the difference They by the name of Grace vnderstand those giftes which are geuen vnto them that are iustified namely the habites or qualities which are poured into theÌ„ more ouer good workes and other such like which God worketh in the elect But we forasmuch as we sée that these giftes so long as we liue here are through our corruption vnperfect do deny that we can by them be iustified and that by them by any meanes we are able to satisfy the iudgement of God Wherfore we vnderstande that to be iustified by grace is to be iustified by the only mere and sincere good will of God which he of his only mercy beareth towards vs. We say also that we are iustified by the grace of Christ which his father beareth towards hym For forasmuch as he is most gracious before him he bringeth to passe that he loueth would in him as hys members and brethren adopted by faith But the schoolemen haâ—â— What it is to be iustified by grace and by the grace of Christ The imagination of the Schole men sprang out of the Ethikes of Aristotle fayned vnto themselues that grace is an habite or quality poured into the soule yâ— the foule may more easely rise vp and more redely do good workes Which theyr fayned inuention they can by no meanes confirm by the holy scriptures But they séeme to haue taken it from the philosophers who in the Ethikes teach that the faculties powers of the minde are by an habite strengthned so that they are able to perform those things which before they wer not able or if they were able yet they were not able without great difficulty The self same thing do these meÌ„ iudge of yâ— mynd that forasmuch as of hys owne nature it can not so lift vp it self to be acceptable vnto God and to do yâ— workes which should please him it hath nede of a heauenly and spirituall habite to performe these things And whilest they thus follow their philosophy they depart from the vulgare and receyued sence of this worde grace For when we say that a souldiour is acceptable vnto a kyng or vnto a captaine A similitude we do not say that in the souldiour is grace or fauour but rather in the king or captayne which beareth fauour vnto the souldiour So we in thys case if we would speake plainly or aright should not say that in vs is powred or geueÌ„ grace but rather that we are receiued of GOD into grace or fauour which before were hys enemies But that we may the better fynde out the error of the scholemen we will here sette foorth their definition for they defyne grace to be an habite of goodnes and charity infused of God like vnto his whereby he that hath it is To haue grace of God is to be receiued into fauour of him The definition which the scholemen assigne vnto grace made acceptable vnto God and doth workes that are acceptable vnto him and meritorious When they say that it is an habite infused of God they seperate it from naturall vertues Farther when they make it to be like vnto the goodnes and loue of God they thinke that they bring a reasoÌ„ why they which be adorned with this habite are acceptable vnto God namely because of that similitude And because they can not by the scriptures proue that grace is a thing created in the soule they labour to confirme it with reasons For Thomas sayth that the beneuolence of God can not be idle for God is saide to loue when he geueth any good thing Wherefore he saith that God to do good to some or to loue some is to geue or infuse into them such an habite or quality as we haue now described But this is a very weake argument For we graunt that the loue of God lyeth not idle The loue of God towardes the elect is not idle but filleth vs with benifites and those very manifold But how followeth this argument God geueth very many giftes Ergo he createth or powreth in such an habite Farther this is no small error that they will that by this habite or creature we are made acceptable vnto God For it must nedes follow that seing he hath geuen vs such a gift he therefore loued vs before for the loue of God goeth before all his giftes The vertues in dede which follow may haue some consideration The loue of God towards vs goeth before all his giftes why they should be geuen but yet they can not haue that force to allure God to loue vs for he loued vs euen before he gaue them vnto vs. An other of their reasons is this If they which are conuerted vnto Christ say they haue the holy ghost which before they had not then of necessity it followeth that there happened some mutation But in God there is no mutacion Wherefore we must appoint it to be in our selues namely that we haue such an habite of grace which before we had not But this likewise is of no force for God differreth his aydes God is not chaunged although he do that now which before he did not is as semeth good vnto him and moueth the hartes of men at an appointed time when as before he moued them not which thing yet we doubt but is done without any his change at all For we know that God at an appoynted time created the world which before was not extant and yet we can not say that God is therefore changed Now resteth for vs to confirme by the scriptures that the grace of God signifieth his frée and vndeserued loue secondly that it signifieth also the rewardes It is proued that the grace of God is the fauor which he beareth towardes vs. or giftes which are bestowed vpon the Saintes thirdly that the grace of Christ is that whereby he is of force with the father and by reason of whiche we are loued of the father As concerning the first Paul fayth to the Ephesians that we were elected of God before the foundacions of the world were layde according to his good pleasure to the prayse of the glory of his grace In which place we sée that the cause of our election is that the frée loue and grace of God towardes vs should be commended And in the latter epistle to Timothe he sayth Which hath called vs wyth his holy vocation not by workes but according to his purpose and grace And Peter exhorteth vs to hope in that grace which is offred But it is not lawfull to hope in a thing created And as touching Christ Paul saith vnto the Ephesians that God hath made vs acceptable in hys beloued that is in Christ whome most dearely and especially he loueth And in this epistle he calleth grace eternall life This therefore is the The true definition of Grace true definition of Grace and agréeable vnto the holy scriptures That it is the frée beneuolence of God whereby he counteth vs deare in Christ Iesus and
dye for others which thing yet very rarely happened the thyng They which seme to dye for others dye for their owne sake being well considered may be sayd to haue died for their owne sake and not for any other mans sake Either for y◠they would winne glory or els for that they saw that all thinges went against them and not being able to abide that they chose rather to die But how farre the Decians and Curtians and suche other like were distant from the pure loue of Christ may be declared by many argumēts The death of the Curtians and of the Decians far inferior to the death of Christ For first they were not of that dignity that they should be compared with Christ wherfore their life which they gaue was not of like valew Farther woulde they or nilde they they should at one time or other haue died and peraduenture euen the selfe same tyme when the host was like to haue bene vanquished of the enemies But when death hangeth ouer mens heds it commonly maketh them the more fierce and bold as we read of Solon for he when he had raysed vp the citizens against the Tyranne Pisistratus beyng demaunded what thyng made him so bold alone aboue others to take vpon him such an enterprise answered his olde age For when he saw that he should within a while afterwarde dye he easely perswaded himself willingly to dye for his country sake but Christ not beyng obnoxious to death and yet for our sakes geuing himself vnto the death declared himselfe a much greater loue towards vs then they did towards their country Farther they died for their coūtry which was swete vnto thē for their wiues for their children for their lawes but Christ would be slain for weake persōs for sinners for enemies Before thē was set glory for whē they in such sort died they were an admiratiō to all mē wer publikely highly cōmended praised but Christ died a most vile death so y◠also he was reckened amongest thieues when as otherwise he was of all men the most innocentest Last of all they when they died had no consideration of God but Christ whatsoeuer he did did it of an obedience toward the eternall God his father Wherefore whether we looke vpon our selues or vpon Christ which suffred we can fynde no cause of his death but the meare loue of God towardes vs for we were so miserable and paste grace that we coulde by no merite of ours allure God to loue vs. Further Christ was so perfect and so heaped vp with all maner of felicity that he had no nede of that death thereby to attayne the more commodity What a pure loue is And that is counted a singular and pure loue which nether followeth his owne commodities nor is after a sort violently drawen of the worthynes of the thing it selfe And herein vndoubtedly Christ hath excellently well resembled his father and declared himselfe to be the sonne of God For he rayneth vpon the iust the vniust graunteth life doth good to men that are contumelious agaynst How much Christ excelled the Philosophers him and as Iohn sayth loued vs first Some of the Ethnike philosophers thought that they had done a very great acte when they were not moued with iniuries and for that cause they were counted like vnto God but Christ farre excelled thē For he was not only not agaynst wicked ones his enemies but also loued them and so loued them that he gaue his life for them Wherefore forasmuch as God is constant nether will easely chaunge hys will and seing that he hath geuen vnto vs so much vndoubtedly he will afterward geue greater thinges and seing that he hath once begonne to be beneficiall vnto vs he will not ceasse of vntill he haue adorned vs with all maner of benefites He hath God is hetherto foūr faythfull in his promises bene found faithfull in many promises he promised to take vpon him humane fleshe he tooke it to preach the Gospell he preached it To dye for our saluation he died To rise agayne from the dead he rose agayne To ascende vp into heauen he ascended vp To geue the holy ghost he gaue it To cal the Gentles he hath called them What is now behynde but the last resurrection and euerlasting glory to be rēdred vnto the faythfull Vndoubtedly if he haue faythfully performed all other thinges he will not in this one thing which is remaining breake hys fayth There were two thinges to be done saith Chrisostome which semed very hard namely that sinners should be iustified and that the Lord should dye for thē And forasmuch as both these things are now done the thinges which are remayning shall vndoubtedly be performed And Ambrose saith that the thinges which are remaining to be done are now made very easy And where as Paul sayth According to the time It may be referred vnto the death of Christ which happened not at euery tyme but at a tyme certayne opportune and appointed of God For if all thinges haue their appoynted tyme much more is the same to be affirmed of the death of Christ Wherfore Paul saith y◠he was geuen whē now was come the fulnes of time And Christ many times said either that his houre was now come or that it was not yet come That particle also may be added to that which is sayd that we were weake namely as the consideration of the tyme required For when we were strangers from Christ we lyued a weake life which yet is not so to be taken as though the consideration of the tyme coulde excuse that infirmitye For tyme vndoubtedly brought not that infirmity vnto vs for men were rather made weake by their owne transgression Although Ambrose vnderstand those wordes According to the tyme of the three dayes wherein Christ lay deade in the sepulchre But it skilleth not much which of these three interpretations a man followe But chiefely by these wordes of the Apostle we ought to consider what estate they are in which are not yet regenerate nor made partakers of the death of Christ For Paul pronounceth them to be weake sinners enemies and wicked men Where then ran What is the estate of those that are not regenerate Against workes preparatory these workes of preparation haue place for which our aduersaries make so muche ado But these men dreame I know not of what middle state wherein men lyue not altogether godly nor vtterly vngodly Amongest which kinde of men they recken Cornelius the Centurion whose almes were gratefull and acceptable and his prayers heard of the Lord when as yet he beleued not in Christ But as touchyng him if as these mē say he were not yet a pertaker of the death of Christ nor by any means regenerate vndoubtedly by the testimony of Paul he was both an enemy of God and an vngodly person and therfore neither he himself nor his works could be acceptable vnto God
First that it is not vtterly vnprofitable no not euen without regeneration for it may serue to some ciuile discipline The office of the law For if mē do the outward workes of the law in such sort as they may although vnto them which doo them they are sinnes yet by thē may be obserued a ciuile order For where there is no obseruation of these thinges all thinges are confoūded iniuries are committed filthy lust rāgeth abrode the wrath of God is kindled so that he suffreth not publike welthes being in such maner corrupt verye long to continew There is also an other worke of the lawe which is inwarde which pertayneth vnto the conscience that it should perpetually accuse vrge scourge and condemne it And by this meanes God as we haue sayd bringeth a man at the length to iustification Which iustification being obteyned nether then doth the law lye idle but is like a glasse wherein the regenerate do behold After regeneration the law is not idle what fruites they ought to bring forth how much they ought dayly to profite what they haue to geue thankes for and how muche they want of the iust instauration to y◠end to obtaine it they may the more ernestly call vpon God The law also putteth before theyr eyes y◠marke wherevnto they ought to leuel in al theyr actions Vnto which although they can not attayne in this life yet they must doo theyr diligence not to depart far from it By these thinges it manifestly appeareth how much the law helpeth in outward workes what it worketh in the conscience and how much it helpeth them that are regenerate Now resteth this to marke that this sentence of the Apostle pertayneth not only to ceremonies Vnder this sentēce are comprehended not onely ceremonies but also the morall precept but also to the morall preceptes For sinne is by them most chiefely increased and it is of more greater wayght to stray from them then from outward ceremonies But now let vs returne vnto the Apostle That euen as sinne hath raigned in death so might grace also raigne by righteousnes vnto eternall life through Iesus Christ Here he sheweth a reason why grace in the elect after the increases of sinne abounded namely that by it we should obteyne righteousnes and so at the length come to eternall life For euen as sinne brought death so grace also and righteousnes which must be ioyned together haue brought eternall life The argument is taken of contraries An argument taken of contraries For seing that sinne which is opposite vnto righteousnes brought death it is meete that of grace and righteousnesse shoulde followe life Neyther is it in vayne that righteousnesse is ioyned wyth grace For thereby we are taughts that our righteousnesse consisteth not of woorkes but of grace The wonderfull order also of thynges is here to be noted In the firste place is put the A very godly gradation law then the increase of sinne and then the aboundance of grace afterward righteousnes last of all eternall life and all these things by Iesus Christ As touching the wordes sinne is sayd to haue raigned in death bycause sinne could not be taken away by the law and death was for his cause inflicted as a punishmēt In the 1. to y◠Corrinth Paul hath in a maner the selfe same sentence saying that the dart of death is sinne For nether could death otherwise wound mankind but by sinne Ether of them are sayd to raigne both grace and sinne when we are moued and stirred vp by them for in Publike welthes kinges raigne and gouerne How grace and sinne a◠sayd to raigne as it pleaseth them In godlye men righteousnes raigneth for they after they haue receaued remission of sinnes study to geue theyr members weapons vnto righteousnes and holines as before they had permitted them to sinne And this is called the kingdome of Christ which is therefore ascribed vnto grace by Why this kingdome is called the kingdome of Christ The rootes of death and life A similitude Grace and life cleaue together of necessity cause it consisteth freely and without workes In this place as Chrisostome noteth are set forth vnto vs the rootes of death and life The fountaine of life is grace and righteousnes the foūtayne of death is sinne And he addeth that death is like a souldier whiche is aypointed armed of sin as of his king wherfore take away the king then death being vnarmed can not destroy mē for euer Farther he admonisheth that forasmuch as haue alredy obteyned grace we should not doubt of the obteynement of life For these things cleaue of necessity the one to the other But why the Apostle bringeth this similitude we may easely shew Bicause grace was of more force to make new agayne then sinne was of force to kill And in that it is added by Iesus Christ we must call to rememberance the Analogy or proposition set at the beginning betwene Adam and Christe For euen as from Adam came sinne and death so from one Iesus Christ came grace and life This place admonisheth vs somwhat to speake of grace Nounes which as the Logicians say are put abstractly are vsually declared by their cōcrets whose significations Of Grace Abstractes are knowne by theyr concretes What is to be gracious are more present vnto the sence Wherefore let vs first sée what this worde Gratiosus that is gratious signifieth with the Latines And he amongest men is called Gratiosus whome all men fauour and whome the common people do loue So in the holy scriptures men are called gratious which haue found grace with God For so the scripture vseth to speake of those whom God fauoureth and We are one way gracibefore God and an other way before men whom he loueth But yet as touching this there is great differēce betwene God men For men fauour none but them in whome they finde those things whereby they may be allured and drawen to loue them It behoueth therfore that he which will be beloued of men haue in himselfe the causes of loue and beneuolence But God contrariwise found in men nothing worthy to be beloued wherby he mought be led to loue them For he hath loued vs first and out of that loue he bestoweth vpon vs whatsoeuer we haue that is acceptable vnto him Wherfore the name of The grace of God is taken too o◠manner of wayes grace is in holy scriptures taken two manner of wayes first and principally it signifieth the beneuolence of God towardes men and the frée fauour which he heareth towards the elect Secondly bicause God endueth his elect with excellēt gifts Grace sometymes signifieth also those giftes which are fréely bestowed vppon vs by God This two fold signification of grace beyng well noted declareth with how great diuersitie our aduersaries and we affirme one and the selfe same sentence for either of vs say that a man is iustified by grace But in this is
time when he was called Verely he thought vpon nothing ells but how to murther the christiaÌ„s and vtterly to destroy and to ouerthrow Christian religion and yet notwithstanding he was streight way conuerted vnto God and the truth was so set forth vnto him that streight way he embrased it vtterly and wholy changed his minde Wherefore there is no cause why any man should accuse God of iniquity for when he forgeueth and pardoneth he geueth frely of that which is his owne but Why God is not to be accused of iniquity when he punisheth and putteth to paines he by most good right requireth that which is his owne These thinges writeth August as we haue sayd in his boke of questions to Simplicianus the second question But in his epistle to Sixtus which is the 105. in nomber he sayth that God findeth not men mete to be elected but maketh them God in Iocob loued only his mercy He hated Esau for that he would not haue mercy on him Paul wanted not sharpenes of wit Neither loued he any thing ells in Iacob saith he but his owne free mercy And Esau he hated for that he woulde not haue mercye on him Whiche thinges these men sayth he speaking of the Pâ—lagians seking to auoyd say that God had a regard to the workes foresene as though forsoth Paul wanted so greate sharpenes of witte that he would not se that which these witty men saw For theÌ„ doubtles was the time for Paul so to answer wheÌ„ he had obiected vnto him selfe What shall we then say Is there iniquity with God God forbidde He mought streight way euen with one worde after these men haue solued the question yea rather he had had no question at all to solue We must consider what Paul there went aboute what he did and what was his entent His entent was to inculcate the grace of God but they which haue this scope before theyr eyes can not imagine any suche things And in his Enchiridion to Laurentius the 98. chapiter he writeth that if this had bene the entent of Paul he would in no case haue sayd Not of workes yea he would rather haue sayd Of workes foresene he loued Iacob by his free mercy and hated Esau by his iust iudgment Wherefore they which are planted in an holy calling let them acknowledge that vnto them is geueÌ„ grace not dew vnto them and in others that eternally perish let them consider what was dew vnto them Now that I haue thus briefely recited the sentences of the fathers I thinke it good to declare my iudgement What is to loue What is to hate as touching this whole matter First I vnderstand that To loue is nothing els but to will well to a man And to hate is nothing els but to wish ill to a man or not to wyll well vnto him Wherefore God is sayd to loue them vnto whom he willeth eternall saluation that is the chiefe felicitie and those he hateth vnto whom he wylleth it not Nowe this so being the controuersie is whether God wylleth felicitie to the elect by workes foresene or no and how he willeth it not to the reprobate First we wyll speake of loue Nowe loue can not be of workes foresene for Paul sayth Not of workes but of him that calleth And seing The electioÌ„ or predestination of God cannoâ— be of works foreseene that God findeth not good workes in men but of his mercy deriueth them into them how can they be the causes of his loue And in the 11. chapiter of this epistle Paul sayth That the remnantes shall be saued according to the election of grace And if of grace then not of workes And in this place the same Apostle referreth the effects also of the promises of God only to the will and power mercy of God Therfore ought we to presume to go no farther And in the 1. chapiter to the EphesiaÌ„s he sayth That we are predestinated into the adoption of children according to the good We should be iustified by workes foresâ—ne â–ª iâ— we should by them be elected pleasure of the will of God And if we should graunt that men attayne to saluation by workes forsene we could not auoyde but that men should be sayd to be iustified by workes For then of our workes should follow the foreknowledge of God of foreknowledge predestination and of predestination calling and of calling last of all iustification we should consent also with the Pelagians that iustification and merites take theyr beginning of our selues and that God afterward addeth grace mercy and variety of gifts Neither ought we to thinke that the worke of God which is eternall hath his beginning of any thing temporall The eternal worke of God hath not his beginning of a thing temporall The hatred of God is not of workes foresene After the selfe same maner we say that the hatred of God dependeth not of workes foreknown For Paul a like pronouÌ„ced of ech brother Not of workes but of him that calleth And if we should graunt that the hatred of God springeth of ill workes foresene it mought be on the contrary part inferred as sayth Augustine that the loue of God also springeth of good workes forsene And moreouer this reason can not take place in all those that are elected or reiected For many amongest the Iewes and Turkes perish euen in theyr in fancy and are condemned and therefore are nombred amongest those whome God hateth in whome yet he could foresee no euil workes forasmuch as they should neuer haue any yea rather he foreknew that they should worke nothing Neither auayleth that any thing which some say that God saw what they would haue A cauillatioÌ„ confuted done if they should haue liued For by this meanes should not the iustice of God as touching humane reason be defended for the defence whereof yet these men take so great paynes For streight way should come into yâ— mind why these men were reiected for those workes which they neuer did nor euer should haue done But they should haue done them thou wilt say if they had liued Graunt it were so But a conditionall proposition affirmeth nothing And that God followeth not this consideratioÌ„ in his loue or hatred Christ plainly declareth wheÌ„ he saith Wo vnto the Corozaim wo vnto the Bethsaida for if in Tyre and Sidon had bene done the thinges which haue bene done in thee they bad long since repented in sackcloth and ashes Again Wo vnto the Capernaum which art exalted vp to heauen for thou shalt be cast downe euen into hell For if in Sodome had bene done the thinges which haue bene done in thee those cities had yet bene remayning These wordes playnely declare that God hath not a respect vnto that what a man shall do For he gaue miracles vnto God gaue miracles to them that vsed theÌ„ ill but gaue none to theÌ„ that would haue vsed them well them that vsed them ill and gaue not
difference is only in the men and not in God The goodnes of God is equally geuen vnto all men In the nature of men is equality All men are not by one â–ª and the selfe same force drawen Against the similitude of the clay and of the wâ—xe A place to the Hebrues declared For some embrace his goodnes when it is offred but others reiecte it and are hardned For rather contrariwise in men we must put equality and likenes as which comming of one and the selfe same masse haue like condition of free wil and they by themselues can do nothing that is vpright Wherefore seing that this infirmity or rather vnablenes is a like in all men the differeÌ„ce must nedes be put in grace as in the mouing and efficient cause for that all men are not after one the selfe same maner drawen For vocation is of two sortes the one is of â—fficacy the other common And that similitude of the clay and of the waxe is vayne and trifling For after the fall of Adam this distinction hath no place in frée will For in maÌ„kinde now are not some like waxe and other some like clay For god as Paul saith maketh his vessels of one yâ— selfe same clay according to his conning geueth to one the self same clay sondry formes Neither doth yâ— place to the Hebreues make any thing to this purpose For there the scripture exhorteth men which ofteÌ„times heare the word of God to endeuour themselues by holy life to be fruitful which if they do they shall obtain the blessing of God but if they liue wickedly and suffer the sede of God to be corrupted and made vnprofitable in them they shal be obnoxious vnto the curse For the declaration whereof he vsed an excellent similitude taken of the earth Wherefore in that place is nothing spoken of fre wil and grace but of the word of God of men which professe Christ in the church whome God exhorteth yâ— they should not be such as dure but for a time and are only in name Christians Whereunto also The parable of Christ of the seede Christ had a respect in the parable of the sede cast partly vpon good earth and partly vpon stony ground and partly amongest thornes and partly in the high way Wherfore the condition of the shoure of the word of God is described yâ— it always lâ—ghteth not vpon good men and vpon such as are reformed by the grace The good earth are those which are elected spirit of God Wherfore we may say yâ— yâ— good earth are those which are elected and yâ— barren earth are yâ— reprobate And the earth as it hath showers froÌ„ heaueÌ„ so therehence also hath it fertility bareÌ„nes So it is god which ministreth vnto vs both his word also yâ— grace of faith wherby we with profit receiue yâ— same word But whereas Pigghius saith that it is a phrase of speach much vsed that a good and gentle master will say vnto his seruauntes abusing his lenity I my selfe haue marred you I my selfe haue spilt you that doubtles I deny not But he should haue proued that Paul in this place spake in this sort For seing that God is otherwise This figure of Pighius agreeth not with the wordes of Paul vnderstanded to harden the harts of men this figure will not agrée with the words of Paul For first it is an hard inuersion of speach if whereas Paul saith God hardeneth the hart of Pharao we should say vtterly excluding God Pharao hardeneth his hart for that he abuseth the goodnes of God Moreouer if as Pigghius thinketh to harden should be all one with to do good to haue mercy to shew clemency it should not then be the part of a father which gouerneth well and with clemency to forgeue sinnes to adopt into children and to geue sondry giftes but to chasten and to punishe And by that meanes shall follow many absurdities For when God deliuered the children of Israell into captiuity we must say that he had mercy on them because he punished them And when he brought them home againe from captiuity for that he did good vnto them we must say that he hardened them By this meanes to send his sonne into the worlde which was a token of incredible clemency was to harden the worlde and by Titus and Vespasian to destroy and ouerthrow Ierusalem was to haue mercy on the Iâ—wes So shall the glorification of the saintes pertaine to hardening and the punishemente of hell fyre to mercye And forasmuch as God doth good vnto all men rayneth vpon the iust and vpon the vniust and maketh his Sunne to arise vpon the good and vpon the euil if we follow Pigghius opinion we must say that God hardeneth them all Further who can deny but that Pharao was smitten of the Lord and chastised especially when as there are reckoned vp so many plagues wherewith God smote him But euen then most of all as Pigghius dreameth God should haue mercy vpon him not haue â—ad hardened hym yea rather although God be sayde sometymes to haue hardened the hart of Pharao when he tooke away those plagues yet if a man diligently reade of the history of Exodus he shall fynde that the selfe same was spoken when Pharao was smitten and when the plagues were layde vpon hym For when the lice were sent and the sorcerers coulde not do the like when the cattayle were slayne with the pestilence and when euery where men were so troubled with botches that neither the sorcerers themselues coulde escape them it is by expresse wordes written that the hart of Pharao was hardened Lastly Paul sayth that vnto them that loue God all thinges turne to good Wherefore whether he send vpon them prosperity or aduersity he alwayes hath mercy vpon Pighius in vaine excuseth God them neither can he by any maner of meanes be sayd to harden them Neither doth it any thing profite Pigghius when as though he would excuse God he sayth that he hardeneth when he will not punishe those which deserue punishmentâ—s For neither by this meanes doubtles if a man loke vpon humane reason can God eschew the suspicion of cruelty and of iniustice For if that He may be callâ—d an vniust father which punisheth not his children in tyme. â—enity be hurtfull and God is not ignorant thereof why then vseth he it Should not he be counted an vniust father which chastiseth not his children in tyme God indede tollerateth many things and that not agaynst his wyll but with hys wyl And if he tolerateth and willeth that which is agaynst our saluation how shall he not seme to be against our saluation But he hath geuen vs thâ—u wilt say free will But reason will say O God whatsoeuer thou dost either A false imagination of Pighius of certayne others in chastising or in fauoring me it is nothing vnles thou shalt first change me and in stede of
the gayne for that he should winne vnto Christ infinite numbers of men And of what force this is to shake of sluggishenes and slouthfulnes marchantes do declare who setting gayne before their eyes passe nothing for the dangers of tempestes difficulties of iorneyes and inuasions of theeues Loue and charity wherewith hys hart was kindled and inflamed mitigated the paynes that he should take And as for hys ability and strēgth he was nothing carefull for that he did put no confidence in those thinges but depended wholy of Christ who sufficiently adorned him with free and gracious giftes of the holy ghost as time and place should require We may adde the fift cause wherby men ar accustomed to be called away ether from the profession of Christ or from preaching and that is shame because our flesh iudgeth the Gospell a thing to be ashamed of And this impediment the Apostle putteth away when he sayth For I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ because it is the power of God to saluation vnto all that beleue namely to the Iewe first and also to the Greke For the righteousnes of God is reuealed in it from fayth to fayth as it is written The iust shall liue by fayth For I am not ashamed of the Gospell And hereof he geueth a reason namely Because it is the power of God to saluation to euery one that beleueth In that he writeth that he is not ashamed of the Gospell although he spake that vnder his owne person yet meaneth he thereby to admonish the Romanes vnto whome he writeth that they also though they were highly exalted ought not to be ashamed of the Gospell And he vseth the figure Liptote For he speaketh not so much as he meaneth Not to be ashamed is in this place as much as if he had sayd I very much glory And this spake he playnly and without any figure to the Galathyans saying God forbid that I should glory in any thing but in the crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ. But there are many at this day which We may◠glory of the Gospell if we receaue it truly and from the harte boast that they ar Christians haue receaued the Gospel which thing I would to God they did truely and frō the hart For there are to many of them which if they were well examined as touching maners are most farre from Christ and as touchinge rules of religion if a man beginne to examine them but euen in the Cathechisme he shall fynde that they neuer vnderstoode any thyng of Christ That commonly is counted a thing to be ashamed of which is had in contempt of the world and that is counted honorable which the world hath in estimacion but in triall of the Gospell our flesh is excedingly deceaued For How our flesh is deceaued whō it iudgeth of the Gospel it thinketh it a thing to be ashamed of as touching vnderstanding as touching good thinges of the mynde as touching good thinges of fortune and also as touching the good thinges of the body For as touching the minde and vnderstanding it counteth it a thing foolishe to perswade it selfe of those thinges whereof it can not render a reason As touching the good thinges of the mynde because we can not be iustified by our owne vertues and excellent déedes And it thinketh it a very foolishe thyng to cast away the goodes of the body and so to crucifye our fleshe withall the lustes thereof and concerning the goodes of fortune to take vp our crosse and by contumelyes and reproches to followe Christ All these seeme vnto the fleshe thinges to be ashamed of agaynst which we must continually set this which Paule here sayth We are not ashamed of the Gospell This doctrine hath with out doubt many enemyes And fyrst are Who they are that are ashamed of the Gospel the Epicures or rather 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is men without God who thinke that thys Gospell is vtterly a trifle and a fayned thing and do much meruayle at vs and deride vs for that we are so carefull and diligent touching it There are other ciuile men which are gouerners ouer the publike wealth And these men thinke this doctrine to be vtterly sedicious and they count it a thyng vnmeete that preachers vnder the pretence of publishing of repentance and preaching should be permitted to reproue the vices of magistrates and princes and after a sort to accuse them vnto the people And thys say they is nothyng els then to rent in sonder publike welthes There are also hipocrites monkes and other religious persons which cry out that by our Gospell the lawes of God are ouerthrowen holy ceremonies are contemned good workes despised holy Images taken away and as they say all deuocions vtterly abolished With these selfe same aduersaryes was Paule troubled for the scribes phariseyes and high priestes cried out that by thys Gospell whiche the Apostles preached the lawe of God was abrogated ceremonies which the Patriarches and Prophetes had kept were set at nought the tribe of Leui spoyled of hys honour the dignitye of the priesthode made equall wyth the prophane estate and the publike welth of the Iewes vtterly extinguished Agaynst whiche sharpe saying thys remedy was to be vsed namely these wordes I am not ashamed of the Gospell whatsoeuer ye say or imagine agaynst it It happened also in the tyme of Augustine and Chrisostome What manner of things happened in the time of Augustine Chrisostome The Ethnikes vpbrayde the Gospell vnto those that are cōuerted vnto Christ Heretikes vpbrayde the Gospell vnto the Catholikes when that whole cities had not as yet receaued Christ but that there were in one and the selfe same city both Christians and also idolatrers that if at any time a noble or welthy man had taken vpon him the name of a Christian his affinity kinsefolkes and frendes would come vnto hym and say doost thou beleue in one that was crucified Art thou not ashamed to commite thy saluation to hym which was afflicted with extreme punishement neyther was he able to saue himselfe What madnes is this of thee doost thou beleue in one that was nayled vnto a crosse Vnto whom he should haue answered as they say I beleue in hym that was crucifyed and not in a whoremonger in an adulterer an vnchast person a parrycide or slayer of his owne children such as is your Iupiter Saturne and other Gods whome ye worshippe Wherefore I am not ashamed neyther of Christ nor yet of the Gospell So also must we aunswere the heretikes when they say that it is a thyng foolishe and to be ashamed of to beleue that the sonne of God suffred in very deede or that he tooke vpon him very humane flesh of the wombe of the virgine forasmuch as these things are found in the Gospel we do wholy beleue them neyther are we ashamed of the Gospell of Christ At thys day also the auncient men do vpbrayde godly The Papistes
