sort hope But we deny that it is such a hope as is ours which we haue in this life Bicause as we haue before declared out of the woordes of the Apostle our hope hath ioyned with it as companions sighing and sorrowe which thinges vndoubtedly in the eternall felicity which the blessed haue fruition of in heauen can haue no place Farther our hope cleaueth fast vnto fayth which engendereth an vnperfect and an obscure knowledge For as Paul sayth vnto the Corrint We se now by a glasse in a ridle we know but by a part But the saints in heauē know most perfectly most clearly Moreouer forasmuch as fayth hath chiefely a respect vnto the last chiefe good thing there ought not to be ascribed vnto the blessed which now hold possesse that good thing such a hope as is ours For the true proper hope cā haue Hope is in life as an anker no place in eternall felicity It is only so longe as we liue here geuen vnto vs as an anker for so the epistle which is written vnto the Hebrues calleth it For so long as we are tossed with the waues and tempests of this world vnles our minde be confirmed and stablished by the anker of hope our shippe will easely dashe agaynst the sandes and rockes Chrisostome calleth it a golden chayne let downe from heauen which chayne if we take holde of we shal be drawen vp Hope is in a chaine into heauen Wherefore we must diligently prouide that this hope be dayly more and more confirmed in vs which thinge shal then chiefely come to passe if as Paul straight way declareth we diligently wayght the singular benefites of God Which benefites forasmuch as they are most playnly contayned in the Hope is confirmed by the consideration of Gods benefites holy scriptues by reading of them our hope shal be very much cōfirmed Which thing Paul most clearely taught in this epistle when he sayd Whatsoeuer thinges are written are written for our learning that through patience and consolation of the scriptures we should haue hope Which selfe same thing Dauid also sayth They hope in thee which haue knowen thy name Wherefore seing the nature and nam◠of God is no where better vnderstand then in the holy scriptures it followeth that by thē we ought to confirm our hope which thing if we diligently obserue our mynde shall not be discouraged when God as oftentymes his maner is permitteth our doinges to come euen to shame which thing we sée happened in God semeth sometimes to forsake his Christ our sauior For he was so vtterly forsaken of God that he was put vpon the crosse and died a most ignominious death betwéene two thieues Dauid also was brought to that poynt that not only being expelled out of the kingdome of Israell he was fayne to wander in desert places but also was in a maner fast holden and closed in the handes of Saule The selfe same thing we sée very oftentymes to haue happened in other of the Saints that they were iudged in a maner to haue bene deceaued and to haue fallen from their hope But the spirite of Christ geueth strength that men are able in the middest of their calamityes to reioyce and to say These thinges shoulde haue no power in vs if it were not geuen thē frō aboue Which sētence Christ layd agaynst Pilate when he boasted of his power The 42. Psalme also hath excellently wel tought vs how we ought to comfort our selues and with a good hope to erect our mynde For thus it is written Why art thou deiected oh my soule Why art thou Why God spoyleth his of outward helpes so discouraged Hope in God for I will yet make my confession vnto him My health is in his countenance Nether doth God for any other cause commonly depriue his of outward helpes and aydes of this world but to gather together their dispersed hope not to suffer it to leane vnto too many aydes And these sondry and manifolde aydes he changeth for one principall ayde and the same most firme to the ende we should wholy depend of him By this difference of a firme hope Christians much differ from Epicures and Ethnikes For if there come any great calamity vnto them straight way they exclame and cry out If there The Ethnikes howe they are destitute of hope be a God that hath a care ouer these thinges If there be a God that séeth these thinges So they call not vpon God but being in dispayre vtterly discourage themselues But contrariwise godly men most constantly crye vnto God nether doubt they but that their prayers reach vp euen vnto heauē and that God hath a care both ouer them and all theirs But because humane wisedome continually wrastleth and faineth that it doubteth not indede of the power of God but only doubteth of hys will therefore let vs sée how of this thinge Paul hath made vs certayne Because the loue of God is shed abroade into our hartes by the holy ghost which is geuen vnto vs. These wordes signify all one as if he had sayd hereby thou mayst gather that thy hope shall not be made frustrate for that God loueth thee Which loue the holy ghost hereby perswadeth thée of for that the only sonne of God was for thy sake deliuered vnto the death Wherefore now oughest thou not any more to be in doubt of the will of God It is geuen vnto the fréely and that as it is afterward sayd when thou wast an enemy weake wicked and a sinner All which things declare that God loued thee not meanely but most aboundantly Nether hath he only geuen thee these thinges but also hath geuen thee the holy ghost that thou mightest throughly féele them And this is done in regeneration for there whilest by fayth thou takest holde that Christ died for thee thou art borne agayne and made partaker of the nature of God For euen as the spirite of man maketh a man so the spirit of God By the holy Ghost we are adopted by adoption maketh vs the children of God whiche spirite if it were geuen vs as sayth Chrisostome euen now from the beginning before we lauboured vndoubtedly many more thinges shall be geuen vnto vs seing that we go aboute continually to frame our selues to the will of God Now we take holde of the roote and fountayne of all good thinges From this spirite commeth that glorious resurrection as we are taught by this epistle For he which raysed vp Christ Of the holy Ghost is the resurrection from the dead sayth Paul shall rayse vp also your mortall bodies because of his spirite which dwelleth in you Nether is this life which we liue in Christ coūted to come from any els where then from the holy ghost For the wisedome of the flesh saith Paul is enmity agaynst God But the wisedome of the spirite is life and peace God would that we should in this life haue a pledge and
