daye diuers doo searche out a fewe Offences with Linxes eyes to the entent thei may not haue ought at all to doo with the whole Church of God as farre as it stretcheth eueryway with this one example I am cōtent to haue admonished my Readers that the faith shal be to vnstable if at the seuerall ruines of men it doo from time to time waxe faint In the meane while this is to be helde for an infallible rule that it commeth to passe by the determinate counsell of God that euill men are euermore mixed with the good By this meanes bothe the constantnesse of the faith is tried and we be exercised to patience the desire to pray is quickned the stingyng of the prickes doo moue vs earnestly to walke warely and wisely and the cōtempt of the world riseth thereupon and togither with desire of departyng hence mindfulnesse of the heauenly life encreaseth But if the cause lie hidde yet let vs knowe that a parte of our warfare which we must followe duryng all the race of our lyfe doth consist in these exercises Greatly also anoyeth the lightnesse which is commōly séene in diuers wheras at the beginnyng they shew a maruelous feruentnesse that flame within a while so vanisheth away that ye woulde say it was kindled of strawe Othersome although they stande furthermore somewhat better to theyr tacklyng yet by little and little thei waxe colde That thing which commeth to passe partly of vainenesse partly of slouthfulnesse and partly of earthly cares the vnskilfull impute it to repentāce And therfore least it might repent them to late of proceding to farre they leape backe againe betimes If any beynge dismayde with feare of death or persecutions which the more pitie happeneth to many doo fall from the Gospel vpon their inconstancie is framed a foundacion of Offence Foule surely is theyr fall but in what sorte so euer we denie Christe all of vs shall he therefore denie him selfe Nay rather he shall euermore remayne perfect and alwaies from time to time neuerthelesse be like him selfe as Paule also admonisheth Farre otherwise it woulde become vs to be reformed by suche exāples as these be namely that beynge warned of our weakenesse we might carefully take hede that the same happened not to vs. After the time that Paule had declared the Iewes to haue fallē from the fauour of God he sheweth theyr fall to be so dreadful that he exhorteth and warneth others to beware If then the fallyng away of one mā or twoo doo vtterly dismaie them whose carefulnesse ought to be quickened when whole nations doo fayle who would not impute the faulte to their peruerse iudgement Notwithstandynge it is not my purpose to extenuate their fault whiche as much as in thē lieth doo make féeble the weake soules Onely I would admonish such as wauer when other fall howe malicious this amazednesse is he hath denied Christ who would haue thought it He hath taken his leaue of the Gospell whome all men beleued to haue bene more firme thā a rocke That man is nowe luke warme another is colder than Ise when bothe of them were so feruent that it was a wonder to sée But they that so speake doo not consider that some are therefore vanquished with feare of death bicause they haue not as yet conceiued an assured hope of the life to come that othersome are stiffe for colde bicause worldly cares doo alaye the heate of the spirite in them But what booteth it vs to drawe vnto vs wilfully the infectiō of other mens diseases seyng remedie is at hande if it be not refused why doo they not rather settle themselues in that so wholesome admonishmēt of Paule For when he had spoken of Hymenaeus and Philetus whose falling might haue striken great fearfulnesse into all the godly by and by he addeth that which was able to assure them vp This seale remayneth The Lorde knoweth who are his Therefore let him depart from iniquitie whosoeuer calleth vpon the name of the Lorde For asmuch as those twayne were knowen and notable persones Paule sawe it coulde not be but that they by their headlonge fallyng should compell some at least wise to wauer Notwithstandinge he exhorteth the chosen to leane quietly vppon the defence of God and he denieth that there was any daunger of frettynge out the marke of saluation which he had grauen in them warnyng them by the way that no man prophane the holy name of God by counterfaite inuocatiō Iohn also saw this stumblingblocke to come through them which by sheading abroade the venim of their wicked doctrine did at that time greatly anoye the Churche But while he testifieth it so to come to passe to the entent it shoulde be manifest that all are not of the companie of the Godly which take the name vpō them he sheweth therewithal a meane to ouercome the same stumblyngblocke whiche mighte trouble many What shall a man saye of Alexander the Copper smith when of a noble disciple of Christe he became first a renegate and afterwarde a most deadly enemie is he not set foorth for an example to others What thinke ye of Demas whē he embracyng this world did shamefully forsake the Gospell ought he to drawe the reste with him into the same Labyrinth when in another place Paule maketh mention that he was forsaken of all men doth he giue libertie to betraye the Gospel when he complaineth that he was reiected of Phigelus Hermogenes and all the men of Asia dothe he open a window of so wicked a departinge vnto others Nay rather by such instructions all the Godly are awaked to the entent their securitie shoulde not be in daunger of the Deuils deceites They are cōmanded to set before them that euerlastynge signe of Gods election in steade of a buklar against all assaultes in such wise that they seale vp theyr faith also with a good conscience For asmuch as I haue to doo with such kinde of mē as wilbe counted Christians to the entent I stande not ouerlonge talkyng of the matter let them reade the twoo Epistles of Paule to Timothie the which I suppose wil suffice to appease theyr mindes onlesse peraduenture they will either turmoyle with thēselues for y e nonce or els séeke vaine pretences to fall from Christe wilfully And surely with sounde wise men this one thing wilbe able to vpholde theyr faith y e it were lewdly done to measure the eternall truth of God by y e swimmyng inconstancie of men But thei y t are so wittie to take libertie of sinnyng by euill exāples why doo thei not obserue so many wōderful exāples of vnuincible cōstancie which might woorthely stablish their faith amōg whatsoeuer stormes of temptatiōs This our age hath séene good store of martyrs goe chierfully vnfearfully to death Neither might men onely boaste themselues hereof but in y e womākinde also did God shew a strength surmoūtyng the strēgth of man Surely y e old stories doo not make reporte of
