imprinted And although my meaning was at the first to haue the same directed to the behoof of the Iewes chiefely yet I trust it vvil not be altogether vnprofitable to the Christian readers First because it may so be yea I feare me may also iustly be feared lest amongst the nomber of theÌ„ which say that they beleue in Christ some happely vvil be found in vvhose lippes onely this faith rolleth at large and hath not yet pearced any deeper nor taken roote in their heartes nor are as yet so sufficiently learned as if matter come to tryall and proofe they can render a true and vndoubted reason of this their faith Moreouer admitte that a man stande assured and stedfast in the certeintie of his faith yet vvhat faith is there so sure constant and vnuanquiâ—â—able but may be made more stable and perfect For if S. Paul did see sometime as in a darke ryddle if the Apostles notvvithstanding so many miracles vvrought in their sight needed yet the interpretation of Scriptures if those vvhich receaued the vvoorde by the preaching of Paul did neuerthelesse coÌ„ferre his doctrine vvith the Scriptures to see whether they agreed togetherâ— as is recorded in the Actes of the Apostles vvhat shoulde let vs to doe the like that by this meanes vve also myght encrease dayly from fayth to faith Finally for as much as our auncient deadly enemie doeth not more cruelly maligne nor more outragiously assaile any one thing so much as this our faith in Christ surely I iudge this aboue all other most requisite that euery of vs haue especial regard to be as much as is possible armed and garded vvith this target of faith that vve may couragiously encounter all attempts and assaults of the deuill vvhereunto hovve auaylable this litle Sermon vvill be I knovv not that let Christ our Lorde him selfe see vnto and giue his mercifull ayde therein I for my slender capacitie haue perfourmed vvhat I vvas able and as much as the Lorde graunted me vvhome I most heartily beseeche to blesse and encrease thy holy studies godly Reader and to direct the same to the honour glory of his name Amen A Sermon of the true and gladsome Oliue tree mentioned in the Epistle of Sainct Paul to the Romanes chap. xi preached at London by a faithfull Minister of God Iohn Foxe at the christening of a certaine Iewe translated out of Latine into Englishe FIrst as duetie requireth I do yeeld most humble thaÌ„ks to our Lorde and Sauiour Christ Iesu whome it hath pleased of his vnsearcheable mercie and bountifull loue towardes vs to minister so notable an occasion of our assembly this present day place and so fruitefull an argument for mee to empart vnto you all Secondly I doe no lesse heartily thanke then woorthily commend in the Lord all you that are present who according to your accustomed maner are so willingly and ioyfully gathered together enduced hereunto not through any vayne delight of fonde noueltie but of a seryons and studious zeale of godlinesse not as gazers of friuolous fantasticall fables but as willing witnesses of this great and inestimable benefite of almightie god Lastly I do from the bottome of my heart reioyce in the behalfe of this person for whose cause we are as nowe mette here together who being transported from out the vttermost parts of Barbarie into England and conuersant amongest vs by the space of sixe whole yeeres renouncing nowe at the last the naturall contumacie of his natiue country doth with so earnest bent affection of voluntarie wil chearefully desire to become a member of Iesu Christ and to be made partaker of his holye congregatioâ— through faith and Baptisme And withall I most humbly beseeche Almightie God that he will not onely vouchsafe his gracious encrease to this glorious worke begunne with this Israelite stranger but also to allure the whole remnant of the circumcised Race by this his example to be desirous of the same communion So that at the length all nations as well Iewes as Gentiles embracing the faith and Sacramentes of Christ Iesu acknowledging one Shephearde vnited together in one sheepefold may with one voice one soule and one generall agreemeÌ„t gloâ—ifie the only begotten sonne our sauiour Iesus Christ be glorified againe of him And that it may please him of his singular clemencie to graunt the same as also to blesse these our dayes with quiet calme and ioyfull tranquillitie which we doe nowe enioy vnder the gouernmeÌ„t of our most gracious Souereigne and her most honorable Magistrates I beseeche you of your charitie to ioyne with me in heart and minde vnto the eternall God father of vs all with the same prayer which his onely begotten sonne taught vs in the Gospell The Prayer Our father c. Forsamuch as in the administration of the Sacraments of the Church I doe well perceiue that both by the word of God and by an auncient and solemne custome amongst many it hath bene an vse to haue somewhat for the better instruction of their auditories read and expounded out of the bookes of holie scripture and deliberating likewise with my selfe what course I might best keepe at this present as well to serue the offred opportunitie as also to