bicause if he did sinne he was to die But he would not that it should be lawfullie said This is mortall Therefore it shall vtterlie die Euen as we grant that our flesh is in such case as it may be wounded and yet it may come to passe that it shall not be wounded The bodie also of man as I may saie is in case to be sicke wheras neuerthelesse it chanceth manie times that some doo die before they be sicke Therefore he saith A similitude The garments and shooes of the Hebrues Deut. 29 5. that the state of Adams bodie was such as although he might die yet vnlesse sinne did happen he should be preserued from death by God euen as the garments and shoos of the Hebrues by the power of God were not consumed or worne by the space of fortie yéers in the wildernesse as we read in the 19. chapter of Deuteronomie And he thinketh Enoch and Elias that as concerning this condition Enoch and Elias haue now the state of Adams bodie bicause they be preserued from death yea whether they be susteined without meate or else doo vse such sustenance as God prepareth for them For the first man had meates wherewith he might be nourished and he did eate other fruits to withstand the defects of nature The tree of life was a remedie against oldnesse But the trée of life was against old age for by the same trée it came to passe that the decaid matter which was amended should be of no lesse goodnes and perfection than that which was lost But séeing the same commeth not to passe in vs we both are troubled with old age and at last death catcheth hold of vs. In Adam therfore there was a state of mortalitie but yet such as was to be swalowed vp by the benefit of God when he should at his due time be translated vnto the chéefe felicitie Whereby Augustine iudged that we may perceiue the greatnes of the benefit of Christ séeing he hath restored vs vnto more than Adam tooke from vs bicause that through Christ Augustine iudged that Christ restored more vnto vs than Adam tooke away not onelie life is restored vnto vs and death chased awaie but mortalitie also at the resurrection shall he taken awaie For we shall not be able to die which thing Paule teacheth when he writeth that This mortall shall put on immortalitie And that saieng vnto the Romans séemeth to make with this doctrine when he saith But if Christ doo dwell in vs Rom. 8 10. verelie the bodie is dead by reason of sinne In which place he saith not that our bodie is mortall through sin but is dead that is to saie subiect vnto death Afterward he addeth vers 11. His spirit which hath raised Christ from the dead shall quicken your mortall bodies This he spake of the resurrection wherin our bodies must be quickened which he called mortall but not dead that thou maiest vnderstand that not onelie death shall be taken from them but also that they shall be mortall no more And whereas the Pelagians thinke Death brought in by sinne cannot be vnderstood allegoricallie Rom. 5 12. that death is allegoricallie to be taken for the fall of soules it can in no wise be allowed séeing it is written in the fift to the Romans By one man sinne entered into the world by sinne death But if that onelie the death of soules he brought by Adam why did Paule expresse twaine who not onelie said Sinne but he also added Death Moreouer the testimonie of the booke of Genesis dooth most plainelie conuince them wherein mans punishment is thus recited Gen. 2 19. Earth thou art and into earth thou shalt returne Which saieng these men are constrained whether they will or no to ascribe vnto the death of the bodie vnlesse they dare affirme that our soules be fashioned of earth and into earth shall be dissolued And whereas they obiected Whence depended the preseruation of the first mans bodie Deut. 29 5. that we haue a bodie by nature compact of contraries if forceth not much bicause the same preseruation dooth not depend of nature but of God as the scriptures declare to be doone as touching the garments and shooes of the Hebrues But of what thing he meaneth death it cannot better be perceiued than by an Antithesis or comparing of it with the contrarie which is with life Life is of two sorts But life is of two sorts the one wherewith we be mooued to spirituall to diuine and to heauenlie good things and the same commeth to passe so long as we be ioined togither with God for vnlesse we be set on by the spirit of God we cannot procéed vnto those things which doo surpasse our owne nature Another life is wherewith we be mooued to pursue those good things which make to the preseruation of nature maintenance of our bodilie state Both of these liues Both the liues did death take awaie did death which was laid vpon vs for sinne take awaie For death is nothing else but a depriuing of life for so soone as euer man sinned he was turned awaie from God and so was forsaken of his grace and destitute of his fauour so that he was not able to aspire againe vnto eternall felicitie This bodilie life also may be said to be taken awaie through sinne How immediatelie after sinne came doth for immediatelie after sinne the beginnings and ministers of death inuaded man such be hunger thirst sicknes consumption of moisture and heate and the dailie quenching of life for all these things doo lead a man awaie to death And Chrysostome vpon Genesis Chrysost treating at large of this matter saith that The first parents so soone as they had sinned were dead foorthwith for the Lord foorthwith pronounced the sentence of death against them A similitude And euen as they which be condemned to die although they be reteined somewhile aliue in prison yet are reputed for dead euen so the first parents albeit through the benignitie of God they liued longer yet in verie truth they were dead by and by after that God denounced sentence against them Ambrose saith Ambrose that they were suddenlie oppressed with death bicause afterward they had no daie nor houre There is no houre wherein we are not subiect vnto death nor moment wherein they were not subiect vnto death Neither is there anie mortall man that can assure himselfe to liue the space of one houre Whereby it appéereth that both sorts of death was brought in by sinne So then we must beware that we consent not vnto them Death is not naturall vnto man which are woont to saie that death is naturall vnto man and as it were a certeine rest whereby the motion of life is interrupted In death there is a feele of Gods wrath Matt. 27 35. Iohn 21 18. Esaie 38 2. These sort of opinions must be left vnto the Ethniks for
figure Hypérbole or else by Catachrésis By which figures we saie that this thing was not extant or was not doon bicause it was extant enduring but for a short time or for a moment If this be spoken as touching them which beléeue as we read in Iohn Iohn 8 51. They which haue beleeued in the sonne of God shall not see death whereas they shall be in death till the end of the world how much rather and more trulie is it pronounced of Christ which was there but thrée daies and those not fullie compleat And certeinlie according to these tropes or figures his dieng was no dieng and his burieng no burieng Indéed he died trulie but he tarried not in death he was trulie buried but he tarried not in the sepulchre but as touching corruption or putrefaction he had no maner of triall thereof Wherfore vnto the question proposed I answer that Dauid when he hoped well of his owne resurrection to come spake these things but yet so spake them as he altogither bent his mind vpon Christ knowing that he himselfe was appointed vnto the church to be the shadowe or figure of him Chéeflie therefore he referred the resurrection which he spake of vnto him by whom it is deriued vnto other men 1. Co. 15 20 so as he is iustlie and deseruedlie called by Paule The first fruits of them that sleepe For this cause he spake those things which might wholie surmount and excell the degrée condition of his owne reuiuing for he would carrie vp men to Christ himselfe Neither had these words béene trulie nor profitablie spoken by him vnlesse he had referred them to Christ the author of the most happie resurrection A rule Wherefore we must vnderstand that it is a certeine and firme rule that the dignities and prerogatiues which we read in the holie scriptures to be attributed vnto the saints all those are chéeflie and that excellentlie well to be referred vnto Christ So then Dauid spake not alonlie of Christ but also of himselfe but yet so farre foorth as he was in Christ and was included among others of his members Thou wilt perhaps saie that the apostles séeme to denie this which affirme it to be fulfilled onelie in the Lord. I answer they denied not that the dead bodie of Dauid was left in the sepulchre for they affirmed the same to be left there euen vnto those times Nor denie they that he sawe the graue séeing he was therein euen vntill that daie But againe they denied not but that he should from thence be taken at the time appointed and that he should at the last be raised from corruption Wherefore these things agrée to Dauid so far foorth as the graue and corruption shall not be perpetuall vnto him Hereby likewise it appéereth what answer we are to shape vnto the third question namelie that these things belong also vnto vs so farre foorth as we with Dauid be the members of Christ For as Christ by dieng ouercame death not onelie for himselfe but also for vs so by rising againe he liueth both vnto himselfe and vnto vs. Wherefore perfect life perpetuall and eternall felicitie as concerning both the soule and the bodie doo rest in Christ the head and by little and little distill and flowe into the members according to the analogie or proportion of them Some demand whie God suffereth the dead bodies of holie men to lie so long in the graue and to be corrupted and putrified séeing both they be holie and as Paule saith the temples of the holie Ghost Herevnto is answered 1. Cor. 3 16 that our flesh indéed is of one kind and nature with the flesh of our Lord but that in the meane time there be manie differences put betwéene them For the flesh of Christ was pure neither was it in anie respect subiect vnto sinne but on the contrarie part we are compassed on all sides with sinnes onelie we are not altogither oppressed Moreouer as Dauid saith We are conceiued in iniquitie but Christ by the holie Ghost Beside this it is verie méet Matth. 1. 18. that the head should go before the rest of the members and it is requisite that the members should be all made perfect togither in one So then the dead bodies of the elect doo wait vntill the full number of the brethren be compleat 33 But séeing in the places now alledged there is onelie mention made of the resurrection of the blessed some man perhaps will doubt Whither the resurrection belong also to the wicked whether the wicked shal be also raised from the dead We answer that the resurrection dooth also belong vnto them bicause euen as in Adam all doo perish 1. Cor. 15 22 and are wrapped in the sentence of death so shall all be quickened in Christ But this difference there is that the godlie shal be raised vp to glorie but the vngodlie to destruction Wherefore we read in Iohn Iohn 5 25. that They which be in the graues shall heare the voice of the sonne of God they which haue doon well shall go foorth into the resurrection of life and they which haue doon ill into the resurrection of iudgement that is of condemnatiō Therfore the holie scriptures haue the oftener made mention of the resurrection of the faithfull bicause that is the resurrection of life The other which is of the reprobate may rather be called an euerlasting fall and destruction than life and resurrection For which cause the prophet Esaie in the 26. chapter said verse 19. Thy slaine men shall rise againe but speaking before of the wicked The dead men saith he shall not rise againe So then we must assure our selues that by the benefit of Christ life shal be restored aswell vnto the good as vnto the bad But the godlie shall be honoured with great glorie whereas the wicked shall receiue perpetuall shame This in verie déed is the cause whie the diuine scriptures make oftener mention of the resurrection of the godlie than of the wicked And that in this place onelie the resurrection of the iust is treated of those woords which Dauid added doo heare witnesse saieng Thou shalt shew me the path of life in thy presence is the fulnes of ioies and at thy right hand are pleasures for euermore By which woords are shewed that this happie resurrection perteineth onelie vnto them which haue set God alwaies before their eies 34 But there doo not want at this daie also which saie That the testimonie of Dauid touching the resurrectiō is manifest inough that Dauid indéed fore-told of these things yet not so expresselie and manifestlie as they might be vnderstood by others but that onelie by the apostles after the comming of Christ those things were expounded and made plaine For they affirme further that in the old testament the resurrection was altogither vnknowne But we saie that the prophesie was euident and that there was no obscuritie therein but by
manner what preeminence had Henoch and Elias aboue other men All the elect and faithfull of Christ as touching the soule are translated from hence vnto God and are not condemned with euerlasting death Indéed I am not ignorant that sometimes Not to see death is referred to the soule euen as the testimonies which we haue alreadie brought doo declare but sometimes on the other side it is referred to the death of the bodie as it is manifest by Simeon vnto whom it was reuealed Luke 2 26. that He should not see death till he had first seene the Lord Christ Yea and the sonne of God himselfe saith Matt. 16 28. There be of them which stand here present who shall not taste of death vntill they see the kingdome of God that is Note the preaching of the Gospell spread ouer the face of the earth or as others will vntill they shall sée the transfiguration of Christ vpon mount Thabor Neither is there anie doubt but that the death of the bodie is betokened in both these places Further those words of Paule to the Hebrues alledged a little aboue are so significant as they séeme wholie to testifie that Henoch is not dead But they that be of an other mind doo vrge that which is written in the same epistle of the Hebrues namelie Heb. 9 27. that It is decreed that all men shall once die But we answer that these generall propositions must not alwaies be vnderstood without anie exception True indéed it is which is now affirmed as touching the ordinarie and common maner but yet it is not brought to passe thereby but that GOD by his speciall prerogatiue and certeine peculiar will may exempt some from the lawe of death For what shall become either of vs or of others which shall be found aliue at the last daie Vndoubtedlie 1. Thes 4 15 They shall be caught vp to meet with Christ in the aire And Paule vnto the Corinthians said 1. Co. 15 51 We shall not all die but we shall be all changed Besides this if the words of that saieng be vrged with extremitie how will it be true that men once die séeing Lazarus the sonne of the widowe Iohn 11 â—4 Luk. 7 15. Matt. 9 25. Matt. 27 52 and also the daughter of the ruler of the synagog whom the Lord raised vp from the dead died not once but twise And it is thought by Augustine and diuerse others that those manie bodies of the saints which rose after the death of Christ and appéered vnto manie in the citie of Ierusalem when they had performed that which they were appointed to do setled in their graues as they did before 18 They also saie that it is written vnto the Romans Rom. 5 12. that Death by one man entred in vpon all men and that in the first epistle to the Corinthians the 15. chapter it is said verse 22. As in Adam all men are dead so in Christ all shall be made aliue that it may be taught that the life lost in Adam is recouered againe in Christ Vnto these saiengs we answer manie waies First euen as I said before that these generall propositions must not be vnderstood without priuiledge and exception Secondlie I will confesse that Henoch and Elias in their owne nature were subiect vnto death and in that they are not dead but doo inioie eternall life that they obteine by Christ Howbeit an other answer there is much more perfect namelie to saie that the same changing wherby we affirme that the bodies of those saints were glorified in taking vp was a certeine kind of death Wherfore Iustinus Martyr in his dialog with Triphon saith Iustinus Martyr that the world in the last time shall perish and not perish In what respect the world shall perish It shall not perish séeing it shall not be reduced to nothing But it shall perish bicause it shall be changed to better for the light of the sunne and moone shall both be purer and greater than now it is For we shall haue a new heauen and a new earth for bicause all things shall then be made new Others saie that the death of Henoch and Elias is not altogither taken awaie but rather deferred bicause they shall come in the last time shall die in fighting against Antichrist of which opinion was Tertullian Tertullian who in his book De anima page 682. saith Elias and Henoch were translated and their death is deferred For they are reserued to die hereafter that with their bloud they may extinguish Antichrist Againe in the same booke in the 672. page Elias shall come not from the departure of life but from the translation thereof he shall not be restored to his bodie from which he was not exempted but he shall be restored to the world The same father against the Iewes called Henoch an Inceptor Candidâ—tus or one readie apparelled for eternitie And in his booke De trinitate 603. he saith that God translated Henoch into the societie of his owne fréendship And séeing a fréend dooth benefit him whom he loueth and wisheth well vnto it is not likelie that God translated Henoch for to kill him Irenaeus But Irenaeus in his fourth booke thirtie chapter is of the opinion that Henoch hath exercised a message against the angels who were thought in old time to be fallen through a naughtie desire towards women and he saith that he is euen as yet preserued aliue for a testimonie of Gods iudgement And these things may suffice as touching the second point whereby is prooued by probable reason that they séeme not to be dead Thy Henoch and Elias were caught vp 19 It remaineth that we séeke to what end they were so taken vp Some saie that it was doone to the intent we might haue before our eies a certeine figure and shew of our resurrection as if so be that the taking vp of these were a liuelie example thereof to teach vs that we are not to measure our felicitie by or with the terme of this life But in my iudgement examples ought to be cléere and manifest for that otherwise they are but weake proofes Certeinlie in this place there is no mention made of resurrection either ours or theirs The signe of Ionas the prophet dooth manifestlie shadowe the resurrection Matt. 12 40. who was cast vp aliue out of the bellie of the whale Rom. 8 11. But Paule to the Romans did plainlie shew the resurrection after another sort If ye haue saith he his spirit which raised vp Iesus Christ from the dead the same shall quicken your mortall bodies As if he had said Séeing the spirit is one it will bring foorth the same effects And in the first epistle to the Corinthians the 15. chapter he saith vers 12 c. If Christ be risen from the dead we also shall rise againe Which he therefore speaketh bicause it is not méet that Christ
all created at the beginning but are dailie created of God to be put into the bodies proposition 3 Those things which are spoken of paradise must not be vnderstood so allegoricallie as the truth of the historie should not be reteined but the allegories may profitablie he ioined vnto the thing that was doone proposition 4 Whether that garden of pleasure be yet extant cannot be defined by the holie scriptures proposition 5 The dignitie of the lawe of GOD is not to be estéemed by deserts of actions commanded or forbidden therein but for that in it is conteined the iudgement of GOD for dooing of things which alwaies must be preferred before the counsell of man proposition 6 Both kinds of death as well of the bodie as of the soule was set before Adam if he transgressed the commandement of God proposition 7 The first man was created mortall albeit it was in him not to die proposition 8 It is not good for a man to be alone bicause it is not pleasant nor honest nor profitable proposition 9 Thrée exercises were set before man at his creation namelie to obeie God to behold the natures of things created and to exercise husbandrie proposition 10 The sléepe of Adam in the bringing foorth of the woman signifieth vnto vs that Christ by his death purchased his church Probable proposition 1 THe breathing of God whereby the first man was made a liuing soule is a token shewing vs that the reasonable soule is giuen vnto men not by the strength of nature but â—uâ—wardlie by the helpe of God proposition 2 The garden of pleasures was planted in the region of Eden as the name declareth not far from Assyria Mesopotamia and Arabia proposition 3 The trée of life hauing fruit which prolonged life to them that should eate of it allegoricallie signifieth Christ proposition 4 The trée of good and euill is not onelie so called of that which followed but bicause of the same there was a lawe giuen whose propertie is to shew the difference of good and euill proposition 5 By forbidding the fruits of the trée of good and euill we are taught not to be so hardie as to rule our selues by the wisedome of the flesh or else to determine by mans iudgement what is good and what is euill which neuerthelesse is requisite that we decrée by the spirit of God and by the word proposition 6 Séeing the lawe was giuen to Adam the woman being not yet created it sheweth that women should be instructed by men as touching the lawe and word of the Lord. proposition 7 The woman was made of the rib of man to declare that the church was foundes in the strength of Christ Propositions out of the second and third chapters of Genesis Necessarie proposition 1 CHildren must not for their wiues sake so leaue their parents as not to succour or reuerence them albeit they are bound to liue néerer to their wiues than to their parents proposition 2 Whereas the husband and wife are said to be one flesh matrimonie is declared to be inseparable so long as they can be one flesh which is taken awaie by adulterie and for want of power to performe the dutie of marriage one towards another proposition 3 Matrimonie is therefore said to be a mysterie bicause it representeth vnto vs the most streict coniunction of Christ with his church proposition 4 The church immediatelie from hir beginning had Adam for hir gouernour not without the word of God for he being indued with the spirit of GOD spake with the selfe-same words both as touching Christ and as touching matrimonie proposition 5 Temptations are therfore permitted by God bicause they be profitable for the church proposition 6 The diuell promised vnto the woman those things which she had alreadie to wit the opening of the eies and likenesse to God Probable proposition 1 WHereas God brought Eue framed vnto Adam we are thereby taught that those marriages are not well knit where God ioineth not the parties togither proposition 2 Since that mans soule is a spirituall substance and is immortall we must not grant that it is deriued vnto the children by the séed of the parents proposition 3 The serpent was the fittest instrument in temptation to expresse the ill practises of the diuell and his craftinesse against men proposition 4 The wicked will of the tempter declareth the most skilfull wisedome of GOD whereby he knew how to vse wel euen most wicked things proposition 5 This did the diuell by his first temptation chéeflie indeuour that Gods word should not be beléeued as it was requisite proposition 6 The originall of Eues fall was that setting aside the earnest cogitation of the word of God she began to weigh in hir mind the commoditie of the forbidden fruit which the diuell set before hir togither with the beautie and swéetnesse thereof proposition 7 The shame and the deuise of the couerings are not to be ascribed to the diuell but to the goodnesse of God as a bridle whereby the euill now brought in might the lesse spread it selfe abroad Propositions out of the third chapter of Genesis Necessarie proposition 1 SHame and the shunning of Gods sight are properties which followe sinne proposition 2 The enimitie which GOD put betwéene the diuell and the woman belongeth vnto all godlie men proposition 3 Albeit the power of treading downe the diuell be proper vnto Christ yet dooth he communicate the same with the faithfull proposition 4 The cursses which GOD laid vpon the first men were not onlie punishments but also they shewed men their duties and brought remedies against temptations and sinnes proposition 5 If the creatures through mans transgression fell into a woorse condition than they were it is méet that vpon the restitution of him those also should be restored proposition 6 Since God remooueth idlenesse from man they which altogither shun labour agrée not with his will proposition 7 Christ tooke not awaie by his first comming the punishments of these cursses but mitigated them howbeit at his second comming he will altogither take them awaie proposition 8 Séeing garments are inuented for the profit and honestie of this present life those garments are iustlie found fault withall which haue anie thing against these two properties proposition 9 Sacrifices be signes whereby we confesse the excellencie of God proposition 10 Anie man is accepted of GOD before his works be acceptable vnto him proposition 11 Those things which God either by exhorting or commanding sheweth should be doone those are not in our power to be doone of vs vnlesse we be holpen by his grace Probable proposition 1 THe scripture therefore saith that the eies of the first men were opened after sinne bicause there brake out a new féele of new punishments proposition 2 By the example of God who so preciselie inquired after sinne iudges are admonished that they condemne not men before they be heard and their cause examined proposition 3 In the curssing of the serpent those punishments of
Circumcision and what it signified 150 a Baptisme and it be all one and how 150 a Collects and the reason of those praiers and their name 136 a Commandement which is the soule of all the rest 102 b 103 a The first and last obserued of none 167 b Commandements of God must be distinguished and how 160 b Foure in the first table and which they be 165 a Six in the second and what they be 165 a Why some are affirmatiue and some negatiue 169 b What we haue to note in the contents of the ten 164 b The coniunction of them 165 a The substance of them 164 a b Thrée kinds of actions handled in them 164 b What we must doo when two contrarie méet which cannot be performed both at once 166 a b 71 a b 72 a Commings of Christ in the scripture onelie two 231 b Common-weale and what kind of rule were good therein 163 a Platos imagined 52 a Communion or coniunction of vs with Christ 105 b 97 a What opinion Cyril held thereof 106 b The instruments or knots of the same 98 a Of the beginning and ending thereof 106 a Signes and tokens of it 98 a Distances of places hinder it not 97 b Of the Communion of the parts or members of the bodie 97 b Communion in the morning a deuise of man 119 b 120 a ¶ Looke Eucharist Concubines of the patriarchs were their wiues 152 a Concupiscence of two kinds recited in the last precept of the lawe 165 a Confession of sinnes both to God and men allowed 157 a Thrée maner of waies in the sacrifices 170 a How flight in persecution is a kind thereof 70 a Auricular must not be taken out of the church 170 a Coniunction of vs with Christ in the Eucharist 140 b 141 a b 106 a b 184 a b 220 a b 124 a b Disagréement touching the same 97 a Whether it be doon by Christ or by faith 126. How it is increased in Christ 124 b 125. 126 a 127 a A certeine kind common to all men in generall 105 b That the weakenesse of faith letteth it not 126 a Of the members of the church 139 a b 140 a b Of Christs humanitie and diuinitie 3 a b. Coniunctions two which we haue with Christ 97 a Conscience cléere a great comfort 112 b We must doo nothing against it 122 a b. Consecration is a sacramentall thing 242 b The force therof speciallie in the Eucharist 138 b 239 a When and how that of the bread in the Eucharist was made 212 a Consequent denied by denieng of the antecedent 130 b 131 a Constancie in persecution for true religion exhorted Read the 47. epistle beginning at pag. 139 Renewed in the godlie 145 b Consubstantiation of Luther and Brentius 153 b Contempt of Christ 3 b Contraries cannot be togither in one subiect at once 204 a b 205 a b. Contrition and how it is not effectuall to the remission of sinnes 157 a Controuersies about the vnderstanding of scriptures 187 a Conuersion and whether it be by compulsion 111 b 112 a 119 b Touching the power of God therein 108 b Thervnto we bring nothing actiuelie 117 b 118 a Whereto it and our disposition to doo good must be attributed 110 a b 111 a b 112 a b Of Paule 115 a Whether he therein were drawne by frée will 118 a b. Correction brotherlie extendeth to euerie estate 170 a Couenant and the definition and scope thereof 160 a What God requireth of vs to him ward therein 28 b 29 a That in the lawe and that in the Gospell all one 150 a What Iewes at this daie belong not to the same 150 b What God ment when in that which he made with the Leuites he promised peace 28 a b. Councels generall and how they are to be regarded 210 b 197 a b That they cannot erre as the Cardinall of Loren saith 152 b Not to relie or leane too much to them 249 a b. Counsell asking of God in euerie enterprise 38 a Court of leauing it or liuing in it 158 b Creation of all things and probable propositions concerning the same 144 a Creatures haue a substance circumscriptible 190 b How it commeth that some be cleane and some vncleane 147 b Wherin their holinesse standeth 163 a Crosse is Christs triumphant chariot 5 b 6 a 8 a How it maketh all things sauorie 9 a b How diuerslie men be addicted to the same 4 a Crucifix and of worshipping the same 121 a b The image thereof must not be on the table when the word is preached or the sacraments ministred 123 a b. Curiositie defined and what is intended thereby 152 a Why it dooth much hinder faith 163 a Cursses are lawfull for the godlie and so are oths 164 b What we are to gather by those that were laid vpon our first parents 146 a b. D. DAgon and the forme and figure of him being the Philistines god 86 b Dansing and what is thereof determined 161 a Deacons and whie they were ordeined in the church 50 a 42 b Dead and touching their buriall in chosen places and speciallie in temples 152 a Death more feared in the time of the lawe than of the Gospell 149 a Of bodie and soule set before Adam 145 a Of sorrowing and reioising therein and the causes thereof 155 b The crueltie therof complained of 82 a How the godlie desire that which they feare 67 a How the feare of the same is not of it selfe faultie 73 a b. Of two sorts the one bodilie the other spirituall 74 b Within what bounds the feare thereof must be restrained 67 b A thing to be feared 66 a How it dooth alwaies bring feare 67 a Whether there be a faultinesse in the feare thereof 66 a Not good by it selfe 67 a Whether the feare thereof in a Christian man be sinne 65 b A sermon of Christs 1 a and so forward In what respect he stroue with it 5 a Dearth and prouision against it when and by whom to be made 157 a Disagreement and bearing of hatred differ 176 a b. Discipline ecclesiasticall and how necessarie a thing it is 88 b Where the rule thereof must be sought for 89 a Vnder what pretense it is reiected 88 b Disputations must not be counted vnprofitable nor refused and whie 176 a Diuell let loose and at libertie 103 b Diuine is a god speking among men 49 b. Diuinitie a sermon concerning the studie of the same 43 b and so forward The ancientnesse thereof 45 b The vtilitie and profit of it 46 a The worthinesse thereof 45 a 249 a b Schooles for it and what ought to be read in them 89 a b The cheefe thing whereby to iudge matters thereof 210b How that when it is commended vnder one labour are reaped two fruits 44 b The nature and propertie of it set foorth by similitudes 56 b A kind thereof condemned whie 54 a A definition thereof 56 b Diuinitie or Godhead and a distinction
feast daies of the Iewes 376. Whether it be lawfull to solemnize the birth daie of anie man pag. 377. chapter VIII The fift precept of the honouring of superiours pag. 377. A comparison betweene the duties of parents and magistrates Ibidem What dominion the husband hath ouer the wife pag. 379. Of ambition pag. 381. Of the desire of praise pag. 382. Of flatterie pag. 383. chapter IX The sixt precept of freendship 384. Of homicide pag. 385. Whether Elias did well in killing of the Baalites pag. 386. Of parricide pag. 390. Of sword-plaie Ibidem Whether it be lawfull for anie man to kill himselfe pag. 391. Of repelling of violence pag. 397. Of curssings imprecations and bannings Ibidem How far it may be lawfull to reioise in our enimies ouerthrowe pag. 400. Of a cursse shunning of reuenge 403. * Of the affects in generall pag. 405. * Of shamefastnesse pag. 411. * Of temperance pag. 412. Of mercie and Nemesis Ibidem Of crueltie enuie emulation and reuenge pag. 414. chapter X The seuenth precept of not coÌ„mitting adulterie pag. 418. Of matrimonie and concubins Ibid. Of polygamie pag. 420. Of barrennesse pag. 430. Whether it be lawfull for children to marrie without the consent of their parents pag. 431. Of rauine or violent taking awaie 437. Whether marriage be lawfull in persons of sundrie religions pag. 442. Of degrees forbidden in marriage pag. 447. Dispensation for marriage pag. 453. Of dowries pag. 454. Of diuorsements pag. 457. Whether matrimonie be a sacrament pag. 462. chapter XI Of whoordome fornication and adulterie pag 468. Of bastards pag. 475. Of idlenesse pag. 479. Of the punishments of adulterie 482. Whether the man or woman doo sinne more greeuouslie in adulterie pag. 489. Of reconciliation of man wife 495. Of wine and droonkennesse pag. 497. Of danses pag. 503. Of garments and apparell pag. 506. Of counterfet and false colouring 507. chapter XII The eight precept of not committing theft pag. 517. Of beneficence and hospitalitie 518. Of benefiting and vnthankfulnes 523. Of plaies and pastimes pag. 524. * Of gentlenesse and affabilitie pag. 528. chapter XIII The ninth precept of not bearing false witnesse Ibidem Of contumelie Ibidem Of suspicions pag. 533. Of mocking and taunting pag. 534. Of deceit or guile Ibidem Whether guile be lawfull for the rooting out of idolatrie and heresies 539. Of dissimulation pag. 541. Of truth and of a lie pag. 542. Whether it be lawfull to lie for preseruing the life of our neighbour pag. 546. Whether we may lie for modestie sake pag. 547. Whether faith against a promise breaker must be kept pag. 548. Of a fable and apolog pag. 550. chapter XIIII The last precept against lusting 551. Of the comparison betweene sins 553. Of charitie which is the fulfilling of the lawe pag. 556. Of salutations pag. 560. Whether the commandement of louing God with all the hart c. may bee kept in this life pag. 562. Whether the first motions should bee accounted sinnes pag. 565. Whether by rewards we ought to bee mooued to the obedience of God 573. chapter XV Of the vse and abrogating of the lawe pag. â—75 chapter XVI Of the likenesse and vnlikenesse of the old and new league or couenant pag. 582. A comparison of the sacraments of the fathers with ours pag. 586. chapter XVII Of Christ and his manifestation in the flesh and by what meanes he performed all the parts of our saluation pag. 599. chapter XVIII An exposition vpon the twelue articles pag. 612. The method and order of the Common places of the Third part AFter these things doo followe the causes and the generall meanes whereby we are both put and reteined in the possession of Christ and saluation and there be also shewed the effects of Christ remaining in vs. All which things the places following doo plainelie teach to wit the places of predestination and calling of faith and hope of adoption iustification Christian libertie of repentance of Christian life of patience in afflictions of the praiers of good men and finallie of eternall life THE CHAPTERS AND COMMON PLACES OF THE THIRD PART chapter I OF the eternall predestination of God wherein also are refelled the arguments which the aduersaries make against the same pag. 1. Whether GOD would destroie anie man pag. 42. chapter II Of the calling of God pag. 44. Of grace pag. 47. How grace and works are vnto eternall life pag. 52. chapter III Of faith and the certeintie thereof and how faith may agree with feare pag. 63. Of securitie pag. 67. Whether true faith may be separated from charitie pag. 69. How faith excelleth charitie and the contrarie pag. 75. What vnion the godlie haue with Christ pag. 77. Of the adoption of the sonnes of God pag. 79. The description of Christian hope 82. chapter IIII That iustification is of faith onelie not of works pag. 89. chapter V Of peace bondage Christian libertie of offense of conscience and of the choise of meates pag. 161. chapter VI Of vowes in generall pag. 175. Of the vow of Nazareth pag. 177. Of the vow of Ieptha pag. 182. Of the Rechabites pag. 188. Of peregrinations pag. 191. chapter VII Of marriage and sole life especiallie of ministers pag. 192. That chastitie is no common gift of God pag. 198. chapter VIII Of repentance of contrition confession and satisfaction pag. 203. chapter IX Of the works of supererogation imagined perfection of the Papists pag. 227. Of purgatorie and papisticall indulgences pag. 232. chapter X Of teares fasting there also of Lent pag. 245. Of watches pag. 256. chapter XI Of a Christian life and there of sundrie vocations pag. 257. Of freendship pag. 258. How we are to take counsel of God 260. The example of Naaman declared 263. That the possession of riches is lawfull for godlie men pag. 267. chapter XII Of liberalitie and magnificence 269. Of fortitude mortification enduring the crosse and affliction pag. 270. Of flight pag. 287. Whether Dauid did well in flieng to the Philistines for feare of Saule pag. 291. Whether the holie men were inferior to the Ethniks in abiding aduersities 296. chapter XIII Of holie praiers pag. 300. Whether praiers be the causes of the benefits of God pag. 310. How God saith he will giue that which he will not giue and contrariwise Ibid. Of the abuse of forreine language 309. Of musicke and meeter pag. 311. chapter XIIII Of death and of the consolation of the godlie against the same pag. 314. Of moorning for the dead pag. 315. Of buriall pag. 319. That soules loosed from their bodies do not sleepe pag. 323. Of wandering spirits pag. 326. chapter XV Of the resurrection pag. 327. chapter XVI Of the taking vp of Elias and Enoch and of their returne pag. 370. chapter XVII Of the end of the world pag. 385. Of the last iudgement pag. 386. That all mens glorie in heauen shall be alike pag. 389. Of the change of all things pag. 393. The method of the Common
manifold miracles shewed vpon mount Sina and in the wildernes which afterward ceassed when they were come to the land of promise so in like maner miracles are now also taken awaie séeing the gospell is spred throughout the world And therefore the promise which Christ would haue to be written in the gospell of Marke The promise of miracles in Marke extendeth not to all times belonged not to all times wherof it is not our part either to complaine or find anie fault bicause that we heare that the holie ghost distributeth to euerie one as he will who neuerthelesse for great considerations him moouing dooth not impart to all men gifts and graces alike By not giuing of graces to all alike they are lesse contemned and charitie the more exercised For if they should happen to all alike they would soone grow out of estimation whereas God hath determined to make store of them Moreouer he would that charitie should grow and increase which is then exercised when one man dooth helpe an other which thing would not haue taken place if all men had béene indued with like gifts The tenth Chapter Of appeerings of diuels of their answers and sundrie illusions In 1 Sam. 28. at the end HEere I may not passe ouer certeine obscure places which we find in the historie of Samuel Looke In 1. Cor. 12 2. But that they may bée the better vnderstood wée will in the expounding of them followe this order First to inquire who it was that appéered at the call of the witch secondlie if it shall manifestlie fall out that it was the diuell whether he can so appéere and knowe things to come lastlie if he can doo this whether it be lawfull to aske counsell of him Who was that which appeered at the call of the witch As concerning this first question it is of necessitie that either the same was Samuelâ— or the diuell but if we affirme that it was Samuel then will it be doubtfull whether he came wholie both in bodie and soule or in his bodie alone or else in his soule alone If he came wholie in bodie and soule It was not whole Samuel in soule and bodie then must it néeds be that he rose from the dead But this being an excellent great miracle cannot be attributed either to the witch or to the diuell yea and there be some which doo not attribute that no not to God But those pestilent opinions are easilie confuted by the verie historie of the holie scriptures For we reade of thrée in the old testament which were restored from death to life 1. Kin. 17 22 2. Kin. 4 34. one by Elias another by Elizeus being yet aliue 2. Kin. 13 21 and the third by the bones of Elizeus when he was dead Matth. 9 25 In the new testament we read of the chéefe ruler of the synagog his daughter of the widowes sonne Luke 7 14 Iohn 11 43 Acts. 9 46. Acts. 20 10. of Lazarus Eutyches and Dorcas Wherefore if we denie that Samuel returned vnto life we doo not therefore denie that GOD could not bring it to passe For Christ prooued the resurrection and said that God is not the God of the dead but of the liuing Luk. 20 38. and Paule in the 15. of the first epistle to the Corinthians by manie reasons of purpose confirmeth the resurrection of the dead and in the epistle to the Hebrues he reckoneth it among the grounds of our religion It is an article of our faith Heb. 6 2. And vndoubtedlie neither the Turks nor Iewes denie that the dead shall rise againe But the Montanists Originists and such other furies The Montanists and the Originists which denie the resurrection are plainlie confuted out of Iob out of the psalms out of Esaie out of Daniel and euerie-where out of the new testament We doo not I saie denie that it was doone bicause it could not be doone but bicause such miracles whereas they ought to be testimonies of the truth would here be testimonies of lies and magicall wickednes and bicause it is not likelie that God would permit it For so notable a thing may not be attributed vnto the power of the diuell bicause to be able to raise the dead belongeth onlie vnto God But Apollonius Tyaneus raised a maid Indéed so it is written in his life howbeit the same in verie déed was but a phantasie and not a thing doone and that is also to be affirmed as touching Simon Magus And now that it was the carcase of Samuel It was not the dead carcase of Samuel it is not likelie Neither doo anie of the interpretours sauing onelie Burgensis saie that it was so And vndoubtedlie a dead carcase is of it selfe senselesse and void of life neither could it haue answered anie thing vnlesse the diuell had put on the same But the diuell could doo these things euen without a dead carcase for hée might haue taken vpon him the forme and figure thereof 2 Wherefore let vs sée Whether it was the soule of Samuel whether it were the soule of Samuel or the diuell For the interpretours séeme to write diuersâ—ie of that matter Some say that it could not be his soule bicause they thinke that the soules of men remaine not after death But these be wicked mad and doting opinions For out of all doubt Vndoubtedly soules remaine after the deth of the bodie Exod. 3 6. the soules of the godlie are extant and doo liue before God For so God himselfe saith I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaâ—… and the God of Iacob And Christ addeth therevnto He is not the GOD of the dead but of the liuing Matt. 22 32. And Christ said to the théefe To daie thou shalt be with me in paradise Certeinlie To daie Luke 23 43 had béene a verie long time if he had commanded him to wait till the generall resurrection But A thousand yeeres saie they with the Lord are but as one daie Psal 90 4. 1. Pet. 3 8. I grant howbeit that aduerbe Hodie To daie is not alwaies to be vnderstood after that sort Yea and Augustine in his epistle to Dardanus vnderstanding that aduerbe properlie saith that The bodie of Christ was that daie in the sepulchre and his soule in hell and that therefore of necessitie the théefe was present with the Godhead of Christ in paradise For he granteth not that either the soule or the bodie of the Lord could be in sundrie places at one time And Paule saith to the Philippians I desire to be loosed from hence he saith not Phil. 1 23. And to sleepe and to be extinguished but To be with Christ And it had béene better to haue continued liuing than to haue departed into sléepe for here wée acknowledge and praise the Lord. Luke 16 22. Moreouer we read that Lazarus was caried into felicitie and the rich glutton was cast into hell And to that other
thinketh that it may be more easilie answered if we saie that it was not Samuel but onelie a vaine imagination and phantasie A rule howbeit he cannot but grant that two things are against this opinion one is that the scriptures doo alwaies so speake as if it had béene verie Samuel But he answereth that it is the vsuall maner of the scriptures to call similitudes by the names of those things which they represent For so the woodden images were called cherubims and Salomon made brasen oxen 1. Kin. 6 23. 1. Kin. 7 25. 1. Sam. 6 11. and the Philistines gaue siluer mice Neither doo the holie scriptures lie when they speake after that sort For men are woont commonlie so to speake and it pleased God to applie himselfe to the sense and capacitie of man Another thing is that he trulie fore-shewed what would come to passe namelie 1. Sa. 28 19. The diuell sometime speaketh true things that Saule with his sonnes should be slaine and that the host of Israel should be ouerthrowne But he answereth that this also is no new or woonderfull thing for the diuels confessed Christ to be the sonne of God Mark 1 24. And in the Acts of the apostles they gaue a verie goodlie testimonie of Paules doctrine Acts. 16 17. Euen so in this place God vseth the seruice of the diuell to the intent he might terrifie Saule that he which had taken counsell of euill spirits might be afflicted with an euill answere But he addeth how might Saule be with Samuel a wicked man with an holie prophet A great distance of places between blessed soules and lost soules Luk. 16 26. Such he saith is the subtiltie of the diuell alwaies to mingle some truth with falshood For assuredlie saith he there is great distance of place betwéene the blessed soules and the reprobate And this he prooueth out of the historie of the rich man and Lazarus This I make mention of forsomuch as I sée that they which affirme the bodie of Christ to be in euerie place haue no reason so to saie For if that were true then the soules of the godlie should be in euerie place also For Christ saith Wheresoeuer I am Iohn 12 26. there also my minister shall be And by this meanes there should be no differences betwéene soules Of vbiquitie for all should be in all places But they saie Ierom against Vigilantius that Ierom writeth thus against Vigilantins For Vigilantius denied that we should call vpon dead men for they are in the bosome of Abraham and doo not wander about their sepulchres and ashes Then are they not saith Ierom in anie stinking prison but in a pleasant and large custodie like certeine fathers of the order of senatours But saith he They followe the Lambe wheresoeuer he goeth now the Lambe is euerie-where Apoc. 14 4. Further saith he shall we grant this vnto diuels that they can wander vp and downe thoroughout the whole world shall we denie the same vnto the blessed soules of godlie men Here Ierom by his good leaue may it be spoken is somwhat out of the waie Ierom misseth concerning the vbiquitie of soules and yet he hath not spoken of that whereof these men did meane He erreth in saieng that the soules of dead men are conuersant about their sepulchres and that they are to be inuocated yet dooth he not saie that they be euerie-where He compareth them with spirits which he saith doo wander euerie where that is they be sometimes here and sometimes there But if they were euery-where they could not wander héer and there and change places and therefore Ierom saith that neither the lambe nor the soules departed nor diuels be in euerie place but that they in such sort wander at large as they may be wheresoeuer they list These things I haue touched by the waie But Augustine answereth that that saieng of Samuel may be vnderstood of the generall state of death and not of the equalitie of happines In the latter end he addeth that whereas there be but these two waies onlie the former may not be admitted vnles it be prooued to be possible that soules departed may by magicall charms be called againe and beare the proportion of mens bodies And therefore of necessitie the other waie remaineth namelie that it was doone by the counsell and will of God But by the power of incantation that could not be doone and yet by the purpose and commandement of God it might be brought to passe And to this opinion I willinglie agrée For if God will I sée not what should hinder it Augustins booke of questions of the new and old testament 5 In the sixt question to Dulcitius he hath in a maner the same that he hath to Simplicianus But in the questions of the old and new testament if that be Augustines booke which I speake bicause of the censure and iudgement of Erasmus who hath separated that booke from the works of Augustine he accounteth it detestable for anie man to thinke that it was Samuel whom the witch raised vp for it was onlie a delusion and an imagination For the diuell did this to bring himselfe vnto honour and to persuade men that the soules of the dead be in his power and that they shall not escape from his hands after death But if the historie be well discussed we shall not find anie thing at all to prooue that it was Samuel but that Saule indéed when he had heard the description of his apparell and the fashion of his bodie thought that it had béene so that the scripture applied it selfe to his mind and opinion that Saule fell downe and worshipped and thereby the diuell had that which he sought for that Samuel would neuer haue suffered it but that he said Saule should be with him the next daie bicause he was wicked and should perish euerlastinglie But what shall we answere as touching Ionathas 1. Sa. 28 19. who was well knowne to be a iust man Wherefore this answere of Augustine séemeth to be féeble In his second booke De doctrina christiana Augustins booke De mirabilibus scripturarum the 26. chapter he saith It was an image raised vp by sacriledge In another booke De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae if the same be Augustines booke he likewise denieth that it was Samuel indéed Also in his little booke De cura pro mortuis agenda he hath manie excellent things but in the end he concludeth The dead knowe not what is doone in this life that it séemeth vnto him the soules of those which are departed be ignorant what is doone in this life For wheras they oftentimes appéere and present themselues to liuing men somtimes waking and somtimes sléeping Looke In 2. Kings 22 verse 23. that may be doone by angels either good or bad And he saith that we our selues doo oftentimes present our selues to our fréends in our sléepe when as we our selues
that this phrase of spéech can haue no place if the soule of Christ had béene deriued by waie of propagation through the lawe of nature from his forefathers vnlesse we shall affirme that nature dooth worke by chance And he thinketh What maner of lot could haue place in the soule of Christ that this word Lot did therefore take place in the soule of Christ to the intent we should vnderstand that those ornaments which we knowe were most abundant and plentifull in it were not bestowed thervpon for anie merits going before but thorough the méere mercie of God and that this was a verie great ornament of the soule of Christ to be ioined to one and the selfe-same substance and person with the word of God The booke of Wisdome is not reckoned canonicall But this testimonie forsomuch as it is not had out of the holie scriptures which are reckoned canonicall it hath no great force Augustine leaueth indifferent the question of deriuation of soules from parents Psal 33 15. Euen those things are said to bee created which are doone by meanes Gen. 1 20. Last of all he leaueth indifferent the question as touching the deriuation of soules from parents as a thing each waie probable And bicause they which are against it are woont to cite this place out of the 33. psalme Which facioned the harts of them seuerallie this saith he is also weake bicause euen they which defend the deriuation of the soule from parents denie not but that the soules be created by God although they affirme that the same is doone by a meane For so we read in the booke of Genesis that the birds were not created of nothing but at the commandement of God they issued foorth out of the waters And euerie one of vs is said to be dissolued into the earth from whence we were taken when as neuertheles we haue not bodies immediatelie out of the earth but of the bodies of our parents The receiued opinion is that the soules in creating are infused Thus this opinion cannot be confuted and ouerthrowne by the scriptures Although I knowe this is the opinion receiued in the church that the soules are in creating infused and in infusing are created Neither haue I recited these things to the intent that I would haue anie alteration concerning this doctrine but that it may onelie be vnderstood what maner of propagation of originall sinne séemed most easie vnto some of the ecclesiasticall writers And surelie the Schoole-men The opinion of deriuing soules froÌ„ parents is oppugned onlie by naturall reasons when they refuse this doctrine they onelie vse naturall reasons to wit that forsomuch as the reasonable soule in nature is altogither spirituall and indiuisible it cannot be sundered which thing is required in deriuation of the soules from parents And for that they hold it to be the vnderstanding part and a thing of more woorthines than that it can be drawne out of the matter or substance it selfe they earnestlie affirme that it must not haue his being by generation but by creation 50 Augustine assigneth another waie in his booke De nuptijs concupiscentia and in manie other places where he disputeth against the Pelagians touching this kind of sin this he saith that This vice is supposed to passe into the children through the plesure which the parents take in the fellowship of nature But this reason of propagation leaneth to a suspected ground in my iudgment an vntrue for that plesure which is taken of procreation is not euill in his owne nature vnlesse a naughtie desire come vnto it For if that action should of necessitie haue sinne ioined therewith the holie Ghost would not exhort anie man therevnto which yet he dooth when he persuadeth vs vnto matrimonie and when as by Paule he admonisheth them 1. Cor. 7 2 and 3. which be coupled in wedlocke to yéeld mutuall beneuolence one towards another Howbeit admit it were so grant we that through mans infirmitie there be some fault therein it would followe thereof The infection of carnall lust standeth not onelie in carnall desires but in other lustings also that onelie this kind of lust is deriued vnto the children But the infection of originall sinne consisteth not onlie in those things which apperteine vnto carnall desires but also in other lustings after riches honors reuengements and finallie in the whole corruption of our nature The third waie is that God dooth therefore create the soule with such an imperfection or defect bicause it must become the soule of man now damned and appointed to be vnder the curse Such a soule saie they God createth as vnto such a man is required euen as we sée vnto the bodie of a dog is giuen such a life as is méet for a dog and vnto the bodie of an asse such a life as is requisite for an asse But this séemeth to be a verie hard opinion namelie that God should contaminate with sinne a soule which as yet apperteined not to Adam especiallie séeing they cannot saie that this kind of sinne is the punishment of another sinne which went before Wherefore this deuise is reiected among all men least we make God to be absolutelie the author of sinne The fourth maner is imbraced by the consent of a great manie and it séemeth verie like to be true That the soule is not created with sinne but is said to drawe sinne vnto it so soone as it is ioined with the bodie namelie that the soule is not created sinfull but straitwaie draweth sinne vnto it so soone as euer it is ioined to the bodie deriued from Adam For séeing it wanteth those graces and vertues wherewith the soule of the first man was indued and also hath obteined a bodie subiect vnto the curse and hath instruments vnapt and little méet to spirituall works therefore when it should rule the bodie it is gréeued and oppressed by the same and is drawne vnto such lusts as are agréeable to the bodie For it is weakened on each side The soule weakened two maner of waies both with the vnpurenes of the bodie and the imbecillitie of it selfe bicause it is destitute of that power wherewith it should vanquish nature Vpon which two principall points the corruption and naughtinesse of the whole nature dooth depend I haue now spoken so much as I thought should be méet for this present purpose what the apostle meaneth by this word Sinne by whom he saith it is spread abroad ouer mankind and what the ecclesiasticall writers haue taught concerning the maner how it hath béene conueâ—hed from one to another That sinne is the cause of death In 1. Cor. 15 verse 2. Augustine Adams bodie was mortall but not of necessitie to die 51 But against the Pelagian errors Augustine disputeth earnestlie in his booke De peccatorum meritis remissione where he declareth that The bodie of the first man was not of necessitie subiect vnto death yet was he mortall
Christ himselfe although by his death he was to deliuer mankind yet did he neuer offer to kill himselfe but tarried to be slaine by others 2. Sam. 1 16 And when the Amalechit had said that he stood vpon the bodie of Saule while he was dieng and did presse him downe that he might die the more easilie Dauid answered Thou art the sonne of death But if it had béene lawfull for Saule to haue killed himselfe how could the yoong man which hastened his death be worthie of death For it is lawfull for one to helpe an other in an honest matter and especiallie his prince And if the lawe forbid thée to kill an other man it much rather forbiddeth thée to kill thy selfe sith that which is not lawfull for thée to doo to an other is vnlawfull for thée to doo to thy selfe Whence the rule of charitie must be taken For the rule of charitie must be taken from that charitie wherewith we loue our selues Furthermore thou killest either an offender or an innocent If innocent thou dooest iniurie to the lawe if an offender yet art thou iniurious against the lawe for thou bereauest thy selfe of time to repent And if so be God would suffer thée that thou mightest repent surelie thou that art not a magistrate oughtest to suffer thy selfe Thus much out of the holie scriptures Augustine Arguments out of the fathers 12 Augustine in his first booke De ciuitate Dei from the sixt chapter vnto the 20. disputeth hereof at large And the cause whie he wrote these things in so manie words was for that when the barbarous nations after the sacking of Rome did iniurie vnto yoong maidens and matrons manie rather killed themselues than they would abide such things But Augustine counselled that they should not so doo And in the 17. chapter he saith that It is not lawfull for anie to kill themselues either for obteining of good things or for auoiding of euill for it is murther which is forbidden by the lawe of God And Iudas Matt. 27 5. when he killed himselfe vndoubtedlie did slaie a wicked man yet is he guiltie saith he not onelie of the death of Christ but of his owne also The same father in the second booke and 19. chapter against Petilianus Thou saist saith he that a traitor hath perished by an halter and for such hath left the halter As if Petilianus would saie that it is lawfull for a christian man to reuenge his owne sinne vpon himselfe and they which would so doo should be accounted for martyrs But we saith Augustine account not such to be martyrs The same father in his 60. epistle and in the 204. dooth much more plentifullie dispute of this matter Ierom in his epistle to Marcella Ierom. concerning the death of Blesilla vnder the person of God saith I receiue not such soules which against my will went foorth of their bodies And those philosophers which so did he calleth the martyrs of foolish philosophie The same father vpon Ionas saith that It is not our part to plucke death to vs violentlie but when the same is offered to take it patientlie except saith he it be where chastitie is in danger Chrysost Chrysostome vpon these words of the first chapter to the Galathians He hath deliuered vs out of this wicked world Gal. 1 4. If so it were saith he that this life were euill they should not doo euill which kill themselues but we saie that they be wicked and woorse than murtherers The canons condemne those also which geld themselues And those canons which be called The canons of the apostles Canons of the apostles doo call such men murtherers of themselues But and if it be not lawfull for one to geld himselfe much lesse is it lawfull to kill himselfe But yet it must be noted that it is not there ment of them which for disease are cut by the Physician 13 Herevnto also agrée the better sort of the philosophers The better I saie Arguments out of the philosophers and poets Plato bicause I knowe that there were manie as Cleanthes Empedocles Zeno and others which slue them selues Plato in Phaedone saith that This thing for two causes is not lawfull First bicause it is not lawfull to slaie the seruant of an other and that all we be the seruants of God Secondlie for that soldiers be condemned if they forsake their station without their emperors commandement He saith that God hath set vs as it were in a station wherefore he that without his commandement shall leaue his place is a traitor Aristotle in the fift of his Ethiks saith Aristotle that It is not lawfull to kill a citizen without commandement of the lawe and magistrate and therefore they which kill themselues ought to be gréeuouslie punished for they are noted with infamie These things he said although it be reported that afterward for the auoiding of danger he did wilfullie kill himselfe Virgil. Virgil placeth these kinds of men in great torments in hell saieng Then lowring next in place beene they that fell with wilfull death And guiltlesse slue themselues with hastie hands abhorring breath And shooke from them their soules How gladlie now in skies againe Would they full poore estate and hardnesse of their life sustaine The destnies them resist and lake vnlouelie them detaines And bellie fenne that nine times flowes among them fast restraines Out of the Epigrams And one that wrote Epigrams saith Death to contemne in poore estate an easie thing it is In thrall to liue who can abide doth valiantlie ywis 14 In the Digests De bonis illorum Arguments out of the lawes qui ante sententiam sibi manus attulerunt aut corruperunt accusatores L. Qui rei it is decréed that they who shall kill themselues their goods shall be confiscate the reason is that they must be taken for such as haue confessed themselues guiltie Yet is the sharpnes of that lawe mitigated by Antonius the emperor for he decréed that that lawe shuld be of force if the crime be woorthie either of death or of banishment Wherefore they which for theft kill themselues are excepted They also be excepted which being wearie of life or impatient of sorowe doo slea themselues Also Adrian excepteth the father who being suspected of killing his sonne killeth himselfe for it shuld séeme saith he that he did it rather for the loue of his sonne than for guiltinesse of the crime And if so be that one going about to kill himselfe and others comming in the meane time doo let him of his enterprise so he doo this through an vnpatiencie of sorowe or wearinesse of life him also Adrian dooth except but if he shall doo it for anie other cause he appointeth him to be punished For he that will not spare himselfe saith he how will he spare others In the Digests De iure fisci in the lawe In fraude in the Paraph Si quis If anie through shame
