staues end too the intent too humble him as he doth all the rest of the faithfull Then could not Abraham bring aught of him selfe for looke what goodnesse so euer he had he hild it of God and of hys free goodnesse And moreouer the same was yet still vnsufficient too saue him for by nature he was vtterly lost and damned as all the rest of Adams lyne is Therefore it stoode hym in hand that God shoulde receyue him through pardoning of his sinnes and looke vpon him singly in his faythe But let vs marke also that Gods iustifying of vs is by fayth that is to say by his owne meere and alonely goodnesse and that thervpon it behoueth vs to rest in his promise by the vertue wherof he alloweth and accepteth vs yea and our works also not in respect that they come of our selues but for that we do theÌ„ by the grace of his holy spirite and therfore dooth he accept them and allowe them as righteous yea euen so farre foorth as to rewarde them as the whole scripture doth plentifully witnesse And yet dooth all this also proceede of fayth For when wee bee iustified that is too say accepted for righteous before God then also are our works iustified that is to say God accepteth them for rightfull although there be not any worthinesse in them nor any cause at al why he should receiue them Then like as wee our selues are iustified by Gods onely free goodnesse when wee receyue his promises by fayth euen so bee our workes iustified by the selfe same meane After that maner was Abraham iustified in his person and then likewise were his workes also iustified before God But howsoeuer the world go if yee consider the originall cause and welspring of all yee muste needes conclude that nothing else was made account of but onely fayth For had God listed to sift Abrahams life he had bin coÌ„demned as all other mortall men are But his intent was to take him for his owne and nothing perswaded or moued him thervnto but his own mere mercy Also Abraham had his eyes shut agaynst all vayne trustes wherewith men deceyue them selues he knewe there was nothing able to bring him to lyfe saue the onely mercy of God To bee short like as Abraham had no regarde but of Gods meere mercie so God had no regarde but onely of Abrahams fayth and by that meanes was he iustified So then let vs leaue all things that men imagine to bring them selues in fauour with God by mingling this and that with fayth for they are all but falshods and illusions of Satan and let fayth haue such foundation as this that is too wit that with al humilitie we acknowledge our selues to bee then righteous when God forgiueth vs our sinnes and that by the same meanes our works also are reckned for good and righteous bicause God listeth not to sifte them narrowly but taketh them in good worth of his fatherly goodnesse Thus yee see what wee haue too gather vpon that text Now that the blessednesse of Abraham belongeth vnto vs and is ment vnto vs it appeareth by that which I haue touched alreadie and by that S. Paule auoucheth that all natiâ—ons should be blessed in Abraham And nowe remayneth too see the reason that S. Paule addeth on the contrarie part For men by their good wils can neuer finde in their harts too giue ouer the opinion which they haue of their owne righteousnesse excepte they bee compelled and inforced too it For althoughe wee bee saped in so many vices as is oughly to beholde yet the worst and deepest rooted vice in our nature is pride or presumptuousnesse whiche is a selfewilled weening that there is somewhat in vs in so muche that although God tell vs that we be right nought and that there is nothing in vs but leaudnesse filthinesse and vnclennesse and that all the vertue which we dreame vpon is but vanitie leasing yet can he not compasse to humble vs til we our selues perceiue our owne neede and haue it proued to our faces And therfore it behoueth vs to marke well the reason which S. Paule addeth heere to drawe vs to the pure fayth and to turne vs away from all the vayne trustes which we can haue in our owne deseruings All they sayth he that are of the law are accursed For it is written Cursed be he that continueth not in all the things that are written and conteyned in this booke too doo them VVhen as S. Paule sayth that all they which are of the lawe are cursed he meaneth that so long as men rest and muse vpon their owne works and thinke to obteyne grace by that meane before God they be cursed For as I haue declared heeretofore like as he that forsaketh him selfe and renounceth al that he hath of his owne and groundeth him selfe vpon the only mercy of God is of fayth so contrariwyse hee that thinketh too bring any seruice wherewith too binde God vnto him or imagineth to recompence him with his merites is of the Lawe But sainct Paule saythe that suche are cursed And why He alleageth the saying of Moyses Cursed bee hee that perfourmeth not all that is written heere It had beene sayde afore Cursed bee he that serueth straunge Gods Cursed bee he that blasphemeth God Cursed be he that breaketh the Sabboth day Cursed bee he that is stubborne agaynst his father and mother Cursed bee he that defileth another mans wyfe After the rehearsing of all these Curses and after the solemne vttering of them it behoued the people too answere Amen Amen as if there had passed some couenaunt and that God on hys side had made demaunde saying I wyll haue you too serue mee after thys maner yea euen without fayling in any poynte and in suche wise as yee keepe touche wyth mee through stitche in all things that I commaunde you and the people on theyr side shoulde answere Amen yea Lord we be contented to be all damned if we serue thee not and then afterward God should come and conclude Cursed bee he that performeth not all that euer is conteyned in this booke that is too say which misseth in any one poynt and the people should answere agayne sobeit Nowe seeing that the lawe curseth all suche as performe it not to the full let vs see if there bee any one that dooth it It is certayne that al men froÌ„ the greatest too the least are gyltie For why let vs consider the summe of the Lawe which is that wee should loue God wyth all our hart with all our minde with all our power and with al our strength and our neighbour as our self and then let euery of vs try his own life he shal neede none other iudge than him self to coÌ„demne him For although we loued God with an vncorrupted and sounde hart vnfaynedly yet can it not bee but that wee must bee drawen diuersly with many vanities Yea put the cace that a man were as perfect as an Angell
Christ who is the fountayne and welspring of all blissednesse Nowe let vs fall downe before the Maiestie of our good God with acknowledgement of our faultes praying him too make vs perceyue them more and more so as we may mislike of them and not onely confesse them with our mouth but also lay open our hearts before him and submit our selues wholly to his holy word and that in suche wise as wee may bee comforted by his free goodnesse as it is shewed vs in our Lorde Iesus Christ and he reforme vs also by his holy spirite too the ende that whereas wee of our selues be full of rebelliousnesse we may by his gouerning become teachable and readie to follow his holy will and to giue our selues ouer all wholly vnto him And let vs pray vnto him for all these things saying Almightie God heauenly father c. The .xxij. Sermon which is the eyght vpon the third Chapter 21 Is the lavv then agaynst the promises of God God forbyd For if the lavve vvere giuen too iustifie truely ryghtuousnesse shoulde come by the Lavve 22 But the Scripture hath shut vp all vnder sinne to the intent that the promise by the saythe of Iesus Christ should begiuen to those that beleeue 23 Novv before that fayth came vve vvere kept vnder the lavve shut vp to come to the fayth that vvas to bee reuealed 24 By meanes vvhereof the Lavv vvas our scholemaster to leade vs vnto Christ that vvee might bee iustified by fayth 25 But novv that fayth is come vvee bee no more vnder the Scholemaster WE haue alreadie this morning dispatched this poynt that the Law was not giuen in vayne though it coulde not bring vs too righteousnesse to make vs acceptable to God SecoÌ„dly it was shewed you that Gods giuing of hys Lawe was not to the intent we should seeke our righteousnesse and saluation there as though his grace had bin weake and vnsufficient but for a farre other respect that is to wit to giue men suche knowledge of their sinnes as they might be ashamed of them in theÌ„ selues for otherwise they could not be touched to the quicke to flee to our Lorde Iesus Christ for refuge as we see too much And now S. Paule moueth another question namely whether the lawe bee agaynst the promises For surely when it is sayde that the lawe promiseth vs saluation vpon condition that wee deserue it and the promise of the Gospell telleth vs that wee shall bee taken into Gods fauour without any deseruing a man would thinke there were some contrarietie in the matter As if a man shoulde offer mee a house so I would pay wel for it and did set me a price of it and another man should say vnto me no thou shalt haue it for nothing There is great contrarietie in these sayings And it seemeth that in speaking after that fashion God vnsayeth that which he had spoken in hys law where he sayth Serue me and keepe my commaundements you shall not misse of your wages For in the Gospell he speaketh another language saying I require nothing of you for yee bee so wretched that ye can giue me nothing but I receyue you into my kingdome frankly and of mine owne free goodnesse without any desert of yours your heritage is assigned to you euen bicause it is my good pleasure to doo it Heerevpon S. Paule declareth that although God speake after another maner and fashion in the lawe than in the Gospel yet notwithstanding when we haue well considered the marke that he shooteth at wee shal perceyue there is no contrarietie in the matter For as I haue tolde you this morning Gods promising of rewarde to our works is not to beguyle vs but to stop our mouthes that wee might not repine agaynst him as we see that the world doth which is alwayes ready to carpe at him with diuelish malapertnesse wheÌ„ he handleth them not after their owne will and liking God then cutteth off all occasion of grudging when he telleth vs that wee shall not be disappoynted of our wages for our wel seruing of him Furthermore let euery of vs examine him selfe well and he shal finde that that is not the match wherby we must obteyne saluation for there is none of vs all but he may condemne him self by his own life if he iudge without flattering But after that God hath spoken after that fashioÌ„ he offereth vs remedie in the Gospell and telleth vs that for as much as we be damned and can not hope to attayne any saluation by our works he him selfe offered it vs of his own free goodnesse bicause it pleaseth him so to doo And for that cause S. Paule answereth If the law had bin giuen to iustifie I coulde wel inough graunt that righteousnesse should be giuen vs by it But let vs see whether God ment that or no. It is certayne he ment it not Then sendeth he vs to Gods purpose as if he should say that the Hypocrites which are so puffed vp with pride ouerweening that they think they be able to iustifie them selues to win heauen are il expounders of Gods law yea falsifiers therof For men must alwayes haue an eye to the intent of the speaker Now God ment not to set men a gog with any trust in their own wit deseruings for we be too much giuen to that of our own nature VVe see it hath bin a common error through the whole world in all ages Therfore we nede no scholing to persuade vs that we be able folke that we can bind God to vs by our vertuous doings But contrariwise God hath giuen vs his lawe to the intent we should be wounded with it as with a sword the stripe be so deadly as we might be constrayned to flee to him for succor Seeing then that Gods will it to slea vs by the Law it is not giuen vs to make vs righteous And therfore they that seeke their life welfare there beguile them selues and there is no reason why they should alledge for theÌ„ selues yea how so God hath promised me it No but they must consider to what end he saith so Now we see how S. Paul hath discussed this question that there is no contrarietie betweene the Law the Gospel though God alter the maner of his speech at the first blush Now he addeth afterwarde That the Scripture hath shut vp all â—â—â—der sinne that we might obteyne the promise by the fayth of our Lorde Iesus Christ. VVhen he sayth that the scripture hathe shutte vp all vnder sinne he sheweth that men are too-too blockishe too thinke that God ment too assigne them a due wages or hire when he dyd set them downe this condition He that dooth these thinges shall liue in them Lette them reade the whole lawe let them searche the contents and substance of it let them looke well vpon the whole holy Scripture and they shall finde that it accuseth and condemneth all men from the moste to the
