thinges should chaunce and come to passe By suche maner of speaking then our Sauiour did signifie the greate perplexitie and anguishe of them whom God shall poure his vengeaunce vpon at that daie of iudgemente for their rebellious disobedience againste his holy and sacred worde How so euer we take these wordes we can not excuse our selues but that these thynges are fulfilled daiely For we see euen before our eyes in what perplexitie the enemies of God are for the moste parte of them How thei fall into plaine desperation and madnesse beyng in that case that thei thynke hourely that hell shall swalowe theim vp quicke Therefore let vs not flatter our selues or deferre from tyme to tyme to repente and amende our liues For the Lorde shall come as a theif euen when we looke lesse for hym As for the comming of Elias and Enoch we maie content our selues with the saiyng of our Sauiour Christe touchyng the matter For when he had spoken many thynges in the commendation of Ihon the Baptist he did adde for a conclusion And if ye will receiue the same is Elias which shoulde come Meanyng thereby that Ihon the Baptist was the same Elias that Malachy the Prophet did speake of whiche should come before the daie of the Lorde as the Angell doeth declare vnto Zaharie saiyng And he shall goe before the lorde in the spirite and power of Elias to make the people readie for him But Sathan the deuill that he might perswade the Iewes that our sauiour Christ was not the Messias did by the Phariseis and Scribes blowe abrode among the people that Elias muste come in persone and that therefore sithe he was not come Christe our Sauiour was not true Messias For this cause did the Apostles aske Christe why the Scribes saide that Elias must come firste Unto whom he aunswered that Elias was come alreadie whereby thei vnderstoode that he spake vnto them of Ihon the Baptiste Euen so now at this presente to make the worlde to liue in a securitie the deuill goeth aboute by his false Prophetes to make men beleue that Elias and Enoch must come in persone before the seconde comming of Christ our Sauiour And all this doeth he to the intent that as long as we see that they be not come personally we should thinke still that the Lorde doeth deferre his commyng and so begin to smite our felowes and to eate and drinke with the dronken that we maie be rewarded with the Hypocrites where shal be wéeping and gnashyng of teethe It is without all doubt that Enoch and Elias be come alreadie not in persone but in spirite For how many hath the Lorde our God stirred vp and sente in these our daies in the spirit and power of Elias and of Enoch for to reproue the Idolatrie and Superstition hypocrisie and wickednesse of the worlde These are the twoo faithfull witnesses whom mention is made of in the Reuelatiō of sainct Ihon by the whiche small number the faithfull and earnest preachers of Goddes worde are vnderstanded First because that thei be inspired and moued with the same zelous spirit that Elias and Enoch were inspired withall Secondly because that thei are but a small number in comparison of the aduersaries and yet sufficiente for to reproue and condemne the worlde of iniquitie and vnfaithfulnesse For in the mouthe of twoo or three witnesses all thynges shal be established Let not then this erronious pernicious doctrine of Sathan touching the personall corporall commyng of Elias and Enoch seduce deceaue vs For there be many Eliasses Enoches in the world already which ought to be vnto vs a plaine certificat that the daie of the Lorde is at hande And if we had none other tokens and signes yet the wordes of our Sauiour Christ ought to suffice vs where he saith As the tyme of Noe and of Sodome was so shal the cōming of the sonne of man be This one saiyng ought to put vs out of al doubte for what tyranny oppression and crueltie what pryde what excesse in all thynges what fraude deceipt sweryng forsweryng vsurie extortion brybery hordome vnlawfull mariages putting awaie of lawfull wiues buggerie daunsynges breakyng of the Sabathe daies disobedience to fathers and mothers speaking euill of them that are in aucthoritie dronkerds glottons and epicures Idolaters vngodlines securitie and carelesnes railers vpon the preachers not regardyng their doctrine was vsed then that is not nowe vsed in all partes of the worlde reade ye the Scriptures and ye shall finde that all the abhominable vices wherefore God did in tymes past drowne the worlde and also rayne fire and Brimstone vpon the cities of Sodome and Gomorra doe reigne now in all places and yet not punished As for Antichriste who they saie muste come before that daie it is without all doubte that he is alreadie in the worlde For what worse Antichriste can we haue then either Mahomet is or the Pope of Rome whiche is yet a thousande tymes worse then Mahomet is As for false Christes all Churches and Aulters are full of them Againe there were neuer so many false Prophetes in the worlde as are nowe at this present tyme whiche seeke al maner meanes that can be sought now by erroneous papistical doctrines now by false and counterfeited miracles to deceiue euen the verie electe if it were possible by any meane These thinges beyng well considered let vs beware that we be none of those mockers which do walk after their owne lustes and saie where is the promise of his commyng For since the fathers died all thynges continue in the same estate wherein they were at the beginnyng For as sainct Peter saieth the Lorde is not slacke to fulfill his promise as some men counte it slackenesse but is pacient to vs warde and woulde haue no man loste but would receiue all men to repentaunce Neuerthelesse the daie of the Lorde will come as a thief in the night Wherfore seeyng that we loke for suche thynges let vs be diligent that we maie be founde of hym in peace without spot and vndefiled and suppose that the long sufferyng of the Lorde is saluation But of that daie neither the Aungels nor yet the sonne of man doeth knowe but only our father which is in heauen And therefore I doe greatly merueile at that madde toye of the Anabaptistes whiche dare so presumptiously affirme that the Lorde shall come this daie or that daie sithe that our Sauiour Christe in that he is man or touchyng his manhoode knoweth not of it but touchyng his Godhead he knoweth all thynges that the father doth Also we ought to be ware of all dreames fantasies of men which weerie themselues others in searching out curiously the time that the lorde shall apeare alledgyng for themselues a vaine prophesie and most falsely ascribed to Elias that twoo thousande yere before the Lawe twoo thousande yere
