to the fathers when things deuine wer shewed vnto them who talked with them when sondry formes and images appeared vnto them in the name of god Iohn 12. and wrought with them Straight way it is aunswered The sonne which is in the bosome of the father he hath reueled him he was to man the most true interpretor of the father An other place is in the gospell the 12. chap where it is thus word for word writtē Therfore they could not beleue bycause agayn sayd Esay He hath blinded their eyes hardened their hart that they should not see with their eyes nor vnderstād with their hart and should be conuerted and I should heale them These thinges sayd Esay when he saw his glory and spake of hym Vndoubtedly these two pronounes His and of Him do without cōtrouersy signify Christ for a litle before the Euāgelist had sayd Though he namely Christ had done so many signes before thē yet beleued they not in hym that the saying of Esay the Prophet might be fulfilled that he sayd c. And to this sentence which in very dede is natural do agree Chrisostome Ierome Cirillus Augustine Farthermore the wordes of Hosea the Prophet which he hath in the 12. Hose 12 chap are diligently to be weighed And thus speaketh the Lord there I haue spoken vnto the Prophetes and I haue multiplied visions and vsed similitudes by the hand of the Prophetes c. Hereby we vnderstand that similitudes were not geuen vnto the Prophetes from the beginning but god himselfe spake vnto them By examples it is declared both that God himselfe also that āgels somtymes appered But now must we by examples and such as are most euident confirme that the appearynges of god are vtterly distinct from the visions of aungels First it is declared vnto vs in the boke of Genesis that Iacob saw a ladder which reached from earth euen to heauen and by it the aungels both ascended and discended And at the top of the ladder namely in heauen stode the Lord from whom Iacob heard noble and large promises Hereby is gathered vnlesse we wil stil be blind that aungels shewed themselues in one kind of images and god himself appeared in an other forme This selfe same thing may we see in Esay when he sawe the Lord sitting in his throne and with him two Seraphins whiche cried mutually the one to the other Holy holy holy And with so great reuerence they worshipped God which was in the middest that with their two vpper winges they couered their face and with the two neither wings their feete Who seeth not here a great difference betwene god and the aungels which appeared I will not speake of Ezechiell which saw aungels in the formes of creatures namely of an Oxe an Egle and a Lion by whom wheles were turned but God himselfe sat in the hyghest parte in the forme of the sonne of man Of Daniell also was sene the auncient of dayes vnto whom came the sonne of man And he addeth that thrones were there put bookes opened and a certain forme of a iudgement appoynted then he maketh mencion of aungels of which he sayth were present ten thousand and ten hundreth thousand whiche ministred vnto hym And here we heare what great difference there is betwene God and the angels which ministred Farther there is a place most manifest in Exodus when God beyng angry with the people denied that he would go any farther with them thorough the desert least being prouoked with theyr sinnes he shuld at once vtterly destroy them But he promised to send his aungell with which promise Moses was not content and sayd that he would by no meanes go with the people except god himself would go together with thē And vndoubtedly by prayer and constantly abiding in his sentence at the length he ouercame and as he desired had god for the guide of their iorney How can these men therfore say that god himselfe was not present vnder those formes but only angels were sene in such images Moreouer let vs remember that Moses as it is writtē in the same boke of Exodus desired of God to see his face which his request god for that he loued him excedingly would not vtterly deny but yet he would not graunt him all that he required Wherfore he aunswered My face thou shalt by no meanes see bycause man shall not see me lyue but thou shalt looke vpon my hinder parts namely my backe What is more manifest than this testimony Surely god by certayne wordes here promiseth to appeare vnto Moses in the shape of a man of whose forme or image Moses should see not the face but the backe And the same he faythfully performed vnto Moses for as god passed by Moses sawe the backe of his image by the rocke and heard the wonderfull and noble names of god rehearsed with a most loude voyce Which when he saw he fell prostrate to the earth and worshipped and it is not to be doubted but that he gaue vnto hym that adoration which is onely due vnto the onely god For forasmuch as he beleued that he was there present according vnto his promise it is not to be had in controuersy but that he worshipped him as being present in very dede And vndoubtedly god except he had shewed himselfe present in very dede at the arke mercy seat should haue throwen the Israelites hedlōg into idolatry if he would haue had onely aungels to aunswere such as came to aske counsell for that he commaunded them to cal vpon him and to worship him there To these may be added that history whiche is written in the booke of kinges of Micheas the Prophet whiche prophecied before Achab king of Israell and sayd that he sawe god with whō was present an host of aungels he heard him aske who shal deceaue Achab and that one offred himself to be a lying spirite in the mouth of the Prophetes of the king Achab. By this vision also we vnderstand that there was an assured and notable difference betwene god and the aungels whiche appeared all together vnto the Prophet Wherfore the gift of god which he gaue vnto the fathers is not to be diminished or to be extenuated we must cōfesse that he was in very dede presēt whē he appeared forasmuch as we reade that it was so done and there is nothing that letteth as farre as can be gathered out of the holy scriptures neither is the very nature of god any thing against it that it could not be done It were not sound to attribute vnto aungels all those things which in the scripture are read of such visiōs For so might we easely slip so farre that at the last we should beleue that the word was not immediatly created by god but by angels at his commaundement Wherfore let vs confesse that god was present in very dede God was present in verye dede whē it is sayd that he appeared vnder diuers
places of the scriptures which should be superfluous now to declare Some supposed that some certayne spirite was sent from God whiche appeared vnto the people in a visible forme and reproued them as he was commaunded And they persuade them selues that he was first sene in Gilgal and there commaunded the people to ascend from thence to a place whiche was afterward called Bochim of weapyng The Hebrew word Melach is not agaynst this interpretation and that maketh with it also bycause he speaketh as God The aungell speaketh in the person of God I haue made you sayth he to ascend out of Egypt With whiche selfe same kinde of speache the Aungell in Genesis spake to Abraham and in Exodus to Moses Where it is also written that God put his name in him But it semed vnto the auncient fathers That aungell whiche spake vnto the fathers is thought to haue ben christ that that aungell which in the olde Testament appeared spake in the name of God was Christ the sonne of God For it is writtē in Iohn No man hath sene God at any tyme the sonne which in the bosome of the father he hath declared him These wordes declare vnto vs that what soeuer thinges are sayd to haue ben spoken by God in the olde Testament the same were made open by Christ But other suppose that this messanger or legate was a minister of the Churche that is either a Priest or a Prophet whose office was to reprehend the sinnes of the people Amonge the Hebrew Rabines Leui the sonne of Gerson Leui the sonne of Gerson doth therfore thinke this to be very likely bycause it is not conuenient that an aungell should openly speake to so great a multitude But his reason is very weake for seing God whē he gaue the lawe spake in the mount Sina to the whole multitude of the Hebrues what should let but that he could teache an angell to do the same But this is of some what more strength bycause it is declared in the history that this messanger ascended from Gilgal to Bochim For if he were an angell it semeth that it should rather haue ben sayd that he discended from heauen not ascended from Gilgal to Bochim And surely it appeareth a fayned thing that they fayne that he first appeared in Gilgal and then called the people together to Bochim For he mought haue in Gilgal expressed vnto the people those thinges whiche he afterward declared in Bochim Wherfore the Hebrues affirme that this Prophet or Priest receaued in Gilgal the spirite and inspiration of God