vnto the resurrection of life but they that haue doone euill vnto the resurrection of condemnation And againe I am the resurrection and the life hee that beleeueth in mee though hee were dead shal liue and whosoeuer liueth and beleeueth in me shall neuer die For if wee beleeue that Iesus is dead and is risen that he was deliuered to death for our sinnes and is risen againe for our iustification if we beléeue that he is ascended vp into heauen and sitteth at the right hand of GOD his father he will also raise vp our mortall bodies and bring vs with him Nowe Christ is risen from the dead and was made the firste fruites of them that sleepe He is our head wée are his bodie Wee are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone Hée hath giuen vs his Spirite to dwell in vs. But if anie man hath not the Spirite of Christ the same is not his Christ our head liueth His bodie then can not he dead Where I am sayeth he there shall also my seruaunt be Wherefore if we be dead with Christ we beleeue that wee shal liue also with him What then shal become of the infidelles which haue no faith which haue not the spirit of God Shal not they rise againe Yes verily They shal rise but not with Christ. They shal not rise the resurrection of the iust Some shal rise vnto life some vnto death some to saluation others to damnation some to glory others to shame Wee must al appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ that euerie man may receiue the thinges which are doone in his bodie according to that he hath doone whether it be good or euil The wicked shal rise vp again with their bodies and their portion shal be with the Diuel and his Angels they shal come foorth of their graues to the resurrection of condemnation their bodie and soule shal be cast into hel fire Their worme shal neuer die their fire shal not be quenched It had béen better for them they had neuer béene borne V. 15. For this say we vnto you by the word of the Lord that we which liue and are remaining in the comming of the Lorde shal not preuent them that sleepe 16. For the Lorde himselfe shal descende from heauen with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shal rise first This that we declare vnto you is not of our selues It is the truth of God it shal stand good be found true for euer God wil raise our bodies out of the graue 〈◊〉 restore theÌ„ from death to life You may not reason howe or in what order this shal be doone or who shal be the first or the seconde or the third that shal rise vp in the resurrection Such questions are unfit and not to be moued We shal al be chaunged in a moment in the twinckling of an eye At that houre some shalve aliue and some shal be dead For he shal come to iudge both the quicke and the dead We that are remaining in the comming of the Lorde shal not preuent them that sleepe Neither is their part better in the resurrection that shal then be founde aliue nor their part worse that haue béene dead manis yeares before For they which were dead shal as soone be partakers of the glory of the sonnes of God as the other Touching the state of men that shal liue in the end of the world Christ sayth As the daies of Noe so likewise shal the comming of the sonne of man be I doubt not but you remeÌ„ber the storie what dreadful plague of rain tempest fel when al the world was drowned and destroyd with water Vice and vngodlines encreased and al flesh had corrupt his way vpon earth They had no shame there was no feare of God before their eyes Gods wrath was kindled against them He sent Noah a preacher of righteousnes to reforme them to tel them of the destructioÌ„ at hand that they might repent and be saued But they regarded it not They laught Noah to scorne grewe desperate and continued in sinne Sodenly al the fountaines of the great déepe were broken vp the windowes of heauen were opened As they were eating drinking buying selling building purchasing stirring and trauailing as they were in the middest of their ioyes trauailes and pleasures the raine came vpon them and the flouds grewe so great that it destroyed the whole worlde except Noah and a fewe of his companie Their landes their goods Cities Castles nor any other their pleasure or wealth could saue them so shal it be in the comming of Christ. As it was in the daies of Lot and as it betel to Sodome and Gomortha they liued and increased in filthinesse Their heartes were blind and regarded no counsel Their bodies were filthie their soules their liues their houses cities were ful of filthinesse The Angel of God departed from them Loth went out from among them and fire came downe from heauen and consumed them to ashes and caried them downe quick into hel There was no father left to lament his child no child left to lament his father So shal it be at the comming of Christ. He shal come as a théefe sodenly when no man looketh for his comming he shal come at such season when mens harts wil be asléepe and thinke not of him S. Peter sayeth There shal come in the last dayes mockers which will walke after their lustes and say where is the promise of his comming for since the fathers dyed al things continue alike from the beginning of the creation They skorne the threatninges of Gods indgement When shal the world come to an ende We haue winter and sommer raine snow day and night as before The sonne kéepeth his course the fioudes runne the frâ—… beare fruit al things are as they haue béene O sayth Peter know this that god hath made the heauen and earth and al the furniture in them They are his creatures he doth holde theÌ„ vp and preserue them by the power of his word When God shal withdrawe his word they shal decay and haue an ende As for our Lorde he shal come and not tarie at his comming heauen shal depart away as a scrol that is rold the element shal melt with heat and the earth with the works that are therin shal be burnt vp and consumed before his face Deceiue not your selues with lying wordes For when you say peace peace and al thinges are safe then shal sodaine destruction come vpon you Then two men shal be in the fieldes the one shal bee receiued and the other refused Two women shal be grinding at the mil the one shall be receiued and the other refused So shal also the comming of the sonne of man â—…ée The number of the faithful that shal remain at his comming shal not be many So sayth Christ When the sonne
therefore or die we are the Lords He goeth into his graue as into a bed he forsaketh this life as if he lay downe to sléepe he shall shake off his sléepe rouse himselfe and rise againe As we wake out of sléepe we know not howe so shall we rise againe though we knowe not how As we are much refreshed and our bodies strengthened by sléepe so shal we rise againe in much more strength and our corruption shal put on incorruption and our mortalitie immortalitie So often then as we goe to our beddes lette vs thinke of our resurrection from death Who is sorie to goe into his bedde what father lamenteth to sée his childe lie quietly and take his reste why then shoulde he so mourne for his death wherein GOD dealeth mercifully with him and doth translate him to the glorie of the sonnes of God where is no death nor feare but we shal be made like to the Angels of God The bodie rotteth in the grounde yet God preserueth it that it shal not perish His spirite shall returne to it againe and it shal liue God is able to bring this to passe He hath promised so to do He hath done it alreadie and wil doe it againe When Christ came neare to the gate of the Citie of Naim there was a dead man carried out the only begotten sonne of his mother which was a widow and much people of the Citie was with hir and when the Lord saw hir hee had compassion on hir and saide vnto hir weepe not And hee went and touched the coffin and they that bare it stoode still and he saide I saie vnto thee yong man arise And he that was dead sate vp and beganne to speake and hee deliuered him to his mother Lazarus was laide in his graue he had béene foure daies dead his bodie did stincke Yet when Christ cried with a loud voice Lazarus come foorth then he that was dead came foorth bound hand and foote with