religion the three and thirtye yeare of his age S. Paule began ill and yet he ended well Of a cruell persecutour he became a mighty defender of Christes religion Of a scatterer he became a gatherer Of a wolfe a lambe Of an Antichristian enemy a Christian souldiar Of a learnd lawier at Hierusalem a learner of the Gospell at Damascus and of a Saul a Paul. God of his mercy graunt that all they which haue traced the path of Antichrist may renouÌ„ce their foolishe dreames and fonde assertions and after the example of S. Paule professe Christ detest Antichrist goe forward in all godlynes euen vnto their liues end Dauid may fall and Saule may rise Wee ought to hope the best of all men to iudge the best and to thinke the best For charity thinketh no euill S. August sayth wel Bononorum desyderuÌ„ est vt qui mali sunt corrigantur ma 〈…〉 dium est vt qui boni sunt consumantur Good men would faine haue ill men amended and ill men would faine haue good men consumed There are too many such in this doting age of the world which hate all meÌ„ extremely that please not their fansies yet they make great shew of holynes But if their visardes were pulled of Good Lord what a masse of malice should a man see what enuy what falshode what spightfulnes rancour should a man behold Turkes and Iewes are better to be lyked than such hipocriticall Christians Charitye ouer commeth all thinges without charity nothing preuaileth and wheresoeuer charitye is shee draweth all thinges vnto her and shee is the bewtye of the soule I surcease humbly and hartely beseeching Christ the Prince of Pastours to perserue your honour by the vertue of his holy Spirite many yeares to the aduauncement of his glory to the repayring of the ruines of Sion To the vtter ruin of BabyloÌ„ and finally after your peregrination vpon earth to geue you the laborers peny of euerlasting blessednes At London the 2. day of September Your Lordships alwayes most humble at commaundemeÌ„t Iohn Dyos COntio Dios celebrata crebris Vocibus flexit populum potentem Atque plebeios animos rigauit Nectare suaui Pauit aeternis epulis Iehouae Indigas mentes sitibunda prata Rore diuino fluuioque sparsit Corda salubri Fregit vires Latij Tyranni Praescidit cristas triplicem coronam Contudit fido Salios salaces Arguit ore Inuidi Momi malesuada lingua Putreat corui lanient dolosos Zoilos Laruae valeant facessat Dira Megaera ק ב Papa loquitur NOs pedibus nostris dominos supponimus orbis Nos plantis premimus Caesareumque genus Si placeat Genios volumus detrudere coelo Nostra manus Manes ex Acheronte vocat Posse sacerdotes Paniscum condere Christum Dicimus Ergo Dei gloria danda mihi Namque creatorem mundi facit ille quis ipse Nonne Deus summus solus vtrunque creo â–ª Maior caelitibus sacrifex genijsque supremis Sacrificis praesto dicite quantus ego Sacrificus praestat Mariae semel illa gerebat Christum sed sacrifex saepius ore vorat Saepius ore vorat carnem cum saenguine crudo Ossa vorat pectus brachia crura pedes Est nostrum genus eximijs spectabile factis Gregorius Magnus carminae mirae canit Christo pulsanti patuit vix ianua Ditis Sed mihi pulsanti mox paetuere fores Namque ego Traeâ—â—â—um tetri de faucibâ—s Orci Extrâ—xi â—â—â—trem Dite fremente meam Semper bonos noâ—enque meum laudesque manebuÌ„t Quae Christus câ—ndis condere iure queo Christus respondet TV lupus et vulpes Tu summum de decus orbis Tu ruis in baerathrum te manet atra dies A Sermon Preached at Paules Crosse the xix day of Iuly An. 1579. By Iohn Dyos Luc. 5. IT came to passe that wheÌ„ the people preassed vpon him to heare the word of God he stode by the lake of Genezareth and sawe two shyppes stand by the lakes side but the fishermeÌ„ were gone out of them and were washing their nettes And he entred into one of the shippes whiche pertained to Simon and prayd him that hee would thrust out a litle from the land And hee sat down and taught the people out of the shippe When he had left speakyng hee sayd vnto Simon launche out into the deepe and let slippe your nettes to make a draught And Simon aunswered and sayd vnto hym Maister we haue laboured all night haue taken nothing Neuerthelesse at thy commaundement I will lose forth the nette And when they had so done they inclosed a great multitude of fishes But their net brake and they beckned to their felowes which were in the other shippe that they should come and helpe