terrible alteration that lately had hapned in Germanie where by the means of one onely Luther the Romish Religion had suffered such a blow as that it could neither bee cured by dissimulation nor defended by power but the Clergie must either mend their manners or lose their dignities on the other side when hee saw how propense the common people inhabiting in the bordering countries of Italy vvere to entertaine those new opinions hee now thought it no time to dispute or perswade but with speed repaires to the Senate and procures authoritie from them to send for Spira Spira by this time had considered vvith himselfe of the nature of his carriage how evident and notorious it vvas and therefore subject to bee envied by such as neither liked his person nor Religion hee perceived that his opinions were neither retyred nor speculative but such as aymed at the overthrovv of the Romish Faction and at change of Policie vvherein at the best he could expect but a bloudy victory and that his enemies vvanted neither povver nor occasion to call him to account in publique vvhen he must either Apostatize and shamefully give his former life yea his ovvn conscience the lye or endure the utmost malice of his deadly enemies or forsake his wife children friends goods authoritie yea his deare Countrey and betake himselfe to a forraigne people there to endure a thousand miseries that do continually waite upon a voluntary exile Being thus distracted and tossed in the restlesse waves of doubt without guid to trust to or haven to flye to for succour on the sudden Gods Spirit assisting hee felt a calme and began to discourse with himselfe in this manner Why wandrest thou thus in uncertainties unhappy man cast away feare put on thy shield the shield of faith Where is thy wonted courage thy goodnesse thy constancie remember that Christs glorie lies at the stake suffer thou without feare and hee will defend thee hee will tell thee what thou shalt answer hee can beat downe all danger bring thee out of prison raise thee from the dead consider Peter in the dungeon the Martyrs in the fire if thou makest a good confession thou mayest indeed goe to prison or death but an eternall reward in heaven remaines for thee What hast thou in this world comparable to eternall life to everlasting happinesse if thou dost otherwise thinke of the scandall common people live by example thinking what ever is done is well done feare the losse of peace and joy feare hell death and eternall wrath or if thy flesh be so strong as to cause thee to doubt of the issue flie thy Countrie get thee away though never so far rather then denie the Lord of Life Now was Spira in reasonable quiet being resolved to yeeld to these weightie reasons yet holding it wisedome to examine all things hee consults also with flesh and bloud thus the battaile doth renew and the flesh beginnes in this manner Bee well advised fond man consider reasons on both sides and then judge how canst thou thus overweene thine owne sufficiencie as thou neither regardest the examples of thy Progenitors nor the judgment of the whole Church dost thou not consider what miserie this thy rashnesse will bring thee unto thou shalt lose thy substance gotten with so much care and travell thou shalt undergoe the most exquisite torments that malice it selfe can devise thou shalt bee counted an heretique of all and to close up all thou shalt die shamefully What thinkest thou of the loathsome stinking dungeon the bloudie axe the burning fagot are they delightfull Bee wise at length and keepe thy life and honour thou maist live to do much good to good men as God commands thee thou maist be an ornament to thy Countrie and put case thy Countries losse would bee of small esteeme with thee Wilt thou bring thy friends also into danger thou hast begotten children wilt thou now cut their throats inhumanely butcher them which may in time bring honor to their Countrie glorie to God helpe and furtherance to his Church goe to the Legate weake man freely confesse thy fault and helpe all these miseries Thus did the cares of this world and the deceitfullnesse of riches choke the good Seed that was formerly sowne so as fearing hee faints and yeelds unto the allurements of this present world being thus blinded he goes to the Legate at Venice and salutes him with this news Having for these divers yeares entertained an opinion concerning some Articles of faith contrary to the Orthodox and received judgement of the Church and uttered many things against the authoritie of the Church of Rome and the universall Bishop I humblie acknowledge my fault and errour and my folly in misleading others I therefore yeeld my selfe in all obedience to the Supreme Bishop into the bosome of the Church of Rome never to depart again from the Traditions and Decrees of the holy See I am heartily sorry for what is past and I humbly begge pardon forso great an offence The Legate perceiving Spira to faint he pursues him