so he himselfe maketh comparison I am the breade of life your fathers did eate Manna in the wildernesse and are deade I am the liuing bread whiche came downe from heauen if any maÌ„ eate of this breade he shall liue for euer finally that God by the hande of his seruant Iosua conducted his people and sette them safe in the possession of CanaaÌ„ that lande so long looked for so commended that it should flow with milke and hony therein did he shew himselfe as a mightie so a most mercyfull God but blessed be the father of our Lord Iesus Christ whiche according to his abundant mercy hath begotten vs againe vnto a liuely hope by the resurrectioÌ„ of our Lorde Iesus Christ from the deade to an inheritance immortall and vndefiled and that fadeth not away This is that eternal possession whiche Christ hath purchased for vs with the price of his precious bloude euen the eternall and glorious kingdome of his heauenly father O blessed Bées that may be so happy as to swarme about Christ and to suck the swéete hony flowing from the floures of that Canaan verily there is heauenly hony eueÌ„ such as the eye hath not séen the eare hath not heard neyther yet hath euer entred into the heart of man that is it which God hath prouided for his beloued it was vndoubtedly a great losse which we had in Adam But thankes be vnto God we haue founde more in Christ than we enioyed before So saint Paule maketh conference of both estates for if by the offence of one death reigned through one much more shall they which receyue the aboundance of grace and of the gifte of righteousnesse reigne in life through one that is Iesus Christe O Lorde what is man that thou shouldest be so mindfull of him But herein is loue that Christe hath purchased vs a newe Paradise is gone to prouide vs a kingdome euen of his own kingdome doth he make vs fellow heires he rayseth vs togyther with him to the heaueÌ„ly places and with his crowne of thornes he hath gotten vs the crowne of glorie that euer florisheth and neuer fadeth although we eate not the fruite of the trée of the knowledge of good and badde yet may we be sure to auoyd the châ—king peare I meane to perish althogh we meete not with the trée of life which stood in the old Paradise yet in the high pillar of the Almightie God comming to Christe his heauenly table we shal not misse the worthy fruit to haue life euerlasting The fiftenth Chapter ¶ The assurance of such as take holde of Gods mercie freely offred in Christe THus haue we looked on and ouerlooked the beautifull worke of God concerning our regeneration in Chryste Iesus our Lorde we haue assayed to drawe vp that which was layd abrode now therfore to knit vp the knot and to make a through styche let vs cast asyde all selfe loue and sticke onely to the loue of the liuing God the true fountaine and wel of the water of life bearing still in mynde the saying of S. Iohn God so loueth the worlde and that he saithe herein is loue not that we loued him and that oure loue is but a fruite of the roote for so he saith therefore we loue him bicause he loued vs first let vs therefore begin to recken there where we haue to fetch all good things whether it be loue light or life eueÌ„ from that first fountaine whiche S. Iohn hath so set abâ—och before vs saying he loued vs first remeÌ„ber what he saith in whom God sheweth all his mercie without me ye can do nothing and what he saith to them that take parte with him to you nothing shall be vnpossible and aboue all things let vs consider the conditioÌ„ vnder which that deede of gifte passeth God hath giuen his sonne that whoso beleueth in him he should haue loue and life with God So doth God drawe vs vnto Christe as he pronounced by his Prophet he that beléeueth on him shall not be ashamed And Christe calleth vs vnto him come vnto me al ye that are heauy laden how may we come but by the foote of faith for whom he calleth theÌ„ he iustifieth and we being iustified by fayth haue peace towardes God through oure Lorde Iesus Christe by whome also we haue accesse through faythe sayth the Apostle vnto this grace wherein we stand for want of fayth it was that Christe was not receiued of his owne but the beloued beleeuers they receiued him to them he gaue the power to be the sonnes of God they are knit fast to Christe they are the body and he is the heade they are frée by him they are frends in one house felowes in one inheritance and sonnes of one father with our Lorde Iesus O how happy are we if we haue faithe for then are we chosen we are called we are iustified we are glorified God is on our side who may stand against vs what shall we now dout to obtaine at Gods hands for he that spared not his sonne but gaue him for vs al howe shall he not with him giue vs all things also we are Gods chosen who shall lay any thing to our charge Christ is dead he is rysen euen he to whome all