⧠An ExpositioÌ„ of the .4 chap. of S. Ioans Reuelation made by Bar. Traheron in sondrie Readinges before his countre men in Germanie Where in the prouideÌ„ce of God is treated with an aunswer made to the obiections of a gentle aduersarie ¶ Imprinted Anno. 1557. To master Ro. Parker / and to maistres Anne his godlie wife / exiles for Christes cause / Bar. Traheron wisheth encrease of goddes grace VvHile I labored to conforte my selfe / and other in the consideration of goddes prouideÌ„ce / you know how one put in his fote / and assaied to impugne / some parte of that / that I had spokeÌ„ And though bi your procuremeÌ„t we met together / and after some debatinge agreed vpon the cheife pointes / that before semed to be in controuersie betwene vs / yet afterward it liked him to shew certaine reasons against my affirmation / ether for exercise of lerninge / or bicaufe he wold be better confirmed in the truth Now consideringe that the matter is of great weight / importaunce / and somewhat scrupulous in this weakenes of mennes capacitee / and suâ—â—â—câ—e to the reprehensions / and cauillatioÌ„s of licenâ—ious heddes / lest anie thinge shuld be bruted otherwise thaÌ„ I spake / I haue thought good to putte in priÌ„te al that I said in your presence / that al men maie know / what my meaninge is / not by rehersal sermons / but by mine awne writiÌ„ge And in this behalfe I haue partely folowed the counsel of M. Gilbert Barkley / whoÌ„ you know I haue in due reuereÌ„ce / for his great grauite / and singular integrite of life This poore frute of my studies I dedicate vnto you my most entierly biloued master Parker / and to the right worthie matrone your wife For seiÌ„ge the perfecte sincere loue / that shuld be betwene al maried folke / shineth most notably in you / I wold not sondre you in this place / whom god hath so ioigned / and made one in al good thinges I haue iudged it also my dutie for asmuch as the bowels of the saiÌ„ctes haue beÌ„ / and be daily refreshed by you / to rendre this testimonie of your singular godlines / and of my good affection towardes you / in the sight of the world God almightie confirme / and augmente in you the knowlege of his truth / and loue of righteousnes / blesse my biloued / WeÌ„tworth / Peregrine / Anne / Cecile your childreÌ„ / that they maie folow the godlie steppes of their Parentes / and that the mention that I make of theÌ„ in this place / â—â—ie be a spurre vnto them here after to set them forewarde in the loue of tru religion / and innocentie of life Amen ¶ THE FIRST READINGE As THE vision which Ezechiel saw / and describeth in the .1 cha serueth to this ende / to teach that the great miseries / and calamities / which the Iues suffred by the force / aÌ„d oppression of Nabuchodonosor / and the Babilonians / came not vpon them by chaunce / but by the ordinance / and prouidence of God / so this vision / which S. Ioan most liuely setteth before vs / sheweth in like maner / that the decaie / aÌ„d ruine the afflictions / and persequutions of the churche in this later time / and what so euer is don in the world bâ— Antichrist / and his membres / is not tossed at auenture by hap / but gouerned by the hand / and certaine prouidence of God And it is right necessarie for vs to know / that fortune and chaunce rule nor thâ— rost in mennes matters / rufflinge and tomblingâ— al thinges confusedly / as Epicures disciples thinâ—ke / but that god is the orderer / disposer / and goueâ—ner of al the thinges that be don in the world Foâ— it is not possible for vs to quiete our selues / whan we considre the loÌ„ge / and great prosperitee / and luâ—kie successe of false teachers / of Christes opeÌ„ / professed enemies / of most vngodlie cruel / barbarous / and wicked men / onles we be staied with this / thaâ— god ruleth / ordreth / and gouerneth al together / Sâ— therefore that there shal be an ende of the raginge oâ— tyrannous persequutors / and that the gouerner of al / shal turne al to the iust destruction / of the wicked to the conforte of his chosen / and to the aduaÌ„cemeÌ„t of his awne glorie Againe if we loke vpon our priuate state / and cal to compte our frailtie and infirmitie / the manifold diseases / and miseries whereuÌ„to wear subiecte / what coÌ„forte caÌ„ we haue / or what ende of