Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	adam_n	bring_v	sin_n	7,991	5	5.4699	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B00958	Homelies sette forth by the righte reuerende father in God, Edmunde Byshop of London, not onely promised before in his booke, intituled, A necessary doctrine, but also now of late adioyned, and added thereunto, to be read within his diocesse of London, of all persons, vycars, and curates, vnto theyr parishioners, vpon sondayes, & holydayes.	Bonner, Edmund, 1500?-1569.	1555 (1555)	STC 3285.2; ESTC S103088	74,513	149

knowledge of good and euyl And lyke as in a most maruelous sorte he made Adam the fyrste man so in as marueylous straunge a sort he made Eue the first woman euen of a rybbe taken out of Adams lefte syde and her he made parfytte and furnyshed her with like gyftes as he had done Adame the first man What canne we then thinke or deuyse that God might haue don more for vs in our creation then herein he dyd He made the soule immortall that is such as shulde continue for euer without ende He furnished it with moste singuler gyftes both of nature and of special grace also The body of man in the estate of originall innocencie had in it helth strength cumlines and other like qualities in the highest degre of perfection it had in it selfe then no fond lust or concupiscens no pronitie or inclination to euyl no lothsumnes in doing good no infirmitie or wekenesse no lacke or want of any qualitie fyt and decent for it The body of man was then obediente to the soule the soule altogether obedient to God So that on Gods parte oure maker and creator there is nothyng towardes vs but all perfection all great kyndnes al fatherly loue fauour Holy scrypture most euydently affyrmeth that al creatures were made good in their creation saying Vidit deus omnia que fecerat et erant ualde bona Gene. i. Genesis ● That is God sawe al things which he had made and they were very good Which thyng as it is generally true in all creatures concerning their creation so is it in a certen degre of excellencye to be verified in man touchyng the estate of his originall innocency Thus we may perceaue that in the creation of man al was excellent parfytte whiche oughte greatly to inflame vs the more to loue and serue almighty God our most louynge creator But for asmuche as that blessed estate is lost mankynd by the losse thereof fell into extreme miserie and wretchednes it is consequently to be well considered of our part by what meanes man was brought from soo good and blessed a case to so euyll and miserable an estate whiche poynte well wayed is a sufficiente grounde to cause vs on the other syde vtterly to detest abhorre al synne For that greuous fal of man came of synne Synne it was for which God thrust man oute of paradyse synne it was that caused the fleshe to striue agaynste the spirite and the spirite agaynst the fleshe synne it was that broughte vnto mankynde necessitie of bodyly death and all the infirmities and diseases which man in thys transitory lyfe sustayneth synne fynally it was that caused all the posteritie of Adam and Eue to be borne in state of dampnation But some perchaunce are desyrous fardar to knowe by what meanes man was fyrst brought to commytte synne For the vnderstandyng whereof Genes 3. lette vs haue recourse to the iii. chap. of Genesis where it is wrytten how that the wyly serpent the deuyll came vnto Eue and sayde vnto her Why hath God gyuen you commaundement not to eate of euery tree in paradyse where vnto the woman answered and sayde of the fruyte which is in paradise we eate but of the frute of that tree that groweth in the myddest of paradyse GOD hath charged vs not to eate or touche it leste perchaunce we dye Then sayde the serpente to the woman Naye you shall not dye For God knoweth that whatsoeuer daye you shall eate thereof youre eyes shal be opened and you shal be like Gods knowynge good and euyll The woman therefore saw that the tree was good to eate of and beautifull to the eye and pleasaunte to beholde and she tooke of the fruyte thereof and dyd eate and gaue part to her husbād who also dyd eate Thus through the prouocation of the deuyll man first fell into synne Wherefore as we must alwayes abhorre synne and forbeare it bycause of the greate misery it brought vs vnto so should we no les hate and to the vttermost of our power fly the deuyl and all his suggestions knowing that thereby we were fyrst induced to commytte synne For as thys oure aduersary was busye at the begynnynge with oure fyrst parentes so is he no les i. Peter 5. but rather more busye with vs at thys present as wytnesseth Saynt Peter in the .v. chapiter of his first epystle saying Youre aduersary the deuyl as a roryng lion goeth about seking whom he may deuour Thys aduersary of mankynde disdaynynge