all one as if we had alredy receaued it The Greke Scholies vnto euery part adde this particle Of purpose after this mamaner Whom he foreknew of purpose he hath predestinate of purpose he hath called of purpose that no absurdity should follow These men suspect that God mought easely seme to be an accepter of persons vnles he predestinate and call men by the foreknowledge of works But there was no nede to be afeard of any such thing For here is no debt spoken of But there can be no acception of There can be no acception of persons where no debte is God putteth persons into vs other wise we are equall in the masse or lompe persons where no debt is Farther God findeth in men no persons but geueth to euery one such as he will For we are all of one the selfe same lompe in all partes in one and the selfe same maner corrupted and vitiated here is no difference of persons For that thing only is in euery man which God himselfe predestinateth to euery man Moreouer we haue before sufficiently declared yâ— this word of Purpose ought not to be referred vnto those which are called but vnto God which calleth Ambrose saith That to call is nothing els then to helpe one which alredy thinketh vpoÌ„ fayth Which seÌ„tence can not as touching those which are called be vniuersally true For what thought Paul of yâ— fayth of Christ wheÌ„ he persecuted the Christians And Paul himself in his 2. epistle to the Cor. saith that we are not apt to thinke any thing of our selues as of our selues Wherefore we ought not to hold that the beginnings of fayth are of our selues as thoughe The beginninges of faith are not of our selues as though God helpeth vs when we are thinking of faith God opâ—ned the hart of the woman that solde silke to geue hede to thaâ— which Paul sayde we first beginne and then God afterward followeth with his helpe Ambrose in this place addeth That God pricketh forward them whome he knoweth shall heare him In which place we must beware that we hold not that the hearing of faith hath his beginning of our selues Wherefore in the Actes of the Apostles it is written of the woman that sold silkes that God opened her hart to harken vnto those thinges which were spoken of Paul And that this is the gift of God Dauid saw when he thus prayed Incline myne hart to thy testimonyes And Salomon in his Prouerbes saith The hart of the king is in the hand of God and he shall moue it which way so euer pleaseth him Which thing as it is there said of kings so ought it to be vniuersally vnderstand of all men For Ieremy sayth in his 24. chapiter I will geue vnto them a hart to know me and I will be vnto them a God And in his 31. chapter I will geue saith the Lord my lawes into their hartes and will ingraue theÌ„ in their bowels And Ezechiell in his 36. chap I will take away from them their stony hart and will geue vnto theÌ„ a fleshy hart And Esay saith They shal be all taught of God Which thing Iohn also mencioneth Ambrose addeth moreouer As touching the rest whome God hath not foreknowen he hath no care for that he hath not foreknowen them to this grace But if they beleue they are chosen for a time for that they seeme to be good lest righteousnes should seeme to be without reward but they neuer abide till the tyme of glory come as Iudas Iskarioth or those 72. which when they were elected yet taking occasion of offence departed from our sauiour By these things we may know Predestination is not common vnto all Many seme to be elected which yet are called but for a time A golden chaine where with we are drawen into heauen that predestination is not common vnto all and that there are many which seme to be elected for that they are called for a time when as yet in very deede they pertain not vnto the elect â–ª This gradation of the Apostle is doubtles a golden chayne wherewith men the shal be made blessed are drawen vp into heauen a much more excellenter chayne then is that of Homer wherewith Iupiter is fayned to gouern the whole worlde This chayne shall make vs inuincible agaynst all aduersities For how can we but be well contented when we see that our saluation is of God by so many most excellent meanes procured How can we but reioyce for so great felicity What shall we then say of these thinges If God be on our side who can be agaynst vs who spared not his owne sonne but deliuered him for vs all howe shall he not wyth hym geue vs all thinges also If God be on our side who can be agaynst vs God is on our side not with a wauering wil but with a constant and firme will as a father for his childreÌ„ to defeÌ„d vs froÌ„ all maner of euils Wherfore no creature caÌ„ put vs beside yâ— felicity which God by his predestinatioÌ„ hath appointed for vs. Augustine in his 16. sermoÌ„ of yâ— words of yâ— Apostle saith that God is on our side whoÌ„ he hath foreknoweÌ„ whoÌ„ he hath predestinated whoÌ„ he hath called whoÌ„ he hath iustified whoÌ„ he hath glorified WheÌ„ we yet were not he predestnated vs wheÌ„ we turned backward he called vs wheÌ„ we were wicked he iustified vs wheÌ„ we were vnpure he glorified vs. Wherefore he which will fight against vs taketh in hand to warre agaynst God and kicketh agaynst He which fighteth against vs warreth against God the prycke Augustine moreouer there admonisheth That of these fiue degrees here set forth we should consider how many we haue already obteyned of God and how many are behynde to be obteyned and that we should geue thankes for them which we already haue obteyned and as touching those which we yet want to count God our debter not in dede in such sort a debter as though they are due vnto vs by our merites but for that he hath bound hymselfe vnto vs by hys promises Chrisostome in this place sayth Why askest thou O Paul who can be agaynst vs The whole worlde ryseth vp agaynst vs the Deuill tyrannes they of our owne householde our kinsfolkes our citizens and the flesh It is true saith he that all those thynges fight agaynst vs but they shall not preuayle yea rather they shall aduaunce our saluation Iob was by temptations by hys wyfe frends by the Chaldeans wyndes and fire from heauen made of more fame then he was before Who spared not his owne sonne but deliuered him for vs all Hitherto it hath bene proued that all thinges shall turne vnto vs to good for that we are elected An argument taken of the cause and of a signe predestinated and called of God This kind of argument is taken of the cause And the same is here proued by an argument taken of the signe not vndoubtedly of euery
whiche killeth a dogge and whiche offreth fiue swete cakes like vnto him whiche offreth the bloud of swyne But no man doubteth but that the workes whiche we worke are in a sorte sacrifices Wherfore if sinners offer them vnto the Lord they are displeasant vnto hym He addeth also an other reason He whiche worketh sinne is the seruant of sinne because when we be seruaunts vnto sinne it suffreth vs not to do any thing that is acceptable vnto God Lastly hee maketh thys reason that Christ said No man can serue two maisters neither is it by any meanes possible that we should serue both Mammon and God Wherupon hee concludeth that it is not possible that the wycked shoulde do good woorkes Wherefore the woorkes of preparation whyche our aduersaries fayne are What sins to be couered signifieth are vtterly excluded Augustine interpretyng the 31. Psalme sayth That sinnes to be couered is nothyng els then that God will not consider them And if sayth he hee consider them not then will he not punish them Wherefore sinnes are sayd to be couered before God because God will not punishe them They ought not so to bee vnderstand to be couered as though they were ouer couered and yet neuertheles remayne lining in vs. Their bonde and guiltines whereby punishment was due vnto vs is by forgeuenes taken away And for this thing the Prophet prayed when hee sayd Turne away thy face from my sinnes When Dauid made this Psalme hee was sicke and was troubled with a grenous disease For he maketh mencion that hys bones were withered away and that he felt the hand of God heauy vpon him and that the moystnes of hys body was in a maner all dried vp and manye other such like thinges Wherefore being by the disease admonished of his sinnes and of the wrath of God he brast forth into these woordes by which hee testified those to be blessed whose