that are necessary for our liuyng Peace be with thee Thy pouerty be vpon me Care not sayth he I wil furnishe that whiche wanteth I nothing passe what thou hast with thee or what thou hast not The humanity of this man was great whiche appeareth so muche the more excellent bycause he dwelled among the inhumane and cruel Gabaonites He was borne brought vp in an other place where the feare of God was more regarded then among the Gabaonites Yet he seemeth not herein to be praysed for that he dwelt so longe among vngodly and wicked men We must flye the fellowshyp of wicked men For we ought not to esteme any thyng so much that for the cause therof we should haue a will to dwell among idolatrous wicked men Wherfore if any greuous chaunce happen in that society vnto men which are otherwise good they can not complayne that the same happeneth vnto them vndeserued Lot sped yll bycause he dwelt among the Sodomites He saw the coūtrey fertyll and plentifull hauing great plēty of heardes and flockes he would abide there But with that he escaped not vnpunished For once he was led away prisoner and except Abraham had delyuered him with an army which he had assembled he should al his lyfe tyme haue serued in most hard bondage Afterward when these Cityes were burnt he scarsely escaped frō burning Whiche benefite he may ascribe rather vnto Abraham then vnto himself How vnprofitable euill fellowship is for if he had perished together with them he should haue had no cause to haue cōplained of God Euill fellowship alwayes for the most part either hurteth or eis engendreth daunger The Gabaonites beyng of the tribe of Beniamin are called also the children of Iemini bycause that famely was noble in the tribe Wherfore this famely possessed the City D. Kimhi although Dauid Kimhi expoundeth the sonnes of Iemini for strōge and migthy men for Iemini in Hebrew signifieth the right hand Wherfore the children of Iemini as he thinketh are they whiche haue lawe and ryght in the right hand and therfore do not what is lawful but what they can I do not deny but that the Gabaonites were such but I rather allowe the first exposition as the truer and more simple For it is manifest that it was a famely in Beniamin of whiche came Saul also Mesapua signifieth in Hebrew whatsoeuer meate is geuē vnto cattell besides straw and chaffe that is Tares Otes and Barley The old man had compassiō of the straunger either peraduenture bycause he was his contreyman or els at the least for that he himselfe also dwelt there as a straunger For common miseryes do oftentymes ioyne men together Wherfore in Virgil Dido sayth Virgil. I not beyng ignoraunt of euil do learne to succor the miserable After the same maner the Lord sayth in the law afflict not straūgers bycause ye were sometymes straūgers your selues in Egypt But the Gabaonites had vtterly forgotten their olde estate But the old mā bicause in time past he had ben a straūger or rather bicause he was euen then also a straūger was moued with mercy Yea God doth somtymes somewhat afflict those that are his that they should learne to haue cōpassion ouer other For they whiche alwayes florishe in wealth and riches are not greatly moued with the miseryes of other men And Paul to the Hebrues sayth that Christ was made lyke vnto his brethren in all thynges that he myght haue compassion of other The Leuite maketh mention that he would go vnto the house of God that is in Siloh where the arke of the Lord was And Siloh was in mount Ephraim He would therfore go thether peraduenture to geue thākes vnto god bicause bringing home his wife agayn he had luckly finished his busines Other thinke that the yong man added these things of the arke and house of God to the end the old mā should be the more gentle vnto him when he should vnderstand that he was no common man but a Leuite which would go vnto the holy tabernacle of God 21 So he brought hym into his house gaue foddre vnto the Asses Afterward they washed their feete and did eate and drinke 22 And as they were making their hartes merye Behold the men of the City wicked men be set the house round about and smote at the doore and spake to this old man the master of the house saying Brynge foorth the manne that came into thyne house that we maye knowe hym 23 And this man the master of the house went out and sayde vnto them Nay my brethren do not so wickedly I praye you seyng that this man is come into mine house do not this vilannie 24 Beholde here is my daughter a virgine and his concubine thē will I bryng out nowe and humble them and do with them what seemeth you good but to this man do not this detestable acte 25 But the men would not harken to hym therfore the man tooke hys concubine and brought her out vnto them and they knew her and abused her all the night vntyl the mornyng and when the day began to spryng they let her go 26 So the woman came in the dawning of the day and fell downe at the dore of the mās house where her Lord was till the light day 27 And her Lorde arose in the mornyng and opened the doores of the house and went out to go his waye and behold the woman his concubine was dead at the doore of the house and her handes laye vpon the threshold 28 And he sayde vnto her vp and let vs go but she aunswered not Then he tooke her vp vpon the Asse and the man rose vp and went vnto his place 29 And when he was come to his house he tooke a knife and layde hand on his concubine and deuided her in peces with her bones into twelue partes and sent her throughout al the quarters of Israel 30 And all that sawe it sayd There was no suche thyng doone or sene since the tyme that the children of Israell came vp from the lande of Egypte vnto this daye consider the matter consulte and geue sentence Where as it is sayde And he gaue his Asses foder In Hebrew it is written Vaiabol whiche signifieth he mingled for this verbe Balal signifieth to myngle For in those regions they vse to mingle chopped straw with barley so to geue them vnto their cattell The maner of washing of fete very muche vsed in Syria And washed their fete In those places that are extreme hot when men haue done their iorney they vse to washe their feete to wipe away the dust which office was sometymes shewed vnto Christ our sauiour and he agayne executed the same vnto his Apostles Paul also required this of good widowes namely to washe the feete of the Saintes Bring out the man that we may know him By these words is described a thing most filthy an horrible act There was
able to abide For their enemies began to vsurpe the mountaine of Heresch whych was appointed to their lot but the house of Ioseph aided them and so preuailed that they made the Amorhites tributaries The borders of the Amorrites wer very large And how farre the borders of the Amorhites extended is brieflye touched For they reached vnto the going vppe of Scorpions which is a place in the South borders of the tribe of Iudah not farre from the dead sea almost euen to Petra which city is the Metropolitan or chiefe city of Arabia Petra Strabo from which it is called Arabia Petrea Strabo describeth it that it was situated in a plaine ground compassed in with high rockes from the bottomes whereof flowed moste plentifull fountaynes when as the whole region which lieth by it was altogether dry and a deserte Whether it be lawfull for Christiās to dwel with infidels BVt seing the Israelites fel bicause they dwelled together with vngodli nations and did rather exact tributes of them than vtterly wede them out according to the cōmaundemēt of God I thinke it good to entreate whether it be lawful for godly men to be conuersant and to dwell together with the vngodly Reasons which proue that The first reasō And assuredly ther are many reasons wherby that maye seme to bee lawfull First bicause Christ despised not the feastes af Publicanes Phariseis and Sinners Reason 2 Secondly Paul to the Corinthians the first epistle geueth not libertye to a faithful wife to depart frō an infidele so that he be content to lyue dwel together Reason 3 with her Moreouer the same Apostle writeth that if any infidele byd you to a feast and ye wyll go with them then eate suche thinges as are set before you Reason 4 By these his woordes therefore he maketh it free Furthermore the same Apostle in the same epistle saith that he had admonished the Corinthians to auoyde whooremongers rauenours euyl speakers and suche lyke but not al sayth he for so must you go out of the world but if any be called a brother c. Wherfore we are not forbydden to auoyde the fellowship of al the vngodly Besides these Reason 5 Abraham was called out of Chaldey and commaunded to dwell as a straunger among nations which were farre from true religion Wherefore hee dwelt in Reason 6 the land of Chanaan and Egipt whych places were altogether geuen to idolatry Yea and Lot seperated him selfe from the fellowshyppe and familye of his Reason 7 kinsman Abraham and went and dwelt in Sodome Naaman also the Sirian returned to his idolatries Christe also retayned not with him al those whom hee Reason 8 had healed of diseases but sent them agayne sometymes to their owne to declare there what had happened vnto them Finally by ciuyl lawes certaine heretickes Reason 9 haue had places appointed vnto them as the Nouatians had in the citye of Constantinople and at this day the Iewes haue euery where leaue to dwell among the Christians This questiō surely as it is weighty so hath it also very many doubtes A distinction Wherfore we must fyrst make a distinction what may be lawfull to Magistrates and what to priuate men An other distinction Then must we vnderstand that the conuersation with infidels hath two considerations one is wherby men are driuen by compulsion to Idolatrous and vnpure worshipping of God an other whereby they remaine at libertye Then we must marke The third distinction that they which liue together with the vngodly as touching religion are sometyme learned and strong and sometimes they are both weake and also vnlearned Wherfore I thynke it good to be iudged as touching priuate men that if they be learned The learned strong may be conuersaunt with Infidels and haue with theyr learning adioyned constancie so that they be not compelled to cōmunicate with vngodly rites may lawfully haue to do and be conuersaunt with men that are infidels prouided that there be certayne cautions added The fyrst caution is that they do it with thys minde The fyrst Caution to teach those which are without godlynesse and to bring them to the sincere and pure religiō And therfore whilest they are conuersaunt among thē they ought not to cease but ought alwayes to go about that purpose for which they dwell in those places And that theyr instruction and doctrine may be fruitful they must take diligent hede that they be courteyse gentle and bounteous towarde those whom they thynke to ioyne vnto Christ For vnlesse they be fully persuaded that they which do admonyshe them and instructe them do loue them haue them in price the thing which they haue taken in hand shal haue but euill successe Furthermore they must take hede that they liue holily iustly and honestly The second Caution for if the infidels should be offended with theyr maners their ministerye would vtterly be vnprofitable for as much as it nothing auayleth to build with one hand and to destroye the same with the other hand Moreouer this most of al is to be sene vnto The third Caution that vnder the pretence of gentlenesse or frendship they myngle not themselues with vngodly vsages no though they were persuaded that they could that way allure thē the easlier vnto Christ For the rule of the Apostle must abyde vnshaken which is that euil thinges are not to be committed wherby good thyngs may happen They must beware also that in being conuersaunt with thē The fourth Caution they seke not theyr own cause or commodity For some there are found which although they make a pretence that they are desirous to haue the Gospel spred abroad Yet neuerthelesse in very dede follow seke for their owne pleasures gayne or aduantage Wherfore if there be no hope which neuerthelesse can seldome iustly happen of the health of such infidels we must no longer haue to do with them but so much as eyther our necessitie or theirs requireth that is if peraduenture they shoulde be very sore sicke and could not be holpen no other waye but by our helpe or if we our selues shuld not be able to get things necessary for our liuing any other where but among them It shall be lawfull also to be conuersaunte with them as much as naturall and ciuile necessityes requyre as if they were our princes fathers wiues or maisters such like Now resteth to cōfyrme this sentence Proues oute of the holy scriptures Math. 9. either by testimonies of the holy scriptures or els by examples Christ assuredly did so who for this cause was cōuersant with publicanes sinners pharisees scribes to instruct thē of saluation to conuert thē frō sinnes to vertues and godlinesse Wherfore Ierome on the 9. chap. of Mathew hath thys saying Ierom◠Christ in dede went to the feastes of sinners but to that end that he myght haue occasion to teache thē to recōpence theyr biddings with
than an Infidell Yea and the same Apostle hath commaunded that seruauntes of necessitye should obey their Maisters Now resteth to shewe reasons testimonyes of the holy scriptures Testimonies of the holy scriptures for the sentence alledged for the dysalowing of this conuersation Fyrst our Sauiour feared not to say in Mathew the 5. and 18. chap. If thy hand fote or eye be an offence or let vnto thee cut him of and cast him from thee And these as the wyser interpreters do declare spake he not of the members of the body but referred theÌ„ vnto those which are our familiars most nygh of kynred vnto vs. They al are to be seperated froÌ„ oure coÌ„pany although they seme profitable and coÌ„modious when they eyther seperate vs froÌ„ God which is the euerlastyng saluation or do put lets and hynderaÌ„ces wherby we are called froÌ„ hym Chrysostome Chrysostome in a maner intreating the self same argument sayth in the 56. Homely vpon Iohn If we cut of a rotten membre froÌ„ the body least it should corrupt the other partes of the body which vndoubtedly we do not bycause we despyse that member For who at any tyme hated hys owne fleshe How much more should we do the same in those which are wickedly ioyned vnto vs not that we should despyse them but that we should prouide that our saluation be not there indaungered where we see that we can nothing at al profite them Wherfore in thys case it is muche vnprofitable to desire or to seke for familiaritie or concord To this also doth the law of Christ tend which he gaue in the 18. of Mathew that they which are in a manner past hope of saluatioÌ„ wil not heare their brethren iustly admonishing theÌ„ yea and also despise the voyce of the church correcting them let them be counted as Ethnikes and publicanes Which thing Paule also hath taught who in the fyrst of the Corrinthians the v. chap. commaunded the incestuous person to be excoÌ„municated that a litle leuen should not pollute the whole dough of the sainctes Moreouer the same Apostle taught and that in the same Epistle the 15. chap. out of a verse of Menander that Poet the euil coÌ„munications corrupt good maners And therby he shewed that the ryght fayth of the resurrection was greuously weakened among the Corinthians which were newly come vnto Christ and that for that cause bycause they had lightly geueÌ„ credite vnto the arguments prophane reasons of Philosophers or rather heretikes It is not possible to be thought how the bewitching of wicked words corrupteth the teÌ„der fayth of the weake ones Wherfore profitably and conueniently were the Corrinthians admonished with theÌ„ all such as are weake ar exhorted The couÌ„sels of Phisitions to auoyde contagiousnesse to abstayne froÌ„ the fellowship of infidels The phisitions also do counsell that when a contagious disease shal infect either a familye or the next familie vnto it that such as yet are of perfect health goe not vnto them which are sicke For that in the bodyes temperatures of men there is a certayne agrement wherby an affection easly issueth froÌ„ those which ar sicke to theÌ„ which are whole and sound 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the poyson wherof though it be not byandby felt of those which take not hede vnto themselues yet for al that within a litle whyle after it deadly corrupteth Wherfore seing we are bidden so diligently to beware of the diseases of the bodye muche more ought we to prouide agaynste the vices of the mynde that we no way prouoke them vnto vs. Our nature is on euery side subiect to corruption Furthermore our nature is so framed by reason of our naturall or originall sinne that we are on euery side subiect to corruption as both the holy scriptures and also very many experiences do daily teach vs so that it is not to be doubted but that we should easly sucke in the poyson of other mens sinnes if we shoulde not with great diligence auoyde them And those synnes as they do without any laboure cleaue vnto vs before we beware so being once conceaued they can not be plucked from vs but with great paynes Chrysostome Wherfore Chrysostome in his 56. Homely vpon Iohn which I a litle before brought semeth wisely to saye If we coulde make theÌ„ the better and not hurt our selues he entreateth in the place of infidells and vngodly ones we should do all things but when we can do them no good bycause they are past amendment and that we may greuously hurt our selues then are they vtterly to be cut of And to confyrme hys sentence more strongly he bringeth in that which Paule writeth in the fyrst Epistle to the Corinth the .5 chap. which is Take away euil from among you Which wordes of the Apostle can not be vnderstand of synne forasmuche as the Greeke woorde is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is euil By which kynde of speache a wicked man is signifyed Wherfore I shall nothyng erre if I a litle bend the wordes of the Apostle to the commoditie of the weake ones saying Take away your selues from among the euill ones For if ye being weake and vnskilfull shall company with them ye must nedes both see and heare very many thynges agaynst godlynesse the religion which ye professe And bicause ye are not able neyther to confute nor to reproue them ye shall seme to be called as witnesses of blasphemies and reproche of the truth And peraduenture there shoulde remayne a styng in your myndes wherewith your conscience should be vexed longer than ye thynke for Let vs herken vnto the wyse maÌ„ who hath wel and faithfully admonished That he which toucheth pytche shal be fyled with it and that he which hath fellowship with a proude man wil proue like vnto him The vices of other men are like vnto pitch Take vpon thee no greater burthen than thou art able to beare ioyne not thy selfe vnto a mightier thaÌ„ thou thy self art Ecclesiasticus the .13 chap. These things do two wayes serue for thys present matter Fyrst in that the vices of other men are lykened vnto pytche whiche sticketh wonderfull fast to the fyngers of them which touch it We must haue a regard to our own strength and also to garments Secondly are we faythfully admonyshed to haue a regarde to our own strength Examples of the holy scriptures Let the examples of the holy scriptures in any wise teach vs. The Israelits were 70. yeres captiues in Babilon were so infected with the conuersatioÌ„ of vnfaythful natioÌ„s that afterward wheÌ„ they had leaue geueÌ„ theÌ„ fyrst of Cirus theÌ„ of Darius the most noble kings to returne home very many of theÌ„ wold not returne but being ouercome with the coÌ„moditie of houses fields marchandises they remained stil among the Chaldians Medes Persians So cold became they in the loue of godlinesse study of religioÌ„ Exodus â—2
vs is verye synne but in respecte that it commeth from God it is both good iust and holy For punishment is by God imposed to wycked men And to punishe synnes no man is ignoraunt but that it partayneth to iustice Wherfore God in withdrawing his grace from the vngodly and ministring some occasions which might moue to good things if they happened to right iust mindes and which he knoweth the wicked wyll turne to euil may after a sort although not properly be said to be the cause of sinne And vndoubtedly that act A â—â—militude in that it passeth through vs is sinne but not as it coÌ„meth from God For in that it coÌ„meth froÌ„ God it is most perfect iustice It happeneth somtimes that the self same wine being poured into a corrupt vessell is lost and made paide which wine as it was brought by the husbandmaÌ„ put into the vessel is both swete and good Neither is it hard to vnderstand how one the selfe same act may as touching one be vicious in respect of an other iust For when a murtherer hangman do kill a man the act as touching the matter or subiect without doubt is al one namelye the death of a man And yet the murtherer doth it most vniustly the hangman by law and iustice Iob also did wel vnderstand that when he said The Lord gaue the Lord hath taken away as it hath pleased him so is it done He did not by those wordes praise the Chaldians Sabines the Deuil which wer vessels of iniquity most vicious but he with great godlines allowed those euils as they were gouerned ruled by the prouidence of God namely for this cause bicause they pleased God It is also written in the .2 booke of Samuel the .24 chap. of Dauid who vnaduisedly wold haue the people numbred how God was angry with Israel therfore he styrred vp Dauid to do that And in the booke of Paral. it is writteÌ„ that Sathan was the doer of it For God doth those thinges which he wil haue done by Angels as wel good as euil Wherfore that numbring of the people as it proceeded of Dauid or the Deuil was in dede vicious but in that it came from God who intended to punish the Israelites it pertayned excedingly to the setting foorth of hys iustice Howbeit Iames sayth that God tempteth none to euyll but euery one of vs is allured by our own concupiscence Augustine Whyther God tempt or no. Augustine wryting of thys thyng in hys booke de consensa Euangelistarum saith that there are two kyndes of temptacion the one of trial the other of deceite And in dede as touching tryal he denyeth not but that God tempteth for that the scriptures do confesse it But with that kinde of temptation which deceaueth whereof Iames wrote he sayth that God tempteth no man But the scriptures teache not so as we haue declared a litle before of Dauid and before him of Achab. Yea and in Ezechiel the .14 chap. god saith that he had deceaued the Prophet And the same Augustine writeth not after the same maner in other places as it manifestly appeareth in hys bookes de Praedest Sanctorum de Cerrept Gratia ad Valent. and in hys .5 booke and .3 chap. contra Iulianum Wherfore the true interpretatioÌ„ of this place is that euery man is therfore tempted of his own concupiscence bicause al men haue their natural disease which is corruption and vicious lusts which ar together borne with them do also grow and increase in them Wherefore God instylleth no malice of his for we haue inough at home Therefore he cannot bee accused for as much as the beginning of vngodlines wickednes commeth not from hym God when he wyl bringeth to lyght our frowaconesse of mynde but lieth hid in vs. He ought not therefore to bee counted to geue the cause and fault who yet when it semeth good vnto him wil for iust causes haue our lusts wickednes brought to light and rule gouerne our wicked acts therby more and more to illustrate his iustice and glorye to aduaunce the saluation of the godly Wherfore his singular goodnes and prouidence is very much to be praised which can so iustly and wisely vse so wycked meanes Whence the variety of pronenesse to synne commeth But if a man wil aske how it happeneth that some are more prone to sinnes than others if as it is sayd malice wyckednes ar rooted into vs al from our byrth neither is it nede that any new or latter malice should be instilled in vs froÌ„ God And seyng that we ar al brought forth of one the selfe same lumpe and that lumpe likewise is altogether viciated it shoulde seeme that all also ought to be of a like disposition and inclination to wickednes But thys is diligently to be weighed that besides thys disposition ther happen naturall malices maners customes wicked qualities fellowshippes temperatures of bodies sundry parentes diuers countries and manifold causes wherby some are made more or lesse prone vnto sins which pronenesse of ours God according to his iustice goodnes and wisdome vseth and stirreth it vp gouerneth and ruleth it And this is not to be forgotten that none of vs haue so in our selues the beginninges of good actes which truely please God as wee euen from the verye birth haue within vs the beginninges of sins For they ar inspired in vs by the holy ghost and we continuallye receaue them of God neither burst they foorth out of the corrupt beginninges of our nature Now resteth to see from whence after the synne of Adam that frowardnes and corruption came Whether the first corruption after the synne of Adam were deriued froÌ„ god or no. and whither it wer deriued from God to punish the wicked act which was committed I answer that we maye not so thynke for man was for the fault which he had committed allenated from god wherfore he iustly withrew from him his giftes fauour and grace And our nature being left vnto it self falleth and declineth to woorse and woorse yea it coÌ„meth to nothyng from whence it was brought forth at the beginning Wherefore we must seke for no other efficieÌ„t cause of that corruption Wherefore by that wythdrawing of giftes and grace and departure from God which is the fountain of al good thinges nature is by it self throwen headlong into vice and corruption But now let vs returne to the history 12 Againe the children of Israel dyd euill in the syght of the Lord. And the Lord strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel bicause that they had done euyl in the sight of the Lord. 13 And this Eglon gathered vnto him the Chyldren of Ammon and Amalek and went and smote Israel and they possessed the city of Palme trees 14 And the childreÌ„ of Israel serued Eglon king of Moab .18 yeres The history declareth first the sinne which the Israelites committed then it
