Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	death_n	sting_n	victory_n	6,058	5	10.0485	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13812	An ansvvere to certein assertions of M. Fecknam, sometime abbot of Westminster which he made of late against a godly sermon of M. Iohn Goughes, preached in the Tower the xv. of Ianuarie. 1570. Seen and allowed.	Tomson, Laurence, 1539-1608.; Feckenham, John de, 1518?-1585, attributed name.; Gough, John, fl. 1561-1570, attributed name.	1570 (1570)	STC 24113; ESTC S113017	63,134	174

not giue I can not tell to whom that which you cā not proue to haue bin in the Patriarches Prophetes Apostles Do not you perceyue that your assertions are contrarie within themselues Either they are easie a great nūber of men haue fulfilled them or they are harde and you haue rashly sayd that to be easie which is harde You are wont to say this also eyther the cōmaundements are possible and wel giuen of God aut impossibilia in his non esse culpam or vnpossible and no fault in thē which haue receiued the cōmaundemēts but in him that gaue those which were impossible Nunquid Deus c. Hath god commaunded me to be that which God is that there should be no difference betwixt men and the Lorde the Creatoure that I should be higher than the Angels That I should haue that which the Angelles haue not Of him it is written as a propertie whiche did not sinne and there was no guyle found in his mouth If this bée cōmō to mée with Christe what had he proper Otherwise your sētēce is destroyd of itself If you think not this whole tretise which I haue alleaged rightly cited against you shew me wherin you differ You say that the commaundementes are possible to be kept you can shew none that hathe kept them either of the Patriarkes or of the Prophets or Apostles You say moreouer that if God hath commaunded things vnpossible the fault is in him and not in vs Seing then that you accord in al these points with them you must either shew some farther reason why S. Hierome may not be deriued against you or else giue glory to God and cōfesse your error For to alledge for your selfe that you there in differ from them because they only graunted gratiam praeuenuntem and you both that adi●●ātem it auaileth you not For the patriarks had that the Prophets had that the Apostles had that and in such sort that god was vnto them semper larguor semperque donator alwayes a liberall giuer and alwayes a frée giuer and yet they could not as you there read I could here bring in more allegatiōs both out of this father and other but for feare of being to lōg I leaue them I trust these few may serue with the help of gods spirit to open your eyes beleue And thus haue I shewed how they are impossible Now to come to my second mēber and to shewe you how they are possible may be fulfilled I will not stray far away neither séeke very wide for that I néede not I will come home to my first Allegation which suffiseth for dissoluing of this dout and therefore I chose it moued thereunto because I sée S. Ierome vse the same order and in eschuing of prolixitie our rule is good frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora that is vainely done by a longer way which may be done by easie and short meanes Let vs then sée how the Apostle dissolueth this dout For that that was impossible to the law in as muche as it was weake because of the fleshe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 GOD sending his owne sonne in the similitude of sinful flesh and for sin condēned sin in the flesh And in an ther place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. ye which were dead in sinnes in the vncircūcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him forgeuing you al your trespasses and putting out the hand wryting of ordinances that was against vs which was cōtrary to vs he euen toke it out of the way fastned it vpon the crosse c. Now to cōdemn sin in the flesh to fasten the hād writing vpon the crosse to spoile principalities powers to triūph ouer thē in the cros what other thing doth it import than perfect rightuousnesse gotten than a performing of the law if it be alredy performed then was it a good cōsequēt to say it might be performed herein we agrée By whō the Apostle teacheth you by Christ Iesus by him onely for so is Paules cōsequēt in these words For that that was impossible to the law in as much as it was weake because of the flesh God sending his son c. For the cause why God sent his own son was the weaknes of our flesh by reason wherof the law could not be fulfilled his anger appeased So then this causeth vs with confidence to say O death where is thy sting O hell where is thy victorie there is no cōdēnation to thē which are in Christ Iesus And in that the Christe is our iustification our sanctification our peace wée may say that we fulfil the law that no one iote passeth vs nor one pricke in that he forgiueth what wée can not do And so you haue an other way how the commaūdemēts are possible Therfore to come vnto you I say as you say that the commandements are possible how these words are to bee vnderstād that elect vessel doth most playnly teach vs as I alleaged For that that was impossible