persecuters of true religion who by euill meanes had attained vnto that authoritie and behaued themselues as ill in it Paul in this treatie of a magistrate meeteth with both these errors He laieth downe this foundation for an absolute and a generall rule Let euerie soule be subiect to the higher powers This obedience he requireth both of Iewe and Gentile of Prophet Priest in summe of euerie Christian and this position he prooueth by sundrie forcible reasons 2 First there is no power but of God The powers that are bee ordeined of him Be the magistrate Iewe or Gentile Christian or Heathen good or bad hee hath his authoritie from God the magistrate of all magistrates God hath placed him and ordeined him to bee thy gouernour in respect whereof thou art bound for thy conscience sake towardes God for to obey him Another reason why euerie soule should liue in subiection to the higher power is because whosoeuer resisteth the ordinaunce of God prouoketh the iudgement of God against himselfe If God for thy sinne set a wanton an hypocrite yea or an Infidell ouer thee thou must obey that wanton that hypocrite and that Infidell and not rebell against him GOD hath ordeined him to resist that power is to resist the ordinaunce of GOD to conspire against him is to conspire against GOD to reiect him is to reiect God Christ submitted himselfe to the authoritie of Caesar and to Pilates iudgement Resisters and rebels receiue to themselues condemnation they neuer haue neither euer shall escape the heauie hand of Gods wrath they feele it often in this life but in the life to come if they escape it heere they are sure to feele it A third reason why we should liue obediently is because there is no reason why wee should doe otherwise For why should any man desire not to be subiect Because he is afraide of the power of kings and rulers Princes are a terror not to them that doe well but to euill doers Wilt thou then be without feare of the power Withdrawe not thy selfe from obedience but doe well so shalt thou haue praise and be without feare For this ende magistrates are appointed of God to maintaine the good and represse the euill And the magistrate is so necessarie in respect hereof that no common wealth can be safe or long stand without him For if the bad were not bridled more by the authoritie of the magistrate than by any moderation in themselues they would eate vp the good and a woonderful confusion would soone followe A fourth reason may be this God hath put a sword in the magistrates hands to shewe that he hath appointed him as his vicegerent to take vengeaunce on them which doe euill So that the very sight of the sword ought to put vs in minde of his power and our obedience For God hath not deliuered him a swoord for nothing hee is the minister of Gods wrath he hath not receiued the swoord in vaine it is giuen him to smite the wicked withall 3 Wherefore ye must be subiect not because of wrath onely but also for conscience sake The Apostle concludeth vpon the former reasons that wee must submit our selues obediently vnto the magistrate and attempt nothing against him not onely for feare of punishment he being the minister of Gods displeasure but also for conscience sake in that God requireth this obedience at our handes All this notwithstanding if magistrates should commaund that which is impious and which God forbiddeth in such cases we haue our answere well warranted Melius est obedire Deo quà m hominibus It is better to obey God than men 4 In token of this obedience wee pay them tribute as acknowledging them to be Gods ministers It is not a strange or a newe custome to pay custome to princes All nations all people haue euer vsed it and yeelded it and magistrates well deserue it For their office is both painefull and chargeable they euer caring for the benefite of the common wealth to represse the euill to strengthen the good to set vp vertue to cast downe vice to defend their people and countrie and in well gouerning as the good ministers of God to spend both their goods liues These magistrates must bee supported and may lawfully receiue the reward of their labours nay they must receiue it Wherefore vnlesse ye wil be iniurious and withhold back from them that which is theirs euen by debt and not by courtesie giue to all men their duetie tribute to whom tribute custome to whom custome feare to whom feare and honour to whom honour is due Wee must haue magistrates in great estimation and reuerence wee must feare them as the ministers of Gods wrath we must honour them for that they occupie Gods place for our benefite wee must readily and willingly pay vnto them tribute and custome for God hath so appointed and they haue so deserued And therfore the Apostle saith Reddite Paie it Whereupon S. Chrysostome fitly noteth We doe not giue it vnto magistrates but we paie it vnto them It is as due as debt 5 Vpon this particular touching our duetie towardes magistrates our Apostle inferreth a generall exhortation Owe nothing to any man but this to loue one another c. This exhortation compriseth two things our duetie to our neighbour our duetie to God Our duetie to our neighbour consisteth in paying him what we owe him and in louing him as wee loue our selues 6 Owe nothing to any man pay thy debt pay vnto the magistrate obedience feare honour tribute custome all this is due vnto him all this is thy debt The people of Israel bound themselues with solemne promise to pay this debt to their magistrate Iosua whom the Lorde had giuen to bee their gouernour All things which thou hast commaunded vs we will doe and whither so euer thou wilt send vs we will goe as we obeyed Moses so will we also obey thee Onely let thy Lord thy God be with thee as hee was with Moses Whosoeuer shall rebell against thy commaundement and will not obey thy