the cittie are thus to be expounded that before Christ came nere vnto the cytie the posessed met with him in the middest of the waye But they whiche thincke that the man dwelt in the graues because the deuils are eyther delyghted with the smelles of deade carcases or with the sauour of sacrifices or because they woulde get those sowles by disceite whiche couet to be neere their bodyes theye I saye that thincke thus are deceyued their diuination is not worth a straw The vncleane spirite did rather kepe this miserable mā among the graues to the intēt he might strike him with continual terrour by the sorrofull sight of deathe as if he shoulde leade his lyfe amonge the deade beynge thrust out from the company of men By this also we learne that the deuyll dothe not onely torment men in this presente life but also persecute euen to the death And vvere out of measure fearce S. The Euāgelist dothe descrybe here the strengthe power pollicie and kingdome of sathan that afterwardes the vertue and power of Christ may the more appere C. There is no man so stoute whome this horrible spectacle wyll not make afearde But we ought all to haue this thought within our selues that we are helde vnder by the tyranny of the deuyll vntyll we are deliuered by God throughe the grace of Christ Iesus A. Marke addeth that no man coulde bynde him with chaynes because that when he was oftē bound with fetters and chaines he pluckte the chaynes in sounder and brake the fetters in peces neither coulde any man tame him C. But naturally he coulde not breake the chaynes whereby we gather that extraordinary motions of Sathā ar somtimes permitted whose force doth ouercome our sence and common reason There is more strength sene oftē tymes in frensie persons in their madnes then when they haue their health wittes and parfecte strength Neyther can it be denyed but that the deuill dothe playe his partes in suche so often as god doth permit hym But the force and violence which the Euangelistes do describe here did farre excelle By the whiche we are taught howe fearefull horrible a thing it is to be vnder the tyranny of Sathan neyther must we feare the vexation and tormēt of the soule lesse then the disquietnes and trouble of the body 29 And beholde they cryed out saying O Iesu thou sonne of God what haue we to do with thee arte thou come hither to torment vs before the time And they cried out M. Now the Euangelist beginneth to reherse both what they dyd and saide vnto Christe A Marke which speaketh onely of one saith thus when he spied Iesus a farre of he ran worshipped him C. This is the order of the historie when the possessed came to mete Christe he commaunded the vncleane spirites to go out of the men then they did beseche him that he woulde not trouble them before the tyme Therfore they praied not before he spake Neither was Christ troublesom vnto them before he constrayned them to go out of the men But we must note that they came not so willingly into the sight of Christ as they were dryuen therto by the secrete power of the holy Ghoste For as before they were wont to vexe men by furiouse violence in the graues at their pleasure so now the higher power constrayneth thē to come to the trybunall Seate of theyr iudge agaynste theyr wylles Whereby wee maye gather that all the kyngedome of Sathan is subiecte and obedient to the rule of Chryste Fynally theye are constrained openly to declare Christ to be the delyuerar of menne Yea they are constrayned to worshyppe hym and their obstinate complaintes are wytnesses how vnwilling their confession was beinge exhorted by vyolence saying VVhat haue vve to do vvith thee A. This is an Hebrewe phrase of speache in the Scriptures vsed As this what haue I to doo with you ye sonnes of Saruia agayne What hast thou to do with peace Also What haue I to do with thee thou kyng of Iuda By this voyce they wolde fayne haue escaped the handes of Christ but because that they parceyue them selues to be bownde that in vayne theye shoulde flye from hym they complayne theim selues to be troubled before the tyme and they mixe with the complaint a certayne kynde of besechinge So that wee se the deuilles to loke at the handes of God for nothinge els but crueltie and yet notwithstandynge they ceasse not to swell with theyr pryde against God. O Iesu thou sonne of God. M. The deuylles do confesse Iesus to be Chryste euen as do all the reprobate but they beleue not that they may be saued by this Iesus but contrarywise they think that he is come to tormente trouble and vexe them But the reason why Chryst doth not reiecte and refuse openly this confession of the deuil as he dyd in the fourth chapter of Luke is this because the discord was well enoughe knowne to the ende al euyll reporte myghte be put awaye But as towchynge this presente place this ought to be sufficiente and enough that the deuylles humblelye besechynge hym dyd outragyouselye frott and fume agaynste hym To torment vs. They complayne them selues to be tormented As some saye because theye were constrayned to sette the man free and at libertie whiche before they molested and vexed Others refer this torment which they make exclamation agaynste to the daye of Iudgement But wee muste rather vnderstande this place that the deuylles beynge made afrayde by the presence of theyr iudge thought vpon their ponyshemente for althoughe Chryste helde his peace yet theyr euyll consciences dyd accuse them For as the theues when they are broughte to the sessyons or iudgemente seate conceyue in theyr myndes the deserued ponyshemente euen so it muste nedes be that the deuils and all the wicked ones shoulde tremble and quake for feare at the syght of God the Celestyall myghtye and terryble Iudge no lesse then if they presentely felte the paynes and tourmentes of hell fyer The deuyls knowyng that Christe shoulde be the iudge of the whole world it is no maruayle if they were afrayde of tormente at the syght of hym M. Theye knewe they hadde deserued tourmente therefore theye had leauer that Chryste as yet hadde not come so shall he come to all the wycked whyche by the testymonye of theyr owne Consciences loke for nothynge elles at the commynge of Chryste but euerlastynge ponyshement and payne As to wchynge the fonde and couryouse question whyche somme moue whether the daye of iudgemente was knowne to thē or no It is supersluouse and vaine Saye ye soo syr Question What meaneth then this Before the tyme. Surelye his meanynge was that the tyme for the ponyshment of the reprobate was euer too soone For they woulde fayne put it of from daye to daye Marcke addeth that when the deuyll was asked what his name was he aunswered Chryste that he was named Legion The which aunswere
time to come he doth not without good cause demaund whether they leauing al that they had gaue themselues in vaine vnto Christ For it were not indifferent that they shoulde be spoyled as it were by the Lorde and not restored to better But what were all those thinges that Peter saith here he hath forsaken For they beinge meane men of poore estate had scant a house to put in their heades this great all and sūme therfore that Peter boasteth of mighte seeme ridiculous and great folly in Peter to boast of the same And truly experience doth teach howe liberally men perswade thēselues to haue done their duty towards God euen as at this day we see that some which were almost beggers in the time of the Papacy do proudly bragge that they for the Gospels sake haue suffered great losse And other some which before the Gospel was knowen were reedye to suffer whatsoeuer shoulde be layed vppon them after they were deliuered from tyranny had lefte a little god wot behinde thē being come to the place where the Gospell was more freely preached by by proudlye and vnthanckefully they boaste that they haue forsaken all whereas God doth more esteme the affection thā all the kingdomes of the world C. Notwithstanding the Disciples maye be excused because although they had not aboūdance yet notwithstanding they liued at home with their handy labor no lesse merelye than they that had great plenty of riches And we know that simple men accustomed to a quiet competent life are more hardlye withdrawne from theyr wiues and children than they which are riche Truly except some reward were in store for the Disciples they had foolishly chaūged the state of their life But as in this parte they are excusable so in this notwithstandinge they offende that hauinge not made an ende of the warre taken in hāde desier to tryumphe If at any time the like tediousnes by reason of delaye do trouble wearye and make vs impaciente let vs learne first to consider of the solace ioye which the Lorde hath in store to mittigate the sharpenes of the Crosse in this life and to lifte vs vp to the hope of the euerlastinge life to come For in these two partes the aunswere of Christ is cōtayned VVhat shall vvee haue E. Those woordes which Iesus spake to the yonge man sayinge sell all that thou haste and thou shalte haue treasure in heauen and come and follow mée did not a little kindle the hope of Peter who although hee were not riche yet notwithstanding hée forsoke that which hée had as it was said before with a willing minde as his ship and his nettes and followed the Lorde Lord sayth hée beholde wée haue done that which thou requiredst of the yonge man What reward therefore shall wée haue 28. Iesus saide vnto them verelye I saye vnto you that yee which haue followed mee in the regeneration when the sonne of man shall sit in the seate of his maiestye shall sit also vppon twelue seates iudginge the twelue tribes of Israell Iesus said vnto them verely I say vnto you yee vvhich Peter had spoken two thinges when hée saide Wée haue forsaken all and wee haue followed But Christ aunswering sayd not you haue forsaken all For Socrates the Philosopher did so and manye other which despised riches Because therefore it is not sufficient to leaue all Christ sayth ye that haue followed me For this belongeth to the Apostelles and the faithfull In the regeneration shall sit C. Least the Disciples should thincke that they had loste their labor and least they should repent them as of a foolishe enterprise Christ admonisheth them that the glory of his kingdome which then as yet lay hid should be reuealed as if hee should saye There is no cause whye this base estate should discourage you for I which am of no reputacion in the world will at the length ascende and sit vpon the seate of my Maiesty abyde therefore and content your selues a while for the time will come when yée shall sée my glorye And what doth hee promise them then sure hée promiseth that they shal be partakers of the same glory with him For in that hée attributeth vnto them thrones or seates out of the which they shall Iudge the twelue tribes of Israell hée compareth them vnto Legates or to the chiefe counsellers and Presidentes which in the presence of the Kinge haue the chiefe places Wée know that the Apostels were chosē twelue in number that thereby it might be declared that God by the reuealing of his sonne Christ would gather together the dispersed remnaunts of his people This was an excellente dignitye and honor but as yet hid therefore Christ suspendeth their desyers euen vntill the last time when the glorye of his kingdome should be reuealed that then at the last they might perceiue the fruite of their election And although the kingdome of Christ in the preaching of the Gospell in some point doth shine yet notwithstanding there is no doubt but that he speaketh here of the last day In the regeneration M. There are two kindes of regeneration The first is of the mindes of men in this present life which is finished and brought to passe by the preachinge of the Gospell fayth in Christ by the operatiō of the holy ghost for that is a Christian life when wée consecrate our selues to God and Christ The secōde is of the bodies of men beinge the state condition of the life to come which S. Paule calleth the redemption of our bodies when our bodies shal be raysed vppe from death shal be regenerate that is to say newe borne into the heauenly glory not into earthlye corruption For then the creature it selfe shal be deliuered from the bondage of corruption into the glorye of the sonnes of god If wée well consider the time of the iudgement to come in the which all things shal be renued altered and that into another state and conditiō how can it be more aptly termed then by the name of regeneration The Apostel Peter calleth this regeneration the restoring of all things C. For then shall mortallitye be swallowed vp of life And our vile bodye shall then be transfigured into the heauenly glory of Christ This regeneratiō notwithstāding ought rather to be referred to the first comming of Christ because then the worlde began to be renued and the Churche also arose out of the shadow of death vnto life And this maner of speache is founde often times in the Prophetes and agreeth very well to the circumstance of this place For the renouation and restoringe of the Churche being so oftentimes promised so soone as the Messias appeared it brought a wonderful hope of felicity Christ therfore that hee might staye that error maketh a difference betwene the beginning of his kingdome and the finishing of the same VVhen the sonne of man shall sit in the seat M. Hée putteth into
