Diuell and thou muste vowe and promise to forsake him and all his woorkes and come to God For God loueth the willinge soule and the minde that is ready to obay him is acceptable in his sight It is a grosse error my Children to say that you only are the Church of God and forget this and learne of mée There is on earth but one true Church and one head wee haue and one espoused therunto in one Christe and euery man is or ought to bée a member of the same not euery man one Church For as on earth wee confesse that there is aboue vs but one Lord one Kinge so in Heauen there is but one Lorde one God one Christe of whō wee be members knit vnited and coopeled together to haue our dwellinge in the heauens Let this then passe and vnderstande that our mantion and abiding place is aboue and though we be in sundry countries here on earth yet wee professe one faith one trueth one hope all which be the true tokens the we agrée together in one churche So then wee bee members one of another and not euery one one anothers head and wee be parteners and fellows in one and the same churche not euery one the seueral head of the true churche Wherefore instructed fully in this knowe that it is expedient as you are all of one bodie and ioynts and members of one head so to frame and fashion you here in this worlde that you loue and agree in one as also that you make profession and promise in open dealinges that you bee at agréement and condescende together in one congregation for it is abhominable and learne it béefore crookednesse and wearinesse incrotche that any one for priuate gaine shall cloake and couer the inward affections or shewe him selfe by outwarde gesture and déede to be another manner of man then he is in minde and heart for it is good that there bee no doublenesse no hypocrisie no open shewe and profession in any thing which notwithstanding thou shalt mislike in priuate assemblies or shewe thy selfe an aduersarie before men that liking and good report may be taken yet in thy soule and in thy heart shalt be another man. Thus if thou bée affectioned God shall blesse thée in thy dealing and prosper thée in that thou goest about and he will giue thée honour in thine age and glorie will fellowe thée to the grane Then if the Lorde do visite thée and thinke on thée in his mercy in his fauour giue vnto thée a comforter which is fleshe of thy fleshe and bone of thy bone and thou acknowledging his benefite and confessing his rewarde wilte shewe the obeysance and duetie to him Then coople thy selfe to the order of the churche and disdaine not to be ordered by gouernement Thy marriage it is as lawfull and acceptable vnto God as well in the body and middest of the church as if it were celebrated or solemnized at the table of the Lorde Stande not so mutche vppon the vse of the ring which is a sigue onely of the ioyning and a pawne of your trothe plighted eche to other hath neither force to saluation or any religion that is the more beautified by it but is a bare order custome in the churche Let no man persuade thée that any euil or accursed dealing any wicked or vngodly mans life is to be kept close and secreate or bidden from the worlde if thou knowe it for feare the Gospell should be slaundered It is abhomination to the Lord he will disclose it Sée vnto thy selfe and looke narrowly to thy steppes and examine thy wayes take not an othe falsly neither bring thou destruction to thine owne soule for the credite and the honor thou maist purchase to the wicked man For the portion of him that vseth periurie is death and the lying soule heapeth vp wrath and a peruerse man is destruction and happie is that man whose vprightnes is not intangled nor snared with the wicked Laste of all my litrie babes for a number are euen nowe to bee taken and it is good to vse the benefite of the yeare and oportunitie of the seasonable weather we haue otherwise a great fort of you be so farre growen that if moderation be not had wee shall neuer bende you For this cause learne in time and presume to iudge no man in his dealing Thinke Christianly of all condempne none Seclude not the infidell from Christe but leaue a hope till the last gaspe As for Christians and vs all that ought to be of one churche let charitie rule thée brotherhood moue thée and the same profession of which wee be all continually guide thée enter rashly into iudgement with none As for the wicked let him be wicked still and for the vngodly let him wallawe in vngodlinesse The Lorde will recompence him at his appearing he hath giuen thee no authoritie to reuenge it And nowe that I haue brought you as I take it out of ignorannce and layde before you the way to goe in receiue at my handes a fewe wordes lappe them vp in thy breast and hide them in the secrete closet of thine hearte for they be as the Balme and as precious as the oyntment and they will bring ioye and pleasure in the ende if thou keepe them Marke therefore and vnderstande what it is that I teache First I open vnto thée my faith and I giue vnto thée the assured colisen of a Christian and it is this Learne to praye for it is necessarie and conuenient to all flesh Knowe what prayer is and vse it rightly Vnderstande the manner order howe to pray vse not the fonde custome of the nations settle thy selfe and prepare thée as vnto the battaile so to bée strongly armed against temptations First knowe our fathers did it then the expresse woorde of God commaundeth it that our necessitie willeth it that our danger and perill wherein wee bee requireth it that our deliuerance from the Lorde otherwise helplesse compelleth it that our enimie the diuell Satanas dayly assaying vs doth driue vs to it In thy prayer flye Hipocrisie come humbly and lowly to the Lorde put away hollownesse and loosenesse of heart from thée Be thou in assurance and fixed in hope Aske not at his handes what pleaseth thée and let not thy prayers be vnséemely for his maiestie Faile not herein neither stay thou but perseuere and continue in thy prayer And nowe take an assurance of thy faith laye holde in time and leaue not the hope that thou hast in the Lorde Renounce all Gentilisme Giue no credite to sighes and wenders be not dead in thy life shewe thy faith by thy deedes Let it not be for a time neyther continue in faith for a season but be stedfast confessing and acknowledging that the faith which iustifieth thée is brought from hope vnto assurance and guided by the spirite that directeth thée Vnderstande that there is but one faith as
