written A father of many Nations haue I ordained thee Roman 4.16 euen before God whome he beleeued who quickneth the dead and calleth the things which be not as though they were which Abraham beleeued against hope vnder hope that he should be the father of manie Nations according to that which was spoken to him So shall thy seed be And he not weake in faith considered not his owne bodie which was now dead being almost an hundreth yeare old neither the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe neither did he doubt of the promise of God through vnbeleefe but was strengthened in faith and gaue glorie to God being fully assured that he that had promised was able to doe it And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousnesse Now it is not written for him onely that it was imputed to him for righteousnesse but also for vs to whom it shall be imputed for righteousnesse which beleeue in him which raised vp Iesus our Lord from the dead who was deliuered for our sinnes and rose againe for our iustification Saint Paul here the Doctour of the Gentiles teacheth all Christians by the example of their father Abraham contrarie to the doctrine of the Vniuersitie of Collen that they must not consider their owne frailtie and weakenesse for who then shoulde not despaire but the promise and mercie of God Abraham considered not that now hee and Sarah his Wife were as good as dead to child-bearing and begetting but the word and promise of God which euen quickens things that be dead calles things which are not as though they were and euen so must all Abrahams Children and all true Christians not consider their owne frailtie and weakenesse for if they respect their owne deseruings euen the best of them all they are like their Father Abraham euen dead in their sinnes and farre off from obtaining the Kingdome of God yet beleeuing the promise of God assuredlie and not respecting this their owne frailtie and weakenesse but euen nowe with a liuelie faith whensoeuer it assaulteth them ouercomming it they must all assure themselues of the kingdome of God as Abraham did of his sonne Isaac And this is faith and this is to be the true sonne of Abraham and without this faith no man can bee saued Wée must not consider our owne infirmities naie that wée are euen of our selues dead through our sinnes as the Vniuersitie of Collen teacheth but wee must onelie respect the grace mercie and promise of God as Abraham our forefather did and by this strengthened ouercome the other which as an enemie is opposed and set against faith to wrestle with it and to assault it The Vniuersitie of Collen in this their doctrine doe gainesay the Prophet Dauid whome they alleadge for their witnesse Psalm 125.1 The iust man sayeth Dauid is like mount Sion which on no side can bee moued Hée is firme on euerie side hee trusting on the mercie of God is not mooued as they teach with the consideration of his owne frailtie Againe let vs consider howe the Vniuersitie of Collen and Master Bellarmine do disagree in this great point of saluation Bellarmine whereas saint Iohn saith Lib. 1. de Iustificat cap. 11. These things haue I written vnto you which beleeue on the name of the sonne of God that you may knowe that you haue eternall life answereth that S. Iohn saith truly they which beleeue as they ought haue euerlasting life The meaning therefore saith he of the Apostle is conditionall for hee writes to those which beleeue that they may know that they haue eternall life if so be they beleeue indeed as they ought to beleeue that is if they haue faith which worketh by loue This is master Bellarmines iudgement But the vniuersity of Collen writes thus Dialog 4. contra Monhem Who euer hath taught thus of faith that the saluation of euery particular man should bee obtained by it or haue relation to it For faith is of all things most assured which neither can be deceiued nor deceiue But the iustification of euery priuate man say they is very vncertaine much more their eternall saluation how therefore can faith bee had of such vncertaine things This is the censure of the Vniuersitie of Collen whereas both Saint Iohn and master Bellarmine auouch that they which beleeue aright know that they haue eternall life so that by the censure of the Vniuersitie of Collen wee must not beleeue assuredlie wee must not knowe that wee shall be saued wee must onelie hope that wee shall bee saued And they saie againe That the certainty of hope is not such that any man trusting thereunto should not doubt for so long as we hope say they we are vncertaine as the very Etymologie of the name of hope doeth teach vs. Thus wée maie plainelie see howe they will haue vs doubt still of our saluation which doubting is both contrarie to faith and also to knowledge which Saint Iohn the Apostle teacheth But to returne againe to M. Bellarmines former answere his meaning is thereby though hee dissent from the vniuersitie to prooue that no man shall bee assured or know that