with the same itch of themselues For we sée some so greedely snatch at and hunte for those thinges that make to the takynge away of the féelinge of godlinesse that hauinge in maner scarce perceiued the sounde of a fewe woordes by and by they raunge frō the eternall and vnchaungeable truth of God And surely whosoeuer hath but meanly traueled in the woorde of God when he shall haue tried that our faith is farre otherwise grounded than vpon opinion he shal not so easly wauer And they that beare the seale of the spirite printed in their hartes it is farre vnlike that they should be ouerthrowen with the assaultes of these engines But this is it that Paule meaneth where he sayeth That mē make shipwrecke in the faith after the time that they haue fallen from a good conscience whereby he meaneth bothe that this is the keper of right vnderstandynge and that it is no wonder though they haue nothinge stedfaste emong them whiche are tossed amonge the sundry waues of their lustes There is no cause therefore why we should be troubled with this Godlesnesse whiche now partly rageth euerywhere through the whole worlde but specially reigneth in the Courtes of Kinges and Princes in iudgement places and in other glorious trades of liuyng for if I shoulde demaunde of one that had skill in thinges yea and it were euen of those who cannot ridde themselues from this temptacion whiche of them all there did harborow a good conscience their answeare would be in a readinesse that it is bannished a great way of wherefore then doo we wonder at that shipwrecke of Faith whiche Paule teacheth must néedes followe Moreouer if they so warely kéepe money bestowed in coffers as many as are any thyng smittē with the loue therof what excuse shall he lay for him selfe whiche beynge fenced with no garde of God doth set him selfe foorth wilfully to the spoyle if he be robbed of the heauenly treasure specially considering we know that nothinge is so hurtfull as these copwebbes of the wicked For it is not my minde to extenuate the perill that maye come by them but rather I admonish and testifie that no Serpēt hath so venemous a blast as they and therfore it behoueth vs to be so much the more waker carefull to beware of them By the waye I say that al such shalbe frée from this contagion be it neuer so pestiferous as haue not forslowed to roote themselues déepe in Christe Neither is this my sayinge but the sayinge of Paule that we ought to growe in Christe vntill we come to be perfect men least we be any more subiect to the subteltie of men which goe about to deceiue vs. Notwithstāding we must harken also to another exhortation of Paule namely that forasmuch as we are ensured to the Sonne of God vpon this condition that we should kéepe our promisse of mariage vnto him vnuiolate we ought in especially to beware that the Deuil corrupt vs not with his flattering enticementes For if the woman whiche hath giuen eare to allurementes of baudrie séemeth to haue giuen alreadie some signe of vnchastnesse it appeareth that those soules are scarce chaste whiche delight to be moued to false forsaking their obedience to God The reason of all errours is not much vnlike herunto The faith of many quayleth and some doo vtterly fall from the Gospell bicause they coniecture it to be the séede of errour As though any man should giue ouer tillage and sowinge of the grounde bicause the pure séede doth oftentimes degenerate into cockle To the entent the straungenesse of the matter shoulde not abashe any man Christe warned vs that it shuld come so to passe For albeit that in that place he cōpareth Hypocrites to darnell and the true and naturall Sonnes of God to wheate yet he sheweth howe this is the accustomed fraude of Sathan to corrupte and defile the heauenly séede of God by al y e meanes he can to the entent it shoulde not come to fruitfulnesse we know that the world lay a longe time barreyne like a waste and vntilled grounde Nowe hath God sowed the doctrine of his Gospell by his Ministers doo we maruell if Sathan doo intermedle as many corrupt errours as he can For what whole wayne loades of false opiniōs hath he not brought in immediatly with the first springynge vp of the Gospell I doo omit the innumerable multitude But what cā be deuised more prodigious than the dotinges of Valentine of Montane and of the Manichees Now it is to much folly that they which counte it for a miracle that the light of the Gospell was not quēched in so thicke darknesse or whiche hartely reioyce to heare that the strength therof hath continued vnappalled againste so many assaults should be offended at the doctrine of the Gospell bicause now also Sathan sullieth it with the darknesse of his lies Howbeit forasmuche as men doo sundry waies stumble at this rocke I will briefly shewe y t there is no kinde of Offence the which they incurre not of their owne accorde either through their slouthfulnesse or els some other singular vice of theyr owne They whiche simplie make this one obiection that sectes doo bud out of the doctrine of the Gospell partly are glad to séeke