words in al that thou commaundest him let him be put to death This is the debt we owe to magistrates Myriam would not pay this debt to her brother Moses and God plagued her with a fowle leprosie so that shee which had separated her selfe from common obedience was separated from all companie Dathan and Abiram with their complices rebelliously murmured against their magistrate and God made the earth open and swallowe them vp and a number of that conspiracie he consumed with fire Absolon rebelled and would not pay this debt of obedience to his father But God quickely paide him that which was due to his rebellious and disloyall attempts God is stil the same God he hateth iniquitie and wil not suffer conspiracie rebellion or treason against lawfull magistrates either vnreuealed or vnreuenged And therefore let all subiects as wel to auoide the wrath of God as also for
common wealth What stirs diuersities of religion hath raised in nations kingdoms the histories are so many so plaine and our times in such sort haue told you that with further proofe I need not trouble your eares One God one king one faith one profession is fit for one monarchie common wealth Diuision weakneth Concord strēgtheneth The storie of Scilurus the Scythian is knowen who vpon his death bed taught his lxxx sons the force of vnitie by the strength of sticks weake by themselues when they are tyed in a bundle Let conformitie and vnitie in religion be prouided for and it shal be as a wall of defence vnto this Realme 26 And as these things are especially to be regarded as our principal care must be for the highest matters synceritie and vnitie in religion so we may not neglect or passe ouer smaller things which neede redresse For as diseases and sores in the basest and vilest parts of the body doe grieue and may endaunger the chiefest vnlesse they bee cured betimes so the least abuses by sufferance may worke the greatest harme Gorgeous apparel and sumptuous dyet with such like matters may seeme small things but they are the causes of no small euils They eate vp England and are therefore to bee repressed by straite Lawes It is a part of true seruice done vnto God to see euen vnto these things 27 Wee may seeme to cast our eyes very lowe when wee looke into the dealings of euerie officer vnder the Prince Yet euerie one must be seene vnto They waxe sodainely rich by the spoile of the Prince Reforme it by Lawe that all may walke in trueth If merchaunts with other artificers and meaner trades doe inriche themselues by impouerishing others through deceitfull shifts the common wealth suffereth dammage by their vneuen dealings If we wil haue God serued in trueth wee must by Lawe reforme them 28 That biting worme of vsurie that deuouring wolfe hath consumed many many it hath pulled vpon their knees and brought to beggerie many such as might haue liued in great wealth and in honour not a fewe This canker hath corrupted all England It is become the chiefe chaffer and merchaundise of England We shall doe God and our countrie true seruice by taking away this euill Represse it by Lawe else the heauie hand of God hangeth ouer vs and wil strike vs. 29 That vile sinne of adulterie in Gods common wealth punished with death so ouerfloweth the bankes of all chastitie that if by sharpe Lawes it be not speedily cut off God from heauen with fire will consume it Preuent Gods wrath bridle this outrage so shal you serue the Lord in truth 30 There is nothing more hurtfull to the common wealth than these corner contracts without consent of parents contrary to the woorde of God the Lawe of nature the Lawe ciuil and all right and reason The inconueniences that followe are not sufferable Euaristus a Bishop of Rome saith It is not wedlocke but whoredome when the consent of parents is wanting God cannot bee better serued than if by Lawe yee restraine this vnlawfull contracting The children of this inconuenient mariage may scarsely bee termed lawfull The deuill that hath euer hated wedlocke and loueth whoredome was the first author of this great disorder God graunt you vnderstanding heartes and willing mindes faithfully and in trueth to trauell to represse and take away these euils 31 And as euill is to be controlled by Lawe so that which is good is also by Lawe to be procured God hath made vs many wayes riche For what wee haue freely at his hands we haue it But he himselfe is become very poore in so much that for want of reliefe he is forced to begge and for want of lodging and meate hee lieth and dieth in our streetes This great ingratitude God cannot but reuenge Oh what shame is this to a Christian common wealth in a reformed countrie Obstinate Iewes would neuer shew themselues so vnthankful Their auncient Lawe forbidding beggars is euen to this day most straitly kept amongest them Lawes in this behalfe haue beene prouided but as they wanted perfection so haue they in manner in no point or any where had execution Serue God in trueth prouide that Christ craue not Such as wil not feede him here he wil neuer feede in his kingdome Thus haue I point by point let you see disorders and wants in the common wealth Ye haue authoritie by Lawe to reforme them Consider duetifully of it and serue God truely as ye ought alwayes remembring the saying of the Prophet Esay Woe be to them that make wicked Lawes 32 When good Lawes are made they must be put in execution Lawe is the life of the common wealth and execution the life of the Lawe And better not to make Lawes than not to execute Lawes when they are once made This is the dutie of the publike ministers of the common wealth They must first keepe Lawes themselues then see that others in like sort may obserue them If the officers and ministers of the common wealth contemne lawes doubtlesse the people wil neuer reuerence them if they