and largely vseth this worde Sinne namely to signifie whatsoeuer is repugnaunt vnto the law of God and vnto his will For therby man departeth from the institution of nature from that image whereunto he was created For God so created him at the beginning that in him should shine forth his image whiche thing vndoubtedly cannot be when we resist the law of God And this is Why many pleasures are forbidden men the onely and true cause why man is not permitted to delight himselfe wyth all kind of plesures For if he should so he should make himself like vnto brute beasts and not lyke vnto God his creator For God would haue man to be in this worlde hys vickar and therfore to be most like vnto hym And sinne beyng so largely taken comprehendeth not onely Originall sinne that is our depraued nature corrupt strengthes both of the body and of the soule but also all those euils whiche follow of it namely the first motions of the mind to things forbidden also wicked deliberations noughty endeuors and vitious customes Wherefore the Apostle in this one name of sinne comprehendeth both the roote it selfe all the fruites therof Vnder the name of sin the Apostle comprehendeth the roote and frutes thereof The Etymology of this woord sinne What is the rule of our nature Neither must we geue eare vnto them which bable that these thinges are not sinnes For seyng the holy ghost calleth them by this name I sée no cause why but that we also ought so to speake and to cleaue vnto this doctrine Farther also that these first motions of the mynde and corruption of nature are sinnes the very etimology of the word plainly declareth For this worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is sinne commeth of this verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to erre from the marke set before vs by what means so euer it be And forasmuch as this is the rule of our nature and of all our actions to be in all thinges very like and conformable vnto God vndoutedly seing we are prone vnto those thinges which are forbidden vs by the lawe of God and are euen straight way at the first brunt caried hedlong vnto them we must nedes without all controuersie be sayd to sinne that is to erre from the scope and ende set before vs. Of the lyke signification is also the Hebrew worde for that whiche is in y◠tonge called Chataah that is Synne is deryued of this verbe Chata whiche thou shalte fynde in the booke of the Iudges the xx chapiter vsed in the selfe same sence in whiche I before sayde in the Gréeke worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken that is to erre from the marke For there it is written of the seuen hundred children of Beniamin that they were so accustomed to throwe stones out of a sling that they would hitte euen a heare and nothing erre from it Farther experience it selfe teacheth how greate these euills are euen in vs that are regenerate For we are by them so letted that we cā not fulfill the law of God How the law is performed of men regenerate and yet are we bound to obserue the same in all poyntes We are commanded also not to lust whiche precept howe muche it is broken of vs by reason of our pronesse to sinnes and fyrst motions to vices euery man hath experience thereof in himselfe and can be a witnes vnto himselfe And if the Fathers They are perfecte whiche vnderstande theyr owne wants seme sometimes to write that the law may be fulfilled of mē regenerate they thē spake of an obediēce begonne of such a fulfilling as hath ioyned with it much imperfection For euen they affirme that those are perfect and doo performe the law of God which vnderstand theyr owne wants so that they daily None no not the most holiest hath all the vertues absolutely say with others Forgeue vs our trespasses and acknowledge with Paul that they haue a greate way farther to go The selfe same fathers also confesse that none can be found no not the most holiest man that euer was that hath all vertues absolutly For as Ierome sayth He which excelleth others in one vertue oftentimes faileth in an other vertue And he citeth Cicero which sayd That there can not easely be found one which is most excellent either in the knowledge of the Law or in the arte of Rethorike but to finde one that hath excelled in both kindes together it was neuer hard of Wherfore the Apostle to the end he would make playne most notably set forth the perfect benefite of God geuen vs by Christ doth not onely touche Originall sinne but also in this one word sinne cōprehēdeth all kindes of vices which springe out of it Now let vs se by which one mā Paul saith that By Adam as by a common roote and Masse entred in sinne into the worlde sinne had suche entrance in the world That man was the first Adam who was as a certaine common masse or lompe wherein was conteyned all mankind which lompe beinge corrupted we can not be brought forth into this world but with corruption and vnclenes And although Eue trāsgressed before the man yet the beginning of sinning is ascribed vnto Adam for that succession is attributed vnto men and not vnto women Howbeit Ambrose by one man vnderstode Eue. The corruption is not ascribed vnto Eue but vnto Adam But forasmuche as this woord one is the masculine gender the signification thereof can not but hardly and with much wresting be applied vnto the womā Others thinke that both as well Adam as Eue are by this commō word Man vnderstand so that this phrase of speach differeth not much frō that which is in the 2. chapter of the booke of Genesis Male and female created be them Nether doo they much regard this adiectiue one for that the scripture testifieth that Adam and Eue were one and the selfe same fleshe The first interpretation is more simple and playner and therefore I the gladlier follow it And we ought to remember that Paul writeth vnto Timothe that although both these first parēts sinned yet was there not in ech one and the selfe same maner of transgression For he sayth that Adam was not deceaued Which selfe thinge also maye be gathered of that Adam was not deceaued which they answered vnto God when he reproued them For the woman whē she was asked why she did it accused the serpent The serpēt said she deceaued me But Adam when he was demaunded the same question sayd not that he was deceaued but answered The woman which thou gauest me deliuered me the aple and I did eate This is not so to be taken as though we should affirme that there was There was errour in Adam whē he transgressed no error in the man when he transgressed For as we are playnly tought in the Ethnikes in euery kinde of sinne alwayes happeneth some error This
soule from hym by traduction And so as touching thys the dignity of eche priesthode had bene alike when as eyther of them paid in Abraham tythes to Melchisedech But here mought they which fauour this opinion make aunswer yâ— there was besides an other manner of difference betwene Christ and Leui for although both of them were both as touchyng the body also as touchyng yâ— soule in yâ— loynes of Abraham yet did not both of them after one and the selfe same manner traduce their nature from him For Christ was borne of the Virgine the holy ghost commyng ouer her But Leui was begotten and borne after the common manes as other men are procreated Wherfore Augustine leaueth this reason and bringeth an other out of the booke of wisedome where it is written as he thinketh vnder the person of Christ I haue by lot obteyned a good soule For he thinketh that this phrase of speach can haue no place if the soule of Christ were by way of propagation by the law of nature traduced from his elders vnlesse we will affirme that nature worketh by chaunce And he thinketh yâ— this name of lot therfore had place in the soule of Christ to the ende we might vnderstand that those ornaments whiche we know were most riche and most plentifull in it were not geuen vnto it for any merites goyng before but of the mere mercy What lot could haue place in the soule of Christ Augustine leueth indifferent the question of the traduction of the soule Things also are sayd to be created which are done by meanes of God And this was a wonderfull great ornament of the soule of Christ to be ioyned vnto one and the selfe same substaunce and person with the word of God But this testmony forasmuch as it is not had out of the holy scriptures that are in the Canon is but of small force At the length he leueth indifferent the question of the traduction of the soules as a thing onech side probable And because they which are against it vse to cite this place out of the 33. Psalme which facioned the harts of them apart this also he saith is weake because they also which defend traduction of the soule deny not but that the soules are created of God although they contend that the same is done by a meane For so in the booke of Genesis we reade that the birdes were not created of nothyng but at the commaundement of God did issue forth out of the waters And euery one of vs is saide to be dissolued into earth from whence we were taken when as yet we haue not bodies immediatly out of the earth but of the bodies of our parents Wherfore this sentence can not be confuted and ouerthrowen by the holy scriptures Although I know that this is a receiued opinion in the churche yâ— the soules This is a receaued opinion that the soules are powred in increatioÌ„ are in creating infused and in infusion created Neither haue I for this cause â—ehersed these thinges for that I meane any innouation touching this senteÌ„ce but only that we might vnderstand what maner of propagation of originall sinne séemed most easiest vnto the ecclesiasticall writers And in dede the scholemin when they reiect this sentence leane only to Phisâ—call naturall reasons For that forasmuch The opinioÌ„ of the traduction of the soule is reasoned against onely by physicall reasons as the reasonable soule is by nature spirituall 〈◊〉 it cannot be sundred which thing yet is required in traduction And for that they hold the it is the vnderstaÌ„ding part and a thing of more worthines then that it can be drawen out of the facultie and power of â—atter they contend that it can not haue his being by generation but by creation Augustine assigneth an other way or meant in his booke 2. de nuptijs concupiscentia and in many other places where he disputeth against the Pelagians of this kinde of sinne and that is this that this vice or sinne is supposed to passe into the children through the pleasure which the parents take in their mutuall fellowship But this reason of propagation is grounded vppon a foundation suspected and in my iudgement vntrue For that pleasure which is taken of procreation is not of his owne nature euill vnles prauitie of the affect be adioyned therunto For if that action should of necessitie haue sinne ioined with it the holy ghost would not haue exhorted any man vnto it which yet he doth when he perswadeth vs to matrimony and when by Paul he admonisheth maried folks to render mutuall beneuolence one to another Howbeit amitte it were so let vs graunt that therin by reason of humaine infirmitie is some fault Therof shoulde The originall lust which is traduced pertaineth not onely to carnal pleasure follow that only this kind of lust is deriued into the children But the infection of originall sinne consisteth not onely in these thinges which pertaine to carnal pleasure but also in other lustes as of riches of honours of vengeaunce and finally in the whole corruption of our nature The third way is that God therfore createth the soule with such a sinne or defect for that it shall be the soule of a man now damned and set vnder the curse Such a soule say they God createth as is required to 3. such a man Euen as we sée that vnto a dogge is geuen such a soule as is mete for a dogge and vnto the body of an asse a soule mete for an asse But this semeth to be a It cannot be thoughte that God created a soule withfinne very harde opinion Namely that God should contaminate with sinne a soule not yet pertaining vnto AdaÌ„ especially seing they caÌ„ not say that this kind of sin is the punishment of an other sinne which went before Wherfore this fonde deuise is of euery man reiected lest we should seme to make God absolutely the author of sins The fourth maner is by the consentes of many men receiued semeth very likely 4 to be true namely that the soule is not created with some but straight way draweth vnto it sinne so soone as euer it is adioyned vnto the body deriued from The soule is said to contracte or draw originall sinne so sone as euer it is ioyned to the corrupt body By two principall thinges the soule is weakened Adam For seing the soule wanteth that grace and vertues wherewith the soule of the first man was endued and hath also gotten a body obnoxious vnto the curse and hath Organes or instruments vnapt very vnmete vnto spirituall workes therefore whereas it ought to gouerne the body it is by it oppressed kept vnder and drawen vnto lustes agréeable vnto the body For it is on â—ch fiâ—e weakened both by the vncleanes of the body and also through his owne imber 〈…〉 litye for that it waÌ„teth strengths whereby to ouercome nature of which two principall points the
he was created mought haue liued alwayes let Pigghius and they which follow him beware how truely and godly they affirme that death happeneth vnto man by nature They adde also that that ought not to be counted sinne which cannot be anoyded but this is hereby proued to be false because the lawe is set forth vnto vs which yet no man can absolutely performe or auoyde all the faultes committed against it In examining of sinnes we ought not to looke whether anything Chaunce and necessity enter not into the nature of sin be done by chance or by necessity but whether it be repugnance or agreable with the lawe of God By this balance ought sinne to be weighed Wherefore it is light and trifling which they bring against vs concerning necessity Lastly they obiect vnto vs that if the sinne of the first parentes be deriued into the posterity there can be no reason geuen why the sinnes also of the other parents should not be traduced after the same maner into the posterity Which Whether the sinnes of the nexte parentes be deriued into the posterity An opinion of the schole men thing if we graunt they thinke that that will follow whiche is most absurde namely that our estate is most miserable which are borne in this latter time for in vs should be deriued not only the sinnes of our first parentes but also of all our elders The schoolemen thought that it is not possible that the sinnes of the next parentes should passe into the children And it semeth that they were led thereunto chiefely by two reasons Of which the first is that the next parentes do communicate vnto their children only nature and such other thinges which of themselues do follow nature but as for singular conditions and accidences they communicate not them vnles peraduenture they pertayne vnto the body For oftētimes diseases of the parents as the leprosy or gout do come vnto the children But the qualities of the minde are not propagated nether pertaine they to procreation for a Grāmarian begetteth not a Grammariā nor a Musitian a Musitiā Wherefore forasmuch as sinnes pertaine vnto the minde they say that they can not be propagated from the parēts The other reason is The first parents had originall iustice which consisted not only in the minde but also in the body and in the members Therefore in doing the acte of generation they might poure into their children the want of this righteousnes for that it sticketh in the body and in the flesh But actual sinnes which afterward followed forasmuch as they pertayne vnto the minde can not be propagated into the children Howbeit Augustine in his Encheridion to Laurentius the 46. chap. Augustine thinketh that the sin of the nexte parents are communicated vnto the childrē sayth that it is probable that the sinnes also of the next parentes are communicated with the children For the proofe whereof he compareth together two places of the scripture which we haue before entreated of That God sayth that he will visite the sins of the fathers vpon the children vnto the third and fourth generation whē in an other place he saith that the sonne shall not beare the iniquity of the father If the sonne saith he beare not the iniquity of his father but his owne and yet God visiteth in him the sin of the father it must nedes be that the sonne haue in himselfe that sinne Otherwise these places should not agree together Sinne therefore is of his owne nature such that it Sinne destroyeth not onely the soule but also the body not only wasteth the soul of man but also corrupteth the body flesh and members Wherefore Paul to the Corrinthians sayth that our bodies are the Temples of the holy ghost and greuously threateneth that man which destroyeth the temple of God If therefore God punishe the sinnes of the parentes in the children and the child beareth not an other mans iniquity but his owne only it consequently followeth The iustice of God is not to be proued if the sinnes of the fathers be powred into the children The parēts must liue holilest they procreate children pertakers of their sinnes Wherein originall sin and the sins of the nexte parentes do differ that the infantes of wicked men when they are afflicted to the end theyr fathers should be punished in them haue also in themselues some of theyr fathers wickednes Nether can any man here complayne of the iustice of God For if God by hys most vncorrupt Iustice can deliuer thē which sin into a reprobate sence punish sins with sins why may he not also iustly will that the corruption of sinne should not only destroy the soule but also that the vnpurenes thereof should redound likewise into the body Wherefore they which are begotten of sinners doo contract of them such a nature as they finde in them And by this sentence men are admonished to liue holyly lest they should pollute both theyr owne soules and bodies and also by the same meanes infect theyr children If this should be so as we haue now sayd a man might demaund what difference there is betwene originall sin that which is drawen from the next parentes We answer that the propagation of originall sinne is perpetuall as the holy scriptures doo teach but the continuacion of other sinnes is not of necessity For sometimes there is powred no sinne from the next parentes into the children vnles it be originall sinne For God semeth to God sometimes deferreth the pouring in of the sins of the nexte parents in-into the children haue prefixed a measure least euill should rainge abrode vnmeasurably semeth to temperate the propagation of this euill And this experience teacheth for Ezechias a most holy prince had to his parent king Achaz a man most wicked and the same Ezechias agayne begat Ammon a very vngodly sonne who also begat Manasses farre worse then himselfe Or ells though the beginnings and principles of sinnes be powred from the parentes into the children yet God will sometimes minister so much grace fauor and strength that they may ouercome them But this way these differ nothing from originall sinne For vnto godly men is geuen Why God suffereth good children to be borne of euell parēts and euell children of good parentes Grace can not be deriued from the parents into the children God hath promised to do good vnto the children of the godly but not for the merites of the parents An other reason why God suffreth eueil children to be borne of good parēts A curse against the children of the vngodly grace also to ouercome it Farther when God geueth good children of euill parēts he declareth the powre of his goodnes whereby he represseth the filthines and corruption of the parentes that it should not flowe abrode into the children And contrariwise when he causeth euill children to be borne of good parentes this he considereth that the holynes of the children should not be ascribed vnto
what also he meaneth by the Body of sinne which he affirmeth ought to be abolished When he speaketh of the Olde man he alludeth vnto Adam and vnderstandeth the corrupt nature which we all haue contracted of him Neither signifieth Not onely the body and grosser partes of the minde pertaine vnto the old man he thereby as some thinke the body only and grosser partes of the minde but comprehendeth therewithall vnderstanding reason and will For of all these partes consisteth man and this maliciousnes and oldenes so cleaueth vnto vs as the Greke Scholies note yâ— the Apostle calleth it by the name of man And men yâ— are without Christ are so much addicted vnto their lustes pleasures and errors that without theÌ„ they count not themselues to be men Farther by this Antithesis or coÌ„parison vnto the new man we may vnderstand what the olde man is In the epistle to the Ephesians we are commaunded to put on the newe man which is creatâ—d according vnto God in all righteousnes and holynes of truth And coÌ„trarâ—wise To put of the old maÌ„ which is corrupted according to the lusts of error Wherefore Ambrose expounding this place saith That the Apostle therefore calleth the deedes past the olde man Because euen as the newe man is so called by reason of fayth and a pure life so is he called the old man bycause of his infidelity and euill dedes The body of sinne also signifieth nothing els then the deprauation and corruptioÌ„ What the body of sinne is of our whole nature For the Apostle would not that by this word we should vnderstand the composition of our body And naturall lust although it be but one thinge yet bycause vnto it are associated and annexed all maner of sinnes which as occasioÌ„s are offred doo burst forth therfore it is expressed by the name of the bodye And Paul vnto the Colossians after thys selfe same maner calleth sondry sinnes our members Mortifie sayth he your members which are vpon the earth namely fornication vncleanes euill lust auarice and other whiche there followe Our members are the instrumeÌ„ts of sinnes if God prohibite them not And vndoubtedly vnles the spirit of Christ doo prohibite our members they are altogether organes and instrumeÌ„ts of sinnes Chrisostome vpon this place faith That the Apostle calleth not this our body only so but also all our maliciousnes for so calleth he all our maliceousnes the old man The Greke Scholies vnderstand by the body of sinne our condemned nature Although if we would referre that sentence vnto this our outward body it may seme that Paul so spake for that all wicked lust and all corruption of nature is drawen from nature by the body Thys is Humane corruption is drawen by the body The corruption of nature hath sundry names also to be marked that the Apostle setteth our corrupt nature as contrary vnto the spirite but yet by sondry names sometimes by the name of flesh sometimes by the name of the body of sinne sometimes by the name of the old man and sometimes of the outward man and sometimes by the name of naturall man all which things signifie whatsoeuer is in man besides Christ and regeneratioÌ„ and also whatsoeuer withdraweth vs from the law of God CoÌ„trariwise by the name of the spirite he vnderstandeth all those thinges which are done in vs by the inspiration instinction and motion of the holy ghost wherfore Ambrose by the body of sinne vnderstandeth also the soule that is the whole man As contrariwise the soule also in the holy scriptures signifieth sometimes the body and The soule The fleshe the whole man This word flesh also sometimes comprehendeth all the partes of a man that is not yet regenerate For Christ when he reasoned with Nicodemus of regeneratioÌ„ whatsoeuer saith he is born of the flesh is flesh by which words he sheweth that the flesh ought to be regenerated into the spirite And forasmuch as regeneration pertayneth not only vnto the body nor only vnto the grosser Reason and will are coÌ„prehended in the name of fleshe partes of the minde but chiefely vnto vnderstanding reason and will it sufficiently appeareareth that these thinges also are vnderstand by the name of flesh And Ambrose sayth that the flesh is sometimes called the soule which followeth the vices of the body Christ also answered vnto Peter when he had made yâ— notable confession Flesh and blood hath not reueled these thinges vnto thee Whereby fleshe and blood he vnderstandeth whatsoeuer humane reason can by nature come to the knowledge of Wherefore to retayne still the body of sinne and the old maÌ„ is nothing els then to liue according to that estate wherein we are borne And Naturall knowledges grafted in vs are of themselues good but in vs they may be sins The affections of them that are not regenerate are sinnes though they be honest if a man demaund whither these naturall knowledges grafted in vs touching God and outward dedes are to be counted good or no I answer yâ— of theÌ„selues they are good but as they are in vs not yet regenerate but vitiate corrupt vndoubtedly they are sinnes bycause they fayle and stray from the coÌ„stitution of theyr nature For they ought to be of such force that they should impell and driue all our strengths and faculties to obey him But they are so weake that they can not moue vs to an vprighte life and to the true worshipping of God which selfe thing we iudge also of the naturall affections towards our parents frendes countrey and other such like For although these thinges of their owne nature are good and honest yet in vs that are not yet grafted into Christ they are sinnes For we referre them not according as we ought vnto the glory of only true God and father of our Lord Iesus Christ nether doo we them of faith without which whatsoeuer is done is sin And Paul sayth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is knowing this and a litle afterward 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which wordeâ—â—each that those thinges which are here sayd ought to be most assured and certayne vnto vs and perfectly knowen of vs so that euery godly man should fele this in hymselfe This kinde of speach hath an Antithesis vnto that which was sayd at the beginninge Know ye not that as many as are baptised â—nto Christ Iesus are baptised into his death as though he should haue said Of this thingye ought not to be ignoraÌ„t And if ye once perfectly know this principle theÌ„ those thinges which thereof follow caÌ„ not but be knoweÌ„ of you Let it not seme straÌ„g that Paul doth Why Paul vseth so many tropes figures by so many so suÌ„dry figure hiperboles I say metaphors exaggerat aggrauateth is matter namely That we are dead vnto sin are buried with Christ and the old man is crucified that the body of sinne should be abolished and suche other like For we neuer sufficiently
oughte not to be in doubt whither the spirite of Christ do dwell in vs or no. Ambrose vpon this place noteth that the spirite of God departeth from vs for two maner of causes eyther bicause of the vnderstanding of the flesh or els bicause of the actes therof That is either for false doctrine or els for corrupt maners But if Christ be in you the body in dede is dead because of sinne Hitherto pertaineth the first part of this chapter wherin hath bene declared that although in the saintes there still remayneth sinne yet therof followeth not condemnation for it is taken away by the law of the spirit But froÌ„ whence this spirit is deriued into vs hath ben set forth namely froÌ„ the death which the son of God suffered for vs. Farther it hath 〈◊〉 declared what they are vnto whome so great a benefite is come namely 〈◊〉 which walke according to the spirite and not according to the flesh Now he entreth into the second part wherin he teacheth that we by the same spirite haue obteined participation both of the death and of the resurrection of the Lord. And he exhorteth vs according as our duety is to mortify the dedes of the flesh and to addict our selues wholy vnto the spirit by whom we haue obteyned so great benefites And to knit together those things which are to be spoken with those which are already spoken the Apostle saith But if Christ be in you In that he thus saith that Christ is in vs he sheweth that it counteth it al one for the spirite of God or of Christ to dwell in vs and Christ himselfe to be in vs not that he meaneth that the holy ghost and Christ that is the sonne of God are one the selfe same hypostasis or person But as Chrisostome hath taught this is the nature of the thrée persons that wheresoeuer the one is there also the other are together present Wherfore forasmuch as the holy ghost is in vs it followeth of necessity that the sonne of God which is Christ together with the father is in vs. Which thing Paul hath expressedly pronounced vnto the Ephesians when he sayd That Christ Not where soeuer Christ is accordinge to his diuine nature he is there also according to his humane nature by fayth dwelleth in our hartes And yet it followeth not that whersoeuer Christ is according to his diuine nature he is there also accordyng to his humaine nature For his humaine nature whether we haue a regard vnto the soule or vnto the body is finite neither can so be poured abroade infinitely that it shoulde possesse and fill all things as doth his diuine nature Wherfore we graunt that the sonne and the father are wheresoeuer the holy ghost is and whersoeuer we confesse the son of God to be there also will we coÌ„fesse Christ to be but yet not alwaies according to his humane nature For yâ— is not possible Paul saith in his â— epistle vnto the Cor. that the elders dranke of the spiritual rock which followed theÌ„ that rocke was Christ Of the rocke which was Christ By which wordes are â—â— things to be vnderstaÌ„d first yâ— Christ was signified in that rocke secondly yâ— he was in very dede present with the people when they dranke as the holy history declareth For it telleth yâ— God promised that he would be preset with his people at the rocke Oreb And the same God was yâ— sonne which could not then be present according to flesh and humane nature when as he had not yet put it on And yet is he of Paul called Christe And in the selfe same epistle the fathers are sayd to haue tempted Christ in the desert which can not be vnderstand according to the humane nature for as much as it was not then extaÌ„t The fathers â—â— the wildernes tempted Christ How it is to be vnderstande Christ to dwel in vs. So when Christ is sayd to dwell in vs by fayth or the spirite it doth not thereof follow that ether his body or his soule dwelleth in our hartes really as I may call it and substancially It is inough that Christ be sayd to be in vs by hys deuine presence and that he is by his spirite grace and giftes present with vs. Nether is this as some make exclamation to go aboute to seperate the diuine nature from the humane For we holde that the natures in Christ are ioyned together and insâ—perable And yet that coniunction maketh not that the humane nature extendeth it selfe so farre aâ— doth the diuine nature Which thing Augustine hath most manifestly testefied vnto Dardanus Although I knowe there are some which go aboute by certayne wordes of his out his 96. treatise vpoÌ„ Iohn to cauill that he ment that Christ also according to hys humane nature is still with vs although he be not sene For Augustine wheÌ„ he interpreteth these words A place of Augustine expounded of the Lord I go to prepare you a place sayth that those places and maÌ„sions are nothing ells then we our selues which beleue which are as certayne dwelling places vnto which the father and the sonne come and abide in But we must by the holy ghost be prepared to be made mete dwelling places WheÌ„ he thus expouÌ„deth these wordes he demauÌ„deth Why then sayth Christ that he goeth away if we must be prepared For he ought rather to be present For if he depart away we shall not â—e prepared Afterward when he solueth the question he thus writeth If I doo well vnderstande the thou departest neyther from whence thou camest nether from the place whither thou goest Thou departest in hiding thy selfe thâ—u commest in manifesting thy selfe But vnles thou abide in gouerning vs and we go froward 〈…〉 ning well how shall a place be prepared for vs Behold say they by these wordes it is most manifeste that Christe hath not departed from vs but is present although he lye hiddeÌ„ But these men consider not that these thinges are spokeÌ„ of the diuine nature For that is it which is said to haue come from heauen and out of the bosome of the Father He came indede not that he departed thence from whence he came but bycause he appeared vnto vs vnder humane nature Agayne he is sayd to haue gone from hence when he ascended according to hys humane nature not that he hath vtterly departed froÌ„ vs but for that the humane nature in which he appeared vnto vs being taken vp vnto heauen the presence of his diuine nature lieth hidden with vs nether can it be sene of vs. And that this is the meaning of Augustine may be proued by two argumentes First bycause he entreateth of our preparation which belongeth vnto Christ according to his diuine nature for it worketh and insinuateth it selfe in our hartes and mindes Farther that place which he citeth out of the epistle vnto the Corrinthians whereas he proueth that we are the dwelling places of God teacheth the selfe same
Which haue the first fruites of the spirite By this phrase of speach he signifieth ether aboundance or els only a certain smacke or tast before For so may those good thinges be called which we now haue fruicion of if they be compared vnto those good thinges which we waite for Wherefore from creatures Paul passeth vnto men which are endued with faith and with the spirite of Christ Those also he saith do grone and with ernest desire waite for that our adoption and the redemption of our body may at length be made perfect Wherefore it is manifest that they go foolishly to worke as Chrisostome noted which being led by entisementes of pleasures desire to abide here perpetually and thinke not vpon their departing hence without great griefe For what a great infelicity is this that we should reioyce euen of our misery Ambrose commendeth the excellently approued olde man Simeon which with greate cherefulnes prayed after this maner Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace Waiting for the adoption What meaneth thys saith Chrisostome that thou so often to and froo tossest thys adoption as though we had now alredy gotten it seyng that thou calledst vs beleuers the sonnes and heyres of God and fellow heyres of Christ But now thou semest to make vs frustrate of it for that thou writest that we although we haue the first fruites of the spirite do yet styll wayte for that adoption He answereth vnto this and saith that the Apostle in thys place is to be vnderstand of the perfect and absolute adoption For euen so that semeth he to signifie when he addeth The redemption of our body These wordes I take not in that sence as though we are now redemed in spirite but the body remayneth which shall afterwarde be renewed For there is some what still in the soule whiche hath neede of instauration For we féele that we haue in vs man â—e corrupte motions yea euen against our willes there are also still remayning sinnes not As touching the soule also we are not perfectly ren 〈…〉 Our body and flesh is in some part renued Why Paul maketh meÌ„ 〈◊〉 rather of the body thâ—â— oâ— the soule when he entreateth of the redemption which we waite or Of the chaunge of thinges in the end of the world in all pointes healed the body also that we haue now is not without some inchâ—ation or beginning of redemption for it is now made the temple of God and the holy ghost dwelleth therin Paul to the Ephesians calleth vs fleshe of his flesh and â—oâ—e of hys bones Which could not vndoubtedly â—e sayd vnles both our flesh and the body it selfe were in some parte alredy renewed But sithen we wayte that somewhat should be restored both in spirite and in body why doth Paul make mencion rather of the body then of the soule I will tell you Bycause he had a respect vnto the fountayne of euills which are traduced from Adam thorough séede from the body For herehence began our contamination nether can it euer be weded vp by the rootes vnles the body be first extinguished by death or doo put on glory by the last changing whiche is to come Hereto tendeth the course of the Apostle when he so often maketh mencion of our body which shall in the last time be redemed For vnto the Corrinthians he sayth When this corruptible shall put on vncorruption And vnto the Phillippians He shall conforme the body of our humiâ—ity to the bodye of hys glory These thinges being thus declared the place it selfe semeth to require to speake somewhat of the chaunge of thinges which shal be in the end of the worlde First I thinke it good to declare those thinges which the Master of the sentences writeth of thys matter in hys 4. booke of sentences the. 48. distinction WheÌ„ the lord shall come to iudge the Sunne and Moone shall be darkened not saâ—th he that theyr light shal be taken from them but by the presence of a more plentifuller light For Christ shal be present the moste bright Sunne therefore the slarres of heauen shal be darkened as candells are at the rising of the Sunne The vertues of the heauens shal be moued which may be vnderstand of the powers or as some speake of the influences whereby the celestiall bodies gouerne thinges inferior Which shall then forsake theyr right and accustomed order Or by those vertues we may vnderstand the Angelles which by their continuall turning about moue the orbeâ— of the heauens Peraduenture then they shâ—ll ether cease from theyr accustomed worke or els they shâ—l execute it after some newe maner After he had gathered these thingâ— out of Mathevv and Luke he addeth out of Ioell that there shall be eclipses â—f the Sunne and of the Moone The Sun sayth he shal be darkened and the Moone shal be turned into bloud before that greate and horrible day of the Lord come And out of the 65. chapter of Esay Behold â— create a new heauen and a new earth And streight waye The moone shall shine as the Sunne and the light of the Sunne shall be seuenfold that is enduring seuen dayes And out of the Apocaâ—ps There shal be a new heauen and a new earth Although there be no mencion made of the amâ—lifieng ether of the light of the Sunne or of the Moone Ierome interpretateth that place that the light of the Sunne shal be as it was in those first seuen dayes wherein the world was created For by reason of the sinne of the first parentes the light sayth he both of the Sunne of the Moone was diminished Which saying some of the Scholemen vnderstand not of the very substaunce of the light but bycause both the world and men haue receaued lesse fruites of these lights after the fall then they had before But all these thinges are obscure and vncertayne Whereunto I adde that some of the Rabbines thinke that these are figuratiue speaches For there shall be no chaunge in the starres but they say that vnto men being in heauines and bewaylinge the vnluckye state of theyr cases shall come so small fruite of the light of the Sunne and Moone that vnto them those starres may seme to be darckened and vtterly out of sight But contrariwise when they begin to be in more felicity and to liue according to theyr desire then at the last the light of the Sunne and of the Moone shall seme vnto them to be doubled and a greate deale more brighter then it semed before Which exposition as I deny not so also I confesse that at the end of the world shal be a great change of those things Wherfore I graunt either to be true both that in thys life oftentimes happen thinges so dolefull that dayes being otherwise most bright seme vnto vs moste darke and also that when all thinges shall haue an end the state of the worlde shall be troubled Yea also whilest we liue here sometymes it happeneth that those lights of
of the giltines and of the offence and also grace What is to be attributed vnto baptisme and the holy ghost and our graftyng into Christ and also our right to eternall lyfe And yet doth it not therof follow that by it is abolished the corruption of nature or continuall nourishment of sinne Wherfore Paul rightly fayth That we are by hope saued But it is much to be meruailed at how yâ— Pelagians can deny that there is originall sin in infantes seyng they see that they daily dye For Sinne and death are knit together the scripture manifestly teacheth that the stipend of sinne is death and the stinge of death is sinne Wherfore from whomsoeuer we seclude sinne from him also must we nedes seclude death For by the testimony of the scripture these are compared In Christâ— onely was death with our sinne together as the cause and the effect But here we ought to except Christ onely who although he knew not sinne yet died he for our fakes But death had not dominion ouer him for he of his owne accord suffred it for our sakes But to say that there are some without sinne although all men dye were to ioyne Testimonies that proue that infantes want not sinne together thinges repugnant and contrary one to an other But besides thys place there are a great many other places also which proue that infantes are not without sinne for Dauid sayth Beholde in iniquities was I conceaued and in sinne hath my mother conceaued me And Paul to the Ephesians calleth vs the children of wrath by nature And in Genesis it is written the hart of man is euen from his infancy prone to euill There are also to coÌ„firme this sentence a great many other places besides which we will alleadge wheÌ„ we entreate of originall sin apart by it selfe Now seing I haue declared what the Apostle meaneth by sinne by which one maÌ„ it entred into the world there remaineth to coÌ„sider by what means it was spred abroade This is a matter obscure very hard therefore I do not The manner of the propagatioÌ„ of originall sinne is obscure thinke to stand long about it But forasmuch as the word of God most plainely techeth that such a sin there is that it desceÌ„deth into our posterity although we vnderstand not the maner way how it is powred into theÌ„ yet we ought to geue place vnto the truth not to be to much careful or to trouble our selues more theÌ„ nedes touching the way and maner which is hard to be knoweÌ„ and may with out daunger be vnknowen Howbeit I thinke it not amisse to declare those waies and meanes which I haue obserued amoÌ„gst yâ— ecclesticall writers whose opinions touching this matter are fower in number The first is of those which thought that we receaue of our parents the souls together with the bodies that euen as God by humane sede createth the body so also of the same createth he the soule This sentence doth Augustine make mencion of in his tenth booke vpon Genesis ad literam and in many other places nether hath he at any time that I can remember of disalowed the same yea rather he saith that by this senteÌ„ce may be dissolued this knotte touching originall sinne Tertullian and many others Tertullian leaneth to traduction What is brought out of the scriptures for the traduction of the soule of the old writers fauored this sentence Whose argumentes when I diligently peyse I iudge in dede probable but yet not of necessitie For the whiche they bring out of the 46. chapter of Genesis of the 66. soules which came out of the thigh of Iacob may nor vnaptly be expounded by the figure Synecdoche so that by the soule which is the principallest part of the man is vnderstand the body which is without all controuersie procreated of the seede of the parents We may also by the soule vnderstand the grosser partes of the soule as the vegetatiue part and the sensitiue part which no man doubteth but that they are procreated of the sede And that the holy scriptures sometimes vse this word soule in that sence Christe testifieth in the Gosple where he sayth He which loseth his soule for my sake shall finde it An other of theyr reasons as Augustine writeth in his 10. booke vpon Genesis is this In the creation of the woman it is not written that God breathed into her a liuing soule whereby they gather that she had of Adam not only her body but also her soule But this reason Augustine iudgeth Whether God breathed a soule into Euâ— to be weake For a man mought reply vpon it and say that it had bene once alredy said that God breathed a soule into Adam and therefore there was no nede to repete the same agayne For if God had brought in a new manner of procreation of soules the scripture would not haue passed it ouer in silence But seing the scripture maketh no mencion at all of any new maner we ought to vse that which it had before expressed especially seing that we se that Adam sayd of hys wife This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my fleshe but added not and soule of my soule which vndoubtedly had bene more sweter and had more serued to expresse the 〈…〉 tion of 〈…〉 But Augustine confesseth that the doubt is not thereby diss 〈…〉 For if 〈◊〉 affâ—rmâ— that soules are euery day created and so created that in the bodies theâ—â— goeth before no 〈◊〉 alis ratio as he Whither God ceassed from all woorkes the seuenth day speaketh that is no substance of sede then God shall not seme to haue perfectly seased froÌ„ all workes the seuenth day when as he still euery day createth soules of nothing But vnto this argument may 〈…〉 aduenture be answered that in the body traduced of the parentes it is sufficient if there be found such qualities and conditioÌ„s whereby it is able to receaue a reasonable soule and that this is that seminalis ratio before spoken of But whatsoeuer is to be sayd of these arguments and theyr answeres once Augustine wholy enclineth this way that at the least he thinketh that the soule of Christ came not from the blessed virgine The soule of Christ semeth not to be traduced from the blessed virgin by propagation of which iudgement he sayth that others as well as he were and that they auouched that it moughte be proued by the epistle vnto the Hebrues For there it is sayd that the priesthode of Christ excelled the priesthede of Aaron for that Christ was a priest according to the order of Melchifedech And the priesthode of Melchisedech was more excellenter then the priesthode of Aaron for that Leuy gaue tenthes vnto Melchisedech for he was in the loynes of Abraham who payd tithes vnto Melchisedech But Christ also should haue bene no lesse in the loynes of Abraham then was Leui if he had had both his bodye and