morninge and sorow / if we be not persuaded / that Goddes prouidâ—ce reacheth vnto vs / and ordreth al that commeth vpon vs / not as semeth vnto vs / but as he knoweth to be best for vs. But here I must warne you of two notable fautes One is of theÌ„ / which whan they heare vs saie / that al thinges comme to passe / by goddes prouideÌ„ce / thincke / and affirme that we teache / that god is the autor of al the sinful actes / that ar don in the world Which is most false / most horrible / and detestable / â—ther to be spoken / or thought For it is as impossible for god / who is al together good / to be the autor of evil / as it is impossible for him / to leaue of his godhead / and to be no more god We saie than constantly / and with al vehementie of minde / that God is the outer of no euil / and we meane it not so / that bycause god worcketh it / therefore it is good / though of it selfe it be euil / but we meane / that he is in dede the propre worcker / and cause of no euil / that euil / and sinne springe not from him / but from the diuel / and from vs / and that he is simply / and merely the autor / and worcker of good thinges only / both whan he worcketh by him selfe / and whan he worcketh â—y and in vs. And yet we saye that nothinge commeth to passe without him / and that he ordreth / disposeth / teÌ„pereâ—h / and bringeth forth to light / al the euil actes that ar doÌ„ in the worlde But it is one thinge to vttre / to bringe forth / to dispose / and ordre mennes euils / and it is another thinge to worcke / and to cause euils in men It is one thinge to make an instrument euil / and it is another thinge to vse an euil instrument / beinge alreadie so made by another To make an instrumeÌ„t euil / is euil / to vse an euil instrument / is not euil simply / yea to vse an euil instrumeÌ„t to good endes / is good Satan / and our awne wil / hathe made vs al euil instrumentes God though we be now made il instrumeÌ„tes / vseth vs wel SataÌ„ / and our awne wil hath wrought / and caused
god pleased not god ergo he did not his wil. I praie you good frendes shuld Adam please god in doinge goddes wil and ordinance with a faulte of his awne Senacherth did goddes wil and ordinance in afflicting the people of Ierusalem but bycause he did it with a fame of his awne god plaged him for doing that that he testifieth he had appointed him to do If you can not perceaue how men maie do Goddes decreed wil / with a fault of their awne / impute it to your ignorance / and want of vndrestanding / thincke it not by and by to be false that your measured witte can not comprehende The nexte argument is like the for ner / God rewarded not Adam with benifices / ergo he did not that goddes wil was to be don I wil make the like reason God rewarded not the Iues with benefites for crucifâ—inge of Christ ergo it was not goddes wil / and ordinance / that the Iues shuld crucifie Christ But yet the holie gost saieth that thei did that goddes hand and purpose had foreordained to be don Pigghiuâ— the papist frameth the argumeâ—t thus Adam in siâ—ninge and the Iues in procuring Christes death did that god wold and had ordained before to be don / ergo thei were not to be punished For right vndrestanding hereof / ye shal know that god / and wickâ—d men / wil some times one thinge but not after one maner Adams wil was to sinne and goddes wil was that he shuld sinne But Adams wil was to sinne bycause he wold be â—qual to god / iâ— knowinge of good bad And goddes wil was that Adam thorough his awne faute shuld sinne / to turne Adams sinne to good / and to bringe good out of euil The Iues wil was to put Christ to death / and goddes wil was / that his sonne shuld die But the Iues wil was / that he shuld die bycause thei wold satisfie their malice and crueltie vpon him and godddes wil was / that he shuld die to raunsome his chosen and so to declare h s â—â—â—stiâ—â—able goodnes Sainct Augustine sheweth verie handsomely how god willeth the same thinge / with a good wil / that men wil which a nawghtie wil. An vnthriftie child â—â—â—â—â—h the death of his father / whoÌ„ god wil haue to die Thei both wil one thiÌ„g namely the death of the man but they wil it not after one sorte For the enthriftie sonne willeth it to emote his father goodes God willeth it / to conuete him