conuince them of open falshoode for that they would inuolue theyr aunswers of purpose wyth such obscurities generalities equiuocations and doubtfulnesse as alwaies they would leaue themselues a corner wherein to saue their credits when the euent shoulde prooue false As for example when Cresus that famous and rich Monarche of Lydia consulted with the Oracle of Apollo whether he should make vvarre against the Persians and thereby obtayne theyr Empyre or no Apollo desirous of blood-shedde as all wycked spirits are gaue hys oracle in these vvordes for deceiuing of Cresus If Craesus without feare shall passe ouer Halys thys was a Ryuer that lay betweene him and Persia hee shall bring to confusion a great rich kingdome Vppon which words Cresus passed ouer his armie in hope to gette Persia but soone after hee lost Lydia by euill vnderstanding of thys doubtfull prophecie Thys then is the imbecilitie of both humaine and angelicall power in pronosticating thinges to come which are meere contingent In which kinde notwithstanding seeing that the scriptures haue many and almost infinite prophecies fore-tolde manie yeeres and some-times ages before they came to passe sette downe in plaine perticuler and resolute speech at such tyme as there was neither cause to coniecture them nor probabilitie that euer they shoulde bee true deliuered by simple vnlearned persons that coulde fore-see nothing by skill or arte and yet that all these by their euents haue prooued most true and neuer any one iote in the same haue fayled thys I saie alone dooth conuince most apparentlie all proofes and reasons other arguments layde aside that these Scriptures are of GOD and of hys eternall and infallible spyrite And therefore of these prophecies I wyll alledge in thys place some fewe examples The prophecie to Abraham for his posteritie ABraham the first Father speciall Patriarch of the Iewes had many prophecies and predictions made vnto him as of hys issue when hee had yet none nor euer like to haue of hys inheriting the Lande of Canaan and the like But thys which followeth is wonderfull of his posterities discent into Egypt of theyr time of seruitude and manner of deliueraunce thence the same beeing fore-told more then foure hundered yeeres before it was fulfilled and at that time when no likelihood therof in the world appeared The words are these Knowe thou before hand that thy issue shall be a stranger in a forraine Land and they shall subiect them to seruitude shall afflict them for foure hundred yeres but yet I will iudge the nation vnto whō they haue beene slaues and after that they shall depart thence with great riches Thys is the prophecie and howe exactlie it was afterwarde fulfilled by the ruine of the Egyptians and deliueraunce of the Israelites euen at that tyme which is heere appointed not onely the booke of Exodus dooth declare where the whole storie is layd down at large but also the consent of Heathen wryters as before hath beene touched And it is specially to be noted that thys prophecie was so common and well knowne among all the Iewes from Abrahams tyme downe vnto Moses and so deliuered by tradition from fathers vnto their children as it was the onlie comfort stay not onely of all that people in theyr seruitude of Egypt but also of Moses and others that gouerned the people afterwards for forty yeeres together in the desert and was the onely meane indeede wherby to pacifie them in their distresses myseries and therefore Moses in euery exhortation almost maketh mention of thys promise and prophecie as of a thing well knowne vnto them all and not deuised or inuented by himselfe or any other The prophecie for the gouernment of Iuda LOng after thys Iacob that was Abrahams Nephewe beeing in Egypt and making hys testament said of hys fourth son Iuda Iuda thy brother shal praise thee and the children of thy father shall bowe vnto thee c. The Scepter shall not be taken from Iuda vntill he come that is to be sent and he shall be the expectation of Nations Which later part of the prophecie all Hebrues doe expound that it was meant of the cōming of Messias which was fulfilled almost two thousand yeeres after at the comming of Christe as shall bee shewed in another speciall Chapter For at that time King Herod a stranger put out quite the line of Iuda frō the gouernment of Iurie But for the first part touching Iudas Scepter it is wonderfull to consider the circumstaunces of thys prophecie For first when it was spoken and vttered by Iacob there was no probabilitie of anie Scepter at al to be among the Iewes for that the Israelites or sonnes of Iacob at that day were poore and fewe in number and neuer like to be a distinct Nation of themselues or to depart foorth of Egypt againe And secondly if any such thing shoulde come to passe as they might be a people and haue a Scepter of gouernment of theyr owne Yet was it not likelie that Iuda and hys posteritie should possesse the same for that he had three elder brothers to wit Ruben Simeon and Leui who in all likeli-hoode were to goe before him And thirdly when Moses recorded and put in writing thys prophecie which was diuers hundred yeeres after Iacob had spoken it it was much lesse likelie that euer it shoulde be true for that Moses then present in gouernment was of the tribe of Leui and Iosua designed by God for hys successor was of the Tribe of Ephraim and not of Iuda which maketh greatly for the certaintie of thys recorde For that it is most apparent that Moses would neuer haue put such a prophecie in writing to the dysgrace of hys owne Tribe and to the preiudice and offence of Ruben Simeon Ephraim and other Tribes neyther would they euer haue suffered such a derogation but that it was euident to thē by tradition that theyr Grandsire Iacob had spoken it albeit then presentlie there was no great likeli-hood that euer after it should come to be fulfilled And thys was for the time of Moses but yet consider further that from Moses to Samuell that was last of all the Iudges there passed foure hundred yeeres more and yet was there no appearaunce of fulfilling thys prophecie in Israell for that the Trybe of Iuda was not established in that gouernmēt At length they came to haue Kings to rule and then was there chosen one Saul to that place not of the Trybe of Iuda but of Beniamin and hee indued with diuers children to succeede him And who would then haue thought that thys prophecie coulde euer haue beene fulfilled but yet for that it was Gods word it must needes take place and therefore when no man thought therof there was a poore Sheepheard chosen out of the Trybe of Iuda to be a King and the regiment and Scepter so established in hys posteritie that albeit many
