the vertue of Christ his resurrection and also the righteousnes which he shoulde haue by him because it is not the workes that maketh the man good but the man that maketh the workes good For you must well know that yf Abraham had not beleeued the Lord he had not been counted righteous for although he were iustified by workes in the sight of men and thereby had somwhat wherin to reioyce yet had he not so in no respect with God For what sayth the Scripture doth it not tell you how that Abraham beleeued the Lorde and he counted that vnto him for righteousnes So that y e workes which he did had been but as dead workes and rotten in the sight of God had he not beleeued the promyse of God concerning the Seede that shoulde come of him Agayne you must as well knowe that Israel obteyned not that which they sought through workes but the election obteyned it neither were they elected vnto saluation because of the workes which in tyme they woulde do but they were elected through the grace of God in Christ Iesus accordyng as the Apostle also testeth the phesians they were saying By grace are ye also saued through faith in Iesus Christ and not of workes sayth he least any man shoulde boast him selfe and therefore the Scripâ—…ure hath concluded all vnder sinne that so men might see playnely how they are iustified freely by the grace of God and not through workes for yf it were of workes then were it not of grace but since it is of grace it can not be of workes as sayth the Apostle Therefore we conclude sayth he that a man is iustified freely through fayth in Iesus Christe and not through workes for to him that worketh the wages is not counted by fauour but by debt but to him that worketh not but beleeueth on him that iustifieth the vngodly his fayth is counted for righteousnes euen as Dauid declareth the blessednes of the man vnto whom God imputeth righteousnes without workes saying Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgeuen and whose sinnes are couered blessed is that man to whom the Lorde imputeth not sinne And good cause the holy Prophet had so to say fâ—…r yf men shoulde be rewarded according to their workes or desartes they should be rewarded with euerlasting death because the wages of sinne is death and there is no man but he hath sinned and gon a stray therefore no man but he deserueth the wages of hell and death But yf men do looke for eternall lyfe they must know it commeth as a free gyft of God through fayth in Christe and not in any respect as a due debt vnto them because of their workes For as Abraham receyued not the promise concerning the heireship of the worlde through the fulfilling of the Law but through the righteousnes of fayth no more doth any man receiue the promise of the heireshyp of eternall lyfe through the workes which he can do but through the fayth which he hath in Iesus Christ. What shall we say then concerning good workes Shall we vtterly exclude them No in no wyse for God hath ordeyned them also euen to the ende that those whom he hath elected in Christ shoulde walke in them but not in any respect for men to thinke that they shoulde be the cause of their election neyther that they shoulde thinke the free gift of eternall lyfe commeth as a due debt for them But in deede they are as most excellent fruites which shoulde alwayes floorysh from those whom God hath elected according as the Apostle sayth God hath chosen vs in Christ before the foundation of the worlde to the ende that we shoulde be holy and without blame before him in loue So then y e fruites not being the cause of the goodnes of the tree but the tree the cause of the goodnes of the fruites it had ben in vayne I say for the Apostles to looke for good fruites to come from men yf they had not first taken care for the sounde plantyng of the tree that is If they had not first taught men the sounde knowledge of Christ wherby they might see plainely wherein their goodnes stoode it had profited their hearers nothing at all no although they shoulde haue done all the good workes in the worlde or haue mortified them selues neuer so much in the sight of men because without the sounde knowledge of Christ the soule can not be good For I pray you had not the Apostle Paule as great cause to reioyce in the fleshe as any man in the worlde yf by suche thinges God woulde haue been pleased Yes in deede had he for you see he was circumcised the eight day of the kinred of Israel and of the trybe of Beniamin and an Hebrew of Heber and by the Law of the strictest sect euen a Pharisee and also as concerning zeale no man more feruent then he yea and as touchyng the righteousnes which is by the Law euen vnrebukeable and yet you may see that he counteth all these thinges but as dung drosse in respect of y e excellent knowledge sake which he had founde in Christe by the which knowledge