dareth do thing but so much as God himselfe wyll somtime permit him as we reade was done of Iob. God sometime suffreth the sayntes to be greuously afflicted of Sathan to the ende his grace towardes them may most manifestly be declared Whither the plagues of the Egiptians wer done by good Aungels or by euyll But when Augustine expoundeth these wordes of the Psalme namelye the sending out of euyll Angels he doubteth whither the plagues of the Egiptians were done by a good Angel or by the Deuyl And at the length he sheweth that the plague and destruction of the first begotten maye be ascribed vnto the ministery of the Deuyl but the other plagues are to be attributed vnto good angels that the sentence both of the booke of Exodus and of the Psalme may stand fast Howbeit as touching that plage of the firste begotten in Exodus it is written vnder the name of God I wil this night passe through Egipt and wil smite c By these woordes that destruction semeth to be ascribed eyther vnto god or to a good Angel and not vnto the Deuil But that moueth me not much bycause although it were done by the ministery of the Deuil yet maye it be ascribed vnto the Lorde For Iob when by the woorke of the Deuil he was bereft bothe of goodes and children said neuerthelesse The Lorde hath geuen and the Lorde hath taken away and that sayd he was done by the Lorde which was done by the Deuil But some obiect If we assigne these things vnto the Deuil then shal he seme to haue fought against himself For the Sorcerers by the help of deuils withstoode Moses when they did the same thinges that he dyd And if plagues were by euyl Angels sent against the Egiptians and the Sorcerers went about to withstand them then Sathan semed to resist Sathan Neither could the Sorcerers haue trulye sayde that they fayled and testified that it was the fynger of God whych wrought But these reasons in my iudgement are not strong bycause the thinges done by the Sorcerers were done by the power of Sathan which is vnto him naturall For by it he is able to applye the seedes of thynges and woorking causes to his matter prepared and to woorke wonders as touching the sight of man But those thinges wherewith God afflicted the Egiptians were by his most mighty power wrought by the instrument of the Deuyll Wherefore it is no maruail if the Sorcerers failed and felt the most excellent power of the finger of God The place of Exodus and of the Psalme is conciliated Howbeit the booke of wysdome the .xviii. chap. semeth vtterly to ascribe these plagues vnto God wher he saith while al thinges wer stil and when the night was in the middest of her course thy almighty word c. And in the .xvii. chap. it is written that the Egiptians being among those plagues especially when they were oppressed with darknes wer with horrible vexations of minde and sights very terrible so vexed as though most doleful spirites had perpetuallye bene before their eyes and about their phantasy which vndoubtedly might be done by the sending of euyl Angels as the Psalme doth mencion Their hart also was hardened and their mindes were dayly made much more obstinate againste the Israelites And that semeth to haue pertained to the sending downe of euil angels Wherfore these two places may easely be made to agree in ascribing the plagues which ar mencioned in Exodus to good Angels and the terrible sights and hardning of the hartes to the sending of euyl Angels vpon them of whych the Psalme now alledged maketh mencion The power to work miracles maketh not mē better or woorser But forasmuch as God as it is declared for the woorking of miracles vseth both euil good angels men the godly men ought not therfore to be greued bicause oftentimes he geueth not vnto them this faculty For they are not for the cause of any worse condition then are they to whom God graunteth to woorke miracles For the Lord said vnto his Disciples when they returned from theyr embassadge Reioyce not in this bicause spirites are subiect vnto you reioyce ye rather for this bycause your names are wrytten in heauen There are some which are so desirous of such thinges that to obteine signes they are not afraid to vse euen the help of the deuill and vnder this pretence they excuse themselues To worke signes we must not vse the help of the deuill bycause god himself to worke signes vseth Sathan in following of whome they do well so farre ar they of that they can be cōdemned guilty of any crime They say also that Paul deliuered some to the deuill to be vexed and therfore they also may vse his ministerye But what manner of men are they whiche wil affirme that it is lawfull for them to do asmuche as is lawfull vnto god God is the author of all creatures wherfore it is no marueile if he vse them all But vnto vs it is by the law of god prescribed that we should not do it It is not lawfull to imitate God in all thinges And the immitation of god is so farforth commended vnto vs as by his law it is commaunded vs and no otherwise For he reuengeth his owne iniuries And who will saye that priuate men may do the same God adioyned vnto his owne burnt offring the bullocke appointed for Baal as we haue haue now hard with the wood also dedicated vnto the same idole Shall euerye one of vs therefore eate thinges dedicated vnto idoles The rule of our actiōs is the word of God Wherfore we ought not to be drawen to imitate him but so muche as the lawe suffreth That lawe hath he made not for himself but for men that they should frame theyr life after it Wherfore it was to him lawful to require of Abraham the immolation of his sonne which thing none of vs can require of our frend Paule and other Apostles had euill sprites subiect vnto them and by them it was sometimes lawfull vnto them to punish the guilty for theyr saluation Wherefore those to whome such a gift is not graunted ought to abstayne from excercising the same Wherefore the vse of the power of euil spirites is of two sortes wherof one is with authority and that belongeth chiefelye vnto god also to the Apostles and to the sayntes of the primitiue church The other by compact obedience which is vtterly forbidden mē For what participatiō cā ther be of the light with darknesse of god with Belial And for that cause the sorcerers which beleue thē can not be excused yet they ar by the law condēned guilty of superstition idolatry And it is not to be thought but that god vpō very iust causes and to vs most profitable hath forbidden these things to be done Why God forbad men to vse the helpe of the deuil to worke myracles For he prouideth that we should not
it is geuen it is freely geuen Moreouer we dayly heape sinnes vpō sinnes wherfore god in withdrawing it is not to be accused of iniustice For he cōpelleth no man to do euill but euery man willingly sinneth wherfore the cause of sinne is not to be layd in him The cause of is not to be sayd in God For seyng he procreateth not in vs wicked desires he ought not to beare the blame if wicked actions doo spring out of a corrupt roote of wicked affections yea the goodnes of God is rather to be acknowledged whiche is present and so gouerneth the wicked affections that they can not burst forth nor be hurtefull and troublesome to any but when he hath appointed to chasten some and to call them backe to repētaunce or to punishe them Neither ought we to thinke that after the sinne of the first man Whence ou◠frowardnesse springeth God created a wicked lust and euill affection to corrupte all our whole kynde It was not so done but nature when it departed from God fell by it selfe from lyght to darkenes from the right way to vice and from integrity to corruptiō And how good so euer it was before it nowe degenerated into euill Wherefore let this be holden for certayn that sinne entred into the world by men and not by God as Paul testifieth to the Romanes And in that Christ saith Synne entred into the world by man not by God that the deuill when he lieth speaketh of his owne it is not to be vnderstand onely of himself but also of his members whiche when they lye or do euill worke not by the worde of God neither are they moued by the inspiration of the good spirite And they excedingly reioyce and haue great pleasure in those thinges whiche they do so farre is it of that they should be compelled by any violence Moreouer we must note Of permission that when either the Scriptures or fathers doo seme to affirme God to be the cause of sinne this worde permission is not then so to be added as thoughe he onely suffred men to synne and by hys prouidence or gouernement wrought nothing as concerning sinnes In dede he letteth thē not thoughe he can but vseth them and sheweth in them his myght and not onely his pacience Augustine whiche thing Augustine vnderstood right well and in disputing agaynste Iulianus he confuteth that sentence wherin it is sayd that God suffreth sinne only according vnto pacience and proueth that his might is also therunto to be added by the wordes of Paul who wrote vnto the Romaynes If God by much pacience hath suffred vessels of wrath prepared for destruction to shewe forth his anger to make knowē his might And vndoubtedly there are many things in the holy scriptures which can not alwayes be dissolued by the worde of permission or pacience For the heart of the kyng is sayd to be in the hād of the Lord so that he inclineth it whether soeuer it pleaseth him And Iob testefieth that it was so done as god would But as touching the sinne of the first man when yet nature was not viciated and corrupted Of the sinne of the first man we graunt that the cause therof came from the wil of Adam and suggestion of the deuil and we say that God permitted it bycause when he might haue withstanded and letted it he would not do it but decreed to vse that sinne to declare his iustice and goodnes ¶ Whether we can resiste the grace of God or no. BVt now ariseth an other doubt as touching our nature as it is now fallen corrupt whether it can resiste the grace of God his spirite beyng present or no There ar sundry degrees of grace of God I thinke we must cōsider that there are as it wer sundry degrees of the helpe or grace of God for his might aboūdance is sometymes so great that he wholy boweth the will of man doth not onely Counsel but also persuade And when it so commeth to passe we can not departe from the right waye but we are of Gods side and obey his sentence Wherfore it was sayd vnto Paul It is hard for thee to kycke agaynst the prycke There is no violēce or coaction inferred to mans will And yet must we not thinke that when it is so done there is any violence or coaction brought vnto the will of man for it is by a pleasaunt mouyng and conuersion altered and that willing but yet so willing that the will therof cōmeth of God for it is it which willeth but God by a stronge and most mighty persuasion maketh it to will But somtymes that power of God and spirit is more remisse which yet if we wil put therunto our endeuor apply our will we should not resiste yea we should obey his admonishmentes and inspirations and when that we do it not we are therfore sayd to resiste him and oftentymes fall And yet this is not to be vnderstand as touching the first regeneration but as concerning those whiche are regenerated whiche are now endewed with grace and spirite For the will of the vngodly is so corrupt and vitiate that except it be renewed it can not geue place vnto the inspirations of God and admonishynges of the holy ghost it in the first immutatiō of mās conuersion it onely suffreth and before the renewyng it continually as much as in it is resisteth the spirite of God But the first parentes whilest they were perfect if with the helpe of grace beyng somewhat remisse they had adioyned theyr endeuor they might haue perfectly obeyed the commaundementes of God But we although we be renewed seyng grace is more remisse remitting nothing of our endeuor we shall not be able constantly and perfectly to obey the commaundementes of God but yet we may be able to containe our selues within the boundes or limites of an obediēce begon whiche thyng bycause we do not therfore oftentymes we sinne and greuously fall Why the grace of god worketh not alyke alwayes in vs. But why God geueth not his grace alwayes to his electe after one sorte and one increase but sometymes he worketh in them more strongly and sometymes more remissedly two reasons may be assigned First least we should thinke the grace of God to be naturall strengthes which remayne alwayes after one sorte Wherfore god would most iustly alter the degree efficacy of his helpe wherby we myght vnderstand that it is gouerned by hys wil not as we lust Moreouer it oftentimes happeneth that our negligence slouthfulnes deserueth this variety Lastly let vs conclude the matter that if we wil speake properly it is not to be sayd that God either willeth or bringeth forth sinne in that it is sinne for what soeuer God willeth whatsoeuer he doth it is good But sinne in that it is sinne is euil Wherfore god neither willeth nor doeth it in that it is sinne yea he detesteth prohibiteth
Iustice in contaminatyng an other mannes thyng Ye are bought with a greate pryce wherefore glorify God in your body These argumentes of Paul are both most pleasaunt and also most strōg which if they satisfy not some let him loke vpon our Samson He was no idolatrer no murtherer no these and yet is he taken bound his eyes put out and is compelled to grinde in a prison euen as if he had ben a foure footed beast Paul laboureth by many argumētes to proue whoredome is sinne And no maruayle bicause then he wrote vno the Corinthians whiche at that tyme abounded aboue other in fornicatiōs Wherof came the Prouerb Nō quiuis Corinthū that is It is not for euery mā to go to Corinthus And in vniuersal al the Ethnikes were in an ill opiniō touching this vice Eusebius For which cause whē the Church was yet springyng as Eusebius testifieth in his .3 booke of his hystory the .29 chap. the Nicolaites did openly manifestly commit fornication layd the custome of their wicked crime vpō Nicolaus the deacon Clemēs Alexandrinus The history of Nicolaus the deacon although Clemēs Bishop of Alexādria in Stromatis do excuse Nicolaus For he sayeth that he neither thought nor taught any such thing But hauing a very fayre woman to his wyfe and therefore beyng thought to haue ben gelous ouer her he brought her foorth before the people and said This is my wife And that ye might vnderstand that I am not gelous ouer her I am cōtēt for my part that any of you take her to wife Which thing also he mēt as farre as the law of God would suffer But they which were afterward called Nicloaites vnderstandyng his wordes peruersly supposed that he thought the wyues among Christians ought to be cōmon Of this Secte it is written in the Apocalips But this thou hast bycause thou hast hated the actes of the Nicolaites whiche I haue hated Wherfore it is no meruayle though Paul tooke so great paynes to teache that whoredome is sinne Fornicatiō cōtrary to matrimony This wicked crime is contrary vnto matrimony For they whiche haunte wandryng lustes and harlots are farre from contracting of Matrimony Wherfore Terence sayth They which loue can ill abide to haue a wife geuen thē For whiche cause Clemens sayth Clemens whoredome leadeth from one matrimony to many that is from one lawful coniunction to many vnlawfull wicked The Epistle to the Hebrues ioyneth fornicators which aduoutrers testifieth that God will iudge them And those two vices are so ioyned together that they are comprehended in the selfe same precept wherin it sayd Thou shalt not commit aduoultry Fornication is repugnat vnto Christ the publique wealch This pestilence also is repugnāt both vnto Charity to the publique wealth vnto charity vndoubtedly bycause the fornicators do iniury vnto their children whiche not beyng lawfully procreated are scarsely at any tyme brought vp honestly vertuously And they hurt the publique wealth bycause they defraud it of good Citizēs For Mamzer a bastard I say one borne in fornication is prohibited to be receaued into the Church not that he is restrayned from the holy cōmunion or from the misteryes of saluation but bycause it is not lawfull for him to gouerne the publique wealth to be numbred among Citizens Some thinke that this euill may be remedyed if a man should keepe a concubine at home So say they shall the yssue be certayn It may be peraduenture certayne but it shall not be legitimate Seing therfore this wicked crime is both agaynst matrimony and charity also the publique wealth it cā not be denied but it is a sinne most grieuous A Christiā magistrate ought not to suffer harlottes And for as much as it is so why are fornications now a dayes openly suffred in Cityes I speake not of the Ethnikes I speake of Christians and of those Christiās which wil alone seme be called the successors of Christ Whoredome or fornicatiō is most impudently mainteyned in their dominion they not onely willing therunto but also taking a commodity tribute therof That whiche is against the word of God against matrimony against charity against the publique wealth is no sinne or els it is a notable sinne If it be sinne why is it not taken away weded out Augustine But I know what they will bable they bring foorth Augustine who in his booke de Ordine wryteth thus Take awaye harlottes and all thyngs shal be filled with filthy lustes But let vs consider in what time Augustine wrote that booke Vndoubtedly when he was yet Catechumenus and not sufficiently enstructed in religion And althoughe he had not beene Catechumenus yet thys his saying agreeth not with the word of God neyther with Augustine himselfe who in an other place affirmeth that the good which commeth of euil as a recompensacion is not to be admitted Which thing also Paule hath taught to the Romaynes euen as they were wont to say of vs Let vs do euil thinges that therby may come good thinges whose damnation is iust We must neuer haue a regard to the end and euent when we are vrged by the commaundemente of god Somtimes men say vnto vs Vnles thou committe sinne this euill or that will succede But we must aunswere let vs do what god hath commaunded vs he will haue a care of the successe Neither is it meete that one onely sentence of Augustine should be of greater authority then so many reasōs which we haue brought and so many most manifest wordes of God God commaunded absolutely and by expresse wordes that there shoulde be no harlot in Israell But some go aboute to wrest this place out of our handes in sayinge that these hebrewe woordes Kadschah and Kedaschim signifieth not whores or harlots but rather the priestes of Priapus which were vowed or consecrated to thinges most filthy I contrarily thinke that Chadschah signifieth an harlot and Kedaschim vnnaturall and effeminate persons God woulde haue neyther of these suffred among his people But in that they obiect the holy seruices of Priapus it is nothing For it was sufficientlye before decreed touchinge idolatry and what nede it agayn to be repeated But that we may the more manifestly vnderstand that Kadschah signifieth a harlot let vs reade the historye of Iuda and Thamar in the booke of Genesis Certaine wordes ar taken both in the good and euill parte and there we shall see that Louah Kadschah are taken both for one and the selfe same thing For whiche cause we must note that there are certayne wordes whiche maye be taken both in the good and euil parte of which sort is this word Kadschah among the Hebrewes which signifieth both holy and also an harlot euen as among the lattines thys word sacrum that is holye Virgil. wherefore Virgill sayth Auri sacra fames that is the holy hunger of gold This Hebrew word Kadasch is to prepare or