that Christ suffered those infirmities for vs for by this means they will séeme to be much more easie vnto vs than the nature of them dooth permit Moreouer if he so humbled himselfe for our sakes that when he was Lord yet he appéered in the forme of a seruant it ought not to séeme so hard a thing vnto vs sometime to slacke the saile and to submit the loftinesse of mind for the safetie of our weake and poore brethren Therefore Phil 2 5 not without iust cause Paule exhorted the Philippians that amongst them should be The verie same affection that was in Christ Iesus who when he was in the forme of GOD yet disdained not to put vpon him the forme of a seruant And thus far touching the originall conception and natiuitie of Christ according to the humane nature Now let vs go forward He suffered vnder Pontius Pilate was crucified dead buried descended into hell 13 The order which we before appointed requireth that first we should speake of the death of Christ secondlie of that state wherein he was after his death as well touching the bodie Two things to be noted in the death of Christ as touching the soule First therefore this death of Christ the which can neuer be sufficientlie praised or considered by vs had two things on◠that it was verie ignonimious the other that it was gréeuous aboue measure The rebukes of Christ The rebukes that Christ suffered although they were verie manie and verie hard to be abidden yet let vs consider that they depend vpon two principall points The one is that infamous qualitie and nature of sinnes which were laid vpon him but the other is the perfect innocencie and pure righteousnesse of his life For euen as A similitude when anie vnclenlie and vnpure thing if it be séene in the common stréet is not so ill agréeing and it lesse offendeth than if through the enuie and ill dealing of some man it be throwne vpon a certeine noble and pretious painted table so is it much lesse decent for a man that far excelleth all other creatures to be stained with infamie and dishonour And as concerning Christ which was the head of men the prince of angels and the onelie sonne of God he being not onlie iust and innocent but also verie innocencie and iustice it selfe certeinlie it was too too shamefull and ignominious that he should be burdened with so gréeuous crimes and that in iudgement not before the citizens of one citie onelie but before all the people of the whole kingdome of Iewrie who at that time by a vsuall custome was compelled to celebrate Easter at Ierusalem The slanders and railings against Christ Neither did it satisfie them that they had oftentimes defamed him with railings calling him a possessour of euill spirits a sorcerer a familiar of diuels by whose helpe he did worke miracles and that they called him a gluttonous fellow a droonkard from whome no sound doctrine could procéed likewise a companion of publicans sinners and finallie of infamous and wicked men that from him procéeded nothing but offenses euill examples They called him a Samaritane a stranger frō the true worshipping of GOD from whome as from some prophane person that was excommunicated from the church all men were to shun They I saie being not content with these reprochings to the intent they might pursue him vnto death they laid this thing against him before Pilat and Herod namelie that he had vttered intollerable blasphemie against the lawe of God arrogating vnto himselfe the name of the sonne of God that he was a seditious man not onelie against their owne lawes but also against the common state of the Roman empire by persuading of the people to denie tribute vnto Caesar and that he earnestlie pursued this one thing to wit that contrarie vnto order and without consent of the Romans he challenged the dignitie of a king Christ iudged worse than Barrabas 14 And by this meanes he came into such shame and contempt as Barrabas though he were a wicked and notable théefe was iudged to be more iust than he so that such a man being quit our Christ was condemned And in token of his iust condemnation and to haue it manifest that he aboue all other which commonlie are iudged wicked was worthie of the crosse He was crucified he by decrée of the iudge was hanged betwéene two théeues as though he had béene the chéefest among those that were most wicked and mischéeuous persons But then was fulfilled that prophesie which is written in Esaie which saith Esaie 53 3. that Christ should bee contemned and nothing regarded among men from whose sight euerie one should withdraw himselfe and that at the length he should be reckoned among the wicked And certeinlie his sentence dooth not disagrée with that which Paule writeth in his epistle to the Galathians where he saith Gala. 3 13. that He became a cursse for vs to deliuer vs from the cursse of the lawe for bicause it is written Cursed is euerie one that hangeth vpon a tree And here commeth to remembrance to speake a few words of the iustice of God how excéeding seuere so euer the same were But shew me I pray thée if shame and confusion be of good right due vnto sinnes what greater and more heaped measure of shame might there be found than that which Christ suffered for our sakes Were not the offenses of man sufficientlie and aboue measure deriued vnto Christ the same punished in him with all shame and dishonour Some man perhaps will saie that the rebukes were of lesse wait bicause of his grounded innocencie And in verie déed on this behalfe some easement might haue béene brought to those reproches The innocencie of Christ excused if that innocencie had béene most manifest to the sight of all men But assuredlie vpon that daie wherein Christ was lifted vpon the crosse he was so oppressed with the great heape of despitefull railings and false accusations of euill as the people miserablie beheld him nailed vnto the crosse wagging their head at him not as though they were troubled by perceiuing his afflictions but that they might pursue him still being wearied with ignominies and slanders as though they allowed by their iudgement all those troubles and miseries which inuironed him on euerie side Iustlie therefore may we reioise that we by faith are made partakers of so great a benefit séeing all the rebukes and ignominies which were due for our sinnes Christ our head tooke vpon him and vtterlie abolished Yea vndoubtedlie in the place of this shame ignominie we by that merit of Christ possesse in hope both glorie and honour in the sight of GOD as a thing due vnto vs. 15 But séeing not onelie shame and ignominie is by the iust iudgement of GOD due to sinne but also punishments Why Christ departed this life with railings and punishments which are laid vpon vs according to the
maner and measure of the sinne for this cause Christ departed this life not onelie loden with railings and contumelies but also was as it were plucked from the same life by the violence of most gréeuous paines and most cruell punishments The which séeing the euangelists doo plentifullie recite it is not our meaning to spend anie longer time in particular describing of the same Howbeit it séemeth that all those punishments of Christ which vndoubtedlie are innumerable may be contriued speciallie into foure chéefe partes Among which the first appeare to be the sundrie sorts of scornings wherewith he was diuers times assailed such were the spitting in his face the saluting and intituling him by the name of king the putting off of his owne garments and cladding him with other garments vnaccustomed the reputing of him sometime to be a foole and sometime a prince by blindfolding his eies with a cloth and by putting the scepter of a king though the same were of a réed into his hands also being so araied the bidding of him to prophesie by such as mocked him also to be set naked in the sight of all the people finallie to sée his garments diuided to most wicked knaues and lots to be cast vpon them I passe ouer that he was accounted of Herod as it were a common foole an infinite number of other mocks with the which he was disquieted as the wise reader shall easilie vnderstand out of the holie scriptures In the 13. section But if one demand wherein the rebukes and ignominies laid vpon Christ wherof we haue spoken before doo differ from these latter I answer that those belong to vniust infamie to accusation and vniust condemnation but these were added for the punishment of those faults which slanderouslie were laid vpon him His blowes wounds 16 Besides these reproches we must weigh the stripes and bloudie wounds which he susteined in his whole bodie the blowes the scourgings the strikings with the réed the prickings with thornes and an infinite number of other things more which he suffered at the sessions of the priests and elders in the iudgement hall in the stréets and else-where in diuers other places His crosse These hard afflictions receiued he vnder the crosse the which he bare on his shoulders with great trauell before it held him stretched out vpon it with his whole bodie But he was crucified being not tied with anie bands as perhaps the rest were yet nailed vnto the wood through hands and féet euen as he himselfe hereof gaue a sure testimonie after his resurrection when he said vnto Thomas Iohn 22 27. Bring thy finger hither and see my hands and put foorth thine hand and put it into my side Which he added by reason of the wound that he receiued in his side by a certeine soldier after his death The verie which thing Dauid Psal 22 17. by the spirit of prophesie had foretold in the Psalmes They persed saith he my hands and my feet The same prophet also passed not ouer in silence that vnpleasant tast of myrrhe the which being mingled with vineger was proffered vnto Christ for a drinke For he writeth in the 69. psalme verse 22. They gaue me gall for my food and vineger for quenching of my thirst The fourth and last punishment which Christ for our sake tooke vpon him His death was that separation of the soule from his pretious bodie the which as he that had the same fullie in his owne power and that sawe all things to be fulfilled that were foretold of him by the prophets touching the former matter he of his owne accord making a lowd voice yéelded vp his spirit 17 But héere Why God chose this waie to saue mankind séeing euerie thing is most woorthie to be noted I stand in some doubt what thing I may here first setle my selfe to examine Howbeit among manie things I will now intreat as bréeflie as I can of this which I next adde First let me aske you one question whether it séeme most strange vnto you that God who by another easier kind of meanes might haue reconciled mankind to himselfe tooke in hand the performance thereof by so manie and so gréeuous paines and labours of his owne sonne For this is certeine that he might haue taken anie other waie in hand for reconciling of vs with his sonne why then did he make him subiect to so manie miseries and rebukes Here might I answer that the iustice of God might by no other meanes be satisfied Which answer as it is true so is it commonlie receiued Wherfore I thinke it méet to note here thrée things most profitable to be knowne The first shall be this that we may sufficientlie vnderstand by that so hard a meanes which God vsed for procurement of our saluation how great a bond by the iust iudgment of God was growne through our sinnes how gréeuous was the burthen of them how great was the wrath enimitie and hatred which God had conceiued against vs and how horrible a reuenge hoong ouer our heads Which if it be diligentlie enough considered will it not be a most fit bridle to restreine our lusts and to staie vs from falling into foule and shamefull acts and into the vncleane works of darknesse of this world and of the flesh Vndoubtedlie we considering with the eies of our faith how seuerelie and sharpelie God hath punished them in Christ euerie one of vs ought to be carefull to flie wiselie from them Another thing that is méet here to be noted is this namelie that the consciences of men which through the infirmitie of the flesh doo oftentimes faint could neuer assure themselues from damnation which by their continuall yea and shamefull falles they deserue especiallie when as God the most iust iudge who neuer leaueth our sinnes vnpunished is alwaies set before our eies Mens minds I saie being striken with the féele of sinne could neuer haue taken anie comfort vnto them vnlesse the seuere sentence against Christ had gone before But when we perceiue that the sonne of God by so hard and bitter chastisement abode the punishment for all our sinnes besides that from hence springeth a full assurednesse to our minds we can neuer be satisfied in giuing of thanks vnto the mercie of God for that he cast all our iniquities vpon Christ according as it was foreshewed by Esaie Esai 53 5. that so he should suffer for our sinnes those gréeuous wounds and afflictions And that is it which Paule remembreth in the eight chapter to the Romans verse 31. that GOD spared not his owne onelie sonne but gaue him to death for vs all 18 But now let vs come to the third point of doctrine which it behooueth vs diligentlie to weigh Besides the profitable vses that we haue before assigned as touching the sufferings of Christ heere he sheweth himselfe an example and liuelie image of all perfection séeing we may héere behold what patience
obedience and charitie our Christ taught vs in dieng for vs. Certeinlie this doctrine is a most fit thing inuented for the kéeping of constancie in all afflictions Shall there anie be found if he be pressed with aduersities or ouercharged with diuelish temptations or if he run into anie other miseries whatsoeuer that turning his eies vpon Christ hanging on the crosse dooth not in the greatest troubles and calamities whatsoeuer comfort himselfe with this ioie I boldlie héere affirme that such a man aboue all others will kéepe the quietnes and tranquillitie of his mind séeing he acknowledgeth himselfe by reason héereof to walke in the paths and to tread in the steps of our most beloued master and onelie redéemer Iesus Christ There is no affliction will be gréeuous vnto him neither will it disquiet him to susteine anie aduersities or hard persecutions whatsoeuer they be for the honour of God and glorie of his Gospell Who is it from hence forward that will refuse to drinke of this cup of afflictions séeing Christ our head and prince hath so chéerefullie droonke thereof for obteining saluation vnto others These things I saie if euerie faithfull man will throughlie consider with himselfe he will not suffer the concupiscences of the flesh anie longer to take place and beare rule in his mind but with this pricke of the crosse will daie and night be egged forward and be profitablie driuen to the mortifieng of them while he shall consider that the flesh of Christ by the commandement of his father was humbled vpon this trée and that the same was obedient euen vnto death the which death was no lesse cruell than ignominious So as by the passion of Christ we not onelie picke out a consolation in our miseries misforturnes and calamities which often times light vpon vs but also a liuelie exhortation that we may be crucified with him as concerning the old man and our flesh according to that Gal. 5 24. which Paule to the Galathians taught They saith he that be of Christ haue crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Wherefore the same apostle vsed to call his afflictions Stigmata that is Gal. 6 17. The true prints and marks of Christs bodie The prints and seales of Christ ingraued in his bodie By reason whereof we cannot maruell enough at the follie also madnes of some christians which run hither thither on pilgrimage as far as Hiesa or Auernia for the prints and seales where with they vaunt that their Francis was marked But persecutions or rather infamies and losses which must be susteined either in goods or in bodies themselues for Christs religion sake or else for shewing of obedience to God they refuse them or else certeinlie they vnworthilie complaine of them euerie moment Of all these things it followeth that we ought verie much to estéeme afflictions punishments and troubles which we indure by the will of GOD for the glorie of Christ as being seales markes of all those things which the onelie sonne of God and our redéemer Christ suffered for vs vpon the crosse Now albeit that the Maiestie and worthines of this matter in hand dooth no small deale allure me vnto it and scarselie permitteth me to be led so soone from hence vnto an other discourse yet while I consider that I héere giue onelie an instruction vnto them that be the more ignorant and no full teaching of the better learned christians I will héere staie my selfe take in hand to describe that state which the bodie and the soule of Christ tasted of after his death He was buried he descended into hell 19 Two parts there be of man assumpted by the word into the vnitie of the person namelie the soule and the bodie euen as other men also consist of a soule and bodie but those parts were separated and disioined vpon the crosse The bodie as the euangelists doo testifie was laied in the sepulchre The sepulture of Christ wherein it remained vntill the third daie which was the time appointed by the eternall father for the most happie resurrection of Christ Of which mysterie when Paule intreateth in the epistle to the Romans he saith that The faithfull which be baptised into Christ Iesus are buried in baptisme Rom. 6 4. Which saieng must thus be vnderstood namelie that we are so dead vnto sinne in Christ that we haue no more to doo therewith séeing Christ dieng blotted out the same so that it should not afterward be imputed vnto vs vnto death Whereby that as the bodies of them that be dead be buried in the sepulchre neither doo appéere from thence vnto the eies of men not that they be not in the world but bicause that that which is corrupt and rotten in them is not séene euen so our sinne peruerse will and naughtie lust howsoeuer they be destroied by the crosse of Christ yet they cease not to remaine in vs but are couered in the sight of God Not that God knoweth not of them sufficientlie vnto whose eies all things are discouered and manifest but that he dooth mercifullie dissemble them reuengeth not nor yet is so angrie that he bringeth death vpon vs by reason of them Wherefore the flesh of Christ being buried after his death signified that our sinne is as it were buried before the iust tribunall seat of God It signified also that the power of the lawe is broken Finallie it betokened that the old shadowes and ceremonies of the lawe are vtterlie abolished The descending of Christ into hell 20 As concerning the verie soule it selfe immediatlie after that it departed from the bodie it remained not idle but it descended into the lower parts Which words declare nothing else but that it entred into the same state which the rest of the soules separated from the bodies haue experience of the which are either chosen into the fellowship of saints or else are thrust out into euerlasting destruction with the spirits of them that be damned And assuredlie both the one and the other as well the societie of the godlie spirits as also of them that should be damned felt the presence of the soule of Christ For the spirits of the faithfull who as Christ saith in Luke Luke 16 22. while he maketh mention of that vnhappie rich man and of most happie Lazarus rested in a verie quiet place which there is aptlie called The bosome of Abraham that they being all indued with one faith of that holie patriarch should wait for saluation through Christ which there was named from Abraham Those spirits I saie reioised with great consolation gaue thanks vnto the excellent God who had deliuered them by the hand of the mediatour and bicause he had perfourmed that thing which he so long before had promised Also the other spirits which were appointed to damnation felt the comming of the soule of Christ For as we read in the first epistle of Peter the third chapter To them the spirit of Christ preached
verse 19. Which may be vnderstood after this sort namelie that he might reprooue them for their obstinacie and vnbeléefe wherein they were hardened against the word of God and against the godlie admonitions which euer among were propounded vnto them while they yet liued or else that he euen then shewed vnto them that same holsome and most true word Which word séeing they being alwaies like to themselues did obstinatelie reiect and being dead reteined still that incredulitie which they did being aliue they themselues gaue a most manifest testimonie against themselues of their most iust condemnation especiallie séeing they might not anie longer pretend anie maner of ignorance Thus the wisedome of God through his iudgements carieth perfect praise and renowme And here we are to craue of GOD that he will vouchsafe to giue vnto vs such a mind as we estéeme not more of our peruerse lusts than of a stinking carcase which is alreadie laid close in a sepulchre and that he will so open our heart to imbrace his holie promises least while our eares are striken onelie with the outward sound of them we wickedlie resist the truth certeintie of them It is our part also that séeing Christ by so manie labours and sufferings approoued him selfe for certeintie to be verie man we being comforted by his helpe should plainlie meditate diuine and heauenlie life And hauing so great a benefite giuen of God by the death and buriall of Christ we should doo him no small wrong if we would in verie déed thinke that our owne works auaile anie thing for reconcilement of vs vnto him when as we professe rather by this article of faith that he was pacified with mankind by the onelie death of Christ and by his bitter passion He rose againe the third daie he ascended into heauen he sitteth at the right hand of God the father almightie 21 If Christ that onelie sonne of God Looke the dialog De vtraque in Christo natura The resurrection of Christ the triumph of our faith A similitude which came downe vnto vs and for our saluation was slaine by a most bitter death of the crosse had shroonke or not béene able to haue susteined death and being closed in the sepulchre had tasted the force of corruption as other men doo how might we haue confidence to be saued by him that had not béene able to saue himselfe In like maner as if a man that would proffer his helpe to one perishing in the water leapeth with a good courage into the water neuerthelesse he himselfe whiles he indeuoureth to saue another perisheth being swallowed vp in the déepe of the water can he that perisheth himselfe bring anie helpe to him that is perishing Vndoubtedlie no other commoditie can come thereof but that the losse groweth to be double if vnto the death of the first there is also added the death of a second who by his death should bring so much the more losse in how much his life was more pure and holie So then it altogither behoued first that for our saluation Christ should deliuer himselfe from death then to persuade vs most fullie that by faith in him saluation is obteined for vs. Wherefore they which beheld him hanging vpon the crosse did reprochfullie cast him in the téeth with these things Matt. 27 42 Let him saue himselfe and we will beleeue him he saued others himselfe he cannot saue And he rose againe from death wherein he expressed foorth a greater power than if he had then descended from the crosse He stroue in such sort with death as he mightilie conquering and destroieng the same might not be reteined thereby For this cause doo we here confesse that he was raised vp the third daie according to the scriptures and that by his fathers decrée he ascended into heauen and that he sitteth at the right hand of the father By which article of our faith we now sucke out most swéet comfort to wit Two worthie things to be noted in the resurrection of Christ The glorie of Christ that Christ is exalted for our saluation And here fall out two things most worthie to be noted the first is what maner of exaltation and new glorie of Christ the same was the second what profit may redound to the faithfull therby 22 Whosoeuer is desirous to perceiue aright vnto what a heigth Christ is raised vp first it behooueth him to weigh vnto how base an estate he first of his owne accord humbled himselfe for our sakes This dooth Paule in his epistle to the Philippians contriue in few words Phil. 2 7. He saith he made himselfe of no reputation and tooke on him the forme of a seruant and was made like vnto men and was found in shape as a man hee humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto death euen to the death of the crosse In like maner also as we haue more at large shewed before Christes spirit separated from his bodie his bodie was closed vp in the sepulchre but his soule had proofe of that state which the spirits of men enter into when they be separated from their bodies by death The viler therefore and more abiect that these things were vnto the shew so much the more honourable it was to dispatch himselfe from hence and to mount vp vnto things méere contrarie And séeing that mankind is subiect euery where to sundrie miseries those doubtlesse are no small miseries which euen they commonlie suffer who abounding in riches séeme to haue obteined the more happie state of life Yet the miseries of the poore be more gréeuous but when they serue in bondage they be much more extreame A similitude Howbeit if so be that a man which is of a couragious noble mind be deliuered into the bondage of such his enimies as not onelie are of base calling among men but also of naughtie and wicked behauiour his lamentable and miserable state séemeth then to be most intollerable Yet verelie all these things happened vnto Christ who as he vndoubtedlie put on the true nature of man so was he a seruant not onelie vnto his disciples vnto whome he said that He came into the world Mat. 20 28. not to be ministred vnto but to minister vnto others which the thing it selfe declared when as he humbled himselfe euen vnto the ground to wash their féet Ioh. 13 5. but that which is a great deale harder he declared himselfe as a seruant euen to his owne enimies namelie vnto the wicked and vnto them which were wholie couered in the sinke of wickednes towards whom he so executed the parts of a seruant as for the safetie of them he spent his owne life And this is it that Paule writeth in his epistle to the Romans Rom. 5 6. 8. 10. When as saith he wee were yet but weake sinners enimies and wicked men Christ died for vs. He therefore being so humbled and abased as he is called by the prophet A worme and no
into him He followed the intisements of couetousnes he betraied not the Lord to obeie his prophesie Christ also was by the will of God sâ—aine for he said in the garden Ibidem 39. Let this cup passe away from me if it be possible but not my will be doone but thine And of himselfe he said before hand I will giue my life for my sheepe Ioh. 10 11. Yea Herod and Pilat are in the Acts of the apostles said to haue agréed togither Acts. 4 27. to doo those things which the counsell of God had decréed Are either the Iewes or those princes by reason of this to be acquited from sinne when as they condemned and slue an innocent man Who will saie so Shall anie man also acquite of villanie the brethren of Ioseph Gen 45 7. when they sold their brother although God would by that meanes that Ioseph should come into Aegypt Neither shall the crueltie of the king of Babylon be excused Esaie 10 7. although the iustice of God decréed to haue the Iewes in such sort punished He which is killed Exo. 23 31. is said to be deliuered by God into the hands of his enimie And God is also said to deliuer a citie Iosua 6 16. when it is woon by assalt Iob. 1 21. And Iob said that those things which were by violence and robberie taken awaie from him by the Chaldaeans and Sabeans were taken awaie by God The Lord saith he gaue and the Lord hath taken awaie Of predestination and the counsell of God cannot be inferred anie excuse of sins Wherefore of that counsell of God whereby he vseth sinnes to their appointed ends cannot be inferred anie iust excuses of sinnes for wicked works are iudged and condemned by reason of the lewd and corrupt hart from whence they are deriued Wherefore let no man be offended with the doctrine of predestination séeing rather by it we are led to acknowledge the benefits of God and to giue thanks vnto him onlie And let vs also learne not to attribute more vnto our owne strength than we ought let vs haue also an assured persuasion of the good will of God towards vs whereby he would elect his before the foundations of the world were laid Let vs moreouer be confirmed in aduersities knowing assuredlie that whatsoeuer calamitie happeneth it is doone by the counsell and will of God and that finallie by the moderation of predestination it shall turne to good and to eternall saluation VVhether God would kill or destroie anie man In 1. Sam. 2 verse 25. 59 But there ariseth a doubt whether God would kill or destroie anie man for it is written that The sonnes of Helie hard not their fathers words bicause the Lord would slaie them In the 18. and 33. chapters for both the chapters are of one argument Ezec. 18 33 11. although Ierom shewed some difference betwéene them yet so small as it maketh in a maner no matter Ezechiel That God would not the death of a sinner verse 21. vnder the person of God saith As trulie as I liue I will not the death of a sinner but that he conuert and liue And in Esaie 28. chapter it is read I saith the Lord will doo a strange worke namelie to punish you wherevpon it is gathered that it is farre from the nature of God to laie punishments vpon vs for sinnes Wherefore it is euerie-where pronounced of the church that the propertie of God is to forgiue and to be mercifull Ibidem 13. And in the first chapter of Wisedome if yet we shall allow of that booke it is written God made not death Wisd 1 13. nor delighteth in the destruction of the liuing Furthermore the name of the verie same GOD is called in the holie scriptures Iehouah which soundeth nothing else than Being or To be Wherefore Augustine in his booke De vera religione the twelfe chapter saith that The nature of God is To be forsomuch as all things haue from thence euen that being that they haue But death bringeth to passe that things cease to be so that it séemeth not to procéed from God And in Genesis it is written that God made man a liuing soule Genes 2 7. wherevpon it followeth Diuers testimonies that God will not the death of a sinner Iere. 29 11. that he did not so make him that he would destroie him but rather that he should liue And in the 29. chapter of Ieremie it is said My thoughts are the thoughts of peace and not of affliction saith the Lord. Neuertheles we vnderstand here that he would destroie the sonnes of Helie And Ieremie in the lamentations saith Lamen 2 8. that God minded to ouerthrowe the wall of Zion And in Zacharie it is said Euen as God thought to punish you Zach. 8 14. what time as your fathers prouoked him to wrath so now haue I determined to doo well vnto you And there is a place extant in the 14. chapter of Esaie Esai 14 24. wherein by manifest words it is declared that God consulted and decréed with himselfe vtterlie to destroie the Babylonians and Assyrians And verie manie testimonies for the confirmation of this matter might be gathered out of the holie scriptures but bicause wée méete with them euerie-where I will passe them ouer 60 As touching the discourse which we haue in hand first we must determine of some certeine thing secondlie we must incounter the testimonies and reasons which may séeme to be against the definition set downe First of all Death distinguished the nature of death is to be distinguished bicause there is one of the soule and another of the bodie As touching that of the bodie it would be superfluous to saie anie thing séeing by the sense we perceiue the same to be nothing else but a departure of the soule from the flesh Wherfore on the other side we affirme that the death of the soule dooth then happen when we for sinne sake are separated froÌ„ God Vnto these things That the death of the bodie dooth depend of the death of the soule Rom. 5 12. this also is to be added that the death of the bodie dooth depend of the death of the soule for vnles that had gone before this should not followe wherevpon Paule most trulie wrote that By sinne came death into the world Onelie Christ is here to be excepted who onelie died without sinne albeit that neither he in verie déed died altogither without sinne séeing that he bare our sins on his bodie vpon the crosse 1. Pet. 2 24. But the procurer of death as Augustine saith in his fourth booke De ciuitate Dei Augustine the 12. chapter was the diuell for he was therefore of Iohn called A murtherer euen from the beginning Iohn 1 44. bicause he persuaded the first men vnto sinne Euen as Christ therefore is the mediator of life so is the diuell of death And it
in the word of God caution 5 Neither may that broken and quauering Musicke be lawfullie reteined wherewith they which be present are so hindered as they cannot vnderstand the words though they would faine doo it caution 6 Furthermore héed must be taken that in the churches nothing be sung without choise but onelie those things which be conteined in the holie scriptures or which are by iust reasons gathered out of them and doo exactlie agrée with the word of God For if there should be a windowe opened vnto the inuentions of men it were to be feared lest ecclesiasticall Musicke would at length turne to fables and trifles Yea we sée alreadie that there are brought into the congregation manie fond Sequences as they call them and fabulous hymnes and manie other things also which rather stirre vp laughter and lothsomnes than true faith to the hearers The hymns of Ambrose I speake not these things as though I would dispraise the hymnes of Ambrose and other hymnes which be of that nature forsomuch as I iudge that by them the faithfull may be instructed The Symbole of Athanasius The psalms of Augustine and of Chrysostom and also admonished The Symbol of Athanasius séemeth also méet to be allowed and the psalmes of Augustine against the Donatists and the psalmes of Chrysostome if they were extant whereof the ecclesiasticall historie of Eusebius in the 7. booke maketh mention For whatsoeuer things were written in them we must beléeue that they agrée with the holie scriptures and that they further the edifieng of the faithfull in the church But contrariewise the psalmes of Valentine The psalms of Valentine of which Tertullian maketh mention must of all other be condemned and with them the most corrupt psalmes which were sung in the temple in the honour of Paulus Samosatenus as the historie of Sozomenus declareth But now to conclude the matter I affirme that godlie religious songs may be reteined in the church and yet I grant No precept in the new testament for singing in the congregation that there is no precept giuen thereof in the new testament Wherfore if there be anie church which vpon iust causes vseth it not the same cannot be iustlie condemned so that it defend not that the thing it selfe of his owne nature or by the commandement of God is vnlawfull and that it doo not for the same causes either reprooue other churches which vse singing and Musicke or else exclude them from the fellowship of Christ For the church of Alexandria as it hath béene said before either vsed verie little singing or well-néere none at all For they sawe the infirmitie of the people to be such as they gaue more héed vnto the harmonie than vnto the words So that if we shall perceiue in these daies that the christian people doo run vnto the churches as vnto a stage plaie where they might be delighted with piping and singing in this case wée must rather absteine from a thing that is not necessarie than to féed their owne pleasures with the destruction of their soules The xiiij Chapter Of Death of Consolation of Moorning and Buriall in what state the soules of the godlie are before the resurrection WE ought not to séeke for the fruit of Christs actions in his owne person onelie In 1. Cor. 15 12. The fruit of Christs acts doth redound vnto vs. séeing it most of all redoundeth vnto vs neither did the diuine nature take vnto it the humanitie in Christ to the intent it would shut vp his benefits within the precincts thereof but by the same it would deriue the force of his goodnesse vnto the rest of the parts of our nature So that the same concurreth verie well Cyrillus which Cyrillus writeth in his Treatise vpon Iohn namelie that GOD the word hath after a sort assumed the whole humane nature For albeit as touching the substance he onelie put on a particular man yet by the same he quickened and sanctified the rest Euen as if a sparke of fire shuld suddenlie catch hold A similitude and inflame a parcell of haie indéed it would first take hold of that which were ioined therevnto but afterward passing through by little and little If Christ remooued sinne he also remooued death it would kindle the whole stacke of haie were it neuer so great The diuinitie did first remooue all sin from the man which it assumed and by remouing sinne remoued death Secondlie through Iesus Christ himselfe it tooke awaie sinne from the beléeuers according as Iohn said Iohn 1 29. Behold the lambe of God which taketh awaie the sinnes of the world And if so be that he haue put awaie sinne from them he hath also driuen awaie death therfore so that we beléeue in him the life of resurrection shall be giuen vnto vs. Seeing we be iustified wherefore are we subiect vnto death But some will saie If we be iustified foorthwith so soone as we beléeue and that sinne is taken awaie wherefore dooth death remaine vnto vs We answer that notwithstanding by the mercie of GOD and through Christ sinne shall not be imputed vnto vs yet the same resteth still in our flesh and we are bound euerie daie to put off the old Adam For during the time that we shall kéepe still anie part of the reliks of his oldnesse euen so long shall we carrie death about with vs. Wherefore we shall once die at the last that we may put off what infection soeuer we gat vnto vs by the first Adam and a bodie altogither changed shall be restored vnto vs in the time appointed ¶ Looke the fift and sixt epistles at the end of this booke Of moorning for the dead out of the booke of Genesis vpon the 23. chapter verse 7. That it is lawfull to moorne for the dead 2 But now let vs speake of moorning for the dead Let our proposition be that It is lawfull to moorne for the dead First this is apparent not onelie by the example of Abraham but for the most part also of the fathers Looke Iu 2. Sam. 3. 31 and 35. verse 41. vers 33 35. Christ in the 19. of Luke wept ouer the citie that was to be destroied and in the eleuenth of Iohn when Lazarus was dead and that his sisters wept he rebuked them not It is not for Christians to haue that mind void of all affections as the Stoiks would haue it They themselues boasted thereof yet thou shalt not find that they had such affections If Tertullian in his booke De patientia and other fathers at anie time saie that the dead ought not to be moorned for this vnderstand thou not of moorning at all but of moorning immoderatelie according as Paule saith in the first epistle to the Thessalonians the fourth chapter verse 13. I would not haue you sorrowe concerning them that sleepe as others sorrowe which haue no hope Faults they be if thou moorne immoderatelie that is
ouer-much Faults in moorning After which maner we read that Samuel was reprooued when he lamented ouer-much for Saule 1. Sam. 16 1 being now cast out of his kingdom Ouer this if vndecent things be doone as the renting of the bodie and such like or else if it be doone semedlie Finallie that moorning is most to be disallowed which procéedeth of denieng the resurrection But we must sorrowe moderatelie as Paule by his example testifieth for in the second to the Philippians he saith of Epaphroditus God had mercie of him and of me Phil. 2 27. least I should haue sorowe vpon sorrowe Thou séest that the apostle by his owne confession had sorrowed for the death of Epaphroditus if the same had happened Neither doo moorners that which is contrarie vnto the word of God bicause God by whom death is inflicted would haue the nature thereof to be such that it should bring teares and sorrowe not onelie vnto them which die but vnto those also of whom they that die are beloued and are of néere fréendship for it is a punishment for man If it be gréeuous there is nothing that commeth without the ordinance and decrée of God looke how he will haue it to be so let vs take it Who would saie that men doo sin if they should complaine of hunger of thirst and of cold which neuerthelesse is not laid vpon vs without the will of God We confesse that God suffereth nothing to happen vnto them that be his but such as turneth vnto their good In moornings two things to be considered Two things therefore are to be considered in these moornings one is the present losse we haue when as a man that is déere vnto vs dieth and the other is the counsell of Gods prouidence which we beléeue by faith to be good and profitable vnto vs but in what sort the same is we doo not now perceiue Howbeit we are greatlie touched with the wound of our present losse doubtlesse not to the contumelie of God or that we complaine of him as though he handleth vs vniustlie or cruellie but we are moued through the sense of our owne nature so instituted by God which is the cause why we be mooued at the present euill Wherefore we sorrowe for iust causes that anie brother is departed all which causes it shall not be néedfull to recite Put the case it be bicause he was déere vnto vs bicause he was gentle louing bicause he promoted the honour of God was profitable to the church and such like Charitie driueth vs vnto two things to wit that we as members of one bodie are desirous to liue togither as much as long as is possible and further that we thinke the mishaps of other men to be our owne through the mutuall compassion of Christ his bodie Now then to sorrowe moderatelie we attribute the same vnto nature and vnto charitie and not to sorrowe ouer-much we attribute vnto faith séeing we haue the comfort of the resurrection the which with ouer-much lamenting we séeme to denie In. Gen. 35. verse 8. 3 The Ethniks doo therefore thinke that a meane must be vsed in moorning bicause death is a necessarie euill as that which cannot be auoided by anie remedie Death a necessarie euill But this vndoubtedlie cannot mitigate sorrowe but augment the same For who will thus vnfitlie answer him that so comforts him I in verie déed do sorrowe bicause I shall neuer atteine to an end of euill séeing I cannot auoid the same by anie means in that it hath all desperation ioined therewith Wherfore there be some which attempt an other waie We ought not saie they so to sorrowe for death sake bicause if it be a loosing of the soule from the bodie as it is reported to be it is not to be reckoned among euils Whether the coniunction of the soule with the bodie be a troublesome thing for that the coniunction of the soule with the bodie is a troublesome thing and doth not much further our felicitie But if so be thou obiect against this their opinion Then let euerie man that is wise laie violent hands on himselfe to the intent he may obteine that cōmoditie they will gainesaie with these reasons First it behooueth vs to know that our soule is placed by God in this bodie of ours A similitude euen as a lieutenant is appointed to anie castell or fortification the which for his allegeance sake is not lawfull for him to forsake except he haue leaue of the Lord which placed him there vnlesse he will be counted a traitour And this is knowne to all wise and godlie men that a man is none of his owne but he is the iust and lawfull possession of GOD. Wherefore if anie man kill himselfe he doth not destroie that which is his owne but destroieth the substance of an other which thing how vniust it is let vs thus learne of our selues A similitude If our horse or bondman should worke his owne death would the same please vs or no I suppose it would not naie rather we would be gréeuouslie offended thereat and if we might we would that so great a crime should not be vnpunished And if so be we would thinke it vnwoorthie that so great an iniurie should be offered vnto vs will we not giue eare when we doo the verie same vnto our selues Neither can we otherwise be in better case or be better prouided for than vnder the Lord God himselfe Wherefore doo we then flie so good a Lord But when he calleth vs we must go vnto him without anie delaie for in departing when he commandeth we shall not onelie dwell with him but also with notable and excellent men which perpetuallie inioie the societie of him Wherefore séeing this coniunction of the mind and the bodie is verie vnprofitable vnto vs a philosopher must perpetuallie think vpon the separation of them But if so be it be the better and that he professe he desireth it would it not be a shamefull thing for him to be striken with feare when he should sée the same drawing néere vnto him But that the bodie is hurtfull to the soule they hereby thinke to prooue bicause it is against true philosophie to obeie or make much of the pleasures and affections which by the same are stirred vp in vs. For true philosophie teacheth nothing else indéed but that we should be alwaies mindfull to shunne these things as noisome plagues of our nature Which if we cannot altogither reiect from vs yet that we may at leastwise to our power breake their force and kéepe them vnder Lieng senses ministred to the soule by the bodie 4 Afterward they adde that the bodie is most troublesome vnto the vnderstanding for that which they said before must be referred to the appetite for vnto the perceiuing of the truth it ministereth deceiueable senses Vnto the which who so do giue credit are foorthwith beguiled in searching out the nature
soules being loosed from the bodies with one vew and most cléere sight shall behold things celestiall Which yet Irenaeus granteth not vntill the daie of resurrection and he saith that it is the part of heretiks to persuade themselues Ireneus opinion of the sleeping of soules that immediatlie after death they passe vp vnto the heauens to him that ruleth all things and are carried to the sight of the father without attending for the resurrection of the dead And he affirmeth that we ought to suffer the verie same thing which Christ would put in triall who suddenlie after death was not raised vp neither did he foorthwith ascend to his father but he tarried thrée daies And after his resurrection he said vnto Marie Iohn 20 17 Touch me not bicause I haue not yet ascended to my father Neither is it méet Matt. 10 24. that the disciple as Christ said should be aboue the maister Wherefore euen as Christ ascended not immediatlie after his death so must we expect the daie of the resurrection Christ then hath appointed a place definit wherein when the soules haue put off their bodies they may rest euen vntill the comming of the Lord and then putting on their bodies againe they may be brought to the sight of God There are two places chéeflie which are woont to be brought out of the scriptures for the confirmation of this saieng In the sixt chapter of the Apocalypse it is written verse 9. that The soules of the dead which were slaine for Christes sake cried vnder the altar How long Lord doost thou not iudge and auenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth Ibidem 11. And long white robes were giuen to euerie one of them and it was said that they should rest for a litle season vntill the number of their fellowe seruants were fulfilled verse 13. And in the eleuenth chapter to the Hebrues when they were reckoned vp which excelled in faith in the old testament it is added that they as yet receiued not the promise and that they without vs should not be made perfect 17 This opinion séemeth to be receiued by manie of the ancient fathers but none hath more largelie written therof than this Irenaeus who not onelie vttered what his iudgment was but indeuoured to confirme the same by reasons which neuerthelesse are but weake For he chéefelie maketh this to be his foundation that herein also we ought to be framed like vnto Christ that euen as he ascended not vnto the Father till the resurrection was past so ought not we to expect the same before our spirits be exalted vnto God in heauen This comparison generallie is true That we ought to be conformed to Christ it is true but yet not in all respects for we confesse that we ought to be made like vnto Christ but yet we do not admit the same particularlie as touching all things Verie manie things did Christ which are not necessarie to be doone of vs. He tarried thrée daies before he rose againe bicause he would haue the truth of his death to be testified neither did he after his rising againe go vnto his Father immediatelie For to the intent his resurrection might be the more certeine he by the space of fortie daies both appéered vnto his disciples and also did eate with them and offered himselfe to be touched Wherefore séeing it is not for vs to indeuour such things after his death and resurrection there is no let but that our spirits may foorthwith after we be dead ascend vnto God who created them Neither doo we denie that which he obiecteth to be spoken by Christ Matt. 10 24. namelie that The seruant is not aboue his Lord nor the disciple aboue his maister But hereof there is no more gathered but that if the Lord haue suffered persecutions Matt. 12 26. and reproches as to be called Belzebub much rather shall the same happen vnto his disciples But yet must we not picke out hereof that we must suffer particularlie althings which Christ suffered He was sacrificed on the crosse and died betwéene two théeues which ought not to be expected that it should happen vnto all the faithfull We grant that there be certeine places appointed vnto the soules being loosed from their bodies where they be now kept and conteined euen vntill the resurrection yet not out of the sight of God as who should saie they slept and liued in slumber 18 That which they bring out of the Apocalypse Apoc. 6 11. maketh not against vs. Soules are described to be vnder the altar the which belongeth to their places They are said to crie out as though they expressed the desire of their expected resurrection But who séeth not that to crie out To desire earnestlie is not the part of strepers They haue alreadie receiued a part of their felicitie The old fathers must attend our resurrection verse 13. and to desire earnestlie is not the part of sléepers White robes are giuen vnto them bicause they haue alreadie receiued a part of their felicitie And they are commanded a while to looke for it vntill the number of them that are slaine for the name of Christ be accomplished for then shall they haue perfect felicitie when they haue atteined to the last resurrection And that which is alledged out of the 11. chapter of the epistle to the Hebrues hath the same meaning For we confesse that the old fathers as yet receiued not the finall perfection séeing they doo still wait for the resurrection which is méet for vs all togither to haue euen as manie as belong vnto one and the same bodie and head 19 But by what reasons this opinion maie be confuted let vs now declare First the Lord Reasons to prooue that soules sleep not The first reason Luk. 23 43. being at the point of death said vnto the théefe To daie shalt thou be with me in paradise This aduerbe of time to daie sufficientlie declareth that his felicitie was not to be prolonged vntill the last times But they which mainteine this opinion haue béen accustomed to obiect that this aduerbe to daie is not alwaies taken in the holie scriptures for one and the same daie but that it may signifie a verie large time 2. Pet. 3 8. Psal 90 4. For Peter out of the saieng of Dauid saith A thousand yeares in thy sight are as one daie so as it may be that the théefe was said to be the same daie in paradise although his comming thither should be deferred for manie hundred yeares Augustine That to Daie signifieth no long time as some inferre But Augustine vnto Dardanus hath not so interpreted that place where he writeth that this promise could not be referred vnto the humane nature of Christ bicause the bodie was that daie in the sepulchre and his soule as he saith in hell vnto whome he will not attribute that he was togither at one and the selfe same time both
there and in paradise And therefore he wholie transferreth this vnto the diuine nature which had not béene méet if according to that promise as these men will the felicitie of the théefe should haue béene deferred vntill a thousand yeares and longer Nor dooth Peter in that place they bring will vs to interpret that a thousand yeares in euerie place should be taken for one daie he onelie indeuored most significantlie to declare the eternitie of GOD When daies are to be taken for yeeres the scripture teacheth vnto the which a thousand yeares béeing compared would be but as one daie Howbeit if at anie time daies are to be taken for yéeres that is not permitted to our iudgement but thereof we are admonished by the word of God Dan. 9 21. verse 5 6. as it appéereth in Daniel when the wéekes are reckoned vp And in the fourth chapter of Ezechiel where the prophet is commanded that he should lie vpon his left side thrée hundreth and nintie daies and againe fortie daies vpon his right side and that in the same place daies doo represent yeares the scriptures doo expresselie shew vs. 20 They haue also an other shift for they saie that these two aduerbes of time yesterdaie and to daie signifie the old and the new testament which they gather out of the epistle to the Hebrues Heb. 13 8. where it is said Christ yesterdaie and to daie Christ yesterdaie and to daie how it is to be vnderstood Wherefore they would haue the meaning to be that to haue the théefe to be brought to daie into paradise should belong to the new testament But this conceit of theirs is vaine bicause in the epistle to the Hebrues it must so be vnderstood that Christ is yesterdaie and to daie and as it is added For euer that his eternitie may be vnderstood the which they are woont to distinguish into thrée times as if it should be said He was he is and he shall be The third couert wherein they shrowd themselues is that it was said vnto the first parents Gen. 2 17. In what houre soeuer ye eate ye shall die the death and yet is it euident that they did not presentlie die after they had transgressed So saie they it might be that the promise made vnto the théefe which seemeth to be spoken of that daie might be deferred vntill a longer time But that which these men take as granted we denie namelie that the first parents when they had transgressed did not foorthwith perish For death is accounted nothing else Death is a departing from life but a departing from life neither haue we life without God So then they died bicause they departed from God and their soule was not seuered from the bodie but after a sort buried therein so as if a man will iudge truelie we doo not now presentlie liue a life but a death which the longer it is the more gréeuous it is thought to be by them which iudge aright But bicause we will not séeme to hast we willinglie accept the similitude both of the théefe The first parents were dead straitwaie after sinne and also of the first parents they had the beginnings of death immediatelie after the transgression albeit they had not the triall of absolute death so also the théefe was with Christ in paradise albeit he obteined not that daie the perfect felicitie which is attended in the resurrection Wherefore the argument which we haue alreadie put foorth standeth firme neither can it with friuolous arguments be ouerthrowne Phil. 1 23. The 2. reason 21 Furthermore Paule writeth vnto the Philippians that He wished to be loosed from hence and to be with Christ for that he doubted not but it would be an aduantage to him Which desire of his had not béene godlie if after the death of our bodie we should sléepe with our soules vntill the resurrection What profit had it béene to Paule to haue béene loosed from hence if he should not straitwaie haue liued with his Christ Vndoubtedlie while he liued here he wrote of himselfe And now doo not I liue Galat. 2 20. but Christ liueth in me And according to this sentence Christ was not to liue but to sléepe in him after death Moreouer while he liued here he might acknowledge and loue Christ but after this life if he should be asléepe he was of necessitie to leaue off those actions 22 There is also another reason brought against them The 3. reason Luke 16 vers 23 c. as touching the rich man and poore Lazarus by that storie is shewed that the spirits after this life doo not sléepe but either doo enioie good things or else are tormented with punishments They answer that this is a parable and that therefore it maketh nothing against them Vnto whom we saie that all the fathers which interpret that place doo not thinke it to be a parable but manie rather thinke it an historie among whom are Gregorie and Ierom. Gregorie Ierom. Tertullian Chrysost Augustine And Tertullian goeth so farre as he thinketh the rich man was Herod and that Lazarus was Iohn Baptist Howbeit Chrysostome and Augustine sometime call it a parable But this reléeueth them not séeing a parable is nothing else but a similitude deriued from the truth of a thing A parable is deriued from the truth of things as when the parable is brought in of the good man of the house which diuided his inheritance to two of his children Albeit that the same be a parable yet is it expedient that there be a good man of the house that children be found among the nature of things and that it be a custome among them to distribute the fathers possessions otherwise parables should be taken of feigned and vaine things which is against the nature of them So as although we grant that the parable was contriued by Christ touching these two yet is it necessarie that not onelie rich men and poore men should be found but that vnto our soules departing out of this life should be giuen either a place of torments or else the bosom of Abraham Neither doo we vnderstand by the bosome of Abraham anie thing else What is vnderstood by the bosome of Abraham than a certeine place and receptacle of soules in the which is granted vnto them peace and tranquillitie in the sight of their GOD. For they haue a peaceable conscience and they looke vpon GOD being present This place is said to be the bosome of Abraham Gen. 12. 3. bicause vnto him God first promised that in his séed all nations should be blessed The same man moreouer sawe the daie of the Lord Iohn 8 56. and he reioised Of him also we first read that He beleeued Gen. 15 6. and his faith was imputed vnto him vnto righteousnes Iohn 8 16. And Christ when he made mention hereof he spake vnto the Hebrues who boasted of hauing Abraham to their father In
