reuealed made perfect in the kingdom of heauen But thou wilt say I feele not my selfe to haue any righteousnes or at least wise I feele it but very litle Thou must not feele but beleue that thou hast righteousnes And except thou beleue that thou art righteous thou doest great iniurie vnto Christe who hath clensed thee by the washing of water through the word who also died vpon the crosse condemned sinne and killed death that through him thou mightest obtaine righteousnes euerlasting life These things thou canst not deny except thou wilt openly shew thy self to be wicked blasphemous against God vtterly to despise God all his promises Iesus Christe with all his benefites and so consequently thou canst not denie but that thou art righteous Let vs learne therfore in great and horrible terrours when our conscience feeleth nothing but sinne and iudgeth that God is angrie with vs and that Christ hath turned his face from vs not to folow the sense feeling of our owne hart but to stick to the word of God which saith that God is not angry but looketh to the afflicted to such as are troubled in spirite tremble at his word and that Christ turneth not himselfe away from such as labour and are heauie loden but refresheth and comforteth them This place therefore teacheth plainly that the lawe and workes bring vnto vs no righteousnes or comfort at all but this doth the holy Ghost onely in the Faith of Christe who raiseth vp hope in terrours and tribulations which endureth and ouercommeth all aduersities Very few there be that know how weake and feeble Faith and hope are vnder the crosse and in the conflict For it seemeth that they are but as smoking flaxe which is ready by by to be put out with a vehement winde But the faithfull who beleue in the middest of these assaultes and terrours hoping against hope that is to say fighting through Faith in the promise as touching Christe against the feeling of sinne and of the wrath of God doe afterwardes finde by experience that this sparke of Faith being very little as it appeareth to naturall reason for reason can scarsely feele it is as a mighty fire and swaloweth vp all our sinnes and all terrours There is nothing more deare or precious in all the world to the true children of God then this doctrine For they that vnderstand this doctrine doe know that wherof all the world is ignorant namely that sinne death and all other miseries afflictions and calamities as well corporall as spirituall doe turne to the benefite and profit of the elect Moreouer they know that God is then most nere vnto them when he seemeth to be farthest of and that he is then a most mercifull louing Sauiour when he semeth to be most angry to afflict to destroy
lawfull for the godly to trust and beleue men Verse 10. That ye vvill be none othervvise minded To witte concerning doctrine Faith then I haue taught you ye haue learned of me That is to say I haue a good hope trust of you that ye will not receaue any other doctrine which shal be contrary to mine Verse 10. But he that troubleth you shall beare his condemnation vvhatsoeuer he be By this sentence Paule as it were a iudge sitting vpon the iudgement seat coÌ„demneth the false apostles calling them by a very odious name troublers of the Galathians whom they estemed to be very godly men and farre better teachers then Paule And withall he goeth about to terrifie the Galathians with this horrible sentence whereby he so boldly condemneth the false apostles to the ende that they should flie their false doctrine as a most daungerous plague As if he should say What meane ye to geue eare to those pestilent felowes which teach you not but onely trouble you The doctrine that they deliuer vnto you is nothing else but a trouble vnto your consciences Wherefore how great so euer they be they shall beare their condemnation Now a man may vnderstand by these words VVhosoeuer he be that the false apostles in outward appearance were very good and holy men And peraduenture there was amongst them some notable disciple of the Apostles of great name and aucthoritie For it is not without cause that he vseth such vehemeÌ„t pithie words He speaketh after the same maner also in the first Chapter saying If vve or an Angell from heauen preach vnto you othervvise then vve haue preached vnto you let him be accursed And it is not to be doubted but that many were offended with this vehemencie of the Apostle thinking thus with them selues Wherfore doth Paule breake charitie why is he so obstinate in so small a matter why doth he so rashly pronounce sentence of eternall damnation against those that are ministers as well as he He passeth nothing of all this but procedeth on still and boldly curseth and condemneth all those that peruert the doctrine of faith be they neuer so highly estemed seeme they neuer so holy and learned Wherefore as I geue often warning we must diligently discerne betwene doctrine and life Doctrine is heauen life is the earth In life is sinne errour vncleanes and miserie mingled with vineger as the prouerbe sayth There let charitie winke forbeare be beguiled beleue hope and suffer all things there let forgeuenes of sinnes preuaile as much as may be so that sinne and errour be not defended and maintained But in doctrine like as there is no errour so hath it no neede of pardon Wherfore there is no comparison betwene doctrine and life One litle poynt of doctrine is of more valew then heauen and earth and therefore we can not abide to haue the least iote thereof to be corrupted But we can very well wincke at the offences and errours of life For we also doe daily erre in life and conuersation yea all the sainctes erre and this doe they earnestly confesse in the Lordes prayer and in the Crede But our doctrine blessed be God is pure we haue all the articles of our Faith grounded vppon the holy Scripture Those the Deuill would gladly corrupt and ouerthrow Therefore he assaileth vs so craftely with this goodly argument that we ought not to breake charitie and the vnitie of the churches Verse 11. And brethern if I yet preach circumcision vvhy doe I yet suffer persecution Then is the sclaunder of the crosse abolished Paule labouring by all meanes possible to call the Galathians backe againe reasoneth now by his owne example I haue procured to my selfe sayeth he the hatred and persecution of the Priestes and Elders and of my whole nation because I take away righteousnes froÌ„ circumcision which if I would attribute vnto it the Iewes would not onely cease to persecute me but also would loue and highly commend me But now because I preach the Gospel of Christ the righteousnes of Faith abolishing the law circumcision therfore I suffer persecution Contrariwise the false apostles to auoide the crosse and this deadly hatred of the Iewâ—sh nation doe preach circumcision and by this meanes they obtaine and reteine the fauour of the Iewes as he sayeth in the .6 Chapt. folowing They compell you to be circumcised c. Moreouer they would gladly bring to passe that there should be no dissention but peace and concord betwene the Gentiles and the Iewes But that is impossible to be done without the losse of the doctrine of Faith which is the doctrine of the crosse and full of offences Wherefore when he sayeth If I yet preach circumcision vvhy doe I yet suffer persecution Then is the sclaunder of the crosse abolished he meaneth that it were a great absurditie and inconuenience if the offence of the crosse should cease After the same maner he speaketh 1. Cor. 1. Christe sent me to preach the Gospell not vvith vvisedom of vvordes lest the crosse of Christ should be made of none effect As if he sayd I would not that the offence and crosse of Christe should be abolished Here may some man say The Christians then are madde men to cast them selues into daunger of their owne accord For what doe they else by preaching and confessing the truth but procure vnto them selues the hatred and enimitie of the whole world and raise offences This sayth Paule doth nothing at all offend or trouble me but maketh me more bolde and causeth me to hope wel of the happie successe and increase of the church which flourisheth and groweth vnder the crosse For it behoueth that Christe the head and spouse of the Church should raigne in the middes of all his enemies Psal. 110. On the contrary part when the crosse is abolished the rage of tyrannes heretikes ceaseth on that one side and offences on the other side all things are in peace the Deuill keping the entrie of the house this is a sure token that the pure doctrine of Gods word is taken away Bernard considering this thing sayeth that the Church is then in best state when Sathan assaileth it on euery side as well by subtill sleights as by violence and coÌ„trariwise that it is then in worst case when it is most at ease And he aledgeth very well and to that purpose that sentence of Ezechias in his song Behold for felicitie I had bitter greefe applying it to the church liuing in ease and quietnes Wherfore Paul taketh it for a most certaine signe that it is not the Gospel if it be preached in peace Contrariwise the world taketh it for a most certaine signe that the Gospell is hereticall and seditious doctrine because it seeth great vprours tumults offences and sectes and such like to folow the preaching therof Thus God sometimes sheweth him selfe in the similitude of the
I say All the lawe is fully comprehended in this one saying Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe God deliteth not in the obseruation of the ceremonies of the lawe neither hath he any neede of them The onely thing that he requireth at your hands is this that ye beleue in Christ whom he hath sent in whom ye are made perfect and haue all things But if vnto Faith which is the most acceptable seruice of God ye will also adde lawes then assure your selues that all lawes are comprehended in this short commaundement Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Endeuour your selues to keepe this commaundement which being kept ye haue fulfilled all lawes Paule is a very good expounder of Gods commaundementes For he draweth all Moises into a briefe summe shewing that nothing else is cōtained in all his lawes which are in a maner infinite but this short sentence Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Naturall reason is offended with this basenes and shortnes of wordes for it is soone sayd Beleue in Christ And againe Loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Therefore it despiseth both the doctrine of Faith and true good works notwithstanding this base vile word of faith as reason taketh it Beleue in Christ is the power of God to the faithfull whereby they ouercome sinne death the Deuill c. wherby also they attaine saluation eternall life Thus to serue one an other through loue that is to instruct him that goeth astray to comfort him that is afflicted to raise vppe him that is weake to helpe thy neighbour by all meanes possible to beare with his infirmities to endure troubles labours ingratitude contempt in the Church in ciuile life conuersation to obey the Magistrate to geue due honour to thy parentes to be patient at home with a froward wife and an vnruely familie c these I say are workes which reason iudgeth to be of no valew But beleue me they are such workes that the whole world is not able to comprehend the excellencie and worthines thereof for it doth not measure workes or any other thing by the word of God but by the iudgement of wicked blinde and foolish reason Yea it knoweth not the valew of any one of the least good works that can be which are true good works in deede Therfore when men dreame that they well vnderstand the commaundement of charitie they are vtterly deceaued In deede they haue it wrytten in their heart for they naturally iudge that a man ought to doe vnto an other as he would an other should do vnto him But it foloweth not therefore that they vnderstand it For if they did they would also performe it in deede and would preferre loue and charitie before all their workes They would not so highly esteme their owne superstitious toyes as to goe with an heauie countenaunce hanging downe the