satisfie the publique commodity of you al chiefly I could not determine vpoÌ„ any one text of the whole scripture to be opened vnto you more profitable for your learning more effectuall for exhortation more applyable to our age and more agreeable for this present occasion then the sentence of S. Paul the Apostle not very long but of woÌ„derfull force taken out of the xi chapter of his Epistle written to the Romanes And to the ende you may receiue the same to your greater comfort it behoueth you to yeeld earnest and heedefull attention not with your bodily eares onely but with the eares of your minde also to these things which I shal vtter vnto you Hearken ye therefore to the words of the Apostle euen as him selfe hath spoken them To the Romanes the 11. chapter I speake vnto you Gentiles in as much as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles I wil magnifie mine office if by any meanesâ— may prouoke them which be my fleshe and may saue some of them for if the casting away of them be the receyuing of the worlde what shal the receyuing of them be but life froÌ„ the dead For if the first fruits be holy the whole masse is holy also And if the Roote be holy the braunches will be holye also And if some of the braunches be broken of and thou beyng a wilde Oliue tree wast graffed in amongest them and made partaker of the Roote and fatnesse of the true and naturall Oliue tree boaste not thy selfe agaynst the brauÌ„ches for if thou do boaste thou bearest not the roote but the roote beareth thee Thou wilt say then The braunches are broken of that I may be engraffed in Thou sayest well for vnbeliefe sake they were broken of and thou stoodest
Sinagogue to learn how they ought to be haue theÌ„ selues in their dayly conuersation vnblameable As to that which apperteineth to the consideration of the time this ought to be holdeÌ„ for certaine that those blood offrings of the Ceremoniall lawe were not deliuered because they should neuer cease euen as neither the Temple was builded to the end it should neuer be rased and destroyed or as though the ouerthrowe thereof shoulde forthwith extinguish al worshipping of god withal but were giuen for a time onely not to continue for euer but transitorie rather and remoueable remaynâ—ng in vse as certaine exercises and introductions of outwarde discipline vntill the blessed seede shoulde come in whome the promise tooke effect And therefore almightie God did with great care long time as it were allowe the Sacrifices to nourtour the weake capacitie of the people of â—hat rude age by meanes whereof the said sacrifices had thâ—n their certaine vse estimation nor were adiudged vnclean during that season But as now the estate of the time being altered sithence the truth it selfe doeth ouerspread the worlde with wonderfull lightsomnesse and the Sunne of righteousnesse displayeth his cleare and palpable brightnes these carnallâ— Sacrifices and blood offerings do vtterly cease and are altogether discharged from further vse For what auaileth to gaze after shadowes where the bodie is present to be beholden plainly What senselesse man will burne candle or light a torche in sunneshine at midday who will groape for darkenes in open light or seeke for night in clearest day The cause why that butcherie of siely beastes was permitted you for a time was to enfourme your grossenesse and tame the hardenesse of your heartes that so by viewe of visible signes and representations of spectable shadowes the Lorde might traine you along to the true and pure clensing of sinnes which was then to come But nowe sithence wee are come to the truth it self wherof the other were but shadowes it is a necessarie consequent that those things which were sometime esteemed for clean the very same again through alteratioÌ„ of time may be accounted not only vncleane and defiled but filthie also and abominable Which things being vndoubted true ye men of Israel as may most manifestly appeare vnto you by the testimoniâ— discourse of Malachie and other Prophets what eâ—treme madnes is this in you to perseuer still in so deepe a slumber dreaming yet about your olde rotten tabernacles your forlorne Temple your carnall worshippings and motheaten sacrifices But let vs imagine and graunt by way of a case put that you may recouer your Ierusalem againe which notwiâ—hstanding will neuer come to passe vnlesse God himselfe and all his Prophets doe lie I would fayne learne of you then what you would do there First you will procure your Temple to be built vp againe And why so because ye may offer incense and sacrifice to God after your accustomed maner As though that generall Lord of all nations can not be worshipped els where then in a blinde angle of the world at Ierusalem perdy And how then will the saying of the Prophet Malachie be verifiâ—d who saieth that the time should come when the Lord of hosts shoâ—ld be worshipped in all places and incense offred vnto him throughout al the world from the rising of the sunne to the going downe thereof If you wil so streight and restrainâ— all worship due vnto God within the walles of your