out of miserie if he be one of the chosen / or duly to punish him / if he be a reprobate Is this vnthrifte than worthie to be rewarded with benifites bicause he wold the same thinge that god wold Naie surely For he willed it vniustly to an euil purpose and god willed it iustly to a good porpose Boies in scoles to practise then sophistrie make the argument as handsomely after this sorte That wil that agreeth with goddes wil is good / the Iues wil agreed with goddes wil for thei wold that Christ shuld die and god also wold / that he shuld die ergo their wil was good To this wise men aunswer that the Iues wil agreed not with goddes wil in al causes and in al pointes and therefore it was not good but extremely euil The argument the refore is nawght For it is deducted ex causa non sufficiente .i. of a cause not sufficient But let vs peruse more of our aduersaries reasons God made man to immortalitie ergo it was not his wil that he shuld sinne and die I aunswer that this is not an absolute speech god made maÌ„ to immortalitie but a coÌ„ditional God made man to immortalite if he wold haue persisted and continued in the state that god made him in Whan Ionas saieth / yet .40 daies and Niniue shal be destroied this speech declareth not goddes secrete determinatioÌ„ but what shuld folow if thei did not repente God saieth to Abimelech hauing taken to him Abrahams wife Lo thou shalt die for the woman whom thou hast taken This semeth an absolute speech but in dede it hath a secrete condition which the scripture afterwarde expresseth in these wordes Restore hir now to hyr husband if thou restore hir not see the conditioÌ„ expressed know that thou shalt surely die Yet there remaineth another reason that wold make anie man to quake if he had nether wit / nor sparcke of a mannes mind If you grauÌ„t not coÌ„tingentiam saie thei than ye affirme that al thinges coÌ„me to passe by fatal destinee Here first I must tel you what coÌ„tingens is CoÌ„tingens is that which though it be doÌ„ after some certaine sorte yet hath of it selfe and of his awne nature that it might haue ben otherwise doÌ„ As for exemple / Iulius Cesar ouercame PoÌ„peie There is nothinge in the nature hereof but that PoÌ„peie might haue ouercoÌ„me Iulius Cesar The legges of the lord Iesus of theyr awne nature might haue ben broken Than we saie that manie thinges of them selues and of their awne nature be coÌ„tingent but touching goddes wil and ordinance there is nothing coÌ„tingent in the world that is to saie nothinge in the world coÌ„meth to passe other wise than he hath determined and ordained And so we saie that Iulius Cesar must nedes ouercoÌ„me PoÌ„peie and that the legges of the lord Iesus cold not be broken by reasoÌ„ of goddes ordinance But so we agree with the stoikes that saie that al thinges coÌ„me to passe by fatal destinie Naie surely For those foÌ„de philosophers taught that al thinges comme to passe by the copulatioÌ„ of causes wrapped one in another And they made god subiect to this ordre / and row of causes depending one vpoÌ„ another after such sorte as Homere deuised his chaine whereuÌ„to he tieth Iuppiter also But we saie not that al thinges coÌ„me to passe for that the causes ar so licked to gether that one thinge necessarely draweth another but bicause god hath thorough his secrete wil and purpose ordained al thinges so to be doÌ„ as ther be doÌ„ And we make not god subiecte to â—â—ained and lincked causes but we make al causes and al thinges subiecte to god This than that our aduersaries wold fraie vs withal was nothing but lightninge out of a basin After that I had gon this far two other reasoÌ„s of theirs were brought vnto me wh ch though thei maie be confuted by that that I haue al readie said yet I wil examine them bycause I heare / that they acknowlege most strength to be in them The first is this If it had ben goddes wil that Adam shuld sinne than Adam shuld haue wanted free wil / but god gaue him free wil / to kepe his commaund mâ—t if he wold ergo it was not goddes wil / that he shuld sinne This reason shineth to them as it were gold but in dede it is but gilted latin For goddes wil / and ordinance letted not but that Adam shuld do frely
