it if sentence be giuen on the behalfe of custome custome is confirmed But all these things as I said before must be reduced to the rule of Gods word Onlie this séemeth now méet to be added which is in the Extrauagants De consuetudine A custome burdensom vnto the church must be reiected chapter 1. that A custome cannot be suffered if it be burdensome vnto the church Also Augustine complained that in his time there were such a number of new rites and ceremonies sprong vp that the church was gréeuouslie burdened and that the state of christians at that time was nothing at all more tollerable than in old time the state of the Iewes The same exception doo we also take against our aduersaries that the church should not be ouerburdened This is their owne lawe why doo they not acknowledge their owne words In Rom. 3 verse 21. Rom. 1 2. 12 Paule disputing in the third chapter of the epistle to the Romanes of the righteousnes of faith added that the same hath testimonie both of the lawe and of the prophets which he therefore saith bicause that the doctrine which he set foorth might séeme to be new and latelie sproong vp Newnes must be remooued from the Gospell But in the Gospell newnes must speciallie be shunned and therefore he testifieth in euerie place that the Gospell is ancient and was ordeined of God from the beginning And at the beginning of the epistle he wrote that God promised the same by his prophets in the holie scriptures And at this daie the controuersie betwéen vs our aduersaries is as touching doctrine while they affirme that we bring in new things and that themselues doo cleaue fast to the ancient doctrine But we learne of the Apostle how this coÌ„trouersie may be determined * What doctrine is old and what is new Assuredlie that doctrine is old and ancient which hath testimonie from the lawe and the prophets that is of the holie scriptures but that shall be iudged new whereof there is no mention in them They erect the Masse The popish is new for that it hath no testimonie of the scriptures where onlie one man doth communicate for others that doo stand by This hath no testimonie in all the whole scriptures We affirme that the supper of the Lord ought to be common vnto the faithfull which is most manifestlie shewed by the institution thereof as we haue it in the Gospels and in Paule These men deliuer vnto the laitie the sacrament of Christes bodie Matt. 24 26. 1. Cor. 11 verse 24. halfe maimed and vnperfect This doubtles they not onlie haue not out of the holie scriptures but plainelie against the scriptures They mainteine inuocations of the dead which they are not able to confirme by the scriptures They driue the cleargie from matrimonie They defend purgatorie They reteine images They vse strange toongs in the diuine seruice choise of meates and garments shauings annointings and an infinite number of such like things they obtrude vpon vs as necessarie to the woorship of God and that altogither without testimonie of the scriptures Let them learne out of Paule which minding to teach the righteousnes that commeth by Christ saith that It hath testimonie of the law and the prophets and not that it was deuised by himselfe But the doctrine of these men aduanceth impietie for they bring in the inuentions of men in stead of necessarie woorshipping of God which hauing no testimonie out of the scriptures The reason why newnes in religion must be auoided Deut. 12 32. must of necessitie be new And the reason why it behoueth in religion to beware of newnes is for that God commandeth in Deuteronomie that none should either adde too or take awaie anie thing from his customes and commandements Yea and Plato himselfe in his lawes and common-weale forbad that nothing should be made new in things which belonged vnto religion No doubt Mens laws may bee changed but the lawes of men may be altered bicause the fourme of a common-weale is sometimes altered Neither doo those lawes which serue for a kingdome serue also for the gouernement of a Signiorie a Common-weale of the vulgar people Moreouer séeing lawe-makers are but men they cannot perceiue all things that should be done And manie chances doo happen euer among for the which it behooueth both to amend and change lawes And as in arts something hapneth in euerie age for the more perfecting of them so lawes likewise now and then by successe of times are amended and reduced to a better fourme But none of these things takes place in the lawes of God For as touching the Church she altereth not hir fourme The outward gouernment of the church altereth not the fourme It is alwaies one manner of common-weale and nothing is hidden from the vnderstanding of God the author of the lawes he foreséeth all things neither is his knowledge augmented by the successe of time Wherefore there is no cause why men should attempt to alter anie thing in his word The twelfe Chapter Of sundrie things attributed vnto God and the holie Trinitie where his godhead is prooued to be in the Sonne and in the holie Ghost THE nature of God is infinite In 1. Sam. 17 verse 45. so as it cannot be comprehended vnder one title to knowe him by wherefore his name is verâ—e large By effects and works we gather of the nature of God yet neuerthelesse by effects works are gathered his singular properties whereby we may vnderstand all the diuine nature and power that séeing we cannot comprehend the whole we may at the leastwise come vnto the knowledge of him by parts This similitude was of strange and foren coines and could not be englished properlie If there were anie so rude and vnskilfull as he knew not the value of a double sufferant we would saie that the same conteineth in it pence grotes testers shillings crownes nobles roials and lastlie the sum of twentie shillings By these parts and small portions vnlesse he were excéeding blockish he might vnderstand how much a double sufferant is woorth Euen so men after a sort doo perceiue the nature and infinite substance of God by these parts and titles to knowe him by not that there be anie parts in God but bicause that we onlie by such effects parts may gather of his power infinit greatnes Diuers and manifold are the titles whereby he is knowne as when he is called Pitifull Mercifull Constant Iust Good The God of Sabaoth and such like In 1. Sam. 29 verse 6. 2 And that this may be the better vnderstood he is called Iehoua of Haia that is To be and that name agréeth properlie vnto God For God is so an essence or being Whereof God is called Iehoua as the same floweth from him vnto all other things Whatsoeuer things are doo depend of him neither can they be without his power helpe Lastlie they haue
places of the fourth part ALbeit that the holie Ghost be the onelie bond that we haue with Christ and the most assured pledge of our saluation and an vndoubted preseruer of all things yet vseth he thervnto diuers and those externall instruments for into the church he gathereth the elect and by the ministerie of the word and sacraments and also by the bond and helpe of discipline he begetteth vs vnto Christ and he feedeth and preserueth vs vnto eternall life And herewithall he raiseth vp and vseth magistrates as well for the preseruation of mans societie and publike honestie as also for the maintenance of pietie and seruice of God so then this last part comprehendeth an explication of these places THE CHAPTERS AND COMMON PLACES OF THE FOVRTH PART chapter I OF the catholike church pag. 1. Of sundrie ministers of the church 3. Of calling to the ministerie pag. 9. Of the dignitie and contempt of the ministers pag. 15. Of the office of pastors pag. 16. Of the efficacie of the ministerie 21. Of the mightie simplenes of the ministerie pag. 25. chapter II Of receiuing or refusing of rewards gifts and offices especiallie by ministers of the Church pag. 28. Of the immunitie of ecclesiasticall men pag. 32. chapter III Whether there may be two heads of the church one visible and an other inuisible pag. 35. chapter IIII Of ecclesiasticall lawes pag. 41. An exposition of the place To obeie is better than sacrifice expounded pag. 44. Of traditions pag. 45. Of discerning of spirits Ibidem Of the authoritie of the Councels Fathers and Canons pag. 46. chapter V Of ecclesiasticall discipline pag. 56. Of excommunication pag. 57. Of order and comlinesse in the church pag. 65. Of temples and their ornaments Ibid. chapter VI Of schisme and whether the professors of the Gospell be schismatikes pag. 68. What is become of them which in times past died in the Popes religion 91. chapter VII Of sacraments in generall pag. 96. Of circumcision pag. 107. chapter VIII Of baptisme baptising of infants and holines of them pag. 120. chapter IX Of the dedication of temples the baptising of bels of oile salt spittle wax and other papisticall corruptions about baptisme pag. 123. Of papisticall holie water pag. 138. chapter X A treatise of the Lords supper with a preface before the same pag. 147. An epitome of the disputation of the Eucharist against Steeuen Gardiner 198. chapter XI Of the communion vnder one kinde pag. 204. chapter XII Of the Masse pag. 215. Of sacrifice pag. 220. Another Cōmon place of sacrifice 223. Of altars pag. 225 chapter XIII Of a magistrate of the difference betweene ciuill ecclesiasticall power 226. Of tenthes pag. 235. chapter XIIII Of the office of magistrates especiallie in exercising of iudgement pag. 245. That the charge of religion belongeth to princes pag. 246. Of the clemencie of princes pag. 248. Whether it be lawfull for magistrates to let the giltie go vnpunished Ibidem Whether the excuse of Dauid in not punishing of Ioab may be allowed 256. Whether it be lawfull to release iust punishments which are inioined by lawes pag. 260. Of executions and hangmen pag. 264. Of sanctuaries pag. 265. chapter XV Of exile or banishment pag. 270. chapter XVI Whether it be lawfull for a christian man to go to lawe pag. 275. chapter XVII Of warre or battell pag. 280. Whether vnto a iust warre the authoritie of the magistrate be alwaies required pag. 284. Whether it be lawfull for the godlie to haue peace with the vngodlie pag. 294. Of fenses and of spials pag. 296. Of treason pag. 297. chapter XVIII Whether captiues ought to be put to death or saued pag. 300. Of things which be taken by the right of warre pag. 303. chapter XIX Of a seuerall combat hand to hand 308. chapter XX Of nobilitie pag. 311. Of bondage pag. 313. Of debtors pag. 315. Of occupieng of merchandize 317. chapter XXI Of troubles and sedition pag. 319. Whether it be lawfull for subiects to rise against their prince pag. 324. Whether Iehoiadah did right in putting Athalia from the kingdome pag. 325. Of induring of tyrannie by godlie men pag. 328. The contents of those things which be added to this booke of Common places are set downe at the end of the foure parts Certaine faults escaped THere is no garden so well trimmed but hath some weeds no siluer so well tried but hath some drosse no wine so well fined but hath some leeze no honie so well clarified but hath some dregs finallie no humane action but hath some defect meruell not then good Readers that in so huge a volume consisting of so manie leaues lines and letters oftentimes varied both in forme and matter a fault or two doo escape were the Correctors care neuer so great his diligence neuer so earnest his labour neuer so continuall his eies neuer so quicke his iudgement neuer so sound his memorie neuer so firme breeflie all his senses neuer so actiue and liuelie Such faults therefore as are passed being but few in number if it please you in reading fauourablie to amend according as they be here corrected your selues shall be profited and I satisfied Fault Correction Part. Page Colum. Line They Men. 1 143 2 19 anger pride 2 529 2 49 fathers father 2 600 1 25 renewed remoued 4 59 1 58 whordome idolatrie 4 245 1 11 Lord my my Lord. in the additions 113 2 10 These are thought necessarie to be noted others if anie be I refer vnto your owne selues that shall take paines to peruse the whole booke aduisedlie THE Common Places of the famous and renowmed diuine Peter Martyr Vermilius a Florentine selected into foure parts out of his bookes and Commentaries HONI SOIT MAL Y PENSE E R The first part wherein is principallie intreated of the knowledge of God the Creator Of the ends of good and euill among the Christians The first Chapter Out of the Epistle to the Rom. Chap. 8 verse 25. AVGVSTINE in his 19. booke De Ciuitate Dei the fourth Chapter very wel declareth how Christian hope is caried vnto those good things Hope is caried to inuisible things which cannot be séen For if thou askest saith hée a faithfull man what he maketh to be the end of good and euill things he will answere Life and death euerlasting The ends that a faithfull man putteth which things can not be séene nor comprehended by mans reason And therefore the wise men among the Ethnikes being puffed vp with pride would not settle their hope vpon those things For which cause some held that the ends of good things are the goods of the mind some the goods of the bodie and some either vertue pleasure or both ioined togither But GOD laughed them to scorne and sawe how vaine their cogitations were For they would rather account those things for the chéefe good which be tempered with manie miseries and calamities than to receiue those sincere perfect and most firme
is none of all these faculties which hath not speciall precepts appointed vnto it in the holie scriptures and dooth vse all these magistrates and princes for the defence of godlines and for the true worshipping of God eloquence that it may persuade profitable and godlie things gouernement of houshold that new ofsprings may alwaies growe vp vnto Christ and finallie all Arts aswell to the glorie of Christ as to the profit of our neighbours How magistrates and ministers of the Church must behaue them selues one towards another 15 And now as I thinke it may appeare how the ministers of churches which professe these holie scriptures should behaue themselues towards magistrates and magistrates towards them They out of the holie scriptures drawe precepts and rules of the princes function those precepts ought the magistrate to heare which also if he otherwhile transgresse must suffer admonishers and must not be offended if modestlie and with iust reuerence he be corrected And on the other side when ministers shall behaue them selues either negligentlie in their office or against the rules of Gods lawe they may be kept in their duetie by the magistrate and if they will not amend their faults they may be remooued from their place And thus let the ministerie of the church helpe the ciuill power and againe the ciuill power ouersée the ministerie that it may be pure and profitable to the christian Common-weale And in that wée attribute the chéefe power vnto that wisedome which we haue in the holie scriptures it must not be thought that anie thing is plucked awaie or diminished from ciuill administration for that authoritie remaineth still vnto princes and magistrates but we would onelie shew from whence they them selues ought to take the rules and principles of their authoritie that they should not so estéeme of the doctrines of the philosophers and lawes of men as they would straie from the most pure fountaines of iustice and honestie which flowe in the holie scriptures And they shall be able to get vnto them selues this knowledge either be diligent reading of the holie scriptures by them selues which God commanded kings to doo or else they may bée instructed by ministers of the church And whereas it is said that it belongs to the ciuill power to haue authoritie ouer those professions which are to be reteined in a citie and ouer those which are to be reiected from thence let princes magistrates vnderstand that the regard of diuine worship belongeth vnto them namelie that they preserue promote and defend that which is lawfull and that they prohibit and vtterlie roote out that which is vnpure forbidden The second Chapter Of the naturall knowledge of God by the things created whervnto this knowledge tendeth And whether there be anie that knoweth not God Out of the Epistle to the Romans Cap. 1 verse 19. Looke In Sam. Cap. 6 vers 22. PAule in the Epistle to the Romans disputing of the naturall knowledge of God In Rom. 1 verse 19. saith Read after in the fourth Chapter that that which is knowne of God is manifest among them In the Gréek we read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As if wée should saie That which may be knowen of God Which therefore is said bicause there be many diuine mysteries Naturallie we can not vnderstand the mysteries of God vnto which wée cannot by nature attaine as is this that God would iustifie vs fréelie forgiue our sins through Christ crucified and restore these verie bodies of ours vnto eternall felicitie These such other like the nature of things teacheth vs not Therfore saith Paule That which might be knowne of God is made manifest in them In that place he declareth what maner of truth it is that they withheld in vnrighteousnes It was the knowledge of things pertaining vnto God which they attained vnto by a naturall instinct And Paule reduceth all those things Two things of God wee naturallie knowe that they knew into twoo principall points namelie the euerlasting power of God and his diuinitie For by the very workmanship of this world they knew God to be most mightie Further they knew by the beautie shew distinction of all things that so great a power was administred by a most high prouidence and wisedome Wherein chieflie consisteth the maiestie of God Also the commoditie and profit of things created taught them the Maiestie of God which consisteth chieflie in this that he dooth good vnto all things These be the things which God bestowed vpon the Ethnikes but they abused the gifts of God Wherfore verie well agréeth with them that similitude A similitude which Chrysostome vseth For thus hée saith If a king should giue much monie to his seruant for the furniture of his houshold amplifieng of his gorgious estate to the end that his magnificence and honor might be the more manifest and the wicked seruant should lewdlie spend the monie vpon brothels and harlots should not this seruant saith he séeme woorthilie rightlie to haue deserued punishment Euen so did the wise men among the Ethnikes behaue themselues The wise Ethnikes abused the gifts of God For they receiued of GOD a verie excellent knowledge of things wherewith when they should haue worshipped and adorned him they turned it to the worshipping of stones and stocks and of images Wherfore not without cause did the wrath of God waxe hote against them 2 And whereas it is written It was made manifest in them neither is it said In all the Scripture dooth seuer the wise and the philosophers from the barbarous vnskilfull multitude For all things were not knowne to all alike which neuertheles happened by the fault of these philosophers For they ought to haue preached openlie and beaten into the eares of the common people those things which they knew The Philosophers hid the knowlege which they had of God Aristotles words vnto Alexander And yet this they did not as did the prophets and apostles but with a proud mind kept these things among themselues yea and after a sort hid them that they should not be vnderstood of all men Wherevpon the epistle of Aristotle to Alexander is much spoken of wherein he saith that his bookes of naturall philosophie are so set foorth by him as if they were not set foorth For the philosophers séemed of set purpose to make their writings obscure to the intent they should not be vnderstood by others Besides this through their arguings they polluted those excellent things which they knew to be pure When they vnderstood that there is but one God and iudged that hée ought to be worshipped they gathered afterward of themselues The original of signes and superstitions Séeing the common people are not apt to worship the high diuinitie that is spred ouer all things for they cannot perceiue it after this maner it shall be well doon to diuide it and to assigne it vnto images The Philosophers diuided the vnitie of