c. again ●x operibꝰ legis by the works of the law no flesh shal be iustified And that wée may not thincke it onely spoken of the law of Moyses not of al the cōmandements which are cōprehended in the name of the law the same apostle witnesseth saying Consentio legi Dei. I delight in the law of God cōcerning the inner mā but I see an other lawe in my members rebelling c. O wretched mā that I am who shall deliuer me frō the body of death Gratia dei ꝑ Iesū Christū dn̄m nostrū it is the grace of god through Christ Iesus M. Feck For as we are cast doun by one so must the gift of rightuousnes be by one that is by Iesus christ and why it cā be but by Christ that this fulfilling of the law this righteousnes must be the Apostle sheweth in an other place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for we know that the law is spirituall but I am carnal sold vnder sin For I alow not that which I do for what I wold that do I not but what I hate that doo I and so forth as it foloweth in the whole text The nature of the most godly of all is such that he can not do as he would By the spirite he may doo muche but as long as he is compassed with this body of death he can not doo all So sayeth the Apostle in this place Non enim facio bonum quod volo I do not the good thing which I would Do not burden vs as you haue done in the beginning Master Gough with the errour of the Manicheans and such like whiche trouble the Churche with their wicked phantasies saying that that nature is naught whiche can not bée changed by any meanes and impute this not to me but to the Apostle who knoweth that God is one man another the

workes thou knowest not that the grace of the helper is necessarie that the precept of the cōmaunder may be fulfilled Behold God hath cōmaunded thée do that which be commaundeth thou beginnest to do as of thyne own strength and thou fallest and so remayneth the punishing and not the sauing letter Let vs a little more neare consider this question what these woords importe and what they meane It is not impossible to fulfil the law The Law and the Spirit are set as opposite as killing and quickening as Moses Christ therfore in playne woordes the question is this Whether it bée possible without Christ by the works only of the Lawe whiche we can perfectly and absolutely performe in suche order and manner as GOD hath commaunded to be saued And your position is that wée can if wée list perfectlye as he commaundeth in all poinctes fulfill his Lawe and so purchase lyfe vnto oure selues without the quickening spirit without the grace of god For if you saye not this you saye nothing as you shall hereafter more plainely vnderstand A preuenting grace and helping you graunt whereof I will not defraude you and after permitted to your owne willes you can do what you liste and kéepe the commaundements and purchase heauen as it foloweth caste Christ away Now then let vs ioyne togither I say that thou O Man what soeuer thou arte so setting Christe his death and passion a syde of whose fulnesse we haue all receyued and setting asyde grace and truthe whiche commeth by Iesus Christ I say that thou cāst not by any possibilitie if thou shouldst lyue seuen hundreth yeares fulfil the law of GOD and so be saued For if there had bin a Lawe giuen whiche could haue quickened iustice had bin by the Lawe neither should a Sauiour bin sought for nor Christ haue come nor with his bloud haue sought his lost shéepe as the Apostle sayeth in an other place For if rightuousnesse be by the Lawe then is Christ dead in vayne Let vs consider what is the best of vs Salomon sayd at the dedicatiō of his Temple There is no man on the earth which sinneth not Dauid sayeth no man liuing shall be iustified before god Saint Paule plainly affirmeth this The fleshe coueteth ageinst the spirite and the spirite ageinst the flesh and vseth no other reason to proue that all whiche are vnder the lawe are cursed but this Bicause it is written Cursed be they that confirme or fulfill not al these words of this law to do them And such were mē not in their time only but such is oure nature at this day ther is no time nor seasō no houre or momēt in which we ought not to say forgiue vs our trespasses where forgiuenesse is requisit ther is no perfectiō ther is no law fulfilled there is no saluatiō wrought neither is it thus to be thought that these such like sentēces are spokē of men not regenerate assisted with the grace of god for Paul speaking of himselfe of the contention strife that he felt sayd Noui non habitare in me id est in carne mea bonū nā velle adest mihi sed vt quod bonū est perficiā nō assequor Non enim facio bonum quod volo sed malum quod nolo hoc ago For I know that in mée that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with mée but I finde no meanes to performe that which is good Here you may sée that the Apostle himself was fraile in body that he had as yet no rightuousnesse perfection That you may know that the Apostle himself which would saue others is yet in way of curing that ye may know that he is yet a curing if you esteme his honor marke what emplaister the medicine hath layd to the swelling Heare not me heare himselfe