hee shall bee saued For hee saieth a little before that euen by our confession faith is necessary to the forgiuenes of sinnes But saieth he out of what word of God do they learne that they haue such a faith as is required to get and obtaine remission of sinnes This is one of his mistes whereby hee would haue euerie one doubt whether hee hath faith or no and so doubt whether hee should bee saued or no. But this doctrine is contrarie to Saint Paul who thus writes to the Church of Corinth 2. Cor. 13.5 Trie your selues sayeth hee and search your selues whether you bee in faith or no. Doe you not know your selues that Iesus Christ is in you vnlesse you bee reprobates All Christians must knowe that Iesus Christ is in them that they are by faith engrafted into him or else they are reprobates By master Bellarmines doctrine all Christians are reprobates For no Christian sayeth hee knowes whether he hath such a faith as obtaineth remission of his sinnes and then it must néedes followe that no Christian knowes that Iesus Christ dwelleth in him which all shoulde knowe and so all are reprobates by his doctrine 1. Pet. 1. Peter the Apostle writes his Catholique Epistle in generall to all Christians and hee sayeth that they haue gotten like precious faith to the Apostles And shall they not know then that they haue obtained such a faith as is required to the forgiuenesse of sinnes The Papistes imagine God to bee a respecter of persons and that to the Apostles hee gaue a great faith and that they might bee sure of their saluation but to none else hee gaue the like faith and that all others ought to doubt but Saint Peter here plainlie teacheth that euen those to whome he wrote had obtained euen as precious a faith as he And shall not we iudge so
that is euery day looke for it and wish that it might come spéedilie Would anie man wish for the spéedie comming of Iesus Christ vnlesse hee were sure hee should bee saued That saying in the Reuelation euidentlie prooues the same Reuel 22.17 The spirit and the bride say Come As the spirit doubteth not of his saluation so neither the bride of her mariage And shall shée doubt of her saluation That saying of the Prophet Esay of the Church of Christ is most manifest to prooue this doctrine One shall say I am the Lords Esay 44.5 another shall be called by the name of Iacob and another shall subscribe with his owne hand vnto the Lorde and name himselfe by the name of Israel Here is the state of Christes Church plainelie set downe One shall saie I am the Lordes another shall saie I am Iacob another shall saie I am Israel and shall anie then doubt of his saluation doeth anie man doubt of Israels or Iacobs saluation But see how contrarie the Papists doctrine is to that which the Prophet here sets downe and teacheth One shall say I am the Lords saieth the Prophet and this one is euerie one no doubt in the Church of Christ but they dare not teach anie one to saie so but thinke to saie so were great presumption But how can that bee presumption which Gods word so plainelie teacheth Let euerie true Christian well ponder in his heart whether he now will beleeue them or the Prophet Esay But the Vniuersitie of Collen speaking of Christians saieth that they hope firmely and with great courage Dialog 40. but they beleeue not that they shall bee saued for faith say they cannot bee deceiued but hope is after declared But here to answere their first point that No man ought to beleeue that he should be saued doeth not Dauid saie plainlie Psal 27.13 I should vtterly haue fainted but that I beleeue verily to see the goodnes of the Lord in the land of the liuing Dauid here plainelie confesseth that hee beleued that hee should be saued and why maie not other Christians also saie so Iob also saieth Iob. 19.25 I know that my Redeemer liueth And Abrahams faith was accounted to him for righteousnes And Saint Iohn saieth Iohn 20.31 That these things were written that all Christians might beleeue and beleeuing might haue eternall life But master Bellarmine alleadgeth that place of Saint Paul 1. Lib. de iustificat cap. 11. We are saued thorough hope and therefore we must hope and not beleeue that we shall be saued But if we marke well the natures of these thrée faith hope and charitie wee shall plainelie see that our hope saueth vs by the meanes of faith for these thrée vertues faith hope and charitie spring one of another and haue their diuers obiects Hope and charitie spring of faith and faith first of all hath respect vnto the word of God and embraceth most assuredlie the promise of God then of faith of the promise necessarilie springeth the hope of the thing promised and lastlie hee that beleeues ones promise and hopeth for the thing promised will loue the promiser and all that be his and this is Christian charitie So that these three vertues are as twinnes all lincked together and one taketh her vertue and force of another And none of these hath anie force without another Therfore hope