startingholes and partly through ouermuch lightnesse doo lay the cause of euill vpon the Gospell whiche resteth otherwhere Who so euer will vouchsaufe to open his eyes he shall plainely sée that the Gospell is not onely the pure and cléere truthe of God but also the best bonde of holy vnitie Nowe if Sathan rise vp against it to the entent he may darkē this light with the cloudes of errours and rende the vnitie asunder wherein the sonnes of God doo knit thēselues together he dothe but his office For he is bothe the father of lies and also the authour and craftesmaister of all debate It were our duetie therefore so muche the more earnestly to labour in searchinge out the truth and to embrace it the more constantly when we haue founde it These men doo not onely absteine from all such endeuour and flie frō it but also doo set this as a shielde of defence against God that they be not compelled to obeye his commaundement Othersome al be it that they séeke not meanes for the nonce howe they may reiect the wholesome doctrine yet bicause they take occasion at euery light blast to starte backe they haue nothinge whiche they may iustly alledge for their excuse But you will say thei feare not without cause least if beyng vncertaine whiche way to goe they should yelde themselues pliable they might through this pliablenesse be snarled in the snares of errours This is in déede somwhat but there was a better prouiso than this for that daunger namely to submitte themselues to God by godly humilitie modestie sobernesse and reuerence For Christe hath not for nothinge promised that the doore shalbe opened to them that knocke neyther is he endewed with the spirite of iudgement
fables feined by themselues I sayd a little before howe there are a great nūber of Dranes that roue abroade to gette somewhat by pilferie or by deceite Such beyng now so knowē by their owne packinges that they can finde place no more to beguile folke in y e Churches of Christe departinge aside some otherwhere doo power out any thinge they can imagine against vs impudently to the entent to get themselues fauour by bringynge vs in hatred with the vnskilfull But what will those good men prescribe vs whiche conceiue cause of Offence vpon their vanitie We sée asseheaded Mōkes who yet were wont to stuffe the paunche that if yée cram not meate into their mouthes by and by they waxe firie to sanctifie battell as the Prophete termeth it We sée others also not vnlike the Monkes They promisse all to become halfe Angelles so they may happen vpō a measurable trade of liuinge sayinge they wilbe contented with bread and water But that same bragge of sufferance anone after vanissheth into smooke And they themselues after they haue within a while giuen a proofe of their slouthfulnesse beinge weary of woorke steale priuely awaye I confesse that many hauyng desired a state of liuinge in vaine as it must néedes come to passe where many come flockinge to aske at ones doo departe And I am not harde to beleue but that some are not so liberally helped who notwithstandinge were more woorthy of reliefe either bicause in men vnknowen so exact choyse can not be had or els bicause those that be the bolder sorte in crauinge take vp the place before the fearefull and shamefaste doo come or bicause we doo not euer iudge rightly or bicause that beyng néere spent with giuinge out we are compelled to sende away either emptie or at leastwise slenderly relieued suche as come out of season And yet such as should haue somwhat more colour haue also come sieldomer and speake more gently The complaintes of the other sorte flie abroade euerywhere And what maner of ones be they Bespred with most mōstruous lies Howbeit muche more lewdely doo they rayle whiche beinge either driuen hence for their misbehauiour or drawen hence by false reniyng doo hauke for the fauour of richemen by slaunderous meanes to the entēt to fill their mawe with likkyng their disshes For this is not hidden that there are many founde which would desire to haue the Gospell quiet for them and frée frō all trouble when as they are ashamed to confesse the truthe howe the feare of the Crosse doth let them that thei cannot satisfie the Christian profession If there be any vices in the Churches of Christe they couet to enquyre them out that they may not séeme tied to their nest without cause Uerely saye they if in vs be reprehended clokinge of Idolatrie in other places also is neuerthelesse cōmitted offence diuers wayes And still they séeke pretence by their lies whiche it is moste certaine to be forged by suche varlettes in fauour of them It liketh me to alledge briefly two or thrée examples to the entent that hereafter no man be deceiued except it be wittingly willingly There was one Cortese minister of the woorde in the coūtie of Monsbergard who beinge driuen from thence went to Neoconium where findyng colder entertainement than he hoped for to the entēt he might reuenge him selfe beinge furthered with the helpe of certaine like him selfe he did many and great displeasures to the godly brethren Howbeit findinge him selfe at length discouraged he craued forgiuenesse humbly which is an ordinarie with those foxes and through his deceitefull pretence of repentance he not onely pacified the displeased brethren but also at such time as he fained him self to be doubtfull in certaine questions obteyned their letters vnto me wherein they desired me friendly that I woulde goe about to resolue him I entertainyng the man at mine owne table hearde him patiently in so muche that with aboundance of teares he affirmed al scruples to be nowe voyded from him At his departure also I gaue him wherewith to beare his charges by the waye From that time foorth gaddinge ouer all Fraunce he ceased not to speake euill of me like a lewde fellow Another I knowe not of what countrey who had giuen him self a name of the Cornell trée beynge