shall we despaire of any particular man that he belongeth to God and that he may be reclaimed O no let vs teach let vs improue let vs admonish let vs rebuke with all long suffering and gentlenesse and then God will doe that which seemeth good in his eyes he will in time giue them grace to repent that they may escape out of the snares of the Deuill though presently they be led captiue of him after his will they may be graffed in saith Saint Paul if they abide not in vnbeleefe for God is able to graffe them againe Goe thy wayes saith a Reuerend man to Austins mother for it cannot be that Filius tantarum lachrymarum pereat That one that is so much prayed for should perish Peter excluded not Iudas out of his Calendar of hope no more should we doe any that commeth about Christ. This is my third note Fourthly let me answer a false glosse of the Rhemists for they like bryers take hold of our garment and hinder our proceeding to that which followeth When company say they vpon this place draw vs to reuolt let vs say thus Lord whither or to whom shall we goe when we haue forsaken thee To Caluin Luther or such and forsake thee and thy Church with the vnfaithfull multitude c. Touching Caluin and Luther I answere first that though we doe not glory in them for we are forbidden by the Apostle 1. Cor. 3.21 to glory in men whether it be Paul or Apollos or Cephas c. Yet is there no cause why we should be ashamed of them for he that was least learned of the two was more learned then an hundred of their chiefest Prelates take them one by one and he that was lest vertuous of the two had more vertue in him then forty of those Prelates that might be named put it all together I know that they escaped not the tongues of the wicked nor the pens neither of them that were hired to deuise whatsoeuer slanders they could against them as also our Sauiour himselfe was both traduced while he liued and written against when he was dead But if it be enough to accuse who shall be innocent and if professed enemies and mercenaries their euidence shall be admitted what Naboth shall not be condemned This may content indiferent men that they did not mure themselues vp in Cloysters where Mendacia vuliu stâ—gâ—tia pariâ—tibus tegebantur Where hypocrisie and secresie made all whole but in luâ—e Reipub. they did liue they were for fame as Cities set vpon an hill that could not be hid they liued in famous Vniuersities and Cities th' one Geneua specially commended for the gouernment thereof by Bodin no partiall man themselueâ— alwayes in labours preaching or writing continually alwayes attended alwayes obserued and yet they had nâ—uer their names called in question for dishoâ—esty Called in question Nay their liues were proposed by all that knew them for a paterne for others to follow and they found as many all their life time that did reuerence them for their vertue as did honour them for their learning And shall these mens names be cast in our teeth by way of reproch whom yet we neuer esteemed otherwise then for seruants not as Lords ouer the house nor yet as Lords ouer our faith but as faithfull and learned men by whose labours wee haue profitâ—d Thereâ—ore though wee be not to build our faith vpon them nor vpon any other but on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ himselfe being the head Corner-stone yet there is no cause for all their twiting why we should not honor them shewing themselues to be friends of the Bride groome and discerning the Bride-groomes voyce rather then the very heads of their Church yea the chiefe head and Top-gallant of their Church speaking like the Dragon and vttering words of blasphemy which are not agreeable to the wholesome doctrine of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ reuealed and set forth in his holy Word But this wee may examine particularly in the Aetiologue following namely in these words Thou hast the Words of euerlasting life In the meane time out of the Interrogation which implyeth a deniall and a refusing of other courses we haue learned thus much namely to professe Christ boldly to professe him readily and with the formost to professe him charitably not excluding others yea and to hearken to those worthy seruants of God whom he hath raised vp in these latter dayes for the cleering oâ— the doctrine of the Truth and the reuealing of the man of Sinne notwithstanding the disgraces and contumelies which not the true Church but the Church-men of Rhemes and the Chaplaines of Rome doe throw vpon them And let so much be spoken of these words Simon Peter answered and said Lord to whom shall we goe It followeth Thou hast the words of euerlasting life Which because the houre is already spent I purpose not to handle at this time To God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost be rendred all praise and thankesgiuing from euery one of vs now and euer-more Amen A SERMON VPON THE SEVENTH OF ESAY THE THIRD SERMON Preached vpon Christmas day ESAY 7. verse 14. Behold a Virgin or the Virgin shall conceiue and beare a Sonne and she shall call his Name Immanuel WHEN Phaeton was to get vp into the Suns Chariot that is as it is interpreted by the learned when he vndertooke to meddle with great matters and such as exceeded the reach of the common sort he had a certaine sacred ointment giuen to him to preserue him from scorching and burning Tum pater ora suisacro medicamiue nati conâ—igit rapiosae fecit patientia flammae The holy Law-giuer Moses writeth that when himselfe was to deliuer vnto the people the Law of the Highest hee was first admitted to talke with God withall his face was made to shine And the Prophet Esay witnesseth that before he was to be sent to prophesie he had his hips sared with a liue coale taken from the Altar And the Euangelist likewisereporteth that before the Apostles Elders ioyned in commission with them that were set on worke about the Gospell to carry the same to the Gentiles they had the gift of the H. Ghost shed vpon them in the forme of clouen tongues So to be short Simeon Metaphrastes writeth that at such time as Saint Iâ—hn was busie in penning of the Gospell the holy Ghost made apparant signes of his presence by thundrings and lightnings and the like And why was this For two causes First to resolue the Apostles and Prophets then and the Church to the end of the world that the doctrine deliuered by them came not by priuate motion nor from themselues but that they should so write as the holy Ghost should giue them vtterance and therefore that their writings should be holy sound and true A second reason was to teach them and vs how necessary the gift of the holy Ghost yea and a
causa It is not the punishmeÌ„t it is the cause that maketh a true Martyr For our parts we say vnto them as Optatus doth to their like Nulli dictum est Nega Deum Nulli dictum est Incende Testamentum Nulli dictum est Aut Thus pone aut Basilicas destrue â—stae enim res solent Martyria generare That is To none of them hath it beene said Deny God To none of them hath it beene said Burne the New Testament To none hath it beene said Offer incense or throw downe Churches for these things are wont to engender Martyrdomes Thus Optatus lib. 3. And I pray you is not our cause like to Optatus his and theirs to the Parmenians When haue our Magistrates vrged any of them that haue beene sent from Rome much lesse Recusants to deny God except they make him of Rome to be their God Nay both they and we doe exhort them with all instance to turne from that vanity and to trust in the liuing God Cursed be he that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme So When doe we vrge them to burne the Bible or any part of the Bible Nay this hath beene their fault and sticketh to them for infamy like the Leprosie of Gehezi To set fire vpon the translated Bibles wheresoeuer they could finde them and to burne them by hundreds on an heape yet the worst translation made by our men is founder and more agreeable to the Originall then the Translation of the Seuentie and yet the Apostles themselues suffered the same nay vsed the same as is euident to the Learned so farre were they from defacing it To be short When and where haue our men forced them