what wee beleued but beleeuing what good or euill wee haue done here in this liffe But seeme they not on bothe sydes armed with the woordes of the lawe of godd Truly both partes glory of his expresse woorde Bothe crye ▪ the woorde of the lord The mouthe of the lord hath spoken it Thus sayeth the lord The Catholikes bring foorth these scriptures Shewe foorth good fruictes of penaunce Except yee repent yee shall all perishe VVee must suffer with Christ yf wee wyl be glorified with him wee must dye with him yf wee will lyue with him wee must indure with him yf wee will raigne with him If thow wilt enter ynto life keepe the commawndementes If you knowe these thinges yee are happy so that yee doo them Thow lord wilt geeue to euery man according to his woorkes VVee must all be browght before the iudgement seate of Crist that eche man may carry away according as hee hath done yn the flleshe either good or euill Mercy shall make a place to eche man according to the merytt of his workes I comme quickly and my reward is with me to yeeld to euery man according to his workes They which haue doon good shall coome foorth to the Resurrection of lyffe and they which haue doon euyll to the Resurrection of Iudgement Man knowyth not whither hee bee woorthy of loue or hatred VVho vnderstandeth his offences From my secret and hidden sinnes lorde clense me who can saye my hart is cleane I am pure from synnes I fearid all my woorkes knowing that thow wooldest not spare an offender My conscience dooth not accuse me of any thing yet am I not Iustified therby Of synne pardoned yett stand not cleerly without feare Say not the mercy of the lorde is great he will haue mercy on the multitude of our sinnes For his mercye and wrathe are soone at hand and wrath is bent vppon synne VVith feare and trembling worke your saluation Blessed is the man ▪ that is all wayes fearfull He that is without feare can not be iustified These and many others which were to long to recyte are the scriptures wherby the Catholykes and right beleeuers as by the expresse word of God Indeuour to proue that it is not Inough for a man to beleeue his sinnes be thorowgh Christ forgeuen him that hee standeth yn good grace and is an heyre of the lyfe euerlasting howe so euer the matter goe with his workes but euen as It behoued Christ first to suffer and so to enter ynto his glory so must wee allso suffer before wee come to that glorye and as hee walked so must wee allso walke That wee must by our good workes make stronge or sure our vocation and yett when wee haue all doon wee must not stand assured or Carelesse but mistrust all our workes and say wee be vnprofitable seruauntes so farre foorth as wee be not without feare euen of that synne which is forgeeuen vs. They on the other syde which haue deuyded them selues from the Churche bring foorth allso their scriptures and defend the contrary opinion Hee that beleeueth and is baptised shall be saued So God looued the world that he gaue his only begotten sonne that euery mā that beleeueth yn him should not peris he but haue lyfe euerlastīg Doo manfully and feare not at the sight of them Doo manfully and thy hart shal be comfortyd Saye yee vnto the cowardes be yee of good chere feare not Putt on you all the armour of God that yee may resist yn the euyl daye VVhom resist you being strong yn faythe Hee hath sent his sonne yn to the world that wee should liue throwgh him Godd shewyd foorth his loue towardes vs in that that when wee were yet sinners Christ was doon to deathe for vs. The lord gouerneth me and I shall want nothing If I walke yn the middes of the shadow of death I will feare no euill because thow art with me The lord is the protector of my lyffe of whom should I bee affrayed In thee lord haue I trusted I shall neuer be Confownded Sure I am that neither deathe nor lyfe nor Angels nor anny other creature can seperatt me from the looue of God All that my father geeueth me shall come vnto me and him that cometh to me I will not cast foorthe VVhoo so euer callyth on the name of the lord shal be sauyd All that is borne of God ouercometh the world and this is our victory which ouercometh the world Our fayth These be the scriptures which Brentius bryngeth to confirme his assurednes and vayne suerty by Yett they be suche as you shall sooner drawe foorth mylke of a poomisse stone then owt of thē the thing which Brētius seeketh You see now how owld a practys this hath been of heretikes to glory yn the woord of God sins it was vsed euen yn the dayes of Hieremy and Ezechiel But what Euen soone after the coomyng of Chryst was not that deuyse allso putt yn vre VVell knowen is that Storye of the Gospell wher in it is wrytten howe Christ so soone as he was baptised was ledd by the spiryt ynto the wildernes and was there tempted of the deuill But with what other weapons did he assault Christ but with the very scriptures The Euangelyst Mathew sayth The diuell sett him on the pinacle of the Temple and sayd vnto him If thow be the sonne of God throwe thy self downe For it is written he hath geeuen his Angelles charge of thee that they shall take thee yn their handes lest thow hurt thy foote ageinst soome stone which place S. Ambrose treating of prouidently warnyth vs saieng Learne here allso for the diuell transsormyth him self yn to an Angell of light and of the diuyne scriptures thē selues makyth ofte tymes snares to intāgle the faith full So dooth the heretike so dooth hee ripp vp the faith so dooth hee assault the lawes of pietye Therfore lett not the heretike deceyue thee because he can bring foorth some exāples of scripture Lett hī not stande much in his owne conceyte because he hath some shew of Learning for the diuell allso vseth the testimonye of the scriptures not to teache but to cumpas and deceiue Very excellenty allso doth Vincentius Lirynensis a writer allso in the dayes of S. Ambrose handle that place yn that his goulden booke which hee intitules For the antiquitee and vniuersalyte of the Catholyke faythe I will the more at large repete his wordes because they are worthy not only to be read but to be lernyd without booke Here sayth hee some man will perhaps aske whither heretikes doo allso vse the testimony of the scriptures They doo sure and that vehemently for youe shall see thē fllee throwgh euery volume of the holly lawe Throwgh Moyses the bookes of the kinges the psalmes Apostles Euangelystes
weyght Doo wee not heare MelancthoÌ„ complayne that where hee wrote the confession of Augspurg they now goo about to take from him the name and honour therof For the Illyricans doo gredely challenge that to them selues and labour to exclude from the same the MelaÌ„cthonists with their maister whom as in diuers other things they shewe to haue gone froÌ„ the mynd of his maister Luther so doo they lowdly charge him in the doctryn of the sacrament to haue ioyned him self to Caluin his lore Of which thing Caluin him self also dooth not a lytle glory Now yn that matter which they will haue to bee the summe of the Gospell which is os Iustification Lord how sore Melancthon and BreÌ„tius dissent the one from the other while Brentius defendeth Osianders opinion which the Melancthonistes thinke most execrable So amoÌ„g the disciples of Luther there is litle agreement of the principal doctrines of our religion wherof very contenciously they quarrell emong them selues and be as it were heretikes one to an other so as they neede not to be better blasoned then them selues blasone one an other VVherfore of right Luther must suffer by the lawe which him self gaue to others that there be no disputation allowed to the followers of his doctrine but that so sone as it apperith they be of that sort they bee presently coÌ„demned vnheard For it is no more trewe of the Zuinglians then of the Lutherans which is sayd by the disciples of Luther that they are to be restrayned not by writing but by the Mace and power of the magistrate especially synce neither these bringe almost any thing that was not more then a thousand yeres past condemned for heresie But wee may seeme to haue wandered somwhat from our purpose VVherfore let vs returne to the matter froÌ„ whence wee haue by occasion a litle declyned VVee haue shewyd you before that eueÌ„ at that tyme when that most auncient doctor Tertullian floorisshed heretikes vsed to vauÌ„t to talke and to holde foorth before them the scriptures and that Tertullian doth vtterly forbid all disputation with them or triall of the controuersies to be referred to the scriptures but would haue theÌ„ putt ouer to the tradition of the Churche But dooth not S. Cyprian allso complayne of the deceyts of the diuell who transfigureth him self as it were in to an aungell of light and suborneth his ministers leeke vnto the ministers of iustice teaching night for daye damnation for saluation desperation vnder the veyll of hoape infidellite vnder pretence of fayth and finally Antechrist vnder the name of Christ that while they falsly report thinges not all together vnleekly they may by their subteltie chase and driue awaye the very truth