sinnes God had forgeuen And he taketh blessednes for instification For iustification as we haue sayde is a blessednes begon For Sins onely are a let that we are not blessed sins are onely a let that we are not now already blessed which whē they shall vtterly be taken away they shall no more hinder blessednes But men though they be neuer so good and holy yet so long as they lyue here are not vtterlye without sinne Therefore they alwayes aspire vnto blessednes that is vnto the forgeuenes of sinnes Wherefore in that selfe same Psalme it is afterward added For So longe as we liue here we pray for iustification He which prayeth not for the forthe forgeuenes of sins prayeth ill this shall euery one that is holy pray vnto thee Which thing our Sauiour also hath taught vs. For in the prayer which he made which euen the best and most holye oughte to saye he commaunded vs to saye Forgeue vs our trespasses And they which pray for other thinges and make not mention of this let them take hede that thyng happen not vnto them which happened vnto that Pharisey whom Luke sheweth to haue praid after this maner I geue thee thankes O God that I am not as other men are c. And for that cause saith Christ he departed not home to his house iustified bicause he rehersed before God his good workes onely But contrariwise the Publicane acknowledging his misery durst scarcely lift vp his eies vnto heauen And so being vtterly deiected in mynd he said Lord be mercifull vnto me a sinner And by this confession he acknowledged that he brought nothing vnto God but sinnes and therfore prayed that they might be forgeuen him He saith Christ returned home iustified Where as Dauid here as the Apostle citeth hym maketh no mencion of good workes yet some will obtrude it vnto vs out of these things which follow And in his spirite is no guile But vnto these mē August very well aunswereth In him saith he there is no guile which as he is a sinner so acknowledgeth himselfe to be and when he seeth himselfe vitiated with euill workes dissembleth What it is not to haue guile within one them not but manifestly confesseth them Therfore it is added in the selfe same psalme I haue said I will confesse mine owne iniquitie agaynst my selfe But yet againe suche whyche woulde so fayne weaken thys reasonynge of Paule obiecte vnto vs that there is vsed the figure Synecdoche so that wyth those thynges which Dauid setteth foorth wee shoulde also ioyne good woorkes to iustifye And to make their sentence of the more credite they gather other testimonies out of Dauid in which blessednes is also attributed vnto workes as Blessed are the immaculate which walke in the law of the Lorde Blessed is the man which feareth the Lorde Blessed is the man which hath not gone in the counsels of the vngodly and many other Whether blessednes be attributed vnto woorkes Here is entreated of the first blessednes and not of the last such like places in which they say that blessednes is as expressedly ascribed vnto workes as it is in that place which Paul now citeth vnto the remission of sinnes But forasmuch as these men doo recite againe the same argument in a manner which we haue a little before dissolued they shall also haue euen the selfe same answer Namely that here is not intreated of that blessednes or felicitie whiche follow the first iustification but here is disputed of the very first and principall iustification And why we can not here admit the figure Synecdoche we haue before alredy shewed bicause Paul expressedly affirmeth that this righteousnes cōmeth without workes And bicause it should not be said that he spake these things only of ceremoniall workes of the law he afterward addeth that the promise therefore consisteth of grace that it might be firme not wauer which excludeth not onely ceremonies but also morall works And a little before we reade forasmuch as iustification is geuen by imputation it cannot then be of workes And that he confirmed by a generall reason of working and of not working which vndoubtedly extend much farther then to ceremonies For we worke no lesse in morall workes then in ceremoniall workes He said moreouer that they which are iustified haue wherof to glory before God as though they had of him obteined righteousnes and not of their works Whiche reason remoueth from iustification eyther kynde of woorkes both ceremoniall and also morall Wherefore we moste manifestlye sée Ambrose saith we are iustifyed by faith onely that the figure Synecdoche canne by no meanes stande wyth the reasons of Paul Ambrose expounding these wordes oftentimes writeth that we are iustified by faith onely and he addeth without labour and any obseruation But that which he afterward addeth when he interpreteth this sentence of Dauid Blessed are they whose iniquityes are forgeuen he sayth Vnto whome iniquityes are forgeuen without labor or any worke and whose sinnes are couered no worke of repentance being required of them but only
his own bloud And as touching the sacrament of Circumcision these thinges we thinke sufficent for this present purpose Now let vs returne againe vnto Paul For the promise that he should be the heyre of the worlde was not geuen vnto Abraham or to his seede by the law but by y◠righteousnes of fayth For if they which are of the law be heyres fayth is made voyde and the promise is made of none effect For the law worketh wrath for where no law is there is no transgression For the promise that he should be the heyre of the world was not geuen vnto Abraham or to his seede by the law He hath before proued that Abraham had not his righteousnes by Circumcision for that he had obteined it before he was circūcised Now he proueth the same á maiori that is of a greater thing By the law saith he was not the promise made wherefore neither thorough Circumcision The reason is hereby manifest for that the law extendeth farther then The law extendeth farther thē circumcision Why the promise came not by the law circumcision for the law doth not onely conteine it but also other innumerable most excellent preceptes And that the promise was not geuen thorough the law as it were vppon a condition may two manner of wayes be proued First as it is writtē vnto the Galathians The law was geuen after the promise foure hundreth yeres wherfore forasmuch as it was not as yet extant it could not be a condition of the promes then already made No man saith Paul maketh voyde the testament of a man or addeth any thyng therunto But this reson taken of the time Paul here omitteth partly bicause he had a little before vsed it when he said that circumcision was geuen after that Abraham was now alredy iustified partly also because he woulde vse an other reason more euident The law saith he if it were added vnto the promise If the lawe were added vnto the promise it should make it voyde shoulde make it voyde and abolish fayth for when the law entreth into our wicked mindes it setteth forth nothing before vs but the wrath of God And it is not possible that it should bring vnto vs the promise or the inheritance of felicity And that by the law commeth the wrath of God he hereby proueth for that wher no law is there is no transgression Ambrose sayth that the lawe was therefore geuen to make the offenders guiltie But they which are gilty are either condemned or els made vnmete to receiue the promises For the sonne which by reason of hys transgressions is disinherited receaueth not the