wickâ—dnes in vs al. God moderateth / represseth / stirreth vp / and bringeth forth the euil / that SataÌ„ / we haue caused in our selues / so that we vttre no parte of the euil that is in vs / by Satans enuie / and our awne faute and follie / but where and whan it pleaseth god the gouernor of the vniuersal world And thus I trust it is not harde to perceaue that though nothinge comme to passe besides Goddes prouidence / yet he is not the autor / and worcker / and verie cause of anie maner of euil / and sinful acte For he worcketh not euil in our hertes / but findinge euil there alreadie wrought / he ether stoppeth / and represseth the same / or stirreth it vp / and bringeth it forth / and maketh it knowen to the world / as he knoweth to make most for his glorie / for the profite of his chosen Thother faute is of them / which acknowlege God to be the ruler / and gouerner of al thinges / and yet they finde faulte in his gouernment For they aske / why God prouided not other wise in the beginninge / than that Satan shuld bringe man to transgression / why he stopped not his enterprise at the first / for so shuld there haue ben no euil in the world or why now he doeth not destroie al wicked men / al the aduersaries of his sonne at once / or make them al good men that we might liue a quiete / happie / and pleasant life without miserie / without murmuringe / without filthines of manners in al puritie / and godlines / where as now the world is ful of calamities / ful of pleges / ful of vile actes / ful of false doctrine / idolatrie / and superstition / antichriste preuailiÌ„ge euerie where / makinge hauocke / beatinge doune / and staÌ„pinge vndre his fete al that is good / and godlie These men wold haue God / and his doinges subiecte to theyr iudgementes seate / and what so euer they cannot compreheÌ„de with theyr wittes / they can find no reason nor goodnes in it They wil not make theyr iudgemeÌ„tes agree to Goddes doinges / but they wil haue God to make his doinges agree to theyr iudgementes But what if God wil not do them that honor / vntil they can shew them selues / as wise / as he is Shal a coÌ„ninge artificer alter his worcke / bicause a folish vnskilful maÌ„ / caÌ„ seme to himselfe to finde a faute in it No man in this life can attaine to a ful reason of Goddes doinges But we shal see in this part off the scripture / that they which ar now departed out of this life / and liue in a better life / find that God hath don al thinges most wisely / iustly / ordredly / whereunto thei cold not fully attayne / whyle they liued in this world But though I saie / that men in this life can not attaine to a ful knowlege / and reason of al goddes doinges / yet I denie not / but that thei haue some knowlege / and se some reason in his doinges For touchinge the first question / if god had hindred Satans entreprise / at the beginninge / thaÌ„ Satans wickednes / and maÌ„nes frailtie / than goddes righteousnes in punishinge sinne / and his most wonderful goodnes in the loÌ„ge purposed before / and now perfirmed incarnation of his sonne / cold neuer haue ben knowen And touching the seconde question / that he now suffreth Antichrist to make such an hurley burley / and coÌ„fusion in the world / therein his wisedom / and righteousnes appereth plainly / in bringing to light the outragious nawghtines of men / and in strikinge the reprobate with deserued blindnes His mercie also and goodnes shineth forth / most clearely in sauing / and prâ—seruing his chosen / in the middest of al errors / and blindnes / in in the middest of al stomblinge blockes / and dauÌ„gers which is no lesse to be meruailed at / thaÌ„ the sauiÌ„ge of the noble childreÌ„ of the Hebruâ—s vnhurte / in the hote burninge ouen But now that I haue shewed you the ende of this vision with some aunsweres to the obiections of meÌ„ / ether vngodlie or vnlerned / I wil breifely shew you the suÌ„me / and so comme to a more particular consideration of the texte This is the vision in summe In heauen there appeareth a throne of imperial maiestie Vpon this throne there sitteth one holdinge a boke in his right hand sealed with .7 seales A lambe as it were slaine / is associated / and ioigned with him / that sitteth vpon the throne / which receueth the boke / and openeth the seales thereof Out of this throne there procedeth a seuenfolde spirite / which sheweth forth his wondreful