he was made to see that notwithstanding all his former righteousnes by the Law yet had he gon to eternall destruction had he not founde the righteousnes which is through fayth in Christ and therefore no maruell was it though he made small accompt of his former righteousnes in respect of the knowledge he had now of Christ. Wherefore in any wyse see that you alwayes desire the same thing for assure your selfe that is more worth in the syght of God then all the burnt offeringes or sacrifices in the worlde for so the Lorde him selfe doth tel you Therefore blame me not I beseech you though somewhat longer I stande vpon this poynt euen vpon this that the sounde knowledge of Christe for vs to haue is more accepted in the syght of God then all the workes which we call good in the worlde For I pray you further was not Cornelius the Captayne that heathen man a godly man as well as Paule Yes euen one whom the holy ghost commendeth to be very deuout to haue the feare of God before his eyes to pray vnto him continually to haue care to teache his whole householde the like and besides all this to be one that gaue much Almes vnto the people and yet you see he was not in that case as he ought to be vntyll such time as Peter had made knowne vnto him the Lorde IESVS that so he myght know that by his death and resurrection came remission of sinnes and onely vnto those that woulde beleeue in his name so that notwithstanding all his former righteousnes yet was he to be counted a most greeuous sinner vntyll such tyme as he apprehended Christ by fayth and therefore is it that the Apostles say so sone as they
all his sayinges because that some Prophecies in y e holy Scriptures there are whose euent is not altogether in Scripture shewed and yet by those Prophane stories you may see they tooke effect as namely the Prophet Daniel and also the Reuelation of S. Iohn the which by eye sight we are also able to witnes how that Booke is fulfilled by the Popes in all their dealinges But yf you thinke that you can not attayne vnto perfect wysedome and knowledge of Christe without the helpe of other Books then are you greatly deceyued for the Worde of God is an absolute perfect rule sayth the Apostle and fully able to make you wyse in Christ and by it onely may you attayne to the perfect knowledge of Christ without the helpe of any other and is also playne and easie of it selfe for your vnderstanding yf you wyll the Lord beleeue as I sayde before especially yf you wyll come in simplicitie of hart and cast off your owne wysedome for in very deede that is the onely hinderance of the attayning thervnto Agayne some Bookes there are which take vpon them to lay downe preceptes for your lyfe conuersation which bookes yf you thinke you are bounde to read as well as the Scriptures then are you also as greatly deceiued for the Lord hath commaunded you vpon payne of damnation to reade the Scripture because in deede it is the very lyfe and norishment of your soule but as for the reading of such kinde of Bookes you haue no such charge neyther was it needefull for you so to haue because there is nothing that the hart of man can thinke on eyther for vertue to imbrace or vice to eschew but the Booke of God doth contayne a rule and precept for it and therefore what neede we the helpe of man to lay downe preceptes for our lyfe when as the Lorde him selfe hath taken vppon him to be our Guyde and Teacher Therefore in the name of God take heede of the subtiltie of Satan in this poynt aboue all others that is that he deceiue you not so herein as to make you beleeue that you shall attayne vnto as great wysedome or holynes by the wrytinges of men as you shall do by the booke of God or that the booke of God is not perfect of it selfe to instruct you fully in all thinges touching your saluation for then hath he you euen as he woulde therefore rather then he shoulde make you so to thinke better were it for you with them of Ephesus to burne them all yea though the price of all such Bookes were founde to be in value worth fiftie thousande peeces of siluer And God doth know a most heynous sinne it is and reigneth most abundantly amongst vs here in Englande euen this that we esteeme a great deale more of the preceptes and doctrines of men then we do of the Booke of God so that as that hath been the very cause of the destruction of all the worlde greatly it is to be feared least the lyke plague wyll befall vs and our Nation for how fewe haue we that doth take so great delight in the booke of God as to make it the chiefe ioy and reiocing of their hartes as the Prophet Ieremie did make it vnto his Therefore much more fewe there be to be founde that do make so rare accompt thereof as the holy man Iob did that is to esteeme of the wordes of God euen much more then he did of his appoynted foode but in the contrary