it self Nothing could be sayd more trewly then that which wee fynd to be written by Cyrill All heretikes gather the occasions of their errour owt of the scripture inspired by God corrupting those thinges by their owne malice which by the holy Ghost were well geuen and vttered and so kendling vpon their owne heddes an vnquenchable fier S. Augustin allso sayeth that heresies and peruers doctrine intangling and throwing downe headlong the sowles of men in to hâ—â—â— cometh of none other grownd but wheÌ„ thinges well written in the scriptures are not well vnderstanded and when that which is not well vnderstaÌ„ded is rashely and bouldly vtteryd for a truth And therfore S. Ambrose did thinke good in this sort to describe heretikes Heretikes sayth he are they which by the very wordes of the lawe do impugne the lawe for they adde vnto the wordes of the lawe their owne sence and vnderstanding that by the authorite of the lawe they may sett foorth the shrowdnes and malice of their owne mynd For wickedness knowing authorite to weygh muche worketh her snares vnder the name therof to the end that sythens an yll thing by it self can not be acceptable it may be commended to the world vnder the name of a good thing VVhen they which in the Councell of Carthage were by Agrippinus assembled sayd it was no trewe baptisme which was geuen by Schismatikes and heretikes did they not saye they so found it in the holy scriptures and seemed to coÌ„firme that their sentence by the expresse word of God This councell yet afterward by the auctoritte of the Churche was disanulled But let vs heare Vincentius Lirinensis talke of that matter So great excellency of witte sayth he was in those fathers suche flowing vaynes of eloquence suche a number of them that affirmed it so great leeklyhood of truthe in so many texts of the scripture but after a newe and yll sort vnderstanded that me thinke all their great agreement conspiring in one could neuer haue been ouerthrowen yf only the profession of nouelty which was the only cause of all that great styrre so much then mayntayned defended and extolled had not discredyted the whole matter They therfore were destitute not of textes and authoritees of scripture but of the trewe vnderstanding of them VVherfore S. Hilary doth very well warne vs. Remember sayth he that ther is no heretike but faulsly affirmeth that all the blasphemyes he vttereth are warrantyd by the auctoritee of scripture For hereof Marcion when he readeth the word of God vnderstandeth it not Hereof Photinus could not fynd by his doctrine Iesus Christ to be a man Herof Sabellius when he could not vnderstand this text My father and I be all one could not fynd God the father nor God the sonne Herof Montanus by his madde weemen went about to maynteyn a newe holy Ghost Herof Maniche and Marcion hated the lawe because they found it written the letter kylleth and the Prince of the world is the diuell They vtter all the scriptures without sence and pretend fayth withowt faith For the scriptures consist not in reading but in vnderstanding not in thwarting but in charitable consent and vnitee VVhom S. Hierom following in his booke against the Luciferians sayeth Let not heretikes flatter them selues if they seeme to fynd somwhat in some chapiters of the scripture which they thinke coÌ„firmeth their heresies since the diuell him self hath allso alleaged places owt of the scripture and the scriptures coÌ„sist not in reading but in vnderstaÌ„ding In leeke sort wryteth allso Athanasius of the ArriaÌ„s If sayth he meÌ„ reading some goodwordes of the holy scripture written in these fellowes bookes will therfore by and by take blasphemies for blessinges it will allso come to passe that wheÌ„ they see Iues of this our tyme diligeÌ„tly to read the lawe and the prophetes they will also with the Iues denye Christ Perhapps also hearing the Maniches vouche certayne places of the Gospells they will with them denye the lawe and the prophetes But if throwgh ignorauÌ„ce they do so boyll and babble let them learne out of the scriptures how the diuell him self the inuentour and deuiser of heresies for feare of
beyng bewrayed by his strong ayer vsurpeth allso thies wordes of the scripture to the end that shrowded therin hee may deceyue the simple so infectyd with his poyson For so deceyued he Eue so allso lead he other heretikes into error and euen so dooth he now persuade Arrius that as it were vnder colour of talking leeke an aduersary against heresies he might the better deceyue him in foysting in his owne Chrysostom allso following Athanasius Open o Arrius sayth he the sepulchre of thy throte filled with dead wordes for thou hast not yet that liuyng and quickening word which thow seekest to frame to the mayntenaūce of thy reasons but he so soone as he is callyd maketh the entree of his talke with scriptures But thow that art the faythfull fear not when thow hearest him bring in scripture for euen the diuell him self when he came to Christ and tempted him bourded him with scripture saying If thow be the sonne of God throwe thy self downe for it is written he hath geuen commaundement to his Aungells that they shal keepe thee in all thy wayes and shall hould thee vp with their handes And it is well knowen that Arrius browght foorth fowrty places of the scripture to proue that the sonne was not of one substance with the father And what did he and his followers crake euer of but of the scriptures the Gospell and the expresse word of God To the scriptures he appealed and would not otherwyse be dealt with but only with the scriptures Maximinus when hee should enter in to disputation with S. Augustin prescribed this lawe vnto him that he should of necessite yeld to what so euer he should bring out of the scriptures For thus he sayth Those wordes which are takē out of the scripture faull not to vs by chaūce synce the lord him self hath thus warned vs saying in vayne do they worship me teaching the preceptes and commaundements of men S. Augustin allso writeth euen the leeke of the Donatistes As the diuell sayth he against the very lawemaker browght owt the very wordes of the lawe so ye by the wordes of the lawe accuse the men ye knowe not and withstād the promisses of God which are geuen by the very wordes of the lawe And a lytle after You speake sayth he the wordes of the lawe but against whom you speake them youe marke not No more did the diuell when he vtteryd the wordes of the lawe knowe him to whō he spake them He would haue throwen downe our head which was ascending vpward but ye would contract to one lytle part the body of that head which is dispersed throwgh the whole earth In leeke sort also dealt Macedonius as may be gathered by the sermon which Gregorie Nazeanzen wrote of the holy Ghost And so played Nestorius for he thowght he was able by the expresse word of God to shewe that Mary the moother of Ihesu was deliuered but of a bare man because in the Canonicall scriptures shee was sometymes callyd the moother of Ihesu but neuer the mother of God Leekwyse Eutiches whē he denyed ij natures to be in Christ seemed therin to leane to the expresse woord of God and asked of the Catholykes In what scripture those ij natures appeared I haue not learnyd owt of the holy scriptures any suche ii natures And of suche thinges must wee make searche only in the holy scriptures which are of more force then the doctrines and expositions of the fathers But what needyth in a manifest thing to vse moe wordes when nothing can be more truly sayd then is written by S. Augustine Errour could not spring cloked vnder the name of Christ but of the scriptures not well vnderstanded Neither dare the diuell attempt any other waye but by the diuine scriptures as wee reade in Origē VVho whē he had brought foorth the diuell alleaging those wordes of the Psalme They shall hould the vp with their handes c. How comith it to passe Sathan sayth he that thow knowest thies thinges to be written hast thou read the prophetes or knowest thow the scriptures though thow hould thy peace I will answer for the thou hast read them not that by the reading of holy things thy self wouldest become better but that by the bare letter thow mightest kyll the frēdes therof Thow knowest that yf thowe shouldest speake out of any other bookes thow coul dest not deceyue neither could thy allegations haue any authoritee So did Marcion read the scriptures as did the diuel so Basilides so Valentinus that with the diuel they might saye vnto our sauiour it is writtē etc. Yf any tyme therefore thou here testimonyes browght owt of the scripture take hede thou do not by and by repose thy self on the speaker but cōsider him well what he is of what mind and dispositiō lest happely he faine him self holy and be not so in dede and lest the woulse infectyd with the poyson of heresy lye shrowdyd vnder a shippes skin or lest the diuel speake scripture out of him This admonition of Origen is so depely to be layd vp in our mynd that at no tyme it go owt therof that when wee heare one bring foorth the scriptures or glory of the expresse word of God