to be prepared Wherof is deriued that word which signifieth an harlot bycause such women are redy and setforth vnto all men or els bicause they are wont to go trimly docked and paynted Wherefore Clemens sayth Clemens that the Lacedemonians permitted harlots to weare wroughte garmentes fine apparel and golde whiche thinges were not lawfull for matrones to vse Now let vs see what followeth in Deut. And the hire of a whore shall not be brought into the sanctuary Here again the law calleth her Zanah which before is called Kadschah But thou wilt say If the law would not haue harlots suffred what neded it to haue forbiddeÌ„ their oblactes What neded this law they which say this do seme indede to speake wittely but yet they speake not sufficientlye For outwarde nacions also sente giftes for ornamentes and vses of the temple The Eunuch of the quene of Ethiope came to Ierusalem to offer in the temple The Macedonians and Romaines gaue yearelye oblations and sacrifices in the temple Wherfore the law forbiddeth that if any thing be offred by straungers that is gotten by the gayn of a harlot the same should not be admitted into the sanctuary Farther god had commaunded that there shoulde not be harlots in Israell but he knew that they would not obserue that law For when the Philistians Macedonians and Romaines raygned ouer them they had harlots Yea Christe maketh mention of harlottes and publicanes together Wherefore god doth rightwell first forbid that ther should be no whores among the Hebrewes And afterward he ordeineth that if by any chaunce there were any theyr gayn should not be admited in to the sanctuarye Whiche thing vndoubtedly he commaunded bicause of the vilenes and filthinesse of the gaine In the same place he addeth The price also of a dogge shall not be broughte into the sanctuarye bycause that beast is filthy and vncleane Caligula otherwise a filthy monster commaunded as Suetonius writeth that harlotes and baudes should be openly punished Suetonius Hostiensis Of this thing Hostiensis writeth ridiculously Harlots indede sayth he ar bound to pay and to offer but the church can not nor ought not to receaue them Yet the Glose doth much better decre in the decretals dist 90. chap. Oblationis namely that nothing at al should be offred in the church that is of the gain of an harlot But priests and monkes when they feared leaste some of their profite shoulde departe haue inuented an other reason For althoughe saye they the gaine of harlotes cannot be receaued for an oblacion The Pope doth vniustlye get gaine of harlottes yet nothing letteth but that it maye bee receaued for almes But by what meanes doth the Pope receaue the money of harlots Not vndoubtedly as an oblation because he caÌ„not not as almes bicause he is not poore Wherfore theÌ„ must he nedes receaue it as a prynce The lord would not haue this kind of money in his sanctuary but the pope will haue it in hys treasury hath it getteth a wonderfull greate gaine by it Whose vicar then is the Pope Gods vicar God refused such a gayn What is he Christs vicar Christ neuer departed from the will of his father Then must it consequently follow that he is Antichrist when as he both teacheth and doth those thinges which are expressedlye of purpose against the word of god and of Christ But he wil say that he exacteth this mony as a prince Let him then be prince But I wil demaund whither he be an euil prince or a good For a good prince it is not lawful to depart from the lawes of God Let him then be an euill prince let him also be euen Caligula Paraduenture he will aunswere that in respect he is a prince he doth according to the ciuil lawes which do not take away harlots out of the dominioÌ„ of the Romaynes yet rather they disdayne not to decree somethinge touchinge theyr price or reward In the Digestes de Condictione ob turpem causam in the law idem etsi it is decreed that there can be no requiring againe if thou geue anye thing vnto an harlot And there is a reason added bycause although a harlot do filthily in that she is a harlot yet she receaueth not filthily in that she is a harlot These wordes are darke so that they may seme to be a riddle Farther in the digests in the title de donacionibus in the law affectionis gratia it is decreed that it is lawful to geueas wel vnhonestly as honestly It is not lawfull to geue vnhonestly It is lawful honestly to geue as vnto parents kinsefolks friends c. Vnhonestly as to harlots But I would know by what license that is lawful Hath god geuen goodes vnto men to cast them vpon harlots But here they confesse there is some filthinesse for although it be lawefull to geue yet if thou haste promised anye thinge vnto an harlotte thy oblygatyon byndeth thee not neyther canne the harlotte require thy promes as it is had in the glose in the title de donacionibus in the â—awe ea quae But there is a doubt if she receaue not filthily why is it not lawfull without filthines to require it They aunswere that that followeth not bicause many thinges are taken honestly which are not required honestly And to that purpose there is cited the law .1 de variis extraordinariis cognationibus Wherfore the Pope will by the cyuill lawes not take a waye harlots but receaue monye of them which he seeth can not be suffred by the lawes of god But here I will a little reason with him Vndoubtedly he professeth that he is ruler ouer the ciuill lawes and in very dede he hath altered manye of them as thoughe he woulde amend them when as yet he hath taken away the good and for the most part hath set euill in theyr place Why hath he not amended these lawes for the suffringe of harlots when as they ar against the law of God Vndoubtedly the true cause why he hath not taken away the lawes of harlottes is this bicause it should be to muche hurtefull vnto the Popes treasorye For at Rome they measure their lawes by profite and not by honestye But by what ciuill law do they receaue mony of harlots They aunswer for tribute But why do they not rather say for baudry Assuredly What the lawes decre of baudry if we wil speake truely Popes are not as touching this thing otherwise then bawdes Let them diligently marke the ciuil lawes whereby they now go about to defende themselues and ouer which they boast that they are rulers and let them looke what they iudge of bawdry In the Digestes de ritu nuptiarum in the law palam it is thus written He which hath bondewomen for gayne and filthilye setteth them out is partaker of the gaine the same committeth bawdry Now I demaunde of these men in what condicion they count the harlottes of Rome For citizens Nothing lesse
Rimmon and abode in the rocke Rimmō .4 monethes 48 Then the men of Israel returned vnto the chyldren of Beniamin and smote them with the edge of the swoord from the men of the City vnto the beastes and al that came to hand also they set on fyre all the Cities that they could come by After that the children of Israel had had the ouerthrowe they went vp vnto the house of God and wept there And assuredly somewhat they dyd that belonged vnto piety but yet not so muche as they ought for they fasted not neyther offered they Sacrifices whiche are tokens of a full fayth and conuersion Why God had thē ascend whē they shoulde be ouerthrowen How beit the Lorde byddeth them to ascende bycause he woulde not feare them away from the battaile which they had in a iust cause taken in hande He dyd not strayghtway geue the victory but styll permitted them to be afflicted of their enemyes whereby they might vnderstande their faultes and more earnestly desyre pardon There perished againe .xviii. thousand of them after which slaughter it is sayde that they came all of them humbly vnto God There they wept not counterfetlye or lightlye but bytterly and earnestlye and that all the whole daye They fasted they offered burnt offerynges and peace offeringes Burnt offeringes were they which were all whole burnt but of peace offeringes a certaine part was offered an other part was geuen vnto the Priest and an other part returned vnto him whych offered it to eate it with his frendes in the sight of the Lorde The Hebrues being now oppressed with troubles doo not onelye pray vnto God and bewayle their synnes but also fast and after fastyng institute a cōmunion among themselues In that it is said that the Arke of the Lord was there we must vnderstande that of Siloh for there it continually abode It is said that the priest stoode before the Lorde and that is nothing els then that he exercised the holy ministery They asked Shal we ascende or shal we cease This is a more ful interrogacion then the first were This is a more ful interrogaciō then the first wer for at the first time they onely demaunded which tribe should first assaile the enemies At the second time whither God wold that they should ascend against their enemies But now they demaund whither they shal go vp or whither they shal cease As though they vtterly referred the matter vnto the wil of God God answereth them more gently faith Go vp to morow I wil deliuer them into thine hand The thinges that are now done and set foorth serue to our cōmodity We ought to attempt nothing whereof we are not before certain whither it be iust or vniust For the true knowledge wherof we must seke for the answer of God out of the holy scriptures The Israelites wold not wrap the innocents with the gilty therfore they sent messengers at the beginning which thing at this day is not obserued in making of wars Our Capitains and Emperors do althinges without respect do no les rage against children olde men maydens and widowes then against those which haue chieflye offended The Beniamites are worthely to be condemned bicause they defended an vniust cause thought that it would be ignominious vnto thē if they should deliuer any of theirs to be punished which thing we see happeneth very often tymes in these dayes For maisters defend their seruantes they care not by what right or wrong For if their seruant although he be gilty be cast into prison they think that therby cōmeth a great ignominy vnto thēselues their famely and to their court But they ought to haue iustice before their eyes not to haue a regard to any thing els then that the lawes should be kept The Beniamites did put their confidence in their own strength the Israelites in their great number and also in the iustnes of their cause But both of them sinned for confidence is not to be put either in the strength of soldiours or in the number or in the iustnesse of the cause but onely in the mercy of God Although the cause be good yet doth not the thing alwaies succeede prosperously The Beniamites in a most wicked cause got the victory the fyrst time the second tyme yea and the thirde tyme yet at the last they suffered punishment and were ouerthrowen and slayne For God howsoeuer he do for a time winke at the wicked actes of men yet he suffereth them not alwayes to escape vnpunished For the vngodly as the holy prophetes admonishe vs floorishe for a short time but if thou a litle while passe by and returne he shall be no where That the Israelites wer so often ouercome Why god wold haue the Israelites ouercome it was the worke counsel of God not bicause he would help the wicked men but to allure his to true iust repentace We may also hereby learne that in all matters that wee take in hande three thinges are chiefly to be required first that the cause be iust which we will defend Three thinges required in euerye thing that we take in hād Farther that we put not the abilitye of performing the same in our owne strength but in God lastly that we put to our endeuor diligence Otherwyse to despise the meanes wherby we may attain to our purpose is nothing els thē to tēpt God It is not inough to say I haue a good cause I will cōmit the residue vnto god We must also stretch out our strengthes ad to our diligence Wherfore we may not put our affiance in any cause although it be neuer so iust Some man wil say what difference then is there betwene a iust cause and an vniust There is great difference betwene to haue a good cause to haue an euil Much vndoubtedly For in an vniust cause thou canst not cal vpon God or trust that he wil be an helper vnto thee For an vniust cause is vnder the curse of God and to cal vpon God to helpe it is euen like as if I should desire help of a man to fight against my selfe But if the cause be good euery man maye put his confidence in God cal vpon him but yet not in such maner to put hope in the equity of the cause but that thou mayest hope that God for his mercies sake wyll bee an ayde vnto thee The successe maketh not the cause eyther good or euyll If the successe bee euill the cause is not therefore straightwaye good Nebuchad-Nezar destroyed Iewrye and ledde awaye the nacions that were adioyning captiues into Babilon and yet was not his cause therefore good Gods cause in deede was iuste for hee woulde by that meanes take vengeaunce of a rebellious people But Nebuchad-Nezar thought nothing els but to exercise his tyrāny Ioseph bicause he would auoide adoultery was cast into prison and yet was not his cause therefore euer a whyt
reason forbad fyrst al degrees euen to the seuenth which when he saw afterward was not obserued and al was ful of confusion he cut of his prohibitions to the fourth degree In which thing he is yet constant hardened if there come no money in but if money be offred wherof he must haue much brought hym to fyl his filthy cofers he setteth at libertie as pleaseth him both his own lawes and the word of god This we must also knowe that God had in his lawes an other decree whiche may lawfully be called peculiar bycause it extendeth no way to other nations neither ought it to be in force at all tymes And that was that when any husband deceased without children the brother which remained on liue or some other next of kynne should mary the first mans wife left so that the first childe which should be begotten of that mariage shoulde be counted the sonne of hym that was dead and should fully succede him as touching his inheritaunce For God would not in that publique wealth that men should altogether be extinguished and he prouided that the same distinction of landes shoulde be kepte as much as might be And seing the same is not vsed in our publique wealthes neither hath God commaunded that it shoulde it therfore pertayneth nothyng vnto vs. Wherfore we must keepe oure selues vnder the generall and common lawe She that is left of the kinnesman ought to he maryed namely that no man presume to mary the wife of his brother being dead although he dyed without children Let vs also knowe that in the beginning when onely the familie of Adam lyued on the earth brethren were not forbidden as they were afterwarde For brethren were driuen of necessity to mary their sisters But afterward wheÌ„ men were increased in number shame shewed it selfe forth and they began by the instinction of God or by nature either to abstayn from prohibited persons or at the least to know that such coniunctions were ful of ignominye But what tyme they began first to abstaine it appeareth not by the history The Gods of the Hâ—â—â—â—â—â—ried â—hâ—â—â— Systers Peraduenture the Heathen Poetes haue declared that necessity of the elders whych compelled the famyly of the first Parentes to constrayne the brother to mary the Syster when as they fable that their Gods had their Systers to wyues for the chiefe of them namelye Iupiter had Iuno whych in Virgil speaketh thus of her selfe But I whych walke the Quene of the Gods both syster and wyfe to Iupiter And although the woorde of God Causes 〈◊〉 manye degâ—â—es in mariages aâ— forbydden Augustine and instincte of nature were sufficient by them selues to make vs to abstayne from the foresayde coninunctions yet are there many good causes of prohibition alledged by diuers wryters Augustine in hys .xv. booke De ciuitate dei and .xvi. chap. writeth that the same abstinence was very profitable to dilate more amplye the bondes of humane fellowshyp For if mariages should be included wythin the walles of one family theÌ„ should there come no kynreds with others Furthermore it is not meete that one and the selfe man should occupye the persons of diuers kynredes namelye that one man should be both vncle and husband of one woman and the same woman to be both Aunt and wyfe of one man Which reason Cicero also hath touched in hys fyft booke Definibus and also Plutarch in his .108 probleme And they being both Ethnickes could not haue sene this but being illustrate by the light of nature This also is the third reason bicause these persons from whom we should abstain do dwel together often tymes in one house Wherefore if there shoulde be manye maryed folkes together they woulde not vse them selues so grauelye and seuerely as domestical shamefastnes requireth Plutarch The causes of strife betwene kinsfolk ought to be cut of Plutarch in the place before sayde hath set forth two other reasons besydes those which we haue declared One is bycause betwene kynsfolkes discordes are to be feared For they would soone complayne that the right of kynred should be taken away whych saying I doo vnderstand thus if eyther she or he which should ouerskyp the nearer degre and marry with the degree farther of she which were nearer would thinke that she had iniury done vnto her as though in ouerskipping her he would put her to shame as it is a common vse in wylles and Testamentes where they which are nyghest of kynne maye not nor oughte not to bee forgotten of hym which maketh the wyll And in the lawe for raysing vp seede to the brother already deceased the fyrst place must be geuen to the nyghest of kynne who if hee refused to vse hys right was made ashamed as that law doth more amplye declare the same Wherefore seyng discordes betwene al men are to be abhorred WomeÌ„ for that they are weake ought not to haue their patrimonies diminished but increased much more are they vtterly to be detested betwene kynsfolkes Plutarch also bryngeth an other reason bycause women are weake and therefore they haue neede of many sundry patrones wherefore when they are maryed to straunge men if they shoulde be euyll handled by their husbandes as often tymes they are they haue al their kynsfolkes easely for Patrones but if they be wyues to their own kynsfolkes and happen to be euil entreated of them they should then haue very fewe to defende their cause For other kynsfolkes woulde not bee so ready for their sakes to fall out with their own kynne which they woulde not be greued to doo wyth straungers But nowe that I am in hande wyth Plutarch I remember that whych he hath wrytten in the syxt probleme Of the matrimoni of brethreÌ„ and Systers chyldren Plutarch and I thinke it is 〈◊〉 vnprofitable to declare it although it seme to disagree from that whych Augustine wryteth in hys .xv. booke De ciuitate dei .xvi. chapter of the matrimony of Brothers and Systers chyldren For he affirmeth there that before hys tyme the same was lawfull although those kyndes of maryages semed very rare bycause men after a sorte eschewed to contracte with persons so nigh but he saith that the licence was afterward taken away Which I surely can not perceaue in the Romane lawes which were publikely receaued allowed which yet wer vsed thorough out Aphrica Wherefore it maye seme obscure to some of what lawes Augustine speaketh wherby he sayth that in his time those kindes of matrimonyes were prohibited But we must vnderstand that in his time the law of Theodosius the elder was of force who was the fyrst among the Emperoures that I know of which prohibited matrimonye of this degree Which also Aurelius Victor and Paulus Diaconus do testifye And that is found at this day writteÌ„ in the boke called Codex Theodosianus concerning incestuous mariages by these wordes Let this sentence remaine concerning them whosoeuer from henceforth shall defyle hymself with
differeth from a Sacrament The difference betwene a sacrifice and a Sacrament whiche is also a voluntarye and religious worke and also instituted by God that by it the promises and good giftes of God should be sealed and exhibited bycause ther we offer nothing vnto God but he offereth signes and amplifieth his giftes vnto vs when as those thinges which are offred ar receaued with a sound saith The definition of a Sacrifice But that the thing may be made more plain let vs in a summe gather the definition of a sacrifice And that is thus A sacrifice is a voluntary and religious action instituted of God to offer vnto him our thinges vnto his glory and that thereby we may with a strayghter bond be coupled vnto hym in holy societye To this definitiō of sacrifices must be added a participation A deuision of sacrifices Certein sacrifices ar propitiatory others ar of thankes geuyng By the first kinde God is made mercifull vnto vs by the power iuste merite therof Sacrifice propitiatory is onely one But of this sorte we haue but onely one for as much as onely by the death of Christ the eternall father is reconciled vnto vs and by the merite of this one only oblation the sinnes of the elect are forgeuen But in the other kinde of sacrifice we geue thankes vnto God we celebrate his name and to our power we obey his will Agayne A sacrifice hath an outwarde part and an inward part wee must know that this kinde of sacrifice consisteth of two partes whereof the one is an inward part namely whereby we freely and without compulsion referre vnto God our own wil and our selues wholy and all that wee haue receaued and we make them subiect vnto him and consecrate them vnto his name The other is an outward part wherby by some gift and that visible and sensible we do as it were by some token and signe testify what we haue in our hart and we offer vnto him somwhat of those things which he himself hath geuen vnto vs. So they in the old time offered first fruites tenthes and sacrifices In whych thinges they dyd not onelye shadowe Christ The outwarde sacrifice with out the inwarde pleaseth not god the most acceptable sacrifice vnto God but they testified also what loue they them selues bare vnto God By these thinges it appeareth that the outward oblation or sacrifice is nothing acceptable vnto God except it haue the inward part annexed with it which maye testefy it to be in vs in very dede for bicause they which do make any such oblation do most filthyly lye vnto God For to testifye that which is not so pertayneth to deceite and seing that a lye is vituperable in all thinges euery wher much more pernicious detestable is it if it be vsed before God Why the sacrifices of the Iewes wer some tymes vnacceptable vnto God Hereof it came that god often times said by his Prophets that the sacrifices of the Iewes wer not acceptable vnto him and chiefely for this cause namely bicause they dissembled to honour him with lyps and outward signes when as they wer farre from him in hart He requireth therfore the inward part by it selfe but as for the outward part he hath no otherwise commaunded but so that it be offered with the inward part ioyned together with it otherwise if it be naked alone it is both vnacceptable and also highly displeaseth him If thou wilt aske what be those outward works The outwarde sacrifices of the Hebrews wherby we may testify the inward sacrifice I could rehearse a great many the killing of beastes the oblations of first fruites and tenthes which the fathers had whilest they were vnder the law To them are added outward wordes wherin we geue thankes vnto god we celebrate his praises and we make our praiers To these must be added duties of charity toward our neighbours Outward kind of sacrifices cōmon to vs to the fathers mortification of the affections of the fleshe and obedience vnto the commaundementes of god All these latter kinde of sacrifices are as well common vnto vs as to the fathers These thinges we geue vnto god to beare witnes of our faith and obeysaunce towarde hym And seing that it is not to be doubted of those first which wer offred in the time of the law but that they were in their time sacrifices least there should be anye ambiguitye had of the other which wee mencioned in the latter place whether they ought to be counted in the place of sacrifices we wil confirme it by testimonies of the scriptures It is written in the .50 psalme Offer vnto god the sacrifice of praise And in the .51 psalme A sacrifice vnto god is a troubled and a broken hart c. In the .12 to the Romanes I desire you for the mercy of god that ye would set foorth your bodies a liuely sacrifice holy c. Micheas saith in the .vi. chap. I will tell thee O man what god requireth of thee Doo iudgement loue mercy walke reuerently and modestly before God Isay also and the rest of the Prophetes haue in many places confirmed this sentence Neither is it to be passed ouer An order or certayne degres amonge outward sacrifices that among these outward thinges which are offered as sacrifices vnto god there are certaine degrees and an order appoynted For god himselfe testifieth that he farre aboue the other preferreth mercye and charity toward our neighbours Wherefore in Mathew the .9 is thys place brought out of the Prophet Hosea I will mercy and not sacrifice Moreouer it is written in the .1 of Samuel Obedience is better than sacrifices These words teache vs that among outward oblations the kylling of beastes and tenthes and fruites in the old time held the last place But the principall part was geuen to the obedience which was shewed vnto the woord of God to charity towarde our brethren to thankes geuing and to praiers The end of sacrifices Neither is the end of sacrifices lightly to be passed ouer but with diligence to be cōsidered especially as Augustine hath expressed it namely that we might with an holy fellowship cleaue vnto God For without it our workes thoughe they be neuer so excellent Why the death of Christ so much pleased God can be no sacrifices Yea and the death it self of Christ which was the chiefe and onely sacrifice pleased god for this cause especially bicause Christ to no other end offred himselfe but to fulfill the will of his father and to obey him as it was meete But to these thinges which I haue sayd I will adde an other thing which Augustine writeth in his Epistle ad Deo gratias the 3. Augustine Two thinges ar required in euery secrifice question Namely that in euery sacrifice god requireth twoo certaine thinges First that our oblations be made vnto the true god from which intent for as