yea or perswaded either to put Incense vpon the Altar or to throw downe Churches Nay it is their proper guise euen now in the time of the Gospell when shadowes and carnall worship should cease to perfume their Altar and their vestiments and many things that I know not nor care to learne and it hath beene their ordinary practice where they haue beene the stronger to destroy not onely Churches but also as many as haue beene assembled in them to heare Gods Word and to receiue the Sacrament euen bloudily and butcherly with a rage that reached vp to heauen Witnesse the Massacres that they made at Vassey at Merindol and Cabrias in Piemont in Calabria and where not So that we haue great cause to flee from them not onely to goe away and they no cause to flee from vs who neuer thirsted after their blood nor drew it but constrained and in our defence But to what purpose all this Since they whom it concerneth are not here and them that are here it doth not concerne yet as our Sauiour made full account that some of his Auditors would relate vnto Herod what opinion he held of him and therefore said vnto them Goe yee and tell that Fox So we are content that they take information by some of you that we maintaine and are instant that there is cruelty in their side and not in ours and a good cause with vs and not with them and therefore that there is cause why they should returne to vs and no cause in the world why we should turne to them And let so much be spoken of the Question It followeth Simon Peter therefore answered him Lord to whom shall we goe thou hast the words of euerlasting life And we haue beleeued and knowne for we doe beleeue know Heb. that thou art the Christ the Son of the liuing God In this answere Saint Peter doth two things First he denyeth flatly that hee or his fellow Apostles haue any such meaning Then he bringeth reasons of their constant adhering to him The denyall is set forth by way of Interrogation for more vehemency sake and containeth in it a reason drawne from the excellency of Christ before other teachers Lord to whom shall we goe meaning there was no Master worth the thinking of in comparison to him and therefore that they were farre from any such purpose The reasons drawne from the excellency of Christ are two The one from the excellency of his Doctrine Thou hast the words of euerlasting life the other from the excellency of his person Thou art the Christ the Son of the liuing God Our heart and conscience telleth vs so much therefore we are not men but deuils if we forsake thee To this effect is Saint Peters answer in the name of his fellowes Let vs take the words before vs in order as they lye and first speake of the Interrogation Simon Peter therefore answered him saying Lord to whom shall we goe The first thing that we are to learne out of these words is this namely That truth and a good cause hath alwayes some to maintaine it The Disciples fell away yea many of the Disciples fell away yea they fell away so that they came no more at our Sauiour as the Text hath it but yet hee was not left without witnesse he had the Apostles to beare record to him and to stand for him So the High Priests and the Elders yea and the whole multitude of the Iewes cryed out against him and would not otherwise be satisfied then with his death but Ioseph of Arimathea a Councellour a iust man and a good consented not to their plots and practices Luk. 23. So Obadiah was not carryed away with the streame of the time to kill Gods Prophets and those that worshipped the Lord with holy worship but hid them in Caues and prouided for them though it were with the jeopardy of his head So Ruben though he had sinned before a great sinne and had highly offended God thereby and his father too yet in this no question he pleased both that he dissented from his brethrens bloody designe to murder their bother Ioseph and both disswaded them and deliuered him The like example of constancy and magnanimity appeared in Caleb and Iosuah Numb 14. who opposed themselues not onely to their fellowes being tenne to two but also to the whole Congregation of the Children of Israel being an hundred thousand to one against all they stood boldly for the maintenance of Gods glory in the power of his might and the truth of his promise saying Rebell not against the Lord neither feare yee the people of the Land for they are but bread for vs their shield is departed from them and the Lord is with vs feare them not Thus they and this was counted to them for righteousnesse vnto all posterity for euer-more Yea that God that prospered the Midwiues of Egypt for not subscribing to the bloody decree of Pharaoh and his Councellors did also highly aduance these his seruants not onely bringing them into the Land of Promise the place of rest where they would be but also making one of them Generall Captaine ouer his people anâ— giuing him admirable victories and the other also a great man and a mighty and of such
gnal cisse-din mezareh be gneinaiu col ragn HERE we haue an excellent Person and an excellent function and an excellent worke and an excellent Instrument or meane The Person is a King the function or exercise isto sit onthe Throne of Iudgement the worke or effect is the scattering away of all euill lastly the instrument or mean is his eyes For the first Glorious things are spoken of thee thou Citie of God it is said of Ierusalem Ps. 87. And so Glorious things are spoken of Kings in the Booke of God we may say For their innocency they are called Lambes for their care Shepheards for their louingnesse Nursing-fathers for their bounty and liberality Franke-giuers Benefactors Nedibim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for their authority Leaders nay Controwlers such as haue a negatiue voyce gnotserim nay Alkumim such as is no standing with or against lastly for the profit that we reape by them Physicians nay Sauiours nay Gods after a sort Behold King Salomon with the Crowne wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals Cant. 3. And so Behold euery true successor of Salomon with the Crowne that the heauenly Father hath adorned him in the day of his coronation it may be said This out of the Booke of God Also in the booke of Nature I meane in the writings of meere naturall men we finde the like titles and Elogies giuen to Kings and Princes A good King differeth not from a good Shepheard said one from a good Father said another Hee is the Image of God the liuely Image of God said another A seeing Law a speaking Law said another Briefely he is a breathing Law a Law that hath life and soule in it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 said another euen Zeno in Clem. Alexandrinus Finally Sauiours they haue bâ—ene called and by such as would not be counted flattererâ— Flamminius Soter Antiochus Soter c. Now these Titles of high renowne and honour haue beene giuen to Kiâ—gs and such as had Kingly authority both by them that spake so as they were moueâ— by the holy Ghost and by them that spake so as nature dictated vnto them not to the end they should be high-minded and vtter such swelling words of vanity as either the King of Babel doth Esay 14. I will ascend into heauen I will exalt my Throne aboue the starres of God c. Or as the King of Persia doth in Marcellinus Sapor Rex Regum particeps siderum frater Solis Lunae c. that is Sapor King of Kings companion to the starres brother to the Sunne and to the Moone c. these were words of men of corrupt minds and which made their madnesse knowne to all men but for two causes chiefely were those titles giuen vnto them First to moue them to be thankefull to God who had so highly aduanced them euen aboue all that is called high in this world The King hath none aboue him vpon earth said Agapetus to Iustinian Secondly to incite vs to yeeld all honor and feare and reuerence and obedience vnto so diuine a calling Of the calling duty of Kings I cannot speake I need not speake I cannot speake worthily fitly Seemeth it a light thing to be sonne in Law to the King A light thing answered Dauid vnto those that motioned him a match in King Sauls house and so a Preacher may say Seemeth it a small thing to speake of Kings matters in