them And they came and filled both shippes that they sonke agayne When Simon Peter saw this he fell down at Iesus knees saying Lord go from me for I am a sinnefull man For he was astonyed and all that were with hym at the draught of the fishes which they had taken and so was also Iames and Iohn the sonnes of Zebede whiche were parteners with Simon And Iesus sayd vnto Symon Feare not from heÌ„ceforth thou shalt catch men And they brought the shippes to land and forsoke all and followed him IT is written in the 5. of Luke and read in the Churche this day It came to passe that when the people pressed vpon him to heare the worde of God he was standyng by the lake of Genezareth c. In the ende of the former chapter Christian audience Christ our Sauiour being ill intreated in Nazareth no Prophet is accepted in his owne countrey came downe to CaphernauÌ„ a Citie of Galilee there taught the people on the Sabboth dayes cast out deuils and cured SimoÌ„s wiues mother sicke of a great feuer and when the sunne was downe healed what soeuer sicke were brought to hym laying his handes on euery of them Deuils also came out of many crying and saying Thou art that Christ the sonne of god c. There they preassed and here they preasse The summe of all Séeke ye first the kyngdome of God and his righteousnes and all these thynges shal be ministred vnto you The text principally compriseth these thrée places an Example teaching to heare the Gospell feruently and the causes therof The ship wherein Christ was is an image of the Church of Christ militant the request of Christ and faithfull obedience of Peter The successe of all It came to passe when the people preassed vpoÌ„ him to heare the word of God. Sinfull men of euery condition preassed vppon him to heare his heauenly doctrine We neuer read of any such preassing of Scribes Phariseis to Christ I thanke thee O Father Lord of heauen earth because thou hast hid these thynges from the wise and prudent and hast shewed them vnto babes The people preassed vpon him to heare the word of God. Luc. sayth not people came to him
oboloquie and euill report it is now The worlde hateth the light of veritye In so great malice of the world partely contemning and partelye persecuting the word of the gospell who can satisfie or content all men In old tyme there were but seuen wise men among the Greekes and now there are not so many fooles among vs for all of vs glorye of our wisedome euery head is full of wit euery man will haue his owne way Hearers are rather rashe iudges than fit and obedient schollars and most of them before they haue learned any thing doo rashly condēne all thinges S. August sayth Tutior est discentis quà m docētis conditio Salfer is the condition of him that learneth thē of him that teacheth I pray you good audiēce let me heare your iudgements How should a man make an excellēt Sermon either in matter or forme Som would haue the matter Catholique Some Gospel like Some would haue altogether common places of Scripture decided Some would haue vs procéede stil in the treatises of fayth iustification with inuectiues agaynst the Masse Purgatory and satisfactions Other would haue vs to launch into the déepes of predestination originall sinne free will election and reprobation Other would haue vices rebuked but they can not agree how it should be done Some would haue it generally and coldly Some directly and hotely Some the vices of the Clergy and Magistrates some onely the vices of the commō people and inferiours all men other mēs vices but no man his owne vices These disagrée in matter very ill in forme much worse Some would haue long texts some short textes Some would haue Doctours Fathers and Councels some call that mās doctrine Some would haue it ordered by Logicke some terme that mans wisedome some would haue it polished by Rheotrique some call that persuasiblenesse of wordes And agayne in Rhetoricke some would haue it holy eloquence liable to the Ebrue Gréeke phrase Some would haue it proper and fittyng to the English capacitie Some loue study and learnyng in Sermōs Some allow onely a sudaine motion of the spirite Some would haue all said by heart some would haue oft recourse made to the booke Some loue gestures some no gestures Some loue long Sermons some short Sermons Some are coy and can broke no Sermons at all But we be not to féede mens humours but to folow