in righteousnes and true holines And in the third chapter to the Colossians verse 10. Ye haue put on the new man which is renewed to the knowledge and image of him that created him And a little after he sheweth the properties of this image verse 12. Put ye on the bowels of mercies goodnes modestie meekenes gentlenes forbearing one another and forgiuing one another And in the eight chapter to the Romans Whom he before knew verse 30. he also predestinated to be made like vnto the image of his sonne All these things doo sufficientlie declare what maner of image of God the holie scriptures set foorth vnto vs in the creation and instauration of man neither did the fathers mislike of this opinion Irenaeus in his fift booke saith that by the infusion of the holie Ghost man is made spirituall euen in such sort as he was created by God And Tertullian against Marcion saith that that is the image of God which hath the selfe-same motions and senses with God and the reason which persuadeth vs herevnto is that man was therefore made at the beginning like vnto the image of God A reason why man was made to the image of God bicause he should be the gouernour of all things created as if he had béene a certeine deputie of God And no man can doubt but that God will haue his creatures to be well gouerned for he continuallie biddeth vs that we should not abuse them And we are bound by a lawe to ascribe vnto God all those things whereby we are holpen as from whom all things doo flowe But a good vse and right administration of things cannot appéere vnles we be furnished with those conditions which we haue said doo belong to the image of God And whereas Augustine assigned the image of God to be in the vnderstanding memorie and will we saie he did it to the intent he might set foorth vnto vs some forme or example of the diuine persons how one of them doo respect another But he must not be so vnderstood Augustine defended The powers of the mind not despoiled of vertues be the image of God By the lawe of nature we are bound to haue originall righteousnes as though he would make these faculties of the mind to be the image of God they being naked and despoiled of those vertues which we haue declared Wherefore we haue a lawe giuen vnto vs either by the institution or by the restitution of man which Paule commandeth and by this bond we are bound to haue the originall righteousnes which we haue lost We haue also the lawe of nature and to liue agréeable vnto it as Cicero saith in his third booke De finibus is the principall and last end of mans estate and this lawe dependeth of that other which we before spake of For of no other thing dooth it come that we in cogitations haue our mind Rom. 2 15. which accuse and defend one another but that they are taken from the woorthines of nature as it was first instituted by God For whatsoeuer either the philosophers or lawe-giuers haue commanded as touching the duties of mans life The precepts of mans life proceed from the forme of a most vpright nature the same dooth wholie depend of the fountaines of our creation For those precepts cannot come out of a corrupt nature out of selfe-loue and out of malice whereof it coms that we are prone vnto euils but they come from that kind of most vpright nature which they feigne to be doone by the worthines of man and which we knowe out of the holie scriptures to be instituted by God Rom. 7 23. By this cōmandement Thou shalt not lust the want of originall iustice is condemned and commanded to be renewed by vs. And herevnto as some will haue it dooth apperteine that lawe of the mind which the lawe of the members dooth resist There is also a third lawe which God would haue to be put in writing namelie Thou shalt not lust which commandement although our aduersaries doo wrest vnto actuall sinnes yet we haue shewed that the same belongeth also vnto originall sin and that God by his commandement would haue all kind of naughtie concupiscence to be vtterlie cut off from men 15 Now therefore we haue lawes which so long as they be extant shall perpetuallie bind vs and make vs debtors to performe that righteousnes which they require Infants feele not the lawe but sinne lieth asleepe in them Rom. 7 9. True indéed it is that infants féele not those lawes and therefore sinne lieth asléepe in them as Augustine saith in his second booke De peccatorum meritis remissione following that which Paule saith I sometimes liued without a lawe not that there was at anie time no lawe prescribed vnto Paule but bicause in his childhood he felt not the same by reason of yoong age Wherfore Paule saith that Sinne was dead which Augustine interpreteth was on sleepe but when the commandement was come that is when the lawe began to be knowne of me sinne did reuiue No doubt but it was in him before sinne but when he felt it not it séemed dead Now it appéereth how those things with we haue spoke agrée with the holie scriptures An obiection of Pighius But Pighius vrgeth yet further that these doo perteine nothing vnto infants for that a lawe ought not to be made as touching those things which cannot be auoided But when he speaketh thus he followeth not the sense of the holie scriptures for theyr sufficientlie teach that those things which be commanded in the lawe cannot be perfectlie fulfilled when neuerthelesse they be straitlie commanded A lawe may be made of such things as cannot be fulfilled Rom. 8 ◠Paule saith in the epistle to the Romans that Looke what was vnpossible to the lawe forasmuch as it was made weake by the flesh God sending his onlie sonne c. By these words it appéereth most plainelie that the lawe as it is commanded cannot be performed for if it could we should be iustified by works Neither had it béene néedfull that Christ should suffer death for vs. Vtilities of the lawe There be also other offices of the lawe for which it is written For assuredlie the same is profitable to direct the actions of godlie men but most profitable of all to discouer sinne Rom. 3 20. Rom. 7 7 Rom. 5 20. 1. Cor. 15 verse 56. Gal. 3 24. for By the lawe saith Paule commeth the knowledge of sinne Againe I had not knowne lust vnlesse the lawe had said vnto me Thou shalt not lust Besides by the lawe sinne is also increased and dooth burthen vs the more and dooth the more gréeuouslie presse vs for The lawe entered in that sinne might abound And to the Corinthians The power of sinne is the lawe All these things tend to this end that man as by a schoolemaister should be brought vnto Christ and should craue his helpe
wiselie said The heauens declare the glorie of God The Patriarchs when they would sacrifice went vnto high places where they might behold the tall trées the heauen the flouds and the earth lieng round about and thereby lifted themselues vp to the knowledge of God the creator But contrariewise foolish men would deuise images to themselues and at length fell to that that they called stocks and stones gods Wherefore Ieremie verse 27. in his second chapter earnestlie reprooueth them which feared not to saie vnto a stocke Thou art my father and vnto a stone Thou hast begotten me And thus while these men wold haue such kind of admonishers they were drawne farre awaie from the true worshiping of God and finallie they attributed vnto images the purging of sinnes They held them also for gods which did gard the quicke and the dead euerie particular man and likewise the whole citie From thence also they indeuor to wrest oracles and they make vaunt that their praiers powred out vnto them are heard and going yet further they sacrifice dailie before them This boldnesse or rashnesse of men did excéedinglie displease God and not without cause For a prince would take it in ill part if the honour which is onelie due vnto himselfe should be giuen vnto his seruants wherefore God himselfe in the prophet Esaie saith Esai 42. 8. I will not giue mine owne honour vnto an other 6 But some man will saie that this inuention had no ill meaning but rather a good and right intent as they call it but the same right intent dooth oft times marre all Neither dooth it suffice to make mens works righteous vnlesse those things be added or put to which we haue else-where sufficientlie spoken of Athanasius wrote against idols among other things he saith They which liued in times past made images to the intent that out of them oracles might be vttered and for so much as God might not be knowne but by visible signes and therefore they iudged that God was to be called vpon in images bicause they thought heauenlie powers were present with them Arnobius And Arnobius in his sixt booke against the Gentiles reporteth that the nations said that they did not worship stones but the presence of God exhibited about these images For they thought that images through certeine dedications were so adorned and purged that the power of God came fullie vnto them And in dedicating of them they thorough a certein peruerse imitation of the old fathers applied holie vnctiōs as they called them For Iacob also annointed a stone Gen. 28 18. Exod. 40 9. and Moses was commanded to annoint in a maner all the necessarie implements about the Tabernacle Eusebius also in his ninth booke the third and 11. chapters writeth that thereto did come the inchantments of diuels and incredible sorcerie for so much as there were dailie woonders wrought at the images whereby the sillie people were in sundrie wise seduced to the great detriment of the church He declareth the historie of Theotechnus which was punished for his wickednesse Yea furthermore Theodoretus in the fift booke 22. chapter saieth that the craftinesse of inchanters came héerevnto Craftinesse and false miracles about images who erected images against walles and gaue answer through holes bored in them Wherefore the people were maruellouslie amazed when they supposed that the images spake It can hardlie be credited with how great labour and difficultie men could be brought from the worshipping of images Eusebius in his third booke of Constantinus life saith When images were subuerted in them there was found the bones of dead men drie skulles lothesome clothes and small faggots of sticks which things our men in shewing to the people said Behold I beséech ye what ye haue hitherto worshipped And he affirmeth that by those same shewes verie much was brought to passe with the people 7 Now that the causes be set forth Whether it be lawfull to represent God in images whie men indeuoured to expresse God by images it séemeth good to dispute whether it be lawfull to represent God by them And it must be determined and that fréelie without exception that the same is not lawfull For God commanded the children of Israel The first cause Deut. 4 12. that they should remember they sawe no image vpon mount Horeb and therfore forbad that they should make anie such Howbeit the place is more large if it be more diligentlie examined For there he commanded that they should not make anie images at all to doo anie worship vnto them And in the fortie chapter of Esaie he saith To whom will ye resemble God verse 18. or by what similitude wil ye expres him And in the 44. chapter he confirmeth the same verse 10. saieng Who shall be so hardie to fashion out God or to make a molten or grauen image that is profitable for nothing I maruell that among the Papists Dominicus Azotus vpon the epistle to the Romans the first chapter durst write that by that commandement it is not forbidden vnto the christians to make images resembling the shape of man séeing the lawe hath onelie made mention there of créeping things of birds and fishes whereas neuerthelesse it is there by expresse words forbidden that no images should be made either of the male or of the female Moreouer it is thus written in the psalme Mouths they haue speake not feet they haue and walke not Psal 115 4. eares they haue and yet heare not noses they haue smell not And although the rest of the members may be vnderstood touching brute beasts yet that saieng that They haue mouths and cannot speake belongeth peculiarlie vnto men forsomuch as spéech was not giuen vnto brute beasts Wherefore Lucretius called them beasts without mouths Which interpretation Augustine brought in the same place verse 15. Furthermore Esaie in the 44. chapter laugheth the Carpenter to scorne who of the one part of a trée being cut downe maketh an image of the other part kindleth fire and therewith dresseth bread and meate He carueth it saith he and maruellouslie worketh it verse 13. that he may expresse the similitude of a man By all these things it appéereth that euen the images of men which be ordeined for diuine seruice are forbidden It is prooued therefore that images which represent God himselfe be forbidden by testimonies of the holie scriptures The second cause Wherevnto we must adde that by the testimonie of them we be taught that God is a spirit Iohn 4 24. wherof it followeth that by lineaments and colours he cannot be expressed Iohn 1 18. Further it is there written that None hath seene God at anie time Wherefore if he be séene of none and Dwelleth in the light that cannot be atteined vnto how can he be set foorth in a picture or grauen image to be séene Moreouer he is infinite but those things which be painted grauen or molten be