to the utmost hee causeth a recitation of all his Errours to be drawne in writing together with the Confession annexed to it and commands Spira to subscribe his name there which accordingly he did then the Legate commands him to return to his owne Towne and there to declare this Confession of his and to acknowledg the whole Doctrine of the Church of Rome to be holy and true and to abjure the Opinions of Luther and other such Teachers as false hereticall Man knowes the beginnings of sinne but who bounds the issues thereof Spira having once lost footing goes downe amaine he cannot stay nor gaine-say the Legate but promiseth to accomplish his whole will and pleasure he soone addresseth himselfe for his Iourney and being onward in the way bethinks himselfe of large spoyles hee had brought away from the Conflict with the Legate what glorious testimony hee had given of his great faith and constancie in Christs cause and to be plaine how impiously hee had denyed Christ and his Gospell at Venice and what he promised to do further in his owne Country and thus partly with feare and partly with shame being confounded he thought he heard a voyce speaking unto him in this manner Spira What dost thou heere whither goest thou hast thou unhappy man given thy hand-writing to the Legate at Venice yet see thou dost not seale it in thine owne Countrey dost thou indeed thinke eternall life so meane as that thou preferrest this present life before it dost thou well in preferring wife and children before Christ is the windie applause of the people better indeed then the glorie of God and the possession of this worlds good more deare to thee then the salvation of thine owne Soule is the small use of a moment of time more desireable then eternall wrath is dreadfull Thinke with thy selfe what Christ endured for thy sake is it not equall thou shouldest suffer
therefore the grievousnesse of thy sin if anie such be amaze thee You say right replyed he the divell hath possest mee and God hath left me to his power for I finde I can neither beleeve the Gospel nor trust in Gods mercie I have sinned against the holy Ghost and God by his immutable Decree hath bound mee over to perpetuall punishment without anie hope of pardon It is true that the greatnesse of sin or the multitude of them cannot bind Gods mercie all those manie sins that in the former part of my life I have committed then did not so much trouble mee for I trusted that God would not lay them to my charge but now having sinned against the holy Ghost God hath taken away from me all power of repentance now brings all my sins to remembrance and thus guiltie of one guiltie of all And therefore it is no matter whether my sinnes be great or small few or many they are such as Christ's bloud nor Gods mercie belongs to mee God will have mercie on whom hee will have mercie and whom he will he hardneth this is it that gnaws my heart hee hath hardned mee and I finde that he daily more and more doth harden mee and therefore I am out of hope I feele it and therefore cannot but despaire I tell you there was never such a monster as I am never was man alive a spectacle of so exceeding misery I knew that justification is to be expected by Christ and I denied and abjured it to the end I might keepe this fraile life from adversitie and my children from povertie and now behold how bitter this life is to mee and God only knowes what shall become of this my family but surely no good is likely to betide it but rather daily worse and worse and such a ruin at the length as that one stone shall not be left on another But why should you said Gribauldus conceit so deepely of your sinne seeing you cannot but know that manie have denied Christ yet never fell into despaire Well said hee I can see no ground of comfort for such neither can I warrant them from Gods revēging hand in wrath though it pleaseth God yet to suffer such to bee in peace and besides there will a time of change come and then they shall be throughly tryed and if it were not so yet God is just in making mee an Example to others and I cannot justly complain there is no punishment so great but I have deserved it for this so heinous offence I assure you it is no small matter to denie Christ and yet it is more ordinary then commonly men doe conceive of it is not a deniall made before a Magistrate as it is with mee for as often as a Christian doth dissemble the knowne truth as often as hee approves of false worship by presenting himselfe at it so often as hee doth not things worthy of his calling or such things as are unworthy of his calling so often hee denies Christ thus did I and therefore am justly punished for it Your estate quoth Gribauldus is not so strange as you make it Iob was so farre gone that hee complained God had set him as a marke against him and David that was a man after Gods owne heart complained often that God had forsaken him and was become his enemy yet both received comfort againe