dareth do thing but so much as God himselfe wyll somtime permit him as we reade was done of Iob. God sometime suffreth the sayntes to be greuously afflicted of Sathan to the ende his grace towardes them may most manifestly be declared Whither the plagues of the Egiptians wer done by good Aungels or by euyll But when Augustine expoundeth these wordes of the Psalme namelye the sending out of euyll Angels he doubteth whither the plagues of the Egiptians were done by a good Angel or by the Deuyl And at the length he sheweth that the plague and destruction of the first begotten maye be ascribed vnto the ministery of the Deuyl but the other plagues are to be attributed vnto good angels that the sentence both of the booke of Exodus and of the Psalme may stand fast Howbeit as touching that plage of the firste begotten in Exodus it is written vnder the name of God I wil this night passe through Egipt and wil smite c By these woordes that destruction semeth to be ascribed eyther vnto god or to a good Angel and not vnto the Deuil But that moueth me not much bycause although it were done by the ministery of the Deuil yet maye it be ascribed vnto the Lorde For Iob when by the woorke of the Deuil he was bereft bothe of goodes and children said neuerthelesse The Lorde hath geuen and the Lorde hath taken away and that sayd he was done by the Lorde which was done by the Deuil But some obiect If we assigne these things vnto the Deuil then shal he seme to haue fought against himself For the Sorcerers by the help of deuils withstoode Moses when they did the same thinges that he dyd And if plagues were by euyl Angels sent against the Egiptians and the Sorcerers went about to withstand them then Sathan semed to resist Sathan Neither could the Sorcerers haue trulye sayde that they fayled and testified that it was the fynger of God whych wrought But these reasons in my iudgement are not strong bycause the thinges done by the Sorcerers were done by the power of Sathan which is vnto him naturall For by it he is able to applye the seedes of thynges and woorking causes to his matter prepared and to woorke wonders as touching the sight of man But those thinges wherewith God afflicted the Egiptians were by his most mighty power wrought by the instrument of the Deuyll Wherefore it is no maruail if the Sorcerers failed and felt the most excellent power of the finger of God The place of Exodus and of the Psalme is conciliated Howbeit the booke of wysdome the .xviii. chap. semeth vtterly to ascribe these plagues vnto God wher he saith while al thinges wer stil and when the night was in the middest of her course thy almighty word c. And in the .xvii. chap. it is written that the Egiptians being among those plagues especially when they were oppressed with darknes wer with horrible vexations of minde and sights very terrible so vexed as though most doleful spirites had perpetuallye bene before their eyes and about their phantasy which vndoubtedly might be done by the sending of euyl Angels as the Psalme doth mencion Their hart also was hardened and their mindes were dayly made much more obstinate againste the Israelites And that semeth to haue pertained to the sending downe of euil angels Wherfore these two places may easely be made to agree in ascribing the plagues which ar mencioned in Exodus to good Angels and the terrible sights and hardning of the hartes to the sending of euyl Angels vpon them of whych the Psalme now alledged maketh mencion The power to work miracles maketh not mē better or woorser But forasmuch as God as it is declared for the woorking of miracles vseth both euil good angels men the godly men ought not therfore to be greued bicause oftentimes he geueth not vnto them this faculty For they are not for the cause of any worse condition then are they to whom God graunteth to woorke miracles For the Lord said vnto his Disciples when they returned from theyr embassadge Reioyce not in this bicause spirites are subiect vnto you reioyce ye rather for this bycause your names are wrytten in heauen There are some which are so desirous of such thinges that to obteine signes they are not afraid to vse euen the help of the deuill and vnder this pretence they excuse themselues To worke signes we must not vse the help of the deuill bycause god himself to worke signes vseth Sathan in following of whome they do well so farre ar they of that they can be cōdemned guilty of any crime They say also that Paul deliuered some to the deuill to be vexed and therfore they also may vse his ministerye But what manner of men are they whiche wil affirme that it is lawfull for them to do asmuche as is lawfull vnto god God is the author of all creatures wherfore it is no marueile if he vse them all But vnto vs it is by the law of god prescribed that we should not do it It is not lawfull to imitate God in all thinges And the immitation of god is so farforth commended vnto vs as by his law it is commaunded vs and no otherwise For he reuengeth his owne iniuries And who will saye that priuate men may do the same God adioyned vnto his owne burnt offring the bullocke appointed for Baal as we haue haue now hard with the wood also dedicated vnto the same idole Shall euerye one of vs therefore eate thinges dedicated vnto idoles The rule of our actiōs is the word of God Wherfore we ought not to be drawen to imitate him but so muche as the lawe suffreth That lawe hath he made not for himself but for men that they should frame theyr life after it Wherfore it was to him lawful to require of Abraham the immolation of his sonne which thing none of vs can require of our frend Paule and other Apostles had euill sprites subiect vnto them and by them it was sometimes lawfull vnto them to punish the guilty for theyr saluation Wherefore those to whome such a gift is not graunted ought to abstayne from excercising the same Wherefore the vse of the power of euil spirites is of two sortes wherof one is with authority and that belongeth chiefelye vnto god also to the Apostles and to the sayntes of the primitiue church The other by compact obedience which is vtterly forbidden mē For what participatiō cā ther be of the light with darknesse of god with Belial And for that cause the sorcerers which beleue thē can not be excused yet they ar by the law condēned guilty of superstition idolatry And it is not to be thought but that god vpō very iust causes and to vs most profitable hath forbidden these things to be done Why God forbad men to vse the helpe of the deuil to worke myracles For he prouideth that we should not