Demosthenes in an oration against Androtion saith that Decrées of the senate ought not to be made but according to the prescript of those things which are alreadie determined in the lawes So in ecclesiasticall councels there ought no new decrées to be made as touching doctrine but of those things onlie which are either expreslie named in the word of God or else may assuredlie and euidentlie be gathered out of it First we will begin with the African councell where The African Councell in the 80. chapter a curse is pronounced against the Pelagians who said that The grace of iustification is therefore giuen that by grace we may the easilier fulfill that which we were cōmanded As if euen without grace although with more difficultie we might by our fréewill fulfill the commandements of God when as yet the Lord speaking of the fruits of the commandements said not Iohn 15 5. Without me ye can hardlie doo anie thing but Without me ye can vtterlie doo nothing By these words are reprooued the Papists of our time which are not ashamed to saie that A man before iustification maie doo the works which are commanded in the lawe and which doo please God and doo prepare to regeneration For what thing els is this than with the Pelagians to saie that A man may euen before iustification performe the lawe although not so fullie and easilie as after he is iustified And that is nothing which they saie to wit that they put a certeine grace preuenting whereby men not yet regenerate may doo those works which they call preparatorie For in speaking after this maner they differ in name onelie from the Pelagians for they also taught no lesse than these men doo that a certeine grace of the lawe and of the knowledge of the will of God and of illumination goeth before whereby a man vnderstandeth what he ought to doo But as for the rest they doo attribute it to fréewill which thing these men doo also And that the Pelagians were of that opinion The Mileuitane councell the Mileuitane councell declareth wherein it is thus written in the 4. chapter We curse all them which saie that the grace of God through Iesus Christ our Lord helpeth vs onlie for that by it is reuealed and opened vnto vs the vnderstanding of the commandements of God that we may knowe what we ought to desire what to auoid and that by it also is not giuen vnto vs to loue and to be able to doo that which we knowe ought to be done For whereas the Apostle saith Knowledge puffeth vp but grace edifieth it is a verie wicked part to beléeue that we should haue the grace of Christ vnto that which puffeth vp and not to that which edifieth especiallie séeing it is written in the 4. chapter of the 1. epistle of Iohn verse 16. that Loue is of God The Arausicane councell 43 Moreouer in the second Arausicane councell the 4. chapter it is thus written that They resist the holie Ghost which saie that the Lord waiteth for our will Pro. 16 1. séeing Salomon saith The will is prepared of the Lord and also in that Paule saith vnto the Philippians Phil. 2 13. It is God that worketh in vs both to will and to performe according to his good will And in the 5. chapter are reprooued those which affirme that by the grace of Christ is giuen an increase of faith but not the entrance or beginning thereof For the beginning also of faith commeth by the inspiration of the holie Ghost which correcteth our infidelitie bringing it from infidelitie to faith and from vngodlines to godlines And the proofe hereof is brought out of sundrie places of the scriptures Phil. 1 6. for Paule saith vnto the Philippians I trust that he which hath begun a good worke in you shall accomplish it in the daie of the Lord. And againe Ibidem 29. in the same epistle Vnto you it is giuen not onelie to beleeue in him but to suffer for him Ephe. 2 8. And vnto the Ephesians By grace ye are saued through faith and that not of your selues for it is the gift of God Moreouer they were accursed which said that The mercie and grace of God is giuen vnto the willing to the beléeuers to them that desire it to them that indeuour to haue it to them that labour to them that watch to them that studie to them that aske to them that séeke to them that knocke but would not confesse that by the infusion and inspiration of the holie Ghost and by the gift of God is giuen vnto vs to haue a will to beléeue to endeuour our selues and to labour They cite these testimonies out of the holy scriptures 1. Cor. 4 7. What hast thou that thou hast not receiued And if thou hast receiued why bostest thou as though thou hast not receiued And the Apostle writeth of himselfe 1. Co. 15 10 By the grace of God I am that I am In the 7. chapter are condemned those which déeme that by the strength power of nature we can thinke or atteine vnto anie thing that serueth to saluation or that we can without the illuminatiō of the holie Ghost giue credit vnto the words of GOD preached This may be confirmed by the scriptures for Paule saith 2. Cor. 3 5. that We cannot thinke anie thing of our selues as of our selues but our sufficiencie is of God Christ also saith Iohn 15 5. Mat. 16 17. Without me ye can doo nothing Also Blessed art thou Simon Bat-iona for flesh and bloud hath not reuealed this vnto thee They also are cursed which grant the fréewill is after some maner weakened and hurt yet not so but that men by it may be turned to saluation Against these men the scriptures doo openlie reclaime for the Lord doth saie Iohn 6 44. No man commeth vnto me vnlesse my father shall drawe him Paule also to the Corinthians 1. Cor. 12 3. No man can saie The Lord Iesus but in the spirit of God This is an excellent sentence God loueth vs being such as we shall be by his gift and not such as we are by our owne merit And in the 13. chap. it is thus written Fréewill being lost in the first man cannot be repaired and bicause it is lost it cannot be restored but by him by whom it was giuen at the beginning Wherfore the truth it selfe saith Iohn 8 36. If the sonne shall make you free then shall ye be free in deed Further in the 17. chapter is decréed that The strength of the Ethniks commeth of worldlie lust which words declare that their vertues as we haue before shewed out of Augustine and other fathers were not true vertues chieflie forsomuch as they sprang out of an euill ground But humane lust comprehendeth whatsoeuer is possible to be found in men not regenerate It followeth in the same chapter that The loue of God maketh the force and
declared himselfe to be euen he that should forgiue sinnes and that euen as those healings were receiued by faith so also by the same faith are men iustified and receiue the forgiuenesse of sinnes Mat. 9 28. And in the same .9 chapter it is declared that Christ answered vnto the two blind men which were verie importunate and most earnestlie desired to be healed Doo ye beleeue that I can doo this for you And when they had made answere that they beléeued he said Euen as you haue beleeued so be it vnto you And when our sauiour was going to the house of the ruler of the synagog to raise vp his daughter from death there followed him a woman which had an issue of bloud which woman was indued with so great faith that she thought thus with hir selfe that If she might but touch the hem of his garment she should straitwaie be made whole Wherefore Christ answered hir Be of good confidence daughter Ibidem 22. thy faith hath made thee whole But whie Christ adioined confidence to faith we haue before declared in the beginning of this question when we declared the nature of faith for we taught that that assent wherewith we take hold of the promises of God is so strong and so vehement that the rest of the motions of the mind which are agréeable vnto it doo of necessitie followe In Luke also is set forth the historie of that sinfull woman vnto whom the Lord thus answered Luk. 7 50. Thy faith hath made thee safe signifieng that he for hir faith sake had forgiuen hir hir sinnes And that the faith of this woman was verie feruent she declared by the effects In that she loued much in that she kissed his feete in that she washed them with hir teares and wiped them with hir heare 54 In the Gospell of Iohn the third chapter Christ said vnto Nichodemus Iohn 3 16. So God loued the world that he gaue his onlie begotten son that he which beleeued in him should not perish but haue eternall life And in the selfe-same chapter Iohn Baptist thus speaketh of Christ He which beleeueth in the sonne hath eternall life but he which beleeueth not hath not life but the wrath of God abideth on him Out of which place we gather not onelie that we presentlie intreat of It is prooued that strangers from Christ can doo no good thing that may please God but also this that they who are strangers from Christ and beleeue not can doo nothing that may please God and therefore they cannot merit of congruitie as they call it and as our aduersaries affirme the grace of God And in the sixt chapter Christ saith This is the will of him that sent me Iohn 6 40. that he which seeth the sonne and beleeueth in him hath eternall life and I saith he will raise him vp at the last daie And when he had before said verse 44. No man commeth vnto me vnlesse my father drawe him also He that hath heard of my father verse 45. and hath learned commeth vnto me afterward he addeth And he which beleeueth in me verse 47. hath eternall life In the eleuenth chapter when Christ should raise vp Lazarus he saith vnto Martha Ioh. 11 25. He which beleeueth in me though he were dead yet shall he liue and he which liueth and beleeueth in me shall not die for euer And in the 17. chapter This is eternall life Iohn 17 3. that they acknowledge thee the onlie true GOD and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ But this is to be noted that here he speaketh not of a cold knowledge but of a mightie and strong faith wherefore if it be eternall life then shall it also be iustification For iustification and life are so ioined togither that the one is oftentimes taken for the other And in verie déed iustification is nothing else than eternall life now alreadie begun in vs. And in the 20. chapter Ioh. 20 31. These things saith he are written that ye should beleeue that Iesus is the Christ and that in beleeuing ye should haue eternall life Acts. 15 9. In the Acts of the apostles the 15. chap. it is thus written By faith purifieng their harts In which place Peter speaketh of the Gentils that they should not be compelled vnto the works of the lawe of Moses forsomuch as Christ had without them giuen vnto them the holie Ghost and had by faith made cleane their harts from sins Paule also in his oration to king Agrippa said verse 18. that He was called of Christ to be sent vnto the Gentils which should by his ministerie be illuminated and by faith receiue remission of sinnes and lot amongst the saints And these testimonies hitherto we haue gathered out of the new testament But if I should out of the old testament rehearse all that which maketh to this purpose I should then be ouer tedious And if there be anie of so obstinate a hart that those things which we haue alreadie spoken cannot force them to confesse the truth neither should it anie thing profit such men if we should bring manie more testimonies wherefore a few shall suffice And besides those testimonies which Paule cited out of the 15. chapter of Genesis Gen. 15 ◠Abraham beleeued God and it was counted vnto him for righteousnes out of Abacuke The iust man shall liue by his faith out of Dauid Abac. 2 4. Psal 3◠1. Esai 28 26. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiuen out of Esaie Euerie one that beleeueth in him shall not be confounded and a few other such like Besides these testimonies I saie I will cite the 53. chapter of Esaie wherein Christ by most expresse words is painted foorth For there He is said verse 4. to haue taken vpon him our sorrowes to haue borne our infirmities to haue giuen his soule a sacrifice for sinnes and manie such other things which are so plaine that they can be applied vnto none other but onlie vnto Christ Iesus our sauiour And it is said moreouer And by the knowledge of him shall my righteous seruant iustifie manie and he shall beare their iniquities These words doo teach that Christ iustifieth manie namelie the elect by the knowledge and perfect vnderstanding of him which knowledge vndoubtedlie is nothing else but a true faith and that he also in such sort iustifieth them that he taketh vpon himselfe and beareth their iniquities And Ieremie in the fift chapter writeth verse 3 O God haue not thine eies a regard vnto faith As if he should haue said Although thou séest all things and there is nothing perteining vnto man hidden from thée yet hast thou chéeflie regard vnto faith as vnto the roote and foundation of all good actions And as touching the oracles of the scripture this shall suffice 55 Now will I answer such obiections as are commonly brought against this second proposition And we will begin first with
Papists call their shauing of the head a crowne thus they inuert all things as they list themselues But what shall a man saie to them They passe not what they doo they will haue lights and censing in the temples and if thou aske them whie they answer Bicause God vsed them in the old testament But in the old lawe priests had wiues these men will haue none They suffered the haires of their head and their beard to growe but these men shaue both their head and beard Albeit at this daie there is a great contention among them about a long beard bicause the Councell of Carthage The Councell of Carthage in the 44. chapter is sundrie waies alledged for in some copies it is written Comam non nutriant nec barbam that is Let them not suffer the haire of their head nor yet their beard to grow But in other copies it is read Nec barbam tondeant Neither let them cut their beard Why the Massing priests will not let their beard growe Whether of these two saiengs will these men followe For they will not suffer to haue a long beard least as they saie anie part of the sacrifice should peraduenture sticke in it O holie men They sell that their sacrifice for thrée halfe-pence and then they carefullie prouide least it should sticke in the beard Is not this to straine at a gnat and to swallowe downe a camell Howbeit some of them least they should séeme not to doo verie wiselie and with some consideration doo saie that The cutting off of the haire signifieth that a priest must cut off all superfluities Such is the religion of these men to haue the signes when as they haue not the things signified But I rather ascribe that shauing of our Papists to an ouercurious trimming of themselues For Suetonius in the life of Otho saith Suetonius that He was woont oftentimes to shaue his beard and to behold his face in a glasse whether the same were trim enough I will not speake of others which vsed not to shaue their haires but rather plucked them out that their skin might be the softer The next thing was that the Nazarites should absteine from wine and not onlie from wine but also from vineger from grapes and from strong drinke What kind of drinke Sicera was This strong drinke called Sicera as Ierom writeth to Nepotianus was a kind of drinke much like vnto wine which was made of wheate or of aples or daies or else of other fruits Further they were forbidden to eate huskes of grapes or kernils which should be taken out of the wine presses They were commanded also that they should not drinke Miserath which was nothing else but the washing of the grapes for the wine being pressed out there was water powred vpon the grapes that were pressed which when it was boiled reteined some tast of the wine this we call the second wine But the Chaldaean interpretation calleth Sicera Old wine And it is manifest enough whie the Nazarites were forbidden to drinke both wine The discommodities of wine and strong drinke for these things both trouble the head and stirre vp men vnto lust as Salomon giueth aduertisement in the twentie chapter of his Prouerbs verse 1. Wine maketh a man to be scornefull and strong drinke causeth a man to be vnquiet and whosoeuer is deceiued thereby shall neuer be wise Paule also Eph. 5 18. in the fift chapter to the Ephesians saith Be not droonken with wine wherin is excesse but be filled with the spirit Moreouer the priests in the old lawe were forbidden to drinke wine before they came to holie seruices Leuit. 10 9. wherefore it behooued the Nazarites bicause they were like to priests that they should absteine from wine The third thing was that they should not violate themselues with anie moorning for the dead Moorning for the dead for as through ioie we be ouermuch puffed vp so are we sometimes gréeuouslie troubled with heauinesse and moorning But God would that his ministers should be void of affections especiallie of the vehement sort of affections séeing by them men are more greeuouslie troubled than is méet And yet were not these obseruations anie merits wherein they placed righteousnes but were onelie rites and exercises whereby after a sort men were kept in their dutie For the vow of a Nazarite was a certeine separation from other men But what they did in the meane while it is not prescribed howbeit manie thinke that they were commanded to indeuour themselues to the contemplation and knowledge of the lawe and to woorship and call vpon God trulie 9 We sée that God of his especiall wisdome would teach the people by this kind of vow The Philosophers write that a man must earnestlie indeuour that he may be able to behold high things and with his knowledge to comprehend the nature of all things But this they saie can neuer be vnles the affections be tempred in vs otherwise we be verie oftentimes carried away with rage and lust Wherefore God would haue his to be void of these affections namelie of moorning pleasure too much care and thought about decking of the bodie for these doo not a litle hinder the tranquillitie of the mind and the spirituall cogitations thereof Wherefore in the lawe he as it were taught his people to make preparation to higher things least they should with vnwashen féete haue accesse vnto holie things Vndoubtedlie they which be indued with the knowledge of God ought to prepare and make readie themselues before they come to the hearing of the word of God or to the receiuing of the sacraments verse 4 Ieremie in the fourth chapter verie well admonished vs Turne vp your fallowe ground and sowe not among the thorns And they vowed this kind of vow as we haue said for a certeine time either for a yéere or for a moneth or as euerie man thought it most profitable for himselfe For the natures of men are oftentimes changed and the studie of godlinesse soone waxeth cold therefore it must by some meanes be restored Hereof arose the departures which the father 's vsed into solitarie places for a time So they which gouerned the publike weale when they were tired with businesse kept themselues secret manie times in their priuate féelds and manors not for idlenesse or sluggishnesse sake but to refresh their minds and that they might returne the more prompt and better prepared to accomplish matters And the noble Rhetoricians being weried with pleading of causes sometimes went into the countrie to heare to talke to read somewhat to meditate in their minds the orations that they had made and heard before and so to returne againe more perfect and readie to the pleading place So the Nazarites for a certeine time departed from the companie and fellowship of other men that they might afterward returne the better and purer to execute the state wherevnto they be called Christ also in the night