iudgement they either aggrauate or extenuate the person then of necessity there must be a respect had vnto the person Because accordyng to the saying of the Gospell That seruaunt shall be more greuously punished whiche knoweth the wyll of his Lord and transgresseth it then he which sinneth ignorauntly Wherfore there remaineth that this place of the Apostle be vnderstanded of such persons as are seioyned from causes Farther there is to be put great difference Persons free from causes Besides iudgemente somethinge may be geuen vnto one man freely and an other of the same state and condition omitted betwene to accept a person in iudgemeÌ„t besides iudgement to geue vnto som one man any thing freely and not geuing to an other For this latter parte no man can iustlye accuse As if a man hauyng two debters shoulde requyre his debte of the one and forgeue the other he of whome the debte is required hath no cause iustly to complaine of his creditour So likewise God althoughe he cal one and calleth not an other because no merites went before in neyther of them cannot be called an accepter of persons Neither if in rewarding those which labored but one houre in the vineyard he would geue as great a reward vnto those and to them which had labored in it all the whole day ought he to be reproued Because he defrauded not these men of the hire for whiche he agreed with them And vnto the other he would geue freely that whiche they deserue not But then should there be iust cause to complayne if a thing should be geueÌ„ vnto one man and an other vnto whome the selfe same thing is due should be defrauded And after the selfe same manner forasmuch as God is bounde vnto God is bound to no man no man when he destributeth sondry giftes it is lawfull for him to do with his owne what pleaseth him For that in geuinge vnto some freely he defraudeth not them of any thing due whome he omitteth These thinges hath Augustine against the two Epistles of the Pelagians in his seconde booke and. 7. chap vnto Bonifacius where he thus writeth Acception of persons is there rightlye sayde to be where he which iudgeth leauinge the deserte of the cause whereof he iudgeth geeueth iudgemente with the one against the other because he findeth some thinge in the person which is woorthy either of honor or of compassion And straight way he bringeth the similitude of the two debters and the parable of the vineyard whereof we haue alredy spoken and addeth Euen as therfore here is no acception of persons because one is in such manner freely honored that an other is not defrauded of that his due so also wheÌ„ according to the purpose of God one is called and an other is not called vnto him that is called a good gift is frely geueÌ„ of which good gift the calling is the cause vnto him that is not called is rendred euill because all men are guilty for that by one man sinne entred into the world These are Augustines woordes vnto which to the ende we may ouerthrow the argumentes which we haue before recited this is to be added That Those thinges which God geueth vnto men he geueth of hys mercy whatsoeuer good thing God of his liberality geueth vnto menne the same vndoubtedly proceedeth of his mercy and clemencye And althoughe sometimes he pronounceth that he will do good vnto some eyther for theyr progenitors sake or els for theyr prayers these thinges he therfore speaketh to stirre vs vp to liue well Neither are these promises to be vnderstanded of the whole kinred of the posterity or vniuersally For God accordinge to his secret predestination hath his choyce in he seede of the saintes and in hearing of prayers which are made out of other men Which thing may be sufficiently confirmed by examples For althoughe the seede of Abraham were blessed yet that blessing had place in Isaac and not in Ismael The same promise was made vnto Isaac but it was performed in Iacob and not in Esau The common wealth of the Iewes had a promes that it shoulde be preserued but that promes was performed in the kingdome of the house of Dauid and not in the kingdome of the ten tribes Wherfore forasmuch as this choice which is according to predestination is vtterly vnknowne vnto The choyce which consisteth in predâ—stination is both vnknowne vnto vs also leaneth not vnto persons Two kinds of the benefites of God vs we oughte not to lene vnto the person And it commeth to passe perpetually that they which are so chosen of God are also adorned with good works Wherfore God hath not a respect vnto the person but as we haue sayd iudgeth according to the woorkes And how little a respect of persons he sometimes hath the place in the. 14. chap of Ezechiell declareth where it is saide That the earth shal be destroyed forasmuch as it hath bene altogether viciate and corrupte And thoughe there stoode vp in it Noah Iob Daniell vndoubtedly they shall not deliuer it but shall deliuer theyr owne soules onely Farther the benefites of God are eyther but for a time whiche pertaine vnto this life or els they are eternall whiche belong vnto the chief felicity of which Paule now intreateth Who affirmeth that without respecte of persoÌ„s it shal by the iust iudgemeÌ„t of God be either rendred or denied But as touchinge commodities whiche dure but for a time we doubt not but that God vseth sometimes either to hasten or to slacken them at the prayers of holy men which selfe thinge he attributeth also vnto the seede of the saints But in this doing he eyther prouoketh men to repentaunce or els by his lenitye they bringe vnto theÌ„selues greater punishment But as touching the eternal chief felicitie we haue now declared yâ— God hath made no promise generally for the sauing of any posteritie Therefore the Iewes deserued woorthely to be reproued for that they promised vnto themselues onely so greate a thinge as thoughe for that they were of the seede of Abraham they coulde not perishe paule in thys There is no generall promes for the sauinge of any posterity as touching eternall life selfe same Epistle the. 9. chap most manifestly declareth That not all they whyche are of Israell are Israelites neyther because they were the sede of Abraham therfore they were straight way all sons But by Isaac sayth he shall thy seede be called That is Not they whiche are the children of the fleshe are the children of God but the children of the promes are counted for the seede This sentence of the Apostle testefieth that whiche we haue sayd namely that the promises of God in this kinde were singuler and not vniuersal And it is for certaine that in those which are chosen to saluacion are vndoubtedly found good workes if they come vnto ful age Wherfore these The elect if they come to full age shall vndoubtedly
Whereof springeth the certainty of hope touching the constaÌ„cy of God which no vnworthines of ours caÌ„ make frustrate and if we looke vpon this vnworthines withdrawing vs from this confidence we ought agaynst hope to beleue in hope and though it neuer so much cry out agaynst vs we ought to haue full confideÌ„ce that we shal by Christ be made safe setting before vs our father Abraham whose steps we ought by fayth to cleaue vnto he as touchinge the promise that he should haue issue had no consideratioÌ„ vnto his age or to his wife which was past childbearing but had a respect only vnto him which made the promise had a consideratioÌ„ vnto his might and therfore he most firmely setled with himselfe that that should come to passe which God had promised So although that we be vnworthy and that our filthynes sinnes are a let vnto vs yet let vs haue no distrust but that we shal by Christ be made safe vnles we will be infected with infidelity from which AbrahaÌ„ so much abhorred for he doubted not through vnbeliefe sayth the Apostle Wherfore this vncertaynty of our aduersaries is vtterly taken away from the minds of the godly For for this cause as the Apostle testifieth would God haue vs to be iustified by fayth not by works that the promise should abide certaine and What is to geue glory vnto God The vngodly ought to haue hope vnshaken And this is in deede to geue the glory vnto God whiche thinge Abraham did For he notwithstanding those wonderfull great impediments hoped that that vndoubtedly should come to passe which God had promised Iob also so little estemed these letts that he sayd Although he kill me yet will I hope in him By which words he declareth that it is the part of the godly althoughe they be seuerely afflicted of God appeare to be hated of him yet not to cast away hope Wherfore him let vs imitate if our fallinges and vnworthynes themselues against vs yet let vs not distrust Let vs in the meane time detest our bices and as much as lieth in vs amend them but yet through them let vs by no meanes be deiected from the hope of saluation For if when the promises of God are of fred we should looke vpon our owne worthines we should be stirred vp to desperation There should be no peace if we stood in doubt of saluation rather then to any hope For there is no man whose minde is not ladeÌ„ with many and greuous sinnes Farther Paul teacheth vs that peace towards God is had by Christe and by the fayth which is towardes him which peace vndoubtedly should ether be none at all or ells very troublesome if we should continually doubt of his good will towards vs. Do we not alwayes in our praiers call him father But no sonne which followeth naturall affection doubteth of his fathers good will towards him How then do we call him father whome we suspect to be our enemy There mought be brought a great mani other such The fathers taught the certainety of saluation like reasoÌ„s for the certainty of hope But now I will in few words declare that the fathers also in theyr writings taught the selfe same certainty Chrisostome vpon this place thus writeth do not saith he though thou be neuer so vnworthy discorage thy selfe seing thou hast so great a defeÌ„ce refuge namely the loue or fauor of the iudge And a little afterward he saith For that cause the Apostle himselfe when he saith hope confouÌ„deth not ascribeth all the things which we haue receaued not vnto our good dedes but vnto the loue of God Ambrose also saith That forasmuch as it is impossible that they which are deare vnto him should be deceaued he would make vs assured of the promise because it is God which hath promised hath promised to those whome he counteth for deare Augustine in his sermoÌ„ which he made vpoÌ„ yâ— moÌ„day in yâ— RogatioÌ„ weke Why sayth he doth your hand tremble when you knocke why is your conscieÌ„ce halfe on slepe when you beg I am the dore of life I abhorre not him that knocketh though he be vncleane And vpoÌ„ the 41. Psalme he sayth Put not hope in thy selfe but in thy God For if thou puttest hope in thy selfe thou shalt fill thy soule full of trouble for that it hath not yet found how it may be secure or assured of the. By these words he declareth that security which we haue coÌ„meth not of our selues but of God And vpoÌ„ the 27. psalm when he expoundeth these words of Paul out of the secoÌ„d chapter to yâ— EphesiaÌ„s we also were by nature the childreÌ„ of wrath as are others Why doth he say we were Bycause sayth he by hope nowe we are not for in deede we are so still But we speake that which is better namely that which we are in hope bycause we are certaine of our hope For our hope is not vncertaine so that we should doubt of it And Chrisostome vpon the. 5. chapter vnto the Romanes sayth that we ought no les to be fully perswaded of those things which we shall receaue theÌ„ we ar of those things which we haue alredy receaued Cyprian also in his sermon of the pestilence when he sawe the godly fearefull to dye many wayes confirmeth them to be sure of theyr saluation and amoÌ„gst all other things saith that they are afeard and abhorre death which are without hope or fayth And Bernardus wonderfully reioyseth of the 〈…〉 of Christ of his wounds and crosse In that rocke he sayth he standeth and shall not fall for no violence done against him He maketh mencion also of many excellent things touching this firm and coÌ„stant certainty Wherfore those things which we haue auouched of the constancy and security of hope agree not only with the holy scriptures and with most sure reasons but also with the sentences of the fathers Now it shal be good to define hope that yâ— certainty therof may the more plainly be known Wherfore hope is a faculty or power breathed into vs Definition of hope by the holy ghost wherby we with an assured and patient minde wayte for that the saluation begonne by Christ and receaued of vs by fayth should one day be perfited in vs not for our merites but through the mercy of god First it is said to be instilled of the holighost bicause that springeth not of nature or of our coÌ„tinual actioÌ„s It is indede after faith although not in time yet in nature which thing we may perceaue by epistle vnto the Hebrues Where it is written that Hope is after faith that faith is the fouÌ„datioÌ„ of things to be hoped for For forasmuch as the things which we hope for ar not euideÌ„t manifest but ar a gret way far of froÌ„ vs they ought to cleaue fast vnto faith wherby as by a certain brase or sure post they may be staied vp And yâ—
excellent estate or condition but also as it is written vnto the Hebrues Do tread vnder foote the sonne of God and do pollute his blood which was shed for them By this place also we are taught to loue our enemies not after the common maner as when men say yâ— they wishe wel vnto theyr enemy it is inough they thinke if they hate him not but yet in the meane time they will take no paynes ether to bring him to amendment or to saluation And which is more haynous they are not onely not beneficyall towardes theyr enemies but also through theyr sluggishnes they suffer theyr weake bretherne to perish they winke at theyr sinnes nether vse they any admonitions or reprehensions that they might be amended There are besides infinite other instructions which The loue of God most plentifully teacheth vs many thinges the loue of God teacheth vs. For we haue no booke stuffed with more plentifull doctrine then the death of Christ whiche if we diligentlye examine we shall be tought in a maner al dueties necessary vnto saluation Lastlye is to be noted that these thinges which Paul in this place meÌ„cioneth are had although indede more briefly yet fully inoughe in the 6. chapter of the Gospell of Iohn So God loued the world that he gaue his only begotten sonnes that euery one that beleueth in him should not perish Here also we heare that through the loue of God the sonne was deliuered for vs. And whereas Paule sayth enemies vveake vngodly sinners the same hath the Euangelist signified by this one word vvorld And whereas Paul sayth That thorough him vve are iustified recoÌ„ciled and shal be saued from vvrath that hath the Euangelist expressed in these wordes That he vvhich beleueth in him should not perishe And not only this but vve also reioyce in God through our Lord Iesus Christ by vvhome vve haue novv obtayned the reconciliation This was the third part which the Apostle vsed in making mencion of the benefite of Christ after that he had both layd him forth before vs and also by amplification as it was mete commended him vnto vs. Wherefore Paul sayth that so great is the gift of God that thereof we excedingly reioyce We are not only sayth he certayne that we shall be saued but also we reioyce not in our selues but in God not through our workes but through Iesus Christ by whome we haue obtayned reconciliation When he sayth that we reioyce of this benefite of God he priuely reproueth those which counted it a thinge full of shame to professe Christian religion or to wayte for saluation at the handes of a man crucified and put to a most shamefull death Herein sayth Paul is nothing vile or whereof we should be ashamed yea rather all thinges are most honorable and full of great dignity For here we can looke vpon nothing which testefieth not Reioysinge is opposed to filthines shame vnto vs the singular loue of God towards vs. This sentence of Paul agréeth very well with these words of Ieremy in the 9. chapter Let not the wise man reioyce in his wisedome nor the mighty man in his might nor the rich man in his riches but he which reioyseth let him reioyce in this that he knoweth and vnderstandeth me which What our reioysing is worke mercy righteousnes and iudgement and loue these thinges in the earth The prophet meaneth the selfe same thing that Paul doth namely that no man should reioyce ether for the good thinges of the mynde or of the body or of fortune but only let him reioyce of this that he knoweth the Lord. And the vnmeasurable loue of God can by no other thing be better or clearlyer vnderstand then by the death of Christ This is our fayth this is the chiefest knowledge that we can haue of the goodnes of God Hereby we vnderstand that God hath wrought By the death of Christ is God chiefly knowne mercy when he would by this meanes redeme vs to haue wrought iudgemeÌ„t and righteousnes wheÌ„ as he would not suffer our sinnes to escape vnpunished but hath so seuerely auenged them in Christ But because our fayth ought not to be idle but to repay agayne the selfe same thinges that we haue receaued of Christ therefore the Prophet addeth that God both loueth and requireth the selfe same thinges in the earth that is in vs. VVe reioyce sayth Paul and also the prophete in the knowledge fayth of so great a gift bestowed vpoÌ„ vs by God But they reioyce not which coldly weigh these thinges but they which feale them inwardly in the mynde and so feele them that they are ernestly affected This is to reioyce in the Lord and not in our owne workes Wherefore that which Paul before sayd that the elect reioyce in tribulations herehence dependeth for we Why we reioyce in afflictions do not reioyce of the afflictions as they are of themselues but for that we feele by them that God loueth vs. Last of all our glory herein consisteth that we haue gotten God himselfe to loue vs and to be our father then which felicitye could nothing haue happened vnto vs more to be desired Nether is this to be passed ouer that Ambrose hath noted vpon this place that we ought not only to geue thankes vnto God for the saluation and security which we haue receaued but also that we reioyce in God through Iesus Christ By which words Ambrose avoucheth the security of saluation we gather that he asserteth the security of saluation as well as we to the ende our reioysing mought be concerning such thinges as we haue now assuredly in our hands Farther also hereby it most euidently appeareth that those words of the Apostle which he before spake That the loue of God is shed abroade into our hartes are to be vnderstand of that loue wherewith God loueth vs. For of that loue this sure token we haue in that God hath geuen his son vnto vs. Farther the Apostle entending to make vs certayne of our saluation and to confirme vs in our hope coulde take no argument at all of our loue towardes God for our loue is alwayes mayned and vnperfect And therefore if a mans hope were doubtfull and vncertayne and should by this meanes be confirmed and willed to be of good cheare for that he beareth a loue towardes God he mought answere straight way that he for that cause most of all doubteth for that he seeth his loue to be weake and colde and that he loueth not God so much as he ought to do and by that occasion he can not attayne to so greate a rewarde Wherefore Paul hath appoynted an other way and confirmeth our hope by the gift of God And he thought it not sufficient simply thus to say but excellently amplifieth it by the contraries and opposites Out of this fountayne are to be Wherâ—heÌ„ce are to be sought consolations in afflictions sought consolations for the afflicted when by reason of
corrupted it Thirdly this also maketh agaynst the Pelagians namely that euen the very infantes do dye For as Paule sayth vnto the Romanes in the 6. chapter The reward of sinne is death but the gift of God is eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord. And in the 15. chapter of the first epistle to the Corrinthyans The weapon saith he of death is sinne Lastly the baptisme which is geuen to little ones can not blot The sinne of imitatiō can not be blotted out of young children out of them the sinne of imitation Wherefore of necessity we ought to affirme that there is some other kinde of sinne in them except we will haue them to be baptised in vayne There is also an other opinion which the Master of the Sentences reciteth in the 2. dist the 30. which was of such which thought that originall sinne is only a guiltines or blame for an offence or obligation whereunto we are bound by reason of the sinne of Adam So these men do not acknowledge that there is truly and in very dede any fault or sinne in those which are borne but only a certayne guiltines and obligation that they should dye and be condemned for the sinne of Adam This opinion semeth Pigghius in a maner to haue reniued Pigghius maketh originall sin rather an obligation then a fault He maketh death to come of the principles of nature For he denieth that originall sinne is in very dede sinne because it is nether transgression of the law nor yet voluntary Wherefore he affirmeth it to be nothing els then the sinne of Adam for which we that are his posterity are made guilty of damnation and death and are become exiles from the kingdome of heauē But as for death and affictions of this life and lustes of the flesh and other such like affections he saith that they come of the principles of nature so that he is so farre of from saying that all these thinges are sinnes that he doth affirme them to be the workes of God For he sayth that God is the author of nature and that these thinges follow the humors temperature of y◠body and that thing which we sée happeneth in brute beastes happeneth also in men as touching the fleshe and grosser powers of the mynde as to desire those thinges which are preseruatiue pleasant and profitable whether they be agréeable to reason or agaynst it and to auoyde thinges contrary Wherefore He maketh originall sinne to be only the trsāgressiō of Adam He beleueth that this sinne is punished without sensible payne he maketh original sinne to be only the trāsgressiō of Adam Vnto which one trāsgression he will haue all vs to be borne obnoxious not for any sinne or fault or corruptiō which we haue in our selues And he saith moreouer that those which dye being obnoxious only to this sinne of Adam shall not be afflicted in an other life with sensible payne For he imagineth although he dare not openly affirme it that they shall ether in this world or els in some other very delicious place be happy through a certayne naturall blessednes wherein they shall lyue praysing God and geuing thankes although they be banished from the kingdome of heauen of whiche discommodity neuertheles as he dreameth they shal nothing complaine or be sad therefore For this were to striue against the will of God which a man can not doo without sinne But forasmuch as whilest they liued here they had no wicked will it is not to be thought that they Note two reasons of Pigghius He will haue sinne to be taken but after one onely maner shall haue such a wicked will in the lyfe to come And that they shall not suffer any sensible paine he thinketh he proueth very well and that by two reasons First because they haue committed no euill neither haue they cōtaminated themselues with any frowardnes Secondly bicause in this life is required no repentance or contritiō for originall sinne And of this fained deuise this pretence hath he bicause sinne ought not to be taken but after the true and proper maner that is that it be a thing spoken done or lusted against the law of GOD and that it be voluntary and not obtruded to any against their will but suche whiche may be eschued But forasmuch as these thinges haue not place in little infantes there can therfore be no sinne in them Howbeit he saith that he denieth not but that there is original sinne for he saith that it is the sinne of Adam for which all we are condemned must die But therfore I said y◠he sought pretēses bicause in very dede I sée that he Pigghius thinketh thus wherby to defend free will was moued to speake these thinges for an other cause For he attributing so much vnto frée will and hauing of that matter written so many things against vs and considering also that the same could not consist if he should apertly graunt Originall sinne as it is set forth of all the godly hath for that cause founde out this new deuised sentence which yet as I haue said is not vtterly so new for it is both touched and also reiected by the maister of the sentences But to colour his fond deuise A similitude of Pigghius more beautifully he bringeth a similitude of a noble and liberal prince which doth not onely set at liberty some one of his seruantes but also geueth vnto him great authority and enricheth him with possessions which also shall come vnto his posteritie and the Prince geueth him in charge this thyng onely that he faithfully obserue some certaine commaundementes which if he transgresse then he to be assured that all his riches and possessions shall be taken from him and himselfe to returne to his olde bondage This seruant being vnwise and vngrate violateth y◠commaundements of his prince and by that meanes is not onely himselfe made a seruant as he was before but also bringeth forth children to bondage But those children haue nothing wherof to complain of the seuerity of the prince but rather to geue thankes bicause he delt so liberally with their father But for their father they may be excedingly sory bicause he lost those ornamentes both from himselfe and also from his posteritie Yea what if this also be added that the liberalitie of y◠prince was so great that he also allured the posteritie of the vngrate seruaunt to those selfe same benefites and also to farre greater and so allured them that of his owne accorde he sent his sonne to prouoke them So saith he is it with vs. Adam was so created of GOD that he shoulde be pertaker of that supernaturall felicitie Who yet when he contemned the commaundementes of GOD was spoiled of all those supernaturall giftes and left to the olde estate of his nature And in that estate also are we procreated and so bicause of his sinne we are condemned and do die and are made exiles from the
hath of it felfe a certayne naturall integritye whereunto were added those supernaturall giftes geuen vnto the first parent But after sinne whē those gifts were taken away man fell into his olde estate But this is a mere dreame for the nature of man was instituted of God in such sort as was conuenient for it Therefore the giftes being taken away it is corrupted and hurt and forasmuch as it strayeth from his constitution it is subiect vnto sinne Farther we say not that originall sinne is only this priuation but also it comprehendeth thinges positiue as pronesse to euill violence of nature agaynst the worde of God and such other like And therefore Bernhardus sayth that in the coniunction of the soule with the body it is euen as if it shoulde fall vpon an heape of most sharpe poteshardes and hurting stones But among y◠Schoolemen Gulielmus Parisiensis in his booke called Summa de vitiis virtutibus bringeth this similitude That the soule is in such maner let down into the body as if a man should fall into a myry depe and stony place and so shoulde both be drowned be arayed with myre and also be hurt So saith he by originall sinne we are drowned into the darkenes of ignorance we are defiled with lustes and as touching the powers and facultyes of the mynde we are wounded But in that Pigghius saith that both the body and the soule are good things and haue God for their author I graunt that And when he afterward demandeth how thē should they be corrupted I answere with Paul By one man which fell and that by procreation as a little here afterward shal be declared But whereas he sayth that they can by no meanes be corrupted for that God is the author of them to is no strong reason For they which are of full age haue both body and soule which are the workes of God and are continually preserued by his power but yet may they be vitiated and corrupted If he say that that commeth of mans will and free choyse so also answere we that the same may A false argument of Pigghius It is false that men cānot be corrupted but by will and free electiō come of other causes namely through propagation sede Wherfore Pigghius argueth frō that which is not the cause as though it were the cause For this is his meaning if men be corrupted y◠can not be done but by will free election whiche thing is not true All the argumentes which he obiecteth agaynst vs do springe of this that he sayth that he vnderstandeth not how this corruption should be deriued into our posterity and how it is possible that infantes should be bounde by any lawe and how there can be a law geuen of that thing which we can not auoyd But forasmuch as the holy scriptures do speake testefy and teach these thinges it is no matter how much Pigghius ether vnderstandeth or not vnderstandeth For we beleue many thinges which we perceaue not nor know by any sure reason Which yet ought not to be of any such force that euery man shoulde obtrude vnto vs thinges to beleue whatsoeuer they thinke good vpon this pretence because although they can not be vnderstand by reason yet they ought to be cōprehended by faith forasmuch as God can bring to passe farre greater thinges For first that thinge which we seke to be beleued ought to be proued by the holye scriptures And then althoughe we can not attayne vnto In humane nature and in Ethnikes there is left some goodnes it yet let vs leane to fayth and laye aside reason And by our difinition it followeth not that in nature or in Ethnikes there is left no goodnes Only thys we affirme that this vice woulde destroye all if God by Christ brought not a remedye in the regenerate Also in those whiche are not regenerate God is sometymes present and illustrateth them with excellent and heroicall vertues wherwith original sinne is brideled and publike wealths God suffreth not Originall sin to wast and destroy so much as it might or so much as Sathan de desireth Empires are retained at the leaste in some ciuill order Socrates woulde not goe out of prison when he moughte Aristides when he was exiled wished vnto his citisens that they might neuer be in such euill case to haue any cause to remember him Phocion euen now going to his death and being demaunded if he would any thing vnto his sonne I would said he that he neuer remember the iniury done to me The publike wealth of Rome had Curtians Scipios Catos men full of ciuill honesty and great louers of vertue Which dueties although as they were in men which knew not God they were sinnes yet were they bridels of originall sin of nature corrupted lest all thinges should be turned vpside down good lawes should fall to ruine and the lighte of nature in a manner shoulde be extinguished Now séeyng we haue confirmed Originall synne by the testimonies of the scriptures and haue confuted the opinion of Pigghius and haue reiected their opinion which thinke originall sinne to be onely a guiltines and obligation contracted thorough the sinne of Adam and seing we haue alleaged Augustines definition that originall sinne is the concupiscence of the flesh and Anselmus definition that it is the want of originall iustice and lastly seing we haue proued our definition largely and by many testimonies now resteth for vs to prosecute those thinges which we put forth in the thirde place namely of the conditions and proprieties of originall What are the conditions and proprieties of original sinne sinne how it is spred abrode how it is abolished in what sorte the remnants therof are in men regenerate and what payne is due thereunto And concernyng the maner how it spreadeth into our posteritie we haue before rehersed sundry opinions The first of those opinions was of the traduction of soules which we shewed by Augustines iudgement to be easier then the rest althoughe it be not receiued of all men An other opinion was which Augustine followeth namely that originall sinne is traduced by the lust and inordinate plesure of such as procreate This opinion hath two errours First because it putteth this euill in procreation as if it were of necessity which yet may be seperated from it And euen the scholemen thēselues graunt that he which should be begotten without the corrupt affection of y◠parentes should yet neuertheles contract originall sinne For to it they say it is sufficient that he was in Adam as in his first séede An other error is for that then originall sinne should consist onely in the filthy affection of lust when as in verye déede as it is saide it comprehendeth the corruption of the whole nature Others thought that God created the soule euill because it should be a part of a man execrated and set vnder the curse But because this semeth to be repugnant vnto the nature