nother fol. 125. The imperfectioÌ„ of our owne workes fol. 130.2 Thre maner of powers to forgeue synnes fol. 132. Two thynges to be learned in S. Paules saiyng Ro. 8. fol. 137. The Lawe hath moe endes then one fol. 137.2 Twoo thynges to bee noted fol. 140.2 The spirite of god worketh in vs our regeneration fol. 24. V Unto whom hell is ouercome fol. 6.2 Uaine opinions of sundry meÌ„ fol. 29. Vsia fol. 73.2 VV Wherefore Christe was iudged and condemned before Pilate fol. 1.2 What the Serpent signified ibidem Why the Sacrifices of the old Lawe were offered often fol. 2.2 Why Christe was laide in a newe graue fol. 4.2 Why Christe was laide in a nother mans graue ibidem What the newe graue signified fol. 7. What was signified by the graue that was he wen out of the stone ibidem What is to bee vnderstanded when we saiâ— â–ª Christ barowed hell fol. â—â—2â— Whereto God had respecte in his sonne our sauiour fol. 5.2 What thyng caused Christ to be so heauie before his death fol. 8. What Abrahams bosome is fol. 9.2 What we learne by the third of Iohn fol. 23.2 Wherin the fire of purgatory doth differ froÌ„ the fier of hel 12.2 We are al saued by priuiledge fol. â—3 What is the firste foundation of our election fol. 18. What fruicte their doctrine doeth bryng that condemne children that dye without baptisme fol. 19. Without faith no man can be deliuered from condempnation fol. 20. What daunger it is to refuse to receiue the sacrameÌ„ts f. 20. What we ought to doe if we should followe the Fathers in all thynges fol. 22. Why the spirite of God is called fire fol. 24. Why the holy ghoste is called water fol. 24.2 What certaine of the learned called Augustine for his rigour towardes infantes not Baptized fol. 26.2 What moued Augustine to write as he did of children not Baptized fol. 27. Wherin the Anabaptistes exceeded fol. 27. Whereof Confirmation dyd come fol. 27.2 Why the Fathers did magnifie the Sacramentes so much fol. 29. What profite commeth to theÌ„ that are perswaded in this doctrine fol. 30.2 What many foolishe people vsed to doe in carriyng their children to Idols fol. 31. Wee doe parte our saluation betweene Christes death and his resurrection fol. 31.2 What it is to bee dead vnto synne fol. 32.2 What a large doctrine our baptisme doeth preache vnto vs. fol. 34. What it is to sit on the right hande of the Father fol. 35.2 What the Papistes must doe if they wyll haue vs to beleue them 47.2 What it is to receiue the Sacrament vnworthely fol. 48. Why the papists can not perceaue in what parell they bee fol. 49. Wherin the papists haue the Fathers in estimation fol. 53. Wherin we must beare with our weake brethren fol. 53. Why the sacramentes were ordeined fol. 16.2 We do make more then bare signes of the Sacramentes fol. 58.2 What honour we ought to do to the sacrament ibid. What we learne of the lordes wordes in Zacharie fol. 60. Why Christ would be baptized fol. 63.2 Who can choose but laugh at the papistes fol. 68. Why the sacramentes be called by the names of the thynges whereof they bee Sacramentes fol. 69. What this word Signum doth signifie in the .2 of Luk. f. 72.2 What it is to examine our selues fol. 57. and 76.2 Who they be that féede effectuously vppon the bodye and blood of Christe fol. 76.2 Why Christ our sauiour was man. fol. 81.2 What is the chief marke that the papistes shoote at fol. 89. Why the Apostles were called light fol. 87 2 What properties must bee in hym that we must pray vnto fol. 89.2 What was the meanyng of the Prophete Ieremie fo 96. What is signified by psalmes hymnes and songes fol. 104. What the Sunne doth signifie fol. 104.2 What the Moone doth signifiâ— fol. 105. What the Starres doe signifie ibidem We must beleue in Gods power Gods prouidence Gods goodnesse fol. 111. What the true Churche of Christe is fol. 111.2 Who can bee the heade of the Churche fol. 112. Who bee the kéepers of the keyes of Gods kyngd fo 114.2 What it is to loose ibidem What it is to bynde fol. 115. Wherof the certitude of gods worde doth depende fol. 118.2 When the Churche can not erre fol. 122.2 When the Churche can and doeth erre ibidem Whole vniuersall Churche doeth neuer fall awaie from God. ibidem Why it is called the inuisible Churche fol. 122. We muste not deuide our selues from the Churche bicause the wicked are among vs. fol. 123. Whence this worde iustificare hath been borowed and what it signifieth fol. 124. Why God doeth crowne his giftes in vs. fol. 129.2 What the nature of merite is fol. 130.2 What we are as long as we are without the spirite of god fol. 135. What this worde Apochripha is fol. 135.2 What this word CanoÌ„ is ibi Why the faithfull are saide to be free fol. 141. What thyng caused Christ to be so heauie before his death fol. 8. What Christes goyng downe to hell is fol. 9. Without faith no man can be deliuered from condemnation fol. 20. Whereto the Papistes haue brought the order of confirmation fol. 28.2 What it is to bee crucified to the worlde fol. 32. Wherefore the Sacramente was instituted fol. 56.2 What greate absurdities doe come of the doctrine of traÌ„substantiation fol. 67.2 What Christe meant by the keyes fol. 114. FINIS