for the splendent and ample light for the constant motion of the circles and procéeding therof in excellent order and for the sundrie and manifold influences as also bicause from the parts aboue we haue winds clouds raine haile lightnings thunder c. Neither dooth the prophet vtterlie exclude men from heauen as though they should neuer come thither for thither they shall come which haue liued godlie but that must be at their time appointed So as the Psalmist speaketh of the time of this life as the state of things now stand But presumptuous men haue sometimes abused the words of Dauid so that some haue thought that it should be lawfull for them to doo anie thing vpon the earth to robbe and slaie to turne all vpside downe as though God dooth not marke these things as he that onelie dwelleth in heauen and walking about the limits of heauen taketh no care of our dooings Againe others haue so wickedlie wrested these words that séeing God hath heauen to himselfe and hath giuen the earth vnto the children of men there is no cause whie we should aspire to heauen but rather that euerie man prouide for himselfe as manie parts of the earth as he can get Of this mind they séeme to be which couple field to field and house to house so as they scarselie suffer a foot of land to be possessed by others Further the prophet procéedeth and saith The dead shall not praise the Lord Ibidem 17. That euen the dead do praise the Lord. nor yet all they which go downe into silence The mind of the suppliant is that God would spare the godlie men lest they being consumed there should be a want of such as would set foorth the praise of God But thou wilt saie If the senses of soules and the life of them that be departed be taken awaie will there be a want of such as should praise God True in verie déed it is that in heauen there wil be no want But he hath appointed to receiue fame and praise not onelie in another world but euen here also vpon the earth which will not come to passe if the godlie be consumed by the wicked And God hath so ordeined this as he brought foorth man for this end Otherwise he gaue also the earth vnto cattell vnto lions and also to serpents flies and créeping beasts for all these things are there brought vp and nourished but yet not so as men be For we be placed in the world that we should publish and set foorth God this cannot the dead doo héere séeing they be far from this world And therefore it is said The dead shall not praise the Lord namelie vpon the earth Indéed brute beasts and dumbe cattell haue their abiding vpon the earth and therein are fed and nourished but they were made for the behoofe of man but vnto this maner of end they are not aduanced bicause they are not so indued with reason as they can giue thanks call vpon and celebrate the name of God Hereby let vs gather that the earth is giuen vnto men not to the intent that they should rashlie abuse the same and that they should deuoure the good things thereof like vnto brute beasts but celebrate and extoll the name of God euen as they are continuallie inuited by his benefits Which being onelie doone by the godlie sort if they be oppressed by tyrants and wicked persons who shall remaine to declare and sing out the praises of God The wicked doo blaspheme the name of God so far is it off that they magnifie extoll it The repetition of the word What is ment by the repetition of the word heauen namelie Heauen of heauens dooth betoken a certeine famous and excellent region of the heauens wherein God and Christ dwell with the saints 72 But let vs come vnto Ecclesiastes where in the third chapter it is written verse 19 that Men and cattell haue one maner of end both the one and the other doo die and they haue all one maner of spirit or breath and who knoweth whether the spirit of the sonnes of Adam go vpward and the spirit of beasts go downeward He had said a little before that the successes of the godlie and of the wicked are all one and that thereby it commeth to passe that no man knoweth by the outward fortunes and euents of men who are beloued of God and who be hated But now he compareth man with cattell affirming that the conditions and qualities of them all are one and the same But these must we distinguish bicause some be generall and some speciall As to the speciall the conditions be not all one in euerie sort for cattell be foure-footed but men be two-footed the cattell are without spéech but man dooth speake cattell be not capable of vices and vertues but men are garnished with vertues and polluted with vices Wherefore Salomon in that place treateth of generall qualities as well of men as of beasts For as men be borne and bred vp so commeth it to passe with cattell as those be dissolued into ashes and elements so dooth it happen vnto men as touching the bodie as beasts be fed with meate and quench thirst with drinke and ingender their yoong ones so doo men likewise And whereas it is said that the spirit as well of the one as the other is one that must not be referred to the soule as though Salomon iudged that all men haue but one soule Auerroes and Peripateriks as Auerroës and other of the Peripatetiks did thinke But by the spirit he vnderstandeth the wind or breath for brute beasts and men doo breath all in one aire By the spirit Salomon vnderstandeth the blowing and breath Indéed the spirit of man goeth vpward and the breath of beasts downeward but who knoweth this Who is able to prooue it by strong naturall reasons It is not denied by Salomon that these things happen but he saith that the knowledge and vnderstanding of these things are scarselie or not at all extant among men as touching naturall principles And whereas he saith Who knoweth He as Ierom interpreteth dooth shew a difficultie not an vtter impossibilitie For Socrates Plato Pythagoras and some other philosophers atteined after a sort to the knowledge of immortalitie of soules by what meanes I stand not to prooue In the same book of Ecrlesiastes the ninth chapter it is written verse 10. In the graue that thou goest vnto there is neither worke cogitation knowledge not wisedome c. These things as Ierom saith perteine vnto the good works whereby it is the part of the faithfull to approoue themselues vnto God while they liue in this world In the world to come there shall be no place for good works bicause in the â—ther life they shall haue no place In this life must we beléeue the word of God that we may be iustified here repentance must be taken in hand here the sacraments must be receiued here
resurrection and after that they shall come vnto the sight of God Origin Also Origin in his third booke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pag. 804. saith Whither the soules departing hence doo go that The soules departing from hence are diuided either into the infernall place or into the bosome of Abraham And straitwaie after The infernall place is called the vppermost earth the lowermost is called Tartarus that is the déepe botome But the name of Tartarus séemeth to be taken out of Plato which vseth the same in his tenth booke De Republica And Origin in the foresaid booke pag. 802. attributeth vnto the soules departing hence a place vpon the earth where they may learne those things which they knew not while they liued here least forsooth they which be departed out of this life should haue an excuse when they had not yet heard the preaching of the Gospell for it would séeme that such may pretend ignorance Wherefore euen as the Papists framed a purgatorie so hath this man A purgatorie and an eruditorie with certeine latter men framed an eruditorie But all these things are without scriptures Augustine interpreting the 85. psalme procéeded in this distinction of the higher infernall place the lower and he confirmeth the same not onelie by the words of that psalme but also by the euangeliall storie bicause it is said that the rich man when he was in torments Luke 16 23 lifted vp his eies and sawe Lazarus and Abraham So as it must néeds be that those blessed soules were in the higher place Yea and Abraham is brought in to haue affirmed that it was not lawfull to go from them vnto the other but that there was betwéene them a great chaos that is an excéeding great gulfe Moreouer this difference there is betwéene them that in the lowermost there are punishments and torments which are not in the vppermost Wherevpon it is written in the booke of Wisedome Wisd 3 1. that The soules of the iust be in the hand of God neither doo the torments touch them c. Yea and Christ when he hoong vpon the crosse said Into thy hands Lord Luk. 23 4◠I commend my spirit And straitwaie also he added Thou hast redeemed me ô Lord thou God of truth Whereby it is concluded that the soules of the godlie are in the hands of God and are redéemed or plucked awaie from the punishments and torments of the wicked And albeit that this be chéeflie spoken of Christ yet dooth it also belong vnto Dauid and the other members of Christ For the Lord said Iohn 17. ◠that Where he himselfe is there he would also haue his ministers to be It séemeth that Irenaeus meaning was that the soule of Christ was not onelie among the fathers in the bosome of Abraham but that it was also in the lower hell but yet without punishment and offense And this dooth he write vpon the 3. Dan. 3 92. chapter of Daniel in setting foorth the historie of the thrée children which were throwen into the fierie ouen for there did a fourth appéere with them which was called the sonne of GOD. Therein as Ierom thinketh Christ was shadowed who descended into the fornace of the wicked without anie fault of his or paine to him 10 Augustine wrote more of this matter in his 59. epistle to Euodius but verie ambiguouslie and obscurelie For he saith indéed that Christ descended into the infernall places but he saith that what he did there he was in a maner ignorant But he affirmeth that it was beléeued of the vniuersall church that the first father Adam was deliuered from thence by him But he demandeth that if so be the fathers in the bosome of Abraham were not troubled with anie sorrowe or torment what did Christ for them by his comming These things dooth he there handle in that place and disputeth at large But in his booke De haeresibus ad quod vult Deum heresie the 79. he maketh mention of them which dare affirme that Christ in the infernall places tooke out those infidels which then beléeued in him And in his booke De ecclesiasticis dogmatibus The booke De Ecclesiasticis dogmatibus ascribed to Augustine in the definition 78. 79. he declareth the matter more plainelie and manifestlie First he saith that before the comming of Christ all the soules of the godlie descended into the bosome of Abraham but that after his ascension all the faithfull soules doo go vnto God By which saieng no dout but purgatorie is ouerthrowne Howbeit we must not passe it ouer that this booke is not accounted for the lawfull writings of Augustine I know indéed that it is not reckoned among the lawfull writings of Augustine but whose soeuer it was it is an ancient worke and conteineth good instruction And certeinlie as touching either part of the definition Ierom assenteth who vpon the third chapter of Ecclesiastes interpreting the words of Salomon Eccle. 3 19. That the end of man and beasts is all one saith These things are not spoken as though Salomon thought that the soule of man was dissolued in such sort as is the life of a beast nor yet as though it should go to the selfe-same place but that before the comming of Christ all men were carried into the lower places Gen. 37 35. Which he prooueth by the words of Iacob who said He would go downe moorning for his sonne Ioseph euen to the infernall place Also he bringeth the testimonie of Iob Iob. 21 26. which saith in the 21. chapter that As well the iust as vniust are detained in the infernall place And albeit as he saith it is not all one to be dissolued and preserued yet is there but small difference betwéen the being dissolued as the life of a beast and to be kept still in darknesse Eccle. 9 10. And in the ninth chapter of the same worke the same author interpreting these woords In hell whither thou goest there is neither worke nor cogitation nor knowledge nor wisdome All the spirits of godlie men yea and Samuel himselfe before the comming of the Lord were in the infernall place Howbeit I thinke that there was particular mention made of Samuel 1. Sa. 28 1◠bicause he by a woman witch was brought vnto Saule But he added that after Christ it dooth not so come to passe and he allegeth the place of Paul which he wrote vnto the Philippians Phil. 1 23. I desire to be loosed from hence and to be with Christ But they saith he which be with Christ liue not in the infernall place We may also adde that to the théefe it was said by Christ when he was vpon the crosse Luke 23 43. This daie shalt thou be with me in paradise And this opinion is confirmed by Nazianzen Nazianzen in a funerall oration which he made for his brother Caesarius where by a conuersion vnto him he saith Thou hast ascended into heauen and
came in verie déed namelie when Christ was transformed vpon the mount Thabor He was present togither with Moses euen as it should séeme in his owne proper bodie He shall come againe at the last time howbeit to iudgement with other saints which shall be raised from the dead but not to fight or to be slaine of Antichrist Some man perhaps will saie it is a wonder that these raptings did happen in the old testament are not written of in the new Yes verelie Diuers raptings of men in the new testament Luke 24 51 Acts. 24 51. Acts. 8 39. they are had also in the new For Christ of whom the old raptings were shadowes was taken vp into heauen in the sight of his apostles And Paule said that he was rapted into the third heauen whether it were in the bodie or out of the bodie c. And Philip the Deacon as we read in the Acts when he had baptised the Eunuch of Quéene Candaces he was caught awaie by the angell out of his sight and found himselfe to be at Azotus Wherefore there be notable examples extant as well in the old testament as in the new whereby we are warned that we should at the least wise ascend into heauen with our mind and there be conuersant before God and Christ Iesus Phil. 3. 10 1. Cor. 5 6. Our conuersation as Paule hath taught ought to be in heauen Neither let vs be forgetfull that wée so long as we liue héere doo wander and straie from the Lord happie no doubt are such raptings Damnable on the other side are the raptings of Dathan and Abiram Num. 16 31 who were caught quicke into hell And fowle and shamefull were those which the Poets extoll namelie of Ganimedes Proserpina and of others whose examples must euen as much be auoided of all men as the former examples must be expressed with as much imitation as we can And thus haue we spoken sufficientlie of the question proposed whereof I ment to haue said but a little But in trauelling therein I met with a number of by-turnings and points which I might not passe ouer that I was constrained to speake or write more at large than I was determined And as touching those things which I haue defined my mind was not to teach them as things firme and certeine or as perfectlie tried out by the holie scriptures but as likelihoods of truth the which we may gesse of without breach of faith And if anie man can alledge better proofes I am readie to heare him Neither haue I minded to contend earnestlie about those things which I haue affirmed and this doo I also persuade and counsell others to doo The xvij Chapter Of the end of the world of the last iudgement of eternall life of the equalitie of rewards and of the restoring of the whole world AS for the time of continuance of the world In 1. Cor. 10. ver 1◠we haue no certeintie in the holie scriptures Augustine reckoned six ages of the world Augustine in his first booke vpon Genesis against the Manicheis reckoned six ages of the world The first from Adam vnto Noah the second from Noah vnto Abraham the third from thence vnto Dauid the fourth from that time to the transmigration into Babylon the fift from that time vnto Christ the sixt from Christ vntill the last iudgement Wherefore that age wherein we now liue being the last Iohn 2 18. may be called the decréeped or verie old age and of Iohn it is called the last houre but how long it shall continue Augustine we knowe not Augustine vnto Hesychius who had somewhat curiouslie questioned of the end of the world answered that He durst not either measure or reckon the spaces of times vnto the end of the world bicause it is written Matt. 24 3◠that Of that daie knoweth no man neither the angels nor yet the sonne of God himself Epiphanius Which place Epiphanius interpreteth in the booke which he calleth Anchoratus affirming a double knowledge one of the execution or worke another of the inward science And then saith he God the father hath both waies the knowledge of the last iudgement of the inward science doubtlesse in that he hath knowen the time thereof secondlie of the worke bicause he hath alreadie executed iudgement How the sonne hath knowledge of the iudgment daie and how he hath not Iohn 5 22. He hath giuen all iudgement to the sonne and as touching himselfe he hath sufficientlie iudged And the sonne hath knowledge of that daie as touching knowledge but as touching execution he hath not bicause he is not yet come to iudge But the angels in neither sort knowe of that daie First in verie déed the houre time of iudgement is hidden to them further the worke or execution God hath not yet committed to them that they should go foorth and take awaie all offenses Howbeit this exposition séemeth to be verie subtill and wrested Augustine Augustine hath more plainlie interpreted it that The sonne knoweth not of that daie not as touching himselfe but concerning others whom he causeth not to knowe that daie neither hath he reuealed the same by his doctrine But if thou wilt saie that afrer this maner the father also dooth not knowe it bicause he hath not shewed the same daie or instructed anie man as touching it he answereth Yes verelie he hath reuealed it to the sonne Howbeit I would yet more simplie vnderstand that sentence as touching the humane nature of Christ which by the ordinarie and naturall condition knew nothing more than was declared vnto him by the diuine nature 2 Some haue had a mind to cauill that albeit the daie and the houre is not knowne yet that by coniectures we may atteine to the knowledge of the time bicause that Christ did speciallie speake of that daie but not of the time But this subtill point nothing helpeth them bicause it is written in the first chapter of the acts verse 7. It is not for you to knowe the times and moments which in Gréek is written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And that Matt. 24 14. which we read in Matthew When the Gospell shall be preached ouer all the world then shall the end be Augustine Augustine expoundeth The Lord shall not come before the Gospell shall be preached ouer all the world But by this it is not knowne how soone after such preaching he will come In the epistle to the Colossians verse 6. the first chapter the apostle writeth that Euen at that time the Gospell was alreadie preached ouer all the world and yet we sée that iudgement is still deferred The Lord in the Gospell of Matthew Matt. 24. shewed of manie signes of the last times but when we sée them we vnderstand not whether as yet they be thoroughlie come to the iust measure so as they should be reckoned euen for the verie same things which the Lord
