with the holy Ghost And this is that which Christ promised once If two of you shall agree vpon earth whatsoeuer thing they shall aske it shall be done vnto them Ferus would haue common praiers made with the common consent of the whole Church or else saith he they are of no force Contrarie to the common practise of the Roman Church amongst vs in times past Againe he writes thus of the euill life of the Church which offends manie Ferus in cap. Act. 23. Although it be a great imperfection and defect where the life is not approued and vertuous yet there is lesse danger if the faith be right and sound then if the life were good and the faith euill For without faith it is impossible to please God and he that comes to God must beleeue Therefore it is of more force if the faith be pure and good then if thy works were good Thus farre Ferus He preferres that Church which hath a right faith although in some respect she faile in good workes before that Church which hath good works and an euill faith And of the Church Ferus in Act 21. and of the sacrifices thereof he writes thus Paul taught that Gods house was the Church and that now the true sacrifice was to bee offered in euerie place So Theodoret expounds it in cap 1. Malach. alleageth this place of S Paul and that of our Sauiour Ioh 4.23 1. Tim. 2.8 the which thing also Malachie prophesied Ferus séemes to expound the sacrifice which Malachie speaks of to be Christian prayer as Saint Paul doth also who saith I will that men pray in all places lifting vp pure hands without wrath or doubtfulnesse S. Paul here without all doubt alludes to Malachie Here is pure hands and that pure sacrifice void of wrath and doubtfulnesse Here is in all places And expounds that place of Malachie of Prayer and not of the Eucharist as some of the Papists do Iacob Vshanskus Guesnensis Archiep. Heb. 13.15 Ose 14 3. And for all Iewish sacrifices for that sacrifice Mincha which was drawn to the altar now Saint Paul puts downe in another place the fruit of our lips which sentence he takes out of Osee who cals prayers and giuing of thanks the calues of our lips And of religion maintained by warres he writes thus He that maintaines his cause by seditions and tumults of the people Ferus in Act. 21. discouers and bewrayes himselfe that he hath not a iust cause A good cause needs not vproares or mans authority who hath God the fauourer and protector of it And doth not the Pope vse these meanes to further his cause In this he declares he is not of God But in this waightie matter to let all mens testimonies passe which are light vpon the ballance as Dauid termes them Psal 62.9 yea lighter then vanitie it selfe and to returne to that vndoubted fountaine of all truth the word of God with which I began That is an euident and infallible marke of Gods Church which the Angell taught Saint Iohn Reu. 19.10 Who when as he would haue worshipped him said See thou do it not for I am thy fellow seruant and one of thy brethren which haue the testimonie Iesus Worship God Here is an euident marke of Gods Church she worships only God and not Angels And secondly here is a reason why we should not worship Angels we debase our selues in worshipping them they are our fellow seruants And who in common sense will worship his equals By worshipping Angels we forget that great dignitie whereunto Iesus Christ hath aduanced vs. We are now Iesus Christs we are his members 1. Cor. 3.23 1. Cor. 6.15 Therfore as he doth not no more should we worship Angels A second mark of Gods Church here also we may learne She hath the testimonie of Iesus And what is that that is the spirit of prophesie as the Angell after expounds it that is the Spirit of God wherby all Gods children are able in some measure to vnderstand and expound the scriptures For as all Gods children haue Gods Spirit so it is no doubt a fire in them and therefore it will burne through Christian charitie it will lighten their knowledge and disperse the mysts of darknesse This fire hath Antichrist quenched by taking the wood and matter of it awaie I meane the Scriptures from the common people And to this that of Saint Paul hath relation no doubt 1. Thes 5.19 Quench not the Spirit But here they thinke that because they worship Saints and Angels therefore they shall be blamelesse But that shall not excuse them Reu. 14 7. because they are plainly taught and commanded to worship him onely that made heauen and earth And by these words God onely is signified and all other creatures are excluded And this Epithite is commonly attributed to God in the Scriptures Psal 124.8.134.3 Our help standeth in the name of the Lord who hath made heauen and earth Here is as it were a distinction put betwéene the workes and the workman all the works iointly must worship their maker they must not begin one to magnifie or worship another Nay the more to conuince them in this their