not therof follow that he hath not hurt vs or that we being by him made sinners haue not felt great losse Now forasmuch as those things which follow pertayne vnto the law before we come vnto them it shall not be amisse frō our purpose to declare what is to be thought touching originall sinne First we will consider whether there be any originall sinne or no for there are What are the chiefe matters that shal be intreated of some which vtterly deny that there is any such thinge Then wil we declare what it is Lastly what proprieties it hath and howe it is by succession traduced to our posterity and also by what meanes it is forgeuen As touching the firste we muste remember that both in the holy scriptures and also among the fathers it is called by sondry names For in this epistle the 7. chap. it is called sinne and the law of the Names of originall sinne mēbers and lust Of others it is called The want of originall righteousnes a corruption of nature an euell inclination a nourisher of euell a weaknes of nature the lawe of the fleshe and other suche like The Pelagians long since denied this sinne and so do the Anabaptistes euen nowe in our dayes These in a manner are the argumentes which they alleadge against it First they say that the fall of Adam The Pelagians and Anabaptistes denye originall sinne Argumēts against original sinne was sufficientlye punished in himselfe and that there is no cause why God shoulde reuenge it in his posterity specially seing it is written in Naum the Prophet That God doth not punish one and the selfe same thing twise For it suffiseth him that he hath once punished Againe it is also written That the sonne shall not beare the iniquitye of the father but the soule which sinneth the same shall dye Moreouer the bodye when it is formed in the wombe is the woorkemanshippe of God and hath nothing which ought to be reproued yea rather which is not woorthy of high admiracion and the soule also is either created or powred in of God And the manner of propagation cannot be counted euell because matrimony is commended in the holy scriptures and from the beginninge God cōmaunded mā to procreat children Wherefore among so many aides of innocency they demaund thorow what chinckes or hoales sinne could creepe in They alleadge moreouer that Paul in his firste epistle to the Cor when he exhorteth the faithfull wife to abide with the vnfaithfull husband if he will abide with her among other thinges saith your childrē are holy But they could not be holy if they wer born in sinne Wherfore say they they which are borne of faithfull parentes cannot contract vnto themselues originall sinne Farther they affirme that it is a common sayinge that sinne is a thinge spoken done or lusted contrarye to the lawe of God and that there is no sinne except it be voluntary And as Iohn saith in his 1. epistle the 4. chapt Sinne is iniquity vnto which is opposite equity or right and there can be no other equity or right assigned then that which is contained in the law and so is finne a trāsgression of the law all which thinges cannot happen in infantes when they are borne And they say moreouer that it semeth not agreable whiche some say namely that this sinne is powred in through the flesh or body For the flesh and the body are of theyr owne nature thinges insensible nether can they be counted a subiect mete for sinne And to establish theyr fained inuencion they adde that those thinges whiche Paul speaketh in this place are to be drawen to those sinnes whiche are called actuall And where it is said that by one man sinne entred into the world it is to be vnderstand say they because of imitacion and example whiche the posterity followed With these and like argumentes were they led to deny that there is any originall sinne But as for death and afflictions of this life whiche are commonly alleadged for tokens to confirme originall sinne they say that they consist of natural causes as are the temperatures of the elementes and humors And that therfore it is a vaine inuention to draw them to the fall of Adam And they thinke it to be a thinge moste absurde to counte that for sinne whiche can by no meanes be auoyded Lastly they say if by that meanes it should be saide that we haue sinned in Adam because we were in his loynes euen as in the Epistle to the Hebrues it is sayde of Leui that he paide tenthes in the loynes of Abraham after the like and selfe same mannec we may say that we were in the loynes of other our elders from whome we haue by procreation discended wherefore there is no cause why the sinne of Adam shoulde more flow abroade into vs then the sinne of our graundfathers greate graundfathers and of all our elders And by that meanes theyr estate should séeme most vnhappy which should be borne in the latter times For they should beare the iniquities of all their elders These thinges alleadge they to proue that there is no originall It is proued by testimontes of the scripture that there is original sinne sinne But we on the contrarye parte will by manye testimonies of the scriptures proue that there is such a sinne In the boke of Gen the vi chap God speaketh thus My spirite shall not alwaies striue in mā because he is but flesh Againe The imagination of the thoughtes of theyr hartes is onely euell alwayes And in the viii chapter The imagination of theyr hart is euell euen frō their childhode These words declare that there sticketh some vice in our nature whē we are brought forth Dauid also saith Beholde in iniquities was I conceaued and in sins hath my mother conceaued me then which testemony there can be nothing more euident Ieremy also in his 17. chap saith that the hart of man is wicked peruerse and stubburne And the same Ieremy and also Iob doo curse that day wherein they were borne into the world bycause they saw that together with them was brought forth the originall and fountaine of all vices And Iob hath a most manifest testimony of the vncleanes of our natiuity For this he sayth Who can make that clene which is cōceaued of vncleane seede And our sauiour sayth Except a man be borne againe of water and the holyghost he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen And euen as a potter doth not make new agayne any vessel vnles he se that the same was ill made before So Christ would not haue vs generated agayne except he saw that we were before vnhappely generated Which thing he testifieth also in an other place saying That which is borne of flesh is fleshe and that which is borne of spirite is spirite By which words he would haue vs to vnderstand that therefore the regeneration of the spirite was necessary bycause we had before but only a
lyeth a sléepe in them as Augustine sayth in his 2. booke of the merites and remission of sinnes following yâ— which is spoken of Paul sayth I liued sometimes without a law not yâ— there was at any time no law prescribed vnto Paul but bycause in his childhode by reasoÌ„ of age he felt it not Wherefore sinne sayth Paul was dead which Augustine interpreteth was on slepe But when the commaundement came yâ— is when I began to know yâ— law sinne reuiued He had sin in him before but forasmuch as it was not felt it semed dead Now appeareth how those thinges which we haue spoken agree with the holye scriptures Yet still Pigghius vrgeth that these thinges nothing An obiection of Pigghius pertaine vnto infantes for they oughte not to haue a law prescribed vnto them which can not be auoyded But in so saying he vnderstandeth not the meaning of the holy scriptures for they sufficiently declare that those things which A law may be geuen eueÌ„â—or those thinges which can not be performed are commaunded in the law can not perfectly be performed of vs when as yet they are most seuerely commauÌ„ded Paul saith in this epistle That which was imposible vnto the law forasmuch as it was weakened through the flesh God sending his sonne c. By these words it most manifestly appeareth that we caÌ„not performe the law â—s it is commaunded For if we could we should be iustified by works nether had Christ neded to haue suffred death for vs. There ar also other offices Vtilities of the law of the Law for which it is written For it is profitable to direct the actions of the godly but it is most profitable to declare sin For by the law sayth Paul coÌ„eth the knowledg of sin Again I was ignoraÌ„t of lust vnles the law had sayd Thou shalt not lust Farther by the law sinne is also increased doth more lead vs greuouslier oppresse vs. For the law 〈…〉 ed in that sin should abound to the Corrint The power of sin is the law And al these things teÌ„d to this end yâ— maÌ„ should as it were by a Scholmaster be brought vnto Christ and implore his ayd and desire to haue streÌ„gth geuen him whereby at the least in some part and with an obedience now begon to performe those thinges which are commaunded and that those things wherin he fayleth might not be imputed vnto him but might be made whole by the righteousnes of Christ Augustine in his first boke against Iulianus reproueth the The pelagians boasted that God commaundeth not those things which can not be done Augustine reherseth the sinnes of infantes Pelagians for that they thoughte that they had taught some great point of doctrine when they taughte that God commaundeth not those thinges whiche can not be doone and he declareth those to be the endes of the lawe whiche we haue now expressed Yea and Augustine also in his bookes of confessions maketh mencion of those sinnes which euen suckinge infantes doo committe Agaynst which no maÌ„ caÌ„ say they could resist And they should not be sins vnles they wer referred to some law which is by them violated Nether doth yâ— any thing helpe Pigghius or put away their sinnes for that they vnderstand them not For that which is filthy although it seme not so to vs yet of his owne nature is it filthy Thinges filthy although they seme not filthy yet ar they neuerthelesse of their owne nature fylthy The opinioÌ„ of Augustine and Anselmus differ not in very deede The definition of Original sinne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yâ— is That which is filthy is filthy whither it seme so or no. This opinion of Anselmus concerning the lacke and want of originall iustice doth in very dede nothing differre from the sentence of Augustine wherein he calleth originall sinne luste but that whiche in Anselmus is spoken somewhat more expressedlye is more obscurely wrapped in the word concupiscence But bycause this want of originall iustice may so be taken as though we vnderstoode onely the priuation of the giftes of God with out any vice of nature therefore it shall be good to set forth a more full definition of originall sinne Originall sinne therefore is the corruption of the whole nature of man traduced by generation from the fall of our first parent into his posterity which corruption were it not for the benefite of Christ adiudgeth al men borne therin in a maner to infinite euills and to eternall damnation In this definition are contained al kinds of causes We haue for the matter or subiect all the partes strengthes of man The forme is the deprauation of them al The efficieÌ„t cause is the will of Adam which sinned The instrument is the propagation of traduction which is done thorough the flesh The end and effect is eternall damnation together with all the discomoditis of thys life And hereof sprange sondrye Sondry names of this sinne names of this sinne so that sometimes it is called a defect or want sometimes peruersenes sometimes vice sometymes a disease sometymes contagiousnes sometymes malice and Augustine calleth it an affected quality and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a disorder And that the whole maÌ„ is corrupt hereby appeareth because he was to this ende created to cleaue vnto God as to the chiefe good But now he vnderstandeth The corruption of the partes of man is declared not things pertayning vnto God nor with patience waiteth for the promises which are set forth in yâ— sciptures but with grief he harkeneth vnto yâ— preceptes of God and the paynes rewardes he vtterly coÌ„temneth The affections rebelling agaynst sound reason do wantonly deride the word of God The body neglecteth to obey the soule All these thinges although they be experimeÌ„ts of naturall corruption yet are they also confirmed by testimonies of the holy scriptures Of the corruption of vnderstanding Paul sayth The carnall man vnderstandeth not those thinges which are of the spirite of God yea he can not because they are foolishenes vnto him In which wordes let vs marke by the way agaynst A proofe of the impossibility of the law Pigghius that the lawe was geuen of such thinges which of vs can not be performed For the lawe doth chiefely commaund vs to haue knowledge in things pertayning to God which thinges yet Paul apertly affirmeth that the carnall man can not vnderstand And to our purpose we sée that Paul affirmeth that this blindnes or ignorance is grafted in man and that of nature for we can not imagine that it commeth by reason of tyme or age For the elder in yeares a man is so much the more and more is he instructed concerning God Wherefore in that he is carnall and vnapt to vnderstand thinges pertayning to God it commeth of his corrupt nature And this corruption is of so great waight that Augustine in his 3. booke agaynst Iulianus the 12.
maisters name receiued money of Naaman the Sirian was both hymselfe striken wyth leprosye and also all hys posteritie for euer Eyther of these sentences is godlye and maye be confirmed by examples Howbeit the latter semeth better to agree with the texte But how God visiteth the iniquity of the fathers vpon the children vnto the third and fourth generation the law it selfe sufficiently declareth They beare the iniquity of their parents which haue also themselues hated God To hate God is taken two manner of wapes For it is added Of them that hate me whereby it appeareth that no other children shall beare the sinnes of theyr elders but those which haue bene like vnto theyr parentes For if they depart from theyr wickednes they shal not beare theyr sinnes But this is to be noted that To hate God may be takē two maner of waies ether in acte as they speake which agreth only with those that are of full age or in pronese and vice alredy contracted in nature which hath place in infantes But some will obiect If we vnderstand that God punisheth those onlye which imitate the sinnes of theyr parentes what neded this addition vnto the third and fourth generation when as he will perpetually punishe all sinners what soeuer they be Augustine was so moued with this obiection that he sayd that by this forme of speaking vnto the third and fourth generation is vnderstand the whole posterity for in it a determinate nomber is vsed for an infinite For if a man adde 4. to 3. then is The number of seuen is put for any other number it the nomber of 7. Which is vsed to be put for any other nomber After the same maner he sayth it is written in Amos the Prophet ouer three euills and ouer fower I will not conuert him And he sayth that this is the meaning of that place If a man transgresse once or twise God can forgeue hym but if a man heape sinnes vpon sinnes and so procéede vnmeasurably then God can not forgeue hym Here 3. and 4 sinnes are put for a continuation of sinnes So God may be sayd to punishe euen to the third and fourth generation of them which hate him when as he will punishe all such whatsoeuer they be be But it may be answered otherwise that God therefore Why God hath determined the third and fourth generation hath determined the third and fourth generation to shew that his anger is moderate and ioyned with lenity sometimes to staye from punishmentes and to go no far ther in punishing Although there are others which thinke that the third and fourth generation is expressedly put bycause euen to that time the posteritye are peraduenture entised to sinne by the euill example of theyr great grandfather for none of the elders liue past that for for y◠most part after the fourth generation they no longer liue By these thinges we se that the words of the Prophet are nothing repugnant vnto the law but doo rather interpret it For he therefore sayth that the child shall not beare the iniquity of the father bycause the law sayth that he visiteth the iniquity of the fathers vpon the children if they also imitate the sins of theyr parentes that when they are punished they should vnderstand that they are punished for theyr owne sinnes and not for the sinnes of theyr parentes But it is sayd that God therefore punisheth the sinnes of the fathers in them bycause the sinnes began in them and were continued vnto the children And if the childrē had not had fathers or grandfathers which had so sinned paraduenture God had yet still withheld his anger and euen as by his patience he bare with theyr elders so also paraduenture he had borne with them But forasmuch as both theyr elders haue sinned and they also depart not from theyr example God will no longer differ God will not differ punishment longer then it behoueth least he should seme to haue cast of the care of thynges Of him that was borne blind ▪ the punishment lest he should seme to haue cast of the care of worldly thinges and so other men should sinne more securely Howbeit in the meane time they which are so punished can not be called innocent when as they themselues also doo hate God Nether is that repugnant to these thinges which Christ spake in Iohn concerning the man that was borne blind Nether hath this man sinned nor his parentes For the meaninge of that place is not that that blinde man was punished without desert But only this is noted that the prouidence of God had directed that fault of his eyes to an other end then that the blinde man should be punished For God would vse that occasion to illustrate the deuinity of Christ So god distributeth paynes not only by them to punishe sinnes but also for other endes which he hath vnto himself appointed And thus much concerning that place of the prophet whereby may be manifestly sene that it nether repugneth with the law nor yet with the definition by vs alledged Yea rather the same sentence is to be returnes agaynste our aduersaries whiche affirme that children are guiltye of an other mans sinne The next reason was that forasmuch as both the soule and the body are the workes of God and the parentes are oftentimes holy and godly and are commended in the scriptures and the worke of generation and matrimony are praysed how among so many aydes of innocency sin hath crept in First we aunswere with Paul that it crept in by one man And whereas they saye that the parentes are cleane and holy it is vtterly vntrue For although they be endued with piety and originall sinne as touching the guiltynes is forgeuen vnto them yet there still remaineth in them a corrupt nature and an vnpure condition Wherefore such a nature as they haue in themselues such I say do they deliuer vnto their posterity and that as it is sayd by seede and generation Nether doth this any thing hinder that some imagine that the body can not The body worketh not agaynst the spirite by naturall action preuaile against the spirite For we say not that the soule is corrupted of the body by a naturall action But forasmuch as the body is corrupt it reststeth the soule and the soule not being confirmed with those giftes which it had at the beginning obeyeth the inclination thereof nether gouerneth it as it were mete it should but is gouerned of it Farther phisicall or naturall reasons teach A naturall agreemente betwene the soule and the body vs that there is a naturall agrement betwene the body and soule for the soule is diuersly affected according vnto the temperature of the body For they which abound with choler or melancholy are commonly angry or heauy of mynde Wherefore forasmuch as this kinde of reasoning procedeth of false principles it can conclude nothing Farther they alledged a place out of the first epistle to the Corrinthyans Your
corruâ—ted yet the Law written The law geuen by Moses could not be so corrupted as the lawe of nature was remayned alwayes one which being righly examined was able alwayes to reproue the corrupters thereof But the Law of nature fora 〈…〉 â—s it is siâ—uate in the mindes of men if it be there once corrupted can neuer be made sound agayne But there are many which say that Paul vnderstode these â—inges of the Law of nature of which opinion Origen semeth to be But Paul himselfe confuteth them when he bringeth a testemony out of the Law of Moses Others thinke that the Law of nature did indede shew sinne but taughte not the offeÌ„ce of God and as they say the guiltines whereby we are by reason of the sinnes committed condemned to punishmentes But the Law geueÌ„ of God performed The law of nature did not only shew sinne but also the offence of God and guiltines both And forasmuch as this guiltines and the offence of God are the principall thinges which are considered in the Law therefore the Law geuen of God is sayd to shew sin But this can not be attributed vnto yâ— Law of nature bicause it shewed not that thing which in sinne is the chiefest But nether is this senteÌ„ce sufficient as I thinke For vnles men had by the Lawe of nature vnderstode that God had bene offended they woulde neuer haue endeuored themselues by sacrifices and oblations to satisfie his wrath or by vowes and purifications to redeme theyr murthers Farther those thinges whiche happened in the floude and in Sodome and in many other places may be a sufficient argument that God punisheth sinnes This thing also the historiagraphers poets orators and philosophers haue euery where in theyr writinges taught and in the holy scriptures bothe Pharao and Abimelech testefied the same as we haue before sayd Wherefore omitting all these opinions we say that Paul speaketh these things of the Law geuen by Moses For of it arose the controuersie And although it be longe to all good lawes to vtter and to shew sinne yet is there no law which so fully doth it as doth the Law geuen of God so that it be rightly vnderstand that euen for this cause chiefely for that it is geuen of God For other Lawes The lawes of men not such efficacy as the law of Moles althoughe sometimes they commaund thinges vpright yet bycause they are thoughte to be onelye inuencions of wise men doo not much mone the minde Iudede the excellent sentences of philosophers and poetes delight the mind but they doo not so vehemently reproue a minde hardened as doth that Law which we are fully perswaded to haue ben geueÌ„ of God For in it we seme to hear God him selfe speaking vnto vs. Farther it may at the firste bront seme wonderfull why the Apostle amongest all other preceptes brought this only precept Thou Why the precept of not lustinge is aboue other here brought Lust is here touched because it is the heade of all euils shalt not lust But the Apostle did this as he did also all other thinges mostâ— warely For he thought chiefely to take that kynde of prauity which is most hidden from the iudgement of men and is not set forth in other lawes For the naturall lust and corruption which impelleth vs to all euils is in this place touched and layd abrode as the fountayne and hed of al euilles Wherfore this is an excellent sayinge of Augustine that no sinne is committed without luste Wherefore Paul woulde not speake of the grosser outward sinnes for that he saw that they pertained vnto discipline and are not onlye set forth by the ciuill Lawes but also punished Nether would he speak of wicked affections and perturbations for that he saw them condemned of the philosophers in theyr Moral The preceptes of God are distinguished into precepts commaunding and prohibiting The thinges that are commaunded ought to be done with al our strength The things that are forbiddeÌ„ ought to be eschewed without all maner of prones vnto them Two principall commaundementes of the law discipline and rules geueÌ„ by them to bring them to a mediocrity he weÌ„t rather to the very roote of all sinnes and sheweth that it being vnknowen and hidden is manifested and brought to light by the law of God And to expresse this thing more playnly this is to be obserued that all the commauÌ„demeÌ„tes of God ether commaund something or forbid something And they commaund not only that a thing should be sclenderly done but also that it be done withall the soule with all the hart and with all strengths and most exactly so that there be vtterly nothing in vs which is not obedient vnto the will of God And that which they forbid they doo not only so forbid it that it it self be not in vs but also that there be not leaft in vs any affect or prones thereunto And therefore God gaue this coÌ„maundement Thou shalt not lust that we should both in minde will and wholy in al the partes both of the soule and of the body abhore froÌ„ those things which God hath prohibited And in this maner answere together these two coÌ„maundmentes Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy soule and with all thy hart c Whiche is to be repeted in all the preceptes that commaund any thinge to be done and the laste precept Thou shalt not lust which agayne is to be vnderstand in all thinges that are forbidden Wherefore in these two commaundementes is the pith and if I may so speake the soule of the lawe as without whiche the other commaundementes of GOD can not be full and perfect And all men althoughe they be neuer so holye yet are they accused ouercome and condemned of ether of these preceptes For vnlesse the grace of God throughe Christe shoulde These two precepts accuse men though they be neuer so holy succour vs we haue nothing before our eyes but certayne destruction For so long as we here liue how frée we are from lust Augustine most plainely declareth in many places and especially in his 200. epistle to Asellicus the bishop For thus he sayth That in mynde he may do that which he loueth and not consent vnto the flesh which doth that which he hateth that is not that he should not lust at all but that he should not follow after his lustes And straight way We shall one daye come to the ende thereof when the lust of sinne shall not be restrayned or bridled but shall not be at all For this thyng hath the lawe set forth saying thou shalt not lust not that we are here able to performe this but as whereunto by going forward we bend our selues And against Iulianus in his 6. booke and 5. chapter but who doubteth but that lust may in thys lyfe be diminished but yet not consumed What is the property of the lawe Where the law shewerh sinne In the scriptures the lawe is
vnder the law And that is it which condemneth and killeth For it vnder the payne of damnation commaundeth that we should beleue in Christ. Wherefore they which beleue not by the condemnation of the law do perishe But the propriety of the Gospell is only to make safe It mought also be somewhat more plainly aunswered The Gospell as it onely outwardly maketh a souÌ„d â–ª differreth little from the law that the Gospell so long as it doth but outwardly only make a sound neither is the holy ghost inwardly in the hartes of the hearers to moue and bowe them to beleue so long I say the Gospell hath the nature of the killyng letter neyther differeth it any thyng from the Lawe as touchyng efficacye vnto saluation For althoughe it conteyne other thynges then the Lawe dothe yet it canne neyther geue Grace nor remission of synnes vnto the hearers But after that the holy ghost hath once moued yâ— harâ—s of the hearers to beleue then at the length the Gospell obtayneth his power to make safe Wherefore the lawe of sinne â–ª and of death from which we are deliuered is it whereof before it was sayd that it leadeth vs captiâ—â—s and rebelleth against the lawe of the minde In this fight saith Chrisostome the holy ghost is present with vs and helpeth and deliuereth vs that we runne not into dammation He crâ—wneth vs saith he and furnishing vs on euery side with stayes and â—elpes bringeth vs into the battayle Which I thus vnderstand that we are counted crowned through the forgeuenes of our sinnes and holpen with succors when we are so holpen with free and gracious giftes and with the strength of the spirite and instrumente of heauenly giftes that we suffer not this lawe of naturall corruption to raigne in vs. And let this suffice as touching that euill from which we are by the spirite of Christ deliuered Now let vs declare what is the nature of this deliuery This deliuery may indede be compared with that deliuery whereby the children Our deliuery is compared with that deliuery whereby the Israelites escaped out of Egipt of Israell were deliuered out of Egipt But they were not 〈…〉 at liberty but yâ— they were with greeuous perils greate teÌ„ptacions excercised in the desert and when they were come to the land of Canaan they had alwayes remnants of the Amoritres Chittits Heuites and Cetites with whome they had continuall strife We also are so deliuered from death and sinne that yet there still remayneth no small portion of these euils But yet as Paul saith they can not hurt vs. For although it be sinne yet is it not imputed But by death our body shall so be losed and the soule shall so be seperated from it that by meanes of the holy resurrection it shall neuertheles returne againe vnto life And for that cause Paul said not simply that we are deliuered from sinne and from death but from the lawe and power of them Augustine also in his first booke and 32. chapter De Nuptijs concupisceÌ„ntia saith that this deliuery consisteth of the forgeuenes of sinnes which thing also we see happeneth in ciuill affaires For if a man being A similitude cast into prison knowing himselfe to be guilty doth waite for nothing but for yâ— sentence of death and yet through the liberallity and mercy of the king he is not only deliuered from punishment but also the king geueth vnto him greate landes and aboundance of riches and honors if we should consider in him the principall ground and cause of his deliuery we shall finde that it consisteth in the forgeuenes of his crime and offence For what had it profited him so to be enriched if he should straight way haue bene put to death So although by the benefite of the spirite we haue our strengthes renewed and the power or faculty to beginne an obedience forasmuch as by all these thinges the lawe of God can not be satisfied we could neuer be iustified vnles we had first remission of our sinnes For we should still be vnder condemnation and should be vnder the power of sinne and of death And when Paul vseth this word law he speaketh metaphorically For by the lawe he vnderstandeth force and efficacy And he attributeth it vnto sundry This word law is here taken Metaphoricallye thinges vnto sinne vnto death and vnto the spirite and if there be any other thing which hath the authority of ruling and gouerning the same may be called the lawe of him whome it gouerneth and ruleth But as we haue already sufficiently tought when we heare of this word lawe no man ought to thinke that here is spoken of the lawe of Moses And thus much as touching the maner of this deliuery But in this place therecommeth to my remembrance a sentence of Chrisostome in his homely de sancto adorando spiritu wherein he admonisheth that this is an apt place to proue the deuinity of the holy ghost For if the holy ghost be the author of our liberty then it behoueth him to be most frée And that A place to proue the diuinitye of the holy Ghost he is the author of our liberty not only this place declareth but also that place wherein it is written Where the spirite of the Lord is there is liberty But Arrius Eunomius and other such like pestiferous men would haue the holy ghost to be a seruaunt For they in the holy Trinity put a greate difference of persones for the sonne they sayde was a creature and for that cause farre inferior vnto the father but the holye Ghoste they affirmed to bée the minister and seruaunte of the sonne But if he bée a seruaunte howe then can hée bée vnto others the author of libertye He hath indéede other argumentes out of the holy scriptures whereby he confuteth the Arryans but it sufficeth me to haue rehearsed thys one argumente onely because it serueth somewhat for this place Now let vs se who they be that are partakers of this deliuery For Paul doth not superfluously entreate thereof For when he had taught that this libertye commeth of the spirite of Christe althoughe it be the true and principall cause yet bycause it is oftentimes hid nether can it be seene of other men therefore Paul turneth himselfe vnto the effects as vnto thinges more euident For there are many oftentimes which boast of the spirite and of faith which yet are most farre from them and remayne vnder damnation This selfe same maner shall Christ obserue in the last iudgement He shall first say Come ye blessed of my Father receaue ye the kingdome prepared for you froÌ„ the beginning of the world By these wordes is expressed the chiefe and principall cause of our saluatioÌ„ namely yâ— we are elected of God predestinate But bycause this cause is hiddeÌ„ from the eyes The proue by the effectes declareth who are the elect of God of men to the end they might seme true heyres of the
the fayth of the sonne of God And Abacuch the Prophet sayth The iust man liueth by his fayth Paul mought aptly commaund these thinges when as he had before aboundantly reasoned of Iustification and of the life of the soule which is to be obteyned by fayth Wherfore by this place we are taught that men not yet iustified can not be such sacrifices For they want that life which the holy ghost aboue all other things requireth Holy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Etymologye of which word Plato thus describeth in Cratylo Men not yet iustified cannot be sacrifices vnto God What holy is as though it were composed of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a particle priuatiue and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is earth wherfore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are thinges impolluted and chused from all earthly filthines and dregges And with the Latines this word sanctum that is holy signifieth yâ— which is consecrated with bloud as Seruius sayth writing vppon these wordes in the 12. booke of Aeneidos Qui foedera numine sancit And his opinion is that sancire amongst the elders was to coÌ„secrate with bloud Martian the Lawyer in the Title De rerum diuisione sayth Sanctum is a thing vnuiolated and which is defended and guarded from the iniury of men And he thinketh that the name is deriued of the Herbes called * Sagmen is a kind of grasse plucked vp with earth sagmina which the Legates of Romanes caried with them to the end their enemies should do them no violence But Vlpian De significatione verborum sayth that Sanctum signifieth all one with firme fixed stable And that sancire is all one with to appoint constantly to decre All these significations agree very wel with that thing whereof we now entreate For our sacrifice ought to be consecrated with the bloud of Christe Further it ought to be certayne and stable which ought neuer to be reuoked or to be chaunged and finally it ought to be purged from the filthines of sinnes Acceptable vnto God which is your reasonable worshipping Plato in Eutiphrone when he had appointed to entreate of holines confuted this definition wherein that was sayd to be holy which is beloued of God For he thinketh that Thinges holy haue this property to be beloued of god this is rather a property of holines then the definition thereof For thinges holy séeme to haue this propriety to be beloued of God Therfore the Apostle aptly vnto holines of life addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is acceptable vnto God And it is all one as if he should haue sayd If your sacrifice be holy it shall also be acceptable vnto GOD. And in the meane tyme he séemeth to haue alluded to that which is written in the law namely that God accepted as a most swéete smelling sauour those sacrifices whiche are done as they shoulde be done The Hebrues saye Richan Iehouah Your reasonable worshipping This oblation is called reasonable by an Why our worshipping is called reasonable Antithesis to the sacrifices of the Iewes and of the Gentiles For they consisted of brute beastes or els as Origen interpreteth it for that our sacrifice is such that we therof can render a reason to them that require it Such doubtles were not the sacrifices of the elders For the Iewes could geue no reason why God chose out for his sacrifices rather these beastes then other or why he would be worshipped rather after this maner then after that That which we in Latine reade Cultum that is worshipping is in Greke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whiche woord as the Latine Fathers write and especially Augustine in his 10. boke De ciuitate Dei the 1. chapiter properly signifieth the worshipping of GOD. For although sayth he manye other things are worshipped yet this worship called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 belongeth not vnto them As touching the substance of the thing we deny not but that vnto God is dewe a certayne worshippinge whiche is not to be communicated vnto thinges created Howbeit that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth with the Grecians always so signifie I am not able to affirme for as Suidas sayth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to serue for a reward or hire And in the holy Scriptures where we reade that the festiuall dayes ought so to be kept that in them should be done no seruile worke yâ— Greke edition hath it thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 also that is to serue doth not so properly belong vnto creatures that it is not also attributed vnto God For the Apostle many tymes calleth him self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the seruaunt of Iesus Christ as also with the Hebrues this word Abad which signifieth to serue signifieth yâ— obeysance which we geue both vnto God and also vnto yâ— creatures By these wordes we may gather that all Christians are now sacrificers as which ought not only to sacrifice themselues but also others which thing they chiefly accomplish All christians are sacrificers The ministers of the worde of God aboue all other do sacrifice which preach teach exhort and admonishe their neighbours to returne vnto Christ yâ— when they fal they should repent and returne againe into the right waye This thing Paul pronounceth of himselfe in the 15. chapiter of this epistle By the grace sayth he which is geuen vnto me that I should be the Minister of God amongest the Gentiles In that place sayth that he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if he should say that he sacrificed the Gospel that the oblation of the Gentiles might be made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is acceptable sanctified in spirite c. But in my iudgement it séemeth most likely that Paul ment in these wordes to comfort those which were newly conuerted vnto Christ aswell Iewes as Gentiles For our religion mought séeme vnto them at the first sight very slender and bare as which wanted that goodly shew and outward decking of sacrifices But Our religion wantâ—th not conuenient sacrifices the matter sayth Paul is farre otherwise then ye thinke it is For we also haue our sacrifices but they be liuing holy reasonable and acceptable vnto GOD. What more sharper spurres can be put to our sydes to cause vs to leade a godly and holy life then to be taught that we ought all to be such sacrifices the offrers vp also of those oblations He that is not moued with theie reasons to liue holily and innocently I sée not doubtles by what other meanes he can be moued And apply not your selues to the figure of this world but be ye transformed in newnes of your minde that ye may allow what is the will of God good acceptable and perfect And applye not your selues to the figure of this world but be ye transformed in newnes of your mind They which teache Musicke do
other with mutual benefites For of our owne accord we loue both our children and brethen although they haue not bound vs vnto theÌ„ by any theyr benefit to vs ward And forasmuch as these things ought to be obserued in christiaÌ„ loue therfore Paul calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 although it come not of nature but of the spirite of God and of grace And how much the consideration of brotherhoode is of force to stirre vp loue betwene The loue of brethren is of great efficacy Christian men we are taught by the example of Moses For he the next day after that he had slayne the Egiptian when he went to visite the Hebrues and saw a certayne Hebrew doing iniury to an other Hebrew as S. Stephan reciteth the history sayd vnto them Ye are bretherne why doo ye in this sorte iniury one an other The force of this affect Ioseph also declareth For he when he ment vpon the sodayne to reconcile himselfe to his brethren who had solde to be a bondman sayde vnto them I am your brother Ioseph And so soone as he had spoken that he could not restrayne him selfe from teares So great is the force of this affect with the godly Neither is the mutuall loue betwéene Christians without iust cause called a brotherly loue For Christ called his disciples brethreÌ„ and yâ— at that time chiefly when after his resurrection he was now endued with immortality Aristotle in his 9. booke of Ethiks wheÌ„ he entreteth of frendship Amongst brethreÌ„ saith he one and the self same thing is distributed amongst many and therefore for as much as they communicate among themselues in one and the selfe same thing they by good right loue the one the other By that one and the selfe same thing wherin brethren communicate he vnderstandeth the substaunce of the father and of the mother whereof eche haue their part The like consideration also is there betwene the faithful For as Peter sayth they are made partakers of the nature of God wherfore they ought to loue one an other as brethren which thing if they neglect to doe they are worthely called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is without naturall affections Which vice as a sinne most greuous Paul in the first chapiter of this Epistle attributed to those which fell away from the true worshipping of God and were therefore deliuered of him into a reprobate minde In geuing honor â–ª go one before an other This is the proper effect of brotherly The â—ffects of honour of contempt loue that whome we loue those we labour by all meanes to honoure and in so doing we allure those whome we honour to loue vs again as contrariwise when we contemn our brethren we breake in sonder the senewes of loue and prouoke our brethren to hatred and enmities towardes vs. For what thing els is anger but a desire of vengeance sprong by reason of contempt Honor is here taken not only for a certaine outward reuerence wherby we reuerence the dignitye of our What honour signifieth neighbour but also for an outwarde helpe succor and aide wherby we help those which stand in néede So Paul admonisheth Timothe to honoure widowes And Christ reproued the Phariseis for that they contemned the precept of God which commaunded that parents should be honored when they gaue counsell to yâ— children to offer vp those things in the temple which ought rather to haue ben bestowed towards the relief of their parents And of how great force the neglecting of this kinde of helpe towardes our brethren is to stirre vp hatred and enmities we The neglecting of our brethren stirreth vp contentioÌ„s may gather out of the Actes of the Apostles For straight way in the primitiue Churche there arose a grudge for that the widowes of the Gréekes were contemned in the daily ministery Hereunto Christ exhorted his when he willed that they should not prease for the first roomes in the sinagoges and that being bidden to feasts they should sit downe in the lowest rowme This worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in this text may haue a double sense by reason of the diuers significatioÌ„ of the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For sometimes it is taken for existimo or reputo that is to estéeme or make accompt of And so the sence shall be let euery man thinke that others are more worthy of honour then him selfe As to the Philippians in the. 2. Chapiter it is written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in humblenesse of minde euery man esteeming others better then him selfe And sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth nothing els but to be a captaine and to goe before And so the sense is let euery one of you preuent the other with honour and suffer not himself to be preuented Not slouthfull to doe seruice For as much as these things which he hath now reckened vp ought not slenderly to be put in vre therfore Paul sayth therein we must doe our diligence And the slouthfulnes which he commaundeth to be put away is that slownes in executyng of offices whereby men declare that they doe those things which they do grudgingly From which fault they are cleare which doe it with such cherefulnes and willingnes that sometimes they contemne euen their own commodities In suÌ„me Paul requireth that we loue not only in words but also in very dede and with an effectual endeuor and that we be not professors of this Philosophy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is all in words but nothing in dedes which thing was reproued in diuers wise men amongst the Ethnikes Feruent in spirite Those things which he hath now made mention of for that they bring with them troubles lothsomnes laboures and costes therefore commonly seme irksome vnto the fleshe Wherfore Paul requireth that we suffer not our selues to be seduced by the flesh but rather that we be feruent in spirite Men neither hot nor colde highly displease God I would to God sayth he thou wert either hot or colde but for that thou art luke warme and neither hot nor colde I will begin to spew thee out of my mouth This word spirit may here signifie two things either the power and instincte of God or els our soule And it is doubtfull whether sense Spirit somtymes signiâ—eth our soule we ought here to sollow And that spirite sometimes signifieth our soule it may be gathered by many places of the scriptures For it is written blessed are the pore in spirite Againe he bowed downe his head and yelded vp the spirite â–ª Againe that the spirite may be saued in the day of the Lord. Again that it may be holy both in body and in spirite Againe the body without the spirite is dead Againe Christ went to the spirites whiche were in prison Howbeit I graunt that this word spirite hath either signification And I here thinke that it hath either signification namely bothe our soule and also the power of the spirite of God