wherewith he was stirred vp and appoynted to the assembly of the people whiche then for certaine causes were assembled in Bochim Praises of Phineas the priest there to expresse the commaundementes of God to the people yea they say that that Prophet was Phineas the Priest the nephew of Aaron I meane the sonne of Eleazar for he was a very seuere man and most zelous of godlynesse and righteousnesse In the booke of Numb it is mencioned how he slew Zamri a prince of the family of Simeon namely for this bycause he cōmitted open fornicatiō with a Madianitishe harlot And the father of the harlot was a prince among the Madianites And God manifestly allowed the zeale of Phineas For he promised him the priesthode of his nation with an euerlastyng couenaunt and ceassed from destroyeng the people being mitigated with his noble acte Phineas therfore was not onely godly but also of a stoute and valiaunte courage He feared not for gods cause to entre into grieuous hatreds and to put himselfe to present daunger Wherfore Dauid in the 106. Psalme rehearsing this history commendeth him after this sorte Phineas stode vp and reuenged and the plague ceassed and it was coūted vnto him for righteousnesse from generation to generation for euer Wherfore that acte whiche by his owne nature mought haue semed cruell and horrible did not onely please God and was of him allowed for a iust acte but he also deliuered the people from a most grieuous plague wherewith they were then vexed The counte of the yeares if they be rightly counted is not agaynst this opinion now alleged Yea and it is found in this selfe same boke that he was on lyue when warre was made agaynst the tribe of Beniamin to reuenge the wicked acte perpetrated in Gabaa R. Salomoh Rabbi Salomoh also declareth that the booke which is entituled Sedar Olam testifieth the same Kimhi Likewise Dauid Kimhi the old Hebrues seme to encline to this opinion But what soeuer he was I thinke it skilleth not much This ought to be most certain and sure that the thinges declared by him were the wordes of God Where Gilgal lyeth Gilgal is a citie lyeng in the playne of Iordane not farre from the citie of Iericho And it had that name hereof bycause there Iosuah by the commaundemēt of the Lord prouided that the people of Israel whiche had wandred vncircumcised thoroughe the wildernesse celebrated a solēpne circumcision And when they had so done God aunswered that he had remoued from thē the reproche of Egypt For Gal signifieth in Hebrew to turne away and to remoue Moreouer in that place but not at that tyme but long before was the tabernacle the Arke of the couenaunt Namely in the tyme of Iosuah when the people passed ouer Iordane And by that meanes that place was counted religious Wherfore Saul the first king of the Hebrues was annoynted in Gilgal But Bochim was so called of thē whiche wept as we shall strayght waye heare And it is called so now by the figure Prolepsis bycause it was not yet named by that name And as it appeareth by the history they goyng from Gilgal ascended to Bochim Furthermore we must note that the legate speaketh not in hys owne name but in the name of God yet he vseth not those kinde of phrases which the other Prophetes did namely Thus saith the Lord. c. The word of the Lord came vnto me c. And in rehearsing the benefites bestowed on the people First of all he maketh mencion of the delyuery of their fathers out of Egypte bycause that had newly happened vnto the Hebrues The benefites of God are like wordes which testifie of hys nature goodnesse And God to the end the knowledge of him should not be blotted out vseth to put men in mynde of those benefites that he hath bestowed on thē and will haue thē to be as certain wordes expressing his nature and goodnesse vnto vs. And he alwayes begynneth his rehearsall at thinges that are latest done and of them he claymeth vnto him selfe titles or names attributed vnto him God taketh surnames by hys benefites by whiche he would be both called vpon and also knowen for at the beginning God was called vpon by that that he created heauen and earth and afterward by that that he was the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob After that
236. 13.1 Let eueri soul be subiect 262 b 13.1 Powers ar ordained of God 260. b. 1. Corinth 2.15 He that is spirituall discerneth all thinges 262. 6.1 Dare anye of you hauyng a cause agaynst an other 256. b 6.13 14 The body is not for fornication 229. b 7.5 Defraud not one another except it be for a time 94. 7.11 If the womā depart let her remain vnmaried or let her bee reconciled 222. b 7.14 Els were your chyldrē vncleane but now ar they holy 182 7.15 If the vnfaithful depart 86 7.37 He dothe well c. that wyll kepe his virgin 46. 8.4 We know that an Idol is nothing in the world 69. b 10.24 Non quae sua sunt quaerētes Such as seeke not their owne 38. b 10.27 If anye that is an infidell byd you c. 44. b. 45. b 11.5 Euery woman that prayeth or prophecieth barcheaded 93 13.2 If I had al fayth 130 13.12 We shal see him face to face 121. 14.34 Let your women keepe silence c. 93 15.44 It is raysed a spiritual body 211 Galath 1.8 Though we or an angel from heauen c. 262 1.15 c. When it pleased God to reueale his sonne in me c. I communicated not with fleshe and bloud c. 265 3.19 It was ordayned by angels in the hand c. 120 Ephes 5.18 Be not dronke with wyne c. but speake in psalmes c. and songes 103 Philip. 4.8 Whatsoeuer things are honest 250 Collossi 3.16 Let the woorde of Christe abounde in you c. in psalmes c. 103 1. Thes 5.22 Ab omni specie ma la abstinete Refrain from al apparance of ill 18. b 1. Timo. 2.1 Supplications praiers intercessions and geuynge of thankes 44 2.11 I permit not a woman to teache c. 93 3.3 No striker 146. b 4.8 Bodely exercise profits lytle but. c. 140. 279 Titus 1.7 No striker 146. b 2.3 Women should be teachers of honest thinges c. 93 Hebru 7.2 Abraham payed tenthes c. 261 13.4 Hooremongers and adulterers God wyl iudge 254. b 13.16 To do good and to distribute c. 251. b Iacob 1.13 God tempteth no mā 79. b 2.10 Who so keepeth the whole law c. 53 1. Peter 4.17 Iudgement begin at the house of God 234. b Apocal. 19.10 22.8 9. I fell downe to woorshpp before the feete c. 69. b ¶ The common places contayned in this booke OF prediction or treasō 36. b Of Masse 41 Of teares 62 Of Sacrifice 63. b Of Idolatrye 68 Of a league 73. b Of truth and of a lye 87 Of dissimulacion 89. b ¶ Whether it be lawfull to lye to preserue the lyfe of oure neighbours 90 ¶ Whether it be lawfull for subiectes to rise against their princes 90 ¶ Whether it bee lawfull for the godly to haue peace with the vngodly 99 Of musicke and songes 102 Of visions or in what sorte and how much God may be knowen of men 118 Of myracles 126 Of Dreames 134. b Of the affections of enuye and emulacion 141. b Of mercy 142 Of a good intent 132 Of Matrimonye and hauing of Concubines 153. b Of ambition 157. b Of murther of Parentes or kinsfolkes called paracidium 158 Of a fable and apollogy 159 Of wyne and dronkennes 161. b Of murther 165. b ¶ How synne dependeth of God 166. b ¶ Whether we cā resist the grace of God or no. 167. b ¶ How God sayth that hee wyll not geue that which he wil giue and contrarily 174. b Of bastards and children vnlawfully borne 177. b ☞ Whether the sonne shal beare the iniquity of the father 178. b Of thinges which were taken by the right of workes 186 Of prescription 188 Of custome 189 Of the vow of Iiphtah 192 Of sedicion 197 Of the vow of the Nazarits 201 Of Sacrifice 206 Of the vision of Angels 208 ☞ Whether it be lawful for children to mary without the consent of their parentes 214 Of playes 218 Of hooredome fornication 129 Of the head of the church 241 Of Securitye 246. b Of the reconciliation of the husbande and the wyfe after that adultry hath ben cōmitted 247 Of a Magistrate 255 Of merites 272 Of fasting 274 Of Rapte 283 Of daunses 286 FINIS ⧠Faultes escaped in the printing desiring thee gentle Reader to correct the same in thy booke before thou beginnest to read this worke which shal helpe thee much in the vnderstanding of those places The order of which correction here vnder thou maiest see The letters a. and. b. which stand by the numbers signify the sides of euery leafe a. signifieng the first syde and b. the second syde Leafe Lyne Faultes Corrected 2. a 3 iudged and iudged 3. b 50 he Greeke the Greke 4. a 20 not reuenge reuenge 7. a 6 holy hylly 10. a 23 region religion 11. a 9 contamined contaminated 11. a 20 This is my This is in my 22. a 48 to vnprofita not vnprofitable 25. a 24 word wordes 25. b 20 wayling wayting 31. b 5 their maters their own mat 31. b 8 greuous suffer greuous 31. b 30 least left 32. a 34 the wel valle the valleys 35. a 2 helpe for the helpe from the 38. b 38 deceaued receaued 39. a 22 ceaseth not to ceaseth to be 40. a 13 signes synnes 43. b 28 saluation salutacion 47. b 47 stranger stronger 48. a 1 that none that to none 49. a 1 obey admoni obey