growne to such a number as they haue gotten the vpper hand of the physicians art if it be wounded if it be torne if it be fired if it hunger and be pressed with miseries and calamities finallie if it be ill handled with penurie and beggerie how can it otherwise be but the mind will be mooued troubled and gréeued These and manie other things doo sufficientlie shew that we are past all hope of absolute felicitie while we liue in this world 3 This haue diuers men noted and therfore haue referred the inioieng of perfect happinesse to another life but they thought that the same must onelie be attributed vnto the soule yea and they iudged that the bodie if it should be reuoked would be an impediment thereto And with this error was infected Marcion Basilides the Valentinians the Manicheis The error of them which said there are two beginnings of things a good god and an euill god and such other pestiferous sects who affirmed that there were two beginnings of things namelie a good god and an euill And séeing they thought the euill god to be the author of visible creatures they said also that he was the maker of the bodie and of flesh and that therefore the soule being seuered from these things after death should be happie and that there should be no néed of them to be restored againe which doo hinder and not further felicitie The same opinion had they which thought that the soule is ioined to the bodie An error about the coupling togither the soule with the bodie A similitude as a mariner is coupled to the ship and as a thing moouing vnto that which it mooueth and therefore they affirmed that it would not come to passe that the soule after this life shuld be ioined againe vnto his bodie For euen as the shipman or they which mooue and put forward anie burdens when they be rid of their businesse and haue gotten wealth inough doo not returne againe to their former labors so did they thinke that soules being once put awaie from the laboursome gouernment of bodies should not returne againe But they erre excéedinglie for the soule must not so be adioined to the bodie How they be trulie ioined togither for it is the forme and perfection thereof and of both being ioined togither is made one person So then there is left remaining in soules after death a vehement disposition to take vnto them their bodies againe Which Plato séemed not to be ignorant of nor yet Pythagoras for either of them said that There is * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a passage of soules frō one bodie into another For as they would haue it soules after death are remooued into other bodies And bicause they returned not to the selfe-same againe that was rather said to be an alteration of place than a resurrection 4 But what maner of resurrection soeuer they haue appointed which haue taught Resurrection after the reuolution of the great yeare that after the great yéere or perfect reuolution of the heauens all things shal be restored as they now be so that thirtie six thousand yéeres hence we shall become euen the same both in number and in verie déed that we now be so that I my selfe shall teach in this place you sitting here in such sort as I now teach and you being present The reason of this opinion is astronomicall For they will haue it as Ptolome taught that that highest or be of the heauens comprehendeth in it thrée hundred thrée score and six degrées and that euerie starre doth euerie hundred yéeres passe ouer one of those degrées whereby it should come to passe that after thirtie six thousands yéeres euerie starre should returne to the point from whence it was loosed and began his motion And séeing the state or situation of the celestiall bodies was then euen in the same maner that it was from the beginning they thinke that all things shall returne to the same forme in which they then were I knowe there were some of them which prolong this restitution of all things not to six and thirtie but to fortie thousand yéeres howbeit this their reckoning is not allowed But ridiculous and vaine is each opinion and is confuted by Aristotle who affirmeth earnestlie that it can not be that the things which perish and decaie in the meane time should returne to the verie selfe same in particularities whatsoeuer space of time you will admit in the meane season Howbeit these men might lie without controllment for who can reprooue them after thirtie six thousand yéeres especiallie séeing from the beginning of the world vnto this daie six thousand yéeres are not yet finished I passe it ouer that such a kind of deuise is repugnant to the truth bicause the resurrection of the dead dependeth not of celestiall bodies nor of starres nor of degrées of the firmament but vpon the will of the high GOD. Besides this the holie scriptures doo shew that by the last resurrection eternall life shall be giuen vnto them that be dead so as they shall die no more But such a life cannot be loked for of celestiall bodies Moreouer the blessednes of saints would not be firme and stedfast when they should consider that they must be thrust foorth againe vnto the same trauels and miseries which they suffred before whiles they were héere Wherfore men haue verie much erred touching the resurrection of the dead The error of the Saduces Act. 23 8. The error of the Libertins 2. Tim. 2 17. The error of Hymeneus and Philetus And among the Hebrues were the Saduces who beléeued that there were no spirits and denied the resurrection of the dead At this daie also there be Libertines which make a iest at it and the resurrection which is spoken of in the scriptures they onelie referre vnto the soules And in the time of Paule there liued Hymenaeus Philetus who affirmed that the resurrection of the dead was euen then past whose doctrine as the apostle saith was like a canker that hath a wide fret for the minds of the vnlearned are easilie corrupted with such peruerse opinions 5 An other reason for the which God will restore the life of the bodies of them that be dead dependeth of his perfect iustice the which is not in this life declared Where we sée that for the most part the wicked doo florish in power and dignities and that they be gentlie vsed but on the other side that godlie and honest men be hardlie intreated and be in danger of most gréeuous displeasures which things vnlesse there shuld remaine an other hope might séeme to be vniust neither also would it be iustlie doone if the soule onelie should be either blessed or tormented with punishments séeing it hath had the bodie with it a companion in executing of actions as well good as bad Therefore it is méet that togither with the bodie it should haue experience both of ioies and paines séeing it did
all things by the same The Rabbins among the Iewes A fable of the Rabbins concerning the coniunction of the soule with the bodie for the testifieng héereof deuised a fable saieng that A certeine mightie and rich man planted himselfe a garden of most noble kinds of trées which did beare verie excellent fruits and lest it shuld be robbed he appointed kéepers for the same And bicause it behooued to take héed vnto the kéepers themselues he appointed two which were so made as the one did perfectlie sée but yet so lame as he might not in anie wise be able to go the other was in déed able to go but was blind When the Lord of the orchard was gone the ill kéepers began to consult among themselues about eating of the fruits The blind man said I in verie déed lust after them but I sée not the criple said I sée them but I am not able to come at them After long talke they agréed that the blind man should stoope downe and receiue the criple vpon his backe who hauing his sight directed the blind man with his hand wherefore they being both ioined togither came vnto the trées and fulfilled their lusts with those fruits according to their owne desire The lord of the garden returned and espieng the harme that was doone blamed the kéepers The lame man excused himselfe that he could not come to the trée and the blind man said that he might not sée the fruits Then the owner when he knew their sleight and shift Ye haue saith he ioined your labours togither wherefore I also will ioine you againe and will punish you togither Therefore he bound them togither againe and by beating and striking them punished them both togither So saie they dooth the case stand in a man the soule in déed knoweth vnderstandeth perceiueth but it can not take anie outward worke in hand by it selfe Certeinlie the bodie of it selfe is a senselesse thing neither dooth it perceiue The which neuerthelesse being mooued stirred vp by the mind is a fit instrument of th outward actions Which being so both reason iustice requireth that they should be againe ioined togither after death for receiuing of punishments rewards 6 These things are spoken generallie And now comming to the matter we will diuide this treatise into certeine principall points First we will bring the reasons which séeme to hinder and gainsaie the resurrection of the flesh Secondlie we will search out what is the nature thereof Thirdlie whether by humane reasons and that by such reasons as are probable it may be prooued and confirmed Moreouer we will bring testimonies out of the holie scriptures as well of the old as of the new testament whereby it shall be prooued that the same must in anie wise be looked for Afterward we will intreat of the causes thereof Ouer this some things shall be spoken of the conditions and qualities of them that shall rise againe And last of all shall be confuted the arguments of them which séeme to persuade that there shall be no resurrection And those arguments will I first of all recite yet not all but those onelie which I shall iudge to be of most importance by the confutation whereof others may easilie be dissolued Arguments of them which denie the resurretion 7 First Porphyrius said that All bodies must be auoided for atteining to the felicitie of the soule bicause they hinder and further not the contemplation and knowledge of God wherein consisteth our felicitie By which there séemeth to be affirmed that soules can not perfectlie be made blessed if they should be coupled againe to their bodies Further this can not be that when the bodies are alreadie dissolued and are gone into ashes they should returne to their first elements or to the first substance of their nature Besides it happeneth sometimes that a man is eaten of a woolfe a woolfe of a lion a lion of the fowles of the aire which afterward become the meat of other men therefore the flesh of the first man might not be discerned from the flesh of the latter men Moreouer this will the more plainlie appéere if we consider of those Anthropophagi being men that féed vpon mans flesh whereby it commeth to passe that the substances of humane bodies by that kind of meanes are mingled Wherefore if there shall be a resurrection of the dead vnto which men shall those fleshes be attributed To them that eat or to them that be eaten We sée also in nature that it is taken for an impossibilitie that one and the same indiuisible thing should be restored to number when it hath perished And therefore was generation appointed that at the leastwise by procreating like things in kind order might be continued To this in death when the soule is taken awaie from the bodie not onelie the things accident therevnto are destroied but the essentiall beginnings also wherby a man is made namelie the bodie and also certeine parts of the mind as is the power of nourishing and féeling which can not be had without the bodie Besides this if anie quantitie be sundred it is no more one in number but they be two quantities And a motion that surceaseth if it be begun againe it may be in kind the same that it was but in number it shall be distinguished from the first For who is it that when he shall haue walked a mile if he stand at rest for a while and afterward returneth can affirme that his latter walke is the verie same that was before And this is not onelie perceiued in quantitie and motion and in things that happen but also in qualities and formes For if a man inioie health and doo fall into a sicknesse the first health doubtles is gone but if so be he afterward recouer the health that happeneth is not altogither the same that the first was In like maner if bodies with all the things belonging vnto them are to be restored all the humors haires and nailes shall be giuen againe and the heape will be monstrous But if all these things shall not be restored but a certeine of them there can be no reason made whie rather one sort than an other shall be giuen againe 8 There be moreouer in the holie scriptures manie places which are against resurrection if they should be weied as they appéere at the first sight In the 78. psalme it is written verse 39. that God did after a sort chasten the Iewes in the wildernesse but that he would not vtterlie powre out his wrath vpon them bicause he remembred saith Dauid that they were but flesh and as a spirit that passeth awaie and commeth not againe But if so be that the soules returne not againe there is no resurrection Also it is said in the 114. psalme The dead shall not praise thee Psal 114 17 ô Lord. And if the spirits of them that be dead doo not celebrate the praises of God and that they which be
departed shall not declare things there shall be no resurrection And in the same psalme it is written verse 16. All the whole heauens are the Lords and the earth hath he giuen to the children of men If heauen belong not vnto men but that they must dwell vpon the earth and therein must come to their end there is no resurrection to be hoped for And Salomon Eccl. 3 9. in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes writeth that There is all one end both of man and of beasts For as the one dooth die so dooth the other yea they haue both one maner of breath And who knoweth saith he whether the breath of the sonnes of men ascend vpward and the breath of beasts downeward And in the 14. of Iob it is written verse 7. that it is not so with man as it is with trées or plants For these when they be cut off are woont to sprowt and to shoot foorth againe but man when he is dead returneth not Againe it is said that this resurrection shall be vniuersall But Daniel verse 2. in the 12. chapter séemeth to describe the same to be particular Manie saith he which now sleepe in the dust shall rise againe But he would not haue said manie if they should all be raised vp Yea and it is written in the psalme The vngodlie shall not rise in iudgment Psal 1 6. And it is méet that séeing by Christ the dead are to be restored they onlie should obteine this benefit which shall be ioined vnto Christ Wherevpon it followeth that the vngodlie which are strangers vnto Christ shall not be raised vp These are the reasons which are woont to be obiected against those which affirme that there is a resurrection 9 Now let vs come to the second point in searching out what may serue to the nature and definition of resurrection The definition nature of resurrection And we will begin at the etymologie of the word It is called of the Gréeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the composition of which word the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the verie same thing that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is which signifieth Againe as if it were ment That which was fallen to stand vp againe Therefore Damascen writing of this matter saith that Resurrection is the second standing of the dead And the Hebrues called the same Thechijath hammethim for Chaia is To liue Wherefore it is euen as if they had said The quickening of the dead And bicause Com among them is To rise thereof they deriued the noune deriuatiue Thekum hammethim that is The rising of dead men Also among them there is found Cuma And of the verbe Amad which signifieth To stand they haue deriued some noune of this kind Perhaps also they haue other words of this signification but these are more accustomed and more commonlie vsed among the Rabbins Touching the Latin name we will consider afterward 10 As to the matter Resurrection belongeth to the predicament of action In euerie action two things to be considered And whereas in actions two things are chéeflie to be considered namelie the dooer and the subiect it selfe into which the action is powred by him that dooth The efficient cause of this action is God The efficient cause of the resurrection for that no cause in nature nor power in anie creatures can be found which is able to bring to passe the resurrection as afterward in place conuenient we shall declare Action in verie déed is manie waies distinguished Actions diuerslie distinguished One is naturall as generation corruption increasing diminishing alteration and such like And there be also other actions The forms of actions which belong to practising knowledge as to build to paint to plough to cast mettall And other actions which haue respect vnto the will that is to mans choise such be the works of vertues and vices Againe actions are distinguished that some be oeconomicall that is perteining to houshold gouernement others be politicall others be ecclesiasticall But resurrection taketh place in no part of these distinctions for all these things which we haue rehearsed after a sort are reuoked vnto nature Vnto what forme of action resurrection i◠to be referred But the resurrection of the dead is an act altogither beyond nature Wherefore it shall be reckoned among those things which doo excéed and surpasse the force of nature 11 Now resteth for vs to consider of the subiect wherein it is receiued The subiect of resurrection And vndoubtedlie it is no other thing that is raised vp but man which was by death extinguished But man as all men knowe consisteth of two parts to wit of the soule and of the bodie So as it must be considered whether resurrection perteine to the bodie or to the soule To speake properlie Which part of man is the subiect of resurrection bodies doo rise againe and not soules for that is said to rise againe which fell when it had stood vp But soules die not togither with the bodie but remaine aliue and therefore séeing they fell not they shall not rise againe And that soules remaine aliue after they be separated from bodies the holie scriptures doo shew for Christ said vnto the apostles Matt. 10 28. Feare ye not them which kill the bodie but the soule they cannot kill But if soules should be extinguished togither with the bodies they which destroie the bodie would also destroie the soule Ouer this Christ said vnto the théefe Luke 23. 43 This daie shalt thou be with me in paradise which would not haue béen if the soule had perished with the death of the bodie And when the death of the rich man and of Lazarus is described in the gospell it is plainlie enough expressed what becommeth of men after death for Lazarus was caried by the ministerie of angels to the bosome of Abraham but the rich man to the torments in hell There be also other testimonies agréeable vnto this saieng but let these be sufficient at this time That resurrection is to be attributed vnto bodies Tertullian also taught in his 5. booke against Marcion and in his booke De resurrectione carnis and saith that manie things doo rise which before fell not as herbes plants and such like but none is said to rise againe but such as fell first when they had stood before And he argueth from the proprietie of the Latine toong which maketh a difference betwéene Surgere and Resurgere the one signifieng To rise and the other To rise againe And he saith that Cadauer a dead bodie was so called à Cadendo of falling wherefore he affirmed that the resurrection is not of soules but of bodies 12 Moreouer it must be noted Resurrection is as it were a certeine new birth that the resurrection of the dead is a certeine new birth For euen as in the first birth a man is brought foorth consisting both of bodie and soule
so in the resurrection which is a second natiuitie he shall be repaired againe In the 19. verse 28. chapter of Matthew it is written In the regeneration when the sonne of man shall sit in his maiestie In déed the regeneration as concerning the soule beginneth now but it shall be then performed as touching the bodie so as it is a certeine new generation Which I therefore saie least it should be estéemed for a creation the which is not doone of things that be extant but of nothing Howbeit it is not alwaies taken after this sort in the diuine scriptures Wherefore the soule shall returne and of hir being shall impart vnto the bodie euen as it did before death and shall not onelie giue a being therevnto but it shall bring therewith all the properties of man and shall communicate them therevnto In déed there shall be some diuersitie but yet not as concerning the essentiall beginnings onlie the things accidentall shall be changed the which may be altered notwithstanding that one and the selfe-same subiect still remaine For others be the qualities and affections of children and others of yoong men and old men yet is the person all one and euen the same man both in childhood in youth Resurrection defined and in age Thus then we may define the resurrection of the dead namelie that It is a new coupling togither of the soule vnto the bodie by the might or power of God that men may stand wholie in the last daie of iudgement and may receiue rewards or punishments according to the state of their former life By this definition all the kinds of causes are expressed The forme is the Coupling togither of the soule and the bodie the which also is doone so soone as men be borne and therefore is added New or Doone againe namelie after death The efficient cause is shewed when we affirme that it shall be doone By the might and power of God The matter is the Soule and the bodie which shall againe be ioined togither The end also is That at the last iudgement it may be determined of the whole man The difference betweene the death of man and the death of brute beasts 13 Furthermore it must be considered that there is no small difference betwéene the death of man which goeth before the resurrection of the dead and that death whereby brute beasts doo perish For the death of man is called a separation of the soule from the bodie For albeit that the bodie doo perish yet dooth the soule still remaine aliue which hapneth not in brute beasts whose death is destruction of mind and bodie both togither Wherevpon that which Salomon saith in Ecclesiastes Eccl. 3 19. that The end of man and of beasts is all one is not true vnlesse it be vnderstood generallie that is to wit that death happeneth to both but the kind of death is not all one both in the one and in the other But of the sentence brought by Salomon shall be spoken afterward I made mention of it now bicause we may vnderstand that euen as betwéene brute beasts and men is giuen a sundrie respect of death so if resurrection also should be granted to them both the forme of the same should not be all one Wherefore although it be said of the bodie and not of the soule that it shall rise yet without the soule the resurrection shall not be for the same must of necessitie be present But yet it may after some sort be said of the soule that it shall rise againe in two respects First In two respects the soule is said to rise againe that euen as through death it ceaseth to forme and direct the bodie and in this respect after a sort to die so on the other side when it returneth to forme and direct the same it may as touching these things be said after a sort to rise againe An other cause is that euen the soules are said to fall so as if it be his propertie to rise againe which hath fallen they also séeing after a sort they fall may be vnderstood to rise Therefore Paule said vnto the Colossians Col. 3 1. If ye haue risen togither with Christ sauor ye of things that be from aboue Now is there anie doubt but he speaketh of the resurrection of soules For they as yet liued to whom he wrote Vnto the Romans also he saith Rom. 6 4. If Christ be risen by the glorie of his father so walke ye also in newnesse of life And vnto the Ephesians Ephe. 5 14. Rise from the dead rise and Christ shall illuminate thee And in the booke of Ecclesiasticus Eccl. 2 7. the second chapter Shrinke not awaie from God that ye fall not Againe He that standeth 1. Co. 10 12 let him take heed he fall not And vnto the Romans Rom. 14. 4. as touching the not iudging of an other mans seruant it is written He standeth or falleth to his owne maister Séeing therefore that all these places are referred to soules it séemeth that both falling and resurrection belong vnto them These things are true The scriptures appoint two sorts of resurrection but yet it must be vnderstood that in the holie scriptures there is put two sorts of resurrection namelie a former and a latter In the first we rise in the soule from sinne but in the latter the bodie is restored Now at this time we speake of the latter therefore said we that the same is proper vnto the bodie And euen as in that former the soule riseth againe and not the bodie so in the latter the bodie riseth and not the soule 14 These two sorts of resurrection we gather Apoc. 20 6. not onelie out of the booke of the Apocalypse where they are pronounced blessed which haue their part in the first resurrection but we learne it also out of the Gospell of Iohn Iohn 5 28. where in the fift chapter both are ioined togither in one place First Christ spake there of the former resurrection when he said The time commeth and now is when the dead shall heare the voice of the sonne of God and they that beleeue it shall liue That these words belong vnto the first resurrection it sufficientlie appéereth in that he saith The time will come and now is But there is no man will saie that the houre of the latter resurrection was then present So as then he ment that those dead should liue againe if they beléeued in the sonne of God who for their sinnes were destitute of the spirituall life of soules of whom Christ said in an other place Matt. 8 28. Let the dead burie their dead And vnto the Ephesians it is written Eph. 2 1. When ye were dead in your offenses and sinnes And vnto Timothie it is written of widowes 1. Tim. 5. 5. She that is trulie a widowe continueth still in praiers and supplications before the Lord but she that liueth in
iudged farre otherwise Tertullian Gregorie Nazianzen Aristotle Alexander Aphrodysaeus Auerroës Yea and by verie learned men to wit Tertullian and Gregorie Nazianzen it is ascribed vnto Aristotle himselfe that he thought the soule of man to be mortall And Alexander Aphrodysaeus no meane Peripatetike was of this opinion And Auerroes taught in the Schoole of the Peripatetiks that There is onelie one humane intelligence which by conceipts is adioined vnto euerie man Wherefore this principle that is assumed to wit that the soule after death remaineth vncorrupt séeing it is a doubt and dependeth not of things which of themselues be knowne and euident in the nature of things the argument that is builded therevpon staggereth and cannot be counted firme Auicenna For Auicenna in his Metaphysicks faith that The soule is therfore ioined to the bodie bicause through the outward senses it may procure vnto it selfe both inward knowledged and sciences of things which when it hath once obteined there is no néed to resort againe to that coniunction Others confute this reason more subtilie saieng that it is against nature not to be continuall when the originals of the restitution thereof remaine in the nature of things But if these are vtterlie abolished restitution is not to be looked for And that which they haue alledged they set foorth with an indifferent plaine similitude A similitude A trée saie they being cut off lieth along against his nature which neuertheles is restored if the roots remaining be quicke bicause it springeth and groweth againe but if the roots be altogither plucked vp the destruction shall be perpetuall Whereby they affirme that the soule being pulled awaie from the bodie doth sufficientlie vnderstand that in the nature of things there is no more extant the beginnings of this coniunction to be made againe and that therefore it is not affected with the desire thereof bicause the chéefe of our will is not carried to things impossible Thus widoâ—… Ethniks answer to the reason that is brought But the faithfull vse the same reason comfort themselues in confirming it 〈◊〉 of the word of God whereby the immortalitie of our soule after death in confirmed frée power of vniting it with the bodie is granted to be in God 17 The third reason is woont to be drawne from the iustice of God which must render punishments and rewards for those things which be owne in this life by the bodie That the bodie also must haue either rewards or punishments for bicause it cannot séeme iust that séeing these two the soule and the bodie being ioined both togither did either right or wrong onelie one of them should either be punished or rewarded Hereto the philosophers would answer that it appéereth not to them that the world is so gouerned of God by iustice that rewardeth and punisheth as it hath consideration of euerie particular person in giuing to ech one either rewards or punishments Perhaps they would grant that as touching the firme and constant motions of the heauens there is a certeine prouidence so would they also doo as touching the preseruation of kinds but they would denie it to be had as concerning euerie particular Further they would adde that there be rewards and punishments enow vsed in those verie actions good and euill for in well dooing there is a woonderfull ioifulnesse of conscience which excelleth all outward rewards And againe in dooing wickedlie men are woonderfullie vexed neither can they escape the butcherie of conscience which is miserie and vnhappinesse enough for the punishment of them At length they would affirme that it is sufficient while the soule it selfe either receiueth rewards or suffreth punishments and that there is no néed that these things should be doone vnto the bodie bicause it is not the principall cause of actions but onelie the instrument And there may be a similitude brought of artificers A similitude vnto whom onelie is giuen a reward if they haue made a faire web or built a faire house but vnto the instruments which they vsed either in weauing or in building there is no recompense made The which instruments receiue not the same punishment or losse if the worke haue in successe Neither will anie man breake a poisoned pot bicause some haue perished by drinking out of the same especiallie if it shall be a pretious beautifull vessell Neither doo men breake or cast awaie the sword wherewith anie man is slaine forsomuch as these be instruments but not speciall causes Howbeit wrath is sometime so outragious as cups enuenomed are broken and swords cast awaie Wherefore séeing both the one thing and the other may be and sometime dooth happen the argument will be probable but not necessarie But as concerning that which belongeth vnto instruments A distinction of instruments it séemeth that there must be a distinction made to wit that some instruments are conioined and some disseuered Doubtlesse the bodie is an instrument of the soule but is ioined vnto it so as it is no maruell if it beare awaie with it both punishment and profit For we sée euen while we liue here that the hands are cut off that the eies of wicked men are put out Notwithstanding all this it must not be forgotten that this reason which is taken of the iustice and iudgement of God is not generall bicause infants also shall be raised vp who for all this shall not haue néed to yéeld a reckoning of the works which they did by the bodie But yet Paule séemeth to confirme this argument saieng in the 15. chapter to the Corinthians when he had confirmed the resurrection of the bodies verse 58. Therefore my beloued brethren be ye stedfast and constant abounding in euerie good worke knowing that your labour shall not be vnprofitable before the Lord. But labour is common as well to the mind as to the bodie therfore profit shall redound to them both And this kind of argument well-neare all the fathers vsed I haue alreadie declared those which were of the greatest force now will I come to other arguments which are more féeble wherein is perceiued no proofe of resurrection but a certeine shew of the same 18 Daies saie they doo dailie as we sée passe awaie and returne but in verie déed yesterdaie is not the same in number with this daie A similitude Also there is brought a similitude of herbs and trées these things séeme in the winter season to be dead Semblances of the resurrection but when the spring-time commeth they bud forth againe they be garnished with leaues they put foorth flowers and lastlie bring foorth fruit But it must be vnderstood that they were not vtterlie dead in the winter season for there remaineth life still in them although it laie secret But therevnto it might be answered that the life also of man after death is not vtterlie taken awaie bicause it still remaineth in the soules that be aliue And certeinlie Paule in the first epistle
so gréeuous wickednesse And verie well doutles among the Hebrues is both glorie toong signified by the word Cauod for albeit that mans dignitie dependeth of a reasonable soule Whie the Hebrues call a toong and glorie both by one name yet the same being inuisible is not known by anie other thing more than by spéech Wherevpon some haue taught that the speciall distinction of mankind is that he is indued with the gift of speaking And Aristotle said that Woords are tokens of those passions or affections which be in the mind Also Democritus taught that Speach is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is A certeine flowing of reason for the thoughts of our reason which be hidden flowe and breake foorth by words So as the meaning of Dauid is I haue conceiued so much ioie in my mind as my toong excéedinglie reioiseth in giuing of thanks and setting foorth of his benefits Neither dooth my gladnesse there cease but it also replenisheth the bodie For my flesh shall rest in hope The verbe Iaschab betokeneth not onelie To lie or rest but also To dwell wherevpon some haue interpreted It shall boldlie dwell And from whence this confidence ariseth he straitwaie addeth Bicause thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell nor suffer thy holie one to see corruption My flesh dooth rest in hope or boldlie dwelleth bicause I hope that I shal be raised from death vnto life and that life not to be common but a true happie and euerlasting life Therefore he addeth Thou shalt shew me the path of life the fulnesse of ioies is in thy countenance at thy right hand are pleasures for euermore 29 These verses of Dauid were alleged in the Acts both by Peter and Paule Acts. 2 25. Acts. 13 35. before the people of Israel as being things which perteined to the resurrection of Christ But in the examination of them thrée things séeme to be alledged first that the sense of the words be vnderstood secondlie to knowe whether they doo belong vnto Christ or vnto Dauid last of all how they may be aptlie applied to our resurrection First and formost we must call to mind that the iudgement was pronounced by God Gen. 3 19. against Adam and his posteritie that by death they should returne into the earth from whence they were taken and in the earth they should perpetuallie haue remained vnlesse Christ by his death and resurrection had cut off and abrogated that cursse He verelie died and was buried but he liued not so long in the sepulchre that his dead bodie did putrifie He died and was buried as other men be but sawe not corruption in like maner as they did Other men also shall not be left in the graues séeing that in the end of the world they shall rise againe yet shall they not escape corruption although that their bodies by the trauell of physicians be preserued either with myrre or alloes or baulme or with other spices For the flesh is consumed and being wholie dried vp it cleaueth to the bones being so corrupted and changed as it may rather séeme to be skin than flesh The elect while they liue here are not deliuered from troubles vexations calamities and diseases yea in comparison of others they suffer gréeuous things and yet they are said to be at rest verelie not in act but in the hope of resurrection Thereby are they comforted in the midst of death by it the martyrs did constantlie suffer and were liberall of their life and bloud for the name of Christ And that this hope is to be vnderstood of the resurrection the words which followe doo sufficientlie declare Thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell nor suffer thy holie one to see corruption This hope neuerthelesse albeit it doo cheare vs vp verie much and doth excéedinglie strengthen vs yet hath it sighs sobs ioined therewith For Paule in the 8. chapter to the Romans verse 22. writeth We hauing the first fruits of the spirit doo sigh in our selues expecting the adoption and redemption of our bodie for through hope we are saued 30 Moreouer that saieng hath a great emphasis Psal 16 10. What emphasis these words haue Thou shalt not leaue my soule in the graue wherein it is written Thou shalt not leaue me in the graue for thereby Dauid prophesieth that Christ should be buried For we leaue not anie thing in a place vnlesse it were first put there Wherefore he dealeth not in this place touching anie protection safe custodie and defense of the flesh in this world but of the resurrection of the flesh and eternall life Euen cattell and brute beasts when they die be at rest as well from diseases as from labors but they rest not in hope bicause they hope not for the blessed and happie resurrection The Hebrue word Chasid is translated by the Septuaginta 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Holie So was Christ peculiarlie called Acts. 3 14. The holie one of God and so did the diuels call him Mark 1 24. Luk. 4 34. as we read in Marke and in Luke Scheol among the Hebrues expresseth both a graue and also hell of the verbe Schaal which is To craue bicause these things séeme euermore to demand and craue neither are they at anie time satisfied The 70. interpretors and the apostles in the Acts said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into hell But Schacath is deriued of the verbe Schacath which signifieth To destroie and corrupt wherevpon as well a hole as a graue is called Schacath bicause dead carcases doo there putrifie and corrupt Thus much of the names So as the confession of our faith hath that Christ was dead and buried but yet so as neither his soule was long deteined in hell nor yet his bodie so long taried in the graue that it had triall of corruption These words conteine singular and excellent comfort as touching the flesh séeing we beléeue that the same shall be raised vp from death Which doubtlesse would be no comfort at all if so be that our bodie and flesh should be subiected vnto perpetuall death The elect doo aduance their ioie and hope bicause they be not afraid of death They knowe that in these words there is no speaking of a certeine short deliuerance to be giuen vnto them for a time Certeinlie Dauid was manie times deliuered from sundrie dangers and from most sharpe and deadlie sicknesses and for those benefits he in his psalmes gaue GOD sundrie thanks for he acknowledged that those things were laid vpon him for his benefit But in this place he speaketh of eternall life and of the chéefe felicitie which the words that followe do declare when it is said Thou shalt shew me the path of life in thy presence is the fulnesse of ioies at thy right hand there are pleasures for euermore But it is a cold comfort that ariseth thorough hope of deliuerance from one danger or another and from one disease or another when others be at hand
and that finallie we must die for that in déed is nothing else but euen to take breath for a time Further I passe it ouer that such benefit is common to vs with the wicked bicause both their death is oftentimes deferred and they escape from sundrie sicknesses But this is the great happinesse of the godlie that vnto them death is turned into rest and the graue is not properlie corruption vnto them in the which they swéetlie lie being now deliuered from the troubles and labours of this life And when it is said that the flesh dooth rest in hope it must not so be vnderstood as though the carcase or dead flesh dooth hope For if we consider of it as it is separated from the soule it is a brute and rude thing neither dooth it hope nor despaire but the meaning is that the godlie while they liue here doo so comfort themselues as they hope that their flesh shall both rest and be restored vnto a most happie life If Dauid which liued vnder the lawe and in the old testament thus prophesies concerning the resurrection of the dead and of Christ how dare foolish men saie that the fathers in the old testament were ignorant of these things Peter aduised the Israelites that they should giue credit vnto Dauid bicause he could rightlie pronounce of these things in that he was a prophet whose function is to foreshew of things to come Further that Christ was promised vnto him by an oth and that not onelie he should come foorth of his stocke but that he should sit vpon his seate that he might faithfullie gouerne and rule the Israelites 31 Nor must it be forgotten that Dauid did not write The words of the psalm I shall rest in hope I did rest in hope but he attributed the same to his flesh least he should giue cause of suspicion that death did also perteine vnto the soule for there be such as thinke that the soule dooth perish togither with the bodie Further that at the resurrection of the dead both parts shall be restored the which opinion we haue before confuted by most euident testimonies of the scriptures And that the thing may yet more manifestlie appéere it is to be vnderstood that Soule in this place is not taken by all men after one maner for some doo consider of the same properlie as it is distinguished from the bodie and then they take the word Scheol not for a graue but for hell to haue the sense to be that Christ was not to be forsaken in hell but should quicklie be restored to his bodie The descending of Christ into hell And vndoubtedlie the greatest part of the fathers when they would confirme the going downe of Christ into hell doo vse this interpretation from which also the apostles doo not flie who said with the seuentie interpretors Thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell and turned not the word Scheol sepulchre But others doo vnderstand Soule as though it should signifie a dead man that is the dead carcase it selfe and they thinke it to be said Thou shalt not leaue me being dead that is my dead carcase in the graue so as if the same thing were repeated in the second clause which was spoken in the first namelie that it is all one to saie that the holie one shall not sée the graue and to saie my soule shall not be left in the graue This interpretation Dauid Kimhi followeth Now that the soule dooth sometimes signifie a dead man or a dead carcase it is read in the 21. verse 11. of Leuiticus where God commandeth the Israelites that they should not contaminate or pollute themselues ouer a soule that is ouer a dead man or ouer a dead carcase But for this matter I meane not now to contend But yet as touching that which belongeth vnto the descending of Christ into hell which is gathered of the former exposition I thinke it not amisse to haue noted that they flie from the true marke which thinke that the soule of Christ did so descend into hell where the damned soules are punished for their deserts as that he suffered there also the punishments and torments of the vngodlie to the intent that we should be deliuered from those euils These be deuises of men neither are they grounded vpon anie of the holie scriptures naie rather when Christ was at the point of death vpon the crosse Iohn 19 30. he said It is finished bicause in dieng he had finished his vocation so far foorth as he was sent for the redéeming of mankind and by that one onelie oblation or sacrifice as it is written to the Hebrues Heb 9 10. he obteined saluation for vs. And we read euerie where in the holie scriptures that we by the death crosse and bloud of Christ are redéemed but we read no where that we are redéemed by the torments and punishments in hell which happened after his death Further when he was euen now dieng he said vnto the father Luk. 23 46. Into thy hands I commend my spirit and they which be in the hands of God vndoubtedlie are not tormented with the paines of hell But of this matter we haue sufficientlie spoken at this time for I thinke that hereby it is plainelie shewed what sense is to be gathered out of the words of Dauid Now resteth to be considered whether this oracle were vttered concerning Dauid himselfe or touching Christ 32 The Hebrues and chéeflie among them D. Kimhi thinketh that the prophet spake these things of himselfe namelie that he beléeued he should in that sort be protected and deliuered by God as he should neither be left in his sepulchre nor sée the graue Howbeit Peter excepted him and such other verse 19. as we read in the second chapter of the Acts saieng vnto the Israelites For I may boldlie speake vnto you of the patriarch Dauid that he is both dead and buried and that his sepulchre remaineth with vs vnto this daie By which words he sheweth that his dead bodie was not onelie left in the sepulchre but that it there became rotten and that therefore that prophesie could not be applied vnto him but was fulfilled in Christ But the Hebrues laugh vs to scorne and saie Without all doubt your Christ died and was buried as ye your selues confesse how commeth it then to passe that he sawe not the graue We answer How Christ sawe not the graue that we in verie déed confesse that Christ died but yet not so that he was deteined either by death or by hell Wherefore his dead bodie was not left in the sepulchre neither did he sée corruption if we vnderstand Schacath to signifie Putrifaction which by the apostolicall doctrine is the lawfull interpretation thereof But if we yéeld vnto these men to wit that by that word is signified either a graue or a sepulchre we will saie that it was pronounced of Christ that he should not sée the graue either by the
into you and ye shall liue But it is a maruell that the prophet should be commanded to prophesie and speake vnto the bones which be so rude base and void of sense as they cannot either heare or vnderstand anie thing But it must be considered that all things though they be void of life and without sense and motion doo obeie God without delaie And Christ in like maner saith in Iohn The houre shall come Iohn 5 28. when they that be in the graues shall heare the voice of the sonne of God whereas yet the bones ashes of dead men which be in graues neither heare nor féele anie thing yet neuerthelesse it is said that they shall arise at the voice of the archangel and trumpet of God 42 The order and disposition of bones in the resurrection is most diligentlie taught by the prophet First bones being ioined to bones are bound and knit togither with sinews Further they are replenished with flesh which bicause it should not remaine vnséemelie and fowle to looke vpon it is couered with skinne When the dead bodies were now become perfect he commandeth the prophet to prophesie vnto the spirit that it should come and that they should be made things liuing with soule There is two sorts of spirit mentioned A mention of two sorts of spirit namelie of the soule which quickeneth the bodie and of the spirit of God which illuminateth and sanctifieth the soule And for this cause the dead raised vp are not onlie said to haue stood vpon their féet but also it is added And they shall knowe that I am God Vndoubtedlie God is knowne by the greatnes of his works but that knowledge happeneth not without the spirit of God A voice was heard perhaps it was thunder and there was an earthquake for these things were vsed to be doone in shewing of the excellent miracles of God Exo. 19 18. When the lawe was giuen in Sina there was horrible thunder and earthquakes Matt. 27 51. and 28 2. yea and at the death and resurrection of the Lord a great earthquake was made The spirit commeth from the foure winds c. At the resurrection of the saints that be dead the soules returne vnto their bodies from the high places of heauen howbeit by diuers and sundrie waies bicause the ashes and dead bodies of them be not heaped vp togither into one certeine place of the world And all the waies dooth the scripture comprehend by the foure winds that is by the east west south and north Or else perhaps the scattering abroad of the captiues vnto the foure parts of the world is noted Moses also in Deuteronomie promised vnto the penitent Iewes Deut. 30 1. this restitution from the foure parts of the world Hereby moreouer we gather that the soules of men are not bred in them euen as God brethed a soule into Adam and afterward to euerie man createth soules Gen. 2 7. euen so in the resurrection he will send them from abroad vnto them againe which also is a a plaine token that they with their bodies do not die And where it is after added that All these bones is the whole house of Israel thereby we learne that the spéech héere is ment as touching the resurrection of the godlie for they be trulie the house of Israel And the prophet sawe an excéeding great host bicause as we also read in the Apocalypse the companie of the faithfull is a great number Apoc. 7 9. The verbe Is of the same force that Signifieth 43 All these bones is the whole house of Israel When he had now finished the proposition he addeth the application It may be noted that the verbe substantiue Is is all one as if he had said It signifieth for those bones were not in verie déed the house of Israel but they did betoken the same euen as the seuen vnfruitfull and emptie eares Gen. 41 5. which were séene vnto Pharao were the seuen years of dearth I will open saith the Lord your sepulchres But it must néeds be that the graues were open alreadie séeing those bones were scattered in the féeld Vnto this it is answered that as concerning those bones the graues were first opened but if so be respect be had vnto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the restitution of the Israelits into the land of Chanaan they were yet to be opened And whereas the prophet saith And I will bring you into your land some vnderstand it allegoricallie as if the land of the Israelits should be taken for the kingdome of heauen The resurrection of the dead shall not be in Iudea alone and eternall felicitie But setting allegories aside I rather weigh this in this place that the vanitie of those Iewes is confuted who thinke that the dead shall onelie be raised vp in Iudaea Whereas the prophet in this place affirmeth it to come to passe far otherwise for to the dead alreadie reuiued he promiseth a returne into the land of promise Certeinlie it is a fond and foolish deuise so to tie the power strength of God to a certeine place as it may not or will not doo the same thing in one place that it hath doone in an other The graues doo betoken the captiuitie of Babylon and the lamentable seruitude vnder a tyrant which God promised to release Also the sepulchre of the Iewes was extreame desperation which they ran into casting aside all hope of their returne This sepulchre did God promise to vnlocke by opening the waie of their returne to their own countrie So in verie déed the case standeth as touching assistance of the godlie as when things be in great despaire then ariseth the daie-breake of heauenlie helpe To be short two things are shewed by this oracle the first is The resurrection of the dead the second The returne of the Israelits into their countrie And one thing is prooued by an other for the restitution of the Iewes is confirmed by raising vp the drie bones vnto life 44 Against this sound and true interpretation A confutâ—tion of them which denie that in this place 〈◊〉 is meâ—t of the vniuersall resurrection some doo vehementlie argue two maner of waies saieng first that there is no speaking héere of the vniuersall resurrection of all men séeing those bones made aliue are said to be the house of Israel Secondlie that this was a fained and imagined vision and therefore that nothing can be constantlie affirmed thereby Héere vnto we answer that indéed we confesse that the prophet speaketh of the resurrection of the iust as we haue alreadie said before but in that it was a vision it maketh no matter neither dooth it make anie thing the lesse but that this vision was a generall consolation for confirming the hope of the generall resurrection as well as the restitution of the Iews For it is sufficient that the argument is taken and deriued from the resurrection of the dead Also the Hebrue
bodie was made to be a help not a detriment vnto man GOD made the nature of man to be bodilie bicause it might be holpen by the bodie not to receiue detriment thereby This if it did afterward in some part procure it must not be ascribed vnto God but vnto sinne Neither yet in the meane time is it altogither vnprofitable while we be conuersant in these calamities if a man by faith vse the same well Wherevnto adde that it shall be restored vnto vs so corrected and amended in the blessed resurrection and so furnished with excellent conditions and qualities as it shall not diminish the desired felicitie but it shall rather augment the same There was an other argument namelie that after death the parts of our bodie are so resolued into elements from whence it is taken and so mingled with them as thence foorth it can be no more disseuered and brought foorth But this is to iudge ouer meanlie and baselie of the power of God when we will not attribute as much vnto him as we grant vnto the indeuours of men in this life A similitude If water be mingled with wine there be such men as can disseuer the one from the other againe Further goldsmiths and finers of mettalles can resolue into their parts those lumps which are mixed togither of gold siluer brasse and stéele Neither dooth there want such as can of euerie drie and hard thing presse out oile or liquid fatnesse And shall not God who is declared to be omnipotent and could create the world of nothing be able to drawe humane bodies out of the ashes againe And therefore it is written in the Apocalypse the twentie chapter Apoc. 20 13 And the sea gaue vp hir dead which were in hir and death and hell deliuered vp the dead which were in them c. 68 But it may be saie they that humane flesh should be deuoured either of fishes or of birds the which afterward may become the food of men and be conuerted into the flesh of another man What is to be iudged of them which are consumed of fishes and birds Herevnto we answer that certeinlie the dust and ashes are raised vp not as they were the substances of fishes or of birds but as they were of a man first coÌ„sumed by them Neither shall the latter man which fed of those fishes and birds and turned them into his owne flesh be raised vp with the augmentation or matter of the other man which went before him The verie which answer may be made concerning the Anthropophagi Certeine men which liue by the eating of mans flesh And that the matter may be the more plainelie knowne we must vnderstand that in the nature of things there is no néed about the kéeping still of the substance of one and the selfe-same bodie that all things which were in it should perpetuallie remaine in the same For the matter of our bodie dooth continuallie shed and fall awaie the heares and nailes doo shed and are clipped manie things flowe out by the mouth by the nostrils and by other excrementall parts further the naturall heate dooth alwaie spend the vitall moisture and the substance which floweth out is repaired againe by new eating and drinking and this is doone euerie houre and yet doo not the bodies cease to be the same in number Which also we sée come to passe in trées A similitude whose fruits are gathered whose leaues fall and whose branches are each yéere shred when as yet the same trées doo remaine verie long the same in number So that if the whole matter togither should be taken awaie that vnitie might not be appointed but bicause the matter auoideth by parts and that the new matter which is gathered by meate drinke is ioined to those that were before therfore vnitie is reteined especiallie where one and the selfe-same forme endureth and is preserued Séeing therefore vnto the truth and vnitie of a bodie there is no necessitie that all things which passed through the same should be in it it may be that GOD dooth not laie vp in the resurrection for such as were consumed by the Anthropophagi the flesh of those which did eate them but that he will restore other things which at sundrie times flowed from their bodie And if perhaps anie thing should be wanting he will supplie it by his power euen as an addition of flesh was giuen to the rib of Adam Gen. 1 11. when Eue was formed thereof But if a man will saie that it may happen that the Anthropophagi did not féed of anie other thing than mans flesh we saie that this is to small purpose séeing they haue also other brute beasts which they féed of They doo also vse milke and the graines called millet and panicke and such other like meats Wherfore the substance to some shall be all one that it was in others it shall be diminished which was too much There was brought another reason If there be a resurrection to come there had béene no néed of new generation But the same as we sée is continued Gen. 1 28. Gen. 17. and God commanded it as well before the floud as after But they which reason after this sort Generation shall haue an end ought to consider of two things First that procreation endureth to the end of the world but that it is to take place no more after that time Further when generation was commanded there was no condition added that it should be perpetuall Wherefore the argument is most weake for it is taken from the nature of things present wheras this state of ours is sometimes vtterlie to be changed 69 Besides this it was said that In death the essentiall beginnings of man are destroied That the essentall beginnings perish not by death and not the bodie alone but the inferiour parts also of the mind For the powers of the senses namelie of feruent desiring and being angrie doo perish as doo those which serue vnto nourishment and procreation We answer that the vse indéed of these things dooth surcâ—ase by death but that the powers themselues are not extinguished but be kept whole in the soule which is seuered from the bodie so that when the bodie shall be restored therevnto the exercise of them shall be restored also except that which declareth it selfe to belong either to procreation or nourishment of the bodie in this life Furthermore it was obiected that One and the same vnitie of bodie cannot be preserued when as the life or continuance thereof shall be broken off For the being wherein we be consisteth in a certeine succession or continuation of life And indéed we sée that walking when it is broken off if it be afterward renewed is not one and the same in number And it was added that in augmentation the same thing happeneth as touching other qualities A similitude For health being discontinued by reason of sicknesse when the sicke man is restored
against the God of Daniel should dye The like decrée made Darius afterward Ib. 6. 23. So likewise our Magistrates ought wholie to take away all Idolatries blasphemies and superstitions so soone as euer they shall finde them out The Ethnick princes neuer thought that the care of Religion appertained not vnto their power The Ethnick Princes accounted the care for religion to be in thē Why was Socrates condemned at Athens I demaund not now how rightlie or iustlie for as it is thought in a manner of all men Anitus and Melitus lyed against him This I speake for that he was for no other cause condemned but for Religion Socrates was condemned by the Magistrate for matters of Religion as though he taught new Gods and led away the youth from the auncient and receaued woorshipping of the Gods and he was by a prophane Magistrate condemned Wherefore the Athenians thought that the preseruation and care of Religion belonged to their Magistrate Leui. 24. 16 The lawe of God commaunded that the blasphemour should be put to death not I thinke by euerie priuate man or by the priestes but by the Magistrate The Ethnick Emperours also in those first times did for no other cause rage against the Christians but because they thought that the state of Religion belonged vnto their iudgemēt seate And assuredlie as touching this opinion they were not deceaued For none as Chrysostome saith either Apostle or Prophet Chrysost reprooued the people either Iewes or Ethnickes because they had a care of Religion but they were deceaued in the verie knowledge as touching Religion because they defended their owne as true and condemned the Christian as vngodlie and blasphemous Constantine and Theodosius and manie other godlie princes are commended because they tooke away Idols and either closed vp or else ouerthrew their Temples Howbeit they did not these thinges in anie other respect than that they thought the charge of Religion to belong vnto them otherwise they should haue bin busie fellowes and should haue put their Sickle into an other mans haruest The Donatists tooke this in verie ill part and gréeuouslie complained thereof in Augustines time because the Catholick Byshops required ayde of the ciuill Magistrate against them Augustine But Augustine confuted them by the selfe same Argument which I haue a little before rehearsed And addeth this moreouer why did ye accuse Caecilianus Byshop of Carthage before Constantine if it be wicked for an Emperour to determine concerning Religion 32 Furthermore there is gathered by those things which the same Father wrote against Petilianus and against Parmenianus also in manie other Epistles how that the Donatists accused Caecilianus as it is said before Constantine the Emperor who first referred the cause to Melchiades bishop of Rome And when by him they were ouercome they againe appealed to the Emperor neither reiected he their appellation frō him Appellatiō from the Pope to the Emperour in matters of religion but committed the matter to the Bishop of Orleance by whom they were againe cōdemned Neither rested they so but they appealed againe to the Emperour who heard them decided their cause condemned them and by his sentence quitted Caecilianus Where are they now which so often and so impudently crie The right of calling Councels in the Emperours that there is no appealing from the Pope and that the causes of Religion belong not to the Ciuill Magistrate To whom in the olde time belonged the right of calling generall Councels pertained it not vnto Emperours As for the Councell of Nice the Councell of Constantinople of Ephesus and of Chalcedon Emperours called them Leo the first of that name prayed the Emperour to call a Councell in Italie because he suspected the Gretians about the errour of Eutiches and yet could he not obtaine it And the Bishops were called togther to Chalcedonia whereat the Emperour was also present as was Constantine at the Coūcell of Nice Neither doe I thinke that they were there present to sit idle and to doe nothing but rather to set forth vnto the Bishops what they should do and to prouoke them to define rightly Theodoretus Theodoretus telleth that Constantine admonished the fathers to determine al things by the scriptures of the Euangelists Apostles Prophets and scriptures inspired from God Iustinian also in the Code wrote many Ecclesiasticall lawes of Bishops of Priestes and other such like Yea and Augustine himselfe hath taught that the Magistrate ought after the same maner to punish Idolaters and Heretikes Augustine with the same punishment that he punisheth adulterers withall for so much as they commit whoredome against God in minde which is much more heinous thā to commit whoredome in bodie And looke by what law murtherers are put to death Whoredom a more grieuous crime than adulterie by the same also ought Idolaters and Heretickes be punished for that by them are killed not the bodies but the soules Although the common people are stirred vp onelie against Homicides because it séeth the bloud of the slaine bodies but séeth not the death of the soules Surelie it is profitable that the Magistrate should take this care vpon him and by his authoritie compell men to come to the Sermons and to heare the word of God for by that meanes it commeth to passe that through often hearing those things begin to please which before displeased God hath prospered those Princes which haue had a care of Religion As the histories teach God hath oftentimes made godlie Princes famous through most noble victories which haue had a care of these things 33 Besides it cannot be denied but that it is the Magistrates dutie to defend those Cities and publike weales ouer which they are gouernors and to prouide that they take no harme Seeing then Idolatry is the cause of captiuitie plague famine ouerthrowing of publike weales shall it not belong vnto the Magistrate to represse it and to preserue both the true and sounde Religion Lastlie Paule teacheth fathers to instruct their children in discipline and in the feare of God But a good Magistrate is the father of the countrie wherefore by the rule of the Apostle he ought to prouide that subiects be instructed as common children Neuerthelesse Kinges and Princes which saie that these things pertaine not to them do in the meane time let giue and sell Bishopricks Abbies and benefices to whom they thinke good neither thinke they that this belongeth not to their office onelie they thinke that they ought not to take knowledge of matters of Religion and they neglect to prouide that they whom they promote to most ample dignities should execute their office rightly This therfore onelie remaineth for them euen that God himselfe will at length iudge of these things and reuenge their negligence The fourteenth Chapter Of the office of Magistrates especially in exercising of Iudgement PRinces for the most part in the time of great quietnesse In 2. Sam. 8. 15.