oure duety vnto men we do also oure duety towardes God. But Christe applying his wordes to the capascity of the people thought it sufficiente to make a difference betwene the spirituall kingdome of God and pollitique order and the state of this presente lyfe Wherefore this difference must be had that seinge the Lorde wil be the only ruler and lawmaker to gouern the soules of mē we must not seke for a rule of worshipping him frō any other thing than frō his worde we must abide in the only pure worship which he hath there prescribed that the power of the swerde lawes iudgements do hinder nothing at all but that the worship of God maye remaine whole and sounde amongest vs M. Therfore that whiche partaineth to the earth belongeth as righte vnto Cesar and that which pertaineth to religiō belongeth vnto god In earth wee haue the image of Cesar in money which teacheth what we owe vnto Cesar Againe in our minde we beare the seale of Christ of the holy ghost beinge sealed by baptisme and ingraued also by the name of Christ whereby wee are taughte what we owe vnto god God doth not cōmande vs to withholde from Cesar those things that are dewe to Cesar it were amost wicked vngodly acte if Cesar woulde not suffer those thinges to be geuen to God which are dewe vnto him but take them to him selfe C Nowe this doctrine may serue for a general admonition that euery man accordinge to his calling may geue that deuty which is dewe to all men as the children honor to their parents seruants submission to their masters subiectes obedience to the hyer powers that all men may liue according to the rule of charity and that God may haue that which belongeth vnto him Therfore the somme of this place is because they are rebells vnto God which despise pollitique order gouernment we muste note that obedience towardes princes magistrates is ioyned with the worship and feare of God but againe if princes vsurpe vnto them selues the righte which belongeth vnto God we must not obey them but submit our neckes rather to the blocke Bu. Wherefore if a heathē wicked magistrate must not be resisted muche lesse ought we to resist a godly Christiā magistrate Let therefore all wicked Anabaptistes take héede al such also which ouerthrowe pollitike gouernment what they teache and go about 22. VVhen they had heard these words they merueiled and lefte him and wente their waye VVhen they had heard these vvordes they merueiled B. The enemies of the trueth do here merueyle at the great wisedome and experience of Christ but they are nothing at all moued to tourne themselues vnto God by faith And lefte hym and vvent their vvaye C Here also it appereth howe God doth frustrate bring to naughte the wicked practises and deuises of his enemis neither doth he onelye deceiue their expectation and hope but dothe also geue them the repulse with shame It commeth to passe some times that the wicked althoughe they be ouercome yet notwithstanding they ceasse not to make exclamation but althoughe their wantonnes bee vnbrideled whiche resiste the worde of God yet for all that God hath so many victories in his hand that he will triumphe ouer them and ouer Sathan their heade also But in this answer Christe goeth about specially to manifest and set forthe his glory when he constrained his enemis to departe with ignominy shame A. Let vs therfore acknowledge this sentence of Solomon to bee moste true when he saith There is no wisdome nor prudence nor counsel against the Lord 23. The same daye came to him the Saduceis which saye that there is no resurrection and asked him sayinge The same daye came to him C. Wee do see here how Sathan gathereth together al the wicked whiche els are at contenciō among themselues to resist the trueth of god For although there were dedly disagréement betwene these two sectes yet notwithstanding they conspire together against Christ that it might not displease the Pharises to haue their doctrine resisted in the persone of Christ Euenso at this daye we sée all the armys of Sathan although at all other times they be one cōtrary to an other yet notwithstāding to arise on euery syde against Christ And the Papistes also do burne with such mortal hatred against Christ his Gospell that they wil willingly suffer Libertines Epicures such kinde of monstrouse Heretiques so that to destroye the Gospell they may vse their helpes To be shorte we sée that they wente out on euery side such as sought to bēde their force against Christ they did this because euery one of the hated the lighte of sounde perfecte doctrine But the Saduces propounde a questiō vnto Christ that by the shewe of absurdity thei might either make him partaker of the error or els that if he did disagrée they might defame him make him a mocking stocke among the rude vnlearned multitude And it may be truly that they were wonte with the same cauill to vexe and moleste the Pharises but nowe they laye the same grinne or snare for Christe M After therfore that the Phariseys had done nothinge againste Christe the Saduces come to assaye if they coulde bring that to passe which the Scribes and Phariseis before them had sought for VVhich say that there is no resurrection A. As concerning this secte of Saduces reade the chapter going before C. But the Euangeliste Luke witnesseth that they denyed not onely the last resurrection of the fleshe but the immortalitye also of the soule And certainly if the doctrine of the Scripture be wel wayed the lyfe of the soule without the hope of resurrection is but a mere dreame God dothe not so pronounce the soules to be frée from death as thoughe alredye they were in possession of the presente glorye and beatitude but he suspendeth theyr hope vntill the last daye We graunte truely that the Philosophers to whome the resurrection of the fleshe was vnknowne disputed muche about the immortal essence of the soule but they speake so rashly and vnaduisedly of the state of the lyfe to come that their writtings are of no waighte But seinge the holy scripture doth declare that the spiritual life doth depende vpon the hope of the resurrection and that the soules being dissolued from the bodies do thyther departe whosoeuer taketh away the resurrectiō he doth also spoile the soules of immortallity Moreouer hereby we maye perceaue the horrible cōfusion of the Iewish Church in that the chefe heades and professors of religion toke awaye the hope of the life to come that men after the death of the bodye differ nothinge from brute beasts They did not for al this deny but the men ought to liue iustly godly neither were they so prophane and heathenishe that they accounted the worship of God to be prophane superfluouse but they rather affirmed that God was
it shal be incredible vnto vs vntill oure mindes do arise to the beholdinge of the inspeakable power of God by the which he can bringe all thinges in subiection to him selfe as sayth the Apostell Paul. M. Therfore the Saduces denying the resurrection were ignorant of the power of God which is specially declared in the resurrection the which power also Paule setteth before vs to consider of in the resurrection of Christe C. More ouer it was necessarye that the Saduces shoulde be deceiued because they measured amisse the glory of the heauenlye lyfe by the presente state and condition of this transitory lyfe Notwithstanding in the meane time wee are taughte that they doe truelye and wysely iudge and speake of the misteries of the heauēly kingdome which do ioyne the power of God with the Scriptures 30. For in the resurrection they neyther mary nor are maryed but are as the angels in heauen For in the resurrection M. He sheweth vnto vs the state of those whiche shal be happy and blessed after the resurrection takinge awaye the opinion of absurdity as concerninge the state of the worlde to come And he vseth a distinction of the times present and to come the which the Euangeliste Luke more plentifully and plainelye expresseth saying The children of this worlde marye wyues and are maryed but they whiche shal be counted worthye of that worlde and the resurrection from the deade doe not mary wyues neyther are maryed He calleth all those the children of this worlde whiche lyue in the worlde And he calleth those worthye of the worlde to come whiche apprehende the felicity and happines that is to come But are as the Angels of God in heauen C. He dothe not meane that the sonnes of GOD when they aryse shal be lyke to the Angels in all thinges but in respect of this that they shal be frée from all the infirmity of this presente lyfe euen as if he shoulde deny them to be any more subiecte to the transitory and corruptible necessities of this lyfe The Euangelist Luke doth more plainlye expresse the order and maner of the lykenes that Christe here speaketh of sayinge that they canne dye no more for that they are equall to the Angels and are the sonnes of god But he speaketh of the faythfull onely because the ende of his talke doth not tende to the reprobate As the Angelles therefore cannot dye euenso they whiche are raised from the deade can dye no more but shall lyue with the Angells eternallye and because they are the sonnes of God to whome the inheritaunce of Gods ryches doth pertayne they cannot perishe because they are called the sonnes of the resurrection therfore they shall enioye the euerlastinge benefits of the resurrection to come which benefits are perpetuall ioye and continuall felicity C. But it maye be demaunded why he saith that they shal be then the sonnes of God because they shal be the sonnes of the resurrection when as the Lord doth geue this titell of honor to the faithfull although they be included and shutte vp in the fraile prison of the body And how shoulde wee be heires of euerlastyng life after death except God did now acknowledge vs for his sonnes We aunswere that so soone as we are by fayth ingraffed into the body of Christ we are made the adopted sonnes of God and that this spirit of adoption is a witnes seale earnest and pledge that by this truste we may boldly crye Abba Father But although we knowe that we are the sonnes of God yet for all that because it hath not as yet appered what we shal be vntill wee be transfigured into his glory when we shal sée hym what he is wee are not as yet in the effecte it selfe sayde to be his sonnes And although we be regenerated by the spirite of God yet notwithstanding because our life is hid as yet the reuealing thereof dothe in perfect wyse make a difference betwene vs and strangers And in this sence the Apostell Paule dyfferreth our adoption euen vntyll the laste daye M. We must therefore note how great the felicitie of the lyfe to come shal be For that whiche is nowe ful of infirmitie Mortallitie and corruption yea that whiche is nowe heauy troublesom slowe myserable and base shall be by the resurrection made stronge immortal incorruptible light pleasant quicke happy and gloriouse And the soule shal be free from ignoraunce blyndenesse false opinions wicked affections anger enuy feare pryde and suche lyke Wherfore whosoeuer hee be that is oppressed and afflicted in this presente lyfe eyther by the wycked affections of the mynd either by corruption and trouble let hym haue respecte to this Angelycall state of the lyfe to come and there solace hym selfe 31 But as towchinge the resurrection of the deade haue ye not red that whiche is spokē vnto you of God whiche 32 saithe I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob God is not a God of deade but of liuinge But as tovvchinge the resurrection of the dead Bu. The Lord being not contented that he confuted the absurditie of the Saduces and shewed the causes of theyr error proueth very strongely the contrarye parte that it myght be euydent that the faithe of the resurrection of the body and of the immortalitie of the sowles is sure confyrmed C. After therfore Christe hadde confuted the absurditie obiected againste him hee confirmeth the doctrine of the last resurrection by the testimony of Scripture And trewely this order is to be noted of vs that when wee haue ouercome the enemies of the trueth with all theyr cauilles we muste geue theim to vnderstand that they haue resisted the woorde of God for vntil they be conuinced by the testimony of Scripture they shall euer haue lybertie to exclayme Haue ye not read B. The Euangelyste Marke hath As towchynge the deadde that they ryse agayne haue ye not redd in the booke of Moyses c. And the Euangelist Luke hath And that the dead shall ryse agayne Moyses also sheweth besides the busshe when hee calleth the Lorde c. The woordes of Marke make the woordes of Luke more playne Hee doth as it were note with the fynger this place of Moyses when he saith Howe in the bushe God spake vnto him saying I am the God of Abraham C. Our sauiour Christ citeth this place here out of Moyses because he had to do with the Saduces who gaue no great credite vnto the Prophetes for they made no more accounte of them than wee do of the booke of Ecclesiasticus or of the booke of the Machabees And because they alleaged Moyses for theyr authour he thought it better to repell them with their own authoritie than to set before theim the testimony of any one of the Prophetes Moreouer it maye be that hee endeuoured not hym selfe to gather all the places of Scriptures together as the Apostelles who do vse as wee se dyuerse testimonies