then be But both we our selues and al ours doinges I say sayinges thoughtes and counsels are due vnto god Wherfore our merites do vtterly perish Moreouer those workes whereby wee should merite ought to be of our selues which cannot be affirmed for as muche as it is god which worketh in vs both to wil to perform that not as we wil but according to his good wil. Augustine Wherfore Augustine was accustomed very wel to say that God which crowneth his giftes in vs. And in his .100 Epistle ad Sixtū Presbiterum Paul saith he when he had sayd The rewarde of synne is death dyd not straightway adde contrarily The rewarde of righteousnes is euerlasting lyfe But Grace sayth he is eternal life for that is not rendred to our merites but is geuen freely He might in deede haue wrytten after the same manner if he woulde For the holye Scripture sometimes so speaketh But for that he was a defender of grace hee woulde not geue occasion vnto his enemyes to impugne it Farther our woorkes how holye so euer they appeare are neuerthelesse vnpure and imperfect Wherefore they are woorthye rather of punishment then that they should deserue any good And wythout doubt they should be punished were not the redempcion and iustification whyche wee haue by Christ our Lorde There ought also to be some anallogy or proporcion betwene merites and rewardes whereof there is none betwene our workes and eternall lyfe For as Paul saith The sufferinges of this time are not woorthy of the glory to come which shal be reuealed in vs. This is to be added that in the holye scriptures is no where found the name of merite Some in deede are wont to bring the .xvi. chap. of Ecclesiasticus and there they say it is written All mercy shal make place vnto euery one according to the merites of his workes But they which obiect this thing let him looke vpon the Greeke text wherin it is thus written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in latine Deus omni misericordiae faciet locum quisque iuxta opera sua inueniet Which in englyshe signifieth God wil make place vnto al mercy and euery man shall finde according vnto hys woorkes But in these woordes there is no mencion made of merite onely this is wrytten that whose woorkes are good they shall be in good case but yet their woorkes are not sayde to bee merites or causes of rewarde I wyll not speake howe that booke is not in the Canon bycause Paule and the Gospels vse the same forme of speaking But of that whyche is wrytten vnto the Hebrewes by suche Sacrifices God is well pleased I haue before spoken nowe wyth one woorde onely will I briefly touche the thing This woorde of deseruing is not founde in the Greeke In Greeke is read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by whyche woorde is onely signified that the good woorkes of the faythfull are gratefull and acceptable vnto God Of the woorde reward But as touching this woorde rewarde which some bicause they do not well vnderstand it do take for merite we must deuide it two maner of wayes For that is sometymes called a rewarde whiche is geuen freelye but yet is promysed by adding of some worke wherby men should be styrred vp to doo well So eternal life may be called a reward not that we deserue the same by our woorkes but bicause by a certain order appointed of God it followeth our good workes But somtimes a reward is that which is due vnto good dedes Whither eternal lyfe may be called a reward is rendred vnto them of duty After this maner eternal life cannot be called the reward of our workes Wherfore Paul to the Romanes saith Abraham beleued God it was imputed vnto him for righteousnes But vnto him which woorketh reward is not imputed according to grace but according to debt Wherefore eternal lyfe for as muche as it is not of ryght dewe cannot be a reward if the woorde be taken in that signification But when they thus reason there is a reward geuen ergo there is a merite The argument is not firme A genere ad species bicause in affirming we may not discend from the general woorde to the species Neyther doth he rightly conclude whych sayth It is a liuing creature ergo it is a man This generall word reward hath two species therfore this argument is not firme if we saye It is a reward Ergo it is plaine that it must be geuen of dewty This saying also of Ieremy is to be added Cursed be euery one that putteth his hope in man and calleth flesh his strength But all our thinges whatsoeuer they be are not without flesh Wherfore it is not lawful for vs to put confidence in them Ierome And Ierome writing vpon that place hath very well brought in manye thinges whereby may be vnderstanded that in our workes there is no regard of merite Yea and the Papists also themselues which ar the patrones of merites are sometimes compelled to confesse that our merites are nothing at all For on the 2. Sonday in the Aduēt thus they pray Be pacefied O god with the prayers of our humility and wher helpe of merites do want succor vs with the aydes of of thy mercy The fathers whē in theyr writings they oftentimes inculcate this word of meriting do by it signify nothinge els then to get to obteine and to atteine to And as manye of them as haue written purelye the same haue detested the consideration of merites whereof the papistes so much bost Wherfore the Israelites were not heard thoroughe the merite of their teares or prayers but bycause by fayth in Christ to come they obteyned forgeuenes of sins and so by his merite onely they returned into fauor againe with god They offred sacrifice What profite the sacrifices of the law had Although I haue before largely spoken of the sacrifices in the olde time yet I thinke it good here also briefly to touch what profite was of them in the old law When men are vexed with calamityes they beginne to think vpon theyr sin they loke vpon the law wher whē they behold the wrath of god kindled for sinne they are in hart deiected in which perturbatiō there remaineth no remedy but to get them vnto Christ which is the summe and end of all sacrifices Him did the fathers which wer godly embrase by faith but in the sacrifices as often as the sacrifice was slaine so often the death of Christe was after a sorte set before the eyes of those that stoode by by whose death the synnes of the world should be taken away The sacramēts of the olders ours at al one but differ in outward Simboles signes Wherfore they had after this manner a communion amonge themselues in Christ which by sundry notes and signes dayly signified to the people in the old time wherhēce they by fayth receaued vnto their saluacion both his death and the fruite