the Kings Court and not be confounded Why the men of Bethâ—hemesh for daring to looke once in the Arke were destroyed with a great destruction 1 Sam. Yea Vzzah for seeking to stay the Arke when it tottered was smitten that he dyed 2 Sam. Yea Theopompus and Theodectes for aduenturing to write of holy matters contained in the holy Scriptures with an vnhallowed pen lost their wits and sight for their labours neither was it restored vnto them vntill they recanted their presumption witnesse Iosephus vpon the report of Demetrius Phalareus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. euen to speake true things of God is many times very dangerous saith Epiphanius out of Origen Gods matters and Princes matters be not the same I grant yet are they very like and as God will not hold them guiltlesse that breake their bounds approach too neere to the mount of his secrets so Kings haue no cause to thanke those that be audaciously officious But the best is a Preacher needeth not to speake one word of instruction either to our King being present or for our King being absent He is as an Angell of God knowing good euill as the woman of Tekoah and Mephibosheth told Dauid He can speake of trees from the Cedar tree that groweth in Libanon to the Hyssop that springeth out of the wall 1 Kings 4. I meane hee is skilfull and expert in all Arts in all Sciences in all Faculties and in the chiefest faculty of all he can speake and iudge and write and moderate in the most difficult and arduous points euen from the diuine Attributes of the Trinity to the deepest mysteries of the Reuelation euen from Antichrist that sitteth vpon the Throne to the begging Fryer that goeth from dore to dore euen from concupiscence that entreth with vs into the world vnto Purgatory that is made the end of all flesh or most flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 said one And so his Maiesty can say with Iacob when Ioseph tooke vpon him to aduise him I know I know And againe it may b e said of him as Saint Paul said of Agrippa The King knoweth of these things and none of these things are hidden from the King Erasmus speaking of Basil surnamed the Great saith of him that there is not one in the Latine Church fit to be compared to him but if we will make an equall match for him saith he we need to ioyne the worth of two together the smooth sweet stile of Lactantius and the Scripture-learning of Hierome To this effect Erasmus in imitation of him as I thinke a worthy moderne writer saith the like of Sâ—aliger the father that to paralell him aright and not to doe him wrong we had need to ioyne the worth of two together namely the wit of Xenophon and the valour of Masinissa And euen so if we will counterpoize the sufficiency of his Maiestie for matter of learning and knowledge we must take the worth of a great many of Princes to wit the Poeticall veine of such a one the eloquence of such a one and the Philosophy of a third and the Diuinity of halfe a doozen of the best This is the Kings honor before all Nations and this is our Crowne of reioycing on the behalfe of our King before men and Angels I will therefore speake no more of the dignity of a King nor of the worth of our King and I haue shewed reasons why I need not to deliuer one word of instruction for him But now
Athenians for they hauing gotten Pausanias within their danger who had done them many despights yet calling to minde the good seruice he had done against the common enemy at a place called Plataea they let him escape and bid him thanke that place Well-fare also the Spaniards who hauing taken Peter of Nauarre a famous Engineer who had fallen from them to the French and layed him vp in prison in one of the Castels at Naples when they remembred that they had taken the same Castell before by his prowesse they could not finde in their hearts to doe him any violence but suffered him to depart But Saul and his Court are like those Iewes whom Christ reproues Iohn 10. Many good workes haue I shewed you from my Father for which of these doe you stone me As if he should haue said Suppose I had giuen you some probable cause of discontent by a word spoken should that make my good deeds to be forgotten as namely my giuing sight to your blind hearing to your deafe life to your dead c. were this honesty So Abigail suppose thou hadst giuen him some cause of offence as by departing the Courtwithout leaue when thy life was sought for by eating of Shew-bread and taking away a consecrated sword this when thou wast in necessity fleeing to the Land of the enemy when thou couldest not be safe in thine owne Country should this make thy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thy worthy deeds thy martiall acts offensiue and defensiue to be forgotten and thy selfe to be reputed and condemned for a Traytor This were hard extreme hard Abigail might thinke and we might say and therefore Saul to be condemned of most enuious ingratitude Now if it be such a fault for King Saul to rise vp against Dauid and to persecute him and to seeke his soule who was but his seruant and his subiect what is it then for the subiect to practise against his Soueraigne and to seeke to destroy him This is not so much ingratitude as inhumanity nay impiety For a kinde of piety is due vnto the Prince his person ought to be sacred vnto vs yea his Estate yea his authority yea his honour He is a kind of God vpon earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is That which is Soueraigne is thought to be God in some sort Now a King is a liuely Image of God said the Heathen man therefore not onely he that resisteth shall receiue damnation because he resisteth the ordinance of God but also he that offendeth against the Maiesty of a Prince with his tongue he offendeth against the Maiesty of God himselfe for this cause it is said in Exodus Thou shalt not raile vpon the Iudges or Magistrates Elohim neither shalt thou speake ill of the Ruler of thy people that is the King especially And Salomon in the booke of the Preacher Curse not the King no not in thy thought c. for the fowles of the ayre shall carry the voyce and that which hath wings shall vtter the matter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is If any man be disposed to fight against God let him dare to fight against my King If any will presume to fight against my King let him presume to fight against God also In which words he seemeth to confound fighting against God and fighting against the King as though they were almost alike hainous Now if euery striuing against the Prince be most vnlawfull and deserueth seuere punishment what is it then to doe some act of hostility against him as for example to blow the Trumpet of sedition as did Sheba to leuy an Army against him as did Absalom to lift vp the hand against him as Achitophel counselled I confesse that there haue beene Princes that haue beene more tender in their eares than in their bodies and whereas they haue pardoned such as had borne armes against them yet they would not pardon such as had beene ouer-lauish of their tongues It is not because a wound that is made with a weapon a plaister may heale but for the gash that is made with the tongue there is no balme in Gilead nothing will cure it so throughly but the scarre will remaine For all that this is but the conceit of some few and more superficiall than solid for words be but wind and neither breake bones nor skinne nor hurt any others but them that are content to be hurt but blowes make a dent that will not so easily be healed vp Therefore the Tenet is that they that doe some acte of hostility be viler Traitors than they that stay themselues at words Now of these kinds of Traitors there haue beene too many found in all ages and Countries and against as worthy Princes as euer raigned Who might compare for policy with Augustus for vertue with Traian yet how many Treasons in their time though in their time Rome was as flourishing as euer it was before or after So to leaue Heathenish times Were not Constantine Theodosius Iustinian Charles Otho so great that they had the name of Great giuen vnto them by common consent as well for their worth as for their power and had not all these