their admo 52. b 25 contemne continue 53. a 10 workers workes 57. a 39 misery mistery 60. a 18 by colour by no colour 61. a 18 weyed weeded 62. a 9 offer offered 62. a 29 sacrifice sacrificer 62. b 33 nation motion 63. b 20 set setteth 63. b 48 sayth fayth 64. a 1 participacion particion 65. b 36 sawe same 68. b 21 there they 73. b 7 angry angry anger anger 77. b 14 doubt double 81. b 18 is maruayle is no maruayle 84. b 16 nothing one thyng 86. b 50 other vnderstād othe vnderstand 87. a 49 not any not least any 92. b 27 do desperate and desperate 96. b 1 by an ordinarye by no ordinary 100. a 22 decreased digressed 100. a 23 the knight the Kenite 100. b 49 Leuites Kenites 106. a 17 xl C. men xl M. men 111. b 25 decrees .23 q. 5. cha dixerit aliquis decrees causa 23. q. 5. dicat aliquis .28 d. 1 120. a 53 word world 122. b 1◠litle title 124. a 17 inuiolated violated 132. a 42 13500. men 135000. men 134. b 1 Recubites Recutites 144. a 32 mention mantion 192. b 51 dryuen drawne 201. b 4 eare heare 203. b 52 preserue obserue 223. a 15 doubting doubling 227. a 20 ententes euentes 228. b 14 pronounces prouinces 230. a 32 Sickenes Sadnes 247. a 16 Cain Cham 269. b 14 leuened leuelled 285. a 14 cōmunicate excommunicate ¶ The commentarie of Master Peter Martyr vpon the Booke of Iudges THere be some whiche deuide the holy scriptures into
the shewing of the signe And he thought not that God or an Angel was present with him Wherfore he thought to folow the example of Abraham Lot And in dede the things which he presented partained rather to a dinner thā to a sacrifice He erected no alter neither prepared he the fat to be burnt nor the shoulder and the brest to be lifted vp nor the blood to be shed The other interpretation is that he would therfore bring him a sacrifice that in that oblation he might obtayne a signe as to Abel the fauour of God was declared when he was offring sacrifice And the authors of this sētence beleue that this doth nothing let that Gideon sod the flesh Flesh in sacrifices was sometimes sod forasmuch as that kind of sething was sometimes vsed in peace offrings as the fyrst booke of Samuel testifieth Of the interpretours of this place this latter sētence seemeth to be receiued for they iudge the Gideon intended to offer sacrifices But I rather allow the first sentēce as touching the feast although I know that the Angell contrary to Gideons purpose vsed that meate to a sacrifice and in it gaue the signe which a little before was desired of him This hebrew word Mitsoth signifieth vnleauened cakes Why the Elders vsed so oftē swete cakes in their feastes But the roote of the word may be Natsa whiche is to hast or to make speede For the Elders were carefull to prepare meate for straūgers with as much speede as might be Wherfore they straightway baked new bread bicause peraduenture their houshold bread was somewhat hard and stale The measure of an Ephah Therfore to the end they might the sooner refresh the weary they vsed swete cakes which were very soone baked This measure Ephah was not a measure for liquide thinges but for thinges dry and as the Hebrues affirme it held thre peckes and a pecke contained .144 egges And ten Ephas made one Corus Certaine Rabbines fable that there is therfore mencion made of sweete breade bycause this thing was done in the time of Easter But how trifling this is hereby we may gather bicause it is wel knowen that swete bread were by the commaundement of God vsed not onelye for sacrifices at Easter but also at other times especially such as wer to be burnt at the altar of the Lord. But if we shal say that Gideon prepared not a sacrifice but rather a feast we haue alredy shewed the reason why he brought swete bread Gideon is vtterly to be quitted of ydolatry For his wil was not to do sacrifice vnto the Messanger of God bicause his purpose was eyther to set meate before the mā of God or els to sacrifice vnto the lyuing God by the hand of the Prophet whom hee counted to bee farre better than himselfe 20 And the angel of God said vnto him take the flesh the vnleuened bread lay it vpon this stone poure out the broth he did so 21 Then the Angel of the Lord put forth the ende of the staffe that he held in his hand and touched the flesh the vnleauened bread there arose vp fire out of the stone consumed the flesh the vnleauened bread so the Angel of the Lorde departed out of hys syght They which thinke that Pinhas the sonne of Eleazar was this mā of god which appeared vnto Gideon affirme that the same man was also afterward called Elias And euen as when Achab raigned in Israel he obtained fire from heauē wherby the burnt offring was consumed wherupon he had poured water and that aboundantly very many times so likewise now out of the rocke by the power of god be raised vp a flame wherby the meate which was put vpon it was burnt wherupon he had before caused the broth of the flesh to be poured I confesse in dede that ther is some similitude betwene these two actes but therwithal I see many thinges to be causes wherby the one differeth from the other Farther I vtterly reiect this fained tale wherin they faine that Pinhas was present eyther there or here Ther by reason of the great distance of times here bicause as I haue expounded Augustine the wordes of the history do manifestly testify it was eyther god himself or an angel which talked with Gideon Augustine in his booke De mirabilibus sanctae scripturae teacheth that the signe whiche is here geuen doth aptly agree vnto that which was demaūded For it was shewed that by the wōderful power of god without mans labour and fight the enemies of the people of the Iewes should be ouercome euen as by the might of god aboue the ability of nature fire came forth Ambrose wherwith without mans healpe or industry those vittailes were consumed But Ambrose very elegantlye writeth the Allegorye of this place in the Proheme of his booke de spiritu sancto which I to auoyd tediousnes do ouerpasse This one thing onely I wil admonish you of Al thinges that wee offer are to bee offred by Christ that our giftes are then acceptable vnto God when wee offer them vpon the rocke whiche is Christ There our actions are by the fire of the holy ghost purged that which otherwise of his own nature is vncleane is of God receaued as holy And the Angel of the Lord departed By this sodain departure Gideon vnderstood that it was an Angel whom he saw wherefore he was sore afraide as the wordes of the history which follow do manifestly declare 22 And when Gideon saw that it was the Angell of the Lorde he sayd Alas my Lord God shall I bycause I haue sene an Angell of the Lorde face to face This is spoken by the figure Ecliptica for when Gideon sayth The fathers by seyng of god of angels wer made alrayde Alas my Lorde God shal I bycause I haue sene an Angel of the Lord there should be added dye Thou shalt euermore perceaue that the old fathers after that they had sene god or beholdē his Angels wer very sore afraid yea so astonished that they feared present death to come vpon them And no maruail for they wer not ignoraunt what God answered Moses when he desired to see his face Man shal not see me and liue Iohn Baptist also as we reade in the first of Iohn sayth No man hath sene God at any time And Paul to Timothy hath confirmed the same writing No man hath sen God neither can he se him for he is inuisible bicause he dwelleth in the light that no man can come vnto And that also which nowe Gideon speaketh Mannah the father of Samson as we shal afterward heare shal speak Iacob likewise after he had wrastled al night thinking that he had striuen with a man when he vnderstood that he was an Angel maruailed howe he escaped a lyue and safe Haue I sene the Lord sayth he face to face and is my lyfe saued As though that