Howbeit I thincke it good this to be added that some iudge that prodition espiall do not much differ one from another and that it maye sometimes come to passe that one man may be both a betrayer a spye For if any Citizen be corrupted with money by the enemyes the same is both a betrayer of his countrey is also in the meane tyme a domesticall spye But this semeth not to be wisely spoken bycause the nature of these things as it appeareth by their definitions doth very much differ although sometimes they cleaue both in one mā so that the same man may be both a betrayer a spye Euen as musike Grammer differ much one frō an other yet it oftētimes happeneth the one mā is both a Grāmarian a Musitian Neuerthelesse the differēce which I haue before mencioned is for the most part obserued although not alwayes namely that espial cōmeth of enemies and prodition of them which be amongest vs whom we trust as friendes Whether prodition be at any tyme lawful Augustine But to the end we may the playnlyer know concerning prodition whether it be at any tyme lawful I thincke it best to cal to memory those wordes which Augustine writeth against the letters of Petilianus the second booke and 10. chap We may not sayth he heare the complaynts of such as suffre but seke out the mynde of them whiche are the doers This the man of God wrote agaynst the Donatistes whiche accused our men as betrayers persecutors And to them he answereth the Paul also deliuered vp some to Sathā whose saluatiō neuerthelesse semed to be committed to his charge but for all that bycause he did it of a good mynde namely to teache them not to blaspheme and that their spirit might be saued in the daye of the Lorde he could not be accused either of treason or els of deliueryng vp bycause as it is before sayd The complaintes of them whiche suffre are not to be heard What proditiō is good but we must seke out the mind of the doers Wherfore when warre or controuersy shall happen betwene any of which the one part is knowen to haue a iust good cause if the other part which defendeth the worser cause therfore doth vniustly wil by no meanes be brought to any good reasonable conditions surely good men whiche peraduenture are founde on the same syde ought in such sort to helpe to defend the other part as they may aduaunce iustice And if it be nede they ought to fall from the vniust to iust men Neither can their prodition be condēned iustly as ill although before they were neuer so much friendes very nighe vnto those which worke vniustly What cause the Israelites had against the Chananites Epiphanius Now must we speake somewhat of the Israelites cause agaynst the Chananites whiche may be considered of vs two manner of wayes namely either by common lawe and ordinary lawe of nature or elles by fayth and by the worde of GOD. Concerning the naturall or common lawe Epiphanius writeth that the lande of Palestine pertayned in very dede to the children of Sem by occasion whereof Melchisedek reygned there whiche was either Sem hym selfe or elles one of hys children But the Chananites whiche came of Cham passyng ouer the boundes of Egypte and Africa whiche were appoynted vnto them dyd caste out of Palestine the sonnes of Sem. And therefore the Hebrues whiche were the posteritie of Sem when they required to be restored to their Fathers landes semed to do it iustly and rightfully Wherefore as he sayeth GOD did both restore vnto the Israelites the countreys whiche belonged vnto their auncestors and also punished the Chananites for their wickednesse and this he did all with one and the selfe same worke Howbeit I can not easely agree to Epiphanius opinion for there was past prescription of very long time for at the least there were fyue hundreth yeares Wherefore it could not be sayde that the Chananites possessed that lande vniustly If we should go by this reason now in our tyme then should there be none in a manner counted a lawfull prince and iuste possessor when as their auncestor came to the possession of those prouinces and kingdomes by violence driuyng out botht the kings and the inhabitors that were in them before Wherfore the Israelites semed not to haue any iust causes by mans lawe by whiche they might make clayme vnto the land of Palestine as to their owne neither alledged they at any tyme any such reason And yet for al that they had good ryght therunto for as much as god testified as wel by words as by wonderfull workes that it was his wil that the Hebrues should haue the possession of those regions to whom as Dauid hath wel said both the earth and the fulnesse thereof belongeth Neither could the Chananites murmure agaynst the iudgement of God for as much as they were iustly cut of from their ryght for their sundry and manifold wicked Actes Wherfore none could in this cause iustly defend the Chananites if they wil cleaue to the true God and beleue his wordes Wherby it followeth that this Luzite which betrayed hys citizens dyd it either of faith as did Rahab in Iericho or els by some humane bargayne For the kepers or spyes sayd vnto him VVe will shewe thee mercy If he were stricken with feare howe could that as they say happen vnto a constant man for he was after a sorte a prisoner and was fallen into the handes of hys enemyes then was he brought to it by humane conuention and then did he fowly for it is not lawfull for any man to make any fylthy couenauntes agaynst hys countrey Neyther can he be excused bycause of feare It is not lawfull for any mā to make any fylthy couenātes against hys countrey for nothyng is to be done agaynste iustice and conscience althoughe what feare so euer he should be stryken with but if he were stirred vp vnto it by fayth and for that he sawe hys citezens obstinately to resiste the worde of God and his workes then he did well neither can hys treason be either disallowed or elles condemned For no lawes no vowes no couenaūtes or bondes thoughe they be neuer so strayte Feare must not cause vs to do any thyng against iustice can bynd any man to fight agaynst or to resiste the worde of God whiche worde all men must earnestly labour to haue done and fulfilled For this sentence abydeth and shall perpetually abyde That we must obey God more than men Neither can any man as Christe sayeth serue two maisters specially if they commaunde contrary thinges It is lawfull for the magistrate priuely to send inquisitors Moreouer the Magistrate is to be ayded in rooting out of vice and naughtynesse and to hym without doubte is lawfull priuely to send men to make enquiry and to deiecte wicked Actes that the offendors may be punished