bandes and his face was bound with a napkin Iesus saide vnto them loose him and let him goe Saint Mathew saith The graues did open them selues and manie bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of the graues after his resurrection and went into the holie Citie and appeared vnto manie These fewe stories witnesse vnto vs the rising againe of our bodies vnto life But what do I speake of the bodies of men they are the houses of GOD the temples of the holie Ghost God hath appointed vnto them a kingdome Who considereth not the swallowes and other birdes they sléepe al the winter long But when the spring commeth they come to life againe and are séene abroad What creature so little so vile and so little worth as the stie Yet by those so base and contemptible things doth God teach vs to know our selues and our estate The greatest part of the winter they are as dead They créepe into chinks and corners as into their graue and lie there without life without féeling Prooue it who list he shall sée it so The bodie is dead the wings moulted Yet the verie same flie so little and so vile shall be refrozed againe at the spring and shall liue in the warme weather and haue the same wings and the same féete and the same bodie If we be hard of beléefe to giue credite to the word of God these are manifest proofes to teach vs the resurrection of our bodies If GOD do so much for the flies which are so vile a creature how much rather wil he quicken vs againe whome hée hath chosen out of this world to liue with him for euer The word of GOD is almightie Hée shall but speake and it shall be done The Trumpet shall sounde and the dead shal return to life I am sure saith Iob that my redeemer liueth and that I shall rise out of the earâ—…h in the latter daie and shall be couered againe with my skinne and shall see God in my flesh Whome I my selfe shall see and mine eies shall behold and none other for me This is my hope laide vp in my bosome Saint Paul willeth Timothie neuer to forget this doctrine Remember that Iesus Christ made of the seede of Dauid was raised againe from the dead according to my Gospell This is the foundation the beginning and the ending of religion If the spirit of him that raised vp Iesus from the dead dwell in you hee that raised vppe Christ from the dead shal also quicken your mortall bodies because that his spirite dwelleth in you This is an article of our faith We beleue the resurrection of the bodie euen of this bodie in which we liue and which we carrie about with vs. All flesh shal sée the saluation of our GOD. This is the hope of Christians the resurrection of their fleshe Set your affections on things which are aboue not on things which are on the earth For yee are dead saith the Apostle and your life is hidde with Christ in God When Christ which is our life shall appeare then shal yee appeare with him in glorie Therefore let not your heartes be dull through vnbeliefe As God was able to saue the bodies of his seruantes that they were not hurt in the fire as he was able to kéepe Ionas safe in the whales bellie so can he preserue our bodies safe in the earth Yea much better because the fire naturally consuineth and the fishes bellie destroieth those things which they rauine but the earth naturally preseruoth that which is earthie As our GOD is of power to diuide the waters to make the sea stand like a wall and giue passage to his people as he can chaunge the course of the heauens and make the sunne goe backe as he can drawe water out of the harde rockes so is he of power to raise our dead bodies againe vnto life If he made the earth the water the aire the heauens and all creatures in them of nothing he is much more able to restore againe those bodies which haue beene Wee looke saieth Paule for the sauiour euen the Lord Iesus Christ who shall change our vile bodie and make it like his glorious bodie according to the working whereby he is able to subdue al things to himselfe The Prophet Esay comforteth the people of GOD in their affliâ—…ions Thy dead men shall liue euen with my bodie shall they rise awake and sing yee that dwell in the dust for thy deawe is as the deawe of hearbes and the earth shall cast out the dead Againe The earth shall disclose her bloud and shal no more hide her slaine Therefore saith our sauiour This is the fathers wil which hath sent me that of al which hee hath giuen mee I should loose nothing but should raise it vp againe at the last daie Againe hée saith The houre shall come in the which al that are in the graues shall heare his voice And they shall come foorth that haue done good
you enlarged your selues toward me and tooke me in When I was in prison you came to me and feared no man you were not ashamed of my bonds you were readie to loose your owne liues to saue me This is spoken of to your great praise And howe you turned to God from idols to serue the liuing and true God Here are set downe in fewe words the summe and parts of Christian religion The first is to forsake at â—…ols to turne from them then to turne vnto God and to put alout trust in 〈◊〉 to serue the liuing and true God The â—…nice of God and idols can not stand togither No man can turne vnto God that turneth not from idols This is a wonderfull effect of the gospell to forsake idols and serue God to leaue customes and the vsage of forefathers and giue eare to the trueth To loue from the heart that which thou diddest sometimes hate and to detest from the heart that which thou didbest sometimes loue is strange and wonderfull But to doe this for Christ which was borne of poore Marie whom the wise and learned and mightie men of this worlde despised which was crucified and hanged betwene two théeues whome they scorned vpon the Crosse to follow or beléeue or put trust in him to cal him the power and the wisedome of God to confesse him to be in whome al Israel shall be blessed and in whom all the worlde shal be saued to giue bodie or life for his sake is a straÌ„ge miracle No King no Prince no lawe no wisedome of man can worke this and bring it to passe This is the Lordes doing and it is maruelous in our eies And this doeth he in those onelie which receiue the word of the gospel with ioy of the holie ghost And to looke for his sonne from heauen whome he raised c. The holie Scriptures do not onlie teach vs to turne vnto God but also what it is that god giueth vnto al them which séeke him euen that they be deliuered from the wrath to come and for whose sake he deliuereth vs for Jesus his sonne whome he raised from the dead Therefore he telleth them howsoeuer they be reiected or despised as foolish among men if they continue in the things which they haue learned they shall be wise vnto saluation That therefore they lift vp their heads and looke for their redéemer That they saie thy kingdome come and Come Lord Jesus because he is appointed by God to be the Judge of the quicke and the dead and hée shal come in the glorie of his father and deliuereth from the wrath to come al those that trust in him For among men there is none other name giuen vnder heauen whereby wée must be saued This is the depth of al knowledge and the comfort which passeth al vnderstanding that against al temptations and afflictions which oppresse our conscience or bere and trouble our bodies we maie growe strong by faith in the sonne of God Christ Jesus and assertaine our selues of his comming from heauen for our delinerance CHAP. 2. FOr you your selues know brethren that our entrance vnto you was not in vaine HE taketh witnesse of them of his diligence and paines taken in the fulfilling of his ministery séeing it hath so good successe among them that they by the preaching of the gospell haue forsaken superstition and are turned vnto and do now serue the true and liuing God and do bâ—…leeue for giuenes of their sinnes and deliuerance from the wrath to come by Jesus Christ. It is a great and deadly smart to the faithfull seruant of God to sée the people wilfull and to despise the word of their saluation Hereof Esaie complaineth I haue spred out my handes al the daie long to a rebellious people which walked in a waie that was not good euen after