Christ we must folow Christ into the shyp and the crosse must be borne after the example of Christ No man sought more the glory of God then Christ yet for all that he was called a blasphemer He liued without spot of vice and yet he was called a wine bibber Hee expresly taught to render to Cesar the thynges whiche belong to Cesar and yet he was accused to haue taught the contrary No man taught patience more and yet was he condemned as a seditious person There was neuer such a one in Israell as Christ was in workes and wordes Neuer any liued so purely neuer any taught so heauēly and yet many wicked graces persons sayd of him he hath a deuill and is mad why heare ye him The schollar is not aboue the maister You sée the chaire of the maister know the chaire of the schollar More safe and sure is the standyng of the hearers whiche standyng on the land heare the word of saluation The greatest part of hearers kéepe them selues out of perill for when any sudaine storme of persecution ariseth for the Gospell on the sea of this world either they hide them selues or els vtterly forsakē the ship chaire teacher and all Such is the condition of the most part of hearers These thyngs are clearely knowne I neede not to make long demonstration Examples remaine fresh in memory Touchyng the shyp the state of the Church militant is here excellētly depainted The Church of Christ is that shyp where agaynst Sathan bloweth out so many blastes the woman clothed with the sunne whom the old Dragon ceaseth not continually to persecute This shyp is like to the Arke of Noah Euen as a shyp on the sea whē any stormy tempestes arise is terribly shaken right so nothing in the wast and wide world is more shakē with stormes and tempestes of all maner euils then the Church If you aske me who they are that shake the shyp of Christ and how the same is shakē I will giue you to vnderstād Turkes Iewes Anabaptistes Libertines Sectaries Atheistes Schismatikes the Familie of loue the Romishe rable and to be short the deuill and all his members shake this shyp but they shal neuer be hable to drown it For the gates of hell shall not preuaile agaynst it Because Christ sitteth at the sterne and hath the helme in his owne hand For that the Romish Catholickes do most shake the true Church of England which is the Church of Christ I purpose at this present to proue against them They say they shake not the ship but are in the ship as in the Arke of Noah and that we Protestantes shake the ship and are out of the ship and out of the Arke Farther they boldly say that without the vnitie of their body and their head the Churche of Rome and their holy father the Pope no man can be saued I will clearely proue the contrary namely that they shake the ship that they are out of the shipp and they are not the true Church Their body is a Sinagogue of Sathan their holy father is not head of the true Church happy were he if he were a member of the same he hath not the keyes of heauē but rather of the bottomles pit I proue thus the Romish Church heareth not the voyce of the shepheard Therfore the Romish Church is not the true Church I wil prosecute this Argumēt in treatyng of breakyng the net Now to proue that they shake the ship how The Romish Church is a persecutyng Church therfore it shaketh the shyp cōsequently is not the true church For persecutiō is an euident token of Antichristes Church Cayn persecuted Abell the Giantes Noah the Sodomites Loth Ismaell Isaac Esau Iacob the Egyptiās the Israelites Pharao Moses Saul Dauid yet Dauid would not hurt him Of whom we learne that Gods Church doth suffer rather than hurt and pardon rather then persecute The false Prophetes persecuted the true Prophetes The Priestes Scribes Byshops Annas Herod Pilate and Caiphas persecuted Christ The Iewes and Turkes persecute the Christians And most of all the tyran of Rome persecuteth Christes litle flocke and congregatiō The Church of Christ did neuer persecute but was alwayes persecuted So Hilarius Nicephorus in many places discourse Lactantius sayth excellently to this matter Defendenda religio est non occidendo sed monendo non saeuitia sed patientia non scelere sed fide Nā si sanguine tormētis si malo religionē defendere velis iā non defendetur illa sed polluetur atque