at the greate felycytye that Adam and Eue were in neuer ceasyd questionynge and craftyng with the woman being the weker and trayler vessell vntyll he had made them disobey gods commaundement by which their doyng they lost the orygynall great innocency which they had at there creation which being lost nether the body woulde be obedient to the soule nor the soule to god but al was in man turned vpsidoune yea therby they fel also into necessitie of temporall death of body and which is worst of all into the estate of eternall damnation and euerlasting death both of body and soule But now because it maye paraduenture seme in some mans iudgement that seyng the thing that Adam and Eue did was but the eatynge of an appell therefore their faut was not great nor deserued so greuous punishment let vs consider the circumstaunces and we shall sone perceyue the offence not lyght but verye sore and heynous Fyrst the thyng which god commaunded man to forbeare was a thyng most easye for hym to forbeare and so much was his faute the greater Besides this whan a man is tolde before of great peryll and daunger that shall lyght vpon him if he doo this or that in case after such warnyng he offende therein his fault is thereby made the greuouser Thyrdly the lesse inclination a man hath to any synne the more he synneth yf he doo the same Nowe Adam and Eue had in them no inclination at al nother to one vice nor to other Fourthly when a man hath late receyued great benefites at hys soueraygns handes if he incontinently breake his expresse wyll the contempt and disobedience is made therby the greater The thyng that Adam and Eue dyd eate was in dede but an appell yet the eatyng thereof in that case was an high disobediēce against god and the corrupting of all mankynd for as much as they two were the very route whereof all men must ryse and the route being once naughte howe can the tree or braunches cummynge of that route be good Therfore S. Paule in his Epistle to the Romaines in the .v. chapiter thereof saieth Roma 5. By the offence of one man synne came vpon all men to condempnacion and in the same chapiter immediatly after he sayeth to lyke purpose throughe the disobedience of one man manye became synners And within a lytle after he saieth Sinne came into this world by one man through synne came death so death passed

instructed in the lawe thou doest allowe that is best and doest truste that thou art a guyde of the blinde a light to thē which are in darkenes an instructour of the folyshe a mayster of the ignorante and that thou knowest by the lawe the fourme of sciens truth but yet thou that teachest other teachest not thy selfe thou that prechest against aduoutri art an aduoutrer thy self thou that dooest defye Idoles commyttest sacriledge thy selfe thou that doest glorye in the lawe through transgressing of the lawe doest dyshoner God for the name of God throughe you is blasphemed amongest the gentyles Thus it is euydente by the doctryne of Saynte Paule that nother by the common lawe of nature nether by the special knowledge of the law of Moises man was able to auoyde eternal dāpnation but that he neded besides such knowledge of some other helpe that is of amendes to be made for his sinnes and thereby to be reduced into the fauour of god agayne and to haue aboundaunce of grace geuen vnto hym by which grace he should both in his knowledg be the better established be able also according to knowledge of the truth to walke in the truth For this amendes to be made the second person in trinitie being god immortal became mortal man was made in all partes like vnto one of vs sinne only excepted and he did vnite vnto his godhead the body and soule of man in vnitie of person in such a meruelous sort that as in vs the body being of one nature and the soule being of an other nature doo make yet but one person so in hym the nature of God and the whole perfect nature of man doo make but one person Of this incomprehensible vnion of the godhed manhed in Christ Iohn 1. S. Ihon speaketh in the fyrst chapiter of his gospell saying Verbum caro factum est et habitauit in nobis the worde that is the sonne of God Was made fleshe that is man dwelt amōgest vs. he dwelt here on the earth as scripture declareth aboue .xxxiij. yeares and when he had fulfylled al thynges accordyng to the sayinges of the holy prophetes whiche were to be fulfylled of hym before his passion then he suffred death willingly yea the death of the crosse by suche payne wrongefullye procured of the deuil against him to raunsome mankynde oute of captiuitie whiche it sustayned vnder the deuyll moost iustly and that this raunsome shold be perfyt he suffred sondry sortes of mooste spytefull wronges and intollerable paynes tormentes in his most pure and innocent body as buffeting bindinge scourgyng