their owne imaginations They stopped their eares and woulde not heare nor be reclaimed nor returne that they might be saued And Ieremie O that my head were full of water and mine eies a fountaine of teares that I might weepe daie and night for the staine of the daughter of my people for they be adulterers and an assemblie of rebels Sword and destruction commeth vppon them and they will not sée Oh that they woulde giue eare and repent in time Againe My people is foolish they haue not knowen mee they are foolish children and haue no vnderstanding they are wise to doe euill but to doe well they haue no knowledge Dauid crieth out O yee sonnes of men howe long wil yee loue vanitie and seeke after lies Why forsake you the truth of GOD and haue no regarde to his mercie So our Sauior mourneth ouer Ierusalem O Ierusalem Ierusalem which killest the Prophets and stonest them that are sent to thee howe often woulde I haue gathered thy children together as the henne her broode vnder her wings and yee woulde not how carefully and tenderly haue I sought for thy saluation how often haue I called vpon thée sent vnto thée my seruantes and powred out my blessings before thine eies So bitter and mourneful a thing is it to al those that séeke the glorie of God to see no fruite followe of their labours to sée the people continue ignorant and wilfull and to séeke their owne destruction Therefore they turne themselues vnto GOD which is the father of lights and God of all comforte in whose hand are the hearts of the people that his worde maie haue frée passage and be glorified that God will open vnto them the doore of vtterance to speak the mysterie of Christ and publish the secret of the gospell boldlie that he will giue power to his worde declared by them and assist them with his holie spirite that hée will open the eies of the people that they maie sée and turne their heartes that they maie be conuerted So did Dauid make his praier Open thou my lippes O Lord and my mouth shal shewe foorth thy praise Albeit my month is simple and rude and barbarous yet if thou wilt it maie bée an instrument to declare thy glorie Then shall I teach thy waies vnto the wicked and sinners shall be conuerted vnto thee Be fauourable vnto Sion builde the wales of Ierusalem Thus doe they lift vp their handes and call vnto GOD that he would send downe his light into the hearts of the people that what they heare they heare not in vaine but maie receiue it and vnderstande it and kéepe it For vnlesse GOD direct the heart and make it fit to receiue instruction the preacher though he be neuer so desirous to doe good doth labor in vaine God one lic disposeth the waies of men it is hée which trieth the corne from the chasse hée knoweth whome he will bring to he of his folde make to heare his voice Manie times he blesseth his word with great encrease among them which at the first despise it and intreate cruelly the preachers and messengers thereof
your sakes What coulde you aske of me moreâ—… what greater gift coulde I bestowe vppon you V. 11. And ye know how that we exhorted you and comforted and besought euerie one of you as a father his children 12. That ye would walke worthie of God who hath called you to his kingdome and glorie I tooke care of you as of mine owne soule and dealt with you by alwayes of comfort and erhortation that you would take héede vnto your selues and your calling I did put you in minde that you were placed in the middest of the vnfaithfull people which knewe not God and that they watched you and your doing that their eye was vpon your housholde your wiues your seruauntes and your children vpon your selues and your words to espie if they might finde any occasion to speake euil of you I did beséech you by the glorious comming of our Lorde and sauiour Jesus Christ that the name of God might not be il spoken of through you You can not denie this You must néedes confesse you haue thus béene taught Ignorance can not be your excuse What remaineth then but that you performe it For the seruaunt that knoweth his maisters wil and doth it not shal be beaten with many stripes As a father his children What maner care is it that the father taketh of his children Many men are fathers of children but what man taketh the care he ought to take for them pastours or teachers of the people should be affected towardes their people as fathers are to their natural children Let such as are fathers and haue children knowe in what sort they must be careful Your children are a good blessing of God they bée members of the bodie of Christ the sonnes of God The kingdome of heauen belongeth to them God hath appointed his Angels to guide and leade them and to â—…ield them from euil and their Angels be in the presence of God and doe beholde the face of their father which is in heauen They be fresh plantes of the Church Who knoweth what necessarie instruments they may be in the common wealth and in the house of God It is not ynough to féede them and to nourish theyr bodies with necessarie sustenaunce For this do the heathen that knowe not God and the sauage and brute beastes and the birdes which haue no vnderstanding They bréede vp their young ones and are tender and paineful to prouide for them The asse though she be dul the Beare and Lion though they be wilde and cruel yet séeke they farre and néere to get wherewith to helpe their young Therefore if there be anie or can bee any which doeth forsake and leaue his owne he is more beastly than the foolish Asse and more vnnatural than most cruel Beares and Lions and Tigres But in this part men are for the most part ouer careful For this cause many build their houses with bloud and séeke possessions by iniquitie they ioyne house to house and fielde to fielde and wil dwel alone vpon the earth they oppresse the poore and néedie and doe wrong to the widowe and the fatherlesse they make money their God and spoyle one an other and al to prouide for their children This is the couer and cloake for al their misthiefe they may not leaue their children vnprouided Unhappie are the fathers which in this sort care for their children by the ruine spoyle of the néedy and innocent and so breake the commandement of God because their portion shal be with the wicked in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone And vnhappie are their children because they are partakers of their fathers wickednesse and therefore shal also be partakers of punishment with them The Prophet Dauid sayth I haue seene the wicked strong and spreading himselfe like a greene Bay tree Yet hee passed away and loe he was gone and I sought him but hee could not be found His roote was déepe his stocke strong his braunches broade he spread ouer and shadowed the whole countrey yet he passed away He departed his sonnes died his house soone decayed and his name was in little time quite forgotten Oh howe much better then is it to furnish the mindes of your children and to instruct them in godlinesse to teach them to knowe God to leade their life vertuously and to rebuke them and correct them for dealing il The beginning of wisedome is the feare of God Let them then learne what that good and acceptable wil of God is Shewe them the way in which they should walke that they goe neither to the right hande nor to the left The worde of God is pure and giueth vnderstanding to the simple it is a light to their footesteps it teacheth those that are young to amende their wayes When Christ came into Ierusalem the young children receiued him They cryed Ozanna to the sonne of Dauid Blessed is he that commeth in the name of the Lorde Christ giâ—…eth witnesse of them By the mouth of babes and sucklinges hast thou set foorth thy praise The wordes of the little and simple children were able to confounde the wisedome of the Pharise is Thus were they taught from their cradle so careful were their godly parents for them Contrariwise they can not haue any wisedome that despise the lawe of the Lord. They become blinde and wicked abhominable in al their waies They haue no sense nor féeling of the wil of God They cannot know light froÌ„ darkenesse nor God from Belial Such were the