wee do not by and by beleaue euery suche kynd of sprite Be the Lutherans only they in this our age trowe yee which so confidently beate our eares with their continuall boasting of the word of God Doo not the Sacramentaries with as great or greater assurednes arrogat the same vnto themselues VVherunto doth Caluin appeale but vnto the scriptures when he hath to do with the Lutherans VVhat can he beare more vnpacyently then when both by the Christians and Lutherans he seeth obiected against him the auctoritee of the fathers and Councels VVhen the Magdeburgenses wrote wee are coōmawnded from God to heare the sonne of God Caluin ansvereth them in this sort Maliciously and wickedly doo they obiect to vs the auctoritee of Christ as though our mynd were one iote to declyne from his pure and syncere doctryne whoo haue allwayes shewyd our selues in very deed with no lesse reuerence to receiue what so euer hath issued out of the diuyne mowth of the lord then they yn wordes doo boast on their part Lett therfore the sonne of God be vnto vs without all cōtrouersy the chieff most perfytt and only maister in whose doctrine it may not bee laufull to alter one worde or sillable But the obedyēce of the fayth dooth not lett but that wee may bee attentiue to the sownd vnderstanding of his wordes Loo as wicked and blasphemous as Caluin is yet may he indure nothing worse then to be charged that he geueth not eare to the sonne of God or declyneth any thing frō his pure and syncere doctrine But what Do the Anabaptistes with any lesse courage stande also vpon that poynt No truly For beholde howe one of them
and prophettes For be it emong their famyliers or straungers in priuatt or in publyke yn their Sermons or bookes at feastes or yn the streates they neuer vtter anny thing of their owne but they seeke to ouer shadow it with some wordes of the scripture Reade the workes of Paulus Samosatenus Priscillianus Eunomius Iouinianus and the rest of the pestilent heretikes and thou shallt fynde there an infynitt heape of examples and almost no one half leafe omitted which is not paynted and coloured with sentences of the newe and ould Testament But looke now myche the more couertly they lurke vnder the shadowe of Gods word so myche the more must thow feare and be ware of them For they knowe their vnsauery fylthe would hardly at the first please any man therefore do they sprinckle it ouer as with a certayn sweet spyce of Gods word to the end that he which easely would fynd and reiect the errours of men may yett forbeare to contemne that which semeth to be drawen out of the word of God Therefore as they which geue vnto children some bytter drynckes do first annoynt the brimmes of the cuppes with hunny wherby their vnskilfull childishenes hauing fore tasted the sweett feareth not the bitter And as they which vtter vnholsome drogges of seedes and liquors vnder colour and names of medicynes whereby he that fyndeth written theron the name of a medicyne suspectyth not the poyson euen so do heretikes And heerof did also our Sauiour hym self forewarne vs Crieng out vnto the people Beeye ware of faulse prophetts which come vnto you in sheepes clothing and are with in raueniÌ„g wolues VVhat other thing is this sheps clothiÌ„g but the wordes vtteryd by the Prophets and the Apostles which they with playne and symple sinceryte did worke as it were fleses to that vnspotted laÌ„be which taketh away the sinnes of the world And what other be those rauening wolues but the fell and greedy wittes of heretikes which do allwayes trouble and assaylle the foulde of his churche and teare in pieces his flocke by all meanes they can But the more craftely to steale vpon the selly shepe keeping styll their woluish feersenes they lay asyde their woluishe shape and wrap them selues yn the sentences of Gods word as it were in certayne fleeses that when one feelyth the softnes of their woll he should not feare the sharpnes of their teethe But what sayeth our sauiour By their fruicts youe shal knowe them That is to saye when they begyn not only to vtter the diuin wordes but also to laye them abroade not only to vawnt therof but allso to interprett and expownd the same then lo is perceiued that Bitter that sower that Rage then doth the ayre of the nue poyson breathe foorthe then are opened prophane noueltyes Then maiest thow behowld the hedge cutt down the awncyent bowndes of the fathers caryed awaye the Catholyke faith troden downe and the doctrine of the Churche torne in pieces Suche are they whom the Apostle Pawll streeketh at in his second Epistle to the Corinthians saying Suche false Apostles leeke subtyll workmen transformed them selues into the leeknes of the Apostles of Christ what meanyth that How did they transforme them selues in to the Apostles of Christ The Apostles browght foorth examples owt of the lawe of God So did they allso The Apostles vouched the saienges of the Prophettes So did they to But when they beganne to expound leeke textes with vnleeke and farre contrary interpretations then were the playn dealers discernyd from the crafty the naturall from the paynted the right from the peruers and finally the true Apostles from the false and no maruaill sayth he for Sathan transformyth him self into an Aungell of light then is it no greate matter for his ministers to transforme them selues into the leeknes of the ministres of iustice Therfor according to the teaching of the Apostle Pawll when so euer false prophettes or false doctors vouche the sentences of the lawe of God by the wrong interpretation wherof they labour to buyld vp their errors it is not to be doubted but they followe the subtill deuises of their auctor the diuell which doubtles he would neuer haue inuentyd had he not found that same of all other to be the easyest waye to deceyue That where he would induce couertly a wycked and pernicious errour there to holde forth the auctoritie of Gods worde But some man perchaunce will aske me howe proue youe that the diuell vseth to vouche the scriptures Lett him I saye reade the Ghospell wherin it is written Then the diuell toke him vp that is to saye our lord and Sauiour and sett him vpon apynnacle of the temple and sayde vnto him If thou be the sonne of God Throwe thy self downe For it is written he hath geuen his aungells charge of thee that they keepe thee in all thy wayes They shal take thee in their handes lest thow happ to dashe thy foote against some stone VVhat will this fellowe do to vs wretchyd men who did with testimonies of scriptures geue the onsett euen to the very lord of Maiestye him self If thow be sayth he the sonne of God Throwe thy self downe why For it is written saith he The doctrine of this place is especially to be marked and remembred that when we see any man with suche an example of euangelicall auctorite bringe foorth the wordes of the Apostles and Prophettes against the Catholyke fayth wee nede not to doubt but it is the diuell that speakyth by him For eueÌ„ as then the head spake vnto the head euen soo do now the lymmes speake vnto the lymmes that is to saye the lymmes of the diuell to the lymmes and meÌ„bres of Christ the Traytorous to the faithful Churche robbers to the Religious and finally heretikes to Catholikes But what sayth he If thow be the sonne of God throwe thy self downe That is wilt thou be the sonne of God and receiue the inheritaunce of the heauenly kingdom then throwe thy self downe that is from this high churche which is reputed the churche of God and from the doctryne and tradition therof throwe thy self downe And if you aske one of these heretikes that perswadeth suche things to himself how ê“ue you or how will you teache vs that we ought to forsake and lett goe the vniuersall and auÌ„cieÌ„t faith of the Catholike Churche By and by for it is written sayth he And therwith all he presently getteth him a ThowzaÌ„d witnesses examples and auctorities owt of the lawe the Psalmes the Apostles and Prophettes wherwith beyng expouÌ„ded after a newe and lewd sorte the vnhappy soule is throwen downe headlong from the high Tower of the catholike Churche into the bottomles pitt of heresies Then with syche promises as followe do heretikes vse woÌ„derfully to abuse suche as be not heedfull and ware For they will not stick to promesse and teache that in their churche that is in the conuenticles of their coÌ„munioÌ„ the