accused to haue done diuers thinges vnséemely for the seruaunt of Christ was by the iudgement of the conuocation of Lausan commaunded to suspende his ministerie vntill his cace were tried better Anone after as he carried letters to Berue suspectinge they were not made as he woulde wish he deliuered other of his owne coūterfettinge and vnderstandyng that his lewdenesse was founde out bicause he coulde not washe his handes of the matter he tooke his héeles into another quarter And all these thinges were done in mine absence without my knowledge Nowe he reporteth euery where that I draue him out by force bicause he refused to subscribe to mine Heresies Another who was to great a tauerne hunter beinge sharply rebuked by me neuer lefte feastyng and banquettinge by stelth vntill he was runne very sore in dette whē leauinge his householde he crept priuely away I was gone of a iourney to Argētine There was betwene vs no variāce no suspition of Offence but that I had a while bene a let that he cast not him selfe away And bicause he had bene of the couent of the Austine Friers he walked vp and downe before their denne declaringe lamentably that he was banished bicause that he also had withstood my Heresies But I doo not so much passe for the lewdnesse of him suche as he is as this vnwoorthinesse grieueth me that the good Fathers who dayly learne out of our Bookes doo not sticke in steade of rewardinge vs to charge vs with the offences which thei haue drawen out of those their owne puddels But I play the foole in busiynge both my selfe and the Readers in gathering these huskes togither but that it behooued as it were to be represented in the persones of a fewe what is wonte to be done of most men euery where and dayly Towarde some we are to rough vnappeasable But it were good to know what maner of Clemencie they require at our hādes we being wrongfully hurte doo forgiue and take no reuengement though it be in our hande to doo it This is not inoughe for them but they will moreouer be receiued into our bosoomes none otherwise than if they had alwaies bene most faithfull vnto vs what a thing is this That beinge deceiued betrayed and cruelly misused we shoulde not be bolde to looke to our selues afterwarde But it repenteth them Uerely being very Crocodiles they will with one little teare purchace credite of goodnesse This therfore is that our vncourtuous rigour that we doo not wilfully yéelde our selues to thē to cut our throtes But I let passe to speake of our priuate iniuries God shalbe greatly offended an open faulte of very ill example shalbe commmitted yea and some
fulfilled which the holy Ghost hath spoken of him that he should bée the rocke of offence and the stone to stumble at Not bicause there is in him any iuste cause to be offended at as wée shall anon sée But what skilles it For this is as it were his fatall condition that as often as he offereth him selfe to men many of them doo stumble at him The whiche thinge if euer it happened heretofore we finde at this daye to be trew by examples almost innumerable Wherefore we ought so much the rather to call continually to our remembrance his former warninge to thintent it may sticke faste in our mindes least through the stoppes which the Deuill will cast in our waye we beynge turned from him might also be depriued of that blessednes which he promiseth to those that are his But how fewe are there that thinke hervppon And on the contrarie parte how many are to be founde whiche vnder the colour of offences doo eyther shonne the Gospel altogether as it were some rocke or after they haue embraced it yea and somewhat profited in it doo afterwarde turne backe againe Forasmuch then as there was no one matter in my iudgement wheraboutes I might bestow my labour more profitably I was not vnwillinge to take vppon me the handlyng hereof specially seinge I had bounde my selfe by promisse vnto certaine good men so to doo who cease not to exact my promisse as a dewe dette Peraduenture it ought to haue bene performed sooner but in asmuch as hitherto partly other wrytinges no lesse necessarie and partely diuers weightie affayres haue helde me occupied this is soone inough if it be well inough Moreouer before wée enter into the matter it selfe we must sée how this title will agrée to Christ who assuredly is the doore of eternall life that he should be the stone of Offence the rocke to stumble at likewise howe it may come to passe that the doctrine of the Gospel beyng the onely way to saluation should continually be matched with so many offences This shalbe made the more euideÌ„t if we take our beginninge at the definition of an Offence And now wheras the maner of liuing appointed to vs by God is likened to a waie or a race which it behoueth vs to followe hereuppon riseth another Metaphor that Offences should be called what lettes so euer doo either leade vs awrie from our right course or stoppe vs by lyinge in the way or giue occasion of fallinge Surely of all these nothing can be imputed vnto Christe nor to his Gospell It is the office of Christe to leade vs by the haÌ„de the right way to his Father Also he is the light of the world by which we are guided thither the pathe whereby we come thither and the doore by whiche we enter It is the nature of the Gospel by taking away al maner of lettes to set vs opeÌ„ an easie accesse into the kingdome of God Nothinge therefore is more disagreable to Christ or his Gospell than the name of Offence This is an infallible rule that if Christe be estéemed as he is in déede nothing is more contrary to his nature than Offence In likewise is to be thought of the Gospell But this happeneth through the lewdnesse of meÌ„ that assoone as Christe appéereth a farre of by by they are wrapped in with Offences or rather of them selues runne hedlonge into them Thus is he the stone to stumble at not bicause he giueth cause of stuÌ„bling but