little children that mocked the Prophet Elizeus and said to him Come vp thou baulde head come vp thou bauld head Their bringing vp was no better Their wicked fathers had taught theÌ„ nothing elâ—… but waÌ„tonnes But the wrath of God fel vppon them and there were destroyed by two Beares two and fortie of them An other care which a father ought to haue of his children is to leade them vp in the studie of vertue and of godly life Blessed are the pure in heart for they shal see God They which kéepe not this way are the children of wrath Herein standeth the whole profession of a Christian life For God hath not called vs to vncleanesse but vnto holinesse This is the wil of God and this is our promise made vnto him that wee serue him in holynesse and righteousnesse al the dayes of our life that we encrease in vertue and growe from grace to grace A good and louing father which sendeth his sonne to a daungerous iourney either by sea or lande first instructeth him with aduise and telleth him in what sort hée shal auoyde perils Take héede sayth he the way is perilous which thou must passe The sea is terrible The waues rise vp as high as heauen and by and by thou shalt sée a pit as lowe as hel The sandes may swallowe thée the rockes may destroy thée Thou shalt passe by huge mountaines and through wildernesse where théeues wil assault thée Thy heart wil quake
Iesus Christ. When this worde is read Princes and Emperours stande vp and laie downe their sword and vncouer their head and bowe their bodie and doe reuerence bicause they knowe it is the worde of GOD which God himselfe vttered that it should be as the deaw of heauen to moisten our soules as a well of water springing vp to euerlasting life as a sauour of life vnto life and the verie power of God vnto saluation to euerie one that beléeueth Without this worde wée can receiue no comforte wée can not sée the light nor growe in saith nor abide in the Church of God It is the word of reconciliation By it God maketh atonement betwéene himselfe and the sonnes of men Therfore when the Epistles the Psalms the Chapters and the Gospell are read in our hearing let vs remember whose worde wée heare Let vs thinke thus with our selues These are the words of our gracious GOD. My God openeth his mouth from heauen aboue Hée speaketh to me that I maie be saued he speaketh to me to kéepe mée from errour to comforte mée in the aduersities and troubles of this life and to leade me to the life to come What is the cause why so manie so little regarde the worde of GOD Why they doubt it and suspect it Why they are so soone wearie of it and beare it not that reuerence that belongeth to it Bicause they thinke not neither from whome it commeth nor with whose bloud it is sealed nor to Inhose benefite it is written Let vs not be ashamed to giue place to the worde of GOD to awake our senses and to submit them and our wisedome and learning and bodies and soules vnto it Let vs not harden our hearts Let vs humble our selues before God and saie Beholde here am I let him doe to me as seemeth good in his eies Which also worketh in you that belceue Whosoeuer heareth the wordes of God and doth them not shall be likened to a foolish man that buildeth his house vppon the sand If yee know these things saith Christ blessed are yee if ye doe them The same worde of God which Paule taught the Thessalonians which was preached by Peter and the rest of the Apostles to the faithfull which Christ receiued of his father and deliuered to his Church is this day by the mercie of God purely and truly set downe vnto you By it you are required to amend your liues and comforted in the promises of GOD to the forgiuenesse of your sinnes If there he anie in whom it worketh not this effecte if there be anie which though they heare it beléeue it not nor are thereby renewed in their mindes it is a token that they haue not receiued the lous of the trueth of the Gospell they despise the worde of saluation and it shall iâ—…dge them in that daie V. 14. For brethren you are become followers of the Church of GOD which in Iudea are in Christ Iesus because yee haue also suffered the same things of your owne countrie men euen as they of the Iewes 15. Who both killed the Lorde Iesus and their owne Prophetes and haue persecuted vs and God they please not and are contrarie to al men 16. And forbid vs to preach vnto the Gentiles that they might be saued to fulfil their sinnes alwaies For the wrath of God is come on them to the vtmost Wherein became they followers In suffring as they did This is the badge and cognisance of the sonnes of God Christ sayth If any man wil come after me let him deny himselfe and take vp his crosse dayly and followe mee They followed others not in pleasure and glory but in trouble and persecution For that was the way of the prophetes and Apostles and of Christ himselfe Esay the Prophet was cut in sunder with a Sawe What more cruel death His bodie was rent his bowels torne and yet hee not quite dead In such sort it liked the cruel tormentors to sport themselues Why what had he done he was a prophet They néeded no other matter against him It was ynough that they found him to be a prophet Hieremie was stoned to death Wherefore because he called the people to repentaunce that they might be saued Because he was a prophet Amos was slaine with a barre poore olde man No reuerence giuen to his gray head no regarde or pitie was taken of him Wherefore because he rebuked iniquitie Because he was a Prophet Zacharie was sâ—…aine when he was in his prayers and doing sacrifice in the holy place betwéene the entraunce and the alter Wherefore Because he declared the trueth because he was a prophet This hath béene the malice and hatred of the Diuel The Prince of the darkenesse of this world hath raged so euen from the beginning By this meanes he hath sought to deface the truth glorie of God and to establish his owne kingdome in shedding the bloud and murthering the saints of God The Churches of God in Iudea were miserably bered and afflicted they were hated of al men and counted vnworthie of life Wherfore because they turned to the true liuing god did beléeue in the name of Jesus Christ. Therefore they were stript spoyled headed quartred drowned burnt and put to most reprocheful death Who would become their â—…ollowers Who would willingly learne to be so persecuted and made gazing stockes to al the worlde is discouraged not the Thessalonians They were a thousand mileâ—… distant from Iudea but were ioyned in fellowship of the Gospel and in brotherly loue vnto them They hearde of their mildenesse and of their constancie and were stirred vp by their example They did hearken after them and were carefull for them as for their brethren and the members of the same bodie You haue heard what numbers of late haue béene persecuted and put to death among vs. Wherefore because they turned from idols to serus God as he hath commanded and did put their trust in him You haue hearde how patiently and méekely they went to their death and what a plentiful haruest God hath raised of their bloud For the death of his saintes is precious in the sight of the Lorde Their bloud cannot be spent in vaine Wee must remember their patience and zeale and the cause why they suffred We must not despise or set light by the Gospel of Jesus Christ for which they so ioyfully gaue their liues And it is not ynough that we be mindeful of such examples as we haue had at home We must also carefully consider of other Churches abroade God hath kindled a fire he wil haue it burne O what formentes doe our brethren daily suffer What crueltie is deuised daily against them I speake not of death onelie but of rackings and wonderful extremities more painefull than death Wherefore are these thinges done vnto them Because they are turned to the true and liuing God and beléene in the name of Jesus Christ. Some they hang by the hands and drawe vp with