their hands full by meanes of seditious practisers As for Lewes surnamed the Pious his portion was by much worse than any of the former for his owne sonnes that came out of his bowels made head and warre against him and tooke him prisoner and kept him in prison certaine yeeres But as 2 Sam. 14. When the woman of Tekoa was demanded by Dauid whether Ioabs hand were not in the businesse that is whether he did not set her on worke confessed and denyed not but said plainely He did So if you will consult impartiall Story it will tell you that either the beginning of that hurly-burly or the progresse had much life from him of Rome who threatned to excommunicate the Prelats that remained faithfull to the Father Now if this were done in a greene tree when the leaues of piety and vertue yet remained I meane before Satan was let loose and men had abandonned themselues vnto all kinds of outrages and villanies what then might be expected in the later decaying ages when Satan had his full swinge what maruell I say if two hundred yeeres after Gregorie the seuenth stirred vp against Henry the fourth Rodolpho a great Prince of Sweden sending him the Imperiall crowne with a verse that euery Scholler hath in his mouth Petra dedit Petro Petrus Diadema Rodolpho And not content herwith he lastly stirred vp against the said Emperour his owne sonne alluring him with faire promises of this life and of that that is to come to rebell against his father In those dayes was nothing but warres and rumours of warres a Post went to meet a Post and a Messenger a Messenger as the Prophet speaketh and the Powers of heauen and earth seemed to be moued and mens hearts to faile with feare
naturally Wheat doth encrease by sowing first the blade then the stalke then the eare c. but yet the Learned know that it hath not only rained downe wheat diuers times but it hath beene found growing in the knee of a child So naturally it must be the hand of a man and ioyned to the body that must write and he that will haue bread must haue flowre kneaded and baked and he that will haue shields must haue the Smith to forge them and he that will haue a well must digge deepe for it c. And yet who knoweth not of the fountaine of water that the drye iaw-bone of an Asse yeelded to Samson Of the writing of the tenne Commandements And of that on the wall before Belshasar without the hand of man Of the feeding of Elias by Rauens and of the same Manna which came downe from heauen Now shall any man bee so vnreasonable as to say Because these and the like things cannot bee done by man therefore they cannot bee done by the higher powers or Because he neuer saw the like done in all his life therefore the like was not done in any age Then by the same reason Because there are no kniues in this Land made of other matter then of metall therefore I may deny that in the Indies the sauage people make their kniues of Flint stones as also the manner was in old time among the Iewes which yet they that haue trauelled thither doe most constantly auouch or because salt is not otherwise had among vs but by boyling of bryne therefore wee may discredit such as haue deliuered it in writing for a truth that in diuers parts of Sicily and else-where they haue their salt for digging euen as we haue stone or cole Or briefly because with vs there iâ— no water to bee had but from fountaines or from brookes or from the like therefore I will condemne it for a fable that there should be in one of the Canaries a Tree of that miraculous vertue that the very leaues thereof be a Well-spring of water yeelding and powring it downe as from a conduit nay as from a great spout in such aboundance that there is sufficient for the Inhabitants and for all commers For as in these matters we beleeue more then we haue seene in our Country vpon the report of them that haue made tryall thereof else-where vpon their report I say by word of mouth so why should wee not as well beleeue their writings of old that haue registred such strange and prodigious things done before time though wee in our time haue had no experience of the like Thus much for answer to them that are hardly brought to beleeue miracles and so that a Virgin should conceiue except they could see the like done in their time But now to answer them more familiarly What if without any miracle at all euen by the demonstration of naturall experiments the same may bee made probable will they then relent and giue ouer their obstinacy Surely as Tertullian thought good to demonstrate the Resurrection by the Phoenix which repaireth himselfe by his ashes and as Austine thought good to demonstrate our Regeneration by the Snake which casteth his slough from yeere to yeere and as our Sauiour Christ himselfe borrowed an example from the wind to shew the secret and inuisible working of the holy Ghost So if we shall take vpon vs by familiar and naturall examples to shew the possibility of a Maidens conception I hope it will be well enough taken especially since I meane not to stand vpon it but onely to touch it and not to inforce beliefe from the incredulous but to draw assent from the flexible This therefore I say which yet is not my saying alone but Origens and Basils and Ambrose his too for the most part that in certaine birds and fishes and beasts the Lord hath drawne as it were certaine pictures and resemblances of this mysterie to condemne the incredulity of the incredulous and to make Faith more probable to vs. And what be those vnreasonable creatures that conceiue without the male Truly of fowle the Vultur as Tertullian remembreth besides the other Authors which I named euen now For fish the Erythinus as Pliny reporteth for beasts certaine Equae Hispanicae remembred almost by euery writer also for Insects the Bee Now he that worketh these strange things in these creatures and by these creatures euery yeere could not he or is it improbable that he should doe the same once in man-kind and the same for the saluation of man-kind especially since both Prophesie did fore-tell it and Story doth auow it to haue beene done Thus as the Apostle became a â—â—w to the Iewes to winne the Iewes and to them that were without Law as though hee had beene without Law himselfe to win such So to the vnbeleeuer I haue made my-selfe as it were an vnbeleeuer and leauing the authority of the Scriptures which are all-sufficient haue dealt onely by naturall experiments to proue if by any meanes I might satisfie them This dealing doth not want its warrant as I haue shewed already nor yet hath it beene voyd of fruit For Arnâ—bius and Lactantius their Bookes haue done good though they reasoned but from the light of Nature and that I may trouble you onely with one example Bartholomew Georgeniez writeth that disputing with a Turkish Professor in the yeere 1547. he made euen the mysterie of the Trinitie seeme probable by this rude comparison of the Sun that hath forme and brightnesse and heat in it and yet is but one and made the Turke with admiration to exclaime Allah Allah Therefore all such shadowing out of mysteries is not vtterly to be reiected if wee hap to deale with such who care not for the Scriptures A Virgin shall conceiue You haue heard first that a Virgin must be here meant or else it is no signe or miracle Secondly that it is such a miracle that â—hough it be aboue reason yet is it not contrary to reason and therefore the more easie to be yeelded vnto by them that haue any reasonablenesse or equity in them Now let vs see which kind of Virgin the Lord made choice of to make his Mother for surely shee did not chuse him but he chose her as Christ said to his Apostles You haue not chosen me but I haue chosen you The Mother of our Sauiour was to be a Virgin that is no question and for many causes too First to fulfill this Prophesie A Virgin shall conceiue and beare Immanuel Secondly to fulfill these Types The first Adam was made of the hands of God of the earth vncorupted vndelued vnplaned So the second Adam Christ was to be made by the finger of the holy Ghost of the blood of a Virgin vnstained and vnpolluted This may be esteemed for one Type Another this The Manna and the Water in the Wildernesse that I meane which issued out of the rocke was made immediatly by the hand