manifest that righteousnes is vnpleasant vnto our flesh and is 〈…〉 whatsoâ—ueâ— the sayd righteousnes appointeth our flesh to do But that wh 〈…〉 〈…〉 ghâ—â—ay â—olloweth semeth not to agree with this exposition Fo◠〈…〉 members seruauntes to vnclenes c. In these wor 〈…〉 is pa 〈…〉 〈…〉 eth to geue a reason why he sayd before that he desired a 〈…〉 tay 〈…〉 the maner of men by reason of the infirmitye of theyr flesh Ierom 〈…〉 in the 2. question being required to expound this place vnto the Colloss Take hede lest aeny maÌ„ preueÌ„t you of the price or reward sayth that Paul in his writinges desired not to follow the phrases of speach vsed of most eloqueÌ„t writers as of Plato of Demostenes and of such like but vsed words senteÌ„ces that were coÌ„mon and such as were in a maner knowen to all men And for example sake he gathereth Paul vsed phrases of speech of the Cilicians together many of his phrases which were obserued of the Cilicians euen vnto his tyme. For of that countrey was Paul born in yâ— city of Tharsis amongst which phrases he rehearseth yâ— which he was theÌ„ in hand with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth should preuent yâ— reward Also that which is written in the first vnto the Corrinthyans As touching me I passe very little to be iudged of you or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is of mans day which signifieth in that place mans iudgement And in the latter epistle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is that ye should not be greued and the place which now we reade 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is I speake after the maner of men Because of the infirmity of your fleshe This therefore he sayth because so long as we lyue here in this world we are not fully regenerate For there remayneth in vs much fleshe and much of olde Adam Yet by these wordes as Chrisostome Paul will haue nothing released of the endeuor of the will We must not adde a moderation vnto the law of God noteth Paul setteth not at liberty the endeuour of the will For although by reason of the burthen of our fleshe we can not performe so much as is required of vs yet our will ought alwayes to contend to farther thinges Neither oughte we to thinke that the Apostle would here teach that we shoulde adde an equity or moderation vnto the law of God as though there were not required at our haÌ„ds that we should performe so much as it commaundeth but so much as we can For in this place he releaseth nothing of the lawe of God For to moderate or lenefie it neither lieth it in the Apostle nor in any other mortall man And this semeth to be the meaning of these wordes Reason in dede would require that ye shoulde exhibite a greater seruitude vnto righteousnes then vnto sinne But I speake onely after the maner of men and require that ye should do only the like things And that is to require all whatsoeuer the Lawe commaundeth For they which Paule in so speaking requireth al our strengthes are not yet regenerate but lyue strangers from Christ do wholy serue sin and do applye all their strengthes and powers to sinne But the lawe requireth nothing els but that we should with the whole hart with the whole soule and with all our strengthes loue God We haue so vtterly serued sinne that although it may seme that somewhat more should be attributed vnto innocency then before was geuen vnto sinne yet that can now by no meanes be brought to passe For we haue with all our strengthes serued sinne Therefore the faulte is in vs that We haue with al our strengthes serued sinne probability of reason can not take place And yet Paul in the meane tyme in writing these thinges diminisheth nothing from the law of God Yea rather by these wordes he highly commendeth it as a thing which requireth nothing of vs but that which is agréeable with the nature of man It is a common saying a man must aske more then right to the ende he may attayne to his right But Paul sayth that he asketh but gently not so much as he mought of dutye require As touching the wordes he sayth that we haue hetherto geuen ouer our members How vncleanes and iniquity coÌ„prehend all kind of sin as seruauntes to vncleanes and iniquity where vnder the name of vncleanes and iniquity are comprehended all kyndes of sinnes For whatsoeuer sinne we commit the same tendeth ether to enioy our owne commodityes and pleasures and this is called vncleanes because of the more grosse workes wherew 〈…〉 fleshe is contaminated or els to be iniurious towardes God or towardes 〈…〉 rne which kynde of sinne he calleth iniquity And he addeth For iniquity to teach vs to vnderstand that 〈…〉 no sinne There is no sinne in a manner that is alone that is alone but one sinne alwayes driueth and impellâ—th 〈…〉 he addeth not for vncleanes because yâ— mought easely be vn 〈…〉 〈…〉 se he taketh the name of iniquity more generally in the la 〈…〉 st So now geue your members seruaunts vnto 〈…〉 s. Euen as vnrighteousnes leadeth vs vnto filthy 〈…〉 rig 〈…〉 usnes leadeth vs to holynes The Apostle setteth forth theâ—e 〈…〉 an Antithesis to the ende we should the better marke and consider And sanctification or holynes is nothing els then a purification from all vncleanes Wherefore the Greke What sanctification or holines is word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is holy as Plato affirmeth in Cratylo is so called of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a particle priuatiue and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth the earth because they are called holy which are purged from earthly spottes and filthines And the Apostle speaketh very aptly that we should serue righteousnes or God for sanctification They which sanctifye themselues do the will of God for when we sanctify our selues we do his will For vnto the Thessalonians Paul writeth This is the wyll of God your sanctification that euery man may know how to possesse his vessell not in vncleanes and in lust of desire c. Also God hath called vs not to vncleanes but to sanctification And in the latter to the Corrinth Let vs make cleane our selues from all vncleanes of the flesh and spirit performing holynes in the feare of God For when ye were the seruauntes of sinne ye were free vnto righteousnesse He bringeth a cause why he admonished them that they shoulde in such maner geue their members seruauntes vnto righteousnes because sayth he when ye were before seruauntes of sinne ye were vtterly frée vnto The liberty vnto righteousnes is pernicious Against works preparatory righteousnes that is ye were vtterly straungers from it And in this place vnto righteousnes is the Datiue case And such a liberty is pernicious and far worse then all scruitude most like vnto that liberty which the prodigall sonne so much desired Againe by
large prosecute the same and chiefely by thys reason for that aduersities helpe forward our saluation And when he had seuerally declared that we are holpen by hope and by the intercessioÌ„ of the spirite and had before taught that all creatures grone with vs now he pronounceth vniuersally that all thinges woorke vnto vs vnto good He sayth not that God prouideth that we should not be vexed with aduersities but teacheth that the nature of them is after a sort inuerted as which of themselues are able to engender nothing else but our destruction but now contrariwise they bring vnto vs commodity saluatioÌ„ But this thing doo they not of theyr owne force but by the election and predestination of God Nether is it to be meruayled at if we attribute vnto God so greate a force For we see that phisitions somtimes doo the like For they oftentimes expell out of yâ— A similitude bodies of men venome or poyson by venemous medicines hemlock although otherwise it be present poyson yet being tempered by that art it is so farre of from hurting that it also expelleth poysen So afflictions in godly men fight not against them but rather fighte againste the remnants of sinne And by these wordes of the Apostle we may inferre of the contrary that vnto those whiche An argument taken from the contrary Examples either loue not or hate God all thinges turne to theyr destruction which thyng we know came to passe in Iudas in others For wheÌ„ he began to hate Christ no good occasions or quickening wordes of the Gosple or power to worke miracles could any thing profite him The Iewes also when they were led about thorough the wildernes and were adorned of God with excellent and manifold giftes yet oftentimes became worse and worse Ambrose thus knitteth together thys sentence with that which went before Although we be enfected with great ignoraunce so that ether we aske those thinges which are not to be asked or els we out of time aske those thinges whiche are to be asked yet oughte not that therefore to be a let vnto vs when as by the benefite of the spirite thorough the mercy of God al thinges worke vnto vs vnto good Howbeit this is to be noted that the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is worketh together may be taken in the singular nomber and be referred vnto the spirite namelye that the spirite worketh and conuerteth all thinges to good to those which loue God And so this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is All shal be the accusatiue case But the receaued sence is more playne it is a phrase of speach much vsed of the Attike writers to ioyne vnto nownes newter being in the plurall nomber a verbe of the third person singular Augustine Vnto the elect sins also are profitable De correptione gratia so largly taketh this senteÌ„ce the he doubted not to write that vnto holy men sinnes also are profitable Which saying indede although I will not deny but to be true yet wil I not easely graunt that it agréeth with the sentence of Paul For both those thinges which are alredy spoken and whiche shall afterward be spoken pertayne to calamities and afflictions But the same Augustine else where more diligently weighing this place vnderstandeth by The sentence of Paul is to be referred vnto calamities and afflictions Why the burthens of Christians are said to be lighte Paul entrâ—ateth not here of of pleasantnes but of commodity How aduersities profite the godly The contrary endeuor of the Deuill it the whole burtheÌ„ of grieues and tribulatioÌ„s which he sayth is by this meanes made the lighter for that we loue God For he which loueth any man from the hart so for his sake beareth calamities that he is nothing grieued at them Iacob for Rachel serued 14. yeares and that so long space by reason of his loue semed but short And this is it that Christ sayth that his burtheÌ„ is light and his yoke pleasant not that those thinges which the Christians both do and suffer are not hard and difficile but bicause by reason of the loue which they beare vnto God all thinges be they neuer so hard shal be pleasant vnto theÌ„ But Paul here entreateth not of that kinde of good thinge which is light and pleasant but which is profitable vnto the godly vnto saluation And if thou demaund how aduersities are profitable vnto the godly I answere bycause God by theÌ„ auocateth his froÌ„ the delightes and pleasures of thys world and from themselues For such are we thorough the fault of nature and naturall corruption that we can not with out some hurt of ours be driuen vnto those things which are in very dede good On the contrary part the deuil laboureth as much as lieth in him by tribulations and aduersities to draw vs from God which thing he oftentimes bringeth to passe in the vngodly but in the elect the prouidence of God ouercommeth hys malicious purpose Farther by these afflictions calamities sin which perpetually froÌ„ our birth cleaueth fast vnto vs is dayly more more diminished The Apostle saith that this commeth to passe vnto them that loue God for that they are first loued of God For Iohn testifieth that we preuent not the loue of God God in louing preueÌ„teth vs. for no man can loue him vnles he be first loued of him It may peraduenture seme wonderfull why Paul sayd Vnto them that loue and not rather vnto theÌ„ that beleue especially when as at other times he attributeth iustification vnto fayth But this is to be knowen that in this place is not entreated of iustification For he writeth of the suffring of aduersities The cause whereof if thou wilt serch from the bottome then must thou go vnto grace and vnto the holy ghost Of grace and the holy ghost streight way springeth fayth by whiche after we haue embrased the goodnes and promises of God without any delaye springe hope and charitye Wherefore Paul tooke that thinge which is in aduersities next ioyned vnto fortitude For streight way so sone as we loue God for hys Loue is not the chiefest cause that maketh vs paciently to fuâ—â—er aduersities but the â—iest cause Charity distinguisheth the true faith from the false The connexion of faith and charity The most holiest men haue but a slender loue towardes God Why vnto loue can not be ascribed iustification Difference betwene the godly the vngodly sake we patiently beare all aduersities Wherefore he declared not the chiefe and principall cause but the niest And to the ende we should not stay there he streight way adioyned the roote and fouÌ„taine of that good thing For he saith Vnto those which are called according to purpose Farther he therefore maketh mencion of loue to put a difference betwene true faith and a fayned counterfeate and dead faith which is no faith at all For some boast of faith which bere no loue at all vnto God
who do not only deceiue others but also chiefly thēselues That is the true faith which Paul describeth to the Galath which worketh through loue For alwaies of true fayth springeth charity For it is not possible the the true and chiefe good thing being certainly known should not be beloued and earnestly desired He that séeth not the connexion and order of these vertues séeth nothyng for so straightly are they knit together that euen as of true faith of necessity followeth charity so againe on the other side he which wanteth faith must of necessity abhorre God and hate him so far is it of that he can loue him But this is not to be passed ouer the euen the most holiest men so long as they liue here haue a very slender loue towardes God For oftentimes they be drawen backeward by lustes of the flesh and that is the cause why iustification can not be ascribed vnto it For if we should leane vnto our loue forasmuch as it is very weak we should continually stagger But God will haue his promise to be firme and sure But thou wilt obiect that our faith also is weake I graunt it is so and therfore we leane not vnto faith as it is a worke but we haue an eye vnto the mercy of God his promise which by faith we embrace and so our iustification hangeth not of the worke of faith but of his obiect Howbeit in this infirmity of our loue towardes God thys thing haue the godly which the vngodly haue not that as soone as they haue fallen they straightway run vnto God They are sory they repent by y◠meanes prefer Christ only before all thinges so that for his sake they offer themselues to suffer all maner of thinges But the vngodly alwayes sticke in the mire they returne not earnestly vnto God but become euery day worse worse When Paul writeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is we know he meaneth not a slight or slēder knowledge but a firme certaine and sound knowledge For none that is a Christian ought to be in doubt of the last ende of his state The state of the godly is to the better but the state of the vngodly is to destruction We after a sort are as players in a commedie where in although the beginning middle part be troublesome yet it is with a ioyfull pleasaunt ende concluded But the vngodly are as players in a Tragedy which although at the beginning it seme godly and gorgious yet hath it an horrible and lamentable ende This diuersity noted Abraham in the Gospell for vnto the A testimony of Abraham riche man burning in the flames of fire he sayd Remember that thou in thy lyfe tyme receyuedst good thynges but Lazarus euill Wherefore it is no meruayle if thinges do now go otherwise Which are called accordyng to purpose These wordes declare who they be which loue God And he bringeth a reason why vnto them all things turne vnto good for that it is mete and conuenient that all things do seruice vnto the counsell predestination and election of God that whomsoeuer he hath decréed to saue All thinges ought to be seruisable vnto the counsell of predestination him must all creatures whatsoeuer they be of necessity helpe He vseth this word purpose which at other times also in this matter he oftē vseth For in the next chapter he saith That the election mought abyde according to the purpose of God And vnto the Ephe. the 1. chap. Which hath predestinated vs accordyng to purpose and grace by the force wherof he worketh all thynges accordyng to the councell of hys wyll And in the latter to Tim. the first chap. Which hath called vs wyth hys holy calling not according to our works but according to purpose and grace And by these words he semeth to note Two manner of callinges Here is vnderstand a mighty and constant calling a certain distinction of callings For the one is outward which is by the holy scriptures sermons the other inward wherby the mind is moued by y◠instinct of God which in wardcalling also is not of one sort For there is one during but for a time an other of efficacy and abiding The Apostle whē he saith accordyng to purpose defineth callyng and contracteth it to that strong and constant impulsion Chrisostome in this place thinketh that this worde purpose is not to be referred vnto God but vnto the will and counsell of them which are called that the Apostle should not séeme to attribute so much vnto the election of God The Iewes saith he and Ethnikes whē they An error of Chrisostom hard these things made a stirre and demaunded what should let but that they also might be saued Chrisostome séemeth as often as he entreated of the election or predestination of God to haue bene somewhat afeard lest some occasion should be geuen vnto Whereof Chrisostom was afeard men to liue idly and wickedly or to lay the faulte of their wicked actes vpō God although he sometimes goeth plainly inough to worke ascribeth all our good thinges whatsoeuer they be vnto the grace of God And this place he thus goeth about to extenuate as though God in dede calleth and electeth men but yet those only which either already haue or hereafter shall haue a purpose and will to obey but herein he excedingly erreth in that he denieth that this is the purpose of God For the wordes which follow plainly teach that this is wholy to be referred vnto Purpose in this place ought to be referred vnto God predestination For it followeth Whome he foreknew those also hath he predestinated And in the next chapiter it is written According to election that the purpose of God should abide By which wordes we sée y◠predestination dependeth not of our wil but of the purpose Predestination depēdeth not of our wil but of the purpose of God of God Which selfe thing is declared vnto the Ephe. where it is written That we are predestinate accordynge to purpose by the force whereof God woorketh all things accordyng to his counsell and wyll In which place it cannot be denied but that he vnderstādeth the purpose of God and much lesse can that be denied in the first chap. vnto Tim. where it is thus written God hath called vs wyth hys holy calling not by our workes but by his purpose and by grace Which selfe thing Paul teacheth in the first chap. vnto the Ephe. For he sayth That we are predestinate into the adoption of the sonnes of God accordyng to his good pleasure And Christ saith I geue thankes vnto thee O holy father for that thou hast hidden these thynges from the wyse and hast reueled them to infantes because it hath so pleased thee And Paul vseth this word purpose to declare a certaintie for that the thinges which God by his prouidence hath decréed are stable and firme But his minde is to proue that men ought not to
then to predestinate in nature For God no lesse séeth those things also which are not then if they wer now extant Therfore Chrisostome very wel saith That men in things present take councell but vnto God those thinges towardes vs were long since approued and despised It semeth y◠foreknowledge is here no amplier nor largelier thē takē predestination For Paul in descending from the generall word to the speciall should not haue sayd Whome he foreknew those also hath he predestinate neither whom he predestinated those also hath he called neither whome he called those also hath he iustified For by this meanes some may be foreknown which ar not predestinate and some predestinate which are not called and some also called which are not iustified and last of all some iustified which shall not be glorified which thing yet is not so For the Apostles intent is to persuade that al things shall turne vnto vs to Here to cal extendeth no farther then to iustifie and to glorify A fayned deuise of the Schole men good and that we shall without all doubt be glorified This he proueth by y◠that we are called But if to be called should extend farther then to be glorified his argument should conclude nothing And if we may of calling rightly inferre iustification and glorification we may also of foreknowledge inferre predestination Wherfore by this place can not be proued that fond deuise of the scholemen which say y◠only the damned and reprobate are foreknowen For say they forasmuch as they are not predestinate neither haue any title proper vnto them they must nedes be left vnder the common name of foreknowledge and God only foreknoweth their euill workes and damnation and doth not predestinate them vnto those thynges but of this matter we wil more at large speake in an other place But as Origene in this place hath noted the Scripture in no place maketh mencion y◠wicked men are foreknown of God Wherfore sithen the scripture so speaketh not foreknowledge in this place is not taken more largely then predestination let vs leaue vnto them their fond deuise especially seing Peter in his first chap. of his first epistle This word foreknown agreeth with Christ and therfore it pertayneth not onely to the reprobate A similitude saith of Christ that he was foreknowen Hereby it is manifest that that word forasmuch as it is attributed vnto Christ pertaineth not only vnto the reprobate For Christ is the hed of all the elect Now the Apostle semeth to speake after the maner of men For they first chuse vnto themselues those things which please them and then do they appoint them to some certaine and assured endes and beyng so determined they prepare and adorne them and make them méete vnto the end apointed As if a man light vpon faire goodly stones first he chuseth them out appointeth them for some buildyng when he hath so done he causeth them to bée polished and hewed of some workeman and to be brought to some beautifull forme But how the holy scriptures vse these words predestination and foreknowledge How the scripture vseth these wordes it is not hard to gathe◠out of other places In the Acts of the Apostles the 7 chap it is written Him when ye had receaued by the handes of the wicked ye crucified and slew being deliuered by the determinate counsell and foreknowledge of God Here the scripture ioyneth together determinate counsell and foreknowledge And in the 4. chap. Herode and Pilate gathered thēselues together to do whatsoeuer thine hand and thy counsell had predestinate before to be done Here also predestination is ioyned together with the counsell of God And Peter in hys first epistle and first chapiter Vnto the dispersed thorough Pontus Galatia Asia and Bithinia being elect according to foreknowledge Here also foreknowledge is ioyned with electiō And in the same chapiter it is written that of Christe whiche I before alledged namelye That we are redemed with the most precious bloud of Christ as of a lambe immaculate which was foreknowen before the foundacions of the world were layd Nether is this to be omitted that foreknowledge and foredetermination pertayneth not only vnto men but also vnto things and vnto works Paul in his first to the Corinthians Foreknowledge and foredetermination comprehēde not onely men but also thinges workes Predestination consisteth not in time but frō eternity The end of predestination is that we should be vnto like Christ By what meanes we are made firmable vnto Christ We speake sayth he wisedome amongest the perfect which wisedome God hath predestinated to our glory And vnto the Ephesians We are created in Christ to good works which God hath prepared that we should walke in them And such good workes hath God prepared by hys foreknowledge and predestination But there can be no time assigned of hys predestination for it as we haue sayd was before the foūdaciōs of the world were layd and before all eternity of time But to what end we are predestinate the Apostle expresseth in these wordes To be made conformable to the image of his sonne To be conformable vnto hys image is to be like vnto it Wherefore sithen Christ is the perfect image of the father when we are made conformable vnto him we approch vnto the similitude of God But in what thing consisteth this conformity vnto Christ I thinke is thus to be vnderstand Christ is now in glorye and sitteth at the right hand of the father and is happy blessed and immortal vnto the selfe same felicity are we also predestinate Farther God hath so ordeyned that that thinge is now in this life after a sort begonne in vs whiche shall afterward in an other life be accomplished Wherefore we are also made conformable vnto Christ by good works holy maners innocēcy of life Farther euē as he whilest he liued in thys world was alwayes conuersant in the crosse and in tribulations so also must we for his sake suffer crosses and tormentes And as these things wrought in Christ to felicity and glory so also shall they worke in vs. For so Paul writeth of him vnto the Phillippians For which cause also God hath exalted him geuē vnto him a name which is aboue al names that in the name of Iesus euery knee should bowe And of vs Paul sayth in thys place Vnto them that loue God that is to them that are predestinate and called according to purpose all thinges turne to good Of thys conformity vnto Christ by purenes of life it is spokē in an other place Be not ye made like vnto this world but be renewed in newnes of your minde And to the end we should be made like vnto Christ he would by incarnation be made like vnto vs. Wherefore we must endeuour our selues as Paul sayth to the Ephesians That in vnitye of fayth and in knowledge of the truth of God we maye meete him into a perfect man and into the measure
was like a sheepe led to the death yet he opened not his mouth But in all these thinges vve are conquerors 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is we are notably ouercome This particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this place nothing pertayneth vnto workes of supererogation For Paul ment nothing ells but that so much strength are geuen vs of God that in this battayle we a greate way ouercome all our enemies The deuills practise is this by these aduersities to wrest from vs our confidence and loue towardes God But that is by this meanes rather encreased For tribulation worketh patience patience worketh experience experience hope â–ª And hope confoundeth not But by what strengths we attayne vnto this victorye Paul streight way declareth sayeng Thorough him vvhich loued vs. Before we loued him And he hath geuen vnto vs his spirite Thorugh whome we obteine this excellente victory otherwise of our selues we are farre vnequall for so greate a battayle It is God as Chrisostome wisely noteth whome we haue to our fellow souldier in this battail We haue God to our fellow souldiour in our torments and by that meanes obteyne we so notable a victory Nether doo we only ouercome troubles whatsoeuer they be but also those which persecute vs though they seme neuer so great and mighty which thing how it happened in the Apostles Luke playnly describeth in the Actes When Peter and Iohn had wrought a miracle so manifest that it could not be denied the high priestes and Scribes being ouercome with the greatenes of the thing knew not what counsell to take What sayd they shall we do with these men As if they should haue sayd Here are playnly ouercome all our practises here our power is able to doo nothing here the more we striue the more and the manifestlier are we ouercome The same thing happened vnto Iulianus the Apostata as it is written in the Ecclesiasticall history He had begon by al maner of meanes to torment and vexe the ChristiaÌ„s but his cruelty and outrageousnes was ouercome with theyr patience Which thinge one of his rulers perceauing priuilye admonished him to cease lest he should both nothing at all profit and also make himselfe a laughing stocke to al men Thys power of God bringeth to passe that by those selfe same thinges which are agaynst the victory we to the greate admiration of all men obteyne the notabler victory For who can beleue that he which is ouercome can ouercome That one slayne burnt torne in peces can in the battayle get the victory These things nature reason and the world vnderstand not wherefore they are to be ascribed vnto God only in whose haÌ„ds forasmuch as the euentes of things are set they depend not of certayne and appoynted instrumentes but of the purpose and counsell of God whereunto those thinges which seme to resist are most of all seruisable Some seme thus to vnderstand this place as though therefore we obteyne so notable a victory for that we are by the greatnes of the benefits of God pricked forward to suffer all things be they neuer so hard And the greatnes of of the giftes of God is by this meanes chiefely knowen if it be compared How the greatnes of benifites is best known with those thinges whiche agayne on the other side we repaye He which died for vs saith Ambrose gaue his life for euill seruauntes why should we then make it so great a matter when we being vnprofitable seruauntes suffer death for a good Lorde And moreouer his death was wonderfull profitable vnto vs all when as coÌ„trariwise our death nothing at all profiteth him And so after this interpretacioÌ„ we must not read That vve by him vvhich hath loued vs are more then conquerors but for him Which reding yâ— Latine translatioÌ„ followeth But in Greke is red 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whiche preposition ioyned with a genetiue case doth not or very rarely signify For. Wherfore it is more apt to say by him or thorough him as we expounded it at the beginning And so doth Basilius to Amphilochia De spiritu sancto the 8. chap. rede it In which place he at large declareth what this preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth when it is attributed vnto Christ It maketh him not sayth he lesse then the father but maketh hym to be a mediator betwene vs and the father as by whome is deriued into vs from the father whatsoeuer giftes or graces we haue and by whome â–ª hath accesse vnto the father whosoeuer commeth vnto him For the electes and sayntes are taken of Christe and being now reconciled are offred vnto God the father And in the declaratioÌ„ of these thinges he alledgeth those wordes which we are nowe in hand with and interpretaâ—eth them so as we haue sayd For I am perswaded that nether death nor life Chrisostome thinketh yâ— Paul hitherto hath entereated of that loue wherwith God loueth vs but here turneth his speach to our loue and obeysance towardes God as though he would say that the loue of God is so kindled in the hartes of the godly that no creature Why Paul most constantly loued Christ can plucke him away from God And he rendreth a reason why Paul so cleued vnto Christ that be could not be pulled away froÌ„ him Bycause sayth he he loued Christ himselfe and not those giftes which Christ geueth So long as the foundation of amâ—ty abideth so long it also constantly endureth And therefore are those amities commended What manner of amities are to be commended which are gounded not vpon a vayne and mutable consideration but vpon a firme and sure consideration wherefore forasmuch as Paul sought Christ himself which alwayes abideth the same and immutable therefore his loue towards him abode firme and constant wherfore it had ben vnto him to fal away from Christe more griefe theÌ„ hell fire and on the other side to cleue fast vnto him more pleasaÌ„ter theÌ„ any kingdoÌ„e Howbeit I thinke this to be most true yâ— Paul stil coÌ„tinueth in yâ— which he had begon namely to coÌ„meÌ„d the singuler loue of God towardes vs that we might assuredly know yâ— all things though they be neuer so much against vs shall turne vnto vs to good seing we are so entirely loued of God But whether of these interpretacioÌ„s we follow I thinke it skilleth not much for either of them is both godly and also not vnaptly fitteth with the wordes and entent of Paul Howbeit I thought it good to declare what I thinke to be moste agreable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Apostle that is I am fullye persuaded If thou séeke a reason thereof hee geeueth a reason demonstratiue whiche is For that God hath foreknowne vs and predestinate vs. And these are causes of the loue of God towardes vs. This declareth he by the effect for that the Reasons of causes and effectes that we are loued of God most louyng father hath geueÌ„ his sonne for our sakes and together
other where Wherfore the cause must be proued by the word of God not by yâ— iudgement of multitude or fewnes Wherfore ther is no cause why the Anabaptists or Papists should so much glory the one of their fewnes and the other of their multitude For the truth of the doctrine must be proued by true and necessary argumentes taken out of the worde of God and not by probable argumentes I speake the truth in Christ I lye not my conscience also bearing me witnes By these wordes are not only ouerthrowen those thinges which are repugnant vnto that doctrine which we haue now set forth but also there is declared the very Election the fountaine of all good things fountayne of our saluation the fountayne I say of iustification and grace For it is the election of God from which doo flow all good thinges Wherefore the Apostle minding to speke of those things which the hearers would not take in very good parte thought it good by some preface to prepare theyr myndes to geue eare vnto him For he which goeth aboute to perswade any thing vnto an other man ought firste of all to labor to win the hearer vnto him For we do not easely hearken vnto those whom we suspect to hate vs. But this oration of the Apostle is so conterpeysed and tempered yâ— it mought neither to much displease What preâ—chers ought to obserue the minds of the Hebrues neither yet in yâ— meane time mought hide any thing froÌ„ theÌ„ which was nedefull for theÌ„ to know which thing yâ— preachers of our times ought to obserue For ofteÌ„times we se yâ— meÌ„ oâ—feÌ„d in either part For certain do so flatter theyr aduersaries yâ— they remit vnto theÌ„ many things which are not to be remitted they kepe in silence many things which yet to saluatioÌ„ are very necessary to be knoweÌ„ On the other side some seme to be moued with so great a zeale of piety yâ— they thinke it not inough to teach those things which are true necessary vnles also they do al maner of waâ—es exagitate stir vp theyr aduersaries by that meanes it coÌ„meth to passe that those men whome they would bring vnto Christ being with such reproches and clamors so made wery do not only not embrace the truth so offred them but also doo dayly more and more go backe from it The chiefe sentence of the Apostle in this place is this I haue conceaued What grief is an exceding griefe in mind by reason of the reiectioÌ„ of the Iewes Griefe as sayth Cicero in his Tusculane questions is a dissease which vexeth the mind and it is taken by reason of the euill which semeth to be alredy at hand and to be present For that dissease which is taken for an euil which is come is not called griefe but feare If a man demaund from whence this griefe springeth I Loue the cause of griefe aunswere from loue For when it goeth ill with them vnto whome we would good we beginne to be grieued But if vnto them whome we care not for or who are not deare vnto vs there happen anye misfortune that is not customable grieuosome vnto vs. The Apostle wonderfullye amplyfyeth hys sentence For he sayth not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is griefe but also he addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The griefe or sorrow of wemen in trauail which word signifieth not a common griefe but yâ— wherewith wemen are payned when they are in trauell then which griefe there is in a maner none counted more grieuous or more bitter And when he had sayd Great he added also Continuall For there are many grieues which continuance of tyme mitigateth But Paul sayth that his griefe is perpetuall In my hart This is not a quality during but for a tyme as is that which springeth indeede of a vehement passion but yet such a passion as is short and during but for a while But this griefe had taken most deepe rootes in the hart of Paul He calleth the Hebrues his brethren although he was oftentymes very ill handled of them He himselfe was an Hebrew of the tribe of Beniamin as he writeth in his epistle to the Phillippians And he calleth them brethern according to the fleshe to signifie that in religion he dissented from them as such which had not obtayned either iustification or adoption by the faith of Christ I would wishe to be Anathema He mought haue sayd I would or could be content to be Anathema But by a more vehement word he would signifiâ— the force of hys wyll To be Anathema is a much more greater thinge then to be plucked away or to be seperated For these thinges may haue some end but It is neuer lawfull to put Anathema to any vse that which is made Anathema it is neuer afterward lawfull to vse And to adde a greater emphasis vnto his wordes I my selfe saith he would wishe By whiche doubling of the pronoune he would most expressedly signifie himselfe And when he addeth From Christ he yet also heapeth vp a greater waight for he speaketh of that Christ whome he affirmeth to be vnto him life knowledge wisedome iustification and redemption and from whome a little before he sayde he coulde by no maner of What Anathema is meanes be plucked away What thing Anathema properly is Chrisostome vpon this place at large declareth Anathemata saith he are those thinges which being consecrated vnto God are layde apart from other thynges and which also no man dare once either touch or vse Wherefore by translation those men are called Anathemata which are as persons contagious and execrable remoued from the Church and with whome no man dare afterwarde vse familiarity Vnto either of these Anathemata this thing is common to be seperated and remoued from men but the consideration is farre diuers For the first are seperated for honor sake but these men for horror and hatred sake because they are detestable Wherefore sometymes they are called piaculares that is polluted Sacer that is holy takeÌ„ in good and â—uell part The lattines also do after the same maner vse this word Sacer that is holy both in good and also in euill part For Horace sayth Sacer intestabilis esto that is let not the wicked man be receaued for witnes Also Virgill Auri sacra sames that is the wicked hunger of golde The Hebrues also vse in the same maner this word Cadosh in the either part so that that word signifieth sometymes to sanctifie and sometymes to pollute as it is written in the 2. chapter of the Prophete Haggeus and in the 22. chapter of Deut. And amonge the same Hebrues by one and the selfe same word is signified both this worde holy and also an harlot as well male as female as it is written in the 23. chapter of Deut. But Anathema in Hebrew is called Haram But to returne to the Greke worde Anathemata are by an other name called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