But so it is not sayd least in thinking of him Why the scripture attributeth members vnto God thou shouldest be deceaued suppose that he hath those mēbers But the holy scripture if some tyme it attribute members vnto god vndoubtedly this is the only cause to helpe our infirmity whereby althoughe we can not comprehend the essence of God as it is yet in very dede it prouideth that by some certayne simboles and shadowes we may vnderstande somewhat Wherefore members are by a most profitable Metaphore attributed vnto God that we diligently remembryng his proprietyes might godlyly and faythfully exercise our myndes Why the Anthropomorphites are condemned And the Anthropomorphites if for that cause they had ascribed members vnto God as the Scriptures setteth them forth to be a helpe vnto the weake vnderstandyng of men they myght be excused neither should they haue bene condemned But they contended that the nature of God had so in very dede wherefore iustly and worthely are they accused But what shall we aunswere to Paul whiche of the seyng the nature of God in heauen sayth We shall see him face to face and by that meanes he semeth to graunt vnto our eyes and face the beholdyng of god and after a sorte to ascribe vnto god himself a face There is a face of the body and a face of the mynde Augustine aunswereth that there is a face also of the mynde when as Paul sayth that we nowe with a face vncouered do beholde thinges deuine and not with a vayle put betwene as the Iewes vsed when they talked with Moses But these thinges beyng thus finished and concluded In the eternal life the blessed shall know the essence of God let vs in few wordes speake of other kyndes of the knowledge of God In the euerlastyng lyfe the blessed shall knowe the essence of God not in dede by the senses but by the soule or mynde for as muche as Iohn sayeth When he appeareth we shall see hym as he is Paul testifieth the same nowe we see hym thoroughe a glasse and in a shadowe but than shall we see hym face to face The same thyng is gathered by the wordes of Christ Their aungels alway beholde the face of the father for in an other place he hath taught that in the blessed resurrection the iust shal be like the angels of god Wherof it followeth that we shal see god in like sorte as the angels do wherfore if they see his face thā shal we also behold it There is an other testimony also written by Paul to the Corinth Than shall I know euen as I am knowē The nature of GOD is not wholy and by all meanes cōprehended Chrisostome And the god seeth vs thoroughly essencially no mā doubteth Howbeit let vs not thus persuade our selues that the blessed shall wholy euery way know the nature substaunce of God but so much only as we shal be able to receaue◠for things finit cā not fully receiue that which is infinite nether is the which is created able fully perfectly to cōprehend his creator Wherfore Chrisostome in his .14 Homely vpō Iohn Ambrose in his first boke vpō Luke the .1 chap also Ierome as Augustine in the place before alledged declareth all these I say deny that the angels see god But that can not simply absolutly be vnderstād whē as otherwise Christ saith that they see the face of the father which is in heauē Wherfore it remayneth that the same is to be vnderstād of the whole perfect knowledge of his nature substance Wherfore in Iohn the 6. chap it is written No man hath sene god but he which is of god he hath sene the father Also As the father knoweth me so know I the father Wherfore this is onely geuen to Christ which is god perfectly fully to know the essēce of god Other also shall see it but yet so much as their capacity cā cōprehend If thou aske whether it shal be equally or no I will not aunswere to that at this present For in an other place we shall haue occasion geuen vs to speake of the diuersity or equality of rewardes in the blessed life But what shall we affirme of the state of this life Shall our mind whilest we liue here in knowing of god attayne to his essēce Whether in this lyfe we may in soule or minde knowe the essence of God or no. No verely bicause it is writtē Man shall not see me lyue No man hath sene God at any tyme. And Paul addeth He can not be sene bycause he dwelleth in the light that no man can come vnto Howbeit these thinges are not to be vnderstand as touchyng all maner of knowledge for also whilest we lyue here it is geuē vnto vs after a sort to know god Wherfore these sayings are to be vnderstād to speake as the stoolemen do of the substantiall essentiall knowledge of God Neither is this against it in the it is written that Moses saw god face to face which also before him Iacob spake neither the which in an other place is written of the same Moses the god talked with him as a frend with his frend For these things are not spokē simply but by cōparisō with other bycause those excellēt mē aboue other knew those things which at that tyme were opened vnto mē as touching god For vnto thē god would after an exquisite vnaccustomed maner shewe himselfe whiche he did not to others And this to be the sēse of these words Augustine Chrisostome hereby do gather bycause afterward when Moses desired to see the face of god it was denied hym The naturall knowledge as touching God is slender and obscure Symonides There remayneth to intreate of the knowledge of god which whilest we liue here we may obtayne First the same is naturall that very slender obscure Which thing Symonides knew right well who as Cicero writeth in hys booke de Natura deorum being demaunded of Hierone a tyranne of Sicilia what God was he alwayes deferred to aunswere bycause the more he thought as touching the thing the more obscure alwaies it semed vnto him Wherfore Clemēs Alexādrinus in his 5. Clemens Alexandrinus boke of Stromata bringing a reason why the knowledge of God is so hard saith It is not Genus it is not Differēcia it is not Accidēs nor the subiect of Accidēces therfore it cā not be vnderstād of vs which comprehend onely such things in our mind reasō The effectes which the Philosophers vsed by their vnderstāding to know god are not equal with his dignity power faculties Wherfore they declared only certain cōmō light thīgs But we geue vnto him Attributa or proprieties that is good iust faire wise other such like bicause we haue no excellenter things nor nobler names whiche cā better be applied or agree with him Neither yet are these things so in him as we
imaginacion of the Crow there is such an alteration before the rayne that he beginneth to croke Wherfore the effects in the phantasy of those which ar on slepe and also in dede come vndoubtedly of the self same cause Yet haue they great diuersity by reasō of the subiectes in which they are made And it is not to be doubted but that there is a certayne slender and hidden similitude betweene these effectes But it is verye hard to vnderstand the reason of this proporcion or analogy And if we say that the starres are the cause of such effectes or affections who can refer these signes vnto his own propre cause Why diuinatiō by dreames is hard and vncertayne that is to some certayne starres more then to other Assuredly I suppose that there are very few I will not say none whiche can do it Farther if they shuld also be referred vnto propre starres what can we iudge to come to passe by them especially as touching things comming by happe whē as iudiciall Astrology is euermore counted moste vncertayne In fyne images similituds which ar sayd to portend things to come ar so doubtful vncertain ambiguous that we can affyrm nothing for certayn of thē Wherfore this is to be added that forasmuch as dreams cannot be broght to passe of one only cause but of many as we haue declared we shall easely fal into an error if we of those many causes chuse onely one certayne cause Therefore let vs hold this that is not easely to foretel any thing by dreames for that they may easlier de iudged by the euentes then the euentes can by them be foretold Wherefore there remayneth of dreames but onely a certayne suspicion whiche also of necessity is verye sclender A gate of horn a gate of puerye The two most noble Poetes Homere I say and Virgill made twoo gates of dreames the one of horne the other of yuery That of horne as they say pertayneth vnto the true dreames and that of yuery to false and they say that the gretest part passeth through the gate of yuery and not through that of horn Wherfore in iudging naturall dreames let vs not passe the measure of suspition nor stick to much in dreames forasmuch as it is not the duty of a christiā man to cleaue more then is conueniente vnto perillous and vncertayne coniectures bicause whilest they so busily apply them selfes to those things Of dreames sent ether of god or of the deuill To fore shewe any thynge by visions or dreames twoo thinges are required they neglect other things whiche are of greater wayght And the deuil very often times mingleth himself with those thinges to this entent eyther to cal vs back from good actions or els to driue vs to actions that are euell Nowe let vs see what we oughte to affirme of dreames sente of God or moued by the deuel When any thing by the work of god or of angels is in dreams foresene twoo thyngs are required The fyrste is that certayne notes or images of things which are shewed do inform or imprint the phantasy or imagination Secondly must be adioyned iudgement to vnderstand what those things at the last do portend As touching the first we must know that these notes and images are somtimes offred vnto the senses bicause of those things which God maketh outwardly to appeare as whē Balthazar the successor of Nebuchad-Naezar saw in the wall the fyngers of a hande which wrote as it appeareth in Daniel And somtimes without any outward sight are images and formes described in the imagination or phantasy which happeneth two maner of waies For either the formes or images which are kept in the minde are called backe to such vse as God hath entended as when to Ieremy was shewed a seething pot tourned to the North Or els newe formes are shewed whyche by the senses were neuer seene as if formes of coulours