others That same Ephraem hath yet gonne farther in this hée searcheth out more narrowly the dealinges of the world and preuenteth that same glorious pompe in our professors that lay open their thoughts and ripp vp their cogitacions to bée séen of men with which kynde of people I professe my selfe mutch to haue delt withall and glad I am it pleased God to let mée haue sight of sutch in these my younge dayes for that I may beeware the better in ryper yéeres But his councell it is not to praye for our selues but for all euen sutch as bée Christians and of the Lorde and not for our fréends but euen for those that hate vs I thinke hée hath sufficiently glaunced at our Anabaptists that beside their error in mislyking our manner of prayer holdinge with none but sutch as is framed and ordered by them intertayne but litle order in the Church but careles in life and suspected in their dealing make the Gospell a couering and the word a cloake to dissemble with regard sutch as fauor them presume to appoincte the elect of the Lord at their seuerall iudgments pray for sutch as bée of their Church kéepe secret the dealinges of vngodly men least their profession and calling bee dishonested as though Dauid could not offend or Abraham transgresse the will of God bee it reuerently spoken and with feare but the Churche of God should suffer Shipwracke for it I speake as one mooued and sory I am that I am at holme And this sore it is so festred writhed already into the harts of men that an Iron to seare it is better thē a plaister to mollefy it with And if God doo not giue an other spirit or dalyaunce bée deferred as yet it is I haue at this tyme but looked at them if God permit and leysure serue and these outragious enemyties stil continue I am not purposed to leaue them so rawly But ouerslipping my self I haue plunged vnaduisedly to come so neere vs truly so it may bee For better a great deale is it to kéepe him that is abroad and strike the enemye then to rushe vpon our fréendes that bée at holme And yet not so nor so wisely neyther if wee consider all For it is wisdome to cut of him in thy owne Campe first if so thy liberty permitteth thee and then to wrestle with the forraner but content I am and I striue not nowe I will arme my selfe agaynst some other time Only let them take heede they come not nearer for if they doo though now they bée without reatch yet Pen Inke and Paper shall neuer spare them wel to leaue this of our disordered and crooked dealing let vs approtche to that which is more pleasaunt and frutefull then is this and if thou wilt pray and pray aright pray thus First in spirite Ephe. 6.8 Iude. 20. and in many other places the reason hereof is For that the man alwayes occupyed in his traficke is not able to vse the body the ioynctes the lymmes the outward gesture as other doth whose leysure suffereth them to praye at all times but euen this is required in him as in all other to lifte vp himself to erecte and reare him vp in soule in spirit in hart vnto the Lord that the affayres and dealings in this world ouercome thée not Secondly in fayth Math. 2.12 Mark. 11.23 Ioh. 15.7 Iam. 1.6 and the 5.15 Ephe. 3.12 Ephe. 2.8 and els wheare For as God hath left vnto vs all manner of instrumentes to woorke by as hee hath giuen vs a meane and way on earth to labour by as man hath his seuerall manner to inritch him with So for the spirituall affayres for thy woorke for thy waye for thy labour for thy custome to attaine thy honor with all is theare of vs all as common vnto all one onely instrument which is sayth Thirdly it must bée donne in the name of Christ alone wher in is secluded all manner worship and inuocation eyther of Saincts eyther of men eyther of creature on the earth That prayer vsed of them in Aegipt to Isis so named of the glory which they saw in the Moone Also they of Athens that worshipped the vnknowne god Actes 20. As they which were at Rome that serued Minerua Pallas Iuno Hereules with the rest diuersly inuented by the Ethnickes All els whatsoeuer they bee condempned by this for it ought to be in the name of Christ the reason is that wée take it not as a charactar or fondly for the repeating therof as that there should be any forse vertue in it But théese bee the causes for which wée are charged and inioyned to thinke that wée haue saluation in the name of Christ ¶ The first cause for which wee pray in the name of Christ For that hée onely forgiueth sinnes Math. 9.2 Actes 10.43 Rom. 8.4 1. Cor. 5.18 Ephe. 1.7 and the fourth the thirtéenth verse otherwise wée might pray to the Blocke and to the stone and to the thinge that créepeth and profiteth vs not For what aduauntage had wée in sorrowing all the dayes of our life and in the ende when the wrinckels in our sace appeareth and the messenger doth his duty and citeth vs before the Lorde then wee bée still in death and life is kepte from vs then this is the ende bereof Namely that our transgressiōs may be hid and our sinnes couered and that wée may haue remission of the same and life eternall which is the first cause we pray in the name of Iesus Christ The second for that hee is the way the truth and the life Ioh. 14.5 and 26. Ioh. 11.2 Ioh. 14 6. Actes 3.15.1 Ioh. 1.2.1 Ioh. 5.11 Colos 3.4 By this wee are secluded from all licentious liberty of the Gentilles from all inuention of man from all fonde and phanatical illutions For if wee séeke for lyse wee haue it in Christe that dyed for vs to bringe vs out of death If for a guide wee haue the spirit that will conducte vs in the right way and leade vs to his Father if the truth there was no blemish found on his lippes nor deceypt in his tongue and hée brought in the truth the Gospell of his Father and the woord of lyfe kept secret from the beginning of the world and reuealed in these latter daies vnto the sonnes of men wherfore wee néede to séeke no farther wée haue all things wrought in Christ The thirde for that hée is the accomplishment and ende of the law This may seeme litle to apperfayn to vs but whē we cōsider the by the law came in death and by the fulfillinge of the lawe came deliueraunce from death it may appeare what a glorious God hée was and moste victorious that hath ouercome the sharpenes thereof and vanquished the power of the Deuill that kepte this as a handwrighting agaynste man that of himself was neuer able to fulfil it wherfore wée pray in the name of Christ for that hée hath abolished the strength and force of sinne