receiue this Sacrament vnworthely that handle the misteries otherwise than the lorde hath instituted and ordeined them and that they be guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde which as this father doeth write is to be punished for the death of Christe or to suffer the punishment that they shall suffer and haue that did put him to death and did shed his most precious blood that come to this holy Table not obseruyng the institution and ordinaunce of Christe and without a christianlike conuersation The .xviij. Chapiter ¶ How the vnworthy receiuers are guiltie of the body and blood of Christe although he be not corporally in the Sacrament NOwe let vs sée whether the vnworthy receauers of this holy Sacrament can not eate and drinke their owne damnation or be guiltie of the body and blood of Christ except our Sauiour both God and man fleshe blood and bones as he was borne of the virgin Marie be there vnder the formes of bread and wine really present Christe our sauiour did say with his owne mouth Uerely I say vnto you whatsoeuer ye doe to one of these litle ones ye do it vnto me Shal we say therfore that Christ is naturally fleshe blood and bones in euery poore body that lieth impotent and sicke or that goeth from doore to doore It were too much madnesse so to say As then our Sauiour Iesus Christe is either refreshed or despised in his poore néedie members so is he honoured or dishonoured in his Sacramentes And as he doth recken and impute that to be done vnto him that we do vnto his poore néedy members so doth he recken and impute that to be done vnto his body blood that is doen vnto the sacrament of the same In an other place he saieth vnto Saul who persecuted his Church Saul Saul why doest thou persecute me Christ was then risen from death and coulde die no more or yet be persecuted of any man and neuerthelesse he saith Why doest thou persecute me Shall we by and by descant vpon these words that Christ our Sauiour is really in euery one of his faithfull members that be persecuted If we should so do all the world might count recken vs for mad and out of our right wittes We may say then as we did before As our sauiour Christ doth impute that persecution to be done vnto his owne body and vnto his owne person that is done vnto his faithful members so if we do with an vnworthy and vnreuerent receauing with a presumptious or wilfull disobedience towardes his institution and ordinaunce pollute and defile his holy Sacramentes he will impute it to be done vnto the very thinges that thei do signifie and not to the visible signes elementes The Lorde him selfe saith He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye He were a very idiote that woulde vpon the occasion of this text affirme and mainteyne that euery one of the faithfull is really the apple of the Lordes eye We do rather learne by this text that God doth loue his elect and chosen as dearely as a man doth loue the apple of his owne eye that he will as sore punishe the cruel tyrantes of the worlde that persecute and hurt them as he woulde punishe them that should hurt the apple of his owne eye Which as it is a dreadfull saying for the tyrantes and persecutours of Gods people so is it very comfortable for all those that suffer persecution here in this worlde for righteousnesse sake Many like textes haue we in the Scriptures as when S. Paul saith A man praying or propheciyng and hauing any thing on his head ▪ doth dishonour his head And before he sayd that the head of euery man is Christ. It shoulde folowe then by their owne doctrine that Christ coulde not be dishonoured except he were really and substantially in euery mans head that doth pray or prophecie But thei will neither perceaue nor vnderstande that this maner of speaking that the holy ghost doeth vse here in this place is borowed of the common phrase and speache that is vsed among men If I shoulde send a gift or a present vnto a man if he woulde not take it but refuse it despitefully or cōtemne it I would veryly thinke that he had contemned and disdayned me and not my gift or present But what woulde I thinke if he shoulde cast it into the dirt and treade it vnder foote When an earthly king doeth sende foorth his broade seale among his subiectes thereby to declare his princely fauour towardes them and that he will helpe ayde ▪ and succour them in all their necessities and troubles and deliuer them from all peryls and daungers as much as in him lyeth If any man shoulde despitefully take it breake it in péeces and cast it into the myre or estéeme it no more than other common waxe Woulde it not be saide that he should commit treason against the kinges person And yet no man will say that the kinges person is there really vnder the waxe or that the waxe is the kinges person So the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christe is the true seale of our heauenly king wherby he doeth seale vp vnto vs all the benefites of his precious death passion and bloodsheeding and also certifie vs that if we will take holde vpon him by faith he will deliuer vs from all our enimies both bodyly and ghostly and as long as we be in this mortall warre fighting against the whole worlde Satan the deuill and the fleshe féede and comfort vs with the heauenly foode of his most precious body and blood and at length make vs felowe heires with him of his heauenly kingdome Therefore if we do handle it vnreuerently not considering who is the aucthour of it nor who it is that offereth him selfe so mercifully and louingly vnto vs Is it marueyle that the holy Apostle saith that we are guiltie of the body blood of the Lorde that is to say that we are before the iudgement seate of almightie God because of our vnthankfulnesse and vnreuerent handling of the holy misteries counted as guiltie as if we had slaine the body of the only begotten sonne of god and shed his most precious blood vppon the crosse And yet it foloweth not that the body and blood of Christe be really present there in the Sacrament The Apostle Saint Paul doeth write that thei that fall away from the knowen trueth do crucifie a new the only begotten sonne of god Shall we therfore say that thei haue our sauiour Iesus Christ among them and that thei nayle him vpon the crosse as the Iewes did vnder Pontius Pilate when thei did by the handes of the Gentiles put him to a most shamefull death That were to great a blasphemie against the glorious resurrection of our sauiour Iesu Christ who rising againe from the dead dieth no more death hath no more power ouer