multitudes do take euen that delyght therefore take heede of that in any wyse Now it may be that you wyll aske me agayne What part of the Scripture it is that you were best to reade The answere is euen all for so you may learne by the last Commaundement of our Sauiour that I spake of for be commandeth to search the Scriptures so that al which is called Scripture you must search for all that doth testifie of him And so you see S. Luke sayth he began at Moses and all the Prophetes that is from the beginning of Genesis to the ende of Malachie for the old Testament which only then was written and all that was nothing els but to teach Christ And now you haue also the new Testament which tendeth to none other ende then the former did and that is to teache Christ. For so the Apostle sayth I taught nothing but what Moses and the Prophetes did say shoulde come And in an other place I kept nothing backe but haue shewed you all the counsell of God and what was that To wit that Christ shoulde suffer and that he shoulde be the fyrst that shoulde rise from the dead and shoulde shewe lyght vnto the people and to the Gentiles So that you may see that all the Scripture tendeth to none other purpose but to teach you that and therefore you must of necessitie reade all that so you may as S. Luke sayth Acknowledge the certaintie of those thinges whereof you haue been instructed not onely by the Euangelistes and the Apostles who haue declared vnto you the thinges of Christe from the day that Zacharias went into the Temple and that the Angell tolde Marie concerning her conception but also what you haue been instructed by Moses and the Prophetes euen from the day that he was first promised that so you may be able to deliuer the glory thereof from poynt to poynt and to stande firme your selfe agaynst all the assaultes of the Deuyll Yea but you wyll say agayne S. Paule of whom you spake before forbids vs Genealogies and commaundes that we shal geue no heede vnto them because they are endles and breede questions rather then godly edifiyng which is by fayth And so in deede a great number of our Guydes wyll tell vs. For many times because we fynd them very hard we go to them to aske the meaning thereof then their answere is that the Genealogies tende not to edification but rather to strife and contention and therefore is it that S. Paule forbiddes them And so likewyse for many other harde places in the Bible when we goe to aske them whose lyppes shoulde preserue knowledge What is the meaning of such and suche places in steade of resoluing vs they cast them off as superfluous not tending to our saluation Therefore why do you say that all the Scripture testifieth of Christ and is profitable for our saluation and must of necessitie of vs be read and learned I wyll tel you why no not I but the holy Ghost wyll tell you how that all the Wordes of the Lorde are most pure wordes yea more pure then golde which in the fire seauen times is tryed And moreouer the same Apostle that you say speaketh agaynst them wyll tell you the contrarie for sayth he What so euer thinges are written aforetyme meaning in the Scriptures are written for our learnyng Therefore woo be vnto those blinde Guydes
continually taught and soundly vnderstoode euen so also where that doth want the kingdome of Satan is dayly more and more increased Heare therefore I beseeche you what the Lord doth speake vnto vs He commaundeth that we should not let his Booke depart out of our mouthes but to meditate therein both day and nyght and hath also tolde vs that the very entraunce thereunto will shewe light and geue vnderstanding to the simple yea to the very simpliest sharpnes of witte and to the lytle childe euen such a one as Timmothy was knowledge and discretion yea and that a very wyse man shall increase in learnyng there and also a man of great vnderstanding shall attayne vnto wyser counsels So that you may see that wysedome doth not onely beseeche you to hearken vnto her as before I tolde you but also the Lorde doth straightly commaunde you yf you will obey him and doth also tell you if you will beleeue him How chat his word will geue you lyght and shew vnderstanding in greater measure vnto all sortes whereby the simpliest shoulde haue no cause at all of discouragement nor that the great wyse men should loath or ouerreach Therefore whereas S. Peter saith that the vnlearned do peruert the Scriptures you must learne to knowe who those vnlearned be not the simpliest Clarkes as you woulde thinke but euen suche as haue not had their wittes as yet exercised in the booke of God For be it that a man had all the learning in the worlde in humane artes yet if it be so that such a one be inexpert in the worde of God the holy Ghost doth count him as a Babe but that simple man which through long custome hath had his wittes exercised