Temple only as it were lockt fast in some closet then I demaund of you further with what kinde of sacrifice you will pacifie your God within that Temple forsooth with blood and butcherie of beastes But where is then that pure and vndefiled offring mencioned by Malachie which is not embrued with slâ—ughter I suppose but perfourmed by spiritual sacrifices Finally with what argument can you persâ—ade that the liuing God ought to bee worshipped more properly and peculiarly of you Iewes then of all other nations namely sith you are so plainely conuinced with the expresse testimonie of Malachieâ— who making no meÌ„tion of the Iewes doth prophesie that the name of God shal be had in great admiration amongst the Genâ—iles What answerâ— will you make also to that promise of the same Malachie in the Chapter following where foretelling the signes and tokens that should go before the comming of the Messhias to wit That his forerunner should come first and prepare the way before the face of the Lord And immediately sayethâ— And 〈◊〉 Lorde whome yee seeke shall speedily come to his holy Temple euen the Angell of the â—ouenaÌ„t whom you desire â—â— Whatâ— came not that same forerunnerâ— that was promised Was not his voyce heard also in the desert according to the prophecie of Esayâ— crying out as loude as he could to the ende you should prepare the way of the Lorde and should make straight in the desert â— path for your God. Why did you no◠〈◊〉 preparation then Why did you not receyue the Angell of the Couenant whom ye desired comming into his holy Temple Nay rather why did you banish him from out your Synagogue why did you dayly exclude him froÌ„ thence rayling coÌ„tinually vpoÌ„ the Lord with outragious reproches and taunting blasphemies What punishment or torture may â—e imagined horrible inough to counteruaile so execrable outragies Also by the way here is not to be passed ouer in silence the saying of the same prophet annexed in the end of the same chap. coÌ„cerning the dreadful terrible day of the Lord wherwith he wil ouerwhelm the proud wicked doers whom that hote scorching day eueÌ„ as an hote burning ouen should deuoure as flame consumeth the stubble leauing neither branche nor roote of them But you wil say that this threatning doth concerne others and apperteineth nothing at al to you Yes truly the very order proceding and euent of the matter doe most manifestly conuince that this direfâ—l threatning was denouÌ„ced against you chiefly whose words that ensue hereupon immediatly are these Behold saith he I wil send you Elias the prophet before the coÌ„ming of the great and fearful day of the Lord and he shall turne the heartes of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the childreÌ„ to the fathers lest happly I come and smite the earth with cursing And to whom 〈◊〉 this Elias be sent but vnto you and therefore what land shal be accursed but you Finally what signifyeth the worde anathema but a certaine finall destruction of all mankinde except those persons only whoâ—â— Elias should reduce to amendment of coÌ„uersation For God hath not so vtterly reiected his people y no remnant therof shal be saued as I declared before vnto you out of s. Paul. But I wil surcease to surcharge you with more testimonies adding onely one or two places first out of the booke of Genesis anâ— then out of the Prophet Osee wherein it shal not be needeful to vse long discourse For who is so ignorant
in the holie scriptures that vnderstandeth not what is ment by that scepter which the Patriarche Iacob enspired by diuine oracle did boldly pronounce should neuer be remoued from the tribe of Iudah And who is he at the length but euen the same whome the Prophet Esay describeth saying I haue giuen him for a gouernour and teacher of the Gentiles Which sentence the holy Patriarche inspired with the same holy ghost did long before in the same sense professe though in other wordes And the Gentiles shal be gathered vnto him But as then was not the scepter yet of power in Israel But the godly grayheaded father foreseing loÌ„g before the euents of things to come did prophesie of Iudah in this wise The Scepter or Mace of the empire shall not departe from Iudah nor a Lawgiuer from betweene his feete vntill Silo come and the gathering of the Gentiles shal be vnto him Howsoeuer some rascal Thalmudistes do practise to peruert this place with most friuolous cauillatioÌ„s yea though all the start vp Rabbines woulde burst in sunder yet can this sentence by no violent wrest be framed appliable otherwise but that two speciall matters must necessarily be grounded thereupon First that Iudah and his tribe should be inuested in the title and the interest of the kingdome Next that this prerogatiue should endure vnmoueable vntil Mesâ—hias did come vnto whome the Gentiles should gather them selues And to the same effect tendeth the interpretation of Ionathas and others who liued long before the age of Christ whose wordes who listeth to heare are these The kings seat shall not be taken or depart from the house of Iudah neither shall Lawgiuers want of their childrens