as hath not onelie giuen lyfe and beeing vnto hys chyldren but also as S. Paule saith hath poured into theyr harts the diuine spyrite of hys onelie eternall Sonne styrring them vp to most assured confidence and inuincible hope in hys fatherlie goodnes and protection And vpon assuraunce of thys hope haue as well sinners as Saints from the beginning fledde vnto him confidently vnder this tytle of paternitie and neuer were deceiued So the Prophet Esay as well in his owne name as in the name of the sinfull people of Israel doubted not to cry Thou art our father Abraham hath not knowne vs and Israell is ignorant of vs Thou O Lorde art our father thou art our redeemer And to confirme thys assuraunce vnto vs Christ sent that most sweete and comfortable embassage vnto his Disciples presently vpon his resurrection Goe tel my brethrē that I doe ascend vnto my father and vnto your father vnto my God and vnto your God By which two wordes of Father and God the one of loue and the other of power the one of will the other of abilitie he tooke away all doubt of not speeding frō each man that should make recourse to thys mercifull Lord Father God himselfe also after many threates vsed by the Prophet Ieremie against the people of Israel for their sins in the end least they shoulde dyspaire turneth about his talke and changeth hys style assuring them of many graces and fauours if they would returne vnto him telling the house of Israel that hee had loued her from the beginning and had sought to drawe her vnto him by threates to the ende hee might take mercie vpon her and that now he intended to builde her vp againe to adorne her with ioy exultation to gather her children from all corners of the earth to refresh them wyth the waters and riuers of life and all thys sayth he Quia factus sunt Israeli Pater for that I am become nowe a Father to Israel And in the same place to wicked Ephraim the heade Cittie of the rebellious kingdom of Samaria he saith Ephraim is becom my honorable son my delight deerely beloued child therefore my bowels are moued with compassion vpon him in aboundance of mercy wil I take pitty of him So much attributed God to this respect of being a father vnto Israel Ephraim of theyr beeing his children that for this cause only notwithstanding their infinite enormous sinnes hys bowels of endlesse mercie were mooued wyth loue and compassion towardes them And these are those tender and mercifull bowels which holie Zacharie father to Saint Iohn Baptist protesteth to be in almightie God towardes mankinde that had offended hym These are those which were in that good olde father mentioned in the Gospell who beeing not onely offended but also abandoned by his younger sonne yet after he sawe him returne home againe notwithstanding he had wasted all his thrift and substaunce and had wearied out his bodie with wicked life hee was so farre off from dysdaining to receiue him as he came forth to meete with him fell vpon his necke and kyssed him for ioy adorned him wyth newe apparrel rich iewels prouided a solemne banquet for him inuited his freendes to bee merrie with him and shewed more exultation and tryumph for hys returne then if he had neuer departed from him By which parable our Sauiour Christ endeuoured to set forth vnto vs the incomprehensible mercy of his heauenly father towards sinners in which respect hee is trulie called by his Apostle Pater misericordiarum the father of mercies For that as Saint Bernard well noteth thys sea and Ocean of mercies doth flowe peculiarly from the hart of a father which cannot be said so properlie of the gulfe and depth of his iudgments For which cause he is called in Scripture the God of iustice and reuenge and not the Father And finally thys blessed name of Father in God dooth import vnto vs by Gods owne testimonie all sweetnesse all loue all freendshippe all comfort all fatherly prouidence care and protection all certaintie of fauour all assuraunce of grace all securitie of mercie pardon and remission of our sinnes whensoeuer vnfainedly we turne vnto him And in thys poynt his diuine Maiestie is so forward and vehement to giue vs assurance that beeing not content to sett foorth his loue vnto vs by the loue of a fathers hart he goeth further protesteth vnto vs that hys hart is more tender towardes vs in thys behalfe then the hart of any mother can bee to the onely childe and infant of her owne wombe For thus he saith to Sion which for her sinnes beganne to doubt least he had forsaken her Can the mother forget her owne infant or can she not be mercifull to the childe of her owne wombe if she could yet can I not forget or reiect thee beholde I haue written thee in the flesh of mine owne hands And thys for so much as God is called our father There remaineth yet a third consideration which more setteth forth Gods inestimable loue then any of the other demonstrations before handled And that is that he gaue the life and blood of his onely begotten and eternal sonne