that Moyses did passe all men in humanitie gentlenesse and mercie The meanyng of the Prophete then is this that God was so offended with the people that he woulde not spare them though Moyses and Samuell whose praiers he was want to heare aboue all other should make intercession for them The like in a maner haue we in the Prophete Ezechiell where the Lorde speaketh on this maner If Noah Daniell and Iob were in the Citie as truely as I liue they shall deliuer neyther sonnes nor daughters but saue their owne soules in their righteousnesse As if he should saie though Noah Daniell and Iob were then aliue againe thei should not deliuer their owne sonnes and daughters but should saue onely their owne liues in their righteousnes my wrath and indignation is so kindeled against that stiffenecked people And so the afore alledged place of Ieremiah ought to be vnderstanded For the wordes are as muche as if he should saie Though Moyses and Samuell were nowe aliue and shoulde stande before me makyng intercession for this people as thei were wont to doe yet would I not for their sakes withdrawe my plagues from this wicked and frowarde generation I woulde not heare them nor geue eare vnto their praiers but woulde in my furie vtterly destroie this rebellious and stiffe-necked people Reade and marke diligently the circumstaunces of both places and ye shall finde that it is the true sence and meanyng of them As for the place that thei doe bryng out of Genesis saiyng that Iacob doth pray that his name and the name of his forefathers Abraham and Isaac may he called vpon his posteritie It helpeth their matter nothyng at all For the meanyng of the holy Patriarche is not that his posteritie should call vpon him or vpon his forefathers Abraham and Isaac for helpe and succour but that his posteritie might be named after hym and also after Abraham and Isaac thereby to declare that the coueuaunt that God had made with Abraham Isaac and Iacob dyd parteine vnto them And therefore whensoeuer the faithfull Israelites did make their praiers vnto God they did alwaies beseche hym to remember his seruauntes Abraham Isaac and Iacob puttyng hym in remembraunce of the couenaunte wherein he had promised that he woulde for Abraham Isaac and Iacbos sake shewe mercie fauour vnto them But howe litle they dystruste in the merites and intercessions of their forefathers it is easy to see in the prophete Esay for there the whole Churche crieth out saiyng Abraham knoweth vs not neither is Israell acquainted with vs But thou lorde arte our father and redéemer Therefore be at one with vs againe for thy Seruauntes sake that are of the generation of thine heritage To be shorte whensoeuer they did name in their praiers their forefathers Abraham Isaac and Iacob it was not for any helpe that they looked to haue at their handes but for to put God in remembraunce of the couenaunt that he had made with them and with their posteritie for euer But nowe that we haue our Sauiour Iesus Christe in whose blood the couenaunt is both established and sealed vp In whose name should we set foorth or offer vp our praiers vnto God but in his only Moreouer that same maner of phrase that Iacob did vse is often times founde in the scriptures as when Esay saieth Then shall seuen women take holde of one man and saie wee wyll laie all our meate and clothyng together in commune Tantum nomen tuum innocetur super nos Only that thy name maie be called vpon vs that is to saie onely let vs be called thy wiues or after thy name that yet it maye be saide that we are suche a mans wiues They be also wont to bryng in the dreame of Iudas Machabeus whiche is made mention of in the Machabees where it is written that Iudas Machabeus did shewe vnto his Souldiers that he had séene in a dreame Onias Ieremiah holdyng vp their handes towardes heauen and praiyng for the people Doth not this saie they proue sufficiently that the dead sainctes doe praie for vs First I doe aunswere that the booke out of the which this place is alledged is not authentike nor yet Canonicall as Sainct Hierome proueth All men maie see what aucthoritie that booke ought to haue in thinges that perteine to our saluation For firste of all they cannot denie but that it is an abridgement of fiue bookes that one Iason Cireneus had written which whether he was a Iewe or a gentile no man is able to tell For the booke was set out and written in the Gréeke tongue and not in the Hebrewe Moreouer whā the holy ghoste doth set foorth any thing vnto vs for an infallible doctrine or an vndoubted trueth he is not wont to vse any excuse as the authour of this booke doth Last of al what wisedome were it to grounde any doctrine parteinyng vnto the faith vpon a dreame did hee not thinke also in his sleepe that Ieremie did deliuer him a golden swoorde yet when he awoke he had no suche thyng I might therefore conclude that as Ieremiah did deliuer hym a golden swoorde so he with Onias dyd praie for the people But Ieremiah did deliuer hym no swoorde in deede but only in a dreame Whereby it foloweth that the prayng of Onias and of Ieremiah was dreamishe also But let vs graunte that it was so as Iudas Machabeus did dreame yet we doe not reade that Iudas Machabeus and his hoast did by and by direct their praiers vnto them or that thei dyd desire them to praie and make intercession for the hoastes of the Israelites whiche shoulde within a whyle ioyne in battaile with the hoastes of the enimies But we reade that thei al praied with their Captaine vnto God saiyng O lorde thou that diddest sende thyne Angell in the tyme of Ezechiah kyng of Iuda in the host of Sennacherib didst slea an hundred fourscore and fiue thousandes sende nowe also thy good Angell before vs O Lorde of Heauens in the fearefulnes and dread of thy mightie arme that they which come against thy holy people to blaspheme them may be afraide Here maie we sée that Iudas Machabeus notwithstanding his gaie dreame did trust onely in the Lorde vnto whom onely his praiers he directed and not vnto Oniah nor yet vnto Ieremiah folowing in this the example of all the holy Patriarches and Prophetes that were before hym They do so abhominably wreast all the other places of the Scriptures whiche they be wont to alledge for the mainteinyng of their Idolatrous inuocation of Sainctes that a man will be ashamed to stande in the confutyng of them All their refuge at length is that the sainctes were hearde whiles they were aliue For it is written Our Fathers called vpon thée were helped they trusted in thée were not confounded If say they they were hearde when they were yet compassed about with