violabitur Religiō is to be defēded not with murthering but with monishing not with cruelty but with patiēce not with fury but with faythfulnesse For if ye defend Religion with bloudshed and tormētyng or with workyng of mischief It is not defended but defiled and disteined Chrisost sayth Quem videris sanguine gaudentē lupus est Whōsoeuer thou séest delight in bloud he is a wolfe Tertul. sayth it is not reason that a spirituall matter should be tormented with temporall fire Doth not the Pope persecute all Christiās Is not his armes a rauenyng wolfe his sentence Burne Burne Burne his badge let vs lay waite for bloud his head blasphemie his shield tyrāny his brest iniurie his eyes fire his girdle fornication his breath poyson his toung the styng of death his féete ready to shed innocēt bloud his sword violence his crosse persecution his pardons iniquitie his triple crowne presumption his keyes ambition and all his doyngs abhomination Him do folow great swarmes of Cainites Gyantes Sodomites Egyptians Bailites Sēnacheribbes Scribes Phariseis Herodians Monkes Friers Cardinals Adulterers Idolaters Parasites Poysoners Pardoners Bawdes with all the Romishe rable These are the right Canibals like to the barbarous people of America that eat one an other Yet they say all this is for loue A gentle kind of loue like the loue of one Philippides who tooke a cudgell and dyd beate his father and all for loue But we may say with Tertullian Crudelitas vestra nostra gloria est Your crueltie is our glory For Gods Religion the more it is preassed the more it encreaseth The congregation of Christ are called shéepe A shéepe hath neither hoofes nor sharpe téeth as wolues Lyons and Beares haue Christ said to his disciples Behold I send you forth as shéepe in the mids of wolues he sayth not as wolues in the mids of shéepe They are the true Churche of whome it is sayd for thy sake are we slayne continually and counted as shéepe for the slaughter The marks of the true Church are these the vncorrupt voyce of heauenly doctrine the right vse of the sacraments the crosse and obedience to the ministerie of the word S. August saith Crux regni insigne est The crosse is the cognisance or bagde of the Church Athanasius sayth Caedi Christianorum proprium est Caedere autem Christianos Pilati Caiphae officia sunt To be persecuted belongeth to Christians but to persecute the Christians belongeth to the office of Pilate and Caiphas The true Church is still persecuted and neuer persecuteth Did the Patriarches persecute did the Prophets persecute did Christ persecute did the Apostles persecute when the Samaritanes would not receyue Christ Iames and Iohn being as yet nouices in Christes schole called for fire from heauen and would haue burned and consumed the Samaritanes but Christ rebuked them saying you wot not of what maner of spirite you are for the sonne of man is not come to destroy mens liues but to saue them Our weapōs sayth S. Paule are not carnall but spirituall Whereas it is obiected compell them to come in I aske what is the power of the Church to compell is it the power of the outward sword or of the spirituall worde Is it with the power of fire and fagot Ought men to be violently cōpelled to fayth It is euident and cleare that Christ did not institute in his kingdome any forcible or worldly kind of gouernment for he sayd Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo My kingdome is not of this world Hath Christ euer brokē a brused réede hath he euer quenched the smoking flaxe hath he not taught vs to pray for our enemies and for those that persecute vs The Apostles vsurped not the sword to compell men to the religiō of Christ Can the Pope or any of his Prelates put faith into a mans hart by violēce was any man compelled agaynst his will to the building of the outward tabernacle shall any man be compelled to the building of the inward tabernacle Is not the mariage spirituall the supper spirituall Then must men be compelled with a spirituall weapon which is with the liuely word Not by hostes of men nor by force of worldly strength but by my spirite sayth the Lord of hostes So Peter compelled many to the fayth It is the word of God that maketh a man a new creature Ergo neither sword nor fier If the soule of man be a spirite then must it be fed with spirituall foode moued to faith by spiritual instrumēts drawne by the worde led by the spirite and perswaded by the scriptures whiche are the onely meanes which God appointeth If an