for purchasing and redeeming vs when we were lost a price so infinite and inexplicable as no doubt his diuine wysedom wold neuer haue giuen but for a thing which hee had loued aboue all measure Which our Sauior himself that was to make the payment doth plainly signifie and therefore also seemeth as it were to wonder at such a bargaine when hee saith in the Gospell So deerely hath God my father loued the world that he hath giuen for it his only begotten sonne In which wordes hee ascribeth this most wonderfull dealing of his Father vnto the vehemencie and exceeding aboundance of loue as dooth also his deerest disciple and Apostle S. Iohn saying In thys appeareth the great loue charitie of God towards vs that he hath sent his only begotten sonne into the worlde to purchase lyfe for vs. In thys I say is made euident his exceeding charitie that we not louing him he loued vs first and gaue his own sonne to be a raunsome for our sinnes Whereunto also the holy Apostle S. Paule agreeth admiring in like manner the excessiue loue of God in these wordes God doth meruailously commend and set forth his great loue vnto vs in that we beeing yet sinners he gaue his sonne to the death for our redemption And in an other place framing out as it were a measure of Gods mercy by the abūdance of his loue saith thus God who is rich in mercie thorowe the exceeding loue which he bore vnto vs wee beeing deade in sinne he reuiued vs in Christ and raysed vs vppe euen vnto heauen making vs to sitte downe there with him to the ende he might declare to al ages and worlds ensuing the
Ierusalem Babilon ESay the Prophet is wonderfull in foretelling the mysteries acts of the Messias hys natiuitie his life and all the perticulers that happened in his passion In so much that S. Ierome saith he may seeme rather to wryte a storie of deedes past then a prophecie of euents to come But yet among other things it is to be noted that hee liuing in a peaceable prosperous time in Iuda when the Iewes were in amitie and great securitie with the Babylonians he fore-sawe and fore-told the destruction of Ierusalem by the said Babylonians and the greeuous captiuitie of the Iewes vnder them as also the destruction of Babylon againe by Cyrus King of Persia whose expresse name and greatnesse he published in writing almost two hundred yeeres before hee was borne saying in the person of GOD First to Ezechias King of Iuda that reioyced in the freendship hee had wyth Babylon behold the dayes shal com when all that thou and thy fathers haue layd vp shall be carried awaie to Babylon and thy children shall be Eunuches in the King of Babilons Pallace And next to Babylon he sayd The destruction of Babylon which Esay the sonne of Amos sawe c houle and crie for that the day of the Lord is at hand c. The wonderfull prophecie for Cyrus King of Persia. THyrdly vnto Cyrus not yet borne who was preordained to destroy the same to restore the people of Israell from banishment to rebuilde the Temple in Ierusalem he saith thus I say to Cyrus thou art my sheepheard and thou shalt fulfill all my will I say to Ierusalem thou shalt be builded againe I saie to the Temple thou shalt be founded againe Thys saith the Lord to my annointed Cyrus I vvyll goe before thee and will humble the glorious people of the earth in thy presence I wil break their brasen gates and crush in peeces theyr yron bars for my seruaunt Iacobs sake haue I called thee by thy Name and haue armed thee where as thou knowest not me Can any thing be more cleerely or myraculously spoken in the worlde then to name a Heathen not yet borne that shoulde conquer so strong a Monarchie as Babilon was at thys time and shoulde builde againe the Temple of Ierusalem which others of hys owne Religion had destroied before him What cause what reason what likeli-hoode could be of this yet Esay speaketh it so confidentlie as he saith that he sawe it And hee nameth two witnesses thereof that is Vrias and Zacharias that were not borne in manie yeeres after saying and I tooke vnto mee two faithfull witnesses Vrias the Priest and Zacharias the sonne of Barachias Whereof the first was a Prophet in Ieremies time a hundred yeeres after Esay and the second lyued fourescore yeeres after that againe in the dayes of Darius as by the beginning of hys prophecie appeareth and yet both as you see were distinctly named by Esay long time before And wheras this booke of Esay was pronoūced openlie to the people as other prophecies were published into many thousand handes before the captiuitie of Babilon fell out and then carried also wyth the people and dispersed in Chaldea other parts of the world there can be no possible suspition of forgerie in this matter for that all the worlde both sawe it and red it many yeeres before the thing came to passe yea when there was no opinion of any such possibilitie to come The prophecies and dooings of Ieremie in the siedge of Ierusalem THE same captiuitie and destruction of Ierusalem by the Babylonians was prophecied by Ieremie a hundred yeeres after Esay and a little before the matter came to passe yea whiles the Babylonians were about the walles of Ierusalem and besiedged the same for two yeeres together Ieremie was within and tolde euery man that it was but in vaine to defende the Cittie for that God had nowe deliuered it And albeit hee were accounted a Traytor for so saying especially when by an Armie of Egypt that came to the ayde of Ierusalem from Pharao the siedge of the Babylonians was raysed for a certaine time yet Ieremie continued still in his asseueration and said to Zedechias the King thou shalt be deliuered into the handes of the King of Babilon And to the people haec dicit Dominus tradendo tradetur haec ciuitas c. This saith the Lord this Cittie most certainlie shall be deliuered into the handes of the Babylonians And so hee