errour all the Saints and angels haue refused this seruice Act. 10.26 Act. 14.15 Peter to Cornelius Paul to the men of Lystra saying We are men like to your selues why do you honour vs And the angell twise in the Reuelation wheras S. Iohn did not forget himselfe and would haue yéelded to the angell the honour due to God but euen this ciuill outward honor which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the angell twise refused alleaging my former reason Reu. 19.10 22.9 that he was one of our fellow seruants and fellow seruants must not worship one another but only their master Teaching vs to be very warie in worshipping yea euen angels least our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grow into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as amongst the Papists it hath done These two are easily in words distinguished but not so easily in déed To bowe the knée is but a ciuill honor but yet to bow the knee to Baal Rom. 11.4 God accounts part of his honor And S. Paul writes thus most manifestly of the worshipping of angels Let none ouer-rule you Col. 2.18 or spoile you of your prize which by the worshipping of God you obtaine by humblenesse of mind and worshipping of Angels aduancing himselfe into those things hee neuer saw rashly puft vp with his fleshly mind As though hée should saie No man knowes the estate of angels whether they heare our prayers at all times and can helpe vs at their pleasures or not and who will then pray vnto them nay this shall make vs lose our prize We all in this life as Saint Paul teacheth runne as it were in a race 1. Cor. 9.24 now he that runneth in a race must haue his eyes still fixt on the goale
disquieted within me O put thy trust in God For I will yet giue him thankes which is the helpe of my countenance and my God The ioy of the Lord is your strength Nehe. 8.10 Rom. 15.13 O Lord of hope fill vs with all ioy and peace through faith that we may abound in hope through the power of the holie Ghost When we shall heare the clocke strike let vs say Blessed be the houre wherein our Lord Iesus Christ was borne and died for vs. When as we shall haue done any thing well let vs say Not vnto vs O Lord not vnto vs Psal 115.1 but vnto thy name giue the glorie For thy louing mercie and for thy truths sake When we shall take a iourney I will go forth in the strength of the Lord God Psal 71.16 and I wil make mention of thy righteousnes only In a doubtfull matter let vs pray thus In silence and confidence is our strength Esa 30.15 In dangers let vs pray thus Our helpe standeth in the name of the Lord Psal 124.8 who hath made heauen and earth For Faith let vs pray thus with the Apostles O Lord increase our faith Luke 17.5 For the loue of God O Lord poure thy loue abundantly into our hearts Rom. 5.5 by thy holy Spirit For remission of sinnes Haue mercie vpon me O God after thy great goodnesse Psal 51.1 according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Psal 19.13 Who can tell how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou mee from my secret sinnes Psal 25.7 O remember not the sinnes and offences of my youth but according to thy mercie thinke vpon me O Lord for thy goodnes For good thoughts Psal 19.14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be alwayes acceptable in thy sight O Lord God my strength and my redeemer For good workes Psal 119.122 Make thy seruant delight in that which is good that the proud do me no wrong At the houre of death Psal 31.5 Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of truth For the Church pray thus Psal 28.10 O saue thy people giue thy blessing vnto thine inheritance feede them and set them vp for euer Psal 80.7 Turne vs againe thou God of hosts shewe the light of thy countenance and we shall be saued Psal 85.4 Turne vs O God our Sauiour let thine anger cease from vs. In the afflictions of the Church Amos 7.2 O Lord God spare vs I beseech thee who will raise vp Iacob for he is small Psal 51.18 O be fauourable and gracious vnto Sion build thou the wals of Ierusalem Psal 122.6 7 8 O pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall prosper that loue thee Peace be within thy walles and plenteousnesse within thy pallaces for my brethrens and companions sake I will wish thee prosperitie Saint Gregorie his Prayer Greg. post Psalmos poenitent O good Iesu the word of the Father the brightnesse of the Fathers glorie on whom the Angels do desire to looke teach me to doe thy will that being led by thy good Spirit I may come to that blessed Citie where is an euerlasting day and one spirit of all men where is certaine securitie and secure eternitie and eternall tranquilitie and quiet felicitie and happie pleasure and pleasant ioy where thou God liuest with the Father and the holie Ghost for euer and euer Amen He that shall vse these short prayers no doubt as arrowes they shall mount