For while he wente aboute to persuade his bretherne according to the flesh how much he loued them in that he said that he wished for theyr sakes to be accursed from Christe if he had added that he had done it for the honor of Christ whom he worshipped I cannot tell what might seme to be dimished of that loue which he sayd that he bare towards his brethren Wherefore he cunningly kept that in silence wherein yet was the chiefe and principall cause of his desire Howbeit least the prudent reader should in any wise Why he made no mencion of the principall cause of his desire erre he hath so tempred his wordes which follow that by them he may very easely gather what his meaning was For thus he writeth To whome pertayneth the adoption the couenantes the glory the geuing of the lawe the worshippyng the promises of whome are the fathers of whome is Christ according to the flesh who is God ouer all blessed for euer Amen These wordes being well and diligently examined do declare what Paul had a regard vnto in this his so feruent desire Let vs call to memory that the Israelites were called of God that they abode long in the profession of God that they kept the lawes of God a longe tyme that they by innumerable Prophetes receaued promises of Christ to come and of other good thynges Forasmuch therefore as they had bene such men and yet semed now to be excluded and other nations which were ignoraunt of God and geuen to most filthy idolatry were placed in their stede many began to be offended at the prouideÌ„ce fayth and gouernmeÌ„t of God Wherfore ether they blasphemed him or ells they made exclamation openly that this was not the Christ promised in the Law These thinges troubled Paul excedingly much For he would not that in the affayres of the Gospel should be brought in a stage matter or a matter of pastime as though that which god had promised to one people he would geue to an other and as though Christ was borne for the Iewes but profited none but the Gentiles And that Paul was by this reason chiefely moued that manifestly declareth which is a litle afterward added Not as though the word of God The end of Moses request hath fallen away By which wordes he declareth that he admonished vs of these thinges lest any maÌ„ should thinke that the promises of God were not sure And none other entent had Moses wheÌ„ he desired to be blotted out of the booke which God had writen theÌ„ that God should spare the people For he geueth this reasoÌ„ Lest peraduenture it be said that God hath brought a people out of Egipt but was not able to bring to passe that they should obteyne the Land which he had promised them and therefore would he kill them in the desert Nether doth Paul in this place say that he Paul desired not to cease of froÌ„ louing of God Euery man ought to preferre the honor of God before his owne felicity Why Paul wished not this thinge for the Gentils wisheth to be seperated from the loue of God for he would by no meanes cease of from louing of him only he wisheth to be excluded from the blessed coniunction with God to be deuided from the fellowshippe of the Angelles and of the sayntes to be depriued of the fruition of eternall felicity And this thing ought euery one of vs to desire namely to preferre the honor of God before his owne felicity And Paul speaketh not these thinges of the Gentiles as he doth of the Iewes not that he would not doo as much for them also when the like danger of the honour of God shoulde happen but bycause then he entreated not of the Gentiles For they on euerye side of theyr owne accord came vnto Christ wheÌ„ as the Iewes most vehemeÌ„tly resisted him The same Chrisostome vpon Mathew expounding this place It is better that one member bee cutte of and cast away then that the whole body should perishe saith That Paule considered this thing that rather he being cut of and made accursed God might haue glory of the greate body being saued theÌ„ that he himselfe should be saued and a greate multitude of Iewes which were like vnto a certayne greate body should be cast into hell fire This so greate loue of Paul â—arre passeth the affect of all parentes toward theyr Children And so greate was it that Chrisostome writing touching priesthode sayth that he was for a iust cause feared a way from that office bycause he saw himselfe to be farre distant from such kinde of loue The same Chrisostome de prouideÌ„tita dei writeth That Paul desired rather to liue in hell then to se his brethern condemned And he addeth that it was a greater vexation vnto Paul to se the distruction of hys brethern the Iewes then if he himselfe should haue bene tormented in hell For he desired that torment rather then to se his brethern perish miserably Nether was he deceaued in this iudgment For it came not from reason or vnderstanding but from the impulsion of the spirite of God The Schoolemen differ not muche from thys interpretation of Chrisostome For Thomas sayth That Paule neuer wished for the seperation from God which coÌ„meth through sinne nether coulde he wish for it keping charity but for the aduauncement of the glory of God it was Lawfull for him to wish for the seperation from felicity Yea yâ— same Thomas addeth That Paul somtimes desired for his bretherns sake to be seperated from that felicity and to haue it differred for a time For vnto the Phillipians he writeth That to dye should be vnto hym gayne howbeit it was profitable for them that he should abide in the flesh he sheweth that he both desired and also hoped that God would graunt that he might be conuersante with them for a time So saith Thomas mought he also in this place for the helth of hys brethern wish to be seperated from God ether for euer or else for a time But that these These words cannot be vnderstande of a seperation for a time wordes can not be vnderstand of a seperation for a time this word Anathema sufficiently declareth For Anathema signifieth yâ— seperation from commoÌ„ vse which can neuer by any meanes be reuoked or restored againe But this Greke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may signify not only I did wishe but also I did pray Neyther Paul wished for that thing which could not be done The will is sometimes rauished to thinges impossible ought we to meruayle that Paul wished for this thing although it coulde not come to passe for there is no doubt but that he was one of the predestinate for our will is oftentimes rauished vnto those thinges which are not possible to be done For so prayed Dauid Who shall geue me power to dy for thee my sonne Absolon When yet it could not be that he should dye for Absolon That are
faineth two children to be borne of vngodly parentes and strangers from Christ both of them are cast forthe and set to daunger of death And the one of them in deede dieth but the other being of somewhat more stronger nature is by a Christian by chance comming by preserued and brought to the Church and baptised and is with other of the faythfull made a partaker of Christ Verely touching the saluation of the one childe we haue nothing that we can certainly affirme but of the other if the childe dye we can skarsely put any doubt And if the matter be so we affirme that one of them was elected and the other reiected Wherevnto then had the election of God a regarde Thou canst not say vnto workes foresene when as those thinges which shall neuer come to passe can not be foresene For the prouidence of God prouideth those thinges which shall come to passe and not those thinges which shall not be yea rather he forseeth that those thinges shall not come to passe Wherefore we see that that deuise touching workes foreseene can not in all cases satisfy humane reason Wherefore we must rather beleue Paul who leadeth vs to the highest cause namely to the wyll of God whereunto doubtles we do iniury if we thinke that there is any cause aboue it What shoulde we flye vnto the workes of men when as All men are by nature of one and the selfe same disposition and prones to euill This opinion makâ—th Paul very blockish duâ—â—itted â–ª we all are of one the selfe same nature of one the selfe same propriety and of one and the same disposition For that lompe of Adam wherehence we are deriued is vitiated and corrupted whereunto if peraduenture there be added any thing that is good the same it hath of the mere and only goodnes of God Farther they which so teach seeme to make Paul very blockishe and dull witted which could not see that which these men so easely vnderstand For he of the election of God bryngeth no other cause but the purpose and wyll of God And at the last also he crieth out O the depth of the riches c. But these sharpâ— witted men doo euen easely rid themselues of this greated difficulty euen I say by one pore word Augustine being yet a priest and newly baptised expounding this place although he saw that God could not haue a respect vnto our workes to come as causes of predestination wherby he embraseth vs yet he thought fayth foresene to be the cause of his loue towardes vs. And of this his sentence as touching ether part he bringeth this reason It is certayne that good workes are deriued into vs from the holy ghost for thorough him God worketh all in all and the same God geueth vnto vs the holy ghost Wherefore â–ª good workes sayth he forasmuch as they procede from God caÌ„ not any thing moue to his electioÌ„ or predestinatioÌ„ But he thought that God had a respect vnto our fayth and electeth them whome he foreséeth should beleue for that he thought that fayth is of our selues For although we rede sayth he that God worketh all in all yet we rede not that God beleueth all in all Wherfore Augustine erred whilest he was yet a priesâ— he thought it is of our selues to beleue but to work wel he thought to come of God These thinges wrote he being yet rude following as it should appeare to me the doctrine of his father Ambrose For he vpon this selfe same place teacheth the selfe same thing namely that God electeth them whome he knoweth shall afterward beleue But Augustine when his iudgement was now thorough Augustine reuoked his error age excercise more ripe and of deeper consideratioÌ„ reuoked this sentence as it is euident by his first boke of Retractations the. 33. chapiter in which place he thus writeth of him selfe These things had I not writteÌ„ if that I had vnderstode that Faith is no lesse the gift of God then good workes fayth is no les the gift of God then good workes And that fayth is geuen of God he gathereth by that which is written to the Ephesians in the 6. chapiter Charitye and fayth from God the father and from our Lord Iesus Christ And in the same epistle the 2. chapiter By grace ye are made safe thorough faith that not of your selues For it is the gift of God not of workes lest any man should boast And vnto Timothe I obteyned sayth he mercy that I might be faithfull but he saith not for that I was faith full To this purpose mought be brought a greate many other sentences but for this present I thought these should suffice And as touching the wordes of Paul Purpose electioÌ„ why they are attributed vnto God no man ought to wonder that the Apostle when he speaketh of these things at tributeth vnto God purpose and election For the holy scriptures euery where frame themselues to our infirmity and speake vnto men after the maner of men By those wordes we vnderstand the constancy and immutability of the will of God For euen as men are wont as touching thinges whiche they haue rashly appoynted afterward when they haue better considered the matter to alter them but those thinges which they haue decréed with good consideration and deliberation they will haue to be firme and to continew so also thinke they of God For that cause Paul calleth his will purpose and electioÌ„ An oracle was geuen to Rebecka That the elder of these two brethern should serue the yonger for she had asked counsell of God what the brethern striuinge together in her wombe signified By this oracle we se that it is God which putteth a difference God putteth a difference betwene those yâ— are borne betwene those which are borne when as otherwise by nature they are equall And promises made to this or that stocke and to this or that posterity signifie nothing else but yâ— of that stocke or posterity shall some be elected but who they be it lieth not in vs to iudge We ought rather to haue a respect vnto the effects and whom we se to be called to beleue to geue themselues to good works those Forasmuch as prebestination is a thing hâ—dden vnto what thinges we ought to haue a respect A similitude to count for elect and alwayes in this matter to haue a regard vnto the commaundementes and vnto the promises that is vnto the outward word of God But concerning the hidden counsell of God as touching euery perticular man we haue nothing reueled vnto vs. But Chrisostome semeth to be against this First â—e sayth That there arose greate offence touching the reiection of the Iewes and the election of the Gentiles especially seing that the Gentiles had alwayes bene vncleane but the Iewes had moste playne promises For it is all one sayth he as if the sonne of a king vnto whome the kingdome semeth to be by
same againe This only now I lay that that proposition is not altogether so simplye to be vnderstanded Farther this also is not true which he taketh as a ground when he saith that Paul in this place dissolueth not the question which he did put forth â–ª For Paul most plainely sayth that the election of God is the cause of our saluation And of the election of God he putteth none other cause but the purpose of God and his mere loue and good will towards vs. Neither is he any thinge holpen by that similitude whiche he bringeth out of the fiueth chapter of this Epistle For there Paul sayth that it is not absurd to say that we in such sort haue the fruicion of the righteousnes of Christ that by it we are iustified forasmuch as by the offence and dissobedience of one man many are condemned This sayth he he ought to haue proued that we are infected by the sinne that we haue drawen from Adam which yet he did not but left it vndissolued Yea rather Paul proued that we are pertakers of that corruption euen by this that we die And they die also whiche haue not sinned after the likenes of the transgression of Adam Wherefore by death as by the effect he sufficiently proued original sinne For in yâ— Paul afterward sayth when he entreateth of the calling of That the Gentiles by fayth caâ—â— vnto Christ is not the cause of predestinatioÌ„ but the effect God gâ—ueâ—h not faith vnto his râ—shly but of puâ—pose the Gentils and of the reiecting of the Iewes that the Gentils came by faith but the Iewes sought saluation by the works of the law he putteth not that as a cause but onely as an effect of predestination For it may straightwaye be demaunded wherhence the Gentils had theyr fayth And if they had it of God as doubtles they had why did God geue it vnto them Surelye for no other cause but because he would Wherfore let vs leue those thinges as not agreable with the wordes of the Apostle and this rather let vs consider how the Apostle in this place confuteth iij. The Maniches confuted of Paul errors First he stoppeth the mouth of the Manichies which attributed much vnto the houre of the natiuitie as though we should by the power of the starres iudge of the life death and other chaunces that happen vnto men For Paul sayth that Iacob and Esau were borne both at one time in whome yet we see that in theyr The Pelagiâ—â—s confuted whole life was great diuersitie He confuteth also the Pelagians which taught that the will is so frée that euery one is according to his merites foresene of God which error is also in other places confuted of Paul by most strong reasons For to the Ephesians he saith Which hath elected vs in him before the constitucion of the world that we should be holy He saith not that he elected vs for that we were holy but that we should be holy And vnto Titus He hath saued vs not by the woorkes of righteousnesse which we haue done but according to his mercy And to Timothe Which hath called vs by his holy calling not according to our woorkes but according to his purpose and grace which is geuen vnto vs in Christ Iesus before the times of the world By which wordes we see that the election of God consisteth of Grace whiche we haue had from eternally Farther by these woordes of Paul is also confuted Origen as we haue sayde Origene coÌ„futed For Paul saith that these two had done neither good nor euell The elder shall serue the younger This seemeth to be a temporall promise What is the groundâ—ele of earthly promises But we haue before oftentimes admonished that the foundation and groundsell of these earthly promises is the promise touching Christ and touching the obteynement of saluation through him And this maye hereby be gathered for if we haue a respecte vnto the principallitie of the first birth we shall not finde that Iacob atteined to it For he neuer bare dominion ouer his brother Esau so longe as he liued yea rather when he returned out of Mesopotamia he came humblye vnto him and desired that he mought obteyne mercy at his handes and it vndoubtedly Iacob had the possessioÌ„ of the first birth not in himself but in his posterity seemeth that Esau was farre mightier then he Althoughe touching the posteritie of eche it is not to be doubted but that the promise tooke place For in the time of Dauid and of Salomon the Iewes obteined the dominioÌ„ ouer the Edumites If these thinges be well applied to the purpose of the Apostle then muste it needes be that that they be vnderstanded of the promise of Christ and of eternall felicity For this is it that Paul endeuoreth that it shoulde not séeme to be againste the promise of God â–ª that few of the Iewes are receaued vnto the Gospell séeing that the greatest part of them were excluded And when he had brought this testimony of Iacob and Esau that the elder should serue the yonger of that oracle he bringeth this reason that the election mought abide according to purpose Which thinge for that it séemed hard vnto humane reason he confirmeth by an oracle of Malachy As it is written Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated This sentence of Scripture which is here cited is the reason and cause of the other sentence The latter oracle is cause of the first A place of Malachie declared which he before alleadged namely That the elder should serue the yonger Which is herebye confirmed for that it is written Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated These wordes are written in Malachy aboute the beginning of the first chapter in which place God thus vpbraydeth vnto the people their ingratitude I haue loued you And they are sayd thus to haue answered Wherein hast thou loued vs TheÌ„ sayth the Lord Iacob and Esau were they not brethern And yet haue I loued Iacob hated Esau And this he hereby proueth for that they beinge bretherne yet he preferred Iacob before Esau And vnto Esau he gaue a waste and solitary land suffered not the Edumites to be deliuered from theyr captiuitie yea rather he threateneth that if they should enterprise to reedifie theyr countrey being ouerthrowen he would then destroy it But vnto the Israelites he gaue a good fertile land who if peradueÌ„ture they should for theyr sins be led away into captiuitie yet he promised From the loue of God commeth eternall lyfe and froÌ„ hâ—s hatred eternal destruction yâ— he would bring theÌ„ home again fully restore again vnto theÌ„ theyr old kingdom But these things forasmuch as they are earthly we do not at this preseÌ„t meddle wt. This thing onely I thinke is diligently to be weighed yâ— of the loue of God coÌ„meth eternall life and from his hatred eternall destruction Some in this place with great curiosity enquire
oracle was geuen when they were yet in the wombe neither had yet done either any good or any euill And peysing these thinges he considered that that which the Prophet had spoken more briefely mought be of him not without great profit and edification dilated so also is it profitable for vs to do namely diligently to waigh the places of the scriptures which are sometimes cited of the Apostles The Prophetes were as we haue oftentimes said interpreters of the bokes of The Prophets interpreters of Moses Moses They preached repentance not only agrauating sinnes but also setting forth the promises of the Gospell concerning grace Which thinges Malachy in this place did excellently wel comprehend Farther Paul most thoroughly saw that of the loue of God and of that oracle which was geuen vnto the mother touching the infantes was assigned no cause thorough works or merits These thinges I say mought suffice as touching this place but that there is yet one doubt remayning to be dissolued For Erasmus in hys booke which he wrote de Libero Arbitrio for that he saw that these places which we haue now made mencion of make agaynst hym thus dissolueth them First he sayth yâ— answere was made vnto Rebecka touching thinges temporall that the elder shoulde serue the younger and God may at his free wil pleasure cause that a maÌ„ whether he will or no shall leade a pore life and be a bond maÌ„ whom yet he will not reiect from eternall saluatioÌ„ Farther he addeth that these testimonies as Paul bringeth theÌ„ are repugnaÌ„t the one to the other wheÌ„ yet in their places they are not so repugnant Here doubtles is to be required in this maÌ„ not onely prudeÌ„ce but Paul faithfully alleageth yâ— holy scriptures dalied noâ— in them also plety For it is not mete for a man to thinke that Paul wheÌ„ he layd the first foundations of Christian religioÌ„ did vnfaithfully cite the scriptures or brought those places for testimonies which serued litle to the purpose Paul dalied not in the holy scriptures to make in his writings those testimonies repugnaÌ„t which in theyr owne places are not repugnante for this were as the blasphemous cauiller and vngodly Prophirius did to abuse the simplicity of the vnlerned But if at any time we can not vnderstand how the testimonies which are cited of Paul and of other of the Apostles make to theyr purpose why doo we not rather confesse our owne infirmity of vnderstanding and negligence whereby it commeth to passe that we can not attayne to the exact contemplacion of thinges diuine But whereas he sayth that the oracle was geuen to Rebecka touching Whether the question be vnderstanded touching thinges spirituall or temporall it is all one as touching the scope of Paul thinges temporall it nothing helpeth him for yet still the reason of Paul remayneth strong For forasmuch as he concludeth that a man is made either a Lord or a bondman a rich man or a pore man by these testimonies he inuinciblye proueth that that commeth not thorough any merites or workes of men For thereto only had Paul a respect Put the case that the question were moued why by the election of God one is made a prince an other a subiect one is afflicted an other fortunate here doubtles this is the thinge that is in controuersy whether these thinges are so ordred thorough the vertues and merites of men or thorough the mere goodnes of God Paul leueth no place at al to merites yea rather he sayth that God had decreed that these thinges should come to passe before that they which should doo them were borne and had appoynted that the one should be a Lord and the other a seruaunt before that they coulde ether doo or thinke any thinge Wherefore the question is generally and vniuersally put forth and not only touching the maner of principality or seruitude Wherfore whether those be spirituall or temporall thinges the scope which the Apostle entendeth is vtterly one and the same namely that they come without any our workes or merites If a man should alledge sentences nothing pertayning to the purpose euen amongst the philosophers he should be laughed to skorne how much les then ought we to impute any such thing to Paul But to make thée to vnderstande that those testimonies are moste agreeyng to the matter proposed The oracle before cited applied to the spiritual promise I will declare that in them are contayned not only thinges temporall but also and that chiefely thinges spirituall For forasmuch as God promised that the greater people should serue the lesser the same vnles we will to farre stray out of the way we ought to thinke should therefore come to passe for that the lesser natioÌ„ should be receaued of God into fauor and should become his people For otherwise neither the lesse people could ouercome the greater nor the weaker the stronger It is God only which is the doer thereof and vpholdeth that people whome he hathe decreed to be his And where the people of God are there follow infinite spirituall benefites namely the word of God the heauenly blessing the breathing of the holy ghost remission of sinnes thorough Christ and last of all eternall life Let vs consider the historye it selfe as did Paul and we shall perceaue that in the blessing of Iacob the things which his father Isaake blesseth him withall are chiefely spirituall namely that vnto him should be subiect not only his brethern but also the Gentiles which there is no man but seeth that it was accomplished in his sede and yet not in all his sede but in it onely whiche The blessings of the fathers are to be referred to Christ and to his members was so long time and so carefully waited for which doubtles was Christ whoÌ„ at this day both the Iewes and yâ— Gentils worship Those that blesse thee saith he let them be blessed and those that curse thee let them be cursed And these thinges are agreing vnto Christ onely and vnto the elect For whosoeuer shall worship him shal be rewarded with eternall felicitie and whosoeuer is contumelious either against him or against his members shal be obnoxious vnto the eternall curse and destruction The selfe same thinges also are to be vnderstanded in the oracle of Malachy For if the posteritie of Iacob should be in good case and the posteritie of Esau in yll it is not enquired whether God promiseth thinges spirituall or temporall but whether he would geue those thinges vnto them in consideration of theyr workes and merites or no. But that I am sure thou shalt not finde in that whole prophet Which thinge Paul also dilligeÌ„tly peysed although these thinges are also to be referred vnto spiritual matters For how came it to passe that the pub wealth of the Israelites was preserued that they had a commodious land â—o dwell in and that they were restored from the captiuity of BabiloÌ„ Doubtles by no other meanes but for
that they had God fauorable vnto them And God as touching those whose God he will peculiarly be prouideth for thē not only commodities in this life for he is the God of the whole man and hath no les care ouer the soule then he hath ouer the body that not only in this life but also in this life to come but let vs peise the entent of Malachy He reproueth God prouideth for his not onely things erthly but also eternall the people of ingratitude towardes God God saith he is your father and Lorde Howbeit ye neither loue him nor reuerence him when yet he hath loued you And that loue he proueth by a double benefite of God towards them first for that he loued Iacob and preferred him before Esau when yet notwithstanding they were brethern and twines secondly for that he gaue vnto the one a sertile and plentifull land to inhabite but vnto the other he gaue an vnfruitful and barren land and for that he deliuered the one from theyr captiuity but would haue the captiuity of the other to be perpetuall So the loue of God is proued by the effectes but of that loue is alledged no cause I graunt indede that the posterity of Esau were alwayes wicked men and enemies vnto the people of Israell although by affinity they were ioyned vnto them yet they were alwaies aduersaries and enemies vnto them Some say also that Mahumet came of that natiō although there are others which referre his stock to the Ismalites Farther the earth also The earth is by reason of sinnes made barrē is by reason of sinnes made barren Therfore Dauid sayth That for the sins of the people the earth is turned into a wildernes and is made of God vnfruit full But neither Paul nor the prophet describe these thinges as causes of the loue of God Yea rather if we should fayne any such exposition vnto Malachie his reprehension should somewhat be extenuated For when he vpbraydeth vnto the people ingratitude for that God had loued thē they mought in one word haue made answere Therefore hath he loued vs bycause we deserued it for he foresaw that our workes should be good and for that cause he loued vs. Wherefore much wayght is taken away from this reprehension if we admitte this opinion Many trouble theyr heddes about the hatred and loue of God and say that he neither loueth nor hateth as we vse to doo Which thing in dede I graunt for God loueth with out all maner of troubled affection and loueth perpetually for he is not changed he hateth also without perturbation and for that he is not mutable he perpetually hateth those whom he hateth They say moreouer that these thinges are to be considered by the effectes so that God is sayd to loue him to whome he doth good and to hate him whome he ouerpasseth and leueth in sinnes and for his sinnes which he hath committed afterward greuously punisheth Herein I will not contend with them although in graunting thys God in dede loueth and in dede hateth I also affirme wyth the holy scripture that God truly and in dede loueth and hateth and that thereof followe those effectes which we haue now mencioned And bycause we can not by it selfe vnderstand the force and might of the loue hatred of God therfore we consider thē by the effects namely ether by his gifts or by his punishmēts But the ground of y◠question is whither y◠loue come of our merites or fréely The Apostle excludeth merites other some fayne woorkes Whether God loue or hate in respect of works fore sene foreséene Wherefore it shall not be amisse to recite theyr opinions that we maye see how this is to be vnderstanded that God either hateth or loueth Chrisostome thinketh that God therefore loued Iacob because he was good and reiected Esau because he was euill And if thou saye that they forasmuche as they were not yet horne had done neither good nor euill he maketh aunswere that vnto God if is not needefull to waite for the euent of thinges For he by the most sharpe sighte of his foreknowledge seeth before all eternitie what thinges shal afterward come to passe and he alone knoweth truly who shall be woorthy of his election who vnworthy But here Chrisostome somewhat strayeth from the truth when hee saith God findeth not in men an◠worthines for which they should be elected that God findeth in men any woorthinesse for which they ought to be elected For what thing els is that but not onely to diminishe but also vtterly to take awaye euen the grounde of grace For if of our selues we be worthy to be elected verely the grace of GOD is not geuen vnto vs freely Howbeit he confesseth that the Apostle speaketh not this for if he had made aunswere that Iacob was therefore elected for that he was good and Esau reiected for that he was euil he saith that the Iewes mought straightway haue replied if we be reiected for our wickednes what were the Gentiles whiche are now receaued any better then we This thinge also woulde they vtterly haue denied For the Gentiles were infected with most gréeuous sinnes howbeit he sayth it moughte be graunted that the Gentiles which were nowe called were good for that they had receiued the saith of Christe which the Iewes by all maner of meanes withstoode But Paul would not in such sorte make aunswer but referred the whole matter to the foreknowledge of God against which doubtles saith he none that hath his righte wittes will stande For Paul resolueth not the question into the fore knowledgeof God but into his wil by it God foreseeth who shal be good and who euill But here againe he is far out of the waye For Paul resolueth not the question into the foreknowledge of God but into his will mercy and power For he sayth that it is not of hym that willeth nor of him that rūneth but of God that hath mercy that he hath mercy on whom he will and hardeneth whome he wyll and lastly that the potter maye of one and the selfe same masse or lompe make one vessell to honor and an other to contumely And to the Ephesians he saith that we are elected accordinge to the good pleasure of his will Chrisostome addeth that when it is sayd that the elder shall serue the younger thereby is shewed that the right and dignity of the first birth should nothing profite hym which came first out of the wombe but the vertue which God foresaw before workes Here it is a harde matter to vnderstand what manner a thinge that vertue is whiche should goe before works For what doth he peraduēture thinke y◠these men are borne endued with vertue But there cā no such thing be foūd in the scriptures for they testifie y◠mē are borne the children of wrath obnoxious vnto sinne But as far as we can coniecture A mynde prone to good things is not in