woorkes as not the cause of our iustification Iames approueth woorkes as effectes proceedyng of the same Paul denieth that any good workes can be in them that be not iustified Iames affirmeth that they which be iustified caÌ„ in no wise be without good workes But ye shall heare what S. Augustine saith touching this matter Non sunt coÌ„trariae duoruÌ„ apostoloruÌ„ sententiae Pauli Iacobi cum dicit Paulus iustificari homineÌ„ sine operibus Iacobus dicit inaneÌ„ esse fideÌ„ sine operibus Quia Paulus loquitur de operibus quae fideÌ„ praecedunt Iacobus de ijs quae fidem sequntur That is to say in englishe The saiyng of the two Apostles Paul Iames are not contrary whereas Paul saith a man is iustified without workes and Iames saith faith without workes is in vaine For Paul speaketh of the woorkes that goe before faith Iames speaketh of the workes that followe after faithe Thomas of Aquine also saieth I acobus hic loquitur de operibus sequentibus fidem quae dicuntur iustificare non secundum quod iustificare dicitur iustitiae infusio sed secundum quod dicitur iustitie exercitatio vel ostentio vel consummatio Res enim dicitur fieri quando perficitur vel innotescit Iames in this place speaketh of suche woorkes as followe faithe whiche workes are saied to iustifie not as iustification is the procuryng of righteousnesse but in that it is an exercise or a shewyng or a perfectyng of righteousnes For we say a thyng is doen when it is perfected or knowen to bee doen. So that wee maie easily see that the offeryng vp of Isaac is a testimonie of the faithe and righteousnesse of Abraham he could not be iustified by it but rather it was thereby declared that he was iustified alreadie So that this obedience of his to the worde of God did onely manifest and shewe that he was when he beleued Goddes promises made righteous before God through the same faith and beliefe That was the meanyng of Dauid when he saith That thou maiest be iustified in thy wordes and ouercome when thou arte iudged that is to saie that thou maiest bee declared iuste and thy goodnes and truthe appeare in performyng thy promises when man either curiously or arrogauntly would iudge thy workes Therefore this worde iustificare to iustifie is not taken of saincte Paule in that signfication that sainct Iames taketh it in for of Paule it is taken for to deliuer from synne and for to impute rightousnesse But Iames doeth take it for to declare and shewe one iust and righteous Sainct Paule doeth speake of a liuely faithe whiche can no more bee without good workes then the Sunne can bee without lighte or fire without heate But sainct Iames doeth speake of an idell faithe which maie bee in the reprobate yea in the deuill hymself as the Apostle writeth in the same place I might bryng many placâ—s of Scripture wherein the excellencie of faithe is highly sette forthe but one or twoo shall suffice at this tyme. In the actes we haue these wordes out of S. Paules sermon that he made to the Iewes at Antiochia a citie of Pisidia Be it knowen vnto you therefore brethren that through this man is preached vnto you the forgiuenesse of sinnes And that from all thynges from whiche ye could not bee iustified by the lawe of Moises by hym euery one that beleueth is iustified These wordes are plaine and neede no exposition at all for all wee see that he taketh awaie altogether iustification from the lawe of Moises and doeth attribute it vnto faithe in our Sauiour Iesu Christe But to the Romaines he maketh the matter more plaine when he saieth Thei haue all synned and are destitute or voide of the glorie of god But thei are iustified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus whom God hath set forthe to be a purchaser of mercie through faith in his bloud Marke here First he saieth thei haue all synned â–ª and that thei are depriued of the glorie of GOD by whiche woordes he sheweth openly before our eyes the miserable estate that mankinde was in Secondlie he sheweth how and by what meanes we are deliuered from it I meane from that damnable estate that we are in by our own nature and first birthe when he saieth thei are iustified freely by his grace Now if we bee iustified freely by the grace of God where are our workes merites or deseruinges become For if any workes deseruynges or merites doe goe before our iustification how can it bee saied that wee are iustified freely by the grace of God our heauenly father Therefore he saieth in an other place By grace are ye saued throughe faithe and that not of your selues it is the gifte of God not of woorkes leaste any man shoulde boast hym selfe S. Ihon saith Blessed are they that haue washed their roabes not in their own merites but in the blood of the Lambe Againe I will giue the thristie to drinke of the well of life not for his deserts but for nothing Sainct Ambrose an holy father saieth As there be no synnes so detestable that can kéepe of the gifte of grace so there can be no workes so excellent that vnto them by the iudgement of retribution or recompence the same shoulde be due whiche is fréely geuen and graunted For the redemption of the blood of Christe should waxe vile and the mercie of God be faine to geue place to the prerogatiue of mens woorkes if iustification which is doen or wrought by grace were due vnto the merites that go before so that it shoulde not be the free gifte of the giuer but the rewarde or hire of the worker What plainer wordes can there be spoken therefore Iob saieth if a man will dispute with God he is not able to aunswere hym one for a thousande and therefore he saide Verebar omnia opera mea I stoode in doubt and was afraide of all my workes Although I were perfect yet my soule shall not know it if I woulde iustifie my selfe myne owne mouth shall condemne me and Esai saieth all our righteousnes is like a menstrous cloth of a woman Therfore al our doctrine is grouÌ„ded vpon the wordes of Christ when ye haue doen all say that ye be vnprofitable seruaunts therfore haue deserued nothing Sainct Origene therefore saieth Say ye that ye be vnprofitable seruauntes For notwithstandyng we haue done all things that are commaunded yet haue we done no good thing For if our doynges were good in deede then were we not vnprofitable But any good déede of ours is called good not rightly or duely but by abuse of speache So Sainct Augustine saieth if God woulde deale with vs accordyng to that we haue deserued he should finde nothyng but that he might condemne Againe he saieth what bee the merites of any men For Christe that came not with his due rewarde but