head to be vnmarried to liue with bread and water to dwell in the wildernes to be poorely apparelled c. These monstrous and superstitious workes which they haue deuised and chosen vnto themselues God neither commaunding nor approuing the same they esteme to be so holy and so excellent that they surmount and darken charitie which is as it were the Sunne of all good works So great and incomprehēsible is the blindnes of mans reason that it is vnable not onely to iudge rightly of the doctrine of Faith but also of external conuersation and workes Wherfore we must fight strongly as well against the opinions of our owne heart to the which we are naturally more enclined in the matter of saluation then to the word of God as also against the counterfet visour holy shew of our owne wilworkes that so we may learne to magnifie the workes which euery man doth in his vocation although they seeme outwardly neuer so base and contemptible if they haue the warrant of Gods worde and contrariwise to despise those workes which reason chooseth without the commaundement of God seeme they neuer so excellent and holy Of this commaundement I haue largely entreated in an other place and therfore I will now but lightly ouerrunne it In deede this is briefly spoken Loue thy neighbour as thy selfe but yet very aptly and to that purpose No man can geue a more certaine a better or a nearer example then a mans owne selfe Therfore if thou wouldest know how thy neighbour ought to be loued and wouldest haue a plaine example therof consider well how thou louest thy selfe If thou shouldest be in necessitie or daunger thou wouldest be glad to haue the loue and frendship of all men to be holpen with the counsell the goods and the strength of all men of all creatures Wherfore thou hast no neede of any booke to instruct and to admonish thee how thou oughtest to loue thy neighbour for thou hast an excellent booke of all lawes euen in thy heart Thou needest no Scholemaster in this matter aske counsell onely of thine owne heart and that shall teach thee sufficiently that thou oughtest to loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Moreouer loue or charitie is an excellent vertue which not onely maketh a man willing and ready to serue his neighbour with tounge with hand with money and worldly goods but with his body and euen with his life also And thus to doe it is not prouoked by good desertes or any thing else neither is it hindred through euill desertes or ingratitude The mother doth therefore nourish and cherish her child because she loueth it Now my neighbour is euery man specially which hath neede of my helpe as Christ expoundeth it in the .10 chapt of Luke Who although he hath done me some wrong or hurt me by any maner of way yet notwithstanding he hath not put of the nature of man or ceased to be flesh and bloud the creature of God most like vnto my selfe briefly he ceaseth not to be my neighbour As long then as the nature of man remaineth in him so long also remaineth the commaundement of loue which requireth at my hād that I should not despise mine own flesh nor render euill for euill but ouercome euill with good or else shall loue neuer be as Paule describeth it .1 Cor. 13. Paule therefore commendeth charitie to the Galathians and to all the faithfull for they onely loue in deede and exhorteth them that through charitie one of them should serue an other As if he would say Ye neede not to burden your selues with circumcision and with the ceremonies of Moises law but aboue all things continue in the doctrine of faith which ye haue receaued of me Afterwards if ye will doe good workes I will in one word shew you the chiefest and greatest works and how ye shall fulfill all lawes Serue ye one an other through loue Ye shall not lacke them to whom ye may doe good for the world is ful of such as neede the helpe of others
waked and stirred vppe to Faith and to call vppon Christe And by this occasion a Christian becommeth a mighty workman and a wonderful creatour which of heauines can make ioy of terrour comfort of sinne righteousnes and of death life when he by this meanes repressing and brideling the flesh maketh it subiect to the spirite Wherfore let not them which feele the lust of the flesh despaire of their saluation Lette them feele it and all the force thereof so that they consent not to it Lette the passions of lust wrath and such other vices shake them so that they doe not ouerthrow them Let sinne assaile them so that they doe not accōplish it Yea the more godly a man is the more doth he feele that battaile And hereof come those lamentable complaintes of the faithfull in the Psalmes and in the whole Scripture Of this battaile the Heremites the Monkes and the Schoolemen and all that seeke righteousnes and saluation by workes know nothing at all But here may some man say that it is a daungerous matter to teach that a man is not condemned if by and by he ouercome not the motions and passions of the flesh which he feeleth For when this doctrine is taught amongst the common people it maketh them carelesse negligent and slouthfull This is it which I sayd a little before that if we teach Faith then carnall men neglect and reiecte workes If works be required then is Faith and consolation of conscience lost Here no man can be compelled neither can there be any certaine rule prescribed But lette euery man diligently trie him selfe to what passion of the flesh he is most subiect and when he findeth that lette him not be carelesse nor flatter him selfe but lette him watch and wrastle in spirite against it that if he can not altogether bridle it yet at the least he doe not fulfill the lust therof This battell of the flesh against the spirit all the children of God haue had and felt And the selfe same doe we also feele and proue He that searcheth his owne cōscience if he be not an hypocrite shall well perceaue that to be true in him selfe which Paule here saith that the flesh lusteth against the spirit All the faithfull therfore do feele and confesse that their flesh resisteth against the spirit and that these two are so contrarye the one to the other in themselues that doe what they can they are not able to performe that which they woulde doe Therefore the fleshe hindreth vs the we cannot keepe the commaundementes of God that we can not loue our neighbours as our selues much lesse can we loue God with all our heart Therefore it is impossible for vs to become righteous by the works of the law In deede there is a good will in vs and so must there be for it is the spirit it self which resisteth the flesh which would gladly doe good fulfill the lawe loue God and his neighbour and such like but the flesh obeyeth not this good will but resisteth it and yet God imputeth not vnto vs this sinne For he is mercifull to those that beleue for Christes sake But it foloweth not therefore that thou shouldest make a light matter of sinne because God doth not impute it True it is that he doth not impute it But to whom and for what cause To such as repent and lay hold by Faith vppon Christe the Mercyseat for whose sake as all their sinnes are forgeuen them euen so that remnants of sinne which are in them be not imputed vnto them They make not their sinne lesse thē it is but amplifie it set it out as it is in dede for they know that it can not be put away by satisfactions works or righteousnes but only by the death of Christe And yet notwithstanding the greatnes and enormitie of their sinne doth not cause them to despaire but they assure thēselues that the same shall not be imputed vnto them or laid vnto their charge This I say lest any man shoulde thinke that after faith is receaued there is litle accoūt to be made of sinne Sinne is truely sinne whether a man commit it before he hath receaued the knowledge of Christe or after And God alwayes hateth sinne yea all sinne is damnable as touchinge the facte it selfe But in that it is not damnable to him that beleueth it commeth of Christe who by his death hath taken away sinne But to him that beleueth not in Christe not onely all his sinnes are damnable but euen his good workes also are sinne according to that saying VVhatsoeuer is not of Faith is sinne Therefore the errour of the Scholemen is moste pernicious which do distinguish sinnes according to the fact and not according to the person He that beleueth hath as great sinne as the vnbeleuer But to him that beleueth it is forgeuen and not imputed To the vnbeleuer it is not pardoned but imputed To the beleuer it is veniall to the vnbeleuer it is mortall and damnable Not for any difference of sinnes or because the sinne of the beleuer is lesse and the sinne of the vnbeleuer greater but for the difference of the persons For the faithfull assureth him selfe by Faith that his sinne is forgeuen him for as much as Christe hath geuen him selfe for it Therfore although he haue sinne in him and daily sinneth yet he continueth godly but contrariwise the vnbeleuer continueth wicked And this is the true wisedome and consolation of the godly that although they haue and commit sinnes yet they know that for Christes sake they are not imputed vnto them This I say for the comfort of the godly For they onely feele in deede that they haue and doe commit sinnes that is to say they feele that they doe not loue God so feruently as they should doe that they doe not beleue him so hartely as they would but rather they oftētimes dout whether God haue a care of them or no they are impatient and are angrie with God in aduersitie Hereof as I haue sayd proceede the sorowfull complaintes of the faithfull in the scriptures and specially in the Psalmes And Paule him selfe complaineth that he is solde vnder sinne And here he saith that the flesh resisteth rebelleth against the spirit But because they mortifie the deedes of that flesh by the spirite as he sayth in an other place also in the ende of this chapiter They crucifie the flesh vvith the desires and lustes thereof therefore these sinnes doe not hurt them nor condemne them But if they obey the flesh in fulfilling the lustes thereof then doe they lose Faith and the holy Ghost And if they doe not abhorre their sinne and returne vnto Christ who hath geuen power to his church to receaue and raise vppe those that be falne that so they may recouer Faith and the holy Ghost they die in their sinnes Wherefore we speake not of them which dreame that they haue Faith and