gould of my siluer hast thou made to thy self images But the images of their fanceys sayth he wherin their carnall soules delight to wallowe ouerturne both all the sacramentes and all the wordes of the holy bookes But yet it followeth not because those images be faulse that therfore the sacramētes and scriptures should be so myche dishonoured that they should be thowght to be theirs because our lord sayd of my gowld and of my siluer c. Vincentius Lirinensis allso a writer of that tyme sayth that the owld Testament caulleth straunge Gods syche doctrines as are straunge and diuers from the churche because heretikes make no lesse a doo to the mayntenance of their owne opinions then the Gentills did for their Gods wher allso it is written in the Deuteronomy If there ryse emōg you a prophet that foretel you any signe or wonder which cometh to passe as he hath spoken and he sayeth vnto you Let vs go after straunge gods whom you knowe not thou shalt not harken to the wordes of that prophet for the lord your God proueth you that it may appere whether you loue him with all your hart and with all your soule or no. Here sayth he by straunge Gods are signified straunge newe and vnknowē errours which God somtyme suffreth to be spred that he may trye our constancy in louing of him and in cleauing to his sound doctrine according as it is allso written by S. Pawll there must be heresies For this cause sayth Vincentius the auctors of heresies are not by and by rooted vp to the end that they which are tryed may be seen how faithfull and constant and how stedfast a louer he is of the catholike fayth And in deed sayth he when any nouelty boyleth vp by and by is seen the wayght of the Corne from the lightnes of the chaffe Then very easely is blowen away with the ayre that which by no wayght was kept in our lordes barne flower For some are blowen quyte away some only streeken and being wounded as persons half dead and halfe a lyue are affrayed to perishe and asshamed to retourne as men which had only receyued syche quantite of poyson as neither would kyll nor be digested nor force them to dye nor suffer them to lyue Heerby it may easely appere what the auncient fathers thowght to be signified in the scriptures by the name of idolls to wyt heretikes and their faulse doctrine For to imbrace as the very word of God the saying of any one man teaching in māner all thinges contrary to the receyued doctrine of the whole Churche and to adore and inclyne vnto what so euer he hath sayed or writtē what can be a kindly idolatry yf this be not VVhich who so doeth what doeth he els but adore Antechrist for Christ Luther sayth that which I teache is the word of God and the pure Gospell By and by they adore and inclyne vnto it as before an idoll The same sayth Zuinglius and Caluin the Anabaptistes and the Picardines Suenckfeldius Seruetus Campanus and diuers other heretikes They brynge foorth certayne textes of the scripture wrested into a wrong sence and by and by this word of men or rather of the diuell speaking by men simple persons doo imbrace and adore as the word of God and the very Gospell of Christ. Horrible is this idolatry and to be fled from with full sayle as they say according to the warning geuen vs by the Prophetes and Apostles For what other thinge can follow herof but that whyle euery sect vaunteth his owne word to be the expresse word of God their sectaryes and followers must nedes haue so many Gods as there be archheretikes Doo you now marke most vertuous kyng to what end Sathan dooth by so many his diuers members make so great vaunt and bragging of the expresse word of God There is no one heretike of this our age which hath not allwayes that in his mouth which dooth not glory therof and so particularly challenge the same vnto himself alone as that he will exclude all others from the possession therof The mynd therfor of Sathan is that wee should bowe downe now before this man and now before that and that we should imbrace nowe his word and now an other mans as the very word of God and so instead of one God worshippe many idolls and in place of one Christ bowe downe to many Antechristes But lett vs harken to the voyce of the Prophets and Apostles crying vnto vs Flee frō idolls flee frō idols Flee frō the peruers doctrines of Luther Caluin Melancthon and Brentius flee as many as be of them which wil haue their owne fanceys worshipped for idolls and labour to haue what so euer they saye or thinke to be adored as the pure word of God and the very Gospell But see most gracious kyng how these Germayne Gods can not abyde one an other but euen lyke Homer his Gods make warre emong them selues I speake not in this place of those deadly bataylles and innumerable slaughters wherewith vnhappy Germany hath been miserably afflicted synce they beganne to worship these Gods and to receyue what so euer was by them sayd or written as the expresse word of God But harken how the Gods them selues which doo thus set to sale to the vnlerned multitude their owne word for Gods word do quarrell and braule emong them selues Did not Luther as an enemy inuade and set vppon Zuinglius and his followers And leekwyse vpon the Anabaptistes Did he not labour as myche as he could to cut the throtes of both those wicked sectes VVhom he thought meet not only to be brydeled by his writinges but allso to be kept vnder by the mace of the magistrate Therfore not only emong Christians but allso emong the Lutherans them selues is so sore detested the name of Zuinglians and Anabaptistes that they are as the Prouerb sayeth forbidden fyre and water emong them and yf any Lutheran receyue or harbor any of them he is by order greuously punisshed And I pray you be the Zuinglians any more mylde to the Lutherans In deed they doo not persecute them with the lyke cruelty Not that they lacke any good wil therto but because they fynd them selues vnable For they well perceyue their strength is not yet syche that they be able to matche them But of what mynd they be toward the Lutherans it is by their wrytings manyfest to all men for they make euen the lyke accompt of the Lutherans as the Lutherans doo of them The wrytinges of Iohn Caluin and Iohn Alasco against Ioachimus VVestphalus and against the Cityes of Saxony doo well witnesse this Bucer allso wrote that Luther was accused of all men to be a man to full of wordes very imperious and ouer bitter not hauing the pacyence to be contraryed by any man which fault the Tigurins allso charge him with If he looke sayth Bucer speaking of Luther
proffitteth nothing As S. Pawll him self also teacheth VVho defyneth not euery faith wherby wee beleeue yn God but that only to be the helthsome and true euāgelical fayth which workyth by loue VVherby how litle or nothing that fayth auayleth which some thinke sufficient to saluation he so farre foorth shewyth that hee sayth If I haue neuer so myche fayth so as I be able to remoue mountaynes owt of their places and yet haue not charitee I am nothing But wher this faith full charitee worketh ther no doubt is good life For the fulnes of the lawe is Charitee Thus farre S. Augustyn Behould I pray yow how owld this heresie is which sayth Only faith is sufficient to saluation For it sprang euen whill Pawll yet leeuyd and was sought to be prouyd and mayntened euē by the expresse word of God vtteryd by that his elect vessell Pawll the Apostle when yett this was neuer the mynde of S. Pawll but as Saint Peter writeth some vnlernyd and vnconstant heades peruertyd the meanyng of his wordes And what for Gods loue dooth Sathan ells now allso more earnestly seeke by his members to beate into the eares and myndes of men but that they should hold for suertye that only fayth suffiseth both to iustification and to saluacion If Peter then at that tyme complaynyd of the peruertyng of Pawl his wordes How myche more would he now complayne when this most pestilent doctrine is with syche vehemencye sett foorth when it is obtruded to the eares and eyes of men with these most pernicious wordes That the Gospell may not suffer to heare any preaching of good workes That the sheepe of Christ quakyth when he hearyth them namyd of the preacher That faythe may not abyde any good workes to stand nere her That they which are coueryd as it were with good workes can hardly enter into heauen for that workes following after iustification are vncleane Yea and the best good worke is very synne That they are pestylent teachers and that it is a Roote budding nowght but Gawll owt of the newe Testament to vexe consciences with workes and that there can not be together in the Churche a teacher of fayth and of workes This so vnpure and wicked doctrine yf Peter should heare cloked with the name of the Gospel yf Pawl should heare these wicked men vawnt them selues that they had drawen this doctryne owt of his Epistles wherin it appearyth he did so carefully recommend vnto vs good workes and stirre vp all faithfull mē to vse and embrace them what thinke wee would they bothe saye and doo therunto But herofinowgh For in this place wee mynded no more but to shewe that euen in the Apostles tyme allso ther wanted not some which shrowded their lewde deceytes vnder the name of the Ghospell and which of the very wordes of S. Pawll by peruerting the sense therof fearyd not to professe and sett forward a contrary doctrine So that if first against Christ the very auctor of the scriptures Sathan feared not to bring the scriptures and agaīst Pawl him self to bring by his members Pawll his owne wordes wrestyd into a reprobat sense who can myche merueil if in thies latter dayes he hathwith more impudence attemptyd the same Tertullian is a very owld writer not lōg after the Apostles tyme. He wrote a notable booke of prescriptions against heretikes wherin he shewyth that this was a