and images shoulde bee shewed vnto one blynde from hys byrth And in this kinde or prophesieng images or formes are in steede of letters Formes or images ar lyke letters For as they are ordered and disposed so sundry oracles are shewed Euen as in the diuers chaunging of letters orations and sentences are made diuers Teachers which instruct their scholers may by their study and industry of teaching fashion manifold images in the mindes of the hearers although they be not able to geue the iudgement and right vnderstanding But God ministreth both God somtimes geueth not vnto one to the selfe same man formes and the vnderstandyng of them They whych haue onely images are not simply prophecies not in dede alwaies together for to some sometimes he sheweth onely the formes as to Pharao and to his Butler and Baker also to the king of Babilon al which men needed an Interpretor namely Ioseph Daniel to expound their dreames And vndoubtedly those vnto whom are shewed onely the images of thinges to come are not truely and plainly counted Prophets forasmuch as they haue but onely a certaine degree beginning and in a maner a step of prophecye euen as Caiphas also the high Priest is not to be counted a Prophet when as hee spake those thinges which he knew not But why God would sometimes by dreames manifest vnto Kinges Princes thinges to come as now he doth there are two causes The one is bycause he had a regarde vnto the people and Nations whom they gouerned For if the penury which was at hand had not ben shewed vnto Pharao Egipt had vtterly bene destroyed by famine Secondly it was the counsel of the Lorde by these expositions of dreames to manifest vnto the world his Prophetes and holy men which before were hidden which thing the holy scriptures testifye happened in Ioseph and Daniel The Ethnike Historiographers also do write verye manye thinges of dreames which Princes sometimes saw Yea Tertulian and Tertulian in hys booke de Anima maketh mencion of certayn of those dreames as the dreame of Astyages of his daughter Mandane also of Philip of Macedonia and of Iulius Octauius whom M. Cicero being yet a boy thought he saw him in his dreame and being awake as soone as he met him he straightway knewe him And the same man telleth of certayne other also of this kinde But omitting these let vs by testimonies of the holy scriptures which shall easily be done confirm that certain dreames ar sent by God Mathew testifieth that Ioseph the housbande of Mary was in dreames thrise admonished by the Angel The wyfe also of Pilate had knowledge by a dreame and sent woorde to her housband that he should not condemne Christ being an innocent Peter in the Actes of the Apostles the x. chap. saw a sheete let downe from heauen And in the .xvi. chap. a man of Macedonia appeared vnto Paule and mooued him to go into Macedonia And the Lord commaunded the same Paule in a dreame that he should not depart from Corinthe bycause
to sacrifice any other wher yet after the Salomon had built the tēple it was not lawful to offer out of it wherfore the highe places were to be takē away they should sacrifice no where but at Ierusalē But of al the kings onely Iosias Ezechias toke away the high places so hard a thing was it to leade the people to the true obediēce of god But Elias was moued by a certayne peculiar inspiration of God to Sacrifice other where Manoah demaundeth after the name of the Aungell neyther dyd he that so simply as hys wyfe dyd But that he should not be thought to demaund it curiously or without a cause he addeth a reason of hys request That if that come to passe whiche thou hast sayd we may honour thee that is with some reward But I cā not recōpence thee vnles I know who thou art where thou dwellest This Hebrew worde Peli is ambiguous to the Hebrues R. Salomon Aungels ar named of those things whiche they worke signifyeth both wonderful and also secrete R. Salomon sayeth that the names of aungelles are secrete so that they themselues knowe not their owne names And he addeth also that the Aungelles haue no names of their owne but onely haue surnames geuen them of those thynges whiche they are sent to take charge ouer Whiche thyng also the Epistle to the Hebrues toucheth when it calleth them ministryng spirites R. Salomon bryngeth examples out of the holy Scriptures An Aungell was sent vnto Esaye and bycause he dyd put a burnyng coale to his lyppes he was called Seraphim of this verbe Seraph whiche signifieth to burne So maye we saye of Raphaell that he was so called bycause he had healed Tobias as thoughe he were the medicine of GOD. Gabriell also after the same manner was called the strength of GOD. Also thys woorde Peli signifieth wonderfull for therefore came the Aungell to woorke a miracle And vndoubtedly it was very wonderfull to bryng fire out of a rocke whiche shoulde consume the Sacrifice And it may bee that the Aungell would not open hys name bycause menne at that tyme were prone vnto Idolatrye and they would easely when they had hearde the name of an Aungell peraduenture haue woorshypped it to muche religiously That which we haue called an oblation in Hebrew it is Minchah But what manner of oblation that was is vnderstoode by the .2 chapter of Leuit. There wer diuers kindes therof but it euer consisted of corne but yet not alwayes prepared after one manner it was so offred that some part of it was burnt vnto the Lord the other part was left for the Priestes The Papists babble that Minchah was a shadowe of their bready Sacrifice whiche thinge they haue fayned most impudently But hereof we will intreate in an other place Manoah layd the Kid and Minchah vpon the rocke Manoah myght not Sacrifice vnto the Lord by the lawe bycause he came of the tribe of Dan and not of the tribe of Leui. Wherefore he deliuered the fleshe vnto the aungell whom he thought to be a Prophete that he should sacrifice it For Prophetes had an extraordinary vocation that althoughe they were not of the famely of Aaron yet it was lawfull for them to sacrifice as we rede of Helias and Helizeus For whē religiō was decayed in the Priests god suffred others to minister their office But the aungell when the fleshe was put vpon the rocke wrought wonderfully He raysed vp fire out of the stone whiche consumed the offring Whiche thing we rede also was done in Gideon Althoughe it be not herein expressedly shewed that fire was drawen out of the rocke as it was openly sayd in Gideon yet is no mention made of fire that was brought by Manoah at the last it is sayd that the angell vanished away in the flame therfore it is credible that fire was striken out of the stone The angell ascended into heauen as though he vsed the flame for a chariot He dissolued the body whiche he bare and vanished away into the flambe whiche was a notable miracle They fell to the ground for feare for they were wonderfully amased and astonished when they sawe that it was an aungell whom before they thought to haue ben a man 22 And Manoah sayd vnto his wife We shall surely dye bycause we haue sene God 23 But hys wife sayde vnto hym If the Lorde would kill vs he woulde not haue receaued a burnt offryng and an oblation of our handes neither would he haue shewed vs all these thinges nor at this tyme told vs such thynges 24 And the wife bare a sonne and called his name Samson And the childe grewe and the Lord blessed hym 25 And the spirite of the Lord began to strengthen hym in the host of Dan betwene Zora and Esthaol In dyeng we shall dye That is we shall moste assuredly dye For the Hebrues in doublyng the woordes doo earnestly affirme Bycause we haue sene the Lord. Whereof this opinion sprang I haue tolde in the Hystory of Gideon where also I haue declared how God was sene of the fathers The opiniō of R. Leui ben Gerson Wherfore it nedeth not to repeate them in this place But this will I not ouerpasse that R. Leui ben Gerson writeth that this was not an aungell but a man of god and a Prophet namely Pinhas the sonne of Eleazar But he was called angel bycause Manoah and his wife thought hym to be so For after the same maner Ezras although he was a man yet was he called an aungell And Christ whiche is very man is called the aungell of the Testament But how he being a man vanished awaye in the flambe Leui ben Gerson declareth not But I more simply doo iudge him to haue ben an aungell in dede For Pinhas had not a secret name but a name well knowen in his tyme and the wordes of the texte do tend to this Of the name of Elohim to teache that it was an aungell VVe haue sene the Lord. In Hebrewe it is Elohim which althoughe it be the name of GOD yet is it communicated to aungelles yea and also to prynces and Prophetes accordyng to that saying I haue sayde ye are Goddes And Christe in the Gospell sayeth If they are called Goddes vnto whome is come the woorde of GOD why doo ye meruayle c This woman seemeth to be of a stouter courage them the man for she comforteth her husband Whose Oration is grounded vpon two argumentes The first is I do not thinke we shall dye bycause God would not haue accepted our sacrifice if he would haue destroyed vs. Wherfore seyng our sacrifice was acceptable vnto him he counteth not vs as enemyes But whereby knew she that that sacrifice was acceptable vnto GOD. Firste bycause the Aungell had commaunded it to be done which vndoubledly he would not haue don vnles he had vnderstoode that it should be acceptable vnto God Farther bycause the flambe had consumed the Sacrifice and