yet continue still in their sinnes These men haue their iudgement already They that liue after the flesh shall die Also The vvorkes of the flesh are manifest vvhich are adulterie fornication vncleannes vvantonnes idolatrie vvitchcraft hatred debate emulations vvrath contentions seditions heresies enuie murthers drunkennes gluttonie and such like vvhereof I tell you before as also I haue told you that they vvhich doe such things shall not inherite the kingdom of God. Hereby we may see who be the very Saincts in dede They be not stocks stones as the Monkes and Scholemen dreame so that they are neuer moued with any thing neuer feele any lusts or desires of the flesh but as Paule sayth their flesh lusteth against the spirit and therfore they haue sinne and both can doe sinne And the .32 Psalme witnesseth that the faithfull doe confesse their vnrighteousnes pray that the wickednes of their sinne may be forgeuen where it sayeth I vvill confesse against my selfe my vvickednes vnto the Lord and thou forgauest the punishment of my sinne Therefore shall euery one that is godly make his prayer vnto thee c. Moreouer the whole Church which in deede is holy prayeth that her sinnes may be forgeuen her and it beleueth the forgeuenes of sinnes And in the .143 Psalme Dauid prayeth O Lord enter not into iudgement vvith thy seruaunt for in thy sight shall none that liueth be iustified And in the .130 Psalm If thou O Lord shouldest straitly marke iniquities Lord vvho shall stand in thy presence But vvith thee is mercy c. Thus doe the cheefest saincts and children of God speake and pray as Dauid Paule c. All the faithfull therfore doe speake and pray the same thing and with the same spirit The popish Sophisters read not the Scriptures or if they read thē they haue a veile before their eyes and therfore as they can not iudge rightly of any thing so can they not iudge rightly either of sinne or of holines Verse 18. If ye be led by the spirite ye are not vnder the lavve Paule cannot forget his doctrine of Faith but still repeateth it beateth it into their heades yea euen when he treateth of good works Here some man may obiect How can it be that we should not be vnder the law and yet thou notwithstanding O Paule teachest vs that we haue flesh which lusteth against the spirit fighteth against vs tormēteth vs and bringeth vs into bondage And in deede we feele sinne and can not be deliuered from the feeling therof though we would neuer so faine And what is this else but to be vnder the law But sayth he Let this nothing trouble you onely doe your endeuour that ye may be led by the spirite that is to say shew your selues willing to folow obey that will which resisteth the flesh and doth not accomplish the lustes thereof for this is to be led and to be drawne by the spirite then are ye not vnder the lawe So Paule speaketh of himselfe Rom. 7. In my minde I serue the lavve of God that is to say In spirit I am not subiect to any sinne but yet in my flesh I serue the law of sinne The faithfull then are not vnder the lawe that is to say in spirite for the law can not accuse them nor pronounce sentence of death against them although they feele sinne and confesse them selues to be sinners For the power and strength of the lawe is taken from it by Christ vvho vvas made subiect to the lavve that he might redeme them vvhich vvere vnder the lavve Therefore the lawe cannot accuse that for sinne in the faithfull which is sinne in deede and committed against the lawe So great then is the power and dominion of the spirite that the lawe cannot accuse the godly though they commit that which is sinne in deede For Christe is our righteousnes whom we apprehend by Faith he is without all sinne and therfore the law can not accuse him As long as we cleaue fast vnto him we are ledde by the spirite and are free from the lawe And so the Apostle euen when he teacheth good workes forgetteth not his doctrine concerning Iustification but alwayes sheweth that it is impossible for vs to be iustified by workes For the remnants of sinne cleaue fast in our flesh and therefore so long as our flesh liueth it ceaseth not to lust contrary to the spirite Notwithstanding there cometh no daunger vnto vs thereby because we be free from the law so that we walke in the spirite And with these wordes If ye be ledde by the spirite ye be not vnder the lavve thou maist greatly comfort thy selfe and others that be greeuously tempted For it oftentimes commeth to passe that a mā is so vehemently assailed with wrath hatred impatiencie carnall desire terrour and anguish of spirite or some other lust of the flesh that he can not shake them of though he would neuer so faine What should he doe in this case Should he despaire No God forbid but let him say thus with him selfe Thy flesh fighteth and rageth against the spirite Let it rage as long as it listeth onely see thou that in any case thou consent not to it to fulfill the lusts therof but walke wisely folow the leading of the spirit In so doing thou art free from the law It accuseth and terrifieth thee I graunt but altogether in vaine In this conflict therfore of the flesh against the spirit there is nothing better then to haue the word of God before thine eyes and therin to seeke the comfort of the spirite And let not him which suffereth this temptation be dismayed in that the Deuil can so aggrauate sinne that during the conflict he thinketh him selfe to be vtterly ouerthrowne and feeleth nothing else but the wrath of God and desperation Here in any wise let him not folow his owne feeling and the iudgement of reason but lette him take sure hold of this saying of Paule If ye be led by the spirite that is to wit if ye raise vp and comfort your selues through faith in Christ ye be not vnder the lawe So shall he haue a strong buckler wherewith he may beat backe all the fierie dartes which that wicked feende assaileth him withall How much so euer then the flesh doe boyle and rage yet can not all her motions and rages hurt cōdemne him for as much as he folowing the guiding of the spirite doth not consent vnto the flesh nor fulfill the lustes thereof Therefore when the motions of the flesh doe rage the onely remedie is to take to vs the sword of the spirite that is to say the word of saluation which is that God would not the death of a sinner but that he cōuert liue and to fight against them Which if we doe let vs not doubt but we shall obtaine the victorie although so long as the battaile endureth we feele the plaine
imagination the Monkes and Scholemen hadde of their Sainctes as though they hadde bene very senselesse blockes and without all affections The virgine Marie felt great griefe and sorowe of spirite when she missed her sonne Luke 2. Dauid in the Psalmes complaineth that he is almost swalowed vppe with excessiue sorrowe for the greatnes of his temptations and sinnes Paule also complaineth that he hath battelles without and terrours within and that in his flesh he serueth the lawe of sinne He sayeth that he is carefull for all the Churches and that God shewed great mercie towardes him in that he deliuered Epaphroditus being at the poynt of death to life againe lest he should haue had sorrow vppon sorrow Therefore the Sainctes of the Papists are like to the Stoickes who imagined such wise men as in all the world were neuer yet to be found And by this foolish and Deuelish perswasion which proceeded of the ignoraunce of this doctrine of Paule the Scholemen brought both them selues and others without number into horrible desperation When I was a Monke I did oftentimes most hartely wish that I might once be so happy as to see the conuersation and life of some Sainct or holy man But in the meane time I imagined such a Sainct as liued in the wildernes abstaining from meat and drinke and liuing onely with rootes of herbes and colde water and this opinion of those monstrous sainctes I had learned not onely out of the bookes of the Sophisters and Scholemen but also out of the bookes of the fathers For thus wryteth Hierome in a certaine place As touching meates and drinkes I say nothing for as much as it is excesse that euē such as are weake and feeble should vse cold water or eate any sodden thing c. But now in the light of the Gospel we plainly see who they are whom Christ and his Apostles call Saincts Not they which liue a sole a single life or straitly obserue dayes meates apparel such other things or in outward appearance do other great monstrous works as we read of many in the liues of the fathers but they which being called by the sound of the Gospell and baptised doe beleue that they be iustified and clensed by the death of Christ So Paule euery where wryting to Christians calleth them holy the children and heires of God c. Who so euer then doe beleue in Christe whether they be men or women bond or free are all Sainctes not by their owne workes but by the workes of God which they receiue by Faith as his word his Sacraments the passion of Christ his death resurrection victorie and the sending of the holy Ghost To conclude they are Sainctes through such a holines as they freely receaue not through such a holines as they them selues haue gotten by their owne industrie good workes and merites So the ministers of the worde the Magistrates of common weales parents children maisters seruauntes c. are true Saincts if first and before all things they assure themselues that Christ is their wisedom righteousnes sanctification and redemption Secondly if euery one doe his duetie in his vocation according to the rule of Gods word and obey not the flesh but represse the lustes and desires thereof by the spirite Now where as all be not of like strength to resist temptatiōs but many infirmities and offences are seene in the most part of men this nothing hindereth their holines so that their sinnes procede not of an obstinate wilfulnes but onely of frailtie and infirmitie For as I haue sayd before the godly doe feele the desires and lusts of the flesh but they resist them to the ende that they accomplish them not Also if they at any time vnaduisedly fall into sinne yet notwithstāding they obtaine forgeuenes thereof if by Faith in Christe they be raised vppe againe who would not that we should driue away but seeke out and bring whom the straying and lost sheepe c. Therfore God forbid that I should straighte way iudge those which are weake in Faith and maners to be prophane or vnholy if I see that they loue reuerence the word of God to come to the supper of the Lord c. For these God hath receaued counteth them righteous thorough the remissiō of sinnes to him they stand or fall c. Wherefore with great reioysing I geue thankes to God for that he hath abundantly and aboue measure graunted that vnto me which I so earnestly desired of him when I was a Monke For he hath geuen vnto me the grace to see not one but many Sainctes yea an infinite nomber of true sainctes not such as the Sophisters haue deuised but such as Christe himselfe his Apostles doe describe Of the which nomber I assure my selfe to be one For I am baptised and I doe beleue that Christ my Lord by his death hath redemed and deliuered me from all my sinnes and hath geuen to me eternall righteousnes and holines And let him be holden accursed who so euer shall not geue this honour vnto Christe to beleue that by his death his word c. he is iustified and sanctified Wherfore reiecting this foolish and wicked opinion concerning the name of Saincts which in the time of Poperie and ignorance we thought to pertaine onely to the Sainctes which are in heauen and in earth to the Heremites and Monkes which did certaine great and straunge workes let vs now learne by the holy Scripture that all they which faithfully beleue in Christ are Saincts The world hath in great admiration the holines of Benedict Gregorie Bernard Fraunces and such like because it heareth that they haue done in outward appearance and in the iudgement of the world certaine great and excellent workes Doutles Hyllarie Cyrill Athanasius Ambrose Augustine and others were Saincts also which liued not so strait and seuere a life as they did but were conuersant amongs men and did eate common meates drunke wine and vsed clenly and comely apparell so that in a maner there was no difference betwene them other honest men as touching the common custome and the vse of things necessary for this life and yet were they to be preferred farre aboue the other These men taught the doctrine and faith of Christe sincerely purely without any superstition they resisted heretikes they purged the church from innumerable errours their company and familiaritie was comfortable to many and specially to those which were afflicted and heauie harted whom they raised vppe and comforted by the word of god For they did not withdraw them selues from the company of men but they executed their offices euen where most resort of people was Contrariwise the other not onely taught many things contrary to the Faith but also were themselues the authors first inuentours of many superstitions errours abhominable ceremonies and wicked worshippings Therefore except at the houre of death they laid hold of Christe and reposed their whole