naturally is not moued eyther by anger or hatred or any passion semeth to be prouoked vnto wrath c. And aptely is there mencion made of the anger before the punishment is rehearsed For mē vse fyrst to be angry before they reuenge What anger is Neyther is anger any other thyng ells if we may beleue Aristotell in hys Rhetorikes but a desire of reuengement bicause of contentempte For they which perceaue themselues to be despised and contemned do straightway thinke how they may be reuenged and they diligently meditate howe by some punishment they may requite the iniurye or despite done vnto them Two kindes of punyshments are mencioned in thys place Two kynds of punishmentes the taking away of goodes and seruitude of the which the one is grieuouser than the other For it is far more grieuous to be brought into bondage than to be spoyled of goods But God vseth so to do to punyshe by certayne degrees those which haue deserued euill For he doth not by and by punyshe most greuously And as touching the woordes we must note that Schis and Schisch signifye one thing for Shin and Samech haue great affinitie the one with the other which D. Kimhi hath also noted in thys place Moreouer where it is sayd whether soeuer they wente oute the same interpreter addeth to fyghte And in deede it is very lykely although I am not ignoraunte that that sentence may be more largely taken namely to vnderstande that whatsoeuer they tooke in hande to do or to what thinges so euer they applyed themselues vnto all those thynges happened vnluckely vnto them By this place is gathered that no mans goodes are taken awaye neyther are any brought into bondage excepte God himselfe both will and also bryng to passe the same For it is sayd here that he gaue them into the handes of raueners and sold them into the handes of their enemyes round aboute them Dauid in hys .xliiii. Psalme grieuously complayneth of this plague and saith that God had solde hys withoute any price Augustine which place Augustine consideryng he sayeth that at the fyrst sighte it semeth absurde that any shoulde be solde when no price is geuen But thus he aunswereth as touching the enemies which solde the Israelites there was a price geuen by the byers But as touching God which was the principall cause of the selling he tooke no price For what could those Idolatrous violent and rauenous men vnto whom the Iewes were deliuered to be sold geue vnto him Vndoubtedly they neither bought nor deserued those commodities with any reward Or ells we may thynke that the price of the Hebrewe bondmen was so small and vile that it was counted for nothyng The wicked sell themselues to sinnes without any price and so by thys figure of speach they were sayd to be sold without any price Wherefore Esaye in hys .lii. Chapter writeth Ye are solde for nought And this phrase serueth very well for those which do binde thēselues to sinnes and wickednesse when as therby they shall get no commoditie at all And how hard this bondage was which the Hebrewes serued when they were so solde by their enemies it is manifestly expressed in Deuteronomye for there it is sayde Thou shalt serue thine enemye whom the Lord shall send vppon thee in Hunger in thurst and in nakednesse and also in al penurye and he shal put an yron yoke vppon thy necke till he shall destroye thee Moreouer by these examples we are also taughte what Christians euery where deserue for their daylye transgressions and innumerable superstitions and also Idolatrous woorshippynges Neyther is it to bee doubted but that a heape of euelles are at hande excepte Christ by fayth deliuer vs from those curses of the lawe The hand of the Lord is alwayes present in all our actions VVhether soeuer they went the hand of the Lord was agaynst thē with euell lucke In all our actions the hande of the Lorde is continually presente for withoute hys myghte and power we can not so muche as moue oure selues Wherefore both good successes and euell are to bee ascribed vnto hym Neyther had they any power any longer to stande before theyr enemyes And no meruayle for by reason their goods were spoyled and their number diminished bicause of those which wer brought into bondage they wer so impayred and weakened that they could by no meanes match with their aduersaries Vndoubtedly if we diligently consider the histories from that time wherin superstition began to reygne in the church we shal fynde that our princes haue had either no good successe at al or els very smalin their expeditiōs against the enemies of the fayth The cause of the vnluckye battels against the Turkes We haue fought and the oftentimes against the Turkes and Sarazens but for the moste part vnluckely Neither do the gouernours both of the publicque wealth and also of the Churche feele that the hand of the Lord is agaynst them with euill lucke and that that is the cause why they can not stand before their enemyes Agayne let vs note that the Scripture doth here most manifestly testifye that God him selfe deliuered the Israelites into the handes of rauenors solde them into bondage for that that thinges were done by hys motion And this doth Ezechiel the Prophete euidentlye shewe where he describeth how Nabuchad-nezar standyng in the ende of two wayes and in a maner determining to directe his host one way was of God chaunged and after a sorte forced to turne his armye agaynst Ierusalem And yet must we not vnderstand these thinges so How god may be sayde to worke euyll workes in the wicked as thoughe we should thinke that God doth instille a new malice into the heartes of the wicked For they nede it not For of what sorte soeuer they be they are framed of malice and synnes but GOD seyng he is a strength and workyng of most efficacy driueth them as he doth all other thyngs to be moued to worke Wherfore they whiche are altogether corrupte and voyde and destitute of the grace and fauour of God can do nothyng but onely worke euill But God God vseth the sinnes of the wicked by whose motion they are stirred vp to worke directeth their euill doynges cruelties spoylinges lustes and tyrannies to what end so euer it shall seme good to his iustice and most highe prouidence Moreouer let vs here consider It is most vnhappy to haue God angrye how miserable and wretched a thing it is for a man to haue God angry Wherfore let vs most diligently take hede that in all our affayres that we take in hande we first of all reconcile him vnto vs by an vpright faith in Christ for he beyng angry agaynst vs nothyng can prosperously go forward These thynges did the Lorde as he had spoken and sworne Threatninges are set forth here and there in the lawe of GOD and especially in Deut. But we neuer read that I
can tell of that an othe was in that place ioyned with the threatnyngs Howbeit we must beleue Whether an othe be ioyned to the threatninges put in the scriptures that God when he made lawes did somtymes also adde to an othe For the Scripture in this place testifieth vnto vs that he sware whiche is sufficient thoughe it be not found in any other place Moreouer let vs call to memory that the latter causes The secōd causes are not to be so much cōsidered as the first cause whiche commonly are called the second causes are much to be considered in the successe of thynges as well prosperous as vnfortunate but yet we must much more haue a regarde vnto the first and chiefe cause namely vnto God hym selfe So that then when thynges prosper not with vs we must be angry with our selues bycause we are alienated from God And that this is true this place manifestly proueth For the Israelites were the same men which they were before and their enemyes also the same men whiche they were before Wherfore if the Iewes had had God now as fauorable vnto them as they had before vndoubtedly they should haue obteyned the selfe same victoryes Therfore they ought to ascribe all that vnluckynesse vnto them selues For vnlesse god had bene angry with them for the Idolatry whiche they had committed they should with as good lucke haue ouer comed their enemyes now as they did before Therfore the Prophetes whē they lamented for the miseries of their people testified that iustice honour and also goodnesse are to be ascribed vnto GOD but confusion and ignominye vnto them selues 16 Neuerthelesse the Lord raysed vp iudges whiche deliuered thē out of the handes of their oppressors 17 And yet for all that they would not harcken vnto their iudges but went a whoryng after straunge Gods and bowed them selues vnto them They turned quickly out of the waye whiche their Fathers walked in obeying the commaundementes of the Lord But they did not so Now is briefly declared vnto the readers what conditiōs alteratiōs the Israelites had in al the tyme which was betwene the paines punishmētes now described wherwith they were for their Idolatry punished the first king whom they chose vnto thē selues reiecting Samuel When they were grieuously oppressed they sighed groned repenting thē selues turned vnto god desired ayde of him And God as he is gentle merciful despised not their mournings inuocations but sent them some one iudge by whose leadyng and conduicte they were deliuered from their oppressors But they when they were deliuered and set at libertie they lyued at pleasure fell agayne into their olde wickednesse Wherfore God accordyng to his iustice punished them agayne and they agayne when they were grieuously oppressed groned continually prayed vnto god whiche yet agayne by an other iudge deliuered them from misery and calamitie The whole tyme of the iudges is deuided into three differences Wherfore the whole time of the iudges may be aptely distributed into thre differences First he Hebrues were iustly punished for their synnes and wickednesse Secondly they beyng oppressed wept prayed and implored helpe at gods hande Lastly god by some iudge deliuered them Moreouer this is to be marked The people lyued better vnder the iudges than they dyd whē they were dead that the Iewes althoughe they did not wholly obey the iudges yet for all that they lyued somewhat better as longe as those iudges remayned on lyue Wherfore as touchyng outward thinges that publicque wealth had somewhat better successe vnder iudges and the people myght as long as they lyued be at rest from oppressions and liue at liberty But they were no soner deade but they returned to their old fashions Whiche thyng euidently declareth how they did in vayne before pretend that they had not sene the workes which god had done in deliuering their elders out of Egypt As thoughe they should haue sayd if so be that we were sure of those so noble workes we would not now haue forsakē the ceremonies of our fathers and chosen new rites These alterations chaungynges I say manifestly testifye that that pretence was vayne For euery age sawe the wonderfull workes of god when as oftentymes he did by iudges set at liberty the people beyng oppressed And yet thoughe they had sene these thinges they could not kepe them selues but that whē their iudge was deade they fell agayne into the same wicked crimes The fruicte of the punishmētes whiche GOD imposed This is also to be noted that it is here written that god vsed to be moued at the sighyng and teares of the Israelites For this was the fruite of the paynes punishmentes namely that they might repente beyng admonished by miseries might vnderstand whether they should flye vnto And god in hearing of thē when they cried had onely a respecte vnto hys promises goodnesse and name Furthermore let those whiche delyghte in oppressyng and doyng iniury to the poore note here that the tyme will come at the lengthe that god will take in hand the causes of the afflicted For althoughe they be euill and haue worthily fallen into calamities and miseries yet bycause he hath promised that he will reuenge the violence and cruelty done agaynst the poore therfore he will one day deliuer and reuenge them euen for this cause namely bycause he neyther can nor will fayle his office and promise God hath also sometymes cōpassion of euill men whē they are oppressed And in delyuering those whiche were euill from present miseryes he graunteth vnto them occasion and tyme of repenting that except they truly and vnfainedly repent they may be altogether in excusable Moreouer this goodnesse of God whiche he vseth also towardes the euill beareth most manifest witnesse of the most perfect fayth and truth of god For althoughe men do filthyly fall from that couenaunt which they haue made with god yet he forgetteth not his goodnesse and promises 18 And when the Lord raysed vp vnto thē Iudges the Lord was with the Iudge and deliuered them out of the handes of their enemyes all the dayes of the Iudge For the Lorde repented at theyr sorrowinges whiche they had by reason of them that oppressed and vexed them The iudges were before of the cōmon sort and vulgare estate Still is declared after what sorte God behaued himself toward the Israelits in the tyme of the Iudges Neither doth this speche when he saith And God raysed vp Iudges want an emphasis For it is expressed that they wer before of the common sorte and vulgare state but god so chaunged them by his spirite that he inspired them with couragious hartes strength and moste wyse Counsels This vndoubtedly was that stirring vp which is now declared For God vseth when he appoynteth any man to any office to geue him strength abilitie to performe the same Whiche thing we read did come to passe in Saul also in Dauid and before
men but in our history are called Fattemen not that they were fat in body but in richesse For they were riche and very stroÌ„g For by their myght and warlike power the Israelites were brought into bondage Wherfore it is very aptly a litle afterward sayd that the Hebrues when they had gotten this victory were in quiet a very loÌ„g tyme after for the Moabites wer so coÌ„sumed and worne away by reason their notable and excellent captaynes wer lost Augustine What peace of the Romanes was loÌ„ger theÌ„ other that they were not able to renew warre agayne And therfore it is sayde That Moab was subdued vnder the hand of Israell Augustine diligently consideryng that the laÌ„d was at rest lxxx yeares hath learnedly noted that the Romanes had neuer peace aboue the space of xl yeares which they had in the tyme of Numa Pompilius For the king setting aside the study of making warre applied himself wholy to institute ceremonies Wherfore therby he concludeth that the affaires of the Israelites were longer in quiet thaÌ„ were the affaires of the Romanes Howbeit the Hebrues thinke that in that suÌ„me of lxxx yeres are coÌ„prehended those xviii yeares wherin the Hebrues serued the kyng of Moab that the supputation of the tyme might agree more iustly There are two thinges whiche are to be marked in this place First the Ehud was of a valeant strong noble courage whereunto was adioyned a singular prudeÌ„ce And of those giftes faith was the principall fouÌ„datioÌ„ for vnlesse he had effectually beleued god wheÌ„ he called him also his promise he wold neuer haue put his life goods into so great ieopardies The second thing is that all thinges had therfore happy successe bycause god neuer faileth those which obey him followyng their vocation wherby they feele that by him they are called to accomplishe any thyng But now that we haue briefly touched the history there are thre places or questioÌ„s offred vnto vs whiche may not by any meanes be left vnspokeÌ„ of For foras much as Ehud as we haue heard vsed guile the euill guile made also a lye drew hys sworde agaynst hys prince me thinketh it is worthy to be declared whether it be lawfull for ChristiaÌ„ godly meÌ„ to vse guile Secondly whether it be lawful to lye lastly whether the subiectes may inuade their priÌ„ce for any cause ¶ Of Guile NOw let vs speake of the first That whiche the Latines call Dolus that is guile the Grecians call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that their worde and the Latines is almost all one But the Hebrues call it Mirmah or Rimiah Then we must know this that guile is there vsed where any thing lyeth secret whiche is hidden Plautus lest the guile should appeare or easely be sene Wherfore Plautus sayd Guiles vnlesse they be couered by craft they are no guiles Thus much as touching the name Now let vs come to the definition In the digestes de dolo malo lege 1. The definition of guile Seruius Seruius an interpreter of the lawe hath thus defined euil guile namely to be a subtile inuention or deuise for to deceaue another by when as one thing is done and an other thing dissembled Wheresoeuer therfore is guile there is deceate by some dissimulation Labeo It is true in dede that Labeo an interpretor of the law reproued the definitioÌ„ which Seruius brought and that by two argumentes Whereof the one is that some may be beguiled without dissimulation or euill guile Wherefore the difinition is more strayte and narrowe than that whiche is defined whiche all men counte to be an error The other argument is bycause some sometymes by dissimulation do saue and defend their owne or elles other mens thinges and yet thereby they beguyle no man neither do they hurte any man Wherfore the definition is applyed vnto other thinges besides that whiche is defined An other definition of guile Vlpianuâ— whiche thing also is reproued as a faulte Wherfore he thus defineth it Noughty guile is all craft disceate and subtility inuented to beguile delude and deceaue an other Vlpianus in the same place alloweth the opinion of Labeo Sauyng the authoritie of suche a man I would say that Labeo did not well in remouing dissimulation from the definitioÌ„ of deceate And as touching the first argument whiche he hath I deny namely that men may be beguiled without dissimulation bycause vnlesse they should be together without sense they would not easely be brought to receaue to take that which they manifestly see wil be hurtefull vnto them Wherfore it is necessary that there be some shewe and colour added whiche can by no meanes be done without dissimulation Then where as he saith that there are very many whiche by dissimulation may defend either their owne thinges or elles thynges of other mens I graunt that but yet I affirme that the same is guile although it be good guile as afterward we shal more manifestly shew Wherfore as touching the definition of guile it semeth that fayning or dissimulation is alwayes to be added And for that cause the definitioÌ„ of Seruius pleaseth me better which definition for all that I my selfe would rather apply vnto guile in generall thaÌ„ vnto euill guile as he did Beyng by this meanes peraduenture moued bycause he vnderstode by deceate that deceate whiche should be hurtefull Cicero in his first booke of offices affirmeth that dissimulation or fayning Cicero pertayne chiefly vnto the nature of guile For he writeth that Aquilius his familiar frende beyng demaunded what guile was he answered where one thyng is doone and an other thyng dissembled To this sentence Augustine assenteth Augustine who in his 7. treatise vpon Iohn expoundyng these wordes whiche Christ pronounced of Nathaniel Beholde a true Israelite in whoÌ„ is no guile sayth TheÌ„ it is guile wheÌ„ one thing is done and an other thing fayned c. And to speake this by the waye by this place is easely gathered Augustine preâ—ched vnto the people in â—â—tiâ—e that Augustine preached his Sermons vnto the people in Latine bicause the Affricians vsed the Romane tongue although it were not pure but in some wordes corrupt For there Augustine admonished the people that Dolus which is guile signified not Dolor that is pain as many corruptly spake saying Dolus illuÌ„ torquet that is as they meant He is troubled with payne when as in that place they should haue said Dolor and not Dolus to take awaye therfore the ambiguitie of the worde he sayeth that Dolus whiche is guile signifieth fayning and dissimulation And in the same place to expresse what fayning beguilyng signifieth he addeth Guile coÌ„meth of doublenesse of heart that it commeth of doublenesse of the hearte He allegeth thâ— 12. Psalme where when mention is made of guilefull men Dauid sayth that they speake in hart and in harts that is as hee interpreteth in one parte of their heart they do se the