infirmity I do therefore bouldlye call it sorrowe and heauines that he suffered because I preach the Crosse For hee toke not vppon him oure fleshe in cooller and shewe but in deede Hee ought therefore to suffer griefe that hee myghte ouercome sorrowe not that hee mighte exclude it Neyther haue they so muche prayse of fortitude whiche beinge wounded feele not the same as they that suffer the griefe of the wounde Thus farre S. Ambrose They truly which Immagine the sonne of God to be free from these passions they do not acknowledge him to be a man trulye and effectuallye Yea when it is sayde that the deuyne power of Christe beinge hid as it were rested for a time that hee mighte fullfill the partes of a mediator in sufferinge it is so farre from absurditye that otherwyse hee coulde not fulfill the misterye of oure saluation Yet notwithstandinge the infirmitye whiche Christe toke vppon him oughte to be distinguished from oure infirmitye because it is farre differinge from that whiche is in vs. For in vs affection is not voyde of fault because all of them do exceede a meane and righte temperature But Christ was so troubled wyth sorrowe and feare that notwithstandinge hee murmered not agaynst God but sayde Father if it be possible let this Cuppe passe from mee Neuerthelesse not that I will but that thou wilt be done So that hee framed himselfe accordinge to the true rule of temperaunce For it is no marueyle hee beinge pure and holy free from all spotte if that pure affections flowed from him althoughe they were witnesses of humaine infirmitye and if from the nature of man there dothe sprynge nothinge but that which is filthye and full of puddle Let vs therefore note this difference that Christe in feare and sorrow was weake without anye spot of sinne and that all oure affections because they gushe and burste forth in excesse are vicious B. Wee muste acknowledge then that he was true and perfecte man and that hee did saye by a cooller that hee was sorrye and troubled C. But nowe wee muste note the kinde of affections with the which Christe was tempted Mathewe sayeth that hee was affected with sorrowe and heauynes Luke sayth that hee was in an agonye and Marke sayth that hee was abasshed But howe came it to passe that hee was sorrowfull heauye fearefull and abasshed but onely because in his death hee conceyued some thinge more sorrowfull horrible than the seperation of the soule and bodye And trulye hee suffered death not onely that hee mighte assende from the earth into Heauen but rather that hee taking vpon himselfe the curse to the which we were subiecte mighte delyuer vs from the same Hee feared not death therefore simplelye as it is a departure oute of this world but because hee had before his eyes the fearefull Iudgemente of GOD the Iudge himselfe beinge armed with incomprehensible vengeance and the huge heape of our sinnes which were layed vpon him oppressinge him Wherefore it is no maruayle if the horrible gulphe of destruction do sharpelye vexe him with feare and sorrowe M. Here therefore is set before vs a hye preste whiche can haue compassion vppon our infirmities which was tempted in all pointes like as wee are but yet without sinne to whom let vs go bouldly as vnto the seate of grace that wee may obtayne mercye and finde grace to helpe in time of neede This place also bringeth consolation vnto vs teachinge vs not to thincke that wee displease God when wee are throwne downe with the feare of death Christ doubted not to complaine of the horror of death which he suffered in praying to the father The which thinge also we may reade in the Psalmes to be done oftentimes of Dauid Wee are also forbidden that wee doe not iudge by and by or contemne those whiche are discouraged by the feare of deathe as though they had euill consciences and that also wee do not iustify those which dye with a boulde courage 38. Then saide Iesus vnto them My soule is heauy vnto the death Tarrye ye here and watche with mee My soule is heauy vnto the death M. Christe was full of sorrowe before hee did praye C. But hee maketh these three Dysciples priuy of his death that they mighte be partakers of the same passiō not because their weakenes was hiddē from him but because they might afterward be the more ashamed of their dulnes in vnderstandinge And this kinde of speach doth expresse a deadly woūd of sorrow as if he had sayd that throughe sorrow hee was out of hart and halfe dead So Ionas aunswered the Lord and sayd I am angery euen vnto the death Wee therfore geeue this note ▪ because certaine of the olde wryters handelinge this place folishly affyrme that the soule of Christ was not heauy in the death but to the death Againe this so greate sorrowe and heauines of the minde was not contrarye to the will of the father for the father woulde not haue hym suffer without sorrowe and griefe It was the wyll of the father that Hierusalem shoulde be besieged yet notwithstandinge Christ bewayled the same insomuche that hee wepte Tarrye ye here and vvatche vvith mee M. Such is the disposition of the wicked that they desyer to haue those whom they take to be their frendes to mourne and sorrowe with them euen as if thou wouldest not beare a heauy burthen alone but wouldest lay part thereof vpon other mens shoulders which in deede is some helpe to the afflicted It should seeme that Christ beinge thus affected desyered to haue these three Dysciples before anye other to watche with him that is in prayinge and sighinge to labour wyth him And least any man shoulde thincke the Christ was voyde of this affection let him note this thing which the Prophete sayth I loked for some to haue pittye on mee but there was no man neither founde I any to comforte mee This was yet a farther declaration and more euident argument of the humaine infirmity that was in Christe As if he should haue sayd Lend me your hand Althoughe hee were oute of daunger yet it behoued him to sustayne these thinges Wherefore seinge wee see these thinges in Christ let vs not despyse the prayers of our brethren hee hath vndoubted victory ouer death yet notwithstandinge hee sayth Watche with mee How be it wee may gather that Christe did not require these Dysciples to watche with him so much for himselfe as for their owne sakes as if they had bene in the like daunger that they mighte not be ouercome with the temptacion to come Luke sayth that hee added And pray least ye enter into temptacion that which wee will expounde in the one and fortye verse followinge 39. And hee wente a little farther and fell flat on his face and prayed saying O my father if it be possible let this cuppe passe from mee neuerthelesse not as I will but as thou wilt And hee vvente a little farther M. Hee went asyde as
figures of blessed and happy thinges that we may the better conceyue of the same euen as also the punishements of the wicked are described vnto vs by fier Therefore Christ in this place calleth the state and condition of eternall life Paradice So that we ought to contente our selues with this that whosoeuer by faythe are ingrafted into the bodye of Christe are partakers of his life and so after deathe do inioye a blessed and quiete life vntyll the parfecte glory of the heauenly lyfe be fully reuealed at the comming of Christ One thing yet is to be noted that Christ promisethe not to the théefe to ease his presente miseries or to take awaye any parte thereof he beinge in bodely payne By the whiche we are admonished that wee must not iudge of the grace of God according to the sence and reason of flesh and bloude for it commeth oftentimes to passe that God doth suffer those to be myserably aflicted to whome notwithstanding he is mercifull Therefore if wee be miserably disquieted in body we muste take hede least the sharpnes of the grefe do take away the tast and feelinge of the goodnes of God but rather that we leâ—…t this only consolation to temper and moderate our trouble namely that so soone as God hathe taken vs into his fauoure what trouble so euer wee suffer it is for the furtherance of our saluation And so it shall come to passe that our faith shall not onely haue the victory ouer all troubles and myseries but shal also haue rest with pacience in the middest of punishmentes 45 From the sixt houre was there darknesse ouer the lande vnto the nynthe houre From the syxt houre there vvas darcknes B. Mark hath And when the sixt houre was come That sixte houre was the thirde parte of the daye which began at one of the clock after none accordinge to our daye and al the same vntyll nine of the clocke was wonte to be called the syxte houre Reade the twenty Chapter goinge before E. Hereby we see that Christ honge vppon the crosse almoste three houres for Mark declareth that he was crucified the third houre There vvas darkenes ouer the lande Althoughe in the death of Christe the infirmity of the fleshe did hyde the glory of the deitye for a tyme and althoughe the Sonne of God laye deformed vnder reproche and contempte yet notwithstandyng the father of heauen ceassed not to adorne hym with heauenly tokens and signes And also in the last deiection and extremity he erected and set forthe certeyne proffers and signes of his heauenlye glory which might staye holde vp the mindes of the godly against the offence or stomblynge blocke of the crosse Euenso the maiesty of Chryste was wonderfully declared by the darkenes of the Soon by the earthquake by the cleauinge of the Rockes and by the rentinge of the veale euen as if heauen and earthe shoulde shewe their dewe reuerence to their worke master and maker But firste of all it maye be demanded to what ende was the eclipse of the Soone Some interpreters do thynke that God sente darkenes at the deathe of Christe for a signe of detestation as if God should hide his face the soone being darkened froÌ„ the abhominable wyckednes of all menne Other some saye that the visible Soone beinge extinguished the destruction of the Soone of righteousnes was declared â–ª Other some thinke it better to referre it to the blinding of that nacion which followed a lyttell after For the Iewes beinge reiected and puâ—…t to death were depriued of the lighte of the heauenly doctrine neyther was ther any thing lefte vnto them but the darkenes of desperation Notwithstanding it is more probable that because that people was blynde at the cleare lighte they were awakened and stirred vp by darkenes to consider the wonderfull purpose of God in the death of Christe For the straunge and vnwonted conuersion of the order of nature mighte seriously haue moued them if they had not bene to blynde and obstinate to consider the renewing of the worlde to come In the meane tyme a terrible sighte was shewed vnto them that they mighte bee afrayde at the iudgement of God. Ouer the lande E. Not ouer the whole earth but this darkenes was ouer Iudea onely or Hierusalem C. For if this darkenes hadde beene ouer the whole worlde it woulde haue bene thoughte a naturall eclipse and so not regarded of men But to haue Iudea couered wyth darkenes and the Soon to shyne in other places was a more notable miracle E. TertulliaÌ„ doth affirme in his Apologitico that this darkenes of the Soonne was writen in the booke of aunciente monumentes of the Romanes For Pylate as hee writeth in an other place hadde foreshewed all these thynges vnto Tiberius Eusebius also in his Cronicles maketh mencion of this darkenes of the Soone and of the earthquaque by the whiche many houses in Bethania fel downe he bringynge in Phlegontis the writer of the Olympiades for his witnes There wante not some whiche write that this darkenes was ouer the whole worlde beinge led therunto by the writing of Phlegontis and Orosius describynge peraduenture those thyngs whiche were kepte of his matter in the monumentes of the Romanes beinge writen and foreshewed as we sayde eueÌ„ nowe by Pylate vnto Tiberius C. But althoughe this was broughte forthe by one or twoo writers yet notwithstandyng the hystory of their times was so common that suche a notable miracle coulde not be buryed in silence of so many which diligently obserued those thinges whiche were not so well worthy to be remembered 40. And aboute the nynthe hower Iesus cryed with a loude voyce sayinge Eli Eli lama sabathany That is to saye My God my God why haste thou forsaken me And about the nynth hovver M. The Apostell maketh mencion of the crye and teares of Christe sayinge Whiche in the dayes of his fleshe when he had offered vp prayers and supplications wyth stronge cryinge and teares vnto hym that was able to saue hym from deathe and was hearde because of his feare Ely Ely Lamasabathany M. The Chalde or Sirian worde is Sabathany for the which the Hebrewes writte Azabathani Thou haste forsaken me It is the firste verse of the twoo and twentye psalme in the whiche Dauid whiche bare the persone of Christe complayneth himselfe But ther are many things in the psalme which can not appertayne but vnto Christe the which thinge that Christe might shewe he vsed this beginnynge C. And althoughe their appeared more than humane force in the crye of Christe yet notwithstandynge it is certeyne that he was forced therunto by the vehemencye of grefe And certeinly this was the speciall conflicte and more sharpe than all other tormentes that in his extremities he was so lyttell holpen wyth the helpe and fauour of his father that after a certeine maner he thoughte himselfe to bee forsaken For he did not offer his bodye onely a pryce of our reconciliation with God but also suffered in soule
August lib. 11. Super gens Maior est huius scripturae authoritas quam omnis humani ingenij perspicacitas A CATHOLIKE AND ECCLESIASTIcall exposition of the holy Gospell after S. Mathewe gathered out of all the singuler and approued Deuines whiche the Lorde hath geuen to his Churche by Augustine Marlorate And translated out of Latine into Englishe by Thomas Tymme Mynister Sene and allowed according to the order appointed Jmprinted at London in Fletestreate neare vnto S. Dunstones churche by Thomas Marshe 1570. Quanto magis quisque in sacris eloquijs assiduus fuerit tanto ex eis vberiorem intelligentiam capit Isidor De summo bo lib. 3. I haue once already founde suche frendship at your honours handes tempered with liberalitie whiche I cannot sufficiently requite that now againe I am the more bolde to moleste and trouble you Crauing pardon that for your noble courtesy then I nowe dare presume to committe vnto your honours charge the conduction of a drifte and sea beaten ship And although the very substauÌ„ce of the treasure and precious pearle contained in my shippe of it selfe is so excelent that it nedeth not the commendation and defence of man yet notwithstanding because by Gods appointment man hath to do with the same for his saluation and therefore I being one among all other moste vnworthy hauing taken vpon me to publishe the same by translation out of Lattin into our vulgar tongue for the common profite of my countremen must of necessitie my own vnworthines I say considered humblely beseche your honor to be a garde and defence of this my endeuour handled with as great dilligence as possible I coulde In so doing you shall not only promote the glory of God and greately further this my simple labour but also make me bounde vnto your honor while life doth laste Thus hauing bouldly required your honourable defence and troubled your eares with tediousnes I ceasse wyshing to youre honour long lyfe increase of nobilitie and the perfecte felicitie of the lyfe to come Your humble orator Thomas Tymme TO AL THE BRETHREN DISPERsed here and there that fauoure and loue the Gospell Augustine Marlorate wisheth grace mercy and peace from God the father through the Lorde Iesus WHen as all men so long as they liue in this present life ought to leuell as at a