abstaine from fornacation 4. That euerie one of you shoulde knowe howe to possesse his vessel in holinesse and honour God requireth true and vnfained holinesse Wash you sayth the Prophet Esay make you cleane take away the euill of your workes from before mine eyes cease to doe ill This is the commaundement of God that so wee should be partakers of his heauenlie nature As hee which hath called you is holy so be ye holie in al manner of conuersation sayth Saint Peter Abstaine from fornication Nothing so much hindreth true holinesse as fornication vncleannesse wantonnesse and such like Euery sinne that a man doth is without the bodie but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his owne bodie God is the auenger of such He wil iudge the adulterers and fornicatours Be not deceiued Neither fornicatours nor adulterers nor wantons nor buggerers shal inherite the kingdome of heauen Knowe to possesse his vessel That is his bodie And the bodie is the temple of the holy ghost as he saith to the Corinthians And therefore glorifie God in your bodie and in your spirite for they are Gods In this bodie we shal rise out of our graue and appeare before the iudgement seate of God in this bodie wee shal sit vpon the twelue seates and iudge the twelue tribes God shal crowne it with glorie and honour Kéepe this vessel cleane it is precious keepe it in honour keepe it in holines Make not the member of Christ a member of the diuel Shame not your bodies shame not your selues V. 5. And not in the lust of concupiscence euen as the Gentiles which know not God Giue not your selues ouer to filthie affections as the horse and mule which haue no vnderstanding and as the Gentiles which haue no feare of Gods iudgement Their heart and minde is vncleane They know not God they knowe not themselues They knowe not the difference of this life and of the life to come Therefore they knowe not sin or if they know it they refraine it not but follow the lustes of their corrupt nature and giue themselues to wantonnesse to worke al vncleannesse euen with gréedinesse Thus the Apostle setteth downe what is the fruite of ignoraunce and whereto a man groweth that knoweth not God That deuotion therefore which some say is the daughter of ignorance hath no likenesse with true holinesse For this is life eternal saith Christ that they know thee to be the onely very God and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ. V. 6. That no man oppresse or defraude his brother in any matter for the Lorde is an auenger of al such thinges as we haue also told you before time and testified Let no man defraude his brother neither by false weight nor by false measure nor by lying words Let your measures weights wordes be true let your gaines be iust true that God may blesse them His blessing will make you rich and whatsoeuer he blesseth not shal wast consume and do you no good Doe vnto others as you would they should do vnto you This is true dealing and vpright If thou speake more than is true if thou take more than thy ware is worth thy conscience knoweth it is none of thine God will destroy al the workers of iniquitie He that delighteth in sin hateth his owne soule The mouth that accustometh to lie slayeth the soule Defraud not thy brother he is thy brother whether he be rich or poore he is thy brother and the sonne of God Wilt thou do wrong to thy brother wilt thou oppresse the son of God and y e euen in y e sight of god God is his father he wil not leaue it vnpunished in thée If he be simple and vnskilful abuse not his simplicitie God is the God of righteousnes Deale iustly that thine owne conscience accuse thée not Teach not thy sonnes nor thy seruauntes to deceiue others and to gaine by wickednesse After they haue learned of thée to deceiue others they wil deceiue thée also Iob prayed daily for his children Be thou also careful that thy children and seruauntes deceiue no man nor hurt any Their sinnes shal be layd to thy charge Why askest thou of God that hée wil féede thée giue thée thy daily bread waitest not vpon his wil but séedest vpoÌ„ the bread of iniquitie This meate wil not nourish thée this wealth wil not stande by thée for God wil not prosper it The wise man saith The bread of deceite is sweete to a man but afterwarde his mouth shal be filled with grauel I gotten goods haue an il end God hath said by the prophet Aggeus Yee haue sowen much but you haue brought in little Ye brought it home I did blowe vpon it We haue examples hereof daily We haue séene great heapes of wealth sodainely blowne away and consumed to nothing great houses decayed and the hope of the wicked quite ouertâ—…ne Here wil I speake somewhat of the vnhappie trade of â—…surie because therin standeth the most miserable and shameful deceiuing of the brethren I wil not speake al that may be said for it would be too long and ouer wearisome I will haue regard of that shal be agréeable and profitable and behooueful for you to heare And that you may the better consider hereof and sée the whole matter of Vsurie I will shewe you first what Vsurie is then whence it springeth what are the causes of Vsarie thirdly what commeth of it what hurt it worketh to the common wealth and I will laie soorth such reasons as may make any good man abhorre it Then I wil declare what the holie fathers and the Apostles and Martyres and Christ and God himselfe haue thought and spoken of vsurie Manie simple men â—…nowe not what is Vsurie nor neuer heard of the name of it The world were happie if no man knew it For euil things do lesse harm when they be most vnknown 〈◊〉 and plagues are not knowen but with great miserie But that you maie learne to knowe it and the more to aâ—…horre horre it this it is Vsurie is a kinde of lending of money or corne or olle or wine or of anie other thing wherein vpon couenant and bargaine we rereiue againe the whole principall which we delivred and somewhat more for the vse and occupying of the same As if I lend 100. pounds and for it couenant to receiue 105. li. or anie other sum greater than was the sum which I did lend This is that which we call Vsurie Such a kind of bargaining as no good man or godlie man euer vsed Such a kinde of bargaining as all men that euer feared Gods iudgement haue alwaies abhorred and condemned It is filthie gaines and a worke of darkenesse It is a monster in nature the ouerthrow of mightie kingdoms the destruction of flourishing states the decay of wealthy Cities the plagues of the world and the misery of the people It is thest it is the murthering of our Brethren it
away with a great noyse and the elementes shal melt with feruent heate the earth also and the workes that are therein shal be vtterly burned In that day we which liue and remaine shal be caught vp together with them that are dead in Christ in the cloudes to meete the Lord in the aire But of that daie and houre knoweth no man no not the Angelles of heauen but my father onelie saith our sauiour Christ. Now it remaineth that we sée by occasion of this practise of the false Prophets or false Apostles of whome Saint Paul héere warneth the Thessalonians howe the wicked abuse the holie Scriptures and vnderstand them contrarie to their meaning Saint Peter saide The daie of the Lord will come as a theefe in the night euen as Paule had written vnto this people as also it is spoken in the wordes of Christ They â—…all see the sonne of man come in the cloudes with power and great glorie The false Apostles vse the same wordes and wrest them to euill purpose and take vppon them to iudge of the end of the worlde and at what time the comming of Christ should be Christ saide Destroie this temple and in three daies I will raise it vp againe There arose certaine that did beare false witnesse against him saying we heard him saie hée would destroy this temple made with hands Then remembred that Temple was fortie and fire yeares a building and thought it impossible that he could reare it in three daies They tooke his wordes otherwise than bée meant They thought of the materiall temple of stone in Hierusalem and he spake of the temple of his bodie Againe Christ saith Thou arte Peter and vppon this rocke will I builde my Church These are the wordes of Christ spoken vnto Peter after he had witnessed of him that hée is Christ the sonne of the liuing God Héereof they say Peter is the rocke and the Bishop of Rome is Peters successor he is