downe that wee haue néede of prayer and that wée must praye to hang you no longer in suspence thereof séeing I haue defined what it is and howe to vse your selues mannerly in the presence of so high and greate a Lorde and that you ought not to doubte of the fourme and manner thereof There is yet left you behinde to learne that this prayer being done finished by faith many greate singular commodities do come by it and as out of the water brooke diuers vessels be filled with one water the same very good so of one faith be many perfectly spiritually fed yet the same do bring but one life For the spirite of God which worketh to the best in those that be his hath giuen an assuraunce to the childryn of obedience of the life and of the hidden treasuries that bee laide vp for the righteous vntill the daye of reuealing and for that cause to encourage vs in the voyage that we haue to goe God hath confirmed our weakenesse with certeine promises that we may in all our dealings stande the better Yet till he bring the same to passe he hath layde before vs that whiche is requisite to be done of our partes This when by his grace it is finished hee will make a consummation and perfection of his blessednesse and wée shall obtaine that which we prayed for by faith in Christe Our duetie is firste of all to consider that the faith whiche wee haue for I knowe that there is none but they wil be accounted as faithfull consisteth chiefly of these thrée things First that there is but one fayth Secondly that it is the gifte of god Thirdly that it commeth by hearing For that man that wil be iustified must bee iustified through these That there is but one faith Paull verie notably hath described to vs in the fourth to the Ephesians There is one Lorde one faith one Baptisme one God and father of all which is aboue all and through all and in you al. And as on earth there is one onely ayre that fostereth vs so is there onely one faith in Christ that saueth vs. The seconde thing is that this faith is the gifte of god Math. 11.27 Luke 17.22 Iohn 6 44. Act. 15.8 The reason hereof is this Wee are by nature the children of death wherein then can we be saued but in Christ and Christ he hath giuen vs a meane it is faith and faith bringeth life so that if wee had faith by nature wée were the children of God and of life by nature But this is otherwise for as by one man came in death so by one man came in life And as the first Adam was made a liuing soule so is the second Adam made a quickening Spirite that where as before we were made children of wrathe and death Nowe wée are in Christe created a new and fashioned another lumpe and made comlyer and better then before we were Also the wall is broken downe betwixt him and vs and wée haue frée passage to him by faith and this faith it is giuen vs for it is the gifte of God. The thirde propertie required in this our faith was that it should come by hearing Rom. 10.17 The occasion hereof I take to be that a difference might appeare of the rightuous of the vnrighteous man For as euery one is readiest in hearing so shoulde he be perfectest in his liuing Yet this is not as the light in the Sunne that can not be altered for our worldlings in these dayes are at Sermons with the first but in life the filthiest The proofe thereof it will shewe it self if it were lawfull to touche the behauiour of priuate men which offence as I thinke it not expedient to bee giuen in the churche so if it were euer lawfull I suppose it to be nowe wherein a number be redier to flye to Layis with them of the tribe of Dan to be a father and Prieste to Images then quietly to staye at home or do any good in Siloe Their earerings and their iewels they are too base to serue their Mahomet in their chambers and to garnish vp their altars but zeale that they haue to the house of God and his worde The graine of mustarde seede spoken of in Matthew and lesse if lesse there may bee will presse it downe with heaped vp measure The Lorde graunt that if time serued there bée not spyes among vs to waye out the ritches of Hierusalem by wayght nor seruauntes in our owne palaces readie bent to saye Ahimelech and the Priests of God For that they of mount Ephraim and the inhabitaunts of Gilgall be so gracelesse in their dealings These Asarites howe beginne they euen nowe to kicke against vs Haue they net serued Baall before our faces of late of a trueth it will fall out that as they haue béene sufficient thornes and prickes in our sides vntill this daye so to paye vs that they owe vs and to fill our measures to the brimme if euer Abimelech doo get vp wée shall finde it too late to flye vnto sichem to saue vs These dayes of sorrowe the Lorde kéepe from vs and giue them of his spirite to acknowledge the true light that the faith whereon they vaunt so mutch may appeare as the day and that olde Cankar so growen in their sides and now rotten for lacke of launching may growe to whole and perfect fleshe or that hee would fende a sharpe razour to ransack it But as for these men I leaue them to the Lorde I returne thither from whence I came to take my laste farewell of my young Schollers to whome I haue directed all this spéeche And I wishe them in time to knowe the lord And that the rottennesse putrifaction that is together drawn into their hearts that they swallowed vp from their cradels might be layd aside in their youth they growe vp of them selues into a more liuely body For I knowe though you bee accustomed to praye yet that your tender yeares be not able to carry with them that discretion and naturall attendaunce moste commonly in suche as be of greater stature more dayes Learne in thy youth then séeke to bringe that desire thou haste to praier vnto his ful perfection as for this shorte lesson I do giue thée it is an other manner of one thē as yet thou hast learned and thy readines of wit thy tender age thy prime and flowre wherin thou arte it wil be an ayde and helpe vnto thy memorys Neyther will I exact so straight and narrow kinde of life as others doo for I leaue a liberty to the freshnes of thy youth as meete and conuenient times to sporte thee with Thy pastime alone let it bee honest myrth as becommeth a seruaunt and Scholler of Christe I permit thee not to séeke out any holes and corners to pray in and let not the euill example of these that bee aged alter and