merit for themselues but as for the imputing of Christs righteousnesse vnto vs beleeuing that they make a iest at euen as their forefathers the Heathen did Irridere fidem Christianorum iocularibus facetijs lancinare as Arnobius sayes yet Saint Paul saith Rom. 5.19 As by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners so by the obedience of One many shall be made righteous How were wee made sinners by one mans disobedience that is Adams Was not the same imputed to vs and laid to our charge as if we had beene actuall transgressors with Adam and had bin in Paradise with him and had eaten of the forbidden fruit as well as he Euen so we must haue Christs obedience and sufferings imputed to vs as though we had suffered and done as much as the Law requireth in our persons or else we cannot be presented blameles in Gods sight Neither hath this Doctrine seemed strange to the Fathers Pro delictis nostris ipse precatur delicta nostra sua delicta facit vt Iustitiam suam nostram iustitiam faceret He prayeth for our offences and maketh our offences to be his owne offences that he might make his righteousnesse to be our owne righteousnesse Thus â—ugustin Bernard also that I trouble you with no more was of thâ— same mind Cur non aliunde iustitia cùm aliunde reatus Why may not righteousnesse come from another as well as guiltinesse comes from another As if he said Might the first Adams sinne be imputed to vs and may not the second Adams righteousnesse be imputed as well But to whom The Scripture is so plaine God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that as many as beleeued in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Yee are saued by grace through faith and that not of your selues it is the gift of God not of workes lest any man should boast himselfe Ephes. 2. In which words the Apostle doth set downe the two maine causes of our Saluation the fiâ—st and efficient whereof is grace that is the grace of Christ the second faith being the instrumentall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He doth not say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if the quality inherent in vs could merit any thing in the matter of our Iustification without respect vnto Christ but excludeth that together with all worth and workes of ours Not of workes saith the Apostle and rendreth the reason lest any man should boast signifying that because God would barre all flesh from glorying in his sight haue all the glory himselfe therefore therefore that works are wholy excluded from being causes or instruments of our sauing But there must be an end of the former part of our discourse except we will haue the later altogether vntouched Come we therefore to the reason or ground of St. Pauls resolution For it is the power of God to saluation to euery one that beleeueth c. Euery word of this reasonisa reason how strong therfore is the reason I cannot be ashamed saith S. Paul of power specially of such power as is Diuine specially of such Diuine power as saueth specially of such that saueth not him that meriteth but him that beleeueth specially such as saueth not two or three beleeuers but euery one without exception And such a thing is the Gospell therefore I cannot be ashamed of it The major of whose Argument we will first consider of briefely and then wee may insist vpon the minor more at large Phocion that worthy Athenian being sent and employed by Chabrias then in the chiefest office to gather the tribute of the Ilanders and with twenty ships made answer That if he were sent to fight the Nauy was too small if to friends and companions in waste it was too great one ship might serue the turne The like is written of Tigranes King of Armenia that when he espyed the Romane Army containing not aboue eluen thousand of horse and foote his being of aboue 200000. he despised them in his heart saying If they come as Embassadours they are too many if as Soldiers too few So in the Booke of God namely 1. Reg. 20. When Benhadad that had so great an Army that he vanted saying The gods doe so and so vnto me if the dust of Samaria be enough to all the people that follow me for euery man an handfull and was otherwise so puissant that thirty two Kings did helpe him When he I say sawe the seruants of the Princes as it were a forlorne Company embatteld against him Whether they be come out for peace take them aliue or whether they be come out to fight to take them aliue So also Numb 13. When the Spies that were sent out to search the Land of promise made report of it that all the people that they sawe there were men of great stature euen Gyants the sonnes of Anak and that themselues were in comparison to them but as Grassehoppers the whole Congregation lifted vp their voyce and cryed and wept all the night they were so much abashed at the report of their power By which examples that I produce no more you may see that as opinion of power and strength maketh the one part bold and couragious so feeblenesse and weakenesse dismayeth and confoundeth the other Thou art not able to goe and fight with yonder Philistine said Saul to Dauid 1. Sam. 17. For thou art a boy and he is a man of warre from his youth So lest any should say to our Apostle You threaten to come to the Romanes Rerum Dominos gentemque togatam and to bring your Gospell with you Alas what can you doe what can it doe Your bodily presence is but weake your speech rude your words but wind nay distastefull and vnwelcome to all the world Is it not euery where spoken against Doth any of the Rulers Consuls Tribunes Pretors c. beleeue on Christ but onely a few of the rascality which know not the Law Lest any I say should say so the Apostle answereth for himselfe that he knoweth what he doth the Word that hee bringeth is not his owne but His that sent him the Gospell that he preacheth is not weake but mighty in operation able to cast downe strong holds and whatsoeuer opposeth it selfe to it It is power and therefore what can it not doe Yea it is the power of God that is such a powerfull Instrument as whereto God promiseth a blessing and force for euer therefore shall it stand out to the end What if the Romanes be mighty Yet he that dwelleth in the heauens is mightier What if he be a strong man armed that keepeth the house Yet when a stronger then he commeth he will take away his armour wherein he trusted and rifle him If God be on our side if his presence goe with vs as Moses said we shall find all things worke for the best to bring men to faith and consequently to Saluation Therefore
to draw backe with Moses or to runne away with Ionah or to forsweare prophesying and preaching with Ieremy c. since we shall but speake in the aire we shall labour in vaine and for nothing Who will beleeue our report To whom will the Arme of the Lord be reuealed Shall horses runne vpon the rockes or will men plow there with Oxen Shall we goe about to teach them that doe glory in ignorance Amant ignorare cùm alij gaudeant cognouisse to informe them that stop their eares are ready to run vpon vs as they did vpon Stephen in a word to perswade them that protest they will not be perswaded What are wee that wee should hope to doe any good men compassed about with infirmities men of great imperfections of conceit of memory of vtterance of presence Therefore our instruments being but the instruments of a foolish Shepheard as the Prophet speaketh it were best for vs to put vp our Pipes and to hang our Harpes vpon the Willowes and to sit downe vnder our Gourds as good to sit still as to rise and fall To whom me thinkes I heare the Lord make answer as he did to Peter What God hath cleansed hath sanctified to a speciall vse doe not thou call common or as hee doth in Esay Let not the Eunuch say Behold I am a dry tree or as he doth in Ieremy Is not my Word euen like a fire and like a hammer that breaketh the stone As if he said Let them haue hearts as hard as a flint yet the hammer may breake them at the least the fire may consume them Finally as he doth by our Apostle in my Text The Gospell it is the power of God beleeue that doubt not of successe What weapon or instrument euer was too weake