the angel therewithall flewe away as though he caried vp the sacrifice with him into heauē An other argument is He would not haue taught vs so many and such thyngs if we should perishe He came vnto vs once or twise and instructed vs of thynges whiche we should doo Wherfore be of good comforte we shall not dye ¶ Of Sacrifice The offerer is more acceptable vnto God then the Sacrifice VNdoubtedly the womans argumentes are good out of whiche may some thynges be gathered whiche are not vnprofitable And firste that God more accepteth hym that offreth then he doth the Sacrifice yea the oblations please not hym but for the offerers sake This sentence Irenaeus proueth by the scriptures in his fourth booke and .34 chapter For God had a regarde vnto Abel and to his giftes but vnto Cain and his giftes he looked not bycause of the disposition of them that offred For looke what manner of will he that offreth hath towardes God the lyke will hath God to the oblation Christ also sayth If thou bryng thy gifte vnto the aulter and remembrest that thy brother hath somwhat agaynst thee go and reconcile thee first vnto thy brother and then come and offer thy gifte As thoughe he should say If whylest thou art euill and enemy vnto god thou doest offer thyne oblation shall not be acceptable vnto God Wherfore Irenaeus concludeth Irenaeus that they are not sacrifices whiche sanctify but the conscience of him that offreth And he addeth a reason bycause God nedeth not our Sacrifice Among men the euill may oftentymes be absolued bycause men are sometimes couetous and nedy and are easely wonne with money But if it happen the Iudge to be both iuste and good he will reiecte the money neither wyl he suffer his equity after that manner to be blotted So God bycause he can not be wonne by flattery obserueth the mindes of men and not the Sacrifices In Esay the .66 chapter he sayth He that sacrificeth a shepe is as if he slewe a dog not that god hateth sacrifices in vniuersal but bycause he alloweth not the oblations of euill men I haue the largelier spoken thinges bicause the papistes boast that in masses they offer Christ vnto God the father which thinge if it should be graūted then must god the father more esteme a noughty sacrificer then he doth his sonne But this woman reasoneth most wittely God hath receaued our sacrifice therfore he is not angry neyther wil he destroy vs. We count the sacrifices of christians to be a contryte heart prayers The sacrifices of Christians geuinge of thankes almes mortifienge the affections of the fleshe and suche like These are lefte vnto vs after the abrogation of the carnall sacrifices that wee shoulde offer them as the fruites of our faythe and testimonies of a thankefull minde But as touching the pacifieng of God Christe offred himselfe once vpon the crosse neither is there any nede that any man should offer him againe For by an oblation he accōplished al thinges Now remayneth that we embrace his sacrifice with fayth and we shall haue God mercifull vnto vs who of his goodnes will by Christ accept those sacrifices which we haue now made mencion of But Augustine contra literas Parmeniani in his .2 booke and .8 chapter seemeth at the fyrst sight to make agaynst vs. Augustine For the Donatistes woulde not communicate with the other Christians because they counted them defiled and vnpure and they cited a place out of Iohn Wee knowe that God heareth not sinners Your men sayd they haue betrayed the holye bookes haue burnte incense vnto Idoles haue denied god how then wil god heare them Augustine aunswereth that it may be that an euill minister although he be not hearde for his owne cause yet when he prayeth for the people he maye be hearde And he confirmeth his sentēce by the example of Balaam for he being a most wicked man prayed vnto god and was heard But if a man diligentlye examine these thinges he shall finde that Augustine is not against vs although at the first sight he semeth a little to presse vs. When he had sayde that the euill ministers also are heard The publike prayers of the minister are the prayers of the Church hee strayghteway addeth that that is not done for their wickednes sake but bicause of the fayth and deuotion of the people whereby wee gather that althoughe the minister be the guide in woordes yet are they not his prayers but the prayers of the Churche For there muste bee one certayne manne whiche maye conceaue the prayers for the reste leaste in the multitude shoulde rise a confusion or tumulte if euerye manne shoulde by his owne woordes poure out prayers aloude in the Church Wherfore the minister is a certayn mouth of the church The Myniste◠is the mouth of the church Therefore if he bee euill it is not he which is heard but the faythfull people which speake by his woordes This thinge taughte Augustine when he writeth that an euill minister is hearde not for his wickednes but for the fayth and deuotion of the people Hereby are we admonished that whilest we are presente at publike prayers wee muste take verye diligente heede and determine that those prayers whyche are recited are ours How it is sayd that Balaam was heard But Balaam by a certayne forme of prayer prophesied and therefore his woordes are called a blessinge bycause he prophesied happye thinges vnto the people of god And hee was not moued vnto these prayers of his owne will but by the sprite of god Wherfore hee was not hearde but the holye ghoste was the true authour of hys woordes That whiche is alledged out of Iohn God heareth not sinners Augustine sayth that that was not the saying of Christ Whyther God heareth sinners but of the blind mā which was no◠yet fully illustrate Wherefore he affirmeth that sentence not to be true in vniuersal For as they define the prayers of peruerse ministers ar somtimes hard because they are of the church But as touching the oblation of Christ I do not think that the papists wil graunt that the whole church offreth it whē as they wil haue that to be peculiar to the massemongers And though they should graunte that yet is not the whole Churche greater or more acceptable vnto god then Christ bicause he is not acceptable vnto god for the churches sake but the church is acceptable vnto god for Christes sake But to returne to the saying of Iohn that God heareth not sinners addinge a profitable distinction we maye thus expound it A distinction of sinners There are some sinners whiche fall of weakenes or sinne of ignorance which yet afterward acknowledge themselues are sory and repent faythfully But there are other which sinne without conscience want fayth neyther are they led with anye repentance The fyrste sorte bicause they haue fayth are heard the other forasmuch as they want
God that they being turned into the body of a man not withstanding yet abode Angels doest thou take away thus from God which is more mightie as though Christ putting on man in very dede wer not able to remayne God Thus Tertulian fighteth against the Marcionites The errour of the Marcionites for they affirmed that Christ seemed to haue a humane bodye but in verye deede hee had none Tertulian obiecteth against them and if ye graunt this saith he vnto the Aungels that they had true bodies why doo ye not rather graunt it vnto the sonne of God And he addeth Or did those Angels appeare in fantesy of fleshe But thou darest not say so for if it be so that thou count the Angels of the creator as Christ then shal Christ be of the same substance as the Aungels are and the Angels shal be suche as Christ is If thou diddest not sometimes of purpose reiect and sometimes corrupt the scriptures which resist thy opinion the Gospel of Iohn shoulde haue of this confounded thee Of the Dooue wherin the holi gost appeareâ— whiche declareth that the spirite comming downe in the bodye of a Dooue sat vpon the Lorde which spirite being that he was was as truly a Dooue as he was a spirit neither the contrary substance taken destroyed the proper substance I know there are some of the schoolemen which thinke that it was not a very Doue which discended vpon the head of Christ but onely that it was an ayry thicke body which appeared to be a Dooue Augustine Yet Augustine de Agone Christiano writeth the contrary namely that it was a very Doue for to expresse the property of the holy ghost a thing sayth he serueth better then a signe euen as Christians also are better expressed in Sheepe and Lambes then in the lykenes of Sheepe and Lambes Also if