vnto the skies and enter euen into the eares of God A View of Gods houshold and of all his Seruants THis is set downe by king Dauid very excellently in the Psalme They haue seene O Lord Psal 68.25 thy goings how thou my God and king hast walked in the Sanctuarie Here Dauid teacheth vs that the Lord God as a mightie Prince sometimes as it were euen walketh in his Sanctuarie and among the faithfull in the congregation Now followeth his traine The singers Sharim go before the Musitians Nogenim they which play with the hand on instruments of musicke follow after in the middest are virgins playing on timbrels or drummes Here is Gods traine first singers then virgins and lastly they which plaie with the hand And these may signifie vnto vs thrée sorts of men in Gods Church Singers maie represent Martyrs or Confessors of the faith Virgins those that next to them though they haue not shed their bloud for the loue of Christ yet for his sake they haue abandoned all the vaine and fleshly delights and pleasures of this world and therefore by good right they challenge to themselues the middle or second place And lastly are those cunning Musitians which play with the hand Gal. 5.6 these are those Christians whose faith worketh through charitie Who haue sowne plentifully with their handes the Lords talents that he hath blessed them withall 2. Cor. 9.6 as Saint Paul exhorteth them to doe And they which haue done so do receiue plentifully againe as our Sauiour witnesseth Matt. 25.34 Come ye blessed of my Father inherite the kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world for I was an hungrie and ye gaue me meate c. And how fitly agrées all these together Martyrs may bée rightly called Singers for as Prudentius writeth of Romanus the martyr when as the cruell persecutor had bored through his chéekes he spake thus to him Prudent in Rom. mart O Ruler fierce I yeeld thee thanks that for one mouth too straite Now manie mouthes thou hast me made my Christ his praise to speake Virgins may bee said to play with Drummes For their praise soundeth farre and wide Matth. 19.12 Of virginitie Christ said He that can comprehend it let them comprehend it As though hée should say it is a price propounded of me to all my disciples to runne for 1. Cor. 7.32 Happie is he that can attaine it And S. Paul erhorting all men to virginitie I would haue you without care saith he But this thing can only virginitie afford you The vnmaried man careth for the things of the Lord how he may please the Lord But hee that is maried careth for the things of the world how he may please his wife Yea there is difference betweene a virgin and a wife They are not all one the one farre excelleth the other The vnmaried woman careth for the things of the Lord that she may be holy both in body and spirit but she that is maried careth for the things of the world how shee may please her husband Here is the excellencie of virginitie put downe weighed as it were in a paire of ballance and compared with mariage that euerie one maie sée the excellency and difference of the one before the other The virgin careth only for the Lord the maried person for the world The virgin
taken the Tabernacle Moloch saith he was an Idol of the Ammonites The Iewes oftentimes desired to serue God with strange worships So they yeelded vnto the true God the worshippe wherewith Moloch was worshipped of the Ammonites in the meane while omitting that which he had commanded So Ieroboam appointed calues as though that had bin a more acceptable worship to God then that which Moses had prescribed so Achaz in the Temple placed an altar like that which he had seene at Damascus so Achab besides Ieroboams calues brought in the worship of Baal In that thing therefore wherein they thought greatly to please God they greatly offended him Therefore in the sacrifices of God a good meaning as they say is not sufficient vnlesse it agree with the word of God Ferus herein teacheth vs two things first that vnder the worship of Baal the Iewes worshipped the true God And to this his exposition séemes to agrée that place of Osea Osea 2.16 At that day saith the Lord thou shalt call me Ishi and shalt call me no more Baali And that spéech of Rabsake 2 king 18.22 But if you say vnto me we trust in the Lord our God Is not that he whose hie places and whose altars Ezechias hath taken away and hath said to Iudah and Ierusalem ye shall worship before this altar at Ierusalem Secondlie that all worship be it neuer so austere and sharpe in pinching themselues as was Baals or so costly of gold and siluer as was Ieroboams calues or so stately in building as was the high places which no doubt of their statelinesse tooke their name can please God if it bee not commaunded in his word and by himselfe ordained And after Ferus declares vnto vs the greatest thing that the Diuell takes pleasure in and what he labours