sée Christ Ierome against the Pelagians Ierome praiseth Augustine which is the only scope of all the scriptures But as touching Ierome from those things which he wrote in those places which we haue now aledged I apeale vnto those which he learnedly godly wrote against the Pelagians For they thought yâ— our saluation dependeth of our workes merites He in the end of his third dialoge highly commendeth Augustine neither any where els yâ— I can remember of speaketh he more worthely of him For he calleth him a man holy and eloquent and excellently commendeth his bookes against this heresy and especially his booke of the baptisme of infantes to Marcellienus and to Hilarius And he sayth that he would not in that disputation procede any farther for that either he should speake the selfe same things that Augustine had before spoken or els if he should séeke to bring other thinges seing Augustine had before brought better he should but lose his labour But in those bookes how much Augustine is against this seÌ„tence namely that election dependeth of workes euery one that readeth them may easely iudge Farther he alleadgeth many thinges out of the scriptures whereby is most euident and playne that the strength of our frée will is so broken and weakned Testimonies which Ierome bringeth against free will that our saluation can by no meanes depend of it Ioseph saith he was led away into Egipt and when beyng now captiue he was shut vp in prison the Iailer committed all thynges to hys power and fidelity And thereof is rendred a cause namely for that the Lord was wyth hym He interpretateth vnto Pharao his dreames he is exalted vnto the dignity next vnto the king he fedeth hys father brethren Iacob goeth downe into Egipt encreaseth into a populous nation hys posterity is afterward brought forth out of Egipt and all these thinges is God sayd to haue brought to passe Where then sayth Ierome is the power of fre will And Salomon sayth with all thy hart put thy coÌ„fidence in God the Lord but be not thou puffed vp in thine owne wisdome In all thy wayes acknowledge him that he may make thy wayes right By him are directed the waies of maÌ„ And Paul saith not that we are sufficieÌ„t to thinke any thing of our selues as of our selues but our sufficiency is of God And moreouer sayth he darest thou still glory in free will and abuse the benefites of God to the contumely of him that geueth thee them and especially seing that the selfe same vessell of election agayne writeth We haue this treasour in vesselles made of clay that the aboundance of our strength should be of God and not of our selues And agayne he which glorieth let him glory in the Lord. And when then Lorde sayth in the Gospel I am the vine and ye are the braunches he which abideth in me and I in him bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing Agayne No man can come vnto me vnles my father shall draw him by these wordes he breaketh the liberty of our will outrageous in pride He addeth also that this is to be marked that he which is drawen is signified to haue bene before slowe yea rather resisting and vnwillinge And seing yâ— the matterâ—k so how can the power of our will be so great wherby The strength of our free wil is not so great that it coulde moue God to elect vs. God could be moued to elect vs Vndoubtedly we caÌ„not so much as imagine any such power when as how great so euer it be we must always count to haue receiued it of yâ— grace of God Now let vs se what Origens mind is touching this matter He beginneth in dede well if he could haue continued still in the same minde For at the beginning he sayth That election is not of workes but of the purpose of God and of the good pleasure of him that calleth And vpon the chapiter next going before when he expoundeth this place of Paul whome he foreknew those he predestinated to be made like vnto the image of his sonne he sayth that foreknowledge can not be taken for a bare and simple knowledge For God in his foreknowledge comprehendeth also the wicked whome yet he predestinateth not to be made like vnto the image of his sonne Wherfore he saith that that knowledge signifieth an effect and loue wherby God embraseth some as Paul sayth to Timothe The Lord knoweth who are his wheÌ„ yet notwithstanding he knoweth also those that be aleantes from him So it is written that Christ knew not sinne when yet vndoubtedly he knew the nature of sinne But he is sayd not to haue knowen it bicause he allowed it not neither at any time committed any sinne The leuites also which together with Moses slew the Israelites that had played the Idolaters are sayd to haue knowen neither father nor mother nor kinsfolkes nor frendes for that they were not drawen by any priuate affection to spare them or to absteyne from killing of them Wherfore wheÌ„ Paul saith whome he foreknew those also he predestinated he thus interpretateth it that God predestinated those whome be loued These things being thus well set afterward he addeth vnto them thinges clene contrary making some kinde of protestation as Ierome did of the obscurenes of the place He also imagineth that the purpose of Paul was much like to this namely that A similitude of Origâ—nâ— he in this epistle to the Romanes doth as a maÌ„ which wil lede about a stranger thorough a goodly large Palace of a king For whilest yâ— straÌ„ger is led thorough diuers romes and paâ—lers and chambers it oftentimes commeth to passe that he knoweth not neither which way he came in nor which way to get out This similitude in dede some like very wel but in my iudgement it is not to be liked For this he semeth plainly to signifie that God hath commended vnto vs hys holy scriptures as a Labirinth or maze wherein we should waÌ„der For neither The holy scriptures are not like a Labirinth or mase is therein this place any obscurenes but such as is of these mens own deuising Wherfore he sayth that when Paul had sayd out of Malachie Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hatred he streight way obiected vnto him selfe What then shall we say is there iniquity with God And made answer vnto himselfe God forbid which answere he thinketh is to be repeted as often as the Apostle is asked the questioÌ„ of the importunate and froward demauÌ„der For he imagineth that one should thus continue in questioning with Paul If it was sayd vnto Moses I wil haue mercy on whome I will haue mercy and wil shew compassion on whome I wil shew compassion therefore it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that hath compassion Here he sayth must be added God forbid Farther if it semed good to God to rayse vp Pharao to
declare in him his power therefore he hath mercy on whom he will hardeneth whom he wil. Why then do we still complayne For who can resist his wil Here againe he addeth God forbid He for no other cause as I suppose thus wresteth the text but Why this place is made so troublesome of these fathers Origene wrote a boke of free will for yâ— he would not haue mans vnderstanding to much offended or free will impayred But that this wrested expositioÌ„ yet satisfied hym not it is manifest by yâ— which he alledgeth out of a boke of fre wil which he saith he wrote although yâ— boke be not at this day extaÌ„t And in it he endeuoreth to interpretate these words as if they were the wordes of Paul himselfe and not of any other man asking a question They hurt no more free will sayth he then that which we rede in Dauid Vnles the Lord build the house they labour in vaine which build it The builder in dede doth somwhat for he is carefull and laboreth but God remoueth away the lets and permitteth the worke to be accomplished So will he haue that to be vnderstanded whiche is written vnto the Corrinth Neither he which watreth nor he which planteth is anye thing but God which geueth the encrease Wherefore although we labor yet it is God which geueth perfection accomplishmeÌ„t to our labors After this maner thinketh he may aptly be expounded this sentence It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that hath mercy But this cauillation Augustine of whose iudgment as touching this matter I am in a greate many places excellently well confuteth For so sayth he we may inuert the sentence the other way and thus say It is not of God that hath mercy but of man that willeth and runneth But touching this matter we will speake more at large in due place Thus much we thought good at this present to reherse that thou moughtest se that Origen hym selfe putteth no greate affiance in this his first interpretation howbeit he goeth on in it and thus repelleth that troublesome and importunate inquisitor O man what art thou that answerest vnto God and goest to Law with him when as thou art as clay in the hand of the potter Neither vouchesafeth he to make anye other answer to the troublesome inquisitor For so he sayth Christ when he was demaunded by what power he did those thinges would not make answere vnto the Scribes Whome doubtles he would haue aunswered if they had asked the question with a godly minde and with a minde desirous to learne For so also a master that hathe a malipert seruaunt which neglecteth to doo the thinges which he is commaunded and troublesomely enquireth the causes of those thinges which are commaunded him would say vnto him What hast thou to doo to enquire touching these thinges I will haue it so bycause it is my pleasure so When as otherwise he would make answere if he were asked the question of a faythfull and an obedient seruaunt Therefore God although he hid from many what he would do yet reueled he his secretes vnto Daniell a man desirous of knowledge So we also if we be not rash and importunate inquisitors may in the scriptures know the causes of the loue and hatred of God towardes Iacob and Esau although to the malepert and importunate inquisitors that answere which is here geuen of Paul ought to be sufficient And in the first epistle to Timothe it is written That In a greate house are vessells some of gold some of siluer some of clay in this place that distinction of vessells is not discribed Thys thing only Paul sayth That the potter may of one and the selfe same masse make one vessel to honour and an other to contumely But vnto Timothe is geuen a cause of the diuersity For thus it is written He wich shall purge himselfe from these thinges shal be a vessell to honour sanctified to God and prepared to euery good worke Of which wordes we may inferre to the contrary He which purgeth not himself nor clenseth him selfe shall be a vessell Origene geueth a cause of the loue of God towardes Iacob â–ª and â—â— his hatred towardes Esau The opinioÌ„ of Origene is coÌ„futed to contumely Lo saith he the cause which was not geuen vnto the Romanes is geuen vnto Timothe Wherefore Iacob was therefore beloued bycause he had clensed him selfe from sinnes for the scripture geueth testimony of hym that he was a man simple gentle and obedyent to his parentes And Esau was therefore hated for that he had not purged him self but perseuered in malice in impiety This exposition of Origen conteyneth many things which are not to be allowed First for yâ— he persisteth not in those thinges which he had spoken at the beginning namelye that election consisteth not of woorkes but of the purpose of God and good pleasure of him that calleth Secondlye for that he maketh darke those thinges which in the Apostle are plaine and perspicuous Thirdly for that in his booke of frée will he declareth that he followeth not the exposition which he presently bringeth moreouer for that he thinketh that the Apostle in this place dissolueth not yâ— question where he of purpose putteth it forth and entreateth of it but dissolueth it in the Epistle to Timothy where he onely by the way toucheth that matter Lastly for that out of those wordes of the Apostle he gathereth not a good solucion For of that sentence of Paul He which purgeth himselfe shal be a cleane vessell oughte not to be inferred that a manne can by hys owne strengthes purge hymselfe for that thinge doth God onelye and not we our selues Neyther is that argument of force to proue our strengthes and the libertye of our wyll whyche is taken of a commaundemente or of an exhortacion For God oftentymes commaundeth and oftentimes exhorteth after this maner If thou shalt do this or that these or those thinges shall happen vnto thée to the ende we might vnderstande our infirmity and acknowledge from whence those things which are commaunded are to be sought for But to be clensed and purged in suche sorte as God geueth grace cannot be the cause of election Now wil I come to Ambrose who in a maner nothinge disagréeth from these thinges for he also will haue the purpose of God to signifie foreknowledge And when yâ— Apostle saith That the election should abide according to purpose he peyseth that word should abide and thereof gathereth that the foreknowlege of God cannot be deceaued neither is it possible but yâ— euery thinge shall so come to passe as God foreséeth euery thing shall come to passe but he saith What acception of persons â—â— that God loueth and hateth as he that foreknoweth thinges to come and not as an accepter of persons but doubtles God cannot be sayd to accept persons for that we beleue he fréely loueth and hateth whome he wil not by
any to such as would haue vsed theÌ„ wel Further remember that in these wordes it is not sayd that they which had not miracles should if peradueÌ„ture they had haâ— any haue beleued of themselues as though yâ— that lay in their owne nature or fre wil. For that thing would God haue geuen vnto theÌ„ And forasmuch as it is a senteÌ„ce coÌ„ditional there ought not of it to be inferred a proposition categoricall or affirmatiue As wheÌ„ it is sayd If a horse should flye he should haue winges it followeth not thereof that a horse hath winges or that to flye is of the nature of the horse or that the horse Neither election nor reprobation depende of works fore sene The difference betwene election and reprobation could flye if he had winges when as vnto flyeng are required moe things then winges Wherefore herein election and reprobation agrée together that neither of them depâ—ndeth of workes foresene Howebeit they differ two maner of wayes Firste for that although sinnes are not causes of reprobation yet are they causes of eternall damnation wherunto the reprobate are ordeined For they are not condemned but by iuste iudgemente neyther haue they any thing that they can iustlye complayne of the iniustice of God But good workes are neither the beginning of the election of God nor true causes of eternall felicity Neither must we here harken to the scholemen which put in them merite as they vse to speake of condignity For Paul contrariwise teacheth that the suffringes Merite is not to be admitted of this tyme are not condignae that is worthy the glory to come which shal be reueled in vs. The other difference is for that the good workes where vnto we are predestinate to be by them led to felicity are not of our selues but of the predestination of God But sinne is grafted in vs euen from our birth Good workes we haue of God but not sinnes For in iniquityes are we conceaued and in sinnes hath our mother conceaued vs. Howbeit some haue gone aboute to proue that the loue of God dependeth of workes by the 8. chap. of the boke of Prouerbes For there God thus speaketh Those that loue me I loue But of those wordes can not be inferred that which they seke I graunt indede that they are loued of God which loue God but yet it followeth not that therefore God beginneth to loue them because they loue him Yea rather it followeth contrarily that they therefore loue God because God beginneth not therfore to loue vs for that we loue him God loueth them For so Iohn teacheth vs Not that we haue loued God for he hath loued vs first But that we may the plainlier vnderstand both that which I haue alredy spoken and also that which shall afterward be spoken I will declare the signification of fower wordes which are of Paul vsed in this treatise namely the loue of God election predestination and purpose The loue of God is it as we haue sayd whereby he willeth vnto any man felicity Election is whereby he preferreth one before an other PredestinatioÌ„ is whereby he directeth those whome he hath so loued and preferred before others to the ende which he hath appoynted vnto them namely vnto eternall life by apt meanes And The order betwene loue electioÌ„ and predestination these are in such order ioyned together that predestination followeth loue and election For as we haue sayde whom God hath loued hath preferred before others those he directeth to their ende But touching loue and election we must otherwise consider of them in God then we see commonly commeth to passe in men For men when they see a man adorned with excellent giftes him they elect Loue and election are after an other maner of sorte in God then they are in men aboue others and then they wishe well vnto him and to their power seeke to do hym good but God forasmuch as in men he findeth nothyng that is good yet of his mere mercy and singular goodnes he loueth some and decreeth vnto them many good thinges and thereof followeth election For for this cause onely are they preferred before others for that they are loued of God and not for any their owne worthines And as loue is to election so is hatred to reprobation Wherefore I mislike not that which the master of the sentences citeth out of Augustine that predestination is a preparation to glory and reprobation a preparation to eternal punishementes so that those differences which we haue a little before mencioned be added Nowe resteth to declare the fourth worde namely purpose And that we say is nothing els but his good pleasure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What the purpose of God is which signification we gather out of the epistle to the Ephesians the 1. chap. where it is thus written which hath predestinated vs to adopt vs into children vnto himselfe thorough Iesus Christe according to the good pleasure of hys wyll And straight way he addeth Predestinate according to his purpose This declareth that Purpose is the generall worde of predestination What is predestination after Augustine purpose and good pleasure are taken for one and the selfe same thing and do pertayne vnto wil. Wherefore the purpose of God is the pleasure of his wil and is taken as the generall worde to define predestination and reprobation For Augustine sayth that predestination is the purpose to haue mercy and reprobation the purpose not to haue mercy And according to this sentence Paul sayth in this chapiter That election mought abide according to purpose But touching all these matters we will hereafter more at large entreate What shall we say then Is there vnrighteousnes with God God forbid For he sayth to Moses I will haue mercy on whome I will haue mercy and will haue compassion on whome I will haue compassion Wherefore it is not of hym that wylleth nor of hym that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy For the scripture sayth vnto Pharao For thys same purpose haue I stirred thee vp that I myght shewe my power in thee and that my name mought be declared thoroughout all the earth Therefore he hath mercy on whome he wyll and whome he wyll he hardeneth Thou wilt say then vnto me why doth he yet complayne â–ª for who can resist his wyll But O man who art thou which pleadest agaynst God shall the thyng formed saye to hym that formed it why hast thou made me thus Hathe not the potter power to make of one and the same lompe one vessell to honour and an other to dishonour VVhat shall we say then Is there iniquity with God God forbid When fleshe and humane wisedome heareth that all things are to be referred vnto the wil of God it beginneth to stirre For it can not abide that and pretendeth reuerence to the name of God when as in very dede it abhorreth mortification neither can abide to subdue all whatsoeuer it hath to the
elected Also ye haue not chosen me but I haue chosen you And if Christ and the Apostles haue in their sermons oftentimes made mencion hereof no man saith he ought to doubt that this doctrine is against the fruit and commodity of preaching He affirmeth also that it followeth not that although our will saluation and good workes depend of the will and appointment of God therefore we should cast away all our diligence endeuour and care For Paul when he had said that God worketh in vs both to will and to performe yet Saluation our good workes depeÌ„d of God yet ought not we â—o cast away all maner of care to lyue well cessed not to geue good admonishments And when he had written vnto the Phillippians that GOD which had begonne in them would accomplishe the worke whiche he had begonne that they might be blameles in the daye of the Lorde in whiche woordes he attributeth vnto GOD bothe the beginning and successe of good works yet in the selfe same epistle wonderfully exhorteth he them to holynes Christ also commaunded his Apostles to beleue and yet on the other side he sayth That no man can come vnto him but whome the father shall draw He also sayth He which hath eares to heare let him heare And yet God sayth in the scriptures that he would geue them an hart from aboue to vnderstaÌ„d eyes to sée eares to heare Wherfore these thinges are not repugnant one to the other namely that the appointment of good works lieth in God and that the gift of them is to be hoped for at Gods hands only and that we also must put to our care and endeuour to liue vprighly and holyly for as we haue before sayd the holy scriptures teach both Farther if for thys cause we should deny predestination seing that by the selfe same maner the foreknowledge of God is certayne and can not be deceaued shall we therefore deny that God foreknoweth all thinges As well the foreknowledge of god â—s predestination is certaine An example brought by Augustine if peraduenture there be some which may be offended with this doctrine And in his booke de bono perseuerantiae the 15. chapter he bringeth an example which happened in his time He saith that in the same monastery that he was in was a certaine man not of so vpright a life This man when he was admonished of his faulte was accustomed to say Such a one shall I be as God hath foreknown me to be And when he so spake saith Augustine he spake indede the truth but although his iudgement were true yet became he euery day worse and worse at the last also saith he he returned to his olde vomite howbeit saith he what manner of one he shall as yet in time to come be God onely knoweth Though this man abused the truth yet will not therefore any godly man deny that God foreknoweth all things And that this foreknowledge of God is no let vnto good workes Christ declared when he coÌ„maunded his disciples to pray when as yet in the meane time The thyng is not made euill by the abuse therof he plainely told them that God knewe right well what thinges they had néede of Wherefore the foreknowledge of God doth not call vs backe from the endeuor of praying for the thinges profitable and necessary which God hath decréed to geue The foreknowledge of God ought not to call vs backe from our endeuor to prayers The giftes of God are not acknowledged â–ª except the fouÌ„taine of theÌ„ be knowne What is the fountaine of the giftes of God vs he hath decréed to geue theÌ„ by this meane They also are deceaued which thinke that this doctrine is an vnprofitable doctrine yea their sight is but small and they vnderstand not the profite therof Vnto the godly it is very profitable to the ende they should not put any confidence either in themselues or in any other men but should fixe all theyr whole hope and affiaunce in God onely Which thing vndoubtedly none can truely and from the harte do but those whiche are fully persuaded both that their saluation and also theyr good workes depend not vpon themselues but of God No we cannot acknowledge the giftes of God except we vnderstande from what fountaine they spring But that fountaine is the fre purpose and mercy of God geuen vnto them whome he hath elected before the constitution of the world He which seeth not this seeth not the goodnes of God towardes him By this doctrine may men be brought not to glory in themselues but in the Lorde which thing they cannot do which ascribe vnto their own frée will that litle how much so euer it be for which thing sake they affirme that God electeth them For they haue in themselues whereof to glorye Farther the scripture willeth vs that we should mortifye our selues and behaue our selues lowly there is nothing that is more easelier bringeth this to passe then doth this doctrine The certainety also of saluation which we defend is by no other means better made manifest And in the We are coÌ„maunded to geue thaÌ„ks for our election It confirmeth the doctrine of free iustification It is no â—â—w doctrine sâ—yng it is set forth in the holy scriptures Heresies were the causes that doctrines were more diligently entreated of latter Epistle to the Thessalonians Paul willeth vs for this thing to geue thankes vnto God that we are elected of God But this can we not do vnles this thing also be wholy made plaine and knowne vnto vs. Neither without this doctrine can the grace of God be defended against the Pelagians for they toughte that the election of God commeth by our merites Frée iustification also should pearish excepte we be rightly taught of predestination Séeing therefore this doctrine being soundlye vnderstande is vnto so many thinges so profitable no man oughte to count it vnfruitfull And sithen it is set foorth in the holy scriptures it can not vndoubtedly be called a new doctrine And if the fathers before Augustines time haue not so diligeÌ„tly spoken of it it ought not to be meruailed at for the occasions wherfore doctrines were more diligently discussed and searched out wer heresies which dayly sprang vp in the Church a freshe And for that before Pelagius time no man had spoken against the grace of God there was no néede that any maÌ„ should defend it but wheÌ„ there arose vp a new error it was necessary that this doctrine should the more diligently be examined And yet did not the fathers which were before Augustines time alwayes leue this thinge vnspoken of Which thing Augustine himselfe proueth in the. 19. chapter of his booke de bono perseuerantiae Ambrose vpon Luke saith that God could if he would of vndeuout persons make deuout And againe he saith that God calleth them whome he vouchsafeth and him whome he will he maketh religious The fathers that were before Augustines time tought this
ioyned wyth foreknowledge and what it differeth from it Now let vs see what it hath common or diuerse with prouidence This it hath common with prouidence that either of them requireth a knowledge and is referred vnto the will and that either of them hath a consideration to thinges to come But herein they differ for that prouidence comprehendeth all creatures but predestination as we spake of it pertayneth onely to the sainctes and vnto the elect Farther prouidence directeth things to their naturall endes but predestination leadeth to those endes which are aboue nature as is this to be adopted into the sonne of God to be regenerate to be endued with grace whereby to liue vprightly and last of all to come vnto glory Wherefore we do not say that brute beastes are predestinate Brute beastes are not predestinate for they are not able to receaue this supernaturall ende Neyther are Angels now predestinate for they haue already attayned vnto their ende but predestination hath a respect vnto thinges to come Whereas we sayde Why the prouidence of God is said to be common to all thinges that prouidence pertayneth to all thynges that may thus be proued because nothyng is hydden from God otherwyse he shoulde not be most wyse And if he know all things eyther he gouerneth all those thinges or els he abiecteth the care of many of them If he abiecte the care of any thing he therefore doth it eyther because he can not or bycause he will not take vpon him the care of those thinges If he can not then is he not most mighty if he will not then is he not most good But to deny that God is most wise most mighty and most good were playnly to deny him to be God Wherefore it remaineth that Gods prouidence is ouer all thinges which thing the scriptures in infinite places most manifestly testefie For they teach that the care of God extendeth euen to the leaues of trées euen vnto the heares of the hed euen vnto sparrowes Prouidence may thus by the way be defined prouidence is Gods appoynted vnmoueable and perpetuall administration of all thinges When I say God I Dâ—finition of prouideÌ„ce The gouernment of God is not tyrannous say that he is endewed with greate authority and that he is mighty AdministratioÌ„ signifieth that his gouerment is not tiraÌ„nious but quiet gently and fatherly For tirannes violently oppresse theyr subiects and referre all thinges to to theyr owne commodity and lust But God violently presseth no man neither by this gouerment getteth any commodity vnto himselfe but only communicateth his goodnes vnto creatures And this administration extendeth vnto all thinges For there is nothing free from it neyther can without it indure It is called appoynted bycause it is ioyned with most excellent wisedome so that it Why prouidence is vn vnmoueable admitteth no confusioÌ„ It is vnmoueable bicause yâ— knowledge of this gouernor is not deceaued neyther can his power be made frustrate It is also perpetuall bycause God himselfe is present with the thinges For neyther did he when he had created thinges leue them vnto them selues yea rather he him selfe is in them and perpetually moueth theÌ„ For in him we liue we moue and haue our being And thus much of prouidence Vnto these thinges also is fate or desteny of very nigh affinity From which word if as we haue before sayd it be taken for a certaine ireuitable necessity which dependeth of yâ— power of stars the fathers haue not without iust cause absteined But if it signifie nothing ells but a certayne connextion of second causes which is not caried rashely or by chance but is gouerned by the prouidence of God and may at his wil be changed I se no cause why the thing it selfe should be of any man reiected Howbeit bicause there is danger that error might sometimes crepe in Augustine thinketh it best that we vtterly refrayne from that worde We ought also to remember that which we haue in an other place taught namely that the loue election and predestination of God are so ordered together that they follow one an other in a certaine Loue election predestination how they are ioyned together course First vnto the knowledge of God are offred all men not being in happy estate yea rather being nedy and miserable whome God of his pure and singular mercy loueth those he careth for and putteth a parte from other whome he ouerpasseth and embraseth not with his beneuolence and they by this seperation are sayd to be elected And those so elected are destinied or appoynted vnto an end Augustine in his booke de predestinatione sanctorum the 10. chapter thus defineth predestination that it is a preparation of Grace and and in the 12. chapter How Augustine defineth predestination he sayth it is foreknowledge and a preparatioÌ„ of the gifts of God by which they are certainly deliuered which are deliuered but the rest are left in the masse or lompe of perdition In an other place he called it the purpose of hauing mercy The Master of the sentences in the first booke distinction 40 defineth it to be a preparation of grace in this present time of glory in time to come These definitions I reiect not howbeit bicause they compreheÌ„d not the whole matter I will bring an other definition more full as nigh as I can I say therefore that predestination is the most wise purpose of God whereby he hath before al A full definition of predestination eternity constantly decreed to call those whome he hath loued in Christ to the adoption of his children to iustification by fayth and at the length to glorye through good workes that they may be made like vnto the image of the sonne of God and that in them should be declared the glory and mercy of the creator Thys definition as I thinke comprehendeth all thinges that pertayne vnto the nature of predestination And all the partes thereof may be proued by the holye scriptures First we take purpose for the generall word For that word is common both to predestination and vnto reprobation Paul vnto the Ephesians sayth Purpose is common to predestination vnto reprobation That we are predestinate according to the purpose of God And in this Epistle to the Romanes he sayth That the purpose might abide according to election But what thys purpose is we vnderstand by the first chapter vnto the EphesiaÌ„s For there thus it is written That God hath predestinate vs according to his good pleasure By The purpose of God is his good pleasure Purpose pertayneth vnto yâ— wil. these wordes it is manifest that that is called his good pleasure which Paul afterward called purpose And that this purpose pertayneth vnto the will those thinges whiche afterward followe doo declare By whose power sayth he God woorketh all thinges accordinge to the counsell of hys will But by thys will we ought to vnderstand that will whiche is of
reprobate are condemned because of their sinnes Sinnes foresene are noâ— the cause why a man is reprobate And yet we ought not hereby to inferre that sinnes foreséene are the cause why any man is reprobate For they cause not that GOD purposeth that he will not haue mercye Howbeit they are the cause of damnation whiche followeth in the last time but not of reprobation which was from eternally The laste ende of reprobation is the declaration of the mightye iustice of God as Paul hath taughte namely that these vessels are prepared vnto wrath because God woulde shew in them his power And God aunswereth of Pharao Euen vnto this end haue I raysed thee vp that I might shew in thee my power The farthest ende is damnation whiche as it is iust so also is it allowed of God But the niest ende are sinnes For God coÌ„maunded that the people should be made blinde that they should not vnderstand that they should not heare Lest peraduenture saith he they should be conuerted and I should heale them For sins although as they are sins they are by God in his lawes condemned yet as they are iuste punishmentes they are by him imposed for the wicked desertes of the vngodly But we muste not stay in these néerer endes We must go farther that we may at the length come to that ende which Paul hath set foorth namely that the iustice of God should be declared And thus muche hitherto as touching the first article Now let vs come to the second wherein is to be sought the cause of predestination Of the cause of predestination Forasmuch as predestination is the purpose or will of God and the same wil is the first cause of all thinges which is one and the selfe same with the substance of God it is not possible that there should be any cause thereof Howbeit we do not Of the will of God may sometimes be geuen a reason but neuer any cause especially an efficient cause We cannot geue any reasonâ— of the 〈◊〉 of God â–ª but those which the holâ— scriptures haue set forth vnto vs. Predestination may haue a final cause The material cause is after a sorte found in predestination The â—nd is considered two maner of wayes therfore deny but that sometimes may be shewed some reasons of the wil of God which although they may be called reasons yet ought they not to be called causes especially efficient causes But that in the scriptures are sometimes assigned reasons of the will of God may by many places be gathered The Lord sayth that he therefore did leade aboute the children of Israell throughe the deserte rather then through shorter passages through which he could haue lead them that they should not sodenlye méete with theyr enemies Adam also was placed in Paradise to husband it and to kéepe it And God testifieth that he woulde not as yet expell the Cananites out of the land of Chanaan because they had not yet as filled yâ— measure of their sinnes Howbeit althoughe as we haue sayde the scripture vse sometimes to bring reasons of the wil of God yet no maÌ„ ought to take vpon him to râ—der a certain reason of it but that which he hath gathered out of the scriptures For so as we are dull of vnderstanding we should easely vsurpe our owne dreames in stede of true reasons But that there are finall causes of the predestination of God we deny not For they are expressedly put of Paul and especially when he citeth yâ— of Pharaoâ—euen o this end haue I stirred thee vp that I mighte shewe in thee my power and of the elect he sayth that God would in them shew forth hys glorye The materiall cause also may after a sorte be assigned For men which are predestinate and those thinges which God hath decreed by predestination to geue vnto the elect as are these vocation iustification and glorification may be called the matter about which predestination is occupied This moreouer is to be noted that the end may sometimes be taken as it is of vs in minde and desire conceaued and then it hath the consideration of an efficient cause for being so conceaued in the minde it forceth men to worke Sometimes also it is taken as it is in the thinges and as we attayne vnto it after our laboures And then properly it is called the end bycause the worke is then finished and we are at quiet as now hauing obteyned the end of our purpose But we therefore put this distinction It may be both true false that we are predestinate by workes that if at any time we should be asked whether God do predestinate men for workes or no we should not rashly eyther by affirming or by beniinge geue hasty sentence For the ambiguity is in this word for how it is to be vnderstand For if good workes be taken as they are in very dede are wrought bycause God predestinateth vs to this end that we should liue vprightly as we rede in the Epistle vnto the Ephesians namely that we are elected to be holye and immaculate and that God hath prepared good workes that we shoulde walke in them as touching this sentence or meaning the proposition is to be affirmed But if that worde for he referred vnto the efficient cause as thoughe the good workes which God foresaw we should do are as certayne merites and causes which should moue God to predestinate vs this sence is by no meanes to One effect of predestination may be the cause of an other effect but they cannot be causes of the purpose of God be admitted It is possible indede that the effectes of predestination may so be compared together that one may be the cause of the other But they can not be causes of the purpose of God For vocation which is the effect of predestination is the cause that we are iustified Iustification also is the cause of good works and good workes although they be not causes yet are they meanes by which God â–ª 〈…〉 ngeth vs vnto eternall life Howbeit none of all these is the cause or the meane why we are choseÌ„ of God as contrariwise sins indede are yâ— causes why we are damned but yet not why we are reprobate of God For if they should Iâ— sinnes were the causes of reprobation no man should be elected The purpose of God not to haue mercy is as free as the purpose to haue mercy Why good workes foresene are not the causes of predestination A place out of the first epistle to Timothie be the cause of reprobation no man could be elected For the condition estate of all men is a like For we are all borne in sinne And when at any time Augustine sayth that men are iustly reprobate for theyr sins he vnderstandeth together with reprobation the last effect thereof namely damnation But we may not so speake if by reprobation we vnderstand the purpose of God not to haue mercy For that purpose is no lesse