inheritance So wee also by the law are adiudged to hell fire and to the curse rather then that by it we are made able to receaue the inheritance and to obtayne the promise Thus muche of the order of the argumentes Now let vs examine euery thing particularly By the lawe sayth he commeth not the promise For whē the inheritance of y◠world was promised vnto Abrahā there was no such cōditiō added that he should obserue y◠law This reason leadeth to an absurdity For by this meanes both the promise fayth also should be made voyd The Greke Scholies affirme The Greke Scholies affirm that we are iustified by faith onely that we are iustified by fayth only And vnder the name of Seuerianus is added a sentēce that he which sticketh in the law as though be could obtaine saluation neglecteth that saluation which is by fayth And Chrisost sayth that it mought be that some would say Although we haue fayth yet will we keepe the lawe also But this he showeth is not possible For whosoeuer sayth he obserueth the lawe as a thing geuing saluation disableth the power of fayth Wherefore seing the lawe is not annexed vnto the promise Priueleges are not to be narroly drawen but to be enlarged of God as a condition of necessity it followeth that he is presumtious and rashe which taketh vpon him to anexe it For lawyers say that priueleges and grantes of Princes are not to be contracted or narrowly skanned but rather with reasonable fauour to be enlarged To be the heyre of the world There is no where by expresse woordes had any such promise made to Abraham howbeit it is contayned in those promises which we haue in the scripture For God sayde vnto hym that his seede should be multiplied lyke the sand of the sea and the starres of heauen Wherefore herein consisted How Abraham is the heyre of the world the promise that his seede should fill the whole wolrde For they are not counted his seede which haue proceded from him only as touching the flesh but which imitate hys fayth And forasmuch as such are dispersed throughout the whole worlde by them hath Abraham the inheritance of the whole world which selfe thinge is very expressedly spoken when God made this promise vnto him And in thy seede shall all nations be blessed And although all these thinges are true Christ the heyre of the whole world yet I thinke rather that this inheritance is to be referred vnto Christ For he sayth that all thinges are deliuered vnto hym of the father And Dauid writeth that he hath for hys inheritance all the Gentiles and the endes of the earth And fayth in Christ who is in this sort the heire of the whole worlde is it which iustifieth all the promises of God as we haue els where tought are to be referred to thys promise only The prophetes haue oftentymes expressed this promise of the The prophets haue expressed the kingdome of Christ by the conditions of a worldly kingdome kingdome of Christ by the propertyes and conditions of a worldly kingdome of carnall felicity For spirituall things can not by any other meanes be vnderstanded of gros wittes Sometymes they say that it shall one day come to passe that the children of Israell being dispersed and exiles shal be of the Gentiles brought home agayne in shippes to their owne place They tell forth also that kinges and princes should be the fosterers and nurces of the Iewes And they threaten destruction to those kingdomes and nations which will not obey the Israelites But all these things are chiefely to be attributed vnto our great king Iesus Christ of whome we reade in the Gospell this is the heyre come let vs kill hym Dauid in the voyce of God the father writeth of Christ Aske of me and I will geue thee the Gentiles for thyne inheritance and the borders of the earth for thy possession And in Daniell it is written of the stone hewed out without hands that it shoulde ouerthrow the principalities of this world and whē it is growen to a great huge mountayne it should possesse all things And we forasmuch as we are the members We are pertakers of the kingdome of Christ of Christ can not be excluded from this inheritance For in this selfe same epistle Paule writeth
they be moued with lesse desire to sinne and if they take lesse pleasure in their sinnes yet take they so much in them that they cannot be plucked away from them If with any zeale they heare the woorde of God yet when they haue heard it they haue it in derision when as they hope that those things which are in it promised shall happen vnto thâ—m leading their lyfe in such sort Wherfore we sée that all these thinges stray from the marke and appoynted end And seing that al these motions are of small efficacy and leaue men vnder the wrath of God there can nothing that is sound be hoped for at their handes But let vs heare what Esay in his 58. chapter pronounceth of this kinde of workes They seeke me sayth he dayly and wyll know my wayes as a nation that wrought righteousnes and had not forsaken the statutes of theyr God They aske me of the ordinaunces of iustice and they wyll draw nere vnto God Wherfore do we fast say they and thou seest it not we haue afflicted our soules and thou regardest it not Behold in the day wherein ye fast ye seeke that which ye desire and ye all seeke and require your debtes Beholde ye fast to stryfe to debate to smyte wyth the fist Is this the fast that I haue choseÌ„ These wordes of the Prophet most plainly declare that it is sinne before God to enquire after his wayes to fast for a man to afflict himself when as such workes are done without the true worshippyng of God and without piety It cannot be denied but that these are in déede goodly workes and plausible howbeit God the iust iudge reiecteth them Augustine in his bookes of confessions in himself setteth God reiecteth works though they be neuer so goodly to the shew forth vnto vs a plaine example touching this matter For he describeth the motions which he suffred in his minde before he was conuerted vnto Christ For thus he writeth in his 8. booke and 11. chapter I liued in my bond vntill the whole was broken in sonder wherwyth although beyng very little I was holden yet I was holden Thou in my eyes O Lord dydst by thy seuere mercy double the scourges of feare of shame I sayd wyth my selfe inwardly Behold now let it be done Now in a maner I knew it and dyd it not And wythin a very little I euen nowe touched it and held it and touched it not neyther helde it And the worse they beyng in custome preuayled more in me then the better thyng vnaccustomed And that very moment of tyme wherin I would become a new man the nearer it approched the greater horror it draue into me I was holdeÌ„ back by trifles of trifles by vanities of vanities by myne old wanton louers whiche priuely whispered doost thou now forsake vs And shall we neuer any more after this tyme be wyth thee And from this tyme forward wylt thou neuer vse this or that And I began now to harken vnto them a great deale lesse then halfe These things mencioneth Augustine accuseth the meane works that he did before his conuersion as sinnes Whatsoeer wanteth his perfection is sinne A similitude Of the Publicane he and accuseth them before God as sinnes whiche yet are so highly commended of these men These were in dede meanes wherby God brought Augustine vnto saluation howbeit they were still in him sinnes For he obeyed them not but corrupted them with many abuses so that he could not be with efficacy chaunged by them But