breake them the people wil neuer keep them Which Solon wisely considering wisely aunswered being demaunded what was chiefe safetie for a common wealth If the Citizens obey the Magistrate and the Magistrate the Lawes You that are appointed to this purpose and put in trust therewith lay aside dread and meede fauour and friendship gift and gaine and with simplicitie of heart punish the transgressor of the Lawe according to the Law Make not Anacharsis webbe of the Lawe Let not the hornet escape and the litle flie bee caught Fewe Lawes well made and well kept would serue the turne This is Gods seruice the execution thereof he hath set ouer to your hands Serue him in trueth and singlenesse of heart Cursed is he that negligently doeth the worke of the Lorde 33 Thus much hath beene spoken concerning higher powers and of their duetie in the seruice of God Samuel speaketh not to them alone to the people it is spoken as well as to the prince Feare and serue ye the Lorde in trueth Feare God embrace the Gospel leade your liues in holinesse and righteousnesse according to the word of trueth The Lorde is a strong defence to them that feare him They that feare him want nothing 34 Giue vnto the Lordes annointed due reuerence and honour Let euerie soule be subiect not by constraint but for conscience sake Imitate those worthie Israelites who were so willingly obedient to Iosua that they cryed with one voice Whosoeuer shall rebell against thy commaundement and will not obey thy woordes in all that thou commaundest him let him die Grudge not repine not at higher powers say not in your hearts Let vs breake their bands and cast away their chaines from vs. 35 Seeke the peace of the common wealth and
wee haue to praise our God that in publike doctrine touching the substance of religion wee all agree in one truth we all builde vpon one foundation Christ Iesus slaine and offered vp for our full redemption according to the doctrine of the scriptures So much the greater pitie it is that there should be such dissent in matters of small importance in rites and circumstances that by contention in such things the course of the Gospel should be hindered Christs aduersaries strengthened and his church offended The ministerie cannot bee well executed without her rites which rites are left indifferent to euerie policie so that they be not disagreeing from the word so that they tend vnto edification so that they be seemely and according to decent order Bee it graunted that some rites vpon some consideration might be bettered or omitted yet can I not say neither any man I suppose can prooue that any thing is set downe to be obserued in the Church wicked or contrarie to the woord And it were scarse wisedome when as in many yeres a beautifull and a costlie house is builded if a windowe be set a litle awrie or some small like eye sore doe appeare in respect thereof to disturbe the whole house to put it downe and laie it flat with the ground For euerie change being so full of perill surely these great alterations vpon so light aduise these newe common wealthes howsoeuer they be shadowed with the plausible name of reformation yet in seeking for vndoubtedly this is sought and that by many to haue the patrimonie of the Church diuided mangled and impaired they threaten the vtter ouerthrowe of learning and religion For take away liuing at which roote this axe especially striketh and ye take away learning take away learning and yee ouerthrowe teaching take away teaching and what shall become of the church of Christ Where there is no vision there the people cannot choose but come to decaie There is no state no not the state of a prince excepted to whom feare honour obedience and tribute is due that may more rightly chalenge a competent and sufficient liuing than the minister of the word of God They seeme to haue put out the verie light of nature in themselues which repine at the reasonable maintenance of them that minister before the Lorde in these sanctified labours For who doeth plant a vineyard and doeth not eate of the fruite thereof or who feedeth a flocke and eateth not of the milke of the flock Marke how the scriptures both in the Lawe and in the Gospell doe beate vpon this point In the Lawe it is saide Thou shalt not mussle the mouth of the Oxe Doeth God take care for Oxen No his care is for vs. For our cause it is that he hath saide The labourer is worthie of his hire For our cause he hath ordeined that they which preache the Gospell should liue of the Gospell Hee had a care of his church and therefore gaue charge Let him that is taught in the word make him that taught him partaker of al his goods This is large yet but reasonable For if we haue sowen vnto you spiritual things is it a great matter if wee reape your carnall things is it much to make vs partakers of all your goods The Elders that rule well are worthie of double honour specially they which labour in the woord and doctrine They which labour amongst you and are ouer you in the Lorde and admonish you haue them saith the Apostle we beseeche you in singular loue for their works sake It was foreseene no doubt by the spirite how Gods portion should be pinched howe the ministers of the word should be contemned howe iniuriously men in these last vncharitable daies would seeke for the hauocke and spoile of the Church this mooued him in so large and ample sort to speake of maintenance and honour due to his ministers If any man bee slowe and rechelesse in dooing his office if there bee any Idol-sheepeheard that feedeth himselfe onely and not his flocke let him be reformed or remooued But for the fault of a fewe that the whole state should be subuerted and the patrimonie of the church of Christ spoiled and deuoured it were verie hard No prince nor people Christian or Heathen could