power Before the throne there is a glassie sea cleare / and chrystalline The throne leaneth vpon .4 beastes / which haue eyes / and winges Then a grene rainebow like an emrode coÌ„passeth the throne / as it were a garlande In a circle aboute the throne be .24 seates / and in them sitte 24. elders crouned / and clothed in white garmeÌ„tes This is the summe of the vision / which requireth a more particular declaration But first we must speake some what of those thiÌ„ges / which S. Ioan setteth before this vision / which he so coÌ„ningly painteth forth Thus he speaketh before AFTER these thinges I saw S. Io. saw other visions before / declaringe to him / how the Lord Iesus raigneth in his churche / and gouerneth it / what preceptes / what exhortations / what chastisementes he vseth in it / and againe what the dutie of the church is towardes hir lord / and kinge Al which thinges ar discribed in in the former chapitres I saw That is a vision appeared vnto me AND behold a dore was opened in heauen Where a dore standeth open / men maie entre in So by this speech S. Io. signifieth / that he was admitted in to the contemplation of heaueÌ„lie thinges Wherein the great goodnes of God is sette before vs / who vouchsafeth to open the dore of his secrete closette to a mortal man But see the same goodnes yet more declared For manie see a Kinges priuie chamber dore opeÌ„ / and yet ar aferd to entre in Such feare and bashefulnes might happen to S. Ioan / and therefore God conforteth him / and maketh him bold For he saieth AND the first voice that I heard was as it had ben of a troÌ„pe speaking with me / and saiynge / comme vp hither Henrie Bullinger a verie godlie / and lerned maÌ„ / thinketh that this voice / was the voice of Christ / which I like wel If you wil take it rather for the voice of an angel / I wil not coÌ„tende therein / so that you vndrestand / that the angel spake vnto Io. after this sorte / by the appointement of Christ For whether the lord shew his goodnes to vs by hiÌ„selfe / or by his
same predicament / that those thinges be in whereunto thei ar coÌ„traries As for exemple darcknes is contrarie to light / and light is a qualitee therefore darcknes shal be referred to the same house 〈◊〉 sinne is coÌ„trarie to righteousnes / righteousnes is a qualitee therefore we shal putte sinâ—e 〈◊〉 the same predicament / and row that râ—ghteâ—snes is in / saie that sinne is a qualitee whereby mannes nature is corrupte / 〈◊〉 and sâ—â—â—de worthie to be cast awaie / and condemned of god But now these good 〈…〉 their reasâ—ning giue vs good couÌ„sel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bid vs be warie and forbeare to 〈◊〉 sucâ— thinges as the wicked maye turne 〈…〉 But so we shal cease to preache 〈◊〉 mercies of god For wicked men turne that to euil For the papistes saie that by preachinge of goddes mercies / we encourage men to sinne And some wicked men perchaunce take occasion thereby in dede to sinne the more boldly But thei plaie the sophisters and take non causam pro causa For the verie cause in dede of mennes corrupte behauior is their inwarde boiling sinful lust and not our preachiÌ„g Wherefore we maie not forbeare to speake the truth bicause euil men can wringe thinges to euil purposes But now lette vs comme to the lesson that these good scolemasters haue giueÌ„ you whereby ye ar taught to ouerthrow shortely and whithout sweate whatsoeuer we can allege / for the maintenance of our sentence For whan it is said that it was goddes wil that AdaÌ„ shuld sinne you must saie that god suffred Adam to sinne and so forth But these sufferers / that turne al goddes doinges in to suffringes / preately suffre them selues to be begiled if thei weene that manie wil streight waie beleue them For shal we saie that god suffred the Iues to conspire Christes death / whan the holie gost saieth his hand foreordained it Whan Micha saieth to Ahab Lo the lord hath giuen the spirite of liyng in to the mouth of al thy prophetes / is that nothinge els but god hath suffred thy prophetes to lie WhaÌ„ god biddeth the liyng spirite to go and to deceaue Ahab / I trow / he doeth more / than suffre him to go I saie not this as though this word suffringe might nowaie be ascribed to god but I saie that thei ar euil scolemasters / that