Israelites were saued by the inwarde circumcision Actes 10. Cornelius Though we haue neuer so stroÌ„g a faith yet ought we not to despise the Sacramentes Matth. 3. Luk. 3. Luk. 1. Rom. 9. Iere. 1. Galat 1. The chosen among the heatheÌ„ were saued without circumcision Iona. 3. 4. Reg. 5. Iob. 24. What is the firste foundation of our election Ephe. 1.2 Rom. 8.9.10 1. Pet. 1. The efficieÌ„t The materiall The formall The finall cause of our saluation Iosua 5. Marke this ye cruell papistes The Sichemites Gen. 34. Mat. 12. Mark. â— Luk. 6. Iohn â— By baptisme the children of the christians are brought vnto Christe Mat. 21. Mark. 11. Luk. 19. What fruite their doctrine bringeth the condemne â–ª still borne children Obiection Aunswere Luk. 1â— Luk. 16. The comfort that they had in the bosome of Abraham Rom. 14. A question Obiection Iohn 3. Mark. 16. Aunswere Without faith no man can be deliuered from comdemnation What daunger it is to refuse to receaue the holy Sacramentes Augustine Example August in Io. tracta 80. These thinges are diligently to be noted and marked Chris. Ho. 27. A question A great absurditie graunted Sent. 4. dist 4. ca. Sunt August de ciuitate dei lib. 13. cap. 7. De consecrat Distinct. 4. cap. Baptismi De vnita bapt lib. 4. Lib. 4. de bapt Glossa de consecra distinct 4. S. Bapti Cyprian Luk. 23. August in Psalm 34. Rom. 10. Note this Dâ— consecrat distinct 4. ca. baptismi Senten 4. diâ—â—â—nct 4. Ambr. de obitu valenti Chanes de Sacramentis August in Ioh. tracta 80. Gen. 25. Mala. 1. Rom. 10. Iere. 1. Luk. 1. Galat. 1. The place is the thirde of Iohn Iohn 6. The Euchariste ministred vnto litle infants The maner of the Iacobites and Grekes The maner of the Bohemians and Morauians Marke what we ought to do if we should follow the fathers in al thinges The cause that the fathers did thus erre An errour of certaine fooles Iohn 6. August de ciuitat dei lib. 27. cap. 25. A mery story of the Person of Trumpington Hiero. in 1. cap. and Galat. Cypri ad Nouatianum â—omo 2. Thei may as lawfully do one as the other Hebr. â— Mat. 28. 1. Cor. 14. Argumentum minore ad marus Caâ— 100. August contra Epist. Parmeniani 2. ca. 13. Libr. contra herese 1. Gen. 22. Mala. 1. Ierem. 1. Luk. 1. Rom. 8. 9. Nora 1. Sam. 1â— Not lawfull for Midwiues to baptize in any case Howe the place of the .3 of Ioh. ought to be vnderstanded 1. Pet. 1. 2. Cor. 3.5 1. Cor. 15. Iohn 3. Phrases of Scriptures 2. Cor. 15. Iohn 3. The spirite of God worketh in vs our regeneration Obiection Aunswere Matth. 3. August lib. de Haere cap. 59. Alphons de Haere lib. 2. Bern. Luk. Cato Haere lib. 2. Why the spirite of God is called fire Actes 2. Iohn speaketh of the holy ghost first Christ speaketh of the water first The holy ghost for many causes is called by sundry names in the Scriptures Why the holye ghost is called water Psal. 50. Hebr. 6. Psal. 1. Iohn 4. What Christ woulde haue vs further to vnderstande by this maner of speaking Esai 44. Ezech. 36. Actes 2. Ioel. 2. Iohn 4. Iohn 7. Sent. lib. 4. distinct 4. cap. his autem The doctors forced to confesse three maners of Baptisme De consecra distinct 4. Ca. Bapti Senten 4. distin 4. Ca. his autem August de vni Bapti Iohn 11. Obiection In the auncient Church they that had receaued the Gospell and were not baptized were called Catechuminie bicause that thei were instructed in the faith Aunswere Holcot Sent. 4. distin 4. que 1. Sent. 4. distin 4. Cap. his auâ—â—in The papistes owne doctors condemne them An example 2. Cor. 8. August in Leuiti que 88. Sent. 4. dist 4. Obiections August lib. de fide ad pet Aunswere The papistes vnwares to them selues ouerthrowe their owne Lymbe What certen of the leâ—rned called Saint Augusti for his rigour towardes infantes not baptized Augustines modestie in writing of matters of religion What moued Saint Augustine to write as he did of childreÌ„ not baptized Some make any ydol of the sacramentes Others make none account of the sacramentes Wherein the Anabaptistes exceeded Genes 22. Hebr. 11. Math. 19.14 Marke 13. Luke 18.15 August Epist. 23. Whereof confirmation did come Aug. de bap cont Don. li. 3. Cap. 16. Lib. 4. distin 7. cap. 2. The Papist doth openly mainteine an herisie of Donatus Melchiades Oyle for a Sacrament â–ª more fit for a Sallet Math. 15. An argument Aug. in Ioh. tract 80. Whereto the papistes haue brought the order of confirmation Obiection Aunswere Actes 16. â— Cor. 1. Gen. 21. This the wicked Anabaptistes can not abyde Rom. 8. â—n argumeÌ„t Luke 1. Ierer 1. Actes 10. What caused the fathers to magnifie the Sacraments so muche How at leÌ„gth they that vnderstoode not the Fathers did make plaine Idols of the Sacramentes Uaine opinions of sundrie men Chrisost. in Epist. ad Heb. Historia Tripartita De conse distinct 4. Pelagians Originall sinne Gulielmus parisiensis in lib. Summa de vitus virtut Psal. 51. Iohn 3. Iob. 14. Rom. 5. The signe the figure manye tymes are taken for the thinges that they doe signifie Gen. 17. Exod. 12. Gala. 3. Rom. 6. Actes 8. Why Luke saide Simon did beleeue How Sainct Aug. other auÌ„cient writers expounded this place of the .viij. of the Actes What profite and commoditie doth come to them that are perswaded in this doctrine Genâ— 17. What many foolishe people vsed to do in carying their childreÌ„ to ydols Reuel 14. Iohn 5.11 Eccle. 3. Luke 16. Luke 27. 1. Cor. 2. Barnarduâ— in annunciationâ— Marie Ser. 1. Rom. 5. The thirde day he rose again from death Rom. 4. 1. Cor. 15. We do part our saluation betweene Christes death his resurrection Gala. 3. 1. Pet. 1. The fruites of Christes glorious resurrection The office of Christ our Sauiour Rom. 6. Coloss. 2. 1. Cor. 15. Hosea 1â— Deut. 21. Galat. 3. 1. Cor. 15. Coloss. 1. 1. Cor. 15. How Christ is the first fruites of them that sleepe Iohn 12. 1. Reg. 17. Iesus christe hath taken a pledge of vs and hath left vs one Actes 2. Ephe. 1. Rom. 8. Gala. 4. 1. Peter 1. 2. Peter 1. Iohn 12. 1. Cor. 15. Thessal 3. Coll. 3. Rom. 6. Howe we ought to practise the whole life of Christ in our selues Psal. 51. Iob. 14. A spirituall conception and birth 1. Pet. 1. Galat. 4. Ephe. 5. Iohn 3. Ephe. 4. 1. Cor. 15. 2. Cor. 11. Ephe. 5. Gala. 6. Galat. 5. What it is to be crucified to the world Rom. 6. What it is to be dead vnto sinne Rom. 6. Ephe. 4. 1. Tim. 5. Reuel 3. Matth. 8. Coloss. 3. Rom. 12. Ephe. 6. Matth. 3. Howe we do dye with our Sauiour Christ. How we do rise with Christ. Phil. 3. Coloss. 3. The signification of baptisme What the signification of water is in our baptisme Exod. 14.