confessing that you may perceyue him teaching Nowe may I say to the Apostle Paule Be not proude thou holy Apostle thou must take héede that thou be not proud What sayst thou to me saieth he Heare thou also Heare what I am be not high minded but feare heare how the little Lambe may goe in where the Ramme is in such daunger Ne excellentia reuelationum supra modum efferrer datus est mihi surculus infixus carni c. Leste I should be exalted sayeth hée oute of measure thoroughe the aboundance of Reuelations there was giuen vnto mée a pricke in the fleshe the messenger of Sathan to buffit me bycause I should not be exalted out of measure Let vs then by this example consider that we are men let vs acknowledge that the holy Apostles were men chosen vesselles but yet frayl as yet pilgrimes in this fleshe No doubte but Paule and Dauid and the residue of the most saincts that euer were thought this eyther the chéefest or the only perfection if they knewe them selues to be vnperfecte And you sayth he when you haue done al say we are vnprofitable seruants we haue done but what we ought to doe If hée bée vnprofitable whiche hath done all things what shal wée saye of him which could not fulfill Therefore the Apostle sayd that he had partly receyued and partly comprehēded and yet was not perfecte and that hée forgate things past and auanced him selfe to things to come Hée that alwayes forgetteth things past and desireth things to come declareth him self not content with things present But can you shewe mée any other that was better in this case than the Apostle You say the commaundements of GOD are easie and yet you can shew none that hath fulfilled them al. Aunswere me are they easy or harde If they be easie shew me who hath fulfilled them and why Dauid saith in his Psalme c. You know where I am I cut it of because I would be short and yet must I say something It followeth But if they bée hard why darest thou say that the cōmaūdements are easie which no man hath fulfilled Marke this by the way whiche no man hath fulfilled And if you think it peraduēture faultie to reason Ab esse ad posse negatiuely although I might wel answer you that in attributo specifico it is no fault although it be in indiuiduali yet haue I rather to giue you the aunswere of him which may preuayle more with you than myne and God graunt it may do so Dicitis his verbis c. You say in this sorte It is an other thing to bée and an other to may bée or be possible to bée To be consisteth not in our power but to bée able to bée is spoken vniuersally That although one be not yet he may bée that will bée I pray you what kind of reasoning is this the thing may be which neuer was that that may be done which you witnesse that no man hath done to attribute that vnto any man who whither he shall be or no you know

frailnesse of the flesh is one and the strength of the spirite an other For the fleshe desireth against the spirite and the spirite ageynst the flesh and these do so striue and contend eche with other that wée can not doo such things as wée would doe You shall neuer heare of me that nature is naught but how the fragilitie of the flesh is to bée reasoned of let vs learne of him whiche teacheth Aske him why he sayde for that whiche I would do that I do not but the euil which I hate that do I. What necessitie hindreth his will what force commaundeth him to do things so hatefull so that not that which he would but that which he hated and would not he is constrayned to doo He wil aunswer● you O man what art thou that so aunswerest God shall the clay say vnto the potter why hast thou made me so hath not the potter power ouer his claye to make of one lumpe a vessell to honour and an other to dishonour Concerning iustice and grace it may bée well sayd of the giltie whiche is absolued and of the giltie whiche is condemned Take that whiche is thine and go thy wayes I will giue this man that which is not due vnto him Is it not lawfull for me to do what I liste Is thy eye naught bycause I am good Héere yf he should say and why not to me he shall worthely heare O man what art thou that so aunswearest God whome thou séest towardes one of you to bee a moste bountifull bestower and towardes thée a most iust exactor and yet in nether of you vniust Seing that he should be iust yf he punished eyther he whiche is deliuered hath to giue thankes he which is condemned hath not to reprehend Sure it is that our flesh is frayle that our nature is corrupt and so corrupte that it letteth vs that we can not do our dutie let vs not séeke howe it is so but as S. Paul him self did how ye may be deliuered from it and still cry with our selues Quis me liberabit de corpore mortis huius who shall deliuer me out of the body of this death you stand vppon the possibilitie of the law there are diuersitie of gifts as you knowe can you attaine to all of them there are many sciences as Grammer Rhetoricke Logike c. Who is he of all vs bée he neuer of so excellent a wit that can bee a perfect Gramarian a perfect Logician a perfect Rhetorician a perfecte Philosopher a perfect lawyer a perfecte Phisician the excellent orator lawyer he sayeth There are few which attayne one but both no man can