therein the holy Ghost doth count him to be of a most ripe age and to be suche a one as is able to discerne betwixt good and euyll Therefore who so euer that he be vntyll he make the worde of God his continuall meditation he may well be sayd to be vnlearned and vnstable also and no maruell is it though by such the Scriptures be peruerted euen to their owne destruction Yea but you wyll say agayne if the Lord haue thus bound vs by commaundement to reade the Scriptures we must needes then haue a Phillip to be a guyde vnto vs as the Eunuch had to him True it is that you must haue a guyde but then your Phillip must not be such a one as when you shall aske him what is ment of this place or that or what way Sir shal I take to finde this Christ of whom you speake that so I may beleeue that he is the Sonne of God and may haue my conscience comforted in him and also my fayth so surely setled as that if tryall come the very gates of Hell shall not preuayle against me I say he must not be such a one when as you shall aske him these thinges that shall appoynt you fyrst to reade this mans Booke and then that vpon such and such places of Scripture and when you haue read them then direct you to others as such and such great Uolumes I know not what but sure I am farre greater then the whole Bible and so intangle your head a thousande wayes yea and leade you to such intricate matter and great time spending that when you haue all done you shall be litle or nothing at all the wyser but rather the cōntrarie euen frayght with a thousande fonde opinions and blinde conceytes For I pray you what is the cause that there is such a quoile amongst vs now adayes as though there were no certaintie of the trueth but such kinde of dealing And I pray you further what is the cause that mens heades are filde so full of such fonde yea and also damnable opinions but the like For doth not our Sauiour say Ye erre not knowing the Scriptures but are intangled with the preceptes and doctrines of men Euen so is the worlde now for the Papist he is so perswaded of his Writers that he thinkes there is no other trueth but what they write and vpon them he onely buyldes his Fayth and leaues the Scripture altogether and in no case may the simplier sort therein looke or reade and we also like wyse men deale in a maner after the same sort For notwithstanding we make a great shew that we loue the Bible and onely buylde our fayth by it yet is there not one amongst ten thousande that doth geue him selfe to the reading thereof as he ought to do but rather to the contrarie euen to the readyng of the wrytinges of men although the Lorde haue geuen them no such commaundement and so delyght themselues a great deale more in them then in the worde of God which in deede shoulde be vnto them their onely ioy and pretious Pearle and so euery one is grounded vpon hym whose Bookes they are affected to reade or whose fonde conceytes by them are fed But your Phillip and Guyde must not be such a one For I pray you was Phillip the Eunuch his guyde such a one I trow not for he being demaunded a resolution by that gratious Scholler whose godly exercise was like to haue good successe began as the text sayth euen at that same Scripture where he was then readyng and preached vnto him IESVS And agayne did not the maister teacher himselfe euen our Sauiour Iesus deale in like sort with his two Schollers yes for sooth for whereas they being weake in fayth and greatly troubled in conscience at the thinges then happened and yet like good Christians conferring and talking together with a desire to knowe the trueth as all men ought to do I say our Sauiour dealt in like sort with them For S. Luke noteth that he began at Moses and at all the Prophetes and interpreted vnto them in all the Scriptures the thinges which were written of him with a great reprofe vnto them that they for their partes were so slowe and dull of hart as not to beleeue that Christe was to suffer all those thinges and so to enter into his glory seeing that al the Prophetes had of those thinges so plainely spoken And furthermore you see that euen that eloquent man Apollos who had taught diligently the thinges of the Lorde in a kinde not altogether vnprofitable yet was contented to be taught by a couple of meane persons to come to a more perfect way of teaching then before he had vsed And that was to proue and shewe mightily as he did by the Scriptures that IESVS was the CHRIST So that you see these Guydes did not sende their doubtfull Schollers to this or that mans booke to finde out Christ but they founde him out and taught him by the Scriptures Nay you see that Apollos did not teache the right way to finde him out vntyll he tooke that course to teach him by and then S. Luke telleth you that he mightily confuted all