Spiritus est Vicarius Christi in terra A breefe and pithie summe of the christian faith made in fourme of a confession vvith a confutation of the papistes obiections and argumentes in sundry pointes of religion repugnaunt to the christian faith made by Iohn Northbrooke Minister and Preacher of the worde of God. Rom. x. ¶ Corde enim creditur ad iustitiam ore autem confessio fit in salutem For with the heart man beleueth vnto righteousnesse And with the mouth man confesseth to saluation ¶ Seene and allowed according to the order appointed in the Queenes Iniunctions ¶ At London Printed by Iohn Kingston for W. Williamson dwelling in Powles Churchyarde at the signe of the whyte Horse Anno. 1571. ¶ To the right reuerende Father in God and his singuler good Lorde Gylbert by the mercifull prouidence of God Bishop of Bathe and Welles Iohn Northbrooke wisheth all health and peace in Christe Iesu our only Sauiour IF my power and abilitie were aunswereable to my good will right reuerende father this token of myne humble dutie which I doe now offer vnto your honour shoulde be as greate and precious as by reason of the contrarie it is base and slender VVherfore I most humblie beseche your honour in no worse parte to accepte this litle offer then as the present of hym that is bound of duetie to loue you whiche would haue brought better if his power had beene thereafter But followyng the example of the poore widowe whiche is so highly of our Sauiour commended in the Gospell I offer vnto your honour parte of suche fruictes as haue growen in a poore studentes Garden I haue alwaies been assured of your L. that you will accepte that that a man hath and not that he hath not and this Sainct Paul geueth for doctrine whereby to encourage the godly forwardes in the Lordes busines For all are bydden to the buildyng of Gods house for when the Tabernacle of the lorde was made by Moyses euery one brought suche as he had some brought golde and siluer other some brought precious stones others brought clothe others skinnes and heere of Goates and weathers others brought woodde And the poore and meanest sorte brought somewhat also for they brought stones and all this was put to the worke Euen so I iudge for the buildyng of this house of the Lorde whiche is his Churche euery one shoulde and ought to bryng suche as they haue some more some lesse accordyng to the talentes whiche the Lorde of the house hath geuen them to profite withall I wil content my selfe to bring the litle stones of the common sorte for this buildyng and I hope that the maister of the worke will not refuse my seruice nor my litle stones although they be not hewen of the finest sorte yet I truste they be all hewen out by the Square and rule of Gods worde forasmuch as they may be a furtheraunce to the buildyng as I hope they wil be with gods helpe For as many as are christians haue geuen their faith vnto Christe in their baptisme to forsake the deuill the worlde and the fleshe and to continewe Christes faithfull souldiers and seruauntes to fight vnder his Banner all the dayes of their life to the healping and mainteynyng of the warring and striuing faith All this well considered three causes hath moued mee to set foorth this litle treatise of my faith at this tyme The first is for that the Lorde hath in his handes to fanne examine and make cleane againe his Churche To whom also it were verie good in my iudgement that the faith of euery one shoulde bee knowen and especially of those whiche make profession of the Gospell to instructe others as the Doctours Pastours and Ministers of the worde and Sacramentes to the ende that the false Prophetes and Papistes whiche nowe bowe downe their shoulders and stretche out their eares to the false papisticall doctrine of that Antichriste of Rome were knowen driuen awaie and caste out from among the godly and faithfull For as Barnarde saieth Plus longè nocet falsus catholicus quà m si verus apparcat haereticus Therefore Christe gaue vs warnyng to be ware of them that come in Sheepes clothyng but inwardly are rauening woolues comming and liuyng amonges vs as the Angels of light but all is to beguile the innocent and simple people to make them twise the children of hell worse then them selues are How Iosua was deceiued by the dissemblyng Gibeonites through their fained and cloked holines saiyng VVe become from farre for the name of the Lorde thy God the historie declareth So right reuerende father in these our daies wee haue many and specially of the Cleargie that can saie nowe to our godly Bishops how thei are come from Rome for the name of the Lorde our God with their moulded and wafer cake bread olde ragged garmentes and shoes when in deede it is but meere dissimulation that they doe to enter into the Churche for liâ—yng to mainteine ignoraunce there and to keepe out Godly preachers And these men haue learned Arius practise to conuey all their beleefe of the Romishe faith into their secrete bosomes and yet wil with hande and penne declare by subscribing and swearyng as though they were throughly perswaded and conuerted They drawe nye with tongue and penne vnto vs but their heartes are to Rome a number of them haue gospell talke but yet a Romishe faith an Englishe face but Spanishe hearts VVe reade in Eusebius Caesariensis that writeth how that Constantius the father of Constantine fained vppon a tyme that he woulde put out all the christians whiche woulde abide in their faith and religion from their honours and offices but in deede the Godly woulde in no wise denie but rather choosed the losse of promotions and honour but the others denied the true faith bicause they would not loose their dignities Vpon which triall he excluded these dissemblers and double faced neuters out of his realme saiyng They woulde not be faithfull to hym which had broken their faithe vnto god So no doubt if these men in our daies were tried we should finde of them the lyke Therfore if they were called not onely to confesse their faith with worde and penne but also to geue a reason of their faith to proue and openly to shewe by textes of the holy Scriptures and manifest reasons builded thereon in whom thei beleue what thei beleue wherfore they beleue and how they beleue in open pulpit and also in writyng shoulde do a thousande tymes more good then that they now doe For they thinke nowe that if they subscribe obserue the order of seruice and weare a side gowne a square Cap a Cope and a Surples none can saie blacke is their eyes but that they are good protestantes yet all this while they run into hugger mugger a whispering in corners saiyng to the simple people beleue not this newe doctrine it is