repentance Augustine The long suffering of God is profitable vnto the elect and predestinate noteth that this taketh place as touching the elect and predestinate whiche by this long suffring of God do at the length obtayne saluation although so long as they sinne and do not spedely repent as touching their owne part they heape vnto themselues the wrath of God But he forsaketh them not without whose impulsion spirite and grace his lenity and patience shoulde be in vayne And that the repentance of them that fall is to be ascribed vnto God the Epistle The repeÌ„tance of theÌ„ that fall is of God written vnto Timothe very euidently teacheth For there he instructeth a Bishop to obserue such a trade of teaching that without contention he enstruct them with whome he hath to do if paradueÌ„ture God geue them grace to repeÌ„t Howbeit the differring of punishementes semeth of his owne nature to drawe men to returne vnto God although in all men it hath not like efficacye Wherefore when we see some punished and we our selues in the meane time spared it is expedient that we shoulde diligently waye thys goodnes of God whereby he beareth with vs to the ende we should correct our selues Whiche thing Christ admonished vs of when he sayde when worde was brought him of some which were killed with the fall of the tower of Syloa Do ye thinke that Why God punisheth some and not all they alone haue sinned As though he woulde haue sayd Not they alone haue deserued that punishement but many others ought to haue suffred the like but God will shew forth certayne particular examples of hys iudgement whiche one day shal be generall In deede the punishement of the vngodly is differred but it shall most certaynely come to passe at the tyme appoynted The parable of the figge tree which the goodman of the houshold commaunded to be cut downe when it bare no fruite admonisheth vs of this selfe same thing The husbandman obtayned that the cutting downe thereof should be a litle while differred or that he would donge it and pruine it if so paraduenture it would bring forth fruite Whiâ—h thing if it did not then should it not only be digged vp by the rootes but also be throwen into the fyre Here are we taught not What is to be done toward our brethren when they sinne strayght way to forsake our bretherne when they offend but patiently for a tyme to abyde and that euen as God himselfe doth so should we by benefytes prouoke them vnto repentance not omitting in the meane tyme brotherly admonitions But this is worthy of noting that in thys place is mencion made that God punisheth the vngodly noâ— once but with a double punishement the selfe same men which before he sayd were punished when they were delyuered vp to the lustes of their owne hart and vnto shamefull affections and also vnto a reprobate mynde shall agayne be punished Whiche therefore is done for that that fyrst kinde of punishement drew them vnto voluptuousnes and pleasures For he sheweth that it shall one day happen that vengeaunce shall be taken vpon them and that both great and also most paynefull But A place of Nahum declared how agreeth this with that which Nahum the Prophet writeth in his first chapter That iudgement is not geuen or punishement taken twise vpon one and the selfe same thing Seing these men were punished once why are they agayne punished Vndoubtly that sentence whiche is so common that God punisheth not twise is not so written in the Prophet although it be so reade in the 70. Interpreters The wordes are thus what do ye thinke against the Lord He will make an ende neyther shall tribulatioÌ„ arise vp the second tyme Which words some of the Hebrues as Hierome telleth interpret of the AssiriaÌ„s who wheÌ„ they had it the first tyme gotten the victory against the kingdome of the tenne tribes thought that they could in like maner preuaile against the kingdome of Iuda But that it should so come to passe the Prophet denieth and sayth that after the first tribulation the secoÌ„d should not follow This expositioÌ„ may in dede be borne withall But there is an other which is more playne namely to say that these thinges are spoken agaynst Sinnecharib which besieged Ierusalem vnto whome God threatened a fall and through ouerthrow I will sayth he so blot thee out that I shall not neede to rise vp the second tyme agaynst thee One plague shal be sufficient thou Vnto God is not prescribed a measure of punishemeÌ„ts as though it were not lawfull for him to punishe but once shalt be so vehemently afflicted with it Neither dreamed the Prophet as many meÌ„ fayne that vnto God is prescribed a measure in punishmeÌ„ts as though it were not lawfull for him to punishe one and the selfe same man any more then once Which thing if we should grauÌ„t we should say that the EgiptiaÌ„s forasmuch as they were punished in the red sea are now free froÌ„ hell fire And that they which wickedly perished in Sodome in the floud are now at the length at rest Which The punishmentes of the vngodly begin oftentimes in this life they shall be more greuously afflicted in the world to come The saints are afflicted with the punishmentes of this lyfe onely thinges without doubt are most absurd For as certein in this life receaue the holy ghost and grace as an earnest peny of the felicity to come as which shall receiue reward both here in the world to come so may it be contrariwise that the punishments of some begin in this life which shal be increased in an other world as it is to be thought that Herode Nero and Saule do now fele punishmentes far more greuous then those which they here tasted of And yet in the meane tyme I deny not but that God as touching his elect is content with these paynes and punishmentes which he inflicteth vppon them in this life As Paule sayd vnto the Corinthians that one among them shoulde be deliuered vp vnto Sathan that his spirit might be saued in the day of the Lord. And agayne he saith that some are here corrected of the Lord lest they should be condemned with this worlde But when God will deale after this sorte or when he wil vse that seuerity to punish both here afterward it lyeth not in vs to know Wherfore according to the commaundement of Christ he is alwayes to be feared forasmuch as he hath power both to kill the body and also to cast the soule into hell fire Howbeit this we may assuredly affirme that they which beyng afflicted do perish and repent not shal be againe more greuously tormented those on the other side which being admonished with afflictioÌ„s do returne vnto Christ shall being sufficiently chastised with the punishmentes of this life obteyne eternall saluation Wherfore accordyng to that whiche we haue sayde Paule admonisheth these
forasmuch as by reason of age they are as yet not able to do any thing are to be exempted out of the number of them vnto whome shal be rendred according to their workes For Paule speaketh of them whiche be of full age who mought haue brought forth good workes And that which Chrisostome writeth that this place teacheth vs not in any wise to put our trust in fayth only forasmuch as before the iudgement seate of God workes also shal be examined this his saying I say must be warely taken For true fayth neuer wanteth iust workes But Chrisostome in that place taketh fayth for that credulity whiche wicked men oftentymes boast of which is rather an opinion and vayne perswasion then that it can be called fayth which selfe same Iames calleth a dead fayth And forasmuch as it A deade sayth is no fayth is sayd to be deade it can in no case be true fayth As that man which certaynly is dead is no more sayd to be a man Wherefore Ambrose vpon thys place hath made the thing playne saying That we haue neede not only of profession but also of good life Wherefore where men do worke wickedly and yet in the meane tyme boast of fayth it is rather a vayne profession then a Christian fayth But vnto those that are contentious and which obey not the truth but obey vnrighteousnes Here is expressed the other part of iustice namely that whereby sinners are most worthely punished And by two signes he expresseth Two notes whereby the vngodly are expressed A wicked kinde of contēcion such as are wicked in that as touching rules of doctrine they are contentious and as touching maners they obey not the truth but vnrighteousnes Contention which is here ment is when a thing without iust cause and with a more vehement strife then is nedefull is taken in hand to be defended And oftentymes it happeneth that contentions men labour to defend that which in their mynde and conscience they beleue not to be true but only study to get the victory Wherefore they do nothing with any mediocritye but altogether with most vehemency and they are so tossed with the perturbation of the mynde that they alwayes farther and farther depart frō the truth Howbeit there is some A certayne contention laudable kynde of contention which is pardonable namely that which is taken in hād for the defence of the truth And such contention is without obstinacy whiche thing we may behold in Paule For he as soone as he knew himselfe to be deceaued abode not still stubburnely in hys purpose but strayght waye sayde Lord what wilt thou that I shall do But these men whom God will thus punishe are in prosecuting their matters not a whit better then they were in rules of doctrine because they obey not the truth which they know yea rather they hold it captiue with themselues as we haue before hard and are obedient vnto vnrighteousnes For truth and lust are euer present with men to geue counsell and Two perpetuall counsellers of men perswade them in intreating of matters In the wicked the worser counseller namely lust prenayleth and so they are miserably deceaued Which thing the Apostle expresseth in hys latter Epistle to the Thessalonians the second chapiter where he writeth that Antichrist shall come with power with signes and lying waytes and with all maner of deceite of vnrighteousnes in those which perishe because that they receaued not the loue of the truth to the ende they mought haue bene saued Therefore shall God send vpon them the efficacy of illusion to beleue lyes But this vnrighteousnes which they obey is afterward in the 7. chapiter called The law of the members namely because wicked luste is from the fall of the first parentes ingenerate in men and is obiected to our mynd by the ministery of Sathan who vseth it as a most apte instrument for his purpose Vnto these mē I say shal be indignatiō anger afflictiō anguish against euery soule of man that committeth euill of the Iew first and also of the Grecian Betwene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is indignation and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is anger semeth to be a difference for that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a more vehementer impulsion or motion and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a more easier which differences yet haue no place in the high iudge For God is not troubled with these affections But the scripture vseth thys trope or fygure to set forth the vengeance whiche followeth these thinges whiche afterward is expressed in that he addeth Affliction and anguishe And as touching anguishe which in Greke is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we must vnderstand that the minde of man delighteth in liberty Wherefore whē we are brought to such a straight that we can not by any meanes eyther moue our selues or els fynde a way out thinke we to be most greuous vnto vs. And by these wordes is described the great punishement and a desperation of the felicity to come The soule signifieth man Agaynst euery soule There are some which by this place argue that therfore is mencion made of the soule because the affliction thereof shal be a greate deale more greuous then the affliction of the body But me thinketh it is more playne to say that after the Hebrewe maner by the soule is signified the whole man or to speake more vprightly all the powers and partes of man Neyther doth this any thing let that here in the texte man is put in the genetiue case and because the Iew and the Grecian is here expressed For that tendeth to thys ende to comprehend all mankinde whiche Paule deuideth into two partes so that some he calleth Iewes and other some Grecians namely the Gentiles as many He beginneth to reprehend the Iewes as were not subiect vnto the law of Moses And here the Apostle beginneth to ioyne the Iewes to the selfe same reprehension which he vsed agaynst the Gentiles because he entendeth to reproue them also And easely by litle and litle he turneth his speach vnto thē vnto whom hereafter by name he speaketh whē not much afterwarde he saith Behold thou art called a Iew and restest in the law c. He Why the first place is assigned vnto the Iewes therefore geueth the fyrst place vnto the Iewes because in the knowledge and vnderstanding of God and of righteousnes they had the principalitye if they be compared with other nations Further forasmuch as Paule came of their kinred here hearseth them in the first place least he should seeme to spare his owne when as he had sharpely reproued the Ethnikes It was meete also that they shoulde be named before Gentiles to the ende they mought the more greeuously be accused and more sharpely punished for that they were not ignorant both of the true God and of the religion due vnto hym But glory honour and peace to euery one that worketh good to the
pietie And contrarywise that the Iewes being destitute of fayth and holy lyfe are not holpen by circumcision to bee therby preferred before the Gentiles And where as we haue in our reading 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is shall be counted or imputed Chrysostome readeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is shall be turned Neither doth hée onely read it so but also interpreteth it so so that he sayth that the Apostle sayd not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And he sayth plainly that Paule here so speaketh as before when he sayd Thy circumcision is made vncircuÌ„cision He would sayth he speake that which is of more waight and greater to the end to speake with more efficacie Thys diuersitie of readyng Erasmus weighed not neyther will we contende therefore for that the sense eyther way remayneth sounde And vncircumcision which is by nature if it kepe the lawe shall iudge thee which by the letter and circumcision art a transgressour of the lawe To iudge is taken iij. maner of wayes To iudge may be taken thrée maner of wayes eyther that the Ethnickes shall pronounce sentence agaynst the Iewes as Paule sayd to the Corinthians Knowe ye not that we shall iudge the Aungells also or by comparison as the Lorde sayd of the Sodomites and of the Niniuites and of the Quéene of Saba that they should iudge the Israelites or to iudge is to reproue to accuse and to beare witnes agaynst a man For euen as before were alleaged the cogitations which shall accuse one an other for the good shall accuse the euill for that they corrupted the man and agayne the euill shall accuse the good because they helped not so the holy and iuste Ethnickes shall accuse the wicked Iewes for that they being adorned with so many giftes and spirituall graces serued not God He calleth it vncircumcision by nature because we are naturally so borne And they whiche are Vncircumcision by nature Ethnickes purpose not in their minde to circumcise them selues Or to speake more rightly as I thinke vncircumcision by nature is an Ethnicke man which is led onely by the light of nature By the letter hee vnderstandeth what soeuer is What the letter signifiâ—th outward and is not grafted in the hart to moue hym to doe well Augustine in hys 3. booke and 5. chap. De Doctrina Christiana writeth that they sticke in the letter which take the signes for the thynges and that which is figuratiuelye spoken in the holye Scriptures they take it so as if it were spoken properly and so lowe créepe they on the grounde that when they heare the name of the Sabboth they remember nothyng but the seuenth day which was obserued of the Iewes Also when they heare of a Sacrifice they thinke vpon nothyng but vpon the sacrifices which were killed And though there be some seruitude tollerable yet he calleth that a miserable seruitude when we take the signes for the It is a seruitude most miserable to count the signes for the things An errour concernyng the Eucharist thinges Wherin there is great offence committed in these dayes in the Sacracrament of the Eucharist For how many shall a man finde which beholdyng the outward signes of thys Sacrament calleth to memorye the death and passion of Christ wherof it is most certayne that they are signes or which thincketh with him selfe that the body and bloud of Christ is a spirituall meate of the soule through faith euen as bread and wine are nourishmentes of the body Or which weigheth with hym self the coniunction of the members of Christ betwene themselues and with the head These thinges are not regarded and they cleane only to the sight of the signes And men thinke it is inough if they haue looked vpon bowed their knée and worshipped Thys is to embrace the letter and not to geue eare vnto the sayd Augustine who in the place which we haue now cited and a litle afterward most apertly affyrmeth that to eate the body of Christ to To eate the body of Christe and to drinke his blo ud are figuratiue speaches drinke hys bloud are figuratiue kinds of speaches So are the Iewes accused because they cleauing only to the letter circumcisioÌ„ wer traÌ„sgressours of the law For he is not a Iewe which is one outward neyther is that circumcision which is outward in the fleshe But he is a Iewe which is one within and the circumcision is of the hart in the spirite not in the letter whose prayse is not of men but of God For he is not a Iewe which is one outward Here he more apertly sheweth what is the true Iewishnes what the true circumcisioÌ„ And he vseth iiij antithesis or contrary positions Outward inward the fleshe the hart the spirite the letter the prayse of men and the prayse of God But thys is to be marked that where as he sayth That he is not a Iew which is a Iewe outwardly neyther is that circumcision whyche is in the fleshe these thynges oughte to be vnderstanded by exclusion as they call it so that this woorde onely or alone be added For that circumcision whyche is onelye in the fleshe is not circumsion And he whiche is a Iewe onelye outwardlye is not a Iewe. But Paule seemeth to deny that simply which should be denied but partly because to exaggâ—rate That sometimes is simply denied which is denied onely partly What the Fathers ment when they sayd that the Eucharist is not bread Against the Anabaptistes or amplify his matter he speaketh Hyperbolically Such as is that saying wheÌ„ he sayth that he was not sent to baptise Neyther ought we any otherwise to vnderstand the Fathers when they say that the Eucharist is not bread They speake hiperbolically and vnderstand that it is not breade onely or alone or coÌ„mon breade because vnto the bread is added the woorde of God whereby it receaueth the nature of a sacrament And this is a stronge reason againste the Anabaptistes which haue euer in theyr mouth that saying of Paule vnto the Corrinthians Circumcision and vncircumcision are nothing but the obseruation of the coÌ„maundements of God So they saye that Baptisme and the Eucharist and the Ecclesiasticall ministery are nothing but pretend onely the obseruing of the coÌ„maundementes of God But we aunswere them as we haue now sayde of Paule that other thinges are nothyng if they be alone without fayth and piety and a holy life But what it is to consist of the spirite and not of the letter is thus declared that by the spirite we vnderstand the renuing of the minde whereby it willingly What is ment by the spirite and the letter embraceth and desyreth that whiche is contained in the outward commaundement of the law For the spirite sometimes is taken for the excellenter part of the minde and sometimes for the power and faculty whereby God chaungeth and regenerateth a man But we here by the spirite
the selfe same wordes that they are here when he saith We are by nature Iewes and not sinners of the Gentiles Because we know that man is not iustified by the workes of the lawe but by the fayth of Iesus Christ. Also we haue beleued in Christ Iesus that we mighte be iustified by the fayth of Christ and not by the workes of the lawe For no fleshe shall be iustified by the workes of the lawe And vndoubtedly Paule reproued not Peter but onely touchyng ceremonies And in the same place in yâ— third chapiter he writeth Haue ye receiued the spirite by the workes of the law or by preaching of fayth Are ye so foolish that hauing begonne in the spirite ye should now make an ende in the fleshe where by the workes of the law seing he expoundeth them by the flesh he manifestly vnderstandeth the ceremonies of Moses But although therehence sprang the controuersie yet was it most commodiously done for Paule to reuoke it to the genus or generall worde of workes of the law Forasmuch as the tyme should come that ceremonies being banished many would in successe of tyme attribute iustificatioÌ„ to moral workes which is most manifestly confuted by this so pithy a reason of Paule And this is to be noted that this is an argument that may be turned For euen as we may inferre that no workes of the law do iustifie therfore neither do ceremonies iustifie so contrariwise may we conclude if ceremonies iustifie not therfore neither any other part of the law forasmuch as they were the principall part of the lawe If ceremonies iustefy not neither doth the morall part instefy For they are the offices of the first and greatest commaundement I am sayth the Lord thy God Wherfore it is mete that I be worshipped of thée bothe in spirite and in outward confession not only by voyce but also by rites apointed by me Neither did those ceremonies any lesse bynde the olde fathers then do Baptisme and the Eucharist in these dayes binde vs. Wherfore euen as they most greuously sinned when they were not content with the worshipping prescribed them by God but sought new ceremonies and rites inuented by men for that was to go aboute to adde vnto the wisedome of God and that the worshippyng instituted by God was the chiefe wisdome we rede in Deut. the iiij chapter so our men do most greuously sinne when besides Baptisme and the Eucharist and those thinges which we haue deliuered vs by Christ they appoint other thyngs which meÌ„ haue inuented as worshippings of God and as necessary vnto saluation As are the masse the inuocation of saintes and such other like And that by the workes of the lawe are vnderstanded also morall workes Paule teacheth by that which followeth For by the law is the knowledge of sinne For although other partes also of the law do after a sort declare sinne yet is that chiefly the office of the morall part What groundes or principles the proper workes of the law haue A distinctioÌ„ of the workes of the law A conciliation of places repugnant Which thing is expressedly declared in the vij chap. where he writeth For I should not haue knowen what lust had bene if the law had not sayd Thou shalte not lust And this is furthermore to be noted that the workes of the law as I before said when they are taken properly haue ioyned with them fayth and charity and therfore are they not without iustification For wheresoeuer is true faith there iustificatioÌ„ followeth But the Apostle by workes of the law vnderstandeth as they were done of them beyng vnprofitable and proceding also of hipocrisie Otherwise the law in dede is spirituall wherfore the workes therof must nedes be good if they be considered as they are whole and perfect And by this meanes may we conciliate those places which as touching this thing seme in the holy scriptures to be repugnant Moses said that he did set before the Iewes life when he spake of the lawe And in the 119. psalme Dauid prayeth oftentimes that God would quicken him with If the fathers at any tyme attribute righteousnes vnto good works that is to be vnderstand by reason of faith which they haue as a roote his commaundements and with his law And in this selfe same epistle the law is called both good and spirituall and the commaundement holy and good But on the contrary side Paule calleth it the ministery of death in the next chapter he saith that it worketh anger and againe that it sheweth sinne and therfore condemneth and accuseth So must we vnderstand the fathers also when they ascribe so excellent thinges vnto workes For they take them ioyned with faith grace and the holy ghost And so they ascribe vnto them eternall life and other suche like things which are vnderstanded to be geuen vnto them by reason of faith and the spirite And to declare the same this is a very apt similitude We say that man is reasonable vnto whome yet we ascribe reason not because of the body but because of the soule which is included in the body So when iustification semeth to be ascribed vnto workes we must vnderstaÌ„d yâ— that is done by reason of faith wherunto workes By faith alone we are iustefied which yet is neuer alone which are in very dede good do chiefly lene But we when we wil speake of iustification ought to bring forth our sentence prospicuously expressedly Wherefore we say yâ— iustification coÌ„meth by faith only which faith yet we confesse is neuer alone For if it be a true faith it ought alwais to haue good workes ioyned with it But the holy fathers spake hyperbollically of workes to the ende to stirre vp The fathers spake hyperboilically of workes Fayth as it is a worke iustifieth not men more and more to vse them But they are so to be vnderstanded as I haue sayd vnles we will leaue them without Christ But some obiect that fayth also it selfe is a worke of the lawe Therefore we answere that as it is our worke comming out of our will and vnderstanding it iustifieth not Because it is feble and weake For none beleueth so much as he ought neyther so strongly cleaueth vnto God as he should do But when fayth is sayd to iustifye it is taken for his obiect namely Christ and the promises of God Neyther is fayth that The power of iustifâ—ing is to be r 〈…〉 erred to his obiect A similitude thing which iustifyeth but the instrument whereby iustification is receaued Neyther must we thinke that by the worthynes thereof it is of it selfe sufficient to iustifie a man A most euident similitude may be brought as touching a begger which with his weake hand or peraduenture with his hand enfected with leprosy receaueth almes And that benefite is not weighed according to the weakenes or disease of the hand which receaueth it but according to the quantity of the monye which is geuen Wherefore
Abraham was iustified But he obtayned righteousnes by fayth without workes wherefore we also ought to be iustified by faith without workes The minor or second proposition is thus proued For if Abraham shoulde haue bene iustified by woorkes he had glory or merite whiche is all one before God But that is not possible that any man should haue glory before Abraham obteyned righteousnes not by works but by imputacion God Wherefore neyther is that possible from whence it is deduced And that Abraham was not iustified by workes the seripture declareth vnto vs. For it sayth that Abraham obtayned righteousnes by imputacion For it sayth Abraham beleued God and it was counted vnto hym for righteousnes This is the summe of Paules reason After Chrisostomes mynde this is worthy to be noted If any man not hauing good works should be iustified that assuredly might seme Wherby the dignity of sayth doth chiefly appeare The foundation of the example is that all men are iustified after one and the selfe same manner to be a great thinge But this is a thing farre greater the he which was most rich in good workes coulde not for all that be iustified by them Vndoubtedly hereby most manifestly appeareth the worthynes of fayth VVhat shall we say that our father Abraham found Forasmuch as he bringeth an argument from an example to this ground leaneth he that it behoueth all men to be iustified after the same maner that Abraham was iustified For it is the selfe same God which iustifieth and there is one and the selfe same nature of them which are iustified and the righteousnes which both then was geuen and also is now geuē is one and the selfe same it is the selfe same Christ by whome both they and we obtayne righteousnes Wherefore it followeth that all men are iustified after one and the selfe same maner God in dede The outwarde instrumentes which God vseth to iustify by may be diuers may vse to it sundry instrumentes as well the scriptures of the olde testament as of the new and the simboles or signes also aswell of the newe sacramentes as of the olde when as the thinge whiche is geuen is vtterlye one and the selfe same Further it is necessary that the thinges which followe haue a similitude with the types and signes which went before And that the fathers were formes and shadowes of our times no man doubteth Here let vs call to remembrance with what mynde thinke we toke the scribes and pharisyes these woordes of Paul vnto whome it appeared that he tooke away the power of iustifieng from these excellent workes of Abraham I doubt not but that they were therewith all thoroughly offended and paraduenture they resisted Paul as though they would put away such iniury from so great a prophet and defend his excellent good workes We haue at this day an experiēce of their furious rage in them which so soone as euer they heare vs speake any thing othewise then the fathers haue written are set a fire and counte vs not worthy to be harkened vnto But Paul nothing passed vpon the euill reportes of the Scribes in his tyme. For they may be answered by an easy and manifest distinction namely that there is one righteousnes ciuile outward and attayned vnto by workes and is a quality cleaning in our myndes but there is an other righteousnes which is imputed vnto vs of God Our father sayth he peraduenture alluding vnto the name For Abraham is called the father of many nacions And although in the booke of Genesis where these things are written he was not as then called Abraham but Abram yet when the Apostle wrote this he thought mete to call him by that name by which he was commonly called When he sayth our he includeth himselfe that he mighte not be thought as an vnnaturall sonne to haue cast of his father To finde in this place signifieth to obtayne by what meanes soeuer it be whether it be by gift or by any other meanes According vnto the fleshe may be adioyned eyther vnto this word father wherby to geue vs to vnderstand that he was the progenitor of the Iewes as touching theyr naturall originalli and by that meanes he semeth to reproue the Iewes for that they boasted of the nobility of the fleshe only and endeuored not to imitate the piety and religion of Abraham Wherefore in the Gospell Christ sayd that they were not the children of Abraham but the children of the deuill For if they had hene of Abraham they would haue done his workes But they contrarily wholy applied themselues vnto lying and murthering which are most certaynly the workes of the deuill And after this maner he is called father accordinge to the fleshe whereby is gathered as some say that only their bodies and not theyr soules were traduced from him Or according to the opinion of other men these words according to the fleshe fleshe are to be ioyned vnto the verbe found so that the sence is By the flesh that is by the workes of the flesh such as are ceremonies circumcision This interpretation Ambrose followeth who peculiarly vnderstādeth circumcisiō Neither am I much against it so that we vnderstād that although this questiō the argumēts that are put forth be touching What are the principall things that Abraham found Righteousnes to be imputed to be iustified by woorks are opposite one agaynst the other Freely and not freely are repugnaunt ceremonies yet by that spirite of God is brought to passe that those things should be generally entreated of as we shall in his due place declare And the thinges which Abraham found were chiefly that he was called iust and the Father of all beleuers For this is to be the father of many peoples and lastlye this also that he was the heyre of the wōrld But here is chiefly entreated of the obteyning of that righteousnes which is sayd happened not vnto hym but by fayth For righteousnes to be imputed and to be iustified by works are cleane contrary the one vnto the other which is hereby manifest for that to be iustified by imputation is to haue righteousnes fréely And to be iustified by woorkes is not to haue righteousnes fréely But to haue righteousnes fréely and not to haue it fréely are manifestly repugnaunt one agaynst the other And in that he sayth If Abraham were iustified by workes he hath whereof to boast but not before God It is as much as if he had sayd that he shoulde not haue righteousnes before God and that all other righteousnes is of no value For it is God at whose becke we ought either to stand or to fall Wherefore we nothing passe vpon the righteousnes which is had of men especially as touching this present purpose And it were fond to acknowledge any other righteousnes for the true perfect righteousnes then that which God himselfe and the holye scripture calleth righteousnes Wherefore no man can now doubt but that the Apostle
carnall generation Paul in the 6. chap to the Rom. sayth That therefore we must not abide in sinne bicause we are now dead vnto it And that thing he proueth by Baptisme For whatsoeuer we be sayth he that are baptised in Christ Iesu we are baptised in his death to this end that we should dye vnto sinne and that our old man should be crucified and the body of sinne abolished And for as much as children are baptised euen thereby we haue a testemony that there is sinne in them For otherwise the nature of Baptisme as it is there described of Paul should not consist The same reason hath he also in his epistle to the Colossians where he sayth that we are Circumcised with circumcision not made with handes in making cleane the sinfull body of the flesh beinge buried together with Christ in Baptisme He compareth Baptisme with CircumcisioÌ„ saith that they which are baptised are made cleane froÌ„ the body of sinne Nether is it to be doubted but yâ— they which are baptised are baptised into the remission of sinnes And assuredly the circumcision which in the old law was geuen vnto Children was correspondent vnto our Baptisme And as touching circuÌ„cision it is written The soule whose flesh of the foreskinne is not circumcised the eight day let it dye the death Wherefore seing children haue nede of the sacrament of regeneration it followeth of necessitye that they are borne subiect vnto sinne Paul to the Ephesians sayth That we are by nature the children of wrath But our nature could not be odious vnto God vnles it were contaminated with sinne And in the same place Paul doth with most greuous wordes describe the sharpnes of this wrath how that we walke after the prince of this world who is of efficacy in our harts bycause of stubbernes and for that cause we do the will of the flesh and of our mynde Augustine also citeth a place out of the first epistle to the Corrinthi that Christ died for all men Wherefore it followeth that all men were dead and had nede of his death But it is a wicked thing to exclude childreÌ„ out of the nomber of them for whome Christ dyed If thou demaund what maner ones they were for whome Christ died the Apostle hath sufficiently declared that in this epistle when he sayd that they were weake enemies of god vngodly and sinners Amongest whome also we ought to reken young children if we will say that Christ died for them Farther it semeth that Originall sinne is most manifestly taught by the 7. chap. of this epistle For there it is thus written The law is spirituall but I am carnall sold vnder sinne And it is added The good thing which I would I doo not but the euill which I would not that I doo Neither doo I worke that but sinne which dwelleth in me He maketh mencion also of the law of members wherewith he complayneth that he was drawen captiue and agaynst his will And in the 8. chap. he sayth that the wisdome of the fleshe is enmity against God neither is it subiect vnto the law of God yea neither can it be The death also which young children dye doth sufficientlye testefye that there sticketh sinne in them except we will say that God punisheth them without desert Farther this selfe place which we are now in hand with conteyneth a most manifest testemony of Originall sin For thus it is written that by one man sinne entred into the world that all meÌ„ haue sinned none excepted and that the sinne of one man is spred abrode amongst all men and that for the disobedience of one man many are made sinners Farther they which are grafted in Christ are toward the latter end of this epistle called wild oliue trees by which metaphore is signified that man had degenerated from yâ— good institution of nature And if so be that we haue departed from our nature vndoubtedly we are spotted with originall sinne And before Paul so accused all mankind that he sayd There is none iust there is none that vnderstandeth or seketh after God All haue declined and ther with all are become vnprofitable there is none that doth good no not one c. All which thinges sufficiently declare the corruptioÌ„ of mans nature By these testimonies of scriptures it is manifest inough as I thinke that there is Originall sinne Now in order I should confute the argumentes of the aduersaries But first I thought it good to declare the definition of originall sinne For it being diligently marked and knowen many thinges shall by the way be vnderstanded which serue much to confute their reasons First we will recite the opinions of other men then will we declare what we thinke thereof The Pelagians The Pelagians say that the sâ—n of Adam was spred abroade only by imitation Adam brought not forth the first example of sinning but the deuill affirmed that the sinne of Adam hath not spred abroade into his posterity but only by imitation Augustine striued vehemently agaynst these men and proueth by many argumentes that originall sinne is not only the imitation of the sinne of Adam For if Paul would haue sayd that the first sinne was after that maner spred abroade he would not haue sayde that it came froÌ„ Adam but rather from the deuill For he was the first that gaue a forme and example to sinne Wherefore Christ in Iohn sayth that the Iewes which boasted that they came of their father Abraham were rather the children of the deuill because they did his workes For the deuill was a manqueller euen froÌ„ the beginning and they sought to kill hym which had not euill deserued at their handes And to this Augustine citeth that which is written in the 2. chapter of the booke of wisedome that through enuy of the deuill death entred into the world and that they do imitate him which are on his side Vnto which sentence neuertheles I do not much attribute partly because that booke is not Canonicall and partly because in the Greke text there is some ambiguity For this verbe do imitate is not there written but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is haue experience of that death Howbeit the reason is firme that of the deuill came the fyrst example of sinning Farther this opinion is hereby coÌ„futed because Paul maketh an Antithesis betwene Christ and Adam But the righteousnes of Christ is not only set forth vnto be to be imitated but The righousâ—es of Christ is not only set forth to be imitated also that they which beleue in hym should be changed in mynde corrected in spirite and amended in all their strengthes Wherefore it is agayne required on the other side by the nature of the Antithesis that besides the euill example which Adam gaue vnto his posterity he hath also corrupted their nature and as Augustine writeth in his booke of the merites and remission of sinnes tabe quadam tabificauerit that is hath with a certayne corruption
kingdome of heauen suffring many discommodities which are deriued from the groundes of our nature Wherefore we may coÌ„plaine of our first parent but not of God For he was most liberal towards him especially seyng he called vs againe vnto himselfe which is the chiefe felicitie by hys onely sonne and would haue hym to suffer death for our saluation But against this opinion maketh that chiefly which we haue already twise before Death hâ—th no right where no sinne is rehersed namely that infantes do die For death hath no right where as is no sinne vnles we will say that God punisheth the innocent And this reason is confirmed by that argument of Paul wherby he proued that sinne was before the law Because death saith he raigned from Adam euen to Moses But by Pigghius opinion this might be counted a very weke reason For a maÌ„ might say although they died yet therby it followeth not that they had sinne For death happened vnto The Apostle confesseth that sin dwelleth in himselfe We haue not the principles of natuâ—e perfect but vitiated The consideration of man and of brute bests is not alike them thorough Adam for whose sinne they became mortall Farther doth not Paul confesse that there is sinne in nature when he affirmeth that sinne dwelleth in himself and confesseth that the law of the members draweth him captiue and such other like And that is nothing which Pigghius obiecteth namely that those thinges come of the principles of nature for these principles are not of nature being perfect but of nature corrupte and vitiated Neither ought he in this thyng to bring a similitude from brute beastes For man is created to be farre excellenter then brute beastes to beare rule ouer theÌ„ Man had in dede in himselfe principles to desire things pleasaÌ„t profitable but not against reason the worde of God For to haue those affections outragious and violent belongeth not to men but to brute beasts Farther our soule being immortal geuen by the inspiratioÌ„ of God required a body méete for it namely such which mighte be preserued for euer that the soule should not any time be compelled to be without it Wherfore we ought not to flye The bodye ought to be agreable vnto the soule It is blasphemy to make God the author of wicked affections vnto the principles of nature for it was not framed such as now we haue it Now if Pigghius do fayne that God created in vs these lustes and wicked affections theÌ„ is he blasphemous and contumelious againste him whiche faultes he vnworthely goeth about to lay to our charge For forasmuche as God is good and moste wise and moste iuste and hath also created man vnto the highest felicity he woulde not haue geuen him those thinges whereby he should be withdrawen from that felicitie which should entise him to do against his commaundementes whiche of theyr owne accord are filthy and should lead vs captiues into the law of sinne of death For these thinges if they ought to be mortified and crucified as vndoubtedly they ought we must néedes graunt that they are vices and hatefull vnto God Neither E 〈…〉 l affections forasmuch as they ought to be mortified at sins is that of so great force that he fayth that they are not properly sinnes vnles euen as colde is called slouthfull because it maketh menne slouthfull so these thinges because they allure men to sinne may therefore after a sort be called sinnes Or euen as the scripture calleth that a hand which is made with the hand or speach is called the tonge because it is pronounced by the ministery of the tounge so these thinges may be called sinnes because they proceede from sinne These similitudes do nothinge helpe Pigghius cause for althoughe Augustine vsed sometimes so to speake yet he would haue it to be vnderstand of those defaultes and vices which are in maÌ„ after Baptisme In which thing how farre we agrée with him we haue els where declared and peraduenture afterward will farther declare But Augustine plainely affirmeth that before baptisme they are sinnes Yea the holy Ghoste also in Paul calleth theÌ„ sinnes and the nature of sinne agreeth wyth The nature of sinne is extended to al things that are against the law of God â–ª Wherein iniquity coÌ„â—sisteth them For so we haue defined sinne that it pertayneth to all those things whatsoeuer they be that are againste the lawe of God For as Iohn sayth sinne is iniquitie And who seeth not that it is a thing vniuste that the fleshe should haue the spirite subiect vnto it and that our soule should not be obediente vnto the woorde of God Wherefore forasmuch as all these thinges do stirre vs vp to transgresse and to rebell against the woord of God they are both vniust also ought to be called sinnes Farther the wordes of Dauid are most plainely against Pigghius when he sayth Beholde I was conceaued in iniquityes and in sinnes hath my mother conceaued me If wicked lust and these vices were the woorkes of nature vndoubtedly that holy maÌ„ woulde not haue complained of them And what other thinge mente the Apostle Paul when he wrote vnto the Ephesians That we are by nature the childreÌ„ of wrath but that there is sinne in euery one of vs Howbeit Pigghius doth by a peruerse interpretacion go about to wrest this testimonye from vs. For he saith that to be by nature the children of wrath is nothinge els but to be the children of wrath by a certayne course of birth because we are so borne into the worlde And he bringeth this similitude that some are called bondmen by nature which is nothing els then that they were borne in that state to be bond But we neither can nor oughte to be contente with this fained deuise for the anger of God is not prouoked but iustly For it is not such that it can be incensed either rashely or by chaunce Wherefore The anger of God is not prouoked but iustly there must nedes be some wicked thinge in our nature to the auengement wherof the anger of God is stirred vp And that similitude of his serueth not to hys purpose for they which are sayd to be borne bondmen by nature haue also by nature some thing in them which is apt for bondage For if we geue credite vnto Aristotle Seruantes by nature haue something in theÌ„ that is apte for seruitude writing in his politiques bondmen by nature are they which excell in strength of body but are dull and slow in reason and thereof it commeth that they are more meete to serue then to beare rule ouer others or to liue at liberty The Apostle also sufficiently declareth why he calleth vs by nature the children of wrath namely because by nature we séeme prone and readye to stirre vp the anger of God and walke according to the prince of this world and because the Deuell is of efficacy in our hartes by reason of