be put in an others place and so there follow carnall copulation yet there the matrimonie is not ratified Propositions out of the xxix xxx and xxxi chapters of Genesis Necessarie proposition 1 IAcob is not to be accused for hauing of manie wiues both bicause of the time and also bicause he himselfe desired but one and the rest he married by the prouocation of others proposition 2 Albeit that children riches and honours be the blessings of GOD yet are not they which want these to be pronounced simplie accurssed proposition 3 As the carefulnesse of getting riches for our children must be auoided so must the labour and indeuour of getting them necessaries be followed that they be not driuen to beg proposition 4 The industrie and obseruation whereby we make our commoditie of naturall things are not the cause whie but that they should be ascribed to the goodnesse of God proposition 5 The industrie of Iacob whereby he caused the shéep goats to conceiue through laieng of rods in the gutters had a miracle ioined therewith proposition 6 Séeing health to be restored vnto the sicke is in the hand of God and medicines be instruments which he vseth to restore the same therefore they must not be neglected nor yet ought there be too much attributed vnto them proposition 7 We must not by stelth take that from anie man which he oweth vnto vs least we violate the publike power of the magistrate proposition 8 True faith suffereth not that we should mingle a strange and superstitious religion with the sincere worshipping of God proposition 9 It is not for priuate men to striue to purge religion from idols and superstitions but holie sermons and godlie conference had are lawfull instruments for this purpose proposition 10 It is the magistrates part to prouide that within his dominion sound doctrine may be had further he ought to prouide by force and armes that nothing be doone therein which may be repugnant to the lawfull seruice of God proposition 11 The precept of the Lord touching the flieng awaie in persecution is not reuoked neither was it as some affirme temporall proposition 12 We are not to flie awaie in time of persecution to the intent to mainteine our feare infirmitie but rather to serue the glorie of God Probable proposition 1 POlygamie is to be auoided for both it bringeth manie discommodities and the ciuill lawes which be receiued and honestie it selfe dooth forbid the same proposition 2 He that hath not the gift of God to conteine must not vnder the pretense of pouertie delaie marriage proposition 3 By the forceable power of the imagination which changeth the bodie and the fruit ioined therevnto we may conclude of the great power of faith which changeth the whole bodie while it dooth effectuallie take hold of Christ Propositions out of the xxxi xxxij xxxiij and xxxiiij chapters of Genesis Necessarie proposition 1 THe church before the comming of Christ had 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to saie powers of the spirit to punish the vngodlie proposition 2 We must beware of prouoking holie men vnto anger for oftentimes they be heard when they cursse men proposition 3 It is méet for them that haue the gouernement of Gods people that they purge themselues of the crimes obiected against them if they will giue testimonie to their innocencie proposition 4 Albeit that the scripture dooth rehearse manie names of angels yet hath it taught vs but little of their natures properties and differences proposition 5 In this respect that Christ excéedeth all the angels in glorie and that he hath made vs sit at the right hand of God with him is not necessarilie inferred that the saints shall be better than the angels proposition 6 Feare therefore profiteth godlie men bicause it prouoketh them to call vpon God and to liue circumspectlie proposition 7 When God or the angels offer themselues to men vnder anie shape of bodilie things they feigne not séeing they vse those meanes to instruct them proposition 8 The wrestling of Iacob with the angell put him in mind of the strength giuen him by God so as he might not be vanquished nor put from obteining the promises proposition 9 The varietie of names wherewith God and the angels are named in the scriptures is deriued of the diuersitie of actions which is attributed vnto them proposition 10 It is a punishment of sinne that the sight of man is not able to endure the presence of God proposition 11 He that matcheth in matrimonie with infidels is holden giltie of the contempt of religion proposition 12 There is no people one indéed which dissenteth in it selfe as touching religion Probable proposition 1 WHether Iacob waking or sléeping wrestled with the angell we are not able to prooue by the scripture proposition 2 To sée God face to face dooth not alwaies signifie in the holie scriptures to behold euidentlie the nature and essence of God proposition 3 The sinew smitten by the angell in the wrestling with Iacob signified that he without the trouble of the flesh should not ouercome the aduersities which were comming vpon him proposition 4 We also doo wrestle with GOD and doo ouercome when we ouercome the temptations which come vnto vs. Propositions out of the xxxiiij xxxv and xxxvi chapters of Genesis Necessarie proposition 1 IT is not lawfull for priuate men to raise vp seditions against tyrants and by priuate authoritie to slaie them proposition 2 When a tyrant is subiect to a higher power it is lawfull for priuate men to deale against him by lawe before that power but if he haue the chéefe souereigntie the reuenge must be committed vnto God proposition 3 The iudges which rose vp in Israel and deliuered the people of God from tyrants did it not of anie priuate authoritie but by the instinct of God proposition 4 When anie be oppressed with tyrannie they must thinke with themselues that the same is the hand of God as famine pestilence haile lightening and such other like proposition 5 When we come togither to the church our minds must be purged with greater diligence than if we should make our praiers to God in anie other place proposition 6 The necessitie of dieng is no cause that we should not sorrowe for death proposition 7 We must not in this respect take comfort in death that it is simplie good séeing rather on the contrarie part it must be accounted among euils proposition 8 Nor yet againe by this argument that the bodie is euill or the coniunction thereof with the soule euill séeing they are absolutelie good proposition 9 The hope of resurrection bringeth true consolation of death for by it the bodie is restored to the soule all corruption being taken awaie from the same and the euils wherby it troubleth the soule proposition 10 And for this cause are we comforted that death is vanquished by Christ and that now it hath no more the nature of death for thereby is granted a returne vnto life
the first point We are risen vp together with him For to the intent he might shewe this Mat. 27. 52 when hée rose vp he had manie bodies of the saintes with him which appeared vnto others Further he rose not to himselfe but vnto others vnto vs I meane séeing hee is our head If he himself be risen the members also are raised vp with him Example of those that bee drowned in the waters Rom. 8. 32. To the Rom. Seeing he hath giuen his sonne howe shall hee not with him giue all thinges But and if he haue giuen all thinges hee hath also giuen resurrection Ephe. 2. 1. Vnto the Ephesians When ye were dead in your sinnes he quickened you together with him and not onelie quickened you but also made you to sit together on the right hand in the heauenlie places And in the same Epistle to the Ephesians Ephe. 1. 19. What is the exceeding greatnes of his power towards vs which beleue according to the working of his mightie power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the deade c. Furthermore he is risen vp vnto vs and sitteth at the right hande of the father and obtaineth for vs the spirite which was in him the beginning of the resurrection For vnto the Romanes it is saide If the spirite of him which raised vp Christ from the deade doe dwell in you Rom. 8. 11. hee will quicken also your mortall bodies because of the spirit that dwelleth in you Also vnto the Romanes the sixt Chapter Verse 11. Likewise thinke yee also that ye are deade to sinne but are aliue to God in Christ Iesus Weare all dead through Adam and doe presentlie taste of death Wherefore if we will not make Christ to bee worser than Adam let vs saie that he also gaue a newe life which we maie now presentlie tast Christ is the first fruits of them that rise againe as it is saide vnto the Corinthians 1. Co. 15. 20 First fruites doe not so goe before other fruites but that they be together with them indéede they be not ripe but yet they are nowe extant so likewise our resurrection although it be not ripe yet is it And as Christ by Baptisme hath drawen vs with him into his death and buriall so hath he drawen vs out vnto life This doeth the dipping into the water and the issuing foorth againe signifie when we are baptised It is saide vnto the Romanes Rom. 10. 9. But and if wee confesse the Lorde Iesus to haue risen from the dead wee shall be saued Wherefore the resurrection of Christ pertayneth to our resurrection For we cannot be saued vnlesse we be pertakers of the same Hee was deliuered to death for our sinnes and rose againe for our iustification c. Rom. 4. 25. If ye bee risen together with Christ seeke ye those thinges which are aboue c. The minor proposition must bee added But ye are risen together with Christ Col. 3. 1. Iohn 3. 36. Rom. 8. 24. therefore ye ought to seeke those things that be aboue He that beleeueth in the sonne hath eternall life By hope wee are saued Howbeit we are yet still after a sort vnder death Neither doe we saie as doe the Libertines that the resurrection is alreadie past wee onelie affirme that it is begunne For God bringeth not by and by vnto the high and perfect degrée he first giueth certaine entrances and beginninges Before that Moses colde be declared captaine of the people of God if we shall giue credite to Iosephus he cast vppon the ground the diademe of Pharao and trode it vnder his féete he slewe an Egyptian and made peace betwéene the Israelites whereby is declared that hee was partaker of his vocation although it were not as yet fullie reuealed Also Dauid being a childe slew Lyons and Beares and being a young man killed Goliath 1. Sa. 17. 34 Ib. ver 49. whereby he beganne nowe to bée a partaker of the gouernment of the Israelites although he were not declared king So wee although we haue not as yet obteyned a perfect resurrection yet are we conuersant therein Now must we sée wherein this resurrection of ours standeth First in good woorkes which are nothing else but enterances and beginninges of eternall life They are degrées whereby God draweth vs vnto a perfect life They are no merites but pathes and imperfect beginninges Rom. 8. 12. We are debters not to liue after the fleshe but after the spirite for if according to the spirite yee mortifie the deedes of the fleshe yee shall liue Mortifie your members which bee vppon the earth Col. 3. 5. And those doeth Paul expresse to bee Fornication couetousnesse and Idolatrie c. And our olde man the more he is destroied the more hee is euerie daie renewed Also in the seconde Epistle to the Corinthians 2. Cor. 5. 15 He died for all men that hee which nowe liueth maie not liue to himselfe but vnto him which died for vs. Whereuppon Paul I liue yet not I nowe but Christ liueth in mee We must take héede that not onelie we testifie in woordes that Christ is risen againe but to shewe that hee is also risen againe in vs. Christ when he was risen againe entered into the glorie of the father that we in this resurrection begun might prooue our selues to be the children of God as we bée Wherefore it is saide vnto the Romanes Rom. 1. 4. Christ is defined or rather declared to bee the sonne of God by his rising againe from the dead All things are subdued vnto Christ so ought we to ouercome all thinges and to faint in nothing Let vs stande out in temptations and triumph ouer our tribulations Christ is aboue Col. 3. 1. and let our conuersation be in heauen Finallie let vs perseuere For in that Christ dyed Rom. 6. 10. he died once and death hath no more dominion ouer him c. An Oration or Sermon of D. P. Martyr out of the 1. Chapter of the Prophet Hagge THe most royall Temple dearelie beloued which was erected vnto God almightie at Ierusalem which in euerie mans mouth was called The house of God we reade was not for one cause alone either defiled or burned For by the armie of the Caldeās it was burned by the Macedonians it was defiled by an Image of Iupitur Olympus finallie the couetous nation of the Iewes abused the same for a Market to buy and sell in to satisfie their gréedinesse Howbeit God who suffereth not that which belongeth to him to be perpetuallie trodden vnder foote procured by Nehemias Esdras Zorobabel Ihesus the sonne of Iosadeck Hagge Zacharie and Malachie that his holie house which had long time lien ouerthrowen should be againe restored And he in like manner did so prosper the valiant indeuours of Iudas Machabaeus his warlike prowesse as the Temple which the wicked licentiousnesse of the Gretians did defile was againe cleansed by
is more to be reprooued that hath ill friends than he which hath corrupt Children 1 148 b Not all a mans Children be his heires 3 81 b The lacke or losse of them an hinderance vnto felicitie and why 1 148 b 149 a Three sorts of Children legitimate and not naturall naturall and not legitimate legitimate and naturall 2 476 b Whether the Children of Esau were legitimate or no 2 436 b Of Godlie Parents the Children haue some holinesse 2 367 a Of their imitating 4 124 a Children of the prophets and why so called 4 6 b They that abounde in good Children are gratefull to the citie and honoured of others examples 1 148 a The Children of the elect reckoned among the beléeuers 2 234. Some belong not to predestination 2 233b 238 b 239 a They be holie as touching ciuill action and howe that is ment 2 238a They may belong to perdition 4 117 b 118 a ¶ Looke Holinesse and Infants Choise Whether there can bee a Choise made in euill 2 295b Two kinds the one common the other proper 2 294 a Nor frée in all things 3 201 a In what it may take place 3 166 b Reasons proouing that it is not opinion 2 296a The Sâ—oâ—ks assured it to be an opinion Sumooned 2 294 b Whether it be of that which is pleasant and vnpleasant 2 295 a The same consideration is not of Gods Choise that is of mans choise 3 17a Euerie Choise is not alwayes an aduersarie to euerie desire 2 â—95 a What Choise is offered to young-men as the Pythagorians fay and of the Choise of Paris 2 295 b The making of Choise is not subiect to fortune 2 294 a That no kind of opinion is all one therwith 2 297 a The place which it hath in the minde 2 295 a Of thrée things that want the making thereof 2 294 a It concerneth those thinges that are in our power 2 296a Whether children and brute beastes be without it 2 294 a It is exercised about that which is good and that which is euill 2 295 b An order where by the definition thereof is found out 2 294 b It is most proper to vertue prooued 2 293 b That it and desire be diuerse prooued 2 294 b Maners are more iudged thereby than by actions 2 293 b A sounde Choise is euer more against an euill desire 2 295 a It is of those things that belong vnto the end 2 296a Frée placed in the will but rooted in the reason 2 252 b It pertaineth not to things vnprofitable 2 296 a Our will hath an affinitie with Choise yet is it not choise 2 295 b 296 a ¶ Looke Election and VVill. Choler The abundance of Choler in the tonâ—…e is the cause that all things séeme bitter 1 39 a ¶ Looke Humors Christ An interpretation of the name Christ 2 605b 615 a Howe it is meant that his horne shal be â—ealâ—ed and when 2 597 a Of his superabundant loue towardes vs. 2 610 a What his burial doth teach vs. 2 610 b 621a 608 ab Al things concerning him were certeinly determined before hand 3 6 b 7 a He tooke humane nature vpon him fréely 3 19 a 1 117 b How the fathers coulde eate him he being not then borne 2 587 b Of the vnion of his two natures 4 189b 190 a 1 115ab 2 614 a 600 b 340. 3 358 ab The reuealing of him is not commoÌ„ to all 3 27 b The first effect of predestination 3 25 b A creature 2 616 b 335 b After what manner we shoulde worship his flesh 4 177 b Whether his body be more worthie thaÌ„ his word 4 214 a Painted out by the Euangelists Apostles 2 353 b The foundation of the church 4 83 b Painted with Asses eares in despite 2 341 b Maintained by holy women 4 29 a Remaineth with vs though he be ascended 4 39 b 40 a CoÌ„municateth his things with vs. 4 83 b In him only death without sin 2 244 a How all creatures did him seruice 2 244 a In what respect he is compared with Melchisedech 1 102 a That his soule procéeded not from the virgin by propagatioÌ„ 2 244 b How with his body he could beare his own bodie 4 157 b 177 a How he is saide to be annoynted sith he was not annoynted 606 b Why God woulde haue his death to be the only meanes of mans saluation 2 619 b Why he is called the end of the law how 2 580 ab Of his image in what respects it may and may not be made 2 340 b In what respect he is not the cause of predestination 3 19 a The old fathers in the lawe called vpon him 2 582 a Peculiar testimonies of him his righteousnesse 2 581 a Of his reall presence in the Eucharist 4 144. 145. 146. His crosse death 2 619 a How he suffereth in his members 2 608 b Why his flesh is called sin 2 609 a A paterne of a holy vpright life 2 617 a Whether his body be euerywhere 4 189b His humanity prooued 4 153 b 3 314 b 315a How he is present with vs till the ende of the world 4 186 b How it is ment that he maketh intercession for vs. 3 308 b 307 a What we must call to mind in thinking of his death 2 607 b 608 ab What body he had after his resurrection 4 186 ab 1 113 b 3 362 b 2 639 ab Two things to be noted in his death 2 617 b How he is euerie day crucified 4 222 a Whether he may be said to be sacrificed in the masse 4 221 b He had natural motions 2 571 b Mediation in the legue made betwéene God and man 2 583 a His death was effectual euen before it was performed 4 104 ab Prophesies touching his kingdome metaphoricall 3 397 a Of his descending into hell 3 374. 375. 344 a The place whither he ascended 3 370 b The error of the millenarii touching his latter comming 3 358 a In what respects he may be called a plague or destruction 3 355 a The true arke and propitiatorie 3 306 a Diuerse wayes testified in old time 2 581 ab What he did in a case of contumely 2 53â— b The Pelagians make his death of none effect howe 2 299 b His natiuitie and the fruites of the same 2 617a His diuinitie prooued against the Arrians 1 101 ab 102 ab 2 603a b The Nestorian heresie which separated his diuine humane nature asunder 2 340. Onely he is head of the Church 4 36 a 2 632a b Whether the old Iewes beheld him in their sacrifices 2 582 a After what manner he dissembleth 2 541 b He and Ieptha compared 2 523 b Howe Hylarie speaketh of his body 3 297 b How it is meant that hee grew in fauour with God 2 571 b Two sorts of ministeries in him as he is Priest 3 307 b He liued at the charges of the godly 4 29 b A
haue béene oftentimes doone for the escaping thereof read examples 2 282 b Who they be that abhorre and feare it 3 85 b A consolation for the taking thereof 3 318 a Whether Christ in remoouing of sinne remooued it 3 315 a Why God will haue it to be gréeuous to his 3 319 a The state of the faithfull after it 3 235 a Whether it is to be accounted euill or good 3 317 a Whether it ouercome all men without exemption 3 380 ab Whether the essentiall beginnings of man do perish thereby 3 365 b Howe it is made profitable to Gods children 3 319 a The procurer thereof 3 43 a The bodie of the first man was not of necessitie subiect vnto Death 2 246 a Whether God would the Death of a sinner 3 42 ab The difference betwéene the Death of a man and a beast 3 332 a The Death of the bodie dependeth of the death of the soule 3 42 b Howe the Death of our bodie cannot be called death 2 589 b The Death which children suffer is a reason to prooue that they haue originall sinne 2 215 b What Ierom writeth touching the Death of Esai 1 31 a By what scriptures the Death of Christ is prooued 2 608 ab Most ignominious read how 2 618 ab Why Christs Death was so acceptable to his father 2 610 b What we must cal vpon in thinking thereof 2 607 b 608 ab Christ called Death baptisme 4 114 a Debt What the ciuill lawe determined touching priuate and publike Debt 4 315b 316 a Debtors The lawes of God touching Debters 4 316 a Ciuil lawes for them 4 315 ab Deceipt What Deceipt is and wherein it is forbidden 2 534 b ¶ Looke Guile Dedication Consecration and Dedication differ 4 â—24 b Of what strength the names thereof be 4 123 a A lawfull kind of Dedication 1 126 a What is to be doone at the Dedication of a Church 4 66 a From whence it came among Christians 4 124 a 123 a Dedication of the walles of a Citie 4 123 b Of the Hebrues 4 124 b Of Bizantium or Constantinople 4 123b The rites of the Ethniks 4 124 a Of priuate houses 4 123 ab ¶ Looke Consecration Defect Euerie Defect maketh not a thing euill prooued 2 222 b Definitions Thinges differing in nature haue some things common in their Definitions 3 91 b Delaie God vseth Delay in his guifts for thrée considerations 2 332 a Deliberation Concerning what things Deliberation is néedefull and concerning what it is néedlesse 2 253 a In what holy thing it néedeth not 2 316 a It doth not properly concerne pleasant grosse delights 2 295 b Demonstrations Demonstrations of two sorts 3 333 ab Descending The Descending of Christ into hel 2 621 a 3 374. 375. 344 a ¶ Looke Christ and Hell Desire Whether the power of Desire and of anger be all one 2 409b 410 a How it is carried vnto those things which be pleasant and vnpleasant 2 295 a An argument that it is not choise and that desire is contrarie to desire 2 294 b 295 a How contrarie anger is thereunto 2 410 a It commeth néerer to the sense than anger doth 1 410 a Howe the desire of praise must be reformed 2 382 b Desire of honour in Alexander and Iulius Cesar noted 1 144 ab It driueth men somtimes to madnesse 2 383 a The moderate Desire of honour is not to be blamed and what is saide to and fro therof 1 143 ab 144 a ¶ Looke Honour and Praise Desires Desires may be plucked away from the worke so cannot pleasures 1 136 b Contrarie Desires cannot be both at once in one man 2 295 a The Desires of actions are sundry and are the causes that pleasures doe varie 1 136 b Desperation Against Desperation 3 85 ab Wherof it procéedeth 3 68 a What faith and feare driueth men thereto 3 92 b 66 a 67 a It is one of the extremes of hope 3 68 a A woonderfull example of the same 3 23 b 24 a Destinie Destinie defended 3 6 b In what respect the Stoikes seuer mans wil from it 2 280 a Boetius opinion from whence it hath his name 1 174 b The reason why the Stoiks bring it in 2 277 b What kinde of necessitie they defined it to be 1 175 b The Ethnikes thereby vnderstoode God 3 36 a A subtle argument of Origens touching the same 3 6 ab Whether by the doctrine of Predestination it be confirmed 3 4 b 5 a Fauourers thereof 3 38 ab 39 a Wee must absteine from the name and why 3 5 a Howe the word is to be allowed or not allowed 3 36 a 9 a Destruction In what respectes Christ ma. bée called Destruction 3 355 a Whether the Destruction of cities and men belong to Gods seruices 2 403 b Deuises Platos narration of a Demon that presented Thamus king of Aegypt with foure of his Deuises and what they were 1 52 a Di. Diceplay Against their reasons which defende Diceplay 2 525 b 526 a Condemned by the ciuill lawes 2 525 b Iustinians decrée for the abolishing thereof 2 525 b Whether thinges lost thereby be recouerable 2 526a Discipline Ecclesiasticall or Ciuill Of Discipline and what the same is 1 57 a 2 634 a In what thing the ecclesiasticall consisteth 4 56 a Defined 4 96 a No inuention of man 4 56 b Life and manners must be tryed thereby 4 16 b Almost vtterly lost 3 236 a Vnto whome it belongeth and that it must be learned 1 154. Ciuill Discipline must not be neglected of Infidels and why 2 264 a By it the scourges of Gods wrath are auoyded 3 10 a The Ethnikes doe sinne lesse by kéeping therof than by reiecting of it 2 264 a By what meanes it is preserued in the worlde 2 364 b 365 a 466 b Discontinuance Of Discontinuance in artes sciences vertues c. and the effect of the same 1 161 b Diseases What Christes healing of bodily Diseases teacheth vs. 3 129 b 130 a The daunger of the contagious and that wee ought to auoide it 2 312 b Not onely bodilie but also of the minde deriued from the parentes to the children 2 231 a The causes of them and their difference 2 553 b Such as come by kinde doe passe from the parents to the Children 2 239 b They haue naturall causes and howe the Philistines behaued themselues in their diseases 1 13 b Dispensations A Dispensation graunted by God to the Iewes to marrie with the seuen nations of Chanaan 2 446 b Touching Polygamie and the reasons why 2 425 a 427 a Dispensations Whether the Pope may graunt Dispensations in cases of matrimonie 2 445 b For marriage betwéen parties of degrées forbidde 2 451 a The Schoolemen defende it 2 453 a For othes 2 537 b Dissentions Dissentions in the Church of the Iewes and of the Apostles 4 3 a Are no iust proofes that the Church is not the true Church 4 2 b 3 a ¶ Looke Contentions
as how 1 4 a Three sortes of Endes assigned by Quintilian 1 5 a The diuerse Endes whereto mā is appointed 2 573 b 574 a By what meanes the multitude of Endes is shewed 1 4 a Why Aristotle appointed two kindes of Endes namely action workes 1 5 a Why Aristotle in his Ethikes writeth so diligētly of Ends 1 4b Simple Endes and compounded endes spoken concerning felicitie 1 132 b Two Endes of them that be hearers of good doctrine 1 54a Faultes drawe their excellencie and woorthinesse from their Endes 1 8a As faculties are more excellent so are also their endes as howe 1 1 b Two sortes of Endes to wit the ende wherefore the end whereunto and which is the woorthies end 1 61ab Whether that whersoeuer there shal be many Endes there be many things also referred to the same ends 1 7 a Of Endes some are actions and othersome are workes 1 8 a The holy scriptures appoint two sortes of Endes of men and howe 1 5 b Nature hath ordained many Endes of one and the selfe same thing as how 1 7 a A Christian man in working hath many Endes and how 1 8 a Many thinges which seeme grieuous and desperate haue oftentimes acceptable Ends 1 13 b Why many Endes are referred vnto one 1 7 a Enemies Whether faith and promise is to be kept with one Enemies 2 537 a How we may speake well of thē examples 2 401 a They must bee sometimes killed and sometimes spared 4 300b 301b What it is to loue them 2 611 a Howe God fighteth for vs against them 3 284 b 285 ab How God causeth their weapons and armour to become ours 3 285 b 286 a We must both speake well and wish well to them 2 401 ab Whether it bee lawfull for safetie sake to fight on their side 3 291. 292. 293. 294. 295 A notable sentence of Augustine touching the louing and hating of them 2 404 b What commodities the godly receiue by their curssings 2 401 b 402 a The error of Thomas Aquinas that we are not bound by precept to loue them 2 403 a Whether it bee lawfull alwayes to curse them 2 402 a Of holy men that hated them and did worse to in what cases 2 404 b 405 a Whether it be lawfull to reioyce at their destruction 2 400. Whether it bee lawfull to vse guile against them 2 536 ab Whom we ought to count Enemies in deede 2 536 a Enoch Whether Enoch and Elias bee dead 3 380 ab 381 a Opinions touching his returne 3 382 ab Howe hee and Elias are sent in these dayes 3 382 b To what ende hee and Elias were caught vp 3 381 a 382 a Howe it is meant that hee was a legate vnto the Angelles 3 148 b 149 a He wrote many diuine things whether they were all authenticall 1 129 b Whether he were taken vp into the aire or into the starrie spheres 3 371 ab 372 ab 373 c. Of his taking vp 3 370. 371 c. Into what places 3 378 b Concerning what condition Augustine thinketh that he and Elias haue nowe the state of Adams body 2 246 b Enuie Of Enuie and wherein it differeth from enuiousnes 2 416 b Meere repugnant to mercie and why 2 417 a The cause thereof betweene whom it is and the obiectes of the same 2 416 b Betwixt whom it is conuersant and wherein it reioyceth 2 417 a Why it is reprehended so sore in the scriptures 2 416 b 417 a The desire of glorie is the mother of Enuie 2 417 a Ep. Ephialtes Of the Ephialtes and what the Phisitions say thereof 1 90 a ¶ Looke Spirite Ephod Of the Ephod of the hie Priest and diuerse excellent things to be noted thereabout 1 58 b Doctor Kinchi disprooued in saying that the hie Priest the Arke and the Ephod were neuer asunder 1 59 b Ephod sometimes restored vnto true religion 2 358 b Epicurus Epicurus opinion of God and what felicitie hee ascribed vnto him 1 13 a Epitaphes Epitaphes at Funerals 3 312 a Er. Error Two sorts of Error in reason howe 2 252 b 253 a In euerie kinde of sinne there alwaies happeneth some Error as howe 2 242 b The Error of the Academikes and the Epicures concerning truthes 1 15 b Of the Vbiquists confuted 3 373 b 359 a Of the Master of the Sentences touching Circumcision 4 102 a 104 a 106 b Of them that would not bee baptised but at the houre of death 4 108 a Of Cyprian touching rebaptising of heretikes 4 72 b Of the Millenarii touching Christes latter comming 3 358 a 396 a Touching the first and last Resurrection ◠396 a Of Origens touching soules thrust into bodies 3 317 b Touching Resurrection 3 360. 361. 362. Touching the place of soules departed 3 374 b Of diuers Philosophers touching soules departed 3 378 a Of the Fathers touching the Eucharist 3 362 a Of Pope Iohn xx touching soules departed 3 376 b Of the Mahometists and Saracens touching our estate at our Resurrection 3 357 b 358 a Of Auerroes and the Peripatetikes touching the soule 3 368 a Of Hylarie touching Christs bodie 3. 297 b 298a Of the Anthropomorphites who shape God like to man 2 338 a Of the Sadduces touching the Resurrection 3 336 b 337a b Of the Stoikes touching the soules of the departed 3 372 a An Error about the coupling of the soule with the bodie 3 328 b ¶ Looke Heresie Errors By time Errors are discouered 3 240 a In matters of Faith it is deadly sinne 1 95 a Of Augustine and Ambrose 3 243 b Of Cyprian Tertullian and others 3 244 a Of diuerse sectes touching the Resurrection 3 329 a Of the fathers 4 50 b 51 ab About the power of God 1 337 b Two to be shunned in sacraments 4 101 a In remoouing of Errors wee must deale warily 3 240 a ¶ Look Heresies Eruditorie An Eruditorie for soules departed 3 374 b ¶ Looke Purgatorie Es Esaie What Ierom writeth touching the death of Esaie 1 31 a Et. Eternall The worde Eternall diuersly vsed 3 389 a Ethnickes Chrysostome by a similitude teacheth howe the wise Ethnickes abused the giftes of God ◠11 a Eu. Euill A definition of this worde Euill and that vnder it sinne is contained 1 180 b Distinguished 1 180 b It cannot be but in good prooued by reason and examples 1 180 b Howe it is taken for good and contrariwise 2 407 b A thing is not made Euill by the abuse thereof 3 3 a That which the holy Ghost calleth Euill is no worke of God as Pighius saieth 2 218 a Of what kinde of good Euill is said to be the priuation 1 180 b Whether Euill be an essentiall thing as the Manichies say 2 228 a P. Martyr examineth their arguments which say that God is the cause of Euill 1 194 ab and so forward Euerie defect maketh not a thing Euill 2 222 b It may easily be seuered from the will
How God doeth punish those of the fathers vpon the children 2 236 b Sinnes as they bee punishments they belong vnto iustice and in what respect are good 1 206 a Of omission or negligence and what is determined of them touching the will 1 189 a Howe they depend vpon Gods will 3 36 b Hee doth rule and gouerne them and howe 1 206 a And maketh a remedie for them 1 187 b Whether those of the next parents be deriued to the posteritie marke the Schoolemens opinion and the fathers 2 239 b Of eating the peoples Sinnes and how the priests did it 4 169 a Séeing euill affections shoulde be mortified in vs they be Sinnes 2 217 b How al creatures do suffer for the Sinnes of men 2 249. 250. 251. And whether they haue any wrong doone them in that case 252 a Two subtil Pelagian arguments the one touching Sinnes imputed the other sinne originall answered by Augustine 2 221 a Of small or veniall Sinnes what they be 2 272 ab That no iust man can liue without them 3 153 a All Sinnes in their owne nature must be called mortall 2 247 b What Sinnes be commonly called mortall sinnes 2 272 ab Wherein originall and actuall doe differ 2 243 a The difference betwéene Sinnes and crimes 3 298 b Sinner Whether God would the death of a Sinner 3 42 ab None is so called but either he hath sinne in act or else he hath committed sinne where note Pighius shifts 2 218 b In what respect Paul calleth him selfe the first or principall Sinner 2 548 a Sinners A distinction of Sinners 4 224 b 43 ab Who be Sinners against the holie ghost and whether such are to be excluded from hearing Gods word 1 57 b 58 a Whether God heare the prayers of Sinners 4 224 b Of what sort of Sinners the Publican was 4 224 b Sinning Of a necessitie of Sinning which hath no compulsion ioyned therewith 2 256 b Not absolute in the wicked 2 257 a Sl. Slaues Whereupon rose the saying of Eusebuis that Democritus made men Slaues but Chrysippus halfe slaues 1 172 a Sleepe How Sleepe is the image of death 3 335 b The death of the godly so counted 3 348 a Limited by watching 3 369 a Whether soules doe Sleepe when they are losed from the bodie 3 323b 324 ab Why the scripture saieth that the deade do Sleepe 3 326 b Sling The dexteritie of the Beniamits at throwing with a Sling 2 242 a So. Soldier The duetie of a Souldier and what it teacheth vs. 3 259 b Why he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3 91 a Soldiers A custome of tything Souldiers in a case of offence 2 365 a Why they do goe on warfare 2 573 b Howe hardly they hauing gotten the victorie are restrained from the spoile 2 403 b The punishment inflicted vppon Souldiers for adulterie 2 485 b 486 a Permitted to play at vice 2 525 b That among them ministers of the worde ought to be in campe 4 328 a 287a Whether they ought to be priuie to the cause of warre 4 304 b 305 a A lawlesse multitude 4 294 b Fighting in warre they are not guiltie of manslaughter though they â—…ll and slay 2 385b They may not forsake their station vncommaunded 2 392b Out of what kinde of men they be taken 3 188 b Against mercenarie Souldiers 4 304 a 305 a Causes why they are blamed 4 287b 288 a What they do not respect 4 284 The whole seuentéeth Chapter of the fourth parte would be read of Souldiers concerning warre 4 2â—0 ab c. When ministers may be Souldiers 4 328 a Solitarinesse Whether Solitarinesse is absolutely to be allowed or disallowed 3 187 ab Commended and discommended 1 149 b 150 a The right vse and profit thereof 3 179 b Vsed of the wise Ethnicks of Christ Iohn Baptist Elias and others why 1 150 ab Songs A great vse of holie Songs among the godly 3 312 ab Of thankesgiuing for benefits receiued 3 308b 309 a Howe the Songs of Hanna and Marie do agree 3 309 a ¶ Looke Singing Sonne of God The Sonne of God appeared in verie humane flesh 3 26 b How and after what manner he tooke flesh vpon him â— 117 b Hee was not created or made sayth Augustine and how hee prooueth it 1 101 b Why he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the scriptures that is the Worde 1 26 b The Angell that spake to Moses in the bush was he 1 28 a ¶ Looke Christ Sonnes Whether Sonnes being placed as Magistrates ought to giue place to their fathers being priuate men 2 377 b Who be the Sonnes of God and who be not 2 248 ab Our certeintie thereof 3 81 b ¶ Looke Adoption Children Sorcerer Apuleius being a sorcerers durst not acknowledge himselfe such a one when he was summoned to answer thereunto 1 92 a Sorcerers Women and men Sorcerers in their sléepe receiued many pleasures of the diuels 1 90 a Of the miracles that they of Aegypt and other worke 1 65. 66. 67 Tertullians iudgement of the roddes of Pharaoes 1 73 b Lawes against Sorcerers such as repaire to them 1 84 b 85 a ¶ Looke Inchanters and Magicians Sorrowe The effects of Sorrowe in the bodie 3 246 a Of that which is ioyned with hope 3 86 a Whether wee Sorrow and reioyse both at once 3 212 b Why Sorrowe for sinne is more frequent in the olde testament than in the newe 3 299b Things not voluntarie or done against the wil haue Sorrowe ioyned with them 2 293b Why Dauid did Sorrowe though his sinne were taken away 3 299b ¶ Looke Affectes Griefe Scule of man Of the Soule of man and the faculties or powers of the same wherein wee resemble God 1 12 b Whether the Soule be hurtfull to the bodie 3 316 ab Without faith it is dead 2 262 b The definition of the same 3 114 b A fable of the Rabbins touching the coniunctioÌ„ therof with the body 3 329 b The Soule is saide to rise againe in two respectes 3 332b Taken in diuerse senses 3 344 a Why it is ioyned to the body 3 334 a The immortalitie thereof proued 3 334 ab 1 73 a 3 350 a Howe it is after a sort conteined in the bloude 1 123 ab From whence it doeth proceede and come 1 122 a Why it is called carnal 4 186 a It doeth oftentimes followe the affections and perturbations of the body 1 123 b The chéefe effects of the Soule are mouing and sense 2 122 b By it being the chéefe part of man is vnderstoode the bodie 2 244 b A reason of the fathers why the bodie was made before it 1 122 b At the beginning the bodie was not giuen to the Soule as a graue or prison as some doe fable 2 251 a Whether God breathed a Soule into Eue as he did vnto Adam 2 244 b The Soule inuisible and indiuisible and howe it worketh in the bodie
1 182 a The Soule was made euen when the bodie was wrought of the earth 1 122 b Origen saith that our Soule lamentes and sorrowes heauilie and why 2 251 a Diuers Philosophers and learned men iudged it to bee mortal 3 334 a Some thought wee receiue or our parents both it the body 2 244 ab By it are vnderstoode the part sensitiue vegetatiue 2 244 b Whether it bee sufficient that the Soule suffer punishment or reward and the bodie free 3 334 b Not created sinfull but streightway draweth sinne vnto it so soone as it is ioyned with the bodie 2 246 a Whether we receiue it from our parentes as we doe our bodie Seminaliratione 2 244 b The Soule weakened two mannrr of wayes whereby it becommeth sinful 2 246a Why the Soule being created cleane is put into an vncleane body 2 232 ab 231 b The best part of the Soule doeth alwayes exhort to the best thinges 1 15 b The Soule is the moouer of the bodie 1 121 b Whether the Soule being seuered from the bodie is an vnperfect thing 3 333 b Whether the Soule haue naturally of it selfe the power to foreknowe thinges to come and what Augustine concludeth 1 38 b Of the coniunction with the bodie 3 328 b 1 158 a A double error touching the substance of the Soule excluded 1 122a Whether the separation of the Soule from the bodie is against nature 334 a Platoes diuision of the Soule into the minde and the sense 1 134a By what thing it is best knowen 3 342 b The ioyning of the Soule with the corrupt bodie maketh nothing to the destruction of the elect 2 232 b Whether that coniunction of it with the bodie bee a troublesome thing 3 316a b 317 b It is called fleshe before it bee regenerate 2 226 a The Soule howe so euer it bee is better than anie bodie 1 188 b The death thereof and when it happeneth 3 42 b A speciall place testifying that Aristotle thought it to be mortall 1 159 a God createth it pure whence then hath it sinne 2 231 b A sympathie or mutual agréement betweene Soule the body 2 238 a Both repaired by faith 2 232 b Not corrupted by the body through a naturall action 2 238 a Howe it is meant that the Soule vncircumcised should be cut off 4 110 a When the Soule must be giuen for the brethren 3 290 b Soule of Christ The Soule of Christ was a creature and not immensible 2 572 a That the sonne procéeded not from the virgin by propagation 2 244 b Augustine sayeth that Christes Soule was in hell when his body was in the sepulchre 1 73 a It could not bee in hell and in Paradise all at one time 2 308a What it did in hell 2 621 a The state thereof separated from his bodie 2 622 a What manner of lot coulde haue place therein 2 24â— a Thou shalt not leaue my Soule in the graue expounded 3 343 a Soules The Soules of men are not bred in them 3 350 a Where they rest when the bodie is dead 3 323 b 324 a 325 b They remaine after the death of the bodies prooued against the error of some holding the contrarie 1 72 b 73 a From whence they come to bodies at the resurrection 3 350 a Whether they do satisfie for sinnes in Purgatorie 3 237 b Whether they are deliuered out of Purgatorie by fasting 3 255 b Soules of bodies departed be ignorant what is done in this life 1 75 a Whether being loosed from their bodies they do wander vp and downe 3 326 b 327 a How the Soules of dead folk may appeare to the liuing 1 75 ab A great distance of place betwéene the blessed and reprobate 1 74 b Why they shall not rise againe 3 331 b Whether beeing loosed from our bodies they do sléepe 3 323 b Why they are called spirites 1 103 a Of saluting the Soules of the dead 2 561 a Their immortalitie proued 3 331 b The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or remouing of them from one to another held of the Rabbins 2 â—…8b Tertullians iudgement that they are bodies and howe hee prooueth it 1 28 b Augustine vtterly denyeth the vbiquitie of them 1 75 b 74 b Iustinus Martyrs opinion in what state they were before Christ 1 73 b Whether being departed they may by magicall charmes be called againe 1 72. 73. 74. 75. The state of the blessed curssed set foorth in scriptures 1 73 a How they may extraordinarily returne into men 1 75 b They be in a certaine place wayting for the iudgement sayth Chrysostome 1 76 a The opinion of some which thinke that they become Demons 1 77 a The Rabbins errors and Origens also that all were made at once at the beginning confuted 1 122 ab In what sense as well the life of brute beasts as the soules of men are called bloud 1 123 a The errors of diuerse noted about their creation whether they were al made at once at the beginning c. 1 122 a Of the blessed indued with felicitie are not voide of affections 2 249 a Origens assertion false that they first sinned before they came into bodies 1 113 a Against his opinion that they are thrust into bodies as vnto punishments 1 112 b The schoolemen oppâ—gne the doctrine of deriuation of Soules from parents by naturall reasons 2 245 b The places of Soules departed â— 374. 375. 376. 377. 378 The receiued opinion of the church is that they in creating are infused and in infusing are created 2 245 b How they are sayd to be in places 3 378b Augustine leaueth the question touching the deriuation of them froÌ„ parents as indifferent 2 245 a The error of the Stoiks touching the Soules of the departed 3 372 a The diuels feine themselues to be the Soules of men 4 131 a Of the Soules of the iust and the wicked after their bodily death 2 621 a The Soules of the dead slaine for Christes sake cried vnder the altar expounded 3 324 ab Sp. Speake When we Speake to God God to vs 3 300 b Speech To what purpose Speech is giuen 3 393 a Of two faults committed therein 2 â—42 b Of pleasantnes therein and what circumstances are to bee obserued thereabout â— 528 a Figures vsed of Christ in his Speech 4 289 a Spheres The Spheres of heauen moued and gouerned by spirites 1 77 a ¶ Looke Intelligencies Spies What manner of men Spies must be 4 297 a Their office worke 4 296 b How they and traytors do differ 4 298 b The punishment of them if they be taken 4 296 b 197 a Spirite in diuerse senses The manifold signification of the worde Spirite 2 627 a 1 103 a When it is taken for the Trinitie 1 103 a To whome the same title was giuen 1 100 a The flesh and it sometime taken for one thing 3 366 ab Of the Spirite of adoption the spirite of bondage 2 594 b Why
accused all mankind Rom. 3 10. as he said There is none iust there is none that vnderstandeth or seeketh after God all haue declined and are altogither become vnprofitable there is none that dooth good no not one c. All which things sufficientlie declare the deprauation of mans nature By these testimonies of the scriptures it sufficientlie appéereth as I thinke that there is originall sin 4 Next of all I should confute the arguments of the aduersaries but first I thought it good to shew the definition of originall sinne for the same being diligentlie weighed knowen manie things will in the meane time be knowen which serue for the confutation of their reasons First we will recite the opinions of other men then we will declare what we thinke thereof The Pelagians affirmed The Pelagians saie that the sin of Adam is spred by imitation onelie that the sinne of Adam did not spread abroad into the posteritie but by imitation onelie Against these Augustine disputed vehementlie and by manie arguments shewed that orginall sinne is not onelie by the imitation of Adams sinne For if Paule would haue said From Adam flowed sinne and from the diuell came the example of sinning Rom. 5 12. Iohn 8 41. and 44. that the first sin had bin spred abroad after this maner he would not haue said that it came from Adam but rather from the diuell for he was the first that gaue a forme and example of sinning Wherefore Christ in the Gospell of Iohn said that the Iewes which boasted that they came of their father Abraham were rather the sonnes of the diuell bicause they did his works For the diuell was a manqueller euen from the beginning and they sought to kill him which had not deserued euill at their hands And herewithall Augustine citeth that which is in the second chapter of the booke of Wisedome verse 24. that Through the enuie of the diuell sinne entred into the world and that they which are of his part doo imitate him Vnto which saieng neuertheles I doo not attribute much partlie bicause that booke is not of the canonicall scriptures and partlie bicause in the Gréeke text there is some ambiguitie For this verbe Doo imitate is not there written but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Haue experience of that death Howbeit the reason is firme that of the diuell came the first example of sinning Further this opinion is hereby confuted in that Paule maketh an Antithesis betwéen Christ and Adam Rom. 5 18. But the righteousnes of Christ is not onelie set foorth vnto vs to be imitated We must not onelie imitate Christs righteousnes but must bee changed in mind but also that they which beléeue in him should bée changed in mind corrected in spirit and amended in all their strength Wherefore on the other side it is required by the nature of contraries that besides the ill example which Adam gaue vnto his posteritie he hath also infected their nature and as Augustine writeth in his booke De peccatorum meritis remissione hath with a certeine corruption depraued Thirdlie this also maketh against the Pelagians that euen the verie infants doo die For as Paule saith vnto the Romans the sixt chapter verse 23. The reward of sinne is death but the gift of God is eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord. And in the 15. chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians The weapons saith he of death is sinne Lastlie verse 56. the baptisme which is giuen to yoong children cannot blot out of them the sinne of imitation Wherefore we ought of necessitie to affirme some other kind of sinne to be in them The sinne of imitation cannot be wiped out by baptisme vnlesse we will that they be baptised in vaine 5 Another opinion was that which the Maister of the sentences citeth in the 2. booke the 33. distinction of them which thought that originall sinne is onelie a guilt or trespasse or bond wherevnto we are tied by the sinne of Adam So they acknowledge not that there is trulie in verie déed anie fault or sinne in those which are borne but onelie a certeine offense and obligation the which might cause them to die be condemned for the sinne of Adam This opinion Pighius séemeth in a maner to haue reuiued for he denieth that originall sinne is sinne indéed bicause it is neither a transgressing of the lawe nor yet voluntarie and therefore he affirmed the same to be nothing else Pighius maketh originall sinne rather a bond than a sinne Death he saith coms of the originals of nature but the sinne of Adam for the which we that be his posteritie are made subiect vnto damnation and death are become exiles from the kingdome of heauen But as for death and afflictions of this life and lusts of the flesh and other such like affections he saith that they come of the well-springs of nature All which things so far is he from calling sinnes as he pronounceth them to be the works of God for he saith that GOD is the author of nature and that these things followe the humors and temperature of the bodie and that which we sée happeneth in brute beasts happeneth also in men as touching the flesh and grosser powers of the mind For they doo desire such things as are preseruatiue pleasant and profitable whether they be agréeable to reason or against it to auoid those things that be contrarie Wherefore he affirmed originall sinne to be the onelie transgression of Adam in the danger of which one transgression he would haue vs all to be borne not for anie sinne or fault or corruption that we haue in our selues He beleeueth that this sinne shall be punished without sensible paine And he saith moreouer that those which die onlie in the danger of that sinne of Adam shall not be afflicted in an other life with sensible paine for he imagineth although he dare not boldlie affirme it that they shall either in this world or else in some other pleasant place be happie with a certeine naturall blessednes wherein they shall liue praising of God and giuing of thanks although they be banished from the kingdome of heauen Of which discommoditie neuertheles as he dreameth they shall nothing complaine or be sorrowfull for it for this were to striue against the will of God which a man cannot doo without sinne But forsomuch as while they liued here they had no naughtie will it is not to be thought that they shall haue it in an other life And that they shall not be pressed with sensible paine it séemeth to himselfe Note two reasons of Pighius on the behalfe of infants that he verie well prooueth and that by two reasons first bicause they committed no euill nor yet contaminated themselues with anie naughtinesse secondlie bicause there is required in this life no repentance or contrition for originall sinne And for this feigned deuise he hath