whatsoeuer wanteth his due perfection is sinne But these Sophisters are like serpents called Hydra for one argument being as a hed cut of there ariseth to them an other They obiect vnto vs the Publicane which thus prayed in the temple God be mercifull vnto me a sinner And he is said to haue returned to his house iustified Wherfore say they he was a sinner wheÌ„ he prayed For we read that he was afterward iustified But his prayer pleased God Wherfore we may say they do workes acceptable vnto God euen before we be regenerate But these meÌ„ should haue remembred that this Publicane prayed which as we haue declared of Cornelius he could not haue done without faith For how shall they call vpon hym in whoÌ„ they haue not beleued Wherfore he was iustified eueÌ„ then when he prayed Nether maist thou so vnderstaÌ„d these words as though he should be then first iustified When the publicane prayed he was iustified wheÌ„ he had finished his prayers For although it be said to be afterward done yet doth it not therof follow that it was by no meanes done before He obteyned a more perfecter iustification a more ampler spirit a more nerer féelyng of the mercy of God He calleth himselfe a sinner and that not vnworthely partely for that If he were iustified why then calleth he himselfe a sinner he still felt in himselfe that which he misliked For alwayes how iust so euer we be yet are we commaunded to pray Forgeue vs our trespasses And partly for that in minde he called to minde how greuous sinnes he had committed before he was iustified And holy men ought in their prayers chiefly to weigh and to consider how great the burthen of their sinne is For when with their prayers they come vnto God they are moued with a true repentaunce to say with Dauid My bones are consumed away in my crying out continually day and night is thy hand made heauy vpon me my iuyce is dryed vp as the moystnes of the earth is dryed vp in the sommer Euils without number haue compassed me about Myne iniquities haue closed me in on euery side that I could not see they are encreased more then the heares of my hed My hart hath forsakeÌ„ me I acknowledge my wicked actes my sinne is alwayes before me Against thee against thee haue I sinned don euil before thee And to that end holy men should afterward the better beware of sinnes God stirreth vp in theÌ„ a most sharp feling of his wrath the they may acknowlege what they had deserued vnles God had holpeÌ„ them by his sonne He openeth also theyr eyes that they may se what his fatherlye chaistisemente is towardes them and that the same maye be the better felt he oftentimes differreth from them the tast and fealing of his mercy Therefore they crye Make me to heare thy ioye and gladnes that my bones being humbled may reioyce hide thy face from my sinnes and blot out all mine iniquities A cleane harte create in me o God and renew a right spirite in my bowells cast me not away from thy face and take not away thine holy spirite from me Wherefore they also that are They that are iustified do still pray for theyr sinnes iustefied doo pray that that infirmity which is still remayning be not imputed vnto them They call to minde the thinges wherin they haue before greauously sinned and they
compelled to bring forth thornes and bryars And how it is by reason of sinne made desert and vnfruitefull both the scriptures euery where reach vs and experience if we would consider it would sufficiently declare vnto vs. Esay sayth in hys 24. chapiter The Sunne shall be confounded the Moone shall be ashamed And in the ouerthrow of Babilon the same prophet writeth that the Moone and Starres shall not geue light and that the Sunne shall be couered with darkenes Of the heauens Dauid pronounceth From the beginninge the heauens are the workes of thyne handes they shall perish but thou abidest As a garment shalt thou chaunge them and they shall be chaunged Moses sayth in the Lawe I will geue an heauen of brasse and an earth of yron Which thing we knowe came to passe in the time of Elias wherein the heauen was so shut vp that for the space of thrée yeares and an halfe it gaue no rayne Wherefore that is a goodly wise saying which Ose the prophet hath on the contrary part wheÌ„ he sayth I will heare heauen and heauen shall heare the earth and the earth shalt heare the wheate wyne and oyle and they shall heare Israell Finallye how euery creature serueth the godlye the scripture euery where declareth The sea gaue place vnto the Israelites All creatures serue the godly the rocke powred out water the heauen gaue a cloud and Manna the Sonne stode still at Iosuas commaundement at Ezechias commaundement it went backe All which thinges are plaine to se in Christ onely in whom al things are All creatures serue Christ after a wonderful maner renewede When he was borne the heauen made ioye and shone by night the Angelles were presente and sange the starre lead the wise meÌ„ wheÌ„ he died the Sunne was obscured al things wrapped in darknes the stons were knockt together the vayle was rent a sonder yâ— graues were opened wheÌ„ he arose the earth treÌ„bled the Aungels were present at hand when he ascended vp into heauen a cloud embraced him And wheÌ„ he shall returne againe yâ— who le worlde shal be shaken the powers of heauen shall be moued And againe after yâ— resurrectioÌ„ there shall be so great an innouation of things yâ— Esay in his 30. chapter sayth That the Moone shall shyne lyke the Sunne and the lyght of the Sunne After the iudgemente a great innouation of creatures shall be seuen folde greater if it be compared vnto thys present lyght But is there any iniury done vnto creatures when without any their fault they are so vexed by reasoÌ„ of the sinnes of men Chrisostome aunswereth that they haue no iniury done vnto thâ— For if saith he they were made for my sake there is no iniustice committed if for my Vnto creatures is done no iniury in that they are vexed for mans sake sake they suffâ—r Farther he addeth That the consideratioÌ„ of ryght wrong is not to be transferred vnto thinges insensible and wantyng reason Last of all if for our sake they be afflicted when our felicity shall appeare they shall also together wyth vs be renewed The same Chrisostome in his 22. homely vpon Genesis manifestly declareth that it is neither vniust nor absurd if the creature be for mans sake compelled to suffer some calamaties For if a man saith he peraduenture incurre the displeasure of a king not onely he himselfe is punished but also all hys family is oppressed Man by reason of A similitude All creatures are after a sorte the famâ—ly of man sinne is become obnoxious vnto the curse and vnto the wrath of God wherfore it is no maruayl if all creatures which are the family of man do grone and sorrow together wyth hym Farther he bringeth out of the scriptures that euery creature was drowned in the floud that in Sodome together with those most detestable men all thinges were burnt and consumed that in Egipt by reason of the obstinacy of Pharao all creatures were destroyed And in his booke de reparandis lapsis ad Theodorum he declareth That after the day of iudgement all thyngs shall bee renewed for that the glory of the Lord shall be made manifest as which shall fill and occupy all thynges The Gréeke Scholies acknowledge here as we do the figure Prosopopoeia affirme that therfore the creature shall be deliuered from corruption for that for our sake it was