great word in their mouthe Seeke and yee shall fynd Searche the Scriptures And therin he exhorteth the faythfull that they would yet make some end of their seeking and therwith all preferryth fayth before trauail in the scriptures In the end he vseth these wordes Of the scriptures doo heretikes taulk very myche To the scriptures they counsell vs as though they could not otherwise geue aduyse touching matters of fayth but owt of the lettres and wordes of faith Now therfore come wee to the purpose For to this end did we direct and bend the entree of our taulke that euen here wee may Ioyne vpon that poynt wher vnto our aduersaryes so earnestly call vs. Scripture they pretend and with this their bowld countenaunce they moue some very muche But in the very conflict they wery the strong they take the weake and the indifferent they send awaye with scruple of mynd Then by and by he addeth what is to be done to them whē they shrowd them selues vnder the scriptures Thus sayth he do wee at the first encownter stoppe them that in dede they are not to be admitted to any disputatiō at all of the scriptures That if their force lie in scripture we must knowe howe they come by it Therefore must wee see to whom of right apperteyneth the possession of the scriptures to the end he be not allowed therunto to whom in no sorte it belongeth And lest any should thinke he wrote thus as hauing mistrust in his cause he foorthwith goeth forward in this sort This would I not haue browght foorth for geuing suspicion of diffidence or of desier to haue any other the state of the cause if the case stood not so as heerin we owght obedience to the Apostle ▪ who forbiddeth to enter into questions or to lend our eares to newe and straunge voyces For an heretike sayeth the Apostle must be taulked with after one Reprehension not after disputation For in this did the Apostle forbid disputation in that he apoynted an heretike to be rebuked and in that respect only to be taulked with and that but once because he is not to be esteemed as a Christiā Nor should be rebuked after the manner of a Christian once or twyse or by testimony of ij or iij. witnesses but is a man therfore and in that respect to be rebuked for that he is suche a person as owght not to be disputed with And because allso conference of scriptures with suche a one profitteth nothing but only stirreth choler and troubleth the brayne Agayne this heresie admitteth not some scriptures and if it allowe some yet doth it peruert the same by some addition or detraction to the defending of that it would proue or yf it receyue some scriptures yet will it not receyue them full and whol And if it doo yet will it turne them by inuēting some newe and contrary exposition No lesse ouerthwarteth the Truthe a bastarde Glose then a corrupted text Variable preiudices must nedes refuse to acknowledge those things wherby they are ouerthrowen To those things they leane which either faulsly they haue patched together or haue bene occasioned of ambiguous wordes and doubtfull texts VVhat shalt thow profit thowe that art best excersised in the scriptures when what so euer thow defendyst he shall denye and what so euer thow denyest he shall defend Thow losest but thy voyce in contending with him and gainest nowght but vnquyetnes of mynd in hearing his blasphemyes The partye if any suche be for whos
sake thow entrest into disputation by the scriptures to the end thow mayest confirme him in the trowthe hāging yet doubtfull is leeke inowgh to faull deeper in to heresies when he shall see thow hast profitted nothing the matter remayning in euē termes of defence and denyall Surely of this arguing to and fro he shall departe more vncertayn then he was before not knowing whether of the two is the heresie But this argument may they also agayn retourne vnto vs. For it is necessary for them allso to saye that by vs the scripture is falsefyed that wee do wrongely expounde them and they therefore will nedes take vpō them to defend the trowth VVe must not therfore appeale to the scriptures wherin the victory is none at all or ells vncertayn or not very manifest For albeit we supposed the conference of scriptures should not so faull owt betwene Catholikes and heretikes that it should set vp both sydes a leeke yet the order of thinges required that this pointe should first be propownded which now lyeth only in question As to whom the very fayth belongeth whose be the scriptures frō whom by whom when and to what teachers that doctrine was deliuered wherby wee are made Christians After the same sorte writeth Clemens Alexandrinus one that liued aboute that time also If sayth he they which followe heresies dare at any time vse the scriptures first they will neuer vse them all nor wholle nor as the very body and text of the scripture speaketh but choosing foorth those things which are ambiguous and doubtfull they turne them into their owne priuat opinion gathering here and ther a fewe wordes as it were flowers and not considering what is signified by them but only abusing the bare and naked termes In euery word almost which they bring foorth you shal fynd them stickyng in the only names and termes and quyte swaruyng frō the significatiō therof VVhat could be written better or what more aptly to the matter now in hand then that which we fynd writtē by that most lernyd mā Tertulliā He sheweth vs that the vsage of heretikes was to talke mych of the scripture to persuade by scripture and to holde foorth the scripture But in the meane tyme he admonissheth vs to stop them at that step and that they bee not admitted to any disputation of the scriptures for that they haue no interest or possession theryn sins the Catholikes do prescribe in the possession therof He allso bringeth for proofe herof the testimony of S. Pawll who forbiddeth vs to wast tyme in cōtending with heretikes For that allwayes debate breedyth debate and of argumēt groweth argumēt so as ther is lyke to be no end of brauling and cōtētiō wher a mā hopeth to ouercome obstinat persons by disputatiō For neither wāt they wordes at any tyme and their frowardnesse geueth thē courage neuer to be tyered with cōtention So as it is farre better to auoyde all occasiōs of cōtending with them which is the thing they seeke and to refrayne brawlyng with them by disputation for so myche as therby is that owld prouerb often verefyed By to myche altercation the trowth is lost But see whether those wordes written by Tertullian that this heresie admitteth not some scriptures and so foorth as before be not very truly spoken of the heretikes of our tyme The first fownder wher of did he not I praye you opēly vse the same hatchet to cut of the scriptures which were contrary to his purpose which Tertullian sayth Marciō the heretike did at that time vse He taught only fayth to suffise both to our saluation and iustification And seing that this his doctrine could not stand if the canonicall Epistle of Saint Iames remayned in forse straight waye taking his hatchet in his hand he cut the same of from his booke saying This shall haue no place in my Bibles Loe the imperious auctoritee of the man He caullyth them his Bibles wherby he shewyth they haue no fellowship with the Bibles of the Catholyke Churche Hee tawght also prayers and sacrifice for the dead to be superfluous and herunto seing that parte of the scriptures to be directly contrary which for the more parte all the owld catholyke writers bring foorth of the Machabees he katcheth ageyne his hatchet and cutetth of also that booke He tawght farther that all things came to passe by a certayne absolute necessitee and that wee owght to be certayn and sure of grace and saluation Against this his opinion maketh that which is written in the booke of wisedom and in Ecclesiasticus He therfore with his hatchet cutt of also these bookes So wee see that those scriptures which serued not his purpose he receiued not but taking his hatchet in hand cut them out of his Bibles Nowe those scriptures which he did receyue and allowe did he not by his additiōs and detractions peruert them to his owne priuat purposes making of good Latyne lewd high Dutche VVhich is layd to his charge not only by the Catholikes but allso by the sectaryes them selues And yf he did receyue any scriptures whole and sound did he not deuise therunto strange or rather mere contrary expositions which thing we allso see doon by the rest of the heretikes who be no lesse diuers among them selues then contrary to the catholikes in expounding the scriptures which thing to haue lykewyse been doon by the heretikes of his tyme Tertullian remembreth From their owne rules sayth he them selues do varye whilest euery of them do pype after his owne volūtary those things which he hath receiued euen as he that first deliuered thē framed the same by his owne fancye VVith such therfore as receiue no scriptures but suche as they leeke and those which they doo receyue wreast by addition and detraction to their owne purpose or ells deuyse therunto newe and straunge expositions Tertullian willeth vs in no wyse to enter into disputation of the scriptures but commaundeth them to be sett ouer to the Ecclesiasticall tradition VVhich his mynde euē Luther him self semeth to allowe when he hath to do with sacramētaries and Anabaptistes But you shal heare his owne wordes he sayeth VVee haue read what the holy fathers did in the councell of Nice so sone as they heard the heresie of Arius read they hissed it owt with one voyce and would not vouchesase to heare them that presented it nor suffer them to defend it but presently condemned them withowt any disputation as manifest blasphemers Moyses allso in his lawe commaunded that suche false teachers should be stoned to death Euen so in this case ther is no disputatiō to be vsed but suche manifest blasphemers are to be condemned withowt pleading their cause As Pawle allso commaundeth in the third chapiter of his Epistle to Titus that an heretike should be auoyded after one or two warnings He allso forbiddeth to Timothee all contentions and disputations as things which do nothing ells but