If I will boast of my selfe I shall not be vnwise but I will not any man shoulde thynke of me more than he seeth in me or that he heareth of me By these wordes he reproueth those as foolishe and vnwise whiche do boast glory euen of those good things which they haue And he saith that he wil abstaine from it He which speaketh lesse of hīselfe than it is lyeth not Neither sayth he do I require that any mā should thinke more of me thā he either seeth in me or heareth of me Neither is he which speaketh lesse of him selfe than it is straightway to be accused as a lyer For that whiche is more cōprehēdeth and containeth in it selfe that which is lesse For whosoeuer hath fifty he may say truly that he hath twenty althoughe he speaketh not all that he hath Howbeit the same man We may not lye for humilicyes sake if he should affirme that he had but onely .xx. or els should deny that he had any thing without doubt he should lye which is not to be committed either for modesty sake or els as they say bycause of humilitie And as for testimonies of the holy scriptures which do stirre vs vp to speake the truth I could vndoubtedly bring a great many but a few shal suffice It is written in the x. cōmaundements Thou shalt not beare false witnesse which cōmaūdement is not only to be obserued in iudgement but in all things whiche in our talke we testifie to be either true or false Farther God is set before vs of vs to be followed whom the scriptures euery where pronounce to be true Wherfore we also ought to be most feruent louers of the truth And for that cause in Exodus the 18. chap Iethro counselled Moises that he shuld make rulers ouer the people such men as feared god strong men louers of the truth which hated couetousnesse Dauid saith also Behold thou hast loued truth therfore thou hast made me to vnderstand wisedome in the inward secret partes of my minde These wordes sufficiently declare that we are for the cause taught of god both by inwarde inspiraciō also by outward doctrine bycause he is a louer of the truth neither doth he easely suffre that his children should either erre or be deceaued by lyes In Zacharie the viii chap. it is writtē Speake ye the truth euery man to his neyghbour which selfe same sentence Paul vseth to the Ephesians he cōmaundeth the same vnto the Collos But to the Corinth the latter Epistle he saith of himselfe of the other Apostles that they cā haue nothing against the truth Yea the Scribes Phariseys beyng ioyned with the Herodians after this sorte flattered Christ whom they went about to entrappe in his speache Master we knowe that thou acceptest no persons yea thou teachest the way of god in truth Hereby they declared that it is a singular vertue for a noble notable mā to preferre the truth before all things But let these testimonies of the holy scriptures be sufficiēt at this time Now resteth to intreat of a lye Of a lye Augustine Augustine who wrot of it to Cosētius affirmeth a lye to be a false significatiō of a word And vndoubtedly all those things which before are declared of truth we may by the contrarity affirme of this vice And chiefly it is cōtrary to that that Marcus Tullius affirmed of truth namely that to be truth wherby things which are which haue ben which shal be are spokē vnaltered And a lye is that wherby is the signified which is not for Augustine cōtrarywise spake of the truth This vice is so hurtful that it maketh a mā which is infected with it In equally is the generall worde of a lye to reioyce to be glad in false thinges The generall word of truth was equalitie of the vice the generall worde shal be inequalitie And as the vertue was very nye ioyned with simplicity so belōgeth a lye to doublenes Truth is a part of iustice But a lye is a part of vniustice By truth humane fellowship is kept but by a lye it is hurte ouerthrowen Augustine But to returne to Augustine who writeth that he is sayd to lye which with a wil to deceaue speaketh that which is false that to lye is nothing els than to speake against the minde for liers speake otherwise than they haue in their heart But the desire to deceaue is vtterly against iustice loue amitie Three thinges ioyned with a lye which we mutually owe one vnto an other There are thre things therfore in a lye first to speake that which is false secondly his will in speaking and thirdly a desire to deceaue The first parte longeth to the matter of a lye the other two partes pertayne vnto the forme A diuision of a lye A lye is deuided into a Seruiceable lye a Sportfull lye a Pernitious lye And this deuision commeth of no other thyng but of the effectes or of the endes For this is euermore true that the endes them selues may haue the nature both of the cause and of the effecte For lyes do either profyte or delyte or elles hurte The ende of a pernitious lye is to hurte The ende of a Sportefull lye is to delyte and the ende of a Seruiseable lye is to profyte But Aristotle bycause in vertue he chiefly considereth the meane Aristotle therefore if in speakyng thou excede that meane he calleth that boasting but if thou want of the meane he nameth it Irony And in that euyl this is chiefly hurtful bicause an euyl or false opinion is ingendred in the minde of our neighbour A lye is both euyll and also to be auoyded For the which cause the same Aristotle semeth to haue sayd wel that a lye is both euyll and also it is to be auoyded Which thing we may also proue by testimonies of the holy Scriptures For to this belong al those thinges which we before brought to styrre vs vp to speake the truth And very many places are here and there set forth which detest lyes Dauid saith Thou wilt destroy al those which speake lyes In a lye is an abuse of signes Ther are reasons also which persuade vs the same whereof one is in a lye is an abuse of signes And for as muche as it is not lawful to abuse the giftes of God a lye is vnderstand also to be prohibited Farther as it is before said a lye is contrarye vnto humane fellowship for in lying the conceauinges of the minde ar not cōmunicated vnto our brethren but lyes Wherfore seing man is by nature made vnto fellowship and communication when he speaketh false thinges he fyghteth with his own nature And as Augustine saith Faith is therin hurt Augustine for hee which heareth beleueth those thinges which are spoken Wherfore that fayth which he geueth vnto other mens woordes is made frustrate And so great
woorke by it selfe and other sometimes eyther by Aungels or by men and that in such maner as wee shall afterwarde declare Augustine Farther I wyll adde that Augustine writeth in the place before alledged against the Epistle of the Maniches the .xxvi. chap. Miracles woulde not mooue except they were wonderfull and they would not be wonderful if they shoulde be accustomed thinges As therefore they say that by admiration sprang Philosophy whych Plato thought to be the Raynebowe and for that cause calleth the daughter of Thaumans so may we beleue that faith Faithe cometh not of miracles but is by them confirmed which cōmeth of the worde of God although it do not vtterly spring of miracles yet by them it may be confirmed And therefore Augustine in his .xii. booke of Confessions the .xxi. chap. saith Ignorance is the mother of wondring at signes this is an entraunce vnto faith to the sonnes of Adam which haue forgotten thee By this sentence he teacheth that men which haue forget God haue by the admiration of miracles an entrance or cōming vnto faith And without doubt it is so The wyll of God is hidden from vs but he as he is good openeth the same to holy Prophets Apostles which that they may profitably declare vnto men he geueth vnto them the gift of his holy woord But bicause he knoweth that mortal men are contrary against his word he hath graūted the power of working of miracles that those thinges might the easilier be beleued which he would haue his messenger profitably to speake That cōfirmation of faith cōmeth by miracles Marke testifieth who toward the end of his Gospel saith And they went forth preaching euerye where the Lord working with them confirming the word with signes which followed And how apt this kinde of confirmation is hereby it is manifest The promises of God do of no other thing depend then of his wyll power And the signes which we now intreate of do testify the power of God forasmuch as they by al meanes ouercome nature and set forth the truth of his wil for by the inuocation of his name by his grace spirit they are wrought Augustine Wherefore Augustine in the place now alledged against the Epistle of Manicheus writeth that miracles do bring authority vnto the woord of God For he when he did these miracles semed to haue geuen an earnest peny of his promises Neither ar these wordes to be passed ouer which the same Augustine hath vpon Iohn in the .24 Miracles consist not in the greatnes of woorkes treatise That miracles consist not in the greatnes of workes for otherwise it is a greater woorke to gouerne this vniuersal composition of the world then vnto a blinde man to restore light which he is destitute of These thynges declared there remayneth that by apt distinctions we destribute miracles into his partes Some of them are to be wondred at An other distinction of myracles by reason of the thing it selfe which is done for that it is so vnaccustomed and great that in the nature of thinges we cannot finde the lyke of it Suche was the staying of the Sunne in the time of Iosua and the turning of that shadowe in the tyme of Ezechias the conception and byrth of the Virgin the foode of Manna in the deserte and suche lyke But there are some which ar miracles not for the nature and greatnes of the thing but bycause of the maner and waye whiche was vsed in bringing them to passe as was the cloude and rayne of Helias the budding of floures and fruites in the rod of Aaron the thunders of Samuel the turnynge of water into wyne and suche lyke For suche thinges are done by nature but they were then myracles bycause of the maner whereby they were wrought that is not by naturall causes but at the commaundement and wyll of Sayntes There is an other deuision of myracles An other deuision of miracles bycause some of them doo onelye mooue admiration as lyghtenynges and thundrynges in mount Sina the turning of the shadowe of the Sunne in the tyme of Ezechias the transfiguration of the Lorde in the Mount There are other which besides the admiration doo bring a present commoditye vnto men as when by the rodde dryncke was geuen out of the Rocke Manna from heauen and when by the Lord and the Apostles sycke folkes were healed And sometimes they bring punishment and hurt vnto the guiltye For by the woordes of Peter perished Ananias and Saphira Elimas the Sorcerer was made blynde by Paule and some were by hym delyuered vnto Sathan to be vexed By this also are miracles deuided An other partitiō of miracles bicause some of them are obtained by praiers For so did Elias and Elizeus namelye by praying restore their deade to lyfe Moses also praying for Pharao draue away Frogs and other plages And other some are wrought by commaundement and authority Iosua commaunded the Sunne to stay his course The Lord Iesus commaunded the windes and Peter said vnto the lame man In the name of Iesus Christ rise walke Ther ar also other which are done neither by praiers nor by commaundement but of theyr own wyll and accord the saintes them selues doing some other thing Euen as when the shadow of Peter as he walked healed those that were sycke and the napkin of Paul healed also folkes diseased Augustine An other diuision of myracles Lastly Augustine as it is written in his .83 booke of questions question 79. deuideth miracles that some are done by publik iustice that is by the stable and firme will of God which in the world is counted as a publike lawe By it God would that his ministers that is Apostles and Prophetes shoulde in preaching woorke miracles And there are other some which by the signes of this iustice are wrought as when the vngodly in the name of God or of Iesus Christ do work any miracle which is not geuen but by the honour and reuerence which thei vse towardes the name of God not that God or nature or any thinges created desire to gratefy them As when a man stealeth away a publike seale or handwriting he may wrest many thinges either from the men of the countrey or from the Citizens which are not geuen vnto him but vnto the seale which they know doth belong to the Magistrate and Prince So he which followed not Christe did yet in his name cast out deuils Thirdly are those miracles reckoned which by some certaine priuate bargaine are wrought wherby the Sorcerers do binde them selues vnto the Deuyl and the deuil likewise to them But those at done neither by publike iustice nor yet by the signes therof but come onelye of a certayne priuate conuention Howbeit wee must knowe that miracles of the second and third sort are not firme neither do they assuredly happen For asmuch as we reade in the .xix. chap. of the Actes of the Apostles that the sonnes of
without him Ther was a publike wealth then in Israel they had Senatours and in al places ther wer Iudges appointed wherfore the forme of the publike wealth could not by men be chaunged wtout great offence If so be thou wilt demaund when it is to be thought that God doth gouern rule in other Magistrates I answer Then when this is onely prouided for that Citizens may liue vertuously And forasmuch as piety is of al vertues the most excellent the Lord doth then raigne whē althings ar referred vnto it Farther as touching ciuil actions when to euery man is rendred his own Magistrates gouerne not for their own commodity but for the publike vtility When the thing is otherwyse shall wee saye that God raygneth or no as when Nero Domitianus Commodus Heliogabalus and suche wycked men wer gouernours A distinctiō of those thynges which are done vnder Magistrates Did God then cease from gouerning of the worlde I thynke we must make a distinction of these thinges which are done in those kingdomes of the good thinges I say from the euil forasmuch as there is no Empire so vitiate and corrupt but that it stil retaineth in it many good thinges Let vs looke vpon the gouernment of Nero we shal se ther in a maner an infinite number of wicked and mischeuous actes where yet many partes also of Iustice floorished Prouinces were gouerned by Pretors and Presidentes which execute lawes not altogether vniustly It was lawful for Paul to appeale vnto Rome neyther could the Hebrues by the lawes be permitted to iudge him as they lusted themselues And the same Paul when he had shewed that he was a Citizen of Rome escaped both from bondes and from stripes Wherefore seing in a gouernment most corrupt very many good and profitable thinges floorished the same coulde come frō none other but from God It is therfore manifest that god at that time forsooke not the care and administration of thinges But if thou go forward and aske How God ordereth himself toward the fauts of Princes whether the vices and corruptions of Empires are to be referred vnto God I wyll answer that the true cause of synne is in man but the wil of God doth neither allow those vices nor cōmaunde them in his lawes yea he prohibiteth and detesteth them But he vseth them to punish the wickednes of the people for for the synnes of the people he maketh an hipocrite to raygne and in his fury he geueth kinges For such thinges are euyl and synnes and haue in them a consideration of punishments as they are punishmentes they pertayne vnto the iustice of God But when Princes are so corrupt what is to be done We must obey Whither it bee lawfull to ryse vp against euyl Princes but vsque ad aras that is so farre as religion suffreth Maye priuate men take vpon them to alter a corrupt Prince They may do it in admonishing in geuing coūsel and reprouing but not by force of weapons Yea Citizens may fight for the defence of the publike wealth as long as it lasteth Wherfore Pompeius Cicero and Cato are not lightly to be condemned for that they resisted Cesar going about to styrre vp insurrection althoughe at that time the publike wealth was very corrupt But when he had once obtained the Empire he ought not by priuate men to be depriued with weapons Wherfore Augustus said vnto Strabo who spake euil of Cato being then dead that he was a good Citizen which contended that the present state of thinges should not be chaunged In the publyke wealth of the Hebrues which floorished in the time of Gideon God gouerned in very deede It was as I haue said Aristocratia where Elders were chosen by common voices to do iustice in which office vnles they rightly behaued themselues they were both punished and put out of their roume but if there happened any hard warre God himselfe raysed vp Iudges but they were not chosen by the people neither did the children succede the Parentes in that office After this maner did God gouerne the Hebrues The wordes of Gideon sufficientlye declare that the Iudges exercised not the office of an ordinarye Magistrate It was in the Lord to rayse vp for the time whom he would What we must consider when any thing is offred vnto vs. therfore the Lord said vnto Samuel They haue not reiected thee but me that I should not raigne ouer them Hereby we gather that when anye thing is offered vs we must alwayes weigh whither the same be good of his own nature and whither it bee lawfully geuen and may lawfully be vsed Which if it be not let vs put awaye from vs whatsoeuer is offred as Christ reiected Sathan when he promised hym all the kingdomes of the world neither receaued he the kingdome offred him by the people Thys the Pope considereth not who for his vnlawfull Supremacye or tyranny continually warreth and there is nothing which he attempteth not so farre is he of to refuse these thinges c. 24 Againe Gideon said vnto them I would desire a request of you that ye would geue me euery man the earings of his pray for they had golden earinges bicause they were Ismaelites 25 And they sayd we wyl geue them And they spread a garment and dyd cast therein euery man the earinges of hys pray 26 And the weyght of the golden earinges that he required was a thousand seuen hundreth syckels of gold besides collers pomanders and purple rayment that was on the kinges of Madian and besyde the chaynes that were about their Camels neckes 27 And Gideon made an Ephod thereof and put it in hys City in Ophra And all Israel went a whooring after it in the same place which thing was the destruction of Gideon and hys house Here is set foorth an example of a most grieuous fal very much to be lamented A man holy in miracles and notable in faith filthelye falleth Euerye man therefore is admonished not to trust vnto his former lyfe and thinges that hee hath well done Kim his opiniō of the Ismaelites and Madianites They had golden earinges bycause they were Ismaelites Kimhi thinketh that the Madianites and Ismaelites were al one which he saith is confirmed by the booke of Genesis wher it is written that the brethren of Ioseph sold him to the Madianites and straightway it is added that the Ismaelites sold hym in Egipt wherfore he gathereth that they were al one namelye which had theyr ofspring of Agara And she as some say was Ketura the handmayd of Sara afterward the wife of Abraham But the Chaldey Paraphrast interpreteth the Ismaelites Arabians and not Madianites Yea and Iosephus in his booke De antiquit by the children of the East he vnderstandeth Arabians They turne this Hebrue woorde Scheharonim lunulas that is litle Moones wherof is mēcion made before For in the Arabike toung Schehara signifieth luna that is the Moone The other
and punisheth it by his lawes And if at any tyme it be sayd in the Scriptures that he either willeth or worketh sinne in men that must be referred vnto other considerations whiche I haue declared both in an other place and also now here And this is sufficient as touching this question And God sent an euil spirit By an euil spirit I vnderstād either the deuill What is vnderstād vp an euil spirite or wicked affections or cruelty stirred vp to reuenge iniuryes but the end was to take vengeaunce for the bloud of the sonnes of Ierubbaal The men of Sechem layd wayte agaynst hym The cause of the lying in wayt There may be three causes of their lying in wayte First bycause they would slay him as he passed by And an other was bicause they would not haue his souldiers to go to and fro The third was to shake of their yoke and to declare that they were free This was as much as to say as they now nothing passed vpon his kyngly power It was tolde Abimelech A short sentence cut of wherby yet we vnderstand that Abimelech passed not that way for feare of fallyng into their snares 26 Then came Gaal the sonne of Ebed his brethren they went to Sechem and the men of Sechem put their confidence in him 27 Therfore they wēt out into the field gathered in their grapes trodde them made mery And they went into the house of their God and did eate and drinke and cursed Abimelech 28 And Gaal the sonne of Ebed sayd Who is Abimelech who is Sechē that we shuld serue him Is he not the sonne of Ierubbaal and Zebul is his hed officer Serue rather the men of Hamor the father of Sechem But why shall we serue hym 29 And who will geue this people into myne hand and I wil take awaye Abimelech And he sayde vnto Abimelech increase thyne army and come out Here cōmeth an occasion of the euils one Gaal by chaunce trauailed that way the Sechemites hired him to be their ruler and captayne and therefore puttyng their confidence in him they go out into theyr vineardes gather the grapes and treade them with great security What this Gaal was it appeareth not by the Scriptures R. Salomon thinketh he was an Ethnike R. Salomon The Sechemites were so afeard of Abimelech that they durst not gather their grapes wherfore they hired this man First now they go forth into the fielde whiche thyng before they durst not doo they make great ioye and mirthe For in the olde tyme also as it semeth they vsed as they do now a dayes The wātōnes vsed at the gatheryng in of grapes great wantōnes and liberty in the gathering in of the grapes of whiche custome sprange the Comedyes and Tragedies with the Grecians And when Bacchus returned a conquerer out of India the people led daunces in honor of him at the wynepresses Yea and the Chaldey paraphrast maketh mention of daunces in this place They went into the temple It was also the manner among the Ethnikes to geue thankes vnto God of their first fruites But these men go into the temple of God and rate drinke singe and curse their kyng and whom before they had annoynted hym now they rayle vpon and teare with reproches And that in the temple wherin before they had taken counsel for to make Abimelech their ruler Such are the iudgementes of God The place might haue admonished them for out of it they gaue him money but forgettyng all thynges they curse him Although the scripture expressedly declareth not whether this tēple were that selfe same where out they tooke the money in the beginning VVho is Abimelech In the feastes of their wine gathering they mocke theyr kyng and that he beyng absent and aboue the rest Gaal much more greuously scorneth hym Let vs marke the peruersenes of mans nature if any sinne be by chaunce committed it addeth not a iust remedy but healeth mischief with mischief cureth sinne with sinne They should haue called vpon the Lord haue repented but these do far otherwise they se that they haue done noughtly yet they go farther to reproches This is the manner of the frowardnes of man yea and Dauid when he had committed aduoutry did not strayghtway repent as he should haue done but slewe Vrias Iudas whē he had betrayed Christ would not repent but went and hanged himselfe and so was author of hys owne death So in a maner when we haue sinned we go to worser sinnes They ought not in deede to haue chosen Abimelech but when he had once gotten the dominion of things they should not so haue cursed him Before the victory they sing a song of victory There is nothyng more foolishe then to contemne an enemy for an enemy is not to be contemned vnles he be ouercome But this Gaal goeth childishely to worke He exhorteth and prayseth the Sechemites bycause they had shaked of their yoke And he composeth his oration of thynges compared together A cōparatis He compareth Abimelech with Hamor the prince of that Citye whom the sonnes of Iacob slewe by guile VVho is Sechem Sechem in this place is not the name of the City but of the chief man namely the sonne of Hamor VVho is Abimelech He is the sonne of Ierubbaal He hath in vs neyther right nor iurisdiction Let hym goo and bragge amonge his owne Sechem was in the olde tyme Lorde of this Citye hym we ought to haue obeyed But we slewe hym howe then can we obeye this man This comparison is nowe manifest youghe But to increase the contempt more Zebul sayeth he is the seruaunt of Abimelech knowen well ynough vnto vs whome he hath made ruler ouer hys Citye Therefore we shall haue two Lordes And we whiche woulde not obey the Lord of Sechem shall we nowe obeye a seruaunt It is an vnworthy thyng The sēse of the oratiō of Gaal Wherefore this semeth to be the sense of hys oration If we shoulde haue serued we should rather haue serued Sechem But we haue not serued him therfore neither will we serue this Abimelech Serue the sonnes of Hamor As though he should haue sayd serue them rather whiche were the auncient Lordes of this Citye and if we haue not serued them why should we serue Abimelech c. And who wyll geue thys people into my hande The other parte of the oration contayneth an exhortation wherein he exhorteth them to make hym ruler ouer the people VVho will geue This forme of speakyng expresseth an affection of one that wisheth I sayth he if I were your ruler would easely take away Abimelech All the Sechemites were not of one opinion Hereby it appeareth that al the Sechemites were not of one opinion ▪ There were many which thē also wer on Abimeleches side Wherfore I would to God sayth he that all you were of one mynd I would thē easely take away the tyranne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