continued notwithstāding he were put in prison whipt and threatned dailie to be hanged vntill indeede the Cittie was taken and Zedechias eyes puld out his children slaine before hys face and all other things performed which Ieremie had prophecied and fore-told them before And which was yet more meruailous Ieremie did not onelie fore-tell the perticulers of this captiuitie but also the determinate time howe long it shoulde endure saying And all this land of Iurie shall be into wildernesse and astoniednesse and all this people shall serue the King of Babilon for threescore and ten yeeres and when threescore and ten yeeres shall be complete I will visite vppon the King of Babilon and vpon that Nation saith the Lord I will lay the same into eternall desolation But vppon Iuda will I cast my pleasant eyes will bring them backe to this lande againe c. In which prophecie is contained first the perticuler time howe long thys captiuity shold endure Secondly the destruction of Babylon and of that Monarchie by the Persians And thirdlie the returning home of the Iewes againe which three thinges to haue beene afterwarde fulfilled not onelie Esdras that lyued at that time and was an actor in performance of the last but all other Heathen Wryters besides doe recorde and testifie And this prophecie of Ieremie was so famous and certainlie beleeued amongst all the Iewes in the time of their captiuitie as when the daie of expiration drewe neere Daniell writeth thus of himselfe In the fyrst yeere of Darius I Daniell vnderstoode in the scriptures the number of the seauentie yeeres whereof God spake to Ieremie that they shoulde be fulfilled touching the desolation of Ierusalem and I turned my face to my Lord God and besought him in fasting sackcloth c. Neither onelie the Iewes vnderstood beleeued this prophecie but euen Cyrus himselfe that was a Gentile gaue full credite thereunto therby was induced to restore the Iewes as appeareth both by his own words proclamations sette downe by Esdras that Executed the same and by his deedes also in restoring home the Iewes and rebuilding theyr Temple at his owne great charges as all Historiographers of the Heathens doe confesse I might heere alledge infinite other examples and make no ende if I would follow the multitude of prophecies which are dyspersed throughout the whole scripture I might shewe howe Daniell fore-told to
the styrring vppe of our spyrite to celestiall cogitations to peace of conscience tranquilitie of minde puritie of body consolation of our soule And in one worde to reduce man-kinde again to a certaine estate of innocencie simplicitie and Angelicall sanctitie vpon earth wyth hys eye fixed onlâ—e in the eternall inheritance of Gods kingdome in heauen Thys was the doctrine deliuered by Iesus which is the same that the Prophets of God fore-tolde shoulde be deliuered by the Messias And as for hys life and conuersation by the testimonie of his greatest aduersaries it was more admirable then hys doctrine his lyfe beeing a most liuely table wherein the perfection of all his doctrine was expressed A man of such grauitie as neuer in hys lyfe he was noted to laugh of such humilitie as beeing the sonne of God hee scarse vsed in this world the dignitie of a seruaunt of such sweet and milde behauiour as al the iniuries of hys enemies neuer wrested from him one angry worde Finally hee was such a one as hee was described by Esay so many ages before he was borne in these words Hee shall not crie nor contend nor shall any man heare his voice in the streete he shall not crush a broken reede nor tread out a little flaxe that lyeth smoking on the grounde c. And another Prophet not long after hym brake foorth into thys speech vpon consideration of the behauiour that should be in the Messias Reioyce thou daughter of Sion tryumph thou daughter of Ierusalem for behold thy King shal come vnto thee thy iust Sauiour hee is poore and humble c. And as these Prophets dyd fore-tell the vertue and sanctitie of the Messias so the deuils themselues could not but confesse the same to haue beene fulfilled in the person of Iesus as is most euident by the testimonie of Porphyrie a professed enemie of the Christian name Who after consideration of dyuers Oracles vttered by hys Idols touching Iesus he breaketh forth into thys confession It is exceeding wonderfull what testimonie the Gods doe giue of the singuler pietie and sanctitie of Iesus for which they auouch him rewarded with immortalitie but yet these Christians are deceiued in calling him God Thus much wryteth Porphyrie And last of all Iosephus the Iew that was borne immediatly after Iesus wryteth of hym thus There was at thys time one Iesus a wise man if it be lawfull to call hym a man a worker of most wonderfull myracles and a Maister and Teacher of all such men as willingly were content to embrace the trueth In which testimony of Iosephus wee see mention also of Iesus myracles which is the next thyng whereof we are to consider And as Iosephus in thys place being a Iew beareth witnesse that Iesus performed manie strange myracles so most apparently and according to the interpretation of Iosephus in thys place were the same myracles fore-told by the Prophets of God that they shold be doone by the true Messias So Esay in hys thirtie-fiue Chapter describeth at large how the Messias at hys comming shal declare his commission by giuing sight to the blinde hearing to the deafe speeche to the dumbe and agilitie of body to the lame and cripple And that which is more God reuealed thys poynt very particulerly to the Gentiles by the Sibyls among whom one of them wrote thus of Christ to come as Lactantius recordeth He shall doe all by his onely word he shal cure all infirmities he shall raise the deade hee shall make the lame to runne and skip the deafe shall heare the blinde shall see