as we haue read talked vnto the heauēly father in this sort Certainly I can not herin be deceiued Thy word o heauenly father haue I beleued that receyued I of the holy Ghost as the sure word of truth And a litle after I knowe assuredly sayd he that this my doctrine which is the word of God in the daye of vpright iudgemēt shall not only iudge lordes kinges and the whole world but allso the Angells them selues Doth not this honest man thinke him selfe as sure that his doctrine is the expresse woord of God as Luther or Caluin and yett for all that both his Luthers and Caluines are in deed the expresse worde of the diuell But whereto in the end cometh this geare Strawnge and wonderfull it is For lo whyle in this sort euery sect seeketh to vsurpe vnto it self alone the word of God and the true vnderstanding therof there is sprong vp a certayne newe kind of prophets which feare not euē by the auctoritee of the scriptures to withdraw all auctoritee from the scriptures Lo wher to at last Sathan hath brought this reckening Forsooth to this that he hath drawē wretched men to that passe that looke what doctrine euery of thē hath by chaunce imbracyd the same should he firmly persuade him selfe to be the expresse worde of God and not suffer him self by any reasons to be drawen from it Now therfore this is apparant that neuer almost was ther any heretike which did not cōfirme his errour by the scripture and which affirmed not his opinion to be the very word of God The thing it self so she wyth this that farther demonstration needith not but yet the chief of all heretikes of this our age doth also testifie the same who writeth That the holy scripture hath now at the last obteynid this name to be caullyd the heretikes booke because all heresies deryue their course and origi nal spring frō thence But to what end is this will some man saye Doo you go about to extenuat the word of God and to withdrawe auctoritee from it Haue you browght vs foorth so many thinges to the end to shewe that who so euer vseth the testimony of the scripture is an heretike No God forbid that wee should so myche as thinke a thing so straunge and vnsitting for any Christian man No wee rather saye as S. Hillary whilom did Heresye is in the vnderstanding not in the scripture The sence not the text is blamed Nothing is more holy then the scripture nothing of more auctorite nothing next God more worthy of all honour But what thing cā be so holy which the enemie of man kind abuseth not to the destruction of man VVee must not thinke that God alwayes openeth their mowthes whō wee heare talke of the word of God and alleage the words of the scripture The most learned Origen did well note to vs that not seldō the diuel also openeth the mowth of syche as vtter the word of god who speaketh alye sayth he it is cer tayne the diuel openeth his mowth to vtter a lye But thow wilt saye how may he lye that bringeth foorth the testimony of the scriptures which no good man doubteth to haue proceded frō the holy Ghost the spirit of truth and from whom floweth all truthe Short and redy is the aunswer hereunto In the scriptures themselues which we knowe to haue ben inspired from God aboue ther can in deed be no lye But in the sence which man bringeth of whom it is written euery man is a lyar hee that will saye there can not be a lye what doth he ells but denye the saying of God and as it were charge the holy Ghost of Vntruth VVhat then will soome man saye yf euery man bee a lyar dooth it therfore followe that what so euer a man speaketh what so euer hee bryngeth owt of the holy scripture should therfore be a lye God forbidd I saye not so How shall I then knowe when hee vtteryth a lye This will the very Truth teache vs which can not lye For that sayeth whoo so euer vtteryth a lye vtteryth of his owne No man hath of his owne but synne and vntrouth But yf a mā haue any point of trouth or righteousnes that hath hee of God Hee therfore speakyth the truth which vtteryth not that is of him self but of God But thow wilt saye agayne Speakyth he not frō God which recyteth the very words of God and the testimonies of the scriptures Yow haue heard now not only once but often opened vnto yow by me that the diuel also alleageth testimonies of the scriptures and yet doth he not therfore speake the truth because he speaketh of his owne VVhat is this speaking of his owne It is when he bryngeth his owne sence of the scripture and not the sence and meaning of God For this is to bean heretike as before we taught out of S. Ambrose to buyld his owne sence vpon the wordes of the lawe and so by the wordes of the lawe to impugne the lawe But how shall I discerne when a man bryngeth his owne sence and when the true sence and meaning of God This will that notable doctour of the Church S. Augustine teache vs who in this sort speaketh vnto God Thy truthe lorde is neither myne nor his or his but common to vs all whom thow doost openly call to the communion therof terribly warning vs that we presume not to make the same priuat lest wee be depriued therof For who so euer doth challenge as proper to him self that which thow hast geeuen foorth to bee enioyed of all and will make that his owne peculiar which is common to all hee is throwen downe from that which is common to his owne that is to saye from truth to vntruth for hee that maketh a lye speaketh of his owne Doest thow now vnderstand whoo speaketh of his owne that is to saye whoo speaketh vntrought Truth thow seest is not his or his but is common to all All hath God caullyd publikely to the communion therof VVho so euer therfore maketh priuatt that is publyke whoo so euer challengith to him self and cōtenciously will make his owne proper that which by charitee is commō to all hee speakith of him self hee speakith an vntrouth For truth is not any wher ells but among all that is to saye in the Catholike or vniuersall Churche Therfore whoo so euer seekith owt any singular vnderstanding or inuenteth any strange and vnknowen expositions or bringeth to the world any newe and singuler opinions though hee shewe six hundreth testimonyes of the scriptures because hee vnderstādeth them not with that sence wich is receiued of the Catholike Churche but ioyneth therunto his owne proper and priuat exposition he speaketh of him self and therfore speaketh an vntrouth for the truth is not with any one but with all that is to saye in the Catholike Churche wherunto the light of sownd and true
owne doctrine that they frame to the wordes of the scripture their owne priuat sence And that they contend not with vs about the sence and mynd of the scripture but about their owne sence vnderstādīg therof which rather thē we would adore as the pure word of God against the cōuiō sence and cōsent of the whole church we are redy to do and suffer all thinges For wee are persuaded that so to do were right idolatry Synce therfore wee haue at large shewed why wee can not agree with the enemyes of the Gospell which by the wordes of the Gospell assault the same and contend with vs about their owne mynd and not the mynd of the scripture wee will brieffly discourse the cause why we can not so do First the most seuere commaundements of God forbid vs to geue eare or consent vnto them according to these wordes If any man preache vnto you any other Gospel then that which ye haue receyued let him be accursed If any man speake blasphemie against the holy Ghost it shall not be remitted vnto him Flee from idoles Seeing therfore these men be syche as preache vnto vs a Gospell which wee haue not receyued and syche as speake blasphemy against the holy Ghost and seeke to be adored of vs as certayne idolls wee obeying the commaundements of God are iustly feared frō consenting with them And lest any man thinke wee applye these scriptures to our owne proper sence we will in fewe shewe how the auncient catholyke fathers haue expoūded them to the end euery man may plainly perceiue that wee doo very truly vse them against these enemyes of the Gospell And first who is ther to whō the name of Athanasius is not knowē