vnlesse our Lorde Iesus doo dwell in vs and reygne in vs and that wee bee inflamed with the loue of hym too gyue ourselues wholly vntoo him The Papists therfore neuer wist what faith meaneth notwithstanding that they chatter of it not altogither so well as Pyes in a Cage which doo yet vnderstande some woordes heere and there but they shewe so shamefull a beastlinesse as they may bee gazingstockes of Gods horrible vengeance in that they haue so forgotten the whole Phrase of the holy Ghost and haue no more skill of the holy scripture than a Paynim or a Turke that hath bin alwayes in â—â—â—athennesse and neuer herde of God the father of our Lorde Iesus Christe Lo in what taking the Papists are Now then let vs marke well that S. Paule hath not here imagined a shapelesse or vnfashioned fayth as they doe nor ment too set downe charitie as the cause of our righteousnesse but onely intended to shew that we haue inough to serue God with without snarling of our selues in a sort of pelting trifles Howbeit that wee may fare the better by this texte for wee must nowe come too an ende and the tyme wyll not suffer vs too proceede any further if the Papistes nowe adayes doo make their bragges that they haue a more apparant seruice of God than wee and a seruice that hath a gayer glosse let vs on our side bee well aduised that we despyse euerywhit of it For why God will not bee serued after meÌ„â— lykings Marke that for one poynt Besydes this the things which the Papistes call Gods seruice are pelting trifles imagined and forged in their owne brayne so that it is all reiected notwithstanding that men doo greatly delight in them and lyke well of them And therefore let vs haue an eye too serue God as he commaundeth VVherin wil he haue vs to be occupyed Not in needelesse things but he will haue a true tryall of vs which deceyueth not And what shall that bee To walke vprightly and faithfully with our neyghbors euery of vs to helpe where neede is according to his abilitie that no man be giuen wholly to himselfe that wee be trustie that we deale soundly and faithfully that wee liue peasably and that if wee see any man destitute of succor and too stand in neede of our helpe wee in that case doe as it were offer a sacrifice vntoo God knowing that he calleth vs too it to shew what loue we beare towardes him For if we loue not our neybours which are as it were visible groundes too worke kyndnesse vpon howe shall wee loue God sayth S. Iohn in his Epistle whom wee see not and which is absent from vs and hath no neede of any thing Therefore if wee wyll serue God well let vs learne too yeelde him such obedience as he lyketh of that is too saye let vs walke in suche faythfulnesse and freendlinesse as none of vs beguyle fleece or ouerreach hys neyghbour and moreouer that wee not onely absteyne from all wrongfull or wicked dealing but also that all suche as are called Christians do well bethinke them of our Lord Iesus Christs saying which is Cursed bee you that haue your seuerall deuotions alone by your selues and occupy your heads about small trifles making conscience of euery thing and yet in the meane whyle leaue the principall poynts of the lawe vndone that is too wit faithfulnesse Iustice rightuousnesse and mercie As if he should say Is it not a straunge thing that meÌ„ should so mocke with God making a countenance to honour him as though they tooke him but for a babe God wil haue meÌ„ to walk faithfully and vprightly he wil haue euery maÌ„ to pitie to succor the needie he wil haue no man to do his brother wrong and behold they on the contrary part will needes buzie themselues about Mooneshine in the water and things of no valew They will bee full of crueltie craft and maliciousnesse and yet thinke to pacifie God with things of nothing Therefore let vs learne to serue God with charitie that is to say let vs learne to giue ourselues to the things that he calleth vs to to hold ourselues as it were at a stay too the rule which he giueth vs by his woord Furthermore wheÌ„ we walk vprightly after that fashion we must not for mens sakes forget God For as I said afore that is the thing wherin he trieth our charitie and by that meanes we shew the reuerence loue that we beare towards him And therfore we ceasse not to call vpon God when we loue our neyghbors nother intend we to displease God vnder colour of doyng them seruice but he is alwayes our marke on whom we haue our eyes fastened Neuerthelesse too conclude like as wee indeuer to liue as God commaundeth by his word and passe not for the gawdies gewgawes and Ceremonies of the hypocrites but walke rightly in purenesse of life and in al faithfulnesse and vpright dealing as I said erst knowing neuerthelesse that when we haue done all it serueth not to iustifie vs or too purchace vs fauor in his sight and that although wee be sure that he taketh in good worth the willingnesse which we haue to honor hym yet his so dooing is but bicause he accepteth vs in our Lord Iesus Christ as I haue declared heretofore bicause we repose the trust of our saluatioÌ„ in him Euen so also shal we walk in charitie labor to discharge our duetie knowing that by reason of our feeblenesse we be not able to come neere that which God pointeth vs to but yet that we be in the way thitherward that he must be faine too take vs to mercy wherupon we doubt not but that all our workes do like him wel when they be so dedicated too him by the blud of our Lord Iesus Christ for he is the true preest that offereth vp our oblations maketh theÌ„ acceptable to God he must be faine to step in to make our works pleasant to God his father specially seing that eueÌ„ our prayers the very prayses which we yeeld vntoo him should be but filthinesse if they were not purified by our Lord Iesus Christ according also as the Apostle sayth that it is he by whoÌ„ we offer vp vnto God the Calues of our lippes that is to say the sacrifices of praise wherby he is glorified But now let vs fall downe before the Maiestie of our good God with acknowledgment of our faultes praying him to make vs perceiue theÌ„ more and more that we may be so touched with theÌ„ as it may bring vs to true repentance and that wee may seeke all our wants in our Lord Iesus Christ that there may be such humilitie in vs that being vtterly brought downe hauing put away al false presumptuousnesse wherewith wee may bee deceiued wee may not tend to any other end than to be receiued through the mere mercie of our God so as we may come
and mercifull before we were reconciled to him what will he do now when we haue so sure a warrant and that the Gospell also is preached vnto vs to assure vs that we be knit vntoo our Lord Iesus Christ by fayth as members of his bodie Shall we now doubt of Gods loue towards vs when we haue so good a confirmation of it as Saint Paule fayth in the fift Chapter to the Romaines If so be that Iesus Christ sayth he came to put away all our sinnes at such times as there was yet deadly foad betweene god vs ought not all doubting to be troden vnder foote and we not be afrayde in any wise too call vpon our God but assure our selues of our owne saluation nowe when God hath so confirmed it vnto vs when hee hath admitted vs into his fauour when he calleth and allureth vs as gently as may be and when hee sheweth and certefieth vs that hee doth as it were hold open his armes to imbrace vs whensoeuer we will come vnto him Thus ye see what we haue to beare in minde in this streyne Furthermore let vs marke also the loue of our Lord Iesus Christ how that seeing hee hath giuen himselfe after that sort for our sinnes he will not suffer his death and passion to be vnprofitable nor the sacrifice which he hath once offered to be voyd and of none effect without bringing forth frute in vs. But as hee hath offered himselfe once for all so also will he be our continuall Mediator and Aduocate to the ende we may be partakers of the clennesse which he hath purchased for vs that beeing ridde of all our fowlenesse we may appeare cleane before God and speake vnto him with open mouth Lo how we ought to gather togither all the things that are shewed vs here for the stablishing of our faith that we may freely resort vnto our God not as straungers to him but as his owne children and familiar friendes And herewithall let vs learne also to shake off all the illusions and fancies of Satan who seeketh by all meanes too turne vs away from our Lorde Iesus Christ or else to darken the grace which we shoulde finde in him and when he can not abolish it vtterly he snarleth vs and putteth new meanes into our heades whereby to purchase fauor at Gods hande But let vs cut off all such things and so fasten all our wittes vpon our Lord Iesus Christ as he onely my suffize vs and we vtterly mislyke whatsoeuer shall come in our heade too purchase grace and fauor with assuring our selues that there is not any other thing that may cause God to receyue vs to mercie than the sacryfize whereby all righteousnesse and clennesse was purchased for vs. Furthermore vnder these woordes of Gods will it behoueth vs too comprehende a free goodnesse too exclude all that men are woont too make themselues beleeue of their owne merits for in that sence also are those wordes taken in the holy Scripture so that as I haue tolde you before the thing which is termed heere by the name of Will is termed elsewhere by the name of good pleasure Saint Paule therefore not onely sheweth that the welspring of our Redemption and Saluation consisteth in the ordinance and euerlasting purpose of God the father but also intendeth to beat down all pryde and presumption by shewing that wee must yeelde the whole prayse of our righteousnesse too the free fauour of God which had no regarde at all of our deseruings For let vs examine our selues and what shall God find in vs but vtter wretchednesse And that is the verie cause why God voutsafeth his mercie vpon vs. So then let vs assure our selues that hencefoorth wee may freely lift vp our eyes to heauen and preferre our prayers and supplications vnto God bycause he hath preuented vs according as it as sayd in S. Iohn that he had not tarried till we loued him for that was impossible bicause we be wholy bent vnto euill and are vtterly giuen ouer to it but had loued vs euen though wee were his enimies And so ye see that the appearing of our Lord Iesus Christ was too the ende too reconcile vs to God his father as wee haue shewed alreadie That therefore is in effect the thing that wee haue to beare in minde Nowe Saint Paule addeth immediately that it was to deliuer vs from this wicked worlde Heere he sheweth why we bee called too the knowledge of our Lorde Iesus Christ and also why he hath set so great store by vs as to redeeme vs as he hath done namely to the ende we shoulde not abide in our filth and vncleannesse but be withdrawne away from it by him In verie deed that is not the cause of our saluation but the ende and marke wherat God loked in ordeyning vs to saluation The thing therefore which it standeth vs on hand to haue an eie vnto when our redemption is spokē of is that we must begin at the free fauor which God bare vnto vs when he determined in his euerlasting purpose that we should be brought backe againe vnto him by the meanes of our Lorde Iesus Christ And so that was the principall cause Another cause thereof is Iesus Christ in whome wee finde all that is requisite for our assurance For there we see our sinnes blotted out inasmuch as hee is ordeyned to be our borrow and hath made such amendes for vs as nothing can stop vs from comming too God That is the seconde poynt which wee haue too remember heere Now the meane whereby we be made partakers of our Lorde Iesus Christ is our imbracing of the promises of the Gospel by true faith For the faythlesse haue no profite at all by the death and passion of our Lord Iesus Christ but rather are so much the more damnable bicause they reiect the meane that God had ordeyned and theyr vnthankfulnesse shall be so much the more grieuously punished bicause they haue troden vnder foote the bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christ which was the ransome for their soules Therfore it standeth vs on hande to receyue the promises of the Gospell by fayth if we desire that Iesus Christ should communicate himselfe vnto vs and that he should bring vs to the possession and inioyment of the benefites which he hath purchased for vs so as they belong not too any other than such as are members of his bodie and are graffed into him and receyue him by fayth according as it is sayde in the first Chapter of Saint Iohn that God accepteth and auoucheth those for his children which beleeue in his only sonne Thus ye see what we haue to remember in the thirde place when we come too the scanning of our saluation Nowe remayneth that God bee glorified in vs as good reason is that he shoulde be And in that respect also Saint Paule in the thirde to the Romaynes sayth that wheras God hath giuen vs the meanes in our Lorde Iesus Christ