free then y◠other purpose of shewing mercy These thinges being now thus declared we will assigne reasons why we deny that good workes foresene are the causes of predestination The first is because the scriptures no where soteach But of so weighty a matter we ought to affirme nothing without the holy scriptures Howbeit I know that certain haue gone aboute to gather this sentence out of the first epistle to Timothe where it is thus written In a greate house are vessells of gold siluer and wood And if a man shall clense him selfe from these he shal be an honorable vessell of God and mete for euery good worke Hereby they conclude that certayne are therefore destinied to be vessels of honour bycause they haue clensed them selues from the filthines of sinne and frō corrupt doctrine And bicause they are here sayd to haue power to performe this they say that it lieth in euery man to be predestinate of God vnto felicity But these men make no good collection For the sentence of Paul in that place is thus to be taken He had sayd before The foundation standeth firme The Lord knoweth who are his As if he should haue sayd mē may sometims be deceaued for they oftentimes iudge those to be goodly which are most farre from godlines In which wordes he reproued Himeneus and Philetus For a litle before he had spoken of theyr peruerse doctrine For they taught that the resurrection was done alredy wherefore Paul would not that men should be iudged as they appeare to be at the first sight For God hath in this world as it were in a greate house vessells some of golde some of siluer some of woode and some of claye And he knoweth beste whiche of these are honorable and whiche are made vnto contumely But we which know not nor vnderstād the secret of his will can iudge of them but only by the effectes that whosoeuer is cleane from corrupt doctrine and liueth godly the same is a vessell vnto honour Neither doth this place proue that men can clense themselues or make themselues vessels of honor For as Paul hath tought vs in this epistle it is God onely which bringeth this to passe For he as it were a potter hath power of one and the selfe same masse or lompe to make one vessel to honor and an other to contumely Wherefore this place enterpretateth the other And therefore we ought not to gather more of those wordes of Paul then that such clensing is a token whereby we iudge of the worthines or of the vnworthines of the vessels in the Church It is God which knoweth truly what maner of one euery man is and his foundation standeth firme for it can not be deceaued But we can not iudge of others but only by certayne tokens and effects And this is it which Christ admonisheth By their fruites ye shall know them Neither do they rightly vnderstand Man cānot by himselfe make himselfe a vessel of honour Free wil is not proued by propositions hypotheticall the Apostle which by these words If a man keepe himselfe cleane form these thinges teach that it lieth in our will to make our selues vessels of honour For the strengthes of our frée will are not proued by propositions hipotheticall or hauing conditions that we should thus inferre the holy scriptures teach that if ye shall do this or that or if ye shall beleue ye shall haue saluation Wherefore we can of selues beleue or liue holily Suche conclusions are weake for God in another place teacheth that he will make vs able to walke in his wayes Preceptes therefore and exhortations and conditions are to that end added that we should vnderstand what is required at our handes and what maner ones they shal be which pertaine vnto God and shall obtaine eternall life Wherefore we ought not out of these places to gather what our owne strengthes are able to do But it is easy to declare why men that are purged of God are notwithstanding said to purge themselues For God worketh not in men as stockes and stones for stones are moued without sense and will But God when he regenerateth men so cleanseth God maketh the godly clene they are said to make themselues cleane and reneweth thē that they themselues both vnderstand those things which they do and also aboue all things desire and will the same after they haue once receaued a fleshy hart for their stony hart Wherefore after they are once regenerate they are made workers together with God and of their owne accord they bend themselues vnto holynes and vnto purenes of life God by Moses commaunded the Israelites to sanctify themselues And yet in an other place he manifestly testifieth that it is he which sanctifieth the people And Paul vnto the Corrinthians sayth that Christ was made vnto vs wisdome righteousnes redemption and sanctification God also commaundeth vs to beleue and yet the scriptures in an other place testify that faith is the gift of God By all these things therefore it is very manifest how little this place maketh for our aduersaries which way soeuer they turne thēselues Besides al this the scriptures do not only teach y◠predestination is not of works foresene but also plainly teach y◠contrary For Paul as The scripture teacheth that predestination is not of workes foresene we sée in this epistle pronoūceth of those twines before they were borne or had done eyther any good or any euill it was sayd The elder shall serue the yonger also Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated that it should not be of workes but of him that calleth Wherefore he denieth that either the loue or hatred of God commeth of works But they are worthy to be laughed at which after this sort cauill that Paul in déede excludeth works already done but not those which are to be done For they sée not that Paul in this place goeth about to remoue all maner of difference from those two brethern that we might fully vnderstand that they were A cauillatiō ouerthrown vtterly like as touching their persons For when he declared that they were borne of one and the selfe same father and of one and the selfe same mother y◠they were brought forth also both at one burthen his meaning tended to no other end but vnto this by their equality to shew that the election of God is frée so that it laye in him to elect the one and to reiect the other But if there had ben only this differēce left as touching workes foresene then should Paul in vayne haue put so great an equality Wherefore Paul sayth vniuersally not of workes in which words he comprehendeth as well works to be done as works already done And that we mought the more surely vnderstand this he addeth But of him that calleth Wherfore Paul sendeth vs vnto God and not vnto works And if a man diligently consider Vnto what principall pointes the predestination of God
is reduced all those things which follow in this chap. he shall sée that the Apostle draweth those thinges which he teacheth of predestination to these principall pointes namely vnto power For he saith Hath not the potter power Vnto purpose or good pleasure for vnto the Ephesians he vseth both words Vnto will for he saith He hath mercy on whome he will and whome he will he hardeneth Vnto mercy or loue for he saith It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that hath mercy Also Iacob haue I loued but Esau haue I hated Seing Paul what cause soeuer he eyther here or in any other place geueth of predestination reduceth them to these fower principall pointes can we doubt of his meaning or shall we take vpon vs to geue sentence otherwise But as touching works he speaketh not so much as one worde wheresoeuer he entreateth of this matter but onely to exclude them Farther consider this that there is nothing more against the scope and meaning of Paul then to put workes foreséene to be the causes of predestination IustificatioÌ„ should come by workes if election should depende of workes forsene For by that meanes woorkes shoulde be the causes of iustification But that doctrine the Apostle hath in this Epistle by all manner of meanes oppugned And I hereby proue this reason to be firme because the Apostle maketh predestination to be the cause of vocation and vocation the cause of iustification Wherefore if workes be causes of predestination they shall also be causes of iustification For this is a firme rule among the Logicians whatsoeuer is the cause of any cause is also the cause of the effect Farther no man can deny but that good workes procéede of predestination For we are sayd to be predestinate that we shoulde be holye and blameles And God by predestination hath prepared good woorkes in whiche we should walke And Paul himselfe confesseth that he obteined mercy to be faithful Good workes are the effectes of predestination Against the good vse of of free wil. Wherfore if workes be the effectes of predestination howe can we then say that they are the causes thereof and chiefly those kinde of causes which are called efficient causes For that vse of frée will is nothing worth which they so often boast of as though we haue it of our selues and not of the mercye of God For Paul sayth that it is God which worketh in vs both to will and to performe And God in Ezechiell sayth I will take away from them theyr stony hart and wil geue vnto them a fleshy hart We can not saith Paul thinke any thing of our selues as of our selues And if we had in our selues that good vse which they speake of what shoulde let but that we mighte glory thereof Vndoubtedly the Lord sayth No man commeth vnto me vnles my father draw him And Ierome against the Pelagians excelleÌ„tly wel writeth that those which are sayd to be drawen are by that woord signified to haue bene before withstanding He which is drawen was before vnwillyng resisting and vnwilling but afterward God so worketh that he chaungeth them This selfe same thing also doth the nature of grace proue For Paul sayth That the remnantes might be saued according to the election of grace yâ— is according to gracious or frée electioÌ„ For so is the genetiue case after yâ— Hebrue phrase to be resolued Farther in the definition of predestinatioÌ„ in yâ— first place we haue put this word purpose which seing it signifieth nothing els as we haue declared out of the Epistle vnto the Ephe. but the good pleasure of God thereby it euidentlye appeareth that from no other where must we séeke the cause of predestinatioÌ„ More Workes caÌ„not be the causes of our calling ouer workes can not be the causes of our vocation and much les of our predestination for predestination goeth before vocation And that woorkes are not the causes of vocation is declared by the Epistle vnto Timothy God hath called vs sayth Paul with his holy calling not by our works but according to his purpose and the grace which we haue in Christ before the times of the world Hereby it most manifestly appeareth that works are not the causes of our calling Yea neither also are works the causes of our saluation whiche yet were farre more likely for by good woorkes If we should be predestinate by workes thâ— exclamatioÌ„ of Paul were to no purpose God bringeth vs to felicity But Paul to Titus sayth that God hath saued vs not by the workes of righteousnes but according to his mercy Farther what néeded Paul after this disputation to cry out O the depth of the riches of the wisedom knowledge of God how vnsearcheable are his iudgementes and how vnaccessable are his waies For if he would haue followed these mens opinion he might with one poore word haue dispatched the whole matter and haue sayd that some are predestinate and other some reiected because of the works which God foresaw should be in both of them Those men Augustine in mockage called sharpe witted men which so trimly and so easly saw those things which Paul could not sée But say they the Apostle in thys place assoileth not the questioÌ„ But it is absurd so to say especially seing yâ— he broght it in of purpose the solucioÌ„ therof serued very much vnto yâ— which he had in hand And how in Gods name can he seme not to haue assoyled the question when he The question is assoyled when it is reduced to the highest cause reduced that euen vnto the highest cause namely vnto the will of God And therewithall sheweth that we ought not to go any farther when God had appointed limities at the fote of the mounte Sina if any man had gone beyond those limites he was by the law punished Wherefore let these men beware with what boldnes they presume to go further then Paul would they should But they say that the Apostle here rebuketh the impudent Be it so But yet is this rebuking a most true solution of the question For Paul by this reprehension prohibiteth vs not to enquire any thing beyond the mercy and will of God If these men meane such a solution which may satisfye humane reason I will How the questioÌ„ may be said to be assâ—yled not to be assoyled easely graunt that the question is not in such sorte assoyled But if they seke yâ— solution which fayth ought to embrace and to reste therein they are blind if they se not the solution But let vs se what moued these men to say that workes foresene are the causes of predestination Vndoubtedly that was nothing ells but to satisfy humane iudgement which thing yet they haue not attayned vnto For they haue The aduersaries satisfie not humane reason nothing to answere touching an infante which being grafted into Christ dieth in his infancy For if they will haue him to
more excellency then the effect especially in that it is such a cause wherfore if workes be the causes of predestinatiō they are also more worthy of more excellency Our works cannot be of more worthines then predestination That which is constant certaine dependeth not of that which is vncertain vnconstant then predestination Moreouer predestinatiō is sure cōstāt infallible How thē shall we appoint y◠it depēdeth of y◠works of frée will which are vncertaine vncōstant may be bowed hither thither if a mā cōsider thē perticulaly For men are a like prone vnto this or y◠kinde of sinne as occasions are offred For otherwise if we will speake generally by reason of the sinne of the firste parentes frée will before regeneration can do nothing els but sinne Wherefore according to the sentence of these men it must néedes follow that the predestination of God which is certaine dependeth of the workes of men which are not onely vncertaine but also are sinnes Neither can they say that they mean of those works which follow regeneration For those as we haue taught spring of Grace and of predestination Neither do these men consider that they to satisfye humane reason We must not so defēd ou◠liberty that we spoile God of his libertie and to auoutch I know not what liberty in men spoyle God of his due power liberty in electing which power and liberty yet the Apostle setteth forth and saith that God hath no les right ouer men then hath the potter ouer the vessels whiche he maketh But after these mens sentence God can not elect but him only whom he knoweth shal behaue himselfe wel neither can he reiect any man but whom he séeth shal be euill But this is to go about to bring God into an order and to make him subiect vnto the lawes of our reason As for Erasmus he in vaine speaketh against this reason For he sayth that it is not absurde to take away from God that power which he himselfe will not haue attributed vnto him namelye to do any thing vniustly For we say that Paul hath in vaine yea rather falsly set foorth this We must geue vnto God that liberty whiche the scripture geueth vnto him liberty of God if he neither haue it nor will that it should be attributed vnto him But how Paul hath proued this libertye in God that place whiche we haue cited most manifestly declareth They also to no purpose obiect vnto vs the iustice of God for here is entreated onely of his mercy Neither can they deny but y◠they by this their sentence do rob God of a greate deale of his loue and good will towardes men For the holy scripture when it would commend vnto vs the fatherly loue of God affirmeth that he gaue his sonne and that vnto the death and that then when we were yet sinners enemies and children of wrath But these men will haue no man to be predestinated which hath not good woorkes foreséene in the minde of God And so euerye man may say with himselfe If I be predestinated the cause thereof dependeth of my selfe But an other which féeleth truely in his harte that he is fréely elected of Loue towards God is kindled of the true feling of predestination God for Christes sake when as he of himselfe was all maner of wayes vnworthy of so greate loue will without all doubt be wonderfullye inflamed to loue God againe It is also profitable vnto vs that our saluation shoulde not depende of our works For we oftentimes wauer and in liuing vprightly are not very constant Doubtles if we should put confidence in our owne workes we should vtterly dispayre But if we beleue that our saluation abideth in God fixed and assured for Christes sake we cannot but be of good comfort Farther if predestination shoulde come vnto vs by our woorkes foreséene the beginning of our saluation should be of our selues against which sentence the scriptures euery where cry out For that were to raise vp an idoll in our selues Moreouer the iustice of God shoulde then The consideration of the election of God ▪ and of the election of man is diuers haue néede of the externe rule of our workes But Christ sayth Ye haue not elected me but I haue elected you Neither is that consideration in God which is in men when they beginne to loue a man or to picke out a frende For men are moued by some excellente giftes wherewith they sée a man adorned But God can finde nothing good in vs which first proceedeth not from him And Ciprian saith as Augustine oftentimes citeth him that we therefore can not glory for that we haue nothinge that is our owne and therefore Augustine concludeth that we oughte not to parte stakes betwene God and vs to geue one parte to him and to kéepe an other vnto Vnto God is all whole to be ascribed our selues touching the obteinement of saluation for all whole is without doubte to be ascribed vnto him The Apostle when he writeth of predestination hath alwaies this ende before him to confirme our confidence and especially in afflictiōs out of which he saith that God will deliuer vs. But if the purpose of God shoulde be referred vnto our workes as vnto causes thereof then could we by no meanes conceaue any such confidence For we oftentimes fall and the righteousnes of our If predestinatiō shold depend of workes i◠woulde make vs not to hope but to dispayre workes is so sclender that it cannot stand before the iudgement seate of God And that the Apostle for this cause chiefly made mencion of predestination we maye vnderstand by the. 8. chapter of this Epistle For when he described the effectes of iustification amongst other things he saith that we by it haue obteined the adoption of sonnes and that we are moued by the spirit of God as the sonnes of God and therfore with a valiant minde we suffer aduersities and for that cause euery creature groneth and earnestly desireth to be at the length deliuered And the spirite it self also maketh intercession for vs. And at the last addeth That vnto them that loue God all thinges worke to good And who they be y◠loue God he straightway declareth Which are called saith he according to purpose These seketh Paul to make secure that they shoulde not thinke that they are hindred when they are excercised with aduersities for that they are foreknowne predestinated called and iustified And that he had a respect vnto this security those thinges declare whiche In which wordes of Paul the aduersaries a◠deceiued follow If God be on our side who shal be against vs Who shall accuse against the elect of God First by this methode is gathered that the aduersaries much erre supposinge that by this place they may inferre that predestination commeth of workes foreséene For Paul before that gradation wrote these wordes To them that loue God all
with her it could not be auoyded but that he should committe incest of which inceste shoulde be borne children which should pollute themselues with murthering one the other and should ouer throw theyr fathers kingdome The auncienter Philosophers as Democritus â–ª and Empedocles affirmed that the will also is subiect vnto fate or vnto the connexion of causes But Chrisippus the Stoike hereunto rather inclined to excepte the will of man as Oenomaris Cynicus as Eusebius Caesariensis de Preparatione Euangelica â–ª citeth him saith that Democritus made men bondmen and Chrisippus halfe bondmen But leuing these let vs returne vnto Cicero who said If there be foreknowledge then thinges should in such sort come to passe as they were foreknown neither can the euent foreséene be auoyded so that then the liberty of men is vtterly takeÌ„ away Lawes theÌ„ are in vaine admonitions are in vayne rewards punishmeÌ„ts and such like things are in vaine wherfore he setteth forth a choyce that a man should chuse whether he would rather admitte foreknowledge or liberty of the will for that they could not consist both together as farre as he iudged And because he was man hauing to do in ciuill matters and delt in lawes iudgemeÌ„ts he rather reiected the foreknowledge of God then he would loose the liberty of the will of man Wherefore Augustine sayth of him Those which will be free he maketh sacrilegious persons so that to defend their liberty they spoyle God of his foreknowledge Ciceroes reason was If the wil be frée there can not be a certaine and sure connexion of causes for if it were certaine it could not be broken of our will and if there be no certaine connexion then can there be put no foreknowledge and therfore he affirmed that God also foreknoweth not what thinges shall come to passe for if he should foreknow them then should there be a certaine and firme order of causes which being graunted there shoulde bee nothing remayning in the power of our will But we ought to hold either of these sentences for of the one we haue by sence experience For euery man may consider in himselfe how he woorketh by counsels and deliberation and electeth that whiche pleaseth him But the other that is the foreknowledge of God we hold by faith whiche knowledge is of no les The elections counsels of man are not against the prouideÌ„ce of of God The wil of man is placed in the order of causes God by his foreknowledge changeth not the nature of causes Fortune chaunce are referred vnto vs not vnto God force then the apprehension both of sence and of reason Wherefore we deny vnto Cicero this consequence There is a certaine and constante order of causes whiche God foreknew therfore there is nothing in our will And we therfore deny the argument for that our will also is to be placed amongst the causes of thinges yea it hath not amongst them the vnworthiest place Wherefore euen as God can foreknow what shall come to passe of other causes in like sort is he able plainely to sée what our willes wil elect And as in foreséeing other causes and theyr effectes he in no wise destroyeth nor chaungeth the natures of them so also leaueth he in their ful state the willes of men This also moued Cicero that then nothing should come by chaunce But forasmuch as very many thinges happen by chaunce and fortune it is manifest that there cannot be a certaine or sure order of causes neither also any foreknowledge In this sort reasoned he But we aunswere that those thinges which are said to come by chance ar so called things coÌ„ming by chance as they are referred to our vnderstanding whiche forasmuch as it is weake by reason of the dulnes therof seeth not the course or connexion of causes but if their be coÌ„pared vnto the mind of God from which nothing is hidden they can not be said to come by chance or rashely The infirmity of the mind of man is that it maketh fortune or chance to be with thing we wil declare by an example If a maister should sende his seruaunt to the market and commaunde him to be there by sixe of the clocke and should also commaund his Baliue apart to doo the self same thing doubtles both the Baliue and the seruaunt should mete together which to either of them should come by chaunce for that they knew not of their maisters commaundement but the maister he selfe who knoweth the matter will not iudge this to come by chance which thing hereby also may be made more plaine Suppose that I knewe that there were treasure hidden in a place and I should commaund one to digge in that place when he should find the treasure he would cry good fortune but I which knew the matter would attribute nothing vnto fortune So God forasmuch as he knoweth the course and connexion of all causes neuer ascribeth any thing to fortune Wherefore let vs put all thinges to be subiect vnto the purpose of God and amongest all other thinges our wils also which we affirme haue that power which God willed who tempereth the natures of all thinges There is a certayne cause as sayth Augustine which so worketh that it is by no meanes wrought and suche a cause is God And there is an other cause which so worketh that it also is wrought of an other of which kinde is our will which so willeth and worketh in that that it also is wrought of God Wherefore we ought neyther to assent vnto Cicero nor to the Stoikes for as we ought to withdraw nothing from Our wils are not free froÌ„ the foreknowledge of God Note a saâ—ing of Austine the foreknowledge of God so lest of all are our willes to be exempted from it for they pertayne to yâ— better part of the world For what should he haue a care of or what should he foreknow if he should neglect men Our willes as sayth Augustine are able to doo so much as God would and foreknew they should be able to doo and therefore whatsoeuer they are able to doo they most certaynly are able to doo and whatsoeuer they shall doo they shall without all doubt doo for that he whose foreknowledge can not be deceaued foreknew that they should be both able and also do it And in yâ— Necessity of two sortes 10. chap. of the fifth booke before cited he deuideth as we also did a necessity in to two parts one whereby we are compelled to suffer those thinges whiche we would not as is the necessity of death wherunto will we or nill we we must gâ—ue place The other necessity he sayth is that according to which any thing is sayd to be necessary that is shall vndoubtedly come to passe And touching this there is no nede that we should be aferd concerning our will for by it the will is not diminished the first indede is repugnant vnto it for it is not possible Not euery
would declare that this his assent to the truth resembled some We are also sorye by reason of the morall workes of the Ethnikes certaine shew of piety and of duty Wherefore in such workes which are morally called good the minde of the godly delighteth although therewithall also it sorroweth that those workes are not done as they ought to be done And as touching this present sentence of the Apostle we must not gather that he of sinne that is of zeale without true knowledge conceaued a loue and good will towardes the Iewes for he reasoneth not from the cause yea rather by the effect he declareth his loue towardes them namely in that he not onely prayeth for saluation for them but also agrauateth not the crime which they were guilty of but rather Paul loued not the Iews for their euill zeale as much as the thing suffreth excuseth it It should be a false kind of reasoning a non causa vt causa that is taking that for the cause which is not the cause if a man would hereby proue that Paul had a delight in the sinnes of the Iewes But if a man will nedes contend that this argument is taken from the cause we say that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is englished harts desire is in this place an affect What 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this place signifieth The zele of the Iewes was sinne which pertaineth to mercy and so Paul had compassion vpon the Iewes for that he saw the Iewes so miserably erred And this sentence is of no small force to proue that that zeale of the Iewes though it were goodly to the shew was sinne for nothing stirreth vp mercy but only misery and calamity neither are we moued to pray for any that they might be conuerted from euil workes vnles the same workes were sinnes and that very hurtfull Wherefore I wonder at the Nicodemites of our tyme which obiect the history of Elizeus and of Naaman The Nicodemites of our time The fact of Naamā the Siriā very ill cited the Sirian to proue that it is lawful for them so that they thinke wel in in their hart to be present at vngodly supersticions For Naaman the Sirian although he were newly conuerted yet he vnderstoode that that was sinne and for that he had not as yet so farre gone forwarde to departe from his commodities he required of the Prophet to pray for him which declareth that he iudged that such a sinne neded pardon Wherefore we conclude that this zeale of the Iewes whereunto the Apostle now beareth record was in very deede sinne and although it haue some shew of vertue yet is it very farre of from it For as it is plaine by moral philosophy that vertues and vices are as touching Vices and vertues are occupied about one the same matter where about they are occupied one and the same but in forme much differ as fortitude and feare temperaunce and intemperance iustice and iniustice For one and the selfe same affectes when they are by right reason bridled to a mediocrity and when thorough vice they either want or exceede differ not in matter although the habites or qualities which are occupied about them are much differing And that which the Philosophers speake of vertues and of vpright reason we ought to transferre also vnto the holighost and vnto faith geuen vnto the scriptures And although in a good and euil zeale the affect be one and the same yet is the difference most great when it is gouerned by true knowledge and faith and when it is gouerned of it selfe and wanteth true knowledge As A similitude the water of the sea and rayne water although they agree together in matter of moisture yet are they sundred by very many proprieties differences These A good intent is not sufficient to make the worke good thinges haue I therefore alleadged to confute those which oftentimes defend wicked actes for that they are done of a good minde purpose or as they say entent as though euery zeale were sufficient to make the worke good Whose sentence if it were true mought easely excuse the Iewes in that they killed Christ and afflicted his Apostles for they beleued that by these meanes they defended the lawe of God and ceremonies of their fathers But the Apostle Errors in matters of faith is hurtfull Against workes of preparation saith otherwise when he attributeth vnto them zeale but yet a zeale ioyned with error but when error lighteth in matters of faith it is a deadly sinne Wherfore let them well aduise themselues what to say which so stoutly defend workes preparatory doubtles their meaning is nothing els but that men although before iustification they absolutely worke not good workes yet by reason of a certaine vpright purpose and zeale of congruity they deserue grace Such workes for as muche as they want true knowledge whiche is fayth it followeth that they are such a zeale as the Apostle nowe speaketh of We deny not but that God sometimes vseth suche our wycked workes by thē at length to bring vs vnto iustification but that we our selues do thorow them deserue iustification it is farre from the truth yea rather oftentimes Goodly workes are sometyme a let vnto saluation it commeth to passe that such workes are a great let vnto saluation For the Philosophers and Pharesies being dronken glutted with those goodly workes were ouermuch puffed vp and for that they delighted in thē selues they contented them selues with those workes neither endeuoured they to ascend vnto the true degree of righteousnes We are by this doctrine also of Paul We must not streight way geue place to zele admonished not straight way to geue place vnto zeale we must first trye and diligently examine it for oftentimes vnder the goodly shew thereof lyeth hidden most great impietie as it is manifest in the Iewes which slew Christ and persecuted the Apostles and as this place euidently declareth It is a greuous sinne to refuse to be subiet vnto God A rule to try zeale For they being ignorant of the righteousnes of God and going about to stablish their own righteousnes are not subiect vnto the rightousnes of God What more wickednes could haue bene deuised then to refuse to be subiect vnto God and to seeke to prefer their own righteousnes before the righteousnes of God The Apostle in these wordes geueth vs a rule whereby we may be able to trye and examine our zeale And that rule is this to see whether we will be subiect vnto God whether we can abide that all thinges shoulde bee attributed vnto God and claime nothing vnto our selues as the true knowledge of God requireth There are a great many in our daies which as it were by a certain zeale labour to defend worshipping of Images pilgrimages and other suche supersticious actes vnto whom if a man manifestly declare that those thinges are repugnant vnto the word of God they