which had in it but eyght persons as a seueral people kept to God And in this place I haue drawn you out a shorte catalouge of the peruerse and crooked kingdome the dominion of the diuel by which you may knowe what wee are of our selues when God forsaketh vs and you shall vnderstande againe that the Lord euen in the midst of death can keepe vs that be of his Church vnto life I knowe the I haue to deale with a great number that if God would not cut off the presumptuous spéech would complaine with Esdras the he had forgotten Sion that his people had hanged vp their harpes by the riuer of Babell and wepte there yet could not be heard of god And if euer it appeared in blacke and mourning wéede then was the Church of God chéefely destitute voide of helpe when as Nemrod that mightie hunter grewe vp to so great strength and consumed the flocke and heritage of the Lorde This kingdome of Sathan it is enlarged especially by these three meanes the firste is in belying and defacing the trueth the woorde of God the seconde is in open wickednes the third is by sects scismes heresies to beat downe the Gospel An example of the first I cannot shew better then in him of whom we brag so much our first father what a lye was that he made vnto him to begyle him withall If you eat of this fruit you shal be Gods knowing good euil then take this in the meane time as God his glorie his kingdome his empire is enlarged by setting out the trueth so is the kingdom of the diuel by disceit After this sort he bewitched the Philosophers of olde he begyled the Gentiles and nations on the earth with fonde and fantasticall illusions taken frō the Sunne the Moone and the other creatures whō they worshipped The beginning of the Kinge of Babylon and of Assiria after the floode 131. yeare testifie the same euen from Nemrod before named called of M. Bullinger and of the Poets Saturnus how great blindnesse and filthie superstition incroched on the earth euen that blessed nation whome God hath nowe mightily prospered the Germanes frō whence I knowe not whether any more heauenly or more wise or better learned or greater number to set out the glorie of the Lord and his Christ hath risen out of any place or nation or countrie vnder the Sunne then hath from them Yet these came out of the loynes of that beastly Monarcha and liued a long time in Idolatrie For take a viewe of their predccessours frō whence they came and iudge whether God hath blessed them or no that when they were wilde grapes good for nothing hath graffed them againe vppon a newe stocke and they bring foorth verie plentifull fruite For consider all and the power of God which wrought it Howe sprang vp Idolatrie when Ninus sonne to Nemrod otherwise of the Poets Iupiter Belus began to reigne Hee erected a temple to his father and to his mother Iuno and to Rhea his mothers mother and be was the chiefe author of idolatrie euen the moste grosse and beastliest that I finde among men Him did Semiramis a Paragon and his mother and an Amazon as filthie wicked as her sonne succede in the Empire Only in an out corner about Mesopotamia and in other pettie viliages was God knowen I touche this age For that it pleased God to suffer Sathan to build him a throne a kingdome among men in those dayes especially which was the foundation and Piller of all vntrueth vntill this day For nowe began the Aegyptians to bud vp that vntoward generation whose name deserueth to be hated for that all our toyes and inuentions in hidden and vnknowen artes began with them And the diuell to establishe and ratisie his dourine began in Aegypt the fiftéenth yere of Nemrod which was of Noe the 745. of the world 1801. yeres Then began Mizraim so called in their language his tyranny this is he called of the Histeriographers Oceanus that made great broyles in the Church and confirmed his wickednesse with bloude But it is true that is in Salomon The Lorde that sitteth in his seate doth wipe away all euill And againe the wise King doth scatter the wicked and bring a mischiefe vppon them And therefore this buylding of Sathan it lasted not long but was broken downe euen the chéefe walles thereof when hee suffered Abraham to soiourne among them For his posteritie sufferes many troubles and diuers calamities and were oppressed many yeres yet in the ende the Lorde God was magnified his name was praised and his Maiestie séene his people had a glorious day of them when Pharooth and his horsemen and his Chariots were ouerwhelmed and drowned in the deapth of the Seas Therefore in my iudgement this is a worthy and moste excellent prayer that the olde reliques of the auncient building may be defaced and to desire the Lorde that his kingdome may bee increased and superstition and falshod sowed and setled in the hearts of men rooted out and the puritie of the Gospel may take holde and veritie and religion shine among vs For it is the olde custome of Sathan to begyle vs as auncient as the Aegyptians be and the Caldees the Hebrewes so is his pollicie and his wilinesse of many yeres and long time greater continuance then our late and miserable dayes be able to resist if we were assaulted with the like For which cause séeing superstition hath heretofore ouerflowed the face of the whole earth from the beginning might haue continued vntill our latter times had not the Lorde God in his sonne Chrisie looked on vs For that Mahomet and the Turke haue their dominion and glorious titles to be made Gods aboue all that be in earth and his neighbour his nexte rempanion hath nowe a long season set him selfe in his chaire of state and Imperiall throne and hath made al the princes of the earth drunken with his venomous eup for that wée our selues bee a gazing stocke almoste to the whole worlde and the eyes of euery kingdome and nation cast vppon vs for that peace and quietnes the true light of the Gospel was neuer set out in his perfecte colour as it is at this day with vs and for that if vnthankfulnesse continue and lothsomnesse take vs we are at a venture that God will depriue vs of his benefites Considering the brickle state and distresse wherein we be no greater consolation in my iudgement may or can happen to vs nor worthier blessing light on vs or more earnest supplication moued by vs then that he would promete his glorie sanctifie his name defend his church establishe his kingdom roote out the posteritie of Sathan suffer his peace to be among vs. The second shift and pollicie that hee hath to erect his owne glorie and set vp his kingdome is by open sinne manifest