many other hard and gréeuous thinges But they saw not the cause and fountayne of these The Ethnikes saw the euil but vnderstoode not the fountayne thereof euils For that can be perceaued only by the word of God Farther this Pigghius reasoneth and sayth that this desire which Augustine calleth concupisence is a worke of nature and of God and therefore it can not be counted sinne But we haue before answered that it commeth not from the groundes of nature as it was instituted by God but of nature corrupted For man when he was created was made right and and as the scripture sayth to the Image of God Adam whē he was created had affectiōs geuē him which were gentle and moderate Iulianus Pelagians praised lust Wherefore that desire of thinges pleasant and preseruatiue in Adam when he was first created was not outragious or vehement to be against right reason and the word of God for that followed afterward Wherefore we ought not to call it the worke of God as Pigghius sayth but the wickednes of sinne and corruption of affections Wherefore Augustine calleth Iulianus the Pelagian an vnshamfast prayser of concupiscence For he which thing Pigghius also doth commended it as a notable worke of God Moreouer Pigghius is agaynst Augustine for this cause namely because he sayth that concupisence is sinne before baptisme but after baptisme he denieth it when as sayth he the concupisence is one and the selfe same and God is the selfe same and his lawe the selfe same Wherefore he concludeth that ether it must be sinne in both or els in neither But here Pigghius excedingly erreth two maner of wayes first because What mutation commeth by regeneration he thinketh that in regeneration is made no mutation especially seing that he can not deny but that in it commeth the remedy of Christ and his righteousnes is applied and the guiltines taken away For that God imputeth not that concupisence which remayneth after regeneration Moreouer also the holy ghost is geuen that the might of concupisence myght be broken so that although it abide in vs yet it shoulde not beare rule in vs. For to thys thynge Paul exhorteth vs when he sayth Let not sinne raigne in your mortall body On Augustine affirmeth that those thinges which remaine after regeneratiō are sinne If at any time he deny it to be sinne the same must be vnderstād as touching the guiltines therof That lust is not actuall sinne Why original sinne is called lust Whither this sinne be the wāt of originall righteousnes What the scholemen vnderstand by originall righteousnes Not euery defect or want maketh the thing euill the other side also he is deceaued in that he supposeth that Augustine thinketh that the concupisence which remayneth after baptisme is vtterly no sinne and especially if it be considered alone and by it selfe For by most expresse wordes he sayth that of hys owne nature it is sinne because it is disobedience against which we ought continually to striue But when he denieth it to be sinne the same is to be vnderstand as touching the guiltines therof for that is without doubt taken away in regeneration For so it comth to passe that God although it be in very dede sinne doth yet not impute it for sinne Farther Augustine compareth concupiscence with those sinnes are called actuall being compared with them it may be said that it is no sinne For it is far from the haynousnes of them But I meruaile how Pigghius could be so bold to say that Augustine without testimony of the scriptures affirmeth lust to be Originall sinne when as he in his disputations against the Pelagians doth mightely defend his sentence by the holye scriptures But why he calleth Originall sinne concupiscence this is the cause for that Originall doth most of all declare it selfe by the grosser lustes of the mynde of the flesh Now I thinke it good to sée what other men haue thought touchyng this For besides this opinion there is also an other sentēce which is of those which say that Original sinne is the want of Originall iustice Anselmus was of this opinion in his booke de partu virginis and he drew many scholasticall authors into this his sentence And these men by Originall iustice vnderstand nothing elles then the right constitucion of man when the body obeyeth the soule and the inferiour partes of the soule obey the superiour partes the mind is subiect vnto God to his law In this iustice was Adam created if he had abode all we should haue liued cōtinually in it But forasmuch as he fell all we are depriued of it The want of this righteousnes they affirme to be Originall sinne But to make their sentēce more plaine they say that not euery defect or want is sinne or euill For although a stone want iustice yet shall not therfore the stone be called vniust or euill But when the thing is apte mete to receiue that which it wanteth then such a defect or want is called euill as it happeneth in the eye when it is depriued of y◠faculty of seing And yet we do not therfore say that in the eye is blame or sinne for then cōmeth sinne when by reason of such a want followeth a striuing and resistyng against the law of God Pigghius condemneth this sentence also For he saith it is An obiectiō of Pigghius no sinne if a man kepe not the gift which he hath not receiued For it may be that he which is borne hauing his health and being whole of body and limmes may fal into a disease or lose one of his members or become maymed which defectes or wantes yet there is no man will call faultes or sinnes but this similitude serueth not to the purpose For a disease or lamenes of the body serueth nothing eyther to the obseruyng or violating of the law of God But that which they call the wante of original iustice bringeth of necessitie with it the breach of the law of God More ouer he contendeth y◠the losse of originall iustice in children is not sinne bicause it was not lost thorough their default But this agayne is to call God to accompt But God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is not to be compelled to order neither ought he to be God is not to be broght to order ordered by humaine lawes But let Pigghius conferre that his opinion wyth thys which he impugneth This affirmeth that God condemneth vice and corruption which it putteth to be in children newly borne But Pigghius maketh children gilty and condemneth them of that fault and sinne which is not in them But onely is that which Adam our first parent committed For otherwise he counteth those children most innocent But whether of these is more farre from reason more abhorreth euen also from humane lawes to punish an innocent for an other mās sinne or to condemne him which hath in himselfe a cause why to be condemned
hath of it felfe a certayne naturall integritye whereunto were added those supernaturall giftes geuen vnto the first parent But after sinne whē those gifts were taken away man fell into his olde estate But this is a mere dreame for the nature of man was instituted of God in such sort as was conuenient for it Therefore the giftes being taken away it is corrupted and hurt and forasmuch as it strayeth from his constitution it is subiect vnto sinne Farther we say not that originall sinne is only this priuation but also it comprehendeth thinges positiue as pronesse to euill violence of nature agaynst the worde of God and such other like And therefore Bernhardus sayth that in the coniunction of the soule with the body it is euen as if it shoulde fall vpon an heape of most sharpe poteshardes and hurting stones But among y◠Schoolemen Gulielmus Parisiensis in his booke called Summa de vitiis virtutibus bringeth this similitude That the soule is in such maner let down into the body as if a man should fall into a myry depe and stony place and so shoulde both be drowned be arayed with myre and also be hurt So saith he by originall sinne we are drowned into the darkenes of ignorance we are defiled with lustes and as touching the powers and facultyes of the mynde we are wounded But in that Pigghius saith that both the body and the soule are good things and haue God for their author I graunt that And when he afterward demandeth how thē should they be corrupted I answere with Paul By one man which fell and that by procreation as a little here afterward shal be declared But whereas he sayth that they can by no meanes be corrupted for that God is the author of them to is no strong reason For they which are of full age haue both body and soule which are the workes of God and are continually preserued by his power but yet may they be vitiated and corrupted If he say that that commeth of mans will and free choyse so also answere we that the same may A false argument of Pigghius It is false that men cānot be corrupted but by will and free electiō come of other causes namely through propagation sede Wherfore Pigghius argueth frō that which is not the cause as though it were the cause For this is his meaning if men be corrupted y◠can not be done but by will free election whiche thing is not true All the argumentes which he obiecteth agaynst vs do springe of this that he sayth that he vnderstandeth not how this corruption should be deriued into our posterity and how it is possible that infantes should be bounde by any lawe and how there can be a law geuen of that thing which we can not auoyd But forasmuch as the holy scriptures do speake testefy and teach these thinges it is no matter how much Pigghius ether vnderstandeth or not vnderstandeth For we beleue many thinges which we perceaue not nor know by any sure reason Which yet ought not to be of any such force that euery man shoulde obtrude vnto vs thinges to beleue whatsoeuer they thinke good vpon this pretence because although they can not be vnderstand by reason yet they ought to be cōprehended by faith forasmuch as God can bring to passe farre greater thinges For first that thinge which we seke to be beleued ought to be proued by the holye scriptures And then althoughe we can not attayne vnto In humane nature and in Ethnikes there is left some goodnes it yet let vs leane to fayth and laye aside reason And by our difinition it followeth not that in nature or in Ethnikes there is left no goodnes Only thys we affirme that this vice woulde destroye all if God by Christ brought not a remedye in the regenerate Also in those whiche are not regenerate God is sometymes present and illustrateth them with excellent and heroicall vertues wherwith original sinne is brideled and publike wealths God suffreth not Originall sin to wast and destroy so much as it might or so much as Sathan de desireth Empires are retained at the leaste in some ciuill order Socrates woulde not goe out of prison when he moughte Aristides when he was exiled wished vnto his citisens that they might neuer be in such euill case to haue any cause to remember him Phocion euen now going to his death and being demaunded if he would any thing vnto his sonne I would said he that he neuer remember the iniury done to me The publike wealth of Rome had Curtians Scipios Catos men full of ciuill honesty and great louers of vertue Which dueties although as they were in men which knew not God they were sinnes yet were they bridels of originall sin of nature corrupted lest all thinges should be turned vpside down good lawes should fall to ruine and the lighte of nature in a manner shoulde be extinguished Now séeyng we haue confirmed Originall synne by the testimonies of the scriptures and haue confuted the opinion of Pigghius and haue reiected their opinion which thinke originall sinne to be onely a guiltines and obligation contracted thorough the sinne of Adam and seing we haue alleaged Augustines definition that originall sinne is the concupiscence of the flesh and Anselmus definition that it is the want of originall iustice and lastly seing we haue proued our definition largely and by many testimonies now resteth for vs to prosecute those thinges which we put forth in the thirde place namely of the conditions and proprieties of originall What are the conditions and proprieties of original sinne sinne how it is spred abrode how it is abolished in what sorte the remnants therof are in men regenerate and what payne is due thereunto And concernyng the maner how it spreadeth into our posteritie we haue before rehersed sundry opinions The first of those opinions was of the traduction of soules which we shewed by Augustines iudgement to be easier then the rest althoughe it be not receiued of all men An other opinion was which Augustine followeth namely that originall sinne is traduced by the lust and inordinate plesure of such as procreate This opinion hath two errours First because it putteth this euill in procreation as if it were of necessity which yet may be seperated from it And euen the scholemen thēselues graunt that he which should be begotten without the corrupt affection of y◠parentes should yet neuertheles contract originall sinne For to it they say it is sufficient that he was in Adam as in his first séede An other error is for that then originall sinne should consist onely in the filthy affection of lust when as in verye déede as it is saide it comprehendeth the corruption of the whole nature Others thought that God created the soule euill because it should be a part of a man execrated and set vnder the curse But because this semeth to be repugnant vnto the nature
of creation that it should be called a filthines therfore that opinion is also What is the subiecte of Original sinne reiected The last opinion is of most men receiued and it is that the soule contracteth originall sinne by his coniunction with the body which is alredy infected and corrupted of our parentes so that if we be demaunded what is the place thereof or as they commonly speake what is his subiect we answer that the place therof is in the fleshe as in the roote and beginning then out of that fountayne it also Seede is the instrument wherby this sin is traduced possesseth the soule and so it is extended thoroughout the whole man Wherfore séede is the instrument wherby this sinne is traduced from the parentes into the children Pigghius obiecteth that vices can not be deriued by sede into the posterity vnles peraduenture it be those vices which cleaue and sticke in the body of the parent as we sée happeneth in the leprosie in the falling sickenes and other diseases of the body Neither doth nature suffer that in the very substance of séede sinne should haue place that by it it should be traduced into the children Here we aunswer Not onely the affections of the body are deriued from the parents into the children but also the affections of the minde first that it is not true that onely the diseases of the body of the parentes are deriued into the children For we sée many conditions of the minde deriued from the parentes into the children As wit fury ambition gentlenes hautines such other To the other we graunt in déede that the euill qualitie or corruption which is brought by the séede as it is in the sede is not sinne But yet that letteth not but that the corruption brought into the children by seede as by an instrument may haue in it the nature of sinne As the qualities which we haue now rehersed do not make the séede it selfe wittie docible or couetous but yet those qualities brought vnto the child conceiued do make him such a one But whether God may be put Whether God be the author of this traduction of originall sinne the author thereof they commonly say that the deformitye and vnrighteousnes which is in this sinne is drawn out of nature already corrupted which as it was created of God was not so vitiated and so they graunte that whatsoeuer is good in nature the same to be of God And whatsoeuer is therein euill for as much as it is nothing ells but a defect or want of it it is not or necessity to put an efficient cause For that which is but a want it is not of necessity that it should be made for if it should be made it should also remayne in it But this is not enoughe We agree indede with them that God is the author of the subiect or of the thing layd vnder the defect or want But in that they say that this defect it selfe hath not an efficieÌ„t cause therein we agree not with them For there ought to be something to remoue or prohibite that perfectioÌ„ which is wanting and to with hold the grace and giftes wherewith our nature was endewed at the beginning Wherefore we must needes referre this priuation or defecte vnto God which geueth not perfection vtterly without want which thing he euermore doth by his iust iudgement although it be not alwayes manifest vnto vs. And it is most certayne by the scriptures nether can it be denied but that God punisheth sinnes by sins But yet they are not so laid on vs of god yâ— they should be sinnes as they depende of him for whatsoeuer God doth the same without all controuersy is both righte and luste And euen punishementes so farre forth as they are punishementes pertaine to the nature of goodnes Howbeit as they procede from vs they are sinnes For we doo not affirme that God by himselfe God when he createth the soule corrupteth it not when he createth the soule corrupteth it For it contracteth the filthines of sin from a corrupt body where vnto it is adioyned But in this thing humane wisedome is muche offended For it thinketh that by no meanes there ought to be made any suche coniunction For it semeth to be like as if a man should cast a Wherein humane wisedome is here offended precious thinge into an vncleane vessell It semeth also vniust that the soule which hath done nether good nor euil should be ioyned with abody from which it should contract originall sinne Yea rather if it should be so men ought to absteyne from procreation As they that are leprous are also exhorted to absteyne if it be possible from procreatioÌ„ lest by it they should coÌ„tinew to infect humane nature And bycause the end whereunto man is instituted is eternall felicity it semeth not agreable that the soule should be placed in that body whereby it should be called backe from the end prescribed And as it is vniust that the soule which hath not offended should be punished in hell fire so also semeth it vniust yâ— it should be cast into that body wherein it incurreth not payne as in hell but sinne and hatred of God which are thinges more grenous and doth so incurre them that it can by no meanes auoyde them These thinges are so hard and obscure that they can not fully be satisfied by mans reason There are indede certayne These obiections may be lâ—nified but not so dissolued that they can satisfy mans reasoÌ„ consolations gathered out of Ecclesiasticall writers which doo only mitigate and lenefie these obiections so much as is sufficient for godly myndes but not so much as mans reason requireth For the soule is ioyned with an vncleane and infected body in consideration of the whole world that the kinde of man which is the chiefest should not be wanting in it God cesseth not of from his office He letteth not the course of nature but the body being now made according to his prefixed order he treateth the soule and will rather a man to be God will rather haue a man to be although he be corrupt then that he should be nothing Of those thinges which he gaue at the beginning he geueth certaine He hath put forth the remedy of Christ God myght otherwise haue helped if he had would God sheweth a form of his goodnes in renuing of this our kinde A sentence of Gregorius although he be not borne without sinne then to be nothing And though he geue not al those thinges which he gaue at the beginning yet of his mercy he geueth many of them Farther he hath set forth the remedye of Christ our mediator by whome the sinne which we haue contracted should be purged Which corruption driueth the Elect before their conuersion vnto Christ that feling the streÌ„gth of their disease they may receaue medicine of him And then after they are once grafted into Christ they haue this sinne lefte to
striue and to wrastle agaynst that at the last they might cary away the victories and triumphes But thou wilt say God mought by some other meanes haue saued maÌ„kind that it should not be abolished if he had ereated an other man pure and perfect that Adam being dead without issue all that other mans posterity should be procreated without corruption There is no doubt but that God could haue done this if he had would But this had not bene to erect one that had falen to saue that which was spilled and to redeme him which had vtterly perished God would shew forme of his goodnes that notwithstanding the corruption of nature he might saue from destruction as many as he had chosen For he would not vtterlye breake the brused reede nor quench the smoking flaxe For he would bring forth Christ as it were an other Adam which mought in such sort saue his as the other had destroyed them These and such like thinges led Gregorius to crye out O happy fault which deserued to haue such a redemer Which wordes I would not gladly pronouÌ„ce forasmuch as I se nothing in yâ— matter which is not miserable to be lamented For in yâ— so great saluatioÌ„ folowed yâ— same is to be ascribed to the goodnes of God and not to the sinne of Adam For of it is deriued not so greate a good thing but only by accidens that is by chanse These thinges although they can not satisfie the obiections whiche we haue put so much as humane The contraction of originall sin condeÌ„neth not the elect The order of nature requireth that a soule should be ioyned to such a body lest the body should be left without life If we cocker our owne reasoÌ„ there wil be no end of expostulating with God The goodnes of procreation ought to be considered by the effect which is of it selfe reason woulde require yet by them we haue somewhat after a sorte to answere them The coniunction of the soule with the corrupt body maketh nothing to the destruction of the elect For in Christ as well the body as the soule is renued And as by the body the soule is infected so by fayth in Christ which is in the mynde the soule together with the body is repayred The order of nature requireth that an innocent soule whiche hath done nether good nor euyll shoulde be ioyned with a corrupte body except the body shoulde be left without a soule and the worlde depriued of the kinde of man And if we go aboute to expostulate with God there shal be no measure or ende For an infinite number of soules would complayne for that they were created and were not predestinate to be saued which yet neuer deserued it Many would complaine for that they were borne of vngodlye vnbeleuinge and barbarous parentes and died in their tender ago whereby they coulde come to no knowledge of God And a man might inuent a thousand such kinde of complayntes As touching procreation we say that it is laudable forasmuch as it consisteth of lawfull matrimony In it is to be considered the man whiche is begotten that is as they call it the effect proper and naturall But man is a good creature of God and sinne or corruption is added per accidens that is by chanse And this euill hath a remedy which thinge happeneth not in the leprosy and other vncurable diseases We graunt also that man is created to the ende to attayne to eternall felicity And whereas it is sayde that he is by the sinne of the body called backe from this ende we on the contrary say that he is by the selfe same stirred vp to Christ Lastly we grauÌ„t that it may seme a thing vnworthy yâ— the innocent soule should haue his place in hell for yâ— there there is no redemption The elect are by thys euell stirred vp vnto Christ Reasons to proue that this sinne is spread abroade by seede and generation We depend of Adam by generation to be hoped for But being put in a body though it be neuer so corrupt yet it may attayne both redemption and also saluation Now let vs bringe reasons firmely and surely to proue that originall sinne is spred abrode into men by séede and generation And we will therefore declare it by the holy scriptures because many are agaynst it and thinke it to be a thinge altogether fayned First Paul sayth that sinne by one man entred into the world Wherefore let vs consider how men depend of Adam thereby to be pertakers of his sinne And there can no other way be found then sede and generation Farthermore forasmuch as the Apostle to the Ephesians sayth that we are by nature the children of wrath and nature as the naturall philosophers affirme is the beginning of mocion we must nedes haue recourse vnto sede and generation for they are the ground of our motioÌ„ and beginning But Dauid more expressedly declareth this thing when he sayth Behold I was conceaued in iniquyties and in sinnes hath my mother coÌ„ceaued me By which wordes he apertly teacheth that this sinne is traduced by generatioÌ„ But that is farre more manifest whiche Iob saith who can make that cleane which is borne of vncleane seede By this place the infected seede of our elders is reproued as vncleane how much soeuer Pigghius cryeth out against it But now let vs on the contrary side diligently consider by what meanes this sinne may be taken away Euen as it was brought in by one man so also is it How thys sin may be taken away remoued away by one man And euen as the sinne is powred in from Adam by seede and generation so agayne on the other side there are some thinges in that multitude which pertayneth vnto Christ which may haue the consideration of seede and those are election or predestination grace the holy ghost the worde of God and baptisme These two last instrumentes God vseth for the regenerating of his But if a man aske whether the outward word or visible signe The inward word is required of necessitye â—n them that be of full age The outward word is an ordinary instrument wherby they that are of full age are called Baptism is not to be contemned Baptisme is threefold Of the infantes of Christians which dye without baptisme Some children of the Saintes pertaine not to predestination The reliques of this sinne which remaine after regeneratioÌ„ are not unputed vnto death of baptisme be altogether necessary we answere that indede the inward word whereby men are moued vnto Christ and are reformed is vtterly required if we speake of them that be of perfect age but in children neither the inward word hath place nor the outward word is an ordinary instrument But doubtles the outward worde is an ordinary instrument whereby God calleth those that be of full age vnto saluation although in some he doth by an extraordinary way vse only the inward word For so he called Abraham out of his countrye and
the olde testament semed a reuenger and cruell because he punished men with most greuous punishementes Which thing Ierome sayth is to be ascribed vnto goodnes and not to cruelty For God saith he did for no other cause punishe men so greuously in Sodom in the floude and at other tymes but that they should not perish for euer For he punished thē once that they should not afterward be punished agayne But the same Ierome peraduenture because he sawe these reasons not very strong obiecteth vnto himselfe By these wordes it may seeme that adulterers if they be taken are in good case for so it should come to passe that they being punished with death should escape eternall punishementes of hell Wherefore he aunswereth that the iudge of this world can not preuent the sentēce of God nether is it to be thought that by a light punishement those sinnes are put away which deserue a greuous and longer In Ieroms time adulterers were punished with death punishement In these wordes of Ierome are two thinges to be noted the one is that at that tyme adultery was punished with death and the other that that interpretacion semed not to satisfie him wherefore he alledgeth an other exposition of the Iewes that God by those wordes would signifie that the Assirians should not be able after they had led away the ten tribes to obtayne also the kingdome of Iudah as they had attempted to do vnder Ezechyas God saith he will not suffer a double vexatiō to arise It is sufficient to him to haue destroyed ten tribes he will haue the kingdome of Iuda preserued This exposition although it haue in it nothing contrary to piety yet it semeth not to declare the minde of the prophet For he prophesied the threatning of God agaynst Niniue and that it shoulde be ouerthrowen And mindinge to exagerate the vengeance at hand he sayth that the vehemēce of the destruction which the Chaldeyans shoulde bring shoulde be so greate that God should not nede to afflict them againe for he would punishe them sufficiently in the first vengeance For the kingdome of the Assirians was vtterly ouerthrowen of the Chaldeyans And it is a common saying amongst vs that when a man is beaten euen to the death he was so striken with one blowe that he neded not the second stroke This is the Prophetes scope and the proper sense of this place But as touching the matter we deny not but that afflictions in godly men do tende to this end that they should not be condemned with this world as Paul saith For they are fatherly chastisementes whereby God calleth them backe to repentance But out of that we ought not to draw a generall rule to God puninisheth many of the vngodlye both here and also will punish them in the world to come ascribe vnto God a measure that when he hath begon to punishe the vngodly in this life he can not also punishe them in an other life if they dye without faith and repentance If they returne vnto God they shall suffer nothing in an other life and yet not because they haue in this life with theyr punishementes made satisfaction vnto God but because Christ hath throughly payd the price of redemption for them Wherefore euen as vnto the godly are certayne good thinges geuen in this life which are vnto them an ernest peny and beginning of the life to come which shal be accomplished in an other world so in the vngodly eternall punishementes are begon with the preambles of the afflictions Punishmentes of this life are to the vngodly preambles of the punishmentes to come A place of Ezechiel of this life Which thing also Christ semeth to signify when he sayth Feare him which can both kill the body and also cast the soule into hell fire By these thinges I thinke it manifestly inough appeareth that the oracle of the Prophete which we haue playnely interpreted pertayneth nothinge to the matter whiche we entreate of An other of their arguments is taken out of the Prophet Ezechiell The sonne shall not beare the iniquity of the father To this we may briefly aunswere as we a little before sayd namely that the children beare not the iniquity of their fathers but their own proper iniquity which cleaueth vnto euery man frō his natiuity But bicause that place is of diuers diuersly expounded we will briefly declare our iudgement therin This was a prouerb much vsed among the Iewes Our fathers haue eaten sower grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge And not only Ezechiell maketh mencion of this saying but also Ieremy in his 31. chap. The meanyng of y◠sentence is this Our fathers haue sinned and we are punished for thē And as the Rabines say they which were of the kingdome of the ten tribes semed to referre these things to Ieroboam the sonne of Nabat which first made the golden calues But they which were of the kingdom of Iuda referred the same vnto Manasses for whose impiety they thought that that captiuity honge ouer their heds which the Prophets denounced This prouerbe God reproued sayd that it should not be so henceforth Myne are the soules sayth he the sonne shall not beare the iniquitye of the father but euery man shall dye in hys owne sinne Many will haue these wordes to be vnderstand concerning ciuill punishment bicause God in the 24. chapter of Deut. commaunded that neither the parents should be killed for the children nor the children for the parents Which thing also Amasias king of Iuda obserued as it is written in the 14. chap. of the 2. booke of kinges For he slew them that murthered his father but spared their children accordyng to the commaundement of y◠law Howbeit the Israelites did not alwayes obserue this For we read in the booke of Iosua the 7. chap. that not only Acham was put to death for the accursed thyng Iosua did against the common law when he punished the children with the father which he had stolen but also together with him both his sonnes and daughters also his cattell But this was done by a singuler commaundemēt of God Neither is it preiudiciall vnto the law vniuersally geuen Howbeit this exposition concerning the ciuill law agréeth not with the wordes of the Prophet For the Iewes complained not of the punishment which was inflicted on them by the iudge or by the Prince but of those calamities whiche God himselfe had layde vppon themnamely of the destructiō of their goods of the ouerthrowing of the kingdom of Iudah and of the captiuity of Babilon In these thinges they spake euill of the iudgemēts of God and murmured that his way was not right Wherfore others haue interpreted that place to be spoken of eternall punishments of the withdrawyng of grace and the holy ghost which things they say happē vnto euery man for their owne sinnes and not for the sinnes of other mē Howbeit in the meane time they affirme that both the children do
the merites of the parentes For they can not by procreation of the body poure grace into the children forasmuch as it is a thing altogether spirituall nether hath it any naturall fellowship with the fleshe Wherefore forasmuch as goodnes holynes are the mere and pure giftes of God God doth in dede promise that he will doo good vnto the posterity of godly men euen to a thousand generations But that is not to be vnderstand as though there were put any merit in the parentes God was of his mercy moued to make this promise and not by the merites of men And to declare his libertye herein he suffereth it sometimes to happen otherwise and by that meanes teacheth that holy parentes are not so holy but that they haue still much wickednes and corruption in them which they may se to be naturally grafted in theyr children Whereby we may manifestly se the corruption of our nature which also followeth the sayntes euen to the death And for the more establishing also of thys sentence some bring out of the Psalme a curse of the Churche agaynst the children of the vngodlye That they shoulde be orphanes that no man shoulde haue compassion on them that they shoulde begge theyr liuinge If the children of the vngodly be innocents then is this no iust prayer Wherfore it semeth by these words of necessity to follow that they are partakers of the wyckednes of their parentes And bicause they are infantes it can by no other meanes be done but by propagation I know there are some which will haue these wordes of Dauid to be prophesies of thinges to come wherin the holy ghost hath foretold that these misfortunes shall come vnto them But graunt that they be prophesies Yet can it not be denied but that there is in them both the forme the affect of a prayer But a prayer Whether the latter mē be more miserable then the first ought to be iust for otherwise it should be no prayer But where as they say that that is most absurd which followeth of this doctrine namely that the last men also should be more miserable then all others bicause they should beare the synnes both of Adam also of all their elders it may be answered two maner of wayes For first not all thinges which seme absurd vnto vs are also absurd before God The things that are absurde vnto vs are not absurd before God For not to depart from this selfe same matter Christ threatneth the Iewes that all the murther of the godly from Abell euen to Zacharias the sonne of Barachias should come vpon them And who séeth not that the estate of the children of Israel which were led away into captiuity was much more miserable then very many generations of their elders which had defiled themselues with the selfe same sins Farther we aunswer that that should in dede be absurd if the sinnes of the elders should continually passe into the children But seyng we haue declared that that is not alwayes so but that the prouidence of God hath appointed an end and measure To the reasons of the scholemen Affections of the mind◠are communicated frō the parents vnto the children vnto this euil and hath therfore determinately pronounced onely of the third and fourth generation there is no cause why it should seme absurd vnto any man But the reasons of the scholemen wherwith they withstand this propagation are very weake First they alledge that the qualities of the minde are not communicated from the parentes vnto the children which thing euen experience teacheth to be false For we sée oftentymes that of angry persons are borne angry children and of sad parentes sad children Neither doth this similitude serue thē to any purpose when they say that of a Grammarian is not borne a Grammarian nor of a Musician a Musician For these are artes which are gotten by precepts and exercise not affections which are naturally grafted in men And yet by experiēce we sée that it somtymes commeth to passe y◠in what arte the father chiefly excelleth he hath children very prone vnto the same whither if be husbandry or the arte of war fare or els some liberall science Farther we in this place principally speake of those affections which are the groundes and beginninges of actions In the other Sinne defileth both soule and body argument they say that sinne in the parentes doth vitiate only the soule which is not true For as we haue before taught their body is also defiled And therfore it is no meruaile if fathers do communicate such a body vnto their children Wherfore as touching this matter I gladly agrée with Augustine that it is probable and agreable with the scriptures and this sentence Martin Bucer a man no lesse lerned then holy hath allowed that priuate sinnes are deriued from the parents vnto the children But we must note that that commeth by chaunce and is not of necessitie For God sometimes stayeth the sinnes of the parentes and of his goodnes suffreth not the nature of men vtterly to be destroyed But when he will either represse this traductiō of sins or els suffer it to take place he himself only knoweth Howbeit vnto vs it is sufficient to consider these two things First the sinne is poured from the parentes into the children Secondly that the same is by the benefite of God sometimes prohibited which yet can by no meanes be spoken of Originall sin For we al are borne infected with it Now let vs returne vnto the words of the Apostle which we haue so long tyme intermitted Moreouer the lawe entred in by the way that sinne shoulde abounde But where sinne abounded there grace abounded muche more That euen as sinne hath raigned in death so might grace also raigne by righteousnes vnto eternall life through Iesus Christ Moreouer the law entred in by the way that sinne should abounde But The Methode of Paule where sinne abounded there grace abounded much more We muste call to memory that the Apostle began to reherse the effectes of iustification namely that by it we haue peace with God and that we do reioyce not onely bicause of the hope of that glorye but also we reioyce in tribulations bicause we are assured of oure saluation For the confirmation of whiche hope he hathe declared that GOD hathe geuen his sonne vnto the deathe and that when we were yet sinners enemies vngodly And that it should not be obscure by what meanes the righteousnes of Christ could saue vs he sheweth by a comparison that euen as by the sinne of Adam all men haue perished so by Christ all men haue reuiued And in this comparison he teacheth that the effect of sinne is death And that men are deliuered from it only by Christ Now bycause a man might aske whether the law hath any thing profited to the attayntment of that saluation he answereth by preuention that it rather augmented the disease so farre was it of