chastly that they should be no adulterers no fornicatours no wantons and if they cannot liue chastly he would haue them to marrie Also that they should not be contentious or quarellers that they should not be geuen to drunkennes or surfetting but that they should abstaine from all these things Chastitie or continencie containeth all these Hierome expoundeth it of virginitie onely as though they that be married could not be chast or as though the Apostle did wryte these things onely to virgines In the 1. and .2 Chapt. to Tit. he warneth also Bishops yong women and maried folkes both man and wife to be chast and pure Verse 23. Against such there is no lavve In deede there is a lawe but not against such As he sayth also in an other place The lavve is not geuen to the righteous man. For the righteous liueth in such wise that he hath no neede of any lawe to admonish or to constraine him but without constraint of the lawe he willingly doth those things which the lawe requireth Therefore the law cannot accuse or condemne those that beleue in Christe In deede the law troubleth and terrifieth our consciences but Christ apprehēded by Faith vanquisheth it with all his terrours threatnings To them therefore the lawe is vtterly abolished and hath no power to accuse them for they doe that of their owne accord which the law requireth They haue receaued the holy Ghost by Faith who wil not suffer them to be idle Although the flesh resist yet doe they walke after the spirite So a Christian accomplisheth the law inwardly by Faith for Christ is the perfection of the lawe vnto righteousnes to all that doe beleue outwardly by workes and by remission of sinnes But those which performe the workes or desires of the flesh the law doth accuse and condemne both ciuily and spiritually Verse 24. For they that are Christes haue crucified the flesh vvith the affections and lustes thereof This whole place concerning workes sheweth that the true beleuers are no hypocrites Therfore let no man deceaue him selfe For whosoeuer sayeth he pertaine vnto Christe haue crucified the flesh with all the vices and lustes thereof For the Sainctes in as much as they haue not yet vtterly put of the corrupt and sinnefull flesh are enclined to sinne and doe neither feare not loue God so perfectly as they ought to doe Also they be prouoked to anger to enuie to impatiencie to vncleane lusts and such like motions which notwithstanding they accomplish not for as Paule here sayeth they crucifie the flesh with all the affectiōs and lusts therof Which thing they do not onely when they represse the wantonnes of the flesh with fasting and other exercises but also as Paule sayd before when they walke according to the spirite that is when they being admonished by the threatnings of God wherby he sheweth that he will seuerely punish sinne are afeard to commit sinne Also when they being armed with the word of God with faith and with prayer doe not obey the lustes of the flesh When they resist the flesh after this maner they naile it to the crosse with the lustes and desires thereof so that although the flesh be yet aliue yet can it not performe that which it would doe for as much as it is bound both hand and foote and fast nailed to the crosse The faithfull then so long as they liue here doe crucifie the flesh that is to say they feele the lusts therof but they obey them not For they being furnished with the armour of God that is with Faith hope and the sword of the spirite doe resist the flesh and with these spirituall nailes they fasten the same vnto the crosse so that it is constrained to be subiect to the spirite Afterwardes when they die they put it of wholy and when they shall rise againe from death to life they shall haue a pure and vncorrupt flesh without all affections and lustes The sixth Chapter If vve liue in the spirite let vs also vvalke in the spirite THE Apostle reckened before amongst the workes of the flesh heresie and enuie and pronounced sentence against those which are enuious and which are authors of Sectes that they should not inherite the kingdom of god And now as if he had forgotten that which he sayd a litle before he againe reproueth those which prouoke and enuie one an other Why doth he so was it not sufficient to haue done it once In deede he doth it of purpose for he taketh occasion here to inueigh against that execrable vice of vaineglory which was the cause of the troubles that were in all the churches of Galatia and hath bene alwayes most pernicious and hurtful to the whole Church of Christe Therefore in his Epistle to Titus he would not that a proud mā should be ordained a Bishop For Pride as Augustine truly saith is the mother of all heresies or rather the headspring of all sinne and confusion Which thing all histories as well holy as prophane doe witnesse Now vainglory or arrogancie hath alwayes ben a common poyson in the world which the very Heathen Poetes and Hystorigraphers haue alwayes vehemently reproued There is no village wherin there is not some one or other to be found that would be counted wiser and be more estemed then all then rest But they are chiefly infected with this disease which stand vpon their reputatiō for learning and wisedom In this case no mā wil yeld to an other according to this saying Ye shall not lightly finde a man that vvill yeelde vnto others the praise of vvitte and skill For it is a goodly thing to see men poynt at one and say this is he But it is not so hurtful in priuate persons no nor in any kind of magistrate as it is in them that haue any charge in the church Albeit in ciuile gouernment specially if it be in great personages it is not onely a cause of troubles and ruines of common weales but also of the troubles and alteration of kingdoms and Empires Which thing the hystories both of the Scripture and prophane wryters doe witnesse But when this poyson creepeth into the Church or spirituall kingdom it can not be expressed how hurtfull it is For there is no contention as touching learning witte beautie riches kingdoms Empires and such like but as touching saluation or damnation eternall life or eternall death Therfore Paul earnestly exhorteth the ministers of the word to flie this vice saying If vve liue in the spirit c. As if he should say If it be true that we liue in the spirite let vs also procede and walke in the spirit For where the spirite is it reneweth men and worketh in them new motions that is to say wheras they were before vaineglorious wrathfull and enuious it maketh them now humble gentle and patient Such men seeke not their owne glory but the glory of God they doe not prouoke or enuie one
not of terrour or heauines but of boldnes ioy gladnes Therfore if ye see any brother cast downe afflicted by occasion of sinne which he hath cōmitted runne vnto him reaching out your hand raise him vp againe comfort him with sweete words embrace him with motherly armes As for those that be hard harted obstinate which without feare continue carelesly in their sinnes rebuke thē sharply But on the other side as I said they that be ouertakē with any sinne are heauy sorowful for their fault which they haue cōmitted must be raised vp admonished by you that are spiritual and that in the spirit of meekenes not in the zeale of seuere iustice as some haue done who whē they should haue refreshed thirsty consciences with some sweete cōsolation gaue thē gall vineger to drinke as the Iewes did vnto Christ hanging vpon the crosse Ezechiel sayeth of the shepheards of Israel that they ruled the flocke of God with cruelty rigour but a brother ought to cōfort his brother that is falne with a louing a meke spirit Againe let him that is falne heare the word of him that raiseth him vp beleue it For God would not haue those that are brused to be cast away but to be raised vp as the Psalme saith For God hath bestowed more for them than we haue done that is to say the life and bloud of his owne sonne Wherfore we ought also to receiue to aide comfort such with all mildnes and gentlenes Verse 1. Considering thy selfe lest thou also be tempted This is a very necessary admonition to beat downe the sharpe dealing of such pastours as shew no pity in raising vp restoring againe them which are falne There is no sinne saith Augustin which any mā hath done but an other man may do the same We stād on a slipperie groūd therfore if we waxe proud leaue of our duty there is nothing so easie vnto vs as to fall It was well sayd therfore of one in the booke called the liues of the fathers when it was told him that one of his brethrē was falne into whoredō He fel yesterday saith he and I may fall to day Paul therfore addeth this earnest admonitiō that the pastors shuld not be rigorous and vnmerciful towardes the offenders or measure their owne holines by other mens sinnes but that they shuld beare a motherly affection towards thē thinke thus with thēselues This mā is fallen it may be that I also shal fal more dāgerously more shamefully thā he did And if they which be so ready to iudge condemne other would well consider their owne sinnes they should finde the sinnes of others which are falne to be but motes and their owne sinnes to be great beames Let him therfore that stādeth take hede lest he fal If Dauid which was so holy a mā ful of faith the spirit of god which had such notable promises of god which also did so many great thīgs for the lord did fall so greeuously being now strickē in yeres was ouerthrown with youthful lust after so many diuers tēptations wherw t God had exercised him why shuld we presume of our owne cōstancy And god by such exāples doth shew vnto vs first our owne weaknes that we shuld not waxe proud but stād in feare Then he sheweth vnto vs his iudgemēt that he cā beare nothing lesse than pride either against himself or against our brethrē Paule therfore saith not without cause Considering thy selfe lest thou also be tempted They that be exercised with temptations do know how necessary this commaundement is On the other side they which be not tried therwith do not vnderstād Paule and therfore are not touched with any pity toward them that are fallen as was to be seene in Poperie where nothing else raigned but tyrannie and crueltie Verse 2. Beare ye one an others burden so fulfil the lavv of Christ This is a gentle cōmaundemēt to the which he ioyneth a great cōmendatiō The law of Christ is the law of loue Christ after he had redemed vs renewed vs made vs his church gaue vs no other law but the law of mutual loue Iohn 13. A nevv cōmaūdemēt geue I to you that ye loue together c. And to loue is not as the Popish Sophisters dreame to wish well one to an other but one to beare an others burdē that is to beare those things which he greeuous vnto thee and which thou wouldest not willingly beare Therfore Christians must haue strong shoulders mighty bones that they may beare flesh that is the weaknes of their brethern for Paule sayth that they haue burdens troubles Loue therfore is milde courteous patient not in receiuing but in geuing For it is constrained to winke at many things to beare them Faithful teachers do see in the church many errours offences which they are cōpelled to beare In the common weale subiectes are neuer so obedient to the lawes of the magistrates as they should be Therefore vnlesse the magistrate can winke dissemble in time place he shal neuer be meete to rule the commō wealth In houshold affaires there be many things done which displease the master of the house But if we can beare winke at our owne vices offences which we daily cōmit let vs also beare other mens faults according to that saying bear ye one an others burdē c. Again Thou shalt loue thy neighbor as thy self Seing then there be vices in euery state of life in all men therfore Paule setteth forth the law of Christ vnto the faithful wherby he exhorteth them to beare one an others burden They which do not so doe plainly witnesse that they vnderstand not one iote of the law of Christ which is the law of loue which as Paule sayth 1. Cor. 13. beleueth all things hopeth all things and beareth all the burdens of the brethern yet alwayes holding notwithstanding the first cōmaundement wherin they that offend do not transgresse the law of Christ that is to say the law of charitie they doe not hurt nor offend their neighbour but Christe and his kingdom which he hath purchased with his owne blood This kingdom is not maintained by the lawe of charitie but by the word of God by Faith and by the holy Ghost This commaundement then of bearing one an others burden belongeth not to them which deny Christ and not only doe not acknowledge their sinne but also defend it neither doth it belong vnto those which continue still in their sinnes who also do partly deny Christ but such must be forsakē lest we become partakers of their euil workes On the contrary they which willingly heare the word of God beleue and yet notwithstanding against their will do fall into sinne after they be admonished doe not only receaue such admonition gladly but also detest their sinne