bicause occasion is wilfully taken Like as the Gospell beynge the doctrine of peace and vnitie is not withstandinge the occasion of great troubles and turmoyles bicause the wicked gréedely take occasion thereof to set all thinges in a broyle Now it were to much wronge to burden Christ with other meÌ„s faultes as if they were his owne and to laye all the blame thereof on his necke as if he were the offeÌ„der And that is it that Peter sayeth Be ye builded into a spirituall house whiche is a liuely stone reiected of men but chosen of God and precious also to you that beléeue But vnto them that beléeue not he is the stone whiche the builders refused the stone for them to stumble at and the rocke for them to fall against Behold how Christe offreth him selfe to al men for a foundation to builde them selues vppon that they may be the temple of God Surely here is none Offence Wherefore then should they be offended forsooth bicause like a sort of blind Bayardes they rushe wilfully againste that thinge whereon they ought gently to staye them selues Yet we sée the malice or at leastwise the corruption of men is suche that that thinge which happeneth extraordinarily vnto Christe followeth as customably as if it were moste of all pertinent to his Office Now come I vnto them who otherwise refusinge not to embrace the Gospell of Christe woulde neuerthelesse haue it without Offences I haue to doo with such as are Christians Would they haue Christe frée from all Offence then must they goe forge thée a newe one For the sonne of God cannot be any other than of such sorte as he is preached in the Scriptures Or els they muste alter all mens natures and dispositions and goe make all the worlde newe agayne We heare what the Scripture saieth This is incident not onely to y e person of Christ but also to all the whole doctrine neither is it lastinge for a time onely but it shall coÌ„tinew through the whole course of the doctrine Howe preposterous then are thei who in these daies reiect the doctrine of the Gospell now springing vp againe onely in this respecte bicause they finde therein the selfe same thinge that was tolde of before by the Prophetes and the Apostles And yet for all that they wilbe counted Christians what if they had chaunced to haue bene in those daies wheÌ„ y e Gospell was first of al newly preached at which time there was almost no kinde of Offence but it swarmed out of the Gospell How soone would they haue seperated them selues from Christ how would they haue quaked for feare least of neuer so slight a touche they mighte haue bene blasted with some infection If they saie they woulde not haue done so then why are they so spicecâ—scienced in these daies why doo they not now also acknowledge the same markes in Christe But an Offence is an odious thyng to modest natures horrible Who denieth that Neither doo I say that Offences are willingly to be sought after Let vs shunne them as much as may be But a Christen mans hart ought to be fortified in suche wise that what Offences so euer breake out vpon him he neuer forsake his place nor swarue from Christe one heare bredth Who so euer is not furnished with this constancie that he may wade through all Offences vnuanquished vnderstandeth not yet what his Christendome auayleth him But it is a harde matter to resiste Offences specially consideringe our feblenesse imbecillitie I
outwarde meanes but also to searche to the bottome of the harte to perce thorowe all the marye to discerne betwéene affections and thoughtes and finally to sacrifice the whole man vnto God these folke cannot abide to haue their woūdes touched Some desire to haue libertie left them to steale some to get by extortion some to follow whoredome and some to haunt riottynge and excesse All couet to runne the race of their vanitie without checke What wonder then is it if they turne themselues from Christ But some man will say this is to shewe the cause of Offence but not to take it away I answeare that the disease was first to be declared to the entent that remedie might afterwarde be sought The nicenesse of mennes mindes was to be corrected rather than clokinges thereof to be sought whiche coulde nothinge further vs and yet nourishe vice But it is a high matter Who denies that notwithstanding we must striue and that not by our owne strength but by the strength of Christe who as he sendeth vs out to the battell so also he furnisheth vs with armour and weapon to winne victorie O if we vnderstood what auaileth this saying Blessed are they that suffer persecution for rightuousnesse sake how easie were it for vs to winde our selues not onely out of this Offence but also of all other whatsoeuer the worlde and the fleshe séeke to enforce vpon vs. Persecution is so troublesome to thée that thou startest from Christe And why Forsooth bicause thou knowest not what Christe maye auaile thée The care of this present worlde carrieth thée away and that is bicause thou hast no taste of the worlde to come Couetousnesse burneth thée verely bicause thou knowest not yet which are the true riches Thou arte drowned with ambition bicause vndoubtedly thou knowest not to glorie in the Lorde Gluttonie fleashly luste pompe or other vaine delightes entice thée to forget thy God and that cometh to passe bicause as yet thou art ignorant of that swéetenesse whiche the Prophete testifieth to be layed vp for them that feare God Finally it is no maruell though there be fewe true Christians to be founde bicause there are few that haue learned that Christe is so much woorthe that all thinges els are to be counted as dunge But another place will serue better for exhortations Here I muste so intreate of Offences that it maye appeare to whome they ought of righte to be imputed But why doo I make such a disputinge of euery mannes priuate miseries seynge the state of the vniuersall Churche dothe containe in it farre greater