plattynge on his head a crowne of thorne hanginge on the crosse pearcing of his handes and fete with nayles openynge of his syde with a speare and shedynge of his mooste precious bloude whiche passion of his as it is a moost parfyt myrrour and glasse for vs therein to beholde the excedynge great loue of god towarde vs whiche spared not his onelye sonne but for vs all gaue hym to dye so it is a sufficient occasion to brynge all men in extreme hatred of the deuyll and synne from daunger of whome mankynde coulde not be rydde but onely by so paynefull a death of the sonne of God What can we loke for at gods handes yf we synne from hence forth but wrath and vengeaunce seynge he hath once delyuered vs from synne by so merciful a meanes All that our sauyoure Christe suffered he wyllingely suffered for our synnes hym selfe hauing neuer deserued anye whyt of payne as who neuer synned And yet his passion though it be in it selfe a sufficiente raunsome for the synnes of the whole worlde yet it taketh not place in all men not for insufficiencie in it selfe but for defaute in them that shoulde condignely receaue the merites thereof For this you must know that God requyreth in vs certayne thinges to be accomplished by our owne wil and consent without the whiche we can not be saued no more than yf Christ had neuer dyed for vs. What thinges these are shal be hereafter declared vnto you In the meane season lyft vp your hartes and open them awyde to receaue in vnto them a great loue towardes God who so nobylye created vs and when we through our owne defaute were fallen into the estate of endles misery and wretchednes so mercyfully redemed vs by the passion and death of his onely sonne our sauiour Christ Remember that synne and nought els brought vs fyrst oute of Gods fauour and that to take awaye synne the sonne of God was incarnate and suffered mooste paynefull death on the crosse and therefore hereafter flee you all kynde of synne and fight incessantly agaynst your ghostly enemye the deuyll who being vanquished by Christ is not able now to ouerthrow vs if we in the right fayth of Christ valiantly withstande hym whiche to doo graunt vnto vs the blessed trinitie the father the sonne and the holy ghost to whome be all honour and glory worlde without ende Amen Io. Harpesfelde sacrae theologiae professor Arch. London ¶ An Homely declaryng how the redemption in Christ is appliable to vs. ALthough the death and passion of our sauiour christ be in value a sufficient raunsome for the synnes of the whole world yet in effect it taketh not place in the whole world For neyther Turke Iew nor infidell wāting beleif in Christe can take good by the death and passiō of Christ the scripture most manifestly affyrming in the .xvi. Mar. 16. chapter of S. Marke that Whosoeuer doth not beleue shall be dāpned Agayne euyll lyfe bryngeth to the euyl lyuer eternall death beleue he neuer soo wel As S. Paule witnesseth in the .v. chapiter of his Epistle to the Galathians Gala. 3. where he sayth Walke after the spirite and fulfyll not the lustes of the fleshe For the flesh lusteth contrary to the spirit and the spirit contrary to the fleshe These are cōtrary one to another so that you do not what ye woulde But and yf ye be led of the spirit then are ye not vnder the law The dedes of the fleshe are manifest which are these aduoutry fornicatiō vnclennes wātonnes ydolatry wytchcrafte hatred variaūce contencion wrath stryfe sedition sectes enuye murder dronkennes glotony and such like of which I tel you before as I haue told you in tyme past that they which commit suche thinges shal not inherit the kingdō of heauē Thus you perceaue that to the enioying of the death and passion of Christe these two poyntes are requisit of our behalf the one to beleue rightly the other to lyue vpryghtlye whiche two poyntes no man is able otherwyse to knowe except it be by speciall reuelation from God but onely by the catholike churche whiche catholyke churche our sauioure Christe hath appoynted to be the onely scoole for all men to come and repayre vnto to learne suche truth as is mete for them to know for the attayning of euerlastyng life This catholike church and no other company