scholer abide in his vocation and do his duetie therein faithfully not troubling him selfe with those workes which pertaine not to his vocation he may glory and reioyce in himselfe for he may say I haue done the workes of my vocation appoynted vnto me by God with such faithfulnes and diligēce as I was able Therfore I know that this worke being done in faith obedience to God pleaseth god If other speake euill of it I passe little thereof For there be alwayes some which despise and sclaunder the doctrine life of the godly but God hath threatned to destroy all lying lippes sclaunderous tounges Therfore whilest such men doe greedely seeke after vaineglory and with lies and sclaunders goe about to deface the godly it hapneth to them as Paule saith vvhose glory is their shame And in an other place Their foolishnes shal be knovvne to all mē By whom Euen by God the righteous iudge who as he will vtter their false accusations and sclaunders so will he reueale the righteousnes of the godly like the none day as it is said Psal. 17. This clause in himselfe to touch this also by the way must so be vnderstand that God be not excluded That is that euery man may know in what godly state of life so euer he be that his worke is a diuine worke for it is the worke of his vocation hauing the cōmaundement of God. Verse 5. For euery man shall beare his ovvne burden This is as it were the reason or confirmation of the former sentence lest any man should leane to other mens iudgement in praising commending of him As if he sayde It is extreme madnes for thee to seeke glory in an other not in thy selfe for in the agony of death and the last iudgement it shall nothing profite thee the other men haue praised thee for other men shall not beare thy burden but thou shalt stand before the iudgement seat of Christ shalt beare thine burden alone There thy praisers shall nothing helpe thee For when we die these praises shall cease And in that day when that Lord shall iudge the secretes of all harts the witnes of thine owne conscience shal stand either with thee or against thee Against thee if thou glory in other men with thee if thou haue it in thy selfe that is to say if thy conscience beare thee witnes that thou hast done thy duetie in the ministerie of the word or otherwise according to thy calling sincerely and faithfully hauing respect to the glory of God onely and the saluation of soules And these words Euery man shall beare his ovvne iudgement are very vehement and ought so to terrifie vs that we should not be desirous of vaineglory And this moreouer is to be noted that we are not here in the matter of iustification where nothing auaileth but mere grace and forgeuenes of sinnes which is receaued by faith alone where all our works also yea euen our best works and such as are done according to Gods calling haue nede of forgeuenes of sinnes But this is an other case He treteth not here of the remission of sinnes but cōpareth true works hypocritical works together These things therfore ought thus to be taken that although that work or ministery of a godly pastor is not so perfect but that he hath nede of forgeuenes of sinnes yet in it selfe it is good perfect in cōparison of the ministerie of the vainglorious mā So our ministery is good sound because we seeke therby the glory of God the saluation of soules But the ministery of these fantastical heads is not so for they seke their owne praise Albeit therfore that no works cā quiet the conscience before God yet is it necessary that we should perswade our selues that we haue done our worke vprightly truly according to Gods calling that is that we haue not corrupted the word of God but haue taught it purely faithfully This testimony of cōscience we haue neede of that we haue done our duety vprightly in our function calling led our life accordingly So farre ought we then to glory as touchīg our works as we know thē to be cōmaūded of God that they please him For euery one in the last iudgemēt shal beare his owne burden and therefore other mens praises shall there nothing helpe or profit him Hetherto he hath spoken against that most pestilent vice of vain-glory for the suppressing wherof no man is so strong but that he hath nede of continuall praier For what mā almost euen among the godly is not delited with his owne praises Only the holy Ghost can preserue vs that we be not infected with this vice Verse 6. Let him that is taught in the vvord make him that teacheth him partaker of all his goodes Here he preacheth to the disciples or hearers of the word cōmaunding thē to bestow al good things vpō those which haue taught instructed thē in the word I haue somtime maruelled why the Apostle cōmaunded the churches so diligētly to nourish their teachers For in Popery I sawe that all men gaue abundantly to the building maintaining of goodly tēples to the encreasing of the reuenues liuings of those which were apoynted to their idolatrous seruice Hereof it came that the estimation riches of the bishops and the rest of the Clergie did so encrease that euery where they had in possession the best and most fruteful grounds Therfore thought I that Paule had commaunded this in vaine seeing that all maner of good things were not only abundantly geuen to the Cleargie but also they ouerflowed in wealth and riches Wherfore I thought that men ought rather to be exhorted to withhold their hands from geuing then encouraged to geue any more for I sawe that by this excessiue liberalitie of men the couetousnes of the Cleargie did encrease But now I know the cause why they had such abundance of all good things heretofore and now the pastors and ministers of the word doe want Before time when nothing else was taught but errours and wicked doctrine they had such plentie of all things that of Peters patrimonie which denied that he had either siluer or gold and of spirituall goods as they called them the Pope was become an Emperour the Cardinals and Bishops were made kings and Princes of the world But now since the Gospell hath bene preached and published the professors therof be as rich as sometime Christe and his Apostles were We finde then by experience how well this commaundement of nourishing and maintaining the pastours and ministers of Gods word is obserued which Paule here and in other places so diligently repeateth and beateth into the heads of his hearers There is now no City which is knowen vnto vs that nourisheth and maintaineth her pastours and preachers but they are all entertained with those goodes which were geuen not vnto Christ to whom no man geueth any thing for
haue sinned and had their infirmities yet God hath deliuered vnto vs by their ministerie vvhatsoeuer he vvould haue vs to folovv vvithout corruption * 2. Sam. 7.3.4.5 Actes 1.6 Peter sinned Math. 28. Actes 10.11 No Sainctes vvithout sin Dissention betvvene Paule and Barnabas Actes 15.1.2.3 The fauls of the Sainctes bring great comfort vnto vs. Iudges 1.6 2 Sam 11.24 Iob. 3.12 Iob. 4 c. Ierem. 10.14 Ionas 4 3. Peter liueth vvith the GeÌ„tiles like a Gentile 1 Cor. â— 20.21 The offence of Peter VVhat the beleuing Ievves gathered of Peters abstaining A facte is one thing and the end of a facte an other Meates may be refused tvvo maner of vvaies 1 Cor. 9. The dissimulation of Peter The sinne of Peter A fall in doctrine is easy The Councell holden at Ierusalem Acts. 15. 1. Cor. 10.12 * Ceremonies are daungerous and if such offence come by keping those vvhich vvere commaunded of God vvhat may vve think of such as Antechrist hath deuised seruing to no edification Peters dissimulation Dissimulation vvhat it is * Paphnutius stoode in the defence of the mariage of ministers against the vvhole Councell The lavve and the Gospell must be discerned one from the other The lavve and reason are against faith VVhat vve must do vvheÌ„ our coÌ„science is terrified Exod. 19.16 Moises in the mountaine vvas aboue the lavv so in matters of faith vve must haue nothing to doe vvith the lavv VVe must not trust in our ovvn streÌ„gth VVithout Gods assistaÌ„ce vve can doe nothing Luc. 17.5 Peter knovveth not his errour The difference of the lavve and the Gospel is most diligently to be learned The difference betvvene the lavv and the Gospell VVhen the lavv is to be vrged The lavv hath nothing to do vvith the conscience The Pope maketh the Gospell lavv and confoundeth them both together Hovv necessary this difference is to be knovven The Gospell a straunger in tentations The lavve a continuall gest The time of the Gospell An obiection of the lavv VVhen vve must heare the lavv To liue like the Ievves Peter through his dissimulation compelled the Gentiles to liue like the Ievves Things indifdifferent may not clogge mens consciences Peters errour Libertie of conscience 2. Cor. 11. â— VVhat an afflicted conscience ought chiefly to looke vpon Galat. 1.14 The prerogatiue of the Ievves Gen. 17.10 Iohn 8.33 Rom. 2.17 Faith onely iustifieth All things deadly vvithout faith The vvorke of the lavve VVorks done before iustification and after iustification Cicero Pomponius Atticus Paule intreateth of the vvhole lavve The Papistes Diuinitie Merite of Congruence Merite of duetie and vvorthines The doctryne of the Papistes vvicked and blasphemous against Christ and his righteousnes VVhat the Papistes call deadly sinne A description of a deadly or mortall sinner Desert of congruence and vvorthines a vaine and folish toy The ground of the vvhole Popedom The first poynt of true Christianitie is that a man do acknovvledge himselfe to be a sinner Math. 7 1â— Rom. 14.23 The second part is to beleue the forgeuenes of our sinnes Iohn 3.17 The office of the lavve MeritmoÌ„gers take from God the glory of his Godhead The vanitie of the Papistes in that foolish distinction of congrunuum condigâ—m VVhat the Papistes call formall righteousnes The Papistes take their formall righteousnes vvhich they call charitie to be that grace vvherby vve are made acceptable vnto God. Scotus Occam The pernicious opinion of the Papistes Iohn 17.1 The doctrine of the Sophisters The lavv fulfilled tvvo maner of vvaies say the Papistes according to the substance of the deede and according to the intent or purpose of the CommauÌ„der True Christian faith Christ is the obiect vvhich faith beholdeth and looketh vpon Exod. 19.9 1. Reg. 8.10 Formall righteousnes Rom. 3.15 Psal. 14.1 Psal. 53.4 Psal. 51.4 Rom. 7.14 Rom. 11.32 Rom. 3.19 The â— parte of the Gospell Mat. 9.1 Esai 53.4 1. Pet. 2.24 Christ is no lavvgeuer Verse 12. Verse 24.25 Rom. 3.25 Rom. 4.3 Christ Faith. Imputation Ebr. 4. Acceptation necessary They that beleue in Christ shall not be charged vvith their sinnes Psal. 32. Rom. 4.21 Io. 17. â— The doctrine of good vvorkes to be taught after the doctrine of faith The Crosse Math. 11.30 VVho is a right ChristiaÌ„ A Christian man hath nothing to doe vvith the lavve 1. Cor. 9.15 Christians are Iudges of all kindes of doctryne The doctrine of the Pope 2. Pet. â— â— The Papacie liuely painted out Papisticall Idolatrie The true vse of the Communion taken avvay by the Pope The horrible abuse of the gospell and Sacraments in the Popedome That the Scholemens glose is vvicked vvhich saith that faith adorned vvith charitie iustifieth 1. Cor. 1â— 1 Faith iustifieth vvithout the lavv The doctrine of good vvorkes is not to be neglected Christ Iohn 6.56 Io. 1.36 Faith onely iustifieth because it onely taketh hold of the benefite of Christ Paule speaketh of the vvhole lavv Genes 15.6 Rom. 4.3 The lavve in any vvise is not to be suffred to raigne in the conscience Rom. 5.2 Rom. 7.7 Our saluation consisteth not in doing but in receauing Hetherto hath Paule spoken to Peter VVhat Paule calleth the flesh Galat. 9.19.20 Iohn 3.6 The blindenes of the Papistes The Pope attributeth the vertue of iustifying to his ovvne traditions vvhich Paule taketh from the lavv of God. VVho vvere saued in the kingdom of the Pope Rom. 1.28 VVith the Papists mans traditions are preferred before the Gospell Sam. 2.30 Iohn 5.23 The dignitie of the lavv The first argument in defence of the righteousnes of faith The Iusticiaries make Moses Christ and the lavve grace Math. 19.17 Christ The office of Christ Rom. 1.16 Iohn 1.36 MeritemoÌ„gers scorne the true preachers of faith Luke 10.18 The differeÌ„ce of the lavve and grace is very easie but yet are they soone confounded and mixed together The Pope coÌ„foundeth the lavve grace together Faith infused the ScholemeÌ„ call that faith vvhich is poured into vs or geuen vnto vs of God. The Papistes and Anabaptistes against the sound doctrine of iustification They that say the lavve is necessary to righteousnes are like to the false apostles Luke 10 2â— Math. 19 1â— The state of the matter Verse 17. If our righteousnes come by the lavve then is Christ in vaine Faith in Christ Ioh. 3.16 Ioh. 5. â—4 The doctrine of the Papists Ioh. 1 2â—.36 The Papistes are touched 2. Cor. 3.6.7.8 The ministery of Moses A minister of sinne Let all Papists and Anabaptistes marke this point that euen in the iustified there is not perfect fredom from sinne Rom. 7.23 1. Timot. 1.7 The office and vse of the lavv To be vnder the lavv Deut. 27.6 Galat. 3.10 2. Cor. 3.7 The ministery of the lavv is the ministery of sinne Rom. 7.11 Exod. 5. The scripture calleth the teachers of the lavv exactors and tirants The teachers of the lavve bring mens soules into spirituall slauery The history of the deliuery of the lavv in Exod. 19.20 Verse 17. The office of