iudgement is committed he maketh earnest sute and continuall request he pleadeth for vs who shal then condemne vs who shal separate vs now from the loue of Chryst Shall tribulation or anguishe or persecution or famine or nakednesse or perill or sword in all these things sayth S. Paule we are more than conquerors through him that loued vs And vpon this is he so bold that he sayth I am persuaded that neyther death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things presente nor things to come nor heigth nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lorde O let vs set this example of faithfull Paule before vs let vs holde fast the loue of God with him howe came he by that bolde and mightie spirite by the grace of God I am that I am sayth he againe we haue boldnesse and entrance by fayth in him that is in Christ Iesus wherefore his exhortation shall be moste necessarie at al tymes watch ye saith he stand fast in the faith quit you like men be strong let vs put on the armor of God let vs not feare to enter the fielde hauing Christ our Captaine aboue al let vs be sure to take with vs the shielde of faithe that hath S. Iohns warrant that therewith we may conquer the world as Christ hath done and S. Paules that therewith we maye quenche the fierie dartes of the wicked and S. Peters also that with the mightie force of faith we may mousell vp the bloudy mouth of that roring Lyon so we being armed and fortified with fayth we maye walke free without all feare now we
all as we are the children of Adam withoute the loue and the beloued son of god But now Christ is come what news bringeth he But God saith the Apostle which is rich in mercie through his greate loue wherewith he loued vs euen when we were deade by sinnes hath quickened vs togither in Christe by whose grace ye are saued and hathe raysed vs vp togither and made vs sit togither in the heauenly places in Christ Iesus O what is man that God should so loue him as thus to poure vpon vs the whole store and riches of his mercy and to bestow vpon vs his chiefe iewell his only begotten sonne and by him to exalt vs euē from the déepe hel to the high heauēs Surely God hathe maruellously shewed hys gracious goodnesse vpon the children of men but in this that he so loued the world as to giue vs hys son euē as the heauens the earth so dothe this farre surmount al the prosperity that any people al the felicitie that any mā at any time hath euer enioyed it was much that God blessed Abraham so as to gyue him the deaw of heauen the fat of the earth enriching him with great store of treasure and flocks of cattell but what was this to the blessed séede that blesseth all nations and Salomō in al his royaltie what was he but a lilie in the garden and a floure in the fielde but that he was assured of that promise made vnto hys father that vnto Dauid shuld be raysed a righteous branch and a king should reigne and sit vpon hys seate whome we should call the Lord our righteousnesse God as he had before the comming of our Messias chosen to hymself the Israelites a peculiar people whōe he tendered as the husbandman his vine so his hande wrought maruellously wyth them and bestowed innumerable benefits vpon them goodly and glorious were the frutes and floures that God caused to flourish in that vine but if we be braunches well graffed in the true vine then may Englande well compare with Israell For whatsoeuer they receiued otherwise we haue receiued as fully and wyth as large conditions in Christ the sonne of God they had but the figure more than we we haue the body and substance represented as well as they their 's was the shales but we haue parte in the kirnell they had the shadow aboue vs but we enioy the true sunne of righteousnesse equall with them there was a greate iubilie no doubt among the Israelites when that voice was firste heard on the mount Sinai I haue séene the affliction of my people whiche is in Egypt and I am come downe to deliuer them but what was this to the ioyfull tidings brought of the Aungell vnto you is borne in the Citie of Dauid a Sauioure and by another Aungell he shall saue his people from their sinnes Herein was loue as Sainte Iohn sayth farre in deede mighte that people séeme to be in the fauoure of God that he did so mightily by his seruante Moses deliuer them out of the hands of hardharted Pharao and that cruell countrie of Egypte But O Lorde what is man that thou so louest him as by the crosse of thy Christe to plucke him out of the bloudy clammes of that roring and rauening Lion Satan and to saue vs from that hote burning Egypte the fiery furnace of hell God made Moyses a maruell and a mirroure before his people but he neuer gaue hym thys commendation Thys is my beloued sonne Naye to which of the Angels said he at any time Thou arte my sonne this daye begat I thee yet thys beloued sonne whome the