the rocke vpon which the church is builded and shall stand stedfast for euer But they vnderstand the wordes contrarie to the meaning For alas who would conceiue that God would build his Church vpon a man or vpon any creature Christ only is that rock whereupon his church is setled Other foundation can no man lay thaÌ„ that is laide which is Iesus Christ. Therefore Chrysostome expoundeth those wordes Super hanc Petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam id est super fidem atque confessionem I will builde my Church vpon this rocke that is vpon this faith and confession Likewise Saint Augustine Super hanc petram quam consessus es c. Vpon this rocke which thou hast confessed vppon this rocke which thou hast knowen saying thou arte Christ the sonne of the liuing God will I build my Church That is I will build my Church vpon my selfe which am the sonne of the liuing God I will not build my selfe vppon thee but I wil thee vpon me Christ saith Except a man be borne againe hee can not see the kingdome of God These words are most true For by our owne nature we be the vessels of Gods wrath and the children of danmation Vnlesse we be regenerate and borne a new of water and of the holie ghost we cannot be saued Yet Nicodemus a wise man a Pharisée and a ruler of the Iewes mistooke this speech it séemed strange vnto him how a man might be borne when he is olde Can he enter saith he the second time into his mothers wombe and be borne how can these things be Iesus aunswered and said vnto him arte thou a maister of Israel and knowest not these things This newe birth must be from aboue euen by the working of the holie ghost Againe Christ saieth Excepte yee â—…ate the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke his bloud you haue no life in you The Iewes heard him but mistooke his words They did not vnderstand his meaning Therefore they said This is an hard saying who can abide the hearing of it They reasoned among theÌ„selues how it might be that either he could giue theÌ„ his flesh to eate or that thâ—…y could take his â—…esh and eate it or take his bloud to drinke it but when Iesus knewe that his Disciples murmured at it hee saide vnto them Doth this offend you It is the spirite that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing Hereof Augustine saith Acceperunt illud suulté c. They tooke the saying of Christ foolishly they thought of it carnally and imagined that the Lord would cut off fmall peeces from his bodie and giue it to them Therefore they saide This saying is hard They were hard and not the saying For if they had beene meeke and not hard they would haue said to themselues this is not spoken without some cause there is some mysterie hidden vnder his wordes And againe hée saith Spiritualiter intelligite quae loquutus sum Non hoc corpus c. Vnderstand those things spiritually which I haue spoken vnto You shall not eate with the mouth of your bodie this bodie that you see nor shall you drinke that bloud which they shall shed that shall crucifie me I haue commended vnto you some sacrament vnderstand it spiritually and it shal quicken you Thus we sée the true meaning of Christs words and after what grosse manner the Capernaites vnderstood them Let vs beware wée fall not into like errour Christ spake truely of his bodie when hée called it a Temple The Iewes destroyed it and in thrée daies he did raise it vp againe Mistake not his wordes be not deceiued It is true that he said Vpon this rocke will I build my Church Mistake him not Christ himselfe is the rocke and not Peter It is true that a man must be borne a new or else he cannot be saued Mistake not this hereby is meant not a bodily birth but a renuing of the soule of man It is truely said that Christs flesh is that bread that came froÌ„ heauen and giueth life to the worlde but mistake it not for this bread filleth not the bodie but the minde it requireth the hunger of the inner man Euen so is it true that the Apostle saith of the daie of the Lorde Take héede you mistake him not and fall into the errour of the false Apostles which take vpon the to appoint the time and houre when the son of man shall come vnto iudgement V. 3. Let no man deceiue you by anie meanes for that daie shall not come except there come a departing first and that that man of sinne be disclosed euen the sonne of perdition The Church of God hath euer béene vnder persecution and afflictions as may appeare by the stories of al ages but GOD hath not failed to comfort them and worke their deliuerance Israel was in great bondage vnder Pharao They were put to great stauerie to â—…hoppe strawe and to bake bricke c. Their male children were slaine before
reformation of the abuses and errours of the church of Rome They haue béene aduertised of them not only by the professours of the gospel but also many of themselues haue spoken for reformatioÌ„ of sundrie abuses They haue kept many counsailes and assemblies They haue promised redresse They haue sit in consultation many yeares What one thing haue they reformed sée looke ouer their aâ—…es and sessions They be abroad in print Hitherto they haue reformed nothing no not their pardons no not their srâ—…ws they haue hardned their heartes and set themselues against the highest Therefore shal the glorie of the Lord shew it selfe in their destruction With the breath of his lippes they shal be consumed and brought to nothing And shal abolish with the brightnesse of his comming The Lord shal come and shal make his enemies his footstoole Then the sunne shal be black as a sackcloth the moone shal be like blood There shal be an earthquake Kinges great men and rich men and euery bond man and frée man shal hide themselues in dennes they shal say to the hils and mountaines and rockes fal vpon vs hide vs from the presence of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lambe Then shal Antichrist be quite ouerthrowen Then his kingdome shal be vtterly abolished and haue an end Then it shal appeare who hath sought the glorie of Christ who hath followed the doctrine of the gospel and who hath done the true endeuor of a faithful shepheard theÌ„ it shal appeare who is the woolfe who scattereth spoileth the flocke S. Hierome sayth Circumdabit â—…um calix dextere domini c. The cuppe of the Lordes right hande which is the Lorde and sauiour shal compasse him about when hee shal staie him with the breath of his mouth and shal destroie him with the brightnes of his comming Then al the ignominie and shame which hee hath heaped vp vppon himselfe with thoughtes deedes and wordes shal fal vppon his glorie and pompe in so much that he shal be afterwarde as vile and contemned of al men as he was before reputed or highly esteemed of them This might suffise touching the ruine and fal of Antichrist Yet I wil adde to that hath béene spoken the maner of the sight and of the victorie and of the triumphe which shall followe The fight is doubtful and daungerous the victorie shal be glorious the triumph shal be ioyful Heare let vs cal to remembraunce the warres which tyrantes and vngodly princes haue made against the people of God and what hath followed Scuacherib the great king of the Assirians came vp against Ierusalem with horses chariots and infinite nuÌ„bers of pickt souldiers The whole countrey of Iewrie was in an agonie al the people were astonied with feare to sée so many enemies and themselues so fewe to sée the enemies so strong and themselues so weake They knewe not neither where to séeke aide nor how to escape the present danger Sodainly the Lord sent his Angel from heauen to relieue his people In one night he smote in the campe of the Assyrians an hundred foure score and fiue thousand which were al dead coarses The residue were scattered and ranne away stragling they knewe not where to hide their head King Senacherib went his way and returned And when he was in 〈◊〉 at home and woorshipping his God Nisroch in the temple Adramelech and Sharezer his sonnes slew him Remember the cruel warres which Nabuchodonozer King of Babilon made against Gods people He tooke their citie spoyled their Temple sacked Ierusalem and gaue the pray to his souldiers