Christ had a true bodye and deceaued not then tâ—e holy ghost had in very deede the body of a Dooue Tertulian addeth Thou wilt demaund where the body of the Doue became What becaâ—â— of the Doue wherin the holy goâ—â— appeared when the spirite was taken againe into heauen and likewise of the Aungels It was by the same meanes taken awaye whereby it was made If thou haddest seene when it was broughte foorth of nothyng thou shouldest also haue knowen when it was turned to nothing If the beginning was not visible no more was the ende Farther he remitteth the reader to Iohn Was he also sayth he a fantasy after his resurrection when he offred his handes and feete to be seene of his Disciples saying behold that it is I for a spirite hath not flesh and bones as ye see me haue Then Christe is brought in as a Iugler or Cuniurer And in his third booke against Marcion Wherefore his Christ that is Christe of the true God bicause he should not lye neither deceaue and by that meanes paraduenture should be counted the Christ of the creator was not that which hee appeared to be and fayned to be that thing which he was flesh and not flesh man and not man wherefore Christ is also God and not God For why shoulde he not also cary the fantasy of God Shall I beleue him as touching this inwarde substance that is ouerthrowen as touching his outward substance Howe shall he be counted true in a secrete thing that is found so false in an open thing And afterwarde It is inoughe for me to affirme that whiche is agreing vnto God namely the truth of that thing which he obiecteth to three senses to sight touching and hearing Againe in the booke de carne Christi The vertues sayth he proue the spirite of God the passions proue the flesh of man If vertues are not without spirite neither shal passions also be without flesh If the flesh with his passions be fayned the spirite also with his vertues is false Why doest thou by thy lye take but halfe Christ He is al whole truth The opinion of Apelles Apelles the heretike being in maner ouercome with these reasons graunteth that Christ had in dede true flesh but he denieth that he was borne but brought from heauen and he obiecteth that the bodies which were taken by Angels wer true bodies but they were not borne Suche a body sayth he had Christ Tertulian answereth hereunto They sayth he which set foorth the fleshe of Christ after the example of the Aungels saying that it was not borne namelye a fleshye substaunce I would haue them to compare the causes also as well of Christ as of the Aungels for which they came into the flesh No Aungel did at anye tyme therefore discende to be crucified to suffer death and to rise againe from death If there was neuer any such cause why angels should be incorporate then haste thou a cause why they tooke flesh and yet wer not borne They came not to die therefore they came not to bee borne But Christe beyng sent to dye it was necessarye that he shoulde bee borne that he might dye for none is woont to dye but hee whiche is borne He addeth moreouer And euen then also the Lorde himselfe appeared among those angels vnto Abraham without birth namelye with flesh for the same diuersity of cause Afterward he addeth That the Aungels haue their bodies rather from earth then from heauen Let them proue saith he that those angels receaued the substance of flesh of the stars If they proue it not bicause it is not written then was not the flesh of Christ thereof to whych Christ they apply the example of Angels And in his third booke against MarcioÌ„ My God saith he which hath reformed it taken of the slyme in this quality not yet of seede by mariage and yet flesh might as wel of anye matter haue framed flesh also vnto Angels which also framed the world of nothing into so manye and suche bodies Againe in his booke de carne Christi hee saith It is manifest that angels cary not flesh proper of their own as substaÌ„ces by nature spiritual and if they haue any body yet it is of their owne kinde and are transfigurable for a time into the flesh of man that they may be sene and haue fellowship with men Farther in his third booke against Marcion Know thou saith he that this is not graunted vnto thee that the flesh in Angels was putatiue or by imaginacion but of the very and sound substance of man For if it were not hard to geue vnto that putatiue flesh the true senses and actes of flesh much more easyer was it to geue a true substance of flesh to true senses and actes euen for that he is the proper authour and woorker therof For it is a harder thyng for God to make a lye then to fayne a body Last of al thus he concludeth Therfore are they truly humayne bodies bicause of the truth of God who is far from lying and deceate And bicause they can not humanelye be handled of men
other suche lyke thinges For that for as muche as it was in their mynde or imaginatiue faculty it might well be done by formes images and visions Angels appearing in humane bodyes wer not men Nowe remayne there twoo thynges to be diligently wayghed One is whither Aungels when they after this sorte put on humane bodyes maye bee called men I thynke not For if we vnderstande humane fleshe whiche is formed and borne of a reasonable soule vndoubtedlye Aungels after that maner cannot be sayd to haue humane fleshe What then wyll some man saye Were the senses deceaued when men sawe them Not so For the senses iudge onelye outwarde thinges and suche thinges as appeare But what inwardlye impelleth or moueth those thinges which they see they iudge not That longeth to reason to seeke and searche out Thys also is to be added that Aungels dyd not continually retayne these bodies bicause they were not ioyned vnto them in one and the selfe same substaunce So that an Aungell and a bodye were made one person The holy ghost was not the Dooue nor the Doue the holye Ghost The holy ghost also although it was a true Dooue where he descended yet was not he together one substaunce with it Wherefore the Dooue was not the holye ghost nor the holy ghost the Dooue Otherwyse Aungels may as we haue before taught enter in deede into a bodye before made and whiche before had hys being as it is read of the Aungell whiche spake in the Asse of Baalam and of the Deuyll which by the Serpent talked wyth Eue. But at thys present we dispute not of that kynde but onelye saye that Aungels woorking in thys manner in the bodies of creatures are not ioyned vnto them in one and the selfe same substaunce Wherefore the Asse coulde not be called an Aungell neyther was the Aungell an Asse euen as the serpent was not in very deede the Deuyl neyther was the Deuyll the Serpent The sonne of God is God man But the Sonne of God for as much as he tooke vpon him humane nature was man and man was God bycause of one and the selfe same substaunce wherein were twoo natures But before when he appeared vnto Abraham and to the Fathers although he had true fleshe yet bycause it was not ioyned vnto hym in one and the selfe same substaunce he could not be called fleshe neither was flesh God But afterwarde when he tooke vpon hym both fleshe and soule so that there was onely one substance or person then man was God and God man Whereby it came to passe that he shoulde trulye bee borne that hee should dye and redeeme mankinde Wherefore he dyd truely call hym selfe the sonne of man and in Iohn he sayth ye seeke to kyl me a man whiche haue tolde you the truth And in the Scriptures it is sayd Made of the seede of Dauid And Peter in the Actes ye haue kylled sayth he a man appoynted you of God And Esay Behold sayth he a virgin shall conceaue and beare a Sonne These words haue great force For vnlesse Christe had bene true man a Virgin coulde not haue conceiued him neither haue brought him foorth nor called him her sonne This thing Tertulian prudently marked If he had bene a straunger sayth he Tertulian a Virgin coulde not either haue conceaued him or borne him The Aungell also saluted Mary after this maner Be not afraid sayd he thou shalt conceaue c. Elizabeth sayd How happeneth this to me that the mother of my Lorde shoulde come vnto me If she had Christ onely as a Straunger she coulde not be called hys Mother The Aungell also sayde Blessed be the fruite of thy wombe But how could it haue bene sayde the fruite of her wombe if he had brought a body wyth hym from heauen And in Esay it is wrytten A rod shall come oute of the roote of Iesse and a floure shall ascende out of his roote Iesse was the stocke Mary the braunch but Christ is the floure which tooke his body of her Mathew also thus beginneth his Gospell The booke of the generacion of Iesus Christe the sonne of Dauid the sonne of Abraham If Christ brought a bodye from heauen how was he the sonne of Abraham or Dauid Farther the promise made to Abraham of Christ is in this sorte In thy seede shall all nacions be blessed Paul intreating of these woordes to the Galathians He sayde not sayth he in seedes as though in many but in thy