father maketh so much of is made our Moses to fulfill the lawe and our Messias to fill vs full of grace he hathe broughte vs out of all bondage it is he that hath led captiuitie captiue and nowe are we free in déede when the sonne hathe made vs frée Dauid refresheth hymselfe maruellously wyth the memorie of those benefytes of GOD whyche hée bestowed vpon hys people when they were nowe passing from Egypt toward the promised land wherefore he vttereth such sayings in hys psalmes and songs recording therin the goodnesse of God he deuided the Sea and led them through In the daye also he led them with the cloude This was theyr Baptisme vnder Moyses as Sainte Paule saythe Nowe if we be baptised in Christe Iesus with water and the holy Ghost then haue we drowned Pharao in the floud and haue buried vp Sathan safe in the Sea then are we couered and clothed with the true cloude so that the heate of hell may not hurt vs so saithe S. Paule All ye that are baptised into Christ haue put on Christ and so saithe S. Iohn of the water falling frō that cloude The bloud of Iesus Christe cleanseth vs from all sinne Dauid goeth forward and saith as he led them in the daye tyme with a cloud so he did all the nighte with a light of fire This was a great token that God was with them but this was but a shadow of him that saythe I am the light of the world he that followeth me shall not walke in darknesse but shall haue the lighte of life This is the lyght that is the lyfe of men this is the light that shineth in the darkenesse here hathe the Gentile gotten as muche as the Iewe for this is the true light that lighteth euery man that commeth into the world Againe saithe Dauid for the glory of the Iewe he claue the rocke in the wildernesse and gaue them drinke as of the great depthes but Paule saithe also for the comforte of the Gentile the rocke was Christe for out of the rocke rent on the crosse gushed out that plentifull aqua vitae whyche serueth to satisfie the thirst of euery soule that is it which shall wash away all our vncleannesse That although our sins were as crimsin they shall now be made white as snowe though they were red lyke Scarlet they shall be as wooll though they be rusty for sinne as those that haue lyen among pottes yet shall we be as the wings of a Doue that is couered with siluer and whose feathers are lyke vnto the yellowe golde Wherefore without this water was that nothing in comparison but as our Sauiour sayth in hys reasoning wyth the woman of Samaria concerning Iacobs well Whosoeuer shall drinke of thys water shall thirst agayne but who so drinketh of the water which I shall gyue him shall neuer thirst agayne and it shall be vnto him a well of water springing vp into eternall lyfe Another maruellous benefite of God doth Dauid glory in saying God opened the dores of heauen and rayned downe Manna vpon them for to eate and gaue them of the Wheat of heauen and so man did eate Aungels foode this was a sure token of Gods singular loue towardes them but this was but a shadowe to that which Christe bringeth with him for
Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucifie him This did our Sauioure foresee as a God and fulfill as a man sent to redeeme men firste when the tyme of hys temptation drewe neare hys schollers began to scatter and fléete from hym vntill they lefte hym cleane withoute company and comfort For some faynting by default of faith he draue away with a word whē he gaue them that lesson cōcerning the eating of the flesh and drinking of the bloude of the sonne of man thys is a harde saying saye they who can away with thys so they gaue ouer schoole and followed their maister no further Then thoughte our Sauior good to make much of his twelue and therefore to holde in them that they shoulde not start lykewise he turned vnto them as it were grating kindnesse on them with thys pitifull question and wyll you also goe from me Peters stomacke was yet somewhat stout wherefore he answered the question with thys other Master to whome shall we goe thou hast the words of eternall life That was Christes chiefe captaine it was to be thought he would haue a bidden the brunt but of hym it shall be sayde after Nowe by thys time Christ had but his chosen twelue with him and yet one of them was but a traytor yea a diuell For in that heauy feast and last supper whereat he tooke hys leaue as it were of his disciples then began Satan to stirre himselfe to assaulte and sift the simple souldiers of Christe and tooke full possession of Iudas to worke by hym that horrible treason againste our poore Prince which sought by kyndnesse to ouercome his enimies for he as soone as he had receiued that choaking morsell the soure sop he got him out about the Deuils businesse séeking our sauiours death and his own destruction And for his farewel saith Christe that thou doest doe quicklye