vse of light we receiue originall vnrighteousnes be conceiued in iniquitie And he saith of Christ The sanctification of Christ It was not requisite for him in whose bodie no sinne should be to féele anie naturall contagiousnesse of generation Iustlie therefore did Dauid bewaile in himselfe the fowle filthines of his nature and that infections began to be in a maner before he had life The same Ambrose in his booke De arca Noe Whom then hath he now called iust but him that is frée from these bonds whom the common bonds of nature cannot hold Also vpon the gospell of Luke Through the washing of the healthfull ministerie those infants which haue béene baptised are now clensed from wickednes Ierom. Ierom vpon the prophet Ionas saith that Yoong children are subiect to the sinne of Adam And least thou shouldest thinke he onelie spake of the * Or imputation of fault guiltines of Adams fault vpon the 18. and 41. chapters of Ezechiel he saith Not so much as the child of a daie old is without sin vrging also that sentence Iob. 14 4. Who can make that cleane which was conceiued of an vncleane seed Nazianzen Gregorie Nazianzen saith The image of God shall cleanse the blemishes of bodilie inundation And afterward Reuerence the birth by which thou art deliuered from the chaines of earthlie natiuitie And intreating of baptisme he saith By this man the spots of our natiuitie are taken awaie by the which we were conceiued in iniquitie and in sinnes our parents begat vs. Augustine defendeth Basil 22 Basilius Magnus is defended by Augustine for the Pelagians would haue had him séeme to be of their parts He writeth against the Manicheis that euill is not a substance Whether euill be an essentiall thing but a conuersation which commeth onlie of the will Which saieng he ment of those which procured the infection of conuersation by their owne proper will which conuersation saith he may easilie be seuered from the will of them that be diseased for if it could not be seuered from the same euill should be a substantiall part thereof All these things Augustine affirmeth to be rightlie spoken The opinion of the Manicheis for the Manicheis decréed that euill is a certeine substance and that the same is the beginning of worldlie affaires But contrariwise Basil saith that that euill is in a good thing and that it happened through the will of the man and of the woman that sinned Euill may be separated from vs by the mercie of God And wheras he saith that it may easily be seuered from the will he ascribeth not that vnto our strength but vnto the mercie of God And in that he saith there shal be no token thereof left we also doo hope the same though not in this life A perfect separation from euill is hoped for in the life to come yet in the life to come But that he acknowledged originall sinne his owne sermon of fasting dooth sufficientlie beare witnes for thus he saith If Eue had absteined from the trée we should not haue had anie néed of this fasting Matt. 9 12. for Sound men haue no need of the physician but sicke men We became sicke through that sinne let vs be healed by repentance but repentance without fasting is vaine By these words Basil determined that we by reason of the sinne of Adam are not sound Moreouer he citeth the twelue bishops of the east which condemned Pelagius To whom we should adde Origin Origin who interpreting that sentence of Paule which we haue spoken of Death came vpon all men he said that Abel Enoch Rom. 5 12. Methusala and Noah sinned other fathers he saith he will not recite bicause they sinned all euerie one and that none is cleane from corruption though he haue liued but one daie But vpon the sixt chapter of the epistle to the Romans he speaketh more plainlie when he saith that Baptisme was appointed by tradition from the apostles to be giuen vnto infants Baptisme appointed vnto infants by the apostolicall tradition bicause the apostles knew that the naturall corruption of sinne is in all men which ought to be washed awaie by water and the spirit And Chrysostome vpon Genesis intreating of the question Chrysost Wherefore men now a daies bée afraid of beasts and be hurt by them séeing they be created lords ouer them This saith he happens by reason of sinne and bicause we depart from our confidence and honour And thereby Augustine prooueth that the naturall gift of yoong children is fallen awaie in that the beasts doo not spare them The same Chrysostome expounding that place of the sixt to the Romans saith how that sinne which remaineth through the disobedience of Adam hath polluted all things He hath also manie other places to the same effect 23 But yet the Pelagians The Pelagians indeuoured to haue Chrysostome on their side and especiallie Iulianus were not ashamed to cite this father for a witnes as though he had made for him bicause in his sermon De baptisatis he reciting manie gifts of baptisme saith that They which be baptised doo not onelie receiue forgiuenes of their sinnes but also are made the children and heires of God the brethren of Christ and ioint-heires with him the members and temple of God and instruments of the holie Ghost He addeth at the end Doost thou sée what a sort of liberalities there be of baptisme And some doo thinke that heauenlie grace consisteth in remission of sinnes and for that cause we doo baptise yoong children when as neuertheles they be not polluted with sinne that vnto them should be giuen or added righteousnes holines adoption inheritance brotherhood of Christ that they may be his members By these words Iulian thought that Chrysostome giueth not his consent that there is originall sinne It may be said that infants be innocent as touching sinnes aduisedlie committed Rom. 9 11. But Augustine saith that his words must be vnderstood concerning sinne committed vpon their owne aduisement from which sinne assuredlie they be exempt and by this reason they may be called innocent According to which meaning Paule writeth of those two brethren Before they had doone either good or euill when neuerthelesse there is none altogither exempted from that which the apostle said By the sinne of one Rom. 5 16. condemnation came vpon all men And By one mans disobedience manie are made sinners Hereof it appéereth A great warines must be in reading of the fathers how warelie it behoueth vs to be in reading of the fathers for sometimes we read in them that yoong children haue no sinne proper of their owne when neuerthelesse they especiallie acknowledge the corruption of nature Sinnes proper are two waies to be vnderstood that is originall sinne to be in them But to haue sinnes proper may be two waies vnderstood either concerning things which they haue doone of their owne will
would remaine with the vngodlie and so they should be led from Christ But if man and wife doo liue both togither the godlie parent will alwaies powre some godlines into the children Adeodatus the sonne of Augustine But neither in verie déed dooth this make with Paules purpose for godlie education may also happen vnto them which are begotten in adulterie and fornication Some holines redoundeth vnto the children from the parents by the vertue of Gods couenant which we perceiue was doone in Adeodatus the sonne of Augustine Wherefore the apostle séemeth rather to meane that some holines dooth redound vnto the children from their parents which neuertheles cannot depend of the flesh but of the promise made in the couenant For God promised vnto Abraham Gen. 17 7. 2. Cor. 6 18. Ezec. 16 20 21. that he would not onelie be his God but also the GOD of his séed So as in the prophets God dooth name the yoong children of the prophets to be his owne and complaineth that they did sacrifice his sonnes and daughters vnto Moloch And we stricking to the hope of this promise Vnder what promise we deliuer our children to be baptised doo offer our yoong infants to be baptised in the church bicause they belong vnto God and vnto Christ that the promise which we haue now spoken of may be confirmed with some outward seale 40 But thou wilt saie thou maist be deceiued bicause perhaps thy child shall not apperteine to the number of the elect I answer that the same difficultie may happen euen to them of ripe yéeres for it may be that one professeth faith with a feigned hart or may be led onelie by the persuasion of man or may haue faith but for a time so that in verie déed he apperteineth not to the elect But the minister hath not respect vnto these things but onelie regardeth the confession which the partie to be baptised dooth professe and he will saie that Gods election is hidden vnto him and that therefore he dooth not much trouble himselfe thereabout that concerning particular things he is able to determine nothing but waiteth vpon the generall promise from the which although manie be excluded yet that it is none of his part to define which they be So Paule speaketh of the Iewes If the roote be holie the branches also shall be holie Rom. 11 16. If the first fruits be holie so is the whole batch or lumpe By which words he sheweth that Gods fauour was inclined vnto the Iewes by reason of the promise and for their fathers and that for the same cause saluation was due vnto them The promise of God is indefinit and true Although therefore this promise be indefinite and that manie be excluded from the same yet neuertheles it remaineth stable for there be alwaies some of them conuerted vnto Christ and shall be conuerted euen vnto the end Which appéereth in Isaac vnto whose séed An example in Isaac although God promised that he would be gratious yet the same promise tooke place in Iacob onelie not in Esau and yet was that no cause why Esau should not be circumcised Euen so The elect infants when they be borne are in sundrie respects both holie and the children of wrath we confesse that the children of the christians which apperteine vnto the election of God be holie but yet they be infected with originall sinne bicause they are by nature the children of wrath euen as others be But if so be God doo not put awaie the guiltines and impute it not vnto them against their saluation that haue they by the grace and frée mercie of God not of the purenes of their owne nature Séeing then they be borne of a corrupted lumpe and belong vnto the election we affirme both that they be holie and are also by nature the children of wrath Wherefore it appeareth in what sort this argument must now be discussed But they adde that in infants there is nothing spoken doone or thought against the lawe of God so they haue no sin How shamfullie they erre in this place it appéereth by those things which we haue alreadie spoken A false argument An argument from the speciall kind to the generall by a negatiue This is euen as much as if they should saie They haue no actuall sin Therfore they haue no sin for to argue from the particular to the generall by a negatiue is the woorst kind of reasoning But they be deceiued bicause they followe not the generall nature of sin which I haue before described in such sort as it comprehendeth all things which are by anie meanes repugnant to the lawe of God 41 They obiect likewise that it is not rightlie said that originall sinne is spred abroad by meanes of the séed flesh bicause those things haue a senselesse and dull nature and therefore be not capable of sinne But I haue alreadie said that sinne is not in them but by originall as in the root and then the nature of sinne is perfected when the soule is once ioined therevnto We haue declared also how we are to answer the Pelagians Against the Pelagians séeing they affirme that those things which are spoken by Paule to the Romans should be vnderstood of imitation For first of all that cannot agrée with all the saiengs of the apostle Rom. 5 19. for he saith that All men haue sinned and by the disobedience of one manie are become sinners And that which is the more firme Rom. 5 14. he hath prooued that Therfore sinne was in the world before the lawe bicause death reigned from Adam vnto Moses There were reasons which Augustine vsed against the Pelagians which now we néed not to repeate Beside these they adde that mens afflictions and death it selfe are naturall for that we haue those fountaines in vs euen of nature from whence they flowe But we answere that these fountaines were not so ordeined when mans nature was first instituted but were afterward defiled and corrupted in such sort as we now perceiue them to be The philosophers resolue those effects which they sée into those principles which be now extant but that christians doo rather referre them vnto the woord of God Rom. 5 12. Séeing therefore the scripture teacheth that death came by sinne and that man as he was created might alwaies haue liued let Pighius and those which followe him sée how trulie and godlie they affirme that death coms vnto man by nature And they adde that that ought not to be accounted sinne which cannot be auoided But this is found false for that the lawe is proposed to vs which no man is able perfectlie to performe Not contingencie or necessitie but agreement or disagreement with the law of God must be weighed of in sinnes or to auoid all offenses against it In considering of sinnes we must not inquire whether anie thing be doone casuallie or necessarilie but alonelie whether it be repugnant
A parologisme This is a false argument taken from that which is absolute to that which is in some respect bicause we also doo confesse that parents ought also to offer vp their children vnto God by bringing vp of them godlie and religiouslie but not in making a burnt sacrifice of them Perhaps they are driuen by an other reason namelie bicause they had heard of their ancestors that is of the holie Patriarchs that it would come to passe that one daie God would be well pleased with an humane sacrifice Which as they did peculiarlie vnderstand concerning Messias so the wicked being taught by the instruction of the diuell vnderstood it of some particular men Vndoubtedlie it was a maruellous blindnesse of their minds that they abhorred not to sacrifice their children vnto diuels and it was more than a true pretence of religion which consisted not of the word of the Lord but of a humane and diuelish inuention And certeinlie the more feruent that men be in superstitions deuised by them selues the further are they carried headlong into things more absurd And if so be that a good intent were at anie time to be commended here should it most of all haue taken place For they which did sacrifice their owne children did not onlie séeme to mortifie humane affections but vtterlie to despoile them On this wise doo men when they be carried awaie of their owne will What else I beséech you was this than to be cruell against their owne bloud Wild beasts which be altogither destitute of reason would commit no such thing who doo fight for their yoong ones offer them selues to die for the safetie of them Hereby we vnderstand what miserable gods the idolaters haue worshipped whom they would not haue to be mercifull vnto them except they had first doone them much harme Vnder the colour of godlinesse the earth was polluted with innocent bloud that a more vnhappie destruction might come against it And thus we sée that idolatrie exacteth more and farre more gréeuous things of men than true godlinesse and the word of God can obteine It gréeued not those men to kill their sons but they that professe the Gospell will not abide to chasten them no not lightlie The priests of Baal lanced their bodies so cruellie as the bloud ran on euerie side out of their bodies and they which would be called christians withdraw not their bodies from hurtfull pleasures 39 But and if we should demand Gen. 8 21. Exod. 29. Leuit. 1. 2. 3. Num. 15. 28. euerie where whether God haue at anie time delighted in humane sacrifice that will we not denie for through the death of Christ GOD was well pleased with mankind And that which in manie places of the lawe is written as touching sacrifices to wit that God smelled those things as a sweet sauor Leuit. 26. Num. 28. Ezec. 20 41 that must be referred not vnto the cattell which was sacrificed but vnto the principall type that was shadowed by them that is vnto Christ whose death neuerthelesse did not barelie and by it selfe please God but so farre foorth as it procéeded of a true obedience perfect mind and singular charitie And if thou demand whence that obedience and charitie obteined their dignitie and excellencie It shall be said from the diuine person in which the humane nature was sustained while Christ so farre foorth as he was man should suffer the works of our saluation Also the sacrifices of the holie martyrs wherein they suffer themselues to be slaine for the name of God is also most déere vnto God Yet is not God cruell as he that reioiseth in the bloud and death of men for the deaths and slaughters of martyrs please not God of them selues and in their owne nature except in that that they are offered for the testifieng of his truth Againe he hath not so respect vnto patient men as they be méere men and the children of Adam but as they belong vnto the bodie of Christ and are now become his members by regeneration and according to the forme of Paules speaking are called the men of God 2. Tim. 3 17 That God in his owne right might require humane sacrifices 40 In verie déed God might in his owne right haue required humane sacrifices of men For séeing he is the Creator of men he may determine of them at his owne pleasure which yet is the more lawfull for him when as all the posteritie of Adam haue béene made subiect vnto death That therefore which euerie houre they owed to God he might require of them whensoeuer he had thought good For trulie no iustice was against it but that he might vse their death for the fulfilling of his decrées And in requiring of this kind of oblations he shuld haue doone no iniurie vnto them for in stéed of the losse of this transitorie and fraile life he would haue requited them with a blessed and eternall life the which should haue béene counted for an aduantage and that a most manifest aduantage Wherefore those men that were to be offered in a burnt sacrifice might haue set their minds at quiet by this sound consolation But when it was lawfull for God thus to doo hée would not naie rather he forbad that it should be doone First before the lawe was giuen when as he staied Abraham from killing of Isaac Gen. 22 12. Leui. 18 21. Deu. 12 31. Deut. 32 17 Psal 6 37. Iere. 32 35. Afterward in the verie lawe it selfe in two or thrée places he chargeth that men should not offer vp their sonnes and sacrifice them as did the nations of the Chanaanites And after the lawe was made he oftentimes by the oracles of the prophets rebuked the Israelites when they committed such things And in the place of humane sacrifice he appointed the slaughters of beasts that is of buls of calues of shéepe of goats and of birds which neuerthelesse he remooued afterward when Iesus Christ had béene sacrificed Why God required the sacrifices of beasts And why he for a time suffered those kind of sacrifices Tertullian in his second booke against Marcion declareth First bicause he sawe the Hebrues incline to the ceremonies of the idolaters where these beasts were vsed in sacrifices wherefore he rather would that those things should be doone vnto him than vnto the vaine gods of the Gentils yea rather vnto diuels Furthermore with singular diligence and perfect precepts he distinguished the kinds of the sacrifices also he prescribed in a maner infinite things as touching the places vessels rites to the intent he might exercise those fathers verie busilie in his seruice that they might be constreined to meditate daie and night in his lawe and that with a true faith otherwise their sacrifices should haue béene hated of him as he spake by the prophet Esaie Esaie 1 11. To what end is this multitude of sacrifices offered vnto me Haue I required this at your hands
the tenth booke of Titus Liuius that one Fabius Gurges which was Censor had condemned manie matrons of adulterie The amercement that they paid was monie of the which monie he afterward builded a temple vnto Venus Out of the oration of M. Cato which is rehearsed by Aulus Gellius in the tenth booke Aulus Gellius and the title is De dote we may perceiue that before the lawe Iulia was made it was lawfull to slaie both the adulterer and the adulteresse Augustine in the third booke and fift chapter De ciuitate Dei saith Women buried quicke for whooredome that The ancient Romans vsed to burie the vestall virgins aliue if they had committed whooredome but that they did not deale so seuearelie in punishing of adulterers He saith that they rather protected the temples of their idols than their owne wedlocke And no maruell it is for they worshipped adulterous gods Iupiter Mars and Venus After that time was the lawe Iulia made whereof there is mention in the Digests and in the Code Manie did falselie imagine that the same lawe had béene made by Iulius Caesar It was made by Augustus who was also called Iulius for so much as he was the adopted sonne and heire of Iulius Caesar Suetonius saith that he made this lawe and he made it vpon iust cause for his daughter Iulia and a néece that he had were most licentious monsters The emperour vsed to call them his rotten impostems When he had made the lawe there was brought vnto him a yong man taken in adulterie with his daughter Iulia. The which the emperour tooke in so euill part as he flue at him with his fists The yong man with a lowd voice cried out Thou Caesar onelie hast set downe this lawe Caesar for that he was blamed as if he had béene an inconstant man would not eate his supper for sorrowe By this Iulian lawe where first When the power of killing the adulterers was taken from the husband in the time of Cato it had bin lawfull to thrust through both the adulterer and the adulteresse then was this power taken from the husband and it was lawfull to kill the adulterer onelie In the Digests Ad legem Iuliam in the lawe Marito and in the Code in the same title in the lawe Gracchus Yet I read in Suetonius that Claudius Caesar killed Messalina vnder the name of adulterie but for so much as he was an emperour he did what he would It was lawfull for an husband to kill the adulterer although not absolutelie but when he should be taken with the maner and in his owne house Neither might he doo it to euerie one but to one of the common sort for if it had béene a noble man vnto whom he ought a reuerence it was not lawfull yet might he kéepe him shut vp in his house 24. houres vntill he did bring witnesses We sée that there was some exception of persons Why leaue was taken awaie from the husband to kill his wife a reason may be giuen Husbands doo somtime beare hatred vnto their wiues when they be contentious or deformed They might couet to gaine a dowrie and to marrie an other woman therefore the lawe would not condescend that the wife should be slaine Howbeit it was lawfull for the father of the adulteresse to slaie both as well in his owne house as in the house of his sonne in lawe as may be séene in the Digests Ad legem Iuliam But it was not lawfull for him to kill the adulterer vnlesse he also killed his daughter the reason was this that Nature teacheth the parents to loue their children hartilie whereby it is probable that he would not slaie his daughter vnlesse she were taken in adulterie 25 Seneca in his first Declamation Seneca séemeth to affirme that it should be lawfull to kill them both For he put this case A certeine soldier which had lost his hands in war found his wife to haue fellowship with an adulterer euen while the act was committed he called his sonne to slaie them The sonne refused to obeie wherefore the father reiected his sonne it is demanded whether he did this iustlie or no But perhaps Seneca had respect vnto the time of Cato But if so be the husband when he was in a furie had killed his wife being an adulteresse he by the Romane lawes should haue easier punishment than if he had béen an absolute murtherâ—e For he fell not into the danger of the lawe Cornelia of murtherers his punishment was erile Which is to be séene in the Pandects Ad legem Corneliam de sicarijs in the first and third lawes Whervpon when it is said by the Canonists the 33. cause question the second in the chapter Inter haec that Sometime it was lawfull by the Romane lawes to kill a wife being taken in adulterie not by the Ecclesiasticall lawes ye must vnderstand that the matter is not altogither so but bicause the punishment was light after a sort it was said to be lawfull Or else perhaps they which made those canons had respect vnto the lawes of Lombardie in the which that was lawfull Let vs also adde that the husband might by the Romane lawes slaie the adulterer not onelie when he tooke him at home with the maner so as he could not denie it but also out of the house when the case were so that he was suspected and that the husband could bring testimonie that he had giuen him warning once twise thrise that he should not haue communication with his wife Howbeit if he had found them talking familiarlie togither in the temple or place of praier then it was not lawfull so to doo but they were deliuered vnto the bishop or defender of the church But the bishops were manie waies against the putting of them to death neither would they giue licence to kill them It séemeth that those first Canonists were led with a desire of sauing soules that they should not die vpon the sudden without repentance The latter Canonists fauoured this matter perhaps bicause they more than others laie in wait for the chastitie of other mens wiues Wherefore there were manie punishments for adulterie prouided by this lawe Iulia. The effect of the lawe Iulia touching adulterie First the crime was brought before publike assemblie the accusation was admitted not rashlie forsooth but by a certeine order The wife if she accused hir husband of adulterie was not heard but she hir selfe was accused The first place was giuen to the husband the second to the father brethren and vncles also might accuse and afterward at certeine times place was giuen vnto strangers Diuorsement was ordeined betwéene them they lest the dowrie and donation which came by marriage Both the adulterer and adulteresse became infamous but after sundrie fashions the adulterer not vnlesse he were condemned the adulteresse so soone as she was attached And there was some certeine peculiar thing in the crime it selfe It was not
lawfull in this crime to make an accord with the accuser which could not be accorded with the accuser as it appéereth in the Code De transactionibus in the lawe Transigere It is the lawe of Dioclesian Maximinian they would not haue it agréed vpon that monie being giuen to the accuser he should cease from pursuing this wicked fact Which yet was lawfull in other crimes of death namelie to redéeme the soule for monie or for anie thing else Moreouer the husband might not reteine the adulteresse nor yet call hir home after he had put hir awaie otherwise he should haue incurred the crime of brothelrie Besides this when a woman was thus conuicted no other man might take hir to wife In detestation of this crime this also was added that not onelie they Not onelie adulterie but also the intiser there to was punished which had committed adulterie were punished but they also which had intised anie woman though they could not atteine to their purpose In the Digests De criminibus extraordinarijs in the first lawe we read that the intiser ought to be punished without order of lawe Moreouer The punishment of soldiers for adulterie if soldiers had béene conuicted of adulterie they were dismissed from the oth of war they were put out of paie with shame whereof the lawiers beare record in the Digests Dere militari Plinius secundus in his sixt booke of epistles in his epistle vnto Cornelianus writeth that Traianus did straitwaie for adulterie discharge a soldier of his oth and dismissed him with shame But these punishments otherwhile were mitigated and it came to passe The punishment of adulterie mitigated that it was commonlie said as Iuuenal writeth Thou lawe Iulia what art thou asléepe They made but a scorne of it Sometimes they were contented with this shame that the adulteresse should be brought foorth openlie in the garment of a man Wherevpon the poet Martial saith When Numa sawe the adulterous â—ade a far off in hir gowne then he said that she was a condemned adulteresse At Rome in the daies of Theodosius there was a more shamefull custome An adulteresse being taken and condemned was brought to the brothell house as Socrates in the fift booke of histories third chapter writeth Theodosius comming to Rome tooke awaie this most shamefull custome least sinnes should be added vnto sinnes Constantinus lawe Constantinus Magnus as we read in the lawe Iulia de adulterijs in the Code in the lawe Quamuis adulterij appointed a verie seuere punishment of adulterie He calleth adulterers sacrilegers or robbers of matrimonie and therfore thinketh them to be vnwoorthie of this life Then was that lawe receiued which did endure vnto the time of Ierom as we read in the epistle to Innocentius De muliere septies icta Vercellis There be some also which affirme Whether at Rome deth was due for adulterie before Constantine that adulterie euen before Constantine was punished with death by the Romane lawes and they alledge a lawe woorthie to be knowne which was made by Alexander Seuerus the sonne of Mammea in the Code Ad legem Iuliam de adulterijs Thus it beginneth It is agréeable to the chastitte of our times that adulterers be punished If anie woman did by anie means escape capitall punishment he ordeined that none should marrie hir And yet the same Alexander was long before the time of Constantine 26 Some séeke for this shift and saie that by capitall punishment according to the ancient lawes is ment banishment But that maketh no matter for there is an other lawe of Dioclesian and Maximinian who were before Constantine though not long where it is thus read in the Code in the title De transactionibus in the lawe Transigere There is no let but there may be composition made for capitall crimes except it be for adulterie Crimes for the which death is due In capitall crimes the lawes doo permit that a man might redéeme bloud for monie if néed should be and might compound with the accuser to cease his accusation If by this word Caput thou saie is ment banishment the words that followe doo forbid it In the residue he saith In those faults which cause not the punishment of death it is not lawfull to make composition Howbeit the common opinion of the lawiers is that by the lawe of the Digests it is no crime of death but by the lawe of the Code it is by reason of that lawe of Constantine Which opinion if we should followe and saie that the lawe Iulia ordeined gréeuous punishments and yet not the punishment of death I will shew in histories the contrarie Iulius Caesar had a franchised man whom he loued dearelie this man being knowne to haue committed adulterie with a matrone belonging to a certeine gentleman he put to death Opilius Macrinus as writeth Iulius Capitolinus was accustomed to burne in the fire the adulterer and the adulteresse both their bodies being ioined togither Aurelianus as testifieth Vopiscus hauing a soldier which rauished the wife of his host tied him fast vnto the top of two trées which he had bended downe the same being let slip againe with great violence plucked the bodie in sunder in two parts Augustus for adulterie put to death Proclus his franchised seruant If therefore the lawe Iulia did not condemne adulterers to death it appéereth héereby that emperours as the circumstances required might increase the punishments That law of Constantine which decréed death against adulterers as we haue it in the Authentiks is rehearsed in the Code Ad legem Iuliam de adulterijs The lawe of Constantine mitigated by Iustinian it beginneth Sed bodie Iustinian somewhat mitigated that seueritie who suffered the punishment to continue as touching the adulterer but he dealt somewhat more fauourablie towards the adulteresse He permitted them to haue their life but yet after such a sort as they should be beaten with cudgels and driuen to a monasterie from whence the woman might be demanded again of hir husband within the space of two yeares If the husband did not demand hir againe but were dead in the meane time she was constrained to liue there during hir life After this adulterie was so smallie regarded as they made a mocke thereof A neglecting of these lawes and would doo it in a maner of set purpose In some place they made it to be a penaltie of monie whereby the poorer sort in déed might be restrained but the richer had a greater occasion to sinne Euen in like maner as it happened of a law which Gellius speaketh of that for paieng a certeine summe of monie one man might strike another WhervpoÌ„ a certeine man giuing a blow to a citizen whom he met by the way commanded his seruant that followed him to go paie the iudge that summe of monie which he had forfeited By this meanes it came to passe that men said He is a vile man that séeketh for law at the chéefe
that death was due to sinne as Paule dooth verie well declare Rom. 6 23. saieng The reward of sinne is death and that God in Genesis warned Adam saieng In what daie soeuer ye shall eate of that tree Gen. 2 17. ye shall die the death And they that offred sacrifices would not die themselues wherefore in stéed of them selues they put to be slaine a bullocke or a gote laieng their hand vpon the heads of those beasts as if they had declared that they themselues indéed were sinners but that they would laie their sinnes vpon the sacrifice so that it should be punished for them But this was no iust mends making bicause the life of man is of much greater value than is the life of a beast Wherefore by this ceremonie the people was taught that they should wait for that sacrifice which of all other was most perfect namelie IESVS CHRIST our sauiour of whom Iohn in plaine words testified Iohn 1 29. Behold the lambe of God which taketh awaie the sins of the world And Esaie prophesied of him that he should be led as a shéepe to the slaughter Esai 57 3. After this maner therefore was Christ figured in the old sacrifices But thou wilt demand moreouer whether the old church vnderstood this Truelie I doubt not but that the same was knowne in those daies I meane of godlie men and such as were studious in the lawe of God but not of idle persons and contemners For they might consider Leuit. 1 4 and in manie places more Psalme 50 verse 8 c. Esaie 1 11. Ierem. 6 20 and 7 22. Amos. 5 22. that God first said that he would be pleased with the bloud of sacrificed beasts and yet that he afterward in the Psalmes and in the Prophets testifieth that he is not delited with those sacrifices These two places séeming in outward shew to be repugnant must so be reconciled as the people by meanes of the latter sentence should be taught that those sacrifices of their owne strength and nature were not sufficient to please God who onelie for Christ his sake sheweth himselfe to be gratious and mercifull and in those sacrifices setteth foorth the Messias to be beholden who was looked for But thou wilt saie that all did not behold him Concerning those which were idle and negligent I grant no lesse when as notwithstanding this was beaten euen into their memorie by the prophets séeing by them was often repeated the promise made before time vnto Abraham touching Messias As manie therefore of them as did earnestlie applie their minds vnto that doctrine might easilie behold Christ in those sacrifices But it is yet obiected Why did they neuer expresselie call vpon Christ Why did they not praie for forgiuenesse of sinnes for Messias sake I answer that they performed those things abundantlie when as they said Remember Lord the couenant that thou hast made with Abraham Song of the three children 35. Psal 132 2. Isaac and Iacob and also with Dauid For euen to those fathers was promise made of the séed wherin all nations should be blessed that is to saie of Christ as Paule to the Galathians dooth expresse Wherefore Gal. 3 16. so often as the old fathers called these things to remembrance they no lesse included Christ in their praiers than we at this daie doo when we praie for anie thing to be granted vnto vs in the name of Iesus Christ The xvj Chapter Of the likenesse and vnlikenesse of the Old and New league or couenant THE word league in Latine Foedus In Iudg. 2 about the end is deriued of the verbe Ferire To strike bicause the ambassadors of each partie killed a hog from which etymologie perhaps the Hebrue word Kerith differeth not much By which outward signe also they wished by praier the destruction of that part which should violate the couenant as we may gather out of Liuie in his first booke after the building of the citie and as the same author writeth in his fourth booke De bello Macedonico There be thrée kinds of leagues The first kind is where the conquerours make lawes vnto them whom they haue conquered in punishing and commanding them in such things as they will afterward haue them to doo The second kind is when things being yet in their owne state and neither partie ouercome they agrée togither that such things as are taken from ech partie may be restored and that couenants of peace may be established The third kind is when there hath béene no war betwéene the parties and when certeine cities or princes are ioined togither by some couenants either to liue the more peaceablie or else to take some publike affairs in hand These things being on this wise declared let vs shew what a league is A league is that bond betwéene men What a league is whereby they testifie both by words and signes one to another that they are bound to performe certeine things so long as they deale faithfullie either towards other And if it be a bond and perteine to relation it is grounded vpon humane actions and is referred to those things which the parties confederate ought to performe one towards another It is expressed by words and for the most part signes are added When God made a couenant with mankind after the floud Gen. 9 9 and 13. he not onelie set foorth the forme of the bond by words but he also put the rainebowe in the clouds as a witnesse And in the couenant which he made with Abraham Gent. 17 10 he put the signe of circumcision Furthermore in the same which was made by Moses at the mount Sina Exo. 24 4 8 there were twelue pillers erected and the people was sprinkled with bloud Iosua 24 26. Iosua also when he should die erected vp a verie great stone thereby as it were to signe the league renewed betwéene God the people And what the promises were which should be kept of ech partées the scripture oftentimes teacheth The couenants that were made both on the behalfe of God and of man For GOD promised that he would be the GOD of his people namelie that he would be with them to helpe them to deliuer them and by all meanes as touching all kind of good things to blesse them The people againe promised that they would count the Lord Iehouah for their God in beléeuing worshipping and obeieng him And Christ was in the league as the mediatour betwéene ech partie This is the exposition and nature of the couenant betwéene God and man How the league is diuided into the old and new league 2 League is diuided into the new and into the old which diuision is not of a generall thing into speciall things but of the subiect into accidents Forsomuch as in either league the thing it selfe and the substance is vtterlie one and the selfe-same onelie certeine qualities doo varie For the old league was made with one onelie
haue aboue confessed And he offered himselfe to be seene and felt of his disciples Besides this when his will was neither to be séene nor yet to be caught hold of by anie man he so ordered his bodie Luk. 4 30. as neither the one nor the other happened otherwise than it pleased himselfe Iohn 8. 59. Mat. 28 1. c. As in Nazareth when they endeuoured to throwe him downe headlong from the mounteine or when they went about to stone him in the temple Mat. 17 2. Againe when he rose vp and went out of the sepulchre which the soldiers kept he would not be séene No more would he be séene vpon mount Thabor wherein his bodie being transformed became bright like the sun And we are not anie waie forbidden to hope but that our bodies shall probablie be adorned with those qualities in the life eternall For it séemeth altogither conuenient that the members should be like vnto their owne head Fleshlie care of the bodie must be reiected Wherfore if anie man haue a fleshlie care of his owne bodie he dealeth vnwiselie to obeie it in those things which manifestlie striue with so blessed an end He ought rather for that fauour wherewith he is indued by the grace of God to yéeld the same bodie of his to the obedience of the spirit by whome it shall at the length be quickened and carried vp into so excellent a state In consideration wherof Paule decréed Rom. 8 18. that Those things which we presentlie suffer are not worthie of the glorie which shall be shewed to vs And as in the same maner Christ disputing of eternall life said Hee that will find his life Mat. 10 39. shall loose it In the which place vnder the name of life he meaneth this naturall life the which whosoeuer withdraweth from mortification and the crosse laid vpon him by God and dooth attempt with highlie dishonouring of Christ and his name to repulse danger and temporall death from it then dooth he verelie loose it although he determine with himselfe to find it and to recouer it For he despoileth it of those properties which otherwise it should perpetuallie haue in that eternall felicitie with Christ But the spirituall and true christians which by the iudgement of the world are thought to betraie their owne life while they make ouer-small account of the same taking great and infinit perils in hand yea willing death for Christs his sake these I saie as Christ most truelie testifieth in loosing of their soule doo in verie déed find and most certeinlie obteine the same Iohn 12 24. And that is most aptlie expressed in the similitude of a grain of corne which vnlesse it should first become rotten in the earth it would neuer giue out flower or fruit framed in the order of an eare of corne 50 But let vs procéed sée in what thing the spirits of the blessed may rest themselues in that state whereof we haue spoken They that be iustified by Christ although that euen in this life they haue setled their desire to loue God with all their heart with all their soule and with all their strength so long as they acknowledge they be verie far off from dooing that which they ought to doo they must néeds be disquieted with excéeding sorrow How pleasant a thing thinke we will it be to them that they shall be able to satisfie their desire so iust so excellent so great and so long desired of them A deliuerance from slane Then we shall be indued with this gift that we shall offend him no more we shall be deliuered from the seruitude of sinne and from our domesticall enimie namelie from the assaults of the flesh séeing the same shall be at peace with the spirit We being constrained with the bonds hereof cannot fulfill the lawe of God But in that state we shall loue God with all our strength and more than either our selues or whatsoeuer else is in the world Neither shall that flesh let vs anie thing from the true perfect loue of our neighbour he vndoubtedlie shall haue no néed of the duties of this life but yet we shall loue him in that we shall no lesse be desirous of his felicitie than of our owne The motions of enuie selfe-pleasing and of other desires the which things be verie great enimies vnto vs and make vs the slacker to loue our neighbours shall haue no longer abiding in vs. But as touching that which is of greatest importance and is greatlie wished for of all men that be indued with reason and anie godlinesse at all I meane the knowledge of God shall then at the last be granted vnto vs. Indéed it is now after some sort giuen vnto men to knowe God by the euident tokens of things created by the testimonies of the scriptures and by inward reuelation of the spirit but there shall be then a full and perfect knowledge Wherfore saith Paule to the Corinthians We see saith he through a glasse as in a darke speaking 1. Co. 13 12 Now there be certeine darke sentences laid before vs which the Graecians call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then shall it be set foorth to be perceiued indéed All vailes and couering shall be remooued that we may penetrate euen to the face of God himselfe the which cannot be perceiued in this life as God himselfe verified to his faithfull seruant Moses Exo. 33 20. in these words It cannot be that a man should see me and liue Therefore thou shalt not see my face but I will cause that as I passe by thou maist see my backe part But when we be loosed from this mortall state we without doubt shall be capable of that excellent gift In the which thing chéefelie consisteth that eternall life as our sauiour Iesus teacheth in the Gospell of Iohn Iohn 17 3. This is the life eternall that they may knowe thee onelie the true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent And againe he saith Iohn 8 56. that Abraham desired to knowe the daie of the Lord and he knew it and reioised Matt. 13 16. And vnto the apostles he said Blessed be the eies which see that ye see I saie vnto you that many kings prophets desired to see that which ye see and yet it was not granted vnto them In which place we must vnderstand that Christ spake of his first comming in the which he had the mortall and passible properties of humane nature But if thou wilt obiect that they sawe him also after his resurrection when he was now indued with an immortall and impassible life I answer that he had not euen as yet gotten the full victorie of all his enimies nether ha◠procured the kingdome to be perfect peaceable and sure from all aduersaries such as it shall be by the iudgement of Paule in the first epistle to the Corinthians When he hath put all his enimies vnder his feet 1. Co.