to al mē Thus haue you hard fyrste the louynge kyndnes of God to man in that he created hym in so worthye a maner nexte ye haue harde the myschyfe that commeth to mankynd by synne and thirdly what an extreme enemy also the deuyll is vnto vs. In an other homily hereafter ye shal heare of the exceding great mercy of god in deliuering mākind by a meruelous maner out of the estate of this dampnatiō Wherfore to conclude for thys presente tyme this shal be to exhort you that you fayle not daylye and howrelye to geue most harty thankes to almyghty God for that he of his mere goodnes created you created you not without sense as the stones not without reason as the brute beastes but hathe gyuen you all notable qualities and powers that other corporall creatures haue and besydes hathe perticularlye planted in you reason and vnderstāding and sondry goodly qualities of body and soule seuerall to the nature of man only and not commō to man and other erthly creatures This is furthermore also to exhorte you that remembryng what miserye came to mankynde by synne and by such a synne as in some mēs iudgement might seme to be but very smale it is to wytte by eatynge of an appel you wyl be circumspecte in auoiding of al kinde of synne and disobedience be the thinge in hys owne nature neuer so smale a thynge whyche is by God hym selfe or by suche as we owe obedience vnto commaunded Fynallye and laste of al this is to exhorte you to consyder dilygently that we haue a deadly ennemy which is the deuil who desyreth oure destruction and doth moost craftely and busely trauayle by all meanes wyth vs to worke the same of whose mooste subtyll and wilye traynes we muste principally take hede of whiche graunt vnto vs all the blessed trinitie the father the Sonne and the holye ghoste to whome be all honoure and glorye worlde withoute ende Amen Io. Harpesfeld sacrae theologiae professor Arch. London ¶ An homely of the misery of all mankinde and of hys condempnation to euerlastynge deathe by hys owne synne THe holye ghoste in wryting the holy scripture is in nothyng more diligēt then to pull downe mannes vayne glory and pryde which of all vices is moost vniuersallye graffed in mankynde euen from the fyrste infection of our fyrste father Adam And therefore we reade in many places of scripture many notable lessons agaynst this olde rooted vyce to teache vs the moost cōmēdable vertue of humilitie howe to know our selues to remēber what we be of our selues In the booke of Genesis almyghty God geueth vs all a tytle name in oure great graunde father Adam which ought to admonishe vs al to consyder what we be whereof we be from whence we came whyther we shall sayenge thus In sudore vultus tui vesceris pane tuo Gene 3. donec reuertaris in terram de qua sūptus es quia puluis es et in puluerem reuerteris That is to saye In the sweate of thy face thou shalt eate thy breade vntyll thou retournest into the earth oute of whyche thou waste taken for dust thou art into dust thou shalt retourne Here as it were in a glasse we may learne to know ourselues that we be but grounde earthe and dust and that to grounde earthe and duste we shall returne agayne whyche name and title of earthe and duste appoynted and assigned by God to all mankynde the holye Patriarche Abraham dyd well remember and therefore he calleth hym selfe by that name when he maketh his earnest prayer for Sodome and Gomorre saying in the .xviii. of Genesis Cum sim puluis et cuius Gene. 18 that is to saye seyng I am dust and ashes Iudith 3. and. 9. Iob. 13. Hiere 6. and .25 And we reade that Iudith Hester Iob Hieremye with other holy men and women in the olde testament did vse sacke clothe and did caste duste and asshes vpon theyr heades when they bewayled theyr synnefull lyuynge They called and cryed to God for helpe and mercy with suche a ceremony of sacke clothe duste and asshes that thereby they might declare to the hole world what an humble and lowlye estimation they had of theim selues and howe well they remembred theyr name tytle aforesayde theyr vyle corrupte frayle nature duste earth and asshes The booke of wysedome also willynge to pull downe oure proude stomakes Sapience 7. moueth vs diligently to remember our mortall and earthely generation which we haue al of him that was first made and that all men aswell kynges as subiectes doo come into this worlde and doo goo oute of the same in lyke sorte that is as of oure selues full myserable as we maye daylye see And almyghtye God commaūded his Prophet Esay to make a proclamation Esai 11. and to crye to the hole worlde that all flesshe is grasse and that all the glorye of man is as the flower of the feilde the grasse is wythered and the flower doth fall away for the winde of our Lord bloweth vpon it The people surely is grasse whiche dryeth vp and the flower fadeth away but the woorde of our Lord abydeth for euer Accordynge wherevnto the holye prophet Iob hauynge in hym selfe great experience of miserable and synnefull estate of man dothe open the same to the worlde in these wordes Homo natus de muliere Iob. 14. breui viuens tempore repletur multis miserijs qui quasi flos egreditur et conteritur et fugit velut vmbra et nūque in eodem statu permanet et dignum ducis super huiuscemodi aperire oculos tuos et adducere eum tecum in iudicium quis potest facere mundum de immundo conceptum semine That is to say Man beynge borne of a woman lyuynge a shorte tyme is full