all things that are done and is a iust iudge of our déeds vnto whom as honest things are pleasing so vnhonest are displeasing I knowe that Cicero in his third booke De natura deorum Cicero laboureth to ouerthrowe this reason whereby we would prooue that the things which we saie are most excellent in vs must not be denied vnto God But let him reason as he list it is enough for vs to be confirmed in this matter by the scriptures In the 94. Psalme it is written Hee which planted the eare shall he not heare Psalme 94. Or hee which fashioned the eie shall hee not see Whereby wée are taught not to withdrawe from the diuine nature those things which be perfect and absolute in vs. Moreouer we sée The feele of the conscience dooth testifie that there is a God that our consciences doo naturallie detest the wickednes that we haue committed and contrariwise reioice and be glad at our well dooing Which thing séeing it is naturallie graffed in vs we be taught that Gods iudgment is to come the condemnation whereof is so terrible to our mind that somtimes it séemeth to be mad and on the other side it reioiceth when it hopeth to be allowed and rewarded at the tribunall seate We might also recken vp manie other like things of this sort howbeit they may be easilie gathered both out of the holie Scriptures and out of the philosophers bookes Wherefore I will cease to adde anie more and I count it sufficient to haue said Nothing so vile but giueth a testimonie of God that there can be nothing found in the world so abiect and contemptible which giueth not a testimonie of God Of Iupiter said the Poet all things are full For whatsoeuer is in the world so long as it is preserued so long hath it the power of God hidden vnder it which if by searching art and naturall knowledge it bée discouered will reueale God vnto vs. Looke In 1. Cor. Chap. 1 verse 21. 5 With this saieng of the Apostle séeme to disagrée other places of the scripture wherein is taken from the wicked the knowledge of God Wée read in the psalmes The foolish man said in his hart Psalm 14 1. There is no god And again it is written In the earth there is none that vnderstandeth or seeketh after God And to make no long recitall it is said in the first chapter of Esaie Esaie 1 3. Israel hath not knowne me But this diuersitie may on this wise be reconciled After what manner the knowledge of God is attributed and taken awaie frō the vngodlie The wicked as Paule saith being conuinced by the creatures doo confesse that there is a God but afterward they affirme such things of his nature and propertie as thereby may be well inferred that there is no God For Epicurus said indéed that there are gods but he remooued them from all maner of dooing care and prouidence so that he ascribed to him a felicitie altogither idle Also when they saie that there is a God but that hée hath no regard to mans dooings punisheth not nor heareth such as call vpon him and such like it is gathered thereby that this was their opinion that they granted there is a God in name onlie And therfore the Scripture denieth that they knew God For the true God is not as they fained him to bée and as touching themselues to be holpen or haue the fruition of Gods help he was euen as if he were no God for so much as they neither called vpon him nor looked for hope or aid of him Some persuaded thēselues that there is no God Further some of them were so wicked as they went about to persuade themselues that there is no God at all And albeit they could not bring this to passe their owne mind denieng their conscience striuing against them yet the Scripture pronounceth of them according to their indeuours and saith that they knew not God Lastlie we must vnderstand that the knowledge of God is of two sorts the one effectuall Two kinds of knoledge of God whereby we are changed so that we indeuour to expresse in works those things that we knowe and this knowledge of God the holie Scriptures ascribe vnto the godlie alone but the other is a cold knowledge wherby we are made neuer a-whit the better For we shew not by our works that wée knowe those things which in verie déede wée haue knowne And of this kind of knowledge speaketh Paule Rom. 1 28. where he saith And as they regarded not to knowe God c. And Christ shall saie vnto manie which will boast of the gifts and knowledge of him Matt. 7 23. I knowe yee not But to knowe God after this maner séeing it profiteth nothing the holie Scripture dooth oftentimes so reiect as it vouchsafeth not once to giue it the name of diuine knowlege and saith that GOD knew not the wicked Rom. 1 20. séeing they were such maner of men 6 Neither is it in vaine that God dooth indue the vngodlie with this kind of knowledge In 1. Sam. 5 verse 7. For verelie Aristotle teacheth in his Rhetoricks that it is a goodlie testimonie wherby our affaires are allowed of our enimies Wherfore it is an excellent thing to heare in the first booke of Samuel how the Philistines being the most gréeuous enimies of the God of Israel confessed and pronounced his power to be so great as they were not able to abide it neither yet sought they out the naturall causes of the diseases wherwith they were afflicted when neuertheles the causes be naturall both of the piles hemerods and fluxes But when they sawe that they were altogither and at one time troubled with one kind of disease they straightwaie beléeued that they were oppressed by the hand of the GOD Iehoua and so God inforced them against their wils to confesse his name In like maner Pharao who after he had béen diuerslie plagued at the length cried out Exod. 9 27. I haue sinned against the Lord and against you make yee intercession to God for me Nabuchadnezar and Darius Dan. 3 95. and 6 25. after they had well considered what God had don vnto Daniel did notablie confesse him to be the great God and by their proclamations vnder a most gréeuous penaltie forbad that anie should blaspheme or speake euill of his name And Iulianus the apostata althogh otherwise most wicked yet was constrained at his death to acknowledge the power of Christ in saieng O thou Galilean thou hast gotten the victorie And the verie diuels were driuen to the same confession when they testified and cried out Matth. 8 29. that Iesus Christ is the sonne and the holie one of God and acknowledged that he came to destroie them before the time and confessed that they well enough knew Christ and Paule By the same reason it is euident Acts. 19 15. that the arke
of the Lord was not taken by the Philistines vnprofitablie The fruit that came by taking of the arke and that the Iewes were carried awaie captiues into Babylon euen to the intent that some worship and knowledge of God might at the leastwise for a short season shine among forren nations So that manie things which séeme gréeuous and desperate haue oftentimes acceptable ends but to what end those things will come before the sequele appéere we cannot perceiue Wherfore we must not iudge of the works of God How wee must iudge of the works of God before the last act or part be plaied For if wée shall gesse by the beginning or midst we shall doo no otherwise than if we would iudge of the whole image of Phidias by one of the fingers Euerie part of the bodie must be thoroughlie considered before hand if we be desirous to attaine vnto the knowledge of the proportion and knitting togither of the whole bodie Which thing being oftentimes neglected by vs it followeth that we sorrowe that we lament that we dispraise and blaspheme that which wée knowe not 7 By that victorie therefore and taking awaie of the arke the Philistines came by some knowledge of God although not so great as they were renewed to eternall life Wherefore we must consider that God dooth two maner of waies offer himselfe to be beholden of men to the intent that on the one part we should looke vpon his mercie and clemencie on the other part vpon his power and seueritie Wherefore the greatest number of the Philistines did féele the power and strength of Iehoua For they were vessels of wrath made fit for destruction But they did not sée the clemencie and mercie that came by Christ and therfore they fled and detested the sight of him in the arke as from a tormentor and cruell iudge and for that cause they did not turne themselues They draue the arke from them neither did they receiue the true worshipping of God forsaking their idols Thus also when Christ came into the world bringing saluation vnto men the deuill which felt his power and might withstood him saieng Matth. 8 34. Why art thou come to destroie vs And the Gergesenites when they had after a strange maner lost their swine they neither receiued nor worshipped Christ but they méeting him desired him to depart out of their coasts Some write that the countenance of God is of two sorts to wit the one chéerefull and amiable which he offereth to the godlie and the other terrible and fierce wherewith he is séene of the wicked But it is no néed to imagine that God hath towards vs two faces or two heds He is alwaies the selfe-same God and carrieth one maner of countenance although he be not alwaies perceiued of all men alike For the faithfull behold him one waie and the vnfaithfull another waie 8 But they that be indued with this kind of knowlege Paul affirmeth to be inexcusable In Rom. 1 verse 20. the Gréek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth Not able to answere for their faults God vndoubtedlie did not to this end reueale these naturall knowledges God reuealeth not him self that we should bee inexcusable but that foloweth thorough our owne default If by our strength we cannot perfourme the lawe how are wee inexcusable but this came to passe through our default Howbeit that which Paule speaketh here séemeth to be repugnant to those things which are oftentimes mentioned when we dispute of works and grace For if it be true that we cannot of our own strength and frée will fulfill the lawe which we knowe how shall these men be said to be inexcusable For if that which we saie be true they might easilie be excused that they in verie déed knew this lawe by a naturall light but that they wanted strength to fulfill so much as they knew and therefore they séeme not to be inexcusable But intreateth onlie of that excuse which might be alledged of ignorance What maner of excuse Paule here speaketh of here Paule For that which is now brought in as touching weakenes this would not the Ethnikes haue pretended For they attributed all things vnto frée will wherfore they would not haue said that they were destitute of strength Onelie this remained to excuse themselues by ignorance which defence since Paule hath cut from them it onlie remaineth that by their owne iudgement they should be said to be inexcusable But and if they had said that although they knew what behooued them to doo yet that they were weake this is it that Paule laboureth to conclude namelie that the knowlege of the lawe of nature made them not the better bicause the lawe although it bée knowne yet it cannot alter vs nor giue vs strength to liue vprightlie and that therefore it is necessarie for vs to flie vnto Christ The Ethnikes pleaded not for themselues the want of strength But bicause he knew that the Gentiles fled not to that excuse therefore he repelleth that which hée sawe might easilie haue béen obiected and that is ignorance Albeit the other excuse also as concerning the weakenes of strength was not woorthie to be admitted The excuse also of weakenes is not to bee admitted For that weakenes came by our owne fault that is by sinne Besides this they could not haue béene excusable bicause euen that little that was in their power namelie as touching outward actions they perfourmed not according to their knowledge For we are not so destitute of strength by reason of sinne but that we be able to perfourme manie things in outward works in which these men shewed themselues woorst of all Wherefore it is concluded that they were vtterlie without excuse Neither might they plead that they were inforced against their wils to doo those sinnes that they did Wherfore séeing they did euill both wittinglie and willinglie they had no excuse Neither is it to be thought that God granted vnto them this excellent knowledge to the end that they should be inexcusable for that insued by their owne fault God vsed their wickednes to his owne glorie When as otherwise the prouidence of God turned their wickednes to the setting foorth of his glorie and righteousnes Thus much they profited through their sinnes that the doctrine and knowledge which they obteined further them to iudgment and condemnation Wherby we learne We must not desist from teaching thogh men seeme not to profit thereby This profit comes by true doctrine that thereby the wicked condemne thēselues that we ought not to bée feared awaie from teaching though we sée that men béecome nothing the better forsomuch as the selfe-same thing happeneth vnto that doctrine which God himselfe ministreth vnto vs. This commoditie at the least-wise will arise therby that if men wil not be conuerted by God they shall be condemned by the testimonie and iudgment of themselues And this séemes a thing that God most of all
a Christian dooth he dooth them by the impulsion of the spirit of God Those things which the philosophers doo according to morall precepts they doo them by the guide of humane reason The philosophers are stirred vp to doo those things bicause they so iudge it to be honest and right but the Christians bicause God hath so decréed Those doo thinke to profit and make perfect themselues these bicause the maiestie of God must be obeied Those doo giue credit to themselues but these giue credit to God and to the words of the lawe which he hath made Those séeke the loue of themselues these are driuen by the loue of God alone And of this manifold difference it commeth to passe that one and the same thing as touching the matter dooth please God and by his iudgement is condemned Which knowledge is preferred aboue other So now we sée that the speculatiue knowlege is preferred aboue the actiue For dooing is ordeined for contemplation and not contrariwise And no man doubteth but that that which is ordeined for another thing is lesse honorable than it But it is obiected that the contemplatiue kind dooth belong vnto action therefore indéed we behold nature that we may make much of the author thereof and therefore we séeke to knowe God to the intent we may worship him And our diuinitie is for this cause by some called actuall Howbeit these men reasoning after this maner are excéedinglie deceiued For no science is therefore called actuall bicause the worke attaineth vnto that knowledge except the selfe-same thing be performed which was first knowne When we behold nature and the heauen although we obtaine thereby a worship and loue towards God yet such a knowledge must not be called actuall bicause that is not brought to passe which we behold For there is no man that can make nature and heauen and other works which followe thereof accidentally they are said to behold them For not all men which behold these things doo loue and worship God nay rather they be oftentimes most farre from him Againe the works which folowe that knowledge and also our diuinitie haue respect vnto this that we may knowe God more and more vntill we shall behold him face to face in the kingdome of heauen And Christ our sauior confirmed this opinion saieng Iohn 17 3. This is eternall life to knowe thee the onlie true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent The third Chapter Concerning Prophesie out of the first of Samuel the 19. Chapter verse 33. SEing therfore that God would be knowne vnto men by prophesie I thought it not from the purpose to speake somewhat thereof And that I may doo it the more bréeflie and plainlie A distinguishing of this question I will first shew what is meant by this name or word prophesie then what are the causes of it next the definition and lastlie the properties and effects As touching the name of prophesie What is ment by the name prophesie A prophet is in the Hebrue toong called Naui which noune commeth of the Hebrue verbe Bo that signifieth to come And it is in the passiue coniugation Niphal Looke in the fourth part cap. 1. art 8. Khimhi dooth interpret prophesie to be a certein facultie receiued from GOD. For prophets doo suffer a certeine breathing on them and instinct from God and that word dooth signifie sometime an interpretor or messenger And a prophet is called somtimes in Hebrue Roe that is a seer sometimes Chose that is a watchman sometimes Isch Eloim that is a man of God as in the first of Sam. the 9. chapter Sam. 9 10. and first of Paralipo the 29. In the Greeke he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to foretell or as some rather will of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to shew Whervpon among the Latins temples are called Phana and as Festus Pompeius thinketh the bishops of the temples were called prophets There were also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to wit interpretors which did seruice to the greater prophets They were also called among the Gréeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Among the Latins mad men are called Fanatici yet further they were called of the Gréekes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to stir vp and driue forward They were called in Latine Vates as some suppose of speaking although there were that thought otherwise A prophet is he which being stirred vp by the spirit foretelleth things to come The causes of prophesy The matter of prophesieng Prophesie is vsed about things past present to come Acts. 5 3. 