saueth which procéedeth of the faith of the word of God and that charitie pleaseth which procéedeth to him and to all his from this faith of his word and promise And although hope be properlie of good things of things which concerne our selues yet as faith is of the paines and torments of the wicked so also is hope as we do beleeue verily the promise of God made to Abraham concerning himselfe his posteritie Gen. 12 3. I will make thee a great nation and will blesse thee and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing So also wee must beleeue the same promise as verilie concerning his friends and his enemies which immediatlie followes I will also blesse them that blesse thee and I will curse them that curse thee and in thee shall all the Nations on the earth be blessed And as wee beleeue the promise so wee must assuredlie hope and looke for the things promised euen the plagues and punishments which without all doubt God will inflict vpon all Abrahams enemies and vpon all the enemies of his Church And vpon this promise no doubt Dauid pronounceth thus boldlie All mine enimies shall be confounded and sore vexed Psal 6.10 They shall be turned backe and put to shame sodainly And in another Psalme Mine eie hath seene his desire vpon his enimies Psal 54.7 Psal 38.37 And againe I will follow vpon mine enimies and ouertake them neither will I turne again till I haue destroied them So that then as we beléeue this promise of the coÌ„fusion of our enimies so we maie most assuredlie hope and looke for their plagues and the perfourmance of the same and so our hope in some sort stretcheth out it selfe as ample as our faith But to end this place of the certaintie of our saluation that place of the Prophet Esay of all Christians is worth the marking Esay 32.1 Behold saieth hee a king shall raigne to be righteousnesse to iustifie and his princes shall beare rule to teach men iudgement What King is this but Iesus Christ who is called by the Prophet Ier. 23.6 The Lord our righteousnes And what bee those his Princes which beare rule in iudgement but his Apostles and ministers and magistrates which teach men to iudge themselues least they be iudged of the Lord to minister iudgement to his people 1. Cor. 11.31 Psalm 82.3 And this man shall be a hiding place from the wind Gods wrath is compared to the wind and men to grasse Psalm 103.15 The dayes of man are but as grâ—sse saieth the Prophet Dauid for he flourisheth as a flower in the field for as soone as the wind goeth ouer it it is gone and the place thereof shall know it no more From this sharpe pinching wind of the wrath of God Iesus Christ saueth vs according as Saint Iohn writes Iohn 3.36 He that beleeueth in the son hath euerlasting life and he that obeieth not the son shal not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him This is that hiding place which is mentioned in 1. Sam. 22. which is called Adullam 1. Sam. 22.1 that is their Testimonie their protestation all Christians must protest this that but for Iesus Christ the wrath of God had euen consumed them And to this caue or hiding place fled Dauid and saued himselfe there and his brethren and his fathers howse and there gathered to him thither all men that were in trouble and all men that were in debt and all those that were vexed in mind Here is that prefigured which Christ himselfe in the Gospel
iust man as thy goodnes required thou hast here one iustified according to the measure of our sinnes Therefore O our defender looke vpon this my Lord and looke vpon the face of thine annointed But also thou O our Sauiour doe not cease to set thy selfe alwayes before thy fathers sight for vs. If thy loue were such that thou fearedst not to yeeld thy members to the tormentor that he might beat them wrest them and teare them let thy loue also be so great that it may not grieue thee to offer those members so torne and rent to thy eternall father that he being moued with the sight of them may forgiue vs all our sins and receiue vs againe into his fauour Sée how Granatensis calles those Christians cowards that distrust of the goodnesse of God now hauing so mightie and louing and forcible a Sauiour to pleade their cause To be accounted a coward in worldlie exploites is the greatest disgrace in the world and shall all Christians which are accounted souldiers bee cowards in this necessarie and waightie matter of their saluation Naie if euer courage were necessarie it is here necessarie and to bee cowardlie in other matters it makes no great matter so that here we be not cowards lacke of courage here killes the soule and loseth all the goods wee haue all the good works wee haue done The fearefull shall neuer enter into heauen but their portion shall bee in the lake But some obiect that the gift of perseuerance is not giuen to all Granatensis writes thus thereof Gran. de orat med vesp 7. What kind of great mercie was it that after he haue restored thee being fallen to thy former righteousnesse