You sée then that God hath commaunded a possible thing and yet that whiche is possible no man can performe by reason of our nature He hath giuen therfore diuers precepts and diuerse vertues which wée can not haue all togither To bée shorte and to make an ende of this parte the olde saying is true non omnia possumus omnes there is none of vs all can doo all things and there is none or very rare is that riche man whiche in all his substaunce possesseth all thinges equallye God hath commaun●ed possible things I graunt it But all these possible things wée can not euery one haue not for the weaknesse of nature that is as it was firste made of God least you slaunder God but for the wearinesse of minde which can not haue all vertues togither and alwayes And thus much touching these twoo partes wherby you may vnderstande how wee say that the kéeping of the law is possible And how it is vnpossible This considered I come to your argumentes Your first is taken out of the eleuenth of Mathew and your woordes are these Contrarie to this doctrine is our Sauiour Christ where he willeth vs to take his yoke vppon vs because it is light Tollite iugum meum super vos iugum enim meum suaue est ▪ onus meum leue Take my yoke vppon you for my yoke is sweete and my burden is lighte If it bee a light burden M. Goughs heauy example hath not a peny worth of good skill This is neyther contrarie to his doctrine M. Fecknam neyther is his heauy example voyd of skill But that which causeth you to thincke it to bée contrarie is that you deceyue your selfe and make a Paralogisme as the Logicians call it à fallacia accidentis which I shall bée able to shew you by your doctours For you doe not reason with M. Gough in sensu vniuoco and in his proposed matter He taught you in his sermon that to fulfill the law was impossible you oppose and lay for an aunswere that the yoke of Christe is easie S. Ierome vppon the same place teacheth you that here bée subiecta diuersa therfore in your disputation there is no vniuocatio Your subiectes are Lex and Euangelium the lawe and the Gospell of which two he sayeth thus Quo modo leuius lege Euangelium quum in lege homicidium in Euangelio ira damnetur Qua ratione Euangelij gratia facilior quū in lege adulterium in Euangelio concupiscentia puniatur In lege multa precepta sunt quae Apostolus non posse compleri plenissime docet How is the gospell lighter than the law séeing the murder is condemned in the law and anger is condēned in the gospel How is the grace of the gospell easier seeing that in the law adulterie and in the gospell concupiscence is punished Many things are commaūded in the law which the Apostle sheweth most plainly that they can not be accomplished In the law works are required which who soeuer doth shal liue in thē In the Gospel the will is required which although it haue not the effect yet it léeseth not the reward So that by this Doctor here is a comparison betwixt the law and the gospel and as farre difference there is betwixt your two arguments as is betwixt velle and facere And marke then is this a good argument Non possum facere ergo nō possum velle I am not able to do therefore I am not able to will or this Possum velle ergo possum facere I am able to wil therfore I am able to do Take which you wil these are your arguments I am sure you sée how little holde there is in them therfore cōfesse the truth giue glorie to God and be not ashamed to haue erred but be ashamed to remayne in your error The gospel sure is easier than the law the grace of Iesus Christ forpasseth surmounteth the letter If you will cōsider your heauy burden and come vnto Christ craue pardō for your sins haue a mind to walke in his pathes and where you fall downe desire him to lift you vp to cloth your nakednesse with his garmente you shall find reste and refreshing and this is an easie yoke But yf you will néedes doo when he requireth the will you will

and Iohn ageyn he is I say notwithstanding al these falles the felow of Angelles the child of God inheritour of the kingdome of heauen Why Bycause he hath spoken by the mouth of hys Prophete Ippol lo iutall He shall fall but he shal not be cast away and as the wise mā sayth Scheba ippol tzaddik vakam ▪ septies cadet iustus sed surget the iust man shal fall .vij. times but he shall rise As for this word Naphal to fall it caryeth with it a more weightier signification than you alledge All these things being considered it is no euill way to preach repentance and yet say that all sinne of it selfe is damnable to exhort to good woorkes and yet to teach a man not to presume of his owne works as to giue part of his saluation seing that the whole is wrought by Chryst his death and applied to vs by only faith to exhort all men to pray for eche other yet not to spoyle Christ of the office of his mediatorship which is taken away by the prayer to Sainctes to exhort men to kéepe Gods commaundements and yet to teach that they be impossible that séeing our owne weaknesse through our owne sinne we may flie to his mercy and say Da quod iubes iube quod vis giue what thou cōmaundest and commaūd what thou wilt So sound Doctrine as this is God giue grace to all his ministers to