for belyke he felte panges of temptation alreadie vppon him wherefore vppon this his departure hée comforted himselfe and the rest of his disciples with those and the lyke sayings as did declare the prouidence of God the Father in thys behalfe verily sayeth hée it goeth wyth the sonne of man as it is written of hym it was wrytten hée that eateth breade with mée lifteth vp his heele agaynste me Whyles that Iudas and these blouddie merchantes were busie aboute theyr bargaine valuyng that innocent and sauing soule at .xxx. siluerlings Christ wyth part of his Disciples went vp into the Mounte Oliuet to make his prayer where howe bitter were his temptations In what an agonie was hée when those bloudye droppes of sweate trickled downe along that swéete glorious face what deepe sighes did hée fetche out of howe heauie an heart did these sayings procéede first to his Disciples saying my soule is verie heauie vnto death then in his lamentable prayer O my father if it bée possible let this cuppe passe from mée and yet in this distresse hée humbled him selfe submitting his will to the will of his father Nowe after this fitte was paste and hée had ouercommed that temptation beholde those Wolues that bloudie band appoynted by the high Priestes and Pharysies commeth oute with theyr Lanternes and lightes as to make search for a théefe with staues and swordes as agaynst a rebellious traytour laying handes on hym as on a mischieuous murtherer And who was theyr Capitayne euen that lost childe Iudas he became theyr guyde hée tracked oure Sauiour in hys waye hée led those murtherers ouer the brooke Cedron he brought them into the Garden where they founde that sillie shéepehearde with his small flocke that méeke henne hauing no where to hide his heade with his little broode of Chickens tremblyng and shaking about him for feare loking for succour vnder the shadowe of his wings who himselfe was nowe destitute of all earthly ayde this also might not but augment his sorowes that in the same place in that garden where they had so often gathered togyther to theyr comfort and where Iudas himselfe had bene diuerse tymes fed at our Sauiors hand with the swéet bread of life there he should be gyuen vp to the hands of sinners how was he betraied Euen as that lamentable question importeth Iudas betrayest thou the sonne of man vvith a kisse Whiche was to saye thou whom I haue chosē of many a thousand one of my twelue familiaes thou vppon whome I haue bestowed so many good turnes to whome I haue gyuen fréely so many good lessons vppon whome I haue wasted so many wordes thou that eatest bread with me thou that dippedst in one dish with me dost thou lift vp thy héele against me and tread me vnder thy foote thou that prouidedst for the sustenance of my body art thou become the betrayer of my soule whose saluation I haue sought by so many meanes doest thou thirst my bloud for whome I am contente to laye downe my life art thou become my hangman Commest thou vnto me with the face of a friend and giuest me vp to mine enimies Callest thou me maister and wishest me the curse of the crosse Gyuest thou me a kisse and woundest my harte These sighes no doubte came vp with that question Nowe by this time had Iudas done hys parte he myght go hang hymselfe In thys case then we sée our Sauioure howe he standeth as a poore prisoner deliuered into the hands of hys mortall enimies being hymselfe an immortall god He that might haue had at hys call a legion of Aungels to deliuer him is yet contented to become a prisoner a captiue and as a caytiue rather than he woulde breake off thys worke of our redemption whiche he had brought so neare to perfection What then followed the shepeherde was stricken and the sheepe were scattered and alas poore Peter what resistance maist thou make Put vp thy sword and harken what thy Sauiour saithe yea let vs all harken to that voice of humilitie shall I not drink of the cup whiche my father hath gyuen me So Christ still fighteth with pacience euen till he maketh his enimies his footestoole for beholde he is bounde wyth pacience by the hande the captaine and the officers of the Iewes so as it was appointed of hym he was led as a shéepe brought before the sheerer to Annas that sharpe shéerer then was he turned and tossed from one to another from post to piller from the Foxe to the Wolfe from Annas to Cayphas from Cayphas to Annas againe and still fast bound for feare of scaping O what an heauie sighte what a payne was that for Peter when he sawe his Master standing lyke a forsaken soule and a pitifull prisoner in the hall of the high Priest Now where was that stout courage when he saide though all men bée offended for thee yet I wyll not He followed hys maister indeede but a farre off for feare And when hée came to the dore of the high Prieste in what a traunce in what a terroure was he