thy kingdome come Therefore Eucherius vppon the kings doth figuratiuely drawe the kingdome of Saul vnto Christ in that they of Israel lost the kingdome and gouernement by his reprobation and it shoulde be recouered againe vnder the Messtas by free gift Lactantius giueth a spiritual heauēly kingdome vnto Christ for that he was obedient and fatthfull to his father and fulfilled all thinges euen to the death of the crosse therefore he hath giuen him a kingdome and honour and rule Also Epiphanius maketh a comparison betwixt the house of Israel and Ierusalem from whome the scepter and kingdome was some times taken away but saith he for euer shall our glorie last which we shal haue in the throne of the Lorde And his kingdome it is not on yearth for so he testified vnder that testimonie hee gaue vnto Pontius Pilate Therefore Cyprian Christ may be called the kingdome of God whome we looke for dayly and in our prayers desire he woulde come spéedily for in so much as he is our resurrection our glorie our crowne therefore shall we rise be made like vnto him and raigne with him most gloriously It is true and certeine as there is a dominion and sceptar on earth so there is and shal bee a kingdome in heauen so that at such time as wee pray and desire to be with Christe we desire to bee with him in his kingdome which in the ende hee will giue vnto vs in heauen Then as the power of Sathan is great and as he hath his pollicie and ingins readie prepared to snare vs so hath the Lord God his ordinarie meanes to bring vs to his kingdome and hee layeth vp in store for those that bee his against the day of his comming First of all the kingdom of God was knowen and opened inlarged verie aboundantly by his worde which he gaue vs so that they which were snared intangled by Sathan had to runne vnto that eternal decree and heauenly Oracle that was deliuered by the Lorde The séede of the woman shall tread down the head of the Serpent with this as with spirituall foode were our fathers fedd and liued in the hope which they had in one Christ for they hoped for an heritage and for a kingdome and for their redemption which they knewe shoulde bee fulfilled in their season Secondly the amplification and increase of the kingdō of God was shewed to man in that when the appointed houre was come he sent his onely begotten sonne into the worlde that beeing made man of the virgin Marie he might take our weakenesse vppon him and beare our infirmities that our nakednesse might be no more open before God his father but we might be clothed and couered in his peace First he washed away our sinnes and nayled them vnto the Crosse and adopted vs into the libertie of the children of God That we might falter no more and slide from him he lefte a defence and shielde for vs which is our faith that albeit we haue sinne and iniquitie ranging in our mortal bodies yet by a liuely hope in his bloud we might stande stedfast against the enimie and haue our sinnes no more imputed to vs but be counted able to stande before his tribunal in the merite and death of his sonne and such an assurance is giuen vnto vs of life in that kingdom that Paule bursteth out into a verie vehement speeche and wondereth at the Lord that hath brought to passe so much for vs For who can lay ought to our charge that be the children of God It is God that iustifieth who shall condemne It is Christe that is dead nay rather which is risen againe that sitteth at the right hande of his father and is an intercessor and mediator for vs Wherefore séeing the sonne of God hath made a satisfaction for our sinnes and hath by his resurrection vanquished hell death the diuell and condemnation it doth followe that he hath made vs a frée passage to his kingdome and hath set in good order the perfection that was wanting to make vs obedient children in this life and to giue vs his rewarde at the length euen a crowne of immortalitie and glorie And here commeth in the thirde thing that establisheth and giueth vs full certeintie of our kingdom in Christe whereby he squareth vs as fit stones hewen out in good time for so excellent a building and it is the earnest of the spirite procéeding from his father to direct sanctifie and gouerne vs against all the assaultes and temptations of Sathan And here it commeth to passe that where as by nature and offence of the first man we are vnreadie and vnméete to do that which is acceptable pleasant in his sight nowe by his spirite woorkinge in our mindes and consciences and daily striuing with the fleshe wee finde aptnes in our selues and a more readinesse to obey the Lorde This comforter as he was moste plentifully in great terrour and astonishement manifested to his Apostles at the firste enlarging of the kingdome of God so hath he not forsaken vs thoughe visibly he appeare not vnto vs but doth purge and wipe away our infirmities and lighteneth vs by a perfect calling and secreate operation through the obedience of his name that we may knowe what the holy and perfect and readie will of God is And as Saul a verie wicked and vngodly man was founde prophesying among the Prophets and Amos from the Mulberie trées and from the plough was taken into the temple and Sinagog of Hierusalem and as some of the Apostles from the net and the fishers hooke were altered and chaunged vnto other maner of men so is it with vs made and fashioned againe that were before filthie and wicked we are purged renued clensed and renouated by a more liuelye quickening wee stande boldly before his throne of grace and heare knowe the glad tidings of peace for the spirite maketh intercession with groninges for those that be the Lordes and worketh mightily in our heartes vnto saluation Fourthly and lastly this kingdome of God is increased and inlarged by the preaching of the Gospel a verie ordinarie way that God hath left vnto vs to bring vs to heauen euen to beléeue the worde and obey the Lord God and to attaine to the ful measure and depth thereof which is the eternall decree purpose and determination of his death the ende wherof is our life the cause thereof his onely loue good wil and fauour that he bare to man openly knowen and apparant by the Gospell It is therefore called the Gospell of Iesus Christe the sonne of god Mar. 1. It is called the word of Christe Collos 3. It is called the worde of the Lorde Act. 6. It is called the doctrine of Christ or the teaching of the Lorde Act. 13. And it is called the teaching of him that saueth Tit. 2. It is called the preaching of the Lorde Rom. 16. all which titles epithites giuen vnto the