occasion of Offence First it neuer shineth with suche outwarde beautie that the senses of men may discerne therein the kingdome of God Secondely if it happen at any time to grow to some meane state by and by it is either oppressed with the violence of Tyrantes or it decayeth of the owne accorde so that it continueth but a very small time Herupon it commeth to passe that in all ages proude men did either despise or slaunderously misreporte the true Religion We sée howe arrogantly Cicero taunteth the lawe of God bicause the Iewes had so ill successe By this one man ye may giue iudgement at all And to the intent I digresse not to farre what is the cause that many at this day abhorre the sincere profession of the Gospell but that they sée vs to be fewe in number and of small authoritie and of no power at all wheras they wonder to sée all thinges contrarie on the behalfe of our aduersaries And surely as the worlde goeth nowe a daies it is no maruell though the state of the Churche beynge so misordred as it is doo feare them awaye and that the gloriousnesse that shyneth in our aduersaries doo dazle theyr eyes But none other doo stumble at this Stone neyther doothe this stumblynge blocke kéepe any backe sauing suche as acknowledge not the kingedome of Christe to be Spirituall For suche vnto whome neyther the stable wherein Christe was borne nor the Crosse whereon he hunge is a lette to woorshippe him as their Kinge they shall neuer despise the lowly state of his Churche All menne confesse in woorde and of necessitie muste confesse that it is moste agreable to reason that in the forme of the Churche as it were in a Glasse shoulde appeare the liuelie Image of Christe And when Paule reasoneth of the similitude of the head and the members in the sufferance of the Crosse all men agrée therto When he saieth we muste all die with Christe that we may be partakers of his life no man speaketh against him When all the whole Scripture compareth this present life to a warrefare and teacheth that it is full of diuers sortes of conflictes they consente that all this is trewe and right and therefore the name of the Militant Churche is so commonly knowen that ye shall heare it euen in childrens mouthes But assoone as it cōmeth to the pith of the matter as though thei had forgotten all thinges thei shūne the image of Christe as it were some monster that they neuer hearde of Howbeit if their longyng should be graunted them that the Churche shoulde by all meanes enioye prosperitie that it should florish in welth and power that it should haue continuall peace and finally that it should wante nothinge that might make the state thereof most fortunate and happie should it not appéere to be an earthly kingedome And then the Spirituall kingedome of Christe were to be sought for els where Or rather the Churche should be vtterly separated frō the head But let vs remember that the outwarde shewe of the Churche is fo contemptible to the intent her beautie should shine inwardely that it wauereth so on earth to the entent it shoulde haue a stedfaste seate in Heauen and that it lieth so torne and ruinouse before the world to the entent it shoulde stande sounde and florishe before God and his Angels and that it is so miserable in the fleshe to the entent it should the rather haue her felicitie layed vp in the spirit In this wise when Christ laye despised in the Oxestall the Angels songe his excellencie in the cloudes the Starre in Heauen bare witnesse of his glory the wisemen perceiued his power in a countrey farre of When he hungred in the desert when he stroue against the illusions of the Deuill when he sweate droppes of bloud the Angels agayne did minister vnto him when he was nowe readie to be bounde he compelled his enemies to fall backewarde with the only woorde of his mouthe When he hunge vppon the Crosse the Sunne by loosinge his lighte shewed openly that he was Kinge of the worlde The sepulchers openinge confessed him to be Lorde of life and death Nowe if we sée Christe throughe the despightes of the wicked proudely dealte with all in his bodie oppressed with cruell Tyrannie made a laughynge stocke drawen violently hither and thither none of these thinges as vnaccustomed ought to abashe vs
and discretion from the Father for nothinge Also it is not for nothinge that the Lorde promiseth by the mouth of his prophete Esay to become an attendant scholemaister to his people alwaies readie at their backe to direct their steppes Finally neither to deceiue nor to beguile vs doth he say that the waye of life is shewed to vs in his woorde Whereby it appeareth that a great parte of men doo wittely couet this thinge to despise remedies and to waxe numme in their owne euils And whereas we sée many which beyng intangled with this or that errour are led astray from the right way it neuer happeneth but by the iust vengeance of God First Augustine truely nameth pryde the mother of all Heresies For there was neuer yet any maister of errour whome leude desire of vaineglory puffed not vp to his owne hedlonge fallynge We know that God is a faithfull teacher to the little ones we know that Christe calleth the humble and méeke to him to be his disciples wherefore such as swell with pride it is no maruell though they be driuen out of this schoole and be carried vp and downe with their owne wauerynge speculations As many as in this our age fallynge from the pure doctrine of the Gospell haue begonne to be teachers of false opinions we shall finde that al of them beyng taken with the disease of pride haue forged punishment of the witte bothe to themselues and to others In stéede of many let the onely example of Seruet suffice For he beynge puffed vp with Spanish pryde and swellyng moreouer with his owne arrogancie determined this to be the best waye for him to get him a name if he snapped at all the principles of Religion Whatsoeuer therefore