to effect Gods will if he tooke it in hand Was not Aarons rod sufficient to worke miracles in Egypt and to ouerthrow Pharaoh and his Host in the red Sea Did not the walles of Iericho fall downe at the blowing of Rammes hornes The Madianites murder euery one his fellow at the clinking of the Pitchers The great Gyant falls groueling to the ground by the pat of a sling-stone And surely though we haue this treasure in earthen vessels and the Gospell that we teach be as contemptible as Dauids sling-stone yet the Lord will doe his worke his strange worke And bring to passe his act his strange act He will doe I say what he hath appointed by the weakest meanes sometimes that the excellency of the power might be of God and not of man and that Israel may neuer say Mine owne hand hath saued me The same Confessor that vndertooke to dispute with the subtill Philosopher in Constantines time the Story is in Ruffinus and Sozomen was not the greatest Clerke nay he seemed to know nothing else but Iesus Christ and him crucified yet by reciting the summe of his faith being agreeable to the Gospell with great spirit and zeale he so foyled and grounded his Aduersary that he forced him to recant and become a Christian. So Simplicianus and whosoeuer else did perswade Victorinus to take Gods booke and by name the Gospell in hand were no body to him for learning and eloquence for he was most famous for the same yet in time they so preuailed with him that they gate him to Church and to be baptized in his old age So to come downe to these last times at one leape The men of Merindol and Cabrieres in Languedock Annas Burges in Paris in the dayes of Francis the first and Henry the second Walter Myll in Scotland that I trouble you with no more forraine examples and abstaine from domestique altogether were not the subtillest and acutest disputants in those times nay some of them are noted to haue bin but plaine men yet such was the goodnesse of the cause such was the power of Gods grace working with his Gospell that by these mens confessions of faith partly vttered by word of mouth partly read very many of those Doctors that were imployed against them were conuerted to the truth and by most that were in the assemblies the Lords Name was glorified Now I aske Brethren is God a God of the Iewes onely and not of the Gentiles also And he that was mighty through Peter may not he be mighty through Paul May not he giue a blessing to the Gospell preached now as well as he did in former times Truly as Saint Paul saith How knowest thou O man whether thou shalt saue thy wife and how knowest thou O woman whether thou shalt saue thy husband Nay as Dauid said to Saul I haue slaine a Lyon and a Beare already and truly this vncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them So we may perswade our selues probably nay be resolued and out of doubt that our labour shall not be in vaine in the Lord. Finally but that the Lord will make manifest the power of the Gospell and adde vnto the Congregation daily such as shall be saued Therefore let vs of the Ministery comfort our selues with these words and bestirre our selues against the day of Haruest The people also are to learne somewhat by this That the Gospell is called The power of God namely that they doe not resist this power lest they hale downe vpon themselues condemnation You know what Laban and Bethuel said in a farre meaner case then the case of Saluation This thing is proceeded of the Lord Wee cannot therefore say vnto yee either euill or good You know what Gamaliel said Act. 5. If this worke be of God yee cannot destroy it lest yee be found fighters against God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Indeed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It is hard kicking against the pricke and if thou hast run with the footmen and they haue wearyed thee how canst thou match thy selfe with horses If thou smart for disobeying the Princes commandement thinkest thou to escape if thou stand out against God It was the saying of a worthy Learned man that the Orthodoxe Church is an Anuill that will rather breake the hammer that beateth vpon it then be broken by it And we may be bold to say of the Word of truth the Gospell of our Saluation that it is of such power as that same stone cut without hands Dan. 2. which brake the Image all to pieces so the siluer and the gold became like the chaffe of the Summer flowres c. And the same stone became a great mountaine and filled the earth Darkenesse may couer the earth for a time thicke darkenesse the people The true Professors also may be driuen to the wall for a season and lie among the pots as it is in the Psalme but yet in the end the day-starre will shine in mens heâ—rts yea the Sun of righteousnes will arise aboue our Horizon and then shall euery man haue praise of God yea then they shall be as the wings of the Doue
feare or hope or meane to haue one they are in plaine English Bribes But touching them that haue had their suites sped I thinke they may more honestly be offered of the party then honorably receiued of the Magistrate I am sure that Elisha would take no reward of Naaman the Syrian no not after he had healed him of his Leprosie nor allow his man to take any but punished him exemplarily for taking And Erasmus reporteth of Frederick Duke of Saxony that being offered a great masse of gold by the Agents of Archduke Charles euen after he had giuen him his voyce to be Emperour and indeed made him Emperour he would not so much as looke vpon it And when they were instant vpon him at the least to giue them leaue to bestow a largesâ—e vpon his Gentlemen and followers his answere was that they might take some thing if they would but I tell you and I tell them said he that not one of them that taketh a penny shall stay a day in my house This was a godly Heâ—oicall mind but sooner praised then followed It is well now a dayes if nothing be giuen or promised beforehand and when the cause is toward hearing but to barre men from taking indifferently hand ouer head without exception lest hap some of them might haue a suitâ— that may seeme rough-Stoicknesse and rude inciuility Let it be so let it be lawfull to take without scruple such things as the Law alloweth Esculenta Poculenta but yet that you be not too forward to enter further then will stand with conscionable discretion Let me tell you a Story out of Bernard In short thus it was Martin a Cardinall of that name returning from Denmarke where he had imployment all weary and spent at the length got to Florence and there he is honorably receiued and entertained by the Bishop who also at his departure bestoweth an horse vpon him to carry him to Pisa. But what followed The next day the very next day as I remember saith Bernard the Bishop followed after hauing a matter in the Court and the day of hearing being at hand he therefore seeketh voyces and at the length commeth to Martin and craueth his furtherance to whom he said Decepisti me nesciebam tibi imminere negotium Thou hast deceiued me I did not know that thou hadst a cause towards hearing take thy horse againe I will none of him and so presently restâ—red him vnto him Bernard euen so long agoe maruelleth at this example and saith it was alteâ—ius seculi fitter for a lesse corrupt age then that wherein he liued Yet I doubt not but the like is vsually practised by many Iudges of our time and namely by them that heare me this day for I heare well yea very well of them But as Physicions in their Doses doe not intend that the Physicke which they minister should worke an especiall effect in euery part of the Patients body but in that onely that is affected And as Captaines in the warres doe cause alarmes to be sounded not because they thinke all or the most part to be asleepe but lest any should be vnready So the Preachers duty is to lift vp his voyce like a Trumpet and to hold forth as it were the Word of medicinable exhortation if any haue need there it is ready if they haue no need the Preacher hath shewed his good will and the same shall returne as a blessing into his bosome Enough of Bribery whether in higher degrees or lower The fourth and last thing that I proposed for a