and the dumbe shall speake In fiue loaues and two fishes fiue thousand persons shall be satis-fied and the fragments shall fill twelue baskets to the hope of manie He shall commaund the windes and walke vpon the furious Sea with his feete of peace And after dyuers other Greeke verses to thys purpose she concludeth in these words Men shall saie that I am a mad and lying Prophetesse but when all these things shall come to passe then remember me for then shall no man say more that I was a lyar but rather the Prophet of the great God To these predictions of Prophets in Iurie and among the Gentiles doe agree the Doctors of the Iewes themselues in many places of theyr Thalmud to wit that the Messias shall be most wonderfull in working myracles And in theyr publique Commentarie vppon Ecclesiastes they haue these wordes All the former myracles of Prophets or Saints shall be nothing to the myracles of the Messias when he commeth And thus much of the fore-telling of Christes myracles But novve for the fulfilling therof in Iesus that is how these predictions were performed in the stupendious workes and actions of our Sauiour Christ there is no difficultie For that besides the former testimonie of Iosephus which were sufficieÌ„t in thys case the Iewes themselues doe graunt and record Iesus myracles in diuers places of Treatises of theyr Thalmud yea they make mention of many wonderfull thyngs which Iesus did that are not written by our Euangelists The same dooth Mahomet in his Alcorane affirming Iesus the son of Marie to haue beene a great Prophet and to haue wrought his miracles by the onely power and spyrite of GOD and that himselfe was sent to confirme Iesus doctrine sauing onely in the poynt of hys God-head wherin he sayth that Iesus went too-farre and had a checke for the same at Gods hande when hee returned to Heauen Thus much doe these enemies confesse of Iesus myracles Which as it is much comming from such witnesses so if they would eyther denie or dissemble the same they might be prooued against them by most euident reasons especially in two points wherin there can be no probabilitie of any denyall The first is the calling and retayning of hys Apostles and other followers whereof Iosephus also in the place before alleaged maketh mention as of a great miracle who were of diuers callings states conditions trades and occupations in the world And yet all vppon the suddaine left both father mother wyfe children and other temporall respects and followed him who had nothing to giue or promise them in thys worlde A man that neuer spake them fayre or vttered doctrine that was not repugnant to the sensualitie of thys life as may appeare by theyr owne wrytings and testimonies of him A man that was contemned by the better sort as then it might seeme that is by the wyse and learned of that Countrie and especially disliked by them that were in gouernment as a dangerous and troublesome man to the state One that had neyther freendes in the worlde to beare him out nor a house to put his heade in And yet notwithstanding all thys that worldly men and women some such also as were great sinners and loose lyuers before shoulde leaue all their worldlie hope stay and condition to followe such a man with so
will make him Prince of a Region or Countrey And as for gold I wyll poure it foorth vnto them by heapes and weight and not by number Thys was the Proclamation and Edict of Cyrus to his followers very glorious as we see in pompe of wordes and oftentation of style Let vs nowe compare the Proclamation of Iesus whose entraunce and Praeface was Paenitentiam agite Repent ye And then it foloweth In hoc mundo pressuram habebitis in thys worlde you shall receiue affliction And then after againe They shall whippe and murder you And yet further You shal be hateful in the sight of all men for my sake Then is there adioyned He that loueth hys life shall loose his soule After that ensueth he that will follow me must beare his Crosse. And finally the conclusion is He that commeth to me and doth not hate his father his mother his wife his children his bretheren his sisters and also his owne life for my sake he is not worthy to be my seruaunt Thys was the entertainement proposed by Iesus to such as woulde come and serue vnder his Banner wyth expresse protestation that himselfe was sent into the world not to bring peace rest and ease to fleshe and blood but rather to be the cause of sworde fire tribulation combat and enmitie And yet wyth these cold offers presented to the world by poore abiect and most contemptible Officers and by this doctrine so crosse and opposite to mans nature inclination and sensuall appetite he gained more harts vnto him within the space of fortie yeeres as hath beene sayd then euer did Monarche in the world possesse louing Subiects by what soeuer temporall allurement they dyd or might propose Which argueth most euidently the omnipotent puissaunce of him that contrary to mans reason could bring to passe so miraculous a conquest The second Consideration THere followeth in order the consideration of Christes Apostles which in som respect may be sayd more strange and wonderfull then the former in that they beeing both rude simple and vnlearned men and for the most part of the baser sort should be chosen and assigned to so great a worke as was the conuersion of all Countries and Nations and to stand in combat with the power learning and wisedome of all the worlde Neyther onely had they to contende fight against theyr enemies but also to direct gouerne and menage all those who should be adioyned to theyr Maisters kingdome To which charge they seemed so vntoward and insufficient in all that time wherein they lyued with him heere vpon earth as by they questions and demaundes made vnto hym a little before his passion they might appeare to haue learned