iust doth liue by faith The differeÌ„ce betvvene a true and a false faith The formed faith of the Scholemen True faith before God. Faith only taketh holde of Christ The lavv teacheth loue Deut. 6.5 Mat. 22.37 Mar. 12.29 Exod. 20.6 Mat. 22.40 The beleuing man obtaineth righteousnes and euerlasting life vvith out the lavve and charitie The promise and the lavv faith and vvorks are separate the one from the other The lavv Faith. They that doe the lavv morally The righteousnes of the lavv Galat. 3 1â— The righteousnes of faith Verse 11. The office of the lavv and the office of faith Fides formata Fides informis Fides acquisita such other are cursed and monstrous termes deuised by the Papistes The office of the lavve VVhere is he that doth the lavve The office of faith Rom. 10. â— Rom. 10.4 Christ the end of the lavv Galat. 4.4 5. The Godly do the lavve 1. Cor. 11.11 VVhen faith hath an ondâ— VVho they are that Paule calleth righteous To doe the lavve A double vse of the lavve The imaginatioÌ„ of Ierome vnderstanding Paule as though he spake of the lavv but morally and as it is separate from faith A picture of al Hypocrites Mat 15.9 Rom. 7.23 Remnauntes of sinne in the Sainctes and in the elect of God. Deutâ—â— â—1 â—5 Deut. 3â— â—5 Christ bearing the curse not for himselfe VVhat this vvorde for us importeth Christ tooke vpon him the person of a transgressour and therefore must be hanged Esay 53.12 Christ the greatest sinner of all others because he bare the sinnes of the vvhole vvorld Esay 53.5 Mat. 8 17. 1. Pet. 2. â—â— Christ tooke our sinnes vpon him VVhat incommodities follovve of the doctrine of the ScholemeÌ„ Christ must be vvrapped as vvell in our sinnes as in our flesh and bloud An obiection that Christ ought not to be called a Curse Christ is made a Curse and become sinne for vs 2. Cor. 5. â— Io. 1.29 Christ the Lambe of God 1. Pet. 2.22 Our sinne must become Christes ovvne sinne Esay 53.6 Psal. 40 1â— A singular coÌ„solation of the faithfull * He alludeth to the brasen Serpent The faith of the Papistes formed and made perfect vvith charity Our sinnes are taken avvay by Christ alone Of vvhat pointes the doctrine of the Gospell encreateth The lavv hath accused and killed Christ The article of iustification * This opposition called Antithesis is a comparing and matching of tvvo contraties together 1. Cor. 15.57 A maruelous comâ—ate betvvene sinne and righteousnes in Christ Righteousnes Sinne. Righteousnes the conquerour of sinne The combate betvvene life and death The conquered life the vanquisher of death Hoseas 13.34 The conflict of the curse vvith the blessing Christ the ouercommer of the Curse Colos 2.15 In him selfe Sinne and death abolished to all beleuers Io. 5.40 They that deny the article of the Diuiniti of Christ deny also the article of redeÌ„ption They become Turkes and Gentiles vvhich denie the Diuinitie of Christ Christ God by nature The blindnes and vvickednes of the Papistes The harnesse of Christians â–ª set out Ephes 6. The vvorke of God to abolish death and to geue life 2. Pet. 2. â—1 Luke 11.26 VVhat maner of doctrine the doctrine of the Gospell iâ— Christ tooke our sinnes of his ovvne accord and therfore it behoued him to be made a Curse for them Philip. 2.7 Faith onely layeth holde vpon the victory of Christe The Deuil and heretikes lie in vvait to deceaue the Godly I beleue that there is an holy Church The vveaknes of the godly VVhat the Sophisters thinke of Christe Esay 5â— To the beleuers sinne and death are aboliâ—hed The remnants of sinne dead in the saincts Christ hath redemed vs froÌ„ the Curse therfore not the lavve By nature vve are all vnder the Curse but Christ hath redemed al that beleue in him All men yea the most holy remaine vnder the Curse vvithout Christ Hovve Christ is truely knovven 2. Cor. 5.25 Christ is made a Curse and sinne for vs. All the curses of the lavve be laid vpon Christ This is a most sure argumeÌ„t taken out of the vvhole lavve Paule diligently vvayeth this sentence of Genesis In thy seede c. All nations The Ievves attained not to righteousnes through the lavve Rom. 10. In thy seede Christ became accursed that he might blesse all nations Hovv the nations vvere deliuered froÌ„ the Curse In one person Christ ioyneth God and maÌ„ together Hypocrites are offended at the doctrin of the gospell Psa 88.15.16 The true mysteries The Fathers of the old Testament reioyced more of the benefite of Christ then vve doe The proper office of Apostles The blessing geuen vnto the Gentiles by Christe The vvorde Blessing Our desert vvherby vve obtaine the Blessing The vvay hovv to escape the Curse Our sinnes are cast vpon Christ and his righteousnes is geuen vnto vs. The mercy of God tovvards sinners vnspeakeable The greatnes of Gods mercy is so exceeding that it can scant be beleued Of vvhat things the Gospell entreateth The promise of the spirite The nature of Faith. Verse 14. VVhat maner of doctrine the Apostolicall doctrine is The chaunge of things reserrued to Christ alone Exod. â—0 The first commaundement the spring of all the vvisedom of God. Humaine things must be confirmed by diuine things and not contrarivvise diuine things by humaine things An argument taken from Gods creatures holdeth The often vse of similitudes in the holy scriptures Math. 7.11 Rom 13. Ierems 3â— 16 VVhen arguing from humaâ—ne things is of force VVhen it is not of force Our loue is corrupted The testament of a maÌ„ is not chaunged Gods Testament is chauÌ„ged A Testament or last vvill is confirmed by the death of him that maketh it The TestameÌ„t of God ought to be kept vvith greater fidelitie then mans Testament The TestameÌ„t oâ— last VVill of God. VVho are the destroyers of Gods Testament The nature of hypocrites Paule calleth the promise a Testament The TestameÌ„t of man is a shadovve of Gods Testament Christ the Seede promised to Abraham An obiectioÌ„ of the Ievves Paule confuteth the obiection of the Ievves VVhy the lavv is added to the promise The letters he calleth the vvritten vvill or Testament The promise is confirmed by the lavve therefore not abolished VVhat discommoditie should follovve if the lavve should abolish the promise The lavv doth not abrogate the promise but Faith laying hold vpon the promise doth abrogate the lavv The vvritten lavve A Similitude AbrahaÌ„ vvas not made righteous by the lavve for vvhen he liued ther vvas no lavve VVhat maner of arguments Paule vseth The lavv and the promise must be distinguished Both the lavv and the promise must haue their ovvne proper places appoynted vnto them VVhat incommodities follovve of the mingling of the lavve and the promise together The promise must not be confounded vvith the lavve The argument touching the promise The office of the lavve Galat. 3 1â— Galat. 3.10 1. Cor. 15.56 Verse 14. A difference
vehemeÌ„t flames of carnall lust in Hierome The flesh is to be subdued not killed Ephes 5.29 1. Cor. 7.9 The godly feele the concupiscence or lust of the flesh Psal. 4.4 The faithfull haue flesh vvhich resisteth the spirite Rom. 7 1â— The godly feele the terrours and captiuitie of sinne The Monkes such other cloisterers neuer had experience of any spirituall tentations Christ our righteousnes Rom. 9.33 The outvvard righteousnes of the faithfull The godly feling the corruptions of the flesh must not despaire The battell of the flesh and the spirite in the godly To vvalke in the spirite Let all troubled consciences comfort them selues by this example of Martin Luther and say as he said Stanpitius a godly learned man of vvhom he made mention before A holy desperâ—tion â— Psal 143.2 Psal. 130. â— VVhat the godly must do vvhen they feele sinne The conflict battell of the flesh and the spirite in the children of God. Rom 1. â—8 A Christian a maruellous vvorkman Read more hereof before in the lease 246. and in the line 32. The children of God do fele the rebellion of the flesh against the spirite To vvhom God doth not impute sinne Rom. 14.23 The errour of the Sophisters or Scholemen The vvisedom of the godly The godly only feele sinne Rom. 1.14 Galath 5.24 Rom. 8.12 Sentence pronouÌ„ced agaiÌ„st such as obey the lusts of the flesh The true Sainctes of God. Psal. 32.5.6 Psal. 143. â— To be led by the spirite Galath 4.4 VVhat it is to be led by the spirite Hovv a troubled minde is to be comforted Novv the lusts of the flesh must be ouercome The great and vehement tentations of Luther Not to be vnder the lavve Math. 7.10 Hypocrites mingled amongst the godly Euery age of man hath his peculiar temptations * That is a secrete contempt of God vvherof Dauid speaketh Psal. 3.2 Some are exercised vvith greater tentations and some vvith lesse Luke 2.48 2. Cor. â— 5 Rom. 7 2â— VVhom the Stoickes couÌ„ted vvise meÌ„ VVho they be vvhich Christ and his Apostles cal saiÌ„cts VVho be true Sainctes The vveaknes of Faith. Al the faithful be Sainctes A holy life I beleue that there is a holy Church I do not see but I beleue Hypocriticall holines The church is holy The church prayeth that her sinnes maâ— be forgeuen To feele the vnclennes of the flesh is profitable To the godly those things vvhich are euil turne vnto good Christian doctrine raiseth vp and comforteth vveake and troubled consciences VVhat Paule meaneth by flesh Idolatrie or Idoll seruice Carthusians or charterhouse moâ—kâ— The false and true vvorshipping of God. Idolatrie is vnknovvne to the vvorld The Masse horrible idolatrie and blasphemie against Christ Flesh. The vvorkes of the flesh as the Papistes define them Reason estemeth idolatry and heresie for most excellent vertues VVitchcraft Idolatrie Iusticiaries or iustifiers of themselues The Pope an Archheretike No vnitie or concord in the Popish church Drunkards surfetters The most sobre and temperate are many times most assailed vvith tentations Hovv the burning heat of lustes may be quenched An horrible sentence pronounced by Paule The fruites of the spirite Rom. 12.10 The scripture exhorteth vs to reioyce in God. The ioy of the spirite LoÌ„g sufferaÌ„ce or perseuerance The gentlenes and mildnes of Christe Ex libro Clementis ad Iacobum fratrem Domini Chastitie The lavv is abolished to the beleuers in Christ VVhat it is to crucifie the fleâ—h The armour of God. * After the coÌ„mon diuision this is the .25 verse of the former chapter Vaineglory a detestable vice and most pernicious to the church of god Tit. 1.7 Hovv great a mischefe vain glory is Ouide Horace Rom. 12.10 Vaineglory a common vice in the church Math. 9. â—8 2 Cor. 11 15. The nature of false teachers 1. Timo. ◠◠〈◊〉 â— â—0 Rom 10 1â— The authoritie of the false apostles The false apostles despised Paule Such as thrust them selues into the ministerie The ende of vaineglorious teachers Phil. 3.19 Psal. 1.4.5 VVhat vve ought to seke in the gospell Rom. 1.32 Iohn 7 1â— VVhat it is to vvalke in the spirite VVhy God layeth the crosse vpon the preachers of the gospel Rom. 14.16 Rom. 12.10 VVhen men be praised the flesh vvaxeth proud 2. Sam. 14.17 2. Cor. 6.8 VVho vvalke in order and vvho do not Galath 1.5 1. Cor. 4.7 Priuie open enemies of the Gospell VVe must not be proud of our spirituall giftes Luke 12 4â— Ephes 4.12 Actes 10.34 Vainglorious spirites Galath 4.17 Rom. 3.25 The praise of the person of the ministerie Rom. 14.16 2. Cor. 6.3 The effect and fruite of vaineglory Galath 2.5 VVhat offences are to be forgeuen Leuit. 