of consolation wherfore it is no maruel if he againe desired the remedy which he had had experiēce of Why Gideon required contrary sygnes He requireth contrary signes bicause the first semed not to be so great a wonder that the rest of the earth should be dry the fleese moyst Bicause such is the nature of wool that by a certaine proper power it draweth moystnes vnto it selfe as the Magnete stone draweth yron and Naphtha fire Naphtha a kinde of chalk Wherefore the wool myght easilye drinke in the dewe and that aboūdantly although the earth wer not yet moist But that about the fleese the earth should be moist and the wool dry it was vtterly against nature What is the Allegorye of these sygnes Augustine vpon the .71 Augustine Ambrose The Allegorye of these signes Psalme writeth and also Ambrose in his first booke de spiriru sancto in the Proheme The fleese they vnderstand to be the people of the Hebrues who in the old time wer watred with the woord of God when as the whole earth that is all other nations wanted the preaching of the woord of God Christ also was the minister of the circumcision in the first embassadge he sēt his Apostles onely to the Iewes But afterward the thing was so altered that the whole worlde after the comming of the holy ghost vpon the Apostles was watred wyth the woord of God and the Iewes vtterly wanted it and as barren bowes were cut of from the fertile and fat Olyue tree ¶ Of Miracles IN the ende of the chapter twoo thinges are to be enquired of The first is of miracles the other is how much or in what sort it is lawful to require them The Etymology of the wordes As touching the firste the Hebrue verbe is Pala or Niphla whiche is it was hard or marueilous wherof ar deriued these nownes Niphlaoth or Miphlaoth By which woordes are noted thinges seuered from other for their dignitye or excellency seperated I say and wonderful The Grecians call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of thys verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is to maruayle The Latines call them Miracula that is miracles bicause they are woorthy of admiration They cal them also Prodigia monstra and Portanta that is wonders monsters and thinges seldom sene that we should vnderstand that God by these thinges wyl shewe that some certayne thing shal come to passe or be done contrary to the cōmon order of things aboue hope or expectation Miracles very muche renoumed Wherfore seing mircales ar done aboue the natural course of thynges they bring with them admiration And vndoubtedlye there are verye many miracles which by writers are made famous as the temple of Diana in Ephesus the Tombe of Artemisia Queene of Caria the horrible great image of the Sūne at Rhodes the walles of Babilon very many other of the sort Wherfore Augustine against the Epistle of the Maniches the .xvi. Augustine A general description of myracles chap. prudently writeth I call a miracle whatsoeuer appeareth harde or vnaccustomed aboue the hope or faculty of the wonderer By which wordes a certaine large description of miracles may be had Transubstantiation is yll fayned to be a myracle And forasmuch as it said that a miracle appeareth they are worthely reproued which do fayne Transubstantiation and wyll haue it to be a miracle which can neither be confirmed by the holy scriptures and seing that it appeareth not neither can it be sene it cannot be called a myracle After this very common and large description ther is to be added that of miracles certaine are true False miracles and certaine are false For those are called false myracles which either are not that which they seme to be or els if they bee they are not done by anye power which passeth nature but by the powers of nature although it be secrete For Angels either good or bad may do them and that thre maner of wayes For sometime they applye vnto matter the strengthes of nature which they perfectly know of which cōiunction of the matter wyth efficient causes do follow effectes ar in dede in a maner vpon the sodaine at the which the beholders cannot but maruayle The deuils know that of thinges putrified are engendred Frogges woormes or some certaine Serpentes so that heate in certaine degrees be added Wherfore seing to them it is not hard to couple these thinges together they do it somtimes to deceaue men with al. And by this meanes Augustine thinketh as he writeth in his .3 Augustine booke de Trinitate that the sorcerers of Pharao did sometimes the same thinges which Moses dyd Farther the mouings of the spirites of the blood and humours doo verye much trouble the bodies of men whereby figures images and shapes of thinges whyche in them are kept are in the same mocion brought before the phantasy or imagination by that maner and order that the troubler of the spirite knitteth them Wherof do spring sundry and manifold sightes which we see doo sometimes happen in suche as are in phrensy And the thing may come so farre that the formes and images which are inwardly kept may be called backe euen vnto the outwards senses Whereby he which suffreth such thinges weeneth that he verilye seeth and feeleth those thinges whiche are in his imagination or phansye and in hys sense when as in very dede there is no suche thing outwardlye done And thys kinde of miracles ought rather to be referred to illusions then to miracles It also commeth to passe that sometimes these spirites by their own power either of the ayre or els other elements do forme certaine bodies that they appeare vtterly like mens bodies and vnder them they appeare to whō soeuer they lust So came they sometimes to Abraham Lot and other fathers These thinges if we speake properly and simply ar not true miracles but in our reason iudgement ther is nothing letteth but that they may so be called Yea and commonly Iuglers are said to do miracles when as for all that they deceaue by the nymblenes of the handes or by the powers of certaine thinges natural do represent thinges wonderful to the beholders What true miracles are But this is the definition of true miracles A miracle is a woorke hard and vnaccustomed by the power of God which passeth al faculty of nature created to this ende wrought to cause the beholders to wonder and to confirme fayth towardes the woord of God Causes of myracles Wherefore the matter of miracles are woorkes and the forme is that they be hard and vnaccustomed The efficient cause is the power of God which ouercommeth nature created And the end of them is both admiration and also confirmation of faith And that we should not doubt of the efficient cause this I thinke good to be added That that power of God which vtterly is aboue the faculties of nature is to be vnderstande sometimes to