that woulde so leade you into the dytch as to make you beleeue that y ◠Apostle meaneth the Genealogies conteyned in the holy Scriptures In deede he meaneth that endles Genealogies are vnprofitable but you must well know that there is none such in the Scripture neyther any thyng superfluous or vnprofitable for our saluation Therefore who woulde thinke that men who pretende to haue great zeale and knowledge shoulde be so beastly and foolyshe as to expounde the Apostle in that meaning as though the Apostle who spake by the spirite of God woulde speake agaynst the spirite of God For I pray you did not the same spirite set downe them that set downe all the rest and dare men be so bolde then as to speake against the wysedome of the holy Ghost And I pray you what part of the Bible is there that doth not thereof consist be not men the grounde and cause of all the matter there And how can we knowe the matter as we ought vnlesse we know the men of whom the matter speaketh As for example yf the holy Ghost say Sheba and Seba shall bring gyftes or Nebaioh and Kedar shall come and serue how can we know rightly what is meant hereby vnlesse we know the people of whom the holy Ghost doth speake and also the cause why they were estranged from the Lord and now shoulde come agayne Or yf the Lorde do tell you how that he will subdue the Canaanites Heuites Iebusites Gergesites and the rest of those nations to geue vnto Israel their possessions must you not of necessitie yf you wyl know the cause cleerely vnderstande what these people are and of whom they come and also vpon what former prophesie and promises these matters do depende Yes you are bounde to know them for the holy Ghost commaundeth you and all the world to consider of it euen of this how that when y ◠most High God deuided to the Nations their inheritaunce he appoynted the borders of A people meanyng Canaan and his sonnes according to the number of the sonnes of Israel that in tyme they might haue it So that yf you wyll know any thing in the Booke of God cleerely as all thinges therein you are bounde to knowe you must of necessitie knowe the persons that the holy Ghost doth intreate of For when as the holy Ghost doth tell you of blessednesse to befall Sem and his posteritie and lykewyse the contrarie vnto Canaan and his posteritie and also of a reuersion of Sems blessednes to befall Iapheth in the ende and his posteritie and also how Canaan his posteritie shall be seruantes vnto both them and theirs how is it possible I say for you to vnderstande any thing with iudgement vnlesse you be able in some good sort to distinguysh of these Families For all the whole Bible from the ninth of Genesis to the ende of the Reuelation dependeth vpon this one Prophesie euen on this which by the spirite of God was vttered in the Chapter before cyted Or agayne yf the holy Ghost do tell you of Moab Ammon Edom and diuers mo with them to be ioyned in league agaynst the people of God must you not of necessitie also yf you wyll know the cause cleerely herein vnderstande of what rootes those wicked branches do also proceede and likewise how for what cause they became suche rotten ones as they were and also how for what cause the other the Israelites became the people of God of whom they also come Yes in deede must you or otherwyse your hart shall remayne that hard way and stony grounde vnfallowed vp vpon the which the seede of the Worde being cast is not able to take roote to the bringing foorth of fruites And why because without the knowledge of these thinges you are neyther able to heare or reade the worde of God with vnderstandyng Therefore in the name of God take heede that you be not so perswaded by them to beleeue that the Genealogies in the holy Scriptures be endles or vnprofitable or superfluous for yf you so thinke then do you nothing els but take away from the Scripture and so the cursse of God wyll come vpon you euen to your vtter damnation Therefore yf it be so as Moses sayth that the thinges reuealed in the holy Scriptures are for vs and our chyldren for euer And also that the same Apostle that you spake of doth tel you that All thinges that are therein written are written for our learning You must in any wyse take vnto you the whole armour and instrumentes that God hath you appoynted that so your buylding may be so coupled and knit togeather in euery ioynt of the furniture thereof and so surely grounded vpon that precious foundation of the Apostles and Prophetes Christ him selfe being the chiefe corner stone as that it may stande firme and sure against all the assaultes of the Deuyll in the stormy and euyll day Wherefore seeing that these blinde Guydes whose lyppes do not preserue knowledge but woulde take away the key thereof and neyther enter in them selues nor suffer you that woulde Be you carefull your selfe to lay your grounde-sieles so sure and fast