Butte at the knowledge of the truthe whiche maye nourishe them in the hope of the true and eternall lyfe those men are to bee iudged vnworthy vtterly the name of Christians whiche being contente with some arte or science whereby to get their liuing either do lightly regarde or els altogether neglecte the knowledge of heauenly matters the onely meanes to attayne saluation Neither can there be found any greater ingratitude among men then wheÌ„ they do not endeuour to the vtmoste of their power to know God alone whiche hath not only created fashioned and nourished them as a father in this life but incessantly calleth them to the immortall and incorruptible heritage whiche is prepared for all them whome that celestiall father hath engâ—â—fted by faithe into the body of his onely begotten sonne Moreouer a true and singuler waye to attayne saluation is by God propounded to vs namely if wee beleue his promises whiche waye iustefieth before God mankynde by nature prone vnto sinne and maketh hym the heyre of God and fellowe heyre with Christe I meane faithe not suche as veyne men and hypocrites boast of when they chaunce to conceiue some slender opinion of God but that whiche alone deserueth the name of faithe and vndoubtedly taketh holde of the righteousnes offered in the Gospell and so stayeth on the foundatioÌ„ of free remission of synnes that it caÌ„not be perswaded any other thing than that whiche is certainly knowen to procede out of the mouthe of the Lorde for faythe commeth by hearing but hearing by the woorde of God who at sundrye tymes and in diuers manners spake in the olde tyme to our fathers by Prophetes but in these laste dayes he hath spoken to vs by his sonne On whome he hath powred out his spirit most plentifully in so much that whosoeuer shall heare him teaching and imbrace his doctrine by faythe they may assure them selues to haue bene rightly instructed by the wysedome of God it selfe and to be setled out of all peryll of errour Nowe when his vocation required that after he had opened the veritie to his electe and finished al thinges for the whiche he came into this worlde then he should retourne to his father he woulde not that his spouse the Churche should lacke that incomparable treasure of the Gospell whiche he hym selfe brought down from heauen For seing the cause of his comming was to builde agayne the taberdacle of Dauid whiche was fallen downe and to repaire the ruine therof that is to say that he might erecte and stablishe his kyngdome in the middest of his Churche whiche according to the oracles of the Prophetes he should gather together out of all people and tongues he thought it not sufficient to offer the happy and gladde tidinges of the Gospell to theÌ„ which were at hand namely to the Iewes but he would haue the benefite of the heauenly calling offered to them also whiche were farre of to witte the Gentiles For God had also determined from the beginning that the Gentiles shoulde be heyres knit in one body fellowship of the promises in Christe through the preaching of the Gospell Christe therefore rysing as a conquerer from death coÌ„maunded his Apostels being endewed with heauenly vertue to go into all the worlde and preache the Gospell to all creatures teaching the Gentiles to obserue all thinges that he had commaunded them But because the nomber of twelue did not suffice for so great a multitude of men as the king of all kinges had decreed to call to saluation by the shryll trumpe of his Gospell after he had obtained of his father and that the holy Ghoste was sente downe on his Apostels he enriched encreased and adorned his Churche with men indewed with heauenly wisdome whose ministery he would vse to the ende of the worlde in feading the flocke redemed by the sheading of his bloude Therefore he ordeined some Apostlels some Prophetes some Pastors some Teachers to the gathering together of the sainctes to the woorke of the ministery and to the edefying of Christes body But alas after the departing of those watchemen there was in all the worlde so great scarsitie of faythfull ministers that those heauenly ryches wherewith the Churche was beautified were not on euery part so plainely set forth as the worthynes of the thing it selfe did require For it was brought to passe by the wilines of Sathan that fearce enemy of the Euangelicall truthe that in stede of faithfull Pastors innumerable gredy and rauening Wolues did craftely insinuate or wynde in them selues in to the flocke of Christe whiche straightwaye being disguised with those worthy titles of Pastors did vnder that
Edom is called a wyldernes where as it is well knowen that it was in those dayes muche inhabited Also certayne wryters haue sayde that Heluetia was barren without people dwelling therin and that the whole land was called the desert of the HeluetiaÌ„s otherwise Swisers Furthermore th inheritaÌ„ce of the tribe of Iuda is said to haue sixe cities and their villages in the wyldernes Wherfore we may not thinke that Iohn gat him quite out of the coÌ„pany of men as the Heremites seme to do in these dais who dwel leade their liues in solitary woodes but for so muche as his fathers house was in the mouÌ„taines of Iury peraduenture he went a litle into the desert that is through the woodes towards Iordan 2 And saying Repent the kingdome of heauen is at hand And saying repent In this our EuaÌ„gelist differeth here froÌ„ thother two Marke Luke that he in the persone of Iohn sheweth the some of his doctrine but they with their own wordes Although Marke hath more then Luke by one word for he saith he came baptizing preaching the baptim of repentauÌ„ce But in the very thing it selfe they agrée very well in one because all men do ioyne repentaunce with remissio of sinnes as we shal sée by by The wordes of Iohn coÌ„siste of two partes For first he teacheth what we must do theÌ„ he sheweth the reasone why it ought to be done He biddeth repent because the kingdom of heuen is at hande E. The Greke woorde for the which we reade repent is said of vnderstanding the thing which followeth wheÌ„ as one hauing offended doth marke and waye his offence Wherefore the Greke worde MetanoiÌ„a or repentaunce is not only referred to the mind of man but to the worke amendement of life to the whole coÌ„uersioÌ„ of maÌ„ which Peter plainly declareth when he saith Repent you conuert that your sinnes may be done away For that whiche followeth is a declaration of that whiche went before For the kingdoÌ„ of heauen is at hand A. We haue shewed the remissioÌ„ of sinnes is ioyned with repentaunce in the preaching of Iohn that which this reasoÌ„ following doth approue C. For the kingdome of heauen among men is nothing els but a restoring to the blessed happy life so it is the true and euerlasting felicitie Therefore when Iohn sayd the kingdom of heauen drewe neare he ment that those men that were alienate from the righteousnes of God were banished from the kingdom of heauen that they were again to be gathered vnto God that they might liue vnder his haÌ„d But frée adoptioÌ„ forgeuenes of sinnes bringeth this thing to passe by the which he doth recoÌ„cile those that are vnworthy to him self To be shâ—â— the kingdom of heauen is nothing els but a neâ—…nes of life by the which God doth restore vnto vs a hope of euerlasting blessednes For he doth chaleÌ„ge vs to him self being taken froÌ„ the bondage seruitude of sin death that we being pilgrimes vpoÌ„ earth may possesse at length by faith a celestial and heaueÌ„ly life And although we be like vnto dead men yet we knowe are assured that our life is in safetie so long as it is hid in Christ From hence as from the fountaine the exhortation to repentance is brought Neither doth Iohn say repeÌ„t and so by this meanes the kingdome of God shal approche straight way but first he doth propounde set before them the grace of God then be doth exhorte men to repeÌ„t Wherby it doth appere that the foundation of repentaunce is the mercy of God by the which he doth restore those that are lost Neither doth Marke Luke say that he preached remission of sinnes in any other sence For repentauÌ„ce is not placed first as some very ignoraÌ„tly fain as though that were the cause of the remission of sinnes or that it should preueÌ„t God that he might be fauorable vnto vs but men are coÌ„maunded to repente that they may taste of the grace profered vnto them the reconciliation also But as by order the frée loue of God doth go before by the which he doth receiue imbrace vnto him miserable men not imputing their sinnes vnto them euen so we must note that we haue remission of sinnes in Christ not the God doth by his suffraÌ„ce allowe theÌ„ but rather that he may cure deliuer vs from sinne Neither truly can any man taste of the grace of God without he hate abhorre sinne vice But it is conuenient to waye coÌ„sider so much as pertaineth to the sence meaning of this present place that the whole Gospel doth coÌ„sist of two partes of remission of sinnes repentaunce But for so much as Math. did note signifie the first part by the kingdom of heauen we may therby gather that there is deadly warre and contentioÌ„ betwene God maÌ„ that we are quite banished out of the kingdom of heauen vntil he receyue vs againe into his grace fauour B. Therefore very shorte are the woordes of Iohn yet they conteyne the somme of the whole preaching of the Gospell Wherefore both Christ and his apostles haue begonne their Gospell in these woordes And although Iohn propounding the grace of God doth exhorte men to repentaunce yet for all that we must waye and note that this grace is no lesse the gifte of God than is the heritage of euerlasting lyfe For as he doth frely forgeue vs our synnes and doth by his mercy and goodnes deliuer vs from the gulffe and pitte of euerlasting death so he doth make and fashion vs like vnto him selfe that we may lyue to righteousnes euen as he doth adopte vs to be his sonnes euen so he doth regenerate vs with his holy spirite that our life may testifie and witnesse howe that not in vayne we call him father And no lesse doth Christe quicken vs to righteousnes if that we crucifie our olde man vtterly abolishe the whole body of sinne lurking in our fleshe then he doth put away our sinnes by his bloud appeaseth the wrath of his father by the sacrifice of his death Notwithstanding this is the somme of the Gospel that our sinnes being wiped away God doth imbrace vs in his sonne Christe that we denying our selues and our owne nature may leade a godly and holy life and so in earth haue our mindes altogether fixed in heauen 3 For this is he of whome the prophete Esay spake saiyng The voyce of a crier in the wyldernes prepare ye the waye of the lord and make his pathes straighte For this is he of vvhom the prophet M. The auncient latine wrytings haue VVhiche is called by Esaie and so hath the Greke texte also But by Marke and Luke they seeme to be the woordes of the EuaÌ„gelistes M. Some notwithstaÌ„ding referre it to Iohn him self geuing a reason of that whiche he spake of the
to haue in time the vpper bāde how much so euer men seke to oppresse the same Although this doctrine was sometyme preached in the temple openly notwithstanding because it was reiected it was hydde as it were as yet in secrete corners but he affirmeth that the tyme wyll come when the same shall be publyshed openly The whiche thynge as wee knowe within a littell whyle after came to passe And because this promise might refreshe and chere vppe theyr mindes Christe exhorteth them boldely and manlye to accomplysshe the same and not to feare allthoughe the Gospell as yet seemed vnto theim base and contemptyble but to be preachers of the same That shall not be ope A. The olde latten translations adde in time to com for the which the Greke texte hathe whiche shall not be reuealed That which is spoken in the fourth chapter of Marke was spoken peraduenture at an other time in an other sence notwithstanding because they are short sentences the matter maye agree with this place of Mathew For after that Chryst there had cōmanded the apostels to manifest their light vnto all men euē as burning candels he addeth by and by There is nothing secrete which shal not be opened But the light of the gospel was kindeled as it were in darkenes to the Apostelles that being lifted vp by their ministery it might shine throughout the whole world M. Yet there semeth to be an other vse of this prouerbe whiche may be takē two maner of ways one which maketh greatly for their consolation which suffer iniurie which cōsolation is that a day shal come which shall manifest declare to the whole world their innocency which a long tyme had ben hyd The examples of this matter are Ioseph Dauid Susanna others The other vse of this prouerb serueth to make vs shon auoid all those thinges that are euill because that god being a iust iudge will not suffer the impietie of the wicked to lie in secrete as saith s Paule I wold not haue you iudge before the time vntil the cōming of the lord which shal lightē al things that are in darknes shal bewray the secretes of the hartes thē shal euery mā haue praise of god But the first expositiō of all agreeth very wel with the meaning of Christ 27 what I tel you in darknes that speake ye in the lyght And what ye here in the eare that preache ye on the house toppes M. Christ now goeth forwarde to exhorte his disciples that they thynke not them selues to be in secrete or that they hide not that in darknes which they haue receiued of him As if he shold say Those thinges whiche I haue committed vnto you in darknes that is whē ye were together alone wolde I haue made manifest that is I wold haue you preach thē openly in the light to all men Where ye must now cast away al feare shewe your selues abrode B. He setteth here light against darkenes he ioyneth to the eare hearing to the house topps preaching He meaneth by speaking in darknes to cōmit somwhat to the mind by secrete talke Therfore they speake in the light which tel opēly plainely the whiche they haue hearde Euen so to here or tel in the eare is to receyue or cōmit somewhat by priuate metinge together For men vse cōmonly to whisper in the eare