it is méete that there should be preaching vnto all men least that for the reprobate the elect should be defrauded which by the preaching of Gods word shall take profit And by this vniuersall preaching God bringeth that end to effect which he himselfe willeth For the godlie when they sée that the reprobate are left in their owne sense and beléeue not doo vnderstand that it is grace and not nature and in them perceiue what should also haue happened vnto themselues without the mercie of God of whose gift conuersion is and not of the power of man And the vngodlie are made vnexcusable when as they haue not performed so much as those outward workes which they might haue doone as it is declared to the Romans in the first and second chapters Rom. 1 2. 43 First the aduersaries imagine that they are setters foorth of the mercie of God for that they grant it common vnto all men Whether opinion attributeth more to the mercy of God But if wée consider the matter more inwardlie we attribute much more vnto mercie than they doo for we affirme that all whole dependeth of it which is of them denied whilest they will haue it to lie in our power to receiue the grace of God And if we saie that mercie is not distributed alike vnto all men we cannot therefore be reprooued forsomuch as the scriptures manifestlie testifie the same But these men when they saie that it lieth in our will to receiue grace though they extenuate the same yet is it in verie déed prooued to be a great matter for what should it profit to haue grace vniuersallie set foorth vnto all men vnles a man would by his own proper will applie it to himselfe Let them cease then to adorne this their opinion with the title of the mercie of God They bring also another argument that Forsomuch as God prouideth for all men things competent vnto bodilie life it is not verie likelie that he will faile them as touching the preparation of eternall saluation which should not be vnlesse vnto euerie man were set foorth so much of the grace of God as is sufficient But for this cause these men are reprooued by a similitude For euen as God giueth vnto euerie mortall man corporall life without anie their assent euen so must they néeds conclude of spirituall life which by all meanes they refuse to grant We confes in déed that God through his mercie causeth the sunne to arise vpon the good and vpon the euill and we also confesse Matth. 5. 45. The reprobate are not without some benefits of God that both the predestinate and the reprobate are partakers of some of the benefits of God And euen as in this life the commodities of the bodie and of life are not alike giuen vnto all mee◠so also predestination vnto eternall felicitie is not common vnto all men Some are borne vnapt to naturall felicitie Some are borne leprous blinde deafe foolish most poore and vtterly vnapt vnto all manner of naturall felicitie neither attaine they vnto it at anie time so as the comparison which they bring maketh verie much against themselues But saie they God hath created all men to his owne image Gen. 1 27. and therefore hath appointed all men vnto blessednesse wherfore we ought not to saie that some are predestinate and some are reprobate That men are made to the image of God and capable of blessednesse that we grant but after the fall nature was corrupted the image of God much blemished so as men cannot of themselues attaine vnto felicitie but haue néed to be deliuered from miserie But that God hath now decréed to deliuer all men from miserie through Christ to haue them blessed the scriptures teach not wherefore we doo not without iust cause saie that he hath decréed to deliuer some and to leaue other some and that iustlie the causes of which iustice yet are not to bée sought by our owne workes séeing they are knowen to God onlie through his hidden and vnspeakable wisdome 44 They obiect this out of Iohn Iohn 1 12. Hee gaue vnto them power to be made the sons of God Whether all men haue power to be made the sonnes of God As though they could thereof inferre that euerie man maie be made the sonne of God if hée will But they giue no héed vnto those things which followe for it is added Vnto those which haue beleeued in him which are borne not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God These things if they bée rightlie peised declare that this dignitie priuilege is giuen vnto the beléeuers and vnto the regenerate for to haue power giuen to be the sonnes of God signifieth nothing else Wherefore this dignitie is put as an effect of regeneration and of faith and not as the beginning thereof as these men dreame They grant also 1. Tim. 2 6. that Christ died for vs all and thereof they inferre that his benefite is common vnto all men Which we also will easilie grant if onelie the worthinesse of the death of Christ be considered How this is to be vnderstood that Christ died for all for as touching it it might be sufficient for all the sinners of the world But although in it selfe it bée sufficient yet it neither had nor hath nor shall haue effect in all men Which the Schoole-men also confesse when they affirme that Christ hath redéemed all men sufficientlie but not effectuallie for therevnto it is necessarie that the death of Christ bée healthfull vnto vs that we take hold of it which cannot otherwise be doone but by faith which faith we haue before abundantlie declared to be the gift of God and not to be giuen vnto all men This also is obiected vnto vs that the Apostle compared Adam with Christ and said vnto the Romans Rom. 51 7. that Euen as in Adam we all die so in Christ we are all quickened 1. Co. 15 22. Wherefore by this meanes they saie that the grace of Christ ought vniuersally to be open vnto all men How the comparison of Adam with Christ is to be vnderstood But if they will so take this comparison they shall be compelled to grant that all by Christ shall be brought vnto felicitie as by Adam all are throwen headlong into sinne into death But séeing the thing it selfe declareth the contrarie they maie easilie perceiue that this similitude is not to be taken as touching all the parts therof especiallie séeing none fall of their owne consent into originall sin And these men will that grace bée not admitted but through a mans owne consent Then if they admit this difference how dare they affirme that the matter is on each side alike The scope of the Apostle in this comparison is to be considered besides the scope nothing is to be inferred And in that comparison Paule ment nothing else but
that Christ is to those which are regenerated the beginning of life and of blessednes as Adam is vnto them that are deriued of him the cause of death and of sinne Now whatsoeuer is afterward beside this scope gathered touching the equalitie of multitude or of the maner the same is Per accidens that is By chance and pertaineth not vnto the scope and substance of the similitude 45 They obiect also the sentence vnto Timothie God will haue all men to bee saued 1. Tim. 2 4. For this sentence Pighius continuallie repeateth How God will haue all men to be saued as though it were inuincible when yet Augustine oftentimes hath taught that it maie in such sort be expounded that it bringeth no weight at all to prooue those mens fond inuention First we take it to be spoken of all estates and kinds of men namelie that God will haue some of all kindes of men to be saued which interpretation agréeth excellentlie well with the purpose of the Apostle He had commanded that praiers and supplications should be made for all men and especiallie for kings and those which haue publike authoritie that vnder them we maie liue a quiet life in all godlinesse chastitie And therefore to declare that no estate or kind of men is excluded he added God will haue all men saued As if he should haue said No man is letted by that vocation and degrée wherein he is placed so that it be not repugnant vnto the word of God but that he maie come vnto saluation and therefore we ought to pray for all kind of men But héereof we cannot inferre that God endueth euerie man particularlie with grace or predestinateth euerie man to saluation Euen in like manner as in the time of the floud all liuing creatures are said to haue bene saued in the arke with Noe Gen. 8 9. whereas there were but onlie some of euerie kind gathered together in it or we maie vnderstand it thus that God will haue all men to be saued for that as manie as are saued are saued by his will As if a man should saie of one that teacheth Rhetorike in a citie that he teacheth all men by which kind of speach is not signified that all the citizens are hearers of Rhetorike but that as manie as learne are taught of him And this also is like if a man pointing to the gate of a house should saie that All men enter in this waie we must not thereby vnderstand that all men enter into that house but that as manie as doo enter doo enter in by that gate onelie Further there are some which interpret these words of the apostle of the will of the signe or of the antecedent that all men are inuited for that preaching is indifferentlie set foorth to all men Neither is there anie in a manner which inwardlie féeleth not some pricke wherby he is oftimes stirred vp to liue well So that if we respect this will of God we easilie grant that he will haue all men to be saued But they will not haue it to be vnderstood of the hidden effectuall will which they call consequent and after this manner maie those kindes of spéech be vnderstood Iohn 1 9. God lightneth euerie man which commeth into this world Matt. 11 21. Come vnto me all ye which labour are laden For all men are prouoked by the oracles of God and all men are inwardlie mooued by some prouoking All these interpretations are doubtles verie likelie and also apt and yet is there another besides these readie and plaine Two societies of men whereof either of them haue their vniuersalitie The holie scriptures set foorth two societies of men the one of the godlie and the other of the vngodlie and of both societies haue patched together vniuersall propositions which ought of the warie reader to be drawne to their kind The prophets saie Christ citeth the same Iohn 6 45. Ier. 31 33. All men shall be taught of God And All men shall know me frō the least to the greatest Iohn 12 32. Againe When I shall be lifted vp from the earth I will drawe althings vnto my selfe These vniuersall propositions vnlesse they be vnderstood of the godlie which are elected are not true Ioel. 2 28. Esai 66 23. as are these also I will powre of my spirit vpon all flesh And All flesh shall come in my sight and shall worship in Ierusalem Againe Luke 3 6. Psal 145 14 All flesh shall see the saluation of God Againe also God lifteth vp all them that fall Now who séeth not that these things are to bée vnderstood onelie of the saints Contrariwise to the fellowship of the vngodlie perteine these sentences Iohn 3 32. Matt. 10 32. No man receiueth his testimonie and yet manie beléeued Ye shall bee hated of all men Phil. 2 21. Againe All men seeke the things that are their own And againe All men haue declined Psal 14 3. and are altogether made vnprofitable there is none that doth good no not one When as yet holie men and they that are now regenerate are acceptable vnto God and doo indeuour themselues to exhibit vnto him some obedience of the lawe But these vniuersall saiengs ought not to be extended beyond their owne societie This distinction had Augustine a regard vnto in his booke De ciuitate Dei where he declareth and prooueth Two cities the one of God the other of the diuell that there haue euer bene two cities namelie one that citie of God and another the citie of the diuell Wherefore in these generall propositions wée must alwaies haue a consideration vnto what order or fellowship of men they perteine Which if we in this present place doo then shall we applie vnto the saints and vnto the elect this sentence which we haue now in hand namelie that God will haue all men to be saued and by that meanes all maner of doubt is taken awaie Otherwise that God effectuallie willeth not the saluation of all men Sundrie instances against the aduersaries verie manie infants declare which perish without Christ and manie also which are borne fooles and deafe had neuer in their life time the right iust vse of reason And if oftentimes happeneth that some haue liued long time honestlie and faithfullie enough and yet suddenlie at the last doo fall and being taken out of the world doo perish eternallie And contrariwise others which haue perpetuallie led their life in wickednes being at the end of their life indued with sudden faith and repentance are saued when yet notwithstanding those first might haue bin taken awaie that maliciousnes might not haue changed their minds Who will in these examples saie that God alike effectuallie willeth the saluation of all men 46 They obiect also a sentence of Christ How often would I haue gatherd together thy children Matt. 13 37. as a hen gathereth together hir chickens and thou
But none which is faithfull ought in anie wise to doubt of himselfe but to beléeue that the promise is particular as touching himselfe when he perceiueth himselfe to beléeue trulie Further when promises are set foorth in a generall proposition we may most assuredlie of them gather their particular proposition And Christ saith in Iohn Iohn 6 40. This is the will of my father that euerie one that seeth the sonne and beleeueth in him should haue eternall life Wherefore we thus inferre But I beléeue in the sonne of God Therefore I haue now and shall haue that which he hath promised 73 Pighius still goeth on and to prooue that the faith of euerie other article and not that onlie which is referred vnto Christ touching remission of sinnes iustifieth he vseth the example of Noe for he saith Heb. 11 7. that He beleeued onelie those things which perteined to the safegard of his familie and to the destruction of the world and by that faith he saith he was iustified Here saith he is no mention made of Christ or of the remission of sinnes But it séemeth vnto me that this man hath not verie diligentlie read that which Peter writeth in his first epistle and third chapter for Peter saith verse 20. When once the long suffering of God expected in the daies of Noe while the arke was preparing wherein few that is eight soules were saued through the water vnto the figure whereof baptisme now agreeing maketh vs also safe whereby not the filth of the flesh is put awaie but thereby is brought to passe that a good conscience is well answering vnto God That which Peter sawe was signified by the arke and by those things which Noe did can we thinke Noe was iustified by faith in Christ that the patriarch himselfe sawe not This vndoubtedlie were too much derogation vnto him and if he sawe those things which Peter maketh mention of he beléeued not onelie those things which were then doone but also those which were looked for to be accomplished by Christ And therefore of good right it is written vnto the Hebrues that He was by such a faith made the heire of righteousnesse Heb. 11 7. But Pighius nothing passeth vpon this who so that he may be against vs is nothing afraid to fight euen against the apostles themselues for he is not afraid to affirme that our first father Adam was iustified but yet not with that faith which we speake of which concerneth the remission of sinnes through Christ for he saith that thereof he had no promise as touching that so farre as may be gathered out of the scriptures But doubtlesse this man is both farre deceiued Adam was iustified by faith wherby he beleeued the remission of sinnes through Christ Gen. 3 15. and also hath forgotten his fathers whom he would séeme to make so much of Was not the selfe-same thing said vnto Adam which was by God promised vnto Eue his wife namelie that his séed should bruise the head of the serpent Christ was that séed and he hath so broken the head and strength of the diuell that now neither sinne nor death nor hell can anie thing hurt his members This place all the fathers in a maner thus interpret But Pighius which yet is lesse to be borne withall is not afraid to saie that iustification is not giuen vnto vs by the promise In which thing doubtles he is manifestlie against Paule for he vnto the Galathians thus writeth God gaue vnto Abraham by the promise Gen. 3 18. And there is no doubt but that vnto vs it is giuen after the selfe-same maner that it was vnto Abraham But this is to be knowne that this word Promise Promise vnderstood two maner of waies is taken two maner of waies either for the thing promised and so it is not to be doubted but that we are iustified by the promise that is by Christ and by the forgiuenesse of sinnes which is promised vnto them that beléeue or else it is taken for the verie words of God in which he through Christ promiseth vnto vs remission of sinnes And in this maner also we maie be said to be iustified by the promise for although the cause of our iustification be the méere will and mercie of God yet is not the same offered or signified vnto vs but by the words of the promises and by the sacraments for these haue we as sure testimonies of the will of GOD towards vs. And so vnlesse faith be wanting whereby we apprehend the things that are offered we are iustified by the promises A place in the 5. of Genesis expounded 74 Afterward Pighius to prooue that God attributeth more vnto works than vnto faith citeth a place out of the 22. chapter of Genesis There is described that excellent worke of Abraham that he refused not to slaie his onelie sonne to offer him vnto God and therefore God said vnto him from heauen Bicause thou hast doone this thing verse 19. I haue sworne by my selfe that in blessing I will blesse thee and in multiplieng I will multiplie thy seed that it shall be as the starres of heauen and as the sand of the sea It shall possesse the gates of his enimies and in thee shall all nations be blessed Behold here saith he are promises giuen for works sake and therevnto is added a most faithfull oath but there is no mention at all made of faith wherfore saith he God hath more regard vnto works than vnto faith This speaketh he with a wide mouth but according to that prouerbe The mountaines will be brought a bed and out will spring a sielie mouse For if you aske what I thinke as touching this matter I will answer that it is a notable and most excellent historie whereout that cannot yet be gathered which this man exclaimeth First here is no mention made of iustification what serueth it then to that matter whereof we now intreat So often as anie thing is called in controuersie we must run to such certeine and assured places in which the selfe-same thing is intreated of and not vnto those places wherein it maie be answered that they intreate of another matter Of this nature is that place which Paule citeth Gene. 15 6. Rom. 4 3. as touching this thing Abraham beleeued in God and it was imputed vnto him vnto righteousnes But as concerning this historie I willinglie grant that Abraham by that worke obteined a certeine more ample benefit than he before had by faith howbeit not in substance or number or quantitie of the promises but in a sound and firme certeintie For although he doubted not but that whatsoeuer things he beleeued God would faithfullie render vnto him yet afterward when he had doone those excellent déeds he was more fullie persuaded of the veritie of his faith and constancie of the promise and strength of the righteousnes imputed vnto him I denie not but that by that excellent worke
Ierom that God would punish the rashnesse of the fathers vow by the death of his daughter But there be two places saith he that let me from the blaming of Ieptha One is for that in the epistle to the Hebrues he is numbred among the saints and it is written that The spirit of the Lord was vpon him Howbeit did those holie men which are reckoned in the epistle to the Hebrues neuer sinne Yes vndoubtedlie their sinnes are set foorth in the holie scripture Iud. 8 2â— and .33 Gedeon who is among that number a litle before his death made an Ephod which was the destruction both of himselfe and also of his house The second place is verse 19. The spirit of the Lord came vpon him yet this letteth nothing but that he might afterward fall But thou will saie that Ieptha had the victorie but with Gedeon there went nothing well after that act Yea Iud. 8 27. and Gedeon saith he did before after a sort tempt God and yet he had the victorie On this wise saith Augustine But I would saie otherwise for I agrée not with Augustine to thinke that Gedeon tempted God So then I would answer after this maner Dauid committed adulterie 2. Sam. 11 4. and straitwaie afterward obteined the victorie and tooke the citie Rabbeth Ammon in the siege whereof he caused Vrias to be slaine Saule persecuted Dauid 1. Sam. 23. in the meane time there were messengers sent to him from the Philistines he leauing Dauid went to the warre and obteined the victorie Moses sinned at the waters of strife Num. 20 12 The people also had sinned manie waies and yet they obteined the victorie against Sihon and Og Numb 21. being most mightie kings Wherefore we will grant that Ieptha was numbred among the saints and yet he might sinne And although he sinned yet he obteined the victorie And we will grant that the spirit of the Lord came vpon him but it was the spirit of strength And although the spirit of the Lord were vpon him yet it is not of necessitie that he did all things by the same spirit for we also who are christians haue the spirit of Christ when as yet none of vs is renewed in all parts naie rather we doo all sinne oftentimes God by the sinnes of the godlie wold figuratiuelie instruct the people Augustine addeth moreouer that although the forefathers somtimes sinned yet it nothing hindereth but that God may vse their sinnes to signifie those things which might instruct the people For GOD is so good that euen out of verie sinnes he picketh laudable commodities and maketh them allegoricallie to declare what séemeth profitable vnto him In like maner as when Iudas plaied the harlot with his daughter in lawe the same signified that GOD would couple vnto him his church which before was an harlot And so it may be that by this act of Ieptha he signified that God so loued mankind as he would giue his onelie begotten sonne to die for it for he did not in vaine and without anie cause suffer such a thing to be doone by the fathers Albeit they gréeuouslie sinned yet could God vse their actions to the instruction of his people They were amazed at the sacrifices of beasts neither did they as it had béene méet they should lift vp the eies of their mind vnto Christ Wherefore God would by this meanes stir vp them that were sluggish that by the humane sacrifice of the daughter of Ieptha they might be led to thinke vpon Christ for he it was that should giue life and become the sacrifice for mankind 21 Afterward Augustine declareth a reason whereby he defendeth the act of Ieptha It may be said saith he that he was mooued by the spirit of GOD to make a vow and led by the same spirit to performe it wherefore he shall be woorthie of praise so farre is it off that he should be reprooued Howbeit this cannot be gathered by the words of the historie And whereas some saie which we before haue touched that he wept râ—at his garments sorrowed earnestlie and therefore was not led by the spirit of God this dooth not much mooue me God so requireth obedience as he draweth not awaie humane affections Matt. 26 38. Ibidem 39. For God so requireth of vs the duties of godlines that neuertheles he taketh not from our minds humane affections Christ himselfe when he was to suffer willing death for our sakes said neuertheles My soule is heauie euen vnto the death He praied also Father if it be possible let this cup passe from me But Augustines meaning was to declare how Ieptha might be defended which I also would gladlie doo if I had anie part of the historie to helpe me But that which followeth in Augustine is spoken to imitate Ambrose An excusing of Augustine for he writeth that The error of Ieptha hath some praise of faith Which as I haue declared before may not be receiued for if it were an error then can it not be ascribed vnto the motion of the holie Ghost Further if it were sinne what praise of faith can there be in it Bicause he feared not to paie that which he had promised What if the vow were not lawfull Can faith be commended there Moreouer he saith He eschewed not the iudgment of God and he hoped that he would haue forbidden him from killing of his daughter He would rather that the will of God should in anie wise be doone than that he would contemne it These things were well spoken if he had béene assured of the will of God But was not the will of God manifest Naie rather God had otherwise forbidden by his lawe Wherfore if it were an error it ought not to be praised but if the spirit mooued him then was there no error in it That which he afterward addeth is most true and maketh on my side First he teacheth that it was forbidden both by the example of Abraham and also by the lawe that a man should not kill his children Further why the maidens wept he bringeth the same reason which I alledged namelie that both fathers should beware from binding themselues to such a vow and also that so great an obedience of such a maid should not be forgotten These things we haue out of Augustine by which words appéereth that his opinion was that this virgine was sacrificed in verie déed and not compelled by the vow of chastitie to liue sole Which iudgement I my selfe doo altogither allow 22 They which hold the contrarie haue onelie two or thrée authors but there be a multitude which hold on my side and especiallie the ancient Rabbins which liued at that time when the Chaldaean paraphrast and the writing of the Thalmud were set foorth For the Chaldaean paraphrast affirmeth that the maiden was slaine Iosephus Ambrose Reasons by which the interpretation is confirmed and Augustine are of the same opinion And the reasons which we haue
Lent wherein they fasted not they would that a choise of meats shuld be reteined And De consecratione distinction 4. chapter Denique sacerdotes they doo ordeine that the priests should begin their fasts from Quinquagesima And in the same place the fift distinction in the chapter Quadragesima Gregorie hath inuented a reason to prooue that Lent ought to be fasted We must saith he giue the tenth part of the whole yéere vnto God and the tenth part of the yéere consisteth of fortie daies therefore we must fast so manie daies Gregories reason for the keeping of Lent confuted A goodlie reason forsooth Why dooth this Gregorie forget that the Leuiticall priesthood and ceremonies thereof haue now ceased Wherefore it is not lawfull to bind christian men vnto tenths and Iewish ceremonies And if for that cause the time of Lent must be consecrated to a fast bicause it is the tenth part of the whole yéere why did not the Iewes in the old time fast in that sort Why did not the prophets reprooue them Why the father 's ordeined Lent season for deceiuing GOD of such a kind of tenth 22 But I will shew so farre as I can perceiue why Lent was first inuented The fathers when they perceiued men to liue verie licentiouslie and negligentlie thought to haue them compelled after a sort to renew godlines some part of the yéere and somewhat to bridle the rage of the flesh And for this purpose they did thinke the fortie daies before Easter to be most méet that men might so long haue their minds occupied in repentance and in remembring of the benefits of God The institution of Lent is against christian libertie This inuention although at the first view it may séeme a goodlie thing yet it agréeth not with christian libertie For we must thinke vpon the great benefits of God and vpon our great ingratitude and vpon other our most gréeuous sinnes not onelie fortie daies but continuallie also Further by this meanes they opened a verie wide gap to liue most securelie retchleslie for if they haue once fullie performed those fortie daies they thinke that all the yeare after they may wholie giue themselues vnto all kind of pleasures and lusts for they referred the time of repentance vnto those fortie daies And although the forefathers had a Lent yet as Eusebius saith in his fift booke Eusebius and 24. chapter it was left frée vnto all men Irenaeus For Irenaeus after this maner intreated with Victor bishop of Rome when he would haue excommucated the East church bicause it agréed not with the church of Rome about the kéeping of Easter What said he may we not liue at concord although they vse their own rites as we vse ours For in the Lent some fast two daies some foure daies some ten daies some fiftéene some twentie and other some fortie daies and yet neuerthelesse concord is reteined 23 There is an other abuse for bicause some there be Fasting is an exercise not a holinesse which appoint a holinesse to consist in fasting as though a worshipping of God consisted in it whereas in verie déed fasting is onelie an exercise which of it selfe hath no holinesse They are fooles which in fasting doo thinke that for that cause they haue God bound vnto them Wherefore we must not rashlie giue credit vnto Ierom Ierom. when he saith that Fasting is not a vertue but the foundation of all vertues For onelie Christ and faith in him is the foundation of vertues If he had said that fasting is a helpe vnto certeine vertues he might haue bin borne withall The fathers attributed ouermuch vnto fasting And doubtlesse herein the fathers erred oftentimes in that they praised and extolled fasting abooue all measure If so much should be attributed vnto fasting we must of necessitie confesse that Iohn Baptist liued more holilie than Christ Matt. 11 18. for he fasted more than Christ did For Christ did eat and drinke as temperate and moderate men vse to doo But it is said that Iohn did neither eat nor drinke 1. Tim. 4 8. Yea and Paule to Timothie writeth that Bodilie exercise hath small profit but godlinesse is profitable vnto all things If thou wilt demand what godlinesse or pietie is I will answer What godlines is that it is a true worshipping of God a soundnesse of doctrine and a pure life which things doo followe hope and faith In these things assuredlie is verie great profit And the exercise of the body hath indéed some profit howbeit not verie great But we must consider that Paule speaketh not of fasting and exercise of the bodie which is hypocriticall and wanteth faith but of the true and christian fasting For those things which want faith and procéed of hypocrisie are sinnes neither doo they any thing profit Esaie 58 5. Wherefore Esaie faith Is this the fast which I haue chosen But these our men go further and besides that they appoint a holinesse in fasting they make it also to be a part of satisfaction For the Schoole-men That fasting is no part of satisfaction in the fourth booke of sentences appoint satisfaction to consist of praiers almes-déeds and fasting What is to make void the death of Christ if this be not They babble also that by fasts soules are deliuered out of purgatorie And least anie should thinke that I faine these things let him reade Gratianus Gratian. in the 13. cause question second chapter Animae The aduersaries saie that by fasting soules are deliuered out of purgatorie where he citeth the words of Gregorie who saith that Soules are deliuered from purgatorie either by praiers or fasting of their kinsfolkes 24 There is also an other more gréeuous abuse for that some affirme that by fastings they can satisfie the church although they cease not from sinne Esaie 58. 3. This kind of fast God himselfe reprooueth by expresse words in Esaie What care I saith he for your fastings Ye fast vnto contentions and strifes Is this the fast which my soule hath chosen Pope Liberius decréed Liberius a Pope that all the Lent we must absteine from strife and suite in lawe This is not verie wiselie decréed for the publike wealth cannot stand if it be so long or euer matters be heard or iudgement giuen If fasting should for some weightie cause be denounced for a day or two there might for that space of time be commanded intermission of iudgement but that lawes should be silent so long as Liberius would haue them that is against the publike weale Besides this the selfe same Liberius saith that the vse of matrimonie polluteth the fasting in Lent wherefore they would haue men all that time to haue no fellowship with their wiues 1. Cor. 7 5. But Paule much more sincerelie exhorteth married folkes that they should seuer themselues for a time and that by their owne mutuall consent and to returne togither lest they should be tempted
this last state doo we confesse our soules to be after this life doo aptlie interprete the saiengs of the elder fathers to wit that the saints haue not as yet full felicitie and perfect reward for they desire the resurrection Which desire notwithstanding of theirs séeing it is in them without trouble it is no hindrance to their tranquillitie Neither is the argument which they sometime vse of anie weight Matt. 25 34. namelie that the elect shall in the daie of iudgement be called to the possession of the kingdome of God for it is not thereby prooued that they are now altogether without the same for they haue it now begun but they shall haue it then fullie perfect and manifest vnto all men 1. Co. 15 24 And shall not God the father be said at the last daie to receiue the kingdome of the sonne Who will affirme for this cause that he dooth not now reigne He reigneth vndoubtedlie although he haue manie enimies against him neither is his kingdome euident and famous vnto all men These be principall and plaine testimonies which we haue brought against this same error The 4. reason Eccle. 12 7. 22 Whereto we may adde that which Salomon hath at the end of Ecclesiastes The dust shal be turned againe into the earth from whence it came and the spirit shall returne vnto God who made it The 5. reason If it returne vnto God it is not to be sent awaie by him And Christ said that It is the will of the father Iohn 6. 39. that he which beleeueth in the sonne should haue life euerlasting and I saith he will raise him vp at the last daie Two things are here promised vnto vs one is eternall life the which séemeth not to be staid in the meane time by so long a sléepe the other is resurrection which shal be giuen vs at the time appointed The 6. reason And Polycarpus which florished in the time of the apostles as it is declared in the fourth booke of the ecclesiasticall historie The ecclesiasticall historie when he was to be burned for the confession of the faith testified that he should the verie same daie be present in spirit before the Lord whereby we see what iudgement the primitiue church had hereof The 7. reason Rom. 8 14. Yea and Paule vnto the Romans writeth that They be the sonnes of God which are led by the spirit of God But we are not mooued by the spirit of God to sléepe but both to vnderstand God The 8. reason Psal 84 8. and also to loue him earnestlie And it is a woonder that séeing we ought to go forward vnto Sion for to sée and from vertue to vertue or as we find in the Hebrue from abundance to abundance how it cōmeth to passe that these men doo by sléepe so long interrupt this course The 9. reason Verelie while we here liue and vnderstand and loue God although the bodie be burdensome to the soule and this earthlie mansion presse downe the vnderstanding and that the spirit must néeds euermore wrestle against the flesh while the soule is kept within the bodie as in a doongeon doubtlesse these burdens being laid awaie it séemeth to be beléeued that we shall more loue God and better know him and that especiallie séeing the apostle hath promised The 10. reason Phil. 1 6. that God which hath begoone his woorke in vs will finish the same euen vntill the daie of Christ And if so be that he finish it he will not haue it broken off as these men saie And that last of all The 11. reason Matt. 22 32. must be considered of which Christ said was written of Abraham Isaake and Iacob to wit that God was their God and he added that He was not the God of the dead but of the liuing Now if they liue it behooueth them to doo some thing séeing to liue is to doo Neither dooth anie other action agrée with a spirit frée from the flesh I meane with a christian man than to vnderstand his GOD and to imbrace him by loue Io. 11 11. 1. Thes 4 13 Neither dooth the scripture fauour their opinion when as it saith euerie where that The dead doo sleepe for all that is ment as touching the bodie which after death is affected after the manner of sléepers Whie the holie ghost saith that the dead do sleepe And the holie Ghost vsed that forme of speaking chéeflie that the resurrection of the bodie might come to our remembrance for we know that they which sléepe shall after a while be raised vp 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And this forme of speaking the ancient fathers called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Places appointed for sepulchres as if so be thou shouldst saie Dorters or Sléeping places But we doo not thinke that the soules are buried but the bodies onelie so as these phrases of the scriptures doo not defend them Of wandering Spirits 23 Furthermore In 1. Kin. 12 the spirits of them that be dead wander not here and there vpon the earth as Chrysostome verie well taught in his second homilie of Lazarus Chrysost and vpon the eight chapter of Matthew the 29. homilie where he demandeth the cause whie those possessed with the diuell which are there spoken of are said to haue dwelt in the graues And he testifieth that in his time there was an ill opinion by which the spirits of them that died of a violent death were thought to be turned into wicked spirits and were seruiceable and obedient vnto them which had béene authors of the murther And he saith that the diuell feigned these things first that he might obscure the glorie of the martyrs as though that their soules after death became diuels Further by this persuasion he brought the coniurers and soothesaiers cruellie to kill children and yong men as if they should haue their soules for bondslaues Howbeit these things as that verie learned father testifieth are altogether repugnant to the holie scriptures which saie Wisd 3 1. that The soules of the righteous are in the hand of God And vndoubtedlie Christ said vnto the théefe Luk. 23 43. This daie shalt thou be with me in paradise And of the rich man who inlarged wide his barns Luk. 16 22. This daie shall they take thy soule frō thee And of the soule of Lazarus it is written That by the angels it was carried into the bosome of Abraham and contrariewise the soule of the rich man is described to haue béene tormented with flames in hell who when he desired to haue some man to be sent vnto his brethren might not obteine the same But if it were lawfull for soules seuered from their bodies to wander about in the world either he himselfe might haue come to his brethren or else he could haue obteined the same of some other spirit Phil. 1 23. Ouer this Paule said that He desired to be loosed and
to be with Christ And Steeuen Acts. 7 59. being at the point of death praied Lord receiue my spirit The opinion of Gregorie touching souls departed I knowe indéed that Gregorie writeth in his dialogs that There be certeine spirits of the dead appointed to serue in common baths and to practise some harder exercises abroad in the world But bicause that booke conteineth manie tales I therefore thinke it better to beléeue Chrysostome who dealeth by the scriptures Againe he also prooueth that that peruerse opinion is against reason for he saith If it should be lawfull for soules after this life to wander abroad in the world they would much more easilie returne to their owne bodies Nor is it agréeable vnto reason that wicked men for parricide should carrie awaie a benefit namelie to haue the spirits of them whom they haue cruellie slaine to be seruiceable vnto them at their owne pleasure A similitude And euen as it cannot be that the bodie of a man should be turned into the bodie of an aâ—…e so it is vnpossible that the soule of a man should be turned into the nature and substance of an ill spirit And when as euill spirits by vsing of coniurations are demanded what they be and they answer that they are the soule of this or that man who be alreadie departed he saith that there must be no credit giuen vnto them for their testimonie must not be of anie value séeing they be infamous And therefore Paule as we haue it in the Acts of the apostles the 16. chapter when an euill spirit witnessed that those men were the seruants of the liuing God and preached the saluation of men he rebuked the spirit and commanded the same to silence And Christ reiected the testimonie of the diuell who said that he knew him c. And not without cause for the diuell is a deceiuer and among true things which he somtime speaketh he mingleth manie false So as he must not be credited vpon any shew of truth seing he is not commanded by God to teach men or to preach saluation vnto them These things are written by Chrysostome in the places now alledged Whereby may be confuted the fables of those men which feigne that the soules of the saints doo stand and are present abroad in the world at their sepulchres and reliks to giue helpe vnto those which call vpon them For that father laboureth to prooue that soules seuered from theâ— bodies doo not wander abroad vpon the earth The xv Chapter Of the Resurrection THE entitle of the resurrection of the flesh is verie hardlie beléeued In 2 Kin. 4. bicause it is a thing â—atre from mans reason It comprehendeth manie principall points But a sure persuasion thereof comprehendeth manie principall points of the christian faith which be verie necessarie vnto saluation And they that are fullie and firmelie setled in their minds of the resurrection doo prouide well for themselues against the last houre For they which being at the point of death doo assure themselues of the blessed resurrectition cannot choose but depart ioifull and chéerefull out of this life But contrariewise they which wauer in this article are then in great disquietnesse they are vexed they storme and knowe not certeinelie whither to turne them Further this persuasion dooth comfort vs when by death we loose our kinsfolks and fréends So did Paule teach the Thessalonians Besides this 1. The. 4 13. we are hereby armed against persecutions and hard chances which we must suffer for the faithfull confession of the name of Christ For what is it that martyrs will not patientlie abide when they knowe for a certeintie that a most happie life shall be restored vnto them Moreouer the remembrance hereof maketh vs to haue temperance in estimation for we easilie forbeare vnlawfull pleasures when we assuredlie trust that we shall haue true and perfect pleasures giuen vs both of mind and bodie And if this article be abolished manie principall points of religion are ouerthrowne Paule faith in the first epistle to the Corinthians 1. Co. 15 16 If the dead rise not againe Christ is not risen Which is most absurd for then he should euen to this time be deteined in death which is not conuenient for God nor for the redéemer of mankind And if he be not risen neither did he trulie die otherwise he should be deteined by death Whervpon they which denie the resurrection of the dead affirme that Christ did not verelie die neither will they that he had naturall but phantasticall flesh onelie that is to saie he died in shew and outward appéerance 2 Séeing therefore a disputation of the resurrection of the flesh is so profitable and necessarie we shall for good cause stand the longer vpon it Why God did institute the resurrection First if it be demanded why GOD did institute the same two reasons may be brought first that he might trulie and perfectlie make happie his elect for true happines cannot be obteined in this life bicause no humane actions More things that we knowe not than that we knowe neither contemplatiue nor actiue can be counted exquisite and perfect For as concerning knowledges there be a great manie more things which we knowe not than which wée knowe Which Socrates perceiuing said that This one thing he knew namelie that he knew nothing Further those few small things that we knowe we haue a verie scant and slender vnderstanding of them Neither may we affirme this of naturall things onelie but of those also which are opened vnto vs by the spirit of God 1. Cor. 13 9. Wherefore Paule said Now we knowe in part and prophesie in part and we now see as through a glasse and in a darke saieng We be of weake memorie and manie times our memorie faileth vs. Who remembreth all things that he hath read that he hath learned that he hath taught and determined The knowledges which come later to mind exclude the former as one naile is driuen out with another and as in the course of waters A similitude the latter driueth awaie the former And whereas the knowledges of things doo consist either in inuention or in teaching what one of manie is found to be excellent at inuention And verie manie are vnapt and vnméet to learne Wherefore as touching things contemplatiue we are of small happinesse in this world Also in matters of practise there is great want in vs séeing either we liue vnhonestlie or else in honest actions we be verie farre wide from perfection For our vertues are maimed and vnperfect therefore we cannot drawe out of them anie perfect and absolute actions There happen moreouer perturbations or affects of the mind which drawe vs to and fro so as we cannot altogither be inclined to doo those things which be right Yea and from the bodie it selfe which is fraile and brittle as glasse manie inconueniences doo come For if it be touched with diseases which are
reprooue all the wicked And soone after Looking for the mercie of our Lord Iesus Christ vnto eternall life Let it be sufficient that we haue brought these things out of the new testament vnto the which adde the article of the apostles Créed wherin we confesse our selues to beléeue the resurrection of the flesh Further all those places wherein Christ is said that he shall be iudge of the quicke and the dead haue relation vnto this 55 Now that we haue séene the signification of the word and also the definition and haue sought whether this resurrection may be plainlie set foorth by naturall reasons and further haue brought testimonies Of the causes of the resurrection verse 4â— as well of the old as new scriptures now it foloweth that we speake somewhat of the causes thereof It is the effect of faith and it followeth iustification Whervpon it is said in the sixt chapter of Iohn He that beleeueth in me hath life euerlasting and I will raise him vp at the last daie So as God by his power is the efficient cause thereof For which cause Christ said vnto the Saduces Matt. 2â— 15. Yee erre being ignorant of the scriptures and of the power of God And not onelie God the father himselfe but also the holie Ghost is cause of the resurrection For as we haue alreadie said it is written in the epistle to the Romans If the spirit of him Rom. 8 11. which hath raised vp Christ from the dead dwell in you c. Yea moreouer the sonne himselfe which is Christ Iesus is a cause of this resurrection for in the Gospell of Iohn he said Iohn 6 40. I will raise him vp at the last daie And againe Euen as the father raiseth vp and quickeneth Iohn 5 21. euen so also the sonne quickeneth c Further Ibidem 28. They which be in the graues shall heare the voice of the sonne of God and shall come foorth Iohn 11 25. c. In the eleuenth of Iohn I am the resurrection and the life Moreouer there is an argument taken hereof that Christ by his death tooke awaie sinne which was the cause of death Verelie no man doubteth but that the cause being remooued the effect is taken awaie In the first to the Corinthians 1. Co. 15 22 the 15. chapter In Adam all men are dead in Christ all men shall be reuiued as by one man came death so by one man came the resurrection from the dead The finall cause of resurrection is assigned to be 2. Cor. 5 10. That the whole and entire man should be iudged at the tribunall seate of God and should receiue rewards or punishments according as he hath behaued himselfe But the angels although they shall be ministers of the resurrection yet can they be no causes Among the causes of the resurrection to come the resurrection also of Christ is numbered for Paule in the first to the Corinthians verse 13. the 15. chapter saith If the dead rise not againe neither is Christ risen againe and if Christ be not risen our preaching is in vaine But we may argue on the other side Christ rose againe Therefore we also shall rise againe So then the resurrection of Christ séemeth to be the cause of our resurrection which indéed is to be granted but yet not so as that verie action wherein Christ was raised vp and which is now past is the efficient cause that performeth or dooth anie thing which should bring foorth our resurrection but bicause the diuine power and might which is in Christ séeing he is God is reteined still euen as he raised him vp from the dead so will he also quicken vs in due time This we sée come to passe in humane things A similitude For he that is a white man begetteth also a white sonne not that the colour it selfe can procreate but that those beginnings or causes which wrought the begetter to be white do make him also white which is begotten by him Euen so our resurrection shall not be vnlike to the resurrection of Christ Further this must be noted that the diuine actions and heauenlie benefits which are imploied vpon men be as Damascenus saith deriued vnto vs by the flesh of Christ which now should be none at all vnlesse he had béene raised from the dead Wherefore by this meanes the resurrection of Christ may be also called ours bicause without that we might not haue obteined ours Againe if we should like philosophers followe Plato adiecting vnto the foure kinds of causes an Idea or paterne we might saie that the resurrection of Christ was the exemplar cause of our resurrection The finall cause of resurrection is assigned to be that The whole and entire man should be iudged at the tribunall seate of God and should receiue rewards or punishments according as he behaued himselfe And thus much of the causes 56 It followeth that we should speake of the properties and conditions of the bodies Of the condition and propertie of bodies when they shall rise which shall be raised vp The Schoolemen called them indowments or qualities neither can I disallow of those which they haue reckoned bicause I perceiue them to be gathered out of the holie scriptures Howbeit I thinke not that all the properties were gathered by them neither yet may it be for in this life we cannot haue experience of the glorie of the saints but we shall then perfectlie and absolutelie knowe it when we shall come vnto it Immortalitie the first propertie The first condition that commeth to my remembrance of the blessed is immortalitie And assuredlie in the diuine scriptures so often as there is mention of the life to come the same is said to be eternall as being that which shall haue no end Paule saith This mortall must put on haue immortalitie 1. Co. 15 53 and this corruptible bodie must put on incorruption And séeing the punishments rewards which shall be rendered according to the nature of works be sempiternall the subiect or nature which shall be giuen them must néeds be immortall also Furthermore séeing it is no doubt but that Christ destroied sinne and death it remaineth that the life of the saints should be immortall And in the sixt chapter to the Romans it is written verse 9. Christ rising againe from the dead dieth no more neither shall death haue anie more power ouer him Besides in the first to the Corinthians the 15. chapter verse 50. Flesh and bloud shall not inherit the kingdome of God Yet must not these things be taken for the verie nature and substance of flesh and bloud fâ—… they which shall rise againe shall be wholie indued with these things But the apostle hath respect vnto corruption vnto the which flesh and bloud in this life are subiect wherfore he added Ibidem Incorruption And corruption shall not inherit incorruption 57 Vpon this propertie followeth an other namelie that after
necessitie constrained him Séeing the words in the Gréeke are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Whose names be not written in the booke of life of the lambe which was slaine from the beginning of the world Iohn 3 13. 16 Neither dooth that let which is written in the gospell of Iohn No man ascended into heauen but he which descended from heauen euen the sonne of man which is in heauen For here is no speach of ascending vp aboue all heauens whither Christ was first of all carried but of the taking vp vnto the bosome of Abraham For so farre as concerneth that highest ascending we grant that none attained vnto that before Christ Wherefore Henoch and Elias went vnto the fathers and there togither with them attended for Christ who being come they accompanied him into heauen togither with the rest Neither did the bodie hinder their taking vp vnto the bosome of the fathers For that men may be taken vp togither with him Paule sheweth saieng 2. Cor. 12 2. that He was rapt into paradise and whither saith he in the bodie or out of the bodie I knowe not By which words is gathered that both might be doone Albeit a certeine Hebrue the schoolemaister of Ierom vnderstood it farre otherwise who as the same father in the prolog vpon Daniel reporteth when he mocked the apocryphall histories which are not found in the Hebrue yet are they fained to be of that prophets writing and especiallie the translating of Abacuk out of Iudaea into Babylon Hist of Bel verse 32. to bring meat vnto Daniel that was in the den of lions said Where is there anie to be found in the ancient histories that was translated with the bodie vnto places of such distance And when as a certeine man that had no great skill answered Ezech. 8 3. that Ezechiel was carried out of Babylon into Iurie the Hebrue confuted him and shewed out of the words of the prophet that that translation was doone in spirit not in bodie And he saith Euen Paule that apostle of yours being exercised in the lawe durst not saie that he was rapted into heauen with the bodie 2. Cor. 12 2. but he warilie saith Whether in the bodie or out of the bodie I knowe not But he in speaking after this maner did not rightlie wrest the words of the apostle according to his owne meaning For if Paule had thought that rapting with the bodie had béene vnpossible certeinelie he would not haue vsed a disiunctiue proposition but a simple proposition Howbeit thus he wrote bicause he thought that both might be But this I maruell at that that Hebrue remembred not the taking vp of Henoch Elias vnlesse perhaps he thought as manie other did that they died in the taking vp But there be two things that séeme to withstand the saieng which I haue affirmed The first is that it is declared by expresse words in the holie historie 2. Kin 2 11. that Elias was taken vp into heauen by a whirlewind therefore it séemeth not that he went vnto the bosome of Abraham It may be said Perhaps by heauen in that place is ment the aire through which there is no doubt but he passed for so did Elias sée him passe awaie and from thence did his mantle fall vpon the ground Or else the scripture speaketh not there of the first going vnto the fathers but of the latter wherein he ascended togither with Christ aboue all the heauens But the first exposition is more probable That moreouer which séemeth to let is this namelie that if now these two men be conuersant with their bodies in heauen now are they perfect neither doo they expect anie other thing as touching felicitie verse 13. 39 But in the epistle to the Hebrues the 11. chapter it is written that the fathers whom the apostle reckoned vp although they had the testimonie of faith Yet attained they not the promise God prouiding something better for vs that they should not be made perfect without vs. Wherein the promise is not generallie to be vnderstood bicause euen the fathers while they liued did obteine diuers things which God promised them Ibidem 33. Wherfore the said apostle somewhat before saith that They ouercame kingdomes and atteined the promise Wherefore in the place now alledged he speaketh of a certeine and speciall kind of promise which some refer to the resurrection of the dead bicause they shall not be raised from the dead before that we be risen againe But this séemeth to disagrée with the words of the apostle bicause then God had prouided nothing better for vs. For according to this sentence the resurrection shal be alike and at one time both vnto them and vs. Wherfore I thinke that this must rather be referred to the benefit that we haue in comparison of them For we are borne after the comming of Christ when the promise is fulfilled concerning his incarnation death calling of the Gentils preaching of the Gospell and we liue in a farre greater light than they liued Wherefore it is méet that we should be also indued with a greater faith than they had And thus much shall suffice touching the first part of the question which things I hauing expounded somewhat at large it may be easilie knowen by them what answer must be made to the other two parts Whether Henoch and Elias be dead 17 Moreouer it was demanded whether those two men were dead Howbeit it appéereth alreadie that I doo not thinke them to be dead For confirmation whereof are brought the words of Paule which he wrote in the eleuenth chapter to the Hebrues verse 5. Henoch pleased God or he approued himselfe vnto him and he was translated that he should not see death But they which be of the contrarie mind saie that he did not sée death after a vsuall waie and maner as other men doo which being at the point of death are perceiued to haue pangs or else are slaine while they liue vpon the earth But these men were taken awaie being aliue and euen in the verie taking vp were extinct by a new kind of death Neither doo there want such as affirme that the translation of them belongeth vnto the soule which died not with eternall damnation And they cite that which is written in the 8. Iohn 8 51. chapter of Iohn If anie man shall keepe my saieng he shall not see death And on the other side in the third chapter of Iohn it is said Iohn 3 36. He that beleeueth not the sonne shall not see life We read also in the 89. psalme What man is he that liueth verse 49. and shall not see death But certeine it is that they which be iustified doo beléeue in the sonne of God and doo kéepe his saiengs so far foorth as the state of this life will giue leaue who neuerthelesse as we all sée doo die a bodilie death But if we should vnderstand translating and death after this