vnto them that hazarde and aduenture their liues for their sake And the sauedge and vntamed Colte turneth backe with his salutation gréeteth them w her neighing that suckereth her Then it is good reason and agreat point in vs to be considered of to know what honour what reuerence what deutie what obeyzance we owe vnto him that hath giuen his life for vs and purchasâ—d a raunsome when we were captiues and cheaned vnder Sathan and that by so greate a price the price of bloude And it is first required that as their is one God so we agrée and loue as one That wee loue him withall our heart with our soule with our might it is his will that those purified washed and clensed in his bloude doe not defile their bodies that be temples of the holy ghost but kéepe them as vndefiled members of his Church Therefore Saint Paule saith this is the will of God your sanctification your holinesse that euery one kéepe his vessell in puritie and in honour not in lust and filthinesse as the nations did that knew not god And to the Ephes God hath elected vs from all beginning the according to the measure giuen vs in this life wee might bee blamelesse and without spot Whereunto I may refer that of Christ done of him at his last supper that very humbly he washed his desciples féete In token of the corruption and putrifaction that must be seared cut away in those that be his Therefore it is Gods will that we folowe not the lusts of the flesh but mortifie our earthly members dying vnto sinne that we may rise againe to newnesse of life Then in these thrée the loue of God the holinesse of life the mutuall societie brotherly loue one with another is the will of God reposed This it is that we must vnderstande herein the will of the Lorde Euen that we be vnspotted and blamelesse in our conuersation That the feare of God and dread of his maiestie may touche vs that we be freendly louing one vnto another through loue Thirdly it is the will of the Lorde that we be conformed and made like in the image of his son Christe And as by his crosse and death he entered the glorious heauens and sitteth in maiestie and power with his father so we may also be tamed and crucified as touching the flesh the we may rest dwel with him aboue For as the father sometime doth lashe his sonne and by a fewe scorges draweth him home vnto him So our Father in troubles and a little trying as it were by stripes bringeth vs backe that were lost and causeth vs retyre that went astray prepareth a salue to heale vs againe Euen meditation and prayer in his Christ This is the cause he exhorteth man vnto the bearing of his crosse and chargeth his disciples to arme themselues against persecution and hath made his saincts to taste of the whippe and of the rodde to reclame them when they waltered in their sinne For it is true that through many tribulations wee must enter into the kingdome of heauen So that it is the doctrine we learne here that when we suffer persecution and all the day long are scorned for his sake we remember it is the will of God that hath promised saluation and victorie to his saincts ouerthrowe and destruction to such as hate him Therefore wee say it is his will to permit the vngodly and lose lyuer to florish for a season and in the ende as the Sunne doth the berbe and as winter doth the trées he consumeth them Furthermore we say Let thy wil be done in earth as it is in heauen and not without good cause for the sunne very gloriously runneth forth and doth knowe his cabbon to abide in and when so euer it pleaseth the Lorde to commaunde them any seruice that be a boue they are spedie in their message The Angels obey him the furniture of the heauens and artillery that is there serueth him The fire at his becke consumeth The ayre at his commaundement infecteth the water riseth aboue the banckes and deuoureth The earth is opened at his pleasure and swaloweth But if he speake vnto man and chargeth him to stand and to obey he rebelleth Then that which by nature wee haue not By grace and fauour we atteine vnto And we pray that hys wil may be done in earth as it is in heauen That heauen and earth may obey him together For as the Angels minister before him and as the spirites and soules of righteous men reioyce and sing vnto him So take it here that there might be a consent agréement of vs all in the bonde of peace in the vnitie of the gospell that heauen and earth might reioyce at it Wherin we consent confesse that he is Lorde aswell of the heauen as of the earth And we condempne those that thinke in their heartes there is no god For the earth is the Lordes and the fulnesse thereof Also we are put in minde of the miserable condition and state of man himselfe that dayly transgresseth and continually forgetteth the goodnesse of his god Therfore our custom is as was the of Lot reckned by Peter 2.2 That liuing with the filthy and swinish Sodomittes lamented dayly and bewayled the filthinesse that he sawe there And as is of the good subiecte that is dayly conuersant with such as be rebellious So is the state of Godly men that sigh and grone in spirite at the peruersitie of those that resist the worde And wish if so the Lord will that his will may be fulfilled in them Thus much for this thirde parte of this prayer wherein wee acknowledge the will and word of God howe it is hee that ruleth vs that of our selues wée haue nothing to helpe vs that fleshe and bloud cannot obey him if wée want his grace to bring vs to him that hée whiche elected vs is God and not of our selues but in his Christe And brought vs out of bondage by his death and made a propitiation for vs in his bloud and left vs an earnest of his inheriritaunce and a token of his fauour whiche is the Spirite that guydeth and ruleth vs and incourageth and comforteth vs illuminatinge our myndes in his might To whome with the father and his sonne Christe be all dominion and glorie nowe and euer Amen Geeue vs this daye our dayly bread THE happie and blessed state wherein man liued before hee fell from God is apparant and opened vnto vs in that the Image of the Lorde appeared in him more plentifully then nowe it doth When as neyther tyllinge neyther sowing neyther reaping neyther gathering was founde vppon the earth But hee sucked from her breastes and gleaned vp the ritches of the fielde without labour and sweate of the Browes But after that Sathan had subtelly preuented vs Our glorye was our ignominie and our fall was our shame and the