somewhat vnto kinsfolkes and friendes For these kind of men haue very many dreames when they slepe For pratlers and idle persons are wholy voyde of cogitations wherefore they at inwardly fylled with images and formes The melancholike also by reason of the power and nature of melancholy do dreame very many thinges Farther they ar very much geuen vnto cogitatioÌ„s The phrantike also bicause their mind is void both of the knowledge of the outward senses and also of the vse of reason therfore they ar vtterly geuen to imaginations Lastly frends do for that cause se many things of their frends in theyr dreames bicause they ar very much careful and pensiue for them Al these men now rehearsed are wont by dreames to foretell many thinges bycause in diuerse dreames and in a manner infinite it is not possible but that some true thinges happen sometymes They whyche the whole day excercise themselues in shootynge do much oftner bit the marke then they which do very seldom shoote And they which play al the day at dyse or tables do much oftener throw good castes then they which little or seldome vse that kinde of play Howbeit we must vnderstand that those signes which ar attributed to dreames as touching the fyrst kynde alredy declared are not necessary Of dreames which ar signs there is no necessity of the effectes to be gathered for asmuch as they may be letted And yet this hindreth not but that they may be signs For this is so also in the clouds which vndoubtedly ar signes of rain when as for al that sometymes they are discipated by the wind before it rayn And vrine hath tokens either of sicknes or helth when yet the effect may be letted by vehementer causes the same also happeneth of the pulses Yea and those counsels which we haue appoynted and which with great deliberation decree to do very oftentimes are not accomplished bycause some other thinges happen betwene wherby we can go no farther which self same thinge if it happen in dreames it is no maruayle forasmuche as they are signes of thinges not perfecte but rather of the beginninges of thinges and those weake and feable mouinges of humors maye yet be easely letted of many other causes Democritus thus expoundeth those dreames Democritus which resemble thinges coÌ„ming by chaunce and farre distante There are alwayes saythe he defluctions from things themselues which ar caried to the bodies of those that slepe and do affect them with the quality and symilitude which they bring with them And the same he affirmeth to be for two causes more felt sleping then waking First bicause the ayre by night is easlyer moued as we see done when the water is smitten with a little stone very many circles ar with that stroke multiplied and driueÌ„ a great way vnlesse some other contrary motion resiste it But in the nighte the ayre is more quiet then in the day time bycause it is not driuen into sundry parts by the course of creaturs which moue themselfes An other cause is bicause they which slepe do easlier receaue light mouings And lastly the same author also referreth not the causes of dreames to god Galene Galene also in his little booke whiche he wrote de presagiis in somniorum aboue other thinges maketh mencioÌ„ of this wheÌ„ in dreames we se those thinges which when we were waking we neither did nor thought they ought not to be referred neither to artes neyther to qualities or custome of those things which happened when we wer wakinge but vnto humors This rule seemeth to tende to thys end that we might vnderstand of what thinges dreames are to be counted signes And he graunteth that these things are better knowen in the night then in the day bycause then the soul withdraweth it self into the inward parts wher it easilier feleth those things which ar ther. An history of a certayn dream And he maketh mencion of one who thought in his dreame he had a thigh of stone which many thought to pertayn to his seruants but wtin a few dayes after that his legge fel into a palsey An other thought that he was vp to the throte in a cesterne full of bloude out of which he could by no meanes escape And that declared that much bloud abounded in hym and that he had very great neede to be let bloud He maketh mention also of an other which in his dreame thought that on his critical or iudiciall day he was washed in a bath wyth great aboundance of water who afterward fell into a great sweat Farther sayth he they which slepe do thinke sometimes that they are greuousely laden so that they ar not able to beare the wayght sometimes so light and nimble that they run in a manner fly Al these things saith he are â—okens of excesse or defecton of humors Hippocrates also of these thiÌ„gs in a maner writeth the same namely that the mind in the day time destributeth his powers into the senses other faculties Hippocrates And in the night it draweth theÌ„ to the inward parts therfore it doth the better know them Howbeit he maketh mencion that there are certayn dreames which come by god wherby calamities are foreshewed to come vnto cities people and other certayne greate men for the expounding of which dreames some do professe certayne artes Vnto which neuerthelesse he semeth to geue but very small credite When by dreames it is noted that the humors do offend he sayth that they which are in daunger must be holpen by diete exorcist and medicine And whither the dreames be good or euil he will haue prayers added When helth is by dreames signified we must pray sayth he vnto the Sunne vnto Iupiter celestiall Iupiter possessor to Minerua rich Mercury and to Apollo But if the dreames be vnlucky we must pray vnto the goddes sayth he which turne awaye ill namely vnto the goddes of the earthe and to the Heroicall men c. Wherfore eyther Hippocrates was supersticious or els he would seme so But to me as touching sincere godlines that I mislike not Yea it is very much commended that if at any time wee be vexed with troublesome and terrible dreames we muste praye vnto god that it would please him to turne away those euils if there be anye whiche hange ouer our heddes What is the outward cause of dreames There is an other kinde of dreames whiche procedeth of an outward cause namely from the power of heauen or as it is commonlye called the influence which altereth the ayre For this ayre touching our bodies affecteth them with a new quality Wherby sundrye images and dreames are stirred vp vnto those which are on sleepe Wherfore there are manye effectes wroughte of heauen of whych it bringeth forth some in the phantasy and power or faculty of imagination and other some in deede And that may easely be shewed by an example In dede in the ayre or cloudes there are raine and in the