should haue ben receaued into the City and for that cause he fleeth vnto the gate But Zebul thrust hym out of the Citye But thou wilt demaunde by what meanes he coulde be excluded the City whē as the Sechemites had made hym theyr ruler Kimhi answereth first that all the Sechemites stoode not against Abimelech the people also as they were of an inconstant mynde when they sawe Gaal flye turned theyr purpose and fell to Abimelech Hereby we gather howe foolishe it is to trust vnto men Ieremy sayeth very well and wisely Cursed be euery one that putteth hys confidence in man and maketh fleshe hys strength The Sechemites put theyr confidence in Gaal and at that very instant vsed hys ayde Gaal on the other side putteth hys confidence in the Sechemites and was thrust out of the City by them in whom he did put his confidēce This is the nature of the people when fortune a lyttle fauoreth strayght way they forsake them whō before they followed The common people altogether depende vpon chaunce Here may we see also an other foolishenes of the Sechemites who thought that when they had cast out Gaal Abimelech had straightway ben satisfied For they goo forth into the fieldes to excercise theyr rusticall workes to gather in theyr grapes I saye or to tyllage But it happened farre otherwise For Abimelech placed two bandes to lye in wayte and he hymselfe with hys hoste came vnto the Citye that neyther they whiche were in the fieldes coulde get into the City nor they which were in the City coulde come out to helpe theyr men in the fieldes This pollecy of warre vsed Abimelech They thought he had nowe bene pacified but the anger of kynges are not straightwaye asswaged And he sowed salte These moste miserable chaunces happened vnto the people they whiche went forth into the fieldes were killed the Citye it selfe was besieged and conquered the Citizens slayne the Citye defaced and vtterly ouerthrowen But Abimelech stomachyng the matter more then was meete sowed salte in the Citye whiche was a token of a wildernes and deserte What the sowyng of salt signifieth For salte dryeth the grounde and maketh it vnfruitefull In Hebrewe Malach signifieth salte Thereof commeth the verbe Malach whiche is to salte but in the coniugation Niphal Nimlah is a verbe whiche signifyeth to destroye to breake downe and to waste That woorde Ieremy vsed in hys 14. chap. and Dauid in hys 107. Psalme GOD turneth a fruitefull lande into a saltishe grounde that is maketh it waste and deserte In the yeare .1165 Fredrike Oenobarbus the Emperor ouerthrew Millane and sowed salte there For that City tooke parte with Alexander the thyrde being Pope agaynst Cesar whiche thyng Fredrike tooke in very yll part 46 And when all the men of the tower of Sechem hearde it they came to the castle of Thelberith 47 And it was told Abimelech that al the men of the tower of Sechem were gathered together 48 And Abimelech went vp to mount Zalmon he and all the people that were with hym and Abimelech tooke axes and cut downe bowes of trees and tooke them and layd them on his shoulder and said vnto the people that were with him That whiche ye haue sene me do make hast and do as I haue done 49 Wherfore all the people cut downe euery man his bowgh and followed Abimelech and put them to the castle and set the castle on fire with them And al the men of the tower of Sechem dyed about a thousand men and women 50 Then went Abimelech vnto Thebez and layde siege to it and tooke it That tower of Sechem was a bulwarke of the Citye Wherefore when the City was takē the princes distrusting themselues entred into an other inward holde where also was a temple and it was called the house of the couenaunt of God for the Israelites forsaking the couenant of the true God coupled themselues vnto straunge Gods And it was told Abimelech Mount Zalmon was nighe vnto that hold whether Abimelech and his people got them vnto for he had determined to burne that castell and temple whiche was in it Neither ought we to meruaile that the temple was so fensed Temples were wont to be builded in castels when as it was the maner so in the old tyme. For Rome when longe a go it was taken and burnt of the Senones the Capitolium where in was the temple of Iupiter remayned safe Yea and Iosephus sayth that when Ierusalem was besieged of Titus the temple was a strong bulwarke for the City But the cause why the Sechemites got them thether was not onely bycause the place was so well fensed but also bycause they had a supersticious opinion of Baal for they thought that he would be with thē defend his temple So foolish men when they haue in deede no religion in their mynde yet they put their confidence in holynes of places and wōderfully trust in images temples also in reliques of saintes But thereby they are nothing holpen but to their destructiō they are slayne euen in temples as we rede it happened now vnto these men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And by them they set the castle on fire There is in these wordes Alleosis of the gender for the Masculine gender is put for the Feminine for as much as this relatiue Eos that is them is referred to the bowes which in the Hebrew is a word of the Feminine gender Mencion is made of the vtter destruction of the Citye for it was not onely ouerthrowen and strawed with salte but also the princes were slayne with fire and smoke Abimelech in this warlike pollecy shewed not vnto all what he would do he onely biddeth the people to follow hym Gideon also when he tooke the pitcher fire brand and trompet commaunded the other to do the same so Abimelech tooke a bowe on his shoulder and the other did the like He kindleth fire and burneth all them which were in the holde otherwise he could not haue conquered the tower Some thinke that Gaal also perished here that beyng put to flight by Abimelech Why the vngodly obtayne victoryes he got him to this holde After this sorte God tooke vengeance vpon the Sechemites And Abimelech althoughe he were an vngodly and cruell tyranne obteyned the victory so also god gaue Nabucadnesar power to afflicte the Iewes and to leade them captiues to Babilone And likewise vnto Tiglathphalasar to oppresse the ten tribes All these men had the victory and yet was their cause nothyng the better This rule god vseth oftentymes to punishe the euill by euill although he do not straightway punish them all Some he punisheth before and other some afterward and there are some also whose vengeance he reserueth for the world to come Abimelech triumpheth as thoughe he had better cause but yet this hys ioye is of no longe tyme A Similitude for the hande of the Lorde abydeth hym also In Comedyes the strength of the
Poete is not perceaued by the Prologe nor by one acte or two but we muste wayte for the ende and the conclusion of the whole fable So if a man wyll geue iudgement of an Image or of any other fayre Picture if he onely marke the Knee or Legge he shall easely be deceaued for he must consider the Armes he Shoulders the Sides and proportion of the whole body After which selfe same maner if we will vnderstand the iustice of God in his workes we muste tary tyll the ende and then shall we see the iudgementes of god full Augustine sayeth ryght well that god Augustine when he punisheth any certayne wicked acte doth signify that he hateth all wicked actes And when he differeth the punishementes of the vngodly he admonisheth vs to thinke vpon an other lyfe Wherfore if Papistes A comforte in the felicity of the vngodly if Turkes if Tyrannes are not punished in this world let vs with a patient minde wayte for the last acte and last iudgement of god for they shall not go vnpunished Dauid sayeth in his 73. Psalme My feete were almost moued and my steppes had welnye slypte bycause I freated at the wicked when I sawe the peace of synners For there are no bandes in theyr death and they are lusty and stronge They ar not in trouble as other mē c. And I sayd doth god know these things and is there knowledge in the most highest For so doth our flesh iudge when it seeth the vngodly liue in prosperity when the matter is so is there sayth he knowledge in the moste highest Wherefore I haue clensed my harte in vayne and in vayne I haue washed my handes in innocency in vayne was I punished all the day and it was paynfull to me to know this For they are moste harde to vnderstand and I began in a manner to dispayre vntill I went into the sanctuarye of God and vnderstood theyr last end For who may not easelye be deceiued in the rich man and Lazarus When as the one in mans sight semed to haue bene most blessed and the other most miserable Therfore sayth he it was paynefull vnto me vntyll I was broughte into the sanctuary of God beheld theyr last iudgement But as touching Abimelech the prophesy ought to be fulfilled whiche Iotham pronounced Let a fire come out of Abimelech and destroy his enemies God suffreth Abimelech to excercise his tiranny three yeares in which space be semed to tary for his repentance But he heaped vp vnto him self angre in the day of anger For if he had ben wise he would easly haue thoght thus with him selfe after the victory The Sechemites sinned thoroughe my perswasion if they ar now so seuerely hādled what shal be be done to me at the lēgth But he being blinded that he could not se these thynges at the last was filthily slayne So the vngodly ar dronken with prosperous fortune and god semeth to fede them vp as sacrifices which are first fed and fatted before they be killed In whiche sense Esay in the .34 chap. writeth The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozra Wherfore Abimelech by all the things that he saw is made neuer a whit the better yea rather he was made the more insolent and attempteth other thinges more tirannical In the boke of Ecclesiasticus the 8. chap. it is writtē Bicause sentence agaynst the euill is not executed spedely the childrē of men do without any feare perpetrate euil thinges Therfore are men made so hedlong to sinne bicause they abuse the goodnes of god it is so far of that the vngodly when he seeth an other corrected should amend that he alwayes becōmeth worse worse and alwaies endeuoureth to goe on farther in wickednes Whiche thinge I woulde to God we woulde follow in vertues and good deedes Abimelech had ouercome the Sechemites neither was that sufficient for him then tooke he the holde neyther was that ynough for him he conquered the citye of Thebez and yet did not this suffice him He will go on farther yet and is most filthyly slayne As concerning the city of Thebez Kimhi sayth that it also fell from the gouernment of Abimelech Dauid Kunht 51 But there was a strong tower within the citye and thither fled all the men and wemen and all the chief of the city and shutte it to them and went vp to the top of the towre 52 And Abimelech came vnto the towre and fought against it And went hard vnto the doore of the towre to set it on fire 53 Then a woman caste a piece of a milstone vpon Abimeleches heade and brake his skull 54 Who streightwaye called his page that bare his armoure and said vnto him Draw thy sword and slay me lest men peraduenture say of me A woman slew him And his page thrust him thorow and he died 55 And when the men of Israell saw that Abimelech was deade they departed euery man to his owne place 56 Thus God rendred the euill of Abimelech whiche he did vnto his father in slayinge his brethern 57 Also all the wickednes of the men of Sechem did god bring vpon theyr heads and vpon them came the curse of Iotham the sonne of Ierubbaall The menne of Thebez closed and sensed the outwarde partes of the Tower verye well And kepte themselues within hauinge all the gates and entrances shut vp They ascended vpon the toppe This Hebrewe woorde Gag sygnifieth the toppe of the house not sharpe poynted but playne for vpon it they might walke And bycause it was dangerous leaste a manne shoulde fall from the toppe it was commaunded in Deutronomye that a cyrcuite or a stay should be added to the roofe of the houses To burne the gate Bycause he hadde so good successe before to conquere by fyre he thoughte now also to had the like fortune A woman threwe a stone Abimeleche puffed vppe with victories setteth an example before oure eyes that wee shoulde not to muche put confidence in presente felicity By his luckye successe he thoughte his cause was good and that they whome he had destroyed had theyr rewarde for theyr wickednes Such is the iudgemente of menne they thinke that accordinge to the wayghte of the punishments so are the sinnes of the afflicted and theyr euil deserts so that they whych are greuously vexed seeme to haue greiuously sinned And vndoubtedly the booke of Iob is all whole in a manner of that argumente For his friendes did therefore gather that he was an euill man The argumēt of the booke of Iob. bicause he was so grieuouslye afflicted But yet oughte wee not so to thincke For there maye be other causes why GOD wil haue the sayntes oppressed in this world Christ teacheth vs in the 13. chapter of Luke when certayne tolde him that Pilate hadde mingled the bloud of the Galileians with sacrifices they loked that Christ should haue cried out vpon the crueltye of the President howe wee oughte to take profite by the
whyche gouerned the publike wealth when they were wery with matters kept themselues close oftentimes in fieldes or manors not to sleepe or to geue themselues to sluggishnes and idlenes but to refresh theyr mindes and that they might returne the more prompte and better instructed to accomplish thinges And the most noble Rhethoricians being wearied with pleading causes of the law went sometimes into the country to heare to talke to reade somwhat to peruse ouer the oracions before herd and so by that meanes to returne more learned and readye to the place of iudgement So the Nazarites for a certayne time departed from the companye and felloweshippe of other menne that they mighte be the better and holier afterwarde to execute the duties of life Chryste also in the nyghte tyme departed to the mountayne But in the daye tyme he returned vnto the people And when the Apostles returned whom he hadde sente foorth to preache he led them a way for a little while into a deserte that they mighte there be quiet and refresh themselues The instituciō of Lent For this cause peraduenture was Lent first instituted that men which had al the yeare bene occupied with ciuill businesse might at the leaste at that time renew piety This is the pretence of the Papists But graunt that the thinge was at the first institued for this cause let them consider what it is now fallen to at the lengthe vndoubtedlye into mere superstition whereby nothing els is obtruded vnto the people then choise of meates olde wyues fables vngodly songs and pilgrimages whych they commonly call stations very prophane and idolatrous In the meane time there is no mencion made for the abolishinge of couetousnesse luste lecherye and other wicked actes Farther menne oughte by so longe a fast to haue beene made better but they are made much worse after Easter Paul tooke vpon him the vowe of a Nazarite But to returne to the vowe of a Nazarite Paule seemeth to haue vowed it when as in the .18 chapter of the Actes of the Apostles he poled his heade in Cenchre And in the .21 chapter he was perswaded of the Elders to doo it There are here say they foure menne whyche haue a vowe Thou shalte bee with them There the shauinge of the head declareth that that vowe pertained vnto a Nazarite For as it is wrytten in the lawe if it had happened that the Nazarite in the time of the vowe whyche he hadde taken vpon hym hadde defyled hymselfe vpon the deade or by anye other meanes then the vowe was violate And the Nazarite oughte to come vnto the Tabernacle and to declare vnto the priestes what hadde happened and to cutte of hys heare to offer sacrifice and so to begynne the vowe of a Nazarite a newe agayne For what soeuer he hadde before obserued it was counted as defyled and of no force So Paule as thoughe some thynge hadde happened vnto hym amonge the Gentiles where he had beene conuersant woulde be purified in the Temple as thoughe he shoulde haue begonne the obseruation of hys vow agayne A fayned tale of the Moonkes The Papystes crye that by this vowe of the Nazarites there was a certeyne shadowe at that tyme of theyr religious Moonkery neyther consider they that the vowes of the Nazarites were instituted by the woorde of God Let them shew on theyr side the commaundement of God for moonkry which thing if they cannot do then resteth there nothinge but that we may say that the institutions of Moonkes are not the vowes of Nazarites but of superstitious men and a certayne ridiculous imitation or an euill zele of the olde vowe of the Nazarites So also in the olde tyme superstitious men when they sawe that Abraham would haue offred his sonne Whereof began drawing of children throughe the fyre and that for the same cause he pleased God very well They also would nedes offer their sonnes and draw them thorough the fire By whiche most wicked institution they greuously offended God But our worshipping ought to leane vnto the worde of God In dede ciuill institutions yea euen without the expresse word of God may be receaued so that they be not agaynst the worde of God Agaynst the vowe of religious men but worshipping and religion ought not to come frō any other thyng but onely out of the word of God But I pray you let them tel whence they haue that vowe of perpetuall sole life or how can it agree with the Nazarites First it is contrary to the creation of man when as it was sayd vnto the first parentes Increase and multiply Farther it is agaynst the oracle which Paul wrote He whiche contayneth not let him mary They vowe pouerty also But what manner of pouerty forsoth to lyue of beggyng A trimme vow to be maintayned with the labours of other men Vndoutedly that is agaynste charitye when as Paul sayeth vnto the Ephesians He whiche stole let him steale no more but let him labor rather with his handes that he maye haue wherewithall to geue vnto hym that suffereth necessitye But thou wilte say that of the Monkes ther are some which are riche I graunt that but they also do contrary to the word of god wherin it is commaunded He whiche laboreth not let him not eate Farther they vowe obedience But to whom To certayne men when as Paul expressedly writeth Be not ye made seruauntes of men But they say I am of Frances I am of Dominike I am of Benedict where as Paul would not suffer that Christians should saye I am of Paul I am of Apollo and I of Cephas They agr◠not but are contrarye to the Nazarites Why then do they cry that they agree with the Nazarites Let vs diligently examine euery thyng The Nazarites shaued not the heare but these men do shaue it The Nazarites did drinke no wyne but these mē glot themselues with wyne The Nazarites came not to funerals but these men desire nothyng so much as the funerals and obsequies of the dead But I will ouerpasse these things One thing only wil I adde Although in the Iewish religion the vowe of the Nazarites was the principall vow Origene yet were they not forbidden to mary In other vowes sayth Origene they gaue either a shepe or a a gote or an oxe or some other thing But in this kynde of vow they offred thē selues and yet their state agreed well ynough with matrimony But let vs returne vnto Samson He proued a most strong young man Who would haue thought that this could haue come to passe The parentes were not cōmaunded to instruct hym in the arte of warfare or to send him forth to warre A mā would thinke much rather that he should be brought vp as a Monke not as a souldier But God would shewe that all the strength whiche should be in Samson should be deriued from his spirite But that he should be a Nazarite all his life tyme as Samuel also was