by his authoritie Yee see then that the inestimable benefites whiche are comprehended in the Gospell are these namely that men are reconciled vnto God that the gate of Paradice is opened vntoo vs and that our Lord Iesus Christ is giuen vs for our heritage so as we bee made pattakers of all the benefites that he hath powred vpon vs and that he hath warranted our endlesse Saluation Now were it not better that the whole world should sinke and perish than that all this should bee ouerthrowen That therfore is the cause why S. Paule telleth vs that all such as come too set troubles after we haue bin faithfully taught and that all such as bring in any curiosities or foyst in this or that of their owne brayne do turne men away from the kingdome of God and from his royall seate too the intent that they should not any more be gouerned by him nor the Scepter of our Lord Iesus Christ be any more lifted vp among them too their saluation Nowe if wee set so much store by Gods honour as wee ought to do or esteeme it a precious thing too bee parttakers of all heauenly benefites or if wee make account of our owne welfare ought not euery of vs too shunne those troublers and too cast them out as deadly plagues of the world when they come among vs and fall too abolishing of the whole Maiestie of God and of the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and consequently of our saluation also Thus yee see in effect that the thing which wee haue too marke heere is that wee must sticke with so earnest a minde to the Gospell as wee may not suffer our selues too bee thrust out of the way by any meanes nor abide that any man should trouble our wits by bringing in any new thing more than was afore Although the men bee neuer so skilfull suttle sharpwitted and eloquent yet let vs shake it off euery wit as accursed if it go about to turne vs from the purenesse of the Gospell That is the thing whiche Sainct Paule teacheth vs heere And when he hath spoken so he addeth that if he himselfe or an Angell came too preach any other Gospell than that which the Galathians had heard and vnderstoode they shoulde shake them off hold them as accursed excommunicate them and take them too be as Diuelles Heere wee see that S. Paule is as yee would say whote to mayntayne the stedfastnesse of the fayth to the intent we should not by any meanes bee shaken from it and that is not without cause For we see what frayltie is in vs and not only frayltie but also fondnesse and rebelliousnesse which are yet woorse At the first blush if a man teach vs Gods woord and that wee be not touched with it in good earnest we will thinke it the straungest thing in the worlde for the doctrine will alwayes seeme foolish too mannes wit as wee haue seene heretofore And what is the reason Euen our fondnesse bycause our wittes are wandering and rouing and wee bee naturally bent and foreward too leasing and desire as it were wilfully too bee beguyled Now then seyng that our wittes are so marred it is no maruell though wee lyke not the woord of God or though it haue no enterance intoo vs for all our lustinesse is but rebelliousnesse and whereas we thinke our selues to haue reason we be stark blind and to be short it is not for nought that the scripture sayeth that men are nothing but vanitie and leasing yea and rebelles too God so as they draw alwayes backe from that wherevnto God calleth them But put the cace that God had done so much for vs as too draw vs too him and to make vs taste that his truth is the thing wherevnto it behoueth vs too hold our selues and that we were so tamed that there were no more wilfulnesse in vs but that wee were ready to yeeld him all obedience yet is there such a fraylnesse and vnconstancie in vs that the Diuell shall easily thrust vs out of the way euery minute of an howre And hereof wee see experience euen in those that had bin as mirrours of holinesse so as yee would wonder to see them sodainly chaūged and gone from the right way And what is the cause of it As I sayd afore although we be in a good forewardnesse yet can we not hold our owne long but that we shall by and by go cleane awrie except God worke in vs and amend our frayltie Thus ye see why S. Paule doth with such maiestie maintaine the doctrine of the Gospell and the occasion therof was giuen him by the Galathians for they were thrust out of the way by reazon that they were borne in hand that it behoued them too keepe the ceremonies of the lawe S. Paule therefore beholding suche an example and image of mens infirmitie and ouer great lightnesse sayeth that the beleefe of the Gospell must surmount all that wee can conceyue and that wee must not bee remoued from it nother by the knowledge nor by the great cunning nor by the eloquence of men in somuch that euen though the Angelles of heauen shoulde deale with vs in that cace wee shoulde take them too bee but Diuelles But howe soeuer the cace standeth this were verie straunge VVhat The Angelles of heauen And agayne what is it that Sainct Paule speaketh of His owne preachyng Hee fayeth not singly the Gospell of Christe but the Gospell which I haue preached vnto you And ought that too haue preheminence aboue all the Angelles of heauen First and formest we see that it is too no purpose too magnifie the doctrine of the Gospell in generall and vndistinct termes but wee muste also therewithall bee sure which is the same doctrine To be short there are many among vs that can well ynough mocke at the fondnesse of the Papists but if a man poze thē in the principles which euen yong children ought too know perfectly they can no skill of them and so that one of them bee talking of one man and another of an other all is one too them they haue no discretion they make such a hotchpotch of the matter as if a man should iumble salt and water and mustarde and verie wee all togither Yee see then that they can well ynough confesse in generall termes that the Gospell ought too bee preached but in the meane whyle they know not what the Gospell is Nowe too correct such faults S. Paule sayeth Namely the Gospell that I haue preached vnto you And hereby as I sayd he sheweth vs that wee ought too know what substance is contayned in the doctrine that is set foorth vnto vs in the name of God to the intent that our faith may bee fully setled vpon it so as wee may not bee fickle minded to bee tossed with euery winde nor go at all aduenture too alter our purpose an hundred times a day but that wee may stand out too the end This is in effect
the thing that wee haue too beare in minde But by the way it ought too make Paules doctrine of the more authoritie that he speaketh so boldly in the mayntenance of it and that not through humane rashnesse and presumption but in the name of God For in very deede he standeth not heere vppon the praysing of himselfe in his owne persone and that doth he shewe right well in that he sayeth If I my self He setteth himself formost as if he had sayd Let mee euen mee my selfe I say bee taken for a Diuell if I chaunge the doctrine or if you finde me to haue swarued in any maner of wize Heere S. Paule sheweth that he ment not too purchace reputation too himselfe ne fought in his owne quarell to haue it sayd of him that he was a fineheaded fellow or a wyze and excellent man no but he raungeth himself in aray with the faythfull and sayeth let vs all imbrace the doctrine of that Mayster too whose charge God hath cōmitted vs and vnto whose gouerment we ought too bee submitted For although I bee he that taught you the doctrine yet is it not mine but Gods who is vnchaungeable and although yee should see me chaunge yet bee not you remoued nor abashed for it but esteeme mee as a Diuell hold mee accursed and for your own partes continue you stil settled in the truth which you haue learned and as for mee curse you mee and ban you mee yea and the very Angelles of heauen too rather than too chaunge any whit of the truthe of Gods Sonne or too turne aside from it Heere wee see well ynough that S. Paule sought not aught else but that Gods truth might haue such reuerence among men as it deserueth and bee so receyued as all our wittes all our thoughts all our lustes and all our affections might bee subdued and hilde prysoners vnder it and that it might not be lawfull for any liuyng creature to chaūge aught therof but that God only might speake by the mouth of his only Sonne and we hold him for our Mayster yea and euery of vs obey him without gaynsaying That is the thing which S. Paule sought How beit for asmuch as wee cannot now lay forth the rest it shall bee reserued till the next Sunday if it please God Now let vs fall down before the Maiestie of our good God with acknowledgement of our faults praying him too make vs perceiue them more and more and that the feeling of them may draw vs too right repentance and cause vs too growe and increace in fayth so as wee may bee true sacrifizes too him that like as our Lord Iesus offered himself for our redemption so wee also may bethinke vs too dedicate our selues wholly vnto him and be guyded by him in such stedfastnesse that nother in lyfe nor death wee may not seeke any other contentation and rest than too apply our selues too his good will nor glorie in any other thing than in the Saluation that is purchaced for vs in him That it may please him too graunt this grace not only to vs but also too all people and nations of the earth c. The. 4. Sermon vpon the first Chapter 8 But if I my selfe or an Angell from heauen tell you othervvise than I haue tolde you cursed be he 9 As I sayd afore so say I yet agayne if any man tell you othervvize than you haue receyued cursed bee he c. WEe haue seene heretofore that we must be sure of the truth of the Gospell or else our fayth is no fayth but rather an opinion if we be ready to stagger too and fro Now then the very proofe which we ought to make of our fayth is to bee fully setled and resolued in our selues that God hath taught vs and that he hath so vttered his will vnto vs that if we swarue from it one way or other it is all one as if wee did wilfully cast our selues away And for this cause wee must not only receyue Gods woord as good holy but also beare such honour too it as to hate whatsoeuer is agaynst it yea or which agreeth not fully with it For when as S. Paule speaketh heere of an other Gospell his meanyng is that if men disguyze the pure simplicitie which they haue learned of him there remayneth nothing else but vntruth and corruption VVherfore let vs learne to set such store by Gods doctrine that wee may not only esteeme it in it self but also reiect as diuelish things what soeuer shall be brought contrarie or repugnant vntoo it And truly Sainct Paule thinkes it not ynough too speake of men but mounteth euen vntoo the Angelles of Heauen and sayeth that wee muste rather hold them accursed than alter any whit of the fayth which wee haue of the Gospell He dothe well too speake of himself first and he doeth that too shewe that he had no regard of his owne persone but that he ment simply too honour God and too cause his woord to bee receyued of all the worlde without gaynsaying Therefore it was needefull that Sainct Paule should vse that protestation for if any man exempt his owne doctrine by priuiledge he maketh the same a priuate cace But he that teacheth ought too raunge himselfe in the common aray and too submitte himself obediently too the Gospell of our Lord Iesus Christe so as wee may not haue any other Mayster in this worlde of whom too hold our fayth but that the Sonne of God may haue all soueraintie ouer vs as belongeth vntoo him And Sainct Paule speaketh purposely of the Angelles bycause the false Apostles and deceyuers that were come intoo the countrie of Galatia pretended the name of Peter Iohn and Iames and therefore he setteth a barre in their way saying that when they had all that could bee on theyr side yea and that the whole world tooke parte with them all that was nothing Moreouer though they had the very Angelles of heauē with them yet should God neuerthelesse ouer rule thē by his word all creatures be thrust downe For if any thing lift vp it self against Gods truth wherin his image shineth forth and his maiestie and glorie ought to be knowen the same ought also to be condemned to be hild as accursed It might perchaunce seeme at the first blush that S. Paule vsed an excessiue fashion For too what purpose bringeth he in the Angels seyng wee know how they be wholly giuen too do Gods will According as it is sayde expresly in the. 103. Psalme and as we see moreouer through the whole holy Scripture that they haue not any other regard than simply to obey God Seing then that it is impossible that the Angelles shoulde falsifie the pure truthe Sainct Paule shoulde not haue brought them in Yea it might bee thought that he dooth them wrong and iniurie considering that God hath giuen them the grace too abyde in his obedience and too walke quietly as he hath appoynted them But it
it is not for vs to bring in mens opinions in that cace to wrap our selues in any doubt as the Papists do now adayes who haue none other buckler agaynst vs but the traditions of the Church Councels and Antiquitie Howbeit when they haue thronged all the world togither will it bee able to counteruayle the Angelles of heauen No certainly Now then we may well mocke at their foolishnesse after the exaÌ„ple of S. Paule and say that if the Pope and all the rable of his stinking Clergie had the Angelles on their side it were nothing at all in coÌ„parison of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath all soueraine power and before whom all knees ought to bow not only of mortall creatures but also euen of things that are aloft in heauen according as it is said in the Epistle to the Philippians where this saying is applyed to his person in that God sweareth that al knees shall bow before him all tunges confesse that he only is to be glorified Yee see then that the way for vs to coÌ„mend the doctrine of the Gospel is to abide vnremoued by the authoritie of men when it is told vs that such a one is of this opinion or that to assure our selues that seyng God hath giuen vs the grace to be fully resolued in our minds it behoueth vs to hold vs alwayes to it without chaunging This is in effect the thing that wee haue to coÌ„sider in this sentence Now herevpoÌ„ S. Paule sheweth how it was not without cause that he speke so of his Gospell that he had preached For he sayeth that he teacheth not after the maner of men or that he doth not set forth men nor counsell them after the maner of men but that he setteth forth God and seeketh not to please meÌ„ but Iesus Christ Afterward he addeth that his Gospell is not of men but that it was reueled to him froÌ„ aboue as I haue declared already It had not bin ynough for S. Paule to haue spokeÌ„ of the Gospell in generall except he had shewed therewith that he had bin a true faithfull minister of it For the Diuell caÌ„ well ynough away that the name of the Gospell should be of very great estimacion among vs but in the meane while he would not haue vs to know what it meaneth nor ceasse to be intaÌ„gled in store of errours to haue our wittes rouing here there Then it is not ynough that the name of the Gospell be honored in the world but we must also know what maner of thing the Gospell is and what is contayned in it And that is the cause