comfort your selfe therefore God will come at length though hee now seeme farre off O Brother answered Spira I beleeve all this the divels beleeve and tremble but David was ever elected and dearely beloved of God and though he fell yet God tooke not utterly away his holy Spirit and therefore was heard when he prayed Lord take not thy holy Spirit from mee but I am in another case being ever accursed from the presence of God neither can I pray as he did because his holy Spirit is quite gone and cannot be recalled therefore I know I shall live in continuall hardnesse so long as I live O that I might feele but the least sense of the love of God to mee though but for one small moment as I now feele his heavie wrath that burnes like the torments of hell within mee and afflicts my Conscience with pangs unutterable verily desperation is hell it selfe Heere Gribauldus said I doe verily beleeve Spira that God having so severely chastised you in this life correcteth you in mercie heere that he may spare you hereafter and that he hath mercies sealed up for you in time to to come Nay said Spira hence doe I know that I am a reprobate because he afflicteth mee with hardnesse of heart Oh that my body had suffered all my life long so that hee would bee pleased to release my soule and ease my Conscience this burthened Conscience Gribauldus being desirous to ease his minde from the continuall meditation of his sinne as also to sound how for the present he stood affected to the Romish Church asked him what hee thought became of the soules of men so soone as they departed out of the bodie to which hee answered Although this bee not so fully revealed in Scripture yet I verily beleeve that the soules of the Elect goe presently to the Kingdome of glory and not that sleep with the bodie as some doe imagine Verie well said one of the spectators why doe the Scriptures then say that God brings downe to hell and raiseth up seeing it cannot be meant of the estate of the soule after death which as thou sayest either goeth to heaven without change or to hell without redemption it must be understood of the estate of the soule in this life like that wherein thou art at this present and oftentimes wee see that God suffers men to fall into the jawes of despaire and yet raiseth them up again and therefore despaire not but hope it shall bee even thus with thee in his good time This is the worke quoth Spira this the labour for I tell you when I at Venice did first abjure my profession and so as it were drew an Indenture the Spirit of God often admonisht mee and when at Cittadella I did as it were set to my seale the Spirit of God often suggested to mee Doe not write Spira do not seale yet I resisted the Holy Ghost and did both and at that very present I did evidently feele a wound inflicted in my very will so although I can say I would beleeve yet can I not say I will beleeve God hath denied mee the power of will and it befalls mee in this my miserable estate as with one that is fast in irons and his friends comming to see him doe pitie his estate and doe perswade him to shake off his setters and to come out of his bonds which God knows hee would faine doe but cannot this is my very case you perswade me to beleeve how faine would I doe it but cannot O now I cannot Then violently grasping his hands together and raising
Lord to love thy commandements hypocrites say that they love God with all their heart but they lye for my part I will not lye but tell you plainely such is my case that though you should never so much much importune mee to hope or beleeve though I desire it yet I cannot for God as a punishment of my wickednesse hath taken away from me all his saving graces faith hope and all I am not the man therefore that you take mee for belike you thinke I delight in this estate if I could conceive but the least sparke of hope of a better estate hereafter I would not refuse to endure the most heavie weight of the wrath of that great God yea for twenty thousand years so that I might at length attaine to the end of that misery which I now know will bee eternall but I tell you my will is wounded who longs more to beleeve then I doe but all the ground-worke of my hope is quite gone for if the testimonies of holy Scripture bee true as they are most certainly true is not this as true whosoever denies mee before men him saith Christ will I denie before my Father which is in heaven is not this properly my case as if it had purposely beene intended against this very person of mine I pray you what shall become of such as Christ denieth seeing there is no other Name under heaven whereby you looke to bee saved what saith Saint Paul to the Hebrewes It is impossible for those who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift were made partakers of the Holie Ghost if they fall away to be renued to repentance what can be more plaine against me Is not that Scripture also if wee sinne wilfully after wee have received the Knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sinne but a certaine looking for of judgement the Scripture speakes of mee Saint Paul means me S. Peter tels me it had been better I had not knowne the way of Righteousnesse then after I have knowne to turne from the holy commandement if it had beene better I had not known and yet then my condemnation had beene most certaine doe you not see evidently that I have wilfully denied the known truth may justly expect not onely damnation but worse if worse may be imagined God will have mee undergoe the just punishment of my sinne and make mee an example of his wrath for your sakes The company present admired his discourse so grievously accusing himselfe of his fore-past life so gravely and wisely dilating concerning the judgements of God that they then were convinced that it was not frenzie or madnesse that had possessed him and being as it were in admiration of his estate Spira proceeded againe in this manner Take heed to your selves it is no light or easie matter to bee a Christian it is not baptisme or reading of the Scriptures or boasting of faith in Christ though even these are good that can proove one to be an absolute Christian you know what I said before there must be a conformity in life a Christian must bee strong unconquerable not carrying an obscure profession but resolute expressing the image of Christ and holding out against all opposition to the last breath hee must give all diligence by righteousnesse and holinesse to make his calling and election sure many there are that snatch at the promises in the Gospel as if they undoubtedly did belong to them and yet they remaine sluggish and carelesse and beeing flattered by the things of this present world they passe in their course in quietnesse and securitie as if they were the onely happie men whom neverthelesse the Lord in his providence hath ordained to eternall wrath as you may see in S. Lukes rich man thus it was with mee therefore take heed Then came one of his Nephews and offered him some sustenance which he disdainfully refusing so moved the youngmans choler that hee charged him with hypocrisie and dissimulation or frenzie to whom Spira gravely answering said You may interpret the matter as you will but I am sure I am not only the Actor but the argument and matter of the Tragedy I would it were frenzie either fained or true for if it were fained I could put it off at pleasure if it were a reall frenzy yet there were some hope left of Gods mercie whereas now there is none for I know that God hath pronounced mee an enemie and guiltie of high Treason against his Majestie I am a cast-away a vassaile of wrath yet dare you call it dissembling and frenzie and can mocke at the formidable example of the heavie wrath of God that should teach you feare and terrour but it is naturall to the flesh either out of malice or ignorance to speake perversly of the workes of God the naturall man discerneth not of the things that are of God because they are spiritually discerned How can this be said Gribauldus that you can thus excellently discourse of the judgements of God and of the graces of his holie Spirit that you finde the want of them and earnestly desire them and yet you thinke you are utterly deprived of them Take this for certaine said hee I want the maine grace of all and that which is absolutely necessarie and God doth many times extort most true and strange testimonies of his Majesties justice and mercie yea out of the mouthes of verie reprobates for even Iudas after hee had betrayed his Master was constrained to confesse his sinne and to justifie the innocencie of Christ and therefore if I doe the like it is no new or strange matter God hath taken faith from mee and left mee other common gifts for my deeper condemnation by how much the more I remember what I had and heare others discourse of what they have by so much the more is my torment in that I know what I want and how there is no way to bee relieved Thus spake hee the teares all the while trickling downe professing that his pangs were such as that the damned wights in hell endure not the like miserie that his estate was worse then that of Cain or Iudas and therefore hee desired to die yet behold saith hee the Scriptures are accomplished in mee they shall desire to die and death shall flie from them and verily hee seemed exceedingly to feare lest his life should bee drawne out to a longer thread and finding no ease or rest ever and anone cried out O miserable wretch O miserable wretch then turning to the Company hee besought them in this manner O Brethren take a diligent heed to your life make more account of the gifts of Gods spirit then I have done learne to beware my misery thinke not you are assured Christians because you understand something of the Gospel take heed you grow not secure on that ground be constant and immoveable in the maintaining of your profession confesse even untill death if