very little in three whole yeeres conuersation and instruction and in very deede to be incapable of so hygh mysteries and functions Yet notwithstanding these men who of themselues were weake and impotent after strength and confirmation receiued by the descending of Gods holy Spirite into them became so perfect able and most excellent men as they brought the whole worlde in admiration of them Not onely by the most exquisite perfectiō of their doctrine wherin on a suddaine without studie they excelled conuinced the greatest Phylosophers then liuing but also and that especially by the rare and stupendious miracles which they wrought in the sight of all men The contemplation whereof as S. Luke reporteth droue the beholders not only into great meruaile but also into feare and exceeding terrour And for example he recounteth the restoring of a lame man at the Temple gate of Ierusalem which had been a Cripple for the space of fortie yeeres and more and this miracle was doone and testified in the presence and knowledge of all the Cittie Hee recordeth also the dreadfull death of Annanias and Saphira by the onely speech and voyce of S. Peter as in like manner the healing of infinite sicke people by the presence shadow of the same Apostle He reporteth also the most wonderfull deliueraunce of the sayd S. Peter out of the hands and prison of Herode by the Angell of GOD. The varietie of languages which all the Apostles spake The visible descending of the holie Ghost vppon all such on whom the sayd Apostles did but lay theyr hands The miraculous conuersion of Saint Paule by Christes appearing vnto him in the way when hee went to persecute Of which miracle Saint Paule himselfe protesteth in euery place afterward and once especially in an open audience and iudgment before King Agrippa and Festus Gouernour of Iurie These myracles and many moe are recorded by Saint Luke whereof some part were seene by himselfe and the rest most euident to all the world as doone in publique before infinite witnesses Neyther is it possible they coulde be faigned for that as in the like I haue before noted it had beene most easie to haue refelled them and thereby to haue discredited the whole proceedings of Christian Religion in those first beginnings As for example if the myracle of Saint Peter beeing deliuered forth of the hands and pryson of Herode Agrippa had any way beene to be touched with falsehood howe manie would there haue beene of Herods Officers Courtiers seruaunts and freendes that for defence of their Princes honour so deeplie tainted by this narration of S. Luke published not long after the thing was done how many I say would haue offered themselues to refute and disgrace the VVriter heereof hauing so pregnant meanes by publique record to doe the same So againe whereas the same S. Luke reporteth of hys owne knowledge that in a Cittie of Macedonie named Philippi S. Paule and Silas after many myracles doone were whypped and put in pryson with a diligent guarde in the lowest prison of all theyr feete locked fast in stockes of Tymber and that at midnight whē Paule and Silas beganne to pray the whole pryson was shaken and all the doores thrown open as also the gyues not onely of those two but of all the other prysoners vppon a suddaine burst in sunder and that thereupon not onlie the Iaylor cast himselfe at the feete of S. Paule but the Magistrates also who the day before had caused them to be whypt came and asked them pardon and humblie intreated them to depart out of theyr Citty Thys storie I say if it had been false there needed no more for confutation thereof but onely to haue examined the whole Cittie of Philippi which coulde haue testified the contrarie And yet among so many aduersaries and eager impugners of Christian Religion as Gods enemie styrred vppe in the primatiue Church of all sorts and sects of people no one euer appeared that durst attempt to take in hande the particuler improuing of these or the like miracles but rather confessing the facts sought alwaies to discredite them by other sinister calumniations namelie and commonlie that they were wrought by the deceits and sleights of
aboundantly beare witnesse it followeth most euidently that the origine fountaine wel-spring of all these fauours graces and good turnes must needes be infinite immeasurable and farre surpassing all compasse of mans vnderstanding If you require of me the cause and reason why Almightie God should so wonderfullie be affected towards man I can directlie yeelde you none at all but rather meruaile thereat wyth holy Iob why so soueraigne a Maiestie shoulde sette hys hart vpon so base a subiect Notwithstanding the holy scripture seemeth to alleage one principal reason of thys loue whē it saith Nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti parcis omnibus quia tua sunt Domine qui diligis animas That is Thou ô Lorde which louest soules canst not hate those things which thou hast made but dost vse mercie towards all men for that they are thyne And the like manner of reasoning vseth God hymselfe when hee sayth by hys Prophet Ezechiell Behold all soules are mine and heereuppon hee inferreth a little after Numquid voluntatis meae est mors impii Can I haue the wyll to damne a wicked man seeing that his soule is mine created and redeemed by me as who woulde say thys were a case against all order and equitie And the reason of this manner of speech and argument is for that euery man naturally is enclined to loue the things that be of his owne making So wee see that if a man haue an Orcharde wherein be great varietie of trees and plants yet if there be but one of his own peculier grafting that florisheth and prospereth well he taketh more delight therein then in any of the rest for that it is hys owne workmanship So in like manner if a man haue a Vineyarde of his owne planting