why S. Paule chalendgeth that faithfulnesse of teaching the Gospell in so much that if any whit of it be chauÌ„ged let the same be accursed And this yet againe is well woorthy to be noted For when the Papistes reade this place they do nothing but skoffe at it and God also hath dulled them so as there is lesse wit in them than in little chyldren For they vnderstand it thus namely that Paule ment that if a man should make another Gospel as if a man should write a booke and the same shoulde not bee the Gospell that was written by him then they shoulde vtterly reiect it bycause the Gospell was sufficiently proued already But in the meane whyle they thought not that all that was contayned in Paules Epistles was euery whit of it Gospell but they rather surmyzed that he had written some storie of the Gospell and that if any other had bin brought in vppon the refuzall thereof the same that had bin so brought in should haue had no credite nor reputation But wee see that in that cace these wretched beastes haue nother reason nor vnderstanding nor any taste at all So much the more therefore dothe it stande vs in hand too marke that S. Paule had good cause too speake of the Gospell which he had preached euen to shewe as it were with his fingar the doctrine which it behoueth vs to be fully perswaded of VVill we be of the flocke of our Lord Iesus Christ Then is it not ynough for vs too accept what soeuer is tolde vs in his name but wee muste put that thing in â—re which is spoken in the tenth of Sainct Iohn which is too bee able by herkening vnto his voyce too discerne his voyce from the voyce of straungers and too bee alwayes fully perswaded that there is not any other than he too whom wee ought too yeeld Thus ye see how the way to be vnder the guiding of our good shepherd is that we swarue not one way nor other when men assayle vs but euery of vs indeuer to drawe home to himself so as we become not like wauering reedes but staÌ„d stedfast in the doctrine which we shall haue learned In so doing our Lord Iesus Christ will auow vs to be of the coÌ„panie and number of his sheepe and alwayes do the dutie of a shepeherd towards vs. But if we play those men which care not which end go foreward in somuch that if a man tell theÌ„ that Iesus Christ is the only he vpon whom we must rest to haue any trust of Saluation it is well they can like well ynough of that doctrine and on the contrary part if a man set store of trumperie before theÌ„ and go about too trouble their wittes with this and that they can well ynough away with that too and all is one to them if there be no discretion in vs it is a token that we haue no certaintie of fayth For we must be out of all doubt that Iesus Christ is the only Mayster seyng that that charge is coÌ„mitted to him by God his father and also that he hath fully performed the same If wee bee not at that poynt it is certaine that wee shall alwayes bee caried away with opinion and imaginacion and that there shall be no fayth at all in vs. And that is the cause also why S. Paule declareth that the Gospell which he had preached is the same which our Lord Iesus Christ coÌ„maunded to be preached and published and wherof he is the author in the name of God his father Seing it is so it behoueth vs to hold vs to it and so consequently when S. Paule speaketh of another Gospell he meaneth the minglemangle and corruption that might bee put vnto it as if he should say VVhatsoeuer is added or patched to the doctrine of the Gospell by mans deuice so as they can not content themselues with the simplenesse therof but that they do varie from it is euery whit of it mere leasing And therfore let vs shun it as a poyson for surely no poyson can bee so deadly as a false doctrine And if men doo naturally keepe themselues from the things that may hurt this transitorie life ought not our soules to be much more precious too vs VVhat care ought wee to haue that they be not poysoned by any trumperie of men Too bee short
it is that the Papists haue lesse colour than had the deceyuers of whom S. Paule speaketh For although they were Satans vnderlings and sought nothing but to peruert the truthe of the Gospell yet had they at least wise this colour that they broughte not in their owne dreames and traditions but alleaged the authoritie of God howe that the lawe ought to be kepte and that was a meetely apparant excuse But the Papists haue no suche foundation For all their Ceremonies are forgeries of mans brayne It is true that they haue mingled Iewishnesse with them and made suche a galimaufrey as a man can not tell of whome they haue borowed moste But howsoeuer the world go yet are the Ceremonies of mens setting vp which are at this day in the Popedome Nowe when we striue to abolishe them they say wee trouble the worlde for nothing And then steppe in these Neuters whiche woulde fayne please bothe parties and make a Bastarde Gospell Those fellowes caste vs in the teeth that wee bee seditious and that throughe oure precisenesse wee set muche trouble in the worlde And for proofe thereof saye they is it meete that there shoulde bee suche stryuing aboute Ceremonies seeing they bee things indifferente Yea forsoothe For if God woulde haue the Ceremonies of the lawe which yet notwithstanding came of him and by his expresse commaundement too come too an ende in our Lorde Iesus Christ what shall wee do when men will of their owne foolishe rashnesse set vp others in their stead Seeing that God would haue his owne abolished why should men step foorth therevpon and bring in their owne deuice and make God beleeue that he was not well aduised See yee not a cursed blasphemie Nowe vve knowe that the cause vvhy God vvould haue the Ceremonies of his lawe abolished in these dayes was to the intent that the grace of our Lorde Iesus Christ should be the more lightsome and better knowen For he is the daysunne of righteousnesse Therfore all those shadowes must cease and it is he in whō we haue the body and substance of them sayth S. Paule Seeing then that God had that respect and reason the figures must passe and vanishe away But now what reason wil the Papists bring when as men perceyue by eyesight that all their Ceremonies are a burying of our Lorde Iesus Christ and yet that they binde men to the keeping of them vnder payne of deadly sinne And furthermore when as in all their Ceremonies they haue a certeyn opinion that Baptisme is not inough for them but that they must haue holiwater to christen or baptise men euening and morning and finally that when they haue brought in all their pelting trash and al their gewgawes there must alwayes be somewhat in thē to draw poore soules into bondage is it to be borne withall On the other side we see there is so streight a yoke as it is able to strangle the poore wretches For the seelie soules are bereft of the freedome that was purchased for them by the death passion of our Lord Iesus Christ VVe see thē how it is not without vrgent cause yea extreme necessitie that we striue against the Popish tyrannie about ceremonies cōsidering that our Lord Iesus Christ hath not his deserued preheminence so long as men busie their wits about those smal trifles that moreouer their wretched consciences are alwayes in vnquietnesse without ende or ceassing and finally that on the otherside the Papists thinke to deserue grace by the things which they terme Gods seruice bearing themselues in hande that that is the meane whereby men shuld become righteous to obteine saluatiō So thē we see that S. Paul in his time was driuē to susteyn that strife And forasmuch as our case is altogither like at this day so as we cānot hold our peace except we wil betray both god mā we must fight stoutly agaynst that hellish tyrannie and against those pelting trash trumperie and illusions of Sathan whereby hee would fayne eyther quite deface the Gospell or else so turmoyle it as a man shoulde not knowe which is the pure truth This in effect is the thing that wee haue to beare in mynde And whereas S. Paule sayth that he yelded not one iote too such men it is too confirme vs so muche the better on the thing that I touched euen nowe Peace and friendshippe are an amiable thing among men They bee so indeede and wee ought to seeke them to the vttermost of our power But yet for all that we must set such store by Gods truth that if all the world should bee set on fyre for the mayntenaunce thereof wee shoulde not sticke at it As much as wee can possibly let vs purchase peace and if the matter concerne but our owne persons or goodes let vs endeuour too compound with our aduersaries let vs beare with them and let vs labour to ouercome them by our patience Lo in what maner wee ought to buy peace But yet in the meane while let not Gods truth be deminished nor sustein any harme or preiudice For the peace that men seeke among themselues shall euermore be accursed if God be not therewithall acknowledged and magnified as he ought to be and his word also continue vnimpeached for that is the knot of our bonde and if we intend to haue it acceptable to God and the end of it to be good and for our welfare surely God must knit vs togither And hee hath giuen vs his Sonne who is called our peace too the end we should all of vs fall in order vnder him Then if we minde to haue good and holie peace let vs ame vs at this marke of yeelding our selues vnder the obeysance of Gods sonne that he may be our head and we his body like as there is but one Church But if any man goe about too withdraw vs from our Lord Iesus Christ let vs rather beare all the hatred outrages and madnesse of the world than to seeke such agreement And let vs not be afraide of all the reproch that can bee done vnto vs according as nowadayes we shal be falsly slaundered as stirrers vp of many strifes yea verily but what can wee do with it For it behoueth vs to abide still in the truth of the Gospell or else woe bee vntoo vs. If the Papistes will not agree with vs but bee vtterly wilfull in the stubbornnesse that is seene too bee in them wee must bee contented to be at defiance with men seeing they purpose too turne vs from the peace which wee should haue with God by the means of his Sonne who not without cause beareth that title as I told you before Therefore when they crye out vpon vs wee must be fenced with this answere of Elias which hee made vnto Achab. Art not thou he sayd Achab that troublest Israell For the Prophet was accused as we be nowadayes bicause he labored to bring the people backe againe too the purenesse of
be but mockers of God they neuer entered into their consciences to examin themselues earnestly nother had they euer any remorse of conscience Surely all their study hath bin to holde folke as it were vppon the racke and to put many hartgripes into them to the intent they myghte seeme to be sharpwitted But as for themselues they neuer felt any thing And that is the cause why they prate so much at their case concerning merites and yet in the meane while haue no regarde of them themselues Only they do some small trifles like rittlerattles that men giue to little children wherewith they beare themselues in hande that they can appease God Now for thys cause Sainct Paule disputeth of the Ceremonies of the lawe as they were put vntoo hym and yet dothe hee neuerthelesse cut home to the bottome that is too witte hee prooueth that men are stripped starke naked from all righteousnesse and cannot bryng any thyng vntoo GOD but must beg at hys hande confessing that there is nothyng in them but vtter beggerie and penurie And furthermore let vs marke also that the Iewes did alwayes peruert the nature and vse of the Sacramentes in that they made meritorious workes of them and that was cleane contrary to the vse that they should haue put them too For God ordeyned not the Sacramentes to the end that by indeuoring to obserue them men should purchace any vertue that might be imputed to them for righteousnesse but rather to teach them that it stoode them in hand to seeke all at Gods hand As for example when the Iewes were circumcised thereby God shewed to the eye that all that euer commeth of man is but corruption and that it stādeth vs on hand to haue it cut away So the thing which the Iewes had too consider in that visible Sacrament was that mans nature was cursed before God and that we may well seeke but neuer fynde so much as one drop of cleannesse in it And on the other syde they had a token and recorde that God neuerthelesse woulde succour them by meanes of the Redeemer which should come of the race of men for he was borne of the linage of Dauid God therfore shewed that thing visibly And so the Iewes were cast downe in themselues and ought to haue considered that there was nothing but cursednesse in them and therevpon should haue come to seeke the thing in our Lord Iesus Chryst whiche wanted in themselues As much is to be thought of their washings As oft as the Iewes washed themselues it was a putting of them in minde that there was nothing but vnclennesse in them And wherein was that washing was it in the water No but in the bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christe VVhen the brute beasts were slayne there they behild that they had deserued death The beastes were giltlesse and yet they were sacrifised for mennes sakes to beare their sinnes Thus ye see a mirror which sheweth that all men are cursed of God And yet in so doing men humbled themselues calling vpon God and protesting that they were redeemed by the sacrifise Howbeit not by those shadowing sacrifises but by the true sacrifise whiche was not yet come into the world But what did the Iewes VVhen they were once circumcised they thought that God was bound vnto them for it And when they had offered sacrifise they thought there was great holinesse in so doing and made their