2. King 5 26. 2 Now that we may also speake somwhat of the causes a prophet is occupied about heauenlie and hidden matters Somtimes he séeth the things that be present as Peter did of Ananias and Saphira and Elizeus of Gehezi saieng Was not my spirit present with thee Somtime he séeth things that are past as Moses concerning the creation of the world For as touching things to come no man doubteth but he foreséeth them Also they which expound other mens prophesies are prophets A prophet is an interpreter of the word For so was Aaron said to be the prophet of Moses vnto Pharao and the expounders of the holie scriptures are called prophets Also it belongeth to the office of a prophet to praie vnto God wherefore Paule saith that euerie man praieng or prophesieng c. And in Genesis 1. Cor. 11 4. God answereth Abimelech concerning Abraham Gen. 20 7. when he had taken his wife from him Giue him his wife againe for he is a prophet A prophet must praie for others and shall praie for thee And Paule in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the 14. chapter setteth foorth more at large the office of a prophet When ye come together saith he euerie one hath a psalme 1. Cor. 14 27 or hath doctrine or hath reuelation or hath interpretation let all things be done to edifieng They may also make hymnes and thanks-giuing and exhort the people For Paule saith He that prophesieth speaketh doctrine Ibidem 3. exhortation and consolation Which facultie pertaineth to the mind and power of vnderstanding And a prophet differeth from a préest Wherein prophets differ from priests in that a préest should not onelie exhort teach and comfort but also minister holie seruices which thing a prophet may not doo Besides the préests were of the tribe of Leui the prophets were of other tribes Moreouer the préests might erre often did erre but the true prophets in that they were prophets could not erre Indéed they somtimes added somwhat of their owne but therein they were not prophets Lastlie the préests were chosen onlie by succession and had an ordinarie ministerie but the prophets were sent by an extraordinarie means according to the will of God 3 The forme of prophesieng is the reuelation of God
father Also Paule said that He knoweth nothing else but Christ 1. Cor. 2 2. and him crucified And indéed God may be said to be made visible in Christ God is said to be made visible in Christ bicause he is ioined in one person with man Wherefore they that sawe Christ might auouch that they sawe God and he that acknowledgeth beholdeth him by faith dooth sée a great deale more than if he should sée Moses burning bush Therefore it is written vnto the Colossians that All the treasures of the wisedome and knowledge of God are laid vp in him Colos 2 3. In Iudges 6 verse 22. Looke In 2. Sam. chap. 24 verse 18. The presence of God striketh a feare in the godlie Before pla 3 art 9. Exo. 33 20. Iohn 1 18. 1. Tim. 6 16. 16 But in marking thou shalt alwaies perceiue that the fathers of old time after they had once séene God or any angels were in excéeding great feare and were so astonied as they looked but for present death And no maruell for it was not vnknowne to them what answere GOD made vnto Moses when he desired to sée his face Man shall not see me liue And Iohn the Baptist as we read in the first of Iohn said No man hath seene God at anie time And Paule vnto Timothie hath confirmed the same saieng No man hath seene God nor yet may see for he is inuisible bicause he dwelleth in the light that cannot be come vnto Which thing also both Gedeon and Manoa the father of Samson Iudg. 6 22 and 3 22. Gen. 32 30. doo testifie Iacob likewise after his nights wrestling wherein he thought he had contended with a man when he perceiued it was an angel marueled how he had escaped safe and aliue I sawe the Lord saith he face to face and yet my life is safe as though hée could scarselie beléeue it might be Exod. 20 19 Moreouer the Hebrues when the Lord came downe vpon Mount Sinai to giue the lawe were so dismaied with feare and trembling that they said to Moses Wee praie thee deale thou with God least if he continue talking so with vs we die euerie one And with these places that also maketh much that is written in the same booke of Exodus Exo. 24 11. Looke in 1. Kin. 19 11. euen when the couenant was made betwéene God and his people and Moses had recited the same and sprinkeled the people with the bloud of the sacrifices and had brought the elders vnto the mount where they sawe God sitting vpon a throne in great maiestie and glorie But after that vision is recited it is added And yet did not God stretch out his hand vnto them Which declareth that it was a rare sight and a strange that men should sée God without all perill and danger of life Wherefore euerie part of that is recorded as doone by speciall prerogatiue Esaie 6 11. Ierom writeth of Esaies death Ierom also testifieth that Esaie was slaine by the Iewes vnder this colour bicause he said that he saw God sitting vpon his throne as it is written in the sixt chapter of his booke They cauilled with him that it was but a lie forsomuch as God cannot be séene of anie man that liueth and therfore they vniustlie condemned him as one that taught the people his imaginations not that which the Lord had shewed him These things did they deuise against that innocent prophet when as they had no other cause to laie against him 17 The like examples also are not wanting in the new testament when the Lord reuealed to his apostles a certeine shew of his glorie maiestie vpon mount Tabor Matt. 17 6. he shone with excéeding great brightnes light was wholie changed before them with whom Moses Elias were strait waie present the voice of the father was heard from heauen These things bicause they did manie waies excéed the power of mans sight the apostles eies might not endure them wherefore they fell prostrate vpon the earth as if they had béene dead Also Peter Luke 5. when at Christes becke he had fished and caught an incredible number of fishes for before that commandement hée had labored long in vaine woondering at the strangnes of the thing and perceiuing that God was in Christ he was so afraid that he said to him I pray thee Lord depart from me for I am a sinful man and cannot abide the presence of the Godhead without perill And Paule when he would make relation 2. Cor. 12 3. how he was taken vp euen to the third heauen where he learned such heauenlie things as hée could not by spéech expresse vnto man wrote Whether in the bodie or out of the bodie I knowe not Assuredlie he durst not affirme that those things happened vnto him while hée vsed the bodie and senses of this life Wherefore it is euident inough that Gedeon was not astonied without a cause 18 But now I thinke if good to shew the reason why the sight of God or of the angels dooth séem to bring present destruction vnto men Peraduenture it commeth to passe by meanes of the heauie masse of this bodie Platonists which as the Platonists affirme is vnto vs as a darke and shadowed prison wherewith we are so hindered that wée cannot perceiue the things which are heauenlie If happilie we doo somtimes sée them by and by we thinke the coniunction of our soule and bodie to be sundered and that we shall die out of hand and that therefore the sight of heauenlie things is propounded vnto vs bicause the diuorce of the mind of the bodie is at hand Moreouer Aristotle Aristotle in his metaphysicks dooth witnes that the power of our vnderstanding is so litle able to comprehend the things diuine which in their nature are most cléere and manifest that it may iustlie be likened to the eies of owles and bats which cannot abide to looke vpon the brightnes of the sunne or the light of the daie They which thus iudge doo saie somewhat but yet not so much as sufficeth for a plaine declaration of the matter The bodie was not giuen as to remooue vs from seeing of God The bodie from our first creation was not therefore giuen vnto men to be anie hinderance to our knowledge of God nor yet to shut vp our soules as it were in a dark and blind prison For so the goodnes of God should become guiltie for making the nature of man bodilie and corporall And that it is so Gen. 2 15. and 19. it is to be prooued by the historie of Genesis which testifieth that God was verie familiar with our first parents notwithstanding they had bodies For he brought them into paradise which he had planted he shewed them the fruits wherof they might eate and concerning other some he made a lawe that they should not touch them and he set all liuing creatures before Adam that he
it in silence least perhaps wée might suspect our selues to be their workmanship And euen as our redemption is onelie attributed vnto Christ the sonne of God and not to the Angels so was it méet to be as touching our creation The second reason bicause of the pronesse of men vnto idolatrie for if they haue worshipped heauen stars foure-footed beasts serpents and birds what would they haue doone if Moses had described that spirituall creature in his colours and had said that they were made to doo vs seruice to be presidents ouer countries and to be at hand with euerie man What would not men haue doone They would haue run a madding to the worshipping of them The first mention of them was at paradise with the sword of the cherubims Gen. 3 24. Also in Abrahams time Gen. 18 2. when there was present an excéeding strong deliuerer For euen then are dangers permitted by God when most strong remedies are also vsed by him And as touching this superstitious worshipping of Angels Paule speaketh in the second to the Colossians Col. 2 23. 4 Rabbi Selomoh saith that the names of Angels are secret so as they euen themselues In Iudg. 13 ver 17. doo not knowe their owne names yea and he addeth that they haue not names of their owne Angels take their names of those things which they doo but that onlie surnames are appointed them of those things vnto which they are sent to take charge of Wherevnto the epistle to the Hebrues assenteth when it calleth them Administring spirits Heb. 7 14. Rabbi Selomoh bringeth examples out of the holie scriptures An Angel was sent vnto Esaie Esaie 6 6. and bicause he put vnto his lips a burning cole he was called Seraphim Seraphim of the Hebrue verbe Saraph which signifieth To burne So of Raphael we may saie that he which cured Tobias was so called as who shuld saie He was the medicine of God Tob. 12 15. Luke 1 26. And Gabriel by the same reason is called The strength of God Also the word Peli which the Angel attributed to himselfe in the 13. of Iudges signifieth Woonderfull for he came Iudg. 13 18. to the intent he might doo a miracle And surelie it was verie woonderfull to bring out a flame out of a rock which consumed the sacrifice And it may be that the Angel would not open his name bicause men in those daies were prone vnto idolatrie and perhaps when they had heard the name of the Angel they would soone haue béene induced to worship it more than right religion requireth But Cherubims be Angels In Gen. 3. at the end Cherubim whose name is deriued of a figure Aben-ezra saith that Keruf signifieth A forme or figure be it either of man or of brute beasts it maketh no matter which séeing either of both is so called Angels haue these names bicause they appeare vnto men in figure or forme of a liuing creature as it appeareth in the tenth of Ezechiel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Others thinke that the name is compounded of the Hebrue letter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a marke of similitude and of Raui which in the Chaldean spéech signifieth Boies or Yoong men bicause Angels appéered in the fourme of men and that of yoong men And to that similitude those in the tabernacle were made hauing wings put to them Which peraduenture Dionysius and other followed when they saie that they are signified by the fulnes of knowledge séeing a man whose figure they beare differeth in vnderstanding and knowledge from brute beasts In 2. Sam. 22 verse 11. Wherefore Cherub is a certaine figure giuen and betokeneth vnto vs The messengers of God which with great celeritie doo all those things which God commandeth He vseth them and rideth as it were vpon the winds Psal 18 10. which are gouerned by those Angels bicause by those things that which God would is brought to passe â—ings attributed vnto Angels Exod. 37 9. Esaie 6 2. Ezech. 10 5. Dan. 9 21. Also the Ethnicks made Mercurie with wings and attributed wings vnto the winds The Angels likewise are often-times put with wings In Exodus the Cherubims are made with wings Esaie saith that Seraphim came flieng vnto him Ezechiel Daniel sawe Angels flieng vnto them These things declare that the ministerie of Angels is excéeding swift In the 104. Psalme Psal 104 4. Who maketh his Angels spirits We must not héere imagine with the Saduces as though the Angels were but a bare seruice of no substance seuered from matter They are not onlie mooued with the moouing that brute creatures haue but they vnderstand they speake and they instruct vs. An Angel came vnto the virgin Marie Luke 1 26. and 11. and vnto Zacharie Their Angels as it is in the Gospell doo alwaies behold the face of their heauenlie father Matt. 18 10. Vnto the Hebrues they are called Administring spirits Hebr. 1 14. Dan. 10 13. and 12 1. Finallie they gouerne kingdoms and prâ—uinces In Iud. chap. 13. Looke before psal 9. art 25. 5 It followeth that I speake somwhat of the visions of Angels For an Angel appeared vnto Manoah and oftentimes in other places as the scriptures declare Angels haue bin séen of men But it may be demanded how they did appeare whether with anie bodie or onlie in phantasie and if with a bodie whether with their owne bodie or with a strange bodie and whether the bodie were taken for a time or for euer Of these things there be diuers opinions of men The Platonists saie that The minds that is The opinion of the Platonists the Intelligencis are so framed that certeine of them haue celestiall bodies and some haue firie bodies some airie some watrie and some earthie bodies and some they affirme to be darke spirits which doo continuallie dwell in darkenes and mist Of these things Marsilius Ficinus hath gathered manie things in his tenth booke De legibus and in his Argument of Epinomis The Peripatetikes affirme The Peripatetikes that there be certaine Intelligencies which guide and turne about the celestiall circles neither make they mention of anie other The schoole diuines Also the schoole diuines haue decréed that those minds and Intelligencies are altogither spirituall and that they haue no bodies And they were led thus to thinke by reason that these Intelligencies must néeds excell the soules of men whose perfectest facultie consisteth in vnderstanding Wherefore as they thinke it is méete that in this worke the Intelligencies should much excéed them and that this commeth to passe bicause those heauenlie minds haue no néed of images or of senses the which being so it should be superfluous for them to haue bodies 6 But amoÌ„g the Fathers The fathers Origin some haue affirmed far otherwise Origin in his bookes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Ierom hath noted in his epistle Ad Pammachium de erroribus Iohannis Hierosolymitani