againe besides this hee gaue thee grace by the meanes whereof thou mightest not fall againe and mightest ouercome thy enemie and perseuere in doing good This is that former and latter raine whereof the Lord speaketh by his Prophet Ioel Ye Sonnes of Sion be glad and reioice in the Lord your God who hath giuen you a teacher of righteousnesse Ioel. 2.23 and hee will raine vpon you the early and latter raine as in the beginning that is he will preuent you with his grace that the seeds of vertues may begin to grow in you and his grace shal also stil continue and follow you that those seedes may waxe ripe and answere your expectation Thus farre Granatensis where hee plainelie teacheth that the gift of perseuerance is so knitte to the gift of faith euen as the former raine by Gods promise here in the Prophet is to the latter And this is euerie true Christians comfort which they learne also out of the Apostle that God who hath begunne that good worke of faith in them will finish it Phil. 1.6 euen vnto the end And out of the Gospell that When as our Sauiour loued his which were in the world he loued them vnto the end Pintus of the signe Taw wherewith euerie one of the faithfull that should bee saued was signed writes thus It is written in the booke of Exodus Ioh in Ezec. ca. 13. that The Lord passed ouer and stroke all the first borne besides those which were signed with the bloud of the lambe c. And Saint Iohn in the Reuelation sayeth that The Angell imprinted a signe in the forehead of Gods seruants which should obtaine euerlasting saluation And after Saint Paul willing to exhort the Ephesians who had imbraced true Religion and now were become Christians that they should not defile the excellencie of their soules with the filth of sinne speakes to them in this manner Doe not make sad the holy Ghost wherewith ye are sealed against the day of redemption As though he should say Do not commit those sinnes wherewith the holy Ghost like a man vexed or molested should forsake you cal to your remembrance how you were sealed with it in the day of your baptisme And our prophet Ezechiel saith that they were onely deliuered from death which were marked with the letter Tau of the man clothed in linnen All these in my iudgement come to one and signifie one thing for that same Lambe with whose bloud the Israelites were signed that they might bee saued being without blemish and rosted with fire whose bones were not to be broken as the holy Scriptures doe testifie in Exodus what doe they signifie but Christ c. And after Hee is the Lambe of God of whome Iohn Baptist sayeth Behold the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world He was inflamed with the fire of loue and rosted with the flames of most bitter torments and was sacrificed for vs on the Altar of the Crosse that he might purge our sins with his bloud and that he might bring vs vnto the true land of promise They which are not marked with his blood they which haue not the memory of his death imprinted in their minds beleeuing it and reposing all their trust therein as in our remedie they which are not sealed with his marke which he in Baptisme hath imprinted into vs which print is not in the substance of the soule as in a subiect but in the power thereof cannot obtaine euerlasting life And after When as the letter Tau signifies a consummation and end as Saint Ierom saith in the Booke of Hebrew names and all the Hebrew letters haue their proper significations and when as Christ is the end as that place sayeth which I haue euen now alleadged out of the Reuelation and according to that which Saint Paul writes in the Epistle to the Romanes Christ is the end of the law it is plainly and manifestly concluded that it is he wherewith wee ought to bee sealed And after hee alleadgeth Cyprian against Demetrius who affirmes verie vehementlie that This signe belongs to the passion and blood of Christ And that he onely shall be preserued to saluation who is marked with the blood of Christ And after There are some which by the letter Tau doe vnderstand the signe of the Crosse saying that this letter in Hebrew hath the figure of the Crosse but they are greatly deceiued for it is not like the Crosse being thus written ◠Vnles they will say that the Hebrewes changed the characters of their letters and the old letters to haue remained among the Samaritans For Saint Ierom saieth that in his time the Samaritans vsed the Crosse in stead of this letter but in Saint Ieroms dayes the same Hebrew letters were which are now Thus farre Pintus wherein hee plainelie teacheth that all Christians are to bee sealed with a marke that is with the blood of Christ and with the holie Ghost And if they bee sealed then they are sure of their saluation for as Saint Paul saieth The foundation of God standeth sure hauing this seale God knowes who are his 2. Tim. 2.19 Ioh. 10.28 16.14 His shéepe haue all his marke And he knoweth them and no man shall take them out of his hands And the