euer consent to such a thing without sacrilege Wel as we are at vnitie in substance of religion so God graunt that at length in these things also we may agree and be as one euen as becommeth the congregation of Christ which is a societie linked and knit together not sundered by diuision and rent in peeces by varietie of opinions and iudgements To this vnitie Paul exhorteth Be of one meaning This vnitie Christ commendeth to his Disciples saying Be one 6 Of this vnitie and coniunction of men agreeing in the trueth ariseth that brotherly concord whereof S. Paul in the woordes that followe saith Be like minded hauing the same charitie Where dissent in religion is there can hardly be consent in loue Diuersitie of religion sundered the Iewe and Gentile caused the one to be an abhomination to the other Wherefore hee that came to bring religion into the world came not to bring with it peace but a sword a sworde to diuide asunder not onely kingdomes and cities but euen the man and the wife the father and the childe a sword to cut off one brother from another For there can be no agreement betweene Christ and Beliall the light of the one and the others darkenesse such as are not of one true religion with vs their profession may be friendshippe but their practise is deceit they may with speeche and countenaunce flatter and fawne but they carie for the most part a malitious heart set vpon mischiefe Caine spake Abel faire ynough but for the diuersitie of his sacrifice he hated him and spying opportunitie shed his bloud Herod pretended to worship Christ whose death he fully purposed in his malitious mind There was neuer therfore wise Israelite that would trust an Amorite It is and will bee true for euer that Constantine saide Qui perfidi sunt in Deum in Principem fideles esse non possunt They cannot be sure to their Prince who to God-ward are not syncere They count trueth heresie and No PROMISE TO BE KEPT WITH HERETIKES is their posie Children they are like to their father which is a murtherer and lier from the beginning But when we speake of loue and charitie we speake of the badge of Christianitie of the vertues of true Christians who consenting in faith bring foorth the fruite of faith which is loue without which howe neere soeuer we approche vnto Christ in word and in outward profession we are in deede none of his He cannot agree with Christ that is at discord with a Christian. God is so delighted with this affection that he professeth himselfe to hate them that are enemies of it yea the soule of the Lord abhorreth
conscience sake pay this debt of true obedience in all lawfull causes to their lawfull magistrate 7 Let the magistrate pay vnto the people the debt which he oweth them The debt of the magistrate is the iust execution of lawfull punishment against transgressors The sword is deliuered vnto him for that purpose neither is any open transgression of any kinde whether it concerne the first or second table of the lawe of God or any man of any calling bee hee Prophet or Priest exempted from this iudgement Salomon deposed Abiathar the high Priest Iehu slewe the false Prophets Elias the Baalites This sword is giuen of God to magistrates to execute iust iudgement against all sinnes and all sinners and this part of debt is to be paide It is also a part of the magistrates debt to giue vpright sentence in matters of controuersie betweene parties For which cause the Poets faine Iustice to carie a sword in the one hand and a balance in the other to kill sinne with the one and with the other to weie litigious and controuersed causes 8 Such as are magistrates to whom the deciding of causes punishing offences is committed should be chosen out of al the people the best and fittest men for their wisedome and courage their religion and heartie affection to the truth and for the hatred which they beare to couetousnesse For this is no office for a foole and he that feareth not God will shewe partialitie he that loueth not the truth will iustifie the wicked and condemne the innocent he that hateth not couetousnesse will take rewards and be corrupted with bribes as the sonnes of Ely which receiued gifts with the one hand and with the other peruerted iudgement The eyes euen of the wise are blinded herewithall Feare also affection and commiseration with desire to please men are great hurts vnto iustice Pilate for feare of Caesar gaue sentence against Christ For feare of displeasing a man on earth hee murthered the king and God of heauen Whom monie cannot corrupt affection will carie away it is the cutthroate of al iustice the people daily both feele it and rue it Pitie or commiseration made Iosua spare the miserable Gabionites contrarie to the expresse commaundement of God Desire to please caused Pilate to send Iesus ouer vnto Herod who together with his band despised and mocked him It caused Herode to imbrue his hands in the Baptists bloud It causeth many euen against the light of their owne consciences to iustifie the wicked and condemne the man whom they finde innocent Such doe very ill discharge the debt which they owe vnto their brethren 9 The minister is also a debtor to the people committed to his charge I am a debtor saith the Apostle both to Greekes and Barbarians to learned vnlearned The pastor is a debtor vnto his flock to feed it so much as in him lyeth to feed it both spiritually corporally spiritually by life and doctrine corporally with hospitality according to his abilitie Woe be to that pastor y t paieth not this debt For if the flocke perish for want of food al y t perishing bloud shal be required at his hands A hard reckoning for him to answere a sharp punishmēt to sustain for not answering 10 The flocke is indebted to their pastor to honour and to reuerence him as their father to heare him as their