most about I would to God all Catholickes would marke his lesson and not further the diuell in his worke Behold saith he the diuell hath euer gone about and goes about yet that the glorie of God omnipotent may be yeelded to creatures As on the contrarie Fer. in ca. 8. act the holy Ghost counsels vs to giue all glorie to God Of Idolatrie and what it is the same Ferus writes thus As God abhorres no other sin more then Idolatrie In cap. 17. act so thou shalt find the saints of God to haue beene moued to anger with no sin more then with Idolatrie Moses is a witnes hereof who for this sinne brake the tables written with Gods owne finger Helias is a witnes hereof who for this sinne slew many hundreds of the sacrificers Iosias also and Matathias is a witnes hereof who slue Antiochus seruant compelling the Iewes to Idolatrie so also Phinees c. For a godly man cannot patiently endure and see the contempt of God And surely he that can behold and endure this hath no religion in him So Paul was greatly moued when as he saw the citie most famous for learning and religion to be wonderfully giuen to Idolatrie Paul had trauelled thorow many cities yet it is reported of none of them that they were altogether giuen to Idolatrie but of Athens where learned men were So the olde prouerbe was verified The more learned the more wicked So amongst all the Iewes the inhabitants of Ierusalē were the worst So is it also now amongst vs. And after he sheweth what is Idolatrie thus Ye men of Athens It may be gathered out of the text that the Athenians were studious of Gods honour for so it is said before that Paul saw the citie giuen to Idols And after that they erected altars to vnknowen gods But Paul cals this worship not religion but superstition Then he proues that they are not to be called Gods which dwell in temples made with hands and stand need to be helped of others Religion is one thing and superstition is another yet many thinke it comes to passe that they which seeme religious to themselues before God are accounted nothing but superstitious To the vnknowne God This was the title To the Gods of Asia Europe and Africa straunge and vnknowne Gods Paul amends this title putting in the singuler number for that which they put in the plurall And he applies that title to the one true God who truly is the God of Asia Europe and Africa of all the earth but to that day vnknowen to the nations The which you ignorantly worshippe This is most truly said For the Apostle did not preach anie new God that which the Gentiles thought but they shewed the same God which al the Gentiles worshipped not knowing him for although they erected Images to themselues yet their mind was to worship the true God Here we may learne what a horrible sinne Idolatrie is Men account it as nothing but of all sinnes it is most grieuous And let vs take héed that we incurre it not againe now by sathans perswasions with the olde Paganes They worshipped in their hearts the true God to whom they made their images But that was Idolatrie saith Ferus And shall we commit the like The grieuousnes of the sinne should make vs verie carefull least by anie meanes we should come neere it And of that foolish pitie which mooues many simple mens hearts when they sée great buildings pulled downe or golden images defaced Fer. in 19. ca. act Ferus writes thus They which practised curious arts came and burned their bookes True charitie respects not the price nor losse of anie thing when she seeth that it is contrarie to Gods commaundements So Ezechias and Iosias destroyed the Altars and Temples although they were builded with great cost Againe a little after he writes thus For the ouerthrowing of Idolatrie of all other things the Apostles most suffered persecution Diana was the Moone which the Ephesians worshipped for her speciall influence which she hath towards these earthlie things The Temple of Diana the Goddesse of the Ephesians was 220. yeeres in building of all Asia It was 425. foot in length 220. in breadth It had 127. pillars in it euerie one of them built of a king threescore foot in height whereof 36. were engrauen To conclude this Temple was built in a marrish ground that it should not fal with earthquakes Here I beséech you mark how vngodlines spares no expēces costs in an euil superstitious matter whē as she is most niggardly to giue any thing to a good worke there are very many so superstitious amongst vs. That famous Church being so long in building built with such great cost Paul pulled down in two yéers by the word of the gospell Therfore great is the glorie force of the gospell Fer. in act 28. And againe vpon these words They said he was a God They said this of the vanitie of the Gentiles of their false opinion they had concerning the Gods The world can keepe no meane for it either ouermuch despiseth a man or else it attributeth too much vnto him But