our saluation they should haue no place at all left Howbeit afterward when he after a sort sawe that he neded not so much to be aferd of this matter he saith workes in deede are not required but yet they are to bee had that grace be not in vayne For Paul saith And his grace was not in vayne in me Wherefore good works saith he are to be had that we be not ingrate to the grace of God And if thorough grace it is not of workes Or els were grace now no grace Chrisostome not vnaptly knitteth this parte together with that whiche went before The Iewes saith he mought haue said vnto Paul It is true indede that we haue bene called of God not only by his word but by benefites miracles irritaciō but so greuous and hard thinges were required at our hands that we were not able to beare thē and therfore we folowed him not when he called vs. Not so saith Paul Grace was set foorth vnto you without woorkes and to séeke woorkes to the ende to attaine vnto grace had bene to darkē it But God suffreth not nether at any time hath suffred his gifts so to be darkened Wherfore workes are not required of you After that he moueth this question Why then are not all men saued Bicause saith he all men will not neither are anye saued but onelye those whiche will These thinges in déede are true if they be warelye vnderstanded otherwise they may deceaue the Reader It is true that they whiche It lieth not in our power to assent vnto the Gospell Grace is not commō vnto all mē How none are saued but they that will repell the Gospell will not beleue it and will not geue assente vnto the truth offered vnto them but yet muste we not therefore imagine that it lieth in their hand to will and to assent They will and beleue whose minde God boweth and whose hart he softeneth Neither muste we thinke that grace is common vnto all men Farther when it is sayd that they are saued whiche will two thinges are to be taken heede of The one is that we thinke not that this will is the cause why we are made pertakers of grace when as rather that assente of the will commeth of grace Againe we must beware that we ascribe it not vnto humane strengthes and vnto frée will as they call it and these two errors being excluded we graunte that none are saued but such as will for no man beleueth againste his will nor is Workes ar not to be◠counted as causes of saluation An argument taken of contradictoris compelled by any violence to receaue the Gospell The second part of the proposition namely that workes are to be excluded from being causes of saluation Paul proueth by an argument taken of opposites And for that the nature of opposites is manifold he vseth those kindes of opposites which are called contradictories which can by no meanes be true both at one time For then saith he grace shoulde not be grace and worke should not be worke But who séeth not y◠it is impossible y◠one and the self same thing should at one and the same time and in respect of one and the selfe same thing be called grace and not grace woorke and not woorke Doubtles this is the nature of contradictories that the one being put the other is destroyed the one being taken away the other followeth Paul also before proued this self thinge although not so manifestly when he sayd Beinge ignoraunte of the righteousnes of God and seeking to stablish their owne righteousnes they are not subiecte vnto the righteousnes of God In which wordes also we were then taught that they which went about to be saued by theyr owne righteousnes that is by workes fell away from the righteousnes of God which is the perfect and true saluation Moreouer by this reason of Paul is most strongly proued that that moste high grace of the election of God consisteth not of workes which God from eternally foresaw for that knowledge of God or as they cal it foresight causeth not but that a work is a worke And Paul when he here maketh mencion of election in plaine wordes declareth and testifieth that it is not had by workes Which being true as in very déede it must néedes be true neither can iustification be of woorkes when as the A rule of the Logicians If election were of workes we should by them also be iustified An argument taken a maiori rule of the Logicians which euen children knowe is this That whatsoeuer followeth of the consequente followeth also of the antecedente Wherefore if election should depend of workes forasmuch as vocation and iustification depend of electi◠it should of necessity followe that iustification commeth also of workes Neyther doth the difference of the time anye thinge helpe our aduersaries yea rather the proofe may be made a maiori that is of the greater If woorkes whilest they are extant and present haue not the power to merite either iustification or election much les can they do it when they are not yet extant but are onely foreséene For who can deny but that a thing which is is of more efficacy to bring forth a worke then when yet it is not Peraduenture vnto Ethnikes it is lawfull by workes to séeke righteousnes and by them to establish the fauor and election of God and so is it also for these Sophisters which as touching this doctrine little or nothing at all differ from Ethnikes But we which follow the oracles of the scriptures and wil cleaue fast vnto them ought by no meanes to graunte that the election of GOD dependeth of our woorkes The foundation of the Apostles reason is Thinges The foundaciō of the reason now brought whiche are rendred vnto woorkes are rendred of duety but thinges whiche are of grace are not of duety where we plainly sée that duety and not duety haue manifest contradiction And this roote of this argumente the Apostle before declared vnto vs in the. 4. chapter when he said If Abraham were iustified by works he hath in deede glory but not with God for vnto him which worketh reward is not imputed according to grace but according to debt But of Abraham it is written that he beleued and it was imputed vnto him to righteousnes Wherefore Pauls argument leadeth to an absurdity or as they vse to say to an impossibility And doubtles they sinne greuously which acknowledge not the grace of God and they more gréeuouslye which séeke to obscure it but they intollerably and most gréeuously of all which vtterlye ouerthrow it Of this it followeth not but y◠God rewardeth good woorkes which How felicity may be called a reward are done of his faithfull but hereby followeth that merite is taken awaye is denied that the things which are geuen are due by the force of the worke Wherfore eternall life may indéede be called a rewarde but not that it
he willeth not And without doubt God is most gentle and most plentifull of mercy but he is also most iust and therfore it is not to be meruayled at if somtimes he punish with this kind of punishment Pigghius that most trifling Sophister laboureth to inuert this place cited of all the Euangelistes to the end to proue that God is by no maner of meanes the cause of sinne But how farre wide he is from the doctrine of Paul hereby it may plainly be proued in that he maketh election common vnto all men and affirmeth that God hath a like appointed all men vnto eternall life when as Paul not only in very many other places but also here chiefly deuideth the Israelites into chosen and into not chosen and saith that others were made blind and that only election obtained saluation The first place he bringeth out of the 4. chapiter of Marke when Christ was asked why he spake in parables he answered Vnto you it is geuen to know the mistery of the kingdome of God but vnto them which are without all thinges are shewed by parables Here by an vntimely allegory he reproueth vs as though we are without and the flocke of the Papists are within And therefore he saith that we vnderstand not the scriptures But I would gladly know of this man whether they are to be counted out of the church which embrace the holy scriptures which obserue the sacraments and rightly Who are to be counted to be in the Church administer them which deny not the holy ghost wherby the life of the body of the Church is nourished and which confesse the selfe same articles of faith which all Christians confesse What I pray you claymeth he vnto himselfe that we haue not but only mere supersticions and bondage wherin he flattereth the Antechrist of Rome Verely that we are without these things and haue escaped them we are exceding ioyfull and he if he had any witte would much lament that he is within and abiding in them Marke sayth That seing they should see and not perceaue These words are most playne and vnles he had thornes in his eyes without any doubt God because of the wicked deserts of the Iewes would make them By what meanes Christ 〈…〉 seth to make blind blind thereto he vsed these meanes namely the foretellinges of the Prophetes the preachinges of Christ and of the Apostles which when they heard they were more irritated and skipt backe from the truth And therfore Christ sayth Vnto theÌ„ I speake in parables that thereby they may receaue for their sinnes the iust reward of obstinacy and pricking But saith he the obscurenes which is in the words of Mark touching this may be explaned by the brightnes and light which shineth in the words of Mathew For he in the 13. chapiter saith Therefore do I speake vnto them in parables for that seing they see not and hearing they heare not But he willingly ouerhippeth that which was before said Vnto you it is geuen to knowe the mistery of the kingdome of heauen but vnto them it is not geuen for in these words is manifest yâ— inequality of the grace gifts of God Vnto him that hath saith he it shal be geueÌ„ but he which hath not euen that which he hath shal be taken away froÌ„ him They are Hou 〈…〉 them that haue â—â— geuen and froÌ„ them that haue not is takeÌ„ away sayd to haue vnto whom is graunted election vnto saluation and of election commeth faith vnto those I say are continually many heauenly giftes aboundauntly geuen They are sayd not to haue which are reprobate and which are destitute of faith and lose also euen yâ— which they haue for the natural gifts wherwith they were sometimes excellently adorned are made vnto them vnprofitable and the wordes of God and miracles which are offred vnto them bring forth no fruite in their minds Therefore vnto them I speake by parables for yâ— seing they sée not Now sayth Pigghius thou séest the cause why Christe spake in parables for that they were blinde and obstinate not that they were such because that Christe so spake but for that they were such therfore Christe spake vnto them in parables and so neyther in Christ nor in God is there any cause of excecation But this man is farre deceaued for that word quia that is for that or because alwayes signifieth not the cause of a thing to make it to be but rendreth a cause of the knowledge that it may be and that by the effect As in Luke it is written of the sinfull woman Many sinnes are forgeuen her because she hath loued much This vehement aboundaunt loue was the effect and did set open the remission of sinnes which lay before hidden So also is it in the parable of the debters He loueth more vnto whom more is forgeueÌ„ So here also when the Apostles demaund Why speakest thou in parables The reason is geuen by the effect because that they seing see not Hereof commeth the excecation of these men Do ye not sée what here followeth I shewe the effect I declare the euent which is that these men in seing sée not in hearing heare not and are made blind And that Pigghius expositioÌ„ aptly agréeth not I will proue by two reasons First for that this sentence of Esay where as in the Hebrue is written God coÌ„maunding In Paul is not expressed the name God as the efficieÌ„t cause of this madnes and obstinacy but in other places of the scripture it is put and especially as we shall sée it is most plainly set forth in Iohn Secondly for that it agréeth not with the question of the Disciples They asked Why speakest thou in parables If Christ had aunswered that their blindnes was the cause therof it mought be thought that therfore he ought not to haue spoken vnto them in parables but ought rather to haue spoken vnto them more manifestly and more plainly to ouercome their blindnes with the brightnes of his doctrine But for that he would punishe them for their rebellion against God to the ende they should be made blind such a doctrine was sette forth vnto them whiche for that they vnderstood not they hated and fled away from it If one man to an other would speake obscurely that they which stand by should not vnderstand hym should afterward be asked why speakest thou so obscurely would he say thinke you for yâ— they which stand by are blockes vnderstaÌ„d not Doubtles this should be a ridiculous aunswere But he would aunswere if he would aunswere with reason Therfore spake I obscurely that they which stoode by should not vnderstand The Apostles asked not why those men beleued not whiche if they had then mought this cause haue bene geuen because that they are blind and heare not the thinges which are spoken But they asked why dost thou speake vnto them in parables and then caÌ„ not their blockishnes and blindnes be rendred as a
heard sayd How long Lord and vnto him was answered Vntill the cities be destroyed and brought to desolation and to waste whiche thing without doubt was partly accomplished when the Israelits were led away captiues into Babilon but not perfectly at this day that desolation is fullye accomplished namely from the time of Vespacian euen vnto the ende of worlde Moreouer experience it selfe teacheth vs yâ— they are euen to this day blind Furthermore the argument of the Apostle is yet notwithstanding of efficacy although the Prophet should speake of his time For the Iewes seemed to be excéedinglye offended for that Paul preached that they were made blinde whereas they oughte not to haue taken that in so ill parte seeing that the Prophet had long time before foretold vnto their fathers that this punishment should be inflicted vpon them Wherfore thereby is proued that Paul had spoken no new reproches against them nor had deuised any contumely of which they had not before heard And as it was shewed that in Helias time some were secretly preserued whereas all the rest pearished The things which the Iewes suffered in times past it is no meruaile if they now suffer It was Christ whoÌ„ Esay saw in the persoÌ„ of a iudge What is the purpose of God in makyng blynde the Iewes to proue that the same thinge had happened vnto the Iewes in the time of Paul so now is mencioned that the Iewes were in the time of Esay made blinde that it should not seme incredible but that they mought now also be infected with the same disease But the first interpretacion is both truer and plainer wherfore whosoeuer attentiuely readeth the woordes of Iohn may easly perceaue that Esay the prophet in that high iudge whome he testifieth was God sawe Christ These things saith Iohn spake he wheÌ„ he saw his glory talked with him That pronoune His hath a relation vnto Christe for of him was the whole course of his talke Wherefore this place is not to be forgotten when we shall proue the diuinitie of Christe for the Prophet calleth him whome he saw the God of hostes and is not afeard to attribute vnto him the name of Iehouah Wherefore we sée both out of Paul and out of the Prophet that we ought to graunte that God is the efficiente cause of the blinding of the Iewes whose principall ende is not that they shoulde sinne but that in theyr punishment should be declared his iustice as it is written vnto the Thessalonians of the time of Antichrist Whefore forasmuch as they haue not receaued the loue of the truth therefore hath God sente vpon them the spirite of errour And in Deut. the. 28. chapt Moses threatened in the name of God that the Iewes should be smitten of him with furiousnes madnes and blockishnes of hart if they harkened not vnto his wordes And in Ezechiell God saith yâ— for the punishment of yâ— wicked sinnes both of the euill Prophets and also of them which asked counsel at their handes he would seduce the Prophet These selfe thinges in a maner which happened vnto the Iewes we sée also to haue happened vnto yâ— Papists for they hauing The things which are 〈◊〉 of the Iewâ—s haue happened a so vnto the papistes bene oftentimes admonished now at the length to ceasse of from wicked supersticions and continuall corrupting of the churche not onelye woulde not heare but dayly throwe themselues downe hedlong into greater darkenes and are smitteÌ„ wyth greater blindenes Whome when we sée in thys case we ought to pity and to thinke with our selues that we also should be in the selfe same daunger if we were not contynuallye holpen by the fauoure of God In Marke the eyghte chapiter we reade that when the Apostles muttered amongest themselues that they had forgotten to take bread with them and had miserably let slip out of their memory that great miracle wherin Christ had with a few loues fed many thousands of men the Lord said vnto them Do ye not yet perceaue nor vnderstand is your hart still blinded haue ye eyes and see not and eares and heare not And do ye not remember This is the state and condition of our corrupt nature that if it be left vnto it selfe it is by preaching and miracles made blind but God is present with his elect and when the words of God or sacraments or miracles are set forth Our corrupt nature when it is left vnto it self â—s by preaching miraclâ—s made blind vnto them he openeth their harts as in the Actes of the Apostles we reade of the woman that sold silke Moreouer this blindnes in some dureth but only for a time for when it semeth good vnto God it is by the spirit of Christ taken away in others it is perpetuall and is euery day more and more encreased namely in those whome God by his hidden iudgement but yet most iust iudgement vtterly forsaketh and hath euen from eternally reiected And Dauid sayth Let their table be turned into a snare and a net for a stombling blocke and a recompence vnto them This is written in the 69. Psalme where Dauid complayneth of the calamities and oppressions wherewith he was vexed and in himself as in a type or figure he hath a respect vnto Christ and vnto all his members which he saw are obnoxious vnto the self same crosse he maketh vehement prayers for his deliuery he curseth and banneth these enemies of God straight way he addeth ioyfull prayses of the goodnes of God which had heard his prayers and therwithal ioyneth comfortable sentences â–ª Hereout Paul aptely gathered this testimony The words in Hebrew are thus Iehi Schulchanam liphnehom lephach velischlomin lemocesch Techschachnah enehem maroth vmothnehem tamid hamad Which sentence the 70. haue so turned that as touching woordes they somewhat differ from the Hebrew verity although in the sence they nothing at all disagrée from it Paul alludeth vnto the Seuenty from whome yet as we shall afterward declare he somwhat varieth The greatest difference betwene the 70. and the Hebrew verity herein is that they wheras in the Hebrew is red peace making or such things which serue to peace haue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a recompensation But the error hereof springeth for that the words if they be red without prickes may seeme to be in a maner all one For Schalam signifieth to be at peace Schalom signifieth peace But Schelem signifieth to recompence Schelom signifieth a recompeÌ„ce Sehelolim in the plurall nomber signifieth recompenses But the sence is The things which of their owne nature should be pleasant ioyfull and prosperous let them be made vnto these wicked men hurtfull pernicious Let their frendes also be vnto them an offence and become vnto them vnfaithfull and traytors Moreouer let their eyes or minde be spoiled of sound iudgement that they may not see the thynges whiche are to bee desired and if they see and desyre them let their strengthes
but was not altogether reiected And that this benefite was bestowed vpon the fathers the Scripture in many places mencioneth There were other nations which in déede receaued the Gospel but yet kéept it but for a while skarce aboue one age or two It is true that we haue succeded in the place of the Iewes and are made pertakers of the selfesame priuiledges with them yet notwithstanding the Iewes were before vs abode the long tyme before in possession Wherefore if they be nowe broken of we ought more to bee afeard if they for their pride were smitten with blindnes were for their incredulity cut of what is to be thought of vs wild oliue trées and barren vnfruitfull branches Thorough incredulity were they broken of sayth Ambrose not for thy sake but by reason of their owne defaulte whiche thing I meruayle he should write If this Preposition propter that is For do signifie the cause efficient I graunt that our saluation was not the cause of their cutting of They had Our saluatiō was the small cause of the reiection of the Iewes in themselues the sinne of incredulity which GOD minding to punishe in this sort by his iustice reiected them But that our calling was not the finall cause which God in their reiection had a regard vnto I can in no wise deny seing that Paul affirmeth it wherefore I thinke rather we may say that they were broken of from their fruitefull trée both for theyr owne default and for our sakes Be not high minded 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is which is otherwise sayd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which vice is opposite vnto the pouerty of the spirite which Christ so commended that he called them which were endewed with it blessed But they are to be laughed at which by this saying of the Apostle labour to defend ignoraunce to feare away men from knowledge Noli altum sapere say they that is Be not ouer wise Whiche exposition how strang it is from the skope of the Apostle I suppose now euery man plainly séeth But to close vp the exposition of this place I thinke that betwéene the degrées whereby we come to saluation the meanes which bring vs hedlong to destruction this order is to bee put As touching them The degrees to saluation and the degrees to destruction which shal be saued first is election or predestination Thereout burst forth grace the spirite and fayth strayght way follow good workes then haue they geuen vnto them perseueraunce and at the last is rendred the crowne of felicitie But vnto destruction the first degrée is the corruption of the lompe of mākind thorough originall sinne that God would not haue mercy thereof followe many sinnes which we by liuing wickedly afterward adde after them followeth blindnes they are infected with incredulity moreouer the harte is hardened and at the last followeth eternall damnation See therfore the bountefulnes seuerity of God Towards thē whiche haue fallen into seuerity but towards thee bountefulnes if thou continue in his bountefulnes or els thou also shalt be cut of And they also if they abide not still in vnbeliefe shal be grafted in For God is able to graft them in agayne For if thou wast cut out of the oliue tree which wast wild by nature and wast grafted contrary to nature into a right oliue tree how much more shall they that are by nature be grafted into their owne oliue tree Se therfore the goodnes and seuerity of God c. This word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greke the is See some turne Ecce y◠is Behold for in signification it is somtimes all one with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Apostle cōtinueth stil in one the self same matter For this treatise was very necessary to put away the discord which in the primitiue sprang betwene the Gentiles the Iewes He exhorteth thē to set two things before their eyes the goodnes of God his seuerity Goodnes he calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word signifieth clemency a redines of mind to do a man good to do him pleasure Seueritye he calleth in the Gréeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whiche is then when thinges are done with extremitie and that men are delt with euen according to the rigor of iustice The singuler bountefulnes of God towardes the Gētiles Against the Maniches and Marcionites The scripture euery where inuiteth vs to consider the seuerity an◠goodnes of God Towardes thee saith he goodnes For that was a singuler bountifulnes that when as the Gentils were contaminated with idolatry and mought iustly worthely haue bene left in their infidelity they were yet notwithstanding called adopted and adorned with so many ornamentes and giftes By these woordes are confuted the Manichies Marcionites which affirmed that there are two Gods one good gentle and mercifull the other seuere yea and cruell when yet the Apostle in this place attributeth the selfe same proprieties vnto one and the self same true God It is manifest also that they which are cut of are by the iust seuerity of God broken of and fall away so that they are without excuse Moreouer not onely Paul in this place but also the whole scripture in infinite places in a maner prouoke vs to the consideration of those two thinges And that not without iust cause for in the consideratiō of the goodnes of God we are prouoked vnto faith and vnto loue towards him also to geue him thanks for y◠benefits receiued at his hands But when we consider y◠seueritie iudgements of God it maketh vs to pity those which fall and to be fearefull of our owne estate Chrisostome expounding this sentence See the goodnes It is not saide saith he See thy merites and thy laboures for it commeth all whole of grace from aboue I woulde to GOD he had alwayes spoken after this manner and that he had abode still in that whiche he here teacheth The entent of the Apostle in the consideratiō of the seuerity of God is that we beholding other mens dangers and falles should be made more ware Which selfe thing he in an other place meaneth when he sayth in the first to the Corrinth He which standeth let him take heede that he fall not and vnto the Galathians Considering Two kinds of feare thy self least thou also be tempted Wherfore this is to be known that feare is of two sortes the one is which abateth nothinge of confidence but onely engendreth a greater diligence and bringeth more effectuall endeuors The other is which excéedingly diminisheth yea rather taketh away confidence pulleth away endeuor and bringeth sluggishnes The latter commeth of infidelity the other cōmeth of diligence and of fayth By this kind of feare are the churches moued more and more to apply themselues vnto God and to praye instantlye for their preseruation What prayer is vaine namely that the kingdome of God shoulde not be transferred from them
nothing and vncircumcision is nothing but onely fayth which worketh thorough loue Of this only dependeth iustification of this faith I say not being dead but liuing and of force And for that cause Paul added which worketh by loue Which yet ought not so to be vnderstand as though fayth should depend of loue or hath of it as they vse to speake his forme but for that when it bursteth forth into act and will shew forth it selfe it must of necessity doo it by loue So the knowledge of a man dependeth not hereof for that he teacheth other men but therin is it most of all declared But if any perfection of these actions of louing and teaching redound vnto fayth and knowledge that commeth of an other cause and not for that that they depend of it or therof haue theyr forme as many Sophisters dreame In the Epistle to the Ephesians the 2. chapter it is thus written By Grace ye are made safe thorough fayth and that not of your selues for it is the gift of God And moreouer in the third Chapiter That according to the riches of his glory he would graunt you that ye may be strengthned with might in the inward man by the spirit that Christ may dwell in your harte by fayth He y◠hath Christ in him the same hath without all doubt righteousnes For of him Paul thus writeth vnto the Corrinthians in the first Epistle and second chapiter Who is made vnto vs wisedome ▪ righteousnes holines redemptiō Here therfore is shewed by what meanes Christ dwelleth in our harts namely by fayth Agayne Paul in the third chapiter to the Phillippians That I might be found saith he in him not hauing mine own righteousnes which is of the law but that which is of the fayth of Iesus Christ Here that righteousnes which is of workes and of the law he calleth his but that which is of fayth and which he most of all desireth he calleth the righteousnes of Iesus Christ Vnto the Hebrues also it is written in the 11. chapter The saynts by fayth haue ouercome kingdomes haue wrought righteousnes and haue obteyned the promises These wordes declare how much is to be attributed vnto fayth for by it the saints are sayd not only to haue possessed outward kingdomes but also to haue excercised the workes of righteousnes namely to haue liued holily and without blame and to haue obteyned the promises of God And Peter in his first epistle and first chapiter In the power of God sayth he are ye kept vnto saluation by fayth In these wordes are signified two principal grounds of our saluation The one is the might and power of God which is wholy necessary for vs to attayne saluation The other is fayth wherby as by an instrument is saluation applied vnto vs. Iohn in his first epistle and 5. chapiter Euery one sayth he which beleueth that Iesus is Christ is borne of God But to be borne of God is nothing els then to be iustified or to be borne agayne in Christ It followeth in the same chapiter This is the victory which ouercommeth the world our fayth By which testimony is declared that the tiranny of the Deuill of sinne of death of hell is by no other thing driuē away from vs but by faith only And toward the end of the selfe same chapiter it is sayd And these things haue I writen vnto you which beleue in the name of the sonne of God that ye might know that ye haue eternall life and that ye should beleue in the name of the sonne of God Now let vs gather also out of y◠Euangelists as much as shall serue for this presēt questiō Mathew in his 8. chap. sayth That Christ excedingly wondred at the faith of y◠Centurian and confessed that he had not found such fayth in Israell And turning vnto him sayd Euen as thou hast beleued so be it vnto thee Here some replye that this history and such other like entreat not of iustificatiō but only of the outward benefits of the body geuen by God But these men ought to consider that sinnes which are in vs are the causes of the griefes and afflictions of the body For only Christ except who vtterly died an innocent all other for as much as they are obnoxious vnto sinne doe suffer no aduersitie without iust desert and although God in inflicting of calamities vpon vs hath not alwayes a regarde hereunto for oftētimes he sendeth aduersities to shewe forth his glory and to the triall of all those that are his yet none whilest he is so vexed can complaine that he is vniustly dealt with for there is none so holy but that he hath in himselfe sinnes which are worthy of suche like or else of greater punishmentes And where the cause is not taken away neither the effect is nor can be taken away Wherfore Christ forasmuch as he deliuered men from diseases of the bodies manifestly declared y◠it was he which should iustify thē from sinnes And that this is true the self same Euangelist teacheth in the. 9. chapter For when he that was sicke of the Palsey was brought vnto Christ to be healed he saith y◠Christ answered Arise my sonne thy sinnes are forgeuen thee At which saying when as the Scribes and Phariseis were offended to the ende they should vnderstand that the cause of euils being taken away euen the euils themselues also are taken away he commaunded him that was sicke of the Palsey to arise and to take vp his bed and to walke Wherfore it manifestly appeareth that Christ by the healings of the body declared that he was he which should forgeue sinnes and euen as those healings were receiued by faith euen so also by the same faith are men iustified and receiue the forgeuenesse of sinnes And in the selfe same .ix. Chapter is declared that Christe answered vnto two blinde men which were very importunate and most earnestly desired to be healed Doe ye beleue that I can doe this for you And when they had made answer that they beleued he sayd Euen as you haue beleued so be it vnto you And when our Sauior was going to the house of the ruler of the sinagoge to raise vp his daughter from death there followed him a woman which had an issue of bloud which woman was endued with so great a faith that she thought thus with her selfe that if she might but touche the hemme of his garment she should straight way be made whole Wherefore Christ answered her be of good confidēce daughter thy faith hath made thee whole But why Christ adioyneth confidence vnto faith we haue before declared in the beginning of this question whē we declared the nature of faith For we taught that that assent wherwith we take holde of the promises of God is so strong so vehement that the rest of the motions of the minde which are agreable vnto it doe of necessitie follow In Luke also is set forth the history of that sinnefull
other with mutual benefites For of our owne accord we loue both our children and brethen although they haue not bound vs vnto theÌ„ by any theyr benefit to vs ward And forasmuch as these things ought to be obserued in christiaÌ„ loue therfore Paul calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 although it come not of nature but of the spirite of God and of grace And how much the consideration of brotherhoode is of force to stirre vp loue betwene The loue of brethren is of great efficacy Christian men we are taught by the example of Moses For he the next day after that he had slayne the Egiptian when he went to visite the Hebrues and saw a certayne Hebrew doing iniury to an other Hebrew as S. Stephan reciteth the history sayd vnto them Ye are bretherne why doo ye in this sorte iniury one an other The force of this affect Ioseph also declareth For he when he ment vpon the sodayne to reconcile himselfe to his brethren who had solde to be a bondman sayde vnto them I am your brother Ioseph And so soone as he had spoken that he could not restrayne him selfe from teares So great is the force of this affect with the godly Neither is the mutuall loue betwéene Christians without iust cause called a brotherly loue For Christ called his disciples brethreÌ„ and yâ— at that time chiefly when after his resurrection he was now endued with immortality Aristotle in his 9. booke of Ethiks wheÌ„ he entreteth of frendship Amongst brethreÌ„ saith he one and the self same thing is distributed amongst many and therefore for as much as they communicate among themselues in one and the selfe same thing they by good right loue the one the other By that one and the selfe same thing wherin brethren communicate he vnderstandeth the substaunce of the father and of the mother whereof eche haue their part The like consideration also is there betwene the faithful For as Peter sayth they are made partakers of the nature of God wherfore they ought to loue one an other as brethren which thing if they neglect to doe they are worthely called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is without naturall affections Which vice as a sinne most greuous Paul in the first chapiter of this Epistle attributed to those which fell away from the true worshipping of God and were therefore deliuered of him into a reprobate minde In geuing honor â–ª go one before an other This is the proper effect of brotherly The â—ffects of honour of contempt loue that whome we loue those we labour by all meanes to honoure and in so doing we allure those whome we honour to loue vs again as contrariwise when we contemn our brethren we breake in sonder the senewes of loue and prouoke our brethren to hatred and enmities towardes vs. For what thing els is anger but a desire of vengeance sprong by reason of contempt Honor is here taken not only for a certaine outward reuerence wherby we reuerence the dignitye of our What honour signifieth neighbour but also for an outwarde helpe succor and aide wherby we help those which stand in néede So Paul admonisheth Timothe to honoure widowes And Christ reproued the Phariseis for that they contemned the precept of God which commaunded that parents should be honored when they gaue counsell to yâ— children to offer vp those things in the temple which ought rather to haue ben bestowed towards the relief of their parents And of how great force the neglecting of this kinde of helpe towardes our brethren is to stirre vp hatred and enmities we The neglecting of our brethren stirreth vp contentioÌ„s may gather out of the Actes of the Apostles For straight way in the primitiue Churche there arose a grudge for that the widowes of the Gréekes were contemned in the daily ministery Hereunto Christ exhorted his when he willed that they should not prease for the first roomes in the sinagoges and that being bidden to feasts they should sit downe in the lowest rowme This worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in this text may haue a double sense by reason of the diuers significatioÌ„ of the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For sometimes it is taken for existimo or reputo that is to estéeme or make accompt of And so the sence shall be let euery man thinke that others are more worthy of honour then him selfe As to the Philippians in the. 2. Chapiter it is written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in humblenesse of minde euery man esteeming others better then him selfe And sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth nothing els but to be a captaine and to goe before And so the sense is let euery one of you preuent the other with honour and suffer not himself to be preuented Not slouthfull to doe seruice For as much as these things which he hath now reckened vp ought not slenderly to be put in vre therfore Paul sayth therein we must doe our diligence And the slouthfulnes which he commaundeth to be put away is that slownes in executyng of offices whereby men declare that they doe those things which they do grudgingly From which fault they are cleare which doe it with such cherefulnes and willingnes that sometimes they contemne euen their own commodities In suÌ„me Paul requireth that we loue not only in words but also in very dede and with an effectual endeuor and that we be not professors of this Philosophy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is all in words but nothing in dedes which thing was reproued in diuers wise men amongst the Ethnikes Feruent in spirite Those things which he hath now made mention of for that they bring with them troubles lothsomnes laboures and costes therefore commonly seme irksome vnto the fleshe Wherfore Paul requireth that we suffer not our selues to be seduced by the flesh but rather that we be feruent in spirite Men neither hot nor colde highly displease God I would to God sayth he thou wert either hot or colde but for that thou art luke warme and neither hot nor colde I will begin to spew thee out of my mouth This word spirit may here signifie two things either the power and instincte of God or els our soule And it is doubtfull whether sense Spirit somtymes signiâ—eth our soule we ought here to sollow And that spirite sometimes signifieth our soule it may be gathered by many places of the scriptures For it is written blessed are the pore in spirite Againe he bowed downe his head and yelded vp the spirite â–ª Againe that the spirite may be saued in the day of the Lord. Again that it may be holy both in body and in spirite Againe the body without the spirite is dead Againe Christ went to the spirites whiche were in prison Howbeit I graunt that this word spirite hath either signification And I here thinke that it hath either signification namely bothe our soule and also the power of the spirite of God