He tooke the Nobles and gentlemen and marchants and yeomen and led them captiues Some of them he tooke with him to Babilon and some he sold for money so great and so terrible was his victorie In the middest of al his pompe God bereft him of his wit and astonied him with deadly madnesse He was driuen from men and did eate grasse as the Oxen and his bodie was wet with the dewe of heauen til his hayres were growen as Eagles feathers his nayles like birds clawes He imagined that he was an Oxe that he had hoofe and horne and haire as Oxen. Hée therefore forsooke his palace his princely apparel and daintie fare and lay abroade and fed with beastes So did God auenge the cause of his people Who hath not heard of the war which Pharao had against the Israelites the battaile was strange and the victory sodaine The people of god was beset with dangers on euery side the wildernesse had shut them in Before their faces they saw the raging sea that they could not scape it behinde their backes they did beholds Pharao with his army march after theÌ„ if they went forward they must néedes be drowned if they retired they must néedes be slaine Their enemies were mightie and they were weake Sodainly God deuided the waters made the sea dry land so that the children of Israel went through the middest of the sea vpoÌ„ dry ground safely as through a medow Pharao followed after with his sword and speare to worke his fury Then the sea returned to his course and drowned the chariots horsemen and al the host of Pharao there remained not one of them aliue Their carkases lay afloat vpon the water and were cast in heapes vppon the shoare Such shal bee the ende of those that hate the Lorde So shal he make his name triumph ouer al the world Let vs imagine a battaile of two mightie princes both of great power and of great â—…ourage they méete togither in the fielde they ioyne battaile both sides encounter together either part is bent to beate downe the other what an horrour is it to heare the braying of Horses the sounde of trumpets the thunder of drummes the roaring of guns the clashing of swords the groning and mournful voice of them which are slaine and the crying trembling of the people nowe let vs by this make some resemblance of the battaile betwéene Christ and Antichrist betwéene Christ the sonne of God and Antichrist the sonne of the diuel Either of them is wel prepared They are both mightie and haue both of them souldiers and knightes to attende vpon them Antichrist shal come from the earth for al his glorie is vpon the earth his power shal be the power of Satan Christ shal come from the heauens aboue euen from the bosome of his father What cognisance shal they giue how by what difference shal their souldiers be discerned the ensigne of Christ shal be enerlasting truth the ensigne of Antichrist shalbe falshood and vanitie and al deceitfulnesse By these markes shal either be knowen With what souldiers shal they make their fielde they that shal follow Christ are poore and simple who haue forsaken themselues their goods and their liues and tremble at the worde of God The men of warre which fight with Antichrist and followe him shal bee
mightie Kinges and Princes and powers and states of the worlde as S. Iohn hath sayde And Gregorie hath sayde An armie of Priestes is prepared to waite vpon the king of pride And here by may you knowe him What armour shal they haue and with what weapon shal they fight Antichrist shall furnish his men with speare and sworde and fire He shal reioyce in killing in burning and in shedding of bloâ—…d Christ shal send his men into the field naked and armed with pacience They shal take vppe their crosse and followe him readie to suffer whatsoeuer shal be layde vppon them Their weapons shal be prayers and wéeping What shal be the pretense of this fight Antichrist shal come in his owne name to maintaine and exalt himselfe Christ shal come in his fathers name to mainetaine the glorie of his father What shal they séeke wherefore fight they what is it they shal desire to mainetaine Antichrist shall desire to mainetaine his owne traditions Christ shal maintaine the holy worde of God Christ shal procure the glory of his father Antichrist shal maintaine his owne glory In what place shal this battaile be vpon what downes or plaine or in what countrey Neither in hill nor in anie plaine but in the hearts of the people There shall the warre be There shall it be fought If it were possible the elect should be confounded His assault shall be so terrible that manie shall be offended in Christ manie shall denie Christ manie shall be ashamed of him and the loue of manie shall waxe colde But blessed is he which continueth to the end We haue heard briefly of Christ and Antichrist their estates their seuerall cognisance what bands of meÌ„ they shall haue what armor they shal beare by what title they shall claime what they shal séeke where the fight shal be that it shalbe made in the consciences of y e people There shall Antichrist sit there shall he be worshipped as God there they shall call him the holie and most holie father there shalbe giuen to him the power of heauen and earth there he himselfe shall rouze himselfe and be setled and shal say I sit as a Prince I shal neuer be remooued I cannot fall But Christ shal blow him down with the breath of his mouth and shal abolish him with the brightnesse of his comming Christ shall haue the vpper haÌ„d and destroy him Euen that Christ whome they made the reproch scorne of the people whom they reuiled calling him drunkard and companion vnto Publicans harlots which was so poore simple which was oppressed and afflicted and yet opened not his mouth which was brought as a shéep to y e slaughter was killed S. Iohn had a reuelation and did sée Iesus Christ the sonne of God And Hee had in his right hand seauen starres and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword It was sharpe and mightie it entreth thorow euen to the diuiding asunder of the soule and the spirite and of the ioints and the marow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart So we sée the breath of the mouth of Christ is a sword This sword shal ouerthrow Antichrist RemeÌ„ber how Dagon sell on his face vpon the ground before the Arke of the Lord how hée could not stand how at that presence the head and the two palmes of his hands were cut off vpon the threshold with a fall So shall Antichrist fall at the presence of Christ. His armes and his head shal be broken off and he shal not stand Remember that Aaron cast forth his rod before Pharao and his seruaÌ„ts and it was turned into a serpent so did the charmers of Aegypt They cast down euerie man his rod and they were also turned into serpents But Aarons rod deuoured their rods consumed them to nothing Euen so shall the truth of Christ consume and bring to nothing the falshood of Antichrist Al his glorie shall be scattered as the chaffe which the wind driueth awaie as a thinne some is scattered away with a storme and as the smoke which is dispersed with the wind and as the darknes which can not abide in the sight of the sunne it shal be consumed it shal be defaced it shall not stand At the name of Iesus euerie knée shall how euery tongue shall confesse that Iesus Christ is mightie to the glorie of God the father that he is worthy to receiue glorie and honor and power But who may better disclose this mysterie and the fall of Antichrist than Iohn the Euangelist which leaned on Iesus bosome whome Iesus loued and which was indued with wisdome from aboue Let vs heare him I saw saith he an Angel slie in the midst of heauen hauing an euerlasting gospell to preach vnto them that dwell on the earth and to euery nation and kinred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice Feare God giue glorie to him for the houre of his iudgement is come worship him that made heauen earth and the sea the fountains of waters And there folowed another Angell saying It is fallen it is fallen Babilon y e great city for she made al nations to drinke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication And the third Angel folowing theÌ„ said with a loud voice If