concerning giants These testimonies of Plinie and Berosus being in the latin copie put a little after are more conuenientlie set in this place Plinie Berosus Philostratus But among the Ethnicks we reade of much more woonderfull things such as men can hardlie be persuaded to giue credit vnto For Plinie writeth in his seauenth booke that in Candie there fell downe a hill and that there was found a mans bodie of sixe and fortie cubits long which some thought to be the bodie of Orion some of Otho Also it is written that the bodie of Orestis being digged vp by the commandement of an oracle was of 7. cubits That which Berosus affirmeth of Adam and of Seth his son of Noah his sons that they were all giants séeing it is without scripture it may be reiected Philostratus saith in his Heroikes that he sawe a certeine dead carcase of a giant of thirtie cubits long another of two and twentie and another of twelue The common stature of men of our time The measure of a foote But the common stature of men in these daies is little aboue fiue foote And héerein the measure of a foote agréeth as well among the Gréeks as Latins that vnto euerie foote are appointed four hand-breadths and euerie hand-breadth conteineth the â—readth of foure fingers that is the length of the little finger But if so be that the two outwardmost fingers I meane the thumbe and the little finger bée stretched out euerie foote conteineth onelie two spans or hand-breadths Vnto this place I thought good to transfer those things Augustine which Augustine hath in his 15. booke De ciuitate Dei the ninth chapter where he reprooueth those which affirme stoutlie that men were neuer of such tall stature and sheweth that he himselfe sawe vpon the coast of Vtica a chéeke-tooth of a man so excéeding great as the same being diuided into the fourme and quantitie of vsuall téeth in our age it might easilie be iudged a hundred times greater And that there were manie such personages in old time he declareth out of the verses of Virgil in the 12. booke of Aeneidos where he brought in Turnus to haue lifted vp from the earth and to haue shaken at Aeneas so great a stone as twelue choise men could scarselie rule Virgil. He said no more but straight a mightie stone be there beheld A mightie ancient stone that then by chance within the feeld There for a bownd did lie all strife twixt lands for to appease Scarse could twelue chosen men that on their shoulders lift with ease Such men I meane as now adaies the earth to light doo bring This vp in hand he caught and tumbling at his foe did fling Which thing he declared out of the sixt Iliad of Homer Also Virgil in the first booke of Georgicks saith that men would woonder in time to come when they should happen to till vp the féelds of Aematia to sée the greatnes of bones which should be digged out of the graues Further he alledgeth Plinie the second Plinius secundus who in the seauenth booke affirmeth that nature the further forward that it goeth the lesser bodies it dailie bringeth foorth He calleth to mind that Homer once in his verses bewailed the selfe-same thing wherevnto I might adde the testimonie of Cyprian against Demetrianus Cyprian But if I should be demanded whether I thinke that mens bodies which came after the floud Whether humane bodies haue decreased euer since Noes floud hitherward Aulus Gellius were lesse than those which were brought foorth before the flood perhaps I would grant they were but that they haue continuallie decresed euen from the flood to this daie that I would not easilie grant especiallie considering the words which Aulus Gellius wrote in his third booke where he saith that The stature wherevnto mans bodie groweth is of seuen foote which séemeth also at this daie to be the measure of the taller statures But yet we read in the Apocryphus of Esdras in the fourth booke 4. Esdr 5 54. at the end of the fift chapter that now also our bodies are lesse and dailie shall be lessened bicause nature alwaies becommeth more barren The selfe-same thing also as I said a little before Cyprian séemeth to affirme But I alleadged the cause whie I cannot easilie grant therevnto namelie for that I sée little diminished at this daie of the measure which Aulus Gellius described 36 Now it séemeth good to shew the cause whie God would that some men otherwhile should be borne of such huge stature The cause whie God would somtime raise vp such huge giants Forme and stature doo nothing further vnto saluation Augustine in the 24. chapter of the booke before alleadged thinketh this was doone to the intent that it should be left for a testimonie vnto vs that neither the beautifulnes of the bodie nor the largenes of stature nor yet the strength of the flesh should be accounted among the principall good things séeing those are sometimes common as well to the wicked as to the godlie Certeinelie they which bend their mind vnto godlines will iudge that spirituall good things must be preferred far aboue partlie bicause they further vs vnto saluation and partlie bicause they in verie déed make vs better than other men But that giants were nothing at all furthered vnto saluation through the greatnes of their stature he prooueth by that which the prophet Baruch writeth in the third chapter Baru 3 16. What is becom of those famous giants that were so great of bodies and so worthie men of war Those hath not the Lord chosen neither hath he giuen them the waie of knowledge therefore were they destroied bicause they had no wisedome But if a man will peruse the historie of the Bible he shall scarselie find Giants tooke not the defense of good causes Deut. 3 4. 1. Sam. 17 verse 1. that they at anie time tooke a good or godlie cause in hand naie rather he shall perceiue that through their pride and frowardnes they were perpetuall enimies vnto God For so was Og the king of Basan so was Goliah and his brethren they were most iniurious to the people whom God had imbraced chosen from others to be peculiar vnto himselfe Also there is another matter which may verie much confirme our faith Giants ouercome by weake men For the holie histories alwaies make mention that such huge giants were foulie vanquished in battels and that especiallie by weake men and by men verie vnexpert in warfare namelie by Dauid being as yet a shéepheard by the people of Israel when as yet they were yoong souldiers and ignorant in wars Wherefore the spirit of God warneth vs to be of a constant and stedfast mind when for godlines sake we are to fight with such monstrous men We must not then be dismaid for lacke of strength séeing the holie oracles in euerie place pronounce that it is God which deliuereth such huge
the death and resurrection of Christ are most manifest But what it is to sit at the right hand of GOD it dooth not so plainelie appéere The spéech is metaphoricall deriued from princes and kings who place at their right hand such as they hold in greatest honour and estimation In the 100. psalme it is written verse 1 Sit at my right hand vntill I make thine enimies thy footstoole And Salomon when he was minded to shew great honour vnto his mother Bersaba 1. Kin. 2 19. he commanded that she should haue a throne set for hir vpon his right hand Matt. 20 21 Also the sonnes of Zebede desired of Christ that they might sit the one at his right hand and the other at his left hand Touching this high honour granted to him of his father Christ himselfe saith Matt. 11 17 and 28 18. All things are giuen vnto me of my father and there is giuen vnto me all power both in heauen earth And Iohn the Euangelist saith Iohn 13 3. Iesus knowing that all things should be deliuered vnto him And Paule vnto the Ephesians saith Ephe 1 20. He is set aboue all principalitie power vertue dominion and aboue euerie name that is named be it in this world or in the world to come Phil. 2 9 And vnto the Philippians He gaue him a name that is aboue euerie name that in the name of Iesus euerie knee should bow of things in heauen of things in earth Col. 1 15 c or of things vnder the earth And vnto the Colossians He is the beginning and first begotten of the dead that in all things he might haue the preeminence For it pleased the father that in him all fulnesse should dwell And although the right hand of God as we haue said signifieth honour and high dignitie yet must we not thinke that the bodie of Christ is spred out so farre as his Godhead and right hand is extended For that bodie as the state of humane nature requireth is comprehended in a certeine and definite place the which is heauen Acts. 3 21. as Peter in the Acts of the apostles dooth testifie as the article of his ascension dooth teach vs to beléeue and as Augustine and manie of the fathers haue instructed vs. ¶ Looke the dialog of both natures in Christ Of Christs person death and resurrection looke 3. sermons and the epistle vnto the brethren of Poland When as I was come thus far forward there happened into my hands which I had in vaine sought long before our authors exposition vpon the apostolicall Creed written in his owne naturall language A similitude The which D. Peter Martyr diuorsing himselfe from the dregs of poperie set foorth when he departed out of Italie as Master Iosias Simlerus testifieth in his life The same for so much as to my knowledge it was not yet extant in Latine set foorth in this maner I thought it would be both pleasant and profitable to the readers that it might come to light a few things being cut off bicause they were both largelier and more exactlie treated of in another place Further as touching the causes of departing from poperie looke the second epistle The xviij Chapter A plaine exposition of Peter Martyr vpon the twelue articles of the Christian faith THe articles of our faith set foorth nothing vnto vs but the knowledge of God And as we be not able throughlie to comprehend him he being perfect and vncorrupt in nature so is there particularlie giuen vs sometime some one small taste and féeling of him and sometime another And séeing in the diuine nature there be thrée persons as we beléeue of one essence namelie the Father the Sonne and the holie Ghost the whole essence perteineth to ech one of them The whole essence belongeth to ech one of the persons But now this first article which properlie concerneth the Father propoundeth foure things to be obserued first that he in whom we beléeue is the true God secondlie that the same is the Father thirdlie that he is omnipotent and lastlie that he is the author and first originall of all things created Now go to let vs sée particularlie To beleeue in God expounded what the proper meaning is of these words I beleeue in God Assuredlie we cannot otherwise explaine this sentence than to saie that he is to be acknowledged as God So as if a man demand of thée What is God refusing all humane subtiltie Looke in 1. Cor. 10. and laieng aside the difficulties that be vnsearchable thou must boldlie absolutelie answer without sticking that God is the eternall good of whom euerie other good dooth come Wherevpon it appeareth that he which estéemeth anie thing as much or more than God cannot trulie saie I beleeue in God For if so be thou acknowledge him to be the chéefe good thou wilt neuer preferre anie thing before him Neither yet can he rightlie beléeue this that at anie time setteth his hope anie other waie séeing hope is not but of some good thing If then God as I haue said be the good from whence euerie good thing dooth flowe whosoeuer expecteth anie good else-where beléeueth not trulie in him Furthermore they which attribute the good things which they possesse vnto their owne righteousnesse indeuour dooings and finallie to themselues haue not the sense and as I may saie the true taste of this first article of our faith What then wilt thou saie of them which haue appointed to themselues certeine ends of good things out of the vanitie of their owne deuise and out of the decrées of Philosophers and politike men yea and out of the sense of brute beasts in the which they in verie déed repose themselues whatsoeuer euill they bring Such kind of men doubtlesse properlie worship not God but in the place of God doo worship the phansies inuentions of their owne braine The thing beléeue me is of greatest importance for a man to haue the true God to be his GOD. Psa 144 15. The prophet Dauid pronounced that people blessed whose God is the true God 2 But now it dooth appeare what it is to beléeue in God howbeit Whie he is called father we haue not yet declared whie the father is called by the name of father That name is attributed vnto him for two causes chéefelie The one is for that he is the father of our Lord Iesus Christ which is the second person in diuine nature The other bicause it pleased him to be our father And he is therefore called father bicause he distributeth his inheritance to vs and so communicateth his nature with vs Rom. 8 17. as Paule to the Romans calleth vs The heires of God and Peter saith that we participate of the diuine nature 2. Pet. 1 4. For these two things speciallie the parents are woont to giue vnto their children For first they indeuour as much as they can to make them like vnto
All these things being finished The distribution of the Sacrament they came to the distribution of the sacramēt While the same was a dooing or when it was finished the song of thankesgiuing was added which they called the after Communion After Communion When all this was complete finished A prayer at the end the Minister adding a comfortable prayer licenced the people to depart All these things albeit they ledde away the Christian people from that first simplicitie of hauing the Lordes Supper manie things being added as it séemed good to sundry men yet might they after a sort be abidden and not iustly be accused of superstition or idolatrie One and the same rite was not in al Churches alike The church of Millain Howbeit the same things were not in all Churches nor were not kept after one sort For as yet it was otherwise in the Church of Millaine by the constitution of Ambrose neuerthelesse afterward the Romane Antichristes corrupted all things 8 But that those things which I haue specified were by the olde ordinance kept I maie easilie shew by the most ancient writers Tertullian in Apologetico saieth Tertullian Wée come together into the congregation and assemblie that praying vnto God we may as it were hand in hand forcibly compasse him about with prayers This force is acceptable vnto God We also pray for Emperours for their ministers and men in authoritie for the state of this life for the quietnesse of things and for prolonging of the end These things doe shewe the summe of the Collects And as touching the exercise of the Scriptures he addeth Wée come together to the rehearsall of the diuine scriptures if the qualitie of times present either compelleth vs to forwarne or to call to remembrance Doubtlesse by the holy words we féede our faith we aduance our hope we fasten our confidence We neuerthelesse by often putting in mind doe strengthen the discipline of teachers There also haue we exhortations chastisements and diuine Censures For iudgement is giuen with great weight c. These be the things which were doone in the holy assemblie Whereunto these also must bee added which the same Author elsewhere sayeth namely that the Eucharist was woont to be receiued at the hand of the chiefe prelats c. In these wordes we may haue knowledge of the principall partes of the Masse which wée haue rehearsed Iustinus Martyr Iustin Martyr in his seconde Apologie writeth that vpon the Sundaie the Christians come together but of other feasts he maketh no mention There he saieth the holie scriptures were recited vnto which afterward the chiefe Prelate added his owne exhortation That saieth he being doone we rise and pray afterwarde he addeth Vnto the chiefe Prelate is brought the bread and the drinke ouer which he giueth thankes as heartily as he can To whom answere is made of all men Amen These woordes declare two things not negligently to be passed ouer First that thanks were not sleightly giuen but with all the power that might be that is with singular affection Further it is manifest that all things were spoken with an audible voyce séeing the people answered Amen Afterward saieth he the Eucharist is distributed Last of all is a generall thanksgiuing and offering of almes Dionysius 9 Dionysius in his Ecclesiasticall Hierarchie rehearseth in a manner the selfesame things namely a recitall of the Scriptures a singing of Psalmes a communion and other things which would be nowe ouerlong to declare But which séemeth the more strange he maketh no mention of offering the bodie of Christ This Dionysius was not Areopagita spoken of in the Acts. Howbeit we must not thinke that he was the same Areopagita who is spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles But whosoeuer he was there is no doubt as I thinke but that he was an auncient writer And why I should thinke that he was not Areopagita I am lead by these reasons first because the kind of writing which he vseth especiallie of diuine names and of heauenlie gouernance containeth rather a doctrine of vaine philosophie than a doctrine of pure Christianitie and it is vtterlie voide of edifying Moreouer those bookes be in a maner void of testimonies of the holy Scriptures In the Apostles time were no Monks in the Church Further in his eccleasiasticall Hierarchie he maketh Moonkes to be as a certayne meane order betwéene the clergie and laitie whereas in the Apostles time that kinde of life was not as yet in the Church Héerewithall the elder fathers in no place made mention of those bookes which is an Argument that those were none of the works of the Martyr Gregorius Romanus first of all other in a certaine homilie of his made mention of his writings But passing ouer him come we to Augustine That father in the 59. Augustine Epistle vnto Paulinus while he assoyleth the fift question he expoundeth foure wordes which are in the 1. Epistle to Timothy the 2. Verse 1. Chapter A place of Timothie expounded Supplications Praiers Intercessions Thankesgiuing And those be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And hee affirmeth that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is supplications doe goe before the Celebration of the Sacrament And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee maketh to bee prayers which are vsed in the verie administration of the Sacrament wherein after a sorte wée vowe our selues vnto Christ and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he thinketh to be petitions and requestes by which the minister of the Church prayeth for good things for the people which stande by And finallie he teacheth that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were generall thankes giuinges I might besides these bring many other monuments of the fathers if I thought not these to be sufficient But to returne to the name of Masse I sée that there were some also which thought the same to bee deriued of this woorde Missio Masse and Missio interpreted after an other sort because those thinges which were offered by the faithfull were saide to bee sent and they thinke that the Hebrue worde Masath gaue an occasion of that name because the Iewes vsed in time of the Pentecost to offer giftes But for what cause I iudge that the name of Masse was not deriued from an Hebrue worde I haue declared before And this I now adde If the Masse tooke his name from the oblation of things which were giuen by the Godlie the Papistes should abuse that name who haue there no respect at all to the almes of Godlie men but onelie to the oblation of the bodie and bloude of Christ which they commonlie boaste and that impudentlie that they offer vnto the father for the quicke and for the dead But of those things I suppose we haue spoken enough and at large Of the Masse looke another place in the Addition at the ende of this Booke Of Sacrifice In Iud.