boast thereof But the Prophets rebuked those hipocrites dubble For first they told them that when they had kept al the Ceremonies of the lawe their doings were nothing all was but vanitie For behold God saith I wil haue mercy and not sacrifice and again I wil shew thee ô man how thou shalt please God be thou hūbled truly imagin not to bring him many sheepe Oxen for that is nothing but deale thou iustly and vprightly and when thou hast worshipped him liue honestly and vncorruptly with thy neighbours Also we see what oure Lord sayth in Ieremy Did I speake to your fathers saith he of offering sacrifice vnto me No sayth he but I willed them to obey me and to herken to my voyce and to serue me with a sound hart Agayne in another place it is said Lord thou louest faithfulnesse Thus we see how the prophets rebuke the Hypocrites for being hild backe by the Ceremonies which are nothing of themselues except men walke in a cleere conscience towards God and in faithfulnesse towardes men And after that the Prophets haue spoken so they adde secondly that when men haue done all that they can yet ceasse they not to be stil in Goddes dette and that the Ceremonies serue to bring them still neerer that is to witte to make them acknowledge that God calleth them to him promising them to shew them mercie and too forget and burie all their misdeedes howbeit by meane of the Redeemer that was promised them But now Sainct Paule leaueth the first point namely that the Ceremonies are nothing without the principall which is that we walke without doing any man wrong and without doing any hurt or harme to other men that we liue chast and pure and that we haue a cleane and vpright conscience S. Paule letteth that discourse alone and why For it would not serue the purpose And therefore he sheweth that the shadowes of the law were nother profitable nor needefull bicause they were nothing if a man looked vpon them in their owne nature but that the end of them was to be considered which was that for asmuche as they were a witnesse of the grace that is giuen vs now finally in our Lord Iesus Christ it behoued them to rest wholy therevpon And the same ought to be well printed at this daye both in our hart and in our remembrance For wee shall haue profyted greatly if we once know how to apply to oure vse the Sacramentes that are ordeyned by our Lord Iesus Christ specially for asmuch as we haue to receiue the Lords supper the next Sunday For although we ought to haue bin exhorted this day to put ourselues in a reddines to it yet was it not touched this morning But let vs beare well in mind that if we thinke to be made ryghteous by baptim we defyle the thing which God hath apointed to our saluation And why Baptisme dothe but teache vs that there is nothing but filthe and vncleannesse in vs. For wherefore do wee washe our handes faces and bodies but to make them cleane from the spottes that are in them Nowe it is sayde that Baptisme is a washing of vs and therefore it followeth that when wee come to Baptisme or when any of vs bringeth his children to be baptized we declare that the children are alreadie damned and forlorne euē from their mothers wombe and that they be a cursed seede so as they must be fayne to breake clennesse not by their own purchace but by receyuing it for as muche as it is offred them in
they be both one thing as I haue sayde afore But in this text the word Faith hath yet a more peculiar signification which is the reuelation or discouerie which wee haue by the Gospell For it is very certaine that the forefathers had the spirit of faith or beleefe according as I haue shewed you alreadye that Abraham was iustifyed bycause he beleeued God that wee also must be fashioned like to his example in that behalfe as whereby we be made his children to come to the kingdom of heauē Then had faith his full strength at all times and there neuer was any other meanes to set God and men at one but yet was not the fayth reueled in Abrahams time bycause our Lorde Iesus Christe who is the very pledge and substance therof was not yet come intoo the world Thus ye see how we be iustifyed freely at this day and without any desert of our owne And why is that For he that beleeueth that Iesus Christ died for our sinnes and is risen againe for our iustification hath all the whole And as it is sayd in another place our beleeuing with our hart maketh vs ryghtuouse and our confessing with our mouth maketh vs safe But now had Abraham had oure Lord Iesus Christ discouered vnto him as we haue him at this day in somuch that he is as good as crucified among vs as Sainct Paule hath sayd heeretofore his fayth had bin all one with ours But it was yet after a sort ouercouered that is to say although Abraham trusted in Iesus Christ hoping for saluation at his hande and although he vtterly distrusted himselfe knowing that there was vertue in him that might go for payment before God yet was he hild still vnder shadowes was fayne to looke at Iesus Christ a far off For he was not yet named the day sunne of rightuousenesse as hee is called in Malachie Now then we see what Sainct Paul meant by saying that faith was not yet come namely that the cōuenient time of the reueling of it to the world as it is nowadayes by the Gospel was not yet come so that the fathers were shet vp vnder the lawe So therefore heere is some peece of difference and some peece of likenesse in somuch that if it bee demaunded what the state of the fathers wer that liued vnder the law it is to be answered that partly it differed from ours and partly was al one How were they both one In this that God had shewed himselfe mercifull to our father howbeit for our Lord Iesus Christs sake and that Abraham perceyuing how it stoode him on hand to put his whole trust in the meere grace of God gaue ouer himself and so his beleeuing was reckened to him for rightuousnesse as we haue seene afore In lyke cace was it with all the Patriarks and Prophets So then their taking was all one with ours in that they grounded themselues vppon our Lord Iesus Christ and boasted not of any thing saue onely Gods mercy and had the promises of the inheritance of the heauenly life as we haue Yet was there also a diuersitie bycause they were fayne to haue Sacrifises washings and such other like thinges till the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ And when the law was giuen so as there was a Preest that entered into the Sanctuarie to be an intercessor and the people stoode aloofe a great way of and a veyle or Curtayne was drawen in the middes of the Tabernacle to make a darkening of things ye see they were thinges wherein the state of the fathers differed from ours for during the absence of our Lord Iesus Christ they had Ceremonies figures whereas we haue the very body substance of them as saith S. Paule to the Colossians For God biddeth not vs to offer any mo Calues Sheepe or Oxem to wipe out the spots of our sinnes But he telleth vs that we must be sprinkled with the bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ through the power of the holy Ghost that in our Lord Iesus Christ we shall find all that is requisite for our saluatiō Ye see thē that as now faith reigneth in ful power that is to say whereas the fathers had but a little tast of it according to their mesure it is fully opēly reueled vnto vs. And for this cause S. Paul saith that the fathers were after a sort restreined or shut vp so that he likeneth the law to a bōdage in very deede so was it he will hereafter shew what maner of bōdage it is It is not ment that the fathers obteined not the euerlasting life which we hope for or that we shal not be crowned all togither at the last day but that God was fain for a time to weeld thē like little babes And for that cause also doth he vse the similitude of a scholemaster wil againe set down a third similitude of Tutors gouerners Howbeit for asmuch as this shal be handled in his due place let it suffise vs as now to vnderstād that whereas S. Paul likeneth the law vnto a bōdage it is to shew far greater fauor to vs thā he did to the fathers that died before the cōming of our Lord Iesus Christ bicause he vseth vs now after a freer fashiō And the secōd similitude doth yet better expresse that the Iewes were as children we now are as mē growē For this word Scolemaster betokeneth a master of childrē he saith thē that the law executed the office of a Scolemaster to traine vp the childhood of the people in old time And herevpon it may be cōcluded that the faithfull which beleued in Iesus Christ before he was manifested to the worlde were Gods children as wel as we And if they were children then were they also heirs Herin we see that we must not make thē like brute beasts as some fantasticall heads do which thinke that the Iewes contēted themselues with the possession of the plentifull land that was promised thē cared for no more but to be wel nurrished sed ther for that is too cursed a blasphemie But Iesus Christe serueth not to fil mēs bellies to feede their paunches he serueth to bring vs to the heauenly life It is said that Abraham saw his day that then was the thing wheron he rested his cōscience And wee see how Dauid did always looke vp higher thā the world Iacob at his death euē though he was giuing vp the last gasp and looked not to liue any longer in the world said he would trust in the saluatiō of God The aunciēt fathers thē were not little childrē after such a sort that they were not marked with Gods holy spirite nor called by him to the inheritance of the endlesse life but onely in the measure of faythe which was the differēce betwene thē vs. And how was that Euē bicause the law whiche they had was yet wrapped in figures shadowes whereas now Iesus Christ
leadeth vs right forth to heauē And whereas I said that they were inferior to vs in the measure of faith I meene not that Abraham Dauid other like had a weaker faythe thā we for seeke we neuer so narowly through the whole world it is not to be presumed that any one creature is to bee found at thys day which hath the hundreth part of the faith of Abraham or Dauid And the excellēcie of their faith appeereth in this that although they had not the promises so apparant as we haue but very darkly yet notwithstāding they ouerdame all such temptations as woulde haue ouerthrowē vs a hundred thousand times If any of vs wer put to the induring of the incoūters of Abraham or Dauid what would become of vs For Abraham was a wayfarer al his life lōg in a strāge country wher mē grudged him water to drinke though he himselfe digged the welles He was put to as many plunges as could be Finally God exercised him in so many incoūters that he semed to be minded to throw him into the bottom of hel and yet neuerthelesse his faith abideth stil vnvāquished As touching Dauid he was driuē a lōg time frō place to place Being hunted out of the whole realme hauing no succour to retire vnto but 〈◊〉 amōg the infidels and enimies of God or else into dennes and among wyld beastes he was moreouer put to such reproche that euery man cursed him as the veriest villayne and kaytif in the world and yet for all that he hild out still hee called still vppon God and hee neuer fell to any murmuring or blaspheming but rather glorifyed God in those his extremities and distresses So then wee see that their faith ought to make vs all ashamed And when euery of vs shall haue looked wel into his owne conscience wee shall fynd that wee scarsly haue any little peece of the faith that they had But the greatnesse of their faith must not be measured heere by the constancie and ablenesse that euery of them had to trust in God VVhereby then By the outward obiect of their fayth As for example Although Esay was an excellēt teacher so that his like is not to be found in the world yet the least preacher that setteth foorth the Gospell purely shall be preferred before Esay as is auouched by the mouth of our Lord Iesus Christ hymselfe And why is that Bycause that although Esay was as an Angell and spake with such authoritie yea and maiestie as were able to touch the hartes to the quicke which are most falne aslepe in this world in somuch that euen God himselfe seemeth to haue opened his owne holy mouth in him and his words were not as the words of a mortall man yet did he hold but the manner of teaching that was conueniēt for that tyme that is to say he did set foorth the lād of Chanaan as a pledge to those whom he taught keepe them to the Sacrifises washings figures shadowes al other like things whervnder he shewed what the happinesse of gods children is As for example we see how he likeneth the church to a palace builded of gold siluer and preciouse stones Yee see then that his maner of dealing was fashioned vnto the darknesse of the law But now our Lord Iesus Christ is set forth vnto vs although a simple man preach the Gospel which hath nother great eloquence nor authoritie yet shall hee as it were poynt at Iesus Christe with his fingar he shall shew vs how we be in the time of fulnesse and therwithall hee shall assure vs that our sinnes are forgiuen vs in the death and passion of our Lord Iesus Christe in somuch that Gods wrath is pacified and victorie obteyned for vs ouer death Thus ye see that the diuersitie is 〈◊〉 doctrine and not in the qualitie of the fayth as it is in euery mans heart For although Abrahā had a wonderfull fayth and such a one as we shall not finde nowadayes in the worlde yet was it alwayes hemmed in with the sayd Ceremonies and shadowes Dauid was an Angell and myrror of all perfection and yet for all that he was faine to be subiect to the same order that the common people were and to vse all the Ceremonies that were then in vse and his looking at Iesus Christ was but a farre off bycause there was the said Curtain before him which letted him