that none can by good conscience denye tribute vnto Princes if it be required Nether ought Pope Bonifacius in any wise to haue taken vpon him to make that vnreasonable and outragious decrée It is already concluded of Paul that all owe subiection and obedience to publike powers Neither ought the godly sayth Chrysostome to take it in ill part to be subiect to magestrates although they themselues are the children of God and appoynted to the kingdome of heauen For theyr glory is not in the state of this life They wayt vntill Christ appeare in whome as yet is hidden theyr life But in yâ— meane time they ought not to count it a thing greuous if they rise vppe if they vncouer the head if they geue the vpper hande if they obey Magestrates Here is nothing vnméete or vncomely Yea rather what so euer is done of them accordynge to the prescript of the worde of God is full of all comelinesse and worthinesse Owe nothing to any man but this to loue one an other Paul will haue vs so perfectly and fully to render to euery man that which we owe vnto him that we should cease to be any more in debt Howbeit there is one certain thing which Charity is alwaâ—s tâ—e for that the cause of that det always remaineth can neuer be fully payd namely the debt of loue and charity For although thou both hast and dost loue thy neighbour yet notwistanding art thou still bound to loue him For there alwayes remayneth a cause why thou oughtest to loue him namely God whose image he is He made him he gaue him to thée to be thy neighbour he hath commaunded that thou shouldest loue him as thy selfe For he that loueth an other hath fulfilled the law Some referre this to that part of the law only which is here spoken of True it is that the discourse of thys treatise is of that part of the law which pertayneth to our neighbour So that the sence should be he which loueth an other hath fullfilled yâ— who le law as touching Our neyghbour is not rightly loued vnâ—es God be loued in him We haue God in our neighboure after a sort visible We must not hereby affirm that we can pâ—eforme the law the secoÌ„d table But I se no let but that we may simply vnderstaÌ„d yâ— who le law For we can not loue our neighbour well vnles we loue God in him For these are so knit together as the cause and the effect and therefore they can not be seperated the one from the other For the loue of our neighbour is a testimony of that loue wherwith we loue God If we loue not God being in a neighbour after a sort visible and present how do we boast that we loue him in himselfe whiche is not séene of vs but is of some thought to be very farre of from vs I would not that our aduersaries should here triumph as though Paul should say that we performe and fullfill the law Paul indede affirmeth that the law is fullfilled of him which loueth his neighbour but yet of such a one which in such sort loueth as the law coÌ„maundeth But this is no man able to performe For this thou shalt not committe adultery thou shalt not kill The proofe is hereof taken for that all those preceptes are summarily comprehended in that which is sayd Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe And this commaundement as Chrisostome here noteth is sayd of Christ to be like that great commaundemeÌ„t Thou shalt loue thy Lord thy God with all thy hart with all thy soule and with all thy strengths For seing that we ought to loue our neighbours as our selues there waÌ„teth litle but that we ought to loue him as we loue God For we omitte nothing Why the commaundement of hanoring the parents is ouer hipped which may serue to our owne commodity or saluation He made no mencion of the loue towards our pareÌ„ts eyther bycause that precept as the Hebrews thinke pertayneth to the first table or ells for that he would not reckon vp all all the coÌ„maundements For therfore he added And if there be any other commaundement Or ells for that he had alredy before sufficiently spoken of the obedience due to magestrates in which order are parentes also to be placed Loue woorketh not euill to his neighbour This is easely gathered of that which haue bene spoken For in these commaundemeÌ„ts are prohibited all things whatsoeuer may offeÌ„ded our brother Wherfore Paul aptly added that such is the force of loue that it suffreth not any man to hurt his neighbour And that considering the season that it is nowe time that we should arise from slepe for now is our saluation nerer then when we beleued The night is past and the day is at hand let vs therefore cast away the woorkes of darkenes and let vs put on the armour of light So that we may walke honestly as in the day not in glottonie and dronckenes neyther in chambring and waÌ„tonnes nor in strife and enuieng But put ye on the Lorde Iesus Christe and take no thought for the flesh to fulfill the lustes of it And that considering the season that it is now time that we shold arise from slepe After that Paul had now geuen many rules touching the dewties of loue and of an holy life lest paradueÌ„ture they should slippe out of our minds he thought it good to vrge them by an argument taken of time The summe is at this present all these thinges are diligently and with an earnest endeuor to be sene vnto for that oportunity serueth excedingly thereunto For so signifieth the Greke woorde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Paul vseth All this whole talke is metaphoricall â–ª For he maketh mencion of slepe of night of day of arising from slepe and of darkenes Waking Aristotle calleth a liberty of yâ— sences to execute theyr functioÌ„s contrariwise slepe is a bond of the sences Which commeth by the euaporation of the noorishements to the hed The meaning is this That before the fayth of Christ was reaceaued What waking is What â—â—â—pe is that is before regeneration men were conuersant in great darkenes of ignoraÌ„ce and therefore as it had bene men on sleepe they were hindred from all good works which mought be gratefull and acceptable to God But now after fayth and the grace of regeneration the bright knowledge of God hath shined forth as it were the day and therfore the strengths both of the soule and of the body are new after a sort losed and made frée to performe the woorkes of righteousnes Wherefore it is not mete that men should at this time be idle and senceles And therefore euery one ought to be awaked vp to execute the will of God seing that he séeth that he walketh in the light and in the day Paul vsed this selfe same forme of speach in yâ— first epistle to the Thes in the last chap. All ye sayth he are the children of
A comparison of the sacrifice of the Masse with the sacrifice of the gospell that by the benefit of God there is frée course geuen to the Gospel we bewaile that such sacrifice is so rarely done Let them answere me now whither of vs hath greater cause to complayne Our cause is so much aboue theyrs theyrs so much vnder ours how much the holy scriptures euery where commend this kind of sacrifice but of that other they neuer so much as once make meÌ„cion and how much we here offer an humane sacrifice according to the prescript of God but thereby the deuilish iuggling of the Pope the soules of the simple are most cruelly killed and finally how much we by our sacrifice spred abrode the worshipping of God but there vnder the forme of piety is retayned still in the Church most horrible Idolatry That the offring vp of the Gentiles might be acceptable being sanctified by Our conuersion is like a sacrifice the holy ghost He is vtterly depriued of all fealing of piety which out of these woordes receaueth not incomparable ioy when as he heareth that God is so desirous of our saluation that he counteth the conuersion of euery one of vs as a most acceptable sacrifice I haue therefore whereof I may glory thorough Iesus Christ in those thinges which pertayne to God For I dare not speake of any thing which Christ hath not wrought by me to make the Gentiles obedient in woord and deede with the power of signes and wonders by the power of the spirite of God so that from Ierusalem and the regious round about euen to Illiricum I haue caused to abound the Gospell of Christ Yea so I enforced my selfe to preach the Gospell not wher Christ was named lest I should haue built on an other mans foundation But as it is written To whoÌ„ he was not spoken of they shall see him and they that heard not shall vnderstand hym I haue therefore whereof I may glory thorough Iesus Christ in those thinges which pertaine to God I se that some are in doubt how this part should hang together with those thinges which went before And in my iudgement they may thus be ioyned together Paul had before sayd that by reason of his Apostleshippe and vocation he was moued to instructe the Romanes also by his epistles But paraduenture they were troubled in theyr mindes with a certayne doubt which made them to thinke thus with themselues But what is the cause that thou ouer hipping other nations doost beginne with vs chiefely It is not so sayth Paul I haue now great occasion to reioyse but yet thorough Christ but yet in thoâ—e thinges which pertayne to God I haue not ouerhipped other partes of the world but amongst them also both farre and wide I haue spred the Gospel But Chrisostome after an other maner ioyneth these thinges together He had last of all sayth he pretended his Apostleshippe as the cause mouing hym to write these letters which he had sent to the Romanes And in this office he had made himselfe to be after a sort a sacrificer which with the sword of the woord of God offred vp the Gentiles Now lest any man should speake ill of this dignity and function which thing the fals Apostles did or deride him as one which boasted himselfe to be an Apostle and a priest when as he was not Tokens of the ministery of Paul able to proue that to the end he would declare that he was chosen of God sent by God he bringeth forth those signes tokens of his vocation ministery which shall streight way be spoken of He reioyseth that he hath wherof to glory but he addeth thorough Christ in those things which pertaine to God Hereby we ought to learne yâ— we oght to glory of those benefits only which we haue obteined through Christ For in those things which our own streÌ„gths are able to performe to bring to passe there sufficieÌ„t mater to glory of Moreouer let vs not puffe vp our selues for riches sake or for beawty or for honours of the world or strength of body or for other thinges which serue not to any vse to aduance the kingdome of God amongst men The instruments to amplifie the kingdome of God are the signes which Paul bringeth to proue his Apostleship And he declareth that he had them aboundantly by which were a great many nations brought to the obedience of God Chrisostome compareth and that aptly the tokens of the priestehoode of Paul with the long garments A comparison betwene priesthoode of yâ— Iues and the ministery of Paul litle bells miter and cappe wherewith the priestes in the old law were consecrated and teacheth that the ornaments of Paul or rather his weapons wherewith he ouercame the Gentiles and offred them vnto God as sacrifices were of muche more excellency as his sacrifices were much more excellent then the sacrifices of the high priestes of the Iewes But our Bishopps Cardinalls and Popes seing themselues destitute of those Apostolicall ornaments and signes of Paul thought it good to bring in agayne those ornaments of Aaron and of the Leuits that at the The papisticall â–ª high priestes haue brought in againe the ornaments of Aaron lâ—st way they might haue somewhat wherewith to bleare the eyes of the commoÌ„ people but with how great fruit or rather with how great hurt vnto the Church they haue doone this God knoweth and we haue to muche felt and had experience thereof For I dare not speake of any thing vvhich Christ hath not vvrought by me to make the Gentiles obedient Now he openeth that which he before sayd he had to glory through Iesus Christ For he sayth that he will speake nothing neither make accompt of any thing but of those things only which Christ had don by him that is that he will not glory of his owne doings but rather will suppresse them and kepe them in silence Hereby let vs learne that all the ornameÌ„ts of ministers all gifts all spirituall faculties and endowments of the minde are to this ende geuen of God to bring men to the obedience of God Wherefore let them beware which hold those gifts with themselues without fruit or bestowe them otherwise then they ought to doe But here marke diligently what are the weapons and signes which Paul teacheth to pertaine to Apostles In vvord and in dede These two are the things wherewith Paule wrought Wordes dedes are the instrumentes of the Apostleship Signes wonders through Christ words I say and dedes Vnder this word vvords are comprehended publique preachings priuate communications disputations and Epistles which when he was absent he wrote to sundry Churches and to his scholers And these things proceded both from Christ and from the power of the holy Ghost And workes containe signes and wonders But what differeÌ„ce there is betwene those two it is not easy to expresse Origen thinketh that those thinges only are called signes which
place 445 Greuous vnto God what it is 37 Grief â–ª what it is 237 Grounds of the church what they are 236 H HAting of God what it is 333 258 Happye is he that foloweth the calling of God 13 Heauen and earth shal passe and after what maner 217 Heretikes vpbrayd the gospel 14 Holines what it is 5 Holy dayes 436 Honor what it signifyeth 219 Hope maketh glad â–ª and maketh sory 420 Hope springeth out of faith 446 Hope and faith haue one property 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. Hospitality is a worke of noble men 422 How we ought to pray for others 452 How we are made sure of the victory 455 I IAcob why he was called Israel 242 Iacob wrestleth with God 92 Iewes are preferâ—ed before yâ— gentiles 16 Iewes were Idolaters 25. 44. 45. 50 Idols and Idolatry 24. 25. 29 Idlenes is an image of death 412 Image of God what it is 124. 188 Image of Christ made of copper 30. 31. 32 Images how they began 24. 25. 30 Images of God sprang of infidelity 30 Images out of Temples are not to be contempned so they be not worshipped 30. 32 Images taken two maner of wayes 82 Imaginations of men 23 Immortality is the mere gift of God 219 Incredulity bursteth out of originall sinne Infants receiue not the Eucharist 202 Inheritaunce what it is 209. 210 Instruction for preachers 155 Inuocation of Sayntes 98 Isaac borne of the promes 247 It is not counted a lye except it be don with a minde to deceiue 452 Iustification what it is 15. 58. 64. 65. 68. 71. 75. 96. 107. 181. 185. 191. 193. And it is spetially and at large intreated vpon from the. 367. leafe vnto the. 410. leafe Iustice is ioyned with the wil of God 274 Iudges maye iudge the crimes of other though they them selues be giltye in the same crimes 36 Iudgement at the last day 38 K KEyes of the church are the worde and fayth 361 Knowledge is of two kindes 36 Knowledge of our sinne is profitable 109 L LAw what it is 58. 66. 70. 90. 114. 191. 192. 135. 136. 137. 138. 151. 155. Lawes are of diuers sortes 175 Law through Christe is no burden vnto vs. 445 Law grace differ 152. 153. 163. 164. 165. 166 Law and gospell differ 15 Law of nature is the law of God 34. 35 Lent abused 143. Letter killeth is expounded 163 Liberty of speche is necessary 330. Liberty is obtained but one way 174 Liberty hath thre kindes 179 Libertines 176. 321. 443 Life what it is 196 Life is a thing excellent 39 Life is of two sortes 111 Loue what it is 106. 258 Loue is the cause of grief 237 Loue of God and loue of men differ 5 Loue election and predestination what they are 258. 259. 260. 261. 262. 263 Lusts are of two sorts 29. 165. 166. 201 M MAnnes nature chiefly resembleth the diuinity of God 21 Man endued with grace may sin 28 Maniches opinion in fre wil. 28 Maniches confuted 250 Marcion reiecteth the two last Chapiters of this Epistle 456 Magistrate what he is 227. 228. 426 Martirdome what is requisite therunto 233 Matrimony what it is 161 Meates of themselues are not vncleane 438. 441 Mercy of it selfe is not good 185 Mercy with iustice 38 Mercy and truthe are ioyned together 445 Mercy what it is 159 Members of our body what they are 150 Meat what it is 157. 158 Messias is come 82 Methodes vsed by S. Paule that we can not be without some God 23 Millenarij 88 Ministers ought not to forsake their vocation 334. 349. 350 Miracles 323 Miracles that cause 449 Mistery what it is 358 359 Miserable is the state of the godlye in this world 453 Mortifying what it is 203 Mortification is of two kindes 211 Mortification of faith 271 N NAturall copulation betwene man and wife is good 33 Nature teacheth vs not all those things that appertaine to God 20 Necessity is to three kindes 270 Nobility wherin it chiefly coÌ„sisteth 243. 244 Nobility what it is 351 Notes by the which wickednes is knowne 34 O OBedience of faith 5 Obedience what it is 1â—8 Obedience to Magistrates 427 ObiectioÌ„s made in the defence of images 20 Obiections made by Iulianus to proue free will 27 Obsecrations or prayers 410. 411 Occasion is to be obserued 420 Office of deacones 418 Office of the Apostles 449 Olde testament and the new is all one 353 Originall sinne in infants 229 Originall sinne passeth not away 110. but is proper to euery man 118. 119. 127. 129. 130. 131. Origene confuted 250 P PAcience what it is 40. 100 Patience in temptations 273 Papists vpbraid the gospel 14 Papists ascribe trouble to the gospell 15 Papists what they are 36 Parable of the seede 267 Paule and the Pope agre not 3 Paule the teacher of the Gentiles 366 Paule whether he coulde truely praise the Romaines 447 Paule wrote boldly 447 Paule in excusing him selfe altereth not his wryting 447 Paules priesthode was to preache the gospell 447 Paules ministery and the Iewes compared together 442 Paule why he made suche hast to goe about the countrey 449 Paule why he went not to Rome at the beginning 449 Paule Moses and Aarons compared together 449 Paules ministring vnto tables whether it neglected the gospell 451 Paule to the Romains his saluation 1.6 Paule accuseth the Ethnickes 23 Paule aboue all the other Apostles why he was odious to the Iewes 453 Peace what it signified with the Hebrues 6 Peace â–ª what it is 96. 97 Peace passeth all sence 6 Pelagians error 32. confuted 250 Paena tallionis 26 Persons flye from causes 42 Pigghius opinion of originall sinne 120 Pharao why God stirred him vp 263. 264. 265. 266. 279. Philosophers filthy life 21 Phinâ—â—s work how it was imputed 73 Phebe what manner of ministerye in the church she had 453 Pithagoras opinion touching God 31 Plinie wrote to Traiane the Emperoure of the innocent life of the Christians 16 Popes and bishops ought to haue no sword 429 Popish priests 96 Punishment of God what it is 36. 37. 38 Porer more willing to geue then the richer 451 Pore are to be holpen 421. 422 Prayers what it is 223 Prayers consist not of the worthines of theÌ„ that pray 452 Preaching and almes alwayes was coÌ„mitted in charge to Paule 450 Preachers how they ought to vse theÌ„selues 237. 313 Predestination what it is 3. 37. 42. But it is specially intreated of and defined from the 285. leafe vnto the. 366. leafe Promises are of diuers sortes 243 Promises of the law and promises of the gopel differ 210 Purpose of God what it is 253. 259 R REasons why god wil iudge men 36 Reasons to proue that we are loued of God 234 Regeneration is not to be attributed vnto the water 247 Regeneration what it is 149. 154 Reioysing what it is 108 Repentaunce preached 19 Repentaunce of God and repentaunce of men 363 Resurrection is the only signe of the diuine nature of Christ 4 Resurrection of
exhortation and consolation to all men In these wordes Paul most manifestly teacheth to what peculiar offices the gyft of Prophesie pertayneth in the Churche Or a ministery in ministery The want of this speach may thus be supplied whether he haue a ministery let him abide and be occupied in the ministery and wholy apply himselfe thereunto vnles paraduenture any had rather with Origen to repete that former particle namely according to the proportioÌ„ or measure of fayth let him exercise himselfe in the ministery As touching the sence Paul in these wordes No man ought to be idle in his vocaâ—ion sheweth that God will not that any man should be Idle in his vocation For as Alexander sayd to Mammea There is nothing more pernicions to a common welth then to haue thinges done by deputies Euery maÌ„ ought to labour himselfe in his vocation But what a lamentable case is it to sée in these dayes infinite ministers in the Church which boast that they are not bound to preach to fede the flocke and to gouerne the shepe of Christ when yet in the meane time they receue no small gaynes at the handes of theyr shepe He which teacheth in teaching Of this commaundemeÌ„t the Apostles haue geuen vs an excellent example when they sayd It is not mete for vs to leue the word of God and to minister at tables For forasmuch as they were appoynted of the Lord to teach the whole world they would be occupied in teaching He which exhorteth in exhortacion These two to teach and to exhort are To teach to exhort are diuers of very nigh affinity the one to the other And sometimes ech is geuen to one and the same man But sometimes and for the most part they are deuided For a man shall sée some teach aptly and most playnly set forth thinges most subtle and perspicuously expound thinges that are obscure which selfe men yet in exhortatacioÌ„s are very vnapt There are others which haue a wonderfull dexteritie and efficacy in exhortacions which yet of all men are most vnapt to teach By the woordes of the Apostle to the Cor. a litle before alledged we sée how the giftes of the prophesie are distinguished â–ª First he sayth He speaketh edification which pertayneth to doctrine secondly exhortacion namely whereby men are stirred vp to doo good and to eschew euill thirdly is put consolation For oftentimes it commeth to passe Thre parts of prophecy that some are broken in aduersities which by that meanes may seme redy either to dispayre or to fall away frome the truth Wherefore it is necessary that they be holpen by consolation This part Paul here prosecuteth not I thinke therfore for that he comprehendeth it vnder exhortacion And how much publike teachinges and exhortacions were vsed in the old time in the Church we may gather out of that 14. chapiter to In the sinagoge of the Iewes these offices of prophecy were vsed the Corinthians Yea neither were these thinges euer entermitted in the sinagoges of the Iewes so often as there was had an holy assembly Which may here by be proued for that vnto Christ when he was set downe in the sinagoge was deliuered a booke to expound somewhat thereof vnto the people And when Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch as Pisidia as it is writteÌ„ in the 13. chapiter of the Actes and were come to the sinagog with the rest of the Iewes the ruler of the sinagog sayd vnto them If ye haue any word of consolation for the people say on He that distributeth let him do it with simplicity Here is touched the office of deacons as they were at that time and ought also to be in our time Theyr office was to destribute to the poore the almes and oblations of the faythfull Let theÌ„ doo theyr office sayth he with simplicity Let them conueighe nothing away by craft or by euill practises For noughty and deceatefull men when they haue the chardge of common receauinges of mooney doo nothing simply but vse wonderfull The office of Deacons guiles and subtletie The faultes Paul willeth to be remooued away from this kind of ministery Others thinke that the geuing ought to be done simply that is without any regard to get the prayse of men which some seke for in the distribution of other mens almes But the first interpretacion in my iudgement semeth more apt He that ruleth with diligence Although I doubt not that there were many kindes of gouermeÌ„t in the Church yet to confesse the truthe this as I thinke may most aptly be vnderstanded of those which were called praesbiteri that is elders not of these which had the charge of the woord and of doctrine but of those which The office of the elders were appointed as helpers to the pastors They as men of the wiser sort endewed with a greater zeale and piety were chosen out of the Laytie Their office was chiefely to se vnto discipline and to looke what euery man did and in euery house famely to se what euery man neded either as touching the soule or as touching the body For the Church had his elders or if I may so speake his senate which as time required prouided for all thinges mete and profitable Paul describeth thys kind of ministery not only in this place but also in the first to Timothe For thus he writeth The elders are worthy of double honour especially they which labour in the word in doctrine In which words he semeth to signify there are some praesbiteri which teach and set forth the woord of God and there are others which although they doo not this yet are they gouerners in the Church as elders This thing Ambrose left not vntouched when he expounded that place yea he complayneth that euen theÌ„ either thorough the pride or thorough the slouthfulnes of the priests they were in a maner worne away For whilest they which haue the gouerment of yâ— Church seeke to draw all thinges to themselues they diligently as much as they can labour that in that roome should be ioyned no fellow officers with theÌ„ Wherfore Paul willeth that they which haue this charge doo put to theyr diligence and expell slouthfulnes and sluggishnes He that sheweth mercy with cherefulnes This semeth to haue bene the office of widdowes of old men which were to that end maintayned of the Church to se vnto strangers and to sicke persons Vnto these he not without iust cause coÌ„maundeth cherefulnes For men weake and afflicted are much relieued if they sée their necessities holpen with cherefulnes For they which doo these thinges with an heauy and frowning loke doo seme to adde sorrow to them that are in sorrow For thereby they suspect that they are greauousome and burdenous to theyr Why these giftes are called free giftes brethern By meanes wherof they are oftentimes brought to that poynt that they count death much better theÌ„ that life Thus much hath Paul spokeÌ„ of the
publique ministers of yâ— Church which he not without iust cause calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yâ— is frée giftes For all these thinges although it seme they may be gotten by humane art and industry yet by our endeuor we shall neuer bring any thing to passe yâ— way vnles we be holpen by the grace of God whereby those thinges which we doo are made profitable and of efficacy For they which are occupied in these offices without the helpe of God may indede winne prayse of men and commendation of the people but they are not able to aduance the saluation of the soules and the commodities of the Church And as touching this matter oftentimes they haue God fauorable prosperous vnto theÌ„ which yet obey him not with a sincere will But this is excedingly to be lamented that this gouernance of the Church is so miserably decayed that at this day not so much as the names of these functions are any where extaÌ„t They haue put in stede of them Taper cariers Accoluthes and Subdeacons which haue light and trifling effects appoynted to them pertayning to theyr supersticious alters Let loue be without dissimulation hating that wbich is euill and cleauing to that which is good Being affectioned with a brotherly loue to loue one an other In geuing honor go one before an other Not slouthfull to do seruice feruent in spirite seruing the time Reioysing in hope patient in tribulation continuing in prayer communicating to the necessities of the Sayntes geuing your selues to hospitality Let loue be without dissimulation Men are of theyr owne nature very prone to hipocrisie Therefore Paul expressedly prohibiteth it For God as Iohn sayth will not that we should loue in woordes in toung but in dede and in truth And Paul to Timothe writeth Loue ought to come from a pure hart and a good conscience and a fayth vnfayned Origen sayth He which loueth God and those thinges which God willeth that man hath loue without dissimulation But he which loueth not either God and those thinges which God willeth he I say loueth not but only dissembleth and pretendeth loue As if a man see his neighbor fallen into some greuous crime doo not admonishe him or reproue him his loue is conterfeate For he willeth not those thinges towardes his neighbor which God willeth The fauor of his neighbor is more deare to him then the will of God Hating that which is euill and cleuing to that which is good Good and euil in this place may signifie profite and disprofite And so the sence here is he loueth Good signifieth two thinges his neighbour without hipocrisie which hateth all thinges whatsoeuer he seeth shal be discommodious and hurtefull vnto him but those thinges which may by any maner of meanes be profitable or commodious vnto him he both vehemently desireth and as much as he can helpeth forward It may be also that Good and Euill signifie honest and dishonest And so they which loue truly abhorre from wicked and filthy woorkes and as much as they can apply themselues to holy and honest woorkes Which is therefore sayd for that some are so foolish that they thinke they loue theyr neighbours when they consent to them in theyr wicked lusts and great extorcions But this is not that loue which the Apostle describeth when he sayth that we ought to abhorre from wickednes and to embrase as much as lieth in vs that which is honest iust Chrisostome noteth that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is hating The affâ—ct of hatred is not in vaine planted in vs. The Stoikes vniustly reiected affectes is spoken with a vehemency For this preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Paul signifieth vehemency of speach as in the 8. to the Romanes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth not any common but a great and vehement carefulnes and anguish And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth more then to waite for For it signifieth diligently to wait for And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is redemption not euery kinde of redemption but an absolute redemption Moreouer we sée that the affect of hatred is not in vayne planted in our myndes but to the end we should exercise it vpon vices Wherefore the Stoikes vniustly reiected affects For affects are the matter of vertues And as in an harpe when to the wood pegges of bone and stringes are applied number proportion and measure is brought forth a most swéete harmonye so when to these affectes is added the spirite and grace of God of them spring forth notable and excellent vertues But we are in the fault which abuse those giftes of God and hate those thinges which both are honest and please God and contrariwise the thinges which are filthy and displease him we embrace And so peruerse oftentymes is our iudgement that we call good euill euill good Although the nature of the thinges themselues be not chaunged by our iudgement For thinges that are filthy Thinges are not chaÌ„ged by our iudgement are alwayes filthye although we iudge otherwise of them Wherefore he wisely answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is That which is filthy is filthy whether thou so iudgest it or no. And this is to be noted that as the Apostle commaundeth vs to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word as we haue declared signifieth an hatred with vehemency so willeth he vs not simply and absolutely to cleaue vnto God but addeth the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to be ioyned together not sclenderly but as it were with a strong and indissoluble bond Being affectioned to loue one an other with a brotherly loue In Greke it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What Storge signifieth in which woords is declared what maner of affect loue is namely a brotherly affect And it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which woord signifieth an affect not comming of election such as are frendshippes which men enter into one with an other but grafted in by nature and therefore so ioyned to our minds that it can neuer in a maner vtterly be shaken of And forasmuch as of these naturall affections there are sondry sortes or kindes for either they are betwene the pareÌ„ts and the children or betwene the husband and the wife or betwene brethern the Apostle mencioneth that kind which most agréed with his exhortacion which he had begonne namely to geue vs to vnderstand yâ— our loue towardes others ought to be a brotherly loue which is therefore more vehement then are common freÌ„dshippes for yâ— these frendshipâ—â—â—e dissolued euen among honest men when they perceiue yâ— theyr frendes haue fallen away froÌ„ iustice are become wicked corrupt But as touching our parents brethern children it is vndoubtedly a griefe vnto vs if we se theÌ„ behaue them selues otherwise theÌ„ we would they should yet is not therfore yâ— affection of our mind towardes theÌ„ extinguished Moreouer in these affections of loue we seke not yâ— in our louing one should recompense an