children vntil the time that Messhias shal come to whom the kingdome doeth belong And all the kings of the earth shall become his vassalles How beautifull is this Messhias that shall come to continue in the house of Iudah he shal girde vp his loynes go forth to battel against his enemies and the kings and their princes shal be slaine He shall die the riâ—ers red with the blood of the slaine his teeth shal be ordered with knowledge lest he partake the fruites of their spoyles and wrong doings The hilles shall looke redde with their vines and their winepresses with the wine the fieldes shal be adorned with beautifull blossome by reason of the aboundance of fruites of beasts sheepe c. Thus much thought I good to rehearse out of Ionathas yet haue we no neede praysed bee God to vouche any commentaries of the Iewes to manifest the mysteries of the holy Scripture namely sith there can bee no better interpreter of the propheticall scriptures then time and approued experience of the successes thereof The testimonie that I thought good to borow out of Osee most worthy to be noted of you that are Iewes is that which he setteth downe in the first Chapter of his prophesie where the Prophet inueighing against Israel vseth this speach Call his name â—aieth he not my people because you are not my people therefore will I not be yours c. Whereby you may plainely perceiue the saying of S. Paul confirmed by the Prophet to wit The same which he teacheth concerning the naturall branches which he sayde were hewen of from the Oliue tree And now ye men of Israel where is that your arrogant vaine glorious vaint of the ofspring of your kindred If to be issued of the race of Abraham be prised so highly in the sight of God what meaneth then this casting away of the Israelites mencioned by the Prophet what signifieth that speciall choyse and calling of the Gentiles and the wilde Oliue tree to be planted in their place for so wee reade the promise set downe by the Prophet And the nomber of the children of Israel sayeth hee shal be as the sande of the sea which can not be measured and tolde And in the place where it was saide yee are not my people it shal be sayd vnto them you are the sonnes of the liuing God It was a singular prerogatiue for them not being Israelites borne to be named and nombred amongst the true children of Israel But that other did farre surmount that being before the broode of the deuil they should now be called the sonnes of the liuing God. And to whom I beseech you is this vnspeakable benefite promised forsooth neither to the Israelites nor to the Iewes nor to theÌ„ which seemed to apperteine vnto God but vnto theÌ„ which were altogether seuered estranged from God the very abiect rascall Gentiles barbarous vncircumcised heatheÌ„ perdie whome the incomprehensible mercie of God will ioyne neere vnto him selfe and wil engraffe them into the roote of his owne naturall Oliue tree hauing first sawed of the naturall branches in whose steade he shal gather the Gentiles together from out a wylde Oliue tree in such plentifull aboundance and infinite heapes as will not be comprehended within the territorie of Palestine onely but like vnto the sandes of the sea will replenish the whole worlde farre and wide from the rising of the sunne to the going downe of the same Ye haue heard the minde and purport of the Prophet which if ye suppose to be as yet not accomplished for your behoofe through the Gospel of Messhias our Lord and Sauiour open your eyeliddes if you bee not blinde and beholde the innumerable multitude of people and tongues which euerie where throughout all the worlde doe professe the true worshipping of God nomber them if you be able but if the quantitie be so infinite as the sande of the sea exceeding all reache compasse of nomber you may easily coniecture thereby ye men of Israel into what streightes your wilfâ—ll ignorance forceth you and how perillous that frowarde blindnes of yours is and withallâ—bethinke your selues in time what were best for you to embrace from henceforth nay rather how foolishly you haue behaued your selues heretofore God did send his onely begotten sonne into the worlde the seede of a woman and borne of a virgine whose parentage kindred from whence he issued because you dyd not knowe and neuerthelesse were amazed to beholde his heauenly power in doing miracles his wonderfull clemencie employed to the cure of all maner diseases and casting out of deuils yet being swallowed vp of extreame madnes ouerwhelmed with blinde rancour caÌ„ckred malice you did most cruelly despoyle him of life and spilt his guiltlesse blood without all cause of offence For why may I not iustly accuse you as partetakers of the same crime sithence yee doe with whole bent affection of hatefull despite pursue the embrued steppes of your bloodie sires and gladly allow of that execrable murther And therefore thou cursed Iewe thou art duly charged with the guilt of innocent blood englut therfore thy greedie guts with goare Thou didst receiue Cesar to be thy king refusing Christ continue his bondslaue stiâ— Yet this worketh no grace in