hath of antiquitie from the very time of the Apostles bene by the Fathers lefte concerning the thrée persones in God and receiued from time to time cōtinually by the godly he not onely reiecteth as vnsauerie but also with to outragious rayling tosseth and turmoyleth it now that same currish rage of bityng and barkyng which all the writers of that rable doo vtter dothe sufficiently testifie what maner of spirite stirreth the man But if ye come to the matter ye shall cléerely perceyue that their gréedie hunger being inflamed with vnstaūched thirste of vaineglorie hath caused them to quaffe vp all kinde of most absurde dotages so desirously that they haue made themselues dronken therwithal He surmiseth that the woorde of God was not before suche time as Moyses bringeth in God speakyng in the beginnynge of the world As who should say that then first of all he beganne to be when he shewed plainly his so great power not rather that he declared a proufe of his eternall beyng He in such wise Deifieth Christes fleash that abolishynge the truth of his manhoode he maketh his Godhead which is spirituall to be palpable And yet callinge Christe God with full mouthe he deuiseth vs I cannot tell what maner of shadowye Ghost as if ye would saye he had from the beginnynge bene nothyng but an Idaea of Plato and that of any other right he was not the sonne of God but bycause he was conceiued by the holy Ghost in the wōbe of the Uirgin In the meane while he heapeth togither many cartloades of speculations whiche haue so litle colour or none at all that any mā beyng in his right wittes may easly perceiue that none could not so play the dizard but he that is bewitched with the loue of him selfe But if that as soone as the truthe of God hath put vp her head proude wittes are bothe by their owne ambition moued by the Deuill driuen either to darkē or els to peruert it with theyr leude gloses and frantike opiniōs there is no cause why we should be troubled as with a straunge matter Wherefore as we haue saide before that pryde is the mother of al Heresies so the vainenesse of them that make themselues disciples of such maisters is the continuall nource to cherishe the same As often as any errour is spred by the false prophet Moyses affirmeth vs to be tried whither we loue God frō the hart To what ende is that but that we may know that none other are ledde away from the pure doctrine but such as vnder a false profession did coūterfaite holinesse As for the faith whiche is stedfastly rooted these engines can so little ouerthrow that they doo rather make manifest the firmnesse therof like as Paule writeth that when sectes doo reigne in the Church those which are tried be made manifest Wherby it is the lesse wonder that assoone as any blast of a newe sect bloweth many slide aside hither and thither seinge very fewe haue y e feare of God imprinted in their hartes So much the lesse becometh it vs to stagger with the multitude To take occasion of leude behauiour of the Gospell hath now from olde time bene customable to many Not without cause doo the Apostles so oftentimes giue warning of bridelyng our libertie least it should be turned into a fleashly licentiousnesse For euermore the fleash at euery light occasiō doth by and by auaūce it selfe But as bondage is a harde thing and contrary to mans nature a greate sorte by what meanes so euer they may shake of the yoke doo déeme that the blessed life consisteth therin Under this pretence the bondmē in old time as though by proclamation of the Gospell they had bene called to libertie were puffed vp with stubburnnesse in so much that some of them wrested themselues from subiection of the Kinges and Magistrates Likewise at this daye many of the rascall sorte hauyng taken a smatch of the Gospell doo boaste themselues arrogantly householde seruauntes doo take hault and stoute stomackes to thē very many forgetting al shame and modestie dare presume any thing But this is worst of all that many doo in suche wise set thēselues frée from the obedience of God him selfe as if by adoptinge vs to be his sonnes he had abrogated from him selfe all fatherly right and authoritie ouer vs. Surely it is a foule leudnesse with the vnwoorthinesse therof might grieuously wounde all godly mindes But lette the wronge done to God burne vs rather than we shoulde double it We heare what Esay hath testified of the méekenesse of Christ we heare what Christe preacheth of him selfe Learne of me sayth he bicause I am méeke and lowly of hart And for this cause as Paule admonisheth when he was in the shape of God he abased him selfe to the entēt we should learne humblenesse of him Seynge that the Sonne of God descended from the heauenly throne of his maiestie downe hither that beyng cladde with our fleash he might abide not onely the state of a seruaunt but also the vtter reproche of the Crosse whiche of vs may not be a shamed of our selues to looke so loftely that we shoulde either be or séeme to be any thing at all Those that excell in great riches and