of manyfolde miseries he spryngeth vp lyke a flower fadeth againe vanyshynge away as it were a shadow and neuer contineweth in one state And doest thou iudge it mete O Lorde to open thyne eyes vpon suche a one and to brynge hym to iudgement with thee who can make hym cleane that is cōceyued of an vncleane seede In dede all men of theyr euylnes and naturall prones were so vniuersallye gyuen to synne that God as the scripture testifyeth repented that euer he made man And by synne Gene. 5. and. 7. his indignation was so muche prouoked agaynste the worlde that he drowned all the worlde wyth Noes fludde except Noe him selfe and hys lytle householde It is not withoute greate cause that the scripture of God dothe so many times call all menne here in this worlde earthe sayenge O thou earth thou earth thou earthe heare the woorde of oure Lorde Hiere 22. Hiere xxij This oure ryght name vocation and tytle earthe earthe earth pronounced by the prophet sheweth what we be in dede by what soeuer other style tytle or dignitye mē doo call vs. Thus he plainly nameth vs who knoweth best bothe what

his iustice receaue man agayne to fauor and state of eternall lyfe beynge thus in bodye and soule by his owne defaulte defyled vnles he were fyrst made pure and cleane againe nether man was able to helpe him selfe herein no nor yet anye angell at al. Wherefore almyghty God whose mercy excedeth all his workes pytienge the wretched case that mankynde was in dyd appoynt euen from the begynnynge his onely sonne the seconde person in trinitie to be the sauiour of the worlde and to restore man againe to perfit clennes both in body and soule and that by the way of very iustice in making a full amendes and payinge a sufficiente raunsome for synne And this sonne of God accordynge to the wyll of his father dyd take vpon hym the nature of man ioyninge to his euerlastynge Godheade the whole and perfyte nature of manhode not making that nature of man which he toke a new of nothing as he dyd heauen and earth nor yet makynge it of a clod of earth as he dyd the body of Adam but he toke the nature of man of the very substaunce of the vyrgyn Mary his mother that lyke as Adam and Eue brought them selues all theyr posteritie through sinne into the estate of eternal dampnatiō so Christ takynge vpon him the very selfe same nature beyng descended from Adam and Eue vnto the Vyrgin Mary and of her beynge taken and ioyned in hym to the godhead in vnitie of person should by his innocency through death wyllyngly suffered in that his most innocent bodye not only hym self become immortal mā haue glory euerlasting but make so many also partakers of lyke blessednes as shuld enioye the merites of his passion Wherefore it is a very pernicious errour to thynke that christ tooke not his fleshe of the verye fleshe of the blessed Vyrgyn Mary his mother Howe could his death haue done me good if it were not of the same nature that I am of Heb. ii therefore S. Paule in his seconde chapiter of his Epistle to the Hebrues sayeth Qui sanctificat et qui sanctificantur ex vno omnes that is He that sanctyfyeth and they which are sanctifyed are all of one and within a lyttle after he sayeth farther Debuit per omnia fratribus assimulari vt misericors fieret et fidelis pontifex ad deum vt repropitiaret delicta populi that is Christe muste in all poyntes become lyke to his brethren that he myght be a merciful and fruteful Bisshop to Godward to procure mercy for the sinnes of the people If Christ tooke not the flesh of the Virgin Marye howe is that promyse fulfylled which God made immediatly after the falle of our first parētes when he thrust them out of paradise at which tyme he said vnto the serpente as it is written in the thyrde chapiter of Genesis I wyl set enmitie betwixt the and the womans sede Gene. 3. and it shall treade downe thy hedde Lo how mercifully God dealeth wyth mankynde He promysed that one shoulde be borne of the sede and stocke of Eue which should vanquyshe our ghostly enemy the diuell Nowe in that he calleth hym the sede of the woman he moste playnely declareth that he must nedes haue in him the selfe same nature that the woman had Agayne God makyng the second promyse of the same sede to come of the stocke of Abraham the patriarke said vnto Abraham as is wytnessed in the .xxii. of Genesys In thy sede shall all the nations of the world be blessed Genes 22 many hūdred yeares after that he promyssed lykewyse to Kyng Dauyd that that sede should come of hym to Which promyses of almyghty God were not to be verified in Chryst if he toke not the substaūce of his flesh of the Virgin Mary his mother But here it may seme straūge to some that almighty god seing he intēded from the beginninge to sēd his sonne into the world to be incarnate for mans redēption did defer the sendinge of hym