it is geuen it is freely geuen Moreouer we dayly heape sinnes vpō sinnes wherfore god in withdrawing it is not to be accused of iniustice For he cōpelleth no man to do euill but euery man willingly sinneth wherfore the cause of sinne is not to be layd in him The cause of is not to be sayd in God For seyng he procreateth not in vs wicked desires he ought not to beare the blame if wicked actions doo spring out of a corrupt roote of wicked affections yea the goodnes of God is rather to be acknowledged whiche is present and so gouerneth the wicked affections that they can not burst forth nor be hurtefull and troublesome to any but when he hath appointed to chasten some and to call them backe to repētaunce or to punishe them Neither ought we to thinke that after the sinne of the first man Whence ou◠frowardnesse springeth God created a wicked lust and euill affection to corrupte all our whole kynde It was not so done but nature when it departed from God fell by it selfe from lyght to darkenes from the right way to vice and from integrity to corruptiō And how good so euer it was before it nowe degenerated into euill Wherefore let this be holden for certayn that sinne entred into the world by men and not by God as Paul testifieth to the Romanes And in that Christ saith Synne entred into the world by man not by God that the deuill when he lieth speaketh of his owne it is not to be vnderstand onely of himself but also of his members whiche when they lye or do euill worke not by the worde of God neither are they moued by the inspiration of the good spirite And they excedingly reioyce and haue great pleasure in those thinges whiche they do so farre is it of that they should be compelled by any violence Moreouer we must note Of permission that when either the Scriptures or fathers doo seme to affirme God to be the cause of sinne this worde permission is not then so to be added as thoughe he onely suffred men to synne and by hys prouidence or gouernement wrought nothing as concerning sinnes In dede he letteth thē not thoughe he can but vseth them and sheweth in them his myght and not onely his pacience Augustine whiche thing Augustine vnderstood right well and in disputing agaynste Iulianus he confuteth that sentence wherin it is sayd that God suffreth sinne only according vnto pacience and proueth that his might is also therunto to be added by the wordes of Paul who wrote vnto the Romaynes If God by much pacience hath suffred vessels of wrath prepared for destruction to shewe forth his anger to make knowē his might And vndoubtedly there are many things in the holy scriptures which can not alwayes be dissolued by the worde of permission or pacience For the heart of the kyng is sayd to be in the hād of the Lord so that he inclineth it whether soeuer it pleaseth him And Iob testefieth that it was so done as god would But as touching the sinne of the first man when yet nature was not viciated and corrupted Of the sinne of the first man we graunt that the cause therof came from the wil of Adam and suggestion of the deuil and we say that God permitted it bycause when he might haue withstanded and letted it he would not do it but decreed to vse that sinne to declare his iustice and goodnes ¶ Whether we can resiste the grace of God or no. BVt now ariseth an other doubt as touching our nature as it is now fallen corrupt whether it can resiste the grace of God his spirite beyng present or no There ar sundry degrees of grace of God I thinke we must cōsider that there are as it wer sundry degrees of the helpe or grace of God for his might aboūdance is sometymes so great that he wholy boweth the will of man doth not onely Counsel but also persuade And when it so commeth to passe we can not departe from the right waye but we are of Gods side and obey his sentence Wherfore it was sayd vnto Paul It is hard for thee to kycke agaynst the prycke There is no violēce or coaction inferred to mans will And yet must we not thinke that when it is so done there is any violence or coaction brought vnto the will of man for it is by a pleasaunt mouyng and conuersion altered and that willing but yet so willing that the will therof cōmeth of God for it is it which willeth but God by a stronge and most mighty persuasion maketh it to will But somtymes that power of God and spirit is more remisse which yet if we wil put therunto our endeuor apply our will we should not resiste yea we should obey his admonishmentes and inspirations and when that we do it not we are therfore sayd to resiste him and oftentymes fall And yet this is not to be vnderstand as touching the first regeneration but as concerning those whiche are regenerated whiche are now endewed with grace and spirite For the will of the vngodly is so corrupt and vitiate that except it be renewed it can not geue place vnto the inspirations of God and admonishynges of the holy ghost it in the first immutatiō of mās conuersion it onely suffreth and before the renewyng it continually as much as in it is resisteth the spirite of God But the first parentes whilest they were perfect if with the helpe of grace beyng somewhat remisse they had adioyned theyr endeuor they might haue perfectly obeyed the commaundementes of God But we although we be renewed seyng grace is more remisse remitting nothing of our endeuor we shall not be able constantly and perfectly to obey the commaundementes of God but yet we may be able to containe our selues within the boundes or limites of an obediēce begon whiche thyng bycause we do not therfore oftentymes we sinne and greuously fall Why the grace of god worketh not alyke alwayes in vs. But why God geueth not his grace alwayes to his electe after one sorte and one increase but sometymes he worketh in them more strongly and sometymes more remissedly two reasons may be assigned First least we should thinke the grace of God to be naturall strengthes which remayne alwayes after one sorte Wherfore god would most iustly alter the degree efficacy of his helpe wherby we myght vnderstand that it is gouerned by hys wil not as we lust Moreouer it oftentimes happeneth that our negligence slouthfulnes deserueth this variety Lastly let vs conclude the matter that if we wil speake properly it is not to be sayd that God either willeth or bringeth forth sinne in that it is sinne for what soeuer God willeth whatsoeuer he doth it is good But sinne in that it is sinne is euil Wherfore god neither willeth nor doeth it in that it is sinne yea he detesteth prohibiteth