shoulde worke in him and corrupt Adam by his owne falte For in that the sinne and infirmitie whiche lurketh in an other is bewrayed and brought to light marke the prouidence and gouernement of the Lorde which bringeth that to passe whereby his owne wisedome righteousnesse and mercy may appeare If he did worke and cause an adulterous minde in a man whose minde was pure and innocent before and then moued him to vtter the same in act and déede somewhat what it were that we had to say vnto the Lord But if he worke not that adulterous minde but findeth it corrupt and defiled by Sathan and by the person him selfe and then ordeineth that shal be fall causeth the same wickednesse in that same man to tende to his glorie Let vs try out the vnsearchable riches and wisedome of the Lorde that causeth the same thing which of it selfe is euill to turne be chaunged vnto that which shal be good Then if these men vnderstande by his will that God delighted not in Adames sinne there is no strife I say so and so we fight with the ayre But if there by is ment It was not Gods decrée and ordinaunce that Adam shoulde finne but all onely for his fall and in respect of sinne they my bee Anathamatized and that iustely For they plucke God out of his throne they haue no consideration but measure the Lorde as man To this tendeth both the rest for nowe I must be short and I doubt not but GOD will permitte that I may one day make longer discourse hereof Christ is saide to die and for our redemption for his resurrection is our iustification Nowe it was Gods will this should be why then shall not the Iewes be excused O wretched man that I am that shoulde thus reason against the goodnesse of God and abuse his long sufferaunce that bringeth vs to eternall life I answere that same filthy Papist that scholler of so vile a maister and that sought his death and mine and séeth it not Pyggyus Often times God wicked men I speake according to our weakenesse and in reuerence are said to thinke one thing For Adam woulde sinne and Gods will was he should sinne but Adam would be like and equall to God he woulde bée perfect knowing good and euill Gods will was that Adam through his owne faulte shoulde sinne to turns Adames sinne to good and to bring good out of euill so that out of his perdition he brought saluation out of his fall strength and life Out of his thoughts and cogitation blessednesse and perfection vnto man. The Iewes will was to put Christe to death And Gods will was his sonne should die But to the Iews it was in malice and crueltie But of God in goodnesse and clemēcie For hee raunsomed vs that were prisoners captiues in the slauerie of the deuill Hes gaue vs life that were before in death and offered vs saluation that were before in condempnation wherfore this argument is nought God willeth it and we will it Ergo our willes is one It is a causa non sufficiente He the taught this may go to schoole againe set him downe for ought that I can sée for if he turne not ouer a newe leafe it is not this can euer honest him Take the reason God hath a Consideration in his will and purpose more then man hath for an vnthriftie childe willeth the death of his father God also will haue him die But it is in another maner The vnthriftie sonne doth it to enioy his fathers goodes God doth it to make an exchaunge to conueigh him out of miserie to life if he bee his for hee ordeined it before all beginninge Or to translate him from vs vnto death if hee hath not chosen him in Christe for it is his lot and hee decréede it before the worlde And heere I staye For if Paul can not Satisfte thée in his discourse to the Romanes neither do I looke to perswade thée herein That if thou like not me and my wordes as the Orator did of Plato and Isocrates when he spake of Theusidides so say I of Caluin of Zwinglius let me go astray with the m. Nowe to conclude all Leade vs not into temptation The verie meaning and true exposition is this Let O Lorde thy spirite bée with vs directe vs in our dooinges gouerne vs in that wée goe about suffer vs not to bée tempted beyonde that wée are able to beare For the Diuell and Sathanas seketh to molest inueigle away the Children of god And it is our duety to pray vnto the Lorde that wee be not ouercome in our temptation For they of God they study not to do well and to win Heauen by their merrits but they praye to stand stedfastly that they may bée saued and haue redemption in his death They study not by good workes to obtaine Saluation but because they are already saued for they be assured therof they will bee thankefull and obediente to the Lord because in his free election he hath saued them The like may bée sayd of the last words Deliuer vs from Euill For to this ende is our life our dealings our conuersation our vprightnes beefore the Lorde That wée haue an assured testimony of his good will that hée will kepe vs from death The rest of this Prayer For thine is the kingdome thy powre and thy glory for euer and euer Because our Luke hath pretermitted it therfore will not I at this time touch it In this my short Treatise if I haue done any good I am glad therof The poore substance that I haue and that litle God hath giuen mée that I haue offered to you all when God shall enritch mée with greater store and my Barnes better filled then now they bée So good corne as our Barren soyle bringeth forth of that I willingly will giue you choyse Onely at this time take my presente farewell as a grayne or two left behinde to fill vp your measure for I would haue no man to suspecte mee for my waight And let not my doctrine bee an offence to any this was only the the true meaninge that I had to teach one Lorde and Iesus Christe whom bee sente the redéemer of the world that I worship in the Spirite And this I commit vnto the whole Churche of God whose building and workemanship if it bée any other then this let it bée accursed 1. The foundation or corner Stone Christ 2. The builders his Ministers 3. The Morter to temper it is Veritie 4. The Lyme to season it is Skilfulnesse 5. The Sande to strengthen it is Wisdome and scattered thorough euery parte parcell of this buildinge 6. The Instruments to worke withall be the guiftes of the holy Ghoste 7. The Pillers Confidence and Trust 8. The Walles the two Sacramentes 9. The ground or Pauement our Profession 10. The Roofe or couering Perseuerance 11. The Windowes and light the working and lightning wee