whē they wold not be heard of other mē Therfore to preache in the house tops is to disclose to al men that which was cōmitted vnto them openly manifestly and plainly to vtter that which was before geuen thē in secrete This is spoken according to the maner of that region where their houses ar so builded that a man may stand or walke vppō the tops of them the ridges of the houses being flat and leaded much lyke our galleries Whervpon it is writtē in the boke of Moyses thus Whē thou buildest a new house thou shalt make a battelment or wal about the roofe or top of thy house that thou lade not bloud vpō thy house if many fal there from And in an other place we reade thus And there were vpō the roofe of the house about thre thousand men and women that behelde while Sampson played 28 And feare ye not them which kill the body but ar not able to kil the soule But rather feare him which is able to destroy both soule body into hell And feare ye not B Hitherto christ hath armed his apostls aginst the feare of infamy C. and now with a singular reason he animateth encourageth thē againste the feare of death because men ought to despise this vaine mortall life in respecte of the immortal heauenly life whervnto they are created For here cōsisteth the some if the faithful way consider wherfore they were borne what their state and conditiō of life is they shal find that there is no cause why they shold so carefully seeke after this earthy and terrene life But the wordes of Christe are more ful and fruiteful For he teacheth that the feare of God is deade with thē which departe from the confession of the trewe faythe for the feare of tyrantes seeke not to put out of their mindes a brutishe and beastly stupor and dulnesse whiche by the terrour of death maketh them to cast from them the confession of the same faythe for we must note the Antithesis betwene the two contrary feares If the feare of God be choked by the feare that is in men doth it not appere that we attribute then more vnto them then vnto God him self And so it foloweth herevppō that we reiecting the eternal celestial life make our selues like bruite beastes Only goo hath power of euerlasting life death Him we neglect because the feare of men doth withdraw our mindes doth it not plainely appere that wee esteeme more our corruptible body the lif therof then the euerlasting state condition of the soule yea the heauēly kyngdome of God semeth nothing so preciouse vnto vs as doth the momentany vanyshyng shadowe of this corporall life Thus therfore the wordes of Chryst must be resolued Vnderstād ye that immortal soules are geuen vnto you which beinge onely subiecte vnto the will of God come not into the power of men Wherfore let not your fayth quayle for no terrors or threteninges of men For howe cōmeth it to passe that the feare of men doth preuaile in the cōflict but only because we esteme more of the body then of the sowle lesse of euerlastinge lyfe then of a shaddowe VVhiche kill the body C. Where as Christ by these wordes doth attribute vnto men power to kyll it is spoken by a certayne kynde of grauntynge For God doth oftimes geue libertie vnto the wicked that they beinge puffed vp with the truste of their power myghte venture desperately vpon euery thynge as thoughe theye coulde do all thinges without harme but it
tourneth at length to theyr owne destruction Pylate said vnto Christ knowest thou not that I haue power to crucifie thee and power also to loose thee When as neuerthelesse he coulde do no thynge without the permission of God of whom he receyued that power which he abused as it is there sayd Although therefore in vayne the wycked do boaste them selues as thoughe the lyues of the godly were in theyr handes although God stayeth and brideleth their rage and madnesse so often as it seemeth good vnto hym yet notwithstandynge they are sayde to kyll by his sufferaunce because often tymes he permytteth them to execute theyr tyranny But are not able to kill the sovvle M Now he reasoneth of the impotencie and vnablenesse of tyrantes the whiche howe soo euer they rage and swell can do harme to nothynge sauinge to the bodye because the sowle is not in theyr handes neyther can they kyll the same Wherefore Luke more plainelye expresseth the same sayinge And after that haue no more that they can doo By the whiche wordes Christ teacheth his Apostells to contemne and despyse the crueltie of tyrantes the which although it be shewed to the extremytie yet can it not hurte a godly man as touching his euerlastinge healthe Although the wycked by the permission of God kill the body it makethe no matter they do but fynishe that which Nature had begon for if they as instrumentes had not done it nature it selfe wolde in short time haue done the same For what is he that shall escape deathe But rather feare him vvhiche is M. Nowe by a collation of the deuine power of god he proueth playnely that the crueltie of menne oughte to be despysed As if hee shoulde saye If ye feare those whiche by some meanes maye hurte and ponyshe why rather do ye not feare him which is able to hurte in euery respect which hath power not onely to kill the body but also the soule and to cast them both into hell It is a small matter to kill the body because it shall be restored againe For the tyrant hath not destroyed hym when he hath killed the bodye of a man Hee hath dyminished nothinge of oure saluation which hath taken away this life whiche at the lengthe al men must forsake whether they will or no at the good pleasure of god But he which hath made both the body the soule he it is onely whiche can kill not only the body but also the soule and that euerlastingely into hell Hym therfore if thou be wyse feare alone the whiche if thou feare in deede then shalte thou contemne set at naught al worldly tyrantes also C. But when as these two mēbers in one knot do agre certaine ignorant vnskilful men take this part seuerally amis affirming the men ought not to be feared For Christe setteth the vertuouse and holy feare of God against the peruerse feare of men whiche withdraweth vs frō the right perfecte waye VVhiche is able to destroy M. Of tirantes he saide simplely they kill the body but of God he said which can kill bothe soule body Moreouer he addeth into hell as if he should haue said If you stand so much in feare of tirants which hate you that you despise the cōmandemēt of God your heuenly father beware least you seking to saue this carnall lyfe lose not onely the same but the eternall life also For your father beinge prouoked to anger is able to cast bothe soule body into hell Luke hath After he hath killed he is able to destroy cast into hell M. These thynges S. Paule considered when he saide If I preache the Gospell I haue nothinge to reioyce of for necessitie is put vnto me But wo is it vnto mee if I preache not the Gospell To be shorte the experyence of al tymes teacheth vs how necessary this exhortation is to the mynisters of Chryste and generally to all the godly For there was neuer any tyme in the which men did not exalt them selues violently against God and soughte not to destroye the Gospell 29 Are not two littell sparrowes sold for a farthing And one of them shal not fal to the groūd without your father Are not tvvo litel sparrovves A. This dependeth of that whiche went before B. For Christ by this reasō armeth his Apostels against the persecution of the world that nothing can happen vnto them without the wil of their heauēly father who suffereth not vile birdes in cōparison to light vpon the ground without his wil. C. By the whiche wordes Christ declareth that tirantes althoughe they rage neuer soo much yet that they haue no power vpon the body without his wil to whō al thinges in heauen and in earthe are subiecte Therfore they do very fōdly which feare the crueltie tyrany of men as thoughe they were not vnder the protectiō of god So that in perills this is the second consolation vnto vs that for so much as god is the keper of our lyfe we maye safelye rest and commit our selues to his prouidence yea we do vnto him iniury if we commit not our life vnto him because he doth vouchesafe to take charge and care of the same M. And to the ende Christ might euidently proue that which he goeth about to perswade he vseth very fete examples notwithstanding such as haue nede of a speciall faith C. For he extendeth the prouidence of God generally to all creatures that of the more to the lesse he myght declare vs to be saued defended and protected by his tuition There is nothynge of lesse pryce and estimation amonge vs then sparrowes For men in tymes paste haue soulde twoo sparrowes for a farthing And as Luke saith fyue for two farthings and yet notwithstandinge God is redy to defende them that no harm happen vnto thē by chance Wyll he nowe thyncke you neglecte the life of man whiche hath such a care ouer sparrowes no be ye wel assured Christ settethe not here before you the exaumples of the Patriarkes or Prophetes in the whiche he myghte declare the prouidence of God wonderfully Neither doth he make mentyon of the stronge and sauage beaste but of the leaste of the most common and cheapest fowle namelye of the lyttell sparrowe Neyther dothe hee onely brynge in the sparrowe but also the price of the same whiche is small that one alone bearethe no value or price and therfore he is faine to couple two of them together the price whereof was but a farthynge then the which in money there could be no smaller value And one of them lyghteth not to the grounde This is the Hebrew phrase and is vsed in stede of shal not perishe And it is spoken for this cause for that byrdes when they die of theyr owne accorde or when they dye beinge shot or kylled by any meanes do fall to the earthe deade where as otherwyse they flee alofte M. He saythe not generally they fall not
whiche Christ began at his resurrection afterward more fully reuealed the same by sending his holy spyrite and by working miracles B. Therfore to see Christ comminge in his kyngdome is nothing els in this place then the which Marke and Luke haue To see the kingdome of God that is the glory good successe of the kingdome of god The Euangelist Marke expressely saith Vntyll they haue sene the kingdome of God come with power The kingdome of god was com before wherupon he cōmanded to preach that the kingdome of God was at hande And in an other place he sayde vnto the Phariseis If I by the spirite of God cast out deuyls then is the kingdome of God come vpon you But because the kyngedome of God was not yet so gloriouse as it should be in all the worlde after his resurrection he truely saith Vntyll they haue sene the kingdome of God come Of this kingdome the apostel Paule writeth thus whē he speaketh of the Gospel Whiche is come vnto you euen as it is into all the worlde and is fruitefull and groweth c. But more largely in an other place whē he saith I haue therfore whereof I may reioyce through Christe Iesu in those thinges which pertayne to god For I dare not speke of any of these thinges which Christ hath not wrought by mee to make the Gentiles obediente with woorde and dede in mighty signes and wonders by the power of the spirite of God so that from Hierusalem and the coastes rounde aboute vnto Illiricum I haue filled all countreys with the Gospel of Christe This gloriouse power of the kingedome of Christ did chiefely declare it selfe within .xx. yeres or theraboutes after his passion vntyll the whiche time no doubte many of those to whome the lord presently spake were aliue But to what ende doth Christ speake this Surely to the ende he might learne them some comfort against the tyme of the crosse affliction because shortely the kingdome power of God should be declared and reuealed So are we comforted by the holy ghost so often as we heare it saide The lorde is nigh and wyll not be flacke The cōming of Christe truely semeth to be far hence but doth he not in the meane time shewe vnto vs his power Some vnderstande this place to be spokē of the transefiguration of Christ in the mount which is declared in the chapter followinge as though that Christ by these wordes shold promise that there were som disciples in the cōpany to whom he wolde shew his glory in the earth so far as the eies of mortall men might perceiue the same A. But we haue shewed alredy the true proper sence and meaning of Christes wordes VVhich shal not tast of death Bu. That is they shal not die The like phrase of speche we haue in the .viii. chapter of s Iohn in the secōd of s Paules epistel to the Hebrues The .xvii. Chapter AND after sixe dayes Iesus taketh Peter Iames and Iohn his brother and bringeth them vp into an high mountaine A. This history is declared by three of the Euangelist namely by this our Euangelist Mathewe and Marke and Luke C. In the which hystory we must fyrst of al se to what ende and purpose Christ wolde put vpon hym his heuenly glory for so short a time and wolde take onely three of his disciples to be witnesses of this sight Some thincke that he did it to the ende he mighte arme his disciples against the temptation whiche was at hande by reason of his deathe but that is verye vnlikely For why dyd he depriue others of the same remedye Yea why dothe he plainely forbyd them to publishe that which they had sene vntyl after his resurrectiō vnlesse the fruit of the vision had ben after his time There is no doubte therefore but that Christ ment to declare that hee was not deliuered vnto death against his wil but that he came vnto it willingelye to offer the sacrifice of obedience vnto his father This kingedome came not into the mindes of the disciples vntill Christe rose agayne neyther was it necessary at that tyme to conceyue the deuyne power of Christe which they knewe to be the vanquisher and ouercōmer in the crosse and affliction but they were taught agaynste an other tyme as wel for them selues as for vs least that the infirmitie of Christe shoulde offende any man as thoughe he had suffered by necessitie and force for it is euident that it was no more hard vnto Christ to exempte and deliuer his bodye from death than to adorne the same with heauenly glory We are taught therfore that he