companyon Then the Philistians came vp and burnt her and her father wyth fyre 7 And Samson said vnto them If ye had done these thinges but I wyl be auenged of you and then I wyl cease This woord Lampades they haue translated firebrandes which are easelye set on fire Samson bounde the tayles of the Foxes two and twoo together wyth a strong knot and in the middest he bound a fyrebrande When the Foxes coulde not agree together in their course for the one drew this way and the other that way so that they could not hide themselues in their holes but the flame by stirring and moouing was more and more kindled they ran into the standing com And at that time was the wheate haruest and the wheate partlye reaped and partly grewe still Wherefore the Foxes running thorowe the corne dyd them very great hurt For they lost both their straw and their corne with their vineyardes and Oliues Why Samson did chuse foxes The coÌ„sideration of Samsons pollecy was this He chose a Foxe to this enterprise rather then any other beast bicause it is a craftye and subtil beast and goeth by crooked and bye passages But Samson goeth the right way to woorke otherwise he mought easelier haue bound Dogges together but he rather vsed Foxes for the cause before alledged as Dauid Kimhi affirmeth Neither would he to euery Foxe alone binde a firebrande partly bicause they would haue drawen the firebrands along the ground and so might easely haue put them out and partly bicause they would soone haue gotten them into theyr holes But wheÌ„ two and two wer by the tayles ioyned together the one drew one way the other an other way by that mocion was the fire the more kindled Origene and when they ranne into the corne they did very great hurt Origene vpon Cantica Canticorum in his .iiii. Homely as he is euery where ful of Allegories referreth al this thing also to an Allegory although he plainely confesseth that it is hard to apply an Allegorye vnto this History But I as I haue often in other places so do I also in this place omit Allegories But if a man aske how Samson got so manye Foxes he must vnderstande that as there are sundry regions so are there also in them manyfolde and sundry increase of thinges In some place there are manye horses and those fayre In some place there is great aboundaunce of Cattell In Englande there is great plentye of Conies and so is there in the Ilandes called Baleares In those Regions a man maye easelye in one daye and in a lytle grounde take three or foure hundreth Conies Siria aboundeth in Foxes which to some peraduenture myght seeme incredyble And so is it sayd that there is a very great aboundaunce of Foxes in Siria and specially in the borders of Iewry Wherefore Salamon in hys Canticles sayth Take Foxes for vs which destroye the vyneyardes Wherefore there was so great number of them that they also destroyed the vineyardes for they delight most of all in ripe grapes Yea and Dauid saith of the vngodlye They shall bee partes of Foxes that is their pray so that their karkases shall be deuoured of them And out of the .4 chap. of Nehemias is gathered that the number of them was so great that they could in a maner ouerturne the walles of the city And Samson tooke them either by his own industry or by the helpe of his friendes He sent the Foxes and destroied their corne Hereby we may gather that in iust war it is lawful to vse burninges and spoilinges to endomage their enemies The Philistians sayd who hath done this They seeke for the authour and they doo not onely fynde him but also they vnderstand the cause why he dyd it and they take vengeaunce of hys father in lawe and his wyfe that was maryed vnto an other If ye had done these thynges These are the woordes of a man that is angry and therefore cut of wherefore we must vnderstand if ye had done these thinges at the beginning when my wyfe was first taken from mee I had bene pacified But ye haue done it to late therefore I wyll yet be auenged of you For that which ye haue done ye haue not done for loue to iustice and honesty but for feare of a greater hurt If iustice had moued them they woulde at the fyrste haue punished them But they followe the common nature of men which are with no other thing more touched then by the feelyng of present euyls which we may perceaue not onely here Men are morâ— moued by â—â—râ— then bâ— anye other meanes but also in the historye whyche is found in the latter booke of Samuel Absolon had long lyued in exile Ioab obtained of the kyng that he might returne Wherefore he returned but hee was not admitted vnto the kynges syght And when Ioab woulde not wyllinglye come vnto him Absolon commaunded hys seruauntes to burne the corne of Ioab Wherefore Ioab beyng mooued with this iniurye came vnto hym at the last So also the Philistians being in a manner compelled Whi somtimes the syn oâ— a priuate man is the cause of the destruction of a whole citye or kingdome doo reuenge the iniury of Samson This also is to be noted that often times a whole City or kingdome is punished for the synne of one man or of one famely And that sawe the Poetes when they wrote that onelye the aduoultrye of Paris ouerthrewe the kingdome of Troy And vndoubtedly when a publike wealth eyther wynketh at or defendeth or punisheth not the synne of a priuate man God counteth it all one as if they had all synned together If they haue good lawes and doo followe them in punishyng wycked actes God wyll not for their sakes punyshe them all Hereby also we may see that the sentence of Salomon is most true wherein he sayth That which the vngodly feareth shall happen vnto him The maâ—den feared least her fathers house should be burnt Why the vngodlye call 〈◊〉 those euylls or which they be a feard of and she by that waye moste of all brought burning by which shee thoughte to auoyde it But why happeneth iâ— that the vngodlye doo fall into that which they feare Bicause when they fearâ— euyll thinges they go about to auoyde them by euyll meanes and not by good Iosephs brethren feared least he should be preferred before them when they saw that his father loued him so well And that they might auoyde his promocion they sold him into Egipt But by that meanes chiefly it came to passe that Ioseph was made ruler ouer them The Iewes feared least if Christ should go forward as he began the Romanes woulde come and take awaye their nacion and place And to turne awaye that they gaue vnto Iudas a price and crucified Christ whereby they the sooner threwe them selues headlong into those euyls which they feared The mayden was burned with al her fathers famely By