vppon the former Rocke as that your spirituall buyldyng may grow vp as an holy Temple for the Lord and in any wyse geue an entrance to the buylding therof by the holy worde of God and assure your selfe the Lorde wyll geue you lyght yea such exceeding shyning lyght as that the hardest knot and darkest place therein wyll seeme most cleere and bryght yf you wyll the Lord beleeue For you shall vnderstande that he doth tell you that yf you woulde but seeke after knowlege as you woulde do after syluer and search after vnderstanding as you would do after treasures then you should be sure not onely to fynde the knowledge of the hardest Genealogie in his Booke conteyned but also in them and by them the feare and knowledge of the Lorde your God Therefore leaue of so much your seeking after trashe which perisheth and seeke for that true knowledge which neither Moth nor Canker nor Theefe decreaseth as our 〈◊〉 you commaundeth Yea but you wil say that some of our guydes do also tel vs that if we shoulde get this great knowledge vnderstanding that you speake of it woulde be very hurtfull vnto vs for it would puffe vs vp make vs vnreasonable proude for so say they the Apostle sayth and it is more meete say they that we should learne Mortification to do good workes and as for such great knowledge it forceth not It is true in deede that the Apostle sayth that knowledge puffeth vp and it is most meete also that you should learne Mortification also to glorifie y ◠Lord through your workes But you must know what knowledge it is that the Apostle speaketh of a man woulde thinke not heauenly knowledge for who knewe more then he
but are of that wicked sort who according as the Prophet sayth haue vtterly left of to vnderstande and who in no wyse regarde to haue knowledge Therefore in any case see that you for your partes alwayes remember what the holy Ghost commaundeth you to beware of that is That you be not like the Horse and Mule which haue no vnderstanding whose mouthes are bounde vp with byt and brydle but that you be of that sort whose mouthes are alwayes open to speake of wysedome and whose â—…oonges are euer ready to talke of iudgement So that by this it may wel appeare that it is not enough for a true Christian to content him selfe with a fewe sentences of Christ and so thinke he hath enough but he that professeth him selfe to be a scholler in the schoole of Chrisâ—…e must haue a woonderfully desire to learne Christe euen so farre as that he may dwell in his hart most plenteously in all wysedome whereby he may be able to admonishe him selfe in all spirituall thinges as the Apostle sayth yea he must desire and thirst after the worde of God euen as the Hart doth after the water brookes that when he commeth thereunto he may so drinke as that he may be fylled with all fulnes of God Yea he must continually desire to be increasyng in the knowledge of God that if it be possible for him he may be able to comprehende with all Saintes what is the breadeth and length and deapth and highth of the glory that we shall receiue by Christ Yea and to knowe his loue towardes vs which in deede passeth all knowledge as the Apostle sayth So that in no wyse must we stande styll but euery one must goe on forwarde eyther by hearing of others or readyng therein him selfe euen in the vnitie of fayth to the knowledge of the Sonne of God vntyll he become a perfect man in Iesus Christe For we must not in any wyse remayne as chyldren waueryng and readie to be carried about with euery wynde of doctrine by the deceyte of men as greatly it is to be lamented we are now adayes but we must folow the trueth in loue and in all thinges grow vp vnto him which is the head that is Christ. For not to go on forward in religion is to go backward because Satan draweth most strongly that way and so to remayne in our former folly and contemptuously to cast off the worde of God yea whatsoeuer he be pretende he neuer so much zeale and shewe of holynes Yet yf his chiefest care be not continually to be increasing in the knowledge of Christe he doth nothing els but say in his hart vnto God Depart from me for I desire not the knowledge of thy wayes For the which cause as you shall see anon the wrath of God hath been extended on all the worlde euen to the vtter excluding of them from his presence and casting off from their countries For what thing can men do to please the Lord when that his worde of them shalbe reiected It is not then an outwarde shewe of foolyshe zeale or mortification that the Lord wyll lyke of No although the Papist do for his part in neuer so great zeale afflict his body eyther by whypping or lanching the fleshe with kniues vntyll the blood come foorth lyke vnto Baalles Priestes or in fasting fourtie dayes togeather lyke foolysh Apes in imitation or in dropping neuer so many prayers according to the