the angel therewithall flewe away as though he caried vp the sacrifice with him into heauē An other argument is He would not haue taught vs so many and such thyngs if we should perishe He came vnto vs once or twise and instructed vs of thynges whiche we should doo Wherfore be of good comforte we shall not dye ¶ Of Sacrifice The offerer is more acceptable vnto God then the Sacrifice VNdoubtedly the womans argumentes are good out of whiche may some thynges be gathered whiche are not vnprofitable And firste that God more accepteth hym that offreth then he doth the Sacrifice yea the oblations please not hym but for the offerers sake This sentence Irenaeus proueth by the scriptures in his fourth booke and .34 chapter For God had a regarde vnto Abel and to his giftes but vnto Cain and his giftes he looked not bycause of the disposition of them that offred For looke what manner of will he that offreth hath towardes God the lyke will hath God to the oblation Christ also sayth If thou bryng thy gifte vnto the aulter and remembrest that thy brother hath somwhat agaynst thee go and reconcile thee first vnto thy brother and then come and offer thy gifte As thoughe he should say If whylest thou art euill and enemy vnto god thou doest offer thyne oblation shall not be acceptable vnto God Wherfore Irenaeus concludeth Irenaeus that they are not sacrifices whiche sanctify but the conscience of him that offreth And he addeth a reason bycause God nedeth not our Sacrifice Among men the euill may oftentymes be absolued bycause men are sometimes couetous and nedy and are easely wonne with money But if it happen the Iudge to be both iuste and good he will reiecte the money neither wyl he suffer his equity after that manner to be blotted So God bycause he can not be wonne by flattery obserueth the mindes of men and not the Sacrifices In Esay the .66 chapter he sayth He that sacrificeth a shepe is as if he slewe a dog not that god hateth sacrifices in vniuersal but bycause he alloweth not the oblations of euill men I haue the largelier spoken thinges bicause the papistes boast that in masses they offer Christ vnto God the father which thinge if it should be graūted then must god the father more esteme a noughty sacrificer then he doth his sonne But this woman reasoneth most wittely God hath receaued our sacrifice therfore he is not angry neyther wil he destroy vs. We count the sacrifices of christians to be a contryte heart prayers The sacrifices of Christians geuinge of thankes almes mortifienge the affections of the fleshe and suche like These are lefte vnto vs after the abrogation of the carnall sacrifices that wee shoulde offer them as the fruites of our faythe and testimonies of a thankefull minde But as touching the pacifieng of God Christe offred himselfe once vpon the crosse neither is there any nede that any man should offer him againe For by an oblation he accōplished al thinges Now remayneth that we embrace his sacrifice with fayth and we shall haue God mercifull vnto vs who of his goodnes will by Christ accept those sacrifices which we haue now made mencion of But Augustine contra literas Parmeniani in his .2 booke and .8 chapter seemeth at the fyrst sight to make agaynst vs. Augustine For the Donatistes woulde not communicate with the other Christians because they counted them defiled and vnpure and they cited a place out of Iohn Wee knowe that God heareth not sinners Your men sayd they haue betrayed the holye bookes haue burnte incense vnto Idoles haue denied god how then wil god heare them Augustine aunswereth that it may be that an euill minister although he be not hearde for his owne cause yet when he prayeth for the people he maye be hearde And he confirmeth his sentēce by the example of Balaam for he being a most wicked man prayed vnto god and was heard But if a man diligentlye examine these thinges he shall finde that Augustine is not against vs although at the first sight he semeth a little to presse vs. When he had sayde that the euill ministers also are heard The publike prayers of the minister are the prayers of the Church hee strayghteway addeth that that is not done for their wickednes sake but bicause of the fayth and deuotion of the people whereby wee gather that althoughe the minister be the guide in woordes yet are they not his prayers but the prayers of the Churche For there muste bee one certayne manne whiche maye conceaue the prayers for the reste leaste in the multitude shoulde rise a confusion or tumulte if euerye manne shoulde by his owne woordes poure out prayers aloude in the Church Wherfore the minister is a certayn mouth of the church The Myniste◠is the mouth of the church Therefore if he bee euill it is not he which is heard but the faythfull people which speake by his woordes This thinge taughte Augustine when he writeth that an euill minister is hearde not for his wickednes but for the fayth and deuotion of the people Hereby are we admonished that whilest we are presente at publike prayers wee muste take verye diligente heede and determine that those prayers whyche are recited are ours How it is sayd that Balaam was heard But Balaam by a certayne forme of prayer prophesied and therefore his woordes are called a blessinge bycause he prophesied happye thinges vnto the people of god And hee was not moued vnto these prayers of his owne will but by the sprite of god Wherfore hee was not hearde but the holye ghoste was the true authour of hys woordes That whiche is alledged out of Iohn God heareth not sinners Augustine sayth that that was not the saying of Christ Whyther God heareth sinners but of the blind mā which was no◠yet fully illustrate Wherefore he affirmeth that sentence not to be true in vniuersal For as they define the prayers of peruerse ministers ar somtimes hard because they are of the church But as touching the oblation of Christ I do not think that the papists wil graunt that the whole church offreth it whē as they wil haue that to be peculiar to the massemongers And though they should graunte that yet is not the whole Churche greater or more acceptable vnto god then Christ bicause he is not acceptable vnto god for the churches sake but the church is acceptable vnto god for Christes sake But to returne to the saying of Iohn that God heareth not sinners addinge a profitable distinction we maye thus expound it A distinction of sinners There are some sinners whiche fall of weakenes or sinne of ignorance which yet afterward acknowledge themselues are sory and repent faythfully But there are other which sinne without conscience want fayth neyther are they led with anye repentance The fyrste sorte bicause they haue fayth are heard the other forasmuch as they want
wee muste directe both life and manners For the other will we must not be to much carefull vnles we feele it most apertly And we must with great diligence take heede that when we thinke we are ledde by the impulsion of the holy Ghost we be not led by our affections Of the secrete wil of God Paule intreated when he made mēcion that of Iacob and Esau before they had done any good or euill it was sayd Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated This will of God is obscure and hidden from the eyes of men therfore no man can rendre a reason of it Wherfore when we heare any thinge of it we muste say with Paule O the depth of the riches of the wisedom and knowlege of God c. But by the will reueled we may vnderstand that we are acceptable vnto god when we trust in him when we detest vices and renew our life and manners by the grace of god not bicause these thinges are the causes of the goodnes of God towardes vs These two willes in god are not in very dede seperated but bicause they are certayne sure tokens therof But how these two willes are not in very deede seperated in God but are one and a simple will we shall declare more oportunely in an other place In that it is now written that Samson or rather God soughte occasion of the Philistians Of the occasion which God sought it seemeth verye obscure And what occasion was there to bee soughte for Was not this cause sufficient inough that they by violence withhelde the land promised vnto the Israelites and had put them to Tributes and taxes Liranus Liranus thinketh that betwene the Hebrewes and the Philistians there were certayne couenauntes made whiche were not rashlye to be violated I also adde this that Samson was a priuate man as farre as anye man knewe of hym then And therefore God woulde haue an honester occasion for hym to fyght so that if he being by them contumeliouslye handled shoulde againe somewhat endamage them he shoulde seme to reuenge his owne priuate iniuries and not the publike And vndoubtedlye it seemed that matrimonye after this manner contracted should rather haue caused peace to follow But contrarywise there ensued greuous war which happened not by the default of matrimony but of men So also now are not a few found whiche to possesse kingdomes and to gette them other mens riches do abuse matrimony Wherefore we ought not to meruayle if suche mariages haue verye ill successe For oftentimes by them doo happen both warres and also ouerthrowinges of publike wealthes But by whose fault thou wilt say sprange this warre What sinnes happened in this matrimonye By the faulte of the woman whiche was maried and also of her parentes and corruption of the publike wealth And these woulde God vse to bringe to lighte theyr sinnes and to punishe them The mayden ought to haue estemed her husband aboue all men But she betrayed him and shewed his riddle to her citizenes so that Samson was fayne to paye vnto them a greate rewarde His wiues father also did him no small iniury for he tooke away from him his wife and gaue her to an other Thys thynge oughte he not to haue doone for matrimonies oughte to be firme and ratified But the coruption of the publike wealthe of the Philistians maye hereby bee knowne bycause suche a wycked offence was not openlye reproued and punyshed as thoughe it hadde euerye where bene lawefull to haue doone it By the waye Samson turned a syde from hys Parentes whome a roaringe Lion mette and mette hym beinge vnarmed so that he myght easely haue killed him But that we should vnderstande that Samson by the power of the sprite of God preuayled agaynst that wild beast it is added And the sprite of the Lorde came vpon him Fowre names of Lions amōg the Hebrewes and he deuided the Lion as one shoulde rente a kidde There are foure names of Lions amonge the Hebrews according to the diuerse decrees of theyr age The first is Gor when hee is yet a whelpe The seconde is Cepher when he is somewhat growen in age The third is Ariath when he is strong and myghty The fourth is Liba when he is waxen olde althoughe he bee called also Lisch when he is very olde That whiche is now written is called Cephir that is growen in age fyerce ynough to thend a man should not think that he was a whelpe of the first age Neyther was he tame and gentle as sōtimes they are wont to be but he ranne roaring to inuade Samson Why God would haue Sāson to fight with the Lion God would geue vnto Samson an experience of the strength that he had geuen him that he shoulde enterprise greater thinges afterward So also he excercised Dauid from his youth before he shoulde fighte agaynste Goliath Wherefore he sayde vnto Saule There came a Beare and a Lion and thy seruant rent them Plini Lions ar very common in Siria as Plini affirmeth ¶ Whither it be lawful for children to mary without the consente of theyr parentes NOw shall it be good to see whither it be lawful for children to contract matrimony without the consent of theyr parētes Vndoubtedly Samson would not and it is a matter of much honestye and gratitude towardes the parentes if matrimony be not contracted without theyr consent and knowledge Examples of the Elders At the beginninge Adam did not chuse himselfe a wife God was his father and broughte vnto him Eue. Abraham when Isaac was now a man sent his seruant to his kinred to seke out a wife amongst thē for his son Isaac also sent Iacob into Masopotamia to his vncle to the end he might get him a wife there The law of God Afterward succeeded the law geuen of God by Moses that Children should honoure theyr Parentes But the honour which is to be geuen vnto them is not only to vncouer the hed to geue the vpper hand and to rise vp although these thinges also are to be performed but yet ar they not sufficiēt but they must also norish theyr progenitors if nede shal be and shew themselues humble and diligent towards them Wherfore the power of the father is defined to be a bonde of piety What is the power of a father wherewith the children are bounde vnto the parentes to performe the offices of humanity and gratitude If children in other things ought to obey theyr parentes vndoubtedlye they ought chiefly to do it in contracting of matrimony Of this thing there is a peculier law in Exodus the 22. chap. If a maidē which is not betrouthed shal be deceaued hee that hath defiled her oughte to geue her a dowry and to take her to wife But it is added if the father will otherwise hee shall onely geue a dowry neyther shall he haue the mayden to wife againste the fathers will And in the booke of Numbers the
rede that the sonne cā not be cōpelled to mary a wyfe de sponsalibus in the lawe sed ea if the doughter hold her peace she seemeth to cōsent vnto the father there are two causes ascribed wherfore the doughter may resiste her father if either the father offer her a wicked husband or a disfigured husbād Otherwise if there be none of these causes it is required of her to loue him whom the father hath chosē If she wil not assent when the husbād hath neither wicked maners nor is mishapen The punishement of ingratitude she incurreth the crime of ingratitude whiche is so great that the father may disinherite her for it And in the title de ritu nuptiarum in the law si cogente patre Although the sonne haue assented for feare of the father yet bicause he had rather assent then offend his father such a matrimony ought to be firme and ratified I would adde vnto the former cause the third if the father offer a husband whiche is of a contrary religion and I would euer counsell the parentes to gratifie their children What may bee done against to streight parēts vnles they see them to obstinate and vniust But when the parentes deale to tyrānically with their children compell them to mary wiues whom they cā not abyde the matter ought to be brought before the Magistrate whose office is to heare the cause and to delyuer the sonne from iniury if he be to cruelly oppressed Then if the sonne mary a wife by the authority of the Magistrate yea agaynst the will of the father he can not seme vtterly to haue maried without his fathers cōsent The Magistrate is the father of the coūtrey For the Magistrate is the father of the coūtrey The same thing semeth to be decreed de ritu nuptiarū in the lawe qui liberos And methinketh the schoolemen haue not well sayd that the children of the householde haue dominion ouer their owne body For as much as they owe vnto their parentes that they are They ought not to be compelled to mariages agaynst their wil but that they should mary without the consent of the parentes it can not be graunted thē And when they so often obtrude vnto vs liberty The doughters of Zalphead alledge the dominiō of their body we lay against it the answer of god as touching the daughters of Zalphead who sayth of them Let them haue heritage among their brethren but let them mary in their own tribe These wemē are compelled to mary their nyest of kynne neither had they that liberty whiche these men fayne And the brother was sometymes compelled to mary the wyfe of his brother beyng dead neither could she mary an other therfore so great liberty is not necessary in mariages as these men pretend And by the ciuill lawe It is permitted vnto the parentes to sell theyr children so great is the power of the father ouer the sonne that he may sell hym if he fall into greuous necessity And least that should seeme barbarous vnto any man the same thyng is permitted by the lawe of God in Exodus the .21 chap but yet adding certayne cautions whiche I thinke not good here to repeate Wherefore they did not rightly argue when they sayd that matrimony is a kynde of seruitude which the sonne ought not to take vpon him at the appointement of his father And in that they saye that the consent of the parentes is required for the honesty of matrimony and not for necessity it is friuolous and vayne For what greater necessity can there bee then that whiche the lawe and commaundementes of God bryng with them Children are commaunded to honour father and mother Also Paul the Apostle prescribeth them to obey their parentes in all thinges And the same thyng writeth he vnto the Phillipians the .4 chapter That whiche remayneth brethren What soeuer thynges are true whatsoeuer are honest whatsoeuer iuste whatsoeuer pure whatsoeuer profitable whatsoeuer lucky these thinges do ye c. By these woordes appeareth that the thynges whiche are honest muste not bee separated from the commaundementes of God Wherefore looke howe necessary it is to obey the commaundementes of God so necessary is it not to mary without the consent of the parentes And that whiche they adde that the consent of the parentes is in deede required but yet if they will not consent the matrimony may be firme That is nothyng elles then to deride the parentes For what contumely is it for the sonne in suche sorte to desire the consent of hys parentes that thoughe he be agaynst it and gaynesay it yet notwithstandyng will he abyde in hys purpose and execute it It were muche better not to desire it then to desire it with that mynde This also seemeth wonderfull vnto me that the master so peruerteth the woordes of Euaristus that when Euaristus sayeth that matrimonyes contracted without the consent of the parents are whooredomes and fornications and not matrimony he dare expounde that the matter is not so in deede but bycause they so assemble rogether as whooremongers and adulterers vse to doo But the sentence of Euaristus is manifest They are not sayeth he matrimonyes and he addeth what in deede they are namely fornications adulteryes and whooredomes And he sayeth not that they seeme to be these thynges but that they are There are other whiche obiecte vnto vs the booke of Genesis where it is wrytten that Esau maried Chananitishe wyues whiche his parentes tooke in very yll part for he had maryed them contrary to their cōmaundement And yet the Scripture calleth them wyues Wherefore it seemeth that matrimony may be contracted euen agaynst the parentes will I graunt in deede that in the holy Scriptures they are called wiues But yet for that cause bycause he so coūted thē bycause the nations amōg whom he dwelled counted thē for wyues But hereby is not gathered that the scriptures do confirme such matrimony The same forme of speakyng vsed Paul in the firste to the Corinthians the eyght chapter Euen as there are many gods and many Lordes He sayeth that there are many gods not the there are so in deede for there is but one God but bycause the most part so beleued and publique persuasiō thought that there was an infinite nūber of goddes Therfore he sayth many goddes but to vs that thinke rightly there is but one God The scripture so calleth thīgs as they are cōmonly called of men one Lord Iesus Christ It is no vnaccustomed or straunge thyng in the scriptures so to call thinges as men vse cōmonly to speake yet in an other place when they speake properly they call euery thing by his owne name But thou wilt say we neuer rede that the children of Esau were not legitimate I answere that Esau had in dede a greate posterity but whether it were legitimate or otherwise the Scripture declareth not Wherunto adde that with those nations among
the Apostles did not alwaies heale Similitudes but yet the signes of the Ayostles also were sometimes hurtful For Paul made Elimas the Cuniurer blynde and sayd Thou Sonne of the Deuyl why peruertest thou the right wayes of the Lord Beholde the hand of the Lord is ouer thee and thou shalt be blynde and shalt not see Peter also wyth hys woorde slewe Ananias and Saphira Yea and Paule delyuered manye vnto Sathan Wherfore Samson prayeth vnto God to make fortunate and to helpe his ministery Neyther can it be properlye sayde that Samson kylled himselfe Samson killed not hymselfe He dyed in deede but he prescribed not vnto hymself this ende namely to dye But sought vengeaunce of hys enemies whych he vnderstoode woulde by this meanes ensue The Apostles also dyd thus make reckonyng wyth themselues Similitudes If as wee haue begonne we teache vnto the people the kingdome of Christ vndoubtedly we shall bee kylled and in that they went on wyth their purpose to teache the Gospell it cannot be iustly sayd that they kylled them selues Paule also when hee shoulde go vnto Ierusalem and Agabus the Prophet tolde hym that the Iewes woulde bynde hym at Ierusalem what dyd hee when hee hearde these thinges Dyd he forsake hys vocation No verely But rather affirmed that hee was ready both to be bounde and to dye for Christ So sayth Samson Let my soule dye wyth the Philistians He dyd not rashely incurre death but followeth hys vocation Souldiours when they go on warrefare if a man peraduenture say vnto them ye shall be slayne wyth gunnes or wyth the swoorde or wyth arrowes They wyll aunswere if they be men of valiaunt courage we seeke not death but victorye or we followe the defence of our owne thynges whereunto we are called But as touching Samson God gouerned him by his spirite Wherefore when he dyed he slewe more of the Philistines then he did before while he liued What fruite therefore had the Philistines by their deceite and treason They bought to them selues death and present destruction And euen as to them that loue god al thinges woorke to good so to the aduersaries and enemies of God al things are turned to their destruction The difference betwene the death of the Philistines and of Samson A moste profytable admonicion of Salomon Samson dyeth together with the Philistines but the ende and maner is far diuers For they dye in their wanton behauiour cruelty and idolatrye but thys Samson in fayth and calling vpon the true God But as touching the matter it selfe the residewe were to eyther of them alyke Wherefore Salomon admonisheth vs most wisely that wee muste not measure the godlynes of men by outward thinges bicause they happen alyke both to the godlye and to the vngodly That Samson dyed in the fayth hereby it appeareth bicause euen in the very destruction he called vpon God and was heard and bycause God restored vnto him hys old strength But they which are in the fleshe can not please God neyther can God be rightly called vpon vnlesse fayth shyne before Howe shall they cal vpon hym sayth the Apostle in whom they haue not beleued And bycause he was heard he prayed by the inspiracion of the spirite For wee knowe not what we shoulde praye Therefore the spirite doth with vnspeakeable sighinges pray for vs. Samson had before fallen he turneth vnto god he heareth hym So let vs also when we haue somtimes sinned returne vnto God faithfully cal vpō him we shal be heard For he is the same god that he was then riche vnto al those that cal vpon him Ambrose that which he did vnto him he wil do also vnto vs. Ambrose vpon this place writeth that Samson was so heard of god that hee lost his lyfe triumphantly Samson is a figure of Christ and he did not onely ouercome the Philistines but also hymself for he represented the image of Christ who although while he lyued exceedingly hurted the diuel yet when he dyed he vtterly triumphed ouer hym The Philistines when they ouercame Samson got vnto them selues moste certayne destruction So the Iewes when they crucified Christ threwe them selues into euerlasting condemnaciō And which is to be marueiled at the Philistines with this so great and so sodaine destruction were so amased that they suffered the kinsfolkes of Samson to come and honorably to bury him For when the Princes were perished the courages of the people were daunted neither durst they attempt any thing against the Hebrewes This place seemeth here to requyre a disputacion whither it be lawful for any man for any cause to kyll hymselfe But bicause we shall haue a place more opportune for it at this present I wyll omyt it and wyl in an other place fully write thereof ¶ The .xvii. Chapter 1 THere was a man of mount Ephraim whose name was Michaiehu 2 And he say d vnto hys mother The eleuen hundreth peeces of syluer that were taken frō thee for the which thou cursedst and spakedst it euen in myne hearing behold the syluer is wyth me I tooke it Then his mother sayde blessed be thou my sonne of the Lorde 3 And when hee had restored the eleuen hundreth peeces of syluer to hys mother hys mother sayde I had dedicated the syluer to the Lord of myne owne hand for my sonne to make a grauen and molten image Now therefore I wyl geue it thee againe 4 And when he had restored the mony vnto his mother his mother toke two hundreth peeces of siluer and gaue them to the goldsmith whych made thereof a grauen and molten image and it was in the house of Michaiehu 5 And this man Micha had a house of God he made an Ephode and Theraphim consecrated the hand of one of his sonnes and he was his priest 6 In those dayes there was no kinge in Israell but euery man did that which was good in his owne eies Fyrst I think good to enquire in this history cōcerning the time wherin these thinges happened For al men do not aunswere a like vnto this question When thys history happened The elder Rabbines do thinke that this was done when Iosua was olde and hee not able for age to execute hys offyce neyther was there anye other Magistrate substituted in his place But this is not verye likely bicause wee reade that in all his time the Israelites worshipped God rightly and orderlye It is not to be ascribed vnto the time of Iosua and that he in the latter time of his life renued the couenant of god with the people Other thinke that they were done after Iosuas death when Othoniell gouerned This sentence R. Selomoh defendeth The sonne of Gerson thinketh that this happened vnder Eglon kinge of Moab whome Ehud afterward slewe R. Selomoh Leui ben Gerson But this also can not be proued for in the x. chap. of this boke it is written that the people cried vnto the Lord when they were