made obnoxious vnto corruption And they declare that the adoption of the sonnes of God shal be reuealed for that now the sonnes of God are conuersant together with the sonnes of the deuil neither can they easely be discerned from theÌ„ Hereunto may be added that we are oppressed with afflictions closed about with infirmity and made vncleane by reason of many falles All these thinges although they make not voyde the adoption which we haue thorough faith yet they so obfuscate it that it can not be known but by the inwarde testimony of the spirit But our glory shal be reueled wheÌ„ tyme coÌ„meth and shal not only appeare but also be geuen vs. For we haue it now presently but not as yet full and perfect But then shall it be wholy made perfecte and shal obtaine whatsoeuer is now wantyng Not of his owne will but by reason of him which hath subdued it vnder â–ª hope These words as Chrisostome noteth attribute not vnto the creature either will or faculty of hoping but only declare the might of God which hath made the creatures subiect vnto vs to be broken and slayne for our commodity To be subdued against the wyll is agaynst the prones and redines which is by nature planted in theÌ„ For we sée yâ— euery creature ernestly desireth to be preserued by Euery creature desireth his owne sauegard Appetite grafted by nature is not perpetually voide al maner of meanes yâ— it can withstandeth his own corruptioÌ„ howbeit it obeyeth of necessity to the hurt of it selfe it serueth the necessity of men In that it is subdued consider the power of God in that it resisteth consider the appetite which is grafted into it by nature which can not be perpetually frustrated And hope signifieth here nothing els but the disposition or order of God which is such that the creature shall one day be deliuered and this seruitude wherwith it is oppressed shal one day haue an end Here againe Ambrose maketh mencion of many things touching the labours of the Sunne of the Moone and of the starres And he addeth that euen the drawing beastes also do vndoubtedly for our sakes sigh and grone and forasmuch as euery day ariseth vnto them new labour and afflictioÌ„s they earnestly desire to be one day at the length at rest But this can they not attaine before Opinion of the Philosophers our estate shall be renued I know yâ— philosophers deride these thinges which both dreame that the world hath bene from without beginning and thinke that the orbes of heauen are moued with an equall
These heauens were after the floud put in their place againe and restored by the word of God and now are reserued for fire Yea Peter afterward addeth that we according to the promise shall haue a new heaueÌ„ a new earth That promise was made in the 65. chapter of Esay and repeted in the 21. chapter of the Apocalipse Although it there be written of the sea that it shall haue no more being But Augustine in the 16. chapter which we haue now cited doubteth whether those wordes are so to be vnderstand as though the sea should vtterly cease to be as being now with the burninges sucked and dried vp or whether it shall remayne still but yet renued and changed Augustine in the same place saith that no man that he can tel of knoweth touching that burning fire Of the burning fire which shal be in the last daye what maner of thing it shal be or from whence it shall come when as yet our schoolemen at this day are not touching that matter ashamed to faine and imagine infinite thinges For some say that that fyre shal be elemental fyre which shall at the commaundement of God discend downe and burne all thinges some faine that the beames of the Sunne shall by reuerberation be multiplied that by them all thinges may be kindled as we sée it commeth to passe that when the Sunne beames do strick â–ª vpon a glasse of stele if there be put vnto it a little flaxe it will kindle and be set on fire Augustine addeth that the elementes shall then put of those qualityes which wer before agreeable vnto our corruptible bodies shal put on other qualityes which may be agreeable vnto our immortall and gloryfied bodyes that the world beyng made new may be aptly applyed vnto men made new by immortalyty But here I would gladly demaund of Augustine whether he thought that the bodyes of the saintes shall after the iudgement liue in this world or no Which thing if he affirme he shall séeme to make with the sect called Millenarij But if he deny and holde that which we beleue that our bodies shall be rapt vp into heauen what shal nede this application of the qualities of elements vnto our immortall bodies Vnles peraduenture he will say that although these thinges shall nothing conduce vnto our immortality yet there shal be a certaine analogy and prâ—portion betwéene them being now made immortall and our bodies glorified For if they as Chrisostome sayth were for our sinnes made obnoxious vnto corruption it is A place of Genesis declared mete that we being deliuered from death they also be deliuered from the burthen of corruption Neither vndoubtedly is that which is written in the booke of Genesis any let vnto this innouation where God sayde vnto Nohe That all the dayes of the earth shall be sowyng and haruest cold and heate sommer and wynter day and night For these thinges he saith shall come to passe in the dayes of the earth But those dayes shal be the dayes of heauen and as Esay saith a Sabaoth of Sabaoths Ieremy also in his 33. chapiter saith Can I make frustrate the couenant which I haue made wyth day and nyght As though hée woulde saye it can not be made frustrate So sayth he shall the couenaunte whiche I haue made wyth the house of Iuda and wyth the house of Dauyd be ratefyed The couenaunte whereof the Prophete now speaketh of the sendynge of the Messias in hys appoynted tyme is not to bée drawen beyonde the tyme of the present estate But Christ when in the Gospel he saith Heauen and earth shall passe away but my words shall not passe away How heauen and earth shall passe away taketh not passing away for destruction but foretelleth yâ— there shall one day come a certaine chaunge which yet can neuer happen vnto his wordes For they shal alwayes abide vnmoueable and the truth of them shall neuer be peruerted Of this interpretation Dauid is the author in his 102. Psalme The workes saith he of thine handes are the heauens They shall perishe but thou abidest as a garment shalt thou chaunge them and they shall be chaunged Hereunto also agréeth Peter for when he had said that the heauens shall perish and the elements shall melt away with heat straight way he added that we accordyng to the promise shall haue a new heauen and a new earth And Ierome expounding the 65. chap. of Esay alledgeth in this sence a sentence of Paul out of the latter epistle to the Cor. the 7. chapter For he sayth That the figure of thys world passeth away as though he would not say that the nature of thynges or the world it selfe shall perish but onely the figure that is the state and forme of thys tyme. And he proueth that the innouation which we put signifieth not corruption of nature by a similitude taken of the degrées of our age For when of children A similitude we are made yong men of yong men meÌ„ of meÌ„ olde men we are not as touching the nature of man destroyed but by those changes we are transferred froÌ„ a lower estate to that which is more excellent Wherfore when that last burning shall come which the scriptures