that hee coulde not beholde his glorie as it is shewed vs nowadayes in the Gospell And although we know not the hundredth part of the things that were disclozed to Dauid and Abraham to make them inuincible agaynst all temptations and to make them fight so manfully that god might be glorified in them and to make them beare out all brunts yet had they not that which we haue that is to wit they had not the pledge Iesus Christ deliuered vnto them as we haue to the ende we might call vppon God his father bycause we be members of his bodie and hee is our heade assuring our selues that he and we are all one with condition that his goodes become ours and that we haue full inioyment of them at this day Thus yee see that our fayth is greater than Abrahams was not in respect of our persones nor yet in respect of any stedfastnesse and firmnesse that is in vs but in respect of the doctrine or teaching of it which we terme the obiect of fayth that is too say the thing that is sette before vs from without And so ye see why Saint Paule sayeth that the fathers were hilde in warde as it were vnder a Schoolemayster tyll the comming of our Lorde Iesus Christ Nowe we for our part haue cause too magnifie Gods goodnesse according also as oure Lorde Iesus Christ exhorteth vs saying blessed are the eyes which see that which you see and the eares which heare that whiche you heare For many Kings and Prophets haue desired the like and haue gone without it Beholde Abraham was called Gods freend Beholde Dauid is reported too haue bin founde according too Gods owne heart and yet for all that hee was fayne too looke aloofe at the promises which are now as it were cast into our lappes and whereof we haue our fill They sought Iesus Christ then absent and hidden and they wayted for him But now that our Lord Iesus Christ hath come downe into the worlde and bin conuersant here he hath gyuen vs a sure warrant that all is performed as he himselfe declared at his death VVhat a lewdnesse then is it if we nowadayes bee not much the more inflamed and quickened vp to followe the promises of the Gospell where God communicateth himselfe so familiarly vnto vs So then on the one side wee haue cause too yeelde vnto God his deserued prayse for that he hath vouchsafed to exalt vs I say vs miserable creatures to so high dignitie as to preferre vs before all the holy kings and Patriarkes
that lyued vnder the Lawe Howbeit heerewithall let vs take good heede that this benefit and prerogatiue turne not to our double condēnation for our vnthankfulnesse in not making account of so great a good turne so offered vnto vs. Nowe although Abraham were still hilde vnder after the maner of a childe as I haue sayd alreadie yet forsooke he both his kinsfolke and natiue Countrie and went as a poore wayfayrer into a straunge lande where he was hunted and tossed from post to piller in continuall languishing And if he had repented him could he not haue returned into his owne Countrey againe Yes but the Apostle in the eleuenth to the Hebrewes telleth vs that he had such a trustfulnesse and so constant a fayth that he hilde out euen to the last push insomuch that hee shewed by effect that his minde was wholy set vpon the kingdowme of heauen and not intangled with this worlde and yet notwithstanding for all that both hee and the rest of the holy fathers walked after that maner before vs yet tary they still for vs at this day and receyued not the promises which are manifested to vs in the Gospell For while they liued they had but a small taste of that which is reueled to vs nowadayes which is layde open before vs. VVo be to vs therfore if we be not warned and inflamed to receyue Gods offer whē he vttereth the infinite riches of his goodnesse to winne vs and to draw vs in such wise from this worlde as we may come to yeelde our selues freely vnto him Then if suche gracious dealing moue vs not too come vntoo him nowe that wee bee menne growen notwithstanding oure rawnesse and infirmitie and too take the yoke whiche hee layeth vppon vs and too suffer hym too gouerne vs vnder hys obedience yea and too take courage and stoutnesse too vs to defye Sathan and the whole worlde and all the allurements thereof say if we ouermayster not all these conflictes surely wee shall pay right deerely for the grace that is offered vs in the Gospell And therefore lette euerye of vs bestyrre hymselfe and take oportunitie whyle God allureth vs and whyle the tyme of saluation and daye of fauour is present And seeing wee bee so feeble that wee doo but dragge oure legges after vs let vs praye God too strengthen vs and too redresse oure lazynesse and coldenesse Also let euerie of vs streyne and inforce hymselfe and sythe wee bee so hemmed in with the snares that Sathan hath layde for vs let vs walke so muche the more in the feare of God that wee may ouercome all Sathans lettes and wyles and go forwarde in the way that God hath set vs in and followe the fathers that are gone afore vs which tarie still for our companie that we might be gathered vp all togither intoo the heauenly lyfe at the blessed comming of oure Lorde Iesus Christ Nowe let vs fall downe before the Maiestie of oure good God wyth acknowledgement of oure faultes praying hym that wee maye so mislyke of them as wee maye not onely bee sorye and seeke forgyuenesse of them but also bee renued by true repentaunce and go forwarde and bee confyrmed in it more and more tyll wee bee cleane ridde of all vyces and bee so fashioned lyke too hys Image as hys glorie maye shyne foorth in vs euen tyll we enter into the full possession of the inheritance that he hath promised vs. That it may please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but also to all people c. The. 23. Sermon which is the ninth vpon the third Chapter 26 For all of you are Gods children through the fayth vvhich is in Iesus Christ 27 Surely as many of you as are baptised haue put on Christ 28 There is neyther Ievve nor Greeke there is neyther bonde nor free there is neither male nor female For yeare all one in Iesus Christ 29 Novv if ye be Christs thē are you Abrahams seede and heyres according to the promise WE haue seene heretofore to what dignitie we be aduaunced by the Gospell For not only we be called to be of the felowship company of the holy fathers whom God honored so highly but also our state is yet more woorthie and noble bicause we be deliuered from the bondage of the Lawe whervnder they were hilde And for the better confirming of this doctrine S. Paule addeth that we be al made the children of God by beleeuing in our Lord Iesus Christ according also as it is sayd in the first Chapter of S. Iohns Gospell For there this dignitie is commended to vs as it deserueth namely that we haue preeminence and prerogatiue to be counted Gods children through fayth verely for our Lorde Iesus Christs sake who is his only and naturall sonne For that tytle belongeth alonely to him by right and is cōmunicated to vs but only by grace inasmuch as God hath voutsafed to adopt vs for his sake So thē Iesus Christ is the hed of the Church howbeit for his sake god acknowledgeth auoweth vs for his children And here we see that the word Beleefe importeth more thā mē cōmōly take it to do according also as I haue declared before For they that are not exercized in the holy Scripture thinke it straunge that God should honor vs so highly for beleeuing to their seeming fayth is not so great a vertue that it ought to obteyn so great a benefite But I haue shewed you heeretofore that our beleeuing in Iesus Christ is not as the crediting of some storie when we heare it or reade it but a receyuing and conceyuing of him inwardly with full assurednesse as hee is offered vs by God hys father Therefore when wee imbrace our Lorde Iesus Christ as the partie that hath made amendes for our sinnes too reconcyle vs too God so as wee repose the whole trust of our welfare in him not doubting but that hee hath brought vs all that is for the inheriting of heauen I say if wee bee once assured of that it is no maruell though God acknowledge vs as his children for our beleefes sake Howbeeit therewithall we must call to our remembrance what we haue discoursed before namely that this benefite of God in acknowledging vs to bee his children commeth not of any desert of fayth neyther must wee wey it heere in the balance what maner of vertue it is for wee bee made Gods children by free adoption If a man demaunde the cause I answere that the verie well spring and foundation is not too bee sought elsewhere than in Gods onely goodnesse inasmuche as it pleased him too pitie vs. Neuerthelesse it is brought to passe by the meanes of fayth as I haue saide alreadie bycause that beeing rid of all fonde ouerweening and acknowledging our selues to be damned in our owne nature wee flee for refuge to our Lorde Iesus Christ Thus you see in effect what S. Paule ment to say And he goeth on still with the matter to
Beholde I Paule doo tell you that if yee be circumcised Christ shall profite you nothing at all 3 And agayne I protest to euery man that is circuÌ„cised that he is bounde to keepe the vvhole lavve WE haue seene heeretofore that to haue a state of continuance in the Churche wee muste bee grounded vpon our Lord Iesus Christ For many doo boast themselues to be Gods children who notwithstanding are not begotten of the true seede which maketh the differeÌ„ce wherby God auoweth and acknowledgeth vs for his children Therfore if we wil be truly knit to our Lord Iesus Christ we must hold fast the doctrine of the Gospell that he as our heade and mediator may ioyne vs to God his father Therwithall I haue declared that the cause why S. Paul speaketh so of boÌ„d free seed is for that they which seeke their righteousnesse in their owne vertues do alienate theÌ„selues froÌ„ our lord Iesus Christ froÌ„ his grace For by that meanes they bind theÌ„selues to an impossibilitie that is to say to satisfie God in keeping his coÌ„maundements But there is such weaknes in vs as none of vs is able to perform the least point of the law and therfore much lesse can we attaine to the perfectioÌ„ that is shewed vs heere And for that cause S. Paul coÌ„cludeth now â–ª that we must stand fast in the freedome which our Lord Iesus Christ hath purchased for vs. It is certayn that he treateth heere of the ceremonies of the law but yet must we always resort to the welhead and cheefe poynt For if the matter concerned no further than the keeping of a holyday or the forbearing of some kinde of meate it were not of so great weighâ— that suche strife should bee moued for it in the Church But Sainct Paule pored not vppon a matter so slight and of so small importance He had an eye to the doctrine he considered that if meÌ„ should be tyde to do this thing or that thing of necessitie it were an excluding of them from the hope of saluation For if I must needes performe a thing vnder peine of deadly sinne then if I fayle I am become a transgresser and there is no shift for me bycause God is my iudge and I must be fayne to come too account and there is no meanes to redeeme me Now it is certaine that al of vs are subiect to the keeping of the law but yet notwithstanding there is a remedie for it which is to runne vnto our Lord Iesus Christ in all our needes who was made subiect to the law to purchace vs freedome and bare our curse to discharge vs of it Now if any necessitie be layd vpon vs againe too say that the doing of this or that is sinne then cannot our Lord Iesus Christ stand vs in any more stead as I sayde afore by reason whereof we must needes bee plunged in our owne cursednesse without any manner of releefe Therefore it is not without cause that Sainct Paule exhorteth the Galathians to hold their owne and not too suffer themselues to be brought into bondage For by that meanes he faith that they shall be bereft of inestimable benefyte euen so farre foorth as they shall be falne quite away from Gods grace or fauour and vtterly separated from our Lord Iesus Christ in whome lieth all our welfare and happinesse Now that wee may the better conceiue S. Paules meening and also reape the frute that is offered vs in thys text Let vs marke that by this word Libertie oâ— freedome it is meant that we may walke with full confidence before God and that hee will alwayes be fauorable so that although wee bee giltie of many offences yet we shall be quit of them for our Lord Iesus Christes sake and moreouer that it is not in mans power to bridle vs or too hold vs in bondage but that it ought to suffise vs to yeld ourselues obedient vnto God howbeit not after a slauish and constreyned fashion but as children yeeld themselues subiect too their father knowing well that their father will not handle them roughly Thus ye see what is meant by the worde libertie or freedome whiche S. Paule vseth Neuerthelesse to the end that this shortnesse bee not darksome I will declare it more aâ—â—â—ge So long as we be in doubt whither God do loue vs or hate vs there will always bee trouble and vnquietnesse in our consciences and we shall be as it were locked vp in prison So then there will be no freedome in our mindes till we know and be throughly perswaded that God is at one wyth vs and that he receiueth vs into his fauoure grace though we be not worthy of it But it is impossible for vs to haue any certeintie of it except we haue our quittance alwayes before our eyes which was made vs in the death and passion of our Lord Iesus Chryste VVhy so For as I said afore we be indetted vnto God many wais yea infinite wayes For we be bouÌ„d to keepe the law and we breake it a hundred times a day yea euen or euer we thinke of it Again we offend euen in grosse faultes But howsoeuer we deale we cannot assure ourselues of Gods loue vnlesse wee bee discharged againste him of the obligation of euerlasting death wherein we staÌ„d bound Now we atteine that benefyte when we be perswaded by the Gospel that the bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ was shed to wash away al our spottes and that his death is a sufficient sacrifise too appease Gods wrath and to wipe out the remembrance of al our offences iniquities Ye see then that the way to set vs free is to know that God receiueth vs to mercie for our Lord Iesus Christs sake that our faults sins shal not hinder vs to find fauor alwais in his sight or to haue familiar accesse vnto him as children haue vntoo theyr fathers SecoÌ„dly we must not be wauering too fro to make coÌ„science of euery thing that meÌ„ deuise of their owne heads but walke stedfastly according to gods word knowing moreouer that our coÌ„scieÌ„ces are free that whither men coÌ„mand or forbid any thing it is nothing to vs I meene as in respect of the spirituall regiment of our soules For we talke not heere of ciuil policie nor of the common life of men but of our saluation So then all things ought too bee free vntoo vs when they bee not forbidden vs by Gods owne mouth Yet is it not ynough that we haue Gods word for our guide without mingling any thing at all with it but as I haue touched alreadye we must therewithall know that God accepteth our affection when he seeth vs willing to obey him and that although there be much faultinesse and ouer many infirmities in vs and that we come halting vnto him and 〈◊〉 that all that euer wee doo were trifling toyes if he listed to examin them with rigorâ— yet neuerthelesse he taketh al in good woorth And