câ—rrupter of Iustice is Precipitancie Qui non moderabitur irae infectum volet esse dolâ—r quod suaserit mens He that will not master his anger will many times doe that which he would eate his nailes were vndone Thus speaketh one of Anger which is a very bad Counsellour The like may be said of Haste thâ—t it causeth many ouer-sights and trippings Indeed Herodotus doth say so much in plaine words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So we say Hast maketh waste And Kimhi vpon the first of Esay recordeth this for the Apophthegme of the ancient Hebrew Doctors Ashrei hadaijan sheme chammets dino Blessed is that Iudge doth Fermentare is well aduised of his Sentence If Dauid had not beene too hasty hee had not rewarded Ziba with halfe his Masters Estate who deserued an halter for his Sycophancie to the great hinderance of Mephibosheth and to the great distaining of his owne honour For was there not an extraordinary League of friendship betweene Dauid and Ionathan Mephibosheths father So before this if Putifer had not beene too hasty hee would not haue cast Ioseph into prison without due exâ—mining of the matter by which meanes he stripped himselfe of a faithfull seruant and fostered an Adulteresse in his bosome So long after this If Theodosius the great had not beene too hasty hee had not committed that horrible massacre in Thessalonica which afterwards he rued and repented almost in sacke-cloth and ashes Certainely for tryall of small matters such as are pecuniary and the like it is not amisse that there be an hastening to ripenesse which when it is attained vnto it is a wrong to deferre Iudgement any longer lest it befall the litigants as it did a certaine Great man in his exile that they had cause to say with him We had beene vndone if we had beene vndone I meane and they meant if the matter had gone against them they had beene quite vndone and yet though it goe with them they are more then halfe vndone they had spent so much in the suite But now for matters of life and death I am of his minde that thought and said Nulla vnquam de moâ—te hominis cunctatio longa A man cannot be too well aduised of that which he cannot mend or make amends for when once it is done Surely There is hope of a tree if it be cut downe that it will yet sprout againe and that the tender branch there of will not cease but man dyâ—th c. and where is he he lyeth downe and riseth not till the heauens be no more that is till there bee an end of this world What then Doe I speake against Iustice or expedition for or in Iustice No but against Precipitancy in doubfull cases and especially if they concerne life For if a man be a Murderer Burglarer or Robber to day he will be so to morrow and bee found so the third day or the third weeke or the third moneth c. and then when there is good certainty let him suffer a Gods-name How many haue taken it vpon their deaths that they were innocent touching the crime laid to their charge and after their deaths it was made manifest that they were innocent indeed but in vaine Their liues could not be giuen to them againe Now in such a case it is not enough for the Inquest to lay the fault vpon the witnesses nor
Plato requireth in his ingenuous Scholler that he should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And our Prophet in my Text would not haue a man to trust too much to his owne wit or perspicacy but that he should aske of others Indeed Aske and you shall haue seeke and you shall find knocke and it shall be opened vnto you doth not tie vs to Gods inspiring and touching of vs alone according to that of Saint Iames If any man want wisedome let him aske of the Father of lights but enioyneth vs to vse all lawfull meanes all possible indeauours for the purchasing and compassing of the same precious pearle the knowledge of the true way which leadeth vnto life Therefore hath the Lord so precisely and distinctly referred vs to seuerall guides and instructers as he hath done The women to aske their husbands at home the children to aske their fathers When thy children shall aske thee what this Ceremony of the Passeouer meaneth thou shalt say thus and thus All the people in generall of the Priests and the Prophets The Priests lips shall preserue knowledge and they shall seeke the Law at his lippes Therefore let no man that wanteth wisedome thinke scorne to aske counsell of them that are learned albeit euery good gift and perfect gift commeth downe from the Father of light for then he will take scorne to aske a beneuolence of him that hath more then himselfe because God it is that doth open his hand and fill all things liuing with plenteousnesse Subordinata non pugnant is a rule in the Schooles Now as we are commanded by our Prophet to aske so are we told by him what to aske Aske saith he for the old waâ— This is a very pleasing speech to some old Cinque-Caters If this be admitted once thinke they then all is Cocke-sure on their side For they haue the prescription of a thousand yeeres and more when as our faith is but of yesterday Where was it before Martin Luther c I answer first with the word of Ahab to Benhadad Let not him that girdeth on his Armour boast as he that putteth it off 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Any man may prate and talke but Counsell and strength are for the warre words will not winne the cause in a serious encounter The Athenians bragged that they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 spawned as it were there where they dwelt and therefore vsed to weare Grasse-hoppers on their heads for which cause they were called by Aristophanes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Arcadians boasted of their antiquity that they were more ancient then the Moone Lunâgens prior illa fuit And yet they and all the Grecians in generall are told their owne by an Egyptian Priest as Plato beareth witnesse that they were but children and that there was not an old man amongst them So the Gibâ—onites told Iosuah and the men of Israel that they were not of their cursed neighbours whom God had deuoted to destruction and whom they were forbidden to make any league with but that they came from a very farre countrey and therefore to bleare the Israelites eyes they tooke with them old sacks and old bottles and old shooes and old rayment c. But were they the more ancient or the more honest for that cause words be but wind vnlesse there be proofes correspondent Secondy I say that in the originall it is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which properly signifieth old but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which more properly signifieth euerlasting or perpetuall Now what are they the neerer for that was their doctrine from the beginning or shall it last euer in our Church Nay Euery plant that the heauenly Father did not plant was of later set and shall be plucked vp by the rootes If theirs be of the heauenly Fathers planting let them shew it by the Scripture For Non accipio quod extra Scripturam de tuo infers saith Tertullian I will not admit of that which they alledge out of their owne head without Scripture Thirdly because they rely much vpon the exposition of Fathers Hierome vpon this place and after him their ordinary Glosse vnderstandeth by Wayes in the first place the Prophets Stand in the way that is search the Prophets what testimony they beare of Christ. And by the Good way Christ Iesus himselfe the Way the Truth and the Life Iohn the 14. This for a taste what iudgement the Westerne Church was of touching the meaning of this place So for the Eâ—sterne Church Theodorit shall speake a very ancient writer and as learned as he was ancient who in his tenth booke of Therapeuticks hath these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The Prophet Graecè the Prophets word calleth Wayes the old Prophets and the good way our Sauiour and Lord himselfe So that you see that it is no new shiâ—t of ours to auoyd the stroake of the Argument drawne from Antiquity but an ancient and approued interpretation receiued in the time of the second and third Generall Councels in which time Hierome and Theodorit flourished Fourthly I say that our Prophet himselfe in my