Mizpa Then the children of Israell sayde Howe is this wickednes committed 4 And the man the Leuite the womans husband that was slayne aunswered and sayde I came vnto Gibea whiche is in Beniamin with my concubine to lodge 5 And the men of Gibea arose agaynst me and beset the house roūd aboute vpon me by nyght thynking to haue slayne mee And haue forced my concubine that she is dead 6 Then I tooke my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her thorough out all the countrey of the inheritance of Israel For they haue committed abhomination and vilany in Israel 7 Beholde all ye children of Israell geue your aduise and Counsell herein The congregation of the Israelites was assembled together to iudge of the crime This Hebrew word Edah signifieth a Church or an assembly The end of assemblyes or meatynges together beyng deriued of this verbe Adah whiche is to testify bycause that it is the vse and ende of such assemblyes that the godly should faythfully testify before God of those thynges whiche are put forth to be consulted of From Dan euen vnto Beerseba Dan Beerseba In this kinde of Paraphrasis is comprehended the whole people of Israel For these ar the endes of that kyngdome Dan is the ende towarde the North wherby the Iewes are neyghbours vnto the Zidonians and Beerseba toward the South Euen vnto Gilead That land is beyond Iordane The borders of the region of the Hebrues where the two tribes Ruben and Gad together with halfe the tribe of Manasses dwelled Thys was the third end toward the East And ouer agaynst that toward the West lay the sea called mare Mediterraneum Within these termes and lymites was conteyned the region of the Hebrues whiche they possessed in the land of Chanaan They came into Mizpa vnto the LORDE Where Mizpa was Mizpa was a place moste apte to haue assemblyes in it was not farre frome Ierusalem in the Tribe of Iudah In the fyrste booke of the Machabites the thyrde Chapiter it is thus written When the people by reason of the tyranny of the Macedonians fled out of Ierusalem they assembled together in Mizpa vnto Iudas Machabeus And it is added that that place was a house of prayer of aūcient tyme laye situate ouer agaynst the City of Ierusalem And in this booke we haue before heard how that when Iiphtah should be ordeyned Iudge ouer the people the people assembled together in Mizpa In Samuels tyme also the people assembled together twise vnto that place once when they should leade an army agaynst the Philistines an other tyme when Saul should be created kyng Farther when all the Citye was ouerthrowen by Nebuchad-Nezar all the people fled to Godolia in Mizpa Moreouer besides the oportunity of the place was added a notable benefite of God bycause as we rede in the .10 chapter of Iosuah there assembled thether agaynst the people of Israel a very great nūber of kynges for there were not fiue or sixe but very many kinges which were neyghbours entending vtterly to destroye the name of the Iewes Yet God commaunded them to be of a good valiaunt courage bycause he would geue vnto his people the victory ouer them all And when that thyng happened contrary to all mans hope the Hebrues for a monument of so great a benefite built in that place an alter vnto God Wherfore it is probable as the Rabbines affirme that in Mizpa began to bee a house of prayer For the people went not to the tabernacle or to Ierusalem so often as they had occasion to pray Euery Citye had Synagoges but had in Cityes and Villages certayne Synagoges wherein they prayed together vnto GOD. But to doo Sacrifices it was not after that manner lawfull but onely at the tabernacle of Moses or at Ierusalem after Salomon had builte the Temple althoughe hyghe places were sometymes vsed Wherfore the people assembled thether as well for the opportunity of the place as also by reason of the auncient Religion neither thought they it lawefull to begyn any thyng without prayers Whiche institution for that the Papistes woulde somewhat resemble they firste prouide to haue a Masse of the holy Ghost songe before they make any leagues or rather conspiracyes agaynste Christe It is sayde that they assembled together vnto the Lorde to praye together vnto the Lorde D. Kimhi Although Dauid Kimhi thinketh that this was added bycause wheresoeuer is a multitude of the godly there is GOD also present And to confirme that sentence he bringeth a place put of the Psalme GOD stoode in the Synagoge of Goddes For Iudges whiche in thys place are called Goddes when they geue iudgement ought not to thinke that they haue theyr owne cause in hande but Goddes cause as Iosaphat the godly kynge shewed them I doo not dissallowe this sentence for it is both godly and also it maketh menne to vnderstande that when assemblyes are godly had then doo menne assemble vnto GOD whiche thyng if menne in these dayes woulde consider greate menne woulde handle publique causes with more feare of GOD. Howbeit thys is for certayne that the Israelites assembled not in Silo as some thinke And the corners of all the people assembled The Hebrewe woorde is Penoth whiche properly signifyeth corners but in this place it is taken for Capitaines heades ouer ten Cēturious Tribunes and gouernors of warlike affayres For they after a sort are corners strengthes and stayes of an army Wherfore the villages of the Holuetians in the Italian toungue are called Cantones Wherfore the Hebrues come and assemble in Mizpa not rashly but in their orders They had not in deede a kyng or myghty Magistrates or Senadrim as it is thought for they wer sore decayed and weakened by the Philistines Yet they retayned among themselues some order and discipline Fower hundreth thousande footemen When they went out of Epypte they were 666000. The nomber of the Israelites diminishe men It seemeth that the number was nowe diminished And no meruayle bycause they had ben afflicted with many greuous calamities Also the tribe of Beniamin was away which peraduenture had thirty thousande soldiours For that tribe was both ample and also mighty And the chyldren of Beniamin heard The Beniamites would not be present they onely heard what should be done Dauid Kimhi Kimhi admonisheth that these woordes are put in by a parenthesis for there is no cause shewed why they woulde not be among them And the children of Israel sayd Tel how this wycked act was committed Kimhi thinketh that these things are to be red in the vocatiue case as though it should haue bene sayd O ye children of Israel declare the whole matter in order as it was done in the meane time it seemeth that the Beniamites are noted bycause they would not come vnto the assembly neyther take awaye euill from among them The people assembled together to vnderstand the cause that for as much as ther was
the woorse Dauid was eiected of Absolon and yet was not Absolons cause therefore anye whyt the better In our time Princes that are Protestantes haue had yl succes in war and yet is therfore not the cause of the Gospel to be thought the worse The Beniamites now got the victorye more then once or twise in a cause moste wicked The holy Martirs in our times are most miserably slayne of Tyrannes and that with most cruel kinde of torments and yet we nothing doubt but that their cause is most excellent England had of late as touching the word of God and truth a Church most rightly instituted which was afterwarde miserablye disiected and seperated neither followed it therby that the cause of religion was euil But now thankes be geuen vnto God which hath restored it From the cause to the effects is a firme argument wher the effect followeth of necessitye the cause There may in deede be drawen an argument of the euentes but not of necessity yea scarse probable For the passage from the effectes to the cause is not firme vnlesse the effectes and causes be necessary Wherefore this argument is of no force The Israelites haue a good cause therfore they shall not fall in battayle for it may be that God wil illustrate hys glory yea euen with the slaughter of them And this argument also is no stronger then that The Beniamites ouercame wherefore they had the better cause These things I haue spoken the more at large to the end we should not wauer in mynde or doubt of the goodnes of our cause if peraduenture the thinges go not prosperously wyth vs. The godli wheÌ„ they haue receaued the ouerthrow flee vnto God The vngodlye gaue not thaÌ„ks vnto God for the victory Farther in this place is to bee noted the nature of godlye men when they haue receaued the ouerthrow they flee vnto God But the vngodly euen when they get the victorye doo not geue thankes vnto God as now we rede not that the Beniamites gaue thankes vnto God for their good successes we haue heard of none of their prayers nor of any confidence they put in God yea rather there arose so great security and insolencye of some of their successes that they brake out of the Citye and pursued the enemies farther then was meete or conuenient But at the last they receaued the iust fruite of their pride Contrarilye the Israelites being afflicted with miseries got themselues vnto God Vnto whoÌ„ god answered that he would the next day deliuer the Beniamites into their hands In the two first interrogacions the Israelites seemed to doubt nothing of the victory bicause they had yet a confidence in their own strengthes and number but after the second ouerthrowe they shewed in verye deede a lowlye and humble mynde Shal we go vp say they or shal we cease As though they shoulde haue said O Lord Iehouah al the victory lieth in thine hand therfore we wholy coÌ„mit our selues to thy mercy shew thou vnto vs what we ought to do If thou commaunde vs we are ready to leaue of from our enterprise Leui ben Gerson Dauid Kimhi This is a perfect interrogacion after the opinion of Leui ben Gerson Kimhi hath noted manye thinges in this place not a litle profitable for the vnderstanding of other scriptures concerning interrogacions and oracles This saith he was the maner of asking of God He which would enquire concerning anye publike affaire The maner of asking of God or otherwise of anye waighty matter came vnto the priest and he putting on an Ephod stoode before the Arke of the Lord. In the Ephod or in the brest plate wer twelue precious stones wherin were written the names of the twelue tribes and ther were also set the names of Abraham Isaac and Iacob in those stones were al the letters of the Alphabete The asker ought to turne his face vnto the priest and to aske not in deede so apertely that his voice should be hearde neyther yet so softly that he should onely thinke in minde the thinges whych he desired but in such sorte as we reade that Hanna prayed in the firste booke of Samuel wher it is sayd that she moued her lips onely neither spake she any thing that could be heard Then was the oracle in this maner geuen vnto the Priest By the power of the holy ghost certaine letters appeared aboue the other in the brest plate and that either in place or in brightnes wherin the Priest red the oracle and wil of God And these thinges are those Vrim and ThuÌ„mim which the Priest bare in his brest plate This is Kimhies opinion Vnto whom what faith is to be geuen I caÌ„not tel For it might be that the spirit of god did wtout letters geue oracles by the voice of the high Priest whose hart he inspired with prophecy This Pinhas which is written to haue stand now before the Lord Pinhas is not called by his proper name onely but also by the names of his father and grandfather are added with al that is the names of Eleazar and Aaron which is don so much the more diligently bicause no man otherwise would beleue that he could haue lyued so long Therfore the Readers woulde haue thought that thys had bene some other rather then the sonne of Eleazar For if thou wilt count the yeares Pinhas lyued long thou shalt finde that ther wer no les then .300 yeres passed from the time of that noble act of Pinhas vnto this age wherof we now speake Wherfore it mought seme incredible that it should be the same man Howbeit for as much as the holy scriptures do testify this thing we ought so to beleue Neither vndoubtedlye is it any maruaile though God prolonged his life so long For when he had slaine the harlot of Midian and the Prince of the Tribe of Simeon euen in that their wicked act God iudged that he had employed his labour excellently well that he had done a most notable act Therfore my couenant said he shal be with hâ—â— life and peace By which wordes was promised vnto him long life honorable which he should execute in his priesthood Of what tribe Elias was Ther are some which produce his life farther and say that he was Elias But that hath no grounde of the holye scriptures Yea rather some thinke that Elias came of the tribe of Beniamin and not of the tribe of Leui wherof Pinhas came ¶ Of Merites VVHere as it is said that the Israelites went vp wept fasted did sacrifice Against merits we must not think that by those actions they satisfied the anger of god for we haue no merites for as muche as we cannot perfectly obey the law of God Farther if there were any merites of ours they should consist of such woorkes which we ar not of duty bound to do vnto God otherwise if we owe vnto God whatsoeuer we do what thing can our merite
health 135. b Dreames it is not vtterly forbidden to regard them 138. b Dreames of prophecieng geuen by God to the wicked 134. Dreames some ar sent by God 137 Drunkennes hurtes 163. b Drunkennes hath 2. sences 162. Drunkennes bringeth all vices to light 164. b Dwelling of Christians with infidels or godly with vngodly 44. b E. EAre rynges 250. b Eating defined 212. Ecclesiasticall power and Ciuill 257. b Ecclesiasticall causes pertayne to the Magistrate 266. Ecclesiasticall power is subiect to the ciuill 258. b Elect are punished to their saluation 33. Electors of Princes 90. b Elements of bread wine and water 134. b Elias was of the tribe of Beniamin 272. Elloborus is bearfoote 164. b Elohim and Iehouah 112 b Elohim whom it is attributed vnto 206. b Emaus called Nicopolis 41. Emperours why they were ordained 2. Emperour subiect to the pope 257 Emperor corrected of a bishop 145 Emperours all were not consecrated of the Pope 261. b Emulation handled 141. b Emulation described 143. b Enak defined 15. Enakim 15. b Endeuour or labour is required to be ioyned with faith 13. b Enemies described 85. Enemies god destroieth somtimes without the helpe of man 99. England 271. d Enochs booke 16. Enterprises require three things 271. b Enuy intreated of 141. b Enuy described and mother therof 143. Enuious persons described 141. b Epha measure 116. b Ephod what 150 b Ephod what 238. b Ephori 90. b Ephraites more noblethen Manasses 141. b Ephramites pride 197. Epitaphes soong 102. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reioycing at an other maÌ„s hurt 143 Errour very hurtfull 〈◊〉 the church 148. b Errours of fathers 279. Errour of Ambrose 194. Errour of Augustine 195. b Errours of Grigory 147. b Errour of Grigorye Byshoppe of Rome 56. Esay was maryed 94. Esay deth what occasioned 117. b Espials thre meÌ„cioned in the scripture 35. b Essence of God shal be knowen of vs in the lyfe euerlasting 121 Eternal life fully geuen vs is presently possessed onely in part 7. b Eternall lyfe whether it may be called a reward 272. Ethniks had better knowledge of God then the Papistes 207. b Euensong before noone 277. b Euents no good trial of lawful actions 227. Euils is not to be committed to auoyde euyl 253. Euil lesse is to bee preferred before the greater 253. Euil how it is taken away 268. b Euil not euill if God commaunde it 39 Euil in the fight of the Lord. 67. b Euil works how God may be said to worke in the wicked 7. Euill men sometymes punished by wurs 80. b Euil spirit signifieth either the deuil or wicked affections 168 Euil thinges muste not onelye bee left but good thynges also put in vre 176. Euripides sentence 158. Examples of drunkennes 163 Examples profitable 2. wayes 4 Examples of sayntes abused 4 Examples of Gods doinges is not to be reasoned of alwayes by vs. 233. b Excommunicate person 285. Excommunicate persons howe we may keepe coÌ„pany with theÌ„ 45. b Exercises of the bodi haue no great vtility but piety 140 Exodus what it entreateth of 1. b Ezechias liued in Romulus time 3. b Ezechiel was maried 94 F. FAble defined 159. b Fable of frogs in Aesop 160 Face of the mynde aswell as of the body 121 Fayning is not alwaies lying 209. Fallacy a secundum quid ad simpli citer et accidentis 256. b Faithes efficacy 98. Faith of three sortes 130. b Faith of hospitality 252. b Faith is to be kept with the ennemy 85. b Faith to heretiks is to be kept 86 Faith is not to be kept to him that breaketh faith 85. b Faithes beginning 207. b Faith obtaineth promises 13. b Faithe of no force if it want the word of God 152. Faith cannot sufficiently be confirmed by myracles 129. b Faith iustified the fathers as well as vs. 74. b Faith refuseth not humain help 125 Faithes effectes is prayer and fasting 276. Faith coÌ„meth not of miracles but is confirmed by them 127. Faith is the soul of good works 242 Faith whyther it go before miracles or miracles before faith 130 Faith directeth good intent cleaueth onely to the woord of God not to fathers or counsels 152. b Faith is the gift of God 122 Fals of godli meÌ„ churches 226 b Fathers synnes whether the sonne shall beare 178. b Fathers iustified by fayth as wee 74. b Fathers the more auÌ„cient the more sincere 216 Fathers are not to be excused in all thinges 20 Fathers are neither constant nor without errour 152. b Fathers authoritye yll compared with the scriptures 152 Fasting handled 274 Fastes of sundry kindes 278 Fasting distinguished into common and priuate 94. Fastinges abuses 279. Fastes denounced of Princes whither they are to be obeyed 277 Fastings vpon saints euens 140 Fault where none is ought none to confes 90 Feare of God contrarye to securitye 246. b Feare comprehendeth al maner religion of worshipping 113. b Feare maye not moue againste iustice 38 Feare godly driueth not a man to parricide 194. Feare of the enemies once knoweÌ„ is a good begiÌ„ning of victory 134 Feare at the sight of God or angel how it commeth 117. b Feare euil of two sortes 247. b Feastes are wont to haue ryddels 218. b Felicity of the vngodly 170. b Fellowship of the wicked is to bee fled 251. b Fellowship of godlye with vngodlye 44. b Fellowship of the godlye is profitable 29 Feeding of the flocke was not onely Peters office 149 Feete washing much vsed in Syria 252. b Figuratiue speeches ar no lies 111 Filthy burthens defined 263. b Fish counted among delicates 278 Finders of things ought to restore them 283 Flatterers vsage 84. b Flesh and bone of any man is the most coniunction that may be 156. b Flesh refreining 278 Flight for truth 52. b Foode of angels 212. b Foote measure 16. b Forbidding of things is to some an alluring to the same 158. b Forgeuenes of synnes 13 Forgiuenes of syns may be wythâ—out restitucioÌ„ of so happy state as we had before we synned 65. b Formes why they are more seene sleeping then waking 135 Fornication handled 229 Fornication is hurtful to the common wealth 130. b Forswearing is alwayes vnlawfull 39. b Fortune ruleth not things but the prouidence of God 172 Found things must be restored 283 Foundation church hath none but Christ 149 FoundatioÌ„ of the church is Christ 241. b Foule parents how they shal haue fayre children 4. b Foxes plenty in Syria 223. b Free men may chaunge their dwellings for iust causes 227. b Free will confuted 104. b Free will cannot be gathered of the commaundements 73 freÌ„dships fouÌ„datioÌ„ is honesty 166. b Frendship grounded vpon profit or pleasure is weake 26. b Frendes dreame ofte of their frendes 135. b FroÌ„wardnes of ours whence it springeth 167 G GAbaonites god fauoured 36 Gabaonites traitors â—8 b Gabaonites wickednes 252 Gaine more commonly soughte for then health 174 Garmentes of nedle worke or dyuers colours attributed onely to prynces 111. b