betwene vs consisteth not vpō this pointe alone But after the Papistes haue installed the Churche in Christes throne to determine Religiō at her owne pleasure and to iudge of the Scripture without appealynge from her by and by thei take the lawe such as it is into their owne handes We on the otherside bicause it is as easie a matter as daūgerous to be deceiued in will haue it discussed whiche is the true Churche Surely it is no newe thinge that those are sometime cruell Wolues which occupie the roomes of sheapeherdes and that thei are wicked ranke traytours to God his Churche in whose hāde the ordinarie Souereintie is What cause then is there why vaine hobgoblins shoulde make vs so afraide that we shoulde not as becommeth trie whether the same that beareth the name of the Church be the true Churche or no Paule affirmeth the Churche to be the piller of truthe but yet the same Paule foretelleth both the fallynge away of the worlde nowe conuerted and that Antichrist should reigne in y e middes of Gods Temple It is knowen well inough that he susteined the like encoūters as we are exercised with at this daye when the Iewes takinge pryde in the name of the Churche cried out vpon him that he was a forsaker of his order and an Author of Scismes and troubles They report thēselues to be descēded from the very Apostles by continuall succession verely after the same maner that Caligula Nero succeded Valerius Publicola and Lucius Brutus For they clinge vnto the Apostles as if there were not an vnmeasurable Chaos put by them whiche mighte breake all aliances betwixt them if there were any Bicause the dunghil of the popish Clergie is against vs they wil haue vs no lesse pressed with y e peruerse doome than if the Angels condemned vs out of Heauen Uerely with the same pryde did the Scribes in olde time reiect Christ bicause none of the Princes or Pharisies had beléeued in him And forasmuche as they are determined to stande to theyr tacklynge with tooth and nayle euen to the vtterance for maintenance of theyr tyrannie yet are destitute of true reasons it is no maruell though they rappe out vaine soundes But I woulde desire all them vnto whome the false vsurped name of the Church is an occasion of Offence that they would ones finde in their hartes to opē theyr eares and their eyes least the deceitfull image of a body pull them from their head a harlot disguised in the apparell of a bryde carie them frō theyr spouse Christe For what markes I beséeche you haue they whereby thei may know the Churche of Christe in all the whole bande of the Romish Antichrist Onlesse peraduenture whyle they sée the Pope in his Awbe with y e crosse throwen at his féete the Cardinalles in scarlet the Bishops glitteryng with myters croysiers and the reste of the inferiour rable euery one with their seuerall cognisāces beinge contented with these tokens they desire none other Churche than suche a one as appeareth in disguisinges like maskers and players of enterludes For what els is there to be sayd to these trifelyng fellowes when hauinge so often so pitthely and plentuously bene by vs cōfuted they persist still neuerthelesse in takinge vpon thē the title of the Church I sayd at the beginnyng that none almost were here deceiued but suche as beyng lothe to come to Christe doo procure lettes to themselues from a farre of The time hath bene that this same scruple hath hindred many simple godly soules but at this day I say there are fewe that obiect the Offence risinge vpon the name of the Churche againste the wholesome doctrine except it be suche as maliciously and proudely vaunt themselues against Christe Like lewdnesse is it that thei demaūde miracles at our hande wherwith they beyng amazed are at length compelled to yéelde vnto God speakynge by vs. And I saye that seyng our doctrine beareth euident witnesse to it selfe that it hath bene confirmed by all the miracles whiche haue bene since the worlde was made these men whiche forgettynge the olde miracles gape after new for asmuch as they are so astonied at the manifest power of God and so blinde in the cléere light are no lesse monsters themselues than if we should sée a man turned into a beast Bicause diuers are enriched with holy goods and othersome haue méetely well appeased theyr hungar for a time the enemies of the Gospell reporte that we were ledde to alter thinges for desire of spoyle than for any good zeale to Godwarde and many which hawke for a pretence to put by the Gospell giue theyr assent to these malicious sayinges Surely for my parte if there be any that haue spoyled the goodes of the Churche to fill theyr owne pouches I excuse them not And my Bookes are manifest witnesses how much I abhorre frō such sacriledges But as I am not minded to make my self a patrone or aduocate of the defaultes of our parte if any be so the slaunder is not to be borne with that the malicious persones charge vs withall howe we made our pray of all whatsoeuer was taken frō those filthie Seagulles that is to say the chapleynes of Ball and the Mōkes Certeinly whereas the popishe impietie is abolished there at leastwise parte of the reuenewes whiche whores and baudes deuoured with the Priestes is nowe bestowed vpon the poore Somewhat more is bestowed vpon schooles thā was wonte to be true Pastours are founde that minister the doctrine of Saluation to the people expenses are allowed to maintained the state of the Churche and those not small Although this defence doo not acquite vs before God whiche thinge I confesse with a good will yet it declareth that Offence is maliciously gathered thereupō against the doctrine of the Gospell But they shewe howe it is manifest for what purpose we haue bene moued to take this cause in hande in asmuch as almost all beyng occupied about lookyng to theyr priuate affayres are slouthfull in exactyng discipline in correctinge vices and in increasinge and mainteynyng the kingdome of Christe Wherfore then doo not they rather warme vs with theyr heate than they fryse vnto our coldnesse Let the cōplaintes of Aggaeus touchynge the neglectinge of the Temple be read There a man maye beholde as it were painted in a table the slouthfulnesse of our age was not therfore the building of the temple againe a very holy woorke of God bicause at that time euery man beyng busied aboute his owne house cared not for the Temple of God Ought any man therefore to shrinke bicause he sawe some not onely cease from so néedefull a duetie but also wickedly defraude God of his first fruites and tenthes But this is surely the thing that I spake of before anone after the beginnynge that many beyng entāgled with the vnholy friendshippes of the worlde doo couet any Offences that may be against Christe rather than to offende the wicked enemies of