hereticke hold an opiniō he holdeth it either of ignoraūce or wilfulnes If of ignoraūce he is to be conuerted by doctrine to be conuinced by scripture reformed by exhortation reduced by reason perswaded by the truth If of wilfulnes he is to be menaced by the law and corrected by excommunication It is written in a certaine learned treatise agaynst the late of coūsel Tridēt verissimum est omnes haereses tantùm spirituali gladio verbi Dei iugulatas esse Most true it is that all heresies are conuinced onely with the spirituall sword of the word of god The Gospell sayth Damascenus was preached throughout all the world without weapō armour or battaile by a few naked poore vnlearned and afflicted men which cōfounded the wise of the world Christ compelled Paule If thou be Christ that so obiectest this I pray thée compell the Turke the Pope which blaspheme Christ If thou art not Christ suffer We ought to spare mē to pray for their saluatiō Touching this matter you may reade more in August Tom. 2. epist. 107. 158. 160. 204. Tom. 7. contra Cresco Grammat lib. 3. cap. 50. contra literas Petiliani lib. 2. cap 83. cap. vlt. and also in Chrisost de anathemate Tom. 5. Compell thē to come in Compell them Quoad media as in respect of the meanes to wit the meanes aforenamed Compell Remish Catholiques to come to the Church So S. August would haue the Donatistes compelled Fayth commeth by hearing and many haue bin conuerted from infidelitye to fayth from Paganisme to Christianisme from the Romish rable to the Christian congregation by that meanes Seing therfore that persecution is a note of the Church of Antichriste and that the Church of Roome persecuteth it is euident that that Church shaketh the ship and is malignant Out of the arke of Noah that is out of the Church which is the body of Christ no man is saued That is most certayne but that is not in respect of the vnitie of the bodye in it selfe but in respect of the vnitye of the whole bodye with the head which is Christ Read Chrisost vpon the Epistle to the Collos Homi. 7. It may please those men to thinke vpon these thinges which transfere this necessitye of
must referre you to the places of other auncient Fathers which make the case cleare Tertul. contra Marcionem Lib. 4. August Tom. 6. contra adimantum Manichaei Discipulum cap. 12. Tom. 8. in Psal 3. Tom. 2. epist. 221. Cyp. de Coena Domini Hesichius in Leuit. Lib. 3. cap. 2. Ambros de Sacramentis Lib. 1. cap. 5. Chrisost ad Caesarium August in Ioh. Tract 25. Tract 26. To cōclude Erasmus a mā of great learnyng iudgement sayth thus In synaxi Transubstantiationem sero definiuit ecclesia In the holy ministration it was long and very late before the church determined the Article of Transubstantiation Their owne breath bloweth agaynst them Doctour Tonstall sayth It was no heresie to deny their Transubstantiation before their late Councell of Lateran Doctour Fisher sometyme Byshop of Rochester sayth The very presence of Christes body bloud in the Masse can not be proued by any Scripture This deuelish doctrine was neuer receiued in the Church til Pope Leo Pope Nicholas Pope Innocent Pope Honorius and Pope Vrban Antichristian prelates thorow their tyranny brought it in and compelled the Christiās with fire and faggot as the maner of the tyrānicall Papistes is to receiue their abhominable doctrine It is not much more then fiue hundred yeares since their grosse opinion of the Sacramēt begā first to be attēpted was throughly receiued and agréed vpon about the yeare of our Lord 1215. in the Councell of Laterā which was holden in Rome where were gathered together a mōstrous swarme of Pharisaicall Papistes about the number of thirtene hūdred pildpates of the which number eight hūdred were mōkes channōs fryers a broode of chickēs of the Popes owne hatching Last of all came pope Vrban the monke in the yeare of our Lord a thousand two hundred thréescore and foure and he made vp all the market For he ordained a feast called Corpus Christi in honour of the Sacrament so that euer after that tyme the Sacramēt was no more taken for a signe figure and token of Christes bodye but for Christ himselfe God and man And therefore was it reuerenced worshiped honored sensed and knéeled vnto as they taught the people at their vnsacred sakeringes S. August sayth touching the fathers of the olde law Abraham Moses Aaron and other receiued the