that the world knew not God in true wisedome and therfore he was fayne to vse another fashion of teaching which is by foolishnesse For were wee throughly wise as wee woulde bee taken too bee wee haue as good an instruction as can bee in beholding the skies and the earth VVe see there a mirrour wherin god sheweth vs his infinit goodnesse power rightuousnesse mercie and wisedome And so wee see there the great treasures of Gods wisdome which ought 〈◊〉 rauish our wittes to wonder at it But who fareth the better by it Nay contrarywise wee see men cobble vp Gods benefites and fill their panches with them without any thinking vppon him at all and not onely that but also to kicke agaynst him that hath pampered them And when they weene too do God seruice they plucke away the honor that belongeth to him and set vp Idols after their owne fancie Seing then that the world hath not knowne God in true wisedome and by the order of nature God was fayne to trie another way as he did For if we iudge after our naturall wit it is a kind of starke folly to say that the sonne of God the heade of the Angelles the Lorde of glorie the welspring of life the persone to whome all maiestie belongeth was not onely made a mortall man and clothed with our state but also vtterly abased as Sainct Paule sayth in the seconde too the Philippians yea and became subiect too our curse and bare the name of sinne which is more VVhen a man speaketh to vs in such phraze of speech it must needes seeme straunge to vs as it is in deed But we must submit our selues with al lowlinesse and consider that forasmuch as we haue not profited by the things that god hath shewed vs from the beginning both in heauen and earth we must bee fayne to come to this other schole Thus much concerning this streyne where Saint Paule sayth then is the stumblingblocke of the Crosse put away But to be short we must gather vpon this Text that if there be any absurditie in the Gospel according to our vnderstanding the same must not make it out of taste with vs but we must cōsider that God intendeth to trie our obedience by sending vs to the death of of our Lorde Iesus Christ and that there we see as it were the gulfe of hell seeing that the sonne of God is there to beare our condemnation and is become our suretie there to pay all our dettes Againe let vs consider further that from death there was a goodly passage vnto glorie which appeared in his resurrection For the Sonne of God hauing suffered through infirmitie that is to say according to the ordinance of God his father and according to his owne good will also wherby he consented to submit himselfe to such bondage and hauing suffered in such wise that hee ouercame death by the power of his holy spirite he obteyned such a victorie as all knees must nowe bow before him and he hath a name aboue all names and men muste knowe that all the Maiestie of God appeared and shone forth in his person Thus yee see that wee neede not to bee ashamed of the Gospell And aboue all things let vs holde faste that which Saint Paule in the first to the Romaines calleth the power of God to the saluation of all beleeuers Then as for the worldlings and such as are swolne with pryde and ouerweening like Toades let them despize the Gospell as much as they list and let them perish in their owne cursednesse and in the meane while let vs with all humblenesse of fayth imbrace the sonne of God who offereth himselfe to vs of purpose to lift vs vp to the glorie of the kingdom of heauen But heere is yet more namely that Saint Paule matcheth Stumbling and the preaching of the Gospel togither as things inseparable It is true that wee must eschue all stumblingblockes as much as is possible for wo be to him by whom stumblingblockes come But yet muste Iesus Christ raigne and haue his full scope though all the whole worlde shoulde stumble at him The woorde Stumblingblocke importeth a stoppe hinderance or let as if there were a rough and stonie way that had some thornes and bushes or some other comberances in it the same were a meanes too make men stumble Nowe it were to be wished that Iesus Christ might go on freely and that all the worlde would receyue him and that nothing might stoppe the preaching of the Gospell from the one ende of the worlde to the other I say we ought to wishe it as much as in vs is Howbeeit let vs learne that God intendeth to trye the obedientnesse of our fayth by giuing Satan the brydle who casteth many stumblingblockes and cumberances in our wayes Too bee short our Lorde Iesus Christ is not without cause called a stone to stumble at and a stoppe for all men too dashe agaynst and by that meanes too breake their neckes And in the ende as it is sayde in Saint Luke they must be crushed by that stone for it is to hard for their stubbornnesse And this is verie much for our behoofe For we see many men so nice that if men agree not to the Gospell out of hande they thinke themselues quite and cleane discharged and set free before God from mainteining the quarel or cace any longer If all Kings and Princes had caused it to be proclaimed by the sound of a trumpet that there shoulde 〈◊〉 no more fighting agaynst Gods truth euerie man woulde make countenance too bee of the same minde But nowadayes ye shall see great crueltie tyrannie spytefulnesse manacing and such other like things Again ye shall see that the most part of the enemies are as greedie woolues that desire to deuour all and seeke to shed innocent bloud to the intent that they may haue their goodes Othersome haue a frentike zeale insomuch that they woulde fayne haue the name of God cleane wyped out and the doctrine of the Gospell vtterly quenched VVhen men see this ô say they I will not meddle with it VVhat Shall I bring all the world in my toppe Is it not manifest that they which haue tasted this doctrine are but a handfull of men and that all others are enemies too them or else they doo reiect them or laugh them to scorne or at leastwyse beare a poysoned and malicious heart agaynst them Yee see then that verie fewe are so strong as too beare out the stumblingblockes of the Gospell when they see as it were logges cast in theyr way and that Iesus Christ is hyndered by Satan and by the practises of his vnderlings O say they wee muste needes backe againe Yea and what a number are too bee seene at thys day whiche will say that this doctrine bringeth store of stumblingblockes Againe see I praye you what diuersitie of opinions it hathe say they Beholde such a one speaketh thus and such a one
who hath exempted vs from it gouerneth vs. To be short the marke that he shooteth at is that Christians shuld be free from the bondage of the law Not all those whiche haue the name of Christianitie in their mouth or which make their braggs of it but such as shewe by their deeds that they be meÌ„bers of our Lord Iesus Christ inasmuchas they be begotteÌ„ agein by his holy spirit For mens liues must be answerable therevnto or else all their protestations are nothing worth yea they shal be proued Lyers vnlesse it appeare by their works that they speake truly and vnfeinedly Besides this wheras S. Paule 〈…〉 all goodnes al coÌ„mendable thing 〈◊〉 â—â—utes of the spirit therby he coÌ„firmeth the thing that I told you heretofore which is that if ther be any one drop of goodnes in vs the same is not of our own growing neither can we chaleÌ„ge the praise of it without doing wrong and iniurie vnto God For they be all of them frutes of his grace he is faine to put them into vs by his holie spirite Ye see then that here againe we be humbled to the end that none of vs should deceiue himself in thinking that he hath any vertue or stayednesse or louingnesse or any other like thing of his own For vntil such time as God haue shaped vs new ageyne we be like a peece of grounde that is barrein yea and starke naught For we not only beare not any good thing but also bring forth exceeding much euill till our Lord haue rid vs of it like a naughtie grounde whiche not onely is vnprofitable too the owner in that it yeldeth him neither corne wine nor other necessary things but also bringeth foorth thistles thornes wicked weeds Euen at the same point are we And now wee haue to marke according also as S Paule hath declared heeretofore that loue is the summe and substance of the lawe which he hath set down here in the formost ranke not to make vs forget the calling vpon God nor the affiance which we oughte to haue in all his promises and the whole seruice that is conteined in the first table of the law S. Paule holdeth not scorne of those things neither would he haue them reiected but the matter that he treateth of is how men may giue sure proofe to the worldward whether they be rightly mynded to the obeying of God or no. And I haue told you alreadie that such proof is seene by our louing of our neyghbours when wee bee not giuen euery man too his owne profyte but laboure in common too nourishe good peace and vnitie and put to our helping hande also so farre as God giueth vs abilitie meanes wherwith to do them good to whom we be bound by his woorde Thus yee see why S. Paule setteth downe the woorde Loue in the first place It is not to the intent we should so loue our neyghbours that God should be thrust backe behynde vs but bycause that in hauyng mutuall loue and frendship one with an other wee shewe ourselues to be rightly giueÌ„ dedicated to god which thing caÌ„not be with 〈…〉 trust in him nor without resortiÌ„g vnto him by praier and supplicaâ—â—â—n Furthermore seing that all the things which beare the name of vertue and are iustly commended among meÌ„ are called the frutes of the spirit surely it is much more likely that when we should come vnto God and bee armed ageinst all temptations and be earnest in praying by meanes of faith we be not ready for it if the holy Ghost worke not in vs. Then of natural inclination there is not any thing in vs wherby we take hold of the doctrine of the Gospell neither are wee so lightsome as to mount vp vnto God to talke familiarly with him by prayer and supplication but the holy Ghost must dispose vs too it by inlightening our harts with his grace by mouing our harts to cal vpoÌ„ him Lo what we haue to remeÌ„ber heere Now wheras S. Paule matcheth ioy with loue it is not only to do vs to vnderstand that we shall be quiet to Godward and haue cheerfull hartes when he shall haue receyued vs to mercie and shewed himselfe too fauor vs but he speaketh of another kind of ioy which is that there bee no hartburning among vs to make vs lowre one at another nor spite to withdrawe vs froÌ„ our neybors but that we be gentle fellowlike yea and that we be glad when wee can ayde and succor them that haue neede of vs. In the .xiiij. to the Romans S. Paul saith that the kingdome of heaueÌ„ is ioy of spirit howbeit he taketh that word in another meaning For wee may reioyce in God when he witnesseth vnto vs that he receiueth vs for our Lord Iesus Christes sake and without that we must needes be vexed and turmoyled with such vnrest as we shal liue in continual trouble It is true that the despisers of God do sport theÌ„selues as much as may be in their iollitie but yet haue they neuer any rest or ioy for they bee faine too suffer much hartburning inwardly and God dooth so sting them with sundry hartbytings as they be alwayes in heauinesse and vexation in so much that when they would be merrie they be faine to play the brute beasts and to shake off al vnderstanding so as the discerning of good and euill is quite and cleane daunted in them Now it is a cursed ioy when men stray away after that fashion from God and forget what they bee But as I haue told you already S. Paule speaketh heere of the ioy that we haue in being conuersant with our neybors And after the same maner also is the word fayth 〈…〉 faithfulnesse and soundnesse of hart 〈◊〉 is a faith that respecteth God and that is the sure beleef which we haue of his promises according wherevnto it is sayde that wee bee iustified by fayth bicause it appeareth that God abolisheth and mortifieth in vs whatsoeuer is of our owne nature Therefore in that fayth wee must bee grounded vpon Gods onely mercy which is shewed vs in our Lorde Iesus Christ But howe come wee to the possessing of so great a benefite By trusting vnto Gods promises and by receyuing them with all obedientnesse acknowledging our selues to bee damned and forlorne and resting onely vpon him Yee see then that oure fayth which respecteth God is an assurance whiche wee conceyue of his goodnesse and loue towards vs to the ende wee may preace vnto him not doubting but that he heareth vs. And for that cause also S. Paule sayth that those whiche haue suche fayth doo trust boldly in God and therewithall doo also freely and boldly pray vnto him But in this present texte S. Paule taketh fayth for the faythfulnesse which wee perfourme one to another when we walke vprightly so as wee go not about to deceiue our neybour through lewdnesse or suttletie nor vse any double dealing nor any dissimulation to