was subiectte vnto death because he woulde and that hee was crucyfied because he offered hym selfe For the same fleshe which honge vpon the crosse and laye in the sepulchre seinge before it was partaker of the heauenly glorye might haue bene free from death and the graue But we are taught that Christ so longe as he bare the forme of a seruante in the worlde his maiestie hidden vnder the infirmitie of his fleshe there was nothing detracted or taken from him because he did abase hym selfe of his owne free wyll but now his resurrection toke a way that vaile by the which his power for a tyme was couered And the Lorde thoughte it sufficient to chose vnto hym three witnesses because this nōber was prescribed by the lawe to testifie proue any matter And after syxe dayes B. As cōcerninge the nomber of the daies Marke agreeth with Mathew But Luke hath And it fortuned that about an eight daies after these sayinges But this oughte to offende no man C. For Marcke and Matthewe nomber sixe whole dayes which came betwene the tyme the Christe spake the woordes goinge before in the xvi chapter and the tyme in the whiche he was transfigured but Luke faithe it was done within eyght daies after comprehending as well the day in the which Christ spake as also the day in the which he was transfigured Wee se therefore howe well diuerse wordes comprehende one sence and meaning And bringeth them vp into Luke saithe that the lord went vp into the moūtaine to pray no doubt to pray vnto the father that he wold manifest reueale his glory to his disciples for the which cause he brought them vp into the mountaine By the which example of Christe we are taught to be likewise affectioned to the glorye of Christes kingdome towardes those also to whom as yet it hath not apered So Paule prayed as it appereth by his epistels But Christ him self hath taught vs to pray saying Hallowed be thy name 2 And was transfigured before them his face did shine as the sonne and his clothes were as white as the lighte And vvas transfygured before them S. That is to say he put on a newe figure or forme full of all glory and excellent brightnes and dyd not appere as the sonne of man
should be a greater reproche vnto them and worke them greater destruction because in dede the purpose of God was otherwise than they imagined For hee ment thereby to make them the more inexcusable and also to bringe their wicked malice euen to the full As if he had sayde althoughe heauenly Propheres were sente vnto you of God and ordained for you only yet do ye folishly alleage for your selues and bragge of this honor For God by his secrete counsell and iudgemente determined an other matter namely that by continual and gentel inuitacion and callinge he might openly detecte and bewraye your wycked obstinacy the whiche beinge conuicte and ouercome he mighte bringe both vppon the fathers and the children a like horrible destruction I sende vnto you Prophetes Bu. Hereby it appeareth that ministers of saluation come not excepte they be sente of God. Howe shal they preache saith S. Paule excepte they be sente Whereuppon our Sauioure Christe also sayde Praye ye the Lorde of the haruest that he woulde thruste out laborers into his haruest It declareth also the fatherlye affection of God in sendynge Prophetes to saue Israell And vvyse men and Scribes C. In that he reckeneth wysemen and Scribes with the Prophetes he doth it to amplify the grace of God whereby their ingratitude doth the more appeare because although the Lorde omitted nothinge to teache them by yet notwithstandinge they did not proffite at all M. in so muche that they cruelly slewe the Prophetes and wyse men that were sente vnto them for their saluation C. In stede of wyse men and Scribes the Euangeliste Luke putteth downe Apostels in the same sence B. These are they which by the instincte and motion of gods spirit brought preached to the whole worlde the woorde of lyfe the true wysedome of God and the proper naturall sence of the Scriptures 〈…〉 This place pertaineth to the trueth of the gyftes of the spirit among which not only the prophesis shewing of things to come and declaring the wil of God and also the wisedome of those which speake by the spirit of God without the knowledge of the Scriptures haue place but also the knowledge of the Scriptures which the Scribes haue Of whom read the second chapter going before And some of them ye shal kil and crucify M. Here the wonderful malice of the Scribes and Phariseis is described It is a smal matter not to receiue a minister of grace if it be cōpared to this cruelty by the which he is contumeliously handeled afflicted scourged and killed This crueltye pertaineth to those that swel and are puffed vp by the name of holines and righteousnes which can not abide the preaching of the trueth but do resiste the same all that they can with fyer and swerde and do persecute it as though it were heresi But they perish not vnto the Lord whiche are slaine and the founde shéepe are brought vnto the pastor and all excuse is taken from the wicked when that theire malice which otherwyse would lye hid is made manifeste to all men Euen so in an other place he sayth For a testimony vnto them and the Gentiles C. So that this place teacheth that God dothe not worke the saluatiō of men alwaies so often as he sendeth vnto thē his word but that he woulde haue the same some times declared vnto the reprobate who he knoweth notwithstanding will be obstinate that it may be vnto them the sauore of death vnto death The woorde of God certeinlye of his owne nature is of power to saue and calleth all men without exception to the hope of euerlastinge lyfe but because al men are not inwardlye drawne because God doth not open their eares and because all men are not renewed to repentance or framed to obediēce whosoeuer do reiecte the woorde of GOD do make the same to be vnto them selues death and destruction Seinge therefore God knewe that this shoulde come to passe that the reprobate shoulde be drawne into greater damnation hee by his secrete counsell sente vnto them his Prophets as more plainly the Prophete Esay declareth Wee graunte truelye that this is farre contrarye to carnall sence and reason euen as wee sée the impure and vnreuerent contemners of God to take hereby speciall occasion to barke and murmure againste the secrete counsels of God because that lyke a tyraunte as they say he delighteth in the greater punishemente and destruction of men whome he doth more and more indurate make blinde in their synnes withoute all hope of profite But God by such documentes as these doth exercise and trye the modesty of the faithfull Let this therefore bee oure sobriety namely to reuerence that with tremblynge feare whiche excedeth our reason and capassity They whiche saye that the foreknowledge of God is no let at all wherebye the vnbeleuinge shoulde not be saued do by vaine defēce foolishly excuse God himselfe We graūt certainly that the reprobat do not therefore bringe death vnto them selues because God hath so prouided that it shall come to passe and therefore it can not be ascribed to his foreknowledge that they perishe but wee deny the righteousnes of God to be lawfullye and truelye defended by this cauill because a man may straite waye obiecte that it is in Godes power to staye them from repentance because the gyfte of faythe and repentance is in his handes This also maye be obiected Obiection What meaneth this that God by his sure determinate counsell appointeth the lighte of his woorde to blynde and dasell the eyes of men Why wil God beinge not contente with the simple falle and destruction of suche as are accursed and ordeyned to euerlastynge death haue them to taste of the fyrste seconde and thyrde death Wherefore this onelye resteth that wee geue this glorye to the Iudmentes of GOD and to crye wyth Sainct Paule and saye O the déepenes of the ryches both of the wysedome and knowledge of GOD howe vnsearcheable are his iudgements his wayes past findinge oute For who hathe knowne the mind of the lorde But it maye be demaunded howe the Lord pronounceth by his Prophete Esay that the Prophesies should tourne to the destruction of the Iewes Question seing that his adoption did alwayes effectuallye take place flourishe in that nation It may be answered that seing a very littel and smale portion only receiued imbraced the worde by faith mencion is made here of the greater nomber as of the vniuersal body Euen as Esayas who when he preached the common destruction of the people was commaunded to seale the law of god with his disciples Let vs vnderstāde therfore that so often as the Scripture doth adiudge the Iewes to euerlastinge death the remnaunts are excepted in whome the Lorde preserueth some sede for his frée elections sake 35. That vpō you may come all the righteouse bloud which hath beene shed vpon the earthe from the bloude of righteouse Abel vnto the
to be drawne awaye from Christ and to geue their faith vnto a theefe robbing God of his honour Where as the Papistes theym selues do take this place for the societie of those which professe one fayth and do expoūde the Eagles altegorically for those which are of sharpe wyt and occulate it is to folyshe seing that it is euidente that the pourpose of Christ was nothing els thā to call vnto him to retaine in him selfe the sonnes of God wheresoeuer they be dispersed Neyther is the body putt here simply but the carcas And Chryste attributeth nothinge to the Egles sauyng that which might agre with our crowes or rauens accordyng to the nature of the region in the which we inhabite Moreouer theyr reason is nothing sure or effectual which vpon this place say that the deathe of Christe was so effectuall that it allured the electe and chosen of God. For it was rather the pourpose of Christ to bringe an argument of the lesse to the more as thus If there be such wit in birdes that many of thē wil com from far to one carcas it is a great shame to the faithfull not to be gathered to the author of lyfe by whom onely they are truely fed 29 Immediatly after the trybulations of those dayes shall the sonne be darkened and the moone shall not geeue her lyghte and the starres shall fall from heauen and the powers of heauen shall be moued Immediately after the trybulations M. Nowe Christe maketh answere to his disciples as concerning his comming the ende of the worlde C. and promiseth ▪ that after they haue bene vexed troubled with so many euylles the redemption in his tyme shall come For by his aunswere he wente chiefely aboute to stabishe his disciples in a good hope least they sholde faynte for the confused motions Therefore he dothe not simply speake of his cōming but vsurpeth propheticall maners of speache to the whiche the more that euery one was bente geuen the more sharpe battaile of temptations of the contrary euente and successe it was necessary he shoulde haue For what coulde be more absurde than to beholde the kingdome of Chryste to be not onely contemtible and base but also oppressed with the crosse couered with many reproches and ouerwhelmed with all kynde of affliction of the whiche kingedome the prophetes preched so magnificently Could not that maiestie be required which mighte bringe darckenesse to the Sonne to the Moone and to the starres which might stryke the whole foūdation of the earth and chaunge the cōmon order of nature These tēptations our sauiour christ now seketh to preuent pronouncing that allthoughe these prophesies be not by and by fulfylled yet notwithstandinge that they shall be approued to be trewe by the euente and ende it selfe The sence and meanynge therefore of this place is that those thynges whiche were foreshewed in tyme paste as concernynge the miraculouse and wonderfull stryking as well of the Heauen as of earthe oughte not to be restrayned to the begynnynge of the redemption because the prophetes comprehended the whole race and course vntyll suche tyme as theye came to the marcke M. Moreouer the Lorde wold haue his discyples prepared at all times to departe hence and therefore he would not shewe the tyme of his comming and yet notwithstandinge would haue them loke for hym euery houre And therefore he woulde haue it preached as well by his owne sermones as by those that the Apostelles made that this daye was not farre of So the Apostell Peter sayde The ende of all thinges is at hande And saincte Paule saithe We are they vpon whom the endes of the worlde are come And therefore our sauiour Christe saith in this place immediately after the trybulations of those dayes But neuerthelesse he mente not by this to declare any certayne tyme of his comminge From the whiche opinion saincte Paule dehorteth the Thessalonians with great dyligence wrytynge vnto theym after this manner I beseche you brethern that ye be not sodaynely moued from your mind nor be troubled neyther be spryte neither by woordes nor yet by letter which shold seme to come from vs as thoughe the day of Christ were at hande Lett no man deceiue you by any meanes for the lorde shall not come except there come a departynge fyrst Wherfore this woord immediately which wee reade here signifyeth no more than that whiche wée reade in Marke where he sayth Moreouer in those dayes c. As if hee shoulde say After the trybulation of those daies in the whiche the whole worlde shall be ouerthrowne immediately howbeit in an vncertayne tyme when men thynke leaste of it shall the ende of the worlde come with the full reuealynge of mye glory and the perfecte redemption of my electe and chosen M. to the great horroure and feare of those men which haue not beleeued in mee I say that the ende of the worlde shall come then immedyately because afterwarde there shall no greate thynge be shewed I wyll take no suche open and manyfest vengeaunce on the impietie of mortall men vntyll that daye come in the whiche I wyl retourne to iudge all fleshe the which day with the Lorde is not farre for one daye with hym is as a thousande yere and a thousande yere as one daye Shall the sunne be darckened M. These are those signes in the Sonne Moone and starres whereof Luke maketh mention B. The whiche woordes of the Euangelist Luke are not so to be taken as thoughe those signes must go before the daye of the Lorde but signes are taken here for myracles and thinges not commonly sene whiche shall not so much betoken the very daye of the lorde as they shall bringe the present wrath of GOD vpon the wycked As concernynge the darkenynge of the sonne and the reste there are dyuerse opynions of interpreters yea of the auncienter sorte but it seemethe that the symplicitie and playnnesse of Christe his wordes oughte to be retayned and kept He saith that the son shal be darkened that the mone shal loose her light and that the starres shall fall from heuen and so forth We must now beleeue that it shall so come to passe But how the sonne shal be darkned we know not at this day neither can we coniecture but the euent of the same wyll declare And the starres shall fall from heauen He meaneth not that the starres shal fall in dede but that men shall thyncke them to fall And therfore Luke onelye sheweth that there shal be signes in the sonne mone and starres The meanynge therefore of his wordes is that the strikinge and shaking of the foundatiō of the heauen shall be so greate that the very starres shal be thought to fall The Euangeliste Luke speaketh moreouer as concerning the terryble motion of the sea that men shall fainte throughe very feare and sorrowe But the whole somme is that all creatures bothe aboue and beneathe shall be as it were cryers in sityng of men