seede whych is Christe And in the Epistle to the Romanes wee reade Of whom is Christe according vnto the fleshe All these thynges prooue most apeartly that Christ was true man and in hym was one substaunce of God and man These thinges cannot be sayd of the Aungels neither of the Sonne of God before he was borne of the Virgin although whylest he appeared he had true fleshe as we haue before sayde but yet not ioyned vnto hym in one and the selfe same substaunce neither could it be sayde of the holy ghost that he was in very deede a Dooue althoughe that wherein he once appeared was a true Dooue And in this sense wrote Tertulian those thynges whych we haue before cited whych thinges being not wel vnderstoode might breede either error or offence vnto the Readers Now resteth the other question Whither Aungels did in very deede eate drink whē they appeared Scotus Whyther Aungels clothed wyth bodyes taken dyd in verye deede eate and drinke Of the Schoolemen some thinke that they dyd eate in verye deede and other denye it Scotus thynketh that to eate is nothyng els then to chawe meate and to conueyghe it downe into the bellye And thys thyng dyd the Aungels wherefore he gathereth that they dyd eate in very deede Other thynke that to eate is not onely to chawe the meate or to conueyghe it downe into the bellye but moreouer to conuert it into the substaunce of hys bodye by concoction thoroughe the power of vegitacion Thys for as muche as the Aungels dyd not therefore they dyd not eate in very deede The booke of Thobias The booke of Tobias is not in the Canon of the Hebrewes but yet it might be applyed vnto our purpose but that there is variaunce in the copyes For in that booke which Munster set foorth in Hebrue in the .xii. chapter Raphael the Aungell sayth I seemed to you to eate and to drinke but I dyd not eate neyther drynke The common translacion hath I seemed to you to eate and to drinke But I vse inuisible meate and drinke Neyther text denyeth but that the Aungell dyd after a certayne maner eate Augustine But whatsoeuer may be gathered of those woordes me thinketh the interpretacion of Augustine is to be receaued in his .iii. booke de Trinitate the .22 chap. where he thus writeth The Angels did eate in very dede but not for neede but to contract custome and familiarity with men Wherefore when in the one text it is said
sometimes to call vs hys fellowe workers Bonifacius goeth on the lay power ought to be iudged of the Ecclesiasticall but by what kind of iudgement Vndoubtedly by this that in the churche he set forth the anger of God against sinners that they be admonished and corrected by the holy scriptures But the bishops may expel kings and put them out of their kingdome wher is the permitted Frō whence haue they that what writings wil they bring for it The Pope ought to be iudged of the church But that is most intollerable that the Pope sayth that he can be iudged of no man And yet Iohn .23 was in the counsel of Constance put downe and not onely by god but also by men So these men plant and replant Canons and the same they allow and disalow as often as they think good Yea and Emperors haue sometimes thrust out and put down Popes as it is before said Paul to the Gal. sayth If an Aungell from heauen preach any other gospel let him be accursed If the Pope which may come to passe and hath alredy long since come to passe obtrude wicked opinions who shall pronounce him accursed It is the dewty of the magistrate to execut the sentence of the church agaynst the pope Shall he be vtterly iudged of no man The church vndoubtedly shal geue sentence vpon him and the magistrate for that he is the chiefest part of the church shal not onely iudge together with it but also shall execute the sentence Farther it longeth vnto the magistrate to prouide that the riches of the churche be not geuen vnto the enemies of godlines Wherefore if bishoppes become enemies of the churche a faythfull magistrate ought not to suffer the goods of the church to be consumed by them The Canonists haue this oftentimes in theyr mouth That for the office sake is geuen the benefice When therfore they do not their office ought the magistrate to suffer them to enioy their benefices But let vs heare howe Bonifacius proueth that he can be iudged of no man Bycause he that is spiritual sayth he iudgeth all thinges but he himselfe is iudged of no man A godly and wel applied argument I promise you But let vs se what kind of iudgement Paul writeth of in that place He speaketh not vndoubtedly of the common kind of iudgement whereby men are either put to death or put oute of theyr roome He entreateth there onelye of the vnderstandinge of thinges deuine and which auaile vnto saluation These thinges I say properlye belong vnto the iudgement of the spiritual man but concerning common iudgementes and knowledge of ciuill causes Paule neuer thoughte of them in that place Which is easely perceaued by his wordes we haue not receiued saith he the sprite of this world but a sprite which is of God If thou wilt demaund for what vse the sprite is geuen vs He answereth that we should know those things that are geuen vs of God And bycause the sprite of this worlde cannot geue iudgemente of thinges deuine it is added The carnall man vnderstandeth not those things which ar of the sprite of god The spiritual man iudgeth al things What Doth he iudge also ciuill and common causes No vndoubtedlye but he iudgeth those thinges whiche pertayne vnto the saluation of men he himselfe is iudged of no man Without doubt both Peter and Paul were iudged by the ciuil power wherunto Paul appealed to be iudged there and yet were they both spirituall Peter Paule were iudged by the ciuil power But that place is thus to be vnderstanded He that is spirituall in that he is such a one cannot in thinges deuine and such as pertaine vnto saluation bee rightely iudged of any mā which is not endewed with the same sprite that he is The wicked and worldly ones count him oftentimes for a sedicious vnpure infamous fellow but only God and his sprite looketh vpon the hartes Note Lastly Bonifacius concludeth that there is one onely chiefe power which longeth vnto the pope least we should seme with the Maniches to make many beginninges We put this one onely beginninge and not many And he addeth That god in the beginning and not in the beginnings created the world We also abhorre from the Maniches and do put one onely beginning and pronounce one onely fountayne and ofspring of all powers namely god and his word without which can be no power either ciuil or Ecclesiasticall For the foundation of either of them dependeth of the word of god so we make but one beginning not two Farther if Bonifacius wil vrge these words of Genesis In the beginning god created c. there oughte to be in the world but one onely king For when Paul sayde One Lord one faith one baptisme he added not one Pope A Schisme of thre Popes At the length our Thraso commeth so farre that hee excludeth them from the hope of saluation which acknowledge not the Pope for the chief prince head of the church But when ther were two or three Popes al at one time which thing both happened and also endured the space of .60 yeares full it muste needes be that those were at that time Maniches and did put two beginnings which were of Bonifacius opinion Moreouer what thinke they of the Gretians of the Persiās and Christians which dwell in the East part for as much as they acknowledge not the Pope who yet neuerthelesse reade the scriptures beleue in our Lord Iesus Christ and both are also ar called christians Al them Bonifacius excludeth from the hope of saluation This is the ambicion and vnspeakeable tirannye of the Popes When we obiecte vnto the papistes these wordes of Paule let euery soule be subiect vnto the superior powers they aunswere that euery soul ought to be subiect vnto the superior power but yet to theyrs not to other mens power otherwise the frenchmen ought to be subiect vnto the Spaniardes the Spaniardes to the Germaines which thing for that it is absurd it is concluded that euery man ought to obey his own Magistrat But now the clergy acknowledge the bishops for theyr power and ought to be subiect vnto thē and the bishops acknowledge the Archbishoppes and Primates and they lastly acknowledge the Pope After this manner say they we obey the power and satisfye Paule What haue we to do with kings or ciuil magistrats But this is nothing els then most filthily to abuse the wordes of Paule The Papistes do rēt into two partes both the kingdomes and the people Doo they not see that they deuide the publike wealth into two bodies which oughte to be one body onely For when they deuide the kyngdome of the Clergye from the kingedome of the laitye they make in one kyngedome twoo peoples and doo sette ouer eyther people a Magystrate And thereby commeth to passe that the Clergy whiche are Frenchemen seeme not to be Frenchemen and the Germanes seeme not to be