schoolemaster to obey and submit themselues vnto him as to one whom God hath set ouer them for to rule them to obserue his wholesome precepts to followe him in life as hee followeth Christ to loue him and to minister necessaries vnto him for his conuenient sustentation All this debt is set downe in the scriptures and God requireth paiment of it 11 The husband doeth owe vnto his wife due beneuolence tender and faithfull loue prouision for things needefull and honest wise gouernement good instruction protection custodie and honour The wife is indebted vnto her husband to honour him to loue him to obey him to learne of him to be gouerned by him to liue vnder him in silence with all subiection to ease him in the orderly nurturing of his children and the wise gouerning of his house to be not onely an helpe but a credit vnto him by her keeping home by her industrie and painefulnesse by her sober holie and discreete behauiour The master oweth to his seruaunt meate wages correction instruction The seruant to his master honour obedience faithfull seruice and whatsoeuer he is able by labour to performe 12 Euerie man is to his neighbour a debtor not onely of that which himselfe boroweth but of whatsoeuer his neighbour needeth a debtor not onely to pay that he oweth but also to lende that he hath and may conueniently spare to lend I say according to the rule of Christ Lend looking for nothing thereby And your reward shall be much you shall be the sonnes of the most high So that these ouerpaiments the vsurie which hath spoiled and eaten vp many the canker of the common wealth is vtterly both forbidden to man and abhorred of God To bargaine for leade graine or leases with such as haue neither leade graine nor lease to pay neither any such matter meant but onely vnlawfull gaine of monie the partie to forfeit his obligation because hee neither can nor meaneth such paiment and the lender not content to receiue lesse aduantage than thirtie at the hundred this is but a patched cloake to couer this vile sinne withall Whatsoeuer thou receiuest vpon condition or by what meanes soeuer thou receiuest more than was lent thou art an vsurer towards thy brother and God will be a reuenger against thee Hee whom thou shouldest obey if thou wilt be saued doth in expresse words command thee not to lend thy monie for vsurie If thou lend monie to my people to the poore with thee thou shalt not be as an vsurer vnto him If thy brother be impouerished and fallen into decaie thou shalt relieue him and as a stranger or soiournour so shall he liue with thee And againe Thou shalt not giue to vsurie to thy brother vsurie of monie vsurie of meate vsurie of any thing that is put to vsurie This woord of God man cannot dispence withall and it shall not returne in vaine If it cannot be a conuerting commaundement it shall bee a confounding iudgement The reasons of men for vsurie must giue place to the precept of God against it What man art thou that wilt bee wiser than thy maker Hath God condemned it and darest thou defend it Is it in his iudgement iniurious and doeth thy censure thinke it equall Hath he seene reason to prohibite it and doest thou see reason why thou maist vse it Such reasons with the makers and vsers of them the Lords iustice shal destroie And yet in truth all reason and the verie Lawe of nature is against it all Nations at all times haue condemned it
I looke for to come out of such a schoole and from such a schoolemaster This would worldly wisedome and flesh bloud haue said vnto him but faith putteth no such perill but readily obeyeth whatsoeuer God commaundeth It doubteth not it stackereth not but if God saith goe it goeth if GOD say coÌ„me it commeth if God say doe this it doth it Beholde to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken is better than the fat of rammes 18 He sendeth two of his seruaunts and a godlie souldier that attendeâ—â— vpon him Here was the reward of his labour in bringing vp his houshold in the feare of God He had taught his seruaunts truely and syncerely to feare God and God had taught his seruaunts faithfully and willingly to serue him For he saith the Scripture that doeth serue his master faithfully and heartily serueth Christ Iesu who rewardeth all faithfull seruice Abraham brought vp his familie in the feare of God and he reaped the fruite of it He had a most faithfull seruaunt whom hee sent to procure a wife to his sonne Isaak whosoeuer therefore will be trustily serued let him traine vp his houshold in the feare of God and expell out thence all that be not godlie as godly Dauid did It is dangerous for any man to nourish serpents in his bosome they will at one time or other sting him Faithlesse seruaunts haue beene the confusion of many good masters And godlesse children the destruction of many good fathers Ophâ—ni and Phinees were the death of their father Ely the high priest And Iudas conspired against his master Christ the innocent sonne of God 19 But to come to that which I set downe for the last Note in Cornelius with what humanitie and reuerence hee receiued Peter the preacher of Gods word he called to him his kinsemen and friends and expected him he fel downe prostrate to doe him honour he thanked him for his comming declaring how readie he was to heare him And because faith doth labour for Gods glorie and breake foorth into loue towards our neighbour hee called his friends and kinsemen to be partakers of that great treasure of God with him Hee was not Caine-like who had no care for his brother Cornelius teacheth vs howe desirous we ought to be of Gods word howe glad and readie to heare it and howe that in duetifull loue wee should prouoke others to the hearing and imbracing of it For it is the woord of trueth and saluation Which S. Iames considering exhorteth his brethren to receiue