his body But there are two kyndes of men whiche contende with vs in this matter The Papistes being deluded with their transsubstantiation do deny the bread to be sene because the shewe therof doth only remayne without the subiecte but S. Paule confuteth their fantasy affirming that the bread whiche we breake is the communication of Christes body Furthermore the very nature it selfe of a Sacrament dothe abhorre their fonde imaginatioÌ„ the which can not stande perfecte except the outward signe be true For whereby shall we learne that our soules are fedde with the fleshe of Christe if the true bread bee not set before our eyes but a vayne phantasy For the body of Christe is not here geuen vnto vs simplely but to eate the colour of bread doth not nourishe but the substance Moreouer what will they say as coÌ„cerning the other signe For Christ saith not This is my bloud but This cuppe Therefore according to their fantasy not only the wyne but the matter also whereof the cuppe was made must of necessitie be transsubstantiated into bloud Nowe where as our EuaÌ„geliste hathe I wyll not drynke hereafter of this frute of the vyne he plainly thereby declareth that it was wyne whiche Christe gaue to drynke and not his bloud Therefore euery waye the grose ignorance of the Papistes is confuted M. And where as they saie that they gathered this their traÌ„ssubstantiation out of the wrytinges of the fathers peraduenture it is true that they gathered it but if thei did so it was by false interpretatioÌ„ miscoÌ„struing of their works that they did it For the fathers in some of their wrytinges saye that the breade with great admiration wonder is chaunged in to the body the wyne into the bloude of Christe Now these gatherers vnderstoode theÌ„ of the mutacion chaunging of the substance whereas the fathers touched not the same but vnderstode that the terrestrial coÌ„dition vse of bread was so chauÌ„ged into a heauenly that it was now to the faithful man not terrene or earthly bread neither in that vse that earthly bread remaineth but that it passeth into the body of Christe into celestiall nourishement The which chaunge might be called conditionall not substantiall And because it is a thing wonderfull in dede they sayd truely that the bread and wyne after a woÌ„derfull manner was chauÌ„ged into the body and bloud of Christe For who would not marueile that the terrene bread shoulde be taken and chaunged into suche dignytie that it maye bee called the body of Christe Who would not meruaile that the grosse elemeÌ„t of water should be chaunged into the lauer of regeneratioÌ„ and that it is geuen in washing the body to haue the purifying of the soule the wyping away of sinne A. And this is that coÌ„secration of the which we spake before C. And there are other some whiche reiecte the figure and lyke mad men receyue the same by and by againe The bread accordinge to their iudgement is truely and properly called the body Neither do they lyke of transsubstantiatioÌ„ because it is altogether voide of reason But when they are asked if the bread and wyne he Christe they aunswere that the bread is therefore called his body because it is receiued vnder the breade and with the bread in the Supper But truely by this aunswere we maye gather that the name of body is improperly transferred to the bread whereof it is the signe And it is marueile seing that these men can say that Christe spake thus in respect of the Sacramentall vnion that they marke not what they say For what is the sacramental vnioÌ„ of the thing of the signe Is it not so called because the lord fulfilleth that which he promiseth by the secrete power of his holy spirit Wherefore these maisters of learning are no lesse ridiculous thaÌ„ the Papists Hetherto we haue expouÌ„ded the wordes of the Lorde Now let vs se how the body of Christ is geuen vnto vs Some declare that it is geueÌ„ vnto vs wheÌ„ we are made partakers of all the blessinges which Christ hath gotten vnto vs as in his body wheÌ„ by faith we imbrace Christ crucified raysed froÌ„ death for vs and that by that meanes we are made partakers effectually of all his blessinges Other some much better say that we do then receiue the blessing benefites of Christes when we obtaine Christe him selfe For we do obtaine him not onely when we beleue that he was made a sacrifice for vs but also wheÌ„ he dwelleth in vs when he is one with vs when we are his members of his fleshe of his bones when we growe if we may so speake into life substance with him Furthermore we heare what the woordes may signifie for Christe doth not only offer vnto vs the benefite of his resurrection but his very body in the whiche he suffered rose againe Therfore the body of Christ is truly geuen vnto vs in the supper that it may be the foode of life vnto our soules that is to saye our soules are fed with the substaunce of Christes body that we may truly be made one with him or els whiche is as muche in effecte the quickening force out of the flesh of Christ is powred into vs by the spirite although it be farre from vs not mixed with vs Therefore a voyde or vayne signe is not set before vs but they are truly made partakers of the fleshe bloud of the Lord whiche by faith receiue this promise For the Lorde should commaunde his disciples to eate bread in vaine affirming it to be his body except the effecte were added to the figure Neither is this questioÌ„ haÌ„dled amoÌ„g vs whether Christe doe geue vnto vs hym selfe truely or figuratiuely onely For although we beholde there nothinge but the bread yet notwithstanding he doth not frustrate or mocke vs which taketh vpon him to fede our soules with his fleshe The true eatynge therefore of the fleshe of Christ is not set forth by a signe onely but also is offered in very dede But it is good for vs here to obserue throâ—… thinges namely that the spirituall matter be not ioyned amisse with the signe SecoÌ„dly that Christe be not sought in earth or vnder earthly elemeÌ„tes Thirdly that no other eatiâ—â— be inuenâ—…ed or imagined thaÌ„ that which by the secrete power of Christe inspireth life into vs because we doe not obtaine him but by faithe only First of all as we sayde let there remayne a difference betwene the signe the thing signified except we will peruerte all thinges For there shall remaine no profite of the sacrameÌ„t except it leade vs from the beholding the earthly element to the heauenly mistery Whefore whosoeuer doth not discerne the bodye of Christe from the bread and the wyne from the bloud he shal neuer vnderstaÌ„d what the supper meaneth or wherefore the faithfull doe vse these outwarde signes Secondly let vs followe the lawefull
remember the olde fayth and frendeship that hathe bene betwene vs and howe haynouse and cruell a thinge it is to betraye the Sonne of man with a kysse whiche is a token of frendeship C. Thus we must learne accordinge to the example of Christe to mingle oyle vinegar together When the wycked are admonished wee muste vse this same moderation which Christ vseth here we must neither flatter theÌ„ nor vse to muche seuerity and al things muste be done vnfaynedlye otherwyse we shall not followe Christe whose admonition here described was vnfayned If the wicked do repente at our admonition we haue woon the saluation of oure neighbours but if they do not repente our good will shal be neuertheles profitable vnto vs. The same admonition did the Apostell geue to the Bushopes as appeareth in his epistell to Timothe Here also wee do euidently sée that whereof we are admonished a litell before namely that by what deceite soeuer hypocrites do couer them selues when they come in the presence of the Lord their wickednes is reuealed yea and that this doth bring great iudgemente vnto them because they beinge freÌ„dely intreated of Christe do rebell againste him Moreouer let vs vnderstaÌ„d that the Church shal be alwayes subiecte to this euell whiche Christe once in his persone sustained that is it shal nourse and bringe vp in the bosome therof trayters and false brethren And therefore it was said a litel before And the trayter which was one of the twelue came beinge spoken to this ende least we should be troubled out of measure by such exaÌ„ples because the Lord will trye our faith both wayes as when Sathan doth sett vpoÌ„ vs within the Church without by open enemys and when he goeth about our secrete destruction by hypocrits notwithstanding we are therewith taught that all wee whiche are the Disciples of Christe do imbrace sincerity with him For the defectioÌ„s and reuoltings which wee dayly beholde do stirre vs vp to the study of true piety to the feare of God as witnesseth S. Paule saying let euery one whiche calleth on the name of the Lorde departe from iniquity We are al commaunded to kysse and imbrace the sonne of God. Let euery one therefore take hede that he do it not trayterouslye Then came they and layed handes on Iesus E. The wycked multitude obserued the trayterouse signe whiche was geuen them and layed handes on Iesus â–ª and tooke hym But for this cause he was made bonde for this cause he was takeÌ„ that he might deliuer vs from the bondage of sinne and thraldome of Sathan into the gloriouse liberty of the sonnes of God and that he mighte teache the woorshippers of hym patience if they at any time being taken with violence shoulde be cast into bondes Neither is there any danger leaste the worde of God shoulde be bounde with vs also for Sainct Paule saith that the woorde of GOD was not bounde Furthermore the sonne of man is ouercome but neuertheles the eternall trueth of God abideth frée and inuincible 51. And beholde one of those whiche were with Iesus stretched oute his haÌ„de and drew his sworde strocke a seruante of the hye Priestes and smote of his eare And beholde one of them B. The Euangeliste Luke sheweth what the Disciples mindes were before that these thinges were done by Peter by these woordes When they whiche were about him saw what woulde followe they sayde vnto him Lorde shall wee smite with the swoorde It is likely that all of theÌ„ were ready to defende Christ for they had promised that they woulde rather dye with him than that they woulde denye hym They seme therfore nowe to be willinge to performe that whiche before they had promised C. Whereby againe it appeareth how much more ready bold we are to fighte than to beare the crosse Wherfore it is mete that wee alwayes wiselye consider what the Lorde coÌ„maundeth and what he requireth of euerye one of vs leaste the feruency of oure zeale doe burste forthe beyonde reason and measure And where as the Disciples are said to aske Christ they did it not with the minde to obey his will but by these wordes they declared that they were readye and prepared to resiste the force of their enemys Neither did peter looke when he shoulde haue a commaundement and leaue geuen hym to stryke but rashelye brake forth into vnlawfull violence B. This one which stoode by Christ here mencioned is said of the Euangelist S. Iohn to be Symon Peter which durste defende Christe before so many armed men when as on his side there were but two swerdes present and not one amongest them all mete for the warre C. At the first sighte truely this boldnes might seme worthy of praise that the Disciples forgetting their owne infirmity and beinge not mete to resiste ventured notwithstanding their bodyes for their master are not afrayed to put the same in hasarde of death For they rather desyered to dye with the Lord thaÌ„ they to liue se him oppressed A. Furthermore they knewe that great iniury was done vnto Christ whome they knew to be irreprehensible both in doctrine and in life And againe if Moyses defended the Hebrewe againste the Egiptian why shoulde not they be excused whiche desyer to defende their master from the multitude of wycked and mad men C. But because they do attempte more than the callinge of God wil beare or permit their rashenes is iustly condemned Wherefore let vs learne to take hede that our diligeÌ„ce may please the Lorde and that we maye depende vpon his wil that no maÌ„ moue his finger without his comaundemente And therfore specially we ought to geue our selues vnto this modestye diligently because in stede of true and iust zeale troublesom rashenes dothe very muche raigne in vs. And stroke a seruant M S. Iohn saith that this seruants name was Malchus And cut of his eare Saint Luke and Sainct Iohn saithe that it was his righte eare Furthermore S. Luke addeth that Christe saide Suffer ye thus far forthe As if he should saye God forbid that ye shoulde fight with the swerde for me but I will that ye suffer my aduersaryâ—… to take their pleasure of me so far forth as it is permitted vnto them By these wordes of S. Luke we may easely gather that not Peter only rose againste the enemys of Christe but that others also were fellows with him in the same inteÌ„perancy rashnes For Christ doth not speake only vnto one but saithe generally to all Suffer ye thus far forth 52. Then sayde Iesus vnto him put vp thy swerde into his sheath For all that take the swerde shall perishe with the swerde Then sayde Iesus vnto him Z. This is a greuouse rebuke by the which Christe teacheth that the dede or zeale of Peter was nothing els but rashe seditioÌ„ against authority contumely againste God the father arrogancy againste the maiesty of God violating of the whole Scripture so