21 But now it séemeth good to treat wherefore tyrantes be so stirred vp against godlie men and against the Gospell Paul in the 2. Chapter to the Ephesians The prince of the world saith he woorketh with efficacie in the children of disobedience euen as godlie men are mooued in the holy ghost By which place it is manifestly gathered that wicked men be instruments which the diuell vseth for the execution of his furie And moreouer vnto the Diuell is giuen power against the Saintes although the same be repressed and bridled within certaine boundes and limites according as vnto the Lord it hath séemed profitable for his For this cause dooth the Diuell rage in his owne members that he may be an hindrance vnto GOD and to the Gospell And therefore dooth God permit these thinges to the intent that the excellent victories of Martyrs may appeare and that the Church no lesse than the world may haue her excellent men So then thou vnderstandest for what ende or purpose God suffereth these thinges to be doone Assuredlie it is no maruell that the Diuell rageth against the Gospell because through it he is spoyled by Christ For the Gospell is the power of God vnto saluation to all them that beleeue Rom. 16. 1. 23 There remaineth a doubt why God doth prosper Tyrants which be altogether cruell and wicked who haue had sometime such prosperous successes as their Kingdoms haue béene aduaunced to most ample Monarchies As it is manifest by Romulus Cyrus Philip and Alexander of Macedonia which euē of Ethnick Historiographers are noted to haue béene most violent and vniust First as touching these Monarchies Why how and to what end GOD suffereth tyrants to encrease howe they haue grownne this shall be imputed the cause that in the world there is a certaine coniunction betwéene causes and effectes firmelie appointed by the institution of God which cannot easily be changed nay rather it séemes many times to take place Wherefore those Princes or people which haue attained and kept these studies and Artes of gouernment which are of force aswell to increase as amplifie dominion and Empire haue obtained this good successe For present example let vs speake of the Romans They as the histories declare and as Augustine testifieth might get themselues so great power because they had those things by which it hath bin vsually obtained First they had a desire of praise not in verie deede altogether false and counterfait namelie such as thereby they might approoue themselues sounde and iust Iudges Moreouer they were liberall of monie yea and adde if ye will that they were oftentimes contemners of the same and desirous of glorie Which glory notwithstanding they ascribed to their countrie in generall which they so loued as they would haue it for a long time to be frée but euermore to be the Ladie of other countries And by Virgill is set foorth that excellent propertie of the Romans To spare the subiects and to vanquish the proud 24 They suffered not themselues to bée weakened with delightes and pleasures neither set they their minde vppon heaping of riches Besides this there was a patient enduring of labours and also a discipline of warre They pould not their subiects but protected them They wasted not their monie vppon stage players Iesters Dicing Harlots or haunting of victualing houses They obtained not their offices by guile by deceits or by yll practises but by honest meanes whereby at home they vsed great diligence and abrode a iust gouernement They gaue counsell fréelie taking héede least their minde shoulde be subiect to lustes and vices Wherefore séeing they had so excellent studies vertues and faculties they easilie obtained by nature to beare rule ouer others For such a coniunction and linking together in the world is ordained by God as of such causes vnlesse he himselfe let it those things doe alwaies or for the most part followe Howbeit I denie not but that in the common wealth of Rome there were manie vices also séeing the people was constrained sundry times to auoide from the Tyrannie of the Fathers Albeit that euen in those times they had some excellent actiue and valiant men which tempered and corrected such vices But afterward when the Empire was obtained whē vices had excéedinglie preuailed vices were supported together with the verie hugenesse of so great a kingdome and people and nobilitie So notwithstanding that they themselues abused so great an Empire yet God did both punish the world and the infinite wickednesse thereof And the Church was woonderfully increased with witnesses and heauen with Saints There be moreouer other causes as vnto vs vnknowen so most iust for the which God suffereth these things to happen The Romane Empire at the length gaue peace vnto the Church In the Monarchie of the Persians the people of Israell was restored into their owne countrie And while Nabuchad-nezer enioyed the kingdom of the Chaldeans the name of God was published and spread abroade among the Gentiles Vnder the kings of Macedonia the holie Scriptures were translated out of the Hebrewe into the Gréeke tongue while Ptolomaèus did beare rule in Egypt And thus shalt thou euermore finde that God verie well knoweth howe to vse an euill thing The end of the fourth Part. To God alone the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost be all honour praise glorie and dominion for euer and euer Amen ANOTHER Collection of certeine Diuine matters and doctrines of the same M. D. Peter Martyr the titles wherof appeare in the page following necessarilie added to this volume for the greater benefit and comfort of the Christian Church At the end is placed a table of all the particulars and the Authors life at large Translated and partlie gathered by the said ANTHONIE MARTEN Meliora spero Philipp 1 verse 9. I praie that your loue may abound more and more in knowledge and in all iudgement that ye may discerne things that differ one from another Seene and allowed according to the Queenes Maiesties Iniunctions 1583. The Contents Common places of Free will Prouidence Predestination The cause of sinne The sacrifice of the Masse An exhortation to the Supper of the Lord. Three confessions touching the presence and participation of Christ in the sacraments Certeine questions and answers Diuers propositions out of Genesis Exodus Leuiticus and the booke of Iudges A disputation which D. Peter Martyr had at Oxford with Tresham Chadse and Morgan Sundrie sermons of The death of Christ The resurrection of Christ A place in the 20. chapter of Iohn Reedifieng of Christs church The profit and dignitie of the holie ministerie An exhortation to the studie of Diuinitie A praise of the word of God deliuered in the scriptures Certeine other orations Diuers and sundrie theologicall Epistles The life of D. Peter Martyr E R To hir Maiestie WHen I had now by the speciall goodnesse of almightie GOD brought to a perfect end the foure Parts of M. D. Peter Martyrs Common places and perceiued that in
from tempting of our Sauiour by no other weapons but by the worde of God Wherefore it is no maruell if Paule doe therefore praise Timothie 2. Tim. 3. 15 because he learned the holie Scriptures from his first infancie whereby he might teache and confute instruct and correct and become perfect and prepared to euerie good worke Happie was the Commonweale of Israel accounted which as concerning her state might aske Counsell of God by Vrim and Thumim Exo. 28 30. But we which haue the diuine light and perfection of the spirit expounded vnto vs in the word of God when wee will are not in worse case than they That could not be our felicitie to haue those things which be necessarie to saluation ingraued in our mindes by the power of the spirit so as we should haue no néede of outwarde writings and helpe of Bookes forsomuch as the entercourse and the most swéete familiaritie which at the beginning mankinde had with God is by sinne broken off Therefore to despise the gift of the Scriptures which succeeded in stead thereof is an extreme madnesse especially since we so soone erre both in the actions of this life and in opinions Mal. 2. 7. We call to minde that God commaunded the Priests that they should with great indeuour procure themselues the knowledge of the law also that he commanded the king that he should neuer suffer the booke of the heauenly doctrine to bee taken out of his handes Deut. 17. 18 Wherefore those shoulde not be accounted eyther kings and Priests which shamefully neglect the holy Scriptures And séeing that Christ hath made his to be both Priests kings none may boast themselues to be Christians which are not delighted with the studie of the worde of God Let some please themselues as much as they will with vnlearned rudenesse there is no man of sounde iudgement will at any time be perswaded but that it doeth greatly please the prudent lawemaker that the lawes should be knowen of his Citizens since that no fruite of lawes vnknowen although they be both iust and honest will redounde vnto the Common weale Our good and mightie God did therefore place the sunne in an high adn eminent place of the heauens that séeing he ordained the fountaine of light to bee therein and to lighten all things the same should bée beholden of all creatures Wherefore it doth please him excéedingly if all men in the Church doe continually turne the eye of their minde to the doctrine of the holy Scriptures And howe much this also doeth profite our mindes hereby it may bee vnderstoode that the eyes of them which liue in a manner alwayes in smoke are not onely fore filled full of teares Similitudes but are also made dum and dull like as on the other side when we liue in the large fieldes and in the gréene medowes garnished with great diuersitie of flowers compassed about with most cleare waters we being of perfect strength then haue we our eyes both bright and of perfect sight They doe liue in the smoke which doe alwayes regard earthlie thinges and doe onelie occupie their minde in naturall sciences These be almost continuallie disquieted with perplexities cares and great vexation of minde and are euerie day made lesse fit to behold heauenlie things And vndoubtedlie nothing dooth more fitlie aunswere the state and condition of these vnhappie sort than dooth smoke For euen as from a thicke fire there breatheth out smoke so from the heate burning and darknesse of filthie lustes all thinges that euer they doe are obscured And how iustlie the holie scriptures are compared to the large heauen to the open fieldes to the florishing medowes and to the running and cleare waters I thinke there is none of you but vnderstand Therefore when I exhort you aswell to the receiuing of this knowledge as to the communicating thereof with others I call you to those thinges that be comfortable and fit for the naturall sharpnesse of out wit yea and they be verie profitable for restoring of the whole man With the verie which counsell Paul thus instructed his Verse 2. Timothie in the 2. Epistle the 2. Chapter And what thinges thou hast heard of me by manie witnesses the same deliuer to faithfull men which shall be able to teach others also The Apostle could not abide that the doctrine of the Gospell being so comfortable should be hidden from men or that it should be kept back or be suppressed among a fewe And all faithfull teachers in the Church haue no other respect in teaching but that the word of God communicated vnto those that be present may by them be spread abroad to infinite others Euen as they which be couetous and liue vppon gayne doe distribute that monie which they haue vnto men that vse the same that at the length it may returne to them more amplie and richlie But alasse this sword of the word of God hath bin a large time put vp and hidden in the sheathe of superstitions and humane traditions therefore haue we lien oppressed with so manie impieties Christ in times past said Ye erre not knowing the scriptures Mat. 22. 29. But now the Pharisies of our time say Ye erre hauing knowledge of the scriptures And they wish and desire nothing more than that this spirituall sword may once againe be hidden But O ye that be the kindred of Christ and faithfull men vnto God suffer not the same to be taken againe out of your hands For beléeue me in the stead of the booke of life they wil giue into your handes the booke of death and thereby O good God what calamities will ye runne into Let the horrible example of Saul teach you 1. Sa. 28. 6. who after he was cast off from God could haue no aunswere of him neither by Prophets nor by priestes nor by Oracle whereby he might be comforted being now cast into most gréeuous dangers What did the miserable man He gaue eare vnto the wordes of a witch and vnto Magicall counsels Howbeit he reapt nothing thereby but extreme feare threates of death and vtter desperation O vnfortunate wretches which being destitute of the word of God doe carrie themselues vnto superstitions and diuelish deuises of mens traditions They are throwen headlong into eternall death and into errors out of which they cannot winde themselues 2. Thess 2. 10. and that iustlie For as Paul said vnto the Thessalonians They receaued not the loue of the trueth Vnto whome they be also néere neighbours and for this cause no lesse to be auoided because like vnto the Samaritans they haue decréed to imbrase both 2. kings 17. 41. namelie the word of God and the vngodlinesse of mens traditions as if they knew not that in Deuteronomie and elsewhere Deut. 4. 12. Apo. 22. 18. it is straitlie charged that we should not adde to or take anie thing away from the word of God and that for iust cause For what
set downe whereby men are prouoked thereto 2 368 b Not so ill a crime as adulterie 2 479 a Fraude vndoeth it not but tieth it fast 2 549 a The whole world was shaken so soone as the Law concerning it was made 2 371 a In what cases an oth may bee broken without it 2 538 a Committed in vsing deceitefull words in swearing 2 371 a A seuere chastisement thereof both in the offender and them that knowing it held their peace 2 374 a Whether it bee lawfull to offer an oth to him that is suspected of Periurie 2 373 b ¶ Looke Oth and Svvearing Permission Of Permission to commit sinne and doe euill and whether such permission be in God or no. 1 1â—6 ab 190 b 206 a 202 b 203 ab How it belongeth to his will 3 36 b 37 a In Permission of temptation there is the will of God which prooueth that he tempteth 1 211a Of dispensing permission and ful growne permission 1 200 b In Gods Permission of the Iewes cruellie to crucifie Christ there was a will of God not to hinder their naughtie will 1 199 a Howe the worde Permission is vnderstood in scriptures 1 203b ¶ Looke VVill of God Persecution Whether slight in Persecution be lawfull for the godlie 3 287 ab In what sense it is said to be good 3 288 b Flight is lawful vpon condition 3 287 b 288 a Reasons why it should not be shunned 3 288 b 289 ab 290 a Whether flight be lawfull for a minister or pastor 3 288 ab 4 21 a What ministers may flie and what ministers may carie at home 1 60 a The nature thereof is not to abrogate the Lawe 2 323 b Why the Apostles gaue no precept of flight in that case 3 290 b What Dauids flight in the Persecution of Saul teacheth vs. 3 29â— b 292. 293. Persecutions The effects of Gods Persecutions vpon the godlie 1 172 b ¶ Looke Flight Perseuerance How Perseuerance and constancie doe differ 3 184 b Persons Where respecting of Persons is found and not found 3 201 a Persuasion Howe effectuall an assured Persuasion of a thing is 3 9 a Peter What Peter had peculiar aboue the other Apostles 4 82 a 83 ab Whether his confession may bee called the foundation of the Church 4 33 ab Whether he and Paul could be Byshops of Rome both at one time 4 â—9 b Whether the Primasie of the Popedome was giuen vnto him 4 82 a A fable touching Christ and him 4 79 a Why hee was called Cephas 4 74 b Diuerse defectes in him appliable to the Pope 4 76 a Whether he were chiefe of the Apostles 4 80 a Why it was saide to Peter onely Feede my sheepe 4 84 b 85a Christes wordes Peter loue so thou me c. expounded 4 84 ab Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke c. expounded 4 82a b 83 ab Ph. Phantasie The great and effectuall power of the Phantasie 1 77 b By the power thereof a man may thinke he seeth that which hee seeth not 1 89 a Phantasies Whether Angels be bodies or but Phantasies 1 87 b 88 a ¶ Looke Imagination Pharisies Whence the name of Pharisies had beginning 3 337 a They affirmed the resurrection of the dead 3 340 a Philistines The Philistines came to some knowledge of God by taking of the Arke 1 14 a Philosophie Philosophie sprang of admiration and howe 1 63 b The difference betweene Gods worde and it 1 58 a Howe one thing is taught one way by Diuinitie and another way in Philosophie 1 17 a Definitions of the same and vnto what thinges the knowledge thereof extendeth 2 300 b Into what partes Cicero distinguished it 2 302 a Aristotle iustlie blamed for excluding a young man from hearing it and his reasons 1 52 b It is the gift of God and by what venoms and corruptions the diuell defiled the same 2 302 b Defined by Plato 1 159a Diuided into actiue and contemplatiue 2 300 b and howe they differ 301a Diuided into Morall Economicall and Politicall 2 301 b Speculatiue diuided into three parts supernaturall naturall and Mathematicall 2 301 b Speculatiue preferred before the actiue and why 2 301 a Actiue and contemplaÌ„tiue mentioned in the holie scriptures 2 302 b Why in Diuinitie speculatiue goeth before actiue 2 302 b 303 a What kinde of Philosophie Paul reprooueth 2 302 ab Whether it be repugnant to Christian godlinesse 2 303 b Whether it bee lawfull for a Christian to studie it 2 302 a The ende thereof and Christian godlinesse 2 303 a Whereto it tendeth 1 17 a The great profite that the authors thereof brought to the worlde declared by comparison 2 302 a Why Chrysostome calleth the true Religion Philosophie 2 428 a Pithagoras was the author of the name and howe 2 300 b Ciceroes commendation concerning morall Philosophie 2 303 b 304 a Two thinges to bee performed in the peripateticall Philosophie 1 54 a Philosophers The pride of Philosophers noted through the knowledge of naturall thinges 1 2 a 4 21 b They rested in seconde causes 3 258 b They despaired procured by example 1 11 b They yéelded not themselues to the prouidence of God 1 11 b To what intent they seemed to make their writings obscure 1 11 a The greter the fouler of life 1 11 b They hid the knowledge which they had of God and howe 1 11 a Howe they knowe that there is a God 1 12 a They diuided the vnitie of God into parts 1 11 ab Phisicke Whether the ende of phisicke be health 1 7 a Phisitians What phisitians the ciuill lawe condemneth 4 128 b They bee the ministers of nature 2 515 b Their dealing with one sicke of a burning feuer 2 579 b Manie funerals dishonourable vnto them 2 414 a Pi. Picture The Picture of Christ is admitted to bee made 2 340 b Of his crosse other things is lawfull 2 341 a Decrées that no picture of Christ shoulde bee made in anie stuffe 2 340b Of Angels is lawfull and howe farre foorth 2 341 a ¶ Looke Image Pictures Of what thinges there ma. bée Pictures and of what thinges not 2 335 b Whether they are to bée worshipped 4 178 b Against the sumptuous shamefull and blasphemous ones 2 341 b Whether Luke were a drawer of pictures or no as some say hee was 2 335 ab ¶ Looke Images Pilgrimage What was meant by the continuall Pilgrimage of the Rechabites 5 190 a The Pilgrimage of Plato commanded 3 191 b ¶ Looke Trauelling Pilgrimages Why the Lacedemonians forbad pilgrimages 3 192 a Vnto Sainctes condemned 3 176 b Pirasie Pirasie counted a verture among the auntient Gréekes 2 475 b Pitie Foolish and vnaduised pitie is condemned in the Scripture 2 413 b 414 a It maketh great men to sin 4 248 b 523 a Of foolishe pitie conceyued of soules departed 3 237 b What kind P. Martyr esteemeth to bee foolish 2 415 ab ¶ Look Compassion and Mercie Pl. Places Places doe