plainly teach shall come the whole world shall be set on fire and as gold and siluer when they are melted in the fire perish not but are made more pure so the world shall not by that fire be destroyed but be renued Of this minde also were some of the Ethnike writers as Heraclitus Ephesius and Empedocles Siculus and others which peraduenture had receiued these things of their elders but had corrupted them with wicked opinioÌ„s There haue bene also many of the Christians in the olde time which thought that the creatures shall remaine after the comming of the Lord and that they shall serue the elect in some stede For they thought that when Christ shall returne there shall then be onely The opinioÌ„ of the secâ—e called Millenaru The first second resurrection the resurrection of the godly which also they called the first resurrection Betwene which and the last resurrection wherin the wicked also shall be raysed vp shall be a thousand yeares and all this time Christ shall in this world raigne together with the saintes and all this space the deuill shall be bound as it is described in the boke of the Apoc. And they seme to haue taken an occasion of their opinion not only out of the reuelation of Iohn but also out of the prophets For they when they prophecy of the kingdome of Christ make mencion of many thinges which seme to pertaine to the kingdomes of this world and vnto pleasures and delights And those which were in this errour were of the Grecians called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of the latines Some men of notable learning were Millenarâ—â— Millenarij Neither vndoubtedly were there only common or vulgare men patrones of this sentence but also
thinges he hath of God So Paul to the Corrinthians when he had sayd that he had laboured more then all others added But not I but the grace of God whiche is in me The axe is not sayde to make the arke but the carpenter which vseth the axe so we also are the instruments of God both to wil to worke but it is God which worketh those things in We are the instrumeÌ„ts of God vs. Here they obiect then are not we lordes of our owne actions if it be God which worketh our workes in vs. These men vnderstand not that God the creator with so great wisedome worketh in all thinges that he moueth them not but in such maner as they ought to be moued Wherefore seing our will is so made of God that it caÌ„ not be compelled God driueth it not by force to do any thing vnwillingly The wil of man cannot be coÌ„pelled but of himselfe geueth vnto it to worke fréely and of his owne accord And therfore are we lordes of our owne actions in as much as we do nothing by compulsion Wherefore the Apostle hath now excluded both our endeuors and also our workes but yet not to that entent we should liue idely But because here is entreated of predestination and of the eternal election of God therefore these things We must not by reasoÌ„ of the doctrine of predestination geue our selues to liue â—â—elly are not to be farther dilated then the place it selfe will suffer After that we are once regenerate and that we haue the spirite of God all occasions of sluggishnes and slouthfulnes is vtterly taken away In the interpretacion of Ambrose this is to be noted that first he confesseth that that which is asked oughte not to be in the will of the asker but in the choyse of the geuer Which sentence if it might be taken playnly maketh very much on our side but he spake it in a farre other sence For straight way he addeth For whether it be mete to be geuen or no it ought to be weighed by the iudgement of the geuer Dauid and Saul required pardon but God iustly iudged which of them asked with a good mynde and which with an euill and his iustice may be declared in the euent For wheÌ„ eche of theÌ„ fell into great narrow straights touching their kingdome Dauid declared hys worthynes which beyng driuen out of his house by hys sonne with a patient mynde bare that chance neither suffred he Semey to be killed when he cursed hym But Saul beyng broken with aduersities dispayred of the Lord and sought helpe at the handes of a witche and wicked spirite These thinges declare that the iudgement of God was not deceaued So he thus vnderstandeth these wordes It is not of hym that willeth nor of him that runneth that it is not inough to will vnles the iudgement of God confirme that will to be good But this interpretacion is manifestly repugnant with that particle But of God that hath mercy For that which Paul referreth vnto the mercy of God this man referreth to iudgement Chrisostome although he thinketh that this clause It is not of hym that willeth nor of hym that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy to be an antithesis pronounced vnder the person of the aduersary yet because as I suppose he séeth that that agréeth not he so laboureth to interpretate this place otherwise that although they are counted to be the wordes of the Apostle yet therof he sayth followeth no absurdity for the Apostle ment to teache nothing els but that all is not of him that willeth nor of hym that runneth for we haue nede also of the grace of God and therefore we must not put any confidence in our workes and vertues But we haue alredy before sufficiently tought that this is an interpretacion not according to the place For they which retayne vnto themselues any thing and remitte not all whole to God although that seme to be but a litle and a modicum yet is it repugnant to the holy scriptures For they most playnly teach that as touching this matter there lieth nothing in our power And when Paul sayth that boasting is excluded not by the lawe of workes forasmuch as euen this modicum which these men seke to retayne can be nothing els but a worke they say in wordes onely and to no purpose that there is nothing whereof we can glory for in very dede they leue matter to glory of Of these things Chrisostome afterward speaketh when he interpretateth these wordes And if God minding to declare his wrath c. Wherefore it appeareth that both he and also others tooke occasion of their interpretacion of Origen For the scripture saith vnto Pharao For this same purpose haue I raysed thee vp to declare in thee my power and that my name mought be shewed forth throughout all the earth Wherfore he hath mercy on whome he will and whome he will he hardeneth Augustine to Simplicianus thus knitteth together these wordes with that which hath bene already spoken It behoued the Apostle to proue that it is not of man that willeth but of God that hath mercy Therefore he bringeth scripture which testifieth this thyng of Pharao namely that he was to thys ende stirred vp of God that he moughte in him shewe forth his power This conclusion is diuers from the former conclusion Farther he noteth that the conclusion here is diuers from the conclusion going before For he here saith not it is not of him that willeth nor of him that contemneth but of God reiecting as he before sayde It is not of hym that willeth nor of hym that runneth but of God that hath mercy Of this diuersity this I sée to be It coÌ„meth of him that doth ill to be condemned but not of him that doth wel to be saued Why God reiecteth not in consideration of workes foresene Here men are more offended the reason for that euill workes deserue calamity and destruction but good works deserue not felicity Wherefore it may come of the euill man to be condemned but it can not come of hym that worketh well to be saued And yet ought we not therefore to thynke that God is by euyll workes foresene led that he will not haue mercye on any man for that dependeth onelye of hys mere wyll For as touchyng some those whom he hath decréed to electe are no lesse corrupt in hys syght then those whome he reiecteth But thys is worthy the noting that there is greater controuersie touching this part theÌ„ there was about yâ— part which weÌ„t before For it is les displeasaÌ„t vnto meÌ„ iâ— they be said to be predestinated and elected then if they be sayd to be hated and reiected of the mere will of God wtout all consideration of merites when as yet the consideration in ech is a like Of Pharao it is written in the 9 â–ª chapiter of Exodus To this ende haue I raysed thee vp to shew forth in