the difference They by the name of Grace vnderstand those giftes which are geuen vnto them that are iustified namely the habites or qualities which are poured into theÌ„ more ouer good workes and other such like which God worketh in the elect But we forasmuch as we sée that these giftes so long as we liue here are through our corruption vnperfect do deny that we can by them be iustified and that by them by any meanes we are able to satisfy the iudgement of God Wherfore we vnderstande that to be iustified by grace is to be iustified by the only mere and sincere good will of God which he of his only mercy beareth towards vs. We say also that we are iustified by the grace of Christ which his father beareth towards hym For forasmuch as he is most gracious before him he bringeth to passe that he loueth would in him as hys members and brethren adopted by faith But the schoolemen haâ—â— What it is to be iustified by grace and by the grace of Christ The imagination of the Schole men sprang out of the Ethikes of Aristotle fayned vnto themselues that grace is an habite or quality poured into the soule yâ— the foule may more easely rise vp and more redely do good workes Which theyr fayned inuention they can by no meanes confirm by the holy scriptures But they séeme to haue taken it from the philosophers who in the Ethikes teach that the faculties powers of the minde are by an habite strengthned so that they are able to perform those things which before they wer not able or if they were able yet they were not able without great difficulty The self same thing do these meÌ„ iudge of yâ— mynd that forasmuch as of hys owne nature it can not so lift vp it self to be acceptable vnto God and to do yâ— workes which should please him it hath nede of a heauenly and spirituall habite to performe these things And whilest they thus follow their philosophy they depart from the vulgare and receyued sence of this worde grace For when we say that a souldiour is acceptable vnto a kyng or vnto a captaine A similitude we do not say that in the souldiour is grace or fauour but rather in the king or captayne which beareth fauour vnto the souldiour So we in thys case if we would speake plainly or aright should not say that in vs is powred or geueÌ„ grace but rather that we are receiued of GOD into grace or fauour which before were hys enemies But that we may the better fynde out the error of the scholemen we will here sette foorth their definition for they defyne grace to be an habite of goodnes and charity infused of God like vnto his whereby he that hath it is To haue grace of God is to be receiued into fauour of him The definition which the scholemen assigne vnto grace made acceptable vnto God and doth workes that are acceptable vnto him and meritorious When they say that it is an habite infused of God they seperate it from naturall vertues Farther when they make it to be like vnto the goodnes and loue of God they thinke that they bring a reasoÌ„ why they which be adorned with this habite are acceptable vnto God namely because of that similitude And because they can not by the scriptures proue that grace is a thing created in the soule they labour to confirme it with reasons For Thomas sayth that the beneuolence of God can not be idle for God is saide to loue when he geueth any good thing Wherefore he saith that God to do good to some or to loue some is to geue or infuse into them such an habite or quality as we haue now described But this is a very weake argument For we graunt that the loue of God lyeth not idle The loue of God towardes the elect is not idle but filleth vs with benifites and those very manifold But how followeth this argument God geueth very many giftes Ergo he createth or powreth in such an habite Farther this is no small error that they will that by this habite or creature we are made acceptable vnto God For it must nedes follow that seing he hath geuen vs such a gift he therefore loued vs before for the loue of God goeth before all his giftes The vertues in dede which follow may haue some consideration The loue of God towards vs goeth before all his giftes why they should be geuen but yet they can not haue that force to allure God to loue vs for he loued vs euen before he gaue them vnto vs. An other of their reasons is this If they which are conuerted vnto Christ say they haue the holy ghost which before they had not then of necessity it followeth that there happened some mutation But in God there is no mutacion Wherefore we must appoint it to be in our selues namely that we haue such an habite of grace which before we had not But this likewise is of no force for God differreth his aydes God is not chaunged although he do that now which before he did not is as semeth good vnto him and moueth the hartes of men at an appointed time when as before he moued them not which thing yet we doubt but is done without any his change at all For we know that God at an appoynted time created the world which before was not extant and yet we can not say that God is therefore changed Now resteth for vs to confirme by the scriptures that the grace of God signifieth his frée and vndeserued loue secondly that it signifieth also the rewardes It is proued that the grace of God is the fauor which he beareth towardes vs. or giftes which are bestowed vpon the Saintes thirdly that the grace of Christ is that whereby he is of force with the father and by reason of whiche we are loued of the father As concerning the first Paul fayth to the Ephesians that we were elected of God before the foundacions of the world were layde according to his good pleasure to the prayse of the glory of his grace In which place we sée that the cause of our election is that the frée loue and grace of God towardes vs should be commended And in the latter epistle to Timothe he sayth Which hath called vs wyth his holy vocation not by workes but according to his purpose and grace And Peter exhorteth vs to hope in that grace which is offred But it is not lawfull to hope in a thing created And as touching Christ Paul saith vnto the Ephesians that God hath made vs acceptable in hys beloued that is in Christ whome most dearely and especially he loueth And in this epistle he calleth grace eternall life This therefore is the The true definition of Grace true definition of Grace and agréeable vnto the holy scriptures That it is the frée beneuolence of God whereby he counteth vs deare in Christ Iesus and
or vnto death But it is after one maner in vs and after an other maner in Christ For his death as Augustine saith in his booke de Trinitate The death of Christ was simple but ours is double was simple and but of one sort but ours is double or of two sortes For in him only the body dyed for his soule was neuer without the eternall and true life forasmuch as sinne had neuer place in him But in vs both body and soule were deade by reason of sinne Wherefore euen as Christ dyeth not agayne as touching the body so also ought not we by sin to dye ether in body or in soule Otherwise yâ— onely one death of Christ should not as he saith bring remedy vnto our double death Neither wanteth this an emphasis that the Apostle in this place doubleth one Christ was not compelled to dye and the selfe same sentence when he sayth He dieth no more also death hath no more dominion ouer him For he would haue vs fully to vnderstand that death is cleane remoued away from Christ Neither yet ought we by these wordes to inferre that death sometimes so bare dominion ouer Christ that he was compelled to dye For he sayth that no man coulde take away his life from him but that he himselfe had power both to lay away his life and also to take it agayne Christ fréely and willingly became subiect vnto death wherefore we also forasmuch as we are his members and misticall body ought fréely and of our owne accord to dye together with Christ and that in such sort that we will no more dye that is we will no more be subiect vnto the guiltines death and damnatioÌ„ oâ— our sinnes It also sufficient for vs that we die once vnto sinne For as touching that he died he died vnto sinne once and aâ—â—ouching that he liueth he liueth vnto God That Christ died vnto sinne 〈◊〉 once only is declared by that which is written vnto the Hebrues that he by one only oblation made perfect all thinges so that he referreth this Once and vnity vnto the fulnes and perfection of the thing done It was sufficieÌ„t that Christ died but once Wherefore it ought also to be sufficient vnto vs that we dye but once vnto sinne neither ought we so to deale that we shoulde alwayes haue new causes to dye agayne We and Christ dye not after one and the selfe sâ—me manner It is not possible that Christ should dayly be sacrificed The sacrificing priestes do not by their Masses apply the death of Christ vnto others Baptisme ought not to be repeated But this is to be noted that Christ and we are diuersly sayde to dye vnto sinne For Christ had no sinne in hym whereunto he shoulde dye For he died for the sinne which was in vs. But we ought to dye vnto that sinne which we still cary aboute in our selues Farther out of this place are inferred two thinges first if Christ died but once and that that was sufficient then is there no nede that he shoulde agayne be dayly sacrificed in Masses For his one only death was sufficient for the satisfaction of all sinnes For the sacrificing priestes can not performe that thing which they vse so much to boast of namely to applye the death of Christ at their pleasure vnto this man or to that man For euery man by his owne fayth taketh hold of it and applieth it vnto himselfe Moreouer out of this place is inferred that baptisme ought not to be ministred vnto one man any more then once only forasmuch as in it we dye together with Christ And sithen he dyed but once only we therefore ought in no case to repete it any oftener Which thing the epistle vnto the Hebrues manifestly teacheth for there it is written that that is nothing els then again to crucifie the sonne of God and to make him a gazing stock The sealing of the promise of God which we receaue in baptisme neuer loseth his force and strength For whilest we call to memory that we are baptised so that fayth be present by the remembrance of that sealing we are both confirmed touching the promise and also are admonished touching the leading of the lyfe of Christ But we before haue alleaged many mo reasons why baptisme ought not to be repeted In that Christ is sayd to liue vnto God it signifieth not only that he liueth blessedly but also that he cleaueth vnseperably vnto God Which thing we also ought to do if we will be true Christians And therefore he concludeth the whole reason in these wordes So also consider ye that ye are dead as touching sin but are on liue vnto God through Iesus Christ our Lord. These words signifie as much as if he should haue sayde That which was done in Christ ought also to be done in vs. Wherefore seing he died only once and now liueth perpetually vnto God we ought to haue a care that the selfe same thing should be performed in vs. Hereby appeareth how vniustly the doctrine of Paul was accused as though he shoulde Paul teacheth that we ought to liue vnto God not to abide in sinne teach that we should abide in sinne that grace might abound And that we should commit euill that good might thereof ensue For he teacheth clene contraryly that euen as Christ euer liueth vnto God so ought we also euer to liue in Christ thorough innocency of life Which selfe doctrine the Lord taught in Iohn saying As the liuing father hath sent me and I liue for the father euen so he that eateth me shall liue for me Iudge and consider sayth he that ye are dead vnto sinne but liue vnto God For as sayth Chrisostome this thing is not done by nature neither can it be shewed by the outward sence but is perceaued by fayth only Therefore consider saith he and dayly pouder this in your mynde Through Christ Iesus our Lord. This is added that we shoulde knowe that all these thinges are receaued onely by his benefite and not by humane strengths or naturall reason Let not sinne therefore raigne in your mortall bodye that ye should thereunto obey by the lustes of it Neither geue ye your meÌ„bers as instrumentes of vnrighteousnes vnto sinne but geue ouer your selues vnto God as they that of dead are on liue And geue ouer your members as instrumentes of righteousnes vnto God For sinne shall not haue power ouer you Because ye are not vnder the lawe but vnder grace Let not sinne raigne therefore in your mortall body His reason now finished he addeth an exhortation which is indede short but yet of great waight What felicity is For it stirreth vs vp vnto that thing wherein consisteth the chiefe felicity which herein is contained yâ— we should be most far remoued froÌ„ all euils and continually being well occupied leade a most vertuous lyfe Wherefore Paules meanynge is that wée shoulde caste awaye synne Whiche is to remoue from vs the
nature of euill Whatsoeuer euill and infelicity there is in vs the same is wholy deryued from synne Farther he commaundeth vs to deryue our actions from the groundes and principles taught of God The philosophers affirme That actiō is most perfect which springeth of the most◠noblest vertue that action to be most perfect which springeth of the most noblest vertue Wherefore forasmuch as we doo confesse that al our strengths and faculties are moued and impelled by God that is by the most chiefe goodnes of necessity it followeth that the workes which springe thereof are of most perfection For God is farre much more perfect then all humane vertue Wherefore if whatsoeuer we doo we do it by his impulsion thē shal we attain vnto a good end vnto most high felicity Paul speaketh of sinne by the figure * Prosopopaeia and exhorteth Proposopeia that is by fayninge of personages vs not to suffer it to raigne in vs. Which selfe forme of speaking he before when he sayd that death raigned from Adam euen vnto Moses By the mortall body sayth Ambrose is vnderstand the whole mā euen as sometimes the whole man is signified by the soule For confirmatiō whereof he citeth these words of Ezechiell The soule which sinneth it shall dye And he affirmeth that that is to be vnderstand of ether part of man Chrisostome thinketh that therfore the body is called mortall to teach vs y◠this battayle which the Apostle exhorteth vs vnto against sin shall not dure any long time but a shorte time Which battayle he supposeth is therefore commended bycause that sithen Adam although he had abody not subiect vnto death yet refrained not from sinne It shoulde be much more laudable and excellēter for vs if we in this mortal body should eschew sins But I thinke y◠this particle In your mortall body signifieth nothing els then if it should haue bene sayd after the maner of the Hebrues Through your mortall body Forasmuch as that naturall cōcupiscence or lust which the Apostle would not haue to raigne in vs is through the body deriued from Adam into vs receaueth in vs nourishements and entisements For by generation and sede as we haue before at large proued originall sinne is traduced And he addeth this word mortall to encrease a contempte and to lay before our eyes that such a frowardnes is condemned vnto the punishement of death whereby to feare vs away the more from the obedience thereof For it were very wicked to preferre a thing condemned vnto death before the word of God and his spirite He straight way declareth what this meaneth namely sinne to raigne in vs. Which is nothing ells then to be obedient vnto sinne Wherefore he addeth That ye should therunto obey by the lustes of it He saith in the plural number Lustes bicause out of the corruption of nature which he a little before called sinne in the singular nomber doo continually spring forth an infinite nomber of lustes Paul admonisheth vs that we should not obey them He can not prohibite but that lust whilst we liue here will exercise some cirāny ouer vs euē although it be against our willes Wherfore this thing only he requireth that we should not of our owne accord and willingly obey it For thys is to permitte vnto him the kingdome Members in this place signifye not onely the parts of the bodye but also the parts of the minde Why members are called weapons Nether apply your members as weapons of vnrighteousnes vnto sinne He still more plainly declareth what it is to obey sinne And that is to geue our mēbers as weapons vnto it By members he vnderstandeth not only the parts of the body but also all the faculties or powers of the soule All these forbiddeth he to be applied of vs vnto sinne He could haue vsed an other word namely that we should not geue our members organes and instrumentes to lustes But by the name of weapons he would the more aggrauate the thing For that signifieth the they which apply theyr members vnto sinne do fight make war against God do with all the strengths both of their body of their soule withstād his will law Out of this place is gathered the differēce betwene mortall sins veniall The difference betwene veniall mortal sinnes sinnes For when we withstand and resiste the lustes those troublesome motions and entisementes bursting forth of our naturall corruption forasmuch as they are repugnaunt vnto the lawe of God are vndoubtedly sinnes but yet bycause they are displeasaunte vnto vs and we resiste them and doo leaue some place vnto fayth and vnto the spirite of God therfore they ar forgeuē vs neither are they imputed vnto death but contrariwise when we obey thē and do repell the mocion of the spirit of God and worke against our conscience or at the leaste waye with a conscience corrupted so that those thinges which are euil we count good or iudge good things euil thē vndoubtedly we sinne deadly for therby we make sinne to raigne in vs. Paul whilest he vrgeth these things semeth to admonish vs that we should not receiue grace in vayne or without fruite as he also admonished the Corinthians in his latter epistle Hereby we gather that the mēbers and powers of them that are regenerate ought to be so prompt and redy vnto the obeysaunce of God as are the powers and members of the vngodly prone redy to commit sinne And we are plainly taught that we ought to fight And in the Epistle vnto the Ephesians we are commaunded to fight not only agaynst flesh and bloud but also against naughtines and wycked celestiall spirites For they are mighty and of efficacy against vs thorough the body flesh and bloud For euen as weapons may serue both to a good and also to an euill vse for sometyme a théefe occupieth them against his countrey and sometimes a good citizen vseth thē Weapons may serue both to a good and also to an euill vse to defend his countrey so the members of our body powers of our mynde may fight on righteousnes side and also against sinne We sée moreouer what differēce there is betwene a kingdome and a tyrannous gouernment We obey tyrannes against our willes but vnto kings we obey willingly for by their good and iust lawes the publike wealth is established Wherfore there are two things which folow in a iust and lawfull kingdome For first all men of their own voluntary wil accord obey the king vnles peraduēture there be some wicked or seditious persons Moreouer they are redy to fight for his sake But it is farre otherwise where tyranny raigneth for none will gladly and willingly obey tyrants neither wyll they fight in their quarels Wherfore Paul although he cannot prohibite in vs the Two proprieties o◠a iust kingedome tiranny of sinne but that of it we suffer many things against our willes yet he for biddeth that it should
seruitude had his first beginning of sinne for it is not lawfull to make warre but against those which haue sinned With these wordes of Augustine agreeth Florentinus the Lawyer as it is red in the InstitutioÌ„s and this etimologye right well agreeth with this place which we are now in hand with The deuill assaulting by battayle our first parentes ouercame theÌ„ and tooke them and by that transgressioÌ„ hath made all our nature captiue and hath still in subiection and to be his seruauntes as many as thorough Christ are not set at liberty For so sayth Paule in his latter epistle to Timoth That they may come to amendement out of the snare of the deuill which are takeÌ„ of him at his will But Christ came and hath fought with that strong armed man the gouernor of the world and prince of darkenes and hauing gotten the victory hath redemed vs all Nether vndoubtedly did he it for any other cause but that we should be obedient to his will and vnto righteousnes Wherefore these wordes of Paul signifie as muche as if he shoulde haue sayd Christ hath not therefore deliuered vs from sinne and addicted vnto himselfe to the 〈…〉 e that henceforth we should bee seruauntes vnto sinne but onely Christ hath redeemed vs not vnto sinne but vnto righteousnesse Two contrarye Lordes set before vs. that we should be obedient vnto righteousnes Nowe let vs diligently weighe the wor 〈…〉 Knovve ye 〈…〉 t that to vvhomesoeuer ye geue your selues as seruauntes to obey his ser 〈…〉 s ye are to vvhome ye obey vvhether it be of sinne vnto death or obedience vnto righteousnes Here let vs first note that the Apostle setteth before vs two Lordes the 〈◊〉 is sinne the other is that obedience which we render vnto God By which diuision forasmuch as the partes thereof be contrary it appeareth that I nothing erred from the sentence of the Apostle when before I defined sinne in generall to be whatsoeuer is repugnant vnto the law of God The definition of sinne before alleaged is confirmed For forasmuch as sinne is a priuation it can not be known but by his opposite or contrary forme or quality which it remoueth away and what the forme is Paul here expresseth by the name of Obedience Wherfore that is sinne ought so to be called which is repugnant vnto such an obedience By which it is most manifest that that corruption which is still remaining in vs and the motions which are by it stirred vp are sinnes forasmuch as they are apertly repugnaÌ„t vnto obedience which is opposite and contrary vnto sinne Moreouer this diuision This particion comprehendeth all men of the Apostle if it be sufficient comprehendeth all men so that euery man is of necessitie either the seruant of sinne or els of righteousnes The seruauntes of righteousnes are these which are now deliuered to be obedient vnto the forme of the doctrine of the gospel Wherfore in this place are ouerthrown those workes An argumeÌ„t against workes preparatory which they call preparatorye for they can not be placed in any members of this deuision For if thou wilt say that they pertaine vnto them which are seruantes of righteousnes they are now alredy regenerate and do beleue the Gospel wherfore those workes can not now be preparations but fruites of the Gospell But if thou wilt stand in contencion and say that they pertain vnto them which are seruantes of sinne they haue no fruite of their workes but only death wherfore their workes turne vnto them vnto destruction so farre is it of that they can be preparations vnto grace We say in dede that God oftentimes vseth our sinnes and by them appointeth as it were certain degrées by which we may come vnto Christ But this thing our workes haue not of themselues neither in respect that they are done of vs for in that respect spring forth damnable and odious fruites as it The two Lords do destribute contrary rewardes were out of a corrupt trée Vnto these two Lordes are appointed two maner of rewardes namely vnto sinne is appointed death and vnto obedience righteousnes But it semeth that Paul ought otherwise to haue disposed these things and especially as touching the second member for righteousnes is opposite or contrary vnto sinne Wherfore euen as vnto sinne answereth death as a rewarde so vnto righteousnes also ought eternall life to haue aunswered as a reward But this ought we assuredly to thinke that Paul erred not but by this disposition would teach vs wherein the righteousnes of woorkes consisteth namely in this that we shoulde be obedient vnto GOD for there is nothynge either holye or iust There is nothing holy or iust but that which God hath commaunded The beginnâ—ng of eternall life is to liue iustlye They whiche liue iustly are not miserable although they are greuously vexed but that which he hathe commaunded for the inuentions of men pertayne not to righteousnes but rather vnto lust Wherefore the Apostle to the end he would the more manifestly instruct vs of this thing hath set the definition in place of the thing defined And it is not to be meruailed that he putteth righteousnes in the place of reward for the beginning of blessednes and of eternal lyfe is to liue iustly and hereof it coÌ„meth yâ— in the holy scriptures eternall life is a coÌ„tinuall coÌ„panion of righteousnes And Chrisostome vpon this place sayth that by righteousnes ought to be vnderstand whatsoeuer followeth righteousnes And yet oughte no man therefore to perswade himselfe that they which liue iustly are miserable although sometymes they are greuously vexed with aduersityes For with Paul righteteousnes and innocency of life do signifie the self same thing that eternall felicity signifieth Death also which is ascribed vnto sinne as a reward is not only the dissolution of the outward body but therewithall comprehendeth also eternall infelicity wherewith both body and soule shal be punished And â—y this worde Synne which thing also I haue before admonished Paul vnder 〈…〉 the luste which remayneth in the beleuers and also the corruption of nature 〈◊〉 therefore They which are sory for sins are chiefly sorye for the roote of theÌ„ An example of Dauid the godly when they are sory for any faulte that they haue committed do chiefely complayne of this corrupt nature and of the rotten roote thereof Dauid when he lamented the murther and adultery which he had com 〈…〉 ed ranne chiefely vnto this as vnto the fountayne of all euils sayinge Beâ—old in iniquities was I conceaued and in sinnes hath my mother conceaued me And when we pray vnto God to deliuer vs from sinnes for this thinge we chiefelye praye that by his spirite he would breake and weaken this domesticall and familiar enemy Thys thing the Apostle ment when he cryed out Vnhappy man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death Paul after he had thus deuided seruitude that of necessity we must be seruauntes
being filled with the spirite of Christ streight way aboundaÌ„tly bring forth fruit And this is it whiche God promised by Esay shoulde come to passe in hys 53. chapter If he shall geue his life for sinne he shall se his sede for a long time And the lord sayth in Iohn when I shall be lifted vp from the earth I will draw all thinges vnto my selfe This is it which Paul sayth to bringe forth fruite vnto God And this at the length is brought to passe when not only we our selues doo good works but also we bringe others vnto Christ These two ends are not seperated a sonder For nether caÌ„ we winne others vnto Christ if we consider the matter as it most commonly hapeneth vnles an example of an vpright life be correspondent vnto our sound doctrine Nether is it rashely done that the Apostle chaungeth the person For before he vsed the second person when he thus wrote ye are mortefied vnto the law by the body of Christ that ye should be vnto an other And straight way he addeth That we should bring forth fruite vnto God When rather according to nature of the consequente he should haue sayd that ye should fructifie vnto God There is none so holy but he hath nede of these fruites But he changed the person to declare that this is a generall sentence least any maÌ„ should thinke himselfe to be so holy that he now hath no nede of these fruites For that cause the Apostle putteth himselfe also among theÌ„ Chrisostome exellently well noteth that it happeneth not in these thinges as it commonly happeneth in ciuill matters For there the husband being dead the widow if she wil may absteine from the second matrimony But we when sinne is dead thorough the holy ghost must of necessity be brought vnto Christ as vnto a new bridgrome When we are dead vnto sinne we cannot be without a new husband For we are not now in our own power For he hath redemed vs with a price as Paul sayth vnto the Corrinthians and for that cause we are not our own Wherefore we ought to glorifye and to beare Christ in our bodies And in the latter to the Corr One died for all that they which liue should now not liue vnto theÌ„selues but vnto him which died which rose agayn Wherfore seing we ar now maried vnto Christ we ought to imitate vertuous wifes which whatsoeuer they do haue not a regard what may please theÌ„selues but what may be acceptable The office of an honest wife Against workes preparatory vnto theyr husbands Agayne by these words is ouerthroweÌ„ that middle estate wherein some are dreminglye imagined to be Whiche are nether deade vnto sinne nor borne agayne in Christ and yet worke certayne good workes which are acceptable vnto God and prepare them vnto iustification Paul here manifestly teacheth that they which are not grafted into Christ are bound vnto the law and doo liue vnder sinne and bringe forth fruites vnto death only so that whatsoeuer they doo the same is wholy vnto them deadly But they which are maried vnto Christ they I say bring forth fruite vnto God For God by them as by his members and instrumentes sheweth forth his fruites and good works For when vve vvere in the flesh the affects of sinnes vvhich vvere by the Law had force in our members to bring forth fruite vnto death In these wordes is The diffeâ—â—nce â—◠〈…〉 wene the old matrimonâ— and the new What is to be obserued oâ— preachers set forth the Antithesis betwene thys newe matrimony and that olde And the sence is Now we ought to bring forth fruite vnto God For hitherto we haue brought forth fruite vnto death Our olde estate also is here described namely that we were in the flesh He doth not say wheÌ„ we were in the law For he would eschew offence not necessary which thing teachers and preachers ought also to imitate yâ— nether they kepe in sileÌ„ce the things yâ— are necessary to be hard nor also by speaking out of ceason alienate the myndes of the hearers When we were sayth Paul in the fleshe the affectes of sinnes which were by the law c. In these wordes he semeth so to speake of sinnes and of wicked affectes as though before the lawe they were not in vs. But that we shoulde not erre from the meaning of Paul we ought to know that we all haue from our birth a corruption and lust naturally grafted and planted in vs which continually stirreth vp in vs wicked motions and rages and sundry kindes of vices And these motions and violences Paul calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For there is a difference betwene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are called moderate and laudable affections But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are more vehementer affectes which are caried with a greater force These strong affections are sayd of the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is by an inward force mightely to worke And therefore there is sayd to be in the sede and likewise in the minde of man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a certayne power which although it be hidden yet is it of most great efficacy Now these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or vehement affectes are sayd to be by the lawe not that they were not before but partlye because by the lawe they are made open and partlye for that when as the lawe withstandeth them as a let in their waye they are made much more vehement And therefore Augustine in his questions vnto Simplicianus Vehementâ— affects why they are sayd to be by the law the first question Sinne sayth he is increased by the lawe fyrst because by it it is knowen secondly because by it it is the more prouoked For we contend to that that we are forbidden And he addeth that sinne by the lawe is made more greeuous for the lawe being once put we are made transgressors When he sayth that these vehement motions are of efficacy in our members by members he vnderstandeth all the powers and faculty both of the soule and of the body Neither yet ought we to thinke Paul accuseth not the nat 〈…〉 coÌ„stitution of the body that Paul accuseth the naturall constitution of the body and of the members Only he condemneth the wicked affectes which range abroade through these partes Chrisostome applieth this repreheÌ„sioÌ„ to the thoughts But this vice is spred abroad through out all the powers both of the soule and of the body The Marcionites Valentinians and Manichies which condemned the lawe as proceding from an euill God tooke occasion out of this sentence of Paul and certaine other like places Vnto whome Augustine maketh answere in his 4. Sermon De verbis Apostoli For he sayth That they beguile Christians not such as are simple but such are negligent For it is no hard matter sayth he euen of these selfe same thynges which the Apostle hath
difference which Augustin assigneth betwene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not alwaies obserued For yâ— Scriptures vse either word indifferently to signifie yâ— worshippyng of God Vnto the spirite is attributed newnes For the spirite by regeneration reneweth vs both in body and in soule and moreouer in the beleuers it sheweth forth new and Why newnes is attributed vnto the spirite What is to be vnderstand by the name of letter vnaccustomed workes The antithesis also is to the oldnes of our old estate which yâ— Apostle expresseth by the name of letter in which word he comprehendeth whatsoeuer doctrine may be outwardly set forth vnto vs. For whatsoeuer is such procedeth from the strengths of nature And it is called old bicause it commeth not froÌ„ a hart regenerate and a will chaunged In this also is a certaine kind of obedieÌ„ce but yet not such an obedience as God requireth And therfore it is called yâ— oldnes of the letter for that it is a certaine slender imitation of that doctrine which is set foorth vnto vs. Woorkes of this kinde come not of the impression of the lawe in the harts of men For God in Ezechiell promiseth to geue vnto his people a fleshy hart Those thinges also may after a sort pertaine to outward discipline But they neither please God and moreouer to them that do them they are sinnes and therfore Paul sayth that they pertaine to oldnes Certaine of the fathers imagine many thinges touching the spirite and the letter but by the letter they vnderstaÌ„d The difference receaued touching the spirite and the letter is refelled an historicall sence by the spirit they thinke are signified allegories But the Apostle ment farre otherwyse But of this matter we haue spoken somwhat vpon the second chap. of this epistle vpon these wordes of Paul the circumcision of the hart is which consisteth of the spirite and not of the letter Neither ment Paul any thing els in the latter to the CorrinthiaÌ„s when he sayth That the law killeth but the spirit quickeneth For he calleth the law grauen in stones the ministery of death sayth that he is not appointed the minister of the letter but of the spirite Chrisostome thinketh that this sentence that we should serue in newnes of spirite is therfore added of the Apostle that we hearing mention made of liberty should not liue losely through licentiousnes of the flesh but should vnderstand that we are bound to a certaine other kynd of seruitude and that is to serue God Although as we before To obey God is not a seruitude Not all the fathers of the olde testamente liued in sinne admonished it can not properly be called seruitude for in it we follow not an other mans will but our owne Neither are these wordes of Paul so to be taken as though all the fathers of the old Testament liued in sinne and in the oldnes of the letter They pertaine vnto them only which either in this tyme want Christ or in the old tyme liued without him such as were many of the Israelites which waited for Christ according to the flesh as though Messias should be onely a pure man which should come and bring nothyng vnto the Iewes but a carnall kingdome pompe riches glory and a large dominion But the godly fathers as Abraham Iacob Dauid Esay and many others of that race wanted not the benefite of Christ but beyng endewed with the spirite of God had the fruicion of the liberty of the Gospell so much as the nature of the tyme then suffred They in dede obserued the ceremonies of their times such other like precepts but this they dyd of their owne accord not being compelled neither bare they any hatred against the law of God And although at this day after yâ— Christ hath appeared yâ— spirit of God be more largely poured abrode and the mysteries of our saluation are more plainlier manifested then they were in times past yet dare I not affirme that those holy patriarches had lesse of the spirite of Christ then haue many cold Christians in our tyme. And I wonder at Chrisostome beyng so great a man yâ— when he wrote vpon this place he would say That the elders had a body heauy and sluggish and vnapt vnto vertues but our bodies after the commyng of Christ are made lighter reddier The interpretacion of the law deliuered of Christ pertained also vnto the elders Somwhat was graunted in the law whiche is denied vnto vs. and cherefuller and for that cause the preceptes of the Gospell are more hard higher then were the commaundementes of the law For vnto them it was sufficient not to kill but vnto vs it is not lawfull so much as to be angry Vnto theÌ„ iâ—â—as sufficient not to coÌ„mit adultery but vnto vs is also prohibited the lustful loking vpoÌ„ an other maÌ„s wife And such other things of yâ— same sort I graunt in dede yâ— certaine things wer permitted in yâ— old law which were reuoked by Christ For it is not lawful for christians as it was for yâ— Iewes for euery light cause to geue a boke of diuorcemet But those thinges which Christ admonished of lust of anger pertained no lesse vnto yâ— Iewes in the old time theÌ„ they do to vs in this time And wheras Christ saith It was said to theÌ„ in olde tyme that is not to be referred vnto the sentence of the law but vnto yâ— wicked Christ retected the corrupte interpretations of the scribes and of the Phariseis An error of many of the fathers Sondry affectes stirred vp by the law interpretations of the Scribes and Phariseys For otherwise when as in the ten commaundements it is sayd Thou shalt not lust all maner of wicked lust both of the flesh and of vengeaunce and of other mens goods is vtterly forbidden But not only Chrisostom but also many other of the fathers erred in this matter But to returne to our purpose we ought to know that certaine men are by the lawe stirred vp only to certaine outward ceremonies and certaine cold workes which pertaine only a certaine discipline but those selfe same can in no wyse attaine to the iust and perfect obseruance of the will of God but there are others which wheÌ„ they very diligently consider the law and behold the horror of sin and the vncleanes and weakenes of their strengths at the last vtterly dispaire and begin to hate and abhorre God and to blaspheme him and his law and to fall hedlong into all mischiefe and wickednes vntill they drowne themselues in eternall destruction But vnto godly men the consideration of the lawe is profitable and healthfull for when as in it as in a glasse they consider their owne infirmity they are compelled to get them vnto Christ as vnto an hauen of whome they may both obteyne forgeuenes of sinnes and also day by day greater instauration of strengthes What shall we say then is the law sinne God forbidde But
often repeted we ought to thinke to be very necessary and also not very well knowen vnto vs. Farther these things The things that are so often repeted ar both necessary also not very well knowne vnto vs. are not repeted without some addition whereby are not a little made plaine those thinges which were spoken Here the Apostle entended to declare two thinges first that he would that which is good and thereof he reasoneth that he felt in hys minde a delectation in the lawe But those thinges wherein we delight we desire to be brought to passe The second is that he declareth that he is plucked away and letted so that he can not fulfill his owne will And this he hereby proueth for that he doth those thinges from which he abhorred But these thinges are to be vnderstand in a diuers respect as they terme it For as he was regenerate he abhorred from thinges euill and desired better but as hee was not regenerate he was drawen vnto those thinges whiche hee woulde not and fell into worse and worse The effecte of his exclamation is therefore expressed in this strife to geue vs to vnderstand that these thinges are not entreated of lightlye or coldly but with great féeling and with certayne experience Now that I haue briefely declared the exposition of this place I will come to the knitting together of the wordes of the Apostle and examine euery perticuler part of them I find a law vnto me when I would do good for that euill is present with me This is doubtles an obscure sentence and may haue diuers senses For if we take the lawe which we sée is here put infinitly and without contraction for the vice and corruption of nature then may we thus interprete it that it is a let vnto vs when he would do good Of which saying is rendred a reason for that euill is present with me As if he should haue sayd this is the cause why I am letted from doing good But if this word lawe be taken in good part and do signifye the commaundementes of God then must we of necessity adde a verbe whych signifieth not a let but an exhortation and stirring vp And so may be gathered thys sense when I would do good I finde the lawe of God allowing approuing exhorting and instigating me But if thou demaunde why then do I not good I answere for that euill is present with me therefore am I letted and called backe from the good purpose of my minde Wherefore the obscurenes commeth two maner of wayes Firste the lawe is put infinitelye whiche maye be drawen ether vnto luste or vnto the commaundemente of God Secondly there is no word added whereby is signified ether let or contrariwise impulsion or exhortation Ambrose thinketh that here is signified the lawe of God which he sayth geueth a consent For that can not be vnderstand of our consent whereby we in minde serue the lawe of God For this we owe not vnto the benefite of the law but to the spirite of Christ only that the will of God shoulde be pleasant to our mynde But after that by his helpe we come once to this poynt to will thinges good and vprighte then if we looke vpon the lawe we shall finde that it as Ambrose sayth geueth a consent vnto vs. Chrisostome confesseth that it is a hard place howbeit he thinketh that by it is signified the lawe of God and sayth that it prayseth and approueth all the good and iust thinges which we would do but the euill which is present with vs is a let that we can not performe those things And hereby is manifest the infirmity of the lawe which can in déede approue thinges right commendeth the will of hauing them but can not remoue away the impedimentes and lettes neither can bring to passe that we should not sinne or not be condemned But I if I may herein declare my minde do by the lawe vnderstand that conditiō whereunto we ought to obey and this I iudge to be the minde of the Apostle I finde a condition and a decrée layd vpon me namely by originall sinne and naturall lust that when I would do good euil euer is present with me This is the punishement of the lawe whereinto we al incurre by the transgression of our first parentes Ambrose semeth to demaunde where sinne or euill is present with vs. And he aunswereth in the fleshe it lieth and watcheth as it were before the dores and at the gate so that the will after y◠it hath decréed any thing that is good if it will come forth and performe the same findeth a let euen at the very gate A pleasant inuentiō doubtles and such which semeth to expresse that which shall afterward be spoken of That we in mynde serue the lawe of God but in fleshe the lawe of sinne If thou agayne demaunde how it commeth to passe that the euill is present with vs in the flesh not also in the mynde he answereth that it thereof commeth for that y◠flesh only is by traduction deriued from Adam For therefore sinne passeth through the fleshe and after a sort dwelleth in it in maner as in his house Which otherwise should rather be placed in the soule as which should rather sinne then the flesh if it should be by traduction But seing it is not by traduction thereof it commeth that sinne dwelleth not in it but in the flesh That the soule is not by traduction let vs for this tyme graunte althoughe Augustine be somewhat in doubt touching that matter Yet do I not sée why we Sinne is presente not onely in the flesh but also in the soule should deny but that sinne is also in the minde I graunt indede that the first entrance of corruption is through the flesh and that originall sinne is traduced from the parentes through the sede and the body but it stayeth not there For from thence it strayeth throughout all the partes of the soule and of the body Howbeit this word Adiacere which is englished to be present I vnderstand no otherwise then I before interpretated it namely to be at hand to be redy to vrge and to pricke forward I delight in the lawe of God concerning the inward man Two things he put forth that his will was to do good but euill was present with him whereby his entent was made frustrate Now he diligently explicateth ech part If we should follow Chrisostomes mynde namely that when we appointe to do any thing rightly we finde the lawe allowing and approuing our purpose then should not this sentence be amisse that we on the other side delight in the vnderstanding of the lawe as it semeth to delight in our purpose and to consent vnto it But this is now to be of vs considered with how great warines Paul now encreaseth and amplifieth that which he before had simply spoken He before sayde that he willed that whiche is good that he consented vnto the lawe