and trymming For which respect the holie Prophet Dauid finding himselfe and the whole kingdome of Iurie in great affliction and calamitie thought no other meanes so forcible to drawe God to compassion and commiseration of their case as to cry out to him in this maner Thou which gouernest Israell looke towards vs and be attent Thou hast brought forth a vineyard out of Egipt thou hast purged the same from Gentiles and hast planted it Thou O God of all power turne towardes vs looke vpon vs from heauen and visite thys thy vineyard which thine owne right hand hath planted The like manner of perswasion vsed the holy Prophet Esay to moue God when he sayd Looke vpon vs I beseech thee O lord which are the worke of thine owne hands But aboue all other the blessed man Iob standeth as it were in argument and dysputation wyth God about thys matter saying haue not thy handes made mee haue they not framed me of clay and earth hast not thou compacted me as cheese is made of milke hast not thou knit my bones and sinowes together and couered my flesh wyth skyn hast not thou giuen me life conserued my spirit with thy cōtinuall protection howe soeuer thou seeme to dissemble these matters hide them in thy hart yet I know that thou remembrest them all and art not vnmindfull of them By which wordes thys holy man signified that albeit God suffered him greatly to be tempted and afflicted in thys life so farre forth as he might seeme to haue forgotten him yet was he well assured that his diuine maiestie coulde not of hys goodnes forsake or despise him for that hee was his creature and the proper workemanshyp of his own hands In which very name of workemanshippe holy Dauid tooke such great comfort considering that the workeman cannot chuse but be louing and fauourable towards his owne work especiallie so excellent and bountifull a worke-man as is almightie GOD towards a worke made as man is to his own shape and likenes that in all his necessities yea euen in his greatest infirmities of fleshe and most greeuous offences committed against his Maiestie he conceaueth most assured hope of mercy pardon vpon this consideration that he was hys workmanship cōsequently wel known to his diuine wisdom of how brickle infirme a metal he was made For thus at one tyme among other hee reasoneth of thys matter Looke how farre distant the East is from the West so far off hath God remooued our iniquities from vs. Euen as a father doth take compassion of his owne children so doth the Lord take mercy vpon vs for that hee well knoweth the moulde whereof wee are made and doth remember that wee are nothing els but dust In which discourse the holy Prophet maketh mention of two thinges that dyd assure him of Gods mercie the one that God was his Creator and maker and therby priuie to the frailtie of hys constitution nature th'other that he was his father whose propertie is to haue compassion on his chyldren this is a second reason more strong and forcible perhaps then the former why euery man may be most assured of pardon that hartilie turneth vnto almightie GOD considering that it hath pleased his diuine Maiestie not onelie to be vnto man a Creatour as he is to all other things but also a father which is the title of the greatest loue and coniunction that nature hath left to things in thys world Wherof a certain Phylosopher said well that no man coulde conceiue the loue of a Parents hart but he onelie that had a childe of his owne For which respect our Sauior Christ to put vs in mind of this most feruent loue and thereby as it were by one fire to enkindle another wythin our harts did vse oftentimes and ordinarilie to repeate thys sweete name of Father in hys speeches to his followers and theruppon founded diuers most excellent comfortable discourses as at one time when hee exhorted them from ouer-much care and worldly solicitude hee addeth thys reason Your father in heauen knoweth that you haue neede of these thinges As who would say hee knowing your wants and beeing your Father you shall not neede to trouble your selues wyth too great anxietie in these matters for that a Fathers hart cannot but bee prouident carefull for hys chyldren The like deduction maketh he in the same place to the same effect by comparison of the byrdes of the ayre and other irreasonable creatures for which if God doe make saith hee so aboundant prouision as al the whole worlde may witnesse that hee dooth much more carefull wyll he be to prouide for men that are his owne children which are more deere vnto him then any other terrestiall thing created All which speeches and reasons of our Sauiour are deriued from the nature and propertie of a Parent which cannot but affecte and looue hys children especiallie such a Father whom Christ calleth celestiall who in thys perfection of true fatherly loue so farre exceedeth al earthly Parents put together as in power clemencie goodnes almightie GOD surpasseth the infirmitie of hys feeble creatures Such a father