and wel thowght of VVho as S. Cyrill writeth adorned heauen it self with the workes he wrote as it were with a most fragrant oyntment This father therfore in his booke which he intituled of the incarnation of Christ as it is by Cyrill cited vseth these wordes VVho so euer besyde these thinges teacheth out of the holy scripture that there is one sonne of God and an other sonne borne of the virgin Mary and adopted for a sonne only in suche sorte as wee men be so that there be two sonnes etc. Or yf any mā saye that the fleshe of our lord came from aboue and not of the virgin Mary or the whole diuinitee to haue been cōfounded or chaunged into the fleshe or the deitie of our lord to be passible or that the fleshe of our lord as of man is not to be adored this man dooth the holy and Catholyke churche accurse following therin the holy Apostles saying If any man preache vnto you any other Gospel thē that which ye haue receiued let him be accursed Behould this good Father whose memory in the churche is holy and immortal sayth he is accursed of the catholyke churche who so euer should go about to teache yea though it were owt of the holy scriptures any of these poyntes But o holy father by what auctoritee thinkest thou that may be done yf he teache the same owt of the scriptures For sooth sayth he by the auctoritee of S. Pawll who sayd If any man preache vnto you any other Gospell then that which ye haue receiued let him be accursed A marueilous matter The same sentence which the heretikes of our age haue allwayes in their mowthe wherby they thinke as with a ramme of Iron to assault and ouerthrow the whole auctoritee of the fathers and coūcells thou bringest foorth on the cōtrary syde To wyt yf any man shal goe about to saye yea though it be out of the scriptures the cōtrary of that which hath bene defyned in lawfull councells of the fathers especially generall and by them deliuered to vs from hand to hād thou thinkest him not only not to be harkened vnto but allso to be accursed and that wee must firmly remayne in that which wee haue receiued though a man bring neuer so many textes of scripture in apparence to the contrary Athanasius will not that the children should iudge of the decrees of the fathers He will not that syche thinges as hath once been tryed by the rule of the scriptures should agayne be caulled back to the same vnlesse they will shewe them selues not to be laufull children but the seed of the harlot and adulteresse which if they dare do let them crye tyll they be hoarse For it is writtē as the father of heretikes attempting Christ once did yet maketh he no doubt by the doctrine of S. Pawll to hould them accursed because they preache a contrary Gospell to that which they receiued But did holy Athanasius when he wrote thus teache vs to contemne and holde for nawght the expresse word of God No God forbid It was neuer any part of his thought but he would haue taken for the pure and expresse word of God that which the Catholikes and not which the heretikes browght foorth that sense I saye which the Catholikes not which the heretikes drewe foorth of the scriptures VVe fynd notably written by S. Hierome that the Gospell standeth not in the wordes of the scripture but in the sense not in the superficiall face or shewe but in the marye not in the leaues full of wordes but in the roote of reason You see now how the most earnest defender of the Catholyke and ryght faith produced these wordes of S. Pawl with whose only auctoritee namely synce he standeth in place of many we will for this tyme be content lest we seeme to long But yet agayne though perhapps wee maye herein doe otherwyse then becometh vs to the end the truth may the more plainly appere wee thinke it not amysse to bringe foorth euen an heretikes exposition of these wordes of S. Pawl and of that heretike whose mynd touching the sacramēt Melancthon is sayd to haue followed He therfore speaketh in this sort intreating vpon those very wordes of S. Pawll Note this worde of the Apostle Accepistis Ye haue receyued For styl the Apostle laboureth to this end that they should not hange as it were in the ayre vpon an vnknowen Gospell only by way of imagination but should hould for a certayne and sure definition therof that that was the true Gospell of Christ which was deliuered vnto them and which they had receyued He commaundeth therfore that they should be reputed for diuells which would presUme to bryng any other Gospell differing from his calling that another Gospell wherunto other mēs inuentions are ioyned And surely this his sentence though he were an heretike we can not but in this poynt very well allowe For he will not haue any vnknowen Gospell receyued but that which hath been deliuered vnto vs and which we haue allready before receyued But nowe that which is of these men termed the Gospell and the expresse word of God came to light in manner but yesterday and was to our fathers
vtterly vnknowen May we not therfore with S. Hierom aptly say thus vnto these fellowes that so earnestly labour to obtrude this new fownd Gospell vnto vs VVhat so euer thou be thou teacher of new doctrynes I pray the forbeare the Romaine eares forbeare the faith which hath been recommended vnto vs from the mouth of the Apostles VVhy doest thow seeke after iiij c. yeres but wee may now say after fourtene c. yeres and more to teach vs now that wee knew not before VVhy doest thow bryng foorth that which Peter and Pawll would not shewe The Christian world hath been withowt this doctrine vntill this daye I will for my part being now an owld man hould that fayth wherin being a chyld I was borne and bred VVhat a madnes then were this yf wee should now receyue a straunge vnknowen Gospell and reiect that which wee hould by deliuery vnto vs from those holy fathers For yf they meane the name of the Gospell those bookes which wee haue written by the Euangelistes and Apostles and before them by the Prophettes that Gospell hath Polonia had and receyued almost this vi c. yeres past neither is ther any amōg vs that doubteth but that in the same is the expresse word of God VVherfore as touching the scripture it is none other Ghospell which the heretikes would at this daye obtrude vnto vs but the same which we professe allredy Yea and that is more they openly confesse that they haue receyued the whole Canonicall scripture from vs. VVhat Gospell then I praye you is that which they preache vnto vs Forsooth such a Ghospell wherunto as Caluin writeth other mens inuentiōs and deuyses are ioyned wherof they bring a straunge sence hitherto vnheard of in the churche of God And this is it wherof S. Pawll geueth warning saying Yf any man preache vnto you any other Gospell then that which you haue receyued let him be accursed That is as myche to saye If Luther Caluin or Melancthon come vnto you and preache the Gospell to any other sence or meaning then that which you haue receyued of the blessed fathers yf he tell you any thing contrary to that which they haue deliuered vnto you let him be accursed Be wee not thinke you by these wordes of S. Pawll iustly fearyd from taking the inuentions and deuyses of these men for the true word of God Namely synce this is truly sayd to be a synne against the holy Ghost and to blaspheme the same when by contempt wee violat those thinges which haue been deliuered vnto vs by the fathers VVhich thing that blessed Bisshop Damasus teacheth vs in these wordes Voluntary breakers of the Canons sayth he are greuously iudged of the holy fathers and condemned by the holy Ghost by whose instinct and gift they were decreed For Rightly seeme they to blaspheme the holy Ghost which against those holy Canōs do any thing voluntarely or frowardly not cōpelled by necessitee or presume to speake against them or willingly consent to any that attempt so to doo For syche presumption is manifestly one kynd of blasphemy against the holy Ghost Yow see how this holy man telleth vs it is one kynd of blasphemy against the holy Ghost yf a man presume to do or speake frowardly or malapertly against those thinges which are deliured vnto vs from the fathers Therfore lest wee should become giltye of this kynd of blasphemy wee dare by no meanes consent to these men who thinke it a matter to be fled frō as a pestilēt poyson of Sathan which the Catholikes and right beleuers haue taught by the space of so many hundreth yeres which the ouctoritee of the churche hath deliuered all Christian people imbraced and the schooles of the diuines mayntayned And on the other syde would haue vs to esteeme the dreames of their owne brayne as the very pure and expresse word of God especially synce wee are twyse warned by these wordes of S. Pawll in one epistle that yf any man preache vnto you any other Gospell then that which ye haue receyued let him be accursed But chieffly that feareth vs which is spoken by the prophet depart ye frō idolls VVhich thing allso S. Pawll dooth itterate vnto vs cryeng out Flee from the worshipping of idolls which S. Iohn the Euangelist dooth allso repete vnto vs Concluding that his notable Epistle