that it is good nowe he after a sort goeth vp one steppe higher which pertayneth only vnto the Godly For theyr will towardes the lawe is not a colde will but pleasant feruent and The will of the godly towardes the law is not cold The vngodly are not kindled with a true loue to that whiche to good The saints tooke great pleasure of the law of God vehement With great endeuor they contende that they may indéede performe that which in minde they desire But the vngodly although by a naturall light which is not vtterly extinguished in them they haue some knowledge of iustice and vertue yet are they not kindled with a true loue of things good Wherefore yâ— Apostle writeth not these things vnto theÌ„ but vnto the godly which euery moment striue against yâ— lust which is grafted in theÌ„ by nature But how great a plesure yâ— good meÌ„ take of yâ— law of God many places of yâ— scripture testefie Dauid in his 1â—9 psalme sayth Blessed are they which walk in the Law of the Lord and which seke the testemonies thereof And in his 1. psalme Blessed are they which meditate in his Law day and night And in an other place The Law of God sayth he is more precious then gold and precious stones and more swete then hony and the hony combe And other infinite such like testemonies But there is very much difference betwene the godlâ— and men straungers from Christ For the wise men amongst the Ethnikes did Difference betwene the Ethnikes and godly men put the greatest part of theyr felicity herein that they might alwayes remember the notable actes by them done But they greatly reioysed not of the knowledge of the true and perfect righteousnes bycause they perfectlye knew it not But the sayntes contrarywise alwayes cast theyr eyes vpon the Law of God and when in it they se before theyr eies drawen out the portrature of a iust man and the perfect image of God whereunto we are created they can not but wonderfully reioyce But afterward wheÌ„ they turne aside theyr eyes to their works they are excedingly sory for that they se them so much to fayle of the example set before them So paynters when they se an image excellently set forth they A similitude take therein great pleasure But when as hauing enterprised to make such an other they se that they can not attayne to that liuelines and excellency they begin to be sory and to be angry There is noted also in Pecockes the selfe same An other similitude kinde of affection for when they haue erected vp theyr fethers they delighting in the pleasant variety of the colours seme much to reioyce But agayne when they behold theyr deformed and blacke fete streight way theyr courage is deiected and they let downe theyr fethers So the godly delight in the Lawe of God and are inflamed with great loue to his commaundementes but contrariwise they lament and are sory for the filthines which they find to be in al their works Concerning the inward man Sithen Paul calleth the regenerate part of man by this name it can not be doubted but that he speaketh of the whole man For man consisteth not only of the body and of flesh but also of the soule and of that part whiche they commonlye call rationall And this whole man is called both inward outward He is called the Inward man in that he is moued by The whole man is called both inward and outward in diuerse respectes the spirite which worketh in our inwarde partes and of stony hartes maketh fleshy hartes But he is called outward in that he is taken with the delights of this world with riches honors goodly shewes and such like thinges For all these are outward thinges So the Apostle hath now proued the first part which he put forth namely That he would doo good and that he delighted in the law of God concerning the inward man Now he goeth to the other part to declare that he is agaynst his will drawen to other thinges I fele an other Lavv in my members resisting the Lavv of my mind and leding me captiue into the Lavv of sinne vvhtch is in my members This Law which he describeth is the force of sinne and of our naturall corruption He calleth it the Law of members for that before he called this whole euil the body of sinne but a body hath members Farther members in this place signifieth as I haue before admonished all the powers of the minde and all the partes of the body now contaminate with sinne The Apostles minde was to declare that this disease drawen from our birth stayeth not only in some one part of vs but persâ—th thorough out the whole man and thoroughout-all his partes Here we haue sondry Sondrye names of lawes What the law being aâ— large taken signifieth names of Lawes for hece is mencioned The Lawe of God The Lawe of the minde The Law of sinne The Law of the members And this hereof commeth for that the Law is largely taken for all that whiche gouerneth moderateth our actions And bycause our actions procede not all from one greuÌ„d thereof it commeth that there are diuers names of Lawes Although the Law of the mind and the Law of God is one and the same It is called the Law of God bicause by it is expressed the will of God And it is called the Law of the mind for that it raigneth chiefely inwardly and is most knowen in the minde The Law of sinne also and the Law of the members is one and the same It is called the Law of sinne bycause such lust is of it selfe sinne and of it selfe bringeth forth other sinnes and it is called the Lawe of the members for that it vseth all our Why sinne to adorned with the name of law partes strenths and faculties for instrumeÌ„ts Chrisostome warely admonisheth that sinne is not for any his owne dignity adorned with the name of Lawe for that commeth thorough our default for that we obey sinne as a Lawe For so Christ called Mammon Lord and Paul called the bely God Rebeâ—ling 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is a greate conflict betwene these two Lawes for the Law which is in my members laboureth to lede me away captiue and to make me a bondsclaue vnto the Law of sinne But if the Law of sin and the Law of the memvers be one and the same how is the one sayd to lede away a man captiue vnto the other This is not without greate consideration Lust grafted in vs impelleth vs to actual sinnes sayd For so long as lust grafted in vs which is sinne resisteth the Law of God by which Law the knowledge of the minde is enstructed it impelleth vs to many kindes of sinnes Those are commonly called actuall sinnes whereunto our lust and corrupt oâ—sposition incline vs. But this maketh vs subiect vnto the law of sinne that is vnto death for death as
pertakers of the resurrection namely when by mortification we are Howe we are pertakers of the resurrection The spirite of God will do the selfe same thinge in vs that it hath done in Christ made like vnto his death The reason of Paul leueth vnto this foundation that the spirite of God will worke the selfe same effecte in vs that it did in Christ For of one the selfe same cause are to be looked for yâ— selfe same effectes And God forasmuch as he is euery where like vnto himselfe by the selfe same meanes bringeth forth the selfe same workes Wherefore the consequence followeth well And seing when Christ was raysed from the dead ther was rendred vnto him a pure eternall and diuine life such a life also shall one day be rendred vnto vs which life we wayte for in the blessed resurrection when our bodyes shal be raysed vp being perfectly renued and now also we beginne the same when as by new motions Our resurrection is now begon of the spirite we are stirred vp to good workes Wherefore by these wordes are we admonished to mortefie the affectes of the flesh as Paul in an other place saide They which are of Christ haue crucified their fleshe with all the lustes thereof And vnto the Colossians Mortefie saith he your members which are vpon the earth and thys is the body to be deade Neither is it to be meruailed at that by the name of the body is vnderstand sine for sinne is named of that part whereby it had entrance into vs. For the soule saith Ambrose is not traduced from the parentes but only the body Now to dye vnto the body or vnto sinne is nothing els then to do nothing at the commaundement of lustes This is all one with that which we had What to dy vnto the body or vnto sinne signifieth before in the 6. chapter That we are now in baptisme dead with Christ and are buried together wyth hym And the Apostle commonly when he writeth of mortification and newnes of life taketh argumentes of the resurrection of the Lord by which Christ layd away mortality and did put on eternall life Which selfe thing shall also come to passe in our resurrection For in it shall we lay a side all oldenes of error and of corruption Which although before that tyme we shall not perfectly haue yet nowe also in this life we beginne to possesse in some sorte alreadye Wherefore Paul saith in the 2. epistle to the Corrinthyans Euen as our olde man is dayly destroyed so on the other side is our new man dayly renewed And vnto the Collossians If ye haue risen together whith Christ seeke the thynges that are aboue And vnto the Phillippians Paul saith That he alwayes endeuoreth himselfe to the thinges that are before neglecting and setting aside those thynges which are behynde that he mought by any meanes attayne vnto the resurrection of the Lord beyng already made pertaker of hys suffrynges And thus much as touching the first interpretacioÌ„ which Chrisostome followeth which if we more narrowly consider we shall sée that it containeth that which we a litle before spake namely that it is the proper duty of Christians not to liue according to the fleshe but according to the spirite For what other thinge is this but to mortify the body of sinne and to rise againe vnto a new life with Christ as though eueÌ„ now beginneth to shine forth in vs the resurrectioÌ„ which we hope shall in the last time be made perfect The second interpretation which Augustine foloweth is to vnderstand the body properly that is for this our outward substaunce And this body he saith is through sinne dead for that vppon it by reason of sinne was sentence long since geuen And he teacheth that by Christ By Christ we haue recouered a better nature then we lâ—st hy by Adam we haue recouered a better nature then we lost by Adam For he had a body not obnoxious vnto the necessity of death howbeit mortall for if he sinned he shoulde die But we by the resurrection of Christ shall receiue a body so frée from the necessitie of dying that it can not any more dye So according to this interpretatioÌ„ Paul declareth that we besides the benefite of the death of Christ haue an other benefit also of the spirite of Christ so that we are now by him pertakers of immortality Wherfore as touching the resurrection of the bodies eche interpretation is agreable But about this particle The body is dead they agrée not for Augustine taketh the body properly but Chrisostome by it vnderstandeth the vice and corruption of nature Wherfore according to this second interpretation Paul semeth to aunswer vnto a priuy obiection For against those thinges which haue hitherto bene spoken mought some man make this obiection This spirit whome thou so highly commendest as though it deliuereth vs from sinne and froÌ„ death doth yet stil leue vs in death and obnoxious vnto many aduersities diseases and calamities Paul aunswereth that this is true only as touching the body by reason of sinne which is still left in it For there hence come those euils Howbeit he willeth vs to be of good cheare for that spirite of God which is in vs hath now taken away condemnatioÌ„ that sinne which is remainyng in vs should not be imputed vnto vs vnto eternal death and will also bring to passe that euen as Christ which was dead was by him raised vp againe from the dead so also our bodies which are yet mortall shall be repayred vnto true immortalitie This sence is easy and plain and very wel agreing with those things which haue bene spoken therfore I allow it although in yâ— other exposition I know there is no absurditie or discoÌ„moditie Here are two things to be noted first that yâ— lust which is remayning in vs is of Paul called sinne and such a sinne also that after it followeth death Which cannot be denied The luste which remayneth in vs is sinne after which followeth death Why God sendeth aduersities vpon his elect in infants that are baptised and yet die for if in them sinne were vtterly taken away death could haue no place Although in the elect which are nowe reconciled vnto God death and such other afflictions are not inflicted as paines but rather as a crosse sanctified of God and that by a fatherly chastisement we should vnderstaÌ„d how highly God is displeased with sinne and should be more and more called back vnto repentaunce and that death mought be in vs a way wherby should be extinguished whatsoeuer sinne is remainyng in vs. Wherfore although by reason of sinne death be said to haue place in vs for vnles it were death could by no meanes be yet followeth it not that it is inflicted vpon the godly and elect as a payne And God retayneth not anger againste those whoÌ„â— he receiueth into fauour An example of Dauid It lieth not in the sacrifisinge priestes
it should not desperation would easely succede For euen as the lawe ought alwayes to be ioyned with the Gospell so also ought feare to be euer ioyned with faith We do not so embrace the Gospel but that we alwayes thinke vpon the obedience of the commaundementes of God And when we see how often and how greeuously we fall we call our selues backe agayne to repentance And contrariwise the lawe is not to be receaued without the Gospell for if it should we could neither obey it without Christ nor also obtayne pardon for the offences which we haue committed against Paul calleth vs back from that feare which wanteth faith The propriety of the giftes of the holy ghost How many the giftes of the holy ghost are it Wherefore Paul calleth vs not backe vtterly from all feare of God but from that feare only which wanteth faith and which flieth from God as from an enemy and from a cruell tyranne But that feare which hath faith to moderate it can not be reproued For it is the gift of the holy ghost as we rede in the xi chapter of Esay And the property of the giftes of the holy ghost is that by them we remitte all our vertues and affectes to the moderation of faith and make them to serue God truly and sincerely And these giftes are commonly counted to be seuen And if a man demaunde how they proue that straight way they cite the 11. chapter of Esay But if we examine that place by the Hebrew verity we shall finde there only sixe giftes namely the spirite of wisdom of vnderstanding of counsell of fortitude of knowledge and of the feare of the Lord. But these men were deceaued by the lattine translation which followed not the Hebrew verity but the 70. interpreters For they betweene the spirite of knowledge and of feare haue put the spirite of piety 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is pertaining to the obedience of God Whereby it seemeth that they ment to interpretate what y◠feare of God should be which should light vpon the Messias of whome is in that place mencion made For that feare was neither seruile What manner of feare was in Christ nor filial but only an obedience piety and reuerence towardes God his father Neither haue the 70. only once so interpreted the feare of God For in the booke of Iob where we rede Fearinge God they haue turned it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Obeying God Howbeit vndoubtedly we ought not to contract into so narrow a number the giftes of the holy ghost to thinke them to be only sixe or seuen The nomber of the giftes of the holy Ghost◠is great For besides all those which are reckoned in that chapter the same Esay in an other place reckoneth the spirite of iudgement and of zeale and Zachary maketh mencion of the spirit of righteousnes and Paul here of the spirite of sanctification and Iohn of the spirite of truth Paul againe in an other place of the spirite of adoption and to the Ephesians of the spirite of promise and a greate many other like giftes And this so being let vs now see how both in this life and in the other life feare may haue place The Saintes when they are in heauen What manner of feare can be in those which are deade for that they shal then haue perfect charity properly to speake of feare as it is a motion stirred vp by reason of some greeuous euil that hangeth ouer vs shall haue no feare This doth Augustine confesse vpon the 5. Psalme vpon these wordes I will worship towardes thyne holy temple in thy feare But in them can only be that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 y◠is obedience reuerence worshipping piety towards God as the 70. haue expounded the spirite of the feare of the Lord. And so such a gift mought be found in Christ who otherwise coulde neither feare sinne nor hell fyre nor fatherly chastismentes of God And if a man would say that How Christ feared death he feared death that ought to be vnderstand of naturall feare of which we entreate not at this present And in this maner is Ambrose to be taken when in his booke of the holy ghost he affirmeth that the giftes of the holy ghost are in the Angels Out of which wordes the Scholemen gather that in them is the feare of God For doubtles seing they are in blessed state that can no otherwise be vnderstand but after that maner that I haue now spoken of But touching The saints so long as they liue here can not want the filiall feare the godly in this life we must thus be perswaded to thinke that they can not want the filial feare so that that feare be as I haue before tought in such sort vnderstand that they do not only flye from offending of God and are aferd of falles against his will but also are moued with the feare of hell fire and of the wrath of God and of punishmentes vnto which feare yet a quiet faith and confidence Threatninges in the law are not vaine but profite the saintes also in the mercy of God are as a present comfort For we ought not to thinke that the threatninges in the holy scriptures are vayne for they are profitable also vnto the godly especially when they haue not as yet obtayned perfect charity and absolute regeneration Christ saith vnto the Apostles I wyll shewe you whome ye shall feare namely him which when he hath killed the body can also send the soule into hell fire And Paul to the Corrinthyans bringeth forth examples of the Hebrewes in the olde tyme whereby he declareth that they for abusing the sacramentes of God were destroyed in the desert by which examples he ment to admonishe the Corrinthyans to beware of the like vengeance Many saith he are weake and many slepe And if we would iudge our selues we should not vndoubtedly be iudged But now forasmuch as we are iudged we are corrected of the Lord that we should not be condemned with this world And vnto the Phillippians With feare and with trembling worke your saluation And vnto the Romanes Be not ouer wise but feare Hereby we see that godly men liue not vpō the earth without the feare of God And here feare hath a respect vnto many kindes of euils For the godly are afeard of sinne of often fallinges of the wrath of God of fatherly chastismentes of scourges which God inflicteth also vpō his whē they sinne and finally of hell fire which they sée they haue deserued vnles God by his mercy and Christ by his sacrifice which he offred vpon the Crosse should helpe and succour vs. But what meaneth it that Iohn saith Perfect charity casteth out feare ▪ A place of Iohn declared I know there are some which interpretate those wordes in this sence That they which loue God truly are not afeard for piety sake to put themselues in al maner of dangers neither do
sayth That our light affliction which is in vs but for a tyme causeth vnto vs a farre most excellent and an eternall wright of glory In these words is declared By what meanes eternall life far passeth all our afflictions wherfore eternall life passeth al the trauailes of this life namely bycause of the waight diuturnity and greatenes For whatsoeuer thinges we suffer here are called of Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is momentary or during but for a time He addeth also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which wordes is shewed theyr lightnes But contrariwise vnto glory is attributed both eternity and also a wonderfull greate waight which excedeth all measure VVhich shall be reuealed tovvards vs. He saith yâ— this glory shal be reuealed Euen now we haue the frâ—icion of a great part of our glory although hidden Glory signifieth here our whole felicity that we should not thinke that presently we are quite voyde of it for we alredy possesse a greate part thereof although it be not as yet perfect nor manifest vnto the world So Paul speaketh to the Colossians Ye are dead with Christ and your life is hidden with Christe in God But when Christe your life shal appeare then also shall ye appeare together with hym in glorye And this is to be noted yâ— Paul in thys only word glory compreheÌ„deth our whole felicity which we wayt for And there in he followeth the iudgement of men which ar wont to esteme glory as the chiefe good thing Wherof also the philisophers thus affirm yâ— as yâ— shadow followeth yâ— body so doth glory follow true perfect vertue Wherefore glory compreheÌ„deth Glory followeth vertue Glory comprehendeth two things Why blessednes is nor reuealed in this life Similitudes Difference betwene the seruaÌ„ts of Christ the seruaÌ„ts of the world two things which ar excedingly to be desired first that a man be adorned with vertues secondly yâ— he get the good fame of the people But why the blessednes which we wayte for is not reueled in this life Chrisostome thinketh this to be the cause for that it farre passeth the state of thys life And Paul therefore the longer tarieth in the amplification thereof thereby the more to stirre vppe the Romanes to the suffring of afflictions For a souldier is excedingly strengthned to suffer perilles if he hope the victory shall be fruitefull and profitable And a marchaunt is not broken with any labours of sailing or traueling if he hope he shall thereby haue greate gayne Farther we ought to consider that the lot of the citesines of this world is farre diuers from yâ— lot of holy men which serue Christ For they with the greatnes of theyr labors go beyond those good things which they contend to attayne but we though we behaue our selues stoutelye and valiantly as Paul sayth yet are not our workes to be compared with that end which we set before vs. The examples of the Romanes will easely teach vs to vnderstand thys difference Brutus for the preseruation of the liberty of hys countrey did not sticke to slay hys owne children In which thing hereunto also Examples of the Ethnikes had he regard to attayne the prayse of a good citezen For thus writeth the Poete Virgill of hym Vicit amor patriae laudumque immensa cupido that is He was ouercome with the loue of his countrey and vnmesurable desire of prayse Those were the endes of the Ethnikes which were vndoubtedly very small and The endes that the Ethnikes set before them were small and slender Humaâ—ne prayse vnconstant not true sâ—lender For the liberty which they had a regard vnto was not such as is ours whereby we are deliuered from sinne from Sathan from death and from the wrath of God They sought humane prayse a thing doubties vnconstant and of small force But our end is to approue our selues vnto God whose iudgment can not be deceaued Torquatus also slew his owne sonne for that in fightinge agaynst the enemy he had violated the Law of warre Then we also to kepe the Law of God ought not to doubt wheÌ„ nede shall require to suffer all maner of most greauous tormentes For the Lawes of God are not to be compared with the Lawes of warre Camillus being banished out of his countrey valiantly afterward restored it being oppressed of yâ— Galles for that he thought he could not liue with more glory in any other place But a Christian counteth it not so wonderfull a fact which being hurt of any in the Church laying aside desire to auenge seketh by his endeuour to helpe his brother of whom he was hurt and to adorne the Church for out of it no man can liue holily nor attayne vnto eternall felicity Q â–ª Mutius Sceuola of hys owne accord thrust hys right hand into the fire for that it missed when it should haue smitten Porsena What meruayle is it then if a man to obteyne the kyngdome of heauen wyll offer vnto the fire not onely one of his hands but also his whole body to be burnt Curtius being armed at all poyntes and mounted vpon a horse threw himselfe of his owne accord into a gulfe of the earth that the citye of Rome might be deliuered from the pestilence For so had the oracle geuen answere that the wrath of the Godds would cease if that that which the Romanes estemed best were throwen into that gulfe We haue an oracle farre more certayne that they are not to be feared which kill the body but can not kill the soule The Decians vowed themselues to the death that theyr legions of souldiers might be preserued and get the victory Our Martirs also when they doo shed theyr bloud rather then they will be plucked away from the religion of Christ can not boast that they take in hand an enterprise not hard of before M. Puluillus when he should coÌ„secrate a temple vnto Iupiter and in the meane time worde was brought hym by enuious persons of the death of hys sonne was not one white abashed in mynde neyther ceased he of from that which he had begonne but commaunded that hys sonne beyng deade shoulde be caryed out and buryed What mynde then ought a Christian to haue when as he heareth the Lorde saye Suffer the dead to bury theyr dead Regulus when as he had sworne that he woulde returne vnto Carthage althoughe he knewe he shoulde be put to moste greauous tormentes yet woulde he not committe so foule a fact as to violate hys fayth Wherefore we also seing in Baptisme we haue publikely geuen our faith vnto Christ although for yâ— keping of it we should suffer all maner of euils yet ought we not to violate it Some will boast they haue contemned riches and haue for Christes sake taken vppon them a voluntary pouerly but these men thus boasting should call to mind Cincinnatus who after he had behaued himself honourably and done notable actes in his Dictatorship of his owne accord returned againe to till and
of the godly which are now departed this life there is no man that doubteth but that they are in most blessed estate And yet we reade in the Apocalipse The soules also of the saintes although they be blessed desire many thinges that they crye and pray vnto God to auenge the bloud which hath beneshed and with great feruētnes desire that the stole of their body being now corrupted may at the length be restored vnto them Wherefore both vnto angels and vnto blessed soules is such a felicity to be ascribed which excludeth not these kindes of affectiōs which the scripture signifieth to appartaine vnto them Which ought so much the les to be meruailed at when as we read in the scriptures that God himselfe the fountaine and beginning of all felicity is touched with repentaunce chaungeth his sentence and suffreth many other thinges which séeme not to be agréeable with his diuine nature But how those thinges are to be vnderstand neither entende we now to declare neither doth this place here require any such thing at our hands But it shal be sufficiēt briefely to say that vpon y◠Angels also may lyght such an effect as Paul here mencioneth in this place And although we as yet can not vnderstand how this should be no let vnto their felicitie yet is there no cause why we should deny but that it may be so But then at the length shall it be playne vnto vs when we our selues shal attayne vnto the selfe same felicitie In the meane tyme let vs beleue the holy Scriptures whiche testifie that the holy aungels haue in them such affections But how shall we vnderstād that How the Angels may be sayd to be subiect vnto vanity they are subiect vnto vanitie Easely ynough not in dede accordyng to the substaunce as they say of theyr owne nature but as touchyng those workes which God hath appoynted to be done by thē They are set ouer Cities kyngdomes prouinces as Daniell expressedly writeth yea also they are set ouer euery priuate man For Christ sayth Theyr Aungels alwayes see the face of my father And the Disciples in the Actes of the Apostles aunswered of Peter when he knocked at the doore It is his Aungell although some interpretate this place of the messenger of Peter And in Genesis the 48. chapter His aungell hath deliuered me from all euill These thinges proue that Aungels at the commaundement of God do seruice What is the ende whych the angels set before them in their gouernments also vnto priuate men But if we wil enquyre to what end the aungels gouerne kyngdomes prouinces cities and euery particular man and what they meane by their so great care and diligence we shall finde that theyr entent is nothyng els but that all men should obey their God and kyng and acknowledge worship and reuerēce him as their God Which thyng not takyng place and many forsakyng the true worshippyng of God and giuyng them selues to superstition and idolatry and contaminatyng them selues with sundry wicked factes the labour and diligence of the Angels is depriued of his end at the least way the secondary The endeuor or labor of the Angels is trustrated of his secondarye ende How the Aungels ar sayd to be deliuered from corruption The benefite of Christ after a sort pertaineth vnto the angels end and so they are after a sorte subiect vnto vanitie Whiche yet shall thē haue an ende when they shall be discharged of their gouernmentes But now let vs sée how the Aungels at that tyme shal be deliuered from the seruitude of corruption Althoughe their nature or as they vse to speake theyr substaunce be incorruptible and immortall yet haue they continually to do in matters transitory and mortall those thinges do they euermore renew and vphold or by the cōmaundement of God cause thē to be taken away and to be destroyed Farther y◠the benefite of Christ pertaineth also vnto the Angels Paul declareth vnto the Ephesiās and vnto the Coloss Vnto the Ephesians the. 1. chapter he sayth Accordyng to the good pleasure whiche he had purposed in hym selfe euen vnto the dispensation of the fulnes of tymes through Christ to make new agayne all thynges both whiche are in heauen and whiche are in earth And to the Colossians the. 1. chap. It hath well pleased the father that in hym should dwell all fulnes and by hym to reconcile all thinges to himselfe and to set at peace through the bloud of hys crosse both the thynges in heauen and the thynges in earth Chrisostome interpretatyng these wordes sayth That without Christ the Angels were offended with vs so that these two natures namely of Angels and of men were seioyned and alienated the one from the other For the celestiall spirites could not but hate the enemyes of theyr God But when Christ came as a mediatour men were now agayne gathered together so that they had one and the selfe same head with the Aungels and were made the members of one and the self same body with them Wherfore Christ is rightly sayd to be he by whō is made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is our recapitulation or renewyng Farther it is possible that other commodities also haue by the death of Christ come vnto y◠Angels whiche yet we easely perceaue not by the Scriptures neither entende we here to searche them out Wherfore we say y◠Paul with great wayght and vehemency of speach applieth Paul with great vehemency of speach applieth seuce or feeling vnto creatures sense and féelyng vnto all creatures as if they felt grief and sorrow for that they are in such sorte obnoxious vnto the abuses of vngodly men For the cōfusion of thyngs in thys estate is not so darke For the godly are euery wher in euill case and vnworthely entreated But the vngodly aboūd in all maner of prosperitye and all thinges frame vnto them as they would them selues In this great confusion godly men ought to be of a valiaunt courage and patiently to wayte for the end of these matters The Epycures and Atheistes when they sée all things done The opinion of the Atheists touching God so cōfusedly straight way reason that God hath no care at all of mortal affaires as whiche is neither moued with fauour nor with hatred and doth to no man either good or euill But contrarywise the godly thus recken with them selues that for asmuch as God by his prouidence gouerneth moderateth all thinges it will one day come to passe that thinges shall come to a better stay the world as it was instituted to the honour of God shall after a better maner be corrected Contrary opinion of the godly and brought to that forme wherby God shall be more and more illustrated And hereof springeth an incredible consolation that for asmuch as we sée all the creatures of God subiect to so many discommodities we also after their example confirme In aduersities the godly are comforted by the
example of creatures For foure causes creatures are saide to morne our selues vnto patience Sithen the whole world is vexed with so many calamities it is mete also that we with a quyet minde beare afflictions when they light vpon vs. And there may be foure reasons geuen why we thinke creatures to be vexed and to morne The first is for that they are wearied with continuall labours to serue our dayly vses Hereof it oftentimes commeth to passe that when as we whiche thyng many tymes happeneth greuously sinne they suffer punishementes together with vs whiche is not hard to sée in the flood in Sodom and in the plages of Egypt Farther there is a certaine Sympathia that is a coÌ„passion or féelyng together betwene all creatures and man by meanes wherof in aduersitie they sigh and morne together with him Last of all there is great iniury done vnto them in that they are compelled to serue vncleane and wicked men Vnto whiche thyng Ose the Prophet had a regard as we before declared wheÌ„ in the person of God he sayd I will take away my wheate my wyne and myne oyle will set at libertie my wooll my thred that they may not couer thy filthynes Ambrose in many places maketh on this side In his Epistle to Horantianus entreatyng of this place of Paul by an induction he sheweth that euery creature By a large induction â—â— shewed that creatures mourne foâ— our sakes mourneth wayteth for the reuelation of the sonnes of God And he begynneth at the soule The soule saith he caÌ„ not but be afflicted mourne when it seeth it selfe closed vp in the body as in a certayn vile cotage and that not with his will but by reason of hym which hath made it subiect For the purpose of God was that it should be ioyned together with the body that by the vse of it it might one day attayne some fruites worthy the trauailing for For Paul in the latter to the Corrinth sayth That we shall all be set before the iudgemeÌ„t seat of Christ that euery maÌ„ may cary away those thinges which he hath done thorough the body whither it be good or euill He saith also in yâ— self same Epistle That we sigh so loÌ„g as we are in this earthly habitacle not for that we would be cleane spoysed of it but rather to haue it ouer clothed And Ambrose citeth out of the Psalmes That maÌ„ is made like vnto vanity and that man is whole vanity Wherunto I thinke is thys added yâ— we mighte vnderstaÌ„d yâ— thys waight of the body these grieues which Dauid coÌ„playneth to come vnto the soule by reason of the body came not by the institutioÌ„ of God but rather crept in by reason of sinne For otherwise the body was not geuen vnto the soule as a graue or prison as some fayne but as an instrument most apt to the accomplishing of most excellent The body was not at the beginning geuen vnto man as a prison actes moste notable enterprises Ambrose goeth on in his inductioÌ„ sayth that the Sunne Moone and the rest of the starres are wearied with theyr continual course and the inferior creatures also for our sakes labour But he sayth that thys they doo not with an vnwilling mynde for that they vnderstand that the sonne of God for our sakes toke vpon hym the forme of a seruant and by hys death procured theyr life and sauegard Farther he sayth that for this cause they comfort themselues for that one day they shall be deliuered and theyr labors shall one day haue an end Wherfore if I may declare my iudgement touching these matters I somewhat doubt first whether the sonne and Moone and rest of the starres labor in theyr courses Farther I thinke Ambrose Ambrose speaketh figuratiuelye spake figuratiuely that all creatures with a quiet mynde beare those their griefes for that they know that Christ the sonne of God for our saluation hath suffred the ignominye of the crosse and death Nether suppose I this to be without a figure in that he sayth that they by thys meanes comfort themselues for that they vnderstand that theyr labours shall one day be finished and that they shall be repayred and renewed Last of all he maketh mencion of the Angelles and sayth that they are not glad in punishing of wicked men for that they are touched with mercy had rather to adorne with benefites then to afflicte with punishemeÌ„ts especially seing as Christ in Luke sayth that the Angelles excedingly reioyce ouer one sinner that repenteth The same Ambrose expounding thys place sayth that the anxietye of creatures shall so long last vntill the nomber of them be full which shall be saued And to be subiect vnto vanity he interpretateth to be mortal and transitory Wherefore How long this mourning of creatures shall last vanity is in that place after hys mind that mortality wherby all creatures in such sort labor and therefore with it are compelled continually to wrastle so Salomon not without iuste cause sayde Vanity of vanities and all things are vanity The commentaries which are ascribed vnto Ierome seme not much to disagree from the sentence of Augustine but that they by euery creature vnderstaÌ„d the whole nomber of the iust euen from Adams time Which nomber of saints together with our first parent they say doo earnestly wayte for the reuelation of the sonnes of God that they also as the epistle to the Hebrues declareth may be made perfect with vs Origen mencioneth certayne thinges touching the minde which is the chiefest parte of our soule whiche he sayth sigheth and wyth greate payne sorroweth for that it is compelled continually to abase it selfe to serue the manifold and sundry necessities of the body But Chrisostome playnlye maketh on our side and confesseth that Paul here vseth the figure Prosopopaeia which figure is very much vsed in the holy scriptures For the prophetes and The prophets and Psalmes very oftentimes attribute sence vnto things insensible Psalmes somtimes commaund the floods and wods to clap with theyr hands sometimes they bring in the hilles daunsing and the mountaines leaping for ioye not that in very dede they ascribe motion and sence vnto thinges insensible but to signify that that good thinge which they commend is so great that it ought to pertayne also to creatures vtterlye without sence and â—ealinge The prophetes also are wont sometimes to bring in woodes vine trées the earth it selfe and other of the elementes mourning and howling also the roufes of houses and of temples cryeng the more vehemently to aggrauate that euill which they describe Nether ought it to seme straunge if Paul follow these phrases of the Prophets especially seing that in both of them was one and the selfe same spirite of God Nether is it hard to shewe how our miseries redound also vnto creatures For when maÌ„ was adiudged vnto the curse the earth also was condemned to be accursed and to be
men famous and notable in the church of great antiquity as Papias Ireneus Iustinus Martir Victorinus Lactantius Tertullian and a great many other famous ecclesiasticall writers whō I ioyne not with Cherinthus for he sowed abroade many other errors touchynge our sauiour For vnto this opinion which these fathers were of he added a double impiety First that the saintes shall so raigne together with Christ in this lyfe that they shall aboundātly haue the fruicion of all the pleasures of the body which is nothing els but again with lustes drunkennes gluttony such other filthines to contaminate nature renued by the resurrection His other errour was that in that kingdom of Christ the ceremonies of the law and sacrifices of Moses shal be put in vre againe which errors none of the fathers whom we haue now mencioned followed Neither should it be any hard matter to confute that pestilent opinion by the Scriptures But because we haue in an other place at large done y◠we wil cease at this time to speak any more therof Onely this thinge I will adde which August in his 20. booke De ciuitate Dei the 7. cha writeth If these men had sayd that Christ in that space of a thousand yeares wyll bestow vpō hys saints some celestiall good gyfts theyr sentēce should haue bene the more tollerable In which place he signifieth that he also was once of A place of the Apocalipse the same opinion howbeit afterward weighing things better he iudged that that place of the Apocalips wherehence all that suspicion semed to spring is otherwise to be expounded namely by those thousand yeares to vnderstand al y◠time which passeth from the ascencion of Christ vnto his last iudgement neither ought the nūber of a thousand yeares any thing to offend vs. For it is common in the holy scriptures By a nomber certaine is signified a nomber vncertaine by a number certaine and definite to signifie an other number vncertayne and indefinite Which thing although it may by many other places be proued yet here it shall be sufficient to note only two Christ saith vnto the Apostles he which forsaketh his house or father or mother or chyldren or wyfe or brethrē c. shall receyue an hundreth fold Where by an hundreth folde we vnderstand a certaine great and in a maner infinite recompence So God promiseth in the law That he woulde do good vnto them that serue hym vnto a thousand generations Which signifieth nothing els but vnto their posterity for a very long tyme. Wherfore Christ as Augustine thinketh raigneth with his saintes all this whole time which is signified by the number of a thousand yeres But how Sathā may be said to be in this time bound it is not so easy to declare for euen now also y◠church of Christ is by him greuously vexed But Augustine thinketh y◠he is therfore bound for y◠his strenghths are Sathan is sayd to be bound because hys strengths are broken broken Christ hath ouercome the strong armed mā so y◠he can not now in such sort rage as he would especially for y◠he cannot prohibite y◠electe predestinate vnto eternal life frō their apointed saluatiō Although as touching this also before Christ ascended vp into heauē Sathan was no lesse letted then he is now so y◠he could not disturbe the elect frō eternal lyfe But here may be answered y◠they which Why Sathan is said to be more bound now thē he was before the death of Christ were in y◠state were before Christes tyme few in number For the deuill ranged spoiled in a maner euery where throughout the whole world except it wer certain of the Israelites a few others But now since the Gospell was spred abroad thoroughout the whole world the power and strength of Sathan is much more restrayned which may sufficiently appeare by the ceasyng of the oracles and by the ouerthrow of idolatry in a manner euery where Wherfore I thinke with Augustine that thys innouation of creatures shall not serue to that vse that the saintes should vse thē liuing with Christ in any temporall kingdom in the world And as for the prophesies of the Prophets which ar euery where set foorth touching The Prophesies of the Prophets touching the kingdome of Christ ar metaphoricall The Prophets themselues declared that they spake metaphoricallye the kingdome of Christ and make mencion of certayne carnal thinges and belong to an earthly kingdome they are so to be taken that we vnderstand that by such metaphors as the honor and maiesty of our kingdoms is thought to consist is described the kingdome of Christ which he now exerciseth in the Churche and whiche in the daye of iudgemente he shall with greate power shew forth Which thing the prophets thēselues haue sufficiently signified whē they enterlaced many things which farre passe al credite and excede the course of thinges humane For there they playnly declare that they speake metaphorically But to returne to our purpose we suppose that the world as touchinge his nature and substaunce shall not vtterlye pearishe but rather as writeth Esay Peter and the booke of the Apocalipse and Paul in thys place shal be renewed And of thys renouation there are set forth two principall conditions the The conditions of the renouation of the world one is immortality and the other light The Scholemen haue noted that that light shall not be such which shall cause heate for if it should so doo all thinges should sone be dried vp and burnt And oftentimes there is found light which engendreth not heate for there are many precious stones most bright whiche Not euery light maketh warm geue no heate at all These thinges beinge thus declared let vs consider of the other partes of the world whether they also shal be preserued as plantes precious stones mettalls brute beastes and such other like thinges The Scholemen thinke that man which is the principallest part of the world being renewed other creatures also shal be restored Which saying is most true for it is gathered out of the sayinges of Paul But as touching the partes they thinke that only the heauen and the elementes the bodies of men shall remayne But the reason which they aleadge for themselues is in my iudgement very weake for they affirme that those thinges onely shall haue immortality which were A reason of the Scholemen after a sort made apt thereunto as is a celestiall body which is altogether simple nether is changed by contrary qualities The elementes also although as touching partes they are engendred and corrupted yet as touchinge the whole they alwayes abide So say they also of man who although he haue a transitory body yet he hath an immortall soule yea rather euen the body it selfe was so composed at the beginning that it had possibility not to dye Wherefore it shall not be absurd to ascribe vnto it also immortality But