number of his Beades or in vowing single lyfe or in running on pilgrimage or in punishing the body in what sort so euer he wil which thinges in deede haue a shew of wysedome in them as the Apostle sayth euen in this their voluntarie religion and humblenes of minde and in not sparing the body but yet they shall finde in the ende that all this is but as an abhomiâ—…ation to the Lord. And why Because they haue reiected the worde of God and ouerthrowen the principles thereof and established in steade of it the doctrines preceptes of men And so their feare towardes God is taught by the preceptes of men according as the Prophet Esai speaketh and also as those nations placed in Samaria of whom it is said They feared the Lord but serued their Images also Euen so I say do the Papistes And therefore notwithstanding all their blind zeale it must be sayd of them as of the other that is they neither feare God nor do any thing after his commandementes and therefore whatsoeuer they do it must needes be an abhomination to the Lord. Or yf the Protestant pretende neuer so great shewe of religion in his kinde or neuer so great a zeale yet vnlesse it be seasoned with the true knowledge of Christ none of all this wyll the Lord regarde or therewithal be pleased For when his worde is not delighted and esteemed as it ought to be although we now then do the thinges that it requireth yet are they not accepted because his worde was not our rule to square them by For to what purpose sayth the Lorde do you bring vnto me Incense from Sheba and sweete Calamus from a farre countrey your burnt offeringes are not pleasaunt in my sight neyther are your sacrifices sweete vnto me sayth the Lord. And why Because they had reiected the worde of the Lord therfore did these their holy actions turne vnto an abhomination So that you see that who so euer he be reade or reade not haue he tyme or haue he not no excuse shall serue him to be ignoraunt in the worde of God and so of Christe For the Lorde that knoweth best what is good and fitte for man knewe well enough in the beginning that when he appoynted but one day of seuen to be sauctified vnto his glorie that that was enough to make man voyde of all excuse And why Because that yf they woulde bestow but that one day of seuen accordyng as he hath commaunded that is not in any respect to do their owne willes or to folow their owne affayres no nor so much as to speake one vayne worde but to call the Sabboth a delight to consecrate it as glorious vnto the Lord They might I say yf they would bestow it in this sort soone learne by his holy worde to honour him with such worshyppe as he requireth and also to know a right how Christ is IEHOVAH their God who brought them not only from the bondage slauery of â—…gypt Babell or Rome but also from the bondage and thraldome of hell and death But since it is so that all men as they are borne of Adam are the chyldren of wrath and styll remayne in this captiuitie and seeing there is no meanes neyther in heauen nor earth to redeeme them thence but only by Christ and he likwise not beneficial vnto any but such as know him aright by his holy worde And hauing most gratiously bestowed this his holy
whereby is meant that whosoeuer were a tree planted by the doctrine of the prophets and Apostles and watered with the graces of the holy spirite shoulde be a fruitfull tree indeede and whosoeuer were a fish nourished by the same waters of the holy spirit should be sure to liue for euer And likewise it was further sayd That whosoeuer they were of al the families of the earth that woulde not goe vp to this citie to worship the king Iehouah of hostes and to keepe the feast of tabernacles that vpon them shoulde come no raine whereby is also meant that vppon them that woulde not worship the Lord according to the rule of his owne most perfect word as the faythfull companie of christians ought to doe vpon them I say that would not so doe should fall no part of that gratious raine the doctrine of the prophetes and apostles And moreouer it was further said That whosoeuer they were that should be found fighters agaynst this citie and the king therof shoulde be smitten with a very great plague euen with so great a plague as that it should consume both their flesh eyes and toonges and therefore according to these prophesies it was reuealed vnto Iohn presently vpon the destruction of the low Ierusalem in what sort the heauenly should be built and who they were that fought and still woulde fight agaynst the same which were the Romaine Emperours and the popes their successors which popes most vehemētly should continue afflicters of the high Ierusalem as y ◠former had begun with the low and likewise a certayne time shoulde continue it agaynst the high Therefore we are here to consider the state of Rome and to marke howe the Lord