6.3 Gal. 2.20.3.16 Sathan lieth in vvait both against purity of doctrine life Hovv pastorâ— ought to deale vvith them that are fallen The Pope and his bishops are tormeÌ„tors of mens coÌ„sciences Sayings of Pope Gregorie 2. Thes 2.3 By vvhat meanes the Pope establisheth his tyrannie and povver Hovve they that are falne ought to be intreated The spirite of mekenes Ezech. 34.4 Ex libro de vitis patrum Math. 7.3 1. Cor. 10.12 2. Sam. â—1 Loue. 1. Cor. 13.4 Rom. 13.9 VVhose burdens are to be borne 1. Tim. 5.22 The authors of Sectes painted out iÌ„ their right colours Mat. 18.24 â—1 Deceauers of themselues Apoc. 3.17 Desire of vain-glory Vainglorious heades Three vices of the vaineglorious linked together Phil. 2.27 The people delited vvith nouelties He shall lacke no praise that preacheth the Gospel purely The ende of the ministerie of the vvord 2. Tim. 4.5 To haue praise in himselfe VVhat is the glory of heretikes The glory of the godly Iâ—hn 16.32 Phil. 4.4 The vvorld dishonoreth the godly ministers of the vvord 1. Cor. 6.3 The Gospell is the vvord of the crosse and offence 1. Cor. 1.18 The disciples of the gospel VVhat it is for a man to proue his ovvne vvork Exod 20 7. 1. Sam. 2.30 1. Cor. 4.2 The vvorke of euery mans calling Phil. 3.19 2. Tim. 3.9 Psal. 37.6 In death and in the day of iudgement other mennes praises profit not Rom. 2.16 A comparison betvene good vvorkes and hypocriticall vvorke Vaineglory A commaundemeÌ„t for the nourishing of the ministers of the vvord of God. The ministers of SathaÌ„ haue pleÌ„tie but the ministers of Christe doe vvant Luke 2.7 Luke 9.58 Iohn 19. â— Cor. 8. 9. 1. Tim. 4.1 SathaÌ„ oppresseth the gospell tvvo vvaies Mâ—â—h 1.7 Fulnes of Gods vvord bringeth lothing 1. Cor. 9.11 The vvorld lodeth the ministers of Sathan vvith all vvorldly good things The punishment of vnthankfulnes In all good things Gentlemen citizens and husbandmen despisers of Gods ministers Luke 10. â—6 1. Sam. 8.7 Psal. 34.10 Psal. 37.19 Reuerence necessary liuing due to the ministers of the vvord 1. Cor. 9.13.14 Exod. 3. â—â— VVhat it is to sovve in the spirite The heretikes called Encratites VVhose errour the Papistes haue reuiued as touching matrimonie and therfore they may cruely be called nevv Encratites VVe must doe good vvithout vveerines Iohn 9.4 Iohn 12.35 The houshold of faith The motherly affection of Paule Enormities in the false apostles Galath 1.8 Phil. 3.19 Gen. 17.10 14. Gen. 17 1â— Phil. 2.21 The lavv is not accomplished vvith outvvard vvorkes Rom. 14 2â— VVorks done vvithout faith are sinnes The peril that follovveth ambition and vaine glory * That is they do but kepe your flesh in a seruile and slauish exercise The glory of the Christians Actes 5.41 The faithfull suffer for Christe Math. 5.11.12 The glory of the vvorld The crosse of Christ 2. Cor. 1.5 Col. 1.24 The afflictioÌ„s of the godly are the afflictioÌ„s of Christ Actes 9.4 Zach. 2.1 The feeling of the head is most sensible The crosse of the godly iâ— svveete 2. Cor 1.5 Psal. 44 22. Math. 11.30 To glory in the crosse of Christ Rom. 5.3 2. Cor. 7.5 1. Sam. 22.22 Zach. 2. â— Iohn 15.19 To be crucified to the vvorld The contrary iudgement of the faithful of the vvorld as concerning true doctrine 1. Cor. 2.13 1. Iohn 3.8 Iohn 8.44 The vvorld condemneth the life and doctrine of the godly Psal. 139.22 Ephes 6.16 2. Cor. 1â— â— ChristiaÌ„ righteousnes 1. Cor. 1. â— 1. Cor. 2.14 VVithout Christ there is no saluation Vncircumcision signifieth all the Gentiles Circumcision all the Ievves Lavves be good The vse of ceremonies and lavves 1. Cor. 14.40 Gal. 3.5 Eph. 4.24 A nevv creature Actes 15.9 The renevving of the members of the body folovv the renevving of the minde The Papists imagined God to be a marchaunt and to sell his grace for vvorkes and merites A right rule Eph. 4.24 The righteousnes of Monkes Peace Mercy Rom. 9.4.5 Rom. 9.7 8. Ephes 1.16 1. Cor. 4.9 1. Cor. 4.11.12.13 2. Cor. 6.4.5.6 2. Cor. 11 2â—.24.25 â—â— The markes vvhich vve beare at this day Ephes 6.16 Math. 26.41
Christ was geuen for our sinnes that by the good will of the father On the contrary part the curious searching of the Maiestie of God and his dreadfull iudgements namely how he destroyed the whole world with the floud how he destroyed Sodome and such other things are very daūgerous for they bring men to desperation and cast them downe headlong into vtter destruction as I haue shewed before Verse 4. Of God and our Father This word OVR must be referred to both that the meaning may be this of our God and of our father Then is Christes father and our father all one So in the 20. of Iohn Christ sayth to Mary Magdalen Goe to my brethern and say vnto them I ascend vnto my father and your father to my God and to your God. Therfore God is our father and our God but through Christ And this is an Apostolike maner of speache and euen Paules owne phrase who indede speaketh not with such picked and gay wordes but yet very fit and to the purpose and ful of burning zeale Verse 5. To vvhom be glory for euer and euer The Hebrues are wont in their wrytings to intermingle praise and geuing of thankes This custome the Hebrues and Apostles themselues do obserue Which thing may very often be seene in Paule For the name of the Lord ought to be had in great reuerence and neuer to be named without praise thanksgeuing And thus to do is a certaine kind of worship and seruice of god So in worldly matters when we mention the names of kings or princes we are wont to do it with some comely gesture reuerence bowing of the knee much more ought we when we speake of God to bowe the knee of our harte and to name the name of God with thankfulnes and greate reuerence Verse 6. Imaruell Ye see here howe Paule handleth his Galathians which were fallē away and seduced by the false Apostles He doth not at the first set vpon them with vehement rigorous wordes but after a very fatherly sort not onely patiently bearing their fall but also in a maner excusing the same Farthermore he sheweth towards them a motherly affection and speaketh them very faire and yet in such sorte as he reproueth them notwithstanding howbeit with very fitte words and wisely framed to the purpose Contrarywise he is very hotte and full of indignation against those false Apostles their seducers vpon whom he laieth the whole fault And therfore forthw t euen in the entraunce of his Epistle he bursteth out into plaine thunderings and lightenings against them If any man saith he preach any other Gospell then that you haue receaued be he accursed And afterwards in the fifte chapter he threateneth damnation vnto them VVho so troubleth you shall beare his condemnation vvhatsoeuer he be Moreouer he curseth them with horrible words saying I vvould to God they vvere cutte of vvhich trouble you These are dreadfull thunderclaps against the righteousnes of the fleshe or of the lawe He might haue handled the Galathians more vncurteously and haue inueied against them more roughly after this manner Out vpon this backsliding I am ashamed of you your vnthankfulnes greueth me I am angry with you Or els thus tragically haue cried out against thē O vngracious world O wicked dealings c. But forasmuch as his purpose is to raise vp them that were falne and with a fatherly care to call them backe againe from their errour to the puritie of the gospell he leaueth those rough sharpe words especially in the first entraūce and most gently and mildly he speaketh vnto them For seeing he went about to heale them that were wounded it was not meete that he should now further vexe their greene woōd by laying to it a sharpe and a fretting plaster and so rather hurt the wounded then heale them Therfore of all the sweetest and mildest words he could not haue chosen any one more fitte then this I maruel wherby he signifieth both that it greued him and also that it displeased him that they had falne away from him And here Paule is mindfull of his owne rule which he giueth hereafter in the 6 chapiter where he saith Brethern if a man be falne by occasion into any fault ye vvhich are spirituall restore such a one vvith the spirite of meekenes considering thy selfe lest thou also be tempted This example must we also follow that we may shew our selues to beare like affection towards such as are misled as parents beare towards their children that they may perceaue our fatherly and motherly affection towards them and may see that we seeke not their destruction but their welfare But as for the Deuill and his ministers the authors of false doctrine and sects against them we ought by the example of the Apostle to be impatient proud sharpe and bitter detesting and condemning their false iugglings and deceits with asmuch rigour and seueritie as may be So parents when their childe is hurt with the biting of a dogge are wont to pursue the dogge onely but the weeping childe they bemone and speake faire vnto it comforting it with most sweete words The spirite therefore that is in Paule is a wonderfull craftsmaster in handling the afflicted consciences of such as are falne Contrariwise the Pope because he is lead with a wicked spirite breaketh out violently like a tiraunt and rappeth out his thundercracks and cursings against the miserable and terrified in conscience which thing may be seene in his Buls especially in that Bul touching the Lords supper The Bishops also doe their duety neuer a whit better They teache not the Gospell they are not carefull for the sauing of mens soules but onely they seeke Lordshippe and soueraintie ouer them and therefore their speakings and doings are altogether to maintaine and supporte the same In like maner are all the vainglorious Doctours and teachers affected Verse 6. That so soone Ye see how Paule himselfe complaineth that to fall and to erre in the faith is an easy matter In respect whereof he warneth the Christiās in an other place that he vvhich standeth should take hede that he fall nor And we daily proue by experience howe hardly the minde of man conceaueth and kepeth a sure and stedfast faith Also with what greate difficultie a perfect people is gotten to the lord A man may labour halfe a score yeares ere he shall gette some litle church to be righly and religiously ordred and when it is so ordred there creepith in some madde braine yea and a very vnlearned idiote which knoweth nothing but to speake sclaunderously against the sincere preachers of the word and he in one moment ouerthroweth all Whom would not this wicked dealing moue We by the grace of of God haue gotten here at VVitenberge the forme of a Christian church The word among vs is purely taught the sacraments are rightly vsed exhortations and praiers are made also for all estates and