this howere all the sacrifyces of the lawe did tende To this hower therefore wee muste also haue regarde whiche desyere the true and perpetuall saluation A. Christe here declareth his maiesty in that he putteth awaye his spirite not when men will but when he will. Whereuppon Pylate merueyled afterwarde that Christe was so soone deade And the Lorde hymselfe sayde No man taketh the same from me but I putte the same from me of my selfe I haue power to putte it frome mee and I haue power to take it vnto me againe To the whice effecte also it pertayneth when it is sayde that ◅owinge his heade he gaue vp the Ghoste 51. And beholde the Vaile of the temple did rente into twoo partes from the toppe to the bottome and the earthe did quake and the stone rente And beholde the Vaile of the C. Whereas Saint Luke ioyneth the rentynge of the Vaile of the temple with the darkenes of the sonne as though it happened before the death of Christe wee muste knowe that it is an inuersion of order For the Euangelistes as wee doe oftentimes see do not obserue the special moments and seasons of times Neyther was it meete that the vayle shoulde be rente before the sacrifice of satisfaction were ended because then Christe beinge the true and ternall Prieste the fygures of the lawe beinge abolished made awaye vnto vs by his bloude to the heauenlye sanctuarye that wee shoulde not stande nowe a farre of but that wee mighte come foorthe boldelye into the presence of god For so longe as the shadowed worshyppe dyd indure the Vaile was set before the earthly sanctuary whiche mighte kepe awaye not onelye the fete but also the eyes of menne that they coulde neyther come vnto it nor beholde it But Christe hauinge put out the hande writtinge that was againste vs hathe taken awaye all lette that bearinge oure selues bolde of the Mediator wee maye bee all a kyngelye priesthoode Therefore the rentinge of the Veale was not onelye an abrogatinge of the ceremonyes whiche were vnder the lawe But also a certaine openynge of the heauens that God mighte nowe familiarelye call and bringe to him selfe the members of his soone In the meane tyme the Iewes were admonyshed that externall sacrifices hadde an ende and that the olde priesthoode shoulde bee no more in vse But because the substance and truethe of shadowes was fulfylled the figures of the lawe were tourned into spirite For althoughe Christe dyd offer a visible sacrifyce yet notwithstandinge we muste esteme of it spirituallye as the Apostoll teacheth that wee may knowe the frute and price thereof Hereby also wee maye discerne ▪ What difference there is betwene the Gospell and the lawe in the Gospell all things are made manifeste by Christe but Moses had the Veale set betwene A. Of the which matter reade the third chapter of the secōd to the Corinthians And the path did quake and the stones C. It is lykelye that these thynges also were done when the Veale of the temple did rente Here the earthe geueth testimony vnto Christe as the sonn had done before These signes do declare the obstinacy of that people whiche coulde be moued neither by the quaking of the earth nor by the rentinge of stones By these also it was declared that the worlde shoulde be moued by the Gospel and that stony hartes shoulde bee rente throughe repentance 52. And graues did open and many bodyes of Sanites which slepte arose And graues did open C. This also was a speciall miracle by the which God declared that his soone entered into the prison of deathe not that he shoulde abyde there shut vp but that he mighte bring oute all those whiche were holde captiue For at what time the contemptible infirmity of the fleshe was sene in Christe the magnificente and diuine power of his death pearced euen to the the lower partes And this is the cause why he being redy to be shute into one Sepulcher or monument opened other Sepulchers Notwithstandyng it is doubtefull whether this openynge of the Sepulchers happened before the resurrection For the resurrection of Saintes which is afterwardes added followed as it semeth the resurrection of Christe For it is verye absurde that certayne interpreters doe dreame and imagine that they laye for the space of three dayes breathynge and alyue in the Sepulchers It is more likely a greate deale the Christ being dead the Sepulchers were by and by opened but when he rose that certein of the godly hauing recyued lyfe wente foorthe and were seene in the Cittie For seing the breakyng of Sepulchers was a foreshewyng of newe lyfe the fruite and effecte it selfe thereof appeared the thyrde daye after Because Christe rysing agayne brought others with hym to beare hym company out of the Sepulchres And many bodyes of saynctes vvhiche slepte arose It may be demaunded why God would haue a fewe to ryse agayne seeyng the felloweship of Christes resurrection doth pertayne a lyke to all the faythfull Wee aunswere that it was so appointed because the full time was not yet come by the which the whole body of the churche should be gathered vnto his head a shewe onely of the newe lyfe whiche all men hope for beynge declared and set foorthe in a fewe For we knowe that Christe on this condition was receyued vp into heauen that the lyfe of his members myght bee hydden as yet vntyll it shoulde bee reuealed by his comming They are called saintes in this place whiche were deade in the faythe of Christe to come by whose bloude they presented them selues with a fyrme faythe before the father to bee sanctified and purged from they re synnes VVhiche slepte A. As concerninge this sleape reade the fower and twenty verse of the nynthe chapiter before 53 And went out of the graues after his resurrection and came into the holy cittie and appeared vnto many And vvent out of the graues C. It may bee demaunded what came afterwardes to passe of the saynctes For it seameth verye absurde that they beynge once admitted of Christe into the societie of lyfe shoulde retourne agayne to duste But as the aunswer is not easy and ready to bee made euen so it is but vayne curiously to labour in a thynge not necessary to bee knowen It is lykely that they were not longe conuersaunt among men because it was mete that they should be sene but for a shorte tyme that in thē the power of Christe myght be made manifest And seeinge hee woulde confirme those that were alyue in the hope of the heauenly lyfe in theire persone it shall bee no absurditie if wee saye that so soone as they had shewed them selues they rested agayne in theire Sepulchres And came into the holy cittie C. In that the Euangeliste honourablely calleth Hierusalem the holy cittie hee doth it not for the desertes of this cittie for we knowe that it was then replenyshed with all kynde of wyckednes that it myght seeme rather to bee a denne of
that are dispersed vnder his Impery In this therfore Ioseph is commended that in a myserable state and subiecte to destruction hee kepte the hope of redemption whiche was promysed of God. Hereuppon also spryngeth the feare of God and a desyre to leade a godly lyfe For it cannot bee that any mā should serue God but hee whiche assureth hym selfe that hee wyll bee his delyuerer Lette vs also note that saluation in Christe beynge offered to all the Iewes alyke and his promyse commen to all men the holye Ghoste wytnesseth that it was recyued but of a fewe as wee maye reade here of Ioseph Whereby it appeareth that the inspeakeable grace of God was wyckedly despysed of all men for the most part through obliuion All men coulde talke in boastinge wyse of the commynge of Christe but the couenaunt of God was fixed in the hartes but of a fewe that they myght aryse by faythe to the spirituall renouation But I woulde to God the lyke myserable corruption were not in these dayes Howe many be there I praye you whiche wayte for the kyngdome of God Are not all mē for the moste parte so fastened to the earth as though there were no promysed resurrection But howesoeuer the greater part forgettyng them selues doe streye to and fro let vs remember that this vertue is proper to the faythfull to seke those things that are aboue and specially nowe that the grace of God hathe bryghtly shyned through the Gospell teachynge vs that wee shoulde deny vngodlynes and worldly lustes and that we should lyue soberly and ryghteously and Godly in this presente worlde lookynge for that blessed hope and appearyng of the glory of the greate God. Of Aramathea Saint Luke saythe that it was a Cittie of the Iewes Some saye that it is the same whiche is called Ramatha beynge sytuate on Mounte Ephraim besyde Lydda whiche was called afterwarde Diospolis VVhiche also vvas Iesus Disciple Saynt Iohn saythe that he was a pryuie Disciple of Christe for feare of the Iewes This man althoughe hee had hearde Christe preachynge and was throughlye perswaded that hee was the Messias yet for all this hee durste not confesse hym so to bee leaste hee shoulde bee caste out of the Synagoge As concernynge the whiche reade the ninthe of Iohn 58 Hee wente to Pilate and begged the body of Iesu Then Pilate commaūded the body to be deliuered Hee vvent to Pilate C. Saint Marke hathe Hee went bouldly to Pilate Here wee see that what bouldenes so euer man hathe the same commeth altogether from god Furthermore wee see that wee oughte not to dispayre of those who although as yet they doe not openly professe the truthe of the Gospell yet notwithstandynge they doe in harte imbrace the same and are secrete disciples thereof When occasion is geuen it may happen to them by the grace of God that they shall come foorthe and openly declare that they consented not to the effusion of Innocent bloude and to the resystynge of the truthe when his Disciples whiche haue alreadye the profession of truthe shall flie for feare And begged the bodye of Iesu Hee durste not take downe the bodye of Christe by his owne authoritie or power For the bodyes of those whiche are put to deathe by the magistrate are also after deathe in the power of the magistrate Saynt Marke addeth sayinge And Pilate marueyled that hee was alreadye deade and called vnto hym the Centurion and asked of hym whether hee had bene anye whyle deade And when hee knewe the truthe of the Centurion hee gaue the bodye to Ioseph Saint Iohn hathe And Pilate gaue hym lycence But our Euangeliste hathe Then Pilate commaunded the body to be deliuered This was as it were a certain preparation to proue the truthe of Christes resurrectiō leaste the false Iewes should saye that hee fayned him selfe to be dead and that he rose from that coūterfeyt and dissembled death Therefore wytnesses are brought in that he was certaynely dead But it was done by the wounderfull permission of God that Pylate should graunte the bodie of Christe vnto Ioseph 59 And when Ioseph had taken the body he wrapped it in a cleane lynnen clohe And vvhen Ioseph had taken the body A. Saint Marke hathe And hee bought a lynnen clothe God truely would bury his Christe with a glorious burial although his death had nothing but ignominie It was sumptuous and done with coste because it was a certayne preparation to the glory of the resurrection And therefore the dead ought to be buried with some honest preparation to couer theire bodies into the whiche they are put vntyll the daye of resurrection The Iewes had many ceremonies in burying their deade to whome so greate lyght dyd not shyne This onely belongeth vnto vs as well as to them not to leaue the dead carcases vpon the grounde for byrdes and beastes but to bury them in the earth where they may be kepte vntyll the daye of Christes comming He vvrapped it in a cleane lynnen cloth In that the body of Christ was wrapped in a cleane lynnen clothe and layde vp in a newe Sepulchre it was thereby declared that some newe thynge was done whiche was not hearde of before For Christe ought not to haue bene layde with other deade men because he went to opē the way to a newe life The buriall of Christe also doth admonish vs of our dutie Of the whiche the Apostle wryteth saying All we whiche are baptised into Iesus Christe are baptised to dye with hym where hee teacheth at large what it is to bee buried with Christe and also to ryse with hym agayne Saint Iohn also maketh mention of a certayne disciple of Christe whose name was Nicodemus whiche dyd helpe Ioseph in the buriall of Christe his woordes are these And there came also Nicodemus whiche at the beginninge came to Iesus by nyghte and brought of Myrre and Aloes myngled together aboute an houndred pounde wayghte Then tooke they the body of Iesus and wounde it in lynnen clothes with the odoures By the example of these men is prescribed vnto vs what wee owe vnto Christe For bothe of them to make a playne declaration of their faythe tooke Christe from the Crosse but not without great daunger and brought hym to the Sepulchre Greatly therefore is oure negligence to bee blamed if wee defraude hym of the confession of oure faythe nowe that hee raigneth in heauenly glory Saint Iohn hathe As the manner of the Iewes is to bury C. That the Iewes buryed the bodyes of the deade with swete odoures and spyces we may gather of the buriall of Iacob of the whiche it is sayde And Ioseph commaunded his seruauntes the Phisitions to imbaume his father and the Phisitians embawmed Israell fourty dayes longe for so long dothe the embawmyng laste These Balmes and odoures were vsed to kepe the carcas for a tyme frō corruption and stynke After therefore Christe had suffered moste shamefull ignominie vppon the Crosse God woulde haue his buriall to be honourable that