with these wordes My children keepe ye from idolls But what be not trow you Luther Caluin Melancthon and Brencius very idolls Is there not in these menne a wonderfull heygth lifting it self vp against the knowledge of God Doo they not resist and withstand And which is the property of Sathan doo they not extoll themselues aboue all which is sayd or worshipped as God shewing them selues as it were God and seeke to haue worshipped of all men as the expresse word of God what so euer they wryte or say But here lest wee seeme to apply these thinges according to the vision of our owne hart as heretikes vse to doo let vs in fewe lay open what the holy fathers haue taught to be signified in the scriptures vnder the names of idolls S. Hierome expounding that place of Zachary I will destroy the names of idolls from of the earth sayth that by these wordes are signifyed not only those idolls wherof we read in the Psalmes The images of the Gentills made of siluer and gould being the workes of mens handes but allso those wherof Pawll speaketh sayeng But the spirit telleth vs manifestly that in the latter dayes some shall depart from the faith geuing eare to seducing spirites and to the doctrine of diuells teaching faulse vnder hipocrisy hauing their consciences marked with an hot yron For euen as idolls sayth he are made by the hand of the worke man so the peruerse doctrine of heretikes what so euer it self deuyseth it turneth into an idoll and maketh Antechrist to be worshipped for Christ Leekewyse intreating vppō that place of the Prophet Esay Their land is full of idolls The workes of their owne handes haue they worshipped and that which their owne fyngers haue made hath man bowed vnto and humbled him self Idolls he interpreteth to be doctrines contrary to the truthe Neither will he haue otherwyse vnderstanded that which is written by the prophett Osee They made their siluer and gowld idolls to them selues that they might perishe S. Augustine allso after he had spoken many thinges of idolls made with handes Ther is sayth he a worse and more base worshipping of idolls when men worship their owne fancyes and honour with the name of Religion what so euer they haue imagined in their erring myndes puft vp with pryde and vayn glory Of which kynd of fanceys and vayne visions he interpreteth Iosue allso to speake in that place where he sayeth Take away straunge Gods from emong you and enclyne your hartes to the lord your God Leekewyse that place of Ezechiell of my
to saluation he is farre wyde Very truly sayth a vertuous and lerned man The Clemency of God regardeth not with how great knowledge wee beleue but with how great deuotiō we loue that which we beleue And an other vertuous mā also sayeth In the last day wee shall not be asked how myche how sharpe and how lerned our vnderstanding was but how great our affection and zeale to our lord God that is how simple how right how vertuous humble and deuout and how willing and faythfull our seruyce toward him hath been VVhich thinges being so why doo we not rather spend our whole study and labour in this poynt which only and alone we knowe to be necessary to our saluation to reteyne among our selues mutuall loue and brotherly charitee which is the very proper marke of the childrē of God In so myche as the vnderstāding of the scriptures is not to all men a leeke necessary The simplicitee of beleuing not the quicknes of vnderstanding keepeth safe the vnlerned multitude And as the same S. Augustine sayth The man which trusteth to faith hope and charitee and fast reteyneth them hath no need of the scriptures vnlesse it be to teache others And therfore by these three many lyue well in desertes and solitary places without bookes Now contrarely all men will search the scriptures and dispute of the sence and vnderstanding therof But that wher vnto as to a certayne marke al the scriptures are referred and that which those scriptures labour to inculcate in euery place into the eyes eares and myndes of men that Charitee I saie which only bringeth saluation no mācareth to reteyne And verely looke how myche the oftener and more feruent disputation is made of the scriptures and of the expresse word of God so myche the more dooth Charitee which all the scriptures doo with one voyce sounde out vnto vs wexe could in the mindes of men And is it leekly that the sound vnderstanding of the scriptures and the expresse word of God is there wher Charite is wexen so could and hatred so hot VVhere besides rayling reuyling skofing and contumelyes a man can allmost read or heare nothing And where they them selues which are departed frō vs who had rather be called Gospellers then Christians doo not only fight against vs but allso one against an other with syche infest rāckorous and vnchristian myndes that no cruell Barbarians or enemyes of Christ his Crosse could deale more leeke enemyes Truly before this Gospell sprang vp which is proceded from none lesse then frō Christ wee neuer sawe any syche bitternes of myndes or cruell contentions Namely emong those whose office was to teache and open the Gospel of Christ And shall wee cal this the Gospell shall we call this the expresse word of God from the which all Charitee the thing most expressly commaunded in the Gospell is so vanished that euen they which glory to haue been the first which as them selues say haue of late brought to light the buryed Gospell doo so hatefully contend emong them selues burne with syche mutuall enuy and so byte one an other that it can not be long but wee must nedes see them consumed one of an other This is sure the expresse word of the diuell not the expresse word of God seing as I haue allredy so often sayd the expresse word of God is only Loue and Charitee That is it that imbraceth Vnitee that ioyneth vs all in one body that geueth peace and with pure hart keepeth the same And Christiā charitee can not be kept but in the Vnitee of the churche so that in vayne doth he vaunt him selfe to haue charite which doth not imbrace Vnitee But yf this expresse word of God Charitee be not kept any where but in the vnitee of the church who is there that can thinke that the expresse word of God can be found any where out of this vnitee And this is it that in this treatyce I shewed before that somtyme when two men bringe foorth one self text of scripture yet God openeth the mouth of one and the diuel of the other For he which hauing deuided him self from the churche alleageth it not with the common sence and vnderstanding of the Churche but with his owne priuat and wrested interpretatiō for so myche as S. Iohn sayeth VVho so euer speaketh of him self yea though he speake scripture yet vttereth he a lye the mouth of that man doth the diuell open and that which he speaketh is the word of the diuell But allthough following S. Ambrose wee sayd that Charite is the thing which imbra cyth and conteyneth vnitee and which makyth vs all one body wee would not be vnderstanded in that sence as though we mēt therby that euyll and vniust men were excludyd from the body of Christ which is the churche For allthough Charitee which the scripture chieffly commendyth vnto vs be the proper marke of them which doo truly honour God wherby the children of God are discernyd from the childrē of the diuel and that those be only they which appertayne to the coompany of the Elect yet is there a certayne other congregacyon or churche of thē that are called from the which they be not excluded which are destitute of true charite so they reteyne that which S. Augustine calleth the loue of vnite by the which he sayeth the members of Crist are couppled vnto him The working wherof is to suffer al thing That ther may be as the same S. Augustine writeth a certain force of suffring houlding the sure handfast of vnitee which was signified by the pytche wherwith the Arke being a figure of the churche was fastned and sodred both within and without for euill men are to be suffred both with in and without lest the knot of peace be dissolued Of which charite allso S. Augustine writeth in an other place saying I do not thinke any mā to be so vnwyse as to beleue that he which hath no charite doth appertayne to the vnite of the churche whē it is certayne that they doo belonge to the vnitee of the churche so long as they be not cut of from the same yea though they be destitute of the other effectes of charitee so that reteyning that force or vertu of suffring they be emōg them of whom S. Pawll writeth supporting one an other in charite carefull to preserue the vnitee of the spirite in the bond of peace But here these fellowes will denye that to be the churche of God which we professe and wherof we glory and reioyce to be the hūble children and wil go about to challenge that name to their congregation But I would fayne haue them shewe vs their churche I speake not now of the Sacramētaries Anabaptistes heauēly prophetes nor of the Campanians or Seruetians all which sectes they haue allredy throwen out of their congregation but let the Confessionistes or Lutherans shewe vs their Churche Melancthon and his