preach you to embrace that they with their preching and you I with our folowing may glorifie our father which is in heauen Thus haue I in few wordes answered your cauilling arguments and counterfet stuffe as time did serue me if not so amply as I might yet sufficient for those you brought framing my answere shortly to your argumēt And as you vniustly lay to M. Goughs charge contradiction to the holy scriptures to the fathers and to haue nothing to stād vpon but old heresies reuiued as of the Maniches Eunonius Vigilantius Iouinian I haue and do lay to your charge iustly contradiction to the scriptures false alleaging of doctors to no purpose such slēder such childishe so against all arte reason in forming of your talke as any Boy might haue bin ashamed to haue vsed the like I haue and do I say lay iustly to your charge your false burdning him with those foresaid heresies as vnfit as vnaptly layd against him as any thing could be I can not see why in these cases you myght not as well haue blamed him to be an Arrian a Sabellian and what you will as a Mani●hean an Eunonian a Vigilantian a Iouinian Now when you haue done all this as though you had atchieued a notable feate you require of their worships a thing reasonable as you wold make it that you might not be enforced to come to sermōs a thing as you say against all former example a thing as true as the residue Did you neuer read Augustine to Vincentius against the Donatists concerning this matter If you did not I pardon your ignorance If you did I wil not spare but tel you of your vntruth Do you not read in his Epistles cum haereticis esse v● agēdum that heretikes must be dealt with by force Do you not remember that he sayth it did good to the Churches in his time That the Donatists were constrained by authoritie to the embrasing of christian religion and there reheasreth diuers of their gratulations Do you not remember that he sayth not to do it is malum pro malo reddere to requite euil for euill Do you not remember that he sayeth A●elius est cum seueritate diligere quam cum lenitate decipere Better it is to loue with seueritie than to deceiue with lenitie And that it pertaineth to princes Do you not remēber how he answereth that obiection bicause there was none in the Apostles time Do you not remember the example of Nebuchadnezer which he sayeth signified the state of the Church in the Apostles tyme this now When he constrained to Idolatrie howe the Apostles were persecuted When being turned to God decreed in his kingdom that whosoeuer blasphemed the God of Sydrach Misach and Abednego shuld be worthely punished what prynces ought nowe to do For then saith he that scripture was verified Quare fremuerunt gentes c ▪ why did the Gentyles tumultuously rage c. But now is fulfilled that principes erūt nutrices tuae and Princes shall be thy nurses Do you not remember how he sayeth capitale ●u●icium punishmēt of death was appoynted by the law of the Emperors against the sacrifices of the Paganes Do you not remember when he sayth of that quis nostrum quis vestrum non laudat Which of vs which of you doth not praise it Do not you remēber how he sayeth that Constantine did decrée vt conuictorum res fis●o vendicarentur that the goods of the conuicted should be chalenged to the common treasure Do yée not remember that he was once in that errour that they should not bée constrayned vntill he was conuicted by examples of the profite it did Do you not read in the same that in matters of religion Mansuetudo quae perdit hominem crudelitas est seueritas quae castigat improbum charitas est gentlenesse which destroyeth a mā is crueltie seueritie which chastiseth a wicked mā is charitie do you not remember the similitudes he vseth Do you not remember that he sayth the Church of Christ doth persecute shewing it in the example of Sara doo you not remember poenam decem librarum auri ab Imperatoribus consti●u●am that by Emperours was appointed or decréed a punishment or penaltie of ten pounds in golde agaynst the Donatistes But yf it bée a thing so straunge agaynst all exāple why did you so then vse it in Quéenes Maries time and so farre that you contented not your selues to cast them in pryson to hale them to Masses but to burne them also yf it had bin no more but your owne example you might haue bin ashamed to giue forth this reason You in your doings coulde bée called defensores pacis prouisores Ecclesiae defenders of peace and gardians of the Churche The Quéenes grace that now is and her Lieuetenaunts are cruell vexers and oppressours But you shewe your selfe as you are a righte Donatist both in profession nowe and in dooyngs then As they when they accused Caecilian the Bishop of Carthage to Constantine and required to haue him punished then were they defensores pacis prouisores Ecclesiae ▪ defenders of peace and gardianes of the Churche but when they were serued with theyr owne sause then they coulde cry out and saye Non esse vt agendum that there oughte too bée no dealing by constrainte Suche were your doynges in Queene Maries time this is your demaund and talke nowe ▪ What is this other than as Tychonius one of theyrs and your Master sayde of you bothe Quod volumus