The custom of God in punishing A similitude Thus God vseth to doo first to punish his owne before he afflict straungers Phisitions also when a man hath taken poyson haue thys as their chiefe care to driue away the poyson from the hart from the lyuer and other principal partes of the body then they apply medicines vnto the other mēbers of the body So also the good man of the house firste enstructeth and chastiseth his chyldren and afterwarde he enstructeth other Wherfore Paul wryteth of a Bishop If he cannot wel gouerne his owne family how shall hee gouerne the church of God Wherfore it is no maruayle if god chastised Samson fyrst afterward grieuously afflicted the Philistines But in that it is writtē that his heare was growen againe we must not beleue that hys strength lay in hys heare for it was a gift of god geuen him freely The vowe of the Nazarites being violated was renewed but yet God required that for that gift he should be a Nazarite vnto which it belonged to let the heare growe and not to cut it with a rasor But if a man had transgressed he did not therfore straight way cease to be a Nazarite but ought to let his heare grow and be clensed and so begyn againe his institucion which he tooke in hand Wherefore Samson repented that he had violated his vow and returned to the rule of a Nazarite and when his heare was growen and he restored both vnto god and to his olde state and strength being assured of the helpe of god he tooke vengeaunce of hys enemyes In the meane time the Philistines ascribe their victory against Samson vnto their god Dagon What Dagon was But what this god was it is not very wel knowen Howbeit as farre as may be iudged by the Etimology of the woorde it was some god of the sea For Dag in hebrew signifieth a fyshe And that both the Grecians and the Latines worshipped gods of the sea Gods of the sea it is certayne For they had Neptune Leucothea and Triton Aboue the belly as they say it had the forme of a man downward it ended in the forme of a fyshe Suche a god woorshipped the Philistines And vndoubtedly the old Ethnikes synned grieuously therin in that they woulde rather serue the creature as Paul sayth then the creator and chaunged the glory of the immortal God and transferred it not onely into the similitude fashioned like a mortal man but also into the images of birdes fourefooted beastes What maner of thinges the Gods of heretikes are and Serpentes or creeping thinges Neither did they onely woorship those things which ar in nature but also they fained vnto thē selues Monsters which appeare no where Such gods in a maner do heretikes woorship For they doo set before them selues some shape and head of God when they confesse that they heleue in God the creator of heauen earth But when farther they adde their own thoughtes and fansies they make the inferiour part to ende in a fishe Of this Dagon there is manifest mencion made in the first booke of Samuel The Philistines extolled their Dagon bycause he had deliuered their ennemye into their handes whiche was nothing els then to blaspheme the name of the true God For they attributed his woorkes vnto an idole Neither considered they that Samson was therfore taken bicause he had sinned against God Wherfore our synnes are a cause why God is blasphemed for when by reason of them we are destitute of the helpe of God our enemies whiche get the victorye againste vs doo ascribe the same both vnto their owne strengthes and to their supersticions So happened it in the conqueryng of Constantinople Horrible examples of blasphemies where the Turkes when they had gotten the city caried about in derision the image of Christ clothed with the apparel of the Turkes throughout al the host and throughout all the wayes of the City And not many yeares ago when the Emperour Charles the fift lost a great nauy and many souldiours at Argery I remember I hearde some soldiours say that Christ our sauiour was now become a Mahomitan or Moore How holy men called vpō 〈◊〉 in tribulacions neither considered they that they them selues wer become farre woorse then the Mahomites So the name of God is mocked for our synnes Wherefore holy men were wont not without a cause thus to pray and to implore mercye that the name of God should not be euil spoken of among the Gentiles So delt Moses with God when he was angry with the people for making the golden Calfe The Prophets also sayd Be mercyful vnto vs Lord for thine own sake and for thine names sake least the nacions say wher is their God Let vs in the meane time when we heare or reade these thinges thus thincke with our selues Seing God hath for synne so grieuouslye afflicted Samson so great a man sanctified from his mothers wombe and appointed to deliuer Israel what shall become of vs if we synne So Paul to the Corrinthians in his first Epistle setteth foorth vnto vs the examples of the Israelites to consider whom God sundry wayes chastised And to the Romanes he sayth If he hath not spared the natural braunches take heede that he spare not thee Marke the goodnes and seuerity of God his seuerity on those which haue fallen and his goodnes in thee if thou abide in goodnes otherwise thou also shalt be cut of Wherefore by these cogitacions we may take fruite by the punishment of other For this vse are examples set foorth vnto the Churche What is the fruit of holy histories that we in readyng them shoulde become better Paule sayde what soeuer thinges are before wrytten are written for our learning that wee throughe pacience and consolacion of the scriptures shoulde haue hope Wherefore when we reade that holye men were so corrected we ought to tremble least we also fall into the lyke anger of God If we doo not take suche fruite by reading of the holy scriptures we then reade them in vayne The Philistines geue thankes vnto Dagon their God for the victorye So were they delyuered vp into a reprobate sense to geue thankes for those thinges for whych they ought most of all to haue bene sory For how obtayned they Samson By the artes of an harlot and by most fylthye deceate After sacrifices followeth a verye sumptuous banquet For in those holye seruices of Idoles was set foorth a certaine communion that the people in that feast shoulde reioyce together wyth a certaine common ioy So also in the olde Testament the Israelites in theyr peace offeringes feasted and reioyced together before the Lord. Neyther is it vnlykely but that the Fathers also before the law had suche holy seruices and solemnities To what ende the Supper of the Lorde was instituted Christ also our Sauiour instituted a Communion and holye Supper that wee shoulde there celebrate hys name and healthfull death But