bodye of Christ truely and effectually long tyme before that Christ either had receiued fleshe of the blessed virgin or had ordained the Sacrament and that euen the selfe same bodye that is receiued now of the faythfull Of this matter S. Paule speaketh They did all eate of the same spirituall meate And did all drinke of the same spirituall drinke For they dranke of that spirituall rock that folowed them and that rocke was Christ S. August also of Christian children and other faythfull that neuer receiued the Sacrament writeth thus nulli est aliquatenus ambigendum tunc vnumquemque fideliū corporis sauguinisque domini participem fieri quando in Baptismate efficitur membrum Christi c. No man may in any wise doubt but that euery faythfull man is than made partaker of the body and bloud of Christ whan in Baptisme he is made a member of Christ and that he is not without the felowship of that bread and of that cup although before he eate of that bread drinke of that cup he hepart this world being in the vnitye of Christes bodye for he is not made frustrate of the Communion and benefite of that Sacrament while he findeth that thing which is signified in the Sacrament The enemies of the crosse of Christ mightfully obiect Onlesse ye eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and drinke his bloud ye shall haue no lyfe in you I aunswere if there be no other eating of Christes bodye whereby wée shall liue but onely fleshly eating with mouth and teath than what lyfe hath Abraham Isaac Iacob Moses Aaron and other holy Patriarches Prophets that were before the comming of Christ what lyfe haue a great nūber of holy martyrs what lyfe haue Christian Children that being baptised in the bloud of Christ depart this lyfe before they can receiue the Sacrament Shall we say they haue no lyfe Or shall we condemne them of euerlasting death Or shall we thinke they shall neuer rise agayne And shall we denye Gods election S. August speakyng of our fathers sayth Visibilē cibum Manna spiritualiter intellexerunt spiritualiter esurierunt spiritualiter gustauerunt They vnderstode Manna the visible meate spiritually they hungred it spiritually they tasted it spiritually I aske the defenders of transubstātiation what body Christ gaue whether mortall or immortall I reason thus if he gaue his body he gaue his mortall body or his immortall body But he gaue not his mortal body neither his immortal body Therfore he gaue not his body I proue thus he gaue not his mortall body accumbebat mensae for it sate at the table He gaue not his immortall body nō dum resurrexerat for it was not yet risen Therfore he gaue not his body Therfore it is a figuratiue spéech I vrge their owne wordes agaynst them By and by after they haue confessed that the bread is the body of Christ essentially substantially and in déede and the wyne his naturall bloud they adde Sed inuisibiliter ineffabiliter non vt in loco non qualitatiue aut quantitatiue But inuisiblely and vnspeakeablely and not as in a place not in quātitie or in qualitie Note I pray you how fitly these thynges agrée how the one is subuerted by the other For if the true and naturall body of our Lord which he tooke of the virgin Mary dead buried risen ascended into heauen so they say be present in the Sacrament assuredly that same body must haue quantitie and qualitie must be contained in a place except that body was not naturall or els now beyng in glory hath put away all truth of a body The Angels testifie of the glorified body of Christ Surrexit nō est hic ecce locus vbi posuerunt eum He is risen he is not here behold the place where they had put him Christ him selfe sayth behold my handes and my féete that it is euē I my selfe handle me and sée for a spirite hath not flesh and bones as ye sée me haue If this body haue not place qualitie quantitie it is not the substantiall naturall and true body of our lord Read S. August epist. 57. ad Dardanum Tom. 2. Thus much concernyng the Lordes Supper Also these men teach that we are not iustified by fayth onely This doctrine is false Therefore they breake the net They call vs Solifidiās We may call them Nullifidians I argue thus the righteous man liueth by his fayth Therefore fayth iustifieth Abraham was iustified by fayth Therfore other are iustified by fayth Abrahā is the father of all beleuers The antecedent is proued Abraham beleued God and