noted as a vice and that daungerous And as the difference is greate betwene a good and an euill zeale so also the effectes which are of other deriued are much diuers Christ was kindled with a good zele when he draue Effectes of good ◠euill zeale the biers and sellers out of the temple ouerthrowinge theyr tables and chayres With the selfe same zeale was Phinees moued when he thruste thorow the moste filthy whoremongers Contrariwise the effect of an euill zeale we may beholde in Paul who through zeale persecuted y◠church of Christ And in Iohn it is writen y◠y◠the time should be when they shoulde thinke y◠they do God highe seruice which afflict the faithful of Christ Peter also being kindled with an immoderate zeale drue out his sword to kill them which laid hands vpon Christe There is also an other difference For an euill zeale engendreth hatred but a good zeale hath ioyned with it charity For Samuell although with a great zeale he worshipped ▪ God yet a long time he mourned for Saul And nothing is more repugnante vnto euill zeale then charity as vnto a good zeale is chiefly repugnant selfe loue They also are of a contrary affect which are either so blockishe that they are stirred vp with no desire of good thinges or els are so corrupt that they are not afeard to boast of wicked and villanous factes These thinges generally spoken we will now applye vnto the An euill zele of the Iewes Iewes They had a zeale towardes the lawe ceremonies and outward workes for that they excéedingly loued and had in admiration and onelye embraced these thinges wherfore it wonderfully gréeued them to be excluded from them neither could they abide that the Ethnikes shoulde be admitted into the fellowship of true religion Wherfore they were affected with a zeale but yet with an euil zeale for that as Paul saith it wanted knowledge But forasmuche as Paul séemeth to be moued with a desire and good wil towards the Iewes by reason of this zeale there ariseth a question whether anye sinnes may so please vs that of them we shoulde Whether i◠be lawful to take pleasure of sins A distinctiō of sinnes take pleasure or that therfore should be engendred any good will We must put a difference betweene sinnes for there are certayne sinnes enormious and grosse which all men vnderstand to be sinnes and there are other sinnes which although they be condemned before God and are in very déede sinnes for that they are committed of men not regenerate who are as yet euill trées neither directe they their workes vnto God as they ought to do yet are they morally good Wherefore if we meane of grosse sinnes and speake of sinnes as they are of theyr owne nature properly and truely then none that is godly will delight in this kind of sinne For if a man loue God with all his hart of necessity he wil abstaine from al sinnes which are manifestly repugnant vnto the will of God and vnto his law but per accidēs that is by chaunce it is possible that some pleasure may bee taken in them as if we be now deliuered the more greater the wicked actes are whiche we haue cōmitted the more shal we therfore reioyce And if a man haue ben before proud and arrogant after some fal being repētant do behaue himself more modestly he wil somwhat reioyce by reason of his sinne Which thing also happeneth if after faultes comitted be made good lawes and an order appointed that such faults be not afterward committed For we reioyce that such an occasion was offred And because that as Paul saith where sinne hath abounded grace also shall abound and vnto We reioyce in sinnes 〈◊〉 accidens them that loue God all thinges worke to good we will graunt that by a phrase of speach although not proper but per accidens the godly may somtimes take some pleasure of sinnes But if we speake of moral works which are done of them that Good moral workes delight vs althoughe they be sinnes are not regenerate if we consider them simply we can not but reioyce in them For euen as it is a pleasure and that no small pleasure to consider the natures of herbes the proprieties of liuing creatures of precious stones and of the starres so also is it a delight to sée the actes of notable men which actes God would haue to be in the nature of man for the preseruation of common wealthes and of ciuil discipline Who taketh not pleasure when he readeth the honest life and vertuous actes of Socrates Or when he weigheth with himselfe the notable actes done by Scipio Africanus and also when he séeth the things which are in our time done of notable men when yet they are voyde of Christian religion Yea forasmuch as they haue a certaine shew and countenaunce of sounde vertues the godly so much delight in them that they are not seldome moued ernestly to pray for the saluation of those mē thus thinking with themselues If God would vouchsafe to change these men and to draw them vnto Christ they should be a great ornament and A similitude help vnto the Church neither do they easely dispayre of theyr saluation As a skilfull husbandman if paraduenture he sée a ground very ranke with brakes and wedes desireth to buy the same for he thus thinketh That if the noughty herbes were weded out and the brakes with a plowe rooted out that grounde woulde plentifullye bring forthe good corne And so also will he doo if he sée wilde vine trées or wild oliue tréees of their owne accord spring in any place for he will thereby iudge the ground to be méeke both for vine trées and for fat oliue trées if it should be well husbanded Christ also our Sauior when a young man had asked him counsell what he should do to attaine vnto eternall life and he had answered kepe the commaundements and the young man made answere that he had thereunto endeuored himselfe euen from his youth which yet was not true Iesus notwithstanding delighted in that his endeuour such as it was of enquiring touching saluation and of obeying the commaundements of God as much as lay in him For this is the meaning of that which Marke writeth in the 10. chapiter that Christ loued him namely being moued with mercy by reason of his present calamity for that he labouring and going about to attayne vnto the righteousnes of works fell away from it And the Lord also when he had made answere that the greatest commaundement is that we should loue God with all our hart with all our soule and with all our strenthes and that the next commaundement is that we should loue our neighbour as our selues and a certaine scribe had commended this answere of the Lord he sayd vnto him Thou art not farre from the kingdome of heauen although he yet beleued not neither was yet by Christ iustified But the Lord