hath reserued them as a corporation of moste filthy beasts and as a cage of vnleane kytes for hys wrath to ayme at while the worlde shall stand And why so Euen because that by their policie was the king of this high Ierusalem the Lord of life crucified and because that this his citie the companie of faithful Christians by them should continually be persecuted likewise for that they would refuse to be norished by those waters of life euen the most pure doctrine of the holy prophets apostles and for that by them the brightnesse thereof shoulde be continually darkened euen darkened by the smoke that should arise from that bottomlesse pit of their owne doctrines preceptes and foolish traditions and so by that meanes turne those liuely fountaines the doctrines and preceptes of the holy prophetes and apostles from waters of life into waters of bitter gall and wormewood yea euen vnto filthy salt pittes of eternall death and destruction For these and such like causes I say hath the Lord set that cage of Romaine infidels as a marke for his wrath to ayme at while the world shall stand and hath also described them and their villanies by the moste horrible villanies of all ages throughout the old testament and onely to the intent to giue vs warning to auoyd them as also theyr maners and theyr condemnation First then I will shewe you in what sort saint Iohn describeth the Romaine Emperours and afterwardes in what sort the corporatiō of filthy popes The Emperours he describeth in this sort I saw a beast sayth he arise out of the sea hauing the mouth of a Lyon the feete of a Beare the colour of a Leopard seuen heades also and ten hornes As if hee should haue sayd I sawe euen one moste vgly and monstrous beast compounded of those foure the which my fellow seruant the prophet Daniel sawe in the seuenth of hys booke the which beast hath not onely borowed from Ashur that is from the Babylonians Meedes Persians the lyons mouth and beares feete nor from Kittim all readie dead that is from the Grecians the Leopards colour nor from Gog Magog that is from Syria and Egypt the tenne hornes and teeth but hath also the Dragon that old serpent readie euen to giue him hys whole throne power and authoritie likewise and onely to the intent hee might be the more able to make warre against thys citie of faithfull Christians and that so hee might be able to ouercome them and to force them to forsake the word of god and the testimonie which the mayntayned so to haue them to doe worship vnto him and to the Dragon who gaue hym his power but yet notwithstanding all this his strength hee could not ouercome them no although hee persecuted them dayly euen to the losse of their goodes landes life and all for the which cause the wrath of God and of the lambe was so stirred vp against these prophane Emperours as that they were forced in these dayes to wish the mountaynes to fall vpon them and to desire the hilles to couer them euen to couer them from the presence of him that sate vppon the throne and from the wrath of the lambe for the great day of hys wrath was come and therefore they were not able to stand before hym For as the Lord Iesus was that Michael that stood vp for the desence of his people agaynst those tyrantes in Daniel euen so was hee in like maner in the dayes of these prophane Emperours for hee fought agaynst them as riding vppon a white horse as hauing a bowe in his hand with sharpe arrowes to pearce the hartes of them his enimies And moreouer as hee was a iudge sitting vppon a fiery throne from whose presence riuers of fire ishued to consume those beasts in Daniel euen so was he in like maner in the dayes of this beast y e Romaine Emperours for he sent his threefold iudgementes vpon them as sword famine and death altogither the which plagues were expressed by three horses red blacke and pale So that like as these prophane Emperours had shed the bloud of hys seruants the holy martyrs euen so the holy and iust Lord was stirred vp with reuenge to spill and shed theyr bloud and to giue it them in great aboundance to drinke and in y e end vtterly to roote them out So then this beast hauing now the wound of a sword one head cut off Sathan not able by hym to preuayle agaynst the Church you are to looke for that other instrument of hys to appeare in hys likenesse that is you are to looke for a description of that corporation of beastly popes who are not lesse in strength and mischiefe then the former were but rather far exceeding them in both and therefore most fitly is their power described by a beast of the same forme of the other But before I come to saint Iohn to shew you that I will giue you a note or two from the Apostle Paul that so you may see how fitly they agree in the discouery of this latter beast that so you may the better hereafter beware and take heede least you be