righteousnes in deede Paule setteth against the righteousnes of the law As if he sayd Be it so that the law is an heauenly doctrine and hath also his glory yet notwithstanding it loued not me nor gaue it selfe for me yea it accuseth me terrifieth me and driueth me to desperation But I haue now an other which hath deliuered me from the terrours of the law sinne and death and hath brought me vnto libertie the righteousnes of God and eternall life who is called the sonne of God to whom be praise and glory for euermore Faith therefore as I haue said embraceth and wrappeth in it selfe Christ Iesus the sonne of God deliuered to death for vs as Paule here teacheth who being apprehended by faith geueth vnto vs righteousnes and life And here he setteth out most liuely the Priesthode and offices of Christ which are to pacifie God to make intercession for sinners to offer vppe him selfe a sacrifice for their sinnes to redeme to instruct and to comfort them Let vs learne therefore to geue a true definition of Christ not as the Scholedoctours do and such as seeke righteousnes by their owne workes which make him a new law-geuer who abolishing the olde lawe hath established a newe To these Christ is nothing else but an exactor and a tyranne but let vs define him as Paule here doth namely that he is the sonne of God who not for our desert or any righteousnes of ours but of his owne free mercie offered vppe him selfe a sacrifice for vs sinners that he might sanctifie vs for euer Christ then is no Moses no exactor no geuer of lawes but a geuer of grace a Sauiour and one that is full of mercie briefly he is nothing else but infinite mercie and goodnes freely geuen and bountifully geuing vnto vs And thus shall you paint out Christ in his right coloures If you suffer him to be painted out to you any otherwise then thus when tentation and trouble cometh you shall soone be ouerthrowne Nowe as it is the greatest knowledge and cunning that Christians cā haue thus to define Christ so of all things it is the most hardest For I my selfe euen in this great light of the Gospell wherein I haue bene so long exercised haue much a doe to hold this definition of Christ which Paule here geueth So depely hath this doctrine and pestilent opinion that Christ is a lawgeuer entred in me euen as it were oyle into my boanes Ye yong men therefore are in this case much more happie then we that are olde For ye are not infected with these pernicious errours wherein I haue bene so nusled and so drowned euen from my youth that at the very hearing of the name of Christ my heart hath trēbled and quaked for feare for I was perswaded that he was a seuere iudge Wherefore it is to me a double trauaile trouble to correct and reforme this euill First to forget to condemne and to withstand this olde grounded errour that Christ is a lawgeuer and a Iudge for it often returneth and plucketh me backe Then to plant in my heart a new a true perswasion of Christ that he is a iustifier a Sauiour Ye I say that are yong may learne with much lesse difficultie to know Christ purely and sincerely if ye will. Wherfore if any man feele him selfe oppressed with heauines and anguish of heart he must not impute it vnto Christ although it come vnder the name of Christ but vnto the Deuill who oftentimes cometh vnder the colour of Christ and transformeth himselfe into an Angell of light Let vs learne therefore to put a difference betwene Christ and a lawgeuer not only in word but in practise in deede also that when the Deuil shal come vnder the shadow of Christ shal go about to trouble vs vnder his name we may know him not to be Christ but a very feend in deede For Christ when he cometh is nothing else but ioy and sweetenes to a trembling and broken heart as here Paule witnesseth who setteth him out with this most sweete louing title when he saith vvhich loued me and gaue him selfe for me Christ therefore in very deede is a louer of those which are in bitternes of minde sinne death and such a louer as gaue him selfe for them who is also our high priest that is to say a mediatour betwene God vs wretched sinners What could be sayd I pray you more sweete or comfortable to the poore afflicted conscience Now if these things be true as they are in deede most true or else the Gospell must be nothing else but a fable then are we not iustified by the righteousnes of the lawe and much lesse by our owne righteousnes Read therefore with diligent attention and with great vehemencie these wordes Me and for me and so practise with thy selfe that thou maist well conceaue and print this Me in thy heart and applie it vnto thy selfe with a stedfast faith not doubting but thou art of the number of those to whom this Me belongeth Also that Christ hath not onely loued Peter and Paule and geuen him selfe for them but that the same grace also which is comprehended in this Me doth as well pertaine and extend vnto vs as vnto them For as we can not denie but that we are all sinners and are constrained to say that through the sinne of Adam we were all lost were made the enemies of God subiect to the wrath and iudgement of God and giltie of eternall death for this doe all terrified heartes feele and confesse and more in deede then they should do so can we not denie but that Christ died for our sinnes that he might make vs righteous For he died not to iustifie the righteous but the vnrighteous and to make them the children of God and inheritours of all spirituall heauenly gifts Therfore when I feele confesse my selfe to be a sinner through Adams trāsgression why should I not say that I am made righteous through the righteousnes of Christ especially whē I heare that he loued me gaue himselfe for me This did Paule most stedfastly beleue therfore he speaketh these wordes with so great a vehemencie and full assurance Which he graunt vnto vs in some part at the least who hath loised vs and geuen him selfe for vs. Verse 21. I doe not abrogate or reiect the grace of God Now he prepareth a way to the second argument of this epistle And here ye must diligently consider that to seeke to be iustified by the workes of the law is to reiect the grace of god But I pray you what sinne cā be more execrable or horrible then to reiect the grace of God and to refuse that righteousnes which cometh by Christ It is enough and to much already that we are wicked sinners and transgressours of all the commaundements of God and yet we commit moreouer the most execrable sinne of all sinnes in that
we doe so contemptuously refuse the grace of God and remission of sinnes offered vnto vs by Christ This blasphemy is more horrible then can be expressed There is no sinne which Paule and the other Apostles did so much detest as the contempt of grace and deniall of Christ and yet there is no sinne more common Hereof it cometh that Paule aboue the rest doth so sharply inuey against Antichrist for that he despiseth the grace of God and refuseth the benefite of Christ our high Priest who offered vp himselfe a sacrifice for our sinnes Now thus to deny Christ what is it els but to spitte in his face to treade him vnder foote to set himselfe in his place and to say I will iustifie thee and will saue thee By what meanes By masses pilgrimages pardons merits and such like We see then how proudly Antichrist hath lift vp himselfe against and aboue God and set himself in the place of Christ reiected the grace of God and denied the faith For this is his doctrine Faith auaileth nothing saith he vnlesse it be ioyned with works and by this false and detestable doctrine he hath defaced darkned and vtterly buried the benefite of Christ in the steede of the grace of Christ and his kingdome he hath established the doctrine of works and the kingdome of ceremonies and hath confirmed the same with meere trifles and doting dreames and by this meanes he hath wrested the whole world out of Christes hands who alone ought to reigne in the conscience hath throwne it downe hedlong into hell Hereby we may easily vnderstand what it is to reiect and refuse the grace of God euen to seeke righteousnes by the law Now who hath euer heard that a man by keping of the law reiecteth grace Do we then sinne in keeping of the law No forsoth But we despise grace when we obserue the law to this end that we may be iustified through it The law is good holy and profitable and yet it iustifieth not He then that kepeth the law to be iustified therby reiecteth grace denieth Christ despiseth his sacrifice and will not be saued by this inestimable price but will satisfie for his sinnes through the righteousnes of the law or deserue grace by his owne righteousnes and this man blasphemeth and despiseth the grace of god Now what an horrible thing is it to say that any man should be so deuilish as to despise the grace and mercy of God And yet notwithstanding all the world doth so Albeit it can not abide that any man should so iudge of it but will seeme to doe high seruice and honour vnto god Now followeth the second argument Verse 21. For if righteousnes come by the lavve then Christ died in vaine Here againe I admonish you that Paule speaketh not of the ceremoniall law onely for this the Papistes doe alwaies alleage but of the whole law And these words of Paule are diligently to be considered in this wise It is true that Christ suffered death or not Againe did he suffer in vaine or not Here we are constrained to aunswere except we be starke madde that he suffered in very deede and that he suffered not in vaine nor for himselfe but for vs If then he suffered not in vaine it followeth of necessitie that righteousnes cometh not by the law Take now therfore the whole law and imagine that by the merite of cōgruence or works going before grace thou hast so much profited that thou hast receaued grace and the spirite of God which is a thinge impossible vnto nature but yet admitte I say that in doing what in thee lieth thou hast obtained grace art made righteous and hast receaued the holy Ghost by the merite of congruence then hast thou no neede of Christ he is to thee vnprofitable and his death of none effect Moreouer take euen the law of the ten commaundements wherin is contained the true religion and the highest seruice of God that is to say faith the feare of God the loue of God and the loue of our neighbour and shew me any man that hath bene iustified therby yet is it true notwithstanding that Christ died in vaine For he that is iustified by the law hath power in himselfe to obtaine righteousnes For in that he doth what in him lieth he deserueth grace the holy Ghost is powred into him wherby he is now able to loue God and his neighbour This being graunted it must needes follow that Christ died in vaine For what neede of Christ hath he which both loueth Christ and geueth himselfe for him so that he is able by the merite of congruence before grace to obtaine grace and then to doe such works as by the merite of worthines after grace he is able to deserue eternall life Then take away Christ withall his benefits for he is vtterly vnprofitable But why was he borne why was he crucified why did he suffer why was he made my high Priest louing me and geuing Himselfe an inestimable sacrifice for me In vaine no doubt and to no purpose at all if righteousnes come by no other meanes then the Papistes teach for I finde no righteousnes but either in my selfe or in the law without grace and without Christ Is this horrible blasphemy to be suffered or dissembled that the diuine maiestie not sparing his owne deare sonne but deliuering him to death for vs all should not doe all these things seriously in good earnest but as it were in sport Before I would admit this blasphemie I would not only that the holines of all the Papists meritmongers but also of all the Saincts holy angels should be throwne downe into the bottome of hell condemned with the deuil Mine eies shall behold nothing els but this inestimable price my Lord Sauiour Christ He ought to be such a treasure vnto me that all other things should be but dunge in cōparison of him He ought to be such a light vnto me that when I haue apprehended him by faith I should not know whether there be any law any sinne any righteousnes or any vnrighteousnes in the world For what is al that is either in heauē or earth in cōparisō of the sonne of god Christ Iesus my lord Sauiour vvho loued me gaue hīself for me Wherfore to reiect the grace of God is an horrible sinne and commonly reigning throughout the world wherof al they are giltie which seeke righteousnes by their owne workes For whiles they seeke to be iustified by their owne works and merites or by the law they reiect the grace of God and Christ as I haue said And of all these abhominations the Pope hath bene the only author For he hath not onely defaced and troden the Gospell of Christ vnder his feete but hath also replenished the world with his cursed traditions And hereof amongest other enormities his bulles and pardons are a sufficient witnes wherby he