the word that is able to saue their soules And let vs consider one another saith S. Paul to prouoke vnto loue and to good woorkes not forsaking the fellowship that we haue among our selues as the maner of some is but exhorting one another The arrogant Iewes puffed vp with selfe-loue would not ioine themselues in the congregation with Gentiles Which thing the Apostle reprooueth exhorting them not to contemne their brethren but rather one prouoke another charitably to ioine together in pietie in hearing of the woord and receiuing of the Sacraments As Esay did foreshewe that the faithfull in Christs time should say one to another Come and let vs goe vp to the mountaines of the Lord to the house of the God of Iacob and he will teache vs his waies and we will walke in his pathes But alas this zeale of the glorie of God this loue towardes our brethren is worne away in vs I feare me wee will neither goe our selues to heare the word neither suffer others but dehort them so much as we may pretending I knowe not what to couer our arrogant malitious heart withall Such a man is an vsurper I cannot heare him with safe conscience hee weareth a surplisse I will neither heare him nor trust him Another is a shrinker another halfe a papist leaue them heare them not This is the common crie I will not vse their owne speeche it is too proude and too bitter I trust we all preache Christ crucified Howsoeuer it be saith S. Paul so that Christ be taught I reioice in it If we mislike the minister shall we mislike the message also If we cannot brooke the messenger shal we be at defiance with him that sent him God graunt vs such hearts as Cornelius had that in liking and loue we may prouoke one another to pietie and godlinesse that wee may hunger after Gods truth heare the word without respect of the messenger and so heare it that we may liue by it Cornelius fell downe prostrate before Peter Hee considered of him as of the embassador of God hee reuerenced him as his spirituall father he gaue vnto him that double honour which S. Paul saith is due vnto him The Elders that rule well are woorthie of double honour specially they who labour in the woord and doctrine He looked not on the man but regarded his office Wee beseeche you brethren that you knowe them which labour among you and are ouer you in the Lorde and admonish you that you haue them in singular loue for their workes sake S. Paul doeth greatly commend the Galathians in this behalfe that they loued him as an Angell of God yea as Christ Iesus yea if it had beene possible they would haue plucked out their owne eyes and giuen them him But our times are altered men are otherwise affected They enuie and mutter against Moses and Aaron They are become such of whom God complaineth by his prophet Hosea Thy people are as they that rebuke the Priest I would to God they would remember Christ saying He that despiseth you despiseth me 20 But the honour which Cornelius gaue vnto Peter was more than was fit to be giuen to a man For Peter refused it with thâ—â— reason I my selfe am a man too The zeale and reuerence that he had to the woord made him ouerreach in honouring the minister of it So did the men of Lystra honour Paul and Barnabas but they saide in like sort O men why doe ye these things We are men subiect to the like passions that ye be Iohn would haue woorshipped the Angel likewise but the Angel refused See thou doe it not I am thy fellowe seruaunt Worship God Here we learne howe dangerously religious honour is giuen to any creature It cannot be thought that either Cornelius or Iohn would robbe God of his glorie and giue it to Angel or man But yet they were forbidden to doe that which they did least they should attribute more to the messenger of God than they ought through preposterous zeale It is not so great a daunger to honour a prince with al humilitie therein men cannot so easilie exceed because the honour is ciuill But the danger is in a spirituall person least in respect of his holie office they honour him too much And here is the insolent pride of the pope reproued who vaunteth himselfe for Peters successor
heare in respect of the person is to iustifie or condemne the woord for the person Respect not persons but reuerence the matter when thou hearest the minister preaching the truth thou hearest not him but the sonne of God the teacher of al truth Christ Iesus Plato was as honest a man and as good a philosopher as was Diogenes for all his pretense of simplicitie and contemning of the world Haue no respect to outward pretenses Iudge not according to the sight least in opinion you condemne the good and iustifie the euill In matter of saluation neither ought the childe to respect his parent nor the seruaunt his master nor the subiect his prince nor posteritie the predecessors for we may not hang vpon man but vpon God Cursed is hee that maketh flesh his arme We must herein onely giue eare and respect what the sonne of God shall say vnto vs who is the wisedome of his father whom our heauenly father hath commaunded vs to heare saying Heare you him 30 In euerie nation he that feareth him and woorketh righteousnesse is accepted of him God respecteth not the outward person but the inward man He regardeth not the shape but his owne image that is in man Hee is not partiall to the Iewe more than to the Gentile Riche and poore learned and vnlearned are all one in his sight He accepteth of such as feare him and worke righteousnesse Herein is comprised perfect religion our duetie towards God and our dutie towards man the former and the latter table to beleene in God and to doe right to our neighbour to loue God aboue all and to loue our neighbour as our selfe To feare God is in true holinesse to serue GOD to worke righteousnesse is not to hurt but to help our neighbour to doe to