promise of it as wee haue seene Heere yee see also why wee bee called Abrahams ofspring For wee belong no whit at all to him in respecte of the fleshe But fayth is a sufficient bonde too knit vs vnto him Furthermore wee see that our Lorde Iesus Christ who is the pledge of mens welfare is nowe reuealed vnto vs too the ende that wee shoulde haue the better assurance that wee bee ▪ hys and that hee wyll holde vs for the members of hys body And that is the cause why Christ sayde that Abraham sawe his daye and was glad of it The Iewes alledged the worthinesse of the Patriarke yea saith Christ as though your father Abraham had not rested vpon the things that were spoken too him concerning mee Therefore he sawe my day and it was the thing wherein he tooke all his comforte in so muche that he had not any other hope of saluation than by the beleefe which he had in the doctrine which is preached vnto you at this day by the Gospell That also is the very same thing that is spoken of Iohn Baptist by the Prophet Malachie namely that he was sent to knit the hearts and mindes of the fathers to the children And this is not spoken only of the person of Iohn Baptist but it belongeth also to the doctrine of the Gospell Yee see then that the thing wherevnto our Lorde calleth vs is that although Abrahā be rotten in the earth so long tyme ago yet wee may assure our selues that there is none other promise than that for vs too trust vnto so wee be knit vnto him by fayth and doo so agree togither as wee can call vpon God with the same minde wherewith he was gouerned according as in very deede he had his minde fixed vpon our Lorde Iesus Christ Nowe then for so muche as wee bee vnited vnto Abraham let vs tende to our Lorde Iesus Christ and let him be our aming marke and our shoote anker till wee be all assembled togither and gathered vp into the heauenly kingdome Lo what wee haue to consider when mention is made of the promise that was made before the lawe Yea and wee ought to bee greatly prouoked to constancie when wee perceyue that our father Abraham did alwayes wayte for our Lorde Iesus Christ althoughe it were so long ere he should be discouered to the world and it was tolde hym that hys seede shoulde bee hilde prisoners in a straunge lande After that God had tolde him that all the worlde should bee blissed in his seede he addeth and yet for all that thinke not that this shall bee performed within these twoo or three dayes or a hundred yeeres hence for thou thy selfe muste first die thou thy selfe muste firste bee conueyed hence intoo a straunge countrie where thyne ofspring shall bee oppressed with all tyrannie and crueltie Assure thy selfe I will be reuendged of it but yet must thy seede smart in the meane while Abraham herde all this Againe after that the lawe was giuen there passed other twoo thousand yeeres more ere our Lorde Iesus Christe came Nowe coulde Abraham neuer haue trusted too that which was spoken too him if he had not bin armed with heauenly power for he himselfe could not inioy the benefite that was offered him nother should his children inioy it that were too come Yee see then that two thousand and foure hundred yeeres were then to passe and yet notwithstanding Abraham repented him not that he had forsaken his fathers house as the Apostle declareth in the eleuenth too the Hebrewes but hilde on his race still albeit that God intended too trie his patience too the vttermoste Of much more reason ought wee now adayes too go on stedfastly whither soeuer God calleth vs and too hold vp our heades till we come too the crowne of glorie not withstandyng that as now it bee hidden from vs and that wee must bee fayne too beleeue and hope for things that surmount all our capacitie and which wee cannot perceyue Thus yee see how wee ought too put this text in vre Nowe herevpon S. Paule concludeth that if the inheritance come by the lawe it shall not come by fayth But God gaue Abraham all things in respect of fayth and therefore it is too bee concluded that the Lawe must needes ceasse when men go about to get fauour at Gods hand and the prayse of our saluation muste bee yeelded all wholly vntoo him S. Paule in speaking here of inheritance meeneth two things The one is that what soeuer God hath at any time promised vs is of his owne meere free goodnesse for an inheritance is not a wages or hyre True it is that a father in giuing his children their heritage may well say See how I take paynes for you Marke what shall come of it Yee shall haue my goodes among you But yet howe soeuer the father deale with them he hath none other respect than too his owne kinship He laboreth and taketh great paynes too prouide for such as are so alied vnto him Seing then that heritages are things of free gifte among men wee must not take eternall lyfe as a deserued wages or hyre at Gods hand For why it is an heritage Marke it for a sure grounde that heere all woorthinesse of men is excluded For when a man makes his children his heires he passeth not whither they haue done any greate woorke or no or whither they bee fayre or foule or whither they bee one thing or other but it is ynough for him that they bee his children and that his minde is too prouide for them Another poynt is that Sainct Paule in so saying giueth vs an incling that wee bee all of vs vtterly reiected of God so as wee cannot no not euen in this transitorie lyfe inioy any thing at all but by the onely meere grace of God True it is that the Sunne shyneth as well vppon the faythlesse as vppon the faithfull and all men are nurrished alike with the things that God giueth and graunteth vnto them but yet howsoeuer they fare the vnbeleeuers possesse not any thing by iust tytle They are but theeues and muste yeelde account of the benefites and goodes whiche they haue receyued of God euen too the last droppe of water bycause they were not sanctified but defiled them asmuche as in them lay bycause they had no fayth whiche as sayeth Sainct Paule is the thing whereby the benefites that God giueth vntoo vs are made cleane That is the way for vs too vse them lawfully but lette fayth bee away and there shall be nothing else but vnclennesse For why if my handes be foule and I handle the preciousest things in the worlde with them they shall bee rayed with the filthinesse of my handes Euen so is it when wee abuse Gods benefites The vnbeliefe that is in vs defileth all and in the ende all creatures muste crie out for vengeance vppon vs bycause wee abused them if we possessed them not with faith
Yee see then that wee cannot inioy any thing at all vnlesse wee bee Gods children And for the same cause also Sainct Paule in the fourth too the Romanes thinkes it not ynough too set downe the heauenly lyfe and euerlasting saluation but also nameth the heritage of the worlde and sayeth that Abraham was made heire of the worlde and that the same was not for that man alone but for all menne in generall Therefore whereas God adopteth vs and telleth vs that he will be gracious vntoo vs it is too the end that while wee liue heere beneath wee should bee fedde by his hand and he in giuing vs foode make vs too taste aforehand of the loue whiche he beareth vs and of the care that he hath ouer vs. Too bee shorte wee may and ought also too beholde Gods fatherly goodnesse in all his creatures Doo wee open our eyes and looke vpon the light of the Sunne Euen there dooth God shewe himselfe a father towardes vs. VVhen wee eate and receyue our sustenance God reacheth out his hande too shewe that wee bee alreadie fedde by him as his owne children Too bee shorte in all things and by all meanes he maketh vs too taste his fatherly loue aforehand too the intent wee shoulde bee confirmed in the things that he sheweth vs in the Gospell that is too wit that he hath reserued a better heritage for vs as for his children whom he hath adopted Then must all creatures direct vs vntoo heauenward But surely wee doo the cleane contrarie for wee apply Gods creatures to our owne lustes so as wee behilde downe still by them heere To bee shorte looke how many helpes God hath giuen vs too drawe vs too him so many lettes haue wee too holde vs backe in the worlde For wee neuer passe too knowe howe wee should bee reckened for Gods children so wee may liue at our ease in this worlde that is ynough for vs. But yet for all that it standeth vs greatly on hande too perceyue that God dooth alreadie in this worlde shewe himselfe a father towardes vs and intendeth too doo vs too wit what a care he hath of vs too the ende wee shoulde learne too referre our selues wholly vntoo him and there too reste Yee see then that by this woorde Heritage or Inheritance God sheweth firste that whatsoeuer he offereth vs is of his owne meere free bounteousnesse and secondly that wee bee so cursed that wee haue no righte too any thing no not euen too a droppe of water excepte God make vs his heyres and that muste bee done all onely for our Lorde Iesus Christes sake And therefore we must once againe call to rememberance how wee haue heretofore seene that the promis was made too Iesus Christe Then is not Abraham the stay and shoote anker thereof And for that cause also is our Lord Iesus named the heyre of all things and looke what he hath peculiar too himselfe that doothe he communicate too vs as too the members of his bodie In that respect also doth S. Paule say that the saying whiche is written in the seuenth verse of the eyght Psalme whiche is that he is made Lord of all things ought too bee applied first of all to his persone True it is that the sayd text is spoken of all men according as wee see how God hath put all beastes of the earth in subiection to man so as they bee fayne too die too giue vs sustenance and too clothe vs and keepe vs warme Againe we see how the earth yeeldeth vs frutes Therefore the lordship of the worlde is giuen vntoo vs how beit that is but by the meanes of our Lorde Iesus Christe For as I haue touched alreadie if wee bee separated from him wee bee forthwith so cut of from Gods house that the inheritance of them belongeth no more vntoo vs than too the furthest straungers in the worlde But nowe let vs come too the chiefe poynt that is contayned heere S. Paule sayeth that this heritage commeth not of the Lawe but of Fayth VVhereas he vseth these twoo speaches and cuppleth them toogither they bee things flat contrarie as I haue tolde you heretofore Not that the lawe is contrarie too fayth but bycause that too bee iustified before God and too obtayne fauour and mercie at his hand cannot come too passe by the Lawe The Lawe was not giuen too that end as we shall see in the next Sermon but too the cleane contrarie So then seyng that the heritage commeth by fayth we must conclude that our woorkes can doo nothing and that wee must bee fayne too come to God vtterly emptie as poore beggers too craue too bee filled by him bicause wee haue not one drop of goodnesse in our selues Yee see then whereat S. Paule ameth when he sayeth that the inheritance cōmeth of fayth and not of the lawe according also as God gaue it vntoo Abraham in respect of fayth And let vs marke that if wee bee not able too deserue any nurrishment in this worlde what shall wee bee able too doo towardes the possessing of the kingdome of heauen VVhen there is any talking of corruptible sustenance it is nothing in comparison of the heauenly glorie For it is sayde that wee shall bee made parttakers of the glorie of our God and that then wee shall bee all in all things But as now wee cannot deserue so much as one bit of bread for the inheritance cōmeth of fayth that is to say all that euer God hath promised men is of his owne meere free goodnesse And howe can wee then purchace the Realme of Paradice what a pryde is it for men to presume to come to it by their own strength must it not needes be that they are caried away with a terrible rage Moreouer in saying that God gaue all things to our father Abraham in respect of his fayth S. Paule doth yet better expresse and shewe that which I haue told you alreadie namely that man is able to deserue nothing of himself and that he must bee fayne too haue all of free gift He had sayd afore as we haue seene already that the promises were made and vttered but here he vseth the woord Giuing As if he should say here is not a bargayne betweene partie partie too say I will do this and thou shalt do that I wil sell and thou shalt buy but God doth freely giue and man doth but onely receiue Seing then that we must come vnto God to receyue that which he offereth vs and that we haue not any other title to the things that we looke for at his hand than only by free gift let vs forget all the worthinesse which we imagine to be in our selues and acknowledge that we be nothing And surely S. Paule vseth one other maner of speach which serueth to expresse better the thing that is ment here which is that if the heritage came by the Law the promis were disanulled and so consequently faith Therefore to be