soo longe that is the space of foure thousande yeares or theraboute To whome it is to be aunswered that the long taryinge of Chryste before he was incarnate came not of lacke of good wyl in god towardes vs but of vnredines and lacke of good disposition to receyue hym on oure partes For if Chryste shoulde haue commen in the begynnyng of the worlde men would haue thought that if God had suffered them to vse theyr owne natural powers they would haue attayned saluation well inough without any other helpe on Gods parte Agayne thoughe after longe experience and trauayle of man folowing the onelye lyghte of nature it was euydente that he neded a speciall ayde from God to the attaynynge of euerlastynge lyfe yet the worlde myghte haue demed that in case God of hys goodnes had geuen vnto manne some speciall lyghte and knowledge of hys wyll and pleasure that then vndoughtedlye without farther helpe he folowynge suche specyall lyght and knowledge myght be able well inoughe to attayne to euerlastynge lyfe Therefore to take all suche excuses awaye and that we should plainelye vnderstande that after we once fell into sinne neither the light of nature in vs neyther the knowledge of the wyll of God by speciall reuelation opened vnto vs was able to helpe vs god suffred mankynde to trauel fyrst by the light of nature secondly by the lawe of Moyses and yet man ranne styll farther and farther into damnation Whereby it appereth that though knowledge of the truth be necessarye to the attayninge of euerlastinge lyfe yet suche knowledge be it neuer so great beyng in a man corrupted with synne is to feble and to weake to purge him of sinne For purgation clensing of synne commeth by some other meanes besides the knowledge of the truth and therfore S. Paule in the fyrste chapiter of his epistle to the Romaines most plainly affirmeth that in the time of the law of nature men knew inough of God but yet not withstanding theyr knoledge they fell into abhominable idolatry The wordes of S. Paule in that place are these So much as may be knowen of god is manifest in thē that is to say in those whiche liued vnder the lawe of nature from Adam vnto Moyses For his inuisible thinges euen his eternal power godhed were sene of thē being vnderstanded by the works of the creatiō of the world so that they are without excuse bicause that when they knew God they glorified hym not as god nether were thankeful but becamful of vanitie in their imaginacions And as the lyght whiche men had by the lawes of nature was not of force to kepe them from synne so nether the lawe of Moyses beyng opened from god him selfe by special reuelatiō could suffice to ryde mā from sinne as S. Paule in the second chapiter of his foresayde epistle testifieth saying Behold thou art a Iew Roma 2 and thou doest rest in the law and doest glory in god and doest know his wyl and pleasure being

forasmuche as the holye ghoste is the gouernour and ruler of the catholyke churche we ought there onely and in no other corner to serche the true vnderstandynge and dyscernynge of the scryptures And for this cause the aucient fathers were they neuer so godly and so wel learned yet woulde they neuer presume vpon theyr owne iudgementes but euer referred them selues to the vnderstandyng and interpretacion of the catholyke churche before them Therfore the godly lerned and ancient father Ireneus Ireneus li. 3 capi 4 wryting agaynste schismaticall heresyes sayeth thus Quid enim si qui de aliqua modica questione disceptatio esset nonne oporteret in antiquissimas recurrere Ecclesias c. that is to saye but what and yf there were contencion concerning some smal question were it not necessarye to returne to the mooste auncient churches and immediatly after he sayeth Quid autem si neque apostoli quidem scripturas reliquissent nobis nonne oportebat ordinem sequi traditionis quam tradiderunt hijs quibus committebant Ecclesias What sayeth this holye father yf the Apostles had lefte to vs no scripture at all had it not bene necessarye to folowe the order of that tradition whyche they delyuered to those to whome they dyd bequethe the churche Alas good people howe farre are manye in these dayes gone from this olde and aunciēt rule this blessed martir here exhorteth or rather commaundeth that yf any small dyscorde thoughe it be in a matter of lytle importaunce doo chaunce that we woulde not accordyng to our fantasy iudge therein but though we haue no scripture for the same yet sayeth he we ought to folowe kepe and obserue the tradition of the aunciente churches Where as in these late dayes the impudente procedars haue taughte the zely people that euery man shoulde and may be a iudge of controuersyes and that we oughte to obserue no tradition nor ceremonye other than we fynde in the holy scrypture Of suche the same holy Ireneus