of our Sauiour in the Gospell concerning the extraordinarie ioy feasting that the careful woman made when shee had found againe her grote that was lost and the good sheephearde when he brought backe the sheepe that was astray and the mercifull father when he receiued home his sonne that before had abandoned him And to the same purpose doth it also appertaine that in the Prophet Dauid God glorieth especially in the seruice of those people that before had not known him And this shal suffise for thys second poynt to shew what wonderfull meanes almightie God dooth vse in setting forth his mercie for allurement of sinners vnto repentaunce The third part what assurance God giueth to them that repent AND so hauing declared what exceeding great loue and mercie GOD beareth towards man how effectually he expresseth the same by his suing vnto sinners for their conuersion it followeth that we shold in this third place examine some what more in perticuler what certaine assuraunce hys diuine Maiestie giueth of vndoubted pardon and full remission of theyr sinnes to all such as vnfainedly shall resolue themselues to make their refuge vnto him Which thing albeit euery man by that which before hath beene treated may sufficiently conceiue yet for the importance of the matter it shall not be amisse in thys place also to adde a worde or two for more plaine and euident demonstration thereof And thys shall bee doone by setting downe both the wordes and deedes that is bothe the promisses and performance which almightie God hath vsed and exercised in this behalfe to all such as haue offended him whatsoeuer And for the first which are his promises most apparent it is as well by the thinges which before haue beene discussed as also by the whole course body and drift of holie scripture that the promises of mercy pardon which his diuine maiestie hath made to sinners whereunto by his sacred word he hath in a certain manner obliged himselfe are both manifold vehement absolute resolute and vniuersal Whosoeuer shall depart from his wicked waies and turne vnto me saith almightie GOD I will receiue him Beholde the vniuersalitie of all people and persons without excluding any And then further At what time soeuer an impious man shall returne vnto mee from his impietie his wickednes shall not hurt him saith the same Lorde God of hostes see the vniuersalitie of all tymes and seasons without exception But yet harken what God addeth besides Leaue of to do peruerselie saith he to the Iewes c. and then doe you come finde fault with me if you can For if your sinnes were as redde as skarlet they shall be made as white as snowe c. Consider the vniuersalitie of all kinde of sinnes be they neuer so greeuous so horrible or heynous And finally God talking to a soule that hath often times fallen and most infinitly offended him hee sayth thus It is a common receiued speech that if a woman depart frō her husband and doe ioyne herselfe to another man shee may not returne to her fyrst husband againe for that shee is defiled and made contaminate And yet whereas thou hast departed from me and hast committed fornication wyth many other louers doe thou returne vnto me againe and I wyll receiue thee saith almightie God By which words is expressed the fourth vniuersalitie contayning all states qualities and conditions of men how many waies or howe oftentimes or howe contemptuouslie soeuer they haue committed sinnes against hys diuine Maiestie And what may be added nowe more vnto thys was there euer Prince that made so large an offer to his subiects or was there euer father that gaue so ample and vniuersall promise of pardon vnto hys children Who can nowe mistrust himselfe to be excluded from this assurance of mercie wherein all sorts of people al kind of sinnes all times and seasons all states and qualities of sinners are comprehended O most miserable infortunate man that excludeth himselfe whom God excludeth not What is there in this generall and vniuersall promises whereof any man in the worlde shoulde haue pretence to make any leaste doubt or question Of the meaning perhaps and intent of him that promiseth O deere brother it is onely loue and charitie and consequently can not deciue vs. Of the trueth and suretie of his promises It is infallible and more certaine then heauen and earth put together Of the power that hee hath to performe his promisses It is infinit and not restrained by any bounds or limitation whereof then may wee doubt or in which of these three poynts may we not cōceiue most singuler consolation heare the comfortable meditation that blessed S. Bernard made vpō thes three particulers which we haue now mentioned Tria considero saith he in quibus tota spes mea consistit charitatem vocationis veritatem promissionis potestaetem redditionis c. That is I doe consider three things faith this holy man wherin all my hope consisteth wherby it is made inuinsible First the exceeding loue charitie of him that calleth me to him by repētance secondly the infallible truth and certainty of his promise which he maketh to me of pardon and mercie thirdly the endlesse power and abilitie he hath to performe whatsoeuer he promiseth This is that triple or threefold rope and chaine which holy scripture sayth is hardly broken for that by this rope lette downe vnto vs from heauen which is our Countrey into this world that is our prison we may ascend and mount vp if we wyll euen vnto the sight and possession of Gods eternall kingdome heauenly glorie Thus farre that blessed father But now to the second poynt if we consider howe faithfullie almightie God hath put in execution those promisses of his frō tyme to tyme and howe no one man vpon earth so many ages as the world hath continued was euer yet frustrate of his hope in making his conuersion vnto his Maiestie if he made it from his hart we shall finde further cause for vs to confide For so much as it is not probable or in reason to be imagined that he which neuer failed in times past will breake his promise for the time to com especially seeing now in Christianitie when we haue this aduantage aboue other former times as Saint Iohn doth also note that he who was and is our iudge is become also our aduocate to pleade our cause Cast backe thine eyes then my louing deere brother and take a viewe of all ages times and seasons past gone Begin from the first creation of the worlde and come downeward euen vnto this day examine indifferently whether in all this wyde compasse of times persons places and most greeuous offences cōmitted against hys diuine Maiestie there were euer yet any one sinner vpon earth that returned vnfainedly was not receiued The sinne of our first Parents was presently forgiuen vnto