teach you to turne al goddes doinges in to suffringes and yet teache you not in what sense you shal take the word suffringe For suffringe is taken sondrie waies We maie suffre a thinge with our wil and we maie suffre a thinge against our wil. He suffreth also a thiÌ„g to be don that meddleth not at al with the matter And he suffreth a thinge to be don that is contente and agreeth that it shal be don If thei saie / that god sufferd Adam to sinne as one that wold not medle with the matter / that is plaine sacrilege and robbeth god of his honor If thei wolde signifie in saiyng / that god suffred Adam to sinne that he was not the propre worcker and autor of his sinne / but ordained Adam to sinne by Satans propre worckinge and his awne faulte than thei meane as we meane And than their meruailous high lesson is vanished in to smoke Now to make at ende thus I trust you see that I stand vnwounded and vnhurte against these sore blodie blowes If anie man thincke that I haue ben to quicke against them / that be aduersaries in wordes and not in meaning lette him considre that I haue not had respecte to them only but also to the papistes which ernestly vse the same weapons against vs. And further bycause I trauail to mainteyne the glorie of my god which shineth to the dasellyng of wicked mennes yes in the hole gouernmeÌ„t of the world I thought good to vse some quicknes / and liuelines of wordes / to awake the dulnes of my hearers God our most merciful lord and father encrease the knowlege of his prouidence in vs al arme vs with patience in these miseries and confirme in vs the hope of a better state Amen amen ¶ An exposition of these wordes Leade vs not in to tentation made by Bar. Traheron loÌ„ge before these former lectures now added hereto that you maie know that he neuer saide nor thought that god is the autor of sinne as some most falsly and vngodly wold haue men to weene LEade vs not God tempteth and trieth men sondrie waies and to sondrie endes First to beginne with his awne whom he chose in Christ Iesus and prepared to euerbastinge life before the fundations of the world were laied he tempteth and trieth them to sondrie endes namely ether to make theyr vertues which he him selfe hath wrought in them to shine forth more clearely or to open their shame and nawghtie corrupte nature / that so afterwarde thei maie liue iÌ„ greater warines and feare of god / and more ernestly desire his helpe knowinge better their awne wickednes To the ende whereof we spake first he tempted Abraham Iob to bringe I meane their vertues to light and to make them more certainly knowen To thother ende he tempted kinge Dauid and. S. Petre and manie other not vtterly to destroie them but to humble them / to teach them to know and abhorre their awne wickednes and to fele more certainly his great goodnes and mercie And though god use this temptation to the profite of his chosen yet thei ought to praie that thei maie not fal in to it For though it be so that god of his great goodnes maketh our nawghtines to turne to his glorie / and our welth yet the godlie ought to abhorre to committe anie thinge / whereby their god is iustly offended But you wil saie / if he be offended with those our dedes / why bringeth he vs in to them With our dedes he is surely offended but he is delighted with that that he bringeth to passe by them namely with our humilitee with our better knowlege of our awne weaknes with our more warie walking afterwarde in due feare of him This tentation in to which God bringeth his electe / endureth but a time But he bringeth some in to a perpetual tentation / vtterly giuinge them vp to Satan hardening them in wickednes for euer The godlie do not praie / that thei maie not be led in to this temptatioÌ„ For thei haue a sure confideÌ„ce that thei ar goddes children For otherwise thei might not cal him father And if thei thincke that thei be goddes children thei must thincke / that thei be goddes chosen And bycause thei be goddes chosen / thei must thinke that thei can be no more damned / than god can cease to be god For whoÌ„ he hath oÌ„ce choseÌ„ theÌ„ he hath chosen for euer Nether caÌ„ he repeÌ„te him of the thinge that he hath once purposed / nor chaunge his purpose For that shuld argue some imperfection in him / which can not be in