nature of carnall generation And by this second example also Paul ascendeth Workes propagation of the fleshe are remoued away in the latter example higher neither remoueth he away only carnall generation from the cause of the efficacy of the promise of God but also workes For he sayth that those infantes were not yet brought forth to light neither had done either good or euill neither were they therefore seperated the one from the other that the one should be reiected the other elected that the one should be loued of God and the other hated Of these two thinges the Hebrues were accustomed continually to boast as of thinges most excellent namely nobility of bloud holynes of workes The one of theÌ„ Paul had now before remoued away now also he remoueth away workes When they were not yet borne neither had done any good or euill The Apostle entendeth in this place to set forth certayne thinges from which humane reason excedingly abhorreth for first he sayth that the mere goodnes and clemeÌ„cy of God is the ground of election Which thing men for that they to much Two things here entreated of â–ª from which humane reasoÌ„ excedingly abhorreth delight in themselues to much loue themselues do not easely graunt For they would rather appoint the groundes of their saluation in themselues and not gladly committe the same wholy vnto God Farther he sayth that this liberality and mercy of God is vtterly frée from all lawes so that it is bound to no man but that it fréely either reiecteth or electeth whom it will Here also is our reason excedingly offended for vnto men it séemeth equity that seing all men are of a like estate and condition God should also haue towardes all men a like and equall inclination for that they say longeth to iustice Wherefore they seme couertly to accuse Our soules liued not before they were ioined to the bodies God as an accepter of persons Farther by these wordes of the Apostle is condemned their error which thought that our soules either sinned or liued iustly before they were thrust into the bodyes for if it were so then had not the Apostle sayde rightly before they had done either good or euill Of that opinion was Origen thorough to muche following the doctrine of Plato Wherefore we muste holde that our soules had no being before they were ioyned vnto the bodyes For they could not haue liued idely and if they had done any thing the same doubtles should haue bene either iust or vniust and so they had done either some good or some euill But they which thinke that God in his election followeth workes foresene deny that they are by these sentences of the Apostle confuted For in that Paul sayth that God elected the one of these and reiected the other before they were borne that they say is to be referred to the singular sharpenes of the sight of God which séeeth those things which shall come to passe long time before they haue their being But the Apostle when as he straight way addeth that the election should abide according to purpose semeth not to haue had a respect vnto workes foresene but only to the singular will of God But neither by this do they confesse themselues to be confuted They affirme that the election of God is gouerned by foreknowledge whereby Against theÌ„ which think that election consisteth of works foresene when as he foreséeth what maner one euery man shall be so he either reiecteth or electeth euery one The selfe same thing also affirme they of the purpose of God that it ought to be iust and therefore ought to be moderated by the foreknowledge of workes and that for that cause it is called purpose because that that shall vndoubtly and immutably come to passe which God foreséeth But if it were so as these men imagine Paul ought then to haue sayd that vnto workes and merites should abide their dew honor which yet he saith not but opposeth vnto them the election and purpose of God And he expressedly addeth Not of workes and as it were euen of purpose denieth that which these men so earnestly endeuor themselues to obtrude wherfore thus to thinke semeth to be nothing els then to swim against the streame and manifestly to fight against the purpose of the Apostle For Paul to the end that nothing should want to confirme that which we say namely that the election of God is the chief cause of our saluation addeth But of him that calleth Whereby we vnderstand that our saluation There ought not to be put in man any thyng that is good which shold moue the will of God to elect him wholy dependeth of him which electeth and calleth vs. And it is verye absurde to set in man any thing so good that can moue the will of God to elect vs for whatsoeuer good thing is in man the same wholy procedeth from God vnles we wil say that there may be some thing that is good which is not of God which were to make of a creature a God And if they graunt that all good thinges which men either shall do or can do do proceede from God then also doubtles must they nedes confesse and graunt that God distributeth not these thinges rashly or by chaunce or vnaduisedly But now if these things be destributed God in no wise dâ—stributeth his gifteâ— rashly The things which God geueth vnto vs are not the causes of election by the election and predestination of God then can they not be yâ— causes of election or of predestination Farther the Apostle a litle afterward so referreth all things to the wil of God yâ— he vtterly excludeth our wil for he saith I will haue mercy on whome I will haue mercy and will shew compassion on whome I will shew compassion Wherefore it is not either of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that hath mercy And that we should not take it ill for that God after this maner dealeth with vs he vseth a similitude of the potter which of one and the selfe same masse maketh one vessel to honor and an other to contumely and he addeth That the clay yet can not complayne of his maker Moreouer it is a thing dangerous and not agreeable with a godly man to assigne that Our wil also is excluded from being the cause of the election of God If this should be put to be the cause of saluatioÌ„ â–ª neither so doutles should humane reason be satisfieâ— to be the cause of the election of God which is neither put of Paul when yet he of purpose entreateth of that matter neither is any where extant in all the whole scriptures For that is to imagine vnto our selues that which semeth to be agreeable vnto our reason and besides that neither doubtles can thys imagination in all pointes satisfy humane reason For Augustine against the two epistles of the Pelagians in his 2. booke and 7. chapter
if they should be receaued he saith Grace can no more be grace And thus much touching Chrisostome Now let vs sée what Ieromes minde is touching this matter He in his 10. question to Hedibia The opinioÌ„ of Ierome beginneth doubtles in my iudgement not very souÌ„dly For he saith that this is a most obscure place when as otherwise in the wordes of the Apostle as touching the question there is no ambiguity at all But he and other such like make the thing obscure whilest they labour to eschew more theÌ„ is nedeful the offence of humane We must not pretend any obscurenes in this chapter reason For Paul if a man haue a regard to the grammaticall sence if in any other place then moste of all in this place obserued both in his interrogation and answere and prospiâ—uous placing of his wordes whatsoeuer mought seme requisite And should be not a litle contumelius against the holy ghost if he would of purpose haue so obscured the doctrine concerning the principall ground of our saluation so that we should not be able to vnderstand it For in this place is entreated Here is entreated of the chiefe promise of our saluatioÌ„ of a matter which is of all other of most waight namely to what thing we ought to attribute our saluation and election whether to our workes foresens or to the frée mercy of God Ierome vsing this for his preface turneth himselfe afterward to reproue Origen howbeit he leueth his name vnexpressed For Origen labouring to iustify God as touching the loue of Iacob and hatred of Esau which as yet had done neither good nor euil sayth yâ— that came to passe by reason of those Plato Pithagoras things which their soules had done before they came into their bodies For of those merites it coÌ„meth yâ— meÌ„ in this life are of diuers estates These things Ierome worthely reproueth For they pertain not to Christian piety but to the doctrine of Plato and of Pithagoras For they fayned sondry courses departures returnes of the soules Why do we not rather saith Ierome confesse our own ignorance This sentence as I commend so also se I that it is not alwayes kept of him which spake it For if he would haue bene content with a godly ignorance he had not fained imagined those questions and suppositioÌ„s of Paul which in very déede are none at all But he would not that the Apostle should seme to haue tought these thinges contrary to common sence For when Paul had said Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated and afterward had added What is there iniquity wyth God and had made answere Ieromes discourse vpon this place God forbid proued by testemonies of the scriptures that God tempereth and moderateth his election according to his wil mercy and power Ierome sought to bow and to wrest those thinges which Paul had most simply spoken as if they were importunatly obiected vnto Paul by way of interrogation as though when Paul had answered God forbid the importunate caueler should go on and say If God sayd vnto Moses I wyll haue mercy on whome I wyll haue mercy and wyll shew compassion on whome I wyll shew compassion then shall it not now be neither of hym that wylleth nor of hym that runneth but of God that hath mercy And if he to thys ende raysed vp Pharao to declare in him hys power what could he then do wythall And if we be as clay in the hand of the potter why do we yet complayne Who can resist hys wyll Shall there be nothing remayning of free wyll Let Paul make answere to these impudent obiections what art thou o man which thus reasonest wyth God Euen by thyne owne malepertnes thou mayst sufficiently vnderstand that thou art not as clay in the hand of the potter For the clay complayneth not of hys maker but thou I wyll not say greuously complaynest but also powrest out blasphemy agaynst the creator and callest hym vniust and euen in thys thou declarest that thou hast free wyll when as thou speakest what thou list yea euen agaynst God himselfe And if God woulde by his greate patience long suffer Pharao and declare his mercy towardes others he is not therefore to be accused of thee the faulte is rather to be layde vppon the sinnes of men For euen as by one and the selfe same heate of the sunne clay is made hard and waxe made soft so by one and the selfe same goodnes of God some are made more obstinate and other some returne to health And therefore were the Gentles admitted into saluation for that they receaued the fayth of Christ and the Iewes were for saken and reiected for that they resisted that fayth Wherefore not the men themselues but theyr wylles are elected Wherfore by these thinges it is euident that Ierome also was of that mynde that the election of God dependeth of the wyll and workes of men And toward the An interpretation of an author not named end of this tenth question he sayth that he had red in a certaine author whose name yet he kepeth in silence that the Apostle doth not only not dissolue the question but also maketh it more intricate by testimonies of the scriptures and reproueth the curious inquisitor after this maner O man what art thou forsoth clay in the hand of the potter Wherefore kepe downe this thy malepertnes with eternall silence and be mindfull of the infirmity which is in man As touching This question caÌ„ not so be dissolued to satisfie humane reason Ierome vpon Malachy yâ— dissolution of the question if Ierome meane of that wherin humane wisdome may be satisfied we also do graunt that the question is not dissolued but if he speake of that kind of solution which ought to be sufficient vnto Christian piety and which may be had in this life there is nothing wanting to this dissolution Of the selfe same matter Ierome vpon Malachy expounding the place which we are now in hand with writeth after this maner The loue and hatred of God is either of foreknowledge or of workes For those God loueth whome he seeth to be haters of sinne and those he hateth whome he seeth wyll build vp those thynges which he wyll haue to be ouerthrowen Finally he saith that God is sayde to loue or to hate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â–ª that is after the maner of men euen as he is sayde to be angry to be sory to reioyce and therefore is he sayd to hate the wicked that we shoulde eschew those thinges whiche we know he hateth I know also that the Rabines of the Hebrues and especially Chimhi when they expound this place of Malachy do runne vnto workes But although in properties phrases of wordes I iudge those men worthy som what to be estemed yet as touching the sence of scripture and doctrine I do not geue much credit vnto them For they are vtterly blinded neither will they
And being taught by the holy scriptures we acknowledge it to be vtterly How the wils of men are the selfe same how they are not the selfe same corrupted and vitiated And as touching this we do not without iust cause affirme that the willes of all men are a like for all are brought forth out of one and the selfe same lompe Afterward when men come to more yeares wherein is had the vse of the will we say that endeuores and desires of all men are the selfe same not indede simply for there are diuers endeuors and sundry enterprises but all to euill in as muche as they are gouerned by the lawe of sinne For being left distitute of the grace of God they can bring forth nothing of themselues but sinnes Howbeit herein we acknowleged diuersity of wils for y◠vnto all men are not offred the self same occasiōs For euery one hath his impulsions according to the consideration either of education or of the body or of the workes or of the place or of the time By meanes whereof it commeth to passe Originall sinne bursteth forth into sundry formes of sinnes that originall sinne bursteth forth into sondry formes of vices But whereas he sayth that the vessels of the potter haue not theyr difference of the lompe whereof they are made but only of the appoyntmēt of them which vse them and that men in like sort haue theyr differences of the diuersity of elections and of wils that doubtles is not true For the vessels of the potter are not first made differēt by theyr vse but by the workemanshippe of the potter For men therefore vse them not a like bycause they are made hauing diuers formes So men before What is the first sundring of mē that they are sundred by theyr desires and willes are first sundred by the predestination or reprobation of God If a man diligently weighe the similitude which Paul bringeth to come to him agayne at the length leuing Chrisostome he shall se that there could not haue bene found a similitude more apte and more mete for the question put forth For the matter which the potter vseth is so vile How apt the similitude of the potter is and abiect that if peraduenture there be of it made any fayre or trime vessel appoynted for the table or for some other honorable vse the same is wholy to be ascribed vnto the industry and conning of the potter But when contrariwise of the clay are made pots for the kitchen the matter cannot complayne that it hath iniury done vnto it For it was of his own nature most abiect Yea rather when as it is appoynted to be made so vile vessels it can not deny but that hys so deformed nature hath receaued greate ornamentes But if a goldsmith or a lapidary should of gold or precious stones make any vessel to serue for a vile vse he mought worthely be blamed for that he had delt so vily and vnworthely with so precious a matter For so the Ethnike Poete reproued Bassus for that he by reason of to much sumpteousnes eased nature in a potte of gold Wherefore Paul considered that mā after sinne was made both as touching the body and also as touching the soule so abiect and vile that if he be by the election of God exalted to the dignity of eternall glory the same he ought wholy to assigne not to the excellency of his nature which now by reason of sinne is brought into a most miserable estate but vnto the most excellent cunning woorkeman But if any man be in the election of God ouerhipped and be made a vessell of wrath yet can not therefore the predestination of GOD be blamed as though he reiected a worthy creature vnder his desertes Wherefore not with out iust cause doo we finde this metaphore so oftentymes repeted in the holye Scriptures For being well considered it ministreth excellent doctrine For that is in my iudgement a notable place whiche is in the 56. chapiter of Esay where the A place of Esay Prophete humblye prayeth vnto GOD vnder the person of the people afflicted with the captiuity of Babilon Thou sayth he art our father but we are claye thou art the potter and we the worke of thine handes The people coulde not more aptly confesse their vilenes and vnworthines or more expresse the mercy which they implored at Gods hand then by that similitude taken of the potter and of the father For when God is called a potter thereby is signified that he both is able and knoweth how of vile men to make them glorious and when he is called a father thereby is declared that he beareth such good will towardes hys that he will also performe that thing Wherefore it is not lawful for the potte as the Apostle concludeth to contend with his maker that is to chide with The things whiche Paul hath spoken may be extended farther God for that it is not appoynted to serue a kinges table And although these thinges which Paul here writeth pertayne chiefly to election and predestinatiō yet way they extend farther to our edification so that of these wordes we may gather that it is not lawfull for vs to complayne of our estate and as it were to contend with God If the flesh suggest vnto vs that it were better for vs to be richer to be endewed with greater honour and to haue more strength of body let vs streight way suppresse it by this similitude that we are as clay in the hand of the potter Being warned or admonished by this consideration we shall not dare to complayne of our estate or to grudge aganst the vntemperatenes of the heauen or of the ayre or agaynst the administration of any other things For what thing ells is this but for the clay to go aboute to prescribe lawes vnto the potter Wherefore let man remember his estate and seing that he is euē vanity it self it is not mete that he should take vpon him to contend with God What meditation may make men very moderate Wherehēc◠consolation is to be sought for in aduersities who is most good and most mighty Dauid in the 38. Psalme sayth I was domme and I opened not my mouth bycause thou madest me Thys is a most firme reason wherunto we must in all chances of mans life perpetually cleaue namely that whatsoeuer happeneth is done by the commaundement and will of God Such a meditacion maketh men in prosperity moderate neyther suffreth it them to waxe insolent For when they remember that they are as clay in the hand of the potter streight way they vnderstand that all those thinges may euen at one instāt be turned vpside down and that that felicity may be turned into extreme misery Agayne being in aduersities vpholden by this consolation they are not discouraged And so much the rather when they vnderstand that that most cunning potter can sodenly change claye being in extreame infelicitye into a vessell of
although they haue still a certaine print of the image of God do certayne works Why strangers from Christ are called wâ—lde oliue trees What the grafting into the good oliue tâ—e is which are goodly to the shew yet notwithstanding they are not acceptable before God and the things which they do are barren yea rather they are sinnes before God Farther the grafting into the good trée whereof is now made mencion semeth to be nothing els but the communion of the Saintes which in the article of our faith we confesse For this we ought to know that whatsoeuer grace and good gifts are geuen vnto vs are not geuen only for our owne sakes but to helpe to the saluation and edification of others Which thing if Christians would in these dayes diligently weigh with themselues there should be les selfe loue and misery in the Church Neither is this to be passed ouer that in this place is reproued the In this allegory are reproued the Iewes wickednes of the Iewes which were not by their holy first fruits chaunged as a whole lompe of dough is commonly chaunged by leuen though it be neuer so litle and they would not imitate their roote but miserably degenerated from it We may when we heare that the braunches are broken of thereby gather that the The promise is not bound vnto any kinred nor to the fleshe election and promise of God is not so bound to any stocke or to the flesh that none can be damned which come of godly parents which thing also was before declared in Esau Ismaell which were borne of Abraham of Isaack And when the Apostle saith that the Gentles were wild oliue trées he not only putteth down their pride and arrogancy but his words also are of great force to prouoke the Hebrues to emulation when they heare that the good fat and fertile iuyce of their oliue trée is participated vnto wild oliue trées that is vnto the Gentiles which had before bene filthy idolaters This I say mought haue stirred vp the Iewes to repentaÌ„ce if they had had any consideration And he thought it not inough to say Thou art grafted into the good oliue tree but he also addeth and art made pertaker of the fatnes of the oliue tree that the Gentles Gould vnderstand that they were not only in name made the people of God but were in very déede made partakers of grace and of the spirit and of heauenly gifts Let vs moreouer consider that this grafting in which the Apostle now entreateth of is contrary as Ambrose noteth to to the maner of naturall husbandry wherein a good science or graft is taken and grafted into a barren and wild tree namely that by the fatte and fruitfull sappe of the good graft might be ameÌ„ded the barenes and wildnes of that stocke whereinto it is grafted But here it is contrary The tree that is the body of the Church and the society of the godly is good but the graftes are vnfruitfull This grafting in is contrary to naturall grafting barren and wild oliue trees Neither could it be otherwise for whatsoeuer is found without Christ and his body how glorious so euer it be can not but be wicked and vncleane And to boast against the braunches is to reioyce in their fall If God thereby bring commodity then in that respect we may reioyce but to reioyce for the fall of any man we can not lawfully vnles rashly and per accidens as they speake that is by chaunce Thou bearest not the roote but the roote thee They which fight against their roote can not stand loÌ„g themselues This place of the Apostle also teacheth An argumeÌ„t against iustification by workes vs that vnto our iustification are not required merites of workes and naturall endeuors for the wild oliue tree can by no meanes graft it selfe in Wherefore as we are begotten of an other without any our help and as trees are grafted of others so we are through Christ iustified of God without any merites Moreouer by those words is declared as we also before sayde that we had not bene grafted in vnles the Iewes had first fallen as graftes are not grafted in vnles first be cut away somewhat from the tree Farther Origen noteth that by thys doctrine is confuted Valentinus and his disciples who thought that the soules An error or the Valentinian heretikes are in kind distinct and that some of them are so good and as they spake golden that they can by no meanes be damned howsoeuer they liue and whatsoeuer they do Other soules they thought to be by nature euill so that they could by no meanes attaine vnto felicity but yet by their labours and good workes they might at the length so profite that they might be brought to a midle estate where should be some refreshing but not the chiefe felicity Wherfore they sayd that they were spirituall perfect and mere gold so that although they committed many vncleane and absurd thinges yet they sayd they lost not their holines for gold though it be neuer so much couered with durt ceasseth A similitude not to be gold But they exhorted others to do good workes namely for that they should nede them if at yâ— least they would attayne vnto the middle estate And of this pestilente doctrine Iereneus maketh mencion in his first booke Paul now contrary to this pestiferous doctrine saith yâ— branches cut of froÌ„ a wild oliue tre may be grafted into a good oliue tre Origen after yâ— he had confuted these men doubteth that forasmuch as we affirme yâ— the nature of the soules is one the selfe same how we can as Paul now teacheth defend the double tree the good oliue tree I say the wild oliue tree He answereth vnto this question by a similitude A similitude All the bodyes saith he that are in the worlde as touching that they are a body communicate in nature neither differ they one from an other but out of euery nature of them arise and spring many properties and conditions whereby they beginne to differ from others and do indeede much differ from them And in this maner the celestiall bodyes are distinguished from the elementes and the elements from corruptible liuing creatures and agayne those liuing creatures from the plants so saith he happeneth it as touching the soules all are endued with one and the selfe same faculty of free will where out wheÌ„ some bring forth faith vertues good works they make a good tre when as coÌ„trariwise some out of the liberty of the will wherewith they are endued do bring forth impiety sins euill works therby they are made wild oliue trees and by this meanes he ascribeth the whole diuersity distinctioÌ„ of trees yâ— one froÌ„ the other vnto fre wil. And to confirme his senteÌ„ce he bringeth that saying of Christ out of the Gospel Eyther make the tree good and his fruites good or the tree euill
not payde And as touching that place we first desire that our sinnes should be forgeuen vs. And because that by benefites receaued men are encouraged to hope that they shall receaue other and greater benefites therefore is this the meaning of that sentence O father which hast of thy goodnes geuen vs grace to forgeue iniuries vnto our trespassers forgeue vnto vs also our sinnes by these wordes also is not signified a cause but a similitude although that similitude be not perfect and absolute For there is none that is wise that will haue his sinnes so forgeuen him of God as he hath forgeuen his neighbour the iniuries that he hath done vnto him For euerye one by reason of the fleshe and that infirmity whiche it carieth about forgeueth much les vnto his brother then he ought For there alwayes sticketh in his minde some offence which although it burst not forth yet his owne conscience is a sufficient witnes vnto himselfe that his minde is not very perfect towardes him by whome he hath ben hurte But the former exposition teacheth that the similitude is to be referred not vnto remission but vnto the liberality of God that euen as he hath geuen the one so also he will vouchsafe to geue the other But whereas it is sayd Forgeue and it shal be forgeuen that is a commaundement and therfore pertaineth vnto the lawe But thou wilt obiect that that sentence is written in the Gospell and not in the lawe That is no thing at all for the lawe and the Gospell are not seperated The law the Gospell are not seperated by volumes or bookes In what maner we ought to forgeue iniuries a sonder by volumes or bookes For bothe in the olde Testamente are contayned the promises of the Gospell and also in the Gospell the lawe is not only comprehended but also most perfectly by Christ expounded Wherfore by those words we are coÌ„maunded to forgeue iniuries done vnto vs. And forasmuch as we are bound to do yâ— according to the prescript of the law that law dependdeth of this great precept Thou shalt loue the lord thy God with all thy hart with all thy soule and with all thy strengthes according to yâ— forme therfore we ought to forgeue our enemies which thing because no man hath at any time performed neither can performe it followeth that we ought to flye vnto Christ by whome we may be iustified by faith and afterward being iustified may after a sort accomplishe that which is commaunded Which although we do not perfectly performe yet it pleaseth God and he fréely geueth vnto vs the promise annexed vnto it not Redeme thy sinnes with almes is expounded because of our workes or for our merites but only for Christes sake They go about also to blind our eyes with the wordes of Daniell wherein he exhorted the king to redeme his sinnes by almes But in that place by sinnes we may vnderstand the paynes and punishementes due vnto sinne For the scripture vseth oftentimes such phrases of speach Which thing we neuer denyed Yea rather we willingly graunt that to workes which procéede from faith God is wont to geue many thinges specially as touching the mitigation of plagues and punishements They obiect also this sentence out of the first chapiter of Iohn God gaue them power He hath geuen them power to be made the sonnes of God how it is to be vnderstand to be made the sonnes of God Wherefore they say that those which haue already receaued Christ that is haue beleued in him are not yet iustified and regenerate and made the children of God but only haue receaued power to be made the children of God namely as they thinke by good workes And in this argument Pigghius the great champion and Achilles of the Papistes putteth great affiance but yet in vayne For he thinketh that of necessity he to whome power to haue any thing is geuen hath not as yet the same thing As though we should here deale philosophically that power excludeth acte which yet euen amongest the Philosophers also is not vniuersallye true For when they defyne the soule they say that it is an acte of a body naturall hauing members or instrumentes and also hauing life in power By which definition appeareth that our body hath life in power when as yet it hath life in acte and in very déede But that worde power here signifieth that the body hath not of it selfe life but of an other namely of the soule Which thing we in this matter at this present may also affirme namely that those which haue receaued the Lord and haue beleued in him are regenerate and made the children of God and yet not of themselues but from some other waye namely of the spirite and grace of God For so signifieth this word power Although the Euangelist in that place spake not peripatetically but simply and most plainely For a little before he sayd His receaued him not By this word his he ment the Iewes which peculiarly professed the knowledge of the true God But when they had refused the truth offred vnto them God would not be without a people but appointed theÌ„ to be his peculiar people which should beleue and receaue Christ Wherefore he gaue vnto them power that is This power is adoption grace a right and a prerogatiue that when they had receaued the Lorde by faith they should be made and be indéede the sonnes of God And therefore Cirillus expounding that place saith that this power signifieth adoption and grace Farther Pigghius although he thinke himselfe very sharpe of witte yet séeth not that when he thus reasoneth he speaketh thinges repugnant For how is it possible that any man should haue life in himselfe and yet not lyue Assuredly if they in beleuing haue receaued Christ it must néedes be that straight way they haue righteousnes For as Paul writeth in the first epistle vnto the Cor. He is made of God vnto vs wisedome righteousnes holynes and redemptioÌ„ But what nede we so long a discourse The Euangelist himself declareth vnto vs who those be which haue receiued such a power namely which are not borne of bloud nor of the wil of the flesh nor of the wil of maÌ„ but of God And if they be borne of God then followeth it of necessity that they are iustified and regenerate They obiect also vnto vs a seruile feare which goeth before charity as though by it we should be prepared vnto iustification and the more easely to receaue charity Vnto whom we aunswere that such a feare without charity is sinne they replye agayne and say that Christ commaunded that feare But God commaundeth not sinne And he commaunded such a feare say they when he sayd I will shew vnto you whome ye ought to feare feare him whiche when he hath killed the body can also cast the soule into hell fire And that this feare prepareth vnto iustification they thinke may hereby be proued for yâ—
place and as here the gift of healinges and of miracles followeth fayth so doth there the remouing of mountaines wherfore those thinges which Paul hath spoken of a perticular fayth ought not to be wrested to the vniuersal and iustifieng fayth For that is to make a false argument A secunduÌ„ quid ad simpliciter As if a man should say this fayth may be seperated from iustification which is called fayth secundum quid ergo the true fayth and the iustifieng faith which is called fayth simpliciter that is to say absolutely may be seperated from iustification If a man should so compare two seuerall kindes that he will ascribe one and the selfe same propriety vnto either of them he shall soone be deceaued But Pigghius saw that by this easy and playne exposition all his reasoning may be ouerthrowen and therfore went he about by violence to take it from vs forgetting in the meane time that the author and patrone therof is Chrisostome And to infring it he vseth this argument Vniuersall propositioÌ„s are to be drawen vnto thâ— matter wherof is at that tyme entrâ—ated Paul manifestly sayth All fayth Wherfore we may not vnderstand it of any singular faith For the Apostle maketh an vniuersall propositioÌ„ But this man ought to remember that vniuersall propositions are to be contracted or draweÌ„ vnto that matter wherof is at that time entreated And although this might be declared by many examples yet at this present only one shall suffice vs. Paul in that selfe same epistle vnto the Corrinthians the first chapiter sayth that he geueth thankes vnto God for them for that they were enriched in all kind of speach and in all knowledge And yet it is not very likely that they were by the spirite of Christ endewed with naturall philosophy with Metaphisicall and Mathemathematicall knowledge with knowledge of the law and with other liberall sciences but only with all knowledge which perttayned vnto piety and vnto the Gospell Neyther is it likely that they by the power of the holy ghost were adorned with all kind of Rhetorical Logicall Poeticall and historicall speaches but onely with those which pertayned vnto the edification of the church with sounde doctrine and godly admonitions Wherfore propositions although they be vniuersall yet are not alwayes to be vnderstanded simply but ought sometimes to be drawen vnto the matter wherof is at that time entreated Wherfore that which Paul sayth If I haue all faith we vnderstand of all that faith which serueth vnto the working of miracles And that this contraction is of necessitie the wordes which followe do declare For Paul straight way addeth So that I can remoue mountaynes Chrisostome also saith that he in that vniuersalitie saw that this perticuler sentence is of necessity to be vnderstand For he saith that it may be doubted how Christ saith that to remoue mouÌ„taines a little faith is sufficient which in his smalnes of quantitie resembleth a grain of mustard sede wheÌ„ as Paul saith If I haue all faith so that I caÌ„ remoue mountains as though to bring that to passe is required a woÌ„derful great faith He thus dissolueth the question and saith that Christ spake of the truth nature of the thing for the gift of faith though it be neuer so small is sufficient to worke miracles be they neuer so great but Paul had a respect vnto the common opinion and iudgement of men for they when they looke vpon the greatnes and hugenes of a mountaine thinke that it cannot be remoued without a certaine incredible efficacy and greatnes of faith Neither helpeth it much Pighius cause that Erasmus makyng Erasmus opinion aunswer vnto the Sorbonicall doctors reiecteth this our interpretation For first his reason is very weake and secondly false for he saith that the purpose of the Apostle was to prayse charity by comparison But what prayse should that be saith he if it should be compared with faith which is one of the frée giftes of the holy ghost and may light as wel vpon the wicked as vpon the godly For he should but coldly prayse a man which should say that he is better theÌ„ a dogge or a beare First this is false that Paul compareth not charity with frée gifts of God For he maketh mencion of prophesâ—eng of knowledge and of the gifte of tounges and preferreth Charity before them Secondly it is weake that he sayth that if our interpretation be receaued the Apostle shoulde compare Charity onely with frée gifts For we confesse that toward the end he coÌ„pareth it with the true fayth For Paule saith there are thre things faith hope and charitie but the chiefest is charitie And he bringeth a reason why for it abideth and the other shall cease Farther it is a full comparison if as we haue sayd we begin at the frée gifts and so afterwarde come in order to the vertues Theological yea rather by that that Paule towarde the ende of the chapiter compareth charitie with true faith it is most likely that he did not so before But if we should fully graunt this vnto Pighius that that faith wherof Paul speaketh is yâ— vniuersal faith wherby men are iustified yet neither so vndoubtedly should he obtain his purpose For yâ— Apostle going about by al maner Figurâ— fictionis â–ª of meanes to set forthe charitie thought to amplifie yâ— same by a fiction or faining which is a figure of Rhetorike knowen euen vnto children And yet doth not Paul therfore bring a false proposition for he vseth a conditional proposition which we may not resolue into a categoricall proposition yet notwithstanding is the truth in the meane time kept As if I should say vnto a man if thou haddest the life or vse of the reasonable soule without the life or vse of the sensible soule thou shouldest not be affected with pertâ—rbations of minde no man coulde reproue this kinde of speache to be false And yet it is not possible that in a man the reasonable life should be seperated from the animall life Such kinde of speaches also are fouÌ„d in the holy scriptures As for example If I shall ascend vp into heauen thou art there if I shall desceÌ„d down into hell thou art present And if I take the fethers of the morning and dwell in the vttermost endes of the sea thither shall thy right hand leade me These sentences are true and yet is it not possible that a man should take vnto him the fethers of the morning After the same manner we say if a man should seperate faith from charitie he should make it vnprofitable although in very déede it can not be seperated from charitie And that Paule in that place vsed suche an Hyperbole or fiction that manifestly declareth which he a little before spake Though I should speake with the tongues of men and of Angels and haue not charitie I am made as a sounding brasse or a tingling cimball But we knowe that Angels haue neyther bodyes nor
it is in very déede the body of a man I vtterly deny For death taketh away from the body of a man the proper forme which he had before but it leaueth the generall word so that it can only be called a body So true and iustifying fayth when it is lost ceasseth to be the true and proper fayth it may indéede as touching the generall word be called a certayne cold assent sprong of humane perswasion and not such as commeth of the holy ghost and which hath the selfe same strength and efficacy that it had before Wherefore if on either side be kept the selfe same proportion of the similitude this wonderfull strong buttresse shal make nothing against vs. For as we confesse that a dead body is a body so also do we graunt that a dead fayth is fayth so that by fayth we vnderstand the generall word of fayth and not that liuely and true fayth whereby we are iustified It is paralogismus aequiuocationis that is a false argument comming of diuers significations of a word He addeth moreouer that fayth can not iustify because of his owne nature it True fayth is not a dead fayth is a thing dead and receaueth life of an other thing namely of charity and of good workes These obiections are vayne and triflyng For none that is in hys right wit will graunt that true fayth is a dead thing For the iust man is sayde to liue by his faith And if out of fayth we draw life how can it then vnto any man seme dead But that it taketh life of an other thing we deny not for it hath it partly Frō whēce faith hath life of those things which it beleueth namely of Christ and of the promises of God and partly of the holy ghost by whose breathing it is inspired In this sort we will graunt that it hath life of an other thing but not in that sort that this man wyll namely that it hath it either of charity or of good workes For what man that is well in his wits will euer say that either the stocke of a trée or the branches or A similitude the fruites or the flowers geue life vnto the rootes And fayth is before either hope or charity Therefore of them it receaueth not life for in very déede fayth can not be the matter of these vertues And euen as that faculty or power which they call vegetatiue geueth life vnto the body and receaueth not life of the faculty or powere sensitiue or rational which foloweth so faith geueth life vnto the soule but How fayth is encreased by good workes taketh not that life either of charity or of good works Howbeit I graunt that that life of fayth is made so much the greater ampler as it hath mo better works and more feruenter charity bursting forth out of it and not that it is increased of many and often repeticion of actions as it is sayd of vertues which they cal moral but because God of his grace and mercy multiplieth the talent for that it was not idle and because God by his power bringeth to passe that fayth when it worketh through loue is stronger then it selfe when it is remisse in working But omitting these things let vs returne agayne to Pighius He as much as lieth in hym contendeth that a man can not be iustified by that fayth whiche is in Christ and in the remission of sinnes For that fayth sayth he whereby Abraham was iustified was not applyed vnto these thinges For God promised vnto hym onely a plentifull séede and possession of a countrey And straight way it is added that Abraham beleued God and it was imputed vnto hym for righteousnes In this argument Pighius triumpheth and is violent agaynst the truth and vtterly derideth our sentence But this is nothing ells then to deride Paul himselfe For he by most expresse wordes affirmeth that we are iustified by fayth in Christ and by the remission of sinnes Neyther is there any thing ells in Pighius then a mere madnes and a wicked desire to contēd But let Paul come forth and answere for him selfe what he thought is to be vnderstand by the séede promised vnto Abraham Vndoubtedly in his epistle vnto the Galathiās the third chapiter he calleth that séede Christ Vnto Abraham sayth he were made the promises and vnto his seede He sayth not and vnto the seedes as speaking of many but as is were of one and in thy seede whiche is Christ. And this testament I say was confirmed by God towards Christ Let Pighius now yet beleue Paul that in that seede which was promised vnto Abraham was Christ comprehended and declared neither let him euer from hence forth with such malepertnes and desire of victory take vppon him to say that y◠fayth wherby Abraham was iustified was not fayth in Christe But as touching the remission of sinnes forasmuch as vnto vs is promised the blessing we ought to remember that the chiefe and principall poynt therof herein consisteth that we should be receaued of God into fauour and that our sins should be forgeuen vs. But Pighius goeth on manifestly to oppunge y◠doctrine of the apostle touching y◠iustification of Abraham For he sayth y◠before Abraham was circumcised had a testimony of the scripture that his fayth was imputed vnto him vnto righteousnes he beleued God as it is manifest by the 12. chapiter of Genesis Wherfore sayth he according to this your sentēce he was then iustified neither was his righteousnes differred vntill that history which is had in the 15. chapter It is wonderfull to sée how much he attributeth vnto these his arguments as though by them were takē away from vs al possibility to answer what I besech you letted but that Abraham At what tyme Abraham was iustified mought be iustified at that first time when God spake vnto him first to go out of his countrey and from his kindred For euen in the selfe place at the beginning of the 12. chapiter are had the selfe same promises which are had in the 15. chapter For thus God promised him I will make of thee a great naciō and will blesse thee and will make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing I wil also blesse those that blesse thee wil curse those that curse thee and in the shall all thee families of the earth be blessed Vndoubtedly in these words is conteyned the promise of Christ and the remission of sinnes And therfore there shal be no absurdity if we say that Abrahā by beleuing of those wordes also was iustified But bycause the scripture in that chapiter did not playnly set forth this therfore Paul with great wisdome hath cited those wordes which are had in the 15. chapter where it is expressedly written that fayth was imputed vnto him vnto righteousnes which sentence was most necessary to confirme the sentence of the Apostle namely that a man is iustified by Why God