any man worship the beast and his image and receiue his marke in his forehead or on his hand the same shall drinke the wine of the wrath of God and shall be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holie Angels and before the holie Lamb they shall haue no rest daie nor night Againe the seauenth Angel poured out his viall into the aire and there came a loud voice out of the Temple of heauen from the throne saying It is done That is it is concluded iudgement is giuen it shall stande for euer And there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and there was a great earthquake and the great citie was rent into thrée partes and great Babylon came in remembrance before God to giue vnto her the cup of the wine of the fiercenesse of his wrath Then one of the Angels talked with me saying Come I wil shewe thée the damnation of the great whore that sitteth vppon manie waters with whom haue committed fornication the Kings of the earth the inhabitants of the earth are drunken with the wine of her fornication And in the same Chapter he saith These haue al one mind shal giue their power and authoritie to the beast that is to Antichrist Thus the kings al princes as squiers to his bodie shall fight against the lamb But the lamb shal ouercome them for he is lord of lords and king of kings I saw an other Angel comming down from heauen hauing great power so that the earth was lightned with his glorie and he cried out mightily with a loud voice saying It is fallen it is fallen Babylon
called you I coulde speake such thinges wherewith you woulde be better pleased but your case is such it requireth rather frâ—… and planie and â—…arpe reprehension whereby you may be brought to consider and amend your errours than faire and smoothed spéech which might hould you stil in your follie Séeke therefore the kingdome of GOD and the glorie thereof and seeke not your selues Weigh trueth and falsâ—…de in an indifferent ballaunce so shâ—…l the heauier weight of the one soone bewray the lightnesse of the other What thing in the worlde so Massie and so weightie as is the trueth Harden not your heartes as did your Fathers in the Wildernesse It is no sinne to yéelde vnto GOD it is no shame to lay a part al affection and to chaunge your minde to the denial of al vngodlinesse and imbracing of true holinesse The wise man sayth There is a shame that bringeth sinne and a shame that bringeth worshippe and fauour In this sort it is likely the Apostle would haue spoken if néede had so required But nowe seeing them forcibly assaulted and that yet they striued with such good courage against the perswasions of the wicked he commendeth their stedfastnesse and exhorteth them by these wordes not to yéelde vnto their persecutours nor to goe from their faith in Christ Iesus Neither by spirite that is by reuelation of the spirite The spirite of God wrought mightily and bestowed sundrie and great giftes vppon men Christ sayde to his Disciples When they deliuer you vp take yee no thought howe or what ye shal speake for it shal bee giuen you in that same houre what yee shall speake For it is not ye that speake but the spirite of your father which speaketh in you And againe saith he I wil pray the father and he shal giue you an other comforter that hee may bide with you for euer The spirite of trueth whome the worlde can not receiue because the worlde feeth him not neither knoweth him but yee knowe him for he dwelleth with you and shal bee in you The holie Ghost shal be with you to assist you to teach you al thinges to direct your counsels to leade you into al trueth and to preserue you from al errour Nowe as the spirite of God was among the faithful and distributed to euerie man seueral giftes as it séemed best to profit withal so did the spirite of Satan waite vpon the wicked and possessed their hearts and bodies and caused them to imagine and to doe those thinges which were vnséemely He vsed them as instrumentes to disquiet the Church of God and to cast into it the séede of error of vntrueth and dissention Of such spirites Saint Iohn giueth warning saying beleeue not euerie spirite but trie the spirites whether they are of God for many false Prophets are gone into the worlde At what time Achab would not beléeue the aunswere which the Prophet Micheas made him there came foorth a spirite and stoode before the Lorde and sayde I wil go out and be a false spirite in the mouth of al his prophetes This spirite euer walketh vp and downe séeking whome hee may deuour and blindeth the mindes of many that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ may not shine vnto them Take héere that you be not deceiued by any such which shal séeke to abuse you by pretence of reuelation Though they shal take vpon them to tel you of the day or houre of the comming of our Lord beloeue them not for the false spirite is in the mouth of such prophetes Nor by worde or if anie shal report and goe about to perswade you that I haue so spoken or taught in the congregations or will boldely countenaunce out suche matter and tell you saring I was present I hearde his wordes and remember them this was the doctrine which Paule preached refuse him that is such a one for hee bringeth not the trueth vnto you but deceiueth you with lying and vaine fables Nor by letter as it were from vs. Againe it may bee they which lie in waite to destroye you for their better way wil counterfaite letters and sende them vnto you in my name This is a token in them that they bée past shame bee not you carried away by anie such pretence from that which wee haue preached vnto you Wée haue not taught you that the day of Christ is at hande Oh then be not so soone remooued away vnto an other Gospel by them which trouble you and intende to peruert the Gospel of Christ. Manie such sâ—…eightes and false deuises haue béene vsed by deceiuing spirites to blind the eyes of the simple There haue béene some which haue â—…etie abroade their owne fantasies vnder the names of Adam the first man that GOD created vppon the face of the earth and of Cain and Seth. Others haue called their owne dreames the Gospel of Thomas and of Bartholemewe and of Barnabee and of the Apostles of Christ. Saint August sayth of the Manichees Manichaeilegunt seripturas Apocryphas nescto à quibus sutoribus fabularum sub nomiâ—…e Apostolorum Scripâ—…as The Manichees â—…ead secret hidden Scriptures written I know not by what coblers of fables vnder the name of the Apostles Such writings were neuer written by them whose name they brare but were wickedly and falsely counterfaited vnder their names by sundrie heretiques This is that whereof our sauiour gaue vs warning Take heede that no man deceiue you for many shal come in my name saying I am Christ and shal deceiue many Againe he sayeth If any shal say vnto you lâ—…e here is Christ or there belecue it not for there shal arise false Christes and false Prophetes Into what shape can not he transforme himselfe in whose name wil not hée crastilie sette foorth his errours which dareth falfelie sette him selfe in the place of the â—…onne of GOD This hath euermore béene the practise of that olde Serpent to chaunge himselfe into the likenesse of an Angel of light and vnder the credite of holie men to deceiue the worlde with vnholy and vnwholesome thinges Since the time that the Church of God hath departed from hir first faith and would no longer be guided by the voyce of the Gospel what and howe great forgeries haue there béene wrought What Epistles and Canons and decretals haue béene deuised to maintaine seueral partes of false religion and published vnder the name of Clemens Cletus Anacletus and of others whereof these holie fathers neuer thought Thus haue they cioked themselues vnder the couert of the Apostles of the fathers of the primitiue church and haue thought to winne credite in the worlde by false shewe of antiquitie It is certaine that the sonne of man shal come with his holie Angels and shal rewarde euerie man according to that he hath doone in this life Then will he giue sentence against the wicked and wil place the faithful at his right hande In that day the heauens shal passe