dooeth speake thus after many other notable lessons to the same purpose Omnes autem hij decidunt a veritate Ireneus li. 4 Cap. 43. et heritici quidem alienum ignem afferentes ad altare dei id est alienas doctrinas a celesti igne conburentur c. All these sayeth he doo fal from the trueth and the heretykes truely bryngynge straunge fyre to the aulter of God that is to saye straunge doctrine shal be brent with the heuenly fyre With suche lyke threatnynges in the same place to those that disobey the authoritie of the churche Lykewyse sainct Augustyne speakynge of the baptysme of chyldren and howe that sacrament can profyte them seynge many die before they know the effecte of the same affyrmeth that the faythe of those that brynge the chylde to christenynge shall profyte the childe that is broughte but for his probacion August de li. arb lib. 3. Cap. 23. he bryngeth thys Hoc commendat ecclesie saluberrima authoritas This thynge the mooste holsome aucthoritye of the churche doethe commende And euen wyth lyke reuerence the same saincte Augustyne dooth many tymes submytte all hys iudgementes Epist 7. In proemio Li. 3. De. Tri. and woorkes to the catholyke churche And fynally to declare hys iudgemente concernynge the aucthoritye of the catholyke churche He saieth thus Ego vero Euāgelio nō crederem nisi me catholicae Ecclesiae commoueret authoritas that is to say Truely August contra epist Manich. Capi. 3 I would not beleue the Gospell onles that the aucthoritye of the catholyke churche dyd moue me thereto And we ought here to consyder that after the ascension of our sauioure Christe for the space of certayne yeares there was no gospell at all wrytten but all thynges concernynge the faythfull christians were ruled and gouerned by the dyscyples of Christ beyng than the heades of the church Afterwarde we rede that dyuers of the dyscyples of Christe dyd wryte Gospelles as sainct Bartylmew Nicodemus and an other Gospel was called Euangelium Nazareorum But the authorite of the churche dyd onely admitte those fower euangelistes which nowe the whole churche dooth retayne Whyche thing might well seme maruelous seynge that bothe saincte Bartylmew and Nicodemus were present and dyd see the woorkes of Christ and also dyd here hys doctryne where as sainct Luke dyd learne hys gospell of saincte Paule and other and so lykewyse dyd S. marke but hereby it dooeth moost playnly appere that the catholike churche onely hathe this hye aucthorite to dyscerne scriptures and that scriptures allowed by the church shoulde not be refused of anye particulare persons Nowe therefore seynge that the catholyke churche bothe hathe delyuered to vs the scripture and in all ages and tymes hath bene taken of all Godly lerned men for the true iudge thereof I exhort and beseche all you good christen people that in all doutes opinions and controuersies ye would resort to the holy churche and there learne what the same catholyke church hath beleued and taught from time to time concernynge doutes or controuersies and yf wyth lowly and meke hartes ye wyll so doo surely the holy ghoste wyll instructe you he wyll comforte you and he wyl leade you into al trueth But yf in suche case ye wil fly from the catholike church aske coūsell of your selues or of any that dooth swarue from the sayd churche than for so muche as the holy ghost is not your guyde you shall fall from ignoraunce to errour and from doutyng and dysputyng to playne heresy and so from one to another to the vtter confusion An other aucthoriti of the churche of bothe body and soule Yet beside this great authoritie of the churche whereof you haue hearde there is an other gyuen by God of mooste hye excellencye that is power to forgyue and pardon the penitent synner and to punishe and correcte the obstinate or frowarde synner which power and aucthorite Leuit. 13. as it was fygured in the preesthood of the olde lawe as in Iudgynge of leprose persons and in punyshynge to death those that did not obey the priest euē so is it giuen by our sauiour Christ in very dede Deut. 17. in the gospel to his Apostles and to all theyr successours For after that our sauioure hadde rysen from deathe he came amonges hys Apostles and brethed vpon them and sayde Accipite spiritum sanctum quorum dimiseritis peccata Iohn 20. dimittuntur eis et quorum retinueritis retenta sunt That is take you the holy ghost whose sinnes you shall forgyue they are forgyuen to them and whose synnes you doo retayne they are retayned Whyche aucthorite by playne woordes gyuen by Christ though some hath or doo contemne and set at noughte Ciril in Iohn Lib. 12. capi 20. yet saincte Cyrill byddeth them cease to merueyle that Christ should giue suche power for he sayeth Certe absurdum non est peccata remitti posse ab illis qui spiritum sanctum in seipsis habeant