Paul in this obsecration entermedleth a thing of most excellency namely the mercy of God and that the greatnes and power thereof might the more manifest appeare he vseth the plurall number Many effects of the mercy of God I besech you saith he by the mercyes of God And what these mercyes were and of what sort he hath before declared in his discourse and therefore there is no néede in this place of any new explication touching this matter But let them which are studious in the holy scriptures note that there are many effects of the mercy of God And therfore Paul besecheth by the mercies of God as mothers are wont when their children are stubborne and will not be ruled to besech them by their breastes that gaue them sucke and by their wombe which bare them for they set forth vnto them their chiefest benefites towardes them that they bare them in their wombe and after when they were borne nourished them with their brests which offices although they were very paynfull yet by reason of the singular loue they séemed to the mother thinges sweete So here the Apostle besides infinite other benefites of God towardes men maketh mencion of the mercyes of God by which first we are regenerated in spirite and after that by them we are both fed and sustayned in this way wherein we stand In this heate of prayer the talke of Paul is inflamed set on fire For it manifestly appeareth that these words came not from the lippes onely or were but spoken with the tonge but they came wholy euen from the bottom of the hart And which ought more vehemently to moue vs he requireth nothing against our owne commodities and profite for he Demades against Philip. requireth nothyng els but that we should leade a life worthy our calling Demades when he saw king Phillip very merry and daunsing amongst the captiues and vpbraiding vnto them their calamitye sayde vnto hym Seing that fottune hath put on thee the person of Agamemnon art thou not ashamed to behaue thy selfe like Thersites Wherfore Paul requireth this that forasmuch as not Fortune but God himself hath put on vs not a persoÌ„ but the most true dignitie to be the members of Christ and his children we should not shew our selues to be lost children and strangers from God Now wil we declare what he perticularly desireth He desireth vs to offer our selues vnto God And this oblation he saith shal haue the nature of a sacrifice And that we may the redilier vnderstand what Paul meaneth it shall not be from the What a sacrifice is purpose to consider what a sacrifice is A sacrifice is a voluntary action wherein we worship God and offer vnto him somewhat wherby we testifie his chiefe dignity and dominion and our seruitude and submission towardes him In this definition are expressed all the causes The matter is the oblation the forme is the action not a naturall action but yâ— which is done with election and inspired by the holy ghost neither is it a politicall or economical action but a religious action for that pertayneth to the worshipping of God The end is to testifie our seruitude and submission towardes the so great highnes and dominion of God Wherefore we by good right belong to his proper possession which hath at the beginning created vs and afterward when we were lost redemed vs. And sacrifice is deuided according Diuision of sacrifices to his proprieties so that one kind of sacrifice is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a sacrifice of thankes geuing and an other is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a sacrifice of expiation or purging That sacrifice which we ought to offer is not a sacrifice of expiation It is lawful for vs to offer a sacrifice of thankes geuing but not a sacrifice of expiation For that preheminence was geuen to Christ only by the one only sacrifice of himselfe which he offred vpon the crosse to consummate accomplish all things But the geuing of thankes which we offer vnto God in this sacrifice is very excellent And this sacrifice of thankes geuing is deuided by the matters about which it is occupied For vnto God were offred either prayers or first fruites or some kind of life as of the Nazarites or finally some certayne oblations and offrings And to this last part pertayneth that which Paul in this place exhorteth vs vnto for he willeth vs to make our selues oblations vnto God Ambrose in this place demaundeth why oblatioÌ„s were in yâ— old sacrifices killed And he putteth two causes first Why oblations were slayne that they which sacrificed should vnderstand what they had deserued secondly that by that slaughter should be shadowed the death of Christ Which two causes may serue vs also as touching this our kind of sacrifice For it is necessary that the deth In this sacrifice are sinnes to be killed which sinnes haue brought vnto vs we agayne rebound vnto sinnes and that in our selues we kil wicked affects And to doo this the death of Christ doth not a litle pricke vs forward For if he would for our sakes in this sort die how much more ought we for his sake with a redy mind to offer this sacrifice And doubtles there is no other sacrifice more noble For here we offer not outward thinges but our selues And Augustine in his booke de Ciuitate Deâ— sayth that that outward sacrifice The outward sacrifices were simboles of the inward sacrifice in the old time was a signe whereby was signified this inward sacrifice wherein we offer vnto God both our selues and all that we haue Seing therefore we now se that that whereunto Paul exhorteth vs is a sacrifice and that a sacrifice of thankes geuing wherein we offer vnto GOD all that we haue and also our selues now let vs se how Paul describeth thys sacrifice Your bodies When he nameth a Body by the figure Sinecdoche he vnderstandeth the whole man which also is sometimes vnderstanded by this worde soule For so is it written that Iacob entred into Egipt with 70. soules And the Why man â—â— ofteÌ„times in the scriptures called body flesh scriptures therefore oftentimes call man by the name of flesh and of the body to put vs in mind of our infirmity and chiefely of sinne which we draw first of propagation by the body Wherefore this word body in this place is not the name of nature but of corruptioÌ„ For corrupt affects ought to be mortified and good affects Body is not here the name of nature but of corruption substituted in theyr place that our offring may be acceptable vnto God This selfe thing ment the Apostle when he wrote to the Colossians Mortifie your members which are vpon the earth in which place by members he vnderstandeth that tirannicall law of sinne which chiefely beareth dominion in the members and in the whole man And Paul before in the sixt chapter knowing saith he that
our old man is crucified with Christ that the body of sinne should be abolished In which place is vsed The body of sinne the Hebrew phrase For it is sayd The body of sinne in stede of the body obnoxious to sinne But he more manifestly by the name of body vnderstandeth the whole man when he thus writeth Let not sinne raigne in your mortall body For he ment yâ— sinne ought to be prohibited not only from the body but also from the mind and from the whole man And the same thing he ment when he wrote in the seuenth chapiter Vnhappy man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death For he desired not so greately to be deliuered from the nature of the body For in an other place he sayth We desire not to be spoyled of that we haue but to be adorned a new Wherfore he desired that he might at the length be deliuered from corrupt affects and motions both of the soule and of the body Hereto also tendeth that which is written in the first to the Corinthians I chastice my body and doo bring it into bondage For there is chiefely entreated of the mortification of affects and not only of the outward tormenting of the body If we so vnderstand the matter the sacrifice shal be ful and perfect For by this meanes as we haue receaued all whole of God As we receiue all whole of god to haue our being â–ª so agaâ—ne let vs render al whole vnto him An error of Plato so in the other side we shall render all whole vnto God Which thing as it semeth they of Platoes sect rightly vnderstoode not For they as farre as may be gathered out of â—imeus were of this opinion that the minde onely and reason are immediatly geuen of God For they held that the substance of the body is drawen of the elementes but the temperature which they call the complexion they sayd is draweÌ„ of the celestiall spheares and the affectes and grosser partes of the soule is drawen of Deuils And therfore they taught that the mind and reason ought to be rendred vnto God But we know that the whole maÌ„ is formed of God and therfore ought he all whole to be rendred vnto him And if we be now grafted into Christ haue geuen our selues all whole into the possession of God we ought perpetually to offer vp our selues all whole vnto him This selfe thing Paul before touched in the sixt chapter when he thus wrote Geue not your members as weapons of iniquitie vnto sinne but geue your selues vnto God as they that are on liue from the dead and geue your members as weapons of righteousnes vnto God Which thing vnles we do we incurre A man to withdraw himselfe froÌ„ God is sacriledge into the most greuous crime of sacriledge For when we withdraw our selues froÌ„ God we take away from him a thing most excellent that thing I say which of all sacrifices is vnto him most acceptable A liuing sacrifice holy acceptable vnto God If Christ would for our sakes be made an oblatioÌ„ it ought not to seme greuous to any of vs if we on the other side be made oblations be sacrificed vnto God For hereto are we predestinated He is not a good christian which refuseth to take vpon him the condition of his head to be made like vnto the image of the Sonne of God And euen as he is not a good citezin which cannot be content with the common condition of other citezens so or rather much les is he to be counted for a good Christian which refuseth to take vpon him the condition of his head or first borne brother As touching the name of a sacrifice or oblatioÌ„ in latten called hostia or victima we ought to know that either of these woordes is deriued of the victory gotten of enemies For those verses of Ouid are commonly knowne of all men Wherof these words hostia and victima ar deriued Victima quae dextra cecidit victrice vocatur Hostibus a domitis hostia nomen habet That is Victima of hym that ouercommeth takth his name And Hostia of enmies ouercome doth take the same Wherfore seyng that by Christ is now gotten the victory whereby he hath set vs being now redéemed by his bloud at libertie we ought by good right to offer vp our selues as sacrifices vnto him to yâ— end to geue thanks vnto him for so great a benefite And that we should not erre in this sacrifices Paul here diligentlye describeth the proprieties of a Christian sacrifice For so it was in the olde lawe expressedlye commaunded what faultes shoulde be taken héede of in chusinge of Sacrifices And doubtles godlye men had at that tyme a greate care not to offend that way And in Malachy the Prophet God gréeuously complayneth of the couetous and vngodly which wheÌ„ as they had in their heards and flockes whole faâ— and strong cattaile would notwithstanding sacrifice weake leane and disseased cattayle wherfore the Apostle willeth vs that it be a liuely sacrifice For dead sacrifices please not God And in the old lawe if a man had touched a dead carkayse he was made vncleane wherfore we ought to take hede that our bodies be not subiect vnto sinnes For they which are so as sayth Ambrose are vtterlye addicted vnto death Those are called liuing things which are moued of theÌ„ selues namely of a beginning within them and are not driuen of any outwarde force which they called violent force by which motion wood stones and yron are moued hither and hither Wherfore we ought to be the sacrifices of GOD not by force but from the hart and willingly A consideration also is to be had to that wherby we are stirred vp to worke And we must in any wise beware that that ground be not euill suche as is theyrs whiche are moued only by the lustes of the fleshe or by humane reason or by the impulsion of the deuill to doo those thinges which they do Those bodys which are in very déede liuing before God are moued by the spirite of God and therefore they can not lye weltring in idlenes Then vndoubtedly do Christians liue when they alwayes diligentlye do those things which may both please God and aduaunce eyther our saluation or the saluation of others For they which liue idly are not worthy to be sacrificed vnto God For idlenes séemeth to be a certayne participation of death Therfore Seneca when he passed thorough a village longing to one called Vatia a man full of idlenes Idlenes is an image of death and geuen to pleasures Here sayde he lyeth Vacia signifying therby that such may séeme not only to be dead but also to be buried Wherfore let the sacrifice be liuing and chearefully moue it self to those things which please God And where hense this life hath his beginning Paul teacheth to the Galathians In that sayth he I liue in the fleshe I liue in
not onely teache how The order of teachyng vsed of Mâ—sicions men should singe but also do therewithall inculcate how men should not sing that the scholers may perceaue both what thy ought to follow and what to auoyde So Paul here teacheth what is to be done in this sacrifice what is to be eschewed Imitate not sayth he this world He vseth the figure Metonomia by the worlde to vnderstand men not yet regenerate For they are rightly sayd to be of this world for that their affectes and maners are vile and filthy For men nowe regenerate Worlde what it here signifieth although they liue in the world yet as Christ sayd vnto the Apostles they are not of the world for they are continually conuersant in heauen as Paul sayth to the Philippians And that which the Apostle in this place requireth at our handes the self same requireth he in the 4. chapiter to the Ephesians This sayth he I say and testifie in the Lord that henceforth ye walke not as other Gentiles walke in vanity of their mind hauing their reason darkened and being straungers from the life of God through the ignoraÌ„ce that is in them and the blindnes of their hart which being past all felâ—â—g haue geuen themselues to wantoÌ„nes to worke all vncleanes eueÌ„ with gredines These are yâ— chiefest faults sinnes of the childreÌ„ of this world froÌ„ which Paul calleth vs backe Chrisostome expounding thys place waigheth these two wordes What difference betwene a forme and a figure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is if I may so terme it be ye configured 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yâ— is be ye transformed And he putteth a great differeÌ„ce betwene this word forme this word figure For the good things of this world as they are weake transitory haue rather as he thinketh the nature of a figure then of a forme For so sayth Paul writing to the Corrinthians the figure of thys world is gone For riches honours and pleasures are thynges sayth he most vncertayne For they haue not a sound forme but are beholden and séene onely as a person playing in a stage play so yâ— they are rather a spectacle or shew vnto vs then that we can in very déede haue the fruition of them And forasmuch as such thinges are crooked and oblique they ought not to be vnto vs a rule of life and especially seing that we are made to the Image of God whereunto only we ought perpetually to applye our selues vnles we will fall away from our natiue dignity These things which Chrisostome thus mencioneth are both true and godly although I can scarse thinke that Paul had any consideration of any such thing For with hym there is not so great a differeÌ„ce betwene a forme and a figure Yea rather eche worde is oftentimes vsed for one and the selfe same ihing For vnto the Phillippians he sayth that the sonne of God tooke vppon him the forme of a seruaunte and was founde in figure as a man Although whether so euer exposition be receaued I thinke it skilleth not much In renewing of your mynde Vnles our mynde had ben corrupted and now Iâ— the renuing of the mynde be commaunded then was it corrupt enfected with some oldnes Paul would neuer haue added this particle For we renew not but onely those thinges which now through oldnes are worne and corrupted And seing that the Apostle as before by the body so here by the minde vnderstandeth the whole man it may séeme straunge why he before vsed the name of the body and afterward the name of the mynde But the aunswere is not hard He before entreated of yâ— sacrifice wherin are to be slayne corrupt affects sinnes which affectes and sinnes forasmuch as they haue crept in through the body the fleshe which we haue by propagation drawen from Adam therefore the Apostle in that place vsed this word body rather then the name of mynde But here where is entreated of renewing which beginneth at the minde and is afterward spred abroad into the affectes and grosser partes of the soule that it commeth also Whether the mind be incorrupt in them that are not regenerate vnto the body and vnto the members thereof he would first make mencion of the mynde which ought first to be renewed Many contend that this part of our soule is yet whole and vncorrupt For as Aristotle sayth in his Ethikes it séemeth alwayes to encline to good thinges Which thing I confesse and know that amongst the philosophers were Socrates and certaine others endewed with a wonderfull innocency of life and vpright maners for that reason alwayes stirred theÌ„ vp to notable and excellent factes But these thinges they did not neither after an vpright maner nor to a dew ende nor with a sound entent For they had not a regard vnto the honor of God nor to his will nor the true and pure worshipping of him This thing onely they followed which they had set before them to rest themselues in thereby to make themselues perfect for that they had chosen vnto themselues such orders of life This was that spot and corruption wherewith their mynde was excedingly contaminated Yea we also although we be regenerate yet haue not as yet our mynde in all thinges clensed Wherefore this admonition was néedefull eueÌ„ for the Romanes which were conuerted vnto Christ And that our mynde ought so to be renewed Paul admonisheth also vnto the The minde of the regenerate is not in all pointes cleansed Ephesians Be ye renewed sayth he in the spirit of your mynde And in what estate our minde was when we liued without Christ we are taught in the selfe same epistle Amongst whome sayth he we also were conuersaunt doing the will of the fleshe and of reason And in the first chapiter to yâ— Collossians he sayth that we were alienated from God in euill works and were enemyes in mynde The Apostle exhorteth to this renewing by a reason taken of the end namely that we should allow what is the will of God Neither doth he here require a common allowing but such an What approbation of his wil god requireth allowing whereby we in very déede follow and embrace the commaundementes of God For otherwise as touching the common allowing we know that saying of the Poet concerning Medea Video meliora proboque Deteriora sequor that is I sée good thinges and I allow them but I follow the worse And in this epistle in the 2. chapiter Behold thou art a Iew and restest in the law and gloriest in God and knowest his will and allowest thinges that are profitable Howbeit straight way he writeth of the selfe same Iew Thou whiche teachest an other teachest not thy selfe thou that preachest a man should not sheale stealest If this be the nature of a minde renewed to acknowledge the wil of God that is with a sound iudgement The philosophers had not a minde renued vprightly to thinke
signification For Paul here meaâ—â—th not that power wherby were wrought miracles but only describeth those offices which are at all times necessary in the Church Wherfore that Prophesie yâ— was spoken of in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the. 14. chapiter when Paul sayd he which prophesieth speaketh edification exhortation and consolation And againe ye may all one by one prophesie that all may learne and all receiue consolation the same prophesie I say I thinke is meÌ„t in this place And this is to be noted yâ— the Apostle did at the beginning set forth two offices generally which are afterward deuided into their partes as we shall sée And there are two for that man consisteth of body and soule And God for that his will is that the whole man should be saued hath instituted ministeries in the church both which pertaine to the soule and which pertayne to the body Prophesy comprehendeth the giftes which pertayne to doctrine and to exhortation And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is ministery containeth those thinges which conduce to relieue the body either from pouerty or from diseases and which restrayne it from wicked and vncomely actions Touching the first he sayth Whether prophesie according to the proportion of fayth In this place many thinke that by faith are to be vnderstanded the chief groundes and principall sentences of religion as those which are comprehended in the symboles And so the sense is that they which teach or exhort or comfort the people of God ought chiefly to beware of this that they speake nothing that is repugnaunt to the whole summe and principall groundes of the Catholike faith which things they which haue the charge of suche functions ought alwayes to haue before their eyes least peraduenture they decline from them Others by faith vnderstaÌ„d the roote of such giftes And Origen thinketh that this particle is to be repeated in all those things which are afterwarde mentioned namely that the ministery and doctrine ought to be exercised according to the measure and portion of that faith as though all those parts of this generall thing which séeme to haue in them the figure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shold by this particle be made complete But I thinke that this place is more simply to be vnderstanded so that faith here signifieth that knowledge whereof God maketh them partakers whome he placeth in suche functions that he which teacheth which exhorteth or which comforteth set forthe nothing vnto the people but that which God hath put into his head namely by his inspiration and reuelation that they presume not to speake those things which either they vnderstande not or which are of their owne inuention If our elders had obserued this rule we should not now haue had in the Church so many new inuentions of men nor so many abuses nor so many superstitions For when euery man toke vpoÌ„ to speake and to teach the people what so euer came in his head then began these mischiefs to encrease without measure Farther this we ought to knowe that Origen and Chrysostome of this that the Apostle saith according to the proportion of faith tooke occasion to thinke that it lieth in euery mannes power to obtaine these giftes at his owne pleasure For God say they poureth in those things according to the vessell of faith offered of vs. As though it were not before sayde that God deuideth vnto euery man the measure of faith But say they GOD deuideth it according as we our selues will Not so vndoubtedly For Paule to the Corrinthians of these frée giftes thus writeth All these thinges worketh one and the selfe same spirit deuiding to all men as he will But thou wilt say He woorketh Free giftes are not distributed of God according to the will oâ— the receauers indede as he will but he would frame his will to our disposition and therefore he geueth not but so much as we wil. He which thus speaketh considereth not the history of the primitiue Church For it is manifest that there were many amongest the Corinthians which would indede haue spoken with tounges as they saw others speake but yet they could not attayne vnto it At this day also there are many which would faine haue the gift of teaching aptly and of exhorting with fruit yet are they not therfore endewed with the gift And there are iust causes why God wil not somtimes geue those giftes For paraduenture they should turne to yâ— destruction of the receauers either for that they would become insolent or ells for that otherwise they would abuse the gift of God The scripture manifestly admonisheth vs that we are ignorant what we should pray as we ought And therefore God reiecteth not the prayers of his although oftentimes he geue not those things which they aske perticularly of hym Farther Paul vnto the Ephesians playnly Those gifts depend not of â—ur preparatioÌ„ but oâ— the will of God admonisheth that God hath put in the Church some to be Apostles some Prophets and some Euangelistes And if it be God which ordereth the disposing of these giftes theÌ„ depend they not of our preparation but of his will But some man will say if thys lie not in our choyse what neded Paul to say to the CorinthiaÌ„s Labour to attaine to the better giftes but chiefly to prophesie I answere that the Apostle there reproueth the preposterous iudgement of the Corrinthians For they most estemed the gift of toungs when as rather prophesie was much better And if any maÌ„ had ech faculty namely of speaking with tounges and of prophesieng which thing happened to many for Paul himselfe both spake with tonges and prophesied yet he admonisheth to labour rather to execute the gift of prophesie then of tonges And if a maÌ„ wil desire of God any of this kind of gifts Paul sheweth what gift most conduceth to the edifieng of the Church And yet doth he not therefore affirme that it lieth in the hand of euery man to haue what he will For he sheweth only what is rather to be desired Origen findeth fault with the Lattin translation which thus redeth â—uxta rationem fideâ— that is according to the reasoÌ„ or consideration of faith For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is proportion he thinketh signifieth a competeÌ„t measure But whether those be the woordes of Origen or rather added to by the interpreter I somewhat doubt For in my iudgement it seemeth not verye likely that Origen in his interpretations would seke for any helpe of the Lattin bookes And besides that I sée not howe iustly our translation in this thinge shoulde be reproued For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may very aptly be turned ratio Now resteth to declare why I sayd that prophesie is here set forth as a general office which afterward is deuided into doctrine into exhortation This I proue by the woordes of the Apostle which I before cited out of the 14. chapiter to the Corinthians He which prophesieth speaketh edification
first violateth the law of God And he wil take vengeaÌ„ce of our enemies for that we are vnto him most deare Therefore he sayth he which toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye And God is neyther forgetfull nor also neglecteth his office Wherefore seing vnto him belongeth vengeaunce and we are vnto hym deare when we are iniuried he is first offended and he neglecteth not that which pertayneth to him we ought without doubt to leue the vengeannce vnto him Sayth the Lord. This is not had in the Hebrew Howbeit it is aded of Paul to the end these admonitions should sticke the deaâ—lier in our mindes If thyne enemy hunger fede him O notable kind of vengeance may humayne reason say But much rather will it so say if it thinke that in the name of meate and drinke are comprehended all maner of dewties which are necessary for the maintenance of the life Wherefore the lawyers when in a testament or will is bequethed vnto a man meate and drinke thereby vnderstand that vnto him are bequethed clothing lodging bedding phisike and such other like thinges And the lord when he sayth that God maketh his sunne to arise vpon the good and vpon the euill and rayneth vpon the iust and vpon the vniust by these two words Sunne and rayne comprehendeth all the gifts of God whatsoeuer we se in thys life common to the good and to the euill And in so doing thou shalt heape coles of fire on his hed This some thus vnderstand thou shalt adde spurres vnto him wherby he shal be stirred vp to loue thée agayne Some thus Thy benefits shall be vnto him as coles of fire whereby he shal be made ashamed his conscieÌ„ce shal be troubled and he shal be kindled with confusion as though this shal be the vengeance of the godly and by this ignominiof theyr enemies they shal satiate theyr anger This latter interpretatioÌ„ is not so semely for a Christian man For none that is godly at any time reioyseth in the hurt of his enemies I grant indede that the benefites which we bestow vpon our enemies may woorke these thinges in them Howbeit we ought in no wise to set forth these thinges as endes of our dewty but in such sort as we declared in the first exposition so farforth as they serue to his amendement to whome we doo good The selfe same thing is to be iudged of that which Origen sayth that these coles signifie hell fire This indede may come thorough theyr default that our benefits should encrease theyr dampnation and punishementes But that ought not to bee the cause of our purpose or entent For we ought to seke nothinge ells but their saluation Be not ouercome of euill but ouercome euill with good Forasmuch as betwene contraries there is a continuall battaile therefore Paul aptly maketh mencion of good euil which are coÌ„traries It is doubtles an excellent kind of victory A notable kind of victory A daungerous fall by well doing to ouercome the force of hatreds as contrariwise it is a pernitious fall to be throwen downe with the outrageousnes of anger In this battayle it is necessary that either the wickednes of our enemies be ouercome by our goodnes or that our goodnes geue place to the fury of our enemies And that by such pollecies is ouercome the maliciousnes of ill men may be proued euen by theyr owne testimony as Chrisostome writeth For if they should be asked the question they will confesse that they are then ouercome of vs when with a valiant mind we contemne theyr iniuries and hurtes For there they chafe they fret they fume as though by our patience were broken and vtterly deiected all theyr strengths But they wonderfully reioyse when they se vs so mooued that we wil nedes auenge the iniuries which we haue receaued In humane conflictes those are said to ouercome The diuers maner of fightyng of carnall and of spirituall men which ouerthrow others and those are counted ouercome which being van quished and euill handled haue the woorse Which is not to be meruayled at wheÌ„ as those thinges are the inuentions of the deuill But the holy ghost here setteth forth vnto vs a farre other kind of battayle wherein they are ouercome whiche whilest they seke to aueÌ„ge theÌ„selues playnly declare that they are ouercome and they go away conquerers which so lenefie and temperate theyr anger that they shew benefites vnto them which haue done vnto them iniury Vpon this stage ought Christians to exercise themselues wherin they haue as lookers on and supporters The stage of christiaÌ„s the Angells And the author or maister of the game is the most iust God These woordes to ouercome and to be ouercome Good and euill are of great efficacy with which vnles our mindes be moued it is a great argument that there is but a very sclender spirite and bastardly fayth in vs. But what shall we iudge of How we ought to be haue our selues towardes the excommunicate and towardes heretikes men excluded from the Church whome they call excommunicate persons And what also of them which preach and teach doctrine contrary to the truth With the one we are commaunded not to eate meate and to the other not to say so much as God spede Touching these men if necessity vrge we ought to geue vnto them neate and other thinges necessary not for acquaintance familiarity or our delectacion sake but euen only that we cease not from the office of charity But if there be no such necessity we ought neither to talke with them nor to eate with them But if the necessity of the soule or of the body so require all these thinges which Paul here writeth we ought to obserue towards them The thirtenth Chapiter LEt euery soule be subiect to the higher powers for ther is no power but of God and the powers that be are ordayned of God Whosoeuer therfore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinaunce of God and they that resist shall receiue vnto them selues iudgement For Princes are not to be feared for good workes but for euil wilt thou then be without feare of the power doe well so shalt thou haue prayse of the same For he is the minister of God for thy wealth but if thou doe euil feare for he beareth not the sword for naught For he is the minister of God an auenger vnto wrath Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers If as we haue before proued they are to be reproued which repay euill for euill and if also the office of Christians be to render vnto men that haue offended them the dueties of charitie then doubtles are they excéedingly to be accused which in stead of benefites repay euil which geue not due honor nor shew due obedience to such men as deserue wel at theyr hands such as are magestrates And for as muche as the Apostle entendeth diligently and at large to entreat of this matter that we may the better vnderstand
fauor the godly that he will not only haue their soules to be blessed but also will geue blessednes to their bodyes he will also restore vnto the wicked their bodyes that according to the law of iustice they may be tormented not only in their soules but also in their bodyes The other is that in the Prophets there are touching the resurrection of the dead certayne other more notable places which yet Christ alleaged Why Christ brought not testimonies of the resurrection ouâ— of the Prophets not for that the Saduces with whom he then reasoned admitted the law only and touching the other holy bookes either they receaued them not or els they estemed them not much For they red them as we read the Fathers But I leaue this matter and I beséech God not to suffer this singular benefite of the death of Christ to weare away for age in our mynds that the common prouerbe be not applied vnto vs. Nothing waxeth old sooner then grace But why dost thou iudge thy brother Or also why dost thou despise thy brother For we shal all be set before the iudgement seat of Christ Is it is written I liue saith the Lord and euery knee shall bow to me and euery tong shall confesse vnto God So then euery one of vs shall render accompt of himselfe to God Let vs not therefore iudge one an other any more But iudge this rather that no man put an offence to his brother or be an occasion of falling But why dost thou iudge thy brother Or also vvhy dost thou despise thy brother By the name of brethren he reproueth eche part For the right of brethren is equall and a like and in them is expressed a ciuill administration which is called The right of brethren is equall â—olitia which is a certaine equalitie of Citezens betwene themselues Wherfore no maÌ„ ought either to despise or to iudge him whom he knoweth to be his equall For he which so doth counteth him not for his equal but for his inferior VVherefore vve shall all be set before the iudgement seat of Christ By the iudgement seat vndoubtedly is vnderstanded the iudgement of Christ and that by the figure Metonomia And this benefite beside others we haue by the ciuill magestrates that by theyr axes and swordes and iudgementes seates we are put in minde of the iudgement of God The like phrase of speache Paul vsed in the .v. chapiter of the latter Epistle to the Corinthians vve must al appeare before the iudgment seat of Christ Origen expounding these words maketh a discourse I knowe not wherof for that in this place is red Before the iudgement seate of Christ and to the Corinthians is red Before the iudgement seat of God and with a long circute he disputeth of this matter But doubtles all our bookes haue in ech place Before the iudgement seate of Christ â–ª so that there appeareth no cause of ambiguity And yet if we should so rede as he imagineth nothing could be gathered out of those woordes but that Christ is God In the 7. chapiter of Daniell are set forth many excellent thinges of this throne of God wherin is described the magnificency of the iudgement to come As it is vvritteÌ„ I liue sayth the Lord. This place which is brought to proue Christes diuine power of iudging the world is written in the 45. chapter of Esay This place proueth the diuine nature of Christ As touching the very bare words Paul foloweth not the Hebrew verity but yet most diligently kepeth the sense of the Prophet For that which is here said Saith the Lord agréeth with that which is in the Hebrew The Lord hath sworne And the bowing of the knée signifieth here nothing els but a submission which is most aptly signifyed by that outward Simbole Euery tounge shal confesse vnto God In Hebrew it is Euery tonge shall swear vnto me but there is no man which knoweth not but that in an othe is an excelleÌ„t confession of God For he is called as a witnes or rather as a iudge and he is so called that he will punish the foresworne persons according to theyr deserts But as yet we sée not that all things are subiect vnto Christ But that shall be when he shall deliuer vp the kingdome to God and to the father For then shall all thinges vtterly be made subiect vnto him amongst other the last enemy namely death as Paul sayth to the Corrinthians How be it now is begon a certaine obedience and his kingdome is acknowledged of the congregation of the godly Wherefore though many vniust and wicked things be now committed yet let vs iudge nothing before the time come least we be preiudiciall to the sentence of that moste highe iudge Then all things according to our hope which nowe séeme to want equitie shall be full of equitie Of these wordes of the Apostle is most manifestly gathered the diuinitie of Christ For when he speaketh of the iudgement seate of Christ he addeth and euery tounge shall confesse vnto God Which self thing is much more manifest if we looke vpon the Hebrew veritie For before that these things are pronounced vnder the person of God this is written Am not I Lord and there is no other God besides me Wherfore seing these things pertaine to Christ as Paul testifieth it most manifestly appeareth that he is God So then euery one of vs shall render an accompt to God of himself Wherefore it is not méete that we either rashly iudge or proudly contemne others For at that iudgement seat causes shall be decided according to their desertes Let vs not therefore iudge one an other any more This is concluded by the reasons alleaged of Paule and is euery where in the holy scriptures inculcated of the holy Ghost But iudge this rather that no man put an offence to his brother â–ª or be an occasion To iudge hath two significations of falling This word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to iudge hath not here all one signification with that which it had before For before it was to condemne an other by his sentence or to affirme any thing rashly of another But here to iudge signifieth to appoynt a thing with our selues Appoynt therfore with your selues sayth he and thinke that this chiefly pertaineth to your duety that no man be offended by any your example or any your doings Chrisostome by a straunge reason proueth The impeller to sinne sinneth more greuously then he which coÌ„mitteth the sinne that this thing is to be taken héede of For sayth he he which impelâ—eth an other to sinne deserueth to be muche more greuously punished then euen he which hath sinned For euen at the beginning a greater punishment and vehementer curse was inflicted vpon the serpent then vpon the woman For she transgressed but the other persuaded The woman also was more greuously punished then the man for that he had not sinned but by her counsell and persuasion And
sacrifice 451 Almes are a blessing 452 Almes geuing what is to be sene vnto there in 453 Altares ought not to be vsed in this time 335 Allegoryes what they are 83. 327. 345 Amen what it signifieth 245 Anathema what it is 237. 238 239. 240. 241 Angels may not be prayed vnto 231 Angels some are good and some are euil 235 Angels are subiect to vanitie 213 Angels gouerne diuers regions 359 Anselme his saying vpon free will 28 Antithesis 74 Antiquitie of papisticall churches 244 Apostles and Bishops are not of like authoritie 3 Arguments of the deuinity of Christ 5 Arme of God what it is 325 Arrogancy is a pestileÌ„ce vnto brotherly loue 424 Artes of speaking are not to be condempned 232 Augustine vpon free will 26 Augustine vpon predestination 26 Augustine against Iulianus 27 Auntient fathers how they shold be read 76 Auriculer confession is wicked 382 B BAal what it signifieth 334. 337 Baptisme what it is 52. 86. 143. 145. 146. 147. 148 Beasts were worshipped 25 Beleuing what it is 38 Blasphemy what it is 46 47 Blessednes what it is 75 Blindenes of the heart is sinne 125 Blindenes of the minde 345 Boniface a proud and arrogant Pope 432 Brethren to praise them is profitable for vs. 446 C Câ—uses why Christ offred him selfe vnto death 210 Cerimonyes what they are 69. 70. 71. 152 Circumcision what it is 47. 48. 85. 86. 87. Charitie distinguisheth true faith from false 225 Chaunge of things in the ende of the world 216. 217 Children of wrath who they are 278 Christ excelleth philosophers 10 Christ to dwell in vs how it is to be vnderstand 199 Christ â–ª howe we receiue him and are ioyned vnto him 200 Christ is still the minister of oure saluation 230. 231 Christ is the ende of the law 90 Christ is the heyre of al the world 88 Christ why he is called Lord. 6 Christ had a true body 4 Christ is the head of the promises of God 18 Christe had not his soule from the virgine Mary 110 Christes church shal neuer pearish 235 Christes diuinitie 246 Christes fleshe eaten in the sacrament is not the cause of our resurrection 201. 202 Christs death why it was acceptable to his father 107 Christians what things ought to moue theÌ„ to loue one an other 454 Chrisostome is expounded 16 Chrisostome and Ambrose fail in memory 17 Churches ought to be shut when there is no congregation 31 Church what it is 236. 237. Commaundements of God expounded 46 Concupiscence is not lawful 32. 33. 150 Constantine the great 16 Contention what it is 40 Cornelius iustified 181 Creatures why they are said to mourne 214 215. 216 Creatures are signes that set forth God 21 Crosses are aduersities 209 D DEath is not naturall vnto man 112 Death hath no right wher sin is not 121 Deathe is improprely called a rewarde 157 Degrees to saluation 356 Deuell is a prince of this worlde 337 Differences betwene wryting and painting 30 Difference betwene Dulia and Latria 162 Difference betwene the law and the gospell 61 Dignity of almes 451 Dscord in the church of Rome 415 Disobedience what it is 113 Distinctions 346 Diuorcement vsed among the Iewes 160 Dumme Bishops 13 E EFfects of honour and of contempt 219 Egiptians Idolaters 25 Election what it is 229. 335 Election is the cause of saluation 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. Election of grace what it is 253 Election and reiection depend on the will of God 257 Election and reprobation how they differ 258. 274. 275 Enemy what he is 196 Epistle to the Romains when it was written 451 Epicures error 20 Error of the Maniches 197. 173 Error of the Pelagians 197 Eternal life is called a reward 157 Ethnickes vpbrayd the gospell 14 Ethnickes excel in sharpnes of iudgemeÌ„t 36 Execrations 345 F FAith chiefly glorifyeth God 23 Faith and the gospell may not be taken from Philosophy 19 Faith deâ—ined 20. 40 Faith may not be seperated froÌ„ the gospel 19 Faith is oures and also Gods 18 Faith what it is to liue by it 18. we are iustifyed by it 19 Faith compared with philosophy 98 Faith only iustifieth 63. 64. 75. 87 Faith hath a double signification 16 Faith what it is wherof is a large discourse from the. 62. leafe vnto the. 98. Faith hope are distinguished 220. 22â— 222. Faith is called obedyence 325. and is also called law ibidem Faith excelleth feare 355 Faith must goe before the receiuing of the Sacraments 362 Fire that shall consume the world in the last day 217 Figures are necessary in scriptures 198 Feare is defined 207. 208 Felicitie and blessednes what it is 15. 150 Freewil what it is 26. 171. 172 176. 177. 178. 254. 255. 361. Frendship is a necessary thing 343 Frustrate what the nature of that worde is 23 Fruit of almes 451 Fruit of preaching wherof it cometh 452 G GEneration what is the nature thereof 271 Gentiles conuerted to Christ are Israelites 282 Giftes of the holy ghost 223 Glory and glorifying of God what it is 23. 63. 211. 212 Glotony what it is 434 God is the searcher of our heartes and why it is so sayd 224 God of Sabaoth what it signifieth 283 Gods glory consisteth in all things 24 God suffereth long 37 God forbid what it signifyeth 53 God nedeth no aduocates 24 God tempteth not to euill 28 God willeth that is good 256. 257 God doth things contrary to his lawes 25â— God of coÌ„trary things worketh like effects 232 God is called a Lyon a Bear and a fire 274 God tempted the fathers 169 God seeth all men 55 God ought not to be expressed by images 30 God how he deceiueth 268 God hath not commaunded things vnpossible 194 God worketh in men 151 God worketh not by chaunce 278 God is faithful in his promises 106 God why he is called the God of hope 446 God is wise 456 God confirmeth his by the gospell 456 God is witnessed to be God by any thing in the world how vile so euer the same be 22 Gods reuengement for Idolatry 25 Gods gifts vnto men 13 Gods knowledge is attributed to the vngodly 22 Gods knowledge is speâ—ially knowne in two things 22 God is iudged of men 51 God in dede loueth and in dede hateth 252 God is not the author of sinne 28 God forsaketh the Ethnickes 19 Gods word is the foundation of faith 326 Good workes are not to be reiected 18. 90. 158. 159. Gospell per accidens is the instrumente of death 192 Gospell what it is 3 43. 61. 62 Gospell is no new doctrine 456 Gospel who are they that are ashamed there of 14 Gospel is preferred to al men indiffereÌ„tly 16 Gospel is not new and when it began 4 Gospel is more common then Philosophy 13 Grace what it is 115. 116. 117. 140. 141 Grace is not common vnto all men 335. 336 Grace and life cleaue together 139 Grace is not bound to the Sacraments 83 Grafting in of the GeÌ„tils â–ª truth had