naught it will not long endure although I vse order among them outwardly my hearte and profession is from them agreeyng with the mother Church of Rome No no saie they we do not preache nor yet teache openly we reade their newe deuised homilies for a colour to satisfie the tyme for a season By reason whereof the poore seelie people are kept backe from commyng forwardes to Christe whereas if they were vrged both publiquely ▪ by preaching and also with their owne hande writing to render accoūt of their faith to the hearyng and vnderstandyng of all the people it would driue them for very shame of them selues from runnyng into corners a whisperyng to perswade when as they openly haue preached to the contrary And by this meanes thei shoulde be easely tried out and those that are not sounde nor yet meete driue them out of the Church and make them wood-cariers and water bearers in the common weale as Iosua did the Gibeonites teachyng by their example others to beware to dissemble in their profession although in deede we knowe no mans hearte yet let vs vse that meanes that holy Scripture geueth vs to trie the spirites whether they be of God or not For we may easely perceiue what daunger it is to haue suche dissemblers and also dumbe Idols I meane those Pastours that the Prophet Zachary calleth Idoll Shepheardes that haue mouthes and cannot teache feete and cannot go to preache eyes cannot see the wickednes of the people nor how to reade the scriptures handes that cannot minister nor distribute the Sacramēts a right therefore it was well saied of Barnarde Successores omnes cupiunt esse imitatures pauci And if your L. woulde this doe as I haue before saied you should make them to take heede to them selues and to learnyng to continue therein For in so doyng they shal saue themselues those that heare them The second cause that moued me is certen bokes being abrode which came from Louane bookes full of scurrilitie and papistrie wonderfullye enuiyng and slaunderyng the godly Bishops and ministers of the Churche of God here in Englande and amonges all they name mee in their booke thinkyng thereby to discredite the doctrine that we teache For this is the nature of all Papistes when as they cannot staye vs from preachyng neither yet denie the doctrine we teache then thei will alwaies reare vp some false reportes and sclaunders vpō the preachers or els if these monstrous Papistes do knowe or see any olde crimes or vices which haue been in them before whiche now is mortified and dead in them they will rake it vp out of the filthy enuious dounghill of their Romishe heartes like vnto railyng Simeis whiche commyng out of Saules house of Rome against the godly Dauids that go in the Lordes busines thei cast out stones to stone godly Stephens they curse them that go in the Lordes iorney they call them murtherers that warre in the Lordes battaile thei call them vngodly that liue and preache vertuously but notwithstandyng all their false and wicked reportes we must learne with Dauid to possesse our soules with patience for that it is doen for our better triall and comforte As Christe saide Blessed are ye when men reuile you and speake all maner euill againste you for my sake reioyce and be gladde for greate is your rewarde in heauen for so did they to the prophetes which were before you for the seruaunt is not aboue the maister Did not alwaies the enimies of God raise vp suche rumours vpon Christe and his Apostles to that only ende to drawe the people from beleuyng or credityng them and therby to discredite their heauenly doctrine that they taught by the wil of god They made as though they had been carefull for godly men to enter into the Church but they meant nothyng lesse for they passed not how wickedly any liued against gods commaundements so that theirs were obserued and kepte So likewise our Papistes of Louane the Pharisees schollers they seeme in all their bookes to be verie carefull for Church men as they tearme them when as in verie deede they passe not what they are in life so thei continue with them in their filthy religion Doe not we see at this daie that many of them whiche are now conuerted to the Gospel are reproued by our papistes Louanistes of some vices and faultes that haue been doen by them in their papistrie and blindnesse and all for to sclaunder the doctrine and religion withall which during the time they were papistes thei were coūted no faultes but vertues Do not we see that if any of them kepe whores and harlots it is counted no fault nor synne among them but as one that liueth chaste and well if once he forsake them and take a lawfull wife doe they not crie out of him and say he is a fleshly man a carnall man and one that is vnchaste and now he cannot serue God bicause he hath broken the yoke of chastitie and liueth in the fleshe The marke then that they shoote at right reuerende father is not our life but to our doctrine and religion that they may discredite it to drawe the simple people from beleuyng it Alas with what faces can these papistical Pharisees thus write againste vs concernyng our liues and what men we were Can they see litle motes in our eyes and cannot perceaue the greate beames in their owne eies and yet not in the meanest only but in their cheefest heades yea euen in those heades that they call Lorde of Lordes Kyng of Kinges God of Gods their holy father the Pope as they call hym whiche cannot erre nor yet sinne as they affirme In steede of many I will recite a fewe of them that by those the residue maie be perceaued for they are all Herrynges of one Barell I praie you what was Pope Bonifacius was it for his holines that it was written of hym Intrauit vt Vulpes Regnauit vt Lupus mortuus est vt Canis He entered into the Popedome as a Foxe he raigned as a woolfe and died as a Dog Pope Ioane was she not an arrant whore begotten with childe by one of her Cardinals which these olde verses besides infinite mo testimonies witnesse Penes portum Petri Pauli peperit Papa pater patriae paruulum puerum VVhat was Pope Iohn the. 12 not a most vile damnable man did not he keepe Rainerath his mans wife did not he keepe one Stephana and her sister whiche had been his fathers concubines before did not he keepe one Anna a widowe and her daughter He spared saieth the stories neither high nor lowe olde nor young poore nor riche faire nor foule so that no women durst come vnto Rome on pilgrimage in his tyme he spared no place but woulde vse his filthy whordome vppon their holy aulters he would geue to his whores benefices golden Chalices crosses he would daunce