there hath bin darkenes and ioy vvhere sorrovv and truth vvhete vvas ignoraÌ„ce so out of the kindome of Satan is the kingdome of Heauen made more glorious and better accepted among men The vvicked hee blindeth the godly hee stirreth vp by his temtations he doth make those that be the Lordes more vvarye God neâ—â—â— forsaketh hist but in desperate cases vseth mightily to restore hiâ— children God vvilhaâ—e his to mourn a season that they may be glad and reâ—oyce vvith great honor No trueth is in his lippes but falshod and lyes be the vveapons of the diuell Of euill Parents often times good children and of an euill stocke good branches yet onely the vvill of God that is tyed vnto no person God is not tyed to the greatest number but hee taketh vvhere he pleaseth and chooseth vvhere he listeth God seeth 〈◊〉 and in due time executeth his fierce vvrath Prayer refiss teth all troubles and if vve vvere at the dore of death yet are vve deliuered by it This serpent vvith many heads God vvill bring dovvne and you shall see him treden vnder foote The Pope vvil fall ere long and his time as it is but short so it is the easier to be borne as he is novve rent torne in peeces and his legges also and feete almost cut off The enimies backbite the vvorde and God and the Gospel if any fall neither knovve they hovv out of their fall ther commeth vp strength and abey the better armed Our strife is for trifles albeit great shevve be made of conscience all men may see hovv small â—â—nscience these haue vvhich leaue their vocatioÌ„ their calling the church the faithfull contemning brotherly felovvship absent them from preaching and hearing the vvorde and distike al but such as they vvould haue this is puritie vvith securatie Very subtil is Sathan seeketh by all meanes to suppresse religion euen by couler of Religion This diuisioâ— came in but of late yeares and Sathan mightely preuailed I knovv not vvhat this precise life meaneth this dealinge vvilleth but I knovv it is against the vvill of God. Flyinge from the Church ronninge froÌ„ preaching so small frequentinge of the Temple on the saboth vvil cause the Lord to take his Gospell from vs. It is filthy wheÌ„ priuate men become Preachers God taketh to him no man can take from him Gods loue vvas seen before the vvorld in electing vs at the creation in giuing to vs in the vvorld in calling vs then in Christ in redeeming vs and it vvilbee fully shevven in beâ—uen vvhen he crovvneth vs. All things do appertaing to the Lorde for he vvas made all in all for vs. Wee haue no glorie but in Christ nor kingdoÌ„ but in Christ noâ— honour but in Christ therefore are vve joyfull glad onely in Christ Faith finisheth and disposeth all things An instumeÌ„t to vvorke vvith all sharper then any svvord to deuide the vvorde of life Though god defer long yet hee vvill pay vs in the ende Man vveake of him selfe vngodlye he is perfited and chauÌ„ged by the Spirit of God. The time it is appointed vvhen vvee shal come to God beefore that vvee are as men in this vvorlde drovvned in sin and vvies kednesse If the conteÌ„pt of this be death vvhat shall become of them that do contempt it The ordinarie meane to come to God is by hering by this life by life God in him our heauen and our saluation and our life The loue of the father is the loue of his Christ that came for man dyed that out of death there might spring foorth life to all beleeuers No man is crowned if he haue not runne for it no man hath it if also hee win it not no man doth win it bntby strength no man is strong but in God so that wee must stay til God giue vs povver that we may haue the victorie Althings are giuen to knowe God but these are giuen to knowe God our neighbour our selues and his Christ in whome wee finishe and end all The ende of our prayer is that the king dome of God his Christe may shine darkenes and popery and dregs of superstition may bee abolished The kingdoÌ„e of God. Nothinge so accepted to the Lord as a vvillinge and ready minde to serue him M. Gualter Ciprian Pelagius con dempned heare The obedieÌ„ce of creatures to the Lorde doth continu ally checke vs that dâ—scbay him break his commauÌ„dements The life of man is for a time but he that feareth God liueth for euer The incomprehencible vvisedome of God and the vveakenes of man. Gods prouidence in guiding and prouiding for al. Two kindes of Heretickes bee condempned here the housholde of faith Free vvill men banished by this place MaÌ„ striuinge vvith God is as a beast but vvhen he fighteth vvith him he vanisheth as doth the dust Simon Magus the beginner of the houshold of faith some call it the family of loue The beastlinesse of man drovvned in sinne Carpocrates heresie Prodicus errour Donatistes their fall In time of peace men do occupie them selues vvith idle questioÌ„s and among those that thinke them selues purest are greatest â—eresies The house hold of faith brought in among the â—ermans A reason that vve all do sinne this man doth erre The sinneof the elect are not to death but falling they rise again by grace The imbecilitie and fall of the faithfull The godly are neuer cast off the vvicked vvhen they stande fall dovvn to hell The spirit of God is not tied to man but man is â—ied to the spirit Three kindes of operation and vvorking by the spirit Reason that man ruleth not the spirite of God. A comparisoÌ„ vvith the Fathers and our men that in all manner dealings crye out that it is the spirite of God. The dumbe creatures are a vvitnesse against vs that obay the Lord yet man doth not MaÌ„ on earth is a straunger but kept of the Lorde till the daye of iudgement Error and faulte of a false argument The fall of man is for tvvo endes to knovv his ovvne vveaknes to praye the more earnesty Heresy of the Persians Their false conclusion taken avvay Argumentes to proue that vve bee ful of sin and that hee vvhich continueth therin shall die the death The Famely of Loue condempned The doctrine of Balaam Nicolitans that make other mennes vviues coÌ„moÌ„ condempned Manlynes is beastlynes humanity is villany vvheÌ„ grace vvanteth Nazianzon Ambrose Epiphanus that doth alovve mariages Ierom. Basill Athanasius The revvarde of sin is death The abuse of our men that vsurpe the glorie of god and edifying and suffer all things and he accounted as vvicked that misti keth them This errour is common but as God loueth the good and the godly so he hateth the vvicked and the sinners they be not the Lordes In this age increased this grosle ignorance after Christ the fourth age Iudges take heede hovve you admitt othes for this herisie is commonly sprong vp it is