others as we would be doone vnto our selues Hee that will be a wise man in deede must learne to feare God The beginning of wisedome is the feare of the Lord. All other wisedome wherein the feare of God wanteth is but earthly sensuall and diuelish Such as feare God shall be strengthened to stand against all assaults of Satan yea they shal continue and stand stedfast vnto the end euen to the last gasp Canst thou not away with want Wouldst thou haue plentie There is nothing wanting to them that feare him Canst thou not away with infamie Wouldest thou be praised The greatest praise that can come to any man is that he feareth God It is the glorie of the riche the noble and the poore Wouldest thou haue all vertues and the rewards of them Wouldest thou be free from sinnes and the punishments ensuing them Followe the example of Cornelius and feare God For they who feare God will honour and obey their parents they who feare God will diligently exercise themselues in praier they who feare God wil search their owne hearts see their offences and with the prodigall child be sorie for them confesse them and forsake them They who feare God will abstaine from sinne remembring that the Lord doth hate it and will punish it and knowing that their dooings cannot bee hid from him If the feare of God were planted in our hearts wee would learne after so many admonitions to leade a better life wee would practise such lessons as we haue beene so long in learning wee would not liue in such carelesse securitie as we doe the Gospel would take better effect in vs and bring foorth more plentifull fruite wee would at the length cast away impietie and worldely concupiscence and liue a sober iust and godlie life we would repent and forsake sinne least sinne procure Gods speedie wrath the ministers would be more diligent in feeding of the flocke the people more readie to heare the voice of the sheepeheard the magistrates more carefull ouer the common-wealth the subiectes more obedient to frame themselues to liue vnder Law the riche would not suffer the giuer of their riches to goe on begging the poore would endeuour to get spirituall treasures and to be riche in Christ finally we would not feede our bellies so daintily nor so vainly and superfluously cloath our bodies but vse temperance in diet and sobrietie in apparell hauing what to eate and wherewith to be cloathed we would bee content Verily to conclude such as feare God abstaine from euill and doe good and as our Apostle S. Peter saith they doe worke righteousnesse 31 Righteousnesse compriseth in it all such duetie as we doe owe vnto our neighbour Whatsoeuer is contained in the second table is comprehended in this word Righteousnesse But how can we worke righteousnesse who are as vncleane things and al our righteousnesse as a filthie clowte Of whom the prophet saieth There is not one that doth good no not one In deede we are not able to worke perfect righteousnesse For if wee could then Christ had died in vaine with whose perfect righteousnesse we must be cloathed by imputation that wee may bee accepted as righteous in Gods sight For God hath made him which knewe no sinne to be sinne for vs that we might be made the righteousnesse of God in him But when we are iustified so by the perfect righteousnesse of Christ wee must endeuour to serue God in righteousnesse and bring foorth good fruites though they be vnperfect such as in this frailtie of the flesh we may And these are accepted of God for Christes sake their weakenesse and imperfection being pardoned in him Wherefore in this sort we must worke righteousnesse and follow sanctification Hitherto howe all estates must apply themselues to worke righteousnesse 32 Omitting therfore others whom generally this toucheth I will at this present remember children onely of a point of righteousnesse which they must worke in giuing due honour to their parents For there is a great fault in many at this day that wheras they are specially bound to their parents both by the linkes of nature and by the bonds of Gods word they burst those bondes asunder dispose of themselues in mariage as they list without consent of their parents A fault as most heinous in the sight of God and condemned by his law so condemned too by the law of nature the Lawe Ciuil the Lawe Canon and the opinion of the best writers For the Lawe of God doeth not onely charge children generally to obey their parents in all thinges but also particularly doth shewe by sundrie examples that children ought to be giuen by their parents in mariage and not to bee left to their owne fantasies And among the Ethnikes euen by the Lawe of nature as their Poets shew mariages for children were not made by themselues but by their parents It is written in the Lawe Ciuil If a sonne marie a wife against his fathers will the child that shall be borne of that mariage shall not be counted lawfull In the Canon Lawe it is saide Mariages are then