euerie where describe the most bitter punishments of God vnder this title that they be laid vp in store against the daie of wrath And wrath is héere taken for vengeance by that kind of figure wherby that which followeth is expressed by that which goeth before But the méetest waie is to referre those things which are héere described vnto the last daie of iudgement Three marks of the daie of iudgement Which he noteth out by thrée markes first by wrath secondlie by reuelation and lastlie by iustice Vengeance he ascribeth vnto God least it should be thought to be a thing of small weight He addeth also Reuelation bicause héere things be hidden but there all things shal be made manifest He added also this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Iustice least as Chrysostome noteth some should persuade themselues that the iudgement of God should procéed from an angrie mind Vndoubtedlie there shal be shewed a most gréeuous vengeance but yet such vengeance as shall haue iustice ioined therewith Wherefore we ought to haue that iudgement continuallie before our eies neither at anie time to take anie enterprises or actions vpon vs but that we haue the eie of our mind bent therevnto And this is to walke before God What is to walke before the Lord. which thing Abraham was commanded to doo and is verie often required of vs. And to walke before God is nothing else but to thinke that he dooth most intentiuelie behold what things so euer we doo But alas it is a wonder to sée how continuallie this meditation of the iudgement to come is taken awaie from the sight of the vngodlie But he shall render to euerie one according to his woorks But when he saith that to euerie one shal be rendered it plainelie signifieth that none shall escape this iudgement In the iudgements of men it oftentimes commeth to passe that one is punished and an other is not so much as accused He addeth According to their works to let vs vnderstand that there shall be no accepting of persons God hath consideration of the causes not of the men There shall be onelie had a consideration of the causes and not of the men they shall be iudged according to their works and déeds of what state and condition so euer they be Indéed the mercie of God is now verie ample but yet so as the seueritie of his iustice is not wanting Albeit that Moses perceiued manie properties of God which serued to expresse his goodnes and clemencie to wit that He is gentle Exod. 34 6. mercifull slowe vnto wrath rich in mercie and truth which would keepe in store his pitie or mercie for a thousand generations yet he perceiued it to be added in the end that God will not declare the wicked man to be an innocent And that he visiteth the sinnes of the fathers vpon the children vnto the third and fourth generation In 1. Cor. 15. 22. 7 But whereas it is here and there said that all die and that all shall be made aliue some haue thought that in the end all men shall be saued that the benefit of Christ may extend as far as did the fault of Adam Of this mind did Origin séeme to be Howbeit in the holie scriptures as touching the punishments of the damned it is said Mark 9 43. that Their woorme shall not be extinguished And Christ is said that At the last iudgement hee will throwe the damned into eternall fire Matt. 25 41. But if thou wilt cauill that this word Eternall is sometime in the holie scriptures applied vnto things The word eternal is diuerslie vsed which endure a long time and that it is not alwaies required that they should be without end we answer that this cannot be applied vnto this question For those things which by reason of long continuance are somtimes by a figure called eternall whereas otherwise they shall haue their end are prooued euen by the holie scriptures to haue an end and at the length to breake off But if this be not manifest let vs alwaies vnderstand Eternall in his owne proper signification And séeing in the holie scripture there is no mention made of a change to come after the sentence giuen by the high iudge touching the state and condition of things we will absolutelie vnderstand his words For whatsoeuer shall be presumed shall be but feigned The benefit of Christ as touching number extendeth not so farre as the losse by Adam Neither is that necessarie which they indeuour to prooue namelie that the benefit of Christ should as largelie extend as did the dammage and losse procured by Adam Albeit I knowe that there be some which for their readier answer and that they may séeme to defend that so manie be partakers of the benefit of Christ as were hurt by the fall of Adam are woont to saie that Euen as death came vpon all men by Adam so the resurrection shall be spred vpon all men by Christ although that this benefit in the wicked dooth tend to destruction through their owne fault But vnto this opinion I doo not willinglie agrée for it is here ment of that kind of resurrection which Christ shall performe by abolishing of sinne Which séeing we cannot appoint to be in the wicked as they which will remaine in their sinnes they cannot be partakers of this resurrection and the resurrection of them dooth belong to the seueritie of iudgement and not to the bountifulnes of mercie For if the Lord trulie pronounced of Iudas that It had beene better for him if he had not beene borne Matt. 26 24. the same may we affirme of these men that it should be much better for them It shall be better for the damned not to rise againe if they rise not againe And further if these men may séeme to haue found a shift concerning resurrection as though the particle By Christ should respect so manie as they be which be perished by the death that came in by Adam what I beséech you would they saie if so be I should vse the same kind of argument as touching sinne and righteousnesse For so all men would saie that they be iustified by Christ as sinne was deriued vpon all men by Adam Certeinlie here they haue no shift for a far lesse number doo obteine righteousnesse by Christ than are contaminated in their birth by originall sin Wherfore that is firme which we said at the beginning namelie that the gift of Christ is not so largelie extended as was the losse that came by the fall of Adam The benefit of Christ is not of lesse strength than the fall of Adam Yet must we not iudge that gift to be of the lesse strength as well bicause there wanted nothing in Christ as touching desert and woorthinesse but that whole mankind might be iustified by him sauing that the large scope of his grace and benefit is drawne within the limits of diuine predestination as
the last houre of his life doeth receaue the faith which he can neither testifie by words nor yet by signes Further our aduersaries also confesse that there is a baptisme of request desire Baptismus flaminis which they cal The baptisme of fire For whenas a man beléeuing desireth baptisme cannot inioy it dieth they saie he is saued Which also Ambrose iudged of Valentinian the Emperor What Ambrose iudged of Valentinian the Emperour which came vnto him to be baptised and was slaine by the waie How then do they regard this sentence Vnlesse a man be borne againe of the water and the spirit c If a request desire be there sufficient why maie it not be sufficient in children the election of God and the promise and the holy Ghost wherewith we declare them to be indued séeing they be borne of faithfull progenitors Iohn 3. 5. The water and the spirit taken to be both one Moreouer Christ talked there with Nichodemus who was of a perfect age and might haue had the benefite both of water and of a minister There be some also which there by the water and the spirit vnderstand all one thing so as the latter worde expresseth the former For Water allegoricallie doeth diuerse times signifie grace and the holie ghost as Christ shewed when he talked with the Woman of Samaria and when he cried Iohn 4. 10. Iohn 7. 37. Ioel. 2. 28. He that thirsteth let him come vnto me and drinke And in Ioel it is saide I will powre vpon you cleane water c. And the same manner of spéech in a maner thou hast in that which Iohn Baptist saide of Christ Matt. 3. 11. He that commeth after me he baptiseth with fire and with the spirit In which place fire and the spirit signifie all one thing but the former answeres are plaine enough 19 There is another place in the 17. Chapter of the booke of Genesis Verse 14. But the vncircumcised manchilde in whose flesh the foreskinne is not circumcised that soule shall be cut off from his people Whose flesh shall not be circumcised his soule shal be rooted out because he hath broken my couenant Behold saie they the young Hebrewes which died without circumcision were to be cut off and that as touching the soule wherefore it séemeth to followe that they cannot haue saluation Howbeit this place also prooueth but little which euen our aduersaries shall be compelled to graunt Forsomuch as the Maister of the Sentences in the 4. The master of the Sentences Booke when he followeth this opinion that children which died before the viij daie being vncircumcised were damned is forsaken How the Hebrewes vnderstand that sentence and for the more part is not defended by the writers And as touching the matter the Hebrewes referre these words vnto him which after the viij daie was not circumcised and they vnderstand the cutting off to be as concerning the life of the bodie to wit that he shoulde die before his naturall time which opinion séemeth to be prooued out of the historie of Moses Exod. 4. 24 where the Angel would slaie him because he had not circumcised his sonne But this proofe séemeth not to be sufficient ynough because it is not read that the Angell meant to kill the childe but the father vnlesse perhaps they bring this testimonie onelie to the intent to declare that the threatening was to kill the bodie There be others which vnderstand That the soule should be cut off from among the people because he shall not be reckoned among the Israelites nor their Church neither shall be numbred in the common weale there to obtaine neither heritage nor office Nowe séeing these two interpretations may be vsed it maketh the argument to be weake But least we should séeme to giue the slip Look part 4 cap. 7. art 20 admit that God speake there of the death of the soule and of the losse of eternall life yet may wée expound that these things must not so be vnderstoode except when the circumcised shall be come to age and shall consent to the negligence of his elders which did not circumcise him Otherwise if he himselfe shall circumcise himselfe and shall detest that which the Parents did towards him he shall not deserue to be cut off but rather to be commended So must the law of God be vnderstood if their happen a consent of omitting Circumcision he is worthie to perish he I meane shall be cut off But if so be he depart vncircumcised before he haue power to circumcise himselfe he must be left to the merrie of God neither is it méete to iudge rashlie of him But séeing he might belong to the predestination or to the election of God and that he came of godlie ancestors we maie hope well of him And the selfe same iudgement in all respectes is to be giuen of this sentence that was of the saying of Christ which we intreated of before namelie Iohn 3. 5. Vnlesse a man shall be borne of water and the spirit he shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen Which saying since our aduersaries are constrained whether they will or no to vnderstand modestlie there is no cause why thy shoulde so greatly wrangle about this sentence By these things which we haue nowe alleaged it is easilie prooued that our young children séeing now by the worde of God and promise of the couenant they séeme to be ingraffed to the Church ought not to be excluded from Baptisme Euen as the children of the Hebrewes although they were young ones were circumcised The ninth Chapter Of the dedication of Temples wherein is intreated of sundrie corruptions of Baptisme WHile I earnestly think vppon the Dedication of the temple which Salomon made In 2. kin 8. at the end that cōmeth to my remembrance which Augustin hath in a certaine Oration to the people of the dedication of a temple to wit that those things which are doone in the outward temples doe also pertaine vnto vs who bée the true temples of God The dedication of a Temple is applied vnto vs. Verse 17. Wherefore in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the third Chapter it is written That the Temple of God is holie which are you Verse 17. Further we haue in the 6. Chapter Verse 19. Your bodies are the Temples of the holie Ghost Therefore we must take héede least we erre in the dedicating of any of both temples The outwarde temple is then dedicated when we begin to applie it to holie vses Godlie men are visible consecrated when they be baptized and godlie men are then visiblie consecrated vnto God when they be washed in holie baptisme But this must be prouided that both the one and the other bée doone according to the rule of the word of God But séeing we are to intreate of these things it is méete we should begin with the Etymologie of the words What
vs which be giuen to earthlie lusts louing after the maner of brute beasts those things onelie which be present vnto vs while by the reuelation of wisedome he stirreth vp our amazed will to the loue of God while he persuadeth vs to all things that are good which thing thou fearest not else-where to denie c. But in the same tenth chapter Augustine confuteth him in these words Yet we doo not principallie desire that outward but this inward grace he must néeds at length confesse whereby the greatnesse of the glorie to come is not onelie promised but also beléeued and hoped for and is not onelie reuealed in wisedome but is also euen loued and whereby euerie good thing is not onelie suggested 2. Thes 3 2. but also throughlie persuaded for all men haue not faith The same Augustine in his booke of grace and frée will the 16. chapter For it is certeine that we doo kéepe the commandements if we will but bicause the will is prepared by the Lord we must make petition vnto him that we may will so much as is sufficient and in willing we may doo it Certeine it is that we will when we be willing but he it is that causeth vs to will that which is good Of whom it is said which a little before I affirmed that the will is prepared by the Lord. Psal 37 23. Of whom it is said His steps shall be directed by the Lord and hee shall order his waie Phil. 2 13. Of whom it is said It is God that worketh in vs both to will and to doo Certeine it is that when we doo we doo it but he causeth that we doo by giuing most effectuall strength to the will Who said Eze. 36 27 I will cause that ye shall walke in my commandements c. The same Augustine against the two epistles of Pelagius to Boniface the third booke the ninth chapter What is it then saith he that they conclude where they rehearse those things which themselues hold They saie that they confesse that grace also helpeth euerie good purpose but yet that it dooth not put an indeuour of vertue into him that resisteth c. This also would Augustine haue caused the Pelagians to grant that God putteth an indeuour of good things euen into them that resist the which cannot be doone vnlesse our mind be conuerted and that of an euill and corrupted will it become good This is that change which the holie Ghost worketh in vs. Hereby are we mollified when we be hard and stubborne The same father said that when God hardeneth it is nothing else but that he will not mollifie bicause vnlesse it be doone by him that we be mollified we continue still in our hardnesse The holie Ghost bringeth it to passe that we are made readie scholers of GOD when of our selues we are vncapable of diuine things Salomon 3. King 3 6. as we haue it in the third booke of the Kings the third chapter desired of God an vnderstanding hart or such a hart as would easilie be taught This is it which is said in the Gospels that We be taught of GOD Iohn 6 45. Esaie 54 13 which thing was promised by the prophets God is the true master who not onelie instructeth and teacheth but also bringeth to passe that we doo learne but that are not outward masters able to doo for God giueth eares to heare eies to sée an hart to vnderstand Wherefore Christ in the Gospell said He that hath eares to heare let him heare Matth. 13 9 Vnlesse this be doone in vs we séeing shall not sée nor hearing shall not heare neither shall we perceiue with the hart It is written in Deuteronomie the 29. chapter Deut. 29 4. He hath not giuen you eies to see not eares to heare nor a hart to perceiue namelie those things which in the wildernesse GOD did among you and the words which he spake And why this ought to be doone in vs the excellencie of diuine things doo declare vnto vs. For as the apostle Paule saith 1. Cor. 2 9. The eie hath not seene the eare hath not hard neither yet haue entered into the hart of man the things which GOD hath prepared for them that loue him Wherefore it is written in the 1. to the Corinthians Ibidem 14. The naturall man perceiueth not the things which be of the spirit of God neither can he knowe them for they be foolishnesse vnto him The reason is afterward added why a naturall man cannot vnderstand or desire these things bicause they be spirituall things And if they be spirituall things they are onelie iudged by the spirit And in the second epistle to the Corinthians he saith 2. Cor. 3 5. that We are not sufficient of our selues to thinke anie thing as of our selues bicause our sufficiencie is of God But if so be we cannot so much as thinke of those things how shall we be able to vnderstand or desire them which is a far greater and more difficult matter than to thinke Wherefore if the spirit of God shall propound vnto vs either the lawe or the promises or the words of the holie scripture and that no change commeth we will not be mooued bicause we are neither sufficient nor apt vnto those things It behooueth that a conuersion go before which may be called a certeine disposition The same doo the Papists attribute vnto humane strength and vnto our owne power as though we can dispose it vnto grace and vnto faith Our conuersion and disposition must be attributed to the spirit of God Howbeit this must be vtterlie ascribed vnto the spirit of God not vnto mans strength and will as we haue declared Also it might rightlie be called the health of the mind of which healing Augustine in his booke De spiritu litera hath oftentimes made mention As touching sinnes we first of all affirme that the nature of man is corrupted and defiled Further we perceiue that euill acts doo breake out So on the other side we must affirme that there is first some healing of the mind that goeth before afterward that there followeth a consent of faith a confidence and loue towards God and an imbracing of his word But and if such a conuersion or medicine haue not gone before we will flie from GOD. This was verie well shewed in Adam the first man Gen. 3 8. as in a certeine type or figure who when he was fallen after the breach of Gods commandement into corruption and spirituall death he hiding himselfe fled from God And the apostle Paule although he had heard and read manie things in the prophets concerning Christ yet neuerthelesse was he turned from him and made hauocke of the church Acts. 9 1. bicause as he himselfe said vnto the Romans The wisedome of the flesh is enimitie against God Rom. 8 7. and is not subiect to the lawe of GOD neither yet can it be And bicause
mooued vnto faith Who also will saie that the verie God omnipotent hath wanted a meanes whereby man also should be persuaded to beléeue c. Now it appeareth what Augustine thought as touching that place Rom. 9 16. It is neither in him that willeth nor in him that runneth c. After these things I referre my selfe vnto that which Paule wrote Gala. 4 6. And bicause ye are sonnes God hath sent foorth the spirit of his sonne into your hearts crieng Abba Father But if the spirit being sent foorth by God vnto men maketh them crie it maketh them also to beléeue and therewithall maketh them to liue well also Eze. 11 19. 37 26. For when it was said by the prophet I will take from them that stonie heart and will giue them a fleshie heart It is added And I will giue my spirit among them and will cause them to walke in my commandements c. Also to the Romans it is written Rom 8 14. As manie as are led by the spirit of God those be the sonnes of God Wherein is to be noted that the saints otherwhile are passiuelie subiect vnto certeine motions of the holie Ghost And if of some it be granted that our will is sometime onelie a subiect passiue when troubles and gréefes doo greatlie vrge vs looking for nothing else but death for the soule is then susteined by God least it should faint what let is there that we should not also be passiuelie subiect to this change whereof we now speake Wherefore I saie the will is the subiect of both conuersions as well of healing as of faith but as touching the first it onelie concurreth passiuelie and as touching the other both passiuelie and actiuelie bicause we beléeue willinglie In the first the spirit woorketh alone but in the other it worketh togither with vs. Vnto the Galathians it is written But when it seemed good vnto him Gal. 1 15. which had separated me from my mothers wombe But it is not said When it seemed good vnto me And vnto the Romans Rom. 12 3. God distributed to euerie one the measure of faith And of frée gifts it is written 1. Cor. 12 11. that Those the spirit of God distributeth to euerie one as he will And he is no lesse the Lord of regeneration and the GOD of our faith than he is of frée gifts and therefore he distributeth both kinds as it pleaseth him In the epistle to the Philippians we read Phil. 1 29. that To them it was giuen not onelie to beleeue but to suffer for Christ 2. Tim. 1 7. And in the 2. epist to Timothie it is written For God hath not giuen to vs the spirit of feare but of power of loue and of sobrietie Mat. 13 11. Christ also said vnto the apostles that To others vnto whome he spake in parables it was not giuen that they should vnderstand but vnto them that were his apostles it was giuen And verie manie other testimonies of the holy scriptures might be alledged for this matter howbeit I will be contented with these but if there be anie which will not beléeue these verie manie alledged neither will they giue credit vnto more 11 But manie saie If thus the matter stand then shall we be as stocks and stones which are mooued of God The matter dooth not so stand bicause both stocks and stones while they be mooued doo neither perceiue nor vnderstand nor will Further if in anie thing we be mooued passiuelie as stocks and stones be yet should wée not so be called albeit in this change whereof we now speake we are not mooued violentlie as be stones and stocks but by a motion méet vnto our end and perfection Howbeit that which they obiect against vs is not well concluded for it is an argument in the second figure of propositions affirmatiue as if we should say Stones and stocks are mooued passiuelie Men in this change or conuersion are mooued passiuelie Therfore are they stones stocks Again we saie Stones stocks be bodies they be also substances In like maner men are bodies and substances Therefore they are stones stocks All men sée that the conclusions are not firme doo belong to the second figure of the affirmatiues Yet neuerthelesse of this our saieng which wee defend as touching the change in God or the healing of the mind before we can either beléeue or hope or expect celestiall things it followeth not that we make for Swenkfeldius for he séemeth to put faith before the word of God but we doo not so Bicause we affirme the word of God is as well an outward as an inward instrument of the holie Ghost wherewith he may persuade and shew what things are to be beléeued and doone and may declare and vtter his efficacie in the changing of vs. For we knowe that Faith is by hearing Rom. 10 17 Esaie 53 1. hearing by the word of God Paule saith How shall they beleeue in him whome they haue not heard And elsewhere it is written Lord Rom. 10 16. who hath beleeued our preaching Further Swenkfeldius séemeth to appoint the outward word to be as a certeine exercise of faithfull men and reiecteth the ministerie Which opinion we detest for we affirme that as well the outward word as the inward be instruments of the holie Ghost neither doo we doubt but that the word especiallie by nature goeth before faith séeing it is the subiect thereof 12 Wherefore we determine that the will or choise before regeneration can doo nothing by it selfe as touching diuine and spirituall things but that the spirit of God is necessarie bicause it propoundeth and teacheth neither that the same is anie thing except it worke a change of the mind The Pelagians said that the grace of 〈◊〉 is required but yet to this purpose onelie 〈◊〉 we may the easilier beléeue doo well The schoole-Diuines bicause they would differ from them haue affirmed a preuenting grace but we demand what maner of grace that is And we saie that it is not sufficient to answer that it is such a grace as thereby are propounded vnto vs the words of God and his promises either inwardlie or outwardlie but that there ought to be applied a change or conuersion and that it ought not to be put in our will or choise to follow or cleaue vnto the promises Augustine Augustine put vs in mind that vnder the praises of nature lie hidden the enimies of grace Wherefore Two kinds of calling now that we haue thus determined there appeare two kinds of callings one common an other effectuall Which distinction I first prooue out of the holie scriptures Rom. 8. 29. Paule saith Whome he hath called those also he hath iustified Wherfore it is some kind of calling wherevnto iustification is ioined for that is Paules chaine namelie to haue the linkes fast knit togither On the other part Mat. 20 16. it is said by
bodie is so called bicause it is now immortall with the spirit And a little after Therefore as a naturall bodie is not a soule but a bodie so we must thinke that a spirituall bodie is not a spirit but a bodie And in his treatise De ciuitate Dei the 13 booke and the 20. chapter Howbeit bicause it shall be subdued to the spirit by an excellent and woonderfull easinesse of obeieng euen to the accomplishing of the most assured will of immortalitie which cannot be dissolued And a litle after Euen as the spirit which serueth the flesh is not amisse called carnall so the flesh seruing the spirit is called spirituall not that it is changed into the spirit You heare what things are spoken of a spirituall bodie among the which we find not that it is in diuers places at one time For it is euen as repugnant to the nature of a bodie to be in diuers places at once as it is to be no bodie D. Tresham I denie your minor proposition that it is as repugnant to the nature of a bodie to be conuersant in manie places at once as it is to be no bodie for this latter includeth contradiction of the verie termes and so dooth not the former And more readilie may this be doone in a bodie which hath the properties of a glorious bodie D. Martyr I will prooue anon that it is against the bodie of Christ being definit and circumscribed by limits of place and a creature to be in manie places at once But as touching the glorie which he now hath I saie I doo not exclude the gifts of glorie Howbeit I will prosecute the argument in hand to wit that Augustine ment not that the soule of Christ was at one time both in hell and in heauen with the théefe much lesse therefore shall this be granted to the bodie which is not attributed to the soule Neither in that treatise dooth Augustine exclude the Eucharist D. Tresham Yes verelie he did exclude it D. Martyr Augustine made mention there of the Eucharist but intended a far other matter than to exclude the same from the truth determined For he disputed of the holie Ghost how he being one distributeth his gifts without diuision of himselfe that he maie adorne with his graces the mysticall bodie of the church which mysticall bodie of Christ he saith is set foorth in our sacrifice D. Tresham What if Augustine denie that the soule of Christ cannot be in diuers places therefore can it not be Shall the saieng of Augustine diminish the power of God that it shall not doo as it will No it shall not diminish it D. Martyr It shall now suffice at this present that we haue séene Augustines iudgement that Christ as touching his humanitie bicause of the quantitie of a true bodie is in heauen but as touching his diuinitie euerie where D. Tresham When Augustine saith Christ in that respect that he is man is in heauen vnderstandeth that to be true as touching visible forme for so he expoundeth himselfe in that place saieng If he shall come according to that voice of the angell euen in such wise as hée was séene go into heauen that is to vse his owne words in the same forme of flesh according to this forme he saith he must not be thought to be dispersed euerie where Afterward Augustine maketh mention there of our sacrifice And at that time no man doubted of the truth of the sacrament D. Martyr You shall neuer find there out of Augustine that the bodie of Christ by an inuisible forme may be in manie places at once this is of your owne deuise And I haue now shewed to what end he made mention there of the Eucharist Moreouer we doo not dispute here of the truth of the sacrament which we all confesse but we contend as touching the maner how Christ is there And I will shew most assuredlie that it is in God alone to be in manie places and euerie where at once and that it must not be granted vnto creatures For by this reason dooth Didymus in his first booke De spiritu sancto prooue the Godhead of the holie Ghost It is onelie God that can be in manie places at once bicause he was able to be in many places at one time which can be no condition of anie creature And the verie selfe-same reason made Basil in his booke De spiritu sancto chapter 22. Wherefore if these mens arguments should be of anie strength it would be concluded that the humane nature in Christ is the diuine nature séeing it is affirmed of you to be in manie places at once and so all things would be confounded But now let vs heare their words Didymus saith thus The holie Ghost himselfe if he were one of the creatures he should at the least-wise haue a substance circumscriptible or within limitation euen as haue all things that be made For albeit that the inuisible creatures are not limited within place and bounds yet are they bounded by the propertie of their substance But the holie Ghost sith he is in manie places hath no limited substance For Iesus sending foorth the Preachers of his doctrine replenished them with the spirit and breathing vpon them Receiue ye saith he the holie Ghost Iohn 20 22. and go yee foorth and teach all nations not as though he sent them all to euerie nation Neither in verie déed did the apostles trauell togither vnto all nations but some into Asia some into Scythia and others were dispersed into other nations according to the dispensation of that holie spirit which they had After what maner also we haue heard the Lord saie I am with you euen vntill the end of the world Héerewith all likewise agréeth that saieng Act. 1. 8. Ye shall receiue power of the holie Ghost when hee shall come on you and ye shall be witnesses vnto me both in Ierusalem and in all Iudaea and in Samaria and vnto the vttermost ends of the earth Now then if these apostles for the testimonie of the Lord being placed in the vttermost confines of the earth were distant in most far places one from an other yet that the holie Ghost dwelled in them hauing a substance which cannot be bounded or limited The angels cannot be in manie places at once it is an euident token that the power of angels is far other than this is séeing for example sake the angell which was present with the apostle when hée praied in Asia could not at the selfe-same time be present with others which were placed in other parts of the world But the holie Ghost not onelie is at hand with them which are separated one from an other but also remaineth an assistant to all particular angels principalities thrones dominations and as he sanctifieth men so is he of an other nature than men be of Basil in his booke De spiritu sancto the 22. chapter Therefore as touching the holie Ghost whom the world cannot
runnest to the Phisition that it may be ioyned to the rest of the bodie why doest thou not the selfe same to thy brother He is sicke wilt thou forsake him in his sickenesse His charitie wareth colde then doe thou kindle him againe with the charitie They that be whole néede not the phisition but they that be sicke Thou despisest him yet was he so beloued of Christ as when he was his enemie he would die for him Now hath he Christ for his head for his garment for his table for his spouse for his light for his life If thou hate him thou art as Caine. How shalt thou stand before the face of God Thou art harder than a stone and more darke than hell vnlesse this seruitude which Christ tooke vpon him for thée doe indure thée to be of the selfesame minde towardes thy neighbour and to be affected in the selfesame sort towardes him Plato in his second booke of Common-weale would haue children brought vnto the Campe that through beholding of the battaile they might be incouraged euen so ought we to come to the crosse of Christ He was made obedient to the death euen to the death of the Crosse Here are reckoned vp all the mysteries of our saluation We must obey in the selfesame sort that Christ obeyed He obeyed with all the heart withall the minde But how did he it with all the heart since in the garden he did striue against it and did sweate water and bloud and said Not my will be doone but thine Sinne in respect of vs is considered two waies First we are ledde by pleasure and doe transgresse the lawe we sinne but we delight our selues and perceiue not the destruction so is death blind and the crosse insensible yet are we in verie déede crucified and destroyed Secondlie the lawe is giuen there doe we now féele the crosse and our owne euill our conscience tormenteth vs the wrath of God hangeth ouer vs we sée our selues to be in death and in damnation Sinne after the first manner had no place in Christ but onelie in the second manner For he felt the wrath of God and he sorrowed and suffered as if he had committed all sinnes But yet is there still a difference betwéene him and vs because we through sinne suffer those euils with some ill affection of minde We iudge that God dealeth ouer rigorouslie with vs we would haue no such lawes to be made against vs we complaine of our fortune which thinges are not doone without sinne Christ sinned not after this manner he had all good affections Onelie he stroue against death in that respect that it is an enemie vnto nature and destroyeth the same So he might be delighted with swéete and delicate meates because they were agréeable to nature without anie selfe loue for the loue of pleasure séeking his owne and therefore there was not anie ill affection therein as Adam might haue doone the like in his first state but so cannot we doe séeing we be corrupted with ill affections So although we doe thinges like as Christ did yet doe we sinne 1. Pet. 2. 22. Verse 15. whereas he did no sinne Wherefore it is said vnto the Hebrewes the 4. Chapter He was tempted in all thinges like vnto vs and yet without sinne Now lawe of God forbiddeth to sorrowe for death if it be offered God would that he should sorrowe and he layd it vppon him as a punishment Now then that sadnesse was no hindrance but that he loued with all the heart and with all the strength To suffer such kinde of death being innocent is beyond mans power but our power is leuened with the corruption of originall sinne therefore whatsoeuer it toucheth it dooth defile A cleane hand if it touch fine linnen dooth not defile the same but an vncleane hand doth make it foule Tit. 1. 15. Ro. 14. 14. To the cleane all thinges are cleane because the vncleanesse is all onelie not imputed The verie same may we say as touching that which Christ said Psal 21. 9. Mat. 27. 46. My God my God why hast thou forsaken me This did Christ crie out without sinne but we might not doe it without imperfection and fault So then he was truelie obedient with all the heart with all the soule c. He declared the chéerefulnesse of obedience Matt. 26. Marke 14. that euen as a shéepe he was led vnto death he cryed not out he resisted not insomuch as the president did maruell at his silence Yet did he not forsake his cause by holding his peace For so manifest was his innocencie as it had no néede of defence The president knewe it his wife knewe it Iudas knew it which said that he had betraied the innocent bloud Also the Iewes knew it Matt. 27. 6. which would not put vp the price into the Treasurie as an vncleane thing The same did the Théefe vppon the Crosse the Centurion testifie Wherefore there néeded not manie wordes for his defence Gen. 3. 12. 13. Eue and Adam would defend themselues in an euill cause and made the same woorse by their excuse But Christ presented himselfe to the Magistrate and was obedient vnto him in obedience sought to winne him euen to the death Ioh. 12. 18. Excéeding great therefore was his obedience and it came of his owne accord because no man could take away his life from him he himselfe layd it downe Yet in this obaying he became not lesse than his father as touching the Godhead he obeyed as a friend toward a friend not as an inferiour vnto the death The Lord of life submitted himselfe vnto death and being immortall he dyed For a king ought to die for his people a shepheard putteth his life for his shéepe and the sacrifice is slaine for sinne It was méete he should be a sacrifice Where a sacrifice is there God is reconciled and sinne is destroyed brieflie therein consisted our iustification But how is it applyed vnto vs Some thinke that Christ sitteth as a Iudge and that to thē which best runne and woorke he giueth this righteousnesse Howbeit Rom. 9. 16. It is neither in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that taketh mercie we are not iustified by woorkes and those things that be doone before regeneration are sinnes Others say that this iustification is applied vnto vs by Masses but the Masse is an inuention of man and so farre is it off that it offereth Christes benefites vnto vs as it suppresseth the same for it hideth the principall wordes by mumbling and it saith all in Latine and as it is vsed it is opus operatum that is to say a woorke wrought Others say that Christ fréelie dyed and freelie giueth grace faith hope and charitie and all good woorkes and for them giueth righteousnesse But these good woorkes hope and charitie doe follow iustification they goe not before it and are vnperfect with sinne Herein standeth the trueth
and those Prophets which because of the crueltie of Achab and Iezabell hid them selues in the dennes the holy scriptures doe plainly testifie Christ and the godlie feared death But euen Christ himselfe which was verie man would not be voide of this feare A vaine thing is it that some men say that not Christ but the Church in Christ feared death For if we confesse as the thing verilie is that he suffered for vs death the crosse and other humane gréefes and that not onely his death but that the horror also of death was saluation vnto vs albeit I stedfastlie beléeue and of all men it ought to be beleeued that all things which Christ did for our sakes were doone iustlie holily and honestlie if I say Mat. 14. 13 26. 37. he verilie feared death for our sake as of the Euangelistes it is taught we ought not to say that that feare is in his owne nature to bee blamed otherwise it cannot be incident vnto Christ Neither herein did our Lorde any thing against the will of the Father since both it was the Fathers will that he not onely shoulde suffer death but also that he should feare the same as also for that he in fearing of death by a naturall instinct and considering the will and decrée of the Father submitted vnto him this feare of his satisfying that precept which commaundeth that God shoulde bee loued with all the soule Deut. 6. 5. and with all the strength There is no doubt but that feare is an affection of the minde and a worke of God which is then directed vnto the worship of him when it is submitted vnto his will and commaundement Howbeit some man may say that this feare although it were not blameable in Christ yet in men it is faultie That feare by it selfe is no sinne I answere that this feare being considered by it selfe and in his owne nature is not euill nor doeth God require of vs that wee shoulde be altogether without affection séeing he hath ingendred these affections in vs and that we shoulde not chaunge the natures of obiectes that is to say to make that pleasant which in his owne nature is dreadfull and terrible or to make that swéete which is sharpe and bitter but he requireth that we should not by anie meanes suffer our selues for these thinges to be withdrawne from his will which is iust and holy Yea and such is the wil of God that if sinne eternall damnation and death with all that belonges thereunto which are the calamities of this life should be set before our eyes we should feare all these thinges and those should vnderstand no otherwise than by nature they are since that there is ingraffed in our mindes a feare of euill thinges If neuerthelesse we shall consider of this feare as it procéedeth from vs being vtterlie corrupted and infected it is sinne in déede and so ought to be called because none of vs hath feared so much in such sort and to such an end as he ought to feare But yet this is not peculiar and proper to the feare of death séeing there is also in it faith hope and loue For no man although he be holy dooth hope beléeue and loue as he ought to doe nor as the lawe requireth In Christ therefore feare was not sinne but in vs it is sinne not of his owne nature but by the faultinesse which it draweth from our corrupt vessel wherethrough it passeth euen as it happeneth vnto an excellent wine powred into an vncleane vessell But some man wil say againe If the case should so stand how should Christ haue desired death Luk. 22. 15. saying I haue earnestlie desired to eate this passouer with you And the Apostle Phil. 1. 23. I desire to be loosed to be with Christ And againe To die is vnto me an aduantage How could S. Andrewe being brought foorth to the place of execution if it be true which is reported of him haue said with a chéerefull minde All haile precious crosse take vp vnto thee the disciple séeing thou hast first sustained the Maister For it is manifest that all these either were without affections Howe the godlie desire the death which they feare or else iudged that to be good which was euill I aunswere that death as it hath bin said is not by it selfe good and therefore so farre foorth as it is so receiued by vs it alwayes bringeth a feare Howbeit it oftentimes happeneth that our cogitation standeth not still in death but looking further it séeth that in dying we make an end of sinning we passe vnto eternal life we further the building of the Church we giue a testimonie vnto the trueth of the Gospell as euerie Christian dooth earnestlie desire So then while we behold such and so manie good thinges the minde triumpheth for ioy and feare which death naturallie causeth dooth giue place and is so ouerwhelmed by that great ioy and is not then so felt as when we behold death it selfe by it selfe alone Oftentimes also God powreth into the mindes of his Martyrs so great fauour and spirite as feare which otherwise in his owne nature would be gréeuous vnto thē is so mortified inféebled as it hindereth nothing at all This doctrine vnlesse I be deceaued is easie manifest and plaine and therefore it easilie assoileth the questions put foorth Wherefore the first part or member of our foresaid distinction is now declared that is to wit that a man dooth not therefore sinne in fearing of death because he feareth that which is not to be feared for death by it selfe is dreadfull cruell and hard and the blessed God hath giuen to our mindes the affect of feare that the same being stirred vp to such kinde of obiectes we may be prest and readie to put away euils from vs so farre foorth as is lawfull by the word of God The second faultinesse of feare Now let vs come to the other part of our diuision namelie to sinne which standeth in the feare of death when a man feareth not to that end nor in such wise as behooueth It is a feare blamewoorthie as touching the end if we being onelie carefull of our owne safetie be vtterlie carelesse of the glorie of God and his word For who séeth not that it is most shamefull to measure the chiefest end by our owne vtilitie to haue regard vnto our owne benefite and not that which is Iesus Christes This end rather is to be appointed that our heart stricken with a terror of death should beware of sinne which was the cause of death that it should shunne the wrath offence of God that it should boldlie pray to the goodnesse of God for deliuerance Finally that it should despise this world that inwrappeth vs in so manie dangers But to conclude in fewe wordes Within what bounds feare must be restrained this ought chieflie to be the end of this feare that we submit the same vnto the will of God
to the intent we may loue him with all the affections of our minde And the manner of the feare of death is that we be not so stricken as we put away the word of God and neglect his glorie Therefore we sinne if for feare sake a man deny the trueth if forsaking his vocation he suffer the sillie shéepe committed to his charge to be caught away by Woolues By these things which be spoken we gather that flying away is no sinne if it be taken in hand for the glorie of GOD that is to wit vnto that end that we may serue him with a pure heart that we may leaue Idolatries and superstitions that we may not rashlie cast our selues into the danger of abiuration that we may by the benefite of Matrimonie liue vndefiled that we may the better call vpon God with a pure conscience in those things which belong vnto the woorshipping of God that we may be instructed by learned men that we may sée the societie of the Saintes that we may leade our life in a well reformed Church Finallie that we may so confirme our selues as at a more fit time we instruct others vnto edification euen as God called vs and mooued vs by his spirit This flying away I say is no sinne although it haue the feare of death ioyned with it For as we haue said that feare is not faultie vnlesse it be stained and corrupted by the end or manner of fearing Wherefore as touching this I disagrée from both these sortes of brethren from the first doubtlesse because they say that flying away hath the respect of a lesse euill For being indued with those circumstances I cannot condemne it nor say that it is faultlie and from the other because they wrote that it is mixed as if they acknowledged that there is some fault therein although there be in it some good For I am of an other minde who iudge that the feare of death being moderated as I haue set downe is a good and laudable woorke hauing no mixture at all with euill but so farre foorth as it procéedeth from our faultie and corrupt nature But this as we haue aboue said is common vnto it with faith hope and the loue of God And I must néedes somewhat maruell at these two excellent brethren that séeing they iudge flying away to be euill or to haue some euill in it they wil perswade the same to the weaker sort of brethren to the intent they may mainteine the profession of the trueth not forswere thēselues For by this meanes they perswade euil Euill must not be done for to obtaine good Rom. 3. 8. that good may be obtained Which Paul vnto the Romans forbiddeth For he permitteth not vs to doe euill thinges vnder pretence that some good may followe Neither should any obiect that God setteth forth all his precepts and good works of euerie kinde to be kept of vs although he know that we cannot doe the same without sinne Séeing alonely God can be excused of this that of him nothing is commaunded but that which in his owne nature is good but if there be any sinne committed that must not be imputed to the commaundement of God but vnto the faultinesse which cleaueth vnto vs. But the perswasion of these men cannot after this manner be excused For they iudge that flying away taken in hande through the feare of death either is sinne although lesse than abiuration or at leastwise hath sinne mingled therewith and that by it selfe Neither do they appoint any circumstances or measure vnto the terror of death or to the flying away for feare of death in respect whereof to flie away in his owne nature is good But some man will wey with himselfe And shall not the feare of death bee faultie also in the foresaide cases and with the foresaide circumstances séeing it striueth against the will of God For it is manifest that Christ otherwhile requireth our death for his owne name sake Howe farre foorth we ought to loose our soule Luke 9. 24. Ioh. 15. 13. Ioh. 1. 3. 16. For he saith Hee that will lose his life for my sake shall saue the same and he that will saue it shall loose it Also we reade in Iohn that it is our part to lay downe our life for our brethren Wherefore if euerie one of vs ought to obey GOD with all his strength and with al his soule how doe we satisfie this precept when as by fearing of death we are manifestly called from the commandement of God and sinne altogether it is whatsoeuer is repugnant to the reueiled wil of God Manie which do not sufficiently vnderstande the nature of sinne That the first motiōs are sinnes are woont to say that those first motions which are stirred vp in vs without deliberation are no sinnes till wee giue our consent vnto them But howe greatlie these men are deceiued Paul hath declared vnto the Romans when hee manifestlie called the lawe of the members sinne speaking of those motions which trouble vs against our will and do holde vs captiues in a manner by violence whiles our minde which otherwise as touching it selfe is excéedingly delighted with the lawe of God doth striue against and withstand those motions so as he crieth out O wretch and vnhappie that I am Rom. 7. 24. who shall deliuer me from the bodie of this death I confesse indéede that this aunswere is after a sort obscure but I hope to make it plaine A distinction of those thinges which are forbidden by God Some things there be so forbidden of God as in no respect they can haue any iustnesse or honestie in them such are adulterie theft periurie ydolatrie and pride Wherefore as concerning all these actions so farre foorth as they are considered by themselues they are alwayes faultie as well in persons iustified as not regenerate whether they haue deliberation and assent ioyned with them or whether they be in the first motion Albeit those first motions are forgiuen vnto them which are made iust through Christ neither are they imputed vnto destruction forsomuch as the perfect true faith whereby they are made partakers of the promised saluation is not extinguished in them But there be certaine other affectes or humane actions not forbiddē of God by themselues as to feare aduersities to delight in commodities to possesse the goods of this life and such like which God hath not forbidden sauing so farre foorth as we be drawen of them to do those things which are against his commaundements Wherefore although those first motions whereby we be stirred vp vnto adulterie vnto theft vnto blasphemie and vnto ydolatrie are faultie notwithstanding there be no expresse assent yet feare which naturally awaketh in vs at the presence of death is not faultie so it be submitted to the will and commandement of God if perhaps it behooued vs to die for the defence of his glorie Therefore I graunt it to be faultie so farre foorth as it is
repugnant to the will of God and I doubt not but that he which shall suffer such an affect to be carried by his owne violence without restraint doth withstande the holy commaundements But otherwise it is if faith and syncere charitie be the guide thereof that with other affects and motions of the minde it may be submitted and repose it selfe in the will of God Neither ought the first motion thereof be compared with the desires of those thinges which honesty forbiddeth either to haue or to compasse For these things by themselues and in their own nature be faultie But séeing that not seldome but often we may iustly both reioyce in prosperitie and sorow in aduersitie they are not by themselues faultie motiōs but so farre foorth as they drawe some euill thing from vs being corrupted euen as in all vertues it commeth to passe Such affectes also should be faultie if we should suffer them so far to be enraged as we would do any thing against the wil of God Moreouer this also I will adde that death being weighed simplie and by it selfe is to be feared but so farre foorth as it is commaunded by the worde of God it must be imbrased with all the heart with all the soule and with all the affections And although we require not of feare that it shold consent for that is beside the nature thereof yet do we require of it that it should giue place which if it doe it selfe also so far as is in the power thereof obayeth God But where death is not commanded vnto vs nor for this cause commeth into question the feare of it so it kéepe it selfe within iust lymites cannot iustly be condemned Of these things seeing we haue spoken aboundantly we wil end the first part of the treatise wherin we haue plainly declared our iudgement as touching the feare of death whether it be faultie or no and we will begin the seconde part as touching the commaundement of Christ giuen to his Apostles If they shall persecute you in one citie Mat. 10. 23 flie you vnto an other which manie perswade thēselues was afterward abrogated by Christ euen as that saying Ibidem 5. Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into the citie of the Samaritans enter yee not Vnto this opinion subscribed Tertullian when he wrote of flying away because while that commandement should indure and be of force he perceiued that flying away might not iustly be denied vnto the faithful But to say briefely what my opinion is I thinke that precept hath nowe the selfesame weight it had then when it was giuen to the Apostles And as touching that saying Goe yee not into the way of the Gentiles and into the Cities of the Samaritans enter yee not I thinke it was a commaundement but for a time for afterward Christ commaunded the contrarie when hee departing from hence into heauen sent foorth his disciples into all the worlde to preach the Gospell Wherfore since there is extant no commandement of Christ whereby flying away is forbidden That the precept of Christ touching flying away is perpetuall it behooueth to kéepe inuiolate that commandement of flying away to wit that it should be of as great force at this day as in old time it was first deliuered to the Apostles Neither as I thinke doth that obiection any thing prooue that the Lorde saide Mat. 10. 28. Feare yee not them which kill the bodie whereunto whosoeuer thinke that flying away is vnlawfull doe leane as vnto a foundation For it must be considered that in the selfe same 10. Chapter of Matthew and in one and the same saying of the Lord vnto the Apostles are contained both the sentences and both were recited vnto them being sent to preach Therefore if both the sentences might then stande together as touching the Apostles what letteth that they may not stande together at this day as touching vs For I sée no absurditie if in the time of persecutions while there is a lawfull way and oportunitie of flying a man flie away to the intent he may liue vnto God not vnto himselfe and that hee may shun the tempting of God if he shoulde offer himselfe to a daunger not necessarie he being certified by faith that a way of escaping is shewed vnto him of God because without his wil there is no meanes to escape and is readie to resist the enimies of the trueth and the Gospell when his good houre shall come and yet in the meane time is so encouraged and hath most surely purposed with himselfe that if he shoulde be taken and led vnto the tyrants he will rather dye not once but a thousande times than to renounce the trueth and forsake his deare Christ Assuredly he that is indued with such a minde and which hath thus decreed with himselfe in flying he followeth the doctrine of Christ when as he doth not so feare them that kill the bodie but that notwithstanding them though he be helde captiue of them hée will confesse the faith or the same being confessed will defende it euen vnto death bloud fire and extreme tormentes For after this manner I thinke that Christ himselfe our Lorde fledde Ioh. 10. 36 when his hower was not yet come Acts. 9. 30. So did Paul when by the holy brethren he was let down through the wall of the city of Damascus So did sometime Policarpus Cyprian and other holy martyrs flie away when they auoyded for a time 1. kings 18. 13. Also in the olde testament we reade of the selfe same thing that was doone by the Prophets Wherefore séeing wee finde not that the leaue to flie away was not reuoked or abrogated by Christ it séemes not that the same shoulde be restrained by vs if it be doone by iust meanes and circumstances If a man flie for ydlenesse sake or in respect of the delights of this worlde or else because he is ashamed to confesse Christ or haue determined with himselfe such carnall purposes there is no doubt but he must bee vtterly blamed for it But he which for the causes aboue specified and especially which flyeth away for auoyding a daunger like to insue vnto the soule whereunto no man ought rashly to offer himselfe vnlesse he will tempt God whie should he be blamed Verily vnto me he séemes not worthie of blame especially when in flying away he denyeth himself and taketh vp his crosse with Christ Neither can any denie but that the flight taken for such causes is a kinde of confession That flying away is a shewe of confession If thou weigh the thing in equall ballance it is easie to vnderstand that the Gospell and pure faith in Christ is of no small estimation vnto them which so flie away For who had not rather tarie at home at his owne house enioy his goods vse the familiaritie of his own Countrimen than as a poore and vnknowen man to wander like a straunger in a farre Countrey where he