Text as though he had â—ore-seene how some would walke in a vaine shaddow and make a flourish with a painted scabberd lest any should mistake the point and so be seduced correcteth and explaineth himselfe in the very next words Which is the good way And so I am come to the second part of my diuision wherof I will speake but a word Aske after the old pathes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where is the same good way As if he had said Did I bid you aske after the Old way and walke therein as though that were a safe and certaine direction of your faith Alas you may be deceiued in this inquiry except you aske for the Old way which is the good way For as some of your Ancestors haue beene good and some bad some true worshippers of God and some Idolaters So by that reason some old or beaten wayes must be crooked and erronious as well as other some right and straight Decline therefore from that way seeme it neuer so old if it may be proued vnto you to be wrong and follow and hold on that onely which is good Thus the Prophet and this to be the true meaning of the place any one that will looke into the Originall may easily finde For though it be somewhat doubtfully translated as though the Prophet would haue the old way to be esteemed for the good way rule of faith yet it is a truth that the Hebrew Text doth import no such thing For if it were to be taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of expressing or defining then it would haue beene said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is the good way not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where or where that which is euer taken Interrogatiuely Now then if this be all that the
Prophet meaneth that we should aske for the old way which is good doth not this imply that there be old wayes which be bad and consequently doth not this make against our Aduersaries that doe rely vpon Antiquity simply without distinction Thus as hee that diggeth a pit falleth many times into it himselfe as it is in the Booke of the Preacher So the Arguments that are framed against the truth doe turne oft-times to the conuiction of false-hoood which it would establish We can doe nothing against the truth but for the truth saith the Apostle Lastly let it be granted that the old way is the good way the right way the true way which in some sense is true if they vnderstand by Old that which is most old that which was from the beginning As our Sauiour Math. 19. When the Pharises alledged for themselues the Antiquitie of Moses his dispensation about the matter of diuorce answered that the manner of Dispensing was not old enough for from the beginning it was not so And Tertullian Id verum quod prius prius quod ab initio ab initio quod ab Apostolis That is true that is former former that was from the beginning from the beginning that was from the Apostles I say if we should grant as we may grant that they that can shew the highest Antiquity to be on their side should goe away with the cause should our Aduersaries gaine any thing thereby Where was their Supremacie in Saint Peters and Saint Pauls time When Saint Paul commandeth Ecclesiasticall persons and all to be subiect to the Higher or chiefe Powers namely to the Magistrate by the interpretation of St. Chrysostome and of whom not And Peter more precisely To be subiect to the King or Emperour as to the chiefe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To whom agreeth Tertullian Colimus Imperatorem vt hominem à Deo secundum solo Deo minorem Wee honour saith he the Emperour as a man immediatly subiect or second to God and inferiour to none but God So where was it taught in Antiquity That Subiects were no longer to obey their Prince then it should please a forraine Bishop if a Bishop and that at his voyce they might take Armes against their Soueraigne and lawfully kill him nay that it was a meritorious deed to kill him Did Peter or Paul or any of the Apostles so teach Did Augustine or Ambrose Basil or Chrysostome or any Doctour for a thousand yeeres after Christ euer write so Lego relego Romanorum Regum res gestas c. saith Otho Frinsigensis I read read ouer againe the Acts of the Roman Emperours and doe find none of them to be so proceeded against by any Roman Prelat before Hildebrands time who liued a thousand and threescore yeeres after Christ. I know he addeth an exception of Pabianus his dealing with Philip and Ambrose with Theodosius but it is one thing to put away a Prince from the Communion another thing to depriue him of his Kingdome This for discharging of Subiects from their oath of obedience As for the suborning of Fryers and Monks and Ruffians to stabbe Kings or Queenes or otherwise to mischiefe them it was neuer heard of in Christendome for a thousand and fiue hundred yeeres and an halfe after Christ vntill the time of these vpstart Iesuites whose proper vocation and imployment seemeth to be to set the whole world on fire being themselues set on fire of hell In Christendome I say the like practice to dispatch the Popes enemies by the hands of Cut-throats allured with the faire promises of this life and of that which is to come hath not beene heard of But in Turky and in Syria for the aduancement of the authority of the Calipha of Babylon and to strengthen the Kingdome of the Soldans it hath beene many times set on foot by the hands of Assasins as some call them as others call them Arsacidacs Thus as Aspis à Vipera venenum mutuatur as Tertullian saith So they of new Babylon haue learned of the old to embrue their hands in the blood of the Lords Anointed But from Mount Sinai this came not nor from Hierusalem nor from the Ancient of dayes But if they will stand vpon Antiquity I will tell you who was their Schoole-master euen he that was a Murderer from the beginning the old Serpent the Deuill Satanas Shall I prosecute this course a little further to shew the newnesse of their doctrine in other points of Religion What one probable place out of Scripture what one colourable reason out of the Fathers or Councels can they produce either for their Seruice in an vnknowne Tongue or for their barring of the people from reading the Scriptures Or for denying them the Cuppe in the Communion Or for the Popes Pardons Or for the merits of Monkery Or that fiue words mumbled by a Priest ouer a piece of bread should annihilate the substance of bread and bring Christs body in place carnally as he was borne of the Virgin Mary c These and twenty other such toyes nay Heresies nay Impieties if they haue any ground in the world for in Antiquity let vs be taken for false witnesses and slanderers and beare the blame for euer The time is spent I presume and therefore I must huddle vp that which remaineth and conclude in a word or two that which is yet vnhandled of my Text to wit the last branch of the Perswasion That wee walke in the good old way And the promise of the reward We shall find rest for our soules I will handle them both together The Apostle in the first to the Romanes conuinceth the Gentiles for that they knowing God did not glorifie him as God And our Sauiour Iohn 13. telleth his Disciples If you know these things happy are yee if you doe them If God hath traced vnto vs in the Scriptures the old and good way If we declare lay open the same vnto you out of the Scriptures you refuse to tread the same then we may say vnto you as the Prophet doth in the like case Doubtlesse in vaine made he it the pen of thewriter is in vaine The King in the Gospell making a marriage feast for his Sonne did not bid them that they should refuse to come or come euill appointed but that they should come with their wedding garment meet at his Table No more doe we light a candle put it on a Candlesticke that any should winke with their eyes or loue darkenes more then light but that they should take knowledge thereof and doe their businesse thereby Euen so if we shew you the truth so euidently that you cannot deny it why doe you not beleeue it If wee shew you the more excellent way as the Apostle speakes so plainely that you cannot controll it why doe you not follow it why doe you not walke therein that so you may finde rest for your soules Shall they