we finde in the beginning of the booke of Genesis that because of her transgression for Eue seduced Adam not Adam Eue God gaue her a lawe of subiection to her husband that she might euer after be better directed by him than he had beene at that time by her Sub viri potestate eris ipse dominabitur tui S. Paul also in his Epistle to the Ephesians and Colossians putteth wiues in remembrance of this subiection Wiues be subiect to your owne husbands as to the Lorde because the man is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church And therefore as the Church is in subiection to Christ so ought wiues to be in subiection to their husbands What should wee seeke more reasons this one is sufficient God hath set the husband ouer the wife in authoritie and therefore shee ought willingly dutifully to obey him else she disobeyeth that God who created woman for mans sake and hath appointed man to bee womans gouernour Peter also setteth foorth this obedience and bringeth Sara for an example Wiues bee obedient to your husbands euen as Sara obeyed Abraham calling him Sir whose daughters ye are made in well dooing Yea we are taught that wiues should be of so good behauiour and of such modest conuersation that by their chast and milde life and the sweetenesse of their godlie maners they might winne their euil husbands vnto God and of Atheists make Christians S. Paul in his Epistle to Titus also teacheth a wife her duetie that is that she goe apparelled as becommeth holinesse that she be no quareller or false accuser but studie to be sober to loue her husband to loue her children to be discreete chast abiding at home good and obedient to her husband Obey in all things saith S. Paul euen as it becommeth you in the Lord. So that except it bee against Gods word the wife ought in all things to obey her husband It is the wiues dutie as Theophilact well teacheth to regard those things that be within the house not lauishingly to wast or spoile their goods but to spare with discretion by such frugalitie as is conuenient to see things safe and set in good order God hath appointed her to be an helper not an hinderer If shee cannot get yet let her saue As he is to followe his affaires abroade so she is to ease him to care and cost at home Let her bee milde-worded and milde-manered For Melius est habitare in angulo domus quam cum muliere litigiosa It is better to dwel in the corner of an house than with a contentious woman An honest and a modest woman is an honour to her husband but the dissolute wife and vndiscreete is a death She may not bee a gadder abroade a tatler or a busie bodie but sober quiet and demure not an open teacher but readie to learne of her husband at home obedient in all lawfull things taking example of Sara and giuing example to the younger women of well demeaning themselues Thus the man and wife ioyning themselues together in true loue indeuouring to liue in the feare of God dutifully behauing themselues the one towards the other either of them bearing wisely the others infirmities doubtlesse they shall reape ioye and comfort by their mariage they shall finde this their estate which is honourable in all happie and profitable vnto them 10 Nowe that we see the honour which is due vnto mariage in respect of the author causes and duties thereunto belonging it remaineth that wee consider by what meanes that honour is in eche of these defaced The honour of wedlocke in respect of the author is diminished partly by the false perswasions of such as doe not thinke it ordeined of God and partly through their lewde and corrupt affections who not denying this ordinance to be from him enter notwithstanding carelesly into it without such reuerend consideration as is requisite in things which he hath established Satan the sworne enemie of all godlinesse hath euer by all meanes laboured to vndermine deface and ouerthrow the credite of this kinde of life vsing the ministerie of many wicked and forsaken heretikes by whom it hath beene not onely misliked as troublesome but vtterly condemned as vncleane and beastly The Manichees condemned mariage as a thing whereof satan was the first author they denied vtterly that God created male and female they affirmed as many as like the vse of matrimonie to be impes of satan not seruaunts of God Others allowing mariage so it were but once if happily it were iterated disallowed it with which error some of the auncient fathers themselues as it seemeth were ouertaken It is saith one a Lawe of matrimonie not to iterate matrimonie A Lawe But whose Lawe Sure we are that in the booke of the Lawe of God there is no such law Againe there were that approoued wedlock yea though it were iterated but if priests did marie they helde them no better than vncleane persons Finally there are that say mariage is if not honourable yet tolerable and that in priests but so if they enter into priesthoode being once maried not into mariage being once priested Against these howesoeuer in their sole single life they pretende great puritie and perfection as it were of Angels although their glorie most commonly hath beene their shame and the virginitie of most of them hath beene whoredome and adulterie it sufficeth vs that S. Paul doth terme their lessons the doctrine of diuels and that the godlie Patriarchs and Prophets whom I named before liuing in the state of mariage were familiar with God and most deare in his vndefiled sight In so much that by S. Augustine speaking of this matter Abraham is compared with Iohn Baptist for his holinesse and by Chrysostome Moses with Elias 11 This state therefore whatsoeuer heretikes haue taught to the contrarie being in consideration of the first ordeiner thereof honourable we ought in no wise vnaduisedly lightly or wantonly to take in hand a matter of such weight and of so graue importance least we dishonour it by our disordered affections as heretikes by false perswasions haue doone In entring therefore into mariage the first caution is that which S. Paul hath to the Corinthians whom he teacheth howe their widowes should bestowe themselues For although the rule be in particularitie applyed to them yet it serueth not for them alone but for all the condition of all being herein like to theirs Whether it be a widowe therefore that bestoweth her selfe or a virgin which is bestowed in mariage the thing she doth is lawfull Onely in the Lord. 12 They doe not this in the Lorde that marie either whom they shold not or as they shold not Whō they shold not as persons either naturally or spiritually vnfit to ioyne in mariage Of persons vnfit to be yoked in wedlock by reason of y e natural bonds wherwith they are alreadie coupled y