and now they would remaine if they were so instructed by their captaine God would not that all his faithfull ones should die at once No man lawfullie flying away goeth vnto the enemies campe neither for this cause dooth he flie that he may escape the hand of God Nay rather he cōmitteth himself vnto him firmelie assuring himselfe that whensoeuer néede shal require he will lay downe his life and bloud for Christ his cause And then they beléeue that néede requireth when they are come into the Magistrates power when they are mooued by God to tarie still when by reason of any vocation they are so tyed as they may not in any wise flie awaie But so long as none of these things shall presse them they doubt not but in flying they serue God séeing they are taught of the Lorde both by commaundement and by example the examples also of the Apostles Prophets and fathers agréeing thereunto Neither is there any cause why any should except that these are particular priuileges or extraordinarie prerogatiues because this then hath place in the actions of the saincts when they are commended by testimonie of the scripture although they be doone against some generall precept which thinges must not bee imitated of vs who are tyed to the generall commaundements An example whereof is the fact of Abraham when hee would kill his sonne which hee did against that lawe of God Thou shalt not kill And this déede is commended Gen. 22. 2. because Abraham was driuen thereunto by a peculiar motion and he obaied without delay Which neuerthelesse behooued him alone to do others being straitlie bounde to the common precept But the example of flying by holie men set before vs séeing we know that it is not repugnant but rather agréeable to holy writ we may not condemne them which iudge that they themselues ought to followe the same for Christian charitie is neither violated nor yet receiueth any detriment by flying away because it oftentimes happeneth that men flie where neither our presence can profite them that tarie nor yet our absence hurt them euen as it was saide before Mar. 16. 15. Furthermore if the Apostles were commaunded to goe into all the world and to preach the Gospell that the faith might be spred farre and wide why shall it not bée lawfull to change place for the preseruation of faith alreadie receiued obtained It belongeth no lesse vnto charitie to preserue faith receiued the same being the pledge of holy doctrine than it doeth to increase the same neither is it against charitie to leaue them that be néere vnto vs after such a maner and fashion as we haue abooue declared For Christ taught in the 10. of Matthew Verse 37. that father and mother and brethren and such like must be left if they bee a let vnto our saluation or faith The same did Christ teach by his precepts in the 5. of Matthew Verse 29. that there is no member in one bodie so noble which must not be cut off if it be offensiue that is if it be a hinderance to our saluation Wherefore if in flying we obserue due circūstances we shal no manner of way violate Christian charitie Neither is there any cause why a man should obiect that charitie is therefore violated by flying away That flight is not against charitie because wee haue lesse care of our neighbours soules than of their bodies For to whom shall it bee lawfull without sinne to lay open an other mans bodie vnto the perill of death or to leaue it to be torne of woolues théeues murtherers Assuredly charitie heere requireth that wee should be present with our neighbours and to helpe them Which being certaine it sufficiently appeareth that by flying charitie is broken for in flying wee forsake our neighbours and lay open their soules vnto the daunger of damnation while we leaue them in the power of Pharisées hipocrites and false teachers of whom they being depriued of our helpe are easily seduced and lost Héereunto first I answere the they which flie doe not offer vnto perils the soules of them that tarrie behinde For persecution being begunne they are alreadie laide open thereto whereunto their flying away gaue no occasion Further this must be considered that they which flie are not alwayes apt to helpe and saue them that remaine in triall Héere many be deceiued thinking that all they which refuse to flie are fit for to helpe the brethrē not considering that they themselues which tarie whereas otherwise they might flie doe oftentimes by taking a false oth procure themselues great euill who if they had fledde away shoulde haue borne no discommoditie at all For if they tarie they themselues being weake haue néede rather of other mens labour and helpe so as they haue more néede to be confirmed themselues than they be able to confirme others Wherfore the flying of these men nothing at all hurteth the weake and to the strong that remaine it is also profitable because they are ridde of the charge and care of their saluation reioycing excéedinglie that they haue escaped that they are gone thither where by consolation and good examples they maie be more confirmed and strengthened that if at anie time there shall bee anie néede they maie returne whence they departed renewing battaile with the aduersaries and succéeding in the place of them which by glorious Martyrdom are departed vnto Christ For this is woont to be doone in Cities beseiged that they which bee the weake sort otherwise men of good hope and noble maie be sent into some safe place for a time that being made more strong through age and industrie maie afterwarde in due time bee a succour vnto their Countrie and that in the meane time they being safe from daungers maie through the feare that is had of them deliuer those strong men which valiantlie fight for their countrie As touching them which so greatlie excell in learning valiaunt courage and magnanimitie as they be fitte both to builde vp and also to defende godlinesse it séemes we maie two maner of waies aunswere First if they certainelie perceiue that by their tarying they maie bring fruit and by their going awaie offence and ruine vndoubtedly they ought to tary But if they vnderstande as manie times they doe that if they be taken of tyrantes they shall priuilie die or that they shall be depriued of the vse of their mouth and tongue as they may not with one small worde edifie the Church but contrariwise doe thinke that if they flie they shall by their writinges and spéeches verie much further the cause of the Church and are hereunto called by the motion of the spirite they ought to take their flight if the waie of flying bee open without offence Which I therefore adde because we ought not to flie if either we bee cast in prison or else that we ought to appeare before the magistrate vpon promise or suretie for in these cases we are
difference made betwéene him and the Pope 4 38a The state of his soule separated from his bodie 2 622 a The saying of Hylarius howe he had sinne to bée marked 2 227 b He tooke flesh vpon him in one respect Angels in another 1 115 b What kind of creature the Arrians taught him to be 1 106 b Whether he be inferiour to his father 3 306 b Of his bodie much spokeÌ„ too fro worth the noting out of the fathers 1 116. 117. What his bodie hath respect vnto 3 78 b The later Dauid with what stones he smote the head of Goliah 1 44 b He grounded his doctrine vpon scriptures 3 340b Of his exaltation to glory 2 622 a A Iewe borne 3 30â— a Wherefore he is called our mediator 3 308 a What his soule did when it was departed from the bodie 2 621 a Of the first and second comming of Christ 3 383 ab 2 625 ab 597 b The opinion of Apelles the heretike touching his flesh that it was not borne but brought from heauen confuted 1 115 b He was borne and brought not a body from heauen proued 1 117 b 118 a Nothing ca. bée doone without him and why 3 102 a Of his conceptioÌ„ by the holy ghost 2 616 b What we haue to note in that hee did eate after he was risen 1 88a b In what sense he is called the first begotten 1 108 a 2 â—16 a The head and chiefe of new exorcists 4 130 a The scornings that he suffered at his death 2 619 a Why he called himselfe the sonne of man 1 117 b A most effectuall example of patience constancie 2 620 a How he is ioyned with all men 3 77 b 78 a Whether it wereof necesittie that he should die 2 610 b Why he departed this life loden with shame c. 2 618 b His humanitie is definite 2 611 b Of his sitting at his rathers right hande and what it meaneth 2 611 b Frée from sinne 2 615 ab The blowes wounds that he suffered at his death 2 619 a His death most ignominious 2 618 ab How he is said to haue left the world 4 156 b 157 a Their reasoÌ„s which say that he brought his bodie out of heauen 2 603 ab 604 a Why he is called the onely sonne of God 2 â—15b He came from heauen though hée had his bodie out of the earth â— 602 b 603 a How he had true sleâ—… when he appeared vnto Abraham the fathers 1 117 b 118a Diuerse properties of his body set downe 2 638a Howe hee dwelleth in our hearts 2 60â— a 3 162 a Why hée is called Lord 2 606 b 600 b 614 b 615 a How he is said to haue dyed for vs all 3 31 a The Manichies defame his genealogie and how 1 51 a All his passion reduced to foure chéefe parts 2 618 b 619 ab More oppugned his diuinitie than his humanity 2 614 b The difference betwéene his prayers and ones 3 368 b His death voluntary and noâ— voluntary 3 298 b Of his affections how ours his differ 3 298 ab How he satisfied his father 3 222 b 223 a He was not deliuered to the crosse against his fathers wil 2 276 ab What his healing of the diseased teacheth vs. 3 129 b How he saw not the graue 3 343 a 344 b 345 a Himselfe was the cause of his owne comming 2 600 a Whether his kingdome shall haue an end 2 607 a He was not annoynted with oile 2 6â—6 b What he did for vs at his ascending 2 624 a Vnto whom his nobilitie is communicated 4 313 b Fine things to be noted in his person 2 614 a His innocency obscured 2 618 b Adam and he compared and howe 3 31 a Both the old and the new testament do speake of him 1 39 b He dyed not altogether without sin 3 12 b 43 a How God is said to be made visible in him 1 30b 31 a His death resurrection represented in types shadowes 2 581 b 582a The very name of him is the knot wherein al the articles of the faith are conteined saieth Augustine 1 22 a How the prophets apply their doctrine vnto him 2 596 b Against such as helde that he had no true body 2 601 ab How the false Apostles woulde take him from the law 2 585 b 586 a He Manna most excellently compared 2 591 ab Against certaine heretikes that affirmed him to be a méere man 2 600b Howe farfoorth he concerning his humane nature is the full image of God 1 124 a Whether he were the sonne of God by nature or adoption 3 81 a Hee was otherwise in the loines of Abraham than of Leuy 2 245 a Augustine iudgeth that he hath restored vs vnto more than Adam tooke from vs 2 246 b Vnder his name is contained all the articles of the faith as saith Augustine 1 22 a Whether he may haue hope as yet 3 88 a The end of his predestination 3 25a Accused of sedition 4 319 a Of his death and buriall 3 342b Of his felicity now in heauen 2 598 a Of his kingdome 2 597 ab Christians A difference of Christians 3 105 b Why they are called annoynted 2 606 ab Wickedly accounted dogs 3 311 a Whether they may vse or desire helpe of infidels 4 296. 295. Their boÌ„dage greater now than that of the Iewes 3 172 a How it commeth to passe that some are iudged to damnation some to saluation 2 626b Against the counterfait or such as are but so in name 2 628 b The common profession of all Christians 4 310 a ¶ Looke Beleeuers and Faithfull Christianitie Wherein the whole sum of Christianitie consisteth 2 625 a ¶ Looke Religion Chronicles Aulus Gellius opinion of Chronicles and hystories 1 48 b The difference betwéene them and histories 1 48 ab 49 a Ciceroes opinion touching the same 1 48 ab ¶ Looke Histories Church militant The Church defined 4 1 a She cannot be well gouerned without troubles 4 63 a By what meanes she is increased 2 633 a 637 a Augustines meaning in saying I would not beléeue the scriptures vnlesse the authoritie of the Church mooued me 1 43 a 3 586. The Catholike Church is the communion of saints 3 78 b She of her owne authoritie cannot decide controuersies 4 75 b Whence the name is deriued 4 1 a 54 a 1 45 b 2 630 a In what cases euill men must not be excluded thereout 4 2 a How it is ment that she is the pâ—…ier and ground of truth 4 75 b Her dutie towards the excommunicated 4 59 a Whereof so great corruption in the same commeth 4 63 b Whether two heads may be therein one visible another inuisible 4 35 a Who be indéede of the Church and who not 4 1 b 2 a 3 79 a Dissentions in the Church of the Iewes and of the Apostles 4 3 a 2 425 ab The Church hath alwayes iudged by the
the moouing of them 157 b Afflictions of Christ renewed in his members and how 7 b 8 a A catalog or summarie of them 6 a b. 7 a How ours for Christs sake will be seasoned 9 a Comfort in them by those of Christ 4 a God exerciseth the godlie with diuers prooued 58 a Why and how the world thinketh it a madnesse to reioise therein 25 b All in the doctrine of saluation restreined 123a 131 b Almes deeds and how they must be moderated 166 b Redéeme thy sinnes with Almes deeds expounded 166 a Altars and whereof the hauing of so manie in poperie sprang 16 a Amaleck the first enimie that came out against Israel 162 b Anabaptists in their number that build vpon haie stubble c. 132 b Whether they haue the true mediator 130 b 131 b 132 a What absurdities doo followe their opinion 134 b 135 a Whether they beléeue in Christ 131 b Whether their heresie touching the flesh of Christ doo exclude them from saluation 129 b Angels haue cōmonlie appeared in white and what is therevpon inferred 119 b What we haue to note by them which talked with Abraham 150 b Whervpon their diuers names be deriued 155 a They cannot be in manie places at once 191 a Whether the saints shall be better than they 155 a Good ones cannot sinne 101 a How it is ment that they are not within precinct of place 192 b They did the woonders that were shewed on Mount Sina at the publishing of the lawe 163 b 164 a Anger of euerie kind is not forbidden of God what then 166 b Why we must beware of prouoking holie men thereto 155 a Antecedent denied by denieng the consequent 130 b 131 a Antichrist and a prophesie of the short continuance of his kingdome in England 92 b Apparell of ministers 122 a 123 a 115 b 116 a b 118 a 121 a ¶ Looke ministers and surplisse Argument negatiue fetcht from authoritie is weake 182 b From a similitude is firme 183 a b 184 a Arke of couenant 59 b It should not be carried in carts and what that teacheth vs 60 a A figure of the church 147 b. Ascension of Christ and why he mentioned it in the words of the Eucharist 200 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the difference betwéene it and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 106 b 107 a B. BAptisme and what the dipping in and issuing out againe doo meane 11 a 229 a Tertullians heresie touching it 113 a We receiue Christ as well therein as in the Eucharist 229 a b Who first instituted that of children 112 b 113 a A tradition of the apostles 114 a More attributed thereto than is méet 138 a Whether children dieng without it are in the state of damnation 138 b 150 a Remission of sinnes dependeth not wholie therevpon 148 a Whether children or infants are to receiue it 114 a b In the primitiue church prolonged and delaied and how 114 a How circumcision and it be all one 150 a It must be receiued of none but such as be of a right faith 137 a The opinion of the Lutherans as touching it 138 a whether in it regard is to be had of the faith of the ministers 137 a b. The signe thereof and what it is to be baptised therwith 138 a Why infants must receiue it 150 a It is a sealing of faith and of what or whose faith 137 b Before in and vnder the lawe it had one efficacie 163 a It must not be reiterated 137 a Therein is kept an analogie how and why 296 a Barrennesse of women in the old testament and what it teacheth vs 152 b Beautie and the right vse and fowle abuse of the same 156 b Of Moses 158 a Belles which hoong at the skirts of the préests garments and what they signified c. 30 b Beleeue God and to beléeue in God all one 163 a Birth-daie and how the celebrating thereof is lawfull 157 a Bishops their square cap rochet vestments c. 123 a Who be vnméet and vnwoorthie their place 63 a Whether they should flie in persecution 77 b The true description of them 62 a b 63 a Their charge touching presentations and institutions of such as are preferred to the ministerie 123 a Blasphemie ought to be punished with death 164 b Blessing of the old fathers on their children and what it dooth teach vs 153 b Why the same could not be giuen to Esau that was giuen to Iacob 153 b Bloud and how it is called the soule 203. a b Whether it be all one with the soule 203 b What we are taught in being commanded to absteine from it 148 a Bodie of Christ and what kind he had after his resurrection 221. 222. 223 c. Whether it were passible and impassible both at once 226 a b. ¶ Looke Christ. Bodie naturall and whether it may be in diuers places at once 188 189 190 Whether one consisting of quantitie may be without quantitatiue measure 221 b The difference betwéene a naturall and a spirituall 189 b Whatsoeuer is a Bodie it is in a place both in bignesse and quantitie c. 191 b 192 a Bondage of the Israelites vnder the Aegyptians was deserued by sinne 158 a Of a voluntarie kind therof procéeding from charitie 148 b Whence verie Bondage in déed had originall 148 a Bread of what kind Christ gaue in the last supper 235 236 237 Fiue kinds mentioned in the sixt of Iohn 235 b ¶ Looke Eucharist Building distinguished into spirituall and materiall 13 b What is to be regarded in the maner thereof 14 a The originall thereof and how homelie it was 12 b 13 a Two causes why the stones of the spirituall are vnited 13 b. Buriall where note diuers points necessarie 151 b 152 a C. CAlling of God of two sorts common and effectuall 108 b 113 a b. 115 a b 106 a b Absolute and according to purpose 128 a b Of election inward and of the word outward 116 a b That counselleth and that persuadeth 115 b Obseruacions touching both 148 b Whether the common kind hath béene extended vnto all 120 b 121 a Whether that by creatures celestiall and terrestriall had béene enough to saluation 122 a Whether hardnesse of hart after it be a punishment of God 113 b Vnto what kind iustification is ioined and not ioined 115 a Whether the effectuall kind doo preuaile when it is present 119 b Diuers means thereof speciallie to the ministerie 159 b What kind we can resist 119 b God dallieth not in Calling them to whose calling he applieth not efficacie and why 122 b Carefulnesse worldlie and who they be that fall thereinto 161 b. Causes naturall are not ouer much to be relied vpon 156 b Ceremonies some commanded in the lawe were before the law 147 b 156 a b Whether those of the fathers were onlie bare outward exercises 163 a How it is ment that they gaue no remission of sinnes 168 b Their vse in the old time 160
the sacraments 170 a The coniunction of them with the things signified 139 b 140 a Similitude and in what things it must hold 232 b Sinne punished with sinne 130 b Whether a lesse is to be committed for the auoiding of a greater 150 b What necessitie therof is in men 126 b 104 b 105 a How it had place in Christ and how it is in vs 4 b 5 a How it is ment that God would it not 119 b What be the properties which followe it 146 a Why the préests is more gréeuous than the peoples 170 a What we haue to gather when a place where it much reigneth is spared 151 a How it is ment that euerie one shal be punished for his owne 170 b 171 a When it shall be possible for vs not to commit anie 105 a How it is remitted and reteined 26 a How the feare of death is Sinne 67 a b Whether the same in Christ be so and how it is to be considered in vs 66 a b 67 a The difference of the predestinate and reprobate after they are fallen thereinto 143 b 144 a b. Sinne originall and who are guiltie thereof and who absolued from it 147 b 148 a How it commeth to passe that the soule is defiled therewith 148 a Sinne veniall and that the lawfull vse of matrimonie is so counted 167 a Sinnes of committing and omitting 169 b. What those of the old fathers doo shew vs 153 a Forgiuen in sacrifice and how 168 b The regenerate cannot be without them 125 b. 104 b 105 a Not the cause of reprobation 131 a We be naturallie giuen to hide them 156 b Sinners whether they are to be withdrawne from knowledge of the scriptures 48 a Why Christ would haue certeine in his stocke 156 b. Singing in the church lawfull 160 b. 161 a Soldiers their dutie and charge and how they misbehaue themselues 19 a Solitarinesse disallowed 53 b Sonnes of God which are said to haue gone in to the daughters of men c. 147 a. Sorrowe of manie doubled whie it dooth lighten a heauie mind 82 b Where remedies therein are to be found 83 a b. Soule is not deriued à semin◠genitali to the children 146 a The substance thereof and that it is created 148 a How it commeth to passe that it is defiled with originall sinne 148 a Whether the bloud be all one with it 203 b What must be vnderstood when it is so called 141 a An error touching the mortalitie of the same 136 a The reasonable commeth not by the strength of nature 145 b Spirit of God the fortitude thereof and that it is not in all alike 72 b The Demon or good Spirit of Socrates 38 a State of men distinguished 102 a. Stewes are not tollerable in a common-wealth 156 b Suffer and how Christ is said to doo so at this daie 7 b Sunne and whie God placed it in an high place 39 b Superstitions must not be pared awaie but rooted out 87 b Diuerse papisticall ones iniurious to Christ 7 b 8 a Peter Martyrs praier against all maner of them 251. 252. Supper of the Lord and whie it maybe called a sacrifice 147 b 132 b How the vnfaithfull are partakers thereof 139 b Christ receiued by faith therein 138 b Of the outward signes thereof 168 b An exhortation to the mysticall receiuing therof 137 a b From what things we depart in departing from it vnreceiued 138 a Why Iohn in describing it maketh mention of the flesh and bloud of Christ 237 a The Lord offereth himselfe to be eaten of the beléeuers both in it and out of it 238 a How the bodie and bloud of Christ is present in the same 164 a 139 b 140 a Surplis and whether it were a popish inuention 119 a b. A pretended honest signification for the same 119 b. Swearing the vse and abuse thereof 151 b Thrée formes thereof vsed in the scriptures 143 a T. TEmple of God at Ierusalem why it was defiled and burned 12 a How long it laie ruinated 23 a Reedified c. restored and by whom 12 a What causes hindered the Iewes from building it 14 a b 15 a c. Tempt GOD who doo so and by what meanes 152 a 148 b Temptation what it is whether God be the author thereof and of resisting the same 151 b Of Adam and Eue read page 146 a. Why permitted by God 146 a Testament old new how they differ 6 a Testimonies of God vnto vs in the scripture 13 b Theft punished by death 157 a b What mens actions fall within the compasse of it 166 b The Israelites could not be reprooued thereof when they robbed Aegypt 167 a Titles and the diuers ends of them and names inuented by the godlie and vngodlie 147 a Transubstantiation forsaken by expresse words of the Cardinall of Loren 150 a 152 b Manie absurdities do followe it as how 230 a b Proofes for the doctrine thereof 229. 230. 235 b 236 c. 238 b 239 a What kind were to be wished in the church 22 a Whether these words This is my bodie may be doone without it 185 a b Against it and reall presence 88 a 176 b 177 a 24 b The chéefe principle for the which it is denied 221 b Thereby is peruerted the nature of things 229 b A similitude brought to prooue it disprooued 196 b 197 a b Why the scriptures admit none 215 a None of bread and wine in the Eucharist 178 b 179 a b. Tree of life and the trée of good and euill 145 b Who eate the fruit of it 166 a Trinitie and whether the angels that spake with Abraham giue vs a notice thereof 150 b Truth and diuers waies whereby it is established 79 a Who haue changed it into a lie and how 86 b What it is to deteine it in vnrighteousnesse 86 a Tyrants estate touching their regiment most miserable 8 a b Whether priuate men may rise against them and slaie them 155 b Tythes and wherto the institution of them dooth serue 118 a V. VBiquists error touching Christs naturall bodie conuinced 102 b 139 a Vbiquitie of Christs naturall bodie prooued and disprooued 10 b 86 b 88 a 162 a 188 a 189 a b 205 b 221 b 222 a Proper and peculiar to God onelie 190 b Vertue ciuill and the end thereof 104 b Vertues of the Ethnikes fruitlesse and why 47 b 48 a Whereto they are compared 25 a Vices of whom pleasure and idlenesse are the nursses 49 b Violence and how it is lawfull to repell it by violence 167 a 157 a Violent defined 118 b Vnitie charitie with their two plags 2 a Vnrighteousnesse and what it is to deteine the truth of God therein 86 a Vnthankfulnes must not cause vs to leaue off from dooing well vnto men 157 b Vocation ¶ Looke Calling Vowes wherein they stand and what we haue to note in them 154 a Vrim and Thumim and what they signifie 30 b Vsurie of what kind the
of those persons departed whose monuments they behold To this part dooth Augustine incline But as he saith it is obiected vnto him by Paulinus The saints as it is written by Paule in the 2. to the Corinthians the fift chapter shall stand verse 10. as well as other men before the iudgment seate of Christ that there euerie man may receiue according to that he hath doone in his bodie whether it be good or euill That the dead receiue not according to the requests of them that are aliue Therefore the soules of them that be dead are neuer a whit the better for the praier and intercession of them which doo liue here He answereth that there be some which haue no néed of these things as they which haue alreadie atteined felicitie and that there be others so condemned to euerlasting punishments as by no supplications they can be deliuered from thence But he will haue some to be found such as haue so behaued themselues in their bodie that they haue deserued to be holpen with the praiers of them which be yet liuing and vpon this foundation thus laid he concludeth that it may somwhat profit them that be dead if they be buried at the monuments of martyrs But let him take héed how firme is this principle of his we in verie déed accept it not being set downe without the scripture The prophets nor yet the lawe haue not made mention of anie such thing neither would the scripture haue silenced a thing so verie dutifull and of so great charitie towards miserable deceased sinners and haue spoken no where anie one word thereof But if thou wilt saie that it is a most ancient tradition of the church we grant it but it is not prooued or concluded by the holie scriptures not onelie it is not conteined in them but it is in no wise prooued out of them And if the church doo praie it was not for this cause doone in times past to the intent the spirits of them that be dead should be deliuered but as Dionysius testifieth it was in respect that the priest should doo the part of Gods interpretour and should in the title of the praier Why in times past they haue praied for the dead informe and certifie them that are present what God had doone for him that was dead or what we also are to hope for after this life 15 Nor obtrude thou to vs the second booke of Macchabeis it is not in the canon 2. Macc. 12 verse 43. Further it was written in those daies when Iudaea was pressed with the yoke of the Graecians whose maners it had now not onelie receiued but also imbraced the opinions which sauored of philosophie and deuises of mans reason euen as it had receiued a wrestling place brothell houses after the verie which maner it receiued by chance the inuention of purgatorie The originall of purgatorie which the prelates of the church by chance espieng to be obserued of godlie men with a certeine religiousnesse did not much passe to take the same vtterlie awaie but they altered and corrected it as much as might be Which Dionysius whatsoeuer he were dooth by a coniecture plaine inough declare vnto vs in his Treatise De ecclesiastica hierarchia where he obiecteth against himselfe Séeing the dead man hath alreadie that which he shall haue whie dooth the priest praie ouer his corps for his felicitie Not saith he to the intent he should be holpen with those suffrages but bicause it may be declared to them which stand by what God hath doone concerning him and thereby is giuen to the people present as well comfort as assurance both of the resurrection of the bestowing of eternall rewards So as the priest in that place vnder the pretence of praiers plaieth Gods interpretour And against the opinion of Augustine is the Bracarensin Councell in the 36. canon which decréed that at the oratories of martyrs the dead should not be buried And in the 13. cause question 2. chapter Praecipiendum the same is decréed out of the Varensin Councell Albeit in the same place in the chapter Nullus mortuus out of the Magociensin Councell the matter was brought to that passe as none should be permitted to be buried in the temples but bishops priests and abbats And this dooth reason persuade for temples are not for this purpose prouided that therein dead bodies should be interred but that sacraments should be ministred that sermons should be preached Burleng places set forth to the sale and that God should be praied vnto and praised in them But now among the Papists the churches are become churchyards which they make onelie for gaine sake And whereas it is expresselie commanded in the decrées that nothing should be taken for buriall Gen. 23 11. they séeme neuer to be satisfied Ierom treating on a place in Genesis saith If this man I meane Ephron would not receiue the things offered of Abraham and that when he was ouercome with gaine he receiued them is lightlie passed ouer what shall be doone as touching them which dare wrest awaie by violence Otherwise did Ambrose will to be doone when as he writeth in his Booke of offices The causes whit gold was giuen to churches that gold must be bestowed vpon the church not onelie that the church may doo good vnto the poore but also that there may be prouision made for the buriall of the dead Gaine and superstition haue brought in this kind of abuse Let vs not therefore be disquieted if we be not buried in churches for against the opinion of Augustine and against this peruerse custome speaketh Chrysostome Chrysost vpon the epistle to the Hebrues Wheresoeuer we be buried The earth is the Lords In the 13. cause question 2. the chapter Vbicunque Yet is not the care to wit the care taking for buriall or sepulture to be detested naie verelie it is lawfull for them that be aliue to choose themselues a burieng place Which we sée that the prophet did 1. kin 1◠15 which deceiued the other prophet for after that he heard he was dead he cōmanded his children that after his death they should burie him in the sepulchre wherein the other prophet was laid For he not onelie iudged that it would be an honor vnto him that his bones should be spared in the time of Iosias but he also thought it not amisse in the meane time that his bodie shuld be ioined with the dead bodie of the other prophet Iustlie therefore may we prouide to haue our bodies buried among our ancestors among godlie men and among our friends and acquaintance That our soules being loosed from the bodies doo not sleepe 16 When Paule saith in the 13. In 1. Cor. 13 verse 12. chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians But then we shall see face to face c that same abuerbe of time then dooth signifie vnto vs the state of the time after death when the
worldlie pleasures she is dead while she yet liueth Vndoubtedlie before iustification by faith we are all dead in originall sinne or else in those sinnes which we of our owne accord haue added by our choise and we haue altogither néed of this resurrection from death But betwéene the first resurrection and the latter there is verie much difference bicause the first belongeth vnto the elect onelie and vnto them which shall perpetuallie be made blessed but the latter belongeth vnto all as well miserable as blessed Of the which resurrection Christ added in the same place of Iohn Ioh. 1 28. saieng And maruell ye not for the time will come when they that be in their graues shall heare the voice of the sonne of God shall come foorth they that haue doone well into the resurrection of life and they that haue doone ill into the resurrection of iudgement Here there is mention made of graues that is of sepulchres Further he saith The time will come and said not that it is alreadie come Wherefore as there is appointed a first and second death so is there also appointed a first and second resurrection But we as it hath béene alreadie said doo onelie intreat at this present of the latter 15 Thus it hath béene shewed that the resurrection of the dead is an action of those kind of things which consist of miracle and not of nature He then that shall demand whether it be naturall we will answer him after this maner As touching the forme the which I said is a ioining togither of the soule with the bodie the name of naturall is not to be refused for it is agréeable to the nature of man that the soule should be ioined to the bodie But if we consider of the efficient cause and of the meane those things doo vtterlie go beyond nature Whereby it commeth to passe that we may easilie answer to the third point of this treatise wherein it was demanded Whether for the resurrection of the dead Whether the resurrection may be prooued and declared by naturall reasons there might be naturall reasons giuen and demonstrations made After this maner I saie séeing the thing it selfe passeth all the power of nature there can no reasons be made for this kind In déed there be some reasons of force great enough but if they be diligentlie examined they be probable arguments yet respecting the nature of things they be not necessarie And to make the matter more plaine we must vnderstand Probable reasons of two kinds that demonstrations are two fold For there be some which resolue their questions into principles which be knowen by themselues at the first sight in the nature of things but there be verie few reasons of this kind so as a certeine few onelie can be shewed in the Mathematicals Other there be which although they consist not of propositions knowen at the first and by themselues yet the propositions whereby they conclude may resolue into those things which be verelie and of themselues knowen And againe there be certeine arguments which consist of true and necessarie principles but yet not euident in that science which vseth them but such as are shewed and trulie knowen in a higher and more woorthie facultie This kind of science is commonlie called Subalternum that is which succéedeth by turne For a Musician sheweth and concludeth some things of harmonie and sounds which he shewed and made out of certeine principles in Arythmeticke which kind of argument is demonstratiue yet to him that knoweth both the sciences namelie Arythmeticke and Musicke But to him that is onelie a Musician it cannot be called a demonstration séeing thereof is made no resolution into principles that be knowen at the first and by themselues Euen so is it in the reasons concerning resurrection of the dead Manie reasons for the same are brought of naturall propositions the which be verie probable but if the principles of them be examined naturall men and such as onelie respect the nature of things shall not be conuinced bicause they cannot sée a resolution vnto supernaturall causes the which may prooue a conclusion and constantlie approoue the same But godlie men when they referre these propositions vnto the word of God and in their resolution fortifie and confirme them thereby they haue them for demonstrations which in déed procéed not from naturall knowledge but from faith which altogither dependeth of diuine Oracles 16 But by what waies the philosophers and they which leane onelie on naturall reason A pondering of the probable reasons which make for resurrection doo set themselues against the reasons which are drawen foorth of naturall principles must now be declared And now to begin with those reasons which séeme to haue more strength than the rest First they saie that A thing vnperfect is not capable of perfect felicitie But the soule being separated from the bodie is maimed vnperfect Therefore the soule for obteining of felicitie must be againe ioined to the bodie This argument the philosophers answer two maner of waies for either they would saie that the part which is pulled from the other is vnperfect That the soule being pulled from the bodie is an vnperfect thing forsomuch as it receiueth some benefit and perfection from that other but that this is the nature of the soule that it giueth hir good things to the bodie when as yet it receiueth nothing of it either of perfection or profit therefore the absence of the bodie is no hinderance to the 〈◊〉 felicitie of the soule Or else they would aâ—…der that vnto the perfect blessednes of the â—oule it is sufficient that the last good thing be present with it whereby it perfectlie vnderstandeth the same and dooth imbrace it with singular delight and that the bodie is not néedfull therevnto But to the faithfull the reason that is brought is confirmed by the scriptures bicause there they learne that soule bodie togither are cast by God into hell Matt. 10 28. but if he doo so as touching punishments it followeth that he doth so as touching towards Another argument is framed after this sort Whatsoeuer shall be against nature is not perpetuall Whether the separation of the soule from the bodie be against nature But it is against the soule of man that it should continue seuered from the bodie but it continueth séeing it is immortall and falleth not togither with the bodie And as it is a naturall thing vnto it to be the forme of the bodie so is it against the nature thereof to be seuered from the same If this cannot be perpetuall there remaineth nothing else but that it be againe vnited to the bodie Vnto this reason first the Ethniks would saie that that which is taken for a certeine and euident thing The philosophers iudged the soule to be mortall is vnto the light of nature obscure namelie that the soule after death remaineth and is immortall for noble philosophers not a few
stock of that Patriarch Saluation is not attributed to the generation of the flesh not that we attribute this to the generation of the flesh as vnto the chiefe and true cause For as our owne saluation is so verily is altogether the saluation of our children of the méere election and mercie of God which oftentimes goeth together with naturall propagation Weigh with thy selfe that euen they be elected of God which be also borne of the saints as we sawe it came to passe in Isaac which was the seed of AbrahaÌ„ Rom. 9. 7. not only according to the election but also according to the generation of the flesh The promise is not generall touching all the seede Not that it dooth alwayes so happen of necessitie because the promise is not generall as touching all the séede but of that onely in which the election together consenteth Otherwise the posteritie of Ismael and Esaw were of Abraham But because we ought not to be ouercurious in searching out the secret prouidence and election of God therefore we iudge the children of the Saintes to be Saintes Séeing wée be ignorant of the secret predestination of God we hope wel of the children of the faithful so long as they by reason of their age shall not declare themselues straungers from Christ We exclude them not from the Church but imbrace them as members thereof hoping well that as they be the séede of the Saintes according to the flesh so also they be partakers of the diuine election that they haue the holy ghost and grace of Christ And for this cause we baptise them Neither must they be heard which mooue a doubt of this matter and say A Cauill What if the minister be deceaued And what if for a very trueth the childe be not the childe of promise of diuine election and of mercie As the profession of a man of ripe age may be a false tokeÌ„ so to be borne of the faithfull is no true signe Because the same cauill may also be as touching them that be of lawful age For we also knowe not whether they come fainedlie or whether they beléeue truely whether they be the children of predestination or of perdition whether they haue the grace of Christ or whether they be destitute thereof and doe falsely say that they belieue Why doost thou baptise them I know thou wilt say This I doe because I follow their outward profession which if they falsifie it is nothing vnto me So we say that the Church dooth therefore imbrace our children and baptise them because they pertaine vnto vs. And that is vnto the Church such a token of the will of God as outwarde profession is in them that be of ripe yeares For as it may be deceaued in the one sort so also it may be in the other There is nothing so certaine but it may be otherwise And so not all so many as are baptised are either saued or predestinated to eternall life Neither can we by any other meanes discerne betwéene the baptised who belong vnto saluation and who be not the sonnes of God but that we dailie iudge of them by their workes 8. Against the Anabaptists Wherefore the Anabaptistes must not be heard which will not haue children to be baptised Because they deny originall sinne therefore they will haue them tary till they come to yeares whenas now euerie one hauing sinned by choyse and fallen by his owne will and infected with vice hath matter to be washed away by baptisme From these men we disagrée as far as heauen is wide Originall â—n prooued Rom. 5. 12. séeing we altogether confesse originall sinne For it is prooued in the Epistle to the Romans where it is said that by one man sinne entred into the world by sinne death Whereby it appeareth that sinne is there wheresoeuer death hath taken place Therefore séeing infantes dye it is of necescitie that they be subiect vnto sin And many other testimonies there be in the same Chapter which most manifestlie prooue this originall sinne And we haue in the psalme Psal 15. 7. For behold I was borne in sinne and in sinnes hath my mother conceaued me And Christ said Iohn 3. 5. Vnlesse a man be borne anew of the water and of the spirit c. Whereby is manifest that if it behooueth vs to be borne againe we be borne in sinne And vnto the Corinthians the 2. Epistle and 5. Chapter Verse 14. it is said of Christ That one dyed for all men But and if he be dead for all it is manifest that the infantes also had néede of a redéemer And when it is said vnto the Romans Ro. 5. ver 6. 8. 10. Christ dyed for them that were sinners enimies and weake and vngodly it followeth that infants also are such in their owne nature wheÌ„ they be born vnlesse we wil say that Christ dyed not for them which is against the iudgement of Paul now alledged And in the booke of Genesis it is shewed Gen. 8. 21. what the imagination of our heart is euen from the very childhood and deliuerance from the mothers wombe Wherefore the Hebrewes haue often in their mouth Ietser haraa an euill imagination which they take out of that place of Genesis And we read in the booke of Iob Iob. 14. 4. Who can make clean that which is conceaued of an vncleane seed Where the séede of man is called vncleane which cannot be otherwise referred but to originall sinne For if thou shalt weigh the naturall causes the séede of man hath no more vncleanesse in it than hath the séede of other liuing creatures Ephe. 2. 3. And to the Ephesians We were by nature the childreÌ„ of wrath as others be Where that word Nature sheweth that this euill is drawen with vs euen from the beginning Why Parents regenerate doe procreate childreÌ„ with original sin And although that they be Christian parents yet because they beget not with that part wherein they are clensed anew with the minde I meane where faith hath place by which they are reconciled vnto God but with the body with the flesh which while we liue here haue not altogether put off their vncleanesse as it is deriued from Adam so dooth it drawe with it his infection and blemish So then we disagrée very much from the Anabaptistes for both we confesse originall sinne which they deny and doe also teach that childreÌ„ ought to be baptised as at this day in the Church Therefore how are the infants of Christians when they are baptised Howe our Infants may be called holie though they be infected with original sinne called holy members of the Church séeing they be corrupted with originall sinne We aunswere that in originall sinne two thinges are to be considered One is the corruption of nature whereby the posteritie of Adam lacketh righteousnesse and are loaden with ignorance and euill concupiscence Then there is a
guiltinesse whereby God imputeth these things vnto sinne and vnto death Wherefore the first part all our children vndoubtedly haue when they be borne but the other part I meane guiltinesse imputation vnto death vnto euerlasting damnatiō those which not only are born of their parents according to the flesh but also appertaine to the election promise of God haue not because it is takē away by the mercie of God by the holy ghost and by the grace of Christ neither is that corruption imputed to them vnto death They therefore which be so borne of Christians are called holy because they are iudged to belong vnto grace and election séeing nothing perswadeth otherwise Now then the Church doth seale these thinges vnto them in Baptisme as to these which belong vnto the promise and alreadie haue the giftes of God I meane the remission of sinnes and grace of Christ Rom. 4. 11. A declaration of a place in the 4. Chapter to the Romanes 10 But one thing séemeth to make héere against which is written vnto the Romanes the 4. Chapter That it was giuen vnto Abraham to be the father of Circumcision and not onelie of Circumcision but of them also that walke according to the steppes of the faith which he had when he was vncircumcised Whereupon it is concluded that the Ethnicks which are ioyned vnto the stocke of Abraham haue not that by the séede of the flesh but by the power of faith which séeing the Infants haue not they shall not be vnderstoode to be ingraffed into the stocke of Abraham But we must vnderstand that the Apostle spake there of them which be of ripe age and of the first graffing in of the Gentils whereby they were coopted into the stocke of Abraham which none of vs doubteth to be done by faith But when as nowe that the Gentils our families or Churches be grafted vnto that stock all the priuileges are communicated with them that were graunted vnto Abraham among which this was the chiefe that God woulde be both his God the God of his séede So as it is graunted in like maner both vnto vs and ours in maner and forme alreadie declared Verse 6. Further it is written in the ix Chapter of the same Epistle A place of the 9. Chapter to the Romanes Not all they which be of Israel be Israelites nor all they which be of the seede of Abraham be all children but in Isaac shall thy seede be called That is not all they which be the children of the flesh be the children of God but they which be of the promise Whereupon it séemeth to be gathered by these wordes of the Apostle that the generation of the flesh bringeth nothing at all to passe that our children be called holie But vnto this we haue sufficiently answered For wee haue declared at large that this must not be attributed to the generation of the flesh as to the proper and chiefe cause when as our saluation as Paul saieth consisteth onely of the grace of God and of the election or promise But because the reason of this election is hidden and that the first token which we haue thereof is if children belong vnto them that be holie and be offered by them in the sacrament of regeneration therefore doe we call them holie although as it hath bin said this token may deceiue euen as also the confession of faith which is expressed in wordes by them that be of ripe age when they are to be Baptized may lie and procéede of hypocrisie Moreouer the Apostle would by that place call backe the Iewes who disdained the Gentils vnto the first and principall cause of our saluation which he had propounded vnto them not to be the workes of ceremonies or our merites or the stocke according to the flesh The electiō and predestination of God cannot be deceiued which they alwaies boasted of He set before their eies the election of God and the promise which cause is of that kinde that it cannot be deceiued but that it hath perpetuallie an effect Yet his minde was not to make voide all these second instruments or meanes and also tokens which God vseth as he would vtterly saie that they were nothing The linage of the flesh is not sufficient of it selfe vnto righteousnesse and true holinesse For sometime the children of holie men maie belong vnto perdition When they be growen to rype yeares they may degenerate from their good and goodlie bringing vp They may also depart from religion which they séemed to receiue from their childhood as we knowe the Iewes did which haue denied Christ and haue no more to glorie of concerning the holy séede although the promise of God in that stocke shall neuer be vtterlie voide For afterward in the xj Verse 16. Chapter the same Apostle most plainlie sheweth that he tooke not from the Iewes the gifts of kindred and progenie when he saieth If the roote bee holie the branches are also holy if the first fruites be holie so is the whole lumpe 11 Neither doeth Christ shew these promises to be vaine when as in the séede of Abraham according to the flesh he became man Rom. 15. 8. Although it were no certain signe yet no vaine signe to be borne of the Saints and was so conuersant in that nation as in the Epistle vnto the Romans he was said to be the minister of Circumcision for confirming the promises of the fathers This vndoubtedlie had not the Iewes by their merites that Christ vnto them before others ministred the word of life but they had it by the promise which was made vnto their stock whereby it appeareth that it is not altogether a vaine and néedelesse thing to bée borne of a godlie kindred And in the Actes of the Apostles Peter saide vnto the Iewes Acts. 2. 39. that vnto them speciallie pertained the Gospell by the right of the couenant as it is in the second Chapter Further in the next chapter Acts. 3. 25. they be called children of the Testament And euerie where in Paul thou readest First to the Iewe Rom. 1. 16. 2. 9. 10 and then to the Greeke And the Apostles obserued this that they went not to preache vnto the Gentils vnlesse they had first ministred the worde of saluation vnto the Iewes An excellēt promise of God And more than all these things thou hast in the ten Commandements an excellent promise of God Exod. 20. 6. that God woulde doe wel vnto those that feare him and vnto their posteritie vnto a thousand generations Although we denie not but that oftentimes ill children haue succéeded in the place of good parents because such promises as I haue saide be not common vnto all the séede but onelie vnto that séede wherein euen the election of God and predestination doe méete together the which oftentimes as we faithfulfullie beléeue hath place in the séede of the Saints God doeth not so binde his
third heauen when he had power to sée Christ The which he testifieth vnto the Corinthians For there he onelie saith that he sawe Christ but speaketh nothing of the place or time Indéed he appeared vnto Paule as he was in the waie and while he was in the waie did speake vnto him neuerthelesse as I haue said he might doo this remaining in heauen and frame a voice from thence which shuld be heard vpon the earth Furthermore put the case that the Lord exhibited himselfe to be séene of Paule vpon the earth you shall not be able to shew that he was in heauen at the selfe-same time We beléeue the article of our faith to wit that he was assumpted into heauen and sitteth at the right hand of the father but that he cannot sometime transferre himselfe from thence and appéere to whome he will that are not we bound to beléeue It is inough to confesse that he hath his proper mansion in heauen D. Tresham Wheras Augustine saith vpon the psalme that Christ was in heauen when he cried Saule why persecutest thou mee it is agréeable to my opinion For it signifieth that he was at one time both in heauen and in the earth or else I answer that the heauen is ment by him to be th' aire where perhaps Christ was when he cried Saule Saule why persecutest thou me And that the aire is called heauen the scripture testifieth when it saith The soules of heauen D. Martyr Whereas you doo saie that Christ according to Augustines iudgement is in both places to wit in heauen and in earth Gen. 1 30. Iob. 28 21. Psal 8 9. you learne not that of him naie rather he sheweth himselfe else-where to be of an other mind And to appoint Christ to hang in the aire is an absurditie and you séeme thereby to make him a foule of the aire D. Tresham I make not Christ a foule of the aire for then should he be such a one when he hoong vpon the crosse D. Martyr No verelie for he was then fastened to the crosse But let these toies passe If we will see what Augustines iudgement was as touching this matter let vs consider his epistle vnto Dardanus where he wrote as concerning the glorified bodie of Christ that it is in some certeine place bicause of the measure of a true bodie The question was propounded vnto him how the théefe was with Christ in paradise that same daie wherein he died as he promised he should be And he answereth that if for paradise we vnderstand heauen it was not so as touching his humanitie bicause his bodie was in the sepulchre and his soule in the nethermost places wherevpon he decréed that this should be vnderstood as touching his diuinitie And thereby I gather this argument If Augustine durst not admit vnto the soule of Christ to be at one time both in hell and in heauen much lesse must it be granted vnto his bodie D. Tresham I saie with Augustine Distribute the times and the scripture agréeth Thrée errors did Augustine impugne at that time one is of those men which did take the word that is to saie the Godhead in place of the soule of Christ another tooke the word for the mind of the soule of Christ the third was of them which made the bodie of Christ to be spread euerie where Augustine therefore in that place speaketh of the bodie of Christ so far foorth as it hath a visible forme and after that maner he saith that it is onelie in heauen vnlesse that at anie time it doo miraculouslie happen otherwise Howbeit he is in the sacrament according to an inuisible forme according wherevnto Augustine beléeued that it is in diuers places at once for euen in the selfe-same epistle he maketh mention of our sacrifice Neither is it to be doubted but that Christ dooth offer himselfe visible and againe inuisible euen as pleased him As in the fourth of Luke When he withdrew himselfe from the multitude went through the middest of them on the mount Thabor he shewed his glorified bodie And therfore vnto Augustine I answer that much rather now he dooth these works at his owne pleasure D. Martyr You haue gathered manie things togither but yet can it not be gathered of all these that Augustine would haue the bodie of Christ to be in manie places at once Albeit he made mention of our sacrifice that was for an other cause neither dooth it belong vnto this article as may appeare vnto them which read it Yea rather he referreth our sacrifice to the vnitie of the mysticall bodie and maketh no mention at all of the flesh or bloud of Christ himselfe Neither taketh he in hand to confute the error touching the soule or mind of Christ Naie rather he supposeth that Dardanus was not intangled with them And it appeareth how greatlie he writeth there against you sith he will haue no accidents if the subiect be wanting nor bodies if you take place awaie from them And vndoubtedlie if he did make for your part when he wrote these things If Christ might be in manie places at once he may also be euerie where it behooued to except the Eucharist Besides all this if we should grant that anie bodie may be in manie places at one time it must be granted that it can also be in all places and that likewise did Scotus sée Howbeit as I haue alreadie affirmed it standeth as yet firme by the saieng of Augustine that bicause of the measure of a true bodie the bodie of Christ requireth a place certeine D. Tresham And yet if God will it may be in manie places yea euen in so manie as he himselfe will Neither must it be ascribed to anie want of diuine power in him which includeth not anie contradiction in the termes D. Martyr There is no part of the diuine power diminished by me although I haue spoken after this maner And I speake of the power of God with all modestie but yet there be manie things which therefore cannot be doone bicause the nature of things dooth not permit being such as are méere contraries and as it is said of you doo implie contradiction and this must not be imputed to an infirmitie in God Howbeit you haue not prooued that there is héere no repugnancie of the termes as you speake onelie you saie it D. Tresham Here there is no difficultie on the behalfe of the things for Paule distinguisheth betwéene a naturall bodie and a spirituall bodie But the bodie of Christ is spirituall and hereby is taken awaie all the difficultie on the behalfe of the thing And not onelie is the bodie of Christ spirituall but euen so